A.N.: Thanks to all my faithful readers, double thanks to anyone who reviewed.

For everybody who asked so nicely, I set up a DeviantArt profile with character sketches. The link is in my profile. Those who didn't want it, don't go there. Or do and see whether it really suck as much as you feared.

A.N.2: Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. You should be able to tell on your own by now.

It was already evening, but the jounin lounge was still full. Everybody was anxious to hear what teams had completed the First Task. The betting had long since died down, but the speculations remained.

Then finally the announcement that first squad had passed came and a jounin from Suna rejoiced. Then another and after that somebody from Rain. Some other teams were named. Then Tenzo heard his name. He had to do a double take.

"Congratulations, your team passed," Oboro smiled grandmotherly. "You look like you can't believe it. Didn't you have any trust in them?"

"I do," he answered, "but that doesn't stop me from worrying."

"Everybody worries about their students," the old woman said. "It's worst with your first. If you taught as many teams as I have, you would learn to deal with it."

"What about you?" the Mokuton user questioned. "Don't you worry about your team?"

"I think I already said it before," she explained. "I trust them with reservations. I don't really worry about them. After all, there aren't that many ways to die during the second test. I can't even recall the last time it happened, it's been years, or was it decades? But you, young man, should be worried from now on."

"Thanks for the inspirational talk," the former ANBU grimaced. "It did a lot to boost my morale."

"You're welcome," she smiled.

There was a period of silence. Than another teams' names were announced.

"If I'm not mistaken, your squad just failed," Tenzo remarked.

"Ah, it seems so," Oboro shrugged. "It doesn't really matter. It was their first time trying so I didn't expect them to pass anyway."

"You're quite stoic about their performance," the male jounin observed.

"Lad," she gave him a sagely smile, "if I worried about everything, I would have turned grey before I was thirty."

"You are all grey," he pointed out.

"That's because I'm a lot over thirty," she replied. "And if you excuse me now, I have to find my charges and console them. So long."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The Great Wind Desert~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When they exited the Morning Breeze outpost, it was already dusk. The sun had touched the horizon and painted the dune sea in a thousand of unbelievable colors. Soon the last rays of daylight disappeared and everything faded to black, only the stars providing a minimal illumination.

"So which way is it to the Evening Gale outpost from here?" Hotaru inquired.

"North-north west," Hana answered after consulting her map. "We should go and cover as much ground as possible during the night. We might even get there before the morning."

"We'd be running all night," the youngest teammate asked with horror. The dogs whined in unison.

"We cannot stay here," the Inuzuka explained. "Too many teams around to attack us."

"That also means a lot of teams we can attack," the blond countered.

"That's true," the dog mistress admitted "but they might come in groups here. If two Suna squads team up on us, we're done for."

"True," the boy grimaced.

"We'd go as far as we can before settling down for the night," the brunette decided. "In the morning we'd continue to the Evening Gale outpost and set an ambush there. The teams should be more spread out by then." They started running.

They didn't get too far before the dogs sniffed the air and growled. "Somebody's ahead," Hana translated.

"Ambush," Hotaru asked.

"Probably," the Inuzuka nodded.

"Do we circle them or do we fight them," Naruto inquired.

"They're prepared for us," the Purple-haired girl pointed out.

"They might just be camping," the blond argued, "and besides, we have to acquire some keys to succeed. Why not start now? I reckon the further we get, the tougher the teams who make it that far. This might be our last chance to beat up wimps."

"While that's true, there could be strong teams anywhere. We also shouldn't lose our key," the dog mistress countered.

"We just have to make sure we beat them," the boy said simply.

"That's easier said then done, you twit," Hotaru chided. "How do you want to accomplish that without putting us in jeopardy?"

"Clones," he answered. "I'll send them to find out what traps they set up and how good fighters they are."

"Do you still have enough chakra?" Hana was dubious.

"I'll manage," the demon vessel answered. He then created about a hundred Shadow Clones. Six of them henged into perfect replicas of Team Tenzo, the others spread out to surround the enemy position. The real team stayed back and observed. The decoy clones just walked and passed right beside the other squad without anything noticeable happening.

"Are they asleep or what?" the blond wondered.

"If so, we're lucky," Hotaru remarked.

"I don't think so," Hana disagreed. "They're very much awake. Either they don't want to fight us or they did something else. Let's wait a little longer and see."

It took awhile, but then the clones pretending to be them slowly changed direction.

"I haven't ordered them to do this," Naruto whispered.

"I have an idea what that might be, but it's too soon to tell for sure," the purple-haired kunoichi replied. They waited a bit more. The clones turned completely around and reached the place near the enemy camp again and once more they passed it without incident.

"It's just as I thought," the girl nodded to herself. "They're caught in a genjutsu trap. Whoever set it up would let them walk around in circles until they collapsed from exhaustion. Then they just pick up the key and wait for another prey."

"Genjutsu specialists tend to be weak in direct combat," the Inuzuka mused.

"True," Hotaru nodded, "but we don't know enough about them. There can very well be one genjutsu type and two heavy hitters."

"So are we going to attack them or not?" the blond demanded.

"Impatient, aren't we?" the dog user smirked. "Whoever gets too close will get caught in the illusion as well."

"If we know about it we can dispel it," the boy pointed out.

"Sometimes it's not so easy," the purple-haired kunoichi replied.

"Do you think mere genin could pull off such a high-level technique?" the jinchuuriki doubted.

"They are among the best in their village," the scantily-clad girl answered. "There is no telling what they are capable of."

"Then I'll just send my clones to charge and find out," Naruto declared.

"And since when are you a genjutsu expert?" Hana raised an eyebrow.

"I'm good enough to dispel one," the foxy boy defended.

"Do we have a better idea?" Hotaru asked.

"I guess not," the Inuzuka sighed. "But I don't want them to find out we are on to them."

"Then I'll just henge my clone into something, lizard or snake or mouse," Naruto proposed. "They shouldn't be able to tell it isn't the real deal."

"Do it," the dog mistress commanded.

"Right on," the spiky-haired blond grinned and motioned one of his clones to proceed. The replica changed into a small rodent Naruto had seen the first night they entered the desert. The animal let out a squeak and hopped toward the still concealed enemy positions. After a seemingly long time Naruto jolted.

"It's good," he reported. "The illusion can be easily dispelled and the three genin are hiding just below the surface in the dune over there. Only one of them is awake. A surprise attack can take them out. I have a plan."

"Do tell."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~A short time later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aoi stifled a yawn. It was already over two hours since the Konoha team got caught in their trap. They were still full of energy when they first came, but now they seemed to be slowing down. It won't take long now for them to settle down and go to sleep. And once they were out of it, their time would come. He glanced to the side where Shohei and Yuudai were sleeping. He would like to replenish his energy as well, but somebody had to hold the genjutsu up. He had half a mind to wake one of his comrades to relieve him, but decided against it. Neither of them was good enough for such a task and the trapped team might just realize what was happening to them.

He wiped the sweat from his brow. Whoever came up with the idea that desert nights were cold? He was determined to have a few not-so-kind words with him. It was nearing midnight and it was still uncomfortably hot. He took a careful sip from his bottle. That was another thing he hated about this. They had been warned that the desert was blazing hot and dry, but nobody had explained to them just how much. They came from the always humid Village Hidden in the Rain and couldn't quite comprehend the tales about the arid Land of Wind. They packed as much water as they could, but it seemed like it wouldn't be enough. Oh well, they'd just take the water from the teams they'd defeat.

The trapped Konoha team came close again. They were dragging their feet now. Aoi smiled. It won't be long now. They'd have their key and water and then he can finally go to sleep. It was exactly that moment things went to hell.

He had no idea how did it happen, he couldn't have possibly dozed of, could he, but suddenly they were surrounded by dozens of ninja. He woke up his comrades. Before they could properly open their eyes, the enemies were already upon them. 'Little kids? And aren't they all the same?' he noticed in the minuscule light. 'Just clones,' he recognized with relief until one of them dug through the sand right above him. 'Damn, they're corporeal,' he realized with a start. He barely managed to lift his forearm to block the short blond's blow.

Shohei and Yuudai were rudely awoken and looking around in befuddlement, not understanding what was going on. But they were all trained shinobi and although they didn't know what brought their current predicament about, they knew they had to fight and so they did. Shohei's hands flashed halfway through his favorite Suiton jutsu before he realized there was no water around. He abandoned the technique and drew a kunai instead. He did it just in time to block a sword slash from one of the many clones. His eyes widened in surprise when the ninjato cut right through and continued on its path to his stomach. He tried to avoid it, but there wasn't enough space in their underground hideout. The blade left a long, but thankfully shallow gash along his belly. He cried in pain and struck the ninja responsible. He dispersed in a cloud of smoke. 'Clone?' He didn't have a whole lot of time to be surprised. Another one flew from the cloud obscuring his vision and struck him to the head. He fell to the ground, stars dancing around his vision. He knew that even the clear desert skies couldn't possibly have so many of them. A kick to his temple cut his musings short. His world dissolved into darkness.

Yuudai wasted no time. He drew his kusarigama and attacked first. He managed to disperse two clones before one came close enough to him to strike. He jumped high over the blade. He had to get somewhere with more space to be able to fight at his full potential. The blond replicas tried to tackle him, but they were at a disadvantage. He swung the weighted chain around. Those who didn't get out of his reach in time were destroyed. One tried to attack from above, but he slashed it with the sickle part of his weapon. As long as he could keep spinning the chain, he should be fine.

A strong wind suddenly rose, picking up the sand and throwing it into his eyes. He was forced to close them, but he didn't stop waving his weapon around. The wind strengthened and threatened to lift him off his feet. He was forced to take cover on the ground. 'It's a jutsu,' he realized, but there was nothing he could do about it.

The wind suddenly died down, but the dirt was still floating in the air. He tried to open one of his eyes. It was as far as he got. Something barreled into his side at a great speed, throwing him into the air and then slamming him in the ground. His breath left him in a huff. The thing that tackled him turned out to be a grey dog. He recognized it as one belonging to the trapped team. Before he could do something about it, its mistress appeared with a kunai in her hand. 'She's going to kill me,' flashed through his head. Before he could muster a defense, a vicious kick sent him into oblivion.

Aoi watched as his teammates fell before the Konoha team, who suddenly didn't appear tired at all. 'Damn, how did they turn our own trap against us?' was all he could think about between dodging and slashing. A squad of two girls and a child had seemed like easy prey, but they've proven themselves to be anything but. He couldn't afford to succumb to despair. He wasn't defeated yet. Those little blonds were skilled, but they dispersed after one hit. There couldn't be an unlimited supply of them. Now if he could just destroy them all… he'd still have to face the original team, he realized as he noticed a taller figure among the swarm of clones.

The scantily clad girl slowly made her way toward him. He couldn't allow himself to get distracted by the way her tightly fitting mesh bodysuit glittered in the starlight. She was his enemy and was about to strike at him and he had no idea what she could do.

He barely avoided an attack from behind. 'Just how many of them are there? There seems to be no end to them.' Crackling of electricity made him turn his attention back to the girl. She was holding out a sword, its blade enveloped in lightning. 'Not good,' he thought. 'If I block that, I'd be electrocuted.' He prepared to leap away, but before he could do so, the clones charged in a mass attack. He tried to jump anyway, but they grabbed his legs and refused to let go. He started kicking wildly to get rid of them and it was working. Unfortunately for him it was too slow. The kunoichi got near and swung her sword, letting the lightning fly from her blade. Being restrained by the clones he couldn't move. His mind flew through possible defensive techniques, but before he could utilize one, he was hit. It was the last thing he remembered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Team Tenzo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"We got them," Naruto laughed. It was nice his strategy brought such a success. They had switched their places with the decoy clones when the Rain genin couldn't see them over a dune and pretended they were still trapped within the genjutsu. Meanwhile Naruto's other clones transformed into tiny desert wildlife and crawled towards their hiding position. When they got close enough, they sprung an attack.

"Tune it down," Hana chastised him, but mirth was lacing her tone. "Somebody might hear you."

"Let's just search them through," Hotaru suggested kneeling down by the one she downed. The others followed suit.

"I've got it," Hana announced after a while. She held a large silver key above her head triumphantly.

"I've got just a set of new kunai," Naruto remarked.

"I've found only some provisions," the purple-haired kunoichi added. "Oh, and what's that? Another one!" She proudly showed an ornate black key to her teammates.

"Two of them? And none is the same as ours. That's great," Naruto smiled. "Although I don't understand how those wimps managed to defeat another team. Now just if this one had one more…"

They searched diligently, but they couldn't find another key.

"We got more than we expected anyway," the Inuzuka said. They tied down the captives and left them there for the proctors to find. "We should move now. We have to make a good distance from here before settling for the night."

"More like morning," muttered Naruto.

They started running across the dunes again, Naruto wiping their tracks with a Fuuton jutsu. They were all tired, but they kept on for an hour before stopping. They made a camp and fell asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The next day~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They were awoken by dogs' growling. The sun was high up in the sky and bearing at their camouflaged camp with a vengeance. They didn't need to speak. They knew somebody was coming. They just kept lying like they were still fast asleep and stretched their senses to the max. They had built some traps around their encampment during the night, but they had little experience doing it in the sand. The little training they got in before the Exams didn't quite cut it. Naruto wished he could have stationed clones around, but they had the stupid tendency to dispel shortly after he fell asleep.

"I don't recognize them," Hana whispered after a while.

"Me either," Naruto added.

They were sleeping fully clothed with their weapons close at hand, they now only stealthily fastened belts under their sheets. Naruto made a handsign covertly. Ten clones came into existence, immediately disguising as small desert fauna. They spread out through the depression Team Tenzo was camping in.

Whoever was nearing them, they were good. They neatly avoided all the tripwires and pitfalls, but that wasn't everything the Konoha team had in store. One of Naruto's clones dispelled letting the boy know the enemy was in the right position. The blond made another handsign. The explosive tags activated. Naruto had spent every possible moment replacing the stock he had used against Gaara. Now it was paying off.

The approaching team was caught off guard. The little notes have been cleverly hidden underground and no smoke gave them away before they went off. The approaching genin team was thrown into the air. Before they landed, the Konoha trio was already on their feet, running at the enemy with weapons drawn.

The foreign threesome landed. Their headbands identified them as members of the Hidden Rock village. They had the standard makeup of a genin squad, two boys and one girl. They seemed to be around Hotaru's age, maybe a bit older. Nothing about them looked remarkable.

One of the boys had been too close to the blast and he was completely knocked out. The girl was a bit better of, lying on the sand and clutching her head. She was trying to get up, but the Haimaru triplets were upon her in an instant, biting her arms and pinning her to the ground. The third Iwa genin managed to remain unhurt, only a little shaken. He got to his feet and assumed a battle stance. Hotaru and Naruto were closing on him. He ran through a couple of handseals and let out a breath of fire. The two Leaf genin narrowly avoided being fried alive. That guy was obviously good. He turned around to look for them. What he saw had him staring. There were several copies of the boy running at him. The clones Naruto made earlier returned to their human shape, but he didn't know that. He was an experienced fighter however and didn't let his surprise paralyze him. Even as the clones ran through their own handsigns, he prepared another fireball. He fired it at the same time the clones launched their own jutsus. The flames of his technique were fanned by the winds of Naruto's clones. For a moment a raging inferno appeared where he was standing. Then the clones were popped and the winds died down. The flames disappeared as their creator cut their supply of chakra at the same time.

Naruto and Hotaru surveyed his handiwork. Even though they were far from the epicenter, they still felt the overwhelming heat. They didn't even want to think how it was for the Iwa shinobi. Oddly enough, he was still conscious, kneeling on the burned ground, smoking, his clothes blackened. Naruto ran for him. The Rock genin tried to defend himself, but every movement hurt. The Konoha blond made short work of him.

A thorough search through the downed team's possessions rewarded them with one blue key.

"Only one," the short boy said disappointedly.

"Just what did you want?" the skimpily-clad kunoichi asked. "Last time we got lucky. Just be glad this one is different from those we have so far."

"Yeah, I suppose that's true," the youth answered. "Shouldn't we be going? I'd like to find the Evening Gale outpost before evening comes."

"You're not the only one," Hana agreed.

It was well into the afternoon before they found the miniature fortress. Unlike the Morning Breeze outpost, which was nearly invisible, this one was masquerading as a lonely rock. It was quite a good camouflage, but the absence of similar boulders in the vicinity gave it away. The squad entered it gratefully. It was comfortably cold inside. The heat outside was really getting to them. They were grateful for every drop of water Tenzo made them pack. They couldn't even fathom how teams without skilled Seal crafters could manage.

They were met by a completely ordinary Suna chuunin. In comparison with the woman in the previous outpost it was quite a let down.

"So you made it that far," the man greeted them. "You weren't too scared by Asami, were you?"

"Nah," Naruto said, "she has nothing on Anko."

"Then I hope I'd never meat that Anko person of yours," the Suna shinobi shuddered.

"Can you please tell us how to get to the Golden Sand Castle?" Hana interrupted.

"I'm afraid I can't," the man shook his head. "I can tell you only the next part of the way."

"And where is that?"

"It's the Red Dragon outpost," he answered.

"Do you at least know how many checkpoints there are?" Naruto couldn't help but ask. The desert was getting to him.

"I'm sorry but I can't." He actually sounded sorry, much to the surprise of the team. "You'll have to find out for yourselves. And now go, there is a deadline approaching."

"When?"

"I'm not at liberty to say," he hung his head regretfully. Somehow he managed to exclude a completely pitiful air. It made them want to hug and console him. It also had the effect that they started to doubt their chances at success. Hotaru idly wondered whether that was another genjutsu.

"Figures," Naruto grumbled. They left the outpost.

"Which way?" Hotaru asked as Hana pulled out her map.

"Southwest," the Inuzuka answered. Without further ado they resumed their journey.

The landscape around them slowly changed. Rocks and boulders appeared among the dunes and their number and size steadily increased. Naruto climbed on a bigger one and took a look around.

"Get down before someone sees you," Hotaru shouted at him.

"I see a plateau from here," he called back.

"And?" she prodded unimpressed.

"And there are funny shaped rocks on it," he continued.

"So?"

"One of them looks like a dragon," he explained, "and it's kind of reddish in color. Do you suppose it's where the fortress is?"

The girls were beside him in an instant. "You're right," Hana said. "That should be it."

"It doesn't even look too far," the blond added.

"You can never tell for sure in the desert," the purple-haired kunoichi reminded them.

"Distance doesn't matter when we have the right direction," said the Inuzuka.

"Unless it's a mirage," Naruto remarked.

"Let's just hope it isn't. Besides it's just where the map says it should be."

"So let's get going."

It was shortly after the sunset when they came upon another team. The terrain changed completely, the dunes were replaced by rocky ground with boulders littering the landscape every couple hundred steps. The wind was blowing the other way so even Hana's dogs couldn't smell them before they came in sight of them. Three people in what appeared to be Grass shinobi uniform were lying on the ground completely unmoving.

"Are they dead?" Hotaru asked.

"No, they're still alive," Naruto answered. "Their chests are moving, though barely."

"Could it be a trap?" the purple-haired kunoichi wondered.

"I don't know," Hana answered. "They seem to be honestly out of it."

"If so, what happened to them?" the blond mused. "I don't see any kind of battle damage." His night vision was best out of the whole team.

"Me either," said the Inuzuka, "but a lot of things can get you in the desert, for instance the heat or the thirst."

"Yes," Hotaru observed, "it looks like they were trying to hide in the shade, but it didn't help them."

"Let's check them out," Naruto suggested.

"Careful," the dog mistress berated.

"I know," the youngest teammember rolled his eyes, "that's why I'm sending clones."

The clones met no resistance on their way to the downed team. They poked and prodded at them, but got no reaction other than a soft sigh. "Definitely out cold," they announced.

Hana decided it was safe and walked closer to them. She knelt down and examined them with a diagnostic jutsu. "They're suffering severe dehydration," she revealed her findings.

"Shouldn't the proctors pick them up then?" the youngest genin wondered.

"Thinking of it," Hotaru mused, "did anyone say that the proctors were supposed to pick the downed teams up?"

"You mean they'd just leave them for the dead?" Naruto's eyes were as wide as saucers.

"We were warned that the Exams were dangerous, lethally so," the Inuzuka answered.

"But that is way overboard," the boy exclaimed. "Most of the applicants would die that way!"

"Yes, it is strange," Hotaru nodded. "From what I gathered, death at Chuunin Exams should be a rare occurrence, otherwise the whole event would be canceled."

"Then maybe the proctors just didn't get here yet," the blond said.

"Maybe," shrugged the dog mistress. "The question is what should we do? If this was a Konoha team, I'd say help them, but they're not."

"Still I don't like the idea of letting them die when we could help," Naruto said. "And isn't Kusa our allied country?"

"It is," Hana confirmed. "We can give them a little water and help ourselves to their key."

"Sounds like a plan," the foxy boy grinned.

"Do we have enough water to throw around?" Hotaru worried.

"I don't know how long would we be here, but we still have for over a week," Naruto answered. "We can afford to give each one a bottle."

They went with that proposition. Searching through the unconscious genin's possession rewarded them with two keys, but unfortunately both were the types they already had. Naruto grumbled about it.

"Don't be so down," Hotaru consoled him. "Sometimes things just don't go your way. We still have four types of keys. This might just mean we have all of them!"

"Really?" The boy perked up. "That would be great. But somehow I don't thing we've been so lucky."

"Well," the purple-haired kunoichi shrugged, "there's nothing we can do about it. Let's just get to the Red Dragon fortress and ask where the mysterious Golden Sand Castle is. We might even find it tonight and if not, we'd just find shelter among the rocks there. The wind and sand are really bothering me."

"Me too," the blond replied. "And it's picking up. If it goes on like this, there might even be a sandstorm."

"Don't say such things," the kunoichi chided, "you'll just call them upon us."

"Don't look at me like I'm some kind of bad luck charm," the boy defended himself. "Do you see a storm coming?" He looked around. "Oh, what is it over there?" he asked in a small voice. The two girls looked where he was pointing. They had to squint against the dust in the wind.

"I can't see anything," Hotaru said.

"There is something on the horizon," Hana said, "I can't see it well, it's blurred."

"You want to know how it seems to me?" Naruto asked rhetorically. "Like a cloud. And it's getting bigger."

"You're right," the dog mistress replied. "Oh hell, it really is a sandstorm. And it's coming right on us! Brat, you really jinxed us."

"That's not my fault!" the boy defended half-heartedly. The worry about their immediate future was stronger then his pride.

"Stop it, you two! We have to find shelter!" Hotaru shouted over the howling of wind.

"What about them?" the blond pointed at the downed genin.

"First we have to save ourselves!" The Inuzuka shouted over the rising wind.

"Is there a cave nearby?" Naruto shouted back.

"Just build a tent and tie it down with ninja wire!"

A.N.: That's it for today.

Next time: The conclusion of the Second test.