Chapter 26

"This place is..." Sakura mumbled in shock.

Accompanied by dozens of foreign and domestic Genin, Team 7 was standing in a grassy grove. Shrouded by a 40ft chain-link fence, this welded iron was withered and covered in rust.

"This is the location for the 2nd stage of the Exam..." Anko sighed, sitting atop a wooden booth.

"We call it the Forest of Death." Her words forced several Genin to tense up immediately.

A gust of wind then blew in from the south, forcing Sakura's outfit to rustle in the breeze. At the same time, this breeze forced Naruto's hair to waver in the wind, exposing a violet flash in his eyes.

"We CaLl It ThE fOrEsT Of DeAtH." Sakura mocked with her tongue out.

"Do your worst hag, Kakashi-sensei isn't here to save you!" While shouting, Sakura pointed out with a small smile.

"Seems like everyone is quick-tempered today, there must be something in the air." Anko giggled with a grin.

"YOU'RE ONE TO TALK!" Sakura shrieked in response.

Twirling an empty dango stick in her mouth, Anko's mischievous smile was brightened by sunlight. With both hands resting inside her trench coat. 

"Before we begin, I need each of you to sign this consent form." Anko abruptly spoke out.

"Some of you might not come back, and I don't want to be responsible for any dead students." Bored, she revealed a stack of papers.

Met by panicked groans and suspicious moans, various Genin all protested in contempt. Silencing this young group, Anko sundered dirt with her feet, gnawing on a fresh stick of dango.

Tossing a bundle of pages at Sakura, Anko ordered this kunoichi to pass them out. Growling in defeat, this pink-haired ninja sluggishly responded, dragging her feet with each step.

"Now, I'll give you a description of the terrain." As Anko spoke, a scroll rolled out from her sleeves.

Unraveling this page, a pristine map of the 44th training ground was displayed and drawn. Immortalized as the Forest of Death, this massive landscape was created from an ancient battle, between Madara and Hashirama.

"The training zone has 44 locked entrance gates, and a river that runs through the center." Using dango as chalk, she scribbled the page.

"Your job is to reach a tower, positioned in the center of the forest, six miles from each gate." After speaking, she received several complaints.

Interrupted by a anxious shinobi from Ame, Anko hurled a barrage of empty dango. Spearing the headband of this outspoken ninja, he chattered his teeth before shutting his mouth.

"In this confined area, you'll undergo the 2nd Exam." Cheering like a schoolgirl, Anko could smell fear.

"There are no rules... Except, if you want to pass, you have to bring these scrolls to the tower." Holding a black and white scroll, they were decorated with kanji.

"Both of them?" Naruto spoke up.

"Correct, you'll be fighting each other, to get both." Anko explained.

The white scroll, was adorned with the kanji for heaven, ornately written and transcribed. While the black scroll was embellished with the kanji for hell, hastily stamped with impatience.

"26 teams will be taking part in this Exam, so half of you will be going after the heaven scroll and vice-versa." Lossing interest, Anko waved a dismissive hand.

"That means at the very best, half of us will fail." A feminine shinobi groaned snake-like eyes, a ninja from Kusa.

Damped by a roaring stomach, Sakura clenched her gut before sliding onto both knees. Calling for food, this statement earned a twisted cackle from Anko, eating dango without pause.

"One more thing, the exam has a time limit, it shouldn't take longer than five days." Anko proclaimed.

"Five Days!?" Ino repeated in shock.

"What are we supposed to do for food!" Choji questioned, running low on potato chips.

"That's not all, there are man eating beasts and posionous plants in there." Kabuto asserted.

"What a drag..." Shikamaru sighed.

Completely surrounded by would be enemies, these Chunin-in-training would have no time to rest. They'd have to keep a constant watch, forever glancing over their shoulder.

"So um... Let's just say mid-exam, can we quit?" Shikamaru's voice rang out.

"Of course not." Anko snickered.

Dragging a palm across his depressed face, Shikamaru hung his head in defeat and dismay. Eager to sit down and watch some TV, the last time on his mind was training, or exercise.

"Now, there are some ways you can get disqualified." Anko counted with her fingers.

If they couldn't reach the tower in the limit of five days, that specific team would be failed. Also, if any team losses a member, or they become unconscious, then the entire team would fail.

"But most of all, none of you may look at the contents of your scroll, until reaching the tower." Bold and commanding, Anko leered.

Sometimes, a shinobi would carry secret documents, and this exam would test their integrity. Barking out a list of orders, each team was discreetly gifted a scroll, pushed towards a different gate.

Ten minutes later.

Circling around a 40ft chain-link fence, Sakura nervously gnawed at her frigid nails. Counting each moment, the waiting felt like eternity, filled with dread, self-doubt and anxiety.

"What's up, Ms. Forehead." Ino snorted with hostility.

"You're just jealous that I'm spending five days with Sasuke, alone." Sakura teased her former friend.

Grunting in response, Ino leaned forward, shoving her face against Sakura's nose. Mimicking this action, both kunoichi glared at each other, huffing and puffing with young rage.

"Give it up! We both know you're too weak to pass this test!" Ino stomped her left foot.

"You don't know anything!" Sakura protested.

These screaming kunoichi snorted several times before Sakura turned around, walking to her team. During this, Kakashi sat on an overhanging tree branch, reading his orange book in silence.

Ten minutes later. At entrance gate #16.

"We rock at survival, there's no way we can lose!" Kiba exclaimed, jumping for joy.

"Mmmm." Hinata timidly mumbled.

While this conversation unfolded, a quiet and patient Shino stood beside each of his teammates.

Meanwhile. At entrance gate #27.

"What a drag." Shikamaru exclaimed

Shuffling through his pouch of ninja tools, Choji's satchel was lined with food, instead of shuriken. Enthralled by this realization, Ino pinched the bridge of her nose, shaking her head with disgrace.

Meanwhile. At entrance gate #12.

"I'm so pumped! Just watch me, Sasuke! I'll win your heart this time!" Sakura cheered.

Standing between each of her teammates, Sakura punched and boxed the leaf-filled air. As Sasuke was fueled with embarrassment, Naruto swelled with joy and love, happy to have friends.

Meanwhile. At entrance gate #20.

"The time has come to carry out our orders." Dosu hummed.

Accompanied by his pair of Oto teammates, Dosu stood with a hunched and crooked back. Consumed and swallowed by the extended sleeves from his attire, he narrowed his visible eye.

Meanwhile. At entrance gate #38.

Kabuto and his masked teammates quietly stood in front of their entrance gate. The only face that was exposed, Kabuto displayed a twisted and sadistic expression, grinning from ear-to-ear.

Meanwhile. At entrance gate #6.

He might try to kill us... We have to be careful. Kankuro and Temari panicked, glancing at Gaara's back.

Meanwhile. At entrance gate #15.

"Target the Rookiees, they'll be easy pray." An obese shinobi from Kusa leered.

Fat and overweight, he barely fit inside the green kimono he wore, draped to his ankles. Also, a bamboo hat was strapped to his bald scalp, embellished with the headband of Kusa.

"Anything goes, right?" A feminine shinobi groaned.

Similar to both teammates, this ninja wore a green kimono with a bamboo-styled hat of Kusa. Framing his shoulder-length black hair, he had pale skin and reptilian eyes, full of lust.

Meanwhile. At entrance gate #41.

"Guy-sensei! I will make you proud!" Lee screamed with pupils of fire.

Scoffing with both arms against his chest, Neji rolled his eyes with annoyance and distain. At the same time, Tenten had a vibrant smile across her face, forcing her team to preform a group hug.

Five minutes later.

"Alright, maggots! The test has begun!" Anko pierced the air.

Triggered by her voice, the locked entrance gates flew out, allowing dozens of Genin to surge inside. But instead of running, Team 7 leisurely strolled through the forest, walking without any concern.

Ten minutes later.

"I say we lay a trap, and mug whoever we catch." Kiba explained.

Standing in the center of a grassy grove, Team 10 were basked by rays of sunlight. Barking in approval, Akamaru sniffed the air, pointing his snout through a bundle of thick bushes.

Meanwhile.

"Bunch of fools, standing out in the open." A Genin from Ame moaned.

Denoting their status from the Land of Rain, this group all wore a waist-length grey poncho. With wooden umbrella's strapped to their back, the headband of Ame was worn over their foreheads.

"Hey, what's in your shirt?" A 2nd teammate slurred.

Pointing at a large of odd bulge, these pulsating blob oozed from the back of his kunoichi teammate. Swelling in size, this strange pus was actually a massive leech, draining blood and chakra.

At this moment, dozens of leech's began to rain down, falling from overhanging tree branches. Clinging and wrapping around these startled shinobi, they fell 20ft to the forest floor.

"Looks like the leech's found them." Kiba sneered with a smirk, rushing to steal their scroll.

Meanwhile.

"Was that a scream?!" Sakura complained.

Seated atop a massive tree branch, this lumber was as wide as a two-story house. Resting her butt on mossy wood, Sakura held both knees against her flat and nonexistent chest.

"First of all, we need to form a plan." Sasuke exclaimed.

Suspended on the highest point of the tree-line, these Genin towered above the forest floor. Out of sight and earshot, they discussed what course of action to take, too formulate their victory.

"Want me to just swarm the forest with clones?" Naruto mumbled.

Shrugging off a feat that few Kage could accomplish, Naruto's chakra reserves were endless. Beyond even the 3rd Hokage, his level of chakra was far beyond an average Genin.

"How many can you create?" Sakura hummed.

Forced to count, Naruto used his fingers as a tool, quickly running out of limbs and appendages. One hundred, two hundred or three hundred, he had no limit to his number of clones.

"I can only see through five at a time, so...?" Naruto groaned with confusion.

"What if you made fifteen clones? Have some transform into me, and some into Sakura." Sasuke slurred his suggestion.

"Then, spilt them up. Each group gets a field of vision, and you can cover more space." Listing the advantages, Sasuke stroked his chin.

Murmuring in agreement, Naruto clasped both hands into the clone seal, veiled by white smoke. Trailed by fifteen separate eruptions, dozens of Naruto's took shape, standing in a circle.

"We'll get that black hell scroll in no time." Confident in their abilities, Sasuke could already taste victory.