Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto (either manga or anime!); the wonderful Masashi Kishimoto-sensei owns all rights. However, the plot and Namiko Uzumaki are mine!

Chapter 8: The Forest of Death, Part 2

Team 8 raced towards where Namiko had sensed Team 7 when Kiba stopped them. "Wait…something is wrong."

"I already told you, Naruto is in trouble!" exclaimed Namiko.

Kiba shook his head. "That's not it. There's blood nearby and a lot of it. We should check it out."

"W-why?" questioned Hinata hesitantly.

"Why not? What if it's Team 10 or something?" Kiba shrugged and took off towards the east of where Team 7 was.

"Kiba-kun!" Namiko rolled her eyes and groaned as she and Hinata followed suit. "You said we'd check on Naruto!"

"I want to see what this is fir…" he slowed down to a stop, hiding behind some bushes. Akamaru climbed into Kiba's jacket and started shaking. The girls both silently knelt in the bushes on either side of Kiba. Everyone kept their voices soft.

Hinata looked at Akamaru with concern. "What's wrong with him?"

"Not sure, I'd say whoever is on the other side of the bushes is freaking him out." Kiba stroked the top of Akamaru's head.

Namiko looked through a small hole in the bushes, careful not to make a sound. "Oh my g…" Fear flooded her veins, going through every part of her in an instant. What she saw before her made her want to vomit. The three Suna shinobi were standing in front of two Ame shinobi, a pool of blood between them. Kiba and Hinata looked through the bushes as well, paling at the sight. They could hear the conversation between the other shinobi.

Gaara was holding an umbrella that was dripping in blood. "It's quick and painless. I used more force than was necessary to ensure that. Bitter crimson tears flow from lifeless eyes and mingle with the endless sands bestowing ever greater power upon the demon god…"

One of the other Ame ninja, covered in blood, shakily laid their scroll on the ground. "Here, take the scroll. Please, just let us go!"

Gaara put down the umbrella and raised both hands towards the Ame ninjas. The sand from the ground wrapping around their legs. Temari sighed before giving a little wave. "Gaara can control the sand in the earth as well, so bye-bye!"

The men were both encapsulated in sand right before they heard: "Sand Coffin!"

Gaara closed both hands into tight fists and blood sprayed out of the sand, leaving no trace of the Ame shinobi behind.

Namiko felt sick and scurried to her feet, quietly running a few meters away where she wouldn't be heard emptying her stomach on the forest floor. Thoughts raced through her head as she knelt. 'What did I get myself into? I'm not cut out to be a ninja! …he's a monster!'

Hinata and Kiba had walked over to her, and Hinata laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. Namiko startled and sat down in relief, looking up at her teammates, tears clouding her eyes. Namiko could see the fear in both of their eyes as well, though they did a better job of dealing with it. They both grew up in shinobi families and had at least heard details about these kinds of horrors…Namiko just grew up with Naruto. Yeah, she knew there were horrible people out there but seeing them in front of her own eyes was a very different story.

"We need to move further away so we're not seen," Kiba whispered and held out his hand to Namiko. She nodded dumbly, taking his hand to stand up.

The three shinobi stealthily walked through the forest without making a sound until they were a safe distance away from the Suna ninja. Hinata had been keeping an eye on them using her Byakugan and watched them head further into the center, towards the tower.

Once they were a safe distance away, Namiko reached out with her chakra senses towards where she had felt Naruto earlier. "It seems like Naruto and Team 7 are okay. I don't sense that weird chakra of that Kusa shinobi anymore. It seems like they decided to camp, because it feels like Naruto and Sasuke are asleep."

"It's starting to get dark, maybe we should just camp for tonight as well?" suggested Hinata as they stopped walking.

Kiba nodded. "We've already got what we needed, so it won't hurt to rest tonight and finish heading towards the tower in the morning."

"We should probably take shifts in sleeping for tonight. I'll take the middle watch." Namiko sat down on a nearby log, trying to fix her hair that she had haphazardly thrown into a ponytail earlier.

"I don't mind taking the morning shift. I wake up early anyways." Hinata said with a smile.

Kiba stretched before jumping into a lower branch of a nearby tree. "I'll take the first shift then, you guys get some rest."

Both girls nodded and laid down to rest until their respective shifts.

A couple of hours after she had laid down to sleep, Namiko awoke to Kiba gently shaking her shoulder. "Namiko…your turn." She sat up quickly, a little startled and he jerked his hand back. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

Namiko rubbed a hand over her forehead. "No, I'm sorry. I'm still a little jumpy from earlier."

"It's understandable. I think it shook us all up a bit. I'm gonna pass out with Akamaru now though." The small dog was still shaking, but Namiko noticed how he started to relax when he snuggled next to Kiba's head as they both lay down to sleep.

Namiko jumped into the same tree that Kiba had been in earlier for a better view of her surroundings. She decided to practice her chakra sensing more. This time she kept her eyes open so as not to put them in a vulnerable position.

She reached out with her chakra senses, deciding to check on Naruto first. Team 7 was on the edge of her senses, about three kilometers away. It looked like they had moved since Namiko had last checked on them. Naruto's chakra was dormant, most likely sleeping, but there was something different about his chakra. It seemed broken in a way. She didn't pay attention to his chakra normally when he was sleeping. 'Maybe that's his normal?'

She decided to focus on Sakura and Sasuke next. Sakura's chakra was pretty low, but she was moving slightly. 'She's probably just tired from everything we've all been through. She's probably on the second watch like I am.'

Sasuke's chakra was a different story though. It was dormant, like Naruto's, signaling sleep, but something was off. Very off. It was turbulent, like waves of the ocean during high tide. A storm seemed to be brewing within him. 'This is weird. Maybe he's having a nightmare or something to cause that change?'

She scanned the rest of her surroundings, but no one was currently in range except Team 7. She turned off her senses for the time being and just listened to the nighttime sounds around her. Nocturnal animals like rabbits, mice, and other things were scurrying around. She looked up at the moon; it was full which gave her a fair amount of light to watch her surroundings.

She let her thoughts drift as she kept watch. 'Maybe I'm not cut out to be a ninja. The only reason I chose to go to the academy was because I wanted to support Naruto…but also, I also remember Sandaime urging us both to join once we were turning six. Naruto jumped at the chance, but I definitely hesitated.' She took a deep breath and sighed heavily. 'I need to be brave. I need to not give up, just like Naruto never gives up. We've been through so much in our lives but it's not going to hold us back. We're going to keep pushing through whatever comes our way.'

The moon had started to dip lower in the sky, so Namiko woke Hinata. The Hyuuga was happy to take her turn; she was the morning person whereas Namiko wasn't. Namiko smiled at her best friend before nodding back off to sleep.

When Hinata woke Namiko, the sun had already risen into view. 'Probably around six or so.' Namiko tried to finger-comb her long locks but struggled to get a tangle out.

Hinata giggled at her friend's predicament. "Would you like some help, Namiko-chan?" Namiko nodded and Hinata took a senbon from her pouch and used the end to untangle the knot. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course you can!" Namiko smiled brightly at her friend.

Hinata tilted her head to the side as she worked through Namiko's long red hair. "Why do you keep your hair so long?"

"It's always been long." Namiko paused for a moment in thought before continuing, "I mean, since Naruto and I never had parents, no one brought up cutting my hair, so it was always long, wild, and untamed. Though once when I was about five, a woman told me that my hair reminded her of a very strong kunoichi that she once knew named Kushina who kept her hair long, just past her knees. The woman told me that her hair was red like mine, and it was very long and beautiful. She said that Kushina was the strongest kunoichi she knew. After that, I vowed to keep it long, continued letting it grow, and started taking better care of it. It was the first time someone complimented me."

She sighed heavily, looking down at her hands in her lap. "I know Sakura, Ino, and other girls grew out their hair because of Sasuke," she rolled her eyes, "but that's not why I keep my hair long. When that woman told me that, it gave me a sense of self-respect and something to aspire to. I wanted to be like that kunoichi."

She took a deep breath and turned to face Hinata. "Thank you for reminding me of her and my goal. I want to be a strong kunoichi like her. I want to be proud of who I am and also to prove to Naruto that I can take care of myself too." The girls both smiled at each other and Namiko pulled Hinata in for a hug.

"We should probably start to head to the tower. The sooner we get this done and over with, the better." Kiba interrupted their trains of thought as he stood, Akamaru still tucked in his jacket shaking.

Namiko walked over to Kiba and gave Akamaru a little pat on the head. "Poor guy, he's still messed up after that. I can't say I can blame him, my mind was racing for most of last night. Before we leave, I'm going to check things out quickly."

He nodded. "Good idea."

Namiko activated her chakra sensing and froze in her spot again. "Team 7 is still over west of us and something seems off, both Naruto and Sasuke's chakra seems to be dormant, almost like they're still sleeping." She shook her head trying to understand what she was feeling. "There's a team I don't recognize over there, but also maybe Lee-kun? Hinata-chan, can you check?"

"Of course, Byakugan!" Hinata focused her view over where Namiko indicated. "You're right. Sakura-chan and Lee-kun are on their own against the team from Oto. But both Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun seem to be unconscious, not just sleeping…" Concern was written across her face.

Namiko looked up at Kiba but she didn't have to say a word before he took off. "Okay, let's go."

Rock Lee was on the ground struggling and unable to move, while Sakura was captured by the Oto kunoichi, her hand holding tightly to Sakura's hair. "You're helpless against me, little girl," Kin said with a malicious glint in her eyes.

Sakura smirked as she held a kunai tightly in her hand. "You think so?" With one swift movement, Sakura sliced off her petal pink strands and moved away from the kunoichi.

"Kin! Finish her!" yelled the Oto shinobi with the spiky black hair, Zaku.

Sakura started making hand signs as Kin ran behind her and stabbed senbon in her back. Sakura went up in a poof of smoke, leaving a log behind. Sakura charged toward Zaku with kunai in hand, launching them, and started making the same hands signs again.

Zaku scoffed. "Really? You're a one-trick pony. Pathetic." He used his sound waves to disperse the kunai Sakura had aimed, as the kunai bounced back at "her" she used the substitution to turn into another log. "Where are you coming from this time?" He looked up to see Sakura heading right for him and threw several kunai at her, hitting their target.

Sakura got hit in the legs and arms but kept coming towards him. Zaku realized a little too late that she wasn't going to use substitution jutsu again as Sakura grabbed one of the kunai that had been lodged in her arm and aimed it right at Zaku's arm. The kunai dug deep into his flesh, damaging the sound tube in his arm. Sakura sprang away from him just as Team 8 burst through the bushes and stood surrounding her protectively, backs facing her in a circle.

Sakura's mouth dropped open. "What are you guys doing here?"

Kiba turned his head a little toward Sakura before nodding his head in Namiko's direction, "Well, a little red-headed birdie wouldn't leave me alone until we checked on her brother…"

"Hey! With both her teammates down, the last thing Sakura needs is to go down too. Then all three of them would have to start over." Namiko said as she stared down Zaku.

Zaku stood, ripping the kunai out of his arm and blood dripping steadily from the wound. "You all should just give up now. You're too weak."

"Namiko," said Kiba over his shoulder. "Take Sakura and protect her, Naruto, and Sasuke." Namiko glanced at her teammates and the Oto shinobi before reluctantly leading Sakura over to where Naruto and Sasuke lay.

Kiba and Akamaru immediately lunged towards Dosu. Akamaru went straight for Dosu's face, scratching and biting him repeatedly as he tried to remove the pup. Kiba knocked Dosu off his feet and pinned him to the ground.

Hinata activated her Byakugan and got into a fighting stance against Zaku but waited for him to make the first move. They were several meters apart, both watching each other and what was going on around them, and the scene going on around them was more interesting than the standoff they were in.

Kin had decided to go for Namiko and Team 7. However, when Kin charged towards them, Namiko went behind her and used teleportation jutsu to move them both away from Team 7. Namiko held Kin from behind, two kunai with one pointed at her back and another held across her neck. "Don't even think about it."

Kin scoffed. "You think some fancy fast moves are going to beat us? You're still weak."

"Looks like I have the advantage though." Namiko's voice was low as she moved the kunai to Kin's low back, tip poking her shirt. "If I got you here, you'd need a diaper for the rest of your life." She moved the kunai to the mid-chest level. "If I cut your spine here, you'd be unable to breathe on your own ever again." She moved the kunai to just behind Kin's skull. "And here? I could just put you out of your misery."

Namiko raised her voice as she kept the kunai pointed at the back of Kin's skull. "You three might as well surrender now unless you want to fail for losing a team member."

Zaku let out a hearty laugh. "You think we care about her? Go ahead. She's not important." He aimed his arm towards Namiko and Kin. "Actually, never mind, I'll just get rid of you both." He let out a blast of sound waves towards the two kunoichi.

The two girls were slammed against a nearby tree, with Kin taking most of the blast since she was in front. Namiko had moved the kunai she had held to prevent from actually causing Kin permanent harm. When she was pushed against the tree, she dropped both kunai, one cutting her leg on the way to the ground.

Zaku scoffed when he realized she had let go of the kunai. "You'll never get anywhere in the ninja world if you aren't willing to follow through with your threats."

Namiko struggled to stand from the horrible ringing in her ears and the long cut on her calf. She looked at Kin who had blood dripping from her mouth and nearing unconsciousness. "How…could you attack one of your own teammates?"

Zaku kept one arm pointed at Hinata and the other at Kin and Namiko. "You underestimated us. Our objective isn't to pass the exam, we're after Sasuke."

Sakura yelled from her sitting position in front of Sasuke and Naruto. "You think we'd let you ever take one of our friends?! You're out of your minds! You may be willing to sacrifice a comrade but we're like family to each other."

Namiko felt a rush of nauseating chakra spike behind her from where Sakura sat guarding her teammates. She didn't even have her chakra sensing active. 'Where is this chakra coming from? It seems like Sasuke's, but it's like it's poisoned. Dark. Terrifying.'

Sakura heard a noise behind her and turned around to see Sasuke starting to stand. "Sasuke! You're awake—" The rest of her sentence died on her tongue.

Chakra swirled around Sasuke as he stepped next to Sakura. Her eyes were wide with fear. This was not the same Sasuke she knew. Something was wrong, very wrong. His Sharingan were active and he had flame-like marks spreading across the left side of his body. "What is wrong with you? What are those weird marks?" she asked him, still seated on the ground next to Naruto.

"I feel fine. In fact, I feel better than I ever have. I understand now why I was given this mark. I'm an avenger and I have to gain power any way I can, even if that means treading the path of evil." Sasuke glanced around. He saw Kiba holding down Dosu, Hinata in a standoff with Zaku, and Namiko leaning against a tree holding her bleeding leg near a downed Kin. "How did this happen?" He locked eyes with Namiko. "How did you get hurt?"

Zaku held his head high and answered haughtily, "It was me!" Sasuke's dark eyes snapped toward Zaku, glaring menacingly.

Dosu pushed Kiba off him while he was distracted, grabbed the unconscious Kin, and backed up and away from Zaku. "You idiot! You've painted a target on your back! You're on your own."

Kiba motioned to Hinata and they ran over to Namiko. Kiba stood in front of her while Hinata checked the wound on her leg. "Namiko-chan, are you okay?"

Namiko nodded dumbly, eyes still fixed on Sasuke. "Just a small cut."

"I wouldn't exactly call that small…" Kiba glanced over at her leg and the fifteen-ish centimeter cut on her calf. Hinata had got out some of her special ointment and a bandage and started to care for the injury.

The marks were spreading further across Sasuke's body as he stepped towards Zaku.

"Supersonic Air Slice!" yelled Zaku as a large burst of air rocked the ground, headed straight for Team 7. Zaku grinned confidently. "Ha! Blew that brat to bits!"

A voice came from beside Zaku. "What was that?" Sasuke was standing beside him and hit him once, sending the Oto ninja flying across the open area and into a fallen tree. Zaku stood shakily as Sasuke took a deep breath in. "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" He blew out several fireballs toward Zaku.

Zaku knew he couldn't dodge them, so he tried to blow the fireballs out using the air tubes in his arms. The fireballs went out, but within them were shuriken. "What?!" The shuriken pierced his body in multiple places.

Dosu tried to warn him. "Zaku! Beneath you!"

Before Zaku could even look down, Sasuke slid beneath and behind him, grabbing and pinning his arms. Sasuke mocked him, "Hn, you take such pride in these arms of yours. I think it's time to bid them farewell." With his foot on Zaku's back and one strong pull, a sickening crack rang through the woods. Zaku fell to the ground, writhing in pain.

Sasuke turned his attention to Dosu, stalking toward him. "And then there was one…"

Sakura jumped up and ran to Sasuke, wrapping her arms tightly around him. "NO! Stop it!" Tears ran down her face, but Sasuke just shoved her arms away and continued walking toward Dosu and Kin.

Namiko pushed Hinata and Kiba aside and ran in front of Sasuke, arms stretched wide blocking his path to Dosu. Sasuke stopped right in front of her. "Why would you protect them when they hurt you?"

"Zaku was the one who hurt me, and you already took care of that. I'm okay now, I promise…" As her voice trailed off, she looked at the ground between them, then back into his charcoal eyes. As blue eyes locked with black, the marks on Sasuke started to recede.

"Obviously," spoke up Dosu as he held out a scroll. "we have no chance of defeating you in that state. So, I'm offering a truce. Let us go and you take our scroll."

Namiko turned around and nodded in agreement. Dosu laid down the scroll and picked up both Zaku and Kin, turning and leaving without another look.

Once the Oto shinobi were out of sight, Sasuke sank to his knees in front of Namiko. "What happened to me…?"

She spoke softly as she knelt next to him, reaching a hand towards him but not making contact. "Something weird with your chakra is all I know."

Sakura walked up to them. "It's that curse mark that Orochimaru put on you. It's gotta be!"

Namiko raised her eyebrow. "What curse mark?"

Sasuke slowly pulled down the edge of his shirt collar to reveal three small black tomoe-like marks on the junction between his neck and shoulder.

"That weird Kusa ninja was this man Orochimaru in disguise. He was freaky like a snake, and he bit Sasuke-kun, leaving that mark on his neck," explained Sakura, almost rambling from the anxiety that filled her at remembering the previous day.

"Hey Namiko," called Kiba from across the clearing, "you may want to come get up your brother. He's mumbling in his sleep."

Namiko stood up, giggling to herself, as she walked over to her brother who was mumbling something about Sakura in his sleep. "Nii-chan…time to wake up!" She nudged him with her foot, and he startled awake.

"Where's that freaky snake person?!" He sat up and took in the scene around him. "Where did you guys come from? What did I miss?" He noticed the bandage on Namiko's leg, brow furrowing. "Imouto, you got hurt…"

She flopped down on the grass next to him. "Yeah, but I'll be okay. Hinata-chan took great care of me and bandaged me up perfectly!"

Naruto turned to look at Hinata. "Thanks, Hinata, I knew I could count on you!" Hinata froze and turned bright red. She definitely wasn't used to being complimented, especially by Naruto.

A feminine voice called out from a branch above. "Lee! There you are! What happened to him?" TenTen and Neji had been standing on a branch and leaped down to check on their teammate.

Sakura helped Lee sit up and handed him over to his teammates. "He saved my life. I honestly owe him a lot right now."

Lee attempted to smile at Sakura and gave a weak thumbs up. "You are so welcome my beautiful flower! I am just glad I was able to help!" Neji and TenTen threw Lee's arms over their shoulders and they walked off and out of sight.

Kiba laughed, pointing at Sakura and speaking in a mocking tone, "Sakura's got a boyfriend!"

"I do not! I would never date him!" Sakura punched Kiba on the back of the head, but blush tinged her cheeks ever so slightly.

"Never say never, Sakura-chan, because often life reminds you that you're not actually in control of everything," Namiko said with a wink.

"So, are you guys still looking for your other scroll?" Naruto asked bluntly.

Kiba grinned. "Nope! We got ours within about the first half-hour. We were heading to the tower but Namiko kept asking us to check on you."

"Jeez, Namiko, did you not trust your big brother to be able to pull this off?" Naruto said incredulously.

"Hey!" Namiko threw up her hands in defense. "It's not that I didn't trust you to take care of yourselves, but every time I checked on you with my chakra sensing, it seemed like something was wrong!"

"Well," started Sasuke, walking over to Namiko. "I'm glad you were here to help out just now. We still need to find a heaven scroll and we'll need to save our energy as much as possible."

"You're welcome," Namiko said smiling, freckled nose crinkling slightly.

"Alright, now that they're safe. Can we go get this turned in now?" Kiba asked, almost whining while Akamaru actually was whining.

Hinata giggled slightly and glimpsed over at her red-headed friend. "Namiko-chan? We really should probably go."

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto said, waving them off. "You guys turn in your scrolls. Awesome shinobi like us can't be beat. We'll be there with you before you know it!" Naruto beamed at Hinata, causing her face to flush again.

Namiko giggled to herself and gently turned the Hyuuga around, ushering her away from Naruto. "Alright, good luck! See you soon!" Team 8 turned, leaving Team 7 by themselves to figure out their next move.

As Team 8 approached the tower in the center of the Forest of Death, they frequently checked for enemies knowing that some would surely be sticking around waiting to pick off those turning in their scrolls.

"Everything is clear," said Hinata with a nod.

They approached the tower and went through the door. Inside was a large room with a poster on the wall.

"There's nothing here, except that stupid sign. What's that supposed to mean anyways?" asked Kiba.

Namiko read it aloud, "If qualities of Heaven are what you desire, acquire wisdom and knowledge to take your mind higher. If Earthly qualities are what you lack, train your body in the fields, and prepare to attack. When both Heaven and Earth are opened together, the path of peril will revert to the righteous path forever. This _ is the secret way…that guides us on from this place today. Signed, the Sandaime."

"I think we open both scrolls now," Hinata said, taking the earth scroll out of her hip pouch. Kiba took his out as well and they laid them both down, opening them together.

Written on the scrolls was the character for "person" and Namiko instantly recognized the scroll. "It's a summoning scroll. We should probably back up."

Hinata and Kiba backed up. A poof of smoke popped up from the scrolls revealing Kurenai. All three genin rushed towards her, Hinata and Namiko hugging her while Kiba hung back a bit.

"What are you doing here?" asked Kiba skeptically. "This is you, right, and not a genjutsu?"

Kurenai gave a small laugh as the girls let go of her. "Of course it's me. The scrolls were made to summon us once our teams passed."

"We passed?!" Kiba exclaimed excitedly as he and Akamaru ran around the room. "OH YEAH!"

All three kunoichi laughed at his antics. Kurenai cleared her throat and continued, "Yes, you three have passed, but I'm also here to explain some things as well."

Hinata looked inquisitively at Kurenai. "Like what, sensei?"

"The directive on the wall," explained Kurenai, gesturing to the poem. "In a nutshell, it explains that as a Chuunin, your goal is to become a well-rounded shinobi. If you're lacking in wisdom, push the books harder to learn more. If you're lacking in physical strength, you need to train more. Wherever your weaknesses lie, you need to train to better yourself.

"I know we are technically a specialized team and need to keep our tracking abilities strong, but we all still need to be well-rounded so we don't leave our other team members in trouble trying to make up for our faults. I want each of you to tell me what you need to work most on. Since you're so eager, why don't you tell me first, Kiba?"

Kiba folded his arms over his chest, speech a little defensive and flat. "…probably my wisdom. I know I can be impulsive and I could learn more ninjutsu other than just what Akamaru and I use."

"I'd agree with that. Hinata?" Kurenai turned to the Hyuuga.

"Well," Hinata paused. "I've been working more on my taijutsu, but I could use some more overall strength."

Kurenai nodded at her, then turned towards the redhead. "Namiko?"

Namiko sighed and hung her head. "I'm pretty weak overall. I have my book smarts and my speed, but that's about it. Because I'm so short I feel like I'll never catch up physically to everyone."

"Just because you are small doesn't mean you can't catch up, you just have to turn your book smarts into street smarts and find ways to take advantage of your situation, working it in your favor," Kurenai suggested. "Now, here's the better news for you three. The other teams have three and a half more days, but because you finished early, you get to go home and recuperate. Trust me when I say use this time wisely. You'll have an advantage because of it in the next test."

Kiba stepped forward. "What's the next test?"

"That," Kurenai pursed her lips together. "I can't tell you. Just promise me that you three will do your best." The three genin nodded in agreement. Kurenai laid down three scrolls. "These will take you back to the academy and from there you can go home until I come to get you for the next exam." They each stepped up to a scroll, about to step on.

"I want to say again: I'm proud of you three," Kurenai said with a big smile.

After arriving back at the academy, the three members of Team 8 each said their goodbyes and went to their respective homes. After Kiba and Hinata left, Namiko let out a huge breath that she didn't realize she'd been holding.

'That part of the exam was insane. What on earth could be more intense than that?'

A/N: That wraps up Part 2 of the Forest of Death! I know, I didn't include what happened to Team 7 after Team 8 left them to complete the test, but it's because nothing changes from the anime/manga. Team 7 still gets help from Kabuto and Iruka explains the poem. Next, we'll be jumping into the Preliminaries. See you all soon! (Please review/comment if you can, it means a lot to me.)

-Eriisu