The trip to the next Exam location didn't take long. Despite the fact that the Leaf's 44th Training Area was on the outskirts of their village, the buxom proctor, Anko Mitarashi, had rushed the group of test-takers with unnerving enthusiasm. Ash took this to mean that the scantily clad woman was excited about the upcoming test, probably for rather disturbing reasons.
The shinobi who'd passed the first stage of the Exam now stood before a massive forest that was walled off by a tall metal fence. Various signs were posted on the steel mesh, all of them issuing warnings about the dangers beyond their protective borders. Ash had half a reason to think these were just exaggerating the danger ahead, but that notion was quickly dispelled when he saw a bird perched on one of the treetops get snatched up by a massive snake.
It was a bit disconcerting that such an enormous reptile could be seen before they were even in the forest.
Though he intended to analyze the trees for a little longer, Ash's attention was called away from the eerie branches by the voice of their current proctor. "Alright, kiddies, listen up! Welcome to the second stage of the Chunin Exams, taking place here at Training Area 44, more commonly known as the Forest of Death."
Ash sighed as their new proctor opened with the same level of theatrics as Ibiki had. It was kind of weird how much these Leaf ninja were enjoying this.
"Now, the first stage of the Exam was about gathering intelligence. All well and good for a Chunin, but ultimately the purpose of gathering intelligence is to use it against the enemy. So, I'll give you one guess as to what this stage is all about."
With the answer all too obvious, no one bothered to speak, prompting Anko to continue with a slightly sadistic smirk on her face. "That's right, boys and girls, this stage of the Exam focuses on the harshest reality of the shinobi life—kill or be killed. Needless to say, some of you will die. In fact, a lot of you are probably going to die. And that being said..."
Anko pulled a stack of papers from within her coat. "...you all have to sign these consent forms. The Hidden Leaf Village might be sponsoring these Exams, but we sure as hell aren't taking any heat if some star Genin gets themselves killed. If any of you die out there, it's your own damn fault."
From somewhere behind him and his siblings, Ash heard Narumi whisper something either to herself or her teammates. "If she's trying to scare us, this is pretty sad..."
A moment later, Ash saw Anko flick her wrist in Narumi's direction. He knew what that meant, but physically, he was too slow to react to the kunai that whizzed past him. Though it wasn't aimed at him, Ash felt trepidation rise up in his heart. If that had been aimed at him, he'd be dead right now. He didn't expect himself to be at the level of a Jonin already, but the disparity in ability was still concerning.
Ash looked behind him to see what Anko had been targeting. He wasn't surprised to see a shocked Narumi with a long gash across her cheek. This earned silence from all of the Genin present, which allowed Anko to speak her mind. "Is it still sad, kid? You might be the daughter of the Fourth Hokage, but no one is stronger than death, ya hear me? Fear of dying is what keeps shinobi alive. Only the hopelessly naive aren't afraid to die. Remember that."
Now informed of Narumi's lineage, Ash couldn't help but view her in a different light. While few people outside the Leaf's walls knew how the Fourth Hokage died, anyone who had read a history book knew of the Yellow Flash's exploits during the Third World War. He was supposedly one of the fastest ninja ever, and a prodigious inventor of powerful jutsu. Knowing this, Ash could no longer look at Narumi as harmlessly as he had before. He had no idea what techniques or abilities she might have possessed thanks to her father.
Ash turned his eyes back towards their volatile proctor, who had by now passed the stack of consent forms to one of the Genin in front of her to pass it along. She apparently had no intention of retrieving her kunai. "Well, now that we have that out of the way, let me explain this Exam. The Forest of Death is a circular enclosure with forty-four gates. It's approximately twenty kilometers from one end of the circle to the other, so for those of you who have an education above that of a five-year-old, you know that it's pretty damn big. In the exact center of the forest is a tower, which will be your destination after accomplishing your task."
Ash tried to mentally picture the scope of the area as Anko talked. Twenty kilometers wasn't much for a ninja if they were running in a straight line, but it was a massive battlefield if you had to watch out for dozens of enemy teams in the area.
"As for what that task is, allow me to enlighten you. Surely you've all heard of 'the spoils of war.' This is a combat and survival exercise, but it's also a test to determine your ability, and even your willingness, to kill on the field. Your team's job is to show up at the tower with proof of your kills—headbands from opposing teams. Naturally, everyone on your team will have to procure at least one, but you're welcome to take more if you wish to thin the competition for later stages of the Exam."
Ash already saw a few discrepancies with this setup, but before he could even think to utter anything, Sakura called out from behind him. "Hold on, you just said the point of this Exam is to see if we're willing to kill an enemy... but if all we have to do is show up with someone else's headband, couldn't we just trade or take them without killing their owner?"
Anko smirked. "Valid points, Pink Pageant, but ultimately useless. First off, trading will get you nowhere, because if you show up at the tower without your own headband, you still fail. And don't think that you can wear someone else's as your own either, because we have all of you logged, and we know which emblem you should be sporting when you arrive. Now, if you were to take a headband from another team from your own village, you could probably pass it off as your own... but I'll leave that up to your own discretion."
Temari glanced around at the other teams, noting with dismay that Anko's comment had stirred up some distrustful glares between teams from the same village. Still, no one was about to interrupt Anko at this point, so the Jonin continued to answer Sakura's question. "As for stealing headbands without killing the enemy, that's up to you. Of course, doing so means that the individual you stole from will no doubt hunt you down as best they can, so I wouldn't recommend it. In the end, though, it's your choice."
Ash doubted it was a good idea to show such mercy during this exam. Aside from the very valid point Anko had just made, there was also the fact that one's unwillingness to kill others would likely be taken into consideration when it came time to decide who would be promoted to Chunin. Then again, Ash and his siblings weren't here for a promotion, so if they lacked the nerve or the willingness to kill someone else, it really made no difference for them.
"By the way, the time limit for this Exam is three days. So if you try to leave the area, don't make it to the tower, get your headband stolen, or die, you're disqualified. Do yourselves a favor and try to avoid that last one. Now, any questions?"
The boy with a dog on his head spoke up, just like he had during the first stage of the Exam. "Is there some sort of twist to this test like there was with the last one? If we fail, are we barred from ever taking the Exam again?"
"No worries there, kid. I might be a little on the dark side, but even I'm not as sadistic as that creeper Ibiki. If you fail this test, there's no penalty beyond that. Of course, you might be dead, but take what you can get, right? Now, anything else?"
When no more questions were forthcoming, Anko shrugged. "Alrighty then, everyone get those forms signed. Once that's over with, you'll have fifteen minutes to prepare yourselves before being led to whatever gate will be yours. I suggest you use that time wisely."
With her explanation of the test finally over, Ash was free to look around at the competition. There were several intimidating teams, but Ash was more interested in the Leaf Genin—after all, they were ninja that would oppose them during the invasion.
There was Narumi's team, which consisted of an ever-apathetic Sasuke, and Sakura, who seemed to be analyzing the competition as well. As for Narumi herself, she was merely rubbing her wounded cheek as she glared at Anko. Ash honestly didn't know how dangerous the trio could be in battle. He knew nothing of Sakura's abilities and could only make assumptions about Narumi and Sasuke based on their families.
He then focused on the boy with the dog, since he'd caught Ash's attention by speaking up earlier. Ash's entire team had researched the Leaf's major clans on their way to the village, so Ash easily recognized the hooded boy as an Inuzuka by his clan markings, though honestly, the dog was enough of a giveaway. Beside him was a slim fellow with spiky dark hair and shades, and behind that guy was a rather meek-looking girl who was obviously a Hyuuga, based on her eyes and the symbol on her jacket. Based on what he knew of their clans alone, Ash labeled this trio as moderately dangerous, but not exceptionally threatening.
Scanning further, he spotted another team—or rather, he spotted the fat kid and parts of his two teammates behind him. The robustly round individual was an Akimichi by the look of his markings and emblems, and Ash thought he could see the Nara crest on the shirt of the figure behind him. As for the third member, he could only see flashes of purple and platinum blonde, so he had no way to tell what clan she might have belonged to, if any. According to his research, it was common for a Yamanaka to fill out that third team position, but Ash couldn't confirm that assumption from his vantage point.
If it was that famous trio, they could be dangerous, though Ash doubted Genin versions of those clans would live up to the reputation. Ash looked around for any other Leaf ninja of note, but this search only led him to the sight of an odd individual in a green jumpsuit furiously devastating a rep of push-ups. If his teammates were nearby, Ash couldn't see them from where he was.
Ash's quiet observations were cut short when Kankuro handed him the consent form that was almost finished being passed around. Ash gave it a quick once-over. "The Hidden Leaf is not responsible for the death, injury, mental instability, disappearance, desertion, or emasculation of the Exam's participants..."
Having not read the terms at all himself, Kankuro shot his brother a look of alarm. "Wait, what was that last part?"
"Just ignore it and come on. We have to head to the table to get something to write with."
While his dismay was in no way assuaged, Kankuro said nothing as he and Temari followed the shortest of their number towards the two Chunin who were accepting consent forms at a desk. They quickly got the forms squared away and moved a relatively safe distance from all of the other teams. From their position, they had a view of most of the Exam participants, though many were still obscured by bodies, trees, or other obstacles.
Temari allowed her gaze to roam over the present shinobi. "Should we try to target a specific team? Picking an appropriate enemy could make this stage much easier for us."
Following his sister's example, Ash scanned the crowd as well, allowing his gaze to linger for a brief moment when he spotted Kin and her Sound teammates. He had half a mind to smile, but the dark-haired girl wasn't looking in his direction anyway. As soon as he realized he was thinking of a potential enemy positively, Ash inwardly berated himself. He knew he should be viewing everyone here with caution, but he couldn't help himself, mostly because he didn't know what to make of the girl.
Based on the very little interaction he'd experienced with her so far, Ash couldn't help but think that Kin was fond of him to some extent—after all, she'd aided him during the written test for no reward. Of course, that could have easily been a ploy of some sort, perhaps to gain his trust, but Ash couldn't be sure. If she weren't so attractive, it would have been easy to be suspicious of her... that long hair really was captivating. Still, Ash knew he had to keep a clear head. He'd grown a little more susceptible to feminine charms as he got older, but he was well aware of his vice. It wouldn't cloud his judgment in a serious situation, surely.
"Ash?"
Suddenly remembering that Temari had posed a question a moment ago, Ash tore his gaze away from its oblivious target and redirected it towards his older sister. "I don't think that's practical. We have no way of knowing who will be stationed at which gate, and none of us have tracking abilities great enough to keep tabs on a particular team. We could pick a team to target now, only for us to be stationed directly opposite them in the field. We'll have to optimize our targets as the situation progresses."
Though she frowned, Temari nevertheless nodded as she eyed some of the more repulsive opponents on the field. Most of these individuals were also much older than them. Among their number were shinobi from the Hidden Rain and Grass, though the other villages were by no means lacking their own unsavory participants. Even so, Temari was mostly focused on the creepy Grass ninja she'd seen flicking an abnormally long tongue. Something about him didn't sit right with her. She made a mental note to avoid that team if at all possible.
There was little she or her team could do until it was time for the exam to start, so they waited for the proctor to recall the participants. That didn't take long, and soon enough, several Chunin proctors arrived in the area as they prepared to lead teams towards their gates. In short order, there was a Leaf proctor for each team participating, and Anko once again raised her voice above the crowd.
"Attention dicks and chicks of the second Exam! You will now be escorted to your initial staging area. As soon as you enter the Forest of Death, things will be officially underway. So, go in there with the intent to kill or be killed. I would say something like 'just don't die,' but the whole point is for some of you to not come out alive. So, instead, I'll tell you to just give it your all—if you're gonna die, at least go down in style. And on that note, you're off! See some of you on the other side!"
With that, Anko flickered away from the scene, and Chunin proctors began approaching teams to lead them away. Ash's own team was approached by a shinobi with his eyes covered by bandages. He said nothing to them, merely motioning for the trio of Sand saboteurs to follow him. Fortunately for them, their initial staging area was not far off, as the proctor brought them to rest at Gate Six.
Kankuro was visibly relieved by the short journey. "Man, I feel bad for whoever ends up with Gate Twenty-Two."
Ash shrugged. "I don't think there are enough teams for every gate anyway. Closer to twenty, probably, but I guess they could be deployed at those further gates if the proctors wanted to. Of course, if that's the case, they'll be traveling over ten kilometers just to reach the gate... we could be waiting here for a little bit."
"Guess we could discuss the game plan."
Seeing no reason to disagree with Kankuro's suggestion, Ash and Temari moved closer to him to put some distance between themselves and the proctor. Not that they thought he would interfere with any strategy they came up with for this stage of the Exams, but a proctor could be biased towards their own village participants. Once they were at a comfortable but not entirely suspicious distance from the Leaf Chunin supervising them, Temari leaned towards her brothers and dropped her voice to the lowest volume possible, just in case the proctor was trying to eavesdrop.
"So, we have two options really. We can hunt down a team and then head for the tower, or we can wait at the tower to engage teams on their way to the finish line. The only question is which one is more effective."
Being a puppeteer and, by extension, a trapper, Kankuro seemed more in favor of the second plan, but Ash believed the first was more reasonable, so he wasted no time in vocalizing his thoughts. "While setting up at the finish line could allow us to wait for the enemy to come to us, it also increases the risk. Once a team reaches the tower, we have to assume they're no longer viable targets. So if we engage an enemy at the tower, but they manage to evade us long enough to reach the structure, we'll gain nothing. Besides, when the Exam first starts, no one will be ready to approach the tower yet, so we could be sitting there for hours or even days. I think we should hunt first, and only fall back on the second plan if things get desperate."
Temari nodded as she turned towards Kankuro. "He's got a fair point. What do you think?"
The hooded boy shrugged. "He's right on all counts. We could finish this stage in just a few hours if we get lucky. But if we wait, we could be out there for a while."
"Alright, we'll go on the offensive first. We'll hold the defensive plan as a last resort."
With their current plan decided, the trio of young ninja moved back towards the proctor and the gate that separated them from the Forest of Death. Along the way, Ash moved his headband from around his neck to its intended place on his forehead, which earned a strange look from Temari.
"Ash, what's the point of doing that?"
"Well it is a forehead protector, Sis. We're going into a combat situation, so I'm using it to protect its intended area. A kunai to the forehead is a practically guaranteed kill, after all. Besides, it's too loose around my neck to protect that, so I might as well use it for something practical."
Temari stared blankly at her fellow blonde for a moment, but then decided that he had a point and proceeded to move her own headband to her forehead. As for Kankuro, who had his insignia stitched into his hood, he simply cocked an eyebrow at his younger brother. "Pakura?"
The boy nodded, affirming just who had drilled such thoughts into his head. "Pakura."
Coming to a stop before Gate Six, the trio looked up into the twisted, gnarled trees of their soon-to-be battleground, wondering just how long they'd have to wait.
Not long. The proctor before them soon moved towards the locked gate, clearly in on some time frame the rest of them were not. Within moments, he had the chain that kept the gate locked in a pile on the ground. As soon as he did this, the proctor turned back towards the trio of foreign Genin before him. "Thirty seconds."
Assuming he was referring to the start of the exam, all three Sand ninja prepared to rush into the darkness. Ash spent that time mentally preparing himself for battle, mostly by solidifying his resolve. He hadn't had a hand in killing another person since Raiga, but he'd spent all that time preparing for exactly this kind of situation, in which he might have to kill other people's friends and family to protect his own.
Nodding as he cemented his own stance on the matter, Ash almost missed the proctor opening Gate Six, prompting him and his team to enter the Forest of Death.
Temari led the way into the twisted trees at full speed, followed by her two battle-ready brothers. It was certain that blood would be shed in the next few days.
---
Leaping across the multicolored rooftops of the Leaf, ANBU member Yugao Uzuki once again recalled why she hated the Chunin Exams as her long purple hair flowed out behind her.
The Exams provided the ANBU with a whole slew of security concerns every time they were held. It was the one time that foreign shinobi were allowed into the Hidden Leaf without resistance, and there had never, ever been an Exam without some number of ninja with ill intent being present. Past experience required the ANBU to be on high alert throughout the entire ordeal, and Yugao was never particularly happy with an increase in worries and frustrations.
She'd just left the Hokage's office, where she and the other available ANBU members had been reminded of the many dangers the Exams posed. Moreover, the Third Hokage had seemed particularly wary of the situation this year. He was highly suspicious of the entirely new Hidden Sound village that was participating. The Leaf had very little intelligence on this new village, which was always a cause for concern in the ninja world. On a lesser note, Hiruzen was also worried about the large number of Hidden Sand shinobi participating. It was true that only the Sand had accepted their invitation out of the Five Great Nations, but Hiruzen was not ignorant of their mounting discontent with the Hidden Leaf.
That being the case, several ANBU squads were being dispatched to the current testing area to monitor the Genin squads, Yugao among them. With her feline mask in place, she rapidly approached Training Area Forty-Four, where the current proctor would fill her in about any particularly suspicious individuals.
When Yugao arrived on the scene, she was but one of many. Anko Mitarashi was lazily twirling a kunai on her index finger as she waited for more ANBU to arrive so she could talk to them all at once. Thankfully, the ANBU was not known for loitering, and the rest of their number showed up within two minutes of Yugao's own arrival.
Anko began her briefing. "Alright, guys, we've got quite a few teams to keep an eye on this time around. First and foremost is obviously the one team from the Hidden Sound that Lord Hokage wants monitored. So far, they haven't done anything overly suspicious, though one of the Chunin proctors caught a member of the team helping a Sand ninja during the written Exam. Could be nothing, could be everything, just keep an eye on them. They deployed from Gate Thirteen."
The moment she relayed the gate number, two of the gathered ANBU moved in that direction to track down the Sound ninja and begin surveillance. With that out of the way, Anko continued describing some of the other teams that needed to be watched. "My next personal concern is a particular team from the Hidden Grass. As far as I know, they haven't given us any cause for alarm, but... something feels off about them. I believe they should be monitored closely at Gate Thirty-One."
Yugao was not one to act on hunches alone, but every shinobi knew that gut instincts were dangerous to ignore. Two more ANBU branched off to move to Gate Thirty-One.
Anko continued as soon as they were off. "Other than that, you all know that Lord Hokage is worried about the Hidden Sand's heavy presence here. They have several teams, so the rest of you are free to monitor participants as you see fit. Any questions?"
No one asked any, so the remaining ANBU quickly dispersed to operate as they desired. Yugao herself decided to go left strictly on a whim, leading her towards the single-digit gates. And for the second time that day, she remembered why she hated the Chunin Exams.
---
Orochimaru, disguised as a Grass ninja, wondered when he should eliminate the two ANBU who'd been tailing him since the Exam started an hour ago. He'd been hunting Sasuke Uchiha since the beginning of the test, only to have a pair of Leaf ANBU appear a short time after to observe him. To be honest, Orochimaru did not find this surprising. Sarutobi was not so foolish as to blindly trust every foreign ninja participating in the Exam. Keeping an eye on suspicious individuals was standard operating procedure for any hidden village.
The Ex-Sannin couldn't allow himself to be tailed by Sarutobi's agents. It wouldn't do to have the old man aware of his plans regarding Sasuke, or more importantly, the fact that he was back in the village at all. No, Orochimaru had no intent of revealing himself to his old master until the invasion itself began. That being so, he had to eliminate the ANBU he'd detected. And now that he was getting closer to Sasuke's position, Orochimaru decided that he might as well go ahead and get it over with.
His subordinates had dispersed to perform other duties already, so the serpentine shinobi was left alone to deal with his foes, not that it would be a problem for him. Doing nothing at all to tip off his opponents before acting, Orochimaru launched two kunai at the Leaf ninja in the trees above him. He didn't expect this to kill them, being elite ninja and all, but sometimes you just got lucky.
Immediately realizing that their foe was no Genin, the ANBU leaped from the trees above, blasts of wind and fire erupting from the duo in a combined assault.
The amplified torrent of flame was impressive and indeed worthy of ANBU-level shinobi, but compared to the powerful wall of water Orochimaru brought forth, it might as well have been a Genin's fireball jutsu. The two attacks collided in a huge cloud of steam, giving Orochimaru ample cover to vanish from his enemies' sight.
The two ANBU landed on the forest floor, both drawing their blades and putting their backs to each other. They knew already that they weren't dealing with an amateur. High-pitched whizzing alerted them to danger, and the duo leaped away from their position, barely dodging a hail of stone bullets, decimating the thick trunk of a nearby tree. Even as they evaded that danger, the two ANBU were met with a concentrated blast of fire in mid-air—the enemy had already predicted their escape path and launched an attack to intercept them.
The ANBU had been prepared for this possibility, both substituting themselves with logs before being incinerated. Reappearing in the treetops above, one of the two Leaf shinobi reached for the radio in his ear. It was obvious that backup would be required for this situation. Unfortunately, the radios had abysmally short range: no other ANBU were close enough to be reached. With that option unavailable, they had no choice but to fight or flee, and turning their backs on a dangerous enemy was a foolish move.
But they'd lost sight of the enemy, and that was the most dangerous situation of all. The two ANBU scanned the forest in all directions for any sign of their foe, but they didn't see their straw hat adversary until he appeared directly between them.
The Leaf duo swung their blades, but were shocked to see the enemy contort his body at unbelievable angles to dodge the steel edges. They were even more surprised when the man's neck stretched from his body to angle his mouth at one of them. While being an elite, the ANBU Orochimaru aimed at was too shocked to react when a full-length sword was launched from his foe's mouth.
"What the fu—?!"
The blade impaled its target before the man could even finish cursing, his body falling limply to the ground far below. But Orochimaru barely had time to smirk at the man's demise before the voice of his partner warned the Sannin of impending danger.
"Lightning Style: Static Burst!"
Far too quick to be caught after being alerted, Orochimaru easily evaded the thousands of short-range lightning tendrils that filled the space he'd recently occupied.
Flipped over the enemy Leaf ninja, Orochimaru made the signs necessary to launch a concentrated wind jutsu. "Wind Style: Gale Thrust!"
Emitting a massive pillar of wind from his mouth, Orochimaru watched in satisfaction as the ANBU below him tried to leap away from the attack. Unfortunately, he wasn't fast enough to escape entirely, and the shinobi's legs were torn off below the knees when the wind jutsu caught him.
His scream obscured by the roaring howl of the gale and the branches it obliterated, the mortally wounded ninja fell towards the ground in a spiral of blood and gore, landing with a painful crunch when he met the ground.
Orochimaru observed the immobile forms of his foes for a few moments before leaping down to the ground himself to discard their bodies. It wouldn't do to have other ANBU members stumbling across their fallen comrades. With that in mind, the disguised shinobi legend performed an earth jutsu to bury the man he'd killed by sword before turning to do the same to the second. It was only when he drew close enough to do so that Orochimaru spotted the slight rise of the now crippled ANBU's chest—and the wad of paper bombs the man had just activated in his hand.
Though he leaped away, Orochimaru was still caught by the fringes of the blast, scorching his long hair and even burning away some of the synthetic skin on his face. But he escaped any true injury, leaving the barely winded rogue ninja to look at the cinders and ashes in the area with dismay. For him to be nearly bested by mere ANBU was disgraceful.
But with them out of the way, Orochimaru's scowl quickly transformed to a smirk once again. He could now return to his true objective, and hopefully secure a powerful Uchiha body for himself and his dream of learning every jutsu the world had to offer. He just hoped Kimimaro wouldn't have this much trouble dealing with the Kazekage back in the Land of Wind.
---
Hours after the start of the test, both Ash and his siblings were irritated with the lack of encounters with any hostile ninja team. They'd only laid eyes on one other team so far, but it had been a fellow Sand trio—they'd already decided that they weren't going to sabotage their own comrades in arms, so that had been a complete bust.
Other than that, the trio of undercover agents had yet to encounter anyone they could take headbands from, which was frustrating. Three days or not, it was best not to run down the clock before achieving the objective.
Luck just wasn't favoring them right now. After four hours of careful expedition through the Forest of Death, nothing of note had occurred at all. No encounters, no close calls, not even any dangerous wild animals to defeat. Right now, it looked like they'd be searching for far longer yet. The Sand Siblings were disciplined enough to avoid mindless conversation or complaining, but even Temari was growing frustrated with the lack of action. After all, all three of them were tense and ready to react at any moment—having to keep all of that energy under lock and key instead of in use was both mentally and physically taxing.
Ash expected an ambush from every nook and cranny he laid eyes on. He was always on edge in dangerous situations, but he also felt like he was being watched. It wasn't even a threatening feeling, just a pervasive one. Even so, no ninja disregarded such instinctual feelings unless they wanted to have a very short career.
There was just nothing to be done about it right now. Ash couldn't detect anyone, no matter how hard he tried. He couldn't spot an observer or hear their movements. So he was either imagining the enemy, or they were far too skilled to be detected by mere Genin. On the bright side, if the latter was the case, then it was unlikely that the person watching them was an opposing contestant. No one with skills that superb should have a place in the Chunin Exams.
So for now, Ash was content to 'ignore' the gut instinct he was feeling, though he remained vigilant. Because of this vigilance, he was the first to react when a loud cracking boom reverberated through the immediate area. He was the first of his team to immediately change trajectories and leap to the side, just in case anything was coming his way.
Temari and Kankuro quickly did the same—it was unlikely that whatever had caused the noise was directed at them, but that was no reason to ignore the threat. However, it was readily apparent that the trio of Sand Genin was not being targeted, so they silently moved towards the source of the disturbance in hopes of finally finding someone to engage.
They didn't have far to go, and Ash soon laid eyes on a scene that elicited mixed feelings. Far below their position in the treetops, several individuals were staring each other down in a standoff. The stalemate was very one-sided, as Narumi's team appeared to be in dire straits. Both Sasuke and the whiskered blonde were lying unconscious under some tree roots, with a very roughed-up Sakura on her knees before them. Standing guard before her was that guy in the green jumpsuit who'd been doing push-ups earlier. He seemed to be the only combat-ready Leaf Genin on the field.
Opposing them was the Sound team Ash had spoken with earlier that day. A bit of a dilemma for Ash: he'd be willing to fight either team if he had to, but as an impartial observer, he didn't know which team to root for. He kind of liked the girls on both of these teams.
Temari glanced over at him. Being the oldest, she was generally considered the 'leader' of the team. But she always asked Ash's opinion on tactical and strategic matters. He'd proven many times to have a knack for it. "So, Ash, what do you think we should do? They're both enemy teams, so any of their headbands will work.
Though he wasn't personally eager to attack either group, Ash still provided purely strategic input. "We should let them fight first. We can mop up whoever survives more easily, right?"
Seeing no reason to disagree, Temari nodded as she settled more comfortably on her perch to watch the spectacle below. The combatants were too distant for their voices to be overheard, but it didn't take long for combat to ensue, as Dosu revealed some sort of battle gauntlet on his right arm and rushed the jumpsuit-wearing Leaf Genin opposing him.
From behind said shinobi, Sakura pulled on a wire buried in the dirt. A spray of projectiles erupted from the ground immediately in front of Dosu, launched by some sort of trap that Sakura had placed. Unfortunately, the spread was too wide and unfocused to maximize killing potential, and even then, the ones that would have posed a threat were remarkably deflected by well-aimed senbon from Kin. Though the trap had been effectively neutralized, Ash was impressed with Sakura's ability to create such a thing with the no doubt limited resources she had available out there in the field. Perhaps traps were something she specialized in.
Dosu continued his approach unhindered, but his attack was quickly thwarted when the green-clad Leaf ninja amazingly pulled a huge root from the ground to protect himself. Ash couldn't help but cock an eyebrow at that. That was incredibly impressive for a mere Genin. He hoped this kid was an exception for the Hidden Leaf. Otherwise, the invasion would fail for sure.
Forced to retreat, Dosu watched with interest as the ninja he'd hoped to defeat began unwrapping the bandages on his arms. He was muttering something to himself as well, but Ash couldn't make it out with the large distance between them. Temari was apparently curious as well.
"What do you think he's up to?"
Kankuro shrugged as he glanced away from the battle to scan their surroundings. After all, it was poor practice to get too enthralled with any situation when an enemy could pop up out of nowhere. "Probably some sort of secret weapon or super move right? I mean, that's what I do whenever I have to use Basilisk."
Ash cut their already brief conversation short with a low whisper. "Maybe we shouldn't be talking. Those guys in the camo are Sound ninja, so it wouldn't surprise me if their hearing was extremely good."
Though no one could guarantee that, Temari and Kankuro fell silent as they continued watching the battle below.
Unwilling to give up his approach just yet, Dosu rushed his opponent again, but this time no wall was created to stop him. Instead, the Leaf Genin he was targeting simply vanished—moving too fast for Ash or any of the others to follow, at least until he slowed down enough to savagely kick Dosu into the air. The masked Sound nin careened into the sky, only for his foe to suddenly appear behind him up there as well.
Dosu was bound by the long bandages his enemy sported, then flipped upside down and launched headfirst into a deadly spinning pile driver. It was obvious that the result would be fatal—a headfirst impact at that kind of speed would pulverize Dosu's skull, and he apparently had no way out of it.
But he had teammates for a reason. Seeing that the situation was hopeless from Dosu's end, Zaku made a series of hand signs before planting his hands into the ground. Ash wasn't exactly sure what he did, but Zaku somehow affected Dosu's point of impact, turning it into much softer loamy soil that his teammate was able to survive hitting, judging by the way he pulled himself out of the affected earth after the pile driver. As for Kin, she was just keeping an eye on Sakura—the girl may have been fatigued, but she could still pull something dangerous, and it was poor practice to ignore possible threats.
To Ash's surprise, the Leaf Genin who'd nearly killed Dosu appeared exhausted after the single move he'd executed, even falling to his knees. Perhaps Kankuro had been right about a super move with some sort of dangerous drawback.
From a tactical standpoint, the situation had only worsened for the Leaf. Their only real defender was now fatigued, and the Sound team had still suffered no significant damage. And if anyone was more aware of this than the objective observers, it was the participants themselves. Dosu was quick to rush his foe a third time, though he was not obstructed now. The jumpsuit Genin he targeted was too tired to evade properly, just barely managing to stumble backwards and away from Dosu's fist.
And yet, even though it looked like he dodged the attack, the Leaf Genin started tottering rather dangerously and fell to all fours. It looked like he was going to be sick.
Ash and Kankuro exchanged curious glances. They'd both seen the jumpsuit kid dodge Dosu's fist, but he'd clearly still been affected somehow. If the Sand siblings did end up fighting the Sound team, they'd need to be extra wary of them.
Ash returned his attention to the battle just in time to see Dosu rushing to attack Sakura the same way he had his previous foe. Ash felt a brief flare of anxiety for Sakura, but dispelled it quickly. He wouldn't be happy to watch her die, but admittedly, he didn't really know her at all. Besides, trying to interfere right now would just pointlessly endanger his own team. He wasn't going to do that for a stranger.
Though he was still reeling, the supposedly disabled jumpsuit ninja managed to step in and cut Dosu off, though only for a moment. His intercepting kick was weak and off-balance, and Dosu had no problem directing an even more powerful sonic blast at the boy. This one dropped his opponent to the ground almost immediately, and probably for good, by the look of things. Ash doubted the downed Genin would be returning to the engagement anytime soon.
It looked like Dosu was about to kill him for good measure, but Sakura interrupted by launching two kunai to the left and right of Dosu's body. It seemed like little more than bad aim at first, but as the projectiles began spinning around Dosu, Ash realized there must have been a wire between them. She probably had explosive tags attached to the kunai.
There was a flash of light and ear-splitting sound—flash bombs. Though immune to the sound of the detonation by some means or another, Dosu was blinded by the assault, giving Sakura a window to launch what few weapons she had left directly at him without fear of reprisal.
Unfortunately for her, Zaku was once again ready to save the day as he moved in front of his teammate fast enough to deflect Sakura's weapons with a blast of air from his palms. Sakura was unable to immediately react to this, though Ash didn't really fault her—it seemed fairly obvious, with the traps and all, that Sakura was the tactical component of her team rather than the fighter. There wasn't much she could do as Kin made her way behind the girl and grabbed her by her long pink hair.
Kin had something to say to Sakura about the situation, but Ash couldn't tell what it was. All he knew was that she appeared to be behaving much more cruelly than when he had interacted with her. He had to admit, it was a little unsettling since she'd initially seemed pleasant, but he supposed he didn't really know Kin at all, either. Whether her true face was the helpful girl from the written test or the sadistic one right now, Ash had no way to know.
With Sakura subdued, Zaku sauntered toward the unconscious form of Sasuke. It seemed like they wanted something with him specifically.
Still, Sakura's arms were free, and she had no intention of giving up. She drew a kunai, but Kin was holding Sakura in a way that kept her out of range, save for the arm holding onto Sakura's hair. However, when Sakura moved the blade towards that hair instead of towards her foe, Ash realized that she was going to create the opportunity for attack herself by removing the thing that was holding her back.
With Sakura cleaving off her hair from the shoulder down, Kin found herself suddenly off-balance as the object of her grip disappeared. This gave Sakura more than enough time to whirl around and slice at her female counterpart. Such a straightforward attack would have been easily avoidable under normal circumstances, but with Kin stumbling at the moment, Sakura caught her inner thigh with a deep and painful slice.
But even as she sustained such a wound, Kin quickly retaliated, flicking three senbon directly at Sakura's face. Each of them buried itself deep enough to kill, much to Ash's own alarm, but he was relieved to see Sakura's body burst into smoke, revealing a log quickly afterwards.
Substitution, and a damn quick one, too. Maybe he wasn't giving Sakura enough credit.
Sakura appeared from Zaku's right, rushing to attack him with a hail of kunai. Kin looked like she was going to try and intercept her, but a sharp pain from her new wound changed her mind. Besides, as Zaku made a blast of air to deflect Sakura's projectiles, it was obvious that Kin had no intention to be in its path, so she leaped away instead. Sakura, however, made no move to escape the blast, though instead of being injured, she once again burst into smoke, having substituted a second time.
Her next attack came from above Zaku, who didn't seem at all impressed with this repetitive avenue of assault. He barely gave the girl a passing glance as he launched four kunai into her body, expecting her to disappear once again. But when blood dripped down on the Zaku from above, he realized too late that the form above him was the real deal. As Ash realized this, noting the new deep wounds in Sakura's arms and legs, he was genuinely impressed. It was a cunning approach above all, but more than that, it was more gutsy than he would've expected of Sakura. He had to admit that this course of action inspired some real admiration for the girl. He even noticed an appreciative look from Temari, and it was hard to earn her respect.
Sakura landed on top of Zaku, driving her kunai through his right hand while biting down on his left arm to keep him pinned. It seemed her determination was even stronger than anyone realized. Unfortunately, it was still a young girl versus a teenage boy. Sakura didn't have the strength to overpower Zaku physically, and she was soon thrown off of the livid Sound nin.
Zaku looked absolutely murderous, perhaps enraged by the fact that he'd been bitten, of all things. He was so angry that his next words were audible to Ash and his siblings, even from the distance between them.
"If you're going to fight like an actual bitch, I'll put you down like one! But not before I blow away your friends!"
Zaku aimed his arms at the still unconscious Sasuke and Narumi. Dosu stood passively to the side, doing nothing to stop him. Kin looked like she was saying something to oppose Zaku's intentions, but she was busy trying to staunch the bleeding from her leg. Even from this distance, Ash could see that one leg of her pants was stained almost entirely with red.
The whole thing put Ash in a bit of a predicament. Currently, Zaku was about to kill the entirety of Team Seven, two of whom Ash kind of liked. He certainly wouldn't be happy to see them die, but he didn't have any objectively good reason to interfere on their behalf. Though he didn't care much for politics, the fact remained that everyone down there was his enemy, and saving any of them was objectively counterintuitive.
Furthermore, engaging in a fight they didn't have to partake in would endanger his family, even if he was pretty confident in their abilities.
But at the same time, they did need headbands to pass this part of the Exam. Everyone down there was currently distracted or injured, making this a prime opportunity to strike. Still, why not just wait until one team was dead before attacking the battle's survivors?
Maybe he didn't need an objectively practical reason, though. He had power in this situation, and he preferred for certain people to come out of it alive for purely personal reasons. He wasn't going to let the Kazekage's decrees dictate his actions. He didn't even like the man, and he'd be damned before he let a forced duty take precedence over his own decisions. He served the system because it was the best way to serve his family, and for no other reason than that. Otherwise, he cared nothing for it.
That was why he wasn't going to act without agreement from his siblings. "The Sound team is distracted. I think we should strike now."
Temari glanced over at him curiously. "Why not wait until they finish off the Leaf ninja? They won't know we're coming either way."
"They can focus on us alone if they've already dispatched all of their other enemies. Plus, they clearly have some objective regarding Sasuke. If he's still alive, we can use him to our advantage—the Sound ninja will have to factor him and even Sakura into the fight alongside us. We don't know the full extent of their sonic abilities, so we should take this chance to maximize our odds. We can always turn on the Leaf ninja afterward: they're barely even standing as it is."
Though Ash was making good points, Kankuro still raised an eyebrow at him. It almost felt like the blonde was trying too hard to make this sound like a good idea. And yet, he couldn't deny that it was. Even from what little they had seen so far, those Sound ninja had some dangerous tools in their arsenal. They were better off stacking the deck in their favor in any way possible.
"I'm down with that if Temari is."
Despite a niggling suspicion that Ash had deeper motives than pure strategy, Temari ultimately acknowledged that the plan wasn't a bad one. As long as Ash still acted rationally for both himself and for them, she could ignore his questionable ulterior motivations.
"Alright then, let's do it. Ignore the Leaf ninja for now and focus on taking down the Sound ninja as quickly as possible."
Ash gave one nod of affirmation before he stepped off of the branch he was resting on, plummeting toward the foes below him.
Rising to his own feet beside her, Kankuro shook his head as he prepared to follow his brother into the fray, certain that he had some idea as to why Ash was so invested in attacking right this moment.
Ah, well, everyone had their vices, right?
Kankuro leaped after his younger blonde sibling, leaving Temari to hesitate for only a moment before she followed as well, a little miffed by the whole ordeal that was this exam so far. Honestly, of all the things she had expected out of today, not a one of them had been accurate assumptions.