The Second Test

The minutes passed. More people had arrived. There were teams from Kusa, Kumo, Taki, Kiri and Suna. There were also more teams from Konoha that arrived. They were all glaring at each other.

They had settled in a large shaded area, forming several groups that cast suspicious glances at each other. The alliances had fallen apart as soon as they passed the first test. The only groups that stayed together were the Uchihas. Even Yugao's team separated from Team 14. She didn't forget to thank her friend before walking away with her teammates.

Shikaku Nara appeared two hours later. Everyone became tense.

"Congratulations on passing the first test. I'm supposed to give you a speech about strength, loyalty, and intelligence. But since you passed the test, I believe you understood what we were trying to teach you.

He made a gesture with his hand. Another voice came from a rocky promontory. All the genins turned to a young man with a large scar on his face. It took Jun a few moments to recognize him. It was Raido.

"It's time for the second test. Follow me."

The newcomer and the jonins around them guided the genins to a canyon, outside the village. It took them an hour to reach their destination. Raido imposed a hellish pace. Many thought it was to tire them out before the upcoming trial.

The canyon was vast. The landscape had hollowed out and transformed into a maze of cliffs and reddish pillars made of rock. It looked familiar to Jun. It resembled the place Kakashi taught Sasuke the Chidori. Several genins had started heckling, claiming to be the best. Tensions were rising.

"Each team has three tokens. Each one is worth ten points. To pass the second test, you must reach the finish line with your entire team and at least a total of one hundred and fifty points. " The jonin explained.

"There are sixty-nine genins left. I will lead all of you to the starting line. You must cross the whole canyon to reach the finish line. There is no food here. You will have to live off whatever you have on you. A ninja must be prepared for anything. I hope you all are, or you will starve. You have two days. The test will end at sunset. You must reach the finish line before the deadline with the required number of points to pass."

Raido escorted them to the starting line. It was at the bottom of the cliff. Jun felt like he was trapped in an arena between these high rock walls. The jonins proceeded to line up the various teams, leaving several meters of space between each group. Jun found it to be useless.

Judging by the glares the competitors were giving each other, they were going to jump at each other's throats as soon as the test started. The members of Team 14 exchanged an alarmed look. Sixty-nine people attacking each other like madmen would be chaotic. They should get out of this area as soon as possible.

Jun and his teammates found themselves between a team from Taki and one from Konoha with a Hyuga in it. The jonin started the test. A good third of the teams rushed at the others. They fought with ferocity. Others tried to flee but were simply overwhelmed or caught in the crossfire. Jutsus flew in all directions. The canyon was filled with howls, explosions, and sounds of weapons crashing against each other.

One of the Kiri genins summoned a massive sword out of nowhere and sliced his opponent in half. Blood spurted out. Someone let out a heartbreaking scream as he saw a teammate fall. A fireball exploded on the battlefield. Several people were thrown into the air.

Jun didn't pay attention to it. As soon as the test started, he leaped forward like a rocket with his teammates. For a moment, he thought they wouldn't be able to avoid the fighting. The teenager pushed back a genin who was rushing at him, then another, and another one… He used explosive tags to clear their way, blindly crossing the smoke of the explosion. He narrowly dodged someone who was rushing at him. He crashed into someone and used Taijutsu to get rid of the person.

He felt a kunai brush against his neck. He sped up and jumped over a Doton wall. His path was suddenly clear. He sensed Natsumi and Susumu behind him. He began moving forward again, making sure to not leave his comrades behind. They swiftly navigated through the maze of gorges and rocky cliffs, leaving the sounds of battle behind them.

They ran for a while through the cliffs. The red rocks looked all the same. It was easy the get lost. His sensory ability paid dividends here. It helped them to get away from the battlefield at the started line. Sensing the fighters' chakra was easy, making it simple to maintain their distance from that area.

It was also hot; they were feeling the heat. But they didn't slow down. They kept moving forward. The genins scaled cliffs and leaped from rocky peak to rocky peak. It was only much later that they stopped in the shadow of a promontory. Susumu dropped to his butt; he was pale.

"That was intense…"

"Welcome to the chunin exam!" Natsumi chuckled.

Jun gave a nervous chuckle, then pulled one of his storage scrolls from his belt. The benefit of knowing Fuinjutsu was that he could carry more equipment than the average ninja. His teammates had not planned for a two-day test in a hostile environment, but he had. He knew there would be some kind of survival exercise based on his memories from Naruto. He opened the scroll. There were many markings on it. He quickly waved some hand seals before slapping his hand onto one of the markings. There was a puff of smoke, revealing some supplies. Ration pills, bottles of water, and three lunch boxes appeared.

"What's the plan? Do we take a break to rest a little?" Jun asked, opening a bottle of water and taking a few sips.

"Let's save the lunch boxes for tonight. We can't relax now." Susumu declared.

"Should we get closer to the finish line and set traps? We took the lead; we can do that." Jun said while giving them a small brownish pill.

"We won't be the only ones with that idea. I saw at least four or five other teams that fled the battle." Susumu replied.

"I didn't see them," Jun said.

"You were focused on something else. We let you clear the way." Natsumi explained with a smile.

Jun was the team's main attacker. He returned the smile and passed the bottle of water around. The weather was warm and the air was dry. It was vital for them to hydrate.

"We'll do as you suggested. Let's go as far as we can and set traps. It's better to compete with the few teams that got away from the big fight." Susumu decided.

They started moving again. They had covered a quarter of the distance to reach the end. Their training with Gai had done wonders to their stamina. Jun tried to sense what was going on around him as he ran. His talent for sensing chakra was top-notch, but his range was limited. He could still sense the battle they left behind. It hadn't ended yet, but only half of the genins were still fighting. Some were probably dead. He perceived other chakra signatures drifting away from the fight and scattering through the gorges of the canyon looking for the exit. Most of them were behind his team, though. There were only a few people ahead.

He sensed three chakra signatures ahead, rushing to the exit. There was also a team advancing in the same direction. The feeling their chakra gave was familiar. It was the Uchihas. He had recognized Fujitaro's chakra among them. He decided to avoid that team, out of caution.

They stopped to rest a couple of hours later. Even with their training, they were tired after running for so long. Moreover, they arrived at a place suitable for an ambush. They began to set traps and explore the surroundings. They enjoyed a decent lead over the majority of their competitors, They needed to exploit it. The first team to approach them arrived earlier than expected. Jun was infusing his chakra and sensed them coming just as they finished placing their explosive tags.