(The epic Chunin Exam Arc has started! In the fifth chapter of this the teams are summoned for Stage 2, but what kind of test awaits them? I love feedback and constructive criticism, so please leave a review so I can improve my writing and storytelling skills. Enjoy!)
Team 3 shows up at the designated meeting place along with the 25 other teams that are still in the exam. They quickly spot Team 10 and walk over to chat with them.
"So it looks like you guys made the cut," comments Jando.
"Yeah, we made it, and so did Team 15," says Kenta pointing over to them.
"Good, I was hoping you would figure it out," says Kuroda.
"Figure it out?" questions Yui.
"The point of the test," explains Kuroda.
"Oh, yeah," says Yui, "The proctor, Chiaki Enjoji, explained the whole thing to us once we passed."
"I figured it out and let the other two know about it," comments Ichimaru.
"Good, I thought you would," responds Kuroda.
"But I want to know how you figured it out so fast, and how you found the planted Chunins so fast," says Ichimaru.
"I figured out that you were supposed to cheat quickly after Ms. Chiaki explained the rules of the test. However, I didn't actually find the plants until she was examining our tests to see if they were correct," explains Kuroda.
"I don't get it," states Kenta, "If you didn't find the planted ninja until afterwards, then how did you finish?"
"That's simple," comments Sakura, "We already had a plan."
"What do you mean you had a plan?" exclaims Yui.
"You were already planning on cheating even before you knew the rules," surmises Ichimaru.
"Exactly," confirms Kuroda, "I had already obtained confirmation that the first stage of the Chunin exams was a written test. I was confident that I would be able to answer any of the questions that they would ask, so we decided that I would be the one to take the exam, and then distribute the answers to the other two."
"So how did you pass along the answers?" asks Kenta.
"That's our secret," says Jando.
There is a sudden commotion and then loud shrieks and gasps from kunoichi starting to gather in a big circle.
"Umm, what's with the girls?" asks Jando.
"It looks like there is some guy over there," comments Sakura.
Jando activates his Byakugan to see through the gathering. "His chakra seems strong, I wonder who it is," he says.
"You guys don't know?" says Yui instantly recognizing the man.
"No, who is he?" asks Sakura.
"Only the most gorgeous guy ever," says Yui, "Don't you agree, Sakura?"
"He is nice looking," she replies as she examines the man's deep black hair and forest green eyes, "But he is from the Hidden Rock Village, and you still haven't told me who he is."
"Nice looking? Geez, Sakura, what happened to your taste in men?" Yui complains.
"I already know who I want, Yui," responds Sakura, "But you still haven't told us who he is."
"Ohh, that is right. I forgot you guys don't know him. That is Kenji Takimasu, the proctor of the second stage," explains Yui.
"So how exactly did you find that out?" asks Jando.
"Well, you would know if your team hadn't left early," comments Ichimaru, "He came and introduced himself after we passed the first stage. It was rather annoying though, nearly all the girls fainted when he appeared in the room. He seemed used to it though."
"Ohh, yeah, that reminds me, what was that 10th question anyways?" asks Jando.
Yui jumps in to answer, "You will never believe it, it was…"
"All right, everyone listen up," yells Kenji.
The dashing proctor starts handing out consent forms and tells them, "Some people may die during the exam, so you need to sign these waivers before you can participate in it. The 2nd exam is a survival exam in the 55th training area, a circular region surrounded by 55 locked gate entrances dubbed the Forest of Lost Souls."
Kenji takes out a scroll and rolls it out to reveal a map of the area. He posts it up on a board and starts to point to places on the map, "There are two rivers, a bunch of caves, a forest, and in the middle is a tower within the area. The area is also infested with vicious monsters and poisonous plants. The exam consists of a competition over two scrolls, the scroll of heaven and the scroll of earth, which will be evenly split among 25 teams. Each team receives either a scroll of heaven or a scroll of earth. To pass, a team must bring both scrolls to the tower within 5 days. That means at least half won't pass. To make matters worse, each team's fatigue level will rise eventually and they will only have a short time to recuperate."
Then Kenta asks him, "Are we allowed to quit after the exam starts?"
Kenji shakes his head, "No, you either finish, die, or survive long enough so a relief team can extract you when the test is over."
"That doesn't seem that hard," comments a Rock Ninja from the back of the group.
"The forest is filled with dangerous and unusual animals, poisonous plants, and don't forget about the other ninja out there that will be trying to get your scrolls," replies Kenji.
"I don't see the point in this at all," comments the same ninja, "It's just like any other mission. You could just check out our mission records to see how good we are."
"What are you scared you are going to lose?" yells Rame Tsu.
"Yeah, you are the only one complaining about the exam," adds Naoko, "Only second-rate ninjas would try and get out of something like this."
"What was that, Leaf Ninja?" responds the boy.
"You heard us," replies Rame Tsu, "If you are too afraid to prove yourself in the exam you might as well get out of here now."
"We don't want to bother with weaklings like you," adds Naoko, stirring things up even more, "Only the strong are going to survive this test."
"You should watch what you say," retorts the Rock Ninja.
"Calm down, all of you," interrupts Kenji, not wanting things to get out of control, "You can settle it once the exam starts."
"You two really need to stop doing that," whispers Shun, "Everybody is just going to think we are cocky, not confident, and they will all come after us. I know we are strong and we want to prove we are strong, but we can't take on everybody and win."
"Fine, whatever," says Naoko dismissively.
"Way to kill our spirits," adds Rame Tsu, melodramatically.
"Since some of you seem to have doubts I will inform you of the purpose of this test while the consent forms are still being passed around," says Kenji, "In the previous stage you were tested in 4 important areas. The first was on your knowledge of rules, regulations, theory, calculations, and other academic things. The second was your ability to determine the real objectives of the exam, or in other words your deductive capabilities. Then third you were tested on your information gathering skills. Finally, and most importantly, we tested the trust and loyalty you have towards your teammates. The first Proctor, Chiaki Enjoji, explained those things to you when you all passed. The second stage of the exam is also designed to test you on multiple things, but the basic purpose is to see exactly how well your specific team can work together to complete a mission. It is a simple fact that nearly all missions carried out are conducted in 3 man squads. In order to become a Chunin you must be able to work with your team. This stage is all about teamwork."
"Now, once the consent form is signed, bring them to the sentinels at the booth and exchange them for scrolls. The main rules are that any team that cannot bring both scrolls to the tower with all three team members will fail. Any team that loses a teammate or produces an unrecoverable teammate will fail. Most importantly teams are not allowed to look inside the scrolls until they reach the tower," Kenji explains, "Take your time and read the consent forms before you turn them in at the booth. Once everyone has turned them in we can begin."
All of the teams spread out to talk over what they are going to do. People start staring at their scrolls or sit down contemplating the consent form.
"So what is the plan, Kuroda?" asks Sakura, "We won't know which team has which type of scroll, so we will probably have to kill another team in order to acquire the correct information."
"Hold on, before we decide what we are going to do we should try to find out what the other teams are planning," suggests Jando.
"Wow, Jando, that is actually a good idea," compliments Sakura.
"Agreed, good work, Jando," says Kuroda, "Sakura, we should use Papilio."
"Right!" she says before biting her thumb and placing it on the ground while gathering chakra, "Summoning Jutsu!"
A small puff of smoke appears and a tiny butterfly is revealed. "We need you to gather information on the other teams," says Kuroda, dispensing with formalities.
Papilio takes off of the ground and starts flying around and gathering information. She reports back frequently and they determine that many of the teams are planning on heading towards the tower first and then waiting for other teams to show up.
"So what should we do?" asks Jando.
"We should go slower and see if we can catch anyone slacking, then we will head to the tower on the second day," recommends Kuroda.
"Good plan," comments Sakura.
Kuroda takes the form and signs his name and says, "Are you both ready for this? There is no turning back once you sign."
"I'm not afraid," announces Jando as he grabs the form and signs it.
"I am ready to go," adds Sakura as she confidently signs her name.
Then team 3 starts walking towards the booth to turn in their form. Kuroda notices that a number of Rock Ninja are casually following them. He sends Papilio over to find out what is going on.
As she approaches Papilio hears a ninja called Naga with long, black hair spiked straight up complaining, "C'mon we don't need four teams to take out one. We can do it all on our own."
His teammate who is wrapped in bandages reminds him, "It doesn't matter what you think Naga; because the Tsuchikage ordered us to work together to kill Kuroda's team, so we have to do it."
"Well, he isn't here right now, Yamashita," replies Naga.
"Both of you shut up and make sure we get a spot next to Kuroda's team," interrupts the female member of their team as she brushes some of her long dark brown hair out of her eyes.
She bends down pretending to adjust one of the bandages covering her legs and stands back up to fix her black shorts and brown sleeveless shirt so they are straight.
"Why should I listen to you, Hoshi?" questions Naga, "You're not the leader of this team. I don't care if your dad is the Tsuchikage."
"And you're not the leader either, Naga," interjects Yamashita, "So just be quiet and stick to the plan."
Sensing that is the end of the conversation Papilio flies over to one of the other groups that is trailing a little further back.
"Isn't this the guy we were talking to earlier?" says one of the Rock Ninja.
"Yeah, it is," confirms Din.
"So what do you want to do?" asks the third member of the group.
"We have orders directly from the Tsuchikage," says Din, "We don't have a choice. It's just bad luck that this guy got in the way."
"All right then, this should be easy with 4 teams," replies his teammate.
"But after we take out this Kuroda guy, we are going after Hoshi," announces Din.
"I like the sound of that," say the third member of the group, with a perverted grin.
"Here is the plan, we take care of the Leaf, and then follow Hoshi's team when we split up," explains Din, "Naga has a loud mouth, he should be easy for us to get rid of quickly. Then you two should team up on Yamashita. I have never seen him in a fight before, but I know for a fact that he is extremely cunning so be careful. I will take care of the little bitch myself."
Papilio flies off and catches up to Kuroda just as Team 3 arrives at their chosen gate. She relays the information to him directly before poofing away in a tiny puff of white smoke. He does not share the information with Sakura or Jando. The four Hidden Rock teams casually choose the surrounding gates as all the other competitors start choosing their own gates.
(That is the end of the chapter, what did you think? Team 3 has a target on their back, but now Kuroda knows about it. Will they be able to survive Stage 2 of the Chunin exams? Also, how will the other Hidden Leaf squads do? As usual, if you want more information on my characters you can see their bios on my profile page. Be warned, there may be some spoilers. Also I'm in the process of getting pictures drawn for the characters, but I have no idea how long that will take. If you're interested in drawing and have a DA account then send me a Message. Enjoy the next chapter, and please review.)