Chapter 31
HIKARI HYUGA
"Each team will be given one scroll," the proctor explained as the teams were gathered at different entry points around the Forest of Death, as they waited for the second Exam to begin.
"Your mission for the exam is to collect the second scroll, and then make it to the central tower," and as Hikari scanned the surroundings, he began to wonder about the impact that he might have had.
The number of teams in the second portion of the exam was fewer than he had expected, nor had Naruto gone and delivered a tirade about motivation and resilience. The blonde had instead used a shadow clone, hidden in the bathroom stalls, to cheat his way through the exam.
The strategy was rather brilliant and one that he would never have associated with Naruto in his head, and yet he had done just that. Hinata had been able to spot the clone through her Byakugan and had then leaked the answers to it, only for it to pop out later, transferring the necessary information to the original body.
It was a brilliant strategy, one that their entire team had come up with on the spot, and yet he began to wonder just how far the ripples from his mere existence would spread. How many more teams had been robbed of a chance at the Chunin Exams just because they had no one to motivate them through Morino Ibiki's Exam?
"You will have Seven Days to the Exam. Any team that fails to make it to the central tower within that time will fail. Those who try to sabotage or open the scrolls before reaching the towers will lose," and with that, the rules were said, but Hikari was simply eyeing his surroundings, gauging his competition.
"You will be allowed to enter the forest in three groups. Each group will leave an hour after the next," and it was to make sure that they did not just come ahead and fight just after entering the forest, and so their team was placed in the second group, and the three of them came together to discuss their strategy.
"So, what's the plan?" Ino asked, as she glanced at him and Shikamaru, and it was the Nara clan heir who answered.
"A straight blitz would have been the best choice for us, given our skillset," and given that Ino was a sensor, they would not have much trouble pinning down a few teams until they had secured the second scroll.
"But we cannot do that," he finished as Ino nodded.
"We will need to keep an eye on our comrades," for that was the entire purpose of having a ringer, and their team was amongst Konoha's ringers.
"We should hunt down a few teams to gather up some scrolls," Shikamaru suggested.
"Then we can track down other teams from Konoha, and see if they need our help," and that would mean relying heavily on Ino's sensing abilities.
"Well, it won't be easy to sense them in that forest," she added, glancing towards the thick forest.
"The forest. It is laced with chakra, which limits my range quite a bit," but they will have to make do.
"We will have to make do," he added as they reached their plan.
"I am going to go and collect the scroll," Shikamaru added and headed for the tent where the scrolls were being handed out, leaving him alone with Ino.
"I wanted to ask you, why did you have me tag that guy with glasses?" she asked, and he turned towards the blonde, thinking just how much he should share with her.
Could he tell her that he suspected him of being a traitor? That the innocent-looking guy was perhaps one of the most dangerous shinobi alive at the moment?
"I just had a hunch," he answered cryptically, making her raise a brow.
"A good hunch or a bad hunch?" she asked.
"Bad one," she answered, making her crease her brows.
"Why?" she answered, and he chose to shrug.
"Just tell me when you feel his chakra in the forest," he answered, and, realising that she was not going to get anything more, she nodded.
"Well, we have our scroll," and Shikamaru intentionally held it out to let other teams glance at it, as Ino smirked.
"Earth," he whispered, reading the kanji on the scroll as he pocketed it.
"So, we need to just get a heaven scroll," he added, and Shikamaru nodded.
"We won't need to do anything," added Ino as she looked around and saw subtle glances aimed their way.
"They will all simply come to us," and while not a sure way, this little trick had allowed them to sift through the crowd. While their so called mistake had been intentional, many teams did not care and openly displayed their scrolls, as all three of them simply tucked away that information into their mind.
"We should rest then," Shikamaru suggested, and they sat down, and then the exam started, and teams entered the arena one by one, until it was their turn, and the three of them stood at the gate of the Forest of Death.
"Let's do this," he said, as the three of them headed straight for the forest and began to run towards the North, in the direction of the temple at a rather slow pace. They did so for a few hours, until he raised his hand and made them stop.
"We should take a break now," and with that, they sat under a tree, and took out their rations as Ino placed her hand on the floor, and began with a smile.
"We have company," she added, and just as he had taken a bite of the protein bar, he smiled.
"I know," for he had sensed them as well, as Shikamaru's shadow moved from underneath him, yet their opponents were rather impatient as they chose to attack them in that moment, as a barrage of kunai came at them from the front.
"Katon: Fire Ball jutsu," he was quick to mold his chakra as he lit up the area with his ninjutsu, which tore apart their.
"SHIT!"
"Doton: Mud Wall!" One of them was quick to erect a mud wall, yet that was a grave mistake as he rushed forward and cut through his own ninjutsu, as he slashed down wildly.
CHIK!
The earthen wall was cut into two as he found himself staring at the faces of two boys from Kusa, and he smiled.
"TAKE HIM!" one of them snarled, but it was too late, for before Shikamaru had already made his move.
"Possession complete," the black haired boy whispered as Hikari landed behind the duo, and put his sword to their neck.
"Now, the choice is yours. Hand over the scroll," and with that, he brought it closer to their necks, making blood drip down their necks as he added.
"...or Die!"
.
.
.
And so with that one little battle, their team found itself a scroll richer, as Ino added tiredly.
"You do know that you have just invited an entire hoard to pounce upon us," and he did.
"I was not in the mood for hunting," he answered as he threw the Heaven scroll towards Shikamaru.
"Three more?" he asked, and he nodded.
"Yeah, that will be enough," and so they found themselves under attack thrice within the next twelve hours, and after securing those additional scrolls, they finally decided that it was time to move and search for other teams.
"We should go now," and yet just as they were about to leave, Ino suddenly stilled.
"What the hell?" she gasped, and Shikamaru and he became alert at once.
"There is a team heading straight for us," and that was no surprise.
"One of their members has some very strange chakras. It somewhat reminds me of...." and she did not need to say anything else as suddenly he glanced up at the tree, as a trio landed right above them.
"Naruto," he finished her sentence in a whisper, as Shikamaru frowned.
"Are those?" and he nodded.
"Yes, they are Suna's ringers," and yet for some reason they had come straight to you.
"Are you the one they call Hikari?" questioned Gaara of the Sand in that droning, dull tone of his, as Hikari took out his blade and prepared himself for battle.
"Yes," and his face shifted, and a feral smile appeared on his face as Snad erupted out of his gourd, and began to circle him, before suddenly it rushed towards him as he jumped back.
BOOM!
"Then let us see if you can truly provide me with some entertainment...."
"INO! Shikamaru!" he called out, but Gaara moved fast, and suddenly they were stuck in quicksand, as they struggled to jump away as another attack rushed towards him.
"Futon:..." he whispered as he laced his blade with chakra and swung it at Gaara.
"Wind Scythe!" and the attack cut through the sand attack as it headed straight for Gaara, only for Temari to jump forward.
"Futon: Wind Wall!" and she swung her fan, and his attack was interrupted as he cycled through a different set of handseals and landed on the ground, as he thrust his blade into the quick sand trap.
"You truly are a fool!" Gaara snarled as Sand began to creep up his legs, yet he was not done yet, as his blade glowed an ominous red as he pushed his molded chakra into the steel.
"Katon:..."
"...Grand BLAZE!"
And fire rushed out of his blade, and tore through the area, and the sand was all turned into glass in the blink of an eye as the three of them pulled themselves out of his attack, as they jumped up on trees, as he looked Gaara in the eye.
"He is dangerous," Shikamaru added.
"He is, and so are the other two," he warned them. He could not understand why Gaara and his team had targeted them so suddenly, but he did not have the time to care for that.
"I will need to separate him from the group," he added, as Shikamaru nodded.
"We will handle the other two then. But don't forget, they are the Kazekage's children," and so killing them would not be in the interest of the alliance between Suna and Konoha.
"I know," and with that, he pushed his chakra into his legs.
"Sand Shurik..." yet before the Demond of the Sand could finish his attack, he was in front of him in a burst of speed that caught everyone off guard.
"SHIT!"
"HOW IN THE HEL..."
But Kankuro and Temari were too slow to move, just like Gaara's sand as he pushed futon nature chakra into his palm.
"Futon:..." and it was a little trick that he had created, mixing Hyuga clan taijutsu with his futon natured ninjutsu.
"...Gentle Gale Palm!"
BOOOOOM!
And before his sand barrier could come up to defend him, Gaara's body was sent tumbling through the forest as it tore through trees and branches, and as Kankuro and Temari made to chase after him, Shikamaru and Ino had made their move.
"Where do you think you are going?" Shikamaru thundered, as his shadow connected with the duo, halting them in their place as he chased after Gaara, whose body stopped as it cracked a giant tree.
He was unmoving, and if he did not know as much as he did, he would have thought him dead, as blood dripped down his face, and suddenly a wave of chakra gushed off of the boy, who suddenly opened his eyes and began to laugh.
"Hahahaha! HAHAHA!" and he began to howl with laughter as sand began to gather around him, while his skin began to crack.
'Mother! Mother!" he screamed and whispered, as he grabbed his face.
"I will kill him! I will kill him for YOU....!" and suddenly storm of sand rushed towards, and he laced his blade with Katon chakra, and rushed forward avoiding it like the plague and yet the more he neared Gaara, the more intense and fast the attack grew, and as he was about to swing his Sand Barrier came up to protect him, yet in that moment he unleashed the chakra lacing the blade.
"Katon:..." yet before he could swing, sand rushed out of the ground, and tried to trap him.
"SAND COFFIN!" and his other attack was already on him, and he realised that fighting with a sword was not really the most efficient way of fighting against Gaara's Sand attacks.
And so, he let go of the blade, much to Gaara's surprise, as the blade, with a red-hot, glistening edge, cut through his sand shield and barrier and tore through his neck, causing him to bleed while Hikari pushed Futon Chakra into his palms, as he chose to use a trump card of his.
"I wasn't planning on using this just yet," he whispered as he closed his eyes, remembering movements that he had watched and practised for decades now.
"Eight Trigrams..." and the Sand budged, as chakra rushed through his body in a very familiar pattern as he spun on his heels, unleashing one of Hyuga's most feared kinjutsus.
"...REVOLVING HEAVEN!"
BOOOOOM! BOOOOM! BOOOOM!
00000
Hiruzen stood in the central tower, and as Hokage of Konoha, he had taken it upon himself to address all of the contestants who would make it through the second phase. The jounin senseis of the teams were with him as well, though most of them were with the ANBU keeping an eye on the exam itself, so that it may run smoothly.
And as he stood there on the roof of the tower, an ANBU suddenly emerged behind him.
"My lord, a retinue from Otogakure is here," and that was concerning, for he could think of no reason for them to come to him.
"Why?" he asked.
"They wish to lodge a complaint," and that was new, yet as the leader of Konoha, listening to the grievances of their enemies was his responsibility.
"I shall listen to them here," he said, and the ANBU vanished once more, as he thought about the plans of his wayward student. They had intel that Orochimaru planned to move against the village, though most of the intel they had scraped together had revealed a plot for the final phase of the exam.
The intel all came from reliable sources, and already many within the village worked to make a counter against Orochimaru's plans, and yet for some reason, as unease tore at his heart, as he stared into the Darkness of the Forest of Death.
It felt odd and wrong, and yet he could not think of a reason why he felt such a way.
He heard the door open behind him, and schooled his facial expressions as a sweet voice cut through the air.
"I am told that you wished to share a grievance with me," he whispered, as he turned to face the Oto jounin and his team, and yet as he moved, he stilled as he saw the person looking back at him.
"Indeed," the head of Oto's retinue answered, and a chill ran down Hiruzen's spine as he stared at the retinue of five and realised the source of his unease.
"I do have quite a few grievances to share with you....," the leader cut in, and by now he was certain of it. This man. The one leading the Otogakure retinue.
It was him.
"ISensei..."
"Orochimaru..."
BOOOOOM! BOOOOOM!
And smoke and dust filled the area, as Hiruzen summoned his ANBU, yet it was too late, as combined voices cut through the air.
"FOUR VIOLET FLAME FORMATION!"
00000
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