Forest of Death — Outer Sector
The forest didn't stay quiet for long.
Naruto's clones scattered like ghosts through the canopy—each one carrying a fragment of his awareness, feeding him flashes of terrain, movement, chakra signatures.
For a few minutes—
Nothing.
Then—
POOF
One clone dispelled.
Naruto's eyes sharpened mid-jump.
"…Contact."
Sasuke landed beside him instantly.
"Where?"
Naruto didn't slow.
"Two teams. Fighting. One's already losing."
Sakura kept pace, gripping a kunai tighter.
"Scroll?"
Naruto nodded.
"Most likely."
A grin tugged at his lips.
"…We're crashing the party."
Engagement Zone — Ravine Clearing
They arrived silently.
Perched high in the trees.
Below—
Chaos.
Two teams clashed in a narrow clearing between jagged rock formations. One team—Rain genin—was on the back foot, soaked in mud and blood.
The other—
A trio from the Hidden Grass.
Aggressive.
Coordinated.
One lunged forward with a curved blade—
SLASH
The blade carved through the air—
—but never landed.
A violent distortion tore through the battlefield from above.
Moments before, hidden in the canopy, Naruto blurred through signs— chakra gathered, compressed, and sharpened within the palms of his hands.
"Wind Release—"
The air around him warped—
"Gale Pierce!"
A razor-thin spear of compressed wind shrieked downward, invisible until it struck—
—then it screamed.
The leading Grass genin didn't even have time to react.
The attack punched clean through his shoulder, detonating outward in a burst of slicing air that shredded bark, cloth, and flesh alike. He was launched sideways, tumbling across the clearing in a spray of blood.
Before the shock could even settle—
Sasuke dropped.
"Fire Style—"
His chest expanded as chakra surged to his throat, heat building rapidly—
"Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"
He exhaled a rapid volley of small, blazing fireballs that scattered across the battlefield in a wide arc.
At first glance—
Chaotic.
Uncontrolled.
But Naruto's eyes sharpened slightly.
"…There it is."
Hidden beneath the flames—
Steel flashed.
Shuriken rode inside the fireballs, perfectly masked by heat distortion and light. As the Rain genin raised their guard against the incoming flames, they braced for impact—
—and completely missed the real threat.
The fireballs burst against their defenses—
—but the shuriken slipped through.
THUNKTHUNKTHUNK
One Rain genin jerked violently as a star buried itself in his thigh—another embedded itself between his ribs. A second Rain ninja barely managed to turn—
—only for a shuriken to catch him across the collar, halting him in his place. Shaky hands reached up to his neck before falling to his knees.
They staggered, disoriented.
That's when Sakura moved.
She didn't hesitate.
Didn't call out.
Her hands snapped forward—
"Shadow Shuriken Jutsu!"
Her throw was clean—
Precise—
But it was the follow-up that made it deadly.
The first set of shuriken cut through the air in a tight spread—
—but hidden within their shadows—
A second wave followed, perfectly aligned.
The Rain genin tried to react—
Tracking the first set—
Dodging—
Not learning from earlier about team 7's deceptiveness, the gas masked rain ninja stepped directly into the unseen second layer.
Metal sank deep.
A second rain ninja dropped instantly.
The other staggered back—
Eyes wide—
Before collapsing face-first into the dirt.
In less than three seconds—
Two Rain ninja were down.
One Grass genin lay bleeding heavily off to the side.
Only three remained.
One Rain.
Two Grass.
They froze.
Not out of hesitation—
But shock.
Naruto landed lightly on a branch before dropping into the clearing, cracking his neck.
"Told you it'd be a piece of cake."
Sasuke landed beside him, already scanning the remaining enemies.
"…They're still standing."
Sakura joined them a moment later, breathing steady but focused.
"Three left."
The remaining genin regrouped quickly.
Fear flashed across their faces—
Then hardened into desperation.
The Rain ninja spat out a wad of blood, his previous wounds taken from the grass ninja forgotten.
"…We take them together."
The two Grass ninja nodded.
No more hesitation.
They charged.
The first attacker, one of the grass ninja, came straight at Naruto—
Fast.
Desperate.
A wild horizontal kunai slash at Naruto's face.
Naruto didn't step back.
He stepped in.
His forearm snapped against the forearm delivering the slash, deflecting the blade just enough for it to scrape harmlessly by his ear—
—and in the same motion, his shoulder drove forward.
THUD
The impact folded the Rain ninja slightly.
Naruto didn't stop.
A knee followed immediately, slamming into the opponent's midsection—
Then a spinning elbow aimed for the temple—
The grass ninja had tricks up his sleeve however. Senbon were spat from his mouth, reaching Naruto's wide eyed form in the close quarters dispute.
He POOFED out of existence leaving a cloud of smoke in his wake.
Through the smoke, a head of duckbutt hair appeared
Sasuke was already there, crouching low avoiding the senbon blast.
He ducked low, sweeping the enemy's legs out from under him.
Naruto reappeared to his left in a blast of air, his Flash Anklet illiciting a *Ping* followed by a countdown in his peripheral.
Before the grass ninja could recover—
Naruto stepped in—
And drove a stomp into his sternum.
CRACK
The body went limp.
Out cold.
Behind them—
The grass and rain genin attacked together.
One from the left—
One from the right.
Sakura moved to intercept—
But Naruto's voice cut in sharply.
"Leave it!"
She halted—
Trusting him instantly.
Because they were already moving.
Sasuke's hands flashed
Naruto mirrored him—
And together—
They called out their elemental technique.
"Wind Release: Cyclone!"
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
The cyclone sucked the two genin together, their own bodies knocking each other off balance.
The final Grass ninja let out a wail, surely alerting any team nearby as he burned to a crisp. The rain ninja disappeared underneath the ground as the flames reached their forms.
From beneath the ground, he emerged next to his fallen teammate, attempting to pick him up and escape.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
POOF
A clone appeared next to the pair—
Intercepting.
Jumping into the air, the Naruto clone delivered a two-footed jump kick to the escaping rain genin's head.
The final combatant rolled across the field
Groaning on the ground the ninja sat up only to see both Naruto and Sasuke standing over him.
Desperation and logic combined for his following behavior. He held up a heaven scroll.
"Just take it!"
Naruto stepped aside—
Sasuke calmly snatched the outstretched scroll. Sakura approaching from his rear.
The genin went to get up, to try and gather his fallen teammates. A solid
THUNK
Was heard as Sakura rammed the ring of a kunai into his temple.
Still.
A grass genin was still smoldering along the ground, unmoving.
Sakura exhaled slowly, rolling her shoulders.
"…Okay."
A grin spread across her face.
"…That felt good."
Sasuke turned slightly, eyes scanning for any additional threats.
"…Too loud."
Naruto scanned the clearing carefully, looking at the aftermath.
Three down from the ambush.
Three more from the fight.
Clean.
Efficient.
Sakura's grip around her kunai tightened slightly.
"…You two are monsters."
Naruto scratched the back of his head.
"…Nah."
He glanced at Sasuke.
A smirk forming.
"…We're just better together."
Sasuke didn't respond.
But he didn't disagree either.
Naruto crouched, quickly checking the fallen for scrolls.
A beat—
Then—
"…Bingo."
He held one up.
Earth Scroll.
His grin widened.
"An hour in and we've already got the required scrolls. Too easy baby!"
His eyes flicked toward the deeper forest.
Where the trees grew darker.
Denser.
More dangerous.
"…He muttered to himself...one more to go."
His system *Ping*ed in the background, notifying him of his gains from the battle:
+2 Strength
+1 Agility
+2 Endurance
Wind Release: Cyclone LVL 5 (10/50) -> (15/50)
Wind Release: Gale Pierce LVL 4 (1/40) -> (9/40)
Academy Taijutsu – LVL 5 (37/50) -> (49/50)
Shadow Clone Jutsu – LVL 6 (17/60) -> (27/60)
+60 System Points
Somewhere far away—
Unseen—
A pair of snake like eyes watched.
And smiled.
Bonus Mission Status:
Objective:
Secure an extra 2 scrolls than required for the 2nd phase of the Chuunin exams. Current scrolls held 3/4!