章 37: Chunin Exam IV

Author's Note

I'm surprised by the fast response I received from the now deleted poll, so Team No Curse Won, to be honest I wanted to use the Cursed Seal of Earth as a plot device for something else, but wasn't sure how some of you may react to that, now I know and can work in the other direction that already planned in case this happened; as a Thanks to you guys, I'm releasing this chapter.

There aren't enough words to describe the joy I'm feeling right now, knowing you actually care enough for this dumb novel/FanFic, let the haters come, let Hell be unleashed, for I, the happy author, will do the best I can, jokes aside, I THANK ALL OF YOU.

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The Twenty-Six Teams reunited in front of Anko, behind her, a dark forest extended beyond the gates, with multiple warnings dissuading intruders and travelers to go through them, there was a desk to the side, with some Chunin sitting in them, they had a smug in their face, mocking the weakest Genins of the bunch, and those that seemed afraid just by looking at the dark forest.

"This is the location of the second test, the forty-fourth Training Ground also known as the Forest of Death" Anko chuckled "and soon you will find out why it is called like that" She said menacingly.

"Thi firist uf ded, soon yu wil fin out wy is callid lik thit" Naruto mocked Anko "That kind of threat won't work on me, I'm not scared!" He added, Anko smiled at him, throwing a kunai faster than he could react, grazing his cheek.

"A kid like you always dies at the beginning, drowned in the red blood I like" Anko moved behind Naruto, putting him in a semi hug, that was intended for dramatic purpose, she then took a second kunai stopping midway, when a woman, moved behind her extending her tongue wrapped around the first kunai.

"Here you dropped this, I'm just returning your kunai" The woman said.

"I apologize for your troubles" Anko smiled to the woman "But please don't stay behind me, with blood thirst, unless you want a quick death" she said taking back her kunai, the woman retracted her tongue.

"It's in my nature to react to the blood, and since my hair was cut, I got excited" the woman replied, before going back with her teammates.

"Well, before we start with the second test, I have to give this to you" Anko took out multiple papers "Is a consent form, before you take part of the test, you need to sign these" she added.

"Why?" Naruto asked.

"From this moment the corpses will come out, I need your consent for that" she replied lie if it was something normal "Or it will be my responsibility" she laughed to her own joke.

The Genins took one of the forms, and passed the rest one by one, some were worried, others were determined and only a few were excited to the idea of killing their peers, I received my form from Neji's hands, and then I passed it to a random ninja behind me.

While all of this happened, Anko proceeded to explain the nature of the second test, the forty-forth Training Field, had a diameter of twenty kilometers, with forty-four gates, it has a main river that then branches into another two, in the center of the Training Field, around ten kilometers from any gate stands a tower, our objective is to battle other teams for one of two scrolls, the Heaven and Earth Scrolls, thirteen Teams will be given a white scroll and the other thirteen will be given a black scroll, the condition to pass, is not only to complete a set of scrolls but to the three members of a Team to survive and deliver the two scroll at the tower in the center of the Training Field, the second condition is that we have a time limit of a hundred and twenty hours, or five days exactly.

Team ten or Ino-Shika-Cho was the first one to complain about the time and food situation that no one predicted or was warned about, receiving a light scold from Anko, telling them that the wilderness should provide sufficient food and water.

"There are man-eating animals, poisonous plants and bugs, and many other dangers" Kabuto let the others know, a smart strategy against the weakest minds.

"Besides, it's improbable that thirty-nine persons from the thirteen Teams will pass" Neji said, adding pressure to the bunch.

"The interval of activity will get longer with each day, and the recovery time shorter, seems pretty grueling" Lee added to Neji's statement, letting a smile form on his face.

"With nothing but enemies surrounding you, even sleeping will be a problem" Saske contributed to the conversation.

"And nothing forbids a Team from attack another one even after completing the set, not to say kill other participants" I said putting the last nail on the coffin.

"Does that mean we can quit in the middle of the Test" Shikamaru asked.

"Of course you can't" Anko said annoyed by it "I want you to spend five days in the forest, but there are rules for disqualification" she raised her fingers "First, a Team can deliver both Scrolls within the time limit, Second, a Team loses a member or is incapacitated, Third, if you look at the content of the Scrolls before reaching the tower" she smiled.

"I'll exchange your three consent forms for a scroll on the desk over there" Anko pointed to her right, "after that, pick one of the gates, and they'll be open at the same time" she took a deep breath and sighted "one last advice, don't die!" she sent a sense of resolve to Genins.

The twenty-six Teams dispersed around the area, trying to put some distance between themselves and the other Teams, no one had surrendered their consent forms, but we all knew that the battle has already begun, Anko's assistants extended a curtain that didn't allow others to see from any angle, adding difficulty to the test.

"What will our strategy be from this point?" Lee asked, while the three of us made our way towards a nearby tree that was far enough to avoid gossipers.

"We'll try to stay under the radar" Neji said, "It's our best chance to make it out of here alive" his face showed concern.

"That's a great strategy, but a waste of time" I argued against it "we won't know what scroll we'll get nor the scroll other Teams have, we should try to complete the set from the beginning, and use the rest of the time as training" I suggested.

"That will put us in unnecessary danger" Neji argued against my idea.

"Kenji has a point, if we have both scroll from the start, we can focus on surviving and if things look bad we can escape towards the tower" Lee disagreed with Neji "if we wait until the last moment we won't have both scrolls, besides we lack experience in some aspects and this could help us grow" he explained.

"Fine" Neji gave up "but if I die, I will haunt both of you, until you die" he said grumbling, Lee and I just chuckled at his comment and signed the forms.