Bab 42: Chapter 42
Last Time:
"Now.." Ibiki began, but was cut off as several smoke bombs crashed through the window and a large banner poofed out of nowhere.
Now:
Naruto cursed as the smoke obscured his view. "Thermal imaging." Naruto muttered in his helmet. The world suddenly became a dark blue tint and people became blobs of heat. Naruto saw someone enter through the smashed window and quickly slipped a kunai into his hand. Before anything else could happen, a small wave of air blew away the smoke and a banner was spread out on the wall. "The Super Sexy And Still Single, Anko Mitarashi!" 'What the hell is this..' Naruto thought as he slipped the Kunai back into the case.
"Alright brats, my name is Anko Mitarashi, and I am the proctor for the next part of the Chunnin Exams!" A loud boisterous voice yelled. Everyone turned to see a kunoichi with purple hair and honey brown eyes staring towards them. She wore a tan trench coat and an orange miniskirt with a mesh suit underneath, leaving little to the imagination. She also had white shin protectors on. "You're early.. again." Ibiki informed her with a sigh. She sweat dropped, but quickly recovered.
"Yea, yea, maybe I am." She muttered, and then looked through the classroom. "Wow, Ibiki. You let this many teams get through you?" Anko asked as she made a headcount. "Maybe you're getting soft in your old age." She finished. "Or maybe we just have a damn good crop of Genin this year." Ibiki shot back in an annoyed tone. "All right, boys and girls, it's no time to celebrate! It's time for the next part of the Chunnin Exams. Everyone ready? Good, then follow me to the Forest of Death!" She yelled loudly, then jumped out the broken window and made a beeline to the Forest of Death.
Everyone stared at each other, unsure of what to do. "Well, you heard her! Move your asses!" Ibiki yelled at everyone. All of the Genin quickly ran after her Except for Naruto, who decided to wait for his team. "Alright guys, you ready for the next part?" He asked his team who hesitantly nodded. "Come on, we'll be fine. I know the forest like the back of my hand." Naruto said as he motioned them to follow him. "Naruto-kun, why would you know the Forest of Death so well?" Yugito asked, intrigued. "Because I lived in there for 6 years after I was disowned." Naruto replied.
Everyone looked down at this bit of information. Did a ten-year-old child really live in one of the Anbu survival training grounds when he turned ten? How did he survive? Who took care of him? 'You're like a freaking rubix cube, aren't you Naruto? Was the simultaneous thought of everyone on the team. The more they learned about him, the more questions they had. "Now come on, or we're going to be late." Naruto said in a happy tone as he took off. The rest of the team shook their thoughts and followed after him.
~ Forest of Death ~
Naruto and his team arrived a few seconds after the rest of the contestants, halfway through Anko's speech on the dangers of the forest. "But what are we supposed to eat?" A big boned kid asked. Naruto smiled as he took a seat on a nearby boulder with his team standing around him. "There's plenty of fruit, mushrooms, and animals in there. Just make sure that none of them make lunch out of you." Anko replied, making Naruto laugh at that.
'Most animals in here keep to themselves unless attacked or provoked.' Naruto thought as Anko turned to look at him. Within a split second, she disappeared. Naruto quickly took a kunai from his pouch and slashed backwards, making Anko jump back. "Nice reflexes brat, but I doubt they'll do you much good." Anko said as she showed him her own kunai with some blood running on it. He looked at his finger as saw a cut from the tip to the middle of the palm. "It's always brats like you that leave the most blood here." She said as she licked the blood off the Kunai and winked at Naruto.
Naruto found it oddly arousing while Samui and Yugito fumed at Anko, then smacked him upside the helmet. "What did I do?" HE asked, making Anko giggle. "Alright, now I will be passing out these permission slips. You need to sign them if you want to participate in the next stage of the Chunnin exams." "What for?" Asked a paranoid Omoi, only to be smacked by Karui. "Shut up and sign the damn slips." She said to Omoi. "They're so in case you die, we won't be held responsible." Anko replied in a teasing tone.
"Oh, and killing is allowed in this part of the exams, though not encouraged." She added almost as an after thought. 'Things are going to be interesting pretty soon..' Naruto thought as he filled in his own permission slip. "Alright, after you have filled out your slip, you are to take your forms to that tent," Anko began as she pointed to a tent in the middle of the clearing, " And they will give you your scroll." Anko said as she held up a scroll. "There are two scrolls, one heaven and one earth. You each get one."
"After wards, you will have to get the other one and head to the tower in the middle of the Forest. You have five days to complete this." Anko said, then jumped away. Naruto smirked and finished filling out his form. "Alright, you guys ready?" He asked the rest of his team, only getting nods as response. "Then lets go!" He said happily and headed towards the tent.
~ Forest Of Death - Entrance 17 ~
Naruto smirked as he unsealed his bow and an arrow, then pointed it to a nearby tree. "Why are you so happy?" asked Karui as she pocketed their Heaven Scroll, annoyed by the carefree attitude he held towards the death trap before them. "Yea, why are you so cool with this?" Samui asked. "Well, I haven't been hunting here for a while, and the meat from some of the animals here is to die for." Naruto replied, making them all sweat drop. "This isn't a damn Safari!" Yugito yelled at him.
"Really, cause I was hoping to catch a catch one of the beautiful felines here..." Naruto replied as he tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, making her blush at the action. Samui fumed, but let it go for now. The gate suddenly slammed open and a large buzzing sound was heard through the intercom. "Alright, it's go time!" Naruto yelled. "He and his team rushed inside.
~ Outside the Forest of Death ~
Various forms dressed in all black ANBU watched as Naruto and his team ran into the Forest of Death. Behind them, several large dogs were laying down in the shade. "Alright, the rat is in the trap." A clearly female form spoke into a small microphone. Suddenly, Ibiki appeared with a pencil inside a plastic bag. "Here it is, no one has messed with it." He said as he handed the bag to her. "Thanks Ibiki-kun." The voice said. "No problem,. Tsu-chan." The interrogator replied and shunshinned away.
She unzipped the bag and let the dogs get a good long sniff, then turned to the other Inuzukas. "Alright, the target is needed alive. Keep damage to a minimal and make sure no one sees you. Now, scatter!" She ordered her team members. They all nodded and disappeared instantly.
~ With Naruto and the Team ~
Naruto and his team regrouped on a large tree branch a good few miles into the forest. "Alright, what's the plan?" Samui asked Naruto, only for him to shrug. "I don't know, I was thinking we could let Omoi or Karui handle this one." He replied. "Wait, you don't have a plan!" Karui demanded of him. "I do, but you guys need to learn how to think. Now sink or swim." He replied, making her fume. "How about we wait for nightfall?" Omoi asked offhandedly. "That takes too long." Samui replied, making him shrink.
"No, that's a good idea." Karui said as she thought about it. "Vee's helmet can read heat signatures, so it will be easier for us to find them, and we can get the scrolls a lot easier when they're resting." Karui reasoned. "What do you think?" She asked as she turned to Naruto. "Very good, solid plan." Naruto replied. Suddenly, a loud shriek ripped through the forest. Everyone turned to the direction from which it came. "Come on guys, we have time to kill." Naruto said as he unsealed an arrow. They all headed towards the area.
~ Clearing ~
Naruto landed on a tree and inspected the clearing. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary until a girl with red hair and eyes came running out of the tree line. Chasing her was a mammoth of a bear with bloody claws, intent on ripping her to shreds. Naruto sighed and took aim at the bear's head. "Easy..easy.." He muttered, but couldn't get a straight shot. He sighed, took a small rock, and filed away the sharp tip and edges of the arrow.
"Alright, he's behind her, she's frantic, this is a worse care scenario for me." He muttered to himself, then checked the arrow. "Good, blunt." HE whispered and took aim for a nearby tree. With a resounding 'Thwang!' , the arrow flew towards the tree. It ricocheted off the tree and then flew to the side of the bear's neck, severing the brain stem and killing it instantly. Karin whimpered as she looked around. Out of nowhere, an arrow buried itself into the bear's neck and killed it.
"Is anyone there?" She called out loud, afraid. Naruto jumped out of the clearing and appeared in front of the bear. "You should be more careful." Naruto said as he carried the corpse of the bear and sealed it into a sealing scroll. 'Wow, he's cute..' Karin thought as a blush spread across her face. "Thank you, I'm Karin. And you are?" She asked with a shy voice, which didn't go unnoticed by Yugito and Samui in the tree line. They jumped into the clearing next to Naruto. "My name is Vee." Naruto replied, then turned away and jumped into the tree line.
"Do me a favor and stay out of trouble. It would be a shame to see someone as pretty as you dead." Naruto commented out loud, making the redhead blush. "Wait, I'm Karin!" She yelled after Naruto. "It was a pleasure then, dear Karin." Naruto shouted and jumped away. From that day, Karin would idolize after the mystery that was Vee.
~ With Naruto and his team ~
Naruto smirked in his helmet at his effect on Karin, but was promptly smacked over the head by a fuming Yugito and an angry Samui. "Oww, what was that for?" Naruto asked. "Why were you flirting with that girl from Kusa?" Yugito demanded. "I wasn't flirting with her, I was helping her!" Naruto shot back. "Sure you were…" Samui added in a mock hurt tone. "This is a do or die exam, why help her?" Karui asked, making the situation worse.
"Because when I needed help, people helped me. It's only fair that I help others in need." Naruto shot back, shutting everyone up. "There's a clearing a few miles from here with a giant waterfall. We can regroup there and wait for nightfall." Naruto said out loud. His team nodded and followed after him. Above them, an Inuzuka Anbu agent went through a series of hand seals, ending with the ram. 'Ninja Arts: Palace of Ignorance!' The Inuzuka internally yelled.
This was a genjutsu often used in heavily populated areas to dissuade people from entering a three-mile radius of the user and completely ignore the path. The sudden flux of chakra did not go unnoticed by Naruto. As he hopped from tree to tree, he couldn't help but feel something was off. There was a certain sound of twigs snapping under feet all around the treetops, but he and his team were being extra careful. He jumped down to the clearing with the waterfall, raised his hand and stopped.
"What's wrong?" Yugito asked, her reserves making it near impossible for her to perceive genjutsu. "Something's off." Naruto muttered as he concentrated his hearing all around him. Bushes were moving, wood was cracking under weight, but nothing seemed to be happening. Suddenly, the sound of feet hitting the soft forest ground was heard. Naruto turned as a large blur attacked him, sharp teeth gnashing as spit flew towards him.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone