"Where not going to make at this rate." Said Isao disengaging the crossbow trap with his kunai.
"That's a defeatist attitude." Said Kengo crawling just under the tree root dragging his injured leg behind him.
"I'm not being a defeatist." He said to him crawling just behind him as Kikyo brought up the rear. "I'm being realistic if we continue at this pace we're going to fail we have like an hour left before dawn and it's going to take us three hours if we keep going like this. I'm saying we need to step it up if we want to pass."
"So your saying you want to get yourself killed?" Asked Kengo looking back at him. "I mean look at my leg dude, this isn't exactly a sprained ankle. I'm lucky I didn't lose my foot after that."
"Actually I've been thinking about that." Said Kikyo. "Most of these traps are surprisingly easy to spot, and if Kumo sensei wanted to stop up or take off your foot I'd be pretty easy for him to do so."
"So what we run for it?" Kengo asked. "That's suicide."
"Think about it?" she said. "Do you really think he'd kill us? Would Tsunade really tolerate him taking our lives and give us an impossible test. We're not going to pass if we keep doing what we're doing we're going to fail. So he clearly wants us to do something else… I think he wants us to take a risk and make a dash for it." She explained.
"We've been crawling through this forest disarming traps all day and night. If he wanted us to show that we're smart and cautious we've done that. But right now we're having to make a choice between taking a massive risk and possible face serious injury in order to complete our objective. Or playing it safe like we have all night and loose our only opportunity. If the traps get us they get us and we fail, but if we keep crawling on our bellies we fail anyways."
"She's right." Isao agreed. "I say we take our chances with the traps and risk it. It's better that freezing here on the ground for the rest of the night for nothing."
"I can't run guys remember?" Kengo said indicating his wounded leg.
"We'll carry you." Kikyo said pulling herself out from under the tree root and taking a knee. "Me and Isao both, we can make a stretcher. We'll make a run for it and take our chances. If we get taken down at least we did everything we could. Right now we don't have options. This is the only thing we have left to do now is make a dash for it."
Kumo zeroed in on the kids with his Byakugan and sighed. They were actually doing it; they were making a final dash for the finish. After setting so many traps in those woods he had assumed they wouldn't dare take the risk of running the last thousand yards to Konoha. He hadn't bothered setting taps there. He almost felt proud of the little brats; he didn't think they were going to be smart or gutsy enough to do that. He almost hated to admit it to himself but these kids looked like they might be smart and bold enough to cut it as his students. The only thing left to test now was there conviction. They were willing to take risks, he knew that now. They had also showed that they knew how to be cautious. And right now they showed that they could tell the time and place for both and act accordingly. The situation had forced Isao and Kengo to forget about their fear of Kikyo. A fear he had learned that wasn't completely unfounded. After their little meeting he had talked to their academy teacher to learn some details. Apparently Kikyo was rightfully feared by the rest of her class, and even her teachers a little. Kikyo had apparently accessed her Kekkei Genkai at a very young age. So far she had no control over her bloodline trait and had only accessed it during times of duress or extreme emotion. And more than once that had led to injury and death including a student in the academy. Seemed a girl was bullying her when her Kekkei Genkai activated and her blood burst out of her skin and impaled the young woman killing her instantly. And that was the most recent case. The first one was her own mother when she was six and had gotten into an argument with her mother, similar events had transpired. It wasn't very surprising that Kengo and Isao had wanted to keep their distance away from her. But as he watches her and Isao lift Kengo onto their improvised stretcher he knew they had forced all of that tragic history behind them. He had one last test for them. And a small part of him even hoped they'd pass. There was only one way to find out if they were made of the right stuff.
Isao did his best to ignore the stich in his side and the mussels burning in his leg. He didn't know how long he'd been running but it was starting to take his toll. Kengo was heavier than he looked. And the lack of sleep cold weather wet clothes and lack of food didn't help him one bit. Kikyo was managing to keep up and keep Kengo steady. So far they had encountered no traps in there little dash and hopefully it would stay that way. The lights of Konoha could be seen through the trees coming closer to them as they ran closer and closer. Isao shut the pain out and through about what he'd do once he got back. He'd eat a huge meal and then sleep all day in his warm bed and probably until the next morning. It was so close now. The village was just past these trees a bit once they left the forest they'd passed. As soon as he got past these trees he was a shinobi.
His leg was suddenly pulled out from under him. A thin wire wrapped around his leg and pulled him up into the trees dangling. The steel wire wasn't cutting into his leg like it had with Kengo but it coiled around his calf and ankle bruising him. Kengo was dropped to the ground as a mechanical wooden puppet assaulted Kikyo slashing at her with a small blade. The small blade contacted with her skin drawing blood. She stumbled back from the puppet her back hitting a tree and more wires sprung out of the snow and coiling around her body. Kengo hoisted himself up on his good leg and threw himself at the occupied puppet. The wooden automaton spun back and slammed the kid with his arm knocking him back down into the snow. A second puppet emerged from beneath the snow just under him wrapping its mechanical arms around him keeping his arms pinned down. An orange glow saw spotted thought he trees burning brightly. Kumo walked out of the shadows smoking his pipe. He looked at each and every one of them thought he dark goggles. "You performed admirably." He said praising them calmly. "But your crucible begins now. I have questions for you and if you wish to pass this test you will give me satisfactory answers. First and foremost I want you to tell me why you want to become ninja."
"What are you talking about?" Isao asked reaching for his kunai pouch. A door opened in the shoulder of the puppet holding Kengo revealing a hidden spool of steel wire the end extending and wrapped around Isao's knife hand pulling his arm taut. Kumo looked at him and despite the tinted lenses they knew he was looking them in the eye. He let a plumb of smoke out and spoke again
"To you… personally… what does it mean to be a shinobi?"