Kapitel 44: Chuunin Exam: Second Test
The forty-fourth training ground, where the second phase of the current Chuunin exam was going to take place, was a specialized training ground to test a shinobi's survival and fighting skills.
It was a huge, circular enclosure surrounded by metallic fences with a distance of ten kilometers from the edge to the center, where a tall tower stood overseeing the entire ground.
Inside was a fertile forest filled with ancient trees soaring up into the sky. Dense canopy covered the entire area, covering some sections in darkness even in the middle of the day. Thick roots and branches served as a natural barrier to further impede the movements of anyone foolish enough to enter unprepared.
As the participants observed the place from afar, they couldn't help but feeling crept out by the eerie atmosphere of the forest.
The second proctor, Mitarashi Anko, was pleased with their reaction. Yes, the Chuunin exam should be like this! She wouldn't be as soft as that useless Ibiki. This time, she would definitely struck fear into their heart.
"Buckle up. You'll soon find out why it's called the 'Forest of Death'."
Everyone gulped upon hearing her words. Everyone except one person.
Of course, it was none other than Naruto.
"Tch. 'You'll soon find out why it's called the Forest of Death'... you think that gonna scare me? I'm not afraid at all, ya'know!"
"Really?" Anko smiled at him. "You do look spirited. But, you know..."
Suddenly, a kunai flew from her hand, grazing on Naruto's left cheek. Although the wound was shallow, it was still enough to draw blood.
Rather than the pain, however, it was her speed that scared Naruto the most. He couldn't react at all. If she had really aimed toward his vital points...
"...Kids like you are the ones who died first... spraying the red blood that I love..."
She had appeared behind him with a flicker, hugging his head while licking on his wound. The boy couldn't do anything but tremble on his feet.
"That stupid Naruto, we haven't even started and he already got into trouble..." Kiba grumbled. He had been watching the entire scene playing out just now. He mentally took note not to anger this weird proctor. She seemed to be even less patient than the already scary Ibiki.
That pale person who had approached her also gave him a weird vibe, as if there was something wrong with him and his teammates. Judging from their appearance, they seemed to be Genin from Kusagakure...
"W-Will Naruto be okay...?" Hinata murmured.
"Yeah. Don't worry. The examiner won't do anything to him before the test start."
I hope, Kiba added in his mind.
"Alright, gather up! Before we start the second test, there's something that I have to give to you all!" Anko shouted.
The participants tensed up, thinking that she would give them something outrageous. Instead, she just pulled out a seemingly normal stack of paper from her coat.
"If you want to enter the second test, you have to sign on this paper."
"Eh, just that?" Naruto frowned. That didn't sound too hard, as long as it wasn't another weird-ass written exam like before. "What's that about?"
"This? Nothing much, just some consent forms absolving us examiners from any responsibilities in case you got injured or died."
Everyone froze on their track.
"There will definitely be death in this test, so you have to sign these waivers. Else, it'll be my responsibility, and we don't want that, now do we~?"
'No, we want it! Please be responsible!'
The participants want to scream those words at her, but they were afraid of ending up like that Naruto kid from before, so in the end they stayed silent.
"Here, pass it around. I'm going to explain the second test. You can sign afterwards if you're feeling confident."
Simply put, the second test was going to be a survival test inside the forty-fourth training ground.
Like the name, there were forty-four locked gates in the fence surrounding the area. The teams would be given a random gate to enter, and from there they would have to pass through the deadly forest until they reached the tower at the middle.
However, it wouldn't be called an exam if survival was all that they had to do.
Each team would be given one of two types of scrolls, the "Heaven" scroll and the "Earth" scroll. In order to be given entrance to the tower, a team had to have both types of scroll on hand. In other words...
"We have to get them from the other team," the pink-haired girl from Naruto's team, Haruno Sakura, correctly surmised.
Out of the twenty-six teams remaining, half would get the "Heaven" scrolls while the rest would get the "Earth" scrolls. That means only thirteen teams could proceed to the next test.
"Well... at most, that is," Anko grinned. "First of all, there's a time limit. The second test will last for a hundred and twenty hours. Exactly five days. You're not allowed to go out during this period. Whether you succeed or fail, you have to stay inside the forest until your time runs out."
"Five days!" A girl with platinum-blonde hair, Yamanaka Ino, cried.
"What about dinner?!" On her side, the hefty kid Choji screamed as well, although his focus was a bit...
"You're on your own. The forest is full of food, use your ability to search it. Just watch out for things that want to eat you instead."
Choji slumped down, disappointed because they had to find their own food.
Anko grinned at the participants who had grown restless after hearing the circumstances for the test.
"You finally got it through your thick skulls? Not only you have to watch out for enemy teams, you also have to survive through the harsh ground where everything alive there want you dead. Thirteen teams, huh... first, I want to see that at least one team could manage to reach the tower. We wouldn't want a situation where we have to stop the exam prematurely because everyone failed, right~?"
'Liar, if it's you, you're definitely looking forward to it!'
At this point, the participants weren't seeing Anko as a proctor anymore. She looked more and more like an evil demon from hell...
"Now, as for people who would get disqualified..."
First was those who couldn't manage to reach the tower after five days had passed by whatever reason.
Second was those who lose their teammates or had their teammates killed.
Finally, this rule also applied to those who dared to open the scroll in their possession.
"Eh?" Naruto frowned. "What happens if you do?"
"That'll be a surprise. If you're curious, go ahead and try it~"
The way she said it was so scary that the participants who had an idea of doing so ended up curbing their curiosity out of fear.
"A final word of advice... don't die. That's all."
And with that, the explanation for the second test was over.
---
After signing the consent form, each team was called into a secluded booth. They were given their respective scroll as well as a gate number from where they would enter the forest.
Team Kakashi, consisting of Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, and Haruno Sakura, was given the "Heaven" scroll and would be entering from gate twelve.
Not too far from them, Team Kurenai, consisting of Inuzuka Kiba, Akamaru, Aburame Shino, and Hyuuga Hinata, was given the "Heaven" scroll and would be entering from gate sixteen.
"Yeah! This kind of survival thingy is up our rail! Right, guys?" Kiba snickered.
"You mean 'up our alley'," Shino corrected him.
"Bug off! Also, Hinata, get more fired up, would you? Don't slow us down!"
"I-I'll try my best!"
On the other side of the forest, Team Baki, consisting of Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari, was given the "Earth" scroll and would be entering from gate six.
"Hahaha! It's not a written exam anymore! Halelujah!"
"Stop that, you idiot! It's embarrassing!"
Kankuro was making a weird dance as he pass through the gate, earning him a smack on the head, courtesy of Temari's giant paper fan.
"Hmph. Stupid," the third member of their team, Gaara, grumbled.
He was a boy around Naruto and Kiba's age with green eyes and short auburn hair. He was dressed in a black short-sleeved shirt and pants with white cloth flung around his waist and shoulder. His most distinctive feature was a disturbing lack of eyebrows on his face, as well as the black rings around his eyes and a character for "love" tattooed above his left eye.
Even though he was the youngest among the three sand siblings, his eyes were devoid of the innocence of youth, emanating a chilling, tyrannical pressure instead.
The large gourd he was carrying on his back contained a copious amount of chakra-infused sand, which he could control at will. That power alone had earned him the moniker 'Gaara of the Sand' among the residents of Sunagakure.
In truth, Gaara was somewhat mentally unstable, with a temper that could be flare up at any moment. Because of that, Temari had an underlying fear toward her youngest brother.
Even so...
"Don't be like that! I'm just really really bad in written test, okay? I'll show you my true worth in this test!"
"If you won't shut up, I'll kill you."
"Hey, Gaara, why are you so cold to your older brother, huh? Don't say those cold words, smile more!"
"Ifiof, stof iph-!"
...That Kankuro, her younger brother, was actually playing around with that fearsome monster, pulling on the edges of the boy's mouth with his fingers.
"..."
What was this situation...
She coughed as hard as she could.
"Okay, that's enough messing around. Let's go!"
"Tch,"
Gaara pushed Kankuro away, and then walked deeper into the forest. The latter just shrugged with a knowing smile before trailing right behind him.
"Since when did those two become so close...?"
As far as she remembered, Kankuro was supposed to be the same as her, cowering under their youngest brother's presence. However, he had suddenly changed around half a year earlier. He didn't avoid Gaara anymore, instead teasing and playing around with him like a proper older brother.
Gaara was, as expected, extremely disgusted by his sudden boldness. She recalled the two ended up in a gruesome fight outside of the village. She had thought that Kankuro would definitely die from that battle, but surprisingly the two returned back safe and sound, although they were covered in wounds all over their body. Since then, Gaara had definitely changed, albeit just barely.
This change, should she be happy, or worried about it?
"Haah... can't be helped, I'll just have to see how it'll turn out in the end..."
Shaking her head, she quickly run after the two.
---
"Hahahaha! The wind feels good! Right, Akamaru?"
Woof!
Several shadows flew past the mazes of gigantic trees within the deeper part of the forest. One belonged to a small, white-furred dog, while the other three were the young rookie Genin from Konohagakure.
It was precisely team Kurenai: Kiba, Shino, and Hinata.
They had defeated another team right at the start of the test thanks to an elaborate trap using Kiba and Shino's extensive knowledge of Konoha's wildlife. With the help of a few jumping leeches, their opponents were quickly taken down without even putting a fight.
"Luckily those idiots brought an 'Earth' scroll with them. Let's get to the tower as fast as we can! We'll be the first team to arrive! Woohoo!"
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. We should slow down and exercise caution," Shino commented. "Moving recklessly like this will just attract enemy attention. Even the smallest insect, in order to protect itself, will always-"
"Aah, shut it with your insect crap! I know that already!" Kiba groaned.
"I-I think Shino is right... we s-should... be more careful..."
Et tu, Hinata?
"Geez, alright, alright, get off my back will ya..."
Kiba was disappointed with his team's lack of enthusiasm. Even so, there was indeed wisdom in their words, so he slowed down his advance in order to be able to get better reading of their surroundin-.
Hmm?
"Guys! Stop!"
Both he and Akamaru abruptly halted, surprising the others who had quickly hit the brakes as well.
"W-what is it... Kiba...?"
"I smelled something... or someone," he explained. "We should be cautious, right? Let's check first whether they're friends or foes. Hinata, can you see around one kilometers ahead over there?"
He pointed at a direction filled with thick, intertwining branches. Even his enhanced sight couldn't see past those.
However, the exalted Byakugan certainly could!
"I'll try..."
After finishing the hand seal sequence, veins popped up on the girl's temple, proof of the activation of her Dojutsu. Her vision pierced through the obstacles until she could get a clear view of several people gathering in a nearby clearance.
"Oh... there are people... six of them... it seems that they're fighting..."
"Hmm..." Kiba rubbed his chin.
If there were six people, then it was one team against another. They could use this to their advantage.
"Alright, let's check it out!" He declared.
"What are you saying?" Shino protested. "I already told you that it's dangerous to engage another team. Besides, we already have both scrolls in our hand."
"Heh, hear me out! The examiner never said that we could only bring two scrolls, right? If we get more, we'll have better leverage when we meet other team!"
"Kiba... your words aren't wrong, but it's still too dangerous. Because-"
"C'mon, just check it out! If it looks bad, we'll bail immediately! How's that? Let's go!"
Kiba and Akamaru immediately dashed out toward the fighting without waiting for Shino and Hinata's reply.
It seemed that Kiba's bad habit had taken over once again. Once his stubbornness streak flared up, nobody could change his mind.
"...Why do you have to be like this..." Shino let out a long sigh.
"W-what should we do...?" Hinata looked nervously at him.
"We've got no choice. Let's follow him. But like he said, if things started looking bad, we prioritize getting out of there as fast as we can. Understood?"
She nodded in agreement, and then they moved out as well.
---
It actually didn't take long before they caught up with Kiba. The Inuzuka boy was crouching behind a tall bush with Akamaru perched on top of his head. Their eyes were glued at the scene ahead of them.
"K-Kiba..."
"Sssh!" he pressed a finger on his own lips. "Get down, don't let them notice you! Things are starting to get dangerous over there!"
They quickly huddled up beside him, and then peeked out of the bush to see what was happening on the other side.
Standing closer to their hiding spot was the three Sunagakure Genin. Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro.
At the other end of the clearing were three young men dressed in Amegakure outfit. On their backs jutted out several bamboo sticks, as well as some large oxygen tanks. Two of them were short in stature, wearing similar-looking pin-stripped grey jumpsuit. The last person, who had a loose overcoat covering his jumpsuit, towered over the others, seemingly acting as the leader of the bunch.
"Brats from Sunagakure. Challenging us like this... how foolish! Have you got bored of living?"
He smirked.
"You'll die, you know?"
"Cut the chatter."
Gaara took a step forward, unaffected by the man's taunt.
"Let's start the fight... old man from Amegakure."
"Guh!" the one-eyed man gritted his teeth.
Pfft... Kankuro almost burst out laughing. He could understand why Gaara said that, since the Ame ninja looked way older than his actual age thanks to his huge frame and numerous battle scars.
"Don't laugh, you!" Temari smacked him with her fan again.
"Okay, okay, I'll get serious. Oi, Gaara, you need help?"
Gaara glanced back at the black-clothed boy. Both his gaze and his voice was turning colder.
"He's my prey. Don't interfere."
Kankuro just shrugged at him.
"Sure, whatever you say."
While Kankuro looked really calm, Temari was the exact opposite. She was already clear about Gaara's tendencies. When he was using that tone, that meant blood was going to be spilled on the battlefield!
"H-hey, are you sure about this?!" She grabbed her brother's clothes in a panic.
"Relax, let the boy vent out his frustration," he said lazily in return.
'Venting...? no, wait, in the first place, why are you acting like an old dude?! You're barely fourteen!'
Regardless of Temari's worries, the battle still raged on.
The Ame ninja was the first to make a move. He pulled out the bamboo sticks from his back, which turned out to be handles for numerous umbrellas. He then tossed them up. Instead of falling back down, they seemed to float freely in the air.
"Die!"
<Senbon Shower>
Making a tiger seal, he activated his chakra inside the floating umbrella, causing them to spin in high speed. At the same time, thousands of metal needles shot out from the many openings on the umbrella, making an illusion of rain as they pour down from the sky.
"W-what is that? Flying needles?!" Kiba was shocked when he saw that move. "So many of them! And they're heading toward that eyebrow-less kid!"
As if defying gravity, every metal needles changed their trajectories, pointing their sharp end toward Gaara. And then, they fell down all at once, striking from every possible direction.
"Ha! Just give up, kid! Those needles are controlled by my chakra! There's no way that you can escape!"
The weight of thousands of metal needles struck down the Suna Genin, causing thick layer of dust to rise from the force of impact.
The Ame ninja showed a satisfied grin. He thought that victory was at hand.
However, that grin soon turned into a scowl.
"...Is that it?"
Instead of seeing a corpse pierced with numerous needles, he was greeted with a well-and-alive Gaara. A sphere made from a thick layer of sand was covering his perimeter, holding off every single needles at bay.
The Suna Genin was unharmed. In fact, he didn't even move from the spot where he was standing just then.
"Impossible...!"
He shot out even more needles, but the sand once again moved in front of the boy, stopping their barrage.
It was Gaara's total defense, a living shield made out of the very sand occupying the gourd that he was carrying on his back. Regardless of his will, the sand would come out and protect him from anything that would harm him, without exception.
It was a mysterious power that was possessed by him and only him. Against that kind of defense, any form of attack was useless.
"Are you kidding me... those needles have the power to pierce steel up to five millimeters of thickness... how could they fail to go through some stupid sand!?"
"Believe it or not, it's up to you," Kankuro laughed. "The fact is that you can't defeat our Gaara."
"S-shut up!"
Unwilling to give up, the Ame ninja rushed forward with needles in his hands.
If ranged attacks wouldn't work... then he would break it through with physical attack!
Without losing his calm, Gaara made a hand sign, and then reached his hand out as if he was grasping on something.
"That-!"
Temari quickly noticed what he was about to do. After all, it was a move that Gaara was fond of using when he was about to finish his prey.
<Sand Binding Coffin>
Before the Ame ninja could reach the boy, sand began to rush around him, covering every part of his body. Soon, he was completely encased in a thick bundle of sand, with only his face showing out.
"Ugh... I-I can't move... damn it...!"
The floating umbrellas from before finally fell onto the ground after their supply of chakra was cut off. Gaara took one of them, and then stretched his hand out once again.
"I could've covered your loud mouth and kill you, but that'll be too pitiful. Therefore..."
Just when he was about to start his jutsu, Kankuro suddenly appeared right beside of the sand coffin. He placed his hand on the hardening sand, not showing any sign of fear.
"Alright, that's enough, right? You've had your fun. I'm not against killing, but you shouldn't do that without a good reason. I'd hate it if you got drowned in bad karma and increase my workload in the end."
"K-Kankuro? What are you doing?!" Temari shrieked.
What was he thinking? Was he suicidal? He knew more than anyone else that disturbing Gaara during his bloodlust was something that should never be done!
"...Scram."
The boy lifted his hand up. The sand coffin began to rise up as well, following his command.
"Nah. I said..."
Blue light flared off Kankuro's body, strengthening his body multiple-fold with chakra. Using brute force alone, his hand held down the sand coffin on the ground. The opposing forces were so strong that the ground underneath the bundle of sand was blasted off, creating a small crater.
For the first time in the entire battle, Gaara had showed a change in emotion. His eyes turned more menacing than before.
"...Enough is enough."
With a smirk on his face, Kankuro faced that glare straight on.
AUTORENGEDANKEN 
RanixAurus
RanixAurus Author was writing the beginning part and thought, eh, it was too similar to the canon, how boring. So author decided to keep going until we reach the point where author changed the plot.
So... here, enjoy this bigger-than-normal chapter...
Tell author what you think in the comments below, please~ author is bored~
-Non-canon Author
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
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Rangliste 
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