CHAPTER 22
As always please review. Also sorry for the short chapter.
"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage."-Lao Tzu
Naruto joined his team and his friends and quickly headed to training ground 44. The journey there was short but gave everyone the time to catch up from when they had last met.
Naruto and his company were the first teams to reach training ground 44 where Anko was already waiting for them in a tree. She was eating dango and red bean soup.
Naruto took this moment to look around at the training ground and all his friends. First he used his sensor skills to see if there was any threatening chakra in the forest, and when he found none he looked back to his friends.
First there was Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro, the family he had made in Suna. Next there was Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi the only people around his age that Naruto got along with in Iwa; their teammate was just waiting by himself away from the huge group, although he did seem to scowl slightly at Naruto.
Chojuro had been placed on a team with Haku and a genin that Naruto didn't know for the exam. Fu appeared to be happy talking with her friends, but Naruto realized she really just didn't want to have to deal with Taki any longer.
Naruto then looked to his side and was glad to see Yugito had grabbed his hand and her tails had intertwined with Naruto's and were happily swaying back and forth. Yugito had a weird team as she, Omoi, Karui, and Samui were the only four man team. Speaking of Samui though, Naruto had noticed that she had discreetly moved over to Sasuke and had placed her hand in his.
Naruto smiled to himself as the family and friends that he had made got along and were so friendly. By the time Naruto refocused he noted that most of the teams had arrived and Anko was getting ready to give a speech.
Naruto had to hold back a laugh though when three little kids ran up to Anko and told her that they were interviewing all the chunin hopefuls for the academy. Anko sighed saying that she forgot about that, she then handed them some paper before turning to the assembled genin.
"The paper that will be coming around shortly is a waver that everyone must sign if they wish to participate in this event. The waver says that Konoha will not be held responsible for any deaths that occur in this part as there will be deaths, that is all for now." Anko said.
Naruto then just waited with his friends as the three kids went around to the genin. Finally the three kids came to Naruto's group and smiled when they saw him.
"Naruto-Niichan when are you going to play ninja with us again?" Konohamaru asked slightly winey. Naruto just chuckled before he ruffled Konohamaru's hair.
"How about once this exam is over or once we have a break ok Konohamaru." Naruto said.
Konohamaru just smiled and nodded his head and then handed out the wavers to Naruto and his group and then took their interviews before returning to Anko and telling her they were done.
Anko then loudly cleared her throat to get everyone's attention quickly.
"for this second test you will enter this training ground, known as the forest of death and will have a task that you need to complete in order to pass the exam." Anko then pulled out two scrolls from behind her.
"Each team will receive one scroll or the other, either a heaven or earth scroll, and your task will be to enter into the forest and fight one of the other teams for the opposite scroll so that your team can pass." Anko said.
"You will be in this forest for five days at most and if by then you have not reached the tower in the middle of the training ground with both scrolls you fail. There is also one more rule, under no circumstance are you to open a scroll until you reach the tower, that is all." Anko said.
She then pointed the teams that had signed the waver in the direction of a small booth where they would pick up their scrolls. Naruto and his friends then finally separated as they each left with their team to get a scroll.
Naruto and his team had received a heaven scroll that Naruto had sealed away next to where he had placed his sword. His team then walked over to a gate and waited for it to be unlocked so the test could begin.
After a few minutes of waiting Anko allowed chunin representatives to unlock the gates and allow the test to start. As soon as they were allowed to go Naruto and his team ran into the forest to find an earth scroll.
Over in the academy Ibiki was picking up the test papers when he noticed something, Naruto's test was completely blank, while not impossible Ibiki hardly saw a paper that was blank from someone that passed. Ibiki then looked closer at the test when he saw something.
On the back of the test there was a small section that shimmered. 'Genjutsu.' Ibiki thought. He then poured a small amount of chakra into the paper to dispel the genjutsu. When he did Ibiki noticed a complex seal pattern on the paper with a small note under it.
Dear Scarface
In this seal is a scroll and note please immediately take this paper to the Hokage and tell him to summon Jiraiya and Tsunade
From N.N
Ibiki then took off to the Hokages tower fast as the note had asked.
Naruto and his team headed towards the nearest team that Naruto didn't recognize their chakra. When they found the team, they quickly incapacitated the team and took their scroll which happened to be an earth scroll and headed towards the tower as they had the needed scrolls.
Once they were almost to the tower Naruto suddenly stopped and turned his head in a different direction.
"What is it Naruto?" Sasuke quickly asked as Naruto hardly acted that way.
"There is a huge chakra source that is being suppressed near the village gate, but it is extremely dark and sinister, and it radiates bloodlust like I've never felt before." Naruto said.
Sasuke just looked concerned in the direction Naruto was looking before he turned his head back towards the tower. "Just don't think about it and lets finish this test." Sasuke said.
Hinata just nodded her head at Sasuke's statement and continued toward the tower.
Anko was sitting in a tree outside the forest eating more dango and red bean soup to pass the time before she headed to the tower to watch the genin in the forest. Just as Anko finished her last dango stick though a chunin representative appeared next to her.
"Anko-san you are requested at the tower as three teams have already passed." The chunin said.
Anko quickly looked at her watch before her eyes widened. "That's not possible how could three teams have already passed in that time." Anko all but shouted.
"There is one more thing that you will need to see at the tower ma'am, it's about the condition of the three teams." The chunin said.
Anko quickly jumped out of her tree and headed towards the tower in the middle of the training ground. When she arrived she was quickly escorted to the monitoring room where all the tapes and cameras feed came to.
A chunin that was already there placed a tape in the recorder and played it back. "This is from earlier in the day when the first team came in." the chunin said.
The tape then played to show Naruto's team walk through. 'So it was the gaki's team that came in first I guess that's not too much of a surprise, but still.' Anko thought.
"Please look at their clothes ma'am, this is what concerned us." The chunin from before said. Anko then played the video back and looked at their clothes but didn't see anything wrong with them, and that's when it hit her.
"They don't have a scratch on them, not a single one of them." Anko said aloud.
"Hai it's like that for the next two teams as well." The chunin said. Anko then played the video forward to the next team's arrival which was a Suna team that she had seen Naruto talking to before the test. Anko then played it again to see the next team and it was a Kumo team, the only team of four if she remembered correctly.
"Well it appears we have good teams this year, it's not like any of these teams have done anything wrong, just because they came in unscathed. We will just have to wait for the five days to be up and see what other teams come in and see how their skills are." Anko said.