(Y/N) Uzumaki

Chapter 37

~

After Kabuto explained why he was here with Naruto and Sakura I glared at them. "I can't believe you, guys." Sasuke said angrily. "If I hadn't come along when I did." Kabuto said. "Thanks for stopping them, Kabuto" I said still glaring at them. He nodded his head and Sakura said "Sorry, Sasuke, (Y/n)" "I'm mumbles" Naruto mumbled out not looking at us. "There have been others who have broken the rules and tried to peek at the scrolls. I've seen what happens to them. They're protected by a powerful hypothesis jutsu, a kind of booby-trap for anyone unwise enough to try to read them. It will knock you senseless. And by the time you wake up, the exam is over."

"Kabuto, right? We met at the registration. What are you doing wandering around all by yourself?" Sasuke asked. "Don't worry. I'm not after your earth scroll." "I guess not. I suppose if you were, you would have just swiped it from Naruto when you had the chance. So you're looking for a heaven scroll too, huh?" Sasuke said. "Not really. You see, I already have them both. I had a run of luck. I was just on my way to the tower to wait for my teammates to show up. So if you'll excuse me." Kabuto showed us the two scrolls. He began walking off but Sasuke said "Hold it."

Kabuto stopped walking and turned his head. "I'll fight you for it." "You'll fight me for it?" Kabuto asked. "But Sasuke.." I said squeezing my shirt. "Hold on a second. Is this a joke or what?" Naruto yelled. "Are you serious?" Kabuto asked. "Perfectly. Sorry, but I don't have time to play nice." "Back off, Sasuke! In case you've forgotten, this guy saved our butts!" Naruto yelled. "Naruto has got a point. We dont want to be ungrateful or anything." Sakura said but Sasuke coldly cut her off saying "Shut up." "But Sasuke.." I mumbled.

"It can't be helped. It either him or us. Out here, it's about surviving and winning. Nothing else matters." Sasuke said. I furrowed my eye brows and stared at him. "Hm. You're lying." Kabuto said. Huh? "He is?" Naruto asked. "Come on, admit it. For all your tough talk, your heart really isnt in it. If it was true, if winning was really the only thing that mattered to you, why openly challenge me to a fight? Why announce it and put me on my guard? Why not just jump me when my back is turned? After all, that's what a ninja would do."

"Hm, that's pretty deep." Naruto said. "Its okay. Actually, I admire you for it. So here's what I'll do. I'll show you the path you should follow. But let's go, it's best we get out of here. The smell of that cooking fire is going to draw every beat in the forest. And not only animals, but the competition, too."

~

As we were jumping from tree to tree Sasuke asked. "You think there are still other candidates out here?" "Oh, yeah. Just think about it. What do you think is the most efficient way of finding the scrolls in an area as large as this? To go searching through the forest for them?" Kabuto asked. "Uh, no." Sakura said. "No. You wait for them to come to you. The tower at the center of the center is the goal, right? So on the last day of the exam, that area will be crawling with teams converging on the tower with their scrolls." Kabuto said.

"Oh, yeah. I get it, like an ambush. So we just head for the tower, find a hiding place, and when a team comes along with a Heaven scroll, we fight them and take it." Sakura said. "Thats one third of the problem. You guys aren't going to be the only ones thinking of this. Every other team that's lacking a scroll will be lying in wait just like you." "So what? The more the merrier, I say. Whoever they are, we'll take care of them. Wouldn't want this to be too easy. That wouldn't be any fun. Okay, so we grab someone else's scroll and keep those losers from grabbing ours. And bingo, we'd pass the second exam." Naruto said.

"That's two thirds of the problem." Kabuto said. "Well, at least we're getting closer. What else?" Sakura asked. "Well, theres bound to be some collectors lurking around at the finish line." "Collectors?" Sakura asksd. "Even when you think you're home free, you can't relax your guard for an instant. This kind of exam always brings them out- collectors. They gather extra sets of scrolls. To use for various ends. For example, to bribe their way out of unexpected situations, or to provide their village with the scroll they're lacking. Some steal them to keep candidates from rival villages from passing, or to hell out teams from their own village who couldn't find their scroll on their own. Others steal them for their own dark purposes. They'll hang on to them to use against the stronger teams farther down the line. They'll be there all right, and they're bad news. The closer you get to the tower, the more likely you'll be to run into them."

"I see. And I think I'm starting to understand why you brought us along with you, hm? It's because you're frightened, aren't you?" Sasuke asked smugly. "You bet I am."

~

"There's the tower, and that means the end is in sight. Now comes the hard part." Kabuto said. "Well, it's about time. Being it on." Naruto yelled. We all gasped realizing something. "There's someone back there." Sakura said. Naruto turned around while throwing a kunai. There was a giant centipede that got a kunai to the head. I stared at it with fear as I trembled a bit. "Ha, false alarm. It's just a centipede." Naruto said so calmly. Sakura and I held onto each other disgusted by the huge bug. "Just a centipede? That creepy thing's as big as a bus." Sakura said.

"Hey, Naruto." Kabuto said. "Hm?" "Do us a favor and try to keep it down to a dull roar, will you?" "Hm? "See, the whole idea is not to let anyone know we're here. If you go crashing through the forest like an elephant, you're going to draw collectors like flies. We want to find them before hey find us." Kabuto said. "Oh, yeah. I see your point." Naruto said sweating. "Take it slow and quiet. Let's use all the time we've got left." "Okay" Sakura nodded "Right" naruto agreed "Got it." Sasuke said and I just nodded.

We split up a little bit as we moved quietly. Sakura went moved the plants, Sasuke moved under water, Kabuto hid himself, I was in the trees, Naruto..well he got stuck in some vines.

Kabuto pulled out one of his tools and said "okay, we're getting closer." The more we walked the more odd it felt. As Naruto walking he stopped and stared at this string that swung. Kabuto put his hand on his shoulder and pointed his direction to tree guys who had kunais in their back. "A trap, huh?" Sasuke said. "Yeah, and it only gets worse from here on in." Kabuto said.we began walking off, but Naruto tripped and yelled "Hey! Ah!"

We all turned our heads to see kunais come flying at Naruto. Kabuto quickly dove and jumped on Naruto and 10 kunais went into his back. He hit and slid on the floor. "Kabuto!" Naruto yelled. A poof happened and Kabuto turned into a log. I gasped a little bit and turned my head towards his voice saying "Well, that was close." "A substitution jutsu." Naruto said. "Like I told you, it only gets worse from here on in."

~

It feels like we've been walking forever. "For crying out loud." Sakura said. She fell on her knees while breathing heavily. "Sakura" Naruto said worriedly. "How far have we walked? That tower's not getting any closer." Sakura said. "Now that you mention it, I was thinking that, too. It's weird."  Naruto said. "It would seem we've been spotted. Somebody is playing games with us. Look. Ring a bell?" Kabuto asked pointing towards a tree. We all turned out heads to see the giant centipede again.

I yelped and hid behind Naruto. "Oh man. No way! It can't be. Hey, what's the big idea?" Naruto asked angrily. "What's going on?" Sakura asked. "Genjutsu." Sasuke said. "That's what it looks like. And we fell for it completely. We were so concerned with not being seen by anyone, we didnt see we were walking around in circles." Kabuto said.

"What's their game?" Sasuke asked. "They're probably trying to wear us down and then strike when we're frustrated and physically exhausted." Kabuto said. "You mean like how we are right now?" I said sighing. "Right. They'll be coming soon." Right after Kabuto said that, these guys showed themselves. Apparently, they were hidden in the trees. We all got ready to fight as the guys surrounded us. All these guys came towards us and we were so outnumbered. "Well, Naruto, you wanted a fight." Sasuke said. Naruto smiled and said "Hphm. 5 against 40. I like those odds."

Word count- 2357