43. So...

(Guys, 24 hours till reset, Give me your Powerstones, Let's aim for the Top 20) 

Chapter 18: The Forest of Chaos (and Possibly Death)

The sun had barely peeked over the horizon when Sora, Hanabi, and Sora's mysterious clone found themselves standing at the edge of the Forest of Death. The ominous trees loomed before them, their branches twisting like gnarled fingers reaching for the sky. A chorus of inhuman shrieks and growls emanated from the depths of the forest, causing several of the gathered Genin to shudder visibly.

Sora, however, was practically vibrating with excitement. His disguise as Taro, the unremarkable Genin, was in place, but his eyes sparkled with barely contained mischief.

"This is it, team!" he whispered to Hanabi (disguised as Yumi) and his clone (posing as the enigmatic Akira). "Our chance to prove ourselves and thin out the competition. Are you ready to make history?"

Hanabi, still recovering from the shock of Sora's revelation about his true motives during the written exam, could only manage a weak nod. The clone, true to its stoic persona, simply grunted and pulled out a book, pointedly ignoring everything around it.

As they waited for the exam to begin, Sora's mind raced with the information his mini-clone had gathered earlier. He had sent the tiny spy ahead to scout the other teams and their scroll types, as well as to map out the entry points. Now, armed with this knowledge, he felt like a chess master about to make his opening move.

"Alright, listen up, you little monsters!" Anko's voice cut through the nervous chatter of the Genin. She stood atop a wooden platform, grinning maniacally. "Welcome to Training Ground 44, better known as the Forest of Death. For the next five days, this lovely slice of hell will be your home, playground, and quite possibly your grave!"

She paused dramatically, clearly enjoying the looks of terror on many faces.

"Your objective is simple: Get two scrolls - Heaven and Earth - and make it to the tower in the centre of the forest. Half of you have Heaven scrolls, half have Earth. You need both to pass. Oh, and try not to die. Paperwork's a real pain when candidates don't make it out alive."

Sora snickered at Anko's cavalier attitude, earning him a sharp elbow in the ribs from Hanabi.

"Now," Anko continued, "before we begin, I need you all to sign these lovely little waivers. You know, just in case you get eaten by a giant tiger or fall into a pit of flesh-eating plants. Standard stuff, really."

As the waivers were passed around, Sora couldn't help but add his own flair to the proceedings. He pulled out a comically oversized quill and a bottle of what appeared to be glowing ink.

"Excuse me, Proctor-san," he called out, raising his hand. "Does it matter what colour we sign in? Because I brought my lucky sparkle ink, and I'd hate for my death waiver to be anything less than fabulous."

Anko blinked, momentarily thrown off her sadistic groove. "Uh... I guess not? Just sign the damn thing."

Sora beamed and proceeded to sign his waiver with a flourish, leaving behind a trail of glittering ink that seemed to change colours in the light. Several nearby Genin stared at him as if he had grown a second head.

"What?" Sora asked innocently. "If I'm going to get mauled by a bear, I want that bear to remember me as the shiniest meal it ever had!"

Hanabi facepalmed so hard she nearly broke her own nose.

Once all the waivers were signed (with varying degrees of reluctance and, in Sora's case, excessive enthusiasm), Anko directed each team to a different gate around the perimeter of the forest.

As they walked to their assigned entrance, Sora filled in his teammates on the intel he had gathered.

"Okay, here's the plan," he whispered. "There's only one team left from Takigakure. They've got an Earth scroll, which is perfect since we have Heaven. They're entering from Gate 12, about half a kilometre east of us."

Hanabi nodded, her earlier exasperation giving way to focus. "What's our strategy? We can't exactly go in guns blazing. Neither of us is used to... you know... killing."

Sora's expression softened slightly. "Don't worry, we're not going to kill anyone. I've got a plan that's both effective and relatively humane. Mostly."

The clone raised an eyebrow, silently asking for elaboration.

"Right," Sora continued. "So, the Taki team consists of two girls in, shall we say, provocative outfits, and one guy wearing a cloak. They're all pretty good-looking, which might be useful for distraction purposes."

Hanabi's eye twitched. "Please tell me your plan doesn't involve seduction."

Sora gasped in mock offence. "Hanabi! I'm shocked you would even suggest such a thing. We're six years old! Well, technically our disguises are older, but still. No, my plan is much more sophisticated than that."

He leaned in close, lowering his voice even further. "Here's what we're going to do..."

As Sora outlined his strategy, Hanabi's expression shifted from scepticism to grudging admiration. The clone, meanwhile, continued to read its book, occasionally nodding as if the plan made perfect sense.

Just as Sora finished explaining, a loud buzzer sounded, signalling the start of the exam. The gates swung open, and teams began pouring into the forest.

"Alright, team," Sora grinned, cracking his knuckles. "Let's go make some chaos!"

They dashed into the forest, leaping from branch to branch with the ease of practised shinobi (or, in their case, extremely talented six-year-olds with too much time on their hands). As they moved, Sora couldn't help but marvel at the sheer size and diversity of the flora around them.

"You know," he mused aloud, "I bet I could make some really interesting seals with the plants here. Imagine a poison ivy explosion tag! Or a Venus flytrap summoning scroll!"

Hanabi shot him a warning look. "Focus, Sora. We're here to pass the exam, not start a botanical warfare division."

"Why not both?" Sora grinned, but he dutifully returned his attention to their mission.

After about fifteen minutes of travel, they reached the area where Sora's intel suggested the Takigakure team would be. Sure enough, they soon spotted their targets hiding in a large tree, surveying the area.

Sora signalled for his team to stop, and they crouched on a nearby branch, observing their prey. The two kunoichi were indeed wearing outfits that left little to the imagination, while their male teammate was almost entirely obscured by his cloak.

"Okay," Sora whispered. "Everyone remembers the plan?"

Hanabi nodded, her Byakugan already activated beneath her disguise. The clone gave a thumbs up, then returned to its book.

"Alright then," Sora grinned. "Let's do this!"

With a quick hand sign, Sora activated his Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu. The ground beneath the cloaked Taki ninja suddenly softened, and before he could react, he was pulled underground up to his neck.

"What the-" the trapped ninja began, but Sora was already there, slapping a seal on his forehead. The Taki nin's eyes rolled back, and he slumped unconscious.

"One down!" Sora called out cheerfully.

The two kunoichi, alerted by their teammate's predicament, leapt into action. One threw a barrage of kunai at Sora, while the other began weaving hand signs for a water jutsu.

Sora's clone sprang into action, seeming to materialize behind one of the kunoichi. It wrapped its arms around her in what looked like a bear hug, pressing a kunai to her throat. The girl froze, her eyes wide with fear.

Meanwhile, the other kunoichi finished her jutsu, sending a jet of water hurtling towards Hanabi. But the disguised Hyuga was ready. She spun gracefully, her Gentle Fist deflecting the water and sending it spraying in all directions.

The Taki kunoichi's eyes widened in recognition. "A Hyuga? But how-"

She didn't get to finish her thought. As she activated a body flicker technique to retreat, Hanabi was already moving. Her fingers struck with pinpoint accuracy, blocking the girl's chakra points and sending her stumbling to the forest floor.

Sora whistled appreciatively. "Nice moves, Yumi! You really swept her off her feet!"

Hanabi rolled her eyes at the pun but couldn't suppress a small smile of pride.

The remaining conscious Taki kunoichi, still held at kunai-point by Sora's clone, was trembling now. "Please," she whimpered, "don't kill us. We'll give you our scroll, just let us go!"

Sora approached her, his expression was surprisingly gentle. "Hey, no need for the waterworks. We're not here to hurt anyone. Well, not permanently anyway. Just hand over the scroll, and we'll be on our merry way!"

The girl nodded frantically, reaching into her pouch with shaky hands. She pulled out an Earth scroll and held it out to Sora.

"Perfect!" Sora beamed, taking the scroll. "See? That wasn't so bad, was it? Now, I hate to be rude, but we can't have you following us, so..."

*** 

Thank you to Carlos_Caballero_6475, gentlebreeze03, nerghomek, J4F, TreadwayHeinrich, Osas_Destiny_4852, ishaq, Desire96, Dovah_Kos, Rodney_Watson_1016, Aiman079, BodeRoxo, PauloHMS, SgtoPepinillo, Kay_smiles101, Pheathon, Travis_Tharp, CR077, Wyvernian_Gaming, Micheal_Frial, syedsaid95, Hellajoof, Kennchan, 06ICARUS_FALLEN, Callots, Hekashin, Unique_Sovereign, Plain_Grass021, alphadragon, God_of_War412 for the Powerstones