The Second Trial

The second trial took place in the Forest of Death. Hayate Gekko, a Konoha Jonin, came to escort the students there. A lot of the genins were surprised when they arrived at the entrance of the forest. The whole area was surrounded by a fence. The trees within were huge. 

"I'm Hayate Gekko; I'll be supervising the second test. This is the arena of your next trial, training ground 44 also known as the Forest of Death. For those who haven't guessed it yet, it will be a survival mission."

Several Genins grimaced. The younger ones looked a bit frightened. Kazuma himself didn't feel reassured. Hayate unrolled a rough map of the forest.

"The training ground 44 is a circular area of about twenty kilometers in diameter. It is surrounded by forty-four locked doors. The wildlife in the forest is dangerous, especially as you get near the center where there is a river. There is also a tower right at the center of the forest."

"What's the goal of this test?" A genin asked. 

Hayate took out two scrolls, one in each hand. 

"There is a Heaven scroll and an Earth scroll. You are 84 people, meaning there are 28 teams. 14 teams will receive a Heaven Scroll, and the remaining 14 will have the Earth Scroll."

"So we need to get both scrolls to pass this test." Someone said.

"Correct. You need to bring both scrolls with a complete team to the tower within the time limit. This test will last 5 days."

"Five days? What about food?" Choji shouted.

"That's for you to figure out. There are plenty of animals in the forest. You won't starve."

"You said we need to be a complete team. Does that mean we don't have to complete the test with the team members we start with?" 

"Correct. Also, you're not limited to only 2 scrolls. If a team decided to gather all 28 scrolls, that's fine as well."

"Who would do that?" Someone shouted.

Hayate ignored her. 

"If you fail to make it to the tower within 5 days, you will be eliminated. You're forbidden to look inside the scroll until you arrive in the tower."

"What happened if we take a peek at it?" Naruto asked.

"The only way to know is to do it," Hayate replied with a smile. "Before you enter the Forest of Death, you will sign a consent form. There is a risk of you being heavily injured or dying. It's a survival test after all. There are no restrictions on how you deal with each other, so think about it. When you're ready, have your team come to that tent with the consent form, we will give you a scroll, and you can choose the gate you want to enter from. Any questions?"

No one said anything. 

"Good, now come and get your scrolls."

Each team entered one by one. 

When Naruto, Kazuma, and Hotaru entered the tent, they received an Earth Scroll and were also at one of the gates. When every team received a scroll, they were escorted to their gate, number 10. 

Hayate gave the signal to start the test. The chunin escorting them opened the gate and the three genins entered. The second test had officially begun. Kazuma had given the scroll to Naruto who hid it in his clothes. Team 9 got moving. They leaped on a tree and began jumping from one branch to another. They were heading toward the center of the forest. However, they fell into an ambush. 

A team of Amegakure was waiting. Kazuma first felt a Genjutsu being cast on them .He released some chakra to dispel the technique.

"The Genjutsu failed. They know we're here. Let's get them."

"Got it. Suiton: Water Bullet."

"Suiton: Water Wall." Hotaru countered, leaping forward.

The two jutsus collided. Water drops fell as if it was raining. Kazuma took out a kunai and charge torward one of the assaillants. The Uchiha was nimble; he scratched the man's cheek who couldn't dodge in time. His opponent tried to strike back, but Kazuma was too fast for him. 

"Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!" Naruto entered the fight. 

A multitude of shadow clones appeared and rushed the opponents. The latter were overwhelmed by the numbers. Team 9 easily subdued them, and took their scroll after tying them to a tree.

"That's the scroll we need," Hotaru said, giving it to Kazuma. "You keep that one."

Kazuma nodded and took it. They weren't expected to fight so early on. However, the opponents posed no threat to them. Kazuma was relieved. 

"We're the best. Did you see how we beat them? And we have both scrolls now."

"Don't yell, Naruto. People may have heard you." Hotaru said.

"And it's not over yet. Remember we have to get to the tower in 5 days. I believe most teams will be setting ambush the closer we get to the tower. It's too early to celebrate" Kazuma said. "We still have some daylight. Let's advance a bit further… with caution. We'll find a spot to spend the night before it gets dark."

"Sounds good!" Hotaru said.

They were about to leave when Kazuma stopped abruptly.

"What is it?" Hotaru asked.

Kazuma quickly glanced behind him. For a moment, he could have sworn he felt someone's gaze on him. Was it an animal? An enemy? He had no idea. He waited to see if something or someone would jump out, but nothing happened.

"Kazuma, what are you looking at? Let's go?"

"Alright." The Uchiha replied and took off with his comrades.

However, he couldn't help but have a bad feeling. 

**********

The Forest of Death was full of hidden cameras to monitor the progression of the test. The monitoring devices also served to evaluate the genin's performance. Several Jonin-senseis were in the control room looking at multiple screens, hoping to see their students. Jun was there of course. He saw Pakura as well. She slightly nodded when their gaze met. Jun greeted her back with the same gesture.

The tension in the room was palpable. It was to be expected. There were many jonins from different villages. Some even fought each other on missions. It would have been surprising if there was zero tension. But there was a man who captivated all the tension in the room. He wore the Kiri headband. He looked older than most Jonins present. He had dark grey short spiky hair and a cross-shaped scar on his right cheek. 

He introduced himself as Juzo Biwa, a retired Legendary Swordsman. Jun didn't know that Kiri Legendary swordsmen could retire. But it looked like this one did and gave his sword to Zabuza. Jun didn't have any memory of him from the story he remembered. However, his status of Legendary Swordsman made him dangerous in his eyes.

The Kiri ninja in question and Gai couldn't stop staring at each other. Finally, the man said something.

"Is there something on my face?"

Gai didn't smile. His usual easygoing attitude was nowhere to be seen. 

"We've met before," Gai said in a grave voice.

Kakashi, Jun, and other Konoha's jonins who knew Gai well were surprised. The man was bad with faces. How come he remembers this man?

"Your face looks familiar indeed. Ah yes… You look like that guy… Dai Maito. Are you related to him?" 

"I'm his son. My name is Gai Maito." He said with a cold voice.

"I see. I remember now. You were among the kids he protected that day, weren't you?"

Gai nodded with difficulty.

Juzo smiled. 

"He was a formidable opponent. He killed four Legendary swordsmen on his own that day. I was lucky to escape alive. Did he survive?"

Gai clenched his fist.

"No."

Juzo chuckled. Gai's clenched his other fist. Jun knew he was at his limit. He was ready to intervene. However, Kakashi was the fastest. He walked towards Gai and the man. Jun let out a sigh of relief. Kakashi was probably the only person in the room who understood Gai best. 

"You two are blocking the way." He said in a flat tone, his hands in his pocket.

No one said anything about the fact that the copy ninja could have gone around them. Juzo smiled and took a few steps back. Kakashi dragged Gai away. Jun didn't remember the incident about Gai's father. But it seemed to have affected Gai greatly. He knew the feeling. He also had lost his father, and so did Kakashi. They could relate to Gai's feeling. 

It was the first time Jun saw Gai like that. He had no idea he carried so much pain inside. Juzo Biwa… the fact that Jun didn't remember him made him believe he didn't play a big role in the original story. Maybe he died. If so, why was he alive now? Did the ascension of Mangetsu Hozuki have something to do with it? He had no idea.

The Uchiha clan leader decided not to worry about it for now. He reported his attention to the screens. The genins were advancing to the tower, each team going at its own pace.