Don't Waste Time

Team Eight disappeared during the test in the Forest of Death, it was a fact the moment the time period ended and everyone had to continue with the exam.

Kurenai went out to search for tracks with a desperate expression, not knowing that she wouldn't find a single drop of blood no matter how hard she tried.

Takara was meticulous in eliminating the scene, take what you can and what you can't, a few explosive tags here and there will clean up what's left behind.

"Did you encounter any Konoha genin?" the marionette Rem asked with a poorly concealed whisper as she tilted her head.

Temari shook her head, although they did indeed come across a couple, they ran away fast enough for Gaara's sand not to catch them.

She also noticed the disappearance of some Konoha participants, but she was unaware that Takara was responsible.

"No matter, less competition for you guys," Baki approached the group and glanced over them, nodding, "Prepare yourselves, it seems that the next test will not take long to start."

"We haven't even been able to rest much," Gaara complained, annoyed by the situation that prevented him from going back to sleep.

"The enemy won't wait for you to rest on the battlefield," refuted Baki as he shook his head and guided everyone to the platform inside the tower.

The Third Hokage looked around and although he frowned slightly upon noticing certain absences, he had no choice but to follow the script and investigate later.

"Everyone…"

Takara disconnected the next second, not wanting to waste neurons listening to that rotten fossil. He thought he would have to wait a month to steal from this village...

"Does anyone wish to withdraw?"

Mmm, right, Hayate will later die at Baki's hands.

Kabuto withdrew under Naruto's surprised gaze, explaining that his condition was not very good and he knew his limits.

Then, they proceeded to draw the match-ups.

Takara watched with boredom as Sasuke defeated Yoroi, but he watched with interest the next batch of contenders: Rem vs Zaku.

"Wish me luck, Takara-sama," the marionette of the blue-haired twin jumped from her observation balcony and landed in the arena.

Kankuro gave Takara a contemptuous look for making his marionette speak to him like that, which others interpreted as jealousy.

"This will be quick," Zaku smiled, very confident of his chances.

Five seconds later…

"The winner is Rem of Sunagakure!" Hayate declared between coughs.

The rest of the participants looked in awe at the field, where Zaku was embedded in the wall with no signs of detaching from it, while Rem recovered the giant morning star that struck the unfortunate genin of Otogakure and tucked it back under her skirt with naturalness.

The same question was on everyone's mind: How the hell does she hide that huge thing there?

Tenten was the only one who looked with interest at the weapon, trying to calculate how much it must weigh to seem so light, but hit so hard.

"Thank you for the guidance," Rem bowed politely and jumped from the arena to land precisely in the exact same spot from which she left before.

Sakura reflected, perhaps she should look for Tenten to recommend a weapon?

While the doctors took away a badly injured Zaku, the fights continued.

Kankuro emerged victorious from his confrontation with Misumi, while Sakura and Ino ended in a tie.

Temari gave Tenten a complete beating.

Kin underestimated Shikamaru, which resulted in her defeat and the complete withdrawal of the Otogakure team from the exam, which was a shame for the newly founded village.

"Next match: Naruto vs. Ram."

"Oh, come on!" Naruto jumped and cried out for his bad luck when he realized he would have to face one of the Suna twins.

Before, he hoped to have the opportunity to avenge what happened on the bridge, but after seeing Rem's performance, he wasn't feeling so enthusiastic anymore.

He was sure he could beat the bandage boy, but…

"Get down already, I don't want to waste time," Ram said as she looked annoyed at Naruto.

Naruto didn't like that look, it was the same one civilians gave him when he was little and it struck a nerve.

"Get ready, because you're about to face the next Hokage, believe it!" Naruto shouted as he self-motivated himself to give it his all, "I won't be merciful just because you're a girl, I'll beat you, pass the third test and be one step closer to fulfilling my dream. Everyone will have to recognize me then and admire me!"

People could notice a vein on Ram's forehead swell after hearing the blonde boy and they had a bad feeling about it.

Two point two seconds later...

"T-The winner is Ram of Sunagakure," Hayate stuttered as the doctors rushed in to Naruto who was unconscious and covered in bloody cuts all over, as if he had fallen into a meat grinder.

"W-What happened?" Sakura couldn't even process what had happened, it was too fast.

The pink-haired girl Naruto faced moved her hand, the next thing she knew was the doctors rushing in.

Kakashi was just as astonished, he didn't even bother to put on the headband because he believed this girl would also use pure taijutsu like her sister.

But contrary to his expectations, she used some kind of wind ninjutsu!

Just from what he caught, it was at least a C-rank.

"I just heard her say 'Fura' or something like that," Guy commented with a serious expression as he flexed his ears, demonstrating the power of his ears trained with burning youth.

The Third Hokage narrowed his eyes, Naruto being defeated like this was counterproductive to his plans. He thought he had chosen an easy opponent for him, hoping he would pass the third test.

"Do we have information on the twins' team?" he asked Anko, who was next to him.

Anko made a face, remembering how they interrupted her epic entrance during the transition from the first to the second test.

"General information about their days at the Academy, the basics for the record and nothing else," the kunoichi replied, as she herself took a look at the information shortly after sending the participants to the Forest of Death.

"Make sure someone keeps an eye on them during their stay in the village, let's see if we can find out more," Sarutobi instructed Anko discreetly.

As they spoke, the next match was decided.

"Neji Hyuga and Takara, get down to the arena!"