𝑾𝑯𝑬𝑵 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑾𝑰𝑵𝑫 𝑩𝑳𝑶𝑾𝑺 •𝒃𝒙𝒃•

Chuunin exams pt3

"Does the mark hurt?" Taking a deep breath at the increased number of questions, he whips around. "It's fine!" The other boy flinched at his tone. "I'm just worr-". Sasuke stood up and walked over to him. He jabbed a finger to his chest. "Don't be! I'm not weak!" Akashi was taken aback at that revelation. But soon enough, his eyes narrow. "I never said you were weak!" He slapped the hand away from his chest. Now it was Sasuke's turn to be surprised.

"Damn it! Can't you let people in for once? Why do you push everyone away?!" He grit his teeth, staring straight at him. Sasuke wanted to. He really wanted to let people in. He saw Sakura was trying, he saw Naruto was trying. Akashi was too. He wanted to scream. He wanted to scream out the words. After something I cared deeply about was ripped from me, how can I just take in something else?! How can I fill in a hole so big?! But he didn't.

Frustrated at his lack of an answer, Akashi turned on his heels, prepared to leave. He froze in his tracks when he sensed a Chakra signal. "Sasuke!" He turned to him in a hurry. "Someone else is at camp". And with that, he broke into a sprint towards camp. Sasuke was running behind him, barely keeping up. The two of them reached camp and saw who was there. Kabuto was there and, apparently, he stopped Naruto from opening the scroll, even though they were strictly told not to do that.

Sighing in exasperation, Akashi slapped the back of Naruto's head. Kabuto explained that at the last exam, they put sleep-inducing gas, so that the one who inhales it sleeps through the whole exam. Kabuto said he got both scrolls and was heading towards the tower. Sasuke saw this as an opportunity to get the scroll they were missing. Kabuto told him that if he really planned to fight him, he would just attack him from behind.

The five of them then decided it was best to head straight for the tower. Kabuto said that people probably already set traps around it to catch the ones who finished. He told them they could get their last scroll there. Night had already fallen when they reached near the tower. All five of them whipped their heads around when they heard something and Naruto threw a kunai in that direction. It turned out to be a giant centipede.

Then, as they go closer to the tower, looking to evade any traps that were undeniably already set, they run into a massacre. Dead ninja were hanging off the tree branches. As Naruto took a step forward, closer to the dead ninja, he set off a trap. Kabuto jumped and pushed him away. He, in Naruto's place, got impaled, but it turned out to be the replacement technique. He remained unharmed.

"Kabuto, thank you". Akashi bowed his head and then turned to Naruto. "Watch where you're going next time!" He pointed at him. Naruto sheepishly scratched the back of his head. They continue their way to the tower, but something seemed off. No matter how much time passed, they didn't get any closer. Kabuto explained that they were probably in some kind of jutsu, since the centipede that Naruto hit earlier was right next to them. They were going in circles.

"Get back!" Akashi yelled as he sensed multiple weak Chakra signatures around them. They all huddled in a circle, closer to one another as they looked at the oncoming enemies. They were all replications. It would be easier to use my technique, but it would handicap everyone except Sasuke and I. Akashi grit his teeth as he watched them approach. Naruto, being Naruto, just jumped straight in and hit one of them. The replica started melting as Naruto's hand went through it.

Then, from the place Naruto blew it apart, another one started growing, there were now two upper bodies. It took out a double kunai and went to stab Naruto. "Naruto!" Sasuke and Akashi yelled at the same time as they threw shuriken at the replica's arm. The arm exploded and the replica looked at Sasuke and Akashi. It threw the kunai at Sasuke, but he didn't move out of the way.

Akashi, being the closest one, pushed Sasuke out of the way. The kunai whizzed past their bodies and scratched Kabuto's shoulder. "Sasuke? You okay?" Akashi asked the other boy. He helped him up into a sitting position. When Naruto went to throw a kunai, Sasuke yelled. "Naruto, it's no use, it's a illusionary technique!". Akashi looked between Kabuto and Sasuke. "But the wound on Kabuto's shoulder is real". Sakura spoke up.