Escape [Sasuke Uchiha]

Chapter 14: The Forest of Death

I looked up and down at this third person. The first thing I was aware of that this person had a tall female body and a long dark hair. A straw hat was set on top of her head, causing shadows to appear on her forehead and eyes. The corners of her lips lifted upward into an unpleasant smile. She spoke while sticking her tongue out, "Here's your knife."

Anko replied, "Thank you."

Seriously, I was curious of how that mysterious woman spoke with her tongue out. I had the urge to stick my tongue out and say something. But I knew that it will make me look like a fool to everyone's eyes, so I wiped that thought out of my mind.

"But don't stand behind me like that. That is, unless you want to die young," warned Anko. She grabbed the ninja knife out of the mysterious woman's long tongue.

The said tongue finally retreated back into her mouth and she replied politely, "Well, I got itchy when I see blood. Also, my precious hair was cut, so I got a little excited."

The mysterious woman walked off as Anko spoke to either the crowd of genins who had been witnessing the whole thing or that woman, "I'm sorry."

I took a sideway glance at the mysterious woman who walked past me. She looks odd and dangerous. I better keep my eye on her. I shifted my attention back to Anko and saw Naruto was staring at the woman too. He must be pondering why she had a long tongue. And my guess was confirmed when he stuck his tongue out and tried to elongate it like that mysterious woman's freakishly long tongue. I chuckled at his miserable attempt.

Anko mused, "It looks like there are a lot of hot-headed people here today. This is going to be interesting."

I sweatdropped at the examiner. You're the most hot-headed person here.

The examiner walked back to her previous spot and said loudly, "Before we begin the Second Exam, I'm going to pass these out to everyone."

She inserted her right hand into her coat and took out a stack of white papers. I could see the biggest words written on the paper and read it [Consent Form]. And it seemed like I was not the only one to be able to read it because everyone's reactions were the same as mine. We were baffled at this. What should we consent to?

Anko told, "These are consent forms. Those taking this exam must sign these."

"Why?" asked Naruto curiously.

Anko's eyes narrowed slightly, "From here on, people will die. Therefore, we need people's consent before we continue. Otherwise, I'd be held responsible. Ahahaha!"

While Anko laughed, I couldn't help but gulp down a lump in my throat. She predicted that some people will die in the Second Exam and that somehow frightened me. I sincerely hoped that I wasn't included in the list of people who will possibly die during the exam. I looked around; tracing my eyes on every genin I could see in my line of vision. Some of them will probably die in this terrifying place and this could be the last time I will lay my eyes on them. And this could be their last time to set their eyes on me.

"Now, I will begin the explanation of the Second Exam," Anko started, "To be concise, you will all go through an extreme survival match."

Anko gave the stack of consent forms to Naruto who picked one paper and gave the rest to those who stood beside him. The process repeated to everyone else and soon, I got my own consent form in my hand. After making sure that every genin got the forms, Anko continued as she unrolled a scroll on her right hand:

"First, I'll explain the training area's geographical features," I looked at the scroll. There was a map displayed on it and the examiner explained, "The 44th training area is a circular region surrounded by 44 locked gate entrances. There is a river, a forest, and a tower in the middle. The tower is approximately 10 km away from the gates. Inside this limited space, you will have to go through a certain survival program. The program consists of..." she paused as she rolled back the scroll and hid it in her coat. She kept her right hand in there as she lifted her gaze to look at us, "...a competition where anything goes... over these scrolls."