Chapter 2: The Dance of Shadows
The forest of Training Ground 10 swallowed Team 7 whole, its dense canopy fracturing the dawn into slivers of gold. Ten minutes, Asuma's headstart, ticked down like a heartbeat, each second a pulse of urgency. Sasuke Uchiha led the charge, the dummy scroll tucked tight in his pouch, his dark eyes scanning the trees for ambush points. Sakura Haruno scrambled behind, her pink hair snagging on branches, her mind racing with half-remembered tactics . Naruto Uzumaki brought up the rear, his yellow-grayish hair swaying, single braid bouncing against his scarred cheek. His black robe fluttered, gray scarf trailing like a ghost's sigh, and the seven mourning lockets at his hip, clinked with every step. To Sasuke and Sakura, he was a giggling nuisance, barely a genin. Beneath that facade, though, Naruto hid his Reaper's truth. Asuma Sarutobi, Konoha's blade-wielding tactician, hunted them not to crush but to test their teamwork, or expose its absence. The scroll was bait; unity was the prize. Team 7, fractured as ever, had no clue.
--
Countdown: 10 Minutes
The trio crashed through underbrush, leaves crunching underfoot. Sasuke vaulted a fallen log, his movements sharp, efficient, the scroll's weight a silent anchor. Sakura stumbled after, panting, her stamina running low. Naruto loped behind, oddly graceful, his robe billowing as he twirled a wooden sotoba, etched with Buddhist sutras, between black-nailed fingers like a baton. The stick's glowed faintly, unnoticed by his teammates. His giggles, high and jagged, cut the air, grating on Sakura's nerves.
"So," Naruto called, voice lilting as he leaped a root without breaking stride, "what's the big plan, Sasuke-kun? Running's fun, but I'm betting Beard-man's faster." He tossed the sotoba up, catching it with a flourish, lockets clinking. "Hiding? Fighting? Ooh, maybe we bury the scroll and tell him it's nap time!"
Sasuke didn't glance back, his jaw tight. "Shut up and keep up," he snapped, weaving through pines. The scroll burned in his pouch, he'd guard it alone if he had to. Sakura, red-faced, shot Naruto a glare. "He's right for once, Naruto! Stop joking and help!"
Naruto's grin widened, kasa shadowing his face. "Help? Sure thing, Sakura-chan. Just say 'pretty please' first." He giggled, dodging a branch with eerie ease, his speed a hair too smooth for the slacker he played. Sakura groaned, but Sasuke's silence held a warning: focus, or fall behind.
They hit a clearing, Sasuke skidding to a halt. "Here," he said, scanning the open ground ringed by oaks. "We set traps. Wires, kunai, anything to slow him." He pulled shuriken, already eyeing branches for anchor points. Sakura nodded, fumbling for her tools, her booksmarts kicking in. "A perimeter trap, right? Like in chapter seven of, ow!" A twig snapped under her foot, loud as a bell.
Naruto perched on a stump, sotoba balanced on one finger like a spinning top. "Traps, huh? Fancy." He tilted his head, scarf swaying. "But Asuma's got those shiny knives. Snip-snip, bye-bye wires." He giggled, tossing the sotoba high, it arced, landing point-first in the dirt, upright, unnaturally steady. Sasuke's eyes flicked to it, brow twitching, but he said nothing, stringing wire between trees.
Sakura, flustered, tried to contribute. "Maybe… a decoy? Hide the scroll somewhere else?" Her voice wavere, her taijutsu was useless, her ninjutsu nonexistent. Sasuke snorted. "And leave it unguarded? Brilliant." She deflated, clutching a kunai, uselessly booksmart.
Naruto hopped off the stump, twirling another sotoba. "Ooh, I like games. How 'bout I play bait? Run around, make him chase me?" His tone was playful, but his grip on the sotoba tightened, testing its weight. Sasuke ignored him, tying off a wire. "Do whatever. Just don't screw this up."
The countdown burned low, three minutes left. Sasuke's traps gleamed, a web of wires and blades. Sakura hovered, offering half-baked ideas, her confidence crumbling. Naruto hummed, planting a sotoba in the ground like a grave marker, its sutras catching faint light. "Time's up, kids," he murmured, giggling softly, as the forest stilled.
--
The Hunt Begins
A puff of cigarette smoke signaled Asuma's arrival. He stepped into the clearing, trench knives loose in his hands, wind chakra shimmering faintly along their edges. His grin was easy, eyes sharp, sizing up the trio without targeting Sasuke outright, he was here for teamwork, not the scroll alone. "Not bad," he said, nodding at the wires. "Let's see how long it holds." He flicked his wrist, a gentle wind gust snapping a single wire, kunai clattering harmlessly. Sakura yelped; Sasuke cursed under his breath.
Naruto clapped, kasa tilting back. "Nice trick, Beard-man!" His giggle rang out, and he yanked his sotoba free, spinning it. For the first time, he let a sliver of his Reaper self slip, his speed surged, a blur as he darted to the clearing's edge, sotoba whistling through the air. He hurled it, not at Asuma but at a tree behind him, the marker embedding deep, quivering. Asuma's eyebrow rose, wood shouldn't hit like steel.
"Sasuke, now!" Sakura shouted, trying to sound useful. Sasuke didn't need the prompt, he launched a shuriken volley, wires guiding their arc to box Asuma in. Sasuke attacked, a spinning kick aimed at Asuma's side, testing the jonin's guard. Asuma sidestepped effortlessly, his own taijutsu a masterclass, blocking Sasuke's kick with a forearm. "Good form," he said, smirking, "but predictable."
Sakura, desperate to contribute, threw a kunai, her aim wobbled, missing Asuma by a foot. It grazed a wire, triggering Sasuke's trap prematurely. Blades rained, but Asuma danced through, wind chakra deflecting steel with a hum. "Oops," Sakura squeaked, shrinking back. Sasuke's glare could've burned holes. "Stay out of it!"
Naruto, though, saw chaos and grinned. He snatched another sotoba from his robe, three tucked inside, durable as iron, and charged, debuting his strength. He swung the marker like a club, aiming for Asuma's shoulder, the wood cracking air like a whip. Asuma blocked with a knife, expecting a splintered stick. The sotoba held, sparks flying, sutras glowing faintly. "Huh," Asuma grunted, intrigued, pushing back with a gentle wind pulse. Naruto flipped away, landing in a crouch, giggling. "Tough toys, right?"
The fight escalated, choreography a whirlwind of skill and sabotage. Sasuke unleashed Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu, a roaring sphere scorching the clearing's edge. Asuma countered with Wind Release: Dust Cloud, a swirling gust laced with grit, not to harm but to blind. Sakura coughed, stumbling, her weak reflexes useless, she tripped, barely dodging a stray ember. Sasuke snarled, diving through the haze, shuriken flying blind but accurate, pinning Asuma's sleeve to a tree. Asuma chuckled, slicing free with a knife, impressed but untouchable.
Naruto weaved through the chaos, his Reaper agility unveiled. He sprinted up a tree, kasa flying off, revealing his face, scars stark, jagged across his skin, chartreuse eyes blazing like cursed flames. Sakura gasped, frozen; even Sasuke faltered, unnerved by the glow. "Pretty, huh?" Naruto called, giggling, as he hurled a sotoba from the canopy. It spun like a boomerang, grazing Asuma's cigarette, snuffing it out, before embedding in another trunk. Asuma whistled, re-lighting a new smoke. "Kid's got flair."
The team's disunity bled through. Sasuke fought solo, his low-chunin skill shining, shurikenjutsu pinned Asuma's paths, fire jutsu forced him to weave, taijutsu clashed briefly, a flurry of kicks meeting Asuma's calm blocks. But Sakura was dead weight, dodging poorly, shouting obvious warnings ("He's behind you!") that Sasuke ignored. Naruto played his own game, sotoba strikes were precise, one slamming Asuma's knife mid-swing, another thrown to sever a trap wire, "helping" Sasuke but sowing chaos. His giggles punctuated every move, a high laugh as he flipped over Asuma's wind gust, landing beside Sakura, who shrieked when his scarred face loomed close. "Boo!" he teased, dodging her flailing punch.
Asuma, taking it easy, toyed with them. His taijutsu dominated—spinning to disarm Sasuke's kunai with a knife's flat, sidestepping Naruto's sotoba with a lazy grin, letting Sakura scurry untouched to test her nerve. His Flying Swallow hummed, wind chakra extending a blade's reach to slice a sotoba mid-air, not breaking it, but nicking the sutras, a warning. "Durable," he muttered, curious. He avoided heavy ninjutsu, no Burning Ash or full Dust Cloud, just enough wind to scatter leaves, keeping pressure without overwhelming.
--
Mid-Test Mayhem
Sasuke panted, scroll still secure, his chakra dipping from fire jutsu. He set a new trap, wires laced with explosive tags, hidden in brush. "Stay back," he growled at Sakura, who nodded, clutching a tree, her booksmarts useless without action. Naruto, hair wild without his kasa, twirled two sotoba, one in each hand, and charged Asuma head-on, a reckless show to mask his probing.
The clash was electric. Naruto's strength surged, sotoba cracking against Asuma's knives, holding firm where wood should snap. He spun, scarf flaring, striking high, low, then hurling a sotoba skyward, it arced, diving like a hawk, forcing Asuma to roll. Asuma laughed, loving the kid's nerve, and countered with a wind-enhanced jab, non-lethal, grazing Naruto's robe. Naruto's eyes flashed, scars vivid, as he flipped back, landing on a branch. "Close one, Beard-man!" he sang, giggling, tossing another sotoba to pin Asuma's shadow, missing by inches.
Sasuke seized the moment, igniting his trap, tags flared, smoke and sparks erupting. Asuma vanished in the haze, reappearing behind Sakura, not attacking but looming, testing her resolve. She screamed, flinging a kunai that hit dirt. "Pathetic," Sasuke muttered, diving in, his taijutsu a blur,kicks, punches, a shuriken tossed mid-spin. Asuma parried, knives dancing, letting Sasuke land a glancing blow to boost his ego. "Not bad, Uchiha," he said, stepping back, smoke curling from his lips.
Naruto, perched high, saw the team's cracks and grinned. He dropped, sotoba swinging, "aiding" Sasuke but aiming to rattle. One marker "slipped," skimming Sakura's sleeve, she yelped, tripping into Sasuke's path. Sasuke stumbled, cursing, his trap wire snapping uselessly. "Idiot!" he roared, unsure who to blame. Naruto giggled, dodging Asuma's playful wind gust, his scarf a gray streak. "Oopsie! My bad!" His eyes gleamed, he'd meant it, testing how fast Asuma exploited chaos, storing every move for his lair's dark plans.
--
Forty-five minutes ticked by, the hour looming. Asuma ramped up, still gentle, his taijutsu flowed, disarming Sasuke's shuriken with a spin, knocking a sotoba from Naruto's hand to see him scramble. He brushed past Sakura, wind chakra ruffling her hair, making her freeze. The scroll stayed with Sasuke, untouched, as Asuma circled, probing unity, finding none. Sasuke fought fiercely, fire jutsu scorching a tree, Asuma deflected it with a wind blade, smirking. Naruto's sotoba rained, one embedding so deep it cracked bark—Asuma nodded, impressed, but flicked a knife, sending it flying back to Naruto's feet. "Keep practicing, kid."
Sakura, desperate, shouted, "Sasuke, give me the scroll! I'll hide!" Sasuke scoffed, dodging Asuma's feint. "You'd lose it in ten seconds." Naruto, retrieving his sotoba, giggled. "Ooh, let her try! Might be funny!" His sarcasm stung, but his next sotoba throw was pinpoint, grazing Asuma's sleeve, forcing a dodge. Asuma's eyes narrowed, Naruto's skill wasn't genin-level, but he let it slide, focused on the team's collapse.
The final minutes pulsed with action. Sasuke's shurikenjutsu wove a net, wires glinting, Asuma cut through, wind chakra singing, but paused, letting Sasuke reset. Naruto flipped through branches, sotoba spinning, striking Asuma's knife with a clang, giggling as sparks flew. His scars glowed under sweat, eyes blazing chartreuse, a Reaper's mask unveiled, Sakura stared, heart pounding; Sasuke's kunai wavered, chilled. Asuma, unfazed, tossed a wind gust, scattering leaves, giving them one last chance to unite.
But Team 7 frayed. Sakura tripped, useless, her warnings ignored. Sasuke fought alone, scroll his burden, ego his chain. Naruto danced apart, sotoba a storm, helping just enough to hide his game, every clash a lesson for his Dolls, every flaw a note for Konoha's fall. Asuma watched, cigarette glowing, seeing no team, only pieces.
The hour neared, the scroll still Sasuke's, but victory felt hollow. Naruto's giggle echoed, a promise of shadows yet to come.
--
Aftermath
The final seconds of the hour bled away, the air in Training Ground 10 thick with smoke and tension. The clearing lay ravaged, charred grass smoldered from Sasuke's fire jutsu, snapped wires dangled like broken spiderwebs, and Naruto's sotoba jutted from trees like grave markers, their sutras faintly glowing. Sasuke Uchiha stood panting, scroll still clutched in his pouch, his dark hair slick with sweat, eyes burning with defiance. Sakura Haruno slumped against a trunk, her pink hair tangled, face pale from dodging and failing, her kunai long lost in the dirt. Naruto Uzumaki lounged on a branch above, yellow-grayish hair wild, braid swinging, his scarred face bared, jagged lines stark. His black robe was torn at the hem, gray scarf askew, lockets clinking as he twirled a sotoba, giggling softly. Asuma Sarutobi stood at the clearing's heart, cigarette glowing, trench knives sheathed, his grin calm but knowing. He hadn't snatched the scroll, but his wind chakra had carved Team 7's flaws bare, their unity was ash, scattered like the leaves at his feet.
Asuma exhaled smoke, breaking the silence. "Time's up, kids." He flicked his cigarette, letting it arc into a puddle. "You kept the scroll. Not bad for a first go." His tone was light, but his eyes, sharp as his blades, swept over them, dissecting every fumble, every selfish move.
Sasuke straightened, fist tight around the scroll's hiding spot. "We passed?" His voice was edged, wary, expecting a catch. Sweat stung a shallow cut on his arm, courtesy of Asuma's wind gust, a lesson in humility.
Asuma chuckled, scratching his beard. "Pass or fail ain't the point yet. Kakashi'll decide that." He tilted his head, eyeing Sakura, who flinched under his gaze. "But let's talk. You three fought like strangers. Sasuke, you're good, real good, but you left your team to rot." Sasuke's jaw clenched, silent.
Naruto hopped down, landing with eerie grace, sotoba tucked under his arm. "Aww, don't be so grumpy, Sasuke-kun! We had fun, right?" His giggle was high, piercing, as he adjusted his scarf, lockets glinting. His eyes caught Asuma's, chartreuse glow fading to a sly twinkle. "Beard-man's got tricks. Gotta admit, those knives are shiny."
Asuma's grin twitched, curious. Naruto's sotoba had surprised him—wood shouldn't block wind chakra, shouldn't pierce bark like steel. That speed, that strength, didn't match the slacker file the academy shared. "You're a weird one," he said, lighting a new cigarette. "Those sticks of yours… where'd you learn that?" His tone was casual, but he watched close, sensing a mask.
Naruto tilted his head, scars catching dawn's light, grin too wide. "Oh, you know. Found 'em lying around. Graveyards are full of neat stuff." He giggled again, spinning the sotoba. Sakura shivered, remembering his face in the fight, those eyes, that laugh, like something crawled from a coffin. Sasuke's glance was colder, filing away Naruto's skill, distrust sharpening.
Asuma let it slide, puffing smoke. "Here's the deal," he said, voice firming. "You held the scroll, but you're no team. Sakura, you're smart, use it, not just your mouth. Sasuke, talent's nothing if you're a lone wolf. And Naruto…" He paused, squinting through smoke. "Quit playing games. You're better than you let on." He tapped his temple, a shogi player's hint: I see you.
Sakura nodded, biting her lip, vowing to train harder, to be less useless. Sasuke's "hn" hid a flicker of shame—he'd guarded the scroll but felt the weight of Asuma's words. Naruto just grinned, twirling his sotoba, lockets clinking like a secret vow. "Games are life, Beard-man," he said, voice lilting, dodging the jab. His mind was elsewhere, Asuma's wind chakra, Sasuke's fire, Sakura's fear, all notes for his lair, where corpses waited for his next Doll.
Asuma waved them off, turning toward the trees. " Kakashi will deliver the verdict." He glanced back, smoke curling. "And Naruto? Don't lose that hat next time." He nodded at the kasa, half-buried in ash, then vanished in a rustle of leaves, leaving Team 7 alone.
The trio stood in the wreckage, silent but for Naruto's soft hum, a tune too old for his years. Sasuke shoved the scroll deeper into his pouch, stalking off without a word, his pride a bruise. Sakura trailed him, muttering apologies, her resolve shaky but growing. Naruto lingered, retrieving his sotoba, fingers tracing their sutras. His giggle echoed, low now, as he whispered to the air, "Guests'll love today's story."
The forest swallowed his laugh, but Konoha's graves felt it, stirring under a Reaper's gaze.