Chapter 78 Forest for Eternal winter.

The Land of Iron didn't have a forest of death. The second part of the exam; survival, would be different from what I knew. Anko seemed excited as she led us out of the room and to the empty town square. Soon two clones landed beside her, and a crowd of genin joined us.

"There are a lot of people here," Sasuke said, observing the crowd. "A lot of competition."

"Don't worry," I assured him. "This test will halve the numbers in no time." I grinned as the jonins of different countries gathered.

"Everything is ready," One reported, bringing a smile to Anko's face.

"Listen up, fledgling," she called out, quitting the crowd. She held up a paper form. "Before we begin, imma need you to sign this."

"Consent form?"

They handed out the form to everyone. It was a consent form to take the second exam knowing the risk.

"I accept any and all damages that may occur as a result of this exam. I understand that Injury or death may occur and will not pursue legal actions." I read a line from the contract aloud. I was wondering how they managed to kill so many people. A consent form works.

"What the hell!?"

"Are you telling us to accept death?"

"How deadly is the exam that you need a form like this?"

"No, wait, isn't it a trap?" someone said. People started at him as though he had two heads. "Think about it. The first test made us think it was an all-or-nothing situation; maybe it's the same here."

"Oh, you mean they're just trying to scare us into backing out?"

Those that heard those words grew confident. Ibiki told us to be courageous in order to overcome challenges, but now they were being stupid. There is a difference between courage and recklessness.

"Sakura?" Naruto questioned, looking at my face with horror. I touched my cheeks to find i was smiling. No, I wasn't the only one excited.

"Lamps to the slather! Forest of death or no, there will be blood!"

"Blood for the blood god," I said out loud. I reached over and patted Naruto's head. "No worry, my light, I'll warn you before I slather anyone~."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Naruto muttered. I rubbed my checks against his. He felt cold against me.

"If they want to sign away their life, let them," I cooed. "Fewer things to worry about in the future."

Shikamaru sighed. "She's drunk on blood lust," he said.

"With all the snow, her rampage is bound to get attention," Neji said.

"Who would be dumb enough to approach the smell of death," Kiba whined. Akamaru barked in agreement.

"She won't turn and try to kill us, right?" Choji asked.

"Don't worry, she not that far gone," Sasuke assured them. He walked over and wrenched Naruto from my arms, pushing the form into the empty space. "Sign it so we can go."

I pouted but signed it without question. Seeing this, the other genins began to sign theirs as well.

"Don't be too hasty now," Anko said, seeing everyone's frantic movement. "It's not too late to run away. You can always wait until the exam is more favorable to you."

"We won't back down," they said. "We won't run away from a challenge."

They really sound corny, as they said it, but that was fighting spirit for you.

"The power of youth!"

Anko's smile was vicious.

"Oh~," she purred. "Brave little ones, aren't you? It's always the loudmouths that die first."

Some reconsidered, but they didn't run when they had the chance. Idiots.

"If we were in the Leaf, I'd throw you into a forest of oversized bugs, but since we're not, I'll do the next best thing," Anko said, leading us to the base of the mountain. I hadn't noticed before; but there were various cave openings in the mountain.

No. I narrowed my eyes, stretching my senses. Those weren't there before.

Anko stopped in front of the cave entrance.

"Here's the score," she began. "At the center of these mountains is a stronghold. Your task is to make it to said stronghold within three days. All the cave systems converse at the stronghold, so long as you follow the path, you'll get there eventually. Easy, right?"

No one responded; they knew there was a catch. Anko smiled and took out those familiar scrolls.

"Each team will receive one of two scrolls," she continued. "You need two scrolls to make it inside the stronghold. One heaven and one earth, you can't make it in with two of a kind. Each team will receive one scroll; you will obtain the other by your own means. Whether that's stealing or killing, it's up to you."

Silence rang out at the end of the short explanation. Suddenly the paper they had just carelessly signed seemed heavier. They looked around at the other genins, those that were no doubt strong and ruthless. Gaara and I got a lot of stares.

"Here are the rules," Anko continued. "You need to get to the stronghold within three days, or you're disqualified, no exceptions. Each team needs three members to advance; those without a full squad will be disqualified, no exceptions. Each team of three needs a heaven and earth scroll to enter the stronghold, no exceptions. And finally, anyone who opens the scrolls before reaching the tower will be disqualified, no exceptions.

Suddenly, before anyone could think twice, the consent forms flew out of our hands and into Anko's. A satisfied smirk spread across her face as she saw the despair in their eyes.

"This isn't like Ibiki's test," she announced. "This time, you really will have to put your lives on the line. You know the theory. Now put it into action!" Collect your scroll and get ready to depart!"

After collecting our scroll, Anko sent us to various cave entrances. It closely imitated the forest of death starting point, with invigilators watching us. I looked up at the cave entrance and felt a bit nervous. Even though I hadn't seen any sound ninjas, but they were replaced by Jinchurikis and filler extras.

I inhaled deeply before exhaling. I looked over at Naruto, who was vibrating with excitement. I looked at Sasuke, who had a determined look on his face. They were so different from their canon counterpart. Sasuke wasn't brody, and Naruto wasn't an attention whore. I raised them well. We just needed to get past another plot point.

If we made it past the chunin exams without incident, then the Sasuke retrieval arc, will be void. I clench my fist. I won't let that snake bastard get his hands on Sasuke.

"All right, everyone!" Anko's voice echoed from inside the cave. "It's time to begging the second stage of the chunin exam. Welcome to the Forest of Eternal Winter. Begin!"

We took off into the cave system.

"Sharingan!" Sasuke's eyes changed color.

"Shadow clone jutsu!" Naruto multiplied.

"Scatter Senbonzakura," Springflys scattered like cherry blossoms.

Naruto's clones ran ahead and up the walls out of sight as we traveled deeper into the caverns.

"Incoming from the left," Sasuke warned.

"On it," Naruto replied as genins from the Grass village came around the corner; Naruto's clones drop-kicked them. Pining the genins to the ground, Naruto searched them for a scroll.

"It's a heaven scroll, " Naruto said, disappointed.

"I would be surprise if it was that easy," Sasuke muttered.

"Looks like we'll have to hunt for our keep," Naruto grinned.

"Right, let's get going," I said as our bodies flicked away.

"We can't just take down everyone we come across," Sasuke warned as we ran through the cave.

"We should make a trap for them," Naruto advised. "Make them come to us!"

"Duck!" I warned, falling flat on my back. Their flexes saved them as they moved out of the way of the flying giant shuriken. My eyes widened as I spotted the active paper bomb attached. I didn't have time to swear before it exploded.

Boom!

The cave shook, the walls crumbling and cracking.

"That was easy," a stone genin muttered as he stood before the rumble. "They made it seem like that kid was a big deal."

"He looked just like the yellow flash," his teammate replied. "It's possible e just some distant cousin. They said he was the grandson of Tsunade Senju, so he's a descendent of the first Hokage."

"That's the theory," the third teammate said, adjusting his glasses. "Now then, whos going to dig them up?"

"Damn it, Gomo, do you think before you blow stuff up?" the girl yelled.

I watched the unsuspecting team with a blank face. I was so preoccupied with Orochimaru's possible attack I forgot about the stone village. They got their butts kicked by Minato and were out for blood. Since they all but admitted wanting to kill Naruto, it wasn't a problem to kill them, right? I bit down on the end of the wire string and pulled; the metal groaned as it rubbed against itself.

"It's fine, just use an earth jutsu to move the rumble, jeez," Gomo complained.

"Hey, guys," Glasses said, getting their attention. "Isn't it a bit too quiet?"

Wire song as it wrapped around its first victim. Glasses grabbed his neck, and I pulled him up to the ceiling like a spider.

"Ken!" the girl screamed before Gomo went under his head alone remained.

"Kyaaa!" She screamed and tried to run away, but a very pissed-off Naruto blocked her path. He didn't allow her to stop before clocking her in the face.

"So violent," I muttered, landing beside him, dropping the now unconscious Ren. Sasuke appeared next, having dragged Gomo underground. The would-be terrorist looked up at us in horror, the only one on his team still conscious. I squatted before him and smiled with every blood lust I had.

"Ne, won't you tell me," I smiled. "What's this I hear about an assassination order?"

Kill on sight. Someone placed a "kill on sight" order for Naruto. Suspecting his relation to the fourth Hokage, they wanted revenge and would take it out on a child. Someone in the meeting, likely the Tsuchikage, instructed the genins to assassinate Naruto any chance they got.

You need him alive for the trials to come. Madara warned me. I could already feel my blood boiling. Put up with it for a while; he'll die on his own.

My breath became ragged as Madara tried to calm me. I was going to slaughter them, I was going to find every single earth Genin, and I was going to kill them the way Minato slaughtered them. All of their new soldiers, all their children, their future.

"I am not going to leave any of them alive."

"Sakura!" I looked up into red eyes that looked into my soul. "Breathe," he commanded. I gasped, my body shaking with rage. He cupped my face when the tremors didn't stop.

"It's okay," his voice was soothing. "Naruto is still here. He's fine." His breath was hot on my face. I focused on the sound of his chakra, the coldness of the night. I focused on the present. We were all here, we were all fine, and I needed to Tsuchikage alive, for now.

I opened my eyes to concerned eyes, but I smiled softly and cupped his hands. He sighed in relief, his tense body sagging. I looked over at Naruto, who was on the verge of tears. With a wave of my hand, he crashed into us, holding us in a group hug.

"It's okay," I said, rubbing their backs. " I'm okay."

"You're not who I was worried about," Sasuke said, pulling away. He rubbed his eyes and stood. "You looked like you were going to commit genocide." I didn't confirm his suspicions. I didn't need to. When it came to them, I wasn't very rational. I took another breath and stood, pulling Naruto up with me.

"I have a better idea," I said, looking at the terrified stone genins. My genocide intent must have been too much for them. "I won't kill them," I promised, which seemed to give them some sense of relief, but it was short-lived. " Instead, I'll make them like to regret their life choices."

My eyes glowed with chakra as I reined in my emotions. Perhaps I've spent too much time with Ino; or I unknowingly admired Ibiki, but I couldn't help but think of various torture methods. I wanted to hurt them physically, but wounds heal. No, I needed to crush their mind and fighting spirit. I looked down at their useless heaven scroll. I needed to instill a fear that would last for generations.

"You were right, Naruto," I said suddenly, making the blond flinch. "We need to make them come to us." I picked up the scroll and looked them dead in the eyes as Springflys gathered around and shredded the scroll. They gasped and screamed.

How could I do this? That was their only scroll!

It was a satisfying enough reaction.

"We're going to hunt down every stone genin and destroy their scroll," I announced. The stone genins looked horrified, their eyes trembling. "If Iwagakure wants to kill my light, I'll destroy their future. As long as I'm in the chunin exams, I'll ensure no one baring the stone headband will make it past the second stage. When you return to your people, inform them of what happened." I walked away and back to my waiting teammates. "This is my declaration of war; Iwagakure will know despair."

Springflys gathered, and a link established among the Konoha 12.

"This is Sakura Haruno," I announced through our link. "I'm placing a sabotage on sight order for all Iwagakura genin; destroy their scroll and ensure they do not make it to the stronghold. I repeat, destroy all Iwagakure genin's scroll. If I see a single one of those bastards in the stronghold, I'll kill 'em."

A kill order is now in effect. Sakura is now out for blood. This isn't the Konoha crush but the Iwa crush. Who was dumb enough to place a kill order on Naruto? How many will die in this forest of frost and snow?

Find out next time.

Night song~

Next Chapter

March 16

Otome

I closed my eyes and entered my mindscape.

Ah, he renovated again.

I walked down the engawa towards the man sprawled on his back. His back spiky hair fan out around him and over the edge of the engawa. He looked almost majestic. His hard eyes found me as I stopped above him.

I looked off into the garden of his creation. The trees turned orange and gold, their leaves falling with the wind. It wasn't even autumn yet. I sat down beside his head and watched the scenery he'd prepared.

"I'm getting impatient," he said after a moment of silence.

"I can tell," I responded. His blood lust was leaking out of me without my consent.

"I wanna see him again," he whined. I brushed his hair to soothe him.

"I know," I said softly. "Soon."

"We'll all be together soon."