"You're so beautiful!"
"No, you are!"
"No, you!"
Tenten hid behind her palm when the two lovebirds rubbed noses. Ever since Lee met that girl, they had been inseparable.
Beside her, Neji observed the display. His eyes narrowed when the girl leaned closer, whispering something in Lee's ear.
"I don't trust her."
"Think she might be using him?" Tenten asked.
Neither were sure. Lee was a walking fashion disaster, and his antics could be off-putting. Then again, some girls fell hard for strength and showmanship. The affection could be honest.
Lee twirled the girl in the air. She laughed in delight.
The veins around Neji's eyes retracted. He would continue to keep an eye on them, but for now, she did not appear a threat. Her chakra level was lower than that of a regular genin, channels thin enough to be civilian.
Further down the path, Naruto grimaced. He covered his eyebrows with two fingers each, eyes peeled wide.
"Oh, look at me," he imitated, "so beautiful, har har-!" An elbow lodged in his skull, as a returned Sakura huffed. Sasuke did not blink.
Nineteen teams stopped before a four-story chain fence. Beyond the fence laid wilderness, an entanglement of vines and roots encapsulated by shadow. Trees towered, blanketing the sky from view.
In front stood Anko, their second examiner. She eyed the genin hungrily. "Welcome to the Forest of Death."
The second test would be survival. One arena, tower in the center. 10 kilometer radius, 44 gates. Two types of scrolls, Heaven and Earth, one scroll per team. Reach tower with both scrolls within five days, with all team members alive. Open scroll, and instant disqualification. Anko directed everyone's attention to a booth, where they can exchange their waiver forms for a scroll and starting gate.
Sakura latched onto that last bit of information.
As soon as Anko concluded, everyone rushed to sign their waivers. Naruto dropped his pen, ready to join the other genin, when Sakura grabbed his jacket.
"Sakura-chan?"
Sakura held him in place, watching the line form. "No."
Confused, Naruto held onto his paper. Sakura watched the first team in line disappear into the booth, then the second. "Not yet."
Ino smirked. Hinata tugged Kiba's sleeve.
Before the booth, Kankurō glanced back to see a cluster of rookies linger behind. To Temari, he chuckled. "Look, examiner's words scared them brats off."
Temari followed his gaze, skeptical. Only until she stepped inside did she understand.
Against the fence, Anko grinned when Team 7 finally lined up.
Naruto threw his arms up. "Anko-sensei! Any advice?"
Anko waved them off. "Yeah. Have fun!"
.
Teams rushed to line up for the booth. Made sense. The first team in line had top pick for a gate. The best starting position was upstream. Travel was safer and faster. The river provided a reliable food source, as well as the opportunity to poison opposing teams.
Team 7 would pick last.
This was not a battle, but a war. And to win a war, they needed an upper-hand in three things.
Information.
Troops.
Territory.
The last team lost initial terrain advantage, but gained information. They could see which gates were chosen, the locations of all other genin. More importantly, their own position would be hidden. By going last, Sakura guaranteed them twenty minutes free of enemy ambush.
She swung around a branch. With a flip, she landed in the clearing ahead.
There, Ino placed a hand at her hip. Hinata gave a shy smile. Those twenty minutes of would be just enough time to gather troops.
"Don't get the wrong idea." Kiba sneered, leaping up on a branch. "We don't need your help. But Hinata thought you losers might need ours."
"Why you-!"
Sakura dragged Naruto by the ear. "Thanks, Hinata." To the other two members of Team 8, she nodded. "Everyone here would benefit from your expertise. We're in your debt."
Hinata fidgeted with her fingers. She glanced in Naruto's direction, before her blush deepened. "No problem. I think sticking together is a g-good idea."
With Hinata's eyes, Kiba's nose, and Shino's ears, their group avoided every obstacle with ease. Together, they could now secure a crucial territory. The tower.
Forget hunting enemies. That expends too much energy. Forget baiting enemies. That wastes too much time. No, it was best to establish the tower as base. All teams must reach the tower to pass. Right before they do, ambush them and take their scrolls. Seize control of the tower, and seize control of the whole game.
Hinata retracted her Byakugan. "One kilometer aw-"
An explosion.
"Hinata!"
Kiba swerved to catch his teammate. Shino shot back at the wall of scales. Shikamaru pulled Chōji by the scarf, just as a snapped branch crashed into the earth.
Sakura paled. Her gaze jumped up, higher and higher. On top of the monster snake was a silhouette.
The shinobi lowered his hat, painted lips twisted in a smile. "My, the best of Konohagakure, all in one place."
This... this was not factored into her calculations.
And just like that, Sakura watched her entire plan turn to shit.
.
Akamaru whimpered, burying himself deeper into Kiba's jacket. Shino pressed his back against a tree. Ino hid her teammates under the debris.
Laughing, the shinobi dug his nails down his face. His flesh peeled, as easily as those of a corpse off a skeleton.
"I wonder... out of the nine, who will survive?"
The air screamed in blood, every sense invaded by the stench of death. Sakura felt the kunai in her grip shake, then drop. Her knees caved in.
"Sakura-chan?! Sasuke!" Naruto shouted when Sasuke fell too, numb.
This shinobi. Something was off about him. Something inhuman. Dangerous. Sasuke caught a flash. He needs to move. Move.
Before the kunai could impale Naruto in the back, Sasuke grabbed his teammates and flickered them out of range.
"We need to get out of here." Sasuke controlled the tremble in his voice. His hand wrapped around the handle of his own kunai and yanked it out of his thigh. His pupils contracted at the pain, more blood dripping down to his ankle, more adrenaline flooding into his veins.
Adrenaline was good. Adrenaline saved him more than once. On all of Anko's stupid missions. In the Land of Waves. During that night, the night with the moon, the only night to ever trigger this deep of a panic, when-
"On three, Naruto, we bolt for that tower. There might be proctors inside who can protect us."
"But the exam-!"
"Fuck the exam."
Sasuke took out their Heaven scroll. They could use this to bait the enemy shinobi away. Sakura was still in shell-shock; he would have to carry her. As for Naruto, he could use kage bunshin as the distraction.
Naruto's expression darkened. He stood up.
"Naruto-!"
"Pathetic." Naruto walked back into the open field. "You are all pathetic!"
He pointed at the shinobi perched on top of the snake. "One person. We are nine. Aren't you supposed to be from the best families in this village? Aren't you supposed to be the pride of your clans? The strongest, the smartest people around? I call bullshit."
"The Inuzuka, nothing but bitches with tails tucked between their legs." Behind the bushes, Kiba gritted his teeth.
"The Yamanaka, we all know you're bottom feeders." Ino clenched her fists.
"The Nara, a bunch of lazy bums." Shikamaru grimaced, ignoring the sweat down his back.
"The Akimichi, useless fatsos." Chōji heaved, nostrils flaring.
"The Aburame, insignificant pests." Shino said nothing.
"The Hyūga, second-rate freaks." From her huddled position, Hinata lowered her eyes.
Naruto glanced at the shadows. He sneered. "And the Uchiha… one little scaredy cat."
"So hide. Run. Like Sakura-chan said, there's a difference between courage and recklessness, and she's always told me to stop being reckless." His hands formed the seal of the tiger. "Then again, she's also told me to know my strength."
An army of kage bunshin littered the forest. The closest clone transformed into a pair of twin swords, as Naruto locked sight with his target. "And I know my self-worth."
The silence broke.
Kage bunshin charged from all directions. Half incinerated in fire. The shinobi launched kunai at the remaining clones. His targets evaded through a mid-air transformation, sharpening into metal. High level henge, he mused.
In a series of leaps, the shinobi avoided the rain of weapons, only for the closest to transform back into human form. Naruto pulled out the two swords behind him, spinning forward with a double swipe. Nothing. He froze at the shadow cast from above.
Too late. The whip of the snake's tail obliterated him along with the nearby forestry.
The earth shook. Unfazed, the shinobi readied to greet his other prey. In his face was a human catapult. "Oi, lipstick man!"
My, doesn't this one have some kick to him. Grin deepening, he seized Naruto's fist and flung him away. Too bad he- Two drilling spirals grazed past his sleeve. At his next footing, the roll of a bulldozing meat tank.
"Kiba! Chōji!"
Kiba landed on all fours. "Heh, you can bet that after this is over, you're in for one hell of a beating, Naruto."
Naruto felt someone catch his wrist. "Dobe."
"Sasuke!"
Sasuke swerved an one-eighty, tossing Naruto back as a windmill shuriken.
Behind the eyes of the Byakugan, Hinata watched the real enemy slither across the landscape, unbeknownst to the attacking squad. She croaked. "N-No." The enemy had wrapped around. "N-Naruto-kun..." They could not see.
Hinata charged into the field. "BEHIND YOU!"
Naruto whipped around to see a tongue shooting forth. Shino left his own hiding spot, saving Hinata from an incoming wall of scales.
"This is very troublesome!" Shikamaru scrambled out of the way, as the tail slammed into the ground, sending the world into another earthquake. "We have to- Ino!"
Ino sprinted, sliding into the mud and rolling away from the falling debris. Gasping, she looked at the bundle of pink saved in her arms.
"Sakura!" Ino sat Sakura upright, shaking her shoulders. Sakura said nothing, eyes wide and blank, a dry trail of tears down her cheek.
Shikamaru frowned. "Did the enemy catch her in genjutsu?"
No, Ino recognized this look. She had not seen this look for two years now, but for Sakura to relapse now of all times...
"Sakura, come on, girl. Snap out of it!"
Another explosion, followed by a hurricane of wind. Debris flew past at howling speeds, bullets of rocks burgeoning into Ino's back. Twigs clawed streaks into her skin. Ino pulled the girl in her arms closer, keeping her shielded until the wind settled.
Shikamaru peeked up from his arms. "Shit."
Their group lied in wreckage. Embedded in a crater of bark, Naruto coughed up a mouthful of blood. Sasuke forced himself up.
"Come on, Sakura." Ino pressed one hand against the back of Sakura's head, the other securing her back. "You'll be alright. I know you can do this."
The trembling started to fade. Sakura clutched onto Ino's shoulder, taking one deep breath after another.
"... tower." Sakura broke the croak in her voice. "Everyone escape to the tower…"
"Too late for that. Some will not escape in time." Shino descended. Hinata dropped beside them, clutching her bleeding arm.
"You can thank Naruto," Shikamaru mumbled.
"That…" Sakura lifted her head. "... idiot!"
Ino sighed in relief when Sakura supported herself up.
"This foe is too dangerous. A strategy is necessary. We cannot defeat him without one."
"Shino-kun is right. Kiba-kun is the fastest person here, and he cannot land a blow. And there's the s-snake..."
Sakura clutched her head. "Speed can be defeated with the correct cornering. But for that, we'll need massive coordination." That was their only shot. To not attack separately, but together. She looked at everyone. Their numbers were sufficient, but to sync them all...
"What about the shindenshin?" Ino said. "Didn't you develop your genjutsu variant?"
"Yes, but I can't interlink people's consciousness. All communication will have to be routed through me, and that's way too slow."
Shino paused. "To mobilize, insects do not need to be aware of the actions of the entire colony. They need only the command of a higher order. Shinobi are no different. They do not need to think, but to obey orders."
Sakura opened her mouth. "This is a dynamic battle against an unknown enemy in an unfamiliar terrain with nine players," she said. "Exactly who do you propose to command them all, because I can't come up with a plan on the spot and instantaneously readapt if any detail goes wrong."
Silence.
Sighing, Shikamaru rose his hand. "But I can."
.
Closing her eyes, Sakura focused on the chakra signature beside her, weaving through strings of light until she stood before a door. Inside, Shikamaru sat before a shogi board. On the board lied a single playing piece. The challenging King.
Two more doors opened, as Ino and Hinata entered the void.
One by one, Hinata laid down the other game pieces. The final two pieces, the reigning King and Dragon, she placed at the upper right and center respectively.
For every piece Hinata laid down, Ino summoned a door, until a ring of doors surrounded them, a kanji engraved on each one.
Rook. Bishop. General. Lance. Knight. Pawn.
Back in the physical world, Sakura interlaced fingers with Ino, completing the seal of the ram.
Shikamaru glanced over at them. "Ready?"
Sakura exhaled. "Game on."
As Naruto dodged the next attack, a familiar voice rang in his head.
"Heh, no problem."
Nine kage bunshin descended onto the field, their palms against the wall of scales. Feet slid against the ground, a glow of chakra at the heel, until the snake grinded to a halt.
Glancing back, the kage bunshin chuckled at a bewildered Chōji. "Hey fatass, how would you like a gift?"
Before Chōji could answer, a clone jumped on him from behind, chaining on as an iron-spiked jacket.
The pawns use numbers to guard and supplement ally pieces.
While a metal ball rolled the snake into a domino of trees, Kiba and Akamaru spun in the air. "Yahoo!"
They landed beside the amputated snake tongue.
Kiba shook the blood off his newly acquired metal claws, appreciating their gleam. Heh, not bad, dead-last, not bad.
The lances exert direct frontal force to push enemies back to defensive lines.
A set of windmill shuriken from opposite directions. The shinobi slipped into the gap between the two spinning blades, not a hair astray.
Naruto caught Sasuke's weapon, Sasuke caught Naruto's. They pulled. The shinobi found himself immobilized. He glanced down to see wire constrict his body.
From the wire came a stain on the fabric of his clothes. Oil.
Fire traversed down one end of the wire.
The bishop and rook fight in synchrony on opposite sides, covering what the other cannot.
Not enough. Chōji fell down the mouth of the snake. Fire touched air, as the shinobi melted through his constraints and into the branch below.
Behind the Byakugan, Hinata traced his escape. The reigning King slipped back; the Dragon speared forward. Her fingers paused on the playing piece before she lifted the tile up, the game board stretching into three dimensions.
The ring of doors spun. Eyes shut, Ino redoubled her chakra, sending all of them flying open at once.
The generals stay behind to reorganize mobilized troops.
Behind Naruto, a face melted out of the tree. Before the shinobi could slice his neck, Naruto was tugged forward by the windmill shuriken in his grip, yanked off the branch and into free-fall.
Sasuke dived forward. The tips of their fingers brushed. Gritting his teeth, Sasuke refocused his chakra, and Naruto felt an invisible force connect them. Their hands interlocked.
In darkness, Chōji fumbled for a container with three compartments. He opened the middle compartment. "You want to eat, let's EAT!"
Midair, Sasuke wrapped his arm around Naruto and flipped their positions. Naruto flipped back on bottom, only to get flipped again.
Shikamaru smirked when the belly of the snake expanded three-fold, a spike punctured out from under the skin.
Shino watched the shinobi slither toward the falling boys, kunai in hand.
The knights wait in the shadows for the opportune time to strike.
The snake sawed in half from the inside, bisected down to the tail. Freed, a blood-lathered Chōji unraveled from his bullet tank form. His armor shrunk with him, the spike on the back unlocking into a parachute.
A spiral made collision. Separating from their double beast form, Akamaru barked, watching the dead snake topple east.
Check.
The shinobi froze, looking up to see Naruto and Sasuke halted in their fall, suspended two meters above ground. In their hands were each other's windmill shuriken, a wire strung between them, wrapped around their bodies five times, before soaring up into the skies and looped around a branch.
In their dangling position, their shadow was enough to connect the shadow of the snake with the shadow of their enemy.
A swarm of insects buzzed.
Naruto chuckled. "Sayonara, sucker!"
The insects shot into the shinobi's mouth. Shikamaru held his position as Shino's insects devoured their target from the inside out, crawling out from the nose, ears, and eye sockets.
Checkmate.
.
Anko slammed down her cup of juice and sighed in content. Throwing the last dango skewer, she readied to leave for the tower when Mozuku descended before her.
"We've got trouble, Anko-sama!"
Three bodies sprawled behind a wall of zen monk statues, faces melted off.
Well, shit.
She turned to the chūnin squadron. "Alert the Hokage!"
Anko leaped through the forest at full speed. The sky had already fallen to dusk when she detected a presence. A tongue snatched her wrist before she could throw her daggers.
No matter, she loved to improvise. She yanked the tongue, pulling his body out of its hiding spot and into the opposing tree. Pinning him, she dug a kunai through both their hands for a double assassination. She stopped.
"Really, Anko. You're now a tokubetsu jōnin, and a sensei too. Should you still be using those forbidden techniques of mine?" In the distant shadows, viper eyes watched her, fondness mixed into cruelty.
As Anko whipped around for a second attack, he rose a finger. The gesture sent her to her knees, neck searing with pain.
She gritted her teeth, voice laced with poison. "What's a bastard like you doing here."
"So cold, Anko," Orochimaru tsked. "If you must know, I'm here for some, ah, recruitment. These kids are quite charming."
"For you to show yourself like this, one must have really caught your eye."
He gave an indulgent smile. "Hm. I admit, the Uchiha child was beautiful."
Anko's eyes narrowed. Orochimaru caught the assailing dagger between his fingers, amused by her regained strength when her arm locked around him in a chokehold.
"Sorry, but I have dibs on that boy."
"Since when did you become so possessive." He laughed. "Relax, I didn't touch him."
Orochimaru did hear wonderful rumors, the last Uchiha blood of Konoha, an avenger. Yet, in that last skirmish, the Uchiha child left himself tangled and exposed. As bait. It was a pity, but he did not have what Orochimaru wanted.
The body in Anko's grip collapsed into a pool of snakes.
His voice echoed across the leaves. "I settled for the consolation prize."
.
Neji frowned. "Slow down, Lee."
Lee bounced off a man-eating centipede and onto the next branch. "But Sakura-san said she'd be at the tower! We can't keep her waiting!"
"I doubt her team would get there before us," Tenten said. "And should we be expending all our energy now? Wouldn't it be better take it slow, then attack at dawn?"
Lee was not listening, ricocheting through the landscape. Tenten sighed, forced to follow.
As expected, the tower was desolate. While Lee jumped back and forth between posts, eager at any shuffle or movement, Tenten settled for steps by the entrance.
Neji turned his back.
"Where are you going?" she asked.
"If we're going to make this our site, we might as well start collecting food and water. It'll be a while before any teams arrive."
"Let me help, then."
Strategically, the tower had merits. The river flowed straight across, bridges on either side, so water and food were no issue. Tenten took out her summoning scroll, a variety of equipment appearing before her. She reached for the medicine bottle. First, to test the water.
"Anyone here yet?" she asked Neji, handing him a bamboo cup. She took a sip for herself.
Neji kept his Byakugan activated. After a silence, his finger twitched. "One group just arrived."
Lee flashed before them. "Where!"
"Four hundred meters nor-"
"Sakura-san!"
Neji straightened up. "Wait-!" Too late.
Leaping into the air, Lee spread out his arms in greeting. "Hello, beautiful!" His face made introduction with a wall of sand.
Unfazed, Temari watched some spandex kid drop to the ground.
Lee blinked at the trio before him. "You're not Sakura-san's team."
"No shit."
Temari stiffened at the ominous wave of sand hovering behind them.
"Stop, Gaara," Kankurō said, uneasy. "We've already got both scrolls. Let's just make peace and get to the tower."
The sand became more active, dispersed into the air. "Shut up, you piece of trash."
Temari bit her tongue. They should avoid a match this close to tower. If the proctors caught Gaara losing control, their whole mission could be in jeopardy.
"Now, now, Gaara," she said, switching tones. "It's just a weirdo; we can leave him alone. So please, stop saying such cold things and listen to nē-san, okay?"
Gaara said nothing.
Just as the tension in his shoulders began to relax, Lee raised his hand.
"Excuse me, but if your team has two scrolls, I would like to challenge you for one of them." This Suna team must be formidable if they managed to get this far with both scrolls. It was the perfect challenge. Even better if Sakura-san arrived just in time of his victory! Yes, if he won, then he and Sakura-san were destined to be! And if he lost… no, he would not lose!
Lee shook his fist, burning with passion.
Temari closed her mouth. You know what, nevermind, Gaara can kill the moron.
A gourd cork shot into the air. Beaming, Lee blitzed forward. He came down with a spin kick, only to be blocked by another wall of sand. The sand whipped, sending him three leaps back.
"Lee!" Tenten reached the clearing to see him in combat with an enemy team. Eyes narrowed, she launched a wave of projectiles. Temari blew them away with a gust of wind.
Tenten stiffened at the wooden clanking behind her. She whipped around to see a blade stopped a centimeter short of her neck. The puppet fell limp. Neji lowered his two fingers.
Kankurō took a step back at the Byakugan. Shit, that guy could see chakra strings. Worse, he could cut them.
Neji smirked. "Looks like it's three on three now. Tenten, distract that kunoichi long enough for me to break through their defensive."
Tenten had her scroll open. "No problem."
"Careful, that one can see chakra," Kankurō warned. "My puppets are ineffective against him."
Temari's eyes darkened, fan pivoted to her side. "Target the girl, then. I'll separate them."
Just as both sides readied to attack, an earthquake hit. All eyes flew southeast, toward the monstrous snake in the distance, rising above the foliage.
Neji deepened the focus of his Byakugan. "There's a cluster of chakra. At least three teams," he said, surprised.
Lee jumped in elation. "Sakura-san!" In a blitz, he was gone.
Sand suspended in the air, without a target to attack.
"..."
Tenten lowered her scroll, face buried into her palm. "Sorry, our teammate's a little…" When she could not find the word, she settled for a generic gesture and disappeared alongside their third teammate.
Which left the siblings alone in the field, silent.
Kankurō raised his arms. "What the hell was that!"
.
With a swipe, Sasuke freed himself from the wire. He and Naruto landed besides the corpse, just as the rest of their peers gathered.
The insects had dispersed, leaving behind a shriveled body covered by fabric. The face was smeared in a pool of blood, eyes hollowed, cheeks sunken. Shino took no risks with this one, targeting the brain first.
Ino averted her gaze. "Who do you think that was?"
Akamaru jumped back into Kiba's jacket.
"Not a genin-level shinobi, that's for sure." Kiba snorted, patting his puppy. "Hm?" He noticed something in Akamaru's mouth. An Earth scroll.
Sakura's gaze went up to the distant tower. "Let's-"
A chuckle by her foot. Her eyes widened.
"Run!"
In the blur of movement, Ino yanked Sakura out of range. A scream. They slammed into the ground.
The corpse gave birth to a new body, escaped free from its slacken jaw. The shinobi licked his lips. "Ready for round two, my lovelies?"
His body burst into snakes in all directions.
Before Sakura could react, Ino had flipped her under. The snake never struck, sent flying with a kick. Shuriken pinned three other snakes by the neck, while a spin of chakra repelled the final two.
Silence.
Sakura waited, but no more attacks came.
Lee extended a hand. "Hello again, Sakura-san!"
Sakura could not help but laugh in relief. Of all her investments, she never expected this one to pay off. As Lee helped her and Ino up, she turned to everyone else. "Everyone okay?"
Growling, Naruto and Sasuke pushed each other away. Shino lowered his shield of insects. Kiba stood up from his crouch. Flat on his back, Shikamaru grumbled, face buried under Chōji's weight.
"Hinata-sama."
Shaking, Hinata did not get up. Neji froze at the two puncture wounds on her neck, a mark emerging from under her skin.
Hinata hyperventilated, unable to find her breath until another wave of pain set her body on fire. A second scream tore through her throat, louder than before. She screamed until her voice gave away to sobs, tears rolling down her face.
"H-help me," she begged, clutching Neji's wrist as if it were a lifeline. "P-please- aAAHHH."
.
Shino removed his ear from the ground. "The snakes were just a diversion. He's escaped."
"We'll get him." Naruto cracked his knuckles. "He'll pay for this."
Under the shelter of a root, Kiba squeezed Hinata's hand. Akamaru whimpered, nudging his nose at the befallen girl. Tenten shook her head, packing up her supplies. "It's not poison."
"Then what is it!" Kiba demanded.
Tenten examined the mark on Hinata's neck, the design of three tomoe. "If I had to hazard a guess, a juinjutsu."
Neji said nothing.
"You did good." Shikamaru lied next to Chōji, who gave a weak smile in return.
Ino hissed as Sakura pressed a damp cloth against her back. "Stay still, you," Sakura growled. Nonetheless, her touches became more gentle. Her gaze dropped at the wreckage of bruises and cuts. "Ino, your team is taking our scroll and heading for the tower."
Ino chuckled. "What, trying to get rid of us?"
Sakura sneered. "Yes, Ino-pig, your team's nothing but deadweight."
Ino grabbed a fistful of Sakura's hair. "Come again?"
All taunts aside, there was truth to her words. Ino was injured worse than her countenance suggested, and Chōji was still fighting off the effect of the curry pill. Team 10 was not in a position to continue. With Hinata down, Team 8 should take the remaining scrolls and get to safety too.
"This places us at a disadvantage."
Sakura ignored Sasuke's thought, wrapping the final weave of bandages around Ino. Team 8 and 10 had already served their purpose of getting them to the tower. It was enough.
Shikamaru supported Chōji. Kiba holstered Hinata on his back. After the two teams left, Sakura bid farewell to Lee too. He gave a thumbs up. "Let's both do our best, Sakura-san!"
On their leap across the forest, Tenten eyed Neji, worried. His movements were marked with an uncharacteristic aggression. She had never seen him so… angry.
Naruto adjusted his headband. "Back to square one, huh."
Sakura stared into the forest ahead of them, then leaped onto the branch above. No, the towers was theirs. No more fooling around. From now on, they would play by her rules.
.
"Hehe, what an idiot, walking out in the open…"
Sasuke hid behind his bangs, hands pocketed. A shuriken flew past his face. Unfazed, he walked on, ignoring the cries of the enemy team.
He cocked his head at the shinobi dangled by their ankles. "That aim was atrocious."
While they struggled with the wire trap, he withdrew his own shuriken. "Your incompetence will cost you."
Sakura looked up, startled by the crack of a branch. Stepping away from the fire, she peeked into the shadows of the forest. "Sasuke-kun?" she asked mildly. "Naruto? That you…?"
A shuffle. Tense, she traced the silhouette moving across the bushes.
"Hey, sorry I'm late!"
She dropped her shoulders. "Naruto."
Before he could say another word, she wrapped her arms around him in a hug. "You had me worried."
"Ahaha, did I…" His smile deepened, a kunai slipping down his sleeve. His eyes widened.
In their embrace, Sakura twisted her kunai in his back. "Yeah, look at how you're bleeding."
She yanked out her weapon, letting the corpse drop to the ground.
Long blonde hair whipped back in the noon sun, droplets of water dripping down bare skin.
"Eep, stop!" Giggles filled the air, as the kunoichi splashed each other.
From the bushes, a pair of shinobi watched the beauties play in the river. Blood dripped down their noses. They did not even see the club coming.
While his sexy clones poofed away, Naruto rummaged their backpacks. He held up the Earth scroll. "Alright, dattebayo!"
Just as he readied to head back to base, he heard a scream. One punch later, he jumped off the monstrous bear.
Karin patted the grass, in search for her glasses when someone placed them in her palm. Fastening them on, she was greeted by a smile. "You okay?"
"Y-yeah…"
Naruto glanced at the Earth scroll in her grip, then his own. He frowned. Sakura was not going to like this but…
"You can do it." He grinned. "But hurry! Only a day left."
Karin sat upright, watching him disappear into the trees. "Thanks," she whispered to the air. "You too."
Outside the tower, Sakura felt her eye twitch at the pile of Earth scrolls. All five of them. "Is this even statistically possible," she grumbled, rubbing her temples.
"Should we burn these extras?" Sasuke asked.
"Not yet." Earth scrolls were rare now. They could be useful as a bargaining chip.
Five hours later, three shinobi struggled through the landscape. From the leaves, a kage bunshin observed them, then released itself.
"One team, four o'clock," Naruto reported.
Sakura nodded, and Sasuke flickered forward to confront the approaching team.
Immediately, the leader of the team held up his hands. "No need for unnecessary conflict, right? Can we please check scrolls first?"
Sasuke scrutinized them further, before nodding. The two sides revealed them at the same time. Heaven. Earth.
Bingo. "Do it," Sakura mentally said.
However, before Sasuke could act, the leader of the other team gave a nervous smile, holding up a second Heaven scroll.
"Our team was unlucky. We ended up fighting for a scroll we already have," the shinobi said. "Any chance we can make a trade?"
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "How does that benefit us?"
"Because most likely you have more than one Earth scroll, but no Heaven." At Sasuke's raised eyebrow, the shinobi explained. "Your team is stationed at the tower. To maintain that position, you would have had to face all other teams who come here. Hence, you have probably more than one scroll in your possession. And yet, you remain outside the tower, which means one of three things: you're looking to pick off more teams, you're waiting to sell your extra scrolls for something useful, or you haven't yet found your matching scroll. The fact that you agreed to check scrolls would put you in the third category. And if so, both our teams can benefit from a trade."
Sasuke smirked. "You've thought this through."
The shinobi nudged up his glasses. "It's more experience than anything. Happens when it's your seventh time taking this exam. So, am I right?"
"You are." Sasuke withdrew a second Earth scroll. "But… those categories you listed, they don't seem mutually exclusive."
The shinobi's eyes widened, before he lowered his head in concession. "That's true. As you can see, my teammates are injured. There's nothing stopping you from take both our Heaven scrolls right now. We can only ask for your mercy, from one Konoha nin to another."
Sakura and Naruto exchanged a look. Sasuke paused, listening for instruction.
"We can accept a trade," he finally said. "On one condition."
Naruto dropped beside him. "You said you've taken this exam before. Then tell us everything you know about it."
Ten minutes later, Sakura lied on the roof, flipping through a pack of ninja information cards. Naruto hunched beside her, peeking over her shoulder. "So one-on-one matches, huh."
Sasuke leaned against the wall. "Anything worth knowing?"
Sakura handed over three cards. Team Gai. "Don't underestimate them."
Naruto dropped his jaw. "Holy fuck, those are some high bars."
"Who else?"
"Our Kusa guy." She passed around the picture of the snake shinobi.
Sakura toyed with one last card. Gaara of the Desert. Something about this guy...
She stowed the cards away, information memorized. They had loitered long enough. "Burn the extra scrolls."
Without looking back, Sakura swung open the door to the tower. "Let them loose, boys."
Naruto unleashed the Earth scroll. Sasuke unleashed the Heaven. The two scrolls unrolled on the floor, intersecting at a cross.
Anko greeted them with a boom.
"Did you have fun?"
.
Dosu lifted a hand. "You little bitch..."
Karin never looked back, both scrolls in arm.
"Guys, I got them!"
They pushed the door open, just as the siren rang.
Karin collapsed onto the floor in a mixture of exhilaration and disbelief, glasses lopsided as the proctor congratulated them as the seventh and final team to pass the second test.