We pass under a statue of a sheathed katana with twin weights hanging from each end of it, and the Land of Iron transforms once again. Somehow, in the middle of a country suffocated by snow and ice and cold, a forest envelopes us. There are trees everywhere, some growing straight on the side of the small mountains springing up around us.
...
We reach a chain link fence, standing a good twenty feet tall and extending to the left and to the right so far that I can't see the end of them, and the jonin stop. After some bumping, shoving, and cursing, the rest of us genin stop too. Then, before anyone can ask what's going on and get backhanded across the face by the Kumo proctor, one of our samurai guard walk forward.
He's holding a huge wooden box in his hands, which he drops at the proctor's feet after a short bow. Then he rejoins the rest of the samurai, who are taking up a crescent formation behind us, blocking us in. The jonin from Kiri steps forward.
"Behind this fence is the only forest in existence within the Land of Iron," he says, voice thankfully not distorted by the rebreather that most Kiri nin are so crazy about. "It is very large, and home to many organisms, both predator and prey. This is where you'll be taking the first task."
He reaches down, popping the top off of the wooden box. A moment later he holds up two scrolls, one gray, one blue. Since we're at the back of the crowd, I can only just make out the kanji emblazoned on each of them. Honor and Loyalty.
"In my hand are two scrolls," the jonin calls. "You will be given one each. Your task is to acquire its opposite pair, and bring it to the northern edge of the forest, where the second task will be held in a location which you will have to find yourselves.
You will have a total of one week to complete this task, and will not be permitted to leave the forest unless you have already completed the task or wish to be disqualified. Do not open the scrolls until you reach the location of the next task, or you will be disqualified. Lastly, killing is permitted, but it is frowned upon."
"Jumping right into it," I say, a little grin pulling at my lips. I nudge Sasuke. "Let's make sure we take out at least one of those pricks taunting us, yeah?" He nods, a deadly glint in his eye.
"That's not all, though!" Mitarashi says gleefully, and the discussions beginning to spring up all around us as people began to form preliminary plans fall silent. "I hope you all remembered the numbers you drew, because they came in pairs. Whoever has the same number you do is your partner for this task!"
All two hundred plus genin erupt in outrage. The sound is deafening, but I don't hear any of it. I stare at the proctors with wide eyes as shouts and cries and chaos tears through the air around me. I turn to look at my teammates, and find Sakura staring at me in plain horror, while Sasuke grits his teeth, a furious expression on his face.
Oh, right. They both pulled twenty-threes.
"Silence!"
And every single genin falls silent as a sense of tangible rage slams into us, forcing some to their knees, others to clutch at their throats, unable to breathe. And then a frantic heartbeat later it's gone. My muscles, which I hadn't even registered tensing up, relax, and I sigh. That hadn't been nearly as bad as the old man's display back in Konoha, but this time it had been directed at me, which almost made it worse.
The Suna proctor stands in front of the other proctors, a livid expression on his face.
"Keep in mind," he snaps. "That while you are here your actions reflect on not only yourselves, but all of your comrades, family, and friends as well. The Chunin Exams are meant to show the best of a village, not the worst. This is what is expected of you, and whining like children because something didn't go your way is not only a violation of this responsibility, it is a disgrace."
He glares at us, and somehow I feel the weight of it as if he were standing two feet in front of me. "Find your partners for the task, collect your scroll, and proceed to an unoccupied gate along the fence. You have fifteen minutes. Go."
The crowd begins to disperse, simultaneously cowed and panicked by the proctor's words, and I turn back to my teammates.
"Well, at least you guys can stay together," I say, smiling weakly. Sasuke just shakes his head.
"Of all the things they could have done," he mutters darkly. I sigh.
"Yeah, it sucks." I reach up, scratching the back of my head. "Don't worry about me, though. I'll get through it." I hesitate, not quite wanting to leave to find my partner. Better get it over with sooner rather than later, though. Coming all the way here only to fail because I couldn't find my partner in time would be pretty damn embarrassing.
"See you on the other side," I say, holding up a hand goodbye, and walk into the crowd.
I wander around for a few minutes, adding my number to the chorus of shouts like a the brilliant guy I am, until finally I just stick nine fingers up in the air and stand still. Yet more minutes pass, and I start to worry that maybe my partner got the same idea as me and we're both standing on opposite sides of the crowd like idiots. Then someone taps me on the shoulder, and I turn around.
It's another Kumo shinobi, one I hadn't seen in the little group that was hanging around back at the spire. She's tall, a couple inches taller than me. Straight, platinum blonde hair falls down to her shoulder, framing sky blue eyes and a pretty face. Her headband hangs around her neck, and-
Oh, uh. Wow. Those are... really impractical.
"Are you number nine?" She asks, tone blank. Damn it, Uzumaki, pay attention. First impressions are key here.
"Yeah, sorry." I cough, dropping my hands and looking back up at her eyes. "Hey. I'm Naruto."
"Samui," she replies. She tilts her head. "Come. We need to get our scroll."
We manage to push through the still confused horde of foreign genin, and collect our scroll from the Kiri proctor. We get the gray one. Loyalty. It takes us a little longer for us to find an open gate, as all of the ones close by have been taken already, but we snag one just within sight of the proctors. Then we wait.
I steal a few glances at her, noting that she's not wearing the typical Kumo garb, instead opting for a white vest that cuts off just below her- Hum. She's also sporting red guards on each of her forearms, which I find far more noteworthy than that fishnet shirt only partially concealed by her gray battle dress.
Yes sir. Another spot on analysis of the thoughts that are totally happening in my head right now, one hundred percent. Good work, Uzumaki.
The awkward silence is mercifully broken a couple minutes later by a speaker mounted up at the top of the fence. A series of loud crackles burst out from it, and then Mitarashi's voice follows.
"Alright maggots, get set! When your gate opens up the first task has officially started. So get pumped! This is going to be a blast, for me if no one else!" For a moment we listen to the crazy lady cackle over the intercom. "Oh, and one more thing," she suddenly says. "If you get to the finish line and your partner is unable to continue on to the next task for whatever reason, you fail. So play nice!"
With those parting words the intercom clicks off, and a mechanical buzz fills the air. Our gate swings open, and Samui sprints into the forest.
I follow at her heels, not looking at her butt even a little bit, and wonder just what it is I've gotten myself into.
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