The Forest of Death - 1

"What a charming place..." Haku muttered as his dark eyes settled on the prodigious trees caged by a wire fence. He flipped a stray strand of hair away from his face as Gaara gave a short grunt, warning him that now was not the appropriate time for sarcasm.

"This is area 44, huh? How come we've never been to this place before?" Naruto wondered aloud, walking beside Haku and ahead of their silent redheaded friend.

"It's off-limits to genin," Haku answered the obvious, "It is now clear why."

The three of them had finished the first part of the exam and moved along to the site of the second stage as Anko had earlier instructed. Naruto was still a glowing light bulb of self-confidence after passing the first test with such ease, albeit it had greatly frayed their nerves at first. The blonde bounced along with his arms folded behind his head, not in the least bit fearful.

Haku, as usual, was the most apprehensive of his team. He supposed this was the part when the real danger started, when ninja began to vie for the chance of being promoted to Chunin rank. Like Naruto he too was confident of his team's strength, but dared not underestimate the shady characters that had arrived from other villages.

Gaara had decided early on to not form any sort of strategy without first being informed of the second stage's regulations, and didn't let himself get anxious over it.

They were not the first group to arrive. Other genin teams were already pacing the open lawn in front of the fenced-in training area, eagerly awaiting the exam to continue. Deciding to keep a space cushion between themselves and their rival shinobi, Team 2 settled next to a maple tree, all the while watching the other teams circling about.

The tension was suffocating.

"What do you suppose we'll be doing next? Racing through that jungle maybe?" Naruto asked finally, unable to leash his ever-mounting curiosity.

"It's likely." Gaara replied, folding his arms across his chest.

Haku frowned, "It seems like all the genin will have to go in there and that means...there will be confrontation."

"We can handle it. Those other ninja don't look so tough!" Naruto yawned, still undeterred.

Other genin arrived in the passing time; many teams were from Grass, Sound and Rain. There were also the familiar faces of the other Leaf rookies who had passed. Off in the distance, the blonde haired boy caught sight of Sakura as she walked beside her teammates. Akamaru was nestled comfortably in her arms. He waved to her but she did not see him.

"Times up! I will now announce the rules of the second stage of the Chunin Exam, so listen good maggots!" Anko's voice reverberated through the air once she had appeared near the front gate of area 44.

All of the present genin crowded around to hear the announcement, each team huddled close together. Naruto, as expected, lead his team straight to the front, not wanting to miss anything.

"The area behind me is known as training area 44, and better known as the Forest of Death," Anko began, with no trace of sympathy in her eyes, "The goal of the exam's second stage is simple: navigate through the forest and reach the tower at its center."

Many genin relaxed at the news, that was, until she had continued.

"You will have five days to do this. The tower is located 10 kilometers from every entrance gate. In addition, each genin team will be given one scroll before entering. Upon reaching the tower every team must have both an Earth and Heaven scroll. You acquire scrolls that you have not been given by defeating your competition, if you haven't already guessed," She smirked maniacally, "This will reduce the number of ninja who will proceed into the next stage of the exam."

Haku sighed to himself, drawing an annoyed look from Gaara.

"Keep in mind that there are many more dangers than just ninja in the forest. There are also many edible plants and suchlike in area 44 to hold you over for the next few days, so keep a sharp eye. One last thing..."

She paused and her glare seemed to even out over the crowd, "You may not under any circumstances open your scrolls until you have entered the tower! Anyone who does so before that time, well...the consequences will come swiftly."

"What the heck is that supposed to mean, Anko-sensei?" Naruto didn't fully understand, "If you give us those scrolls then I think we should be allowed to look at them!"

Anko hurled a brace of kunai at him for his interruption.

Naruto caught the first knife and dodged the second, grinning. After his mission to the Land of Waves with her, he could more easily anticipate her random attacks.

That was what he thought until she was behind him a moment later, and Naruto found his fuzzy yellow head in an inescapable headlock. He scowled, accepting the fact that she was a jounin.

"Will you can it you loudmouth? Rules are rules, and if you don't follow them in this exam then you'll ruin your chances of becoming a chunin..." she paused thoughtfully, "Or your chances for survival, rather."

"Okay, Anko-sensei! I get it!" Naruto grumbled through his flailing and she promptly released him.

"Now that that's out of the way, my advice to you all is: just don't die!" Anko concluded with a cheery smile, "Registration is over that way. Sign your name away so that we won't be held responsible if things go unfortunately for any of you. Turn in your consent forms for a scroll and then proceed to your assigned gates. Good luck maggots!"

She trotted off, leaving the confident genin to move on to register.

Naruto followed after his teammates as they moved on, rubbing his neck tenderly where he had been grappled, "Jeez, she's just as crazy as ever..."

Haku chuckled at him, hoping that some humor would lighten the mood, but it didn't really. It was inevitable at this point that they would be facing other shinobi in the forest. It was not clear yet who they would encounter and if they could procure the scroll they needed.

After receiving their forms, reading over them (although Naruto skimmed through his hurriedly) and signing their names away into presumed oblivion, Team 2 was given a Heaven Scroll. For safe keeping, it was given to Gaara to hold, who was the least likely to lose it.

Naruto's excited chatter was the only thing that seemed to ease the ten edgy minutes that followed as they lined up in front of gate 19, waiting for their chance to burst through the fence and make the mad dash to the tower deep inside the Forest of Death.

"I feel it would be wise to travel at a steady pace today and tonight," Haku suggested, the cogs in his brilliant mind turning once again, "If we cover a lot of ground in the first 48 hours, we can ambush another team as they approach later. Once we obtain an Earth scroll we should be able to take some time to rest before reaching the tower."

Naruto frowned, still processing the dark haired boy's plan, "You want to travel during the night, Haku-kun? Can't we get just a bit of sleep?"

"We can rest after we secure the second scroll," Gaara sided with Haku, "The sooner we get an Earth scroll, the better our chances of succeeding will be."

"Uh...yeah."

A resounding siren pierced the tense morning air and each gate opened with a sudden jolt. The blonde boy's eyes widened to the size of saucers for a split second, before a grin spread over his face.

"Let's go!"

Without even glancing at his teammates to check if they were prepared, Naruto raced in, determined to succeed as they had in the first portion of the exam.