There are twenty-eight teams in all, including us. With Miss Anko's explanation, we must collect the other of the two scrolls we're supposed to have in order to cross the finish line. We'll be starting off with one of them, either a heaven scroll, or an earth scroll. They'll be evenly distributed amongst the teams, meaning that if we ended up being given a heaven scroll, then we'd just have to find a team that has the earth scroll, fight them, and take it from them.
Which, naturally, is easier said than done.
The Forest of Death is surrounded by the same fence we'd been standing before earlier. There are forty-four entrance gates that contain it, and the inhabitants living inside it is probably one of the main reasons why the fence exists. It's a little ironic how I was just talking about giant snakes to Konohamaru and the others... a real funny story.
Besides whatever other creatures living inside this place exists, the massive trees and wide river pose problems of their own, I'm sure. I really don't want to have to think about them yet. Even worse, if we're to fight some of the others, they're all equipped with their own skillsets and techniques. What I'm worried about though... is just how nasty some of them will be. That one Sound Shinobi and that technique he used on me... I don't want to have to encounter that again.
I'm at least a little confident in my own skills as a Shinobi-in-training. Being only a Genin, I knew that there'd be a lot of things I had no idea about, but then these other Shinobi show up for an examination that actually seems really dangerous, and they look completely prepared for it. Me, I am an expert in Taijutsu. I can perform a C-rank Fire Ninjutsu. I can break D-rank and C-rank Genjutsu. What I know of medicinal herbs is limited, but still helpful for the most important things. But is it enough compared to the others? Is it enough to last me and my team five days in this place?
"I... I can do this," I tell myself as quietly as possible. The piece of paper in my hand suffers at my tight grip. "There's no need to worry. We can win. We'll become Chūnin. We will."
"Well, with that mindset, you'll definitely become Chūnin!" I'm quick to jump at how close the voice had been, and spin around to discover it'd only been familiar because it's Miss Anko.
"I-I—""You just have to keep acting confident, even though you're shaking like a wet dog, right?" she says.
"I-I'm not—""Ah, but there's no need to worry. It's like you said! You'll definitely become Chūnin." And she walks away, leaving me dizzy with my unspoken words.
"What the heck was that about?" Sakura asks, coming over to stand closer by.
"Miss Anko overheard me giving myself a little pep talk," I explain, my voice cracking and tongue dry. "I know she was only antagonizing me because she wants the number of participants to go down with this exam, anyway, but still... It was really unnecessary."
"That sounded a lot ruder to do just for that reason, though... Are you okay?"
"It... feels like I will be," I answer. "At least I have to be, for this, and for you guys. I have to be strong."
"If it makes you feel any better, I'm scared, too, Kari," she says, "and... if you're worried that you're not strong, well, I say you're wrong. You've only been here for a few months, but you're really great."
I feel my cheeks warm up at her words. "Thanks," I mumble. "You are, too, Sakura."
She tries letting out a laugh of confidence, but it warbles. "T-That's right – we're great! We can do this." And she grabs me by the arm to drag me to a table where we submit our "waivers". It's some kind of contract that says Miss Anko isn't responsible if something happens to us while in the Forest of Death.
... becoming a Chūnin is becoming to sound more exhausting than it's worth.
After we'd done this, we're sent to one of the gates around the fence, number twelve, now in possession of one of the scrolls. On the way there, I take note of my team members and their behaviours. Sasuke's been muttering calculations of our probable deaths; Naruto's practicing forward jabs and uppercuts; and Sakura, who despite her early attempts at staying confident, is now a bundle of nerves, walking next to me with her arm wrapped around my bicep. I'm in no greater of a position. Maybe I'm just the better actor between us.
"All right! Heads up, you maggots!" Our gate finally opens. "The second phase of the exam has begun!"
"Here we go, guys!" Naruto says, passing through the gate first, his fist stretched above him.
My attempt at a deep breath comes out as a huff. "Let's win!" I cheer through clenched teeth, my own fist rising above me stiffly. Okay, that sounded convincing. A little bit of forced optimism should get me going!
That is, until the screaming starts.
"D-Did you guys hear that?!" Sakura shrieks, her grip on my arm tightening.
"I-I wonder what happened to them," I say aloud. My eyes take to the trees and the long branches above our heads. "I... really don't like this place."
"Oh, come on!" My knees end up buckling when Naruto hits my other shoulder. "There's nothing to be scared of! This is gonna be a piece of cake."
"Yeah, well, maybe you think so," I end up snapping back, my nerves taking the reins momentarily. He raises an eyebrow at me before stalking over to one of the trees. "S-Sorry, sorry."
I start a mental discussion with just myself about how I'd like to go out, with fighting being the only option in this place. Sakura suddenly releases me to go and yell something at Naruto, as he'd been about to do his business in our presence.
"Go in a bush or something!" she angrily suggests, and without another word, he runs into the trees.
He returns about ten minutes later, laughing brightly.
"Man, that was a lot!" he announces. "I wrote my whole name!"
"You are such a pig!" Sakura screeches, raising her fist to him. "You know, you can be really disgusting sometimes!"
I'm surprised by his reaction to Sakura, though. He's usually quick to cower when she threatens him – I mean, who wouldn't? She packs a punch. A-And apparently, so does Sasuke?! Naruto had gone flying backwards from a random strike from him, his back smashing into one of the massive tree trunks.
"Sasuke, why did you do that?!" I cry, rushing over to Naruto's side. I drop onto my knees to try and shake him into proper consciousness.
"I-It wasn't that bad, Sasuke," Sakura stammers. "Don't you think you're going a little overboard?" Naruto snaps back into it almost instantly and allows me to help him up. My eyebrows knit together in confusion.
"Yeah, what the heck was that all about?!" Naruto yells their way. Sasuke runs toward us, toward him. "Watch out, you guys; I think he's gone crazy!"
Sasuke scoffs. "Yeah, you wish! I just struck before you could!"
"Sasuke, stop!" Sakura hollers. "What are you doing?!" Shakily, I push myself away from Naruto and launch myself between the two of them as they each pull out a kunai.
"Kari, get away from him," Sasuke orders. I shake my head, still frowning.
"No," I say, "not until there's an explanation given."
"Isn't that obvious?" he insists.
"Not from you, Sasuke." I pull out a kunai of my own and point it at Naruto. "From you." My hand is trembling, but not with fear. "Either your head got shaken up when you hit the tree, or you're not Naruto. He wouldn't have let me help him up like that without a fight. And either you've completely changed in the past forty-eight hours, or you would've been a lot more afraid when Sakura was about to hit you."
"Not only that," Sasuke says. He grabs my wrist suddenly, pulling me beside him and away from Naruto. "Naruto got a cut on his cheek before the test started. It's missing. You also have your shuriken holster on your left leg, and not your right. The real Naruto is right-handed. Your transformation skills are worse than his. Tell me who you are!"
In a great puff of smoke, the fake Naruto disappears to reveal a Rain Shinobi with a crooked smirk, wearing a strange yellow suit and a gas mask.
"All right, you got me," he says. "So what? I'm still gonna take your scroll, now hand it over or else!" Glaring at him, I poise to either strike or defend. "So, which one of you has it?" He looks between us, grinning maliciously when we don't answer. "Fine. Then it looks like I'm gonna have to take you all out!"
Sasuke leaps into the air before the Rain Shinobi can act, instantly weaving hand signs I recognize to be a Fire Ninjutsu. I run backwards, eyes on the Shinobi, until I reach Sakura, pulling her farther back.
"Fire style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"
Great flaming balls shoot out of Sasuke's mouth and toward the Rain Shinobi, but every single one of them miss. The two have just engaged in aerial tree combat, Sakura and I following after them, when I hear a scream from further in the forest.
"Help!" it cries.
"That's Naruto!" I realize. I call his name into the next clearing, where I find a brightly dressed figure squirming on the ground, all tied up. I fling the kunai in my hand at the ropes, freeing Naruto. Leaping down to join him and help him detangle himself, Sakura runs on ahead to Sasuke. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, thank you!" he says, almost instantly denying my hand when I offer to bring him to his feet. I purse my lips at him. "What?"
"I should've realized it wasn't you sooner," I grumble at him. "The only thing you let me do for you is give you food." Before he can say anything back, however, our attention is drawn by a nearby explosion. "Oh, Sasuke!"
With a final glance at each other, we run back out and into a second clearing, where we see him pierce the Rain Shinobi with his kunai before he's able to escape back into the forest. A breath of relief escapes me.
We're still alive.
"That proves we can't just trust appearances." Sasuke sighs. Chin resting in my hand, elbow propped onto my knee, I do the same. "We have to come up with a way of knowing each of us are who we say we are, and not some imposter using a Transformation Jutsu."
"Mm... how about a password?" I tiredly suggest. Sasuke nods.
"What kind of password?" Naruto asks me.
"A secret one," I end answering. Sasuke snorts, and Naruto makes a noise at his amusement.
"A secret one," our dark-haired teammate agrees, "something known only to the four of us, and don't trust anyone who doesn't know it, no matter what." We all nod. "Listen closely, because I only want to say this once. The question will be, "When does a Ninja strike?" And the response is, "A Ninja waits until the time is right; when the enemy sleeps and drops his guard; when his weapons lie forgotten in the stillness of the night. That is the moment for a Ninja to strike." Got it?"
Sakura nods when he looks to her. "I've got it," she answers confidently. Sasuke then looks to me, and I chuckle nervously.
"M-More or less?" I reply sheepishly. Finally, he looks to a frowning Naruto.
"Er... you got one any shorter?" Sakura groans at him.
"No, Naruto," Sasuke answers. "That's it."
"Ugh, come on!" Sakura says. "What's wrong? Didn't you get it? I memorized it easy."
"Y-Yeah, sure – I got it, I got it no problem! I just thought it was going to be a password, not a pass-speech."
"All right, then." Sasuke stands up and extends his hand to me. I raise an eyebrow at him. "I'll take the scroll."
"I'm more than capable of taking care of it, you know," I say, glowering at him.
"Don't be stubborn," he says. "If someone comes along and they're stronger than the guy before, you don't stand a chance against him. You'll die, and they'll take the scroll."
"You do remember I once beat you, right?"
Sasuke groans at me. "Look, I'm not arguing about this; just give it to me, Kari."
"You look, Sasuke," I snap back. "I don't need you to—"
Before I can even finish my sentence, something grazes my cheek in passing. I'd winced and raised my fingertips to where I'd been cut, bringing them back into sight to find them red.
"Whoa, you're bleeding!" Naruto exclaims.
"What the heck was that?" I wonder aloud. I look to the others. "Did any of you see that?"
"It came from over there," Sasuke murmurs, eyes narrowed in the direction of an unnatural tunnel made through the roots of numerous giant trees.
I'm sliced again, this time on my calves and arms, when a violent wind begins to pass through the tunnel in our direction. I can feel my feet shifting along the dirt and leaves and stones of the forest ground, my heart now beating wildly as a response. I'm able to share one last look with my team before the wind picks up and pick us off the ground to blow us away.
Updated February 6th, 2022 | 2,290 words