Behind the Waterfall

#25 Forest Of Death

Standing in front of the fence that surrounded training ground 44, Ino watched as the teams that had made it through the first two exams jumped into the clearing, looking at the purple haired proctor for further instructions. It didn't take long for the rest of the teams to arrive. They still had five minutes when the last team made its way to the meeting spot. Anko took attendance of the teams and smiled, seeing as she could begin early.

"Alright children, quiet down and listen!" She shouted. Jumping on top of the small stall that stood against the fence, she smiled evilly at the group of genin in front of her. Seeing that a team from Iwagakure still whispered amongst themselves, she took out a kunai and threw it at the trio. Ino's eyes widened as she hadn't seen the proctor move. Turning her head she saw the only girl in the trio stare at Anko, her hand on her cheek, blood seeping through her fingers.

"I said listen." The purple haired woman reprimanded smiling. The place grew quiet.

"Great! Now this stage is pretty simple. Each team gets one of two scrolls, you need to obtain a matching set. Afterwards head to the tower in the middle of the forest. You have 5 days. Every team that loses a member, doesn't reach the tower in time or does not have a full set of scrolls is automatically eliminated. In the forest itself you are free to do everything apart from one thing. Under no circumstances are you to open one of the scrolls. If you open the scrolls... Well, let's just say that you don't want to find out." Anko warned, an evil grin showing that she had no good intentions for those who broke her rules.

"What about food?" Someone asked, earning a few laughs.

"You are shinobi, I expect you will be able to feed yourself." Anko replied dryly.

"Anymore stupid questions?" No hands went up as the purple haired woman jumped from the shed.

"Every team chooses one member now. When your team is called, only they will enter. If you enter without being called you are disqualified." She ordered, disappearing through the door.

Ino looked at her teammates. Shikamaru nodded at Sasuke, before both looked at her with questioning eyes. Nodding her agreement, Sasuke stepped a bit forward and waited for their team to be called.

"Don't worry, we will get this done easily." Shikamaru tried to calm her down as Sasuke entered the small building. Ino couldn't help but pray that he was right.

The bang was surely heard all over Konoha as the chunin next to them opened the gate for Ino and her team to run into the forest. The blonde girl's nervousness had only increased since they had left to go to their gate, mainly because Shikamaru and Sasuke had agreed that it would be the best strategy to give her the scroll, since no one would expect her to have it.

"Let's get to the center and try to intercept a team that wants to finish the stage." Shikamaru offered the strategy he had thought of. Ino and Sasuke nodded before they all jumped away, making their way through the thick forest.

They got to the tower without any problems, taking cover in the bushes around the tall building. It took almost a full day before they saw another team. They were from Sunagakure, one girl and two boys. Ino sunk down even deeper into her cover, knowing that they were not going to attack since they had said that they would wait until day four to attack, since it would mean the strong teams were already done and the teams that were coming in would be more exhausted.

What made her shiver however was the fact that the redheaded boy of the team was covered in blood, his satisfied smile showing that it was not his own.

The three genin from Konoha waited patiently as more and more teams passed them on their way into the tower. Ino saw a few familiar faces among them, there was Hinata and her team, there was Hanabi, Hintata's little sister with her team, although it still shocked her, that Hiashi had allowed his younger daughter to participate in these exams, her being fresh out of the academy. After three days of waiting, Sasuke finally gave her the sign that they would attack the next team that would pass them. Fortunately the trio that came into Ino's view seemed to be already exhausted. Two of the three boys were limping, while the other one had a large gash on his temple, staining his whole face and shirt red.