Trickshot

Chapter 22

-Naruto-

Running a hand through his hair, Naruto sighed, eyes flitting around to observe the other test takers as they waited outside the Forest of Death. The new Proctor, Tenzo, had brought them all here and instructed them to wait while he collected the materials needed for the exam that the prior proctor hadn't collected. Nearby, an older Konoha Genin was shuffling and fiddling with cards that clearly had faint seals drawn on them, although they were too small for him to make out from this distance.

"The hell are those?" Sasuke grunted, noting the action as well.

"Info cards." The Genin spoke smugly, "My own personal creation. I'm not much of a combat shinobi but I'm a pretty good medic and am quite skilled at gathering intel." As he spoke, the Genin placed a card on the ground, the item spinning before a little puff of smoke manifested and the blank card now showed a graph of which villages sent how many teams.

"So, you found out how many teams were competing?" Sai tilted his head, expression blank as always.

"Not just that. I have information on individual test takers too. Both Konoha and the foreign ones. Strength, mission history, you name it." The gray haired genin grinned as Naruto suddenly found himself suspicious. Bingo book level information was one thing for particularly notorious shinobi but having that much information and more on even 'regular' shinobi and kunoichi, especially ones from foreign countries? Either the Genin was lying and trying to use false information to hinder his opponents; something he doubted as all it would take is one or two people to disprove his information if overheard and the Genin was only offering to Konoha applicants. The other option was that this applicant was a potential spy, or traitor. There might have been a third option where he got the information somehow but that didn't seem all that likely.

"Come on? Don't you want details about the swordsmen from Mist?" the silver haired teenager was shuffling his cards, "That redhead from Sand? Maybe those from Iwa? There's even a team from a new village called sound but they only managed to scrape together the three genin so I doubt it's that impressive."

Naruto was paying more attention to the eavesdropping crowd than the potential traitor, Haku having thankfully noticed the same things he did and was on alert. He saw the tensing in the muscles of two of the three sound genin as they moved to attack the Konoha applicant who'd insulted them.

Unfortunately for those two, Naruto was faster. Their third team member tried to call out a warning, his one exposed eye widening as Naruto got between the two, Kubikirihocho out and gleaming. The male attacker found the circular hole at the top of the Kubikirihocho's blade, the sharpened edge digging into his neck while the main edge of the sword was pressed against the throat of the girl. The two were still as could be, one wrong move capable of cutting their throats open right then and there.

"Now, now." Naruto gave a lazy grin, letting his killing intent ooze out as the two paled, their third team member taking a step back, hands raised, "Trying to attack another applicant outside the actual tests? That's against the rules."

Behind him, he could hear most if not all of the Konoha genin getting out weapons or assuming combat stances out of sheer principle. The village prided itself on unity and teamwork. Even if one had issues with their teammates or fellow Konoha shinobi, those issues weren't to be seen by outsiders.

The standoff was cut short by the sound of the proctor returning with his assistants.

"No fighting until the second exam has begun." Tenzo's voice brokered no argument as Naruto resealed his blade in an instant, the two sound genin slumping as they finally let out the breath they'd been holding. The presence of the ANBU though, kept them from retaliating.

"Here is how today's exam will go." Tenzo stood in front of the assembled teams, holding up two scrolls, each with a different seal on the wax holding them closed "These are the scrolls of Heaven and Earth. Each team will be taken into the tent my assistants are setting up where they will be given a scroll. Only one will be given to each team and if you take a second one through any means before the second exam begins then you will be disqualified." Naruto wondered if that specification was being put in place because of him and Haku, "The purpose of the test is twofold. The first is survival as you'll need to last until you can achieve the second objective in a hostile environment. You'll have to find food, water, places to rest, all of that on your own. The second objective is that you must make your way to the tower in the center of the forest with both scrolls. If you enter the tower without both a heaven scroll and an earth scroll, you'll be disqualified. And finally, if you open the scrolls before reaching the tower, you will be disqualified." The man's tone was deadly serious, making it clear that he wasn't joking and wouldn't allow anyone to get away with violating those terms.

Sharing a glance with Haku, Naruto and his partner quickly entered the tent where they were handed a satchel containing their scroll. Ensured that nobody would be able to see which team had what scroll while waiting to enter the forest. His hand twitched to his pack, resisting for now. He'd do it the moment he was out of sight within the Forest though.

-Sarutobi-

Entering the Academy, Sarutobi ran a tired hand down his face. He hated that what he'd ordered for Kakashi was necessary but truly hoped this would get results to help the man. "Ah, Ibiki." He nodded to the head of Torture and Interrogation, "Excellent. How did the first test go?"

"The Uzumaki brat would do well in the Intel Branch." Ibiki snorted, tossing a perfect test, "Kid thought ahead about what the tests might be. And when he noted that the first one was here, he figured it clearly had to be intel gathering so he some the fuck how stole copies of the questions in advance." The elderly Hokage blinked in shock at that little revelation.

"He what?!" Sarutobi tried to think when or how Naruto could have pulled that off.

"Little shit was real smug about it too." Ibiki laughed, "It's been so quiet since Tsume took the kid in that I forgot how devious that little gremlin was."

"Yes, Naruto has always been mischievous and clever in equal measure." Sarutobi sighed, running a palm down his face, "I'll be sure to introduce him to the intel branch. That said he's not liable to give up being a combat or hunter shinobi given all the training he's put into it."

"A well-rounded Shinobi then." Ibiki gave a blasé shrug "Kid has potential is my point." He considers, "Not sure how well he'd work in my department. I'm not sure he has it in him to calmly ask questions over a man screaming as you dislocate his thumbs." Or worse. Often worse.

"Fair enough, I-" he paused when he felt the journal in his pocket begin to vibrate. Ibiki noticed it too.

"Your pocket seems to be vibrating sir." Ibiki noted dryly as Sarutobi fished out the leather bound journal, one of the latest examples of Naruto and his girlfriend's seal work.

"Yes, it's something Naruto and his girlfriend invented." He nodded, planning to get Ibiki one anyway once it was tested more "He called it a 'journey book'. The item has a pair and what's written in one book appears in the other. The stylus attached can write and erase the ink so they won't run out of space. I plan to have more made for the various branches once it's been tested more."

"I suppose Naruto himself has the other one?" Ibiki inspected the book as Sarutobi opened it.

"Indeed." The old Kage laughed as he flipped through the pages to find the new message "We've been using it to talk about ideas he has for a book."

"A book?" Ibiki raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Jiraiya has managed to get on Naruto's bad side so he plans to write a book more popular than 'Icha-Icha' just to piss off the Toad Sage." Sarutobi laughed, "One of his ideas was-" he went still as he found the message.

"Sir?" Ibiki noted his change in demeanor.

"We have a potential traitor in the exams." Sarutobi looked over at Ibiki seriously, "Best case scenario is that Naruto was just wary after a student did a dumb bluff. Worst case is he's a spy." He filled Ibiki in on what Naruto had reported of the Genin Kabuto.

"I'll look into it." Ibiki nodded seriously. As the head of interrogation he already had access to personnel files which would be a good starting point. If or when the kid fell out of the exams he'd be collected for questioning.

-Kankuro-

"Sand…Burial." Gaara's bloodthirsty voice echoed from the trees as yet another Mist genin was brutally crushed into a red puddle on the forest floor. A severed hand clutching yet another scroll of heaven laying on the ground, blood leaking from the stump.

"T-that's all the ones I found in the area." Temari gulped as Gaara returned his sand to the gourd. The container of the one tail had insisted on choosing a gate near multiple Mist teams. The moment they were permitted into the forest Gaara had begun to hunt.

Gaara's sand eye technique had spied on them as they waited to enter the forest. Finding out which teams were planning to assassinate Uzumaki, and which ones were simply focusing on the test. The latter were permitted to live for now.

"There are still more teams who plan to take my prey from me." Gaara's eyes were wide with manic glee. The thrill of the fight showing stronger than Kankuro had ever seen it before. The upcoming invasion, the chance to fight all the strong opponents they'd found here in Konoha. Gaara was likely the 'happiest' he'd ever been.

"Well if Uzumaki can't handle that last team or two would he really have proved your existence?" Kankuro asked hesitantly. Even after all the years of experience he had in dealing with his brother he was still scared as hell. Thankfully, Gaara paused to consider Kankuro's question without providing a firsthand demonstration the Sand Coffin or Sand Burial.

"Think of it like this." Temari realized what Kankuro was aiming for and jumped right in to help him for once, "You want to fight him to prove your existence? This is him fighting to prove he's good enough for that. You already killed most of the teams after him so they won't be able to just use sheer numbers to steal your kill."

"Hnnn." Gaara nodded, his breathing evening out and the manic glee in his eyes subsiding until there was once more only a blank mask. "You have a point." He looked at the latest scroll they'd collected, now having spares of each type, "We will go to the tower. If we find any of our…allies," The sneer on Gaara's face at that word could have curdled milk "along the way then we may give them any extras."

"Sounds like a plan Gaara." Kankuro worked to keep the relieved joy from his face. The last thing he wanted to was to piss his brother off and set the bloodthirsty redhead off again.

AN: There we go, the start of the 'forest of Death'. Planning for the forest part itself to be in three chapters and next chapter includes a specific scene that I have been looking forward too since I started this story.