Disclaimer: Ownership Transfer no Jutsu!... Huh, that didn't work. I still don't own Naruto.
Chapter 27: The culled forest
Shino silently watched Kin disappear into the woods. They didn't speak long, but he found her interesting. She seemed to be a competent kunoichi who was desperate to get away from Oto. He didn't trust her, of course. No one in his right mind trusted a defector. As soon as she was safely in the Aburame compound he would ask Ino to take a look into the girl's mind. With her being a member of the circle they would be able to keep everything under wraps. If Kin was honest in her plight asylum would be granted. If not… well, the word 'painful' wasn't even approaching an accurate description of the normal consequences of such a betrayal. In Kin's case there existed additional considerations, but Shino would deal with them when the time came.
Putting the matter aside he checked once again on Sasuke and Sakura. He had positioned enough of his kikaichu in the vicinity to warn him of any approaching threats. Well, Orochimaru could probably bypass them with ease, but if the Sannin returned Shino was as good as dead anyway. At least he now knew whom the kage-level chakra reserves had belonged to he had detected during the first test. For a moment he considered leaving the two genin from Team 7 to their fates only to discard the thought immediately. Despite all their faults they were his comrades.
Sakura would remain asleep for a few more hours. He recognized the symptoms of a hallucinogenic poison he had found on Kin when he searched her body earlier. It wasn't especially dangerous, but it was very quick-acting. Normally it wouldn't put her to sleep immediately, though.
'Evidence suggests she stayed awake since yesterday morning at this location. The lack of sleep combined with the poison might have been enough for her to lose consciousness.'
Well, if his conclusion were correct Sakura was currently experiencing one hell of a bad trip. Unfortunately there wasn't anything he could do about it aside from letting her sleep it off.
Sasuke was still unconscious and Shino planned to keep him that way; at least until Sakura woke. The black markings that had covered the boy had receded, but that unknown seal on his neck was extremely worrisome. If Kin had been correct Orochimaru had branded him with it. Even now the kikaichu that examined his body felt a source of foul chakra centered on the seal, but it penetrated his whole body. Such things didn't really fall into his specialty, but it seemed to integrate with Sasuke's chakra system and had almost completed the process. After his knowledge removing such a seal would be impossible and the effects were most likely not beneficial. Sasuke had certainly seemed completely unhinged when Shino had arrived at the scene. It would be preferable if he wasn't alone when the Uchiha regained consciousness.
Developing part of his kikaichu hive as chakra conductors had once again proven a worthwhile decision. Originally he had only intended them as power sources and focal points for his barrier techniques, but under Asuma-sensei's tutelage he had come up with the idea of charging them with lightning chakra. The charge they could carry was strictly limited and he needed a lot of them releasing it simultaneously to have any effect, but it had sufficed for taking Sasuke out. Draining him with his normal kikaichu would have taken far too long.
All in all it looked like Shino would have to stay a while with Team 7, especially since the third member was missing. Shino had been separated from his own team when a three-way fight between other teams had stirred up a family of giant tigers. Shino had drawn the tigers and one of the hostile teams away, but when he had finally managed to shake the pursuit he had been a large distance away from Kiba and Asuka. He wasn't overly worried; thanks to their spying efforts they had arranged several meeting points in the forest in advance. It had presented an ideal opportunity to seek out Kin.
'If I have to stay here I should make the location more defensible.'
Sakura had already placed some traps earlier, but Kakashi's neglect was clearly showing. Oh, the traps were all extraordinarily well-made and could serve as illustrative material for the academy course on traps. In fact, that was the problem. There was no sign of any improvement of the sort that only came from practice and experience. No shortcuts and personal modifications. The double trap was a nice touch, but the second part would have to be released manually. Obviously Sakura had not been given the opportunity to trigger it; no wonder considering her sleep-deprived state.
Ultimately traps were only a delaying measure against the human foes in the Forest of Death. Any competent shinobi could detect and disable them given time. Only complete idiots would attack head-on before carefully examining all approaches. It was impossible to cover all possible avenues of attack. Paranoia on the job was a survival trait among shinobi. Alone and unable to leave Sakura wouldn't be able to do anything if the enemy was careful and determined, as Kin and her teammates had proven.
'A few traps to alert me of intruders early might be best. My kikaichu need to get back to me before I learn what they found. By then it might be too late.'
"We just p-passed the same tree for a second time." Hinata noted.
Normally it was practically impossible for Naruto to lead them astray in the wilderness, but currently special circumstances applied. They had already been under a disorientation genjutsu for several minutes. Since Hinata could see right through it they had decided to play along. Yesterday Team 8 had joined them and both teams still needed a Scroll of Earth. If they could turn the trap against the attackers they had a chance of getting one. Twenty-four teams had entered the forest. Finding them had proven surprisingly difficult.
Hinata was slowly growing irritated. She still wasn't able to spot their enemies. There was simply too much cover in this area. The plants and animals of the Forest of Death held a lot more chakra than usual, degrading the view of her byakugan at any sort of distance. Their enemies were very adept at hiding and she simply couldn't find them.
When they reached the tree for a third time Naruto called for a halt. "This isn't working."
"S-Sorry, I just can't f-find them."
"Don't sweat it, Hinata. They're really good. I can neither hear them nor find a trace of their scent." Naruto looked at the others. "I'm open for suggestions. In the worst case I can disrupt the technique's hold on me and lead us away."
Choji and Shinji only shrugged, but Ino and Yakumo looked thoughtful.
"You said you couldn't see them, Hinata. How big is you range really under these circumstances?" Yakumo asked.
"Well, in a zone a f-few meters around me I can see absolutely everything. I can't really d-describe it to you. Outside of that sphere I have a v-viewpoint I can move around at will in v-very large radius. The m-more solid matter I h-have to look through the w-worse my vision gets. I can see chakra as a g-glow that doesn't illuminates anything. D-despite all the interference I should b-be able to make out a human's chakra if he isn't farther away than a f-few dozen meters." she explained.
Yakumo shook her head. "That makes no sense. I know this type of genjutsu. The caster has to stay in the vicinity. Fifty meters at the farthest is my best guess; closer would be more likely."
"We are being led around in a circle. Every two hundred fifty to three hundred meters we arrive back at the point where we started." Naruto added.
"That would mean our enemies could stay in the center of the circle. It only has a diameter of around eighty or a hundred meters. That means they keep us in range without getting too close. Hinata should be able to see them, but can't find them for some reason. They're probably under a good concealment jutsu and trying to tire us out." Ino summarized.
Hinata nodded. "That s-seems likely. I might be able to find them if we get closer, but I'm not sure."
Suddenly Ino smiled. "You're not the only sensor here, Hinata. I have far less range than you, but I'm able to feel the minds of others with a technique. Our enemies might be able to hide their chakra signature, but I doubt they can hide their thoughts."
"Okay, that sounds like a plan. They will probably know we're coming, though. Are you all ready?" Naruto asked.
When no one objected all of them disrupted the genjutsu's influence and began moving into the direction Naruto indicated. The technique tried to reestablish contact with them, but it was possible to keep it out.
'This enemy team seems competent. Well, they can't be all idiots.'
A few minutes later they were still wandering through the thicket of trees and bushes without Hinata finding anyone of the culprits. Oh, she could still see the chakra of the genjutsu in the air, but she wasn't able to pinpoint the origin.
"I feel them. They're here." Ino suddenly announced. "They're hiding underground!"
Hinata had to bite back a curse. Not looking underground was a typical habit of the Hyuuga. Since she couldn't see anything without light she instinctively blocked out that part of her perception and didn't shift her viewpoint there. She would have to use her chakra sight and her viewpoint would have to be just in the right location to spot anyone hiding underground. The chances for that were low. At most times there simply wasn't anything interesting to see below the ground and it cut down on her time to observe things above ground.
"It seems they have noticed us." Choji remarked.
That was true. A multitude of regular bunshin, pure genjutsu illusions, a sort of largely incorporeal clones and water clones from a nearby stream emerged and surrounded them. It was actually a good fallback strategy. Bunshin and genjutsu in general were rather cheap chakra-wise. The water clones scattered through the horde weren't that costly either and presented enough of a threat to keep them on their toes or get some lucky hits in. Against most other teams it would have worked; the genjutsu especially was well-done and despite knowing it was there Hinata had trouble to keep it from affecting her.
"Well, let's see who has more endurance." Naruto said with a smirk before he began flinging his Thunder Discs into the enemies. Naturally the jutsu did nothing against the genjutsu or the bunshin aside from distorting them for a moment, but the water clones were not so lucky. Shinji supported his efforts by using his gloves with attached wire to slice through the enemies. Any water clones that managed to get too close to the group Hinata easily dispatched. The other three could do little more than wait.
"This is taking too long. I'll try something to draw them out." Ino shouted before she made a hand seal. Hinata was close enough to hear her whisper "Mind Art: Siren's Call".
For a moment nothing seemed to happen. Then about two thirds of the clones stopped moving before they dispersed. In the next moment Hinata spotted two humans emerging from the ground wearing pale yellow jumpsuits and Ame headbands. Between a metal contraption and a sash covering almost their entire faces it was difficult to tell, but Hinata was sure they wore a completely love-struck expression.
A third figure emerged from behind them. "Kagari! Mubi! What are you two idiots doing? Snap out of it!"
One of the two enemy shinobi stopped his slow walk towards Ino, confusion evident in his one visible eye. In the next moment Yakumo socked him on the jaw while Hinata took down the second enemy. Apparently the third enemy saw the hopelessness of the situation and began sinking back into the ground.
"Oh no, you don't!" Choji shouted before he sprinted to the spot the shinobi was just disappearing into. His arm increased in size before he brought it down, shattering the ground. A split second later he punched the ground again with his other fist, deepening the crater. The fourth strike hit with a meaty sound. Choji reached down and hefted a crumpled and moaning body out of the hole he had created. A relatively light tap on the head of the man caused the moans and movements to end. In the same moment the last of the clones as well as the genjutsu ceased to exist.
A few minutes later they had the three secured and Naruto finished searching their pockets. "What do we have here? A Scroll of Earth; just what we need. Ino, could you please check if they have any interesting information?"
"No problem, Naruto." Ino placed her hand on the first shinobi's head. A moment later she frowned and moved to the second enemy. Then she repeated the action with the last one. "Strange, they have some sort of mental blocks placed in their minds. I can't get at their important memories, or rather it would take me hours or even days to dismantle the blocks."
"It wouldn't be wise to linger here that long. It isn't likely that they know anything important anyway." Choji stated.
"I agree. Can you get them to leave the forest?" Naruto asked. "I don't want more competent enemies running around than absolutely necessary."
A smirk appeared on Ino's face. "Sure. I've been aching to test some of my skills for ages." Once again Ino touched the head of the Rain shinobi, but this time she spent almost two minutes on the first two men and almost four on the one that had resisted her earlier technique. Finally the blond girl was finished and took a position a few meters in front of them before snapping her fingers. The three men straightened and opened their eyes, but it didn't seem like they were truly seeing anything.
"Do you understand me?" Ino questioned.
"We await your command, mistress." the three answered in eerie, toneless voices.
An evil glint became visible in Ino's eyes. "I want you to leave the Forest of Death as quickly as possible. After you leave us forget everything about our encounter. Head to the central village square and sing 'I'm a little teapot' five times. Then return to your inn. Now off with you!"
Without a word the three turned around and sprinted into the forest. A few seconds later Ino began laughing in an extremely disturbing manner.
"What did you do to them?" a somewhat shaken Shinji asked.
"Oh, it's nothing permanent. I just suppressed their will for a while. I'm still experimenting and not sure how long it will last." Ino answered after she got her laughter under control.
"So that command to sing on the village square is a test?" Yakumo asked curiously.
Ino nodded. "It's a far more embarrassing command than simply leaving the forest and we'll hear if they really did it later. I think commands that endanger their life or are generally unpleasant for a victim are easier to break."
"You wouldn't use that on one of us, would you?" Shinji asked.
Ino approached an increasingly nervous boy and patted his cheek. "Aww, are you afraid of me, Shinji-kun? Don't be; I don't plan to control your every movement."
Apparently that declaration did nothing to assuage the boy's fear. "I think I s-scout ahead for a while." he said and headed into the woods followed by a snickering Naruto.
His behavior caused Ino to start laughing again. Hinata shook her head slightly. "Are you t-trying to terrify poor Shinji? You're a c-cruel woman, Ino."
"I know, but he's so easy to tease." Her expression changed into a slight pout. "Aside from the fact I wouldn't do that to you it wouldn't work on you. These guys didn't have that much mental strength. Most of you can shake off my Shintenshin in mere moments and this is weaker. I guess you have a lot of willpower and build up a resistance during our academy years. Oh, I think I could grind you down over time, but that isn't useful in combat and there are far worse things I can do to someone with a few hours of uninterrupted time. Well, I'm not sure about you and Naruto. I can't even get into your heads."
Hinata had to suppress a smile. She could understand Ino's frustration. The young Yamanaka had no way of knowing what the true reason for their almost unreal mental strength was. Learning magic and other things from Naruto's parents while not going insane required enormous mental fortitude; something Youko and Daiki had taken great pains to instill in them.
"Well, we better get going. We still need to reach the meeting point for Shino's team." Choji interrupted her thoughts.
From one moment to the next Idate woke and opened his eyes. Bright golden light streamed through the canopy high above, indicating that it was around noon.
'I'm alive.'
Considering his last memories consisted of all his muscles locking up after a snake bite that was somewhat surprising. Even more surprising was that he felt fine. He would have expected at least some aftereffects even if he survived.
"You're awake." a male voice said.
Sitting up, Idate saw Temari's brother Kankuro sitting nearby. They were currently in a small campsite. "Hello Kankuro-san. I guess I have to thank you for my survival?"
Kankuro nodded. "Yes. My sister has some medical skills and dragged you here while keeping you from dying. Fortunately for you a lot of the animals in the Land of Wind are poisonous and she has experience in the field. She bought you just enough time for me to apply an antidote. That poison was a nasty thing."
Idate shrugged. "Well, that was to be expected. I think the snake that got me was a specialized summon. Thank you for your help. What day is it?"
"Temari brought you in yesterday morning. I kept you sedated until all traces of the poison were cleared from your body. Trust me; you wouldn't want to be awake through the process." the young man from Suna explained. "I don't think I've ever encountered someone as lucky as you. I've seen your battlefield. By all rights you should be dead. Anyway, your body should be fine by now."
Tentatively Idate stood up and went through a few exercises. It seemed as if he was completely recovered. He was about to ask about Temari when said woman appeared from the woodwork. The next thing Idate knew they had their lips pressed together.
"Could you please do that somewhere out of my sight?" Kankuro complained before he made himself busy at the other end of the camp.
Temari ignored the words of her brother and continued kissing him. Idate didn't have anything against that. He had a lot of dalliances in his past, but none of the women and girls had been quite like Temari. Idate knew very well that they would probably never see each other again after the exams, but he was determined to make the most out of the time they had.
Suddenly Temari stopped kissing him and hit him hard on the shoulder. "That was for scaring me."
It didn't hurt that much and he gave her a charming smile. "Thank you for your help. Without you I wouldn't have made it out alive."
Temari kissed him again. "Don't mention it. Though I will exact my payment after we get out of this damned forest, so better prepare yourself."
"It will be my pleasure." Idate sighed. He really wished he could stay with Temari, but he had to find his teammates. He didn't know if they were still alive. "Did anything happen during the time I was unconscious? Do you know what happened to my teammates?"
"No to both questions. We already have both scrolls and didn't investigate further. If what you said during the battle is true one of the most infamous missing-nin of the Leaf is running around here. We didn't want to run the risk of encountering him and you weren't really fit for transport anyway." Temari explained.
Idate nodded in understanding. Potentially going against someone like Orochimaru was asking far too much. Since this phase of the chunin exams was a free-for-all there had been no obligation for Temari or her brothers to help him in the first place. In fact it was a very big favor he now owed them. Granted, he didn't leave Temari much choice after he met her with the horde of snakes hot on his heels, but that only increased his debt.
"I guess this is goodbye. Hopefully my two idiot teammates are still alive and kicking. Thank you again for all you've done for me. If I survive this I'll see you at the tower or in the village after this phase is over."
After checking his weapons and supplies (the Suna shinobi had either refrained from searching him or put everything back into order; he even still had his scroll) Idate asked for the direction of the battlefield. Temari had no trouble pointing him in the right direction and sending him on his way with a last kiss. "Good luck and don't forget our arrangement." were the last words Idate heard before he left them behind.
Gaara watched the young man leave from his hiding place high in a tree. Personally he didn't care about the man's survival, but his sister obviously did. While he was an interesting example of a competent Konoha shinobi Gaara would have crushed him without mercy under other circumstances. Instead he had decided to humor his sister. Idate would only be the last in a string of conquests and his sister would soon grow bored with him or circumstances would force them apart. Provided he survived the forest, of course.
Temari knew very well that her eventual marriage would in all likelihood be a matter of politics. Gaara didn't object if she wanted to have some fun in the meantime. It was probably her way of dealing with the stress. She might even extract some valuable information in the process. Additionally Suna was at least nominally allied with Konoha, giving him another reason to spare Idate… this time.
Putting the man out of his mind Gaara's thoughts returned to a more important matter. Mother was behaving oddly ever since they arrived in the vicinity of Konoha. She seemed hesitant and confused but was either unwilling or unable to tell him what was wrong. When he slaughtered the three shinobi from Amegakure who had attacked them shortly after entering the forest Mother had seemed almost normal, but now she was back to incomprehensible mumbles. It would probably best if he found some more people to feed their blood to mother and prove his existence.
'Soon I will give you more blood, Mother.'
Idate had little trouble finding the battleground. It was still an ashen wasteland. At least it wasn't smoking any more. Some snake parts were lying around, but the scavengers of the Forest of Death had made liberal use of the readily available feast. After a few minutes of searching Idate found the path that had brought him here yesterday and followed it, hoping to find the site where Orochimaru's subordinates had originally ambushed him. Navigation in the Forest of Death was notoriously difficult and during two legs of his journey he hadn't been able to pay much attention to his surroundings, meaning it was probably better to try and backtrack his path than to set out to find Sasuke and Sakura directly.
'I think this looks like the spot I originally landed at.' Climbing to the top of a large tree Idate ascended above the canopy and looked around. 'Let's see, this way is north. The tower is there and the battlefield is over there. That should be the direction from which we entered the forest.'
Nodding to himself, Idate returned to the ground and made his way towards his goal. He mostly kept to the ground, but occasionally he climbed on trees and jumped from branch to branch. It was slow, but he had to make sure not to run into an ambush. The enemy shinobi had clearly tried to capture him at first before he and Temari proved too dangerous. It wasn't out of the question that Orochimaru or more of his helpers were still in the vicinity. For a moment Idate pondered leaving the forest and getting help from the proctors, but he discarded the thought. If twelve ANBU were not enough a few of the mostly chunin-level proctors wouldn't help much. It was unlikely that Orochimaru was still present after more than a day and waiting for him. Idate wasn't that valuable. Additionally the forest offered far too many hiding places. He had to make sure what happened to the two genin in his care first. Maybe they could even complete the exam. One could hope, after all.
The young man stopped abruptly when the sound of arguing voices reached his ears.
"What should we do? We still haven't found anyone."
"Most teams have probably already gotten a scroll and are now hiding, waiting for the tower to open in two and a half days."
"Yeah, it's the second day and there is no trace of any other teams. Anyway, it's noon. Let's get some food. You guys rest up. I'll go look around."
Idate couldn't believe his luck. A rival team that was apparently completely inept at wilderness survival and tracking. One of them was heading in his direction, but he never looked up. Idate didn't have the slightest problem of silently dropping from his branch and clubbing the young man over the head from behind.
'That was pathetically easy.'
After securing the young man he carefully crept closer to where he had heard the other voices. At first he didn't believe his ears when he heard what they were discussing. The idiots wanted to open their scroll to fake a counterpart, disregarding the warning on it not to open it in the forest. Thanks to his mission he knew very well what would happen if someone did that.
'I don't even have to do anything.'
Just as predicted it didn't take long for them to open the scroll and fall prey to the included seal-based jutsu. Idate didn't know the specific technique, but it knocked the victim out for a while and screwed up their muscle and chakra control for a few days. They wouldn't be a danger to anyone.
Idate picked up the scroll that was just the type he needed before he dragged the third member of the team here and searched their bodies. Unfortunately they didn't have anything he could use aside from a bit of money. Sure, they had a pretty standard load of weapons, but he didn't need any and didn't want to bother with the weight. There weren't any other supplies to be found; this team had apparently been sadly unprepared for a survival test. All in all they were completely unfit for becoming chunin.
'I think I have seen this one before. If I'm not mistaken he works with the Cryptanalysis squad.'
Well, that answered at least where he had gotten the idea of creating a fake scroll. He had probably thought there was some sort of two-part code written on the scrolls. In reality the scrolls were part of a complicated seal-based setup including the central tower. Idate didn't know who had created them or why, but the scrolls had been repurposed and modified for the newly established chunin exams by the Sandaime around a decade ago.
'That was a stroke of good luck.' Idate thought when he slid the newly acquired scroll into one of his inner pockets.
Some time later he arrived at the location where he had been separated from his team. A quick survey yielded traces of a battle involving different jutsu and several large snakes, but no dead bodies. Even the decapitated corpse of the ANBU he had seen falling before he was blown away had disappeared.
Idate felt a knot of dread forming in his stomach. He might not like his temporary teammates, but he certainly didn't want them to die on his watch. Considering who he thought their enemy was death might even be not the worst thing that could happen to them by far. When he found Sakura's footsteps leaving the area relief flooded him. At least the girl seemed to be still alive. Judging from the depth of the footprints Sakura was apparently carrying Sasuke; meaning both might have survived.
Idate carefully followed the trail. It was very likely that they would try to attack him before he could identify himself if he simply barged in. Sakura had clearly tried to conceal her tracks, but it wasn't enough to throw off someone like him. After a few minutes he noticed a concealed tripwire on the path. A cautious examination showed that the trap was designed to make noise, nothing more.
Continuing cautiously Idate spotted several additional traps he had no trouble evading. Some of them he attributed to Sakura, but others had been built by an unknown person with more experience. The small differences in placement and workmanship were telling.
Finally he reached a more open section of the forest where large roots formed a maze. The first thing he spotted was Sakura's pink hair. The girl looked like death warmed over; very pale and with heavy bags under her eyes. She was propped up against one of the roots and seemed to be trembling. Sasuke was lying by her side, either asleep or unconscious. At least he was still breathing.
When the girl spotted him her eyes widened. "Idate-san! You live!"
The young man plastered a cocky smile on his face. "Hey Sakura-san, I'm back. Missed me?"
He was a bit surprised to see tears in Sakura's eyes when she unsuccessfully tried to get up. "We thought you were dead when you didn't return. It was horrible. First there was that thing. I don't even know if it was a man or woman, but it called itself Orochimaru. It did something to Sasuke-kun and simply disappeared. He developed a fever and simply didn't wake up. This morning the Sound team attacked us. We would have died but Shino-san drove them off."
It was then that Idate he noticed a third person standing in the shadow of a root. It was the Aburame boy from Team 10 he had met briefly during the first test. Idate didn't know much about the other rookie teams and Team 10 hadn't caused any waves unlike Team 7 and 11. Thanks to his high-collared jacket and the dark glasses the boy's expression was practically unreadable, but Idate felt himself carefully scrutinized. Then the Aburame inclined his head in greeting.
"Welcome back, Idate-san. My kikaichu have already verified your identity."
'Huh, I didn't know they could do that.' Idate thought. There were few Aburame left and Idate had never worked with one. That meant he only knew that their kikaichu could drain chakra, but nothing much about other techniques. It was interesting that they could identify other persons.
When he came closer to them Sakura slumped and seemed to go back to sleep. Considering how exhausted she looked it was probably for the best, but it made questioning her impossible. Her sleep seemed fitful though. Apparently he would have make do with asking the Aburame for information.
"So, can you tell me what happened to them?"
"Sakura-san wasn't hurt in the initial confrontation with their attacker. She is still recovering from a poisoning sustained this morning while fighting against the Sound team. The poison was mainly hallucinogenic and disabling in nature. I estimate it will take until tomorrow for all effects to disappear." Shino explained. "Sasuke-san's case is more worrisome. I have only incomplete information. In the initial confrontation he was…"
Choji meticulously scaled the fishes Shinji had caught earlier to prepare them for cooking. He liked cooking and didn't mind taking over these duties often, even if they took turns so that the others could get some practice in, too. Their current resting place besides a small river was a nice spot and the designated meeting place for the day. The vagaries of terrain and vegetation made it not easy to find. Team 10 was still missing, but Choji wasn't especially worried. All sorts of complication were only to be expected and it was only the evening of their second full day in the forest.
Most of the group had already completed their tasks of setting up camp and were now lazing around. Only Naruto and Yakumo were still out of sight securing the perimeter.
Suddenly Hinata perked up. "Three persons are approaching us. They are Kiba and Asuka, but the third person isn't Shino. I think it's the redheaded girl from the younger Grass team."
A few minutes later Naruto and Yakumo returned with the new arrivals in tow. Kiba carried the Grass kunoichi on his back. The girl was either unconscious or sleeping; Choji couldn't tell without neglecting his duties as cook.
"Hey guys." Kiba greeted them. "Bug man isn't with you? We've been separated from Shino earlier and I thought he would already be here."
Asuka simply gave a tired wave before she plopped down on a comfortable looking spot. Akamaru gave a woof before he made a beeline for Ino and jumped into her lap.
"Who's that?" Ino asked after they finished with the greetings, still petting Akamaru.
"I don't even know her name. Her team got eaten by a bear and we just stumbled upon her. I killed the bear that was about to finish her off. Next thing I know the girl is hugging me before she loses consciousness. She hasn't let go since then, though, so a little help would be nice. I think she has a broken ankle and chakra exhaustion. Oh, and we got her team's Scroll of Earth. They won't need it anymore."
Choji could only spare an occasional glance because he was busy setting up the fish near the fire pit, but apparently it was surprisingly difficult to get the girl to let go of Kiba. After a minute of trying Hinata simply disabled her limbs, enabling them to pry her loose.
"Finally free. Thanks." Kiba said before he began making exercises to loosen his stiff muscles.
After finishing his work for the moment Choji observed the situation further. The girl was clearly unconscious, but she still tried to get close to Kiba. Somehow her body always wriggled in his direction and Hinata had problems securing her for her medical check-up.
"This is very unusual. Ino, I think I n-need a little help here." Hinata announced after a minute of examination.
"Okay. Sorry Akamaru, but I'm sure Yakumo or Asuka will be happy to pet you." Ino said apologetically to the dog in her lap. Akamaru immediately got up and walked over to Yakumo.
Sometimes Choji wondered why Kiba didn't use Akamaru to get closer to girls. Almost all females he knew loved to pamper to the canine. Despite the small dog being a glutton for petting Kiba never deliberately used him in this fashion. Well, perhaps Akamaru had talked him out of it.
The fish were almost ready when Ino's voice reached his ears. "Oh, this isn't good."
Curbing his curiosity Choji turned back to his task. He would learn about Ino's findings soon enough.
During their meal they only shared idle talk. After they finished eating they shared the news about what had happened to them in the exam so far. Shino had been separated from Team 10 when he drew off a pursuit, but apart from their encounter with the red-haired girl Kiba and Asuka had experienced nothing newsworthy. Team 8 shared the story about the Konoha team they sent packing before they combined forces with Team 11 and were ambushed by the shinobi from Ame.
"So, what is the status of our guest?" Naruto asked finally.
For a moment Hinata and Ino looked at each other. Then Ino spoke up. "I have to explain a lot of her background, so please bear with me. Her name is Karin and she's about our age. She's originally from one of those small countries without a shinobi village or clan in the borderlands. Around five or six years ago her village was burned down in a territorial dispute between two nobles. She was the only survivor thanks to her at that point untrained sensor ability. Shortly after that a missing-nin picked her up, did some experiments and then sent her to Kusagakure as a deep-cover agent and to be trained as a kunoichi. I don't think the leadership of Kusa or the missing-nin know how strong her sensor ability really is. Anyway, aside from the other Grass team no one wanted to participate in the chunin exams. Karin still doesn't know why, but she was commanded to participate despite not being ready. As you've seen that ended with her team getting eaten."
Ino paused for a moment before she continued with her story. "The girl is an extremely strong chakra sensor; perhaps the strongest I've ever seen. In fact her talent is greater than is good for her. Aside from her broken ankle, chakra exhaustion and some minor bruises she currently suffers from a condition known as sensor imprinting."
"I've never heard of such a thing." Yakumo wondered. "What does that mean?"
"It's very rare. I don't think we've had any such cases in Konoha in the last two decades, but there have been some instances of it in my clan in the past. It happens mainly to not properly trained sensors whose ability is too strong for them. Even then it only happens under very special circumstances and with a lot of chance. I'm talking about things like chakra exhaustion combined with a near-death situation coupled with a compatible chakra signature nearby. Unfortunately for Karin these circumstances applied when you saved her, Kiba. Your chakra signature is now imprinted on her."
"What?" Kiba blurted.
"It isn't your fault or Karin's. Anyway, as you can see she is trying to get as close to you as possible even when she's unconscious." They all looked at the unconscious, restrained girl who was still trying to move. "I think we need a demonstration. Naruto, please touch her. If nothing happens please do the same, Kiba."
Karin's behavior didn't change when Naruto touched her, but as soon as Kiba got close Karin snapped the restraints holding her arms, gripped him and pulled him towards her. Kiba let out an undignified squawk when he found himself on the ground and embraced by the girl. Choji and some of the others were about to begin laughing, but Ino's shout interrupted their merriment.
"HEY! This isn't a laughing matter; it's a serious medical and psychological problem. The girl doesn't even know what's happening; it's all her subconscious at the moment."
"Ahem, guys, could you please get her off me?" Kiba asked plaintively.
Hinata shook her head. "We think it b-better if you stay close to her for the moment. Just t-try to get comfortable."
Ignoring Kiba's grumbling Ino continued the explanation. "Basically, she has the physical and mental need to be close to you. It will be terribly confusing for her when she wakes up. Without an explanation she'll most likely try to rationalize the attraction as a crush or even love. Make no mistake, at the moment she is only attracted to your chakra, not you. Your chakra signature is a reflection of your true nature, but not the whole thing."
"Couldn't I just, you know, keep my distance?"
Ino sighed. "That won't work. Even if she was willing to leave you alone the urge wouldn't disappear. She won't be nearly as clingy when she's awake, at least not at first. It's similar to withdrawal from a drug addiction, but the longer she goes without the proximity of you the worse the symptoms get. Sooner or later her sanity would crack."
"How bad would it get?" Yakumo asked.
"That depends on a lot of different circumstances, but the outlook isn't good. Mind you, I'm taking her current state of mind and extrapolate what she would be like after several years of withdrawal with only sporadic or no contact with Kiba's chakra. A split or widely fluctuating personality is almost guaranteed. Sooner or later she would convince herself that she is madly in love with Kiba, just to justify her need to be with him. That would develop into a fanatic obsession to the exclusion of almost everything else. Extreme mood swings, psycho-stalker behavior, the whole nine yards. She will do anything, and I mean absolutely anything, to get close to him. After a while it won't matter to her who she has to betray or kill to reach that goal. Perceived threats to that endeavor can expect no mercy. If it comes to that even Kiba treating her like dirt or even direct attempts on her life would most likely not be enough to break through her infatuation. For a while she might act saner, but she would soon revert back."
Kiba's eyes had opened wide, his face a mask of terror and his mouth trying in vain to form words. The others wore similar expressions. At first the situation had seemed funny, but now it was decidedly less so.
"Is… is her condition treatable?" Asuka asked, horrified.
Ino let out a deep sigh. "There is no easy solution. Explaining the situation will help temporarily, but not in the long term. I or other mind walkers can't get at the part of her mind that is the cause of the problem; not without completely rewriting her brain. Effectively we would 'kill' the present Karin to 'cure' her. Even then the chances of success are slim. I have to consult with the clan elders and professional mind healers, but my recommendation is to give her unrestricted access to Kiba along with long-term psychological therapy. That will prevent any degradation of her mind and enable her to live a relatively normal life. If she doesn't have to deal with withdrawal over longer periods the need for proximity will get less and less, even if it will probably never disappear completely. Unfortunately we're talking years for that. "
Choji immediately spotted the problem with that course of action. "Doesn't she have to return to Kusa after the exams?"
Naruto had an answer for that. "That isn't really an insurmountable problem. Villages occasionally transfer shinobi for suitable compensation. We've a treaty with Kusa to allow that. Since they don't really know about the extent of Karin's sensor talent they won't demand an outrageous sum. Kiba is the son of a clan head. That means we could get away with a cover story. For example, he has taken a liking to the girl and his mother chose to indulge him."
In that moment Kiba found his voice. "Hey, don't I get I say in that? Do you have any idea what my mom would say if I ask her that?"
Ino knelt beside Kiba and looked directly into his eyes. "You literally have the girl's sanity in your hands, Kiba. If we don't follow this course of action her mind will break sooner or later; I give you my word on that. It would be more merciful to put her down now. Are you willing to do that?"
Silence descended over the group. Kiba's eyes flickered between all of them and the unconscious Karin. The girl had once again snuggled close to Kiba and was now sporting a small smile. If the situation hadn't been so serious the display would have been awfully cute.
Finally Kiba let out a deep, deep sigh. "No, I can't do that. But I refuse to be the one to breach the topic with my mom."
"Good, I'll talk to her. I think you made the right decision, but be aware of the consequences. Karin will have at least as many problems as you dealing with the situation. Try to be kind and understanding. If you use her condition as a bargaining lever you can get her to do almost anything, but I give you fair warning. Mistreat her and I swear to the gods I will rape your mind until you think you are a plush toy."
Kiba gulped but apparently decided to drop the topic.
Several hours later night had fallen and the five members of the circle present assembled for a discussion.
Yakumo was the first to speak. "Okay, the others are safely asleep. I cast a genjutsu over them just to be sure. Ino, you were unusual forceful about Karin. It isn't like you to argue so strongly in favor of a stranger."
Ino shrugged uncomfortably. "Seeing her condition just affects me deeply. I'm a sensor myself. I can't stand the thought of the same thing happening to me. Of course, I'm taking the necessary precautions and I'm not a strong enough sensor to be affected by that condition in the first place, but the fear is there. I'm capable of compassion, you know."
"Tell them the r-rest. You didn't explain all what you've found in Karin's mind." Hinata said.
The blond Yamanaka nodded. "Yeah, there are additional considerations. The missing-nin I mentioned earlier? That was Orochimaru. Karin doesn't know much about him and didn't see him in years, but there is still some loyalty left. Sometimes I really wonder how the snake manages to instill that into people. I already took a few steps to subtly shake that. Her connection with Kiba will do the rest. Secondly, I really can't stress enough how powerful a sensor Karin is. It's almost unreal. She's an extremely valuable asset. There is no way Orochimaru or Grass would have let her out of their sight if they realized how powerful she really is. Unfortunately her other abilities are lagging behind, especially combat-related skills. In fact she's even less capable than Sakura was at graduation, but that can be fixed in time and with training. Since she posed as an orphan without patrons in Grass no one took enough interest in her to properly train her."
"That will certainly be useful in convincing Kiba's mother. I can't imagine she'll be happy to shell out the necessary cash." Choji mused. "But I have to agree with you; this is a good step to get new talents for Konoha's future."
The other three expressed their agreement.
"What are our plans for tomorrow?" Ino asked.
Naruto seemed to be thinking for a moment. "I think it best if we immediately head for the next meeting point. If Shino doesn't join us tomorrow we'll have to search for him. Most of you should stay at the site. I would like to take Hinata and you with me out into the woods, Ino. The chances aren't good, but I would like for us to try and take care of a special task. If Shino was able to hold onto his scroll we are set, but perhaps we can knock a few other teams out of the competition. Are you all okay with that or would that interfere with Karin's treatment?"
"That shouldn't be a problem. The chakra exhaustion will keep her unconscious at least until tomorrow evening. I'm ready to go." Ino answered.
Choji voiced his agreement. There was no sense in taking risks. Naruto and Hinata were ideally suited to moving in the forest undetected and finding other teams. Yakumo and he could easily guard a camping site, especially with Shinji, Kiba and Asuka as backup. After hashing out the guard schedule four of the five went to sleep.
Anko gazed into the night, leaning into the white-haired man sitting by her side with his left arm around her waist. It was already dark, making the view even more impressive. The countless torches and other sources of illumination in the village made it look like a mirror of the starry sky above them. Their first kiss had been on a night just like this. While their current location wasn't exactly the top of the Hokage monument it was the same mountain. This specific corner offered almost the same view without as many visitors.
It had been a very nice date, but she just couldn't get into the right mood.
"Anko, what is bothering you?" Mizuki finally asked. "I can feel you're very tense."
The female jonin sighed. "It's something I learned earlier today. You aren't supposed to know about it. My old teacher Orochimaru has most likely infiltrated Konoha. He's either in the Forest of Death interfering with the exams or in the village doing who knows what. Since no one knows what his plans are and the higher-ups don't want to cause a panic everything is supposed to proceed as if nothing has happened. Oh, ANBU is looking for him, but as things are they are stretched far too thin. I'm very worried about the kids."
Mizuki pulled her closer. "You know, I'm somewhat surprised you didn't drop everything and head into the forest."
Anko chuckled lightly. "A few years ago or if things had gone differently I might have done just that. I know better now than to rush headlong into things. Aside from the fact that me entering the forest without orders would disqualify my team I'm no match for Orochimaru. I'm a jonin and a good one, but I have no chance against an S-class kage-level shinobi." She waved Mizuki's unspoken objections away. "Oh, there's always a chance that I would get lucky. No, I'm worried that he's able to do something with the damned seal on my neck. I wouldn't be much good if he manages to activate it remotely and incapacitate me. As much as I would like to kick his scaly butt I'm probably the worst person to fight against him."
"That's probably a wise decision. But that isn't everything, is it?" Mizuki asked.
"No. Even if it wasn't for Orochimaru I would be worried. It's just too early for them to participate in the exams. I know they're all capable shinobi, but I can't help but worrying. In two days I'll head to the tower. Then I'll know for certain. Thankfully we can use the tunnel under the forest."
Mizuki changed his position to sit behind her and began gently massaging her tense shoulders. "They are all good kids. Trust me, they'll do fine. In fact I pity anyone who tries to go against them."
"He's heading this way."
Many people would have been surprised to see the predatory smile that graced Hinata's features when she made that announcement. Naruto was not among them. Hinata had waited a long time for this opportunity. Unfortunately it was earlier than expected and even somewhat of a necessity.
Suddenly Hinata schooled her face back into a neutral expression before she waved with both her arms. "Neji has seen us and has increased his speed."
It was an unfortunate fact that Neji and Hinata hated each other. As far as Naruto knew it was irrational on Neji's side, but that didn't stop him from undermining and harassing Hinata in the Hyuuga clan whenever he could get away with it. In short, he did his utmost to make life as difficult as possible for Hinata. After years of that behavior Hinata had come to hate her cousin, but she had refrained from lashing out at him. Her cousin was a prodigy with the Gentle Fist and she couldn't take the risk of losing. Not when she couldn't openly reveal her proficiency with water jutsu anyway. Both Hinata and Naruto hated control seals with a passion, making using the caged bird seal on him unpalatable.
Unfortunately their participation in the chunin exams brought the issue to a head. It was very likely that Team Gai would pass the second test. Despite their overly focused skill distribution they were good enough at those skills to compensate for their overspecialization. At least if they didn't have the bad luck to run into one of the highly competent teams.
Considering the number of participants it was almost certain that preliminaries would be held. The matches would seemingly be random, but Naruto was virtually certain that they were at least partially rigged sine the third test would be a public tournament. It was used for showing off a village's prowess. That meant the two Hyuuga in the exam would most likely be pitted against each other in the prelimenaries. Their fighting styles were virtually identical (at least to the knowledge of most people). It wouldn't do to bore the important and influential spectators, after all.
Hinata was convinced Neji would try to cripple or outright kill her. Naruto wasn't prepared to argue the point; Neji was a fate-obsessed asshole. That meant they had to either take Neji out of the competition or Hinata would have to somehow withdraw from the tournament using some plausible excuse. This was the reason for their current search-and-beat-up mission. If they hadn't found Neji Hinata had been prepared to injure herself to a sufficient degree, but it would be much more satisfying to beat Neji to a pulp. They had hoped to find him alone. It seemed luck was on their side.
Time seemed to stretch until Neji finally emerged on the place they had chosen. Naruto and Ino stayed back, but Hinata took a few steps towards him.
"Hinata-sama. Why did you signal me to come here? Are you so inept you have to ask me for help?"
Hinata didn't react to his taunt and spoke in a calm voice. "I have a proposal for you Neji-san. For years you have done your utmost to bully and humiliate me. This ends today. We fight it out here and now. Everything is allowed."
Neji just stared at her for a few seconds before a malicious smile spread over his face. "What is this? Did the little mouse find courage somewhere? Very well, I accept. I never thought I'd be facing you here, Hinata-sama."
"We all experience our little surprises, Neji-san." Hinata responded coolly.
"Before we begin fighting I'd like to say something, Hinata-sama. You don't make a good kunoichi and you are inept at our clan's art. You are pathetic and weak. You are too kind and wish for harmony and avoid conflict. I have seen through many things with this byakugan. I know you are just acting strong. Deep inside you just want to run away from here. You are a pathetic failure. It is impossible to change your fate."
The Hyuuga boy continued spouting crap about fate, their position in life and Hinata's unfitness for belonging to the Hyuuga clan, let alone the main house. Naruto tuned him out while Hinata maintained a completely neutral expression.
'I wish Hinata would just shut him up.'
If it had been up to Naruto they simply would have beaten down Neji three-to-one, but Hinata wanted to test her strength against her cousin first. She still used the chakra attacks from the Gentle Fist style, but aside from that she was always fighting with a mix of styles Anko had taught her. It made full use of her enormous flexibility and relied more on striking critical spots than brute force. Not that Hinata was weak physically, far from it. It was just utilizing her greatest physical attribute. She had never used it while sparring in the clan compound, though, and wanted to see how it worked against a Gentle Fist prodigy like Neji.
Another reason was probably to get some of the penned up anger out of her system. Year by year she endured being disparaged by her clan and she wanted to lash out against one of her primary tormentors. In Naruto's opinion this was unwise due to the risk of injury, but he deferred to Hinata's wishes. In an emergency he and Ino could interfere. His parents would probably give them an earful later, though.
Finally Neji finished his rant. Hinata yawned and faced Neji with an utterly bored expression. "I'm sorry, did you say something?"
Neji's face turned red and a vein began pulsing visibly. A moment later he launched himself towards Hinata and the fight began.
It was an impressive sight. From their position it looked almost like an intricate dance. Neji was rightfully called a prodigy. From what Naruto could see his forms were flawless and fluid. His strikes were always on-target. Unfortunately for him Hinata was never in the place he tried to hit.
Maybe Naruto was biased, but to him Hinata looked like a goddess of battle. She made it seem effortless when she weaved around the increasingly frustrated Neji's attacks. Still, despite her undeniable prowess she couldn't risk truly attacking herself. Doing so would enable Neji to strike back. After all, he needed just a gentle touch to inflict damage.
'It's a stalemate. Neji can't hit Hinata, but she is unable to get hits in, too. Still, this is very impressive.'
Predicting the outcome of battles with such little skill difference was notoriously difficult, but it still seemed to Naruto that Neji still held a slight advantage. Hinata seemed to come to the same conclusion and suddenly the battle stopped. The girl held Neji's hands in a vise-like grip, preventing any attack, but making it impossible for her to move, too. The chakra both combatants used to coat their fingertips briefly flared into the visible spectrum when the charges neutralized each other.
Naruto wasn't sure if that was a wise move. Neji had considerable more reach than Hinata. He could always attack with his legs, but apparently he still hadn't thought of that. Considering that the Gentle Fist relied almost solely on the hands for attacks that wasn't surprising, but it was only a matter of time until the idea entered his mind. Despite all his faults he wasn't an incompetent fighter.
"Are you too inept to use our clan's style? I grant you are better than I expected to evade my attacks so far. This doesn't change anything. Fate has already chosen me as the victor, you pathetic failure." Neji announced, struggling against the smaller girl.
Hinata simply smiled. "You are a poor, deluded fool, Neji-san. There is no fate. The circumstances of our lives might be beyond our control, but there are always choices. I could kill you here, but questions might be asked I'm unwilling to answer and it would be unfair towards your teammates. Say goodnight, cousin. Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"
Neji's eyes widened in the split-second that remained to him. Before he could react in any other way the seallessly performed water jutsu hit him with the force of a fire hose directly in the face. Even if he had understood in time Hinata's hold on his hands would have prevented him from dodging. The enormously strong jet of water swept him off his feet and propelled him through the air. His flight finally ended with a resounding collision with a tree, but the force of the water jet still held him in place. Several seconds later the technique petered out. A thoroughly soaked Neji fell to the ground and lay unmoving.
When Naruto looked back Hinata had fallen to her knees and was sweeping hands glowing with medical chakra over her throat. Her face was a grimace of pain. A few seconds later Ino was at her side. Naruto would have liked to come to her aid, too, but he knew better than giving an unsecured enemy unobserved time.
Naruto cautiously approached Neji, but the young Hyuuga was indeed unconscious. Considering where the water jutsu had initially hit he probably suffered from whiplash, too. Only after he had made sure that Neji wouldn't be waking up anytime soon he hurried to Hinata's side.
The girl's face was more relaxed now, but Ino was still performing some medical technique on her. Just when Naruto arrived she coughed up some drops of blood. Seeing them on her hand Hinata grimaced. "Please remind me to never again forcefully perform a technique without hand seals when I don't absolutely need to. That really hurt." Even her voice was still raw.
Hinata had taken to the water jutsu with relative ease, but even for her it was very difficult to advance to a level where she could perform them without the use of hand seals. She had spent almost all of the last three visits to the world at the edge of dreams with further mastering the Wild Water Wave technique and other water release related things, but it was still not enough. Conversely she had reached a level where she could brute force this specific technique. Naturally that had its downsides. When performed that way techniques had a tendency to hurt the user because they were not completely stable. On the other hand it was a good skill for an emergency.
Naruto chuckled lightly. "I'll be sure to remind you. How bad was it?"
Ino harrumphed. "Medium damage to the lungs and throat area. You're lucky you're such a good medic-nin. Really Hinata, you should have let us fight that idiot together. His fancy taijutsu would have been useless with all of us attacking from a distance."
Hinata shrugged. "It was worth it. I can take a little pain. It was immensely satisfying to see Neji's expression when he realized what was happening." Her voice was now back to normal and she stood up. "Now to the fun part. I think I will enjoy this."
Together they walked over to Neji. Hinata examined him carefully before she kicked him in the side. The snapping of ribs was clearly audible. Then she brutally broke his arm. Several times.
A smile graced Hinata's features when she finished inflicting injuries on Neji. "I really wish he could be awake for this. That should be enough to prevent him from participating in the next round, but two or three weeks in the hospital will be enough to fix him up. Hopefully he will be able to drag himself back to his team. Ino, your turn."
Ino nodded and knelt beside Neji, taking his head into her hands. They had to wait for almost a quarter-hour before the young Yamanaka completed her task.
"Okay, I modified his memories. He won't remember our encounter. Instead he will remember fighting off the team from Taki we found dead a short distance away. Neji will think he fell unconscious after the battle. They were overwhelmed by giant ants, but we can easily make it look like that happened after their battle with Neji when they fled and didn't look where they were going. The battle should be completely believable." Ino explained. "It's really a shame he won't remember your fight. Are you sure about that?"
"Yes. I can't risk letting my knowledge of water jutsu become known." Hinata answered.
The group carefully rearranged the battle site to match the story Ino had implanted. As soon as they were satisfied the three genin headed back to their friends.
Ino sighed. "You know, Hinata, Neji really hates you, but I think he hates himself even more. I didn't have much time to look around, but you were right about him. He did plan to humiliate and cripple you should you encounter him in battle."
The white-eyed girl only shrugged. "Sometimes it would be nice to be proven wrong. Did you find anything else of interest?"
"Not much. He's training in one of your clan's techniques called Kaiten, but he hasn't been able to make it work yet. He's close, though."
Hinata looked thoughtful. "He really is a genius to recreate that technique without help from a teacher. It's too bad he's such an asshole. We could use someone like him."
They continued their way in silence for a few minutes when Ino suddenly giggled. "You know, you just beat Neji by effectively spitting in his face."
Naruto and Hinata stopped dead in their tracks, looking disbelievingly at Ino. Slowly matching grins spread over their faces and they erupted in loud laughter. After a moment Ino joined in. They were still chuckling when they arrived back at the camp. A nice surprise awaited them there. During their absence Shino had returned.
The evening was filled with their recounting of their individual experiences.
"The Sannin Orochimaru is really here in the forest?" Asuka asked in a small voice. In contrast to her usual behavior she seemed intimidated by the prospect. She wasn't the only one.
Shino was his usual unflappable self. "That is correct. I cannot be sure, but evidence suggests Sasuke Uchiha was his target. Hopefully we will not draw his interest." He continued telling the group how he had spent some time with Team 7. His impression of Idate was positive, but he had left the team when the oddly helpful Kabuto arrived. Shino didn't want to spend any more time in the vicinity of the man than strictly necessary.
"Neji from Team Gai has been taken care of. He won't pose any difficulties for us." Hinata concluded her part of the recounting.
"Hey Hinata, what happened to your stutter?" Choji suddenly asked.
"Oh, I think I left it behind somewhere in the forest." the girl replied nonchalantly.
Naruto was glad to hear that Hinata had finally decided to do away with the stutter. She had faked it for years and Naruto wasn't sure if it served any purpose anymore. He supposed the chunin exams were a good pretense as any to stop using it.
"Tomorrow we move closer to the tower and try to stay hidden. We don't need any more scrolls. On the morning of the fifth day we approach the tower as a big group. There are no rules against teaming up and hopefully no one will be willing to take on nine people at once. Still, be careful. Some teams might lie in waiting by the tower. I don't want any last minute casualties." Naruto announced.
None of the other eight genin present (not counting the still sleeping Karin who had finally let go of Kiba as long as he didn't stay away for too long) had any objections.
Author's notes: And this mostly concludes the Forest of Death. You didn't really think I would kill off Idate at this point and in this manner, did you? Next chapter will cover the preliminaries and possibly the first part of the one month training period. Thank you for all the reviews.
Karin always gave me the impression that she wasn't completely mentally sound. This is the explanation I came up with. Her initial reaction to canon-Sasuke was weaker (the boy was farther away), but it had the same end result.
She does have some Uzumaki blood in her veins, but she was never part of the clan. Maybe a grandparent or great-grandparent was either the child of a Whirlpool shinobi passing through or another Uzumaki settled down somewhere away from the clan. She doesn't know about the connection and neither does anyone else (with the possible exception of Orochimaru). The actual degree of kinship with Naruto is very distant; there are probably a lot of people alive who are a closer relation. In all likelihood I won't bring it up in the story.
Several people have remarked that they are uncomfortable with the Yakumo/Hinata/Naruto situation. That is by design. The involved persons aren't really comfortable either. It will be resolved after the chunin exams are over.
I'm thinking about updating the stat block I used for Naruto waaaayyy back in chapter 8/7. Personally I use written notes, but if there is enough interest I will add a new version for some of the genin at the end of the next chapter.
On another note, my list of stories I want to read grows longer and longer, but between writing and real life tasks I just don't find the time. I can't even seem to keep up with reading the fics in my favorite list. Sigh.
So long.