Naruto grinned down at the water, three of his clones behind him. A large fish slowly swam up the stream, "Mmmm." Naruto smiled, "Breakfast time!" Naruto shouted, standing at the edge of the cliff. "Bombs away!" Naruto shouted, jumping into the river with all of clones, swimming after the fish, his stomach growling. Sasuke stood at the rivers side, holding onto a couple of shuriken. Naruto swam around in his shorts, trying to grab the four fish, they jumped up out of the water, slipping through Naruto's hands. Sasuke quickly flung the shuriken at the fish, pinning them to the tree in front of him, the flopped around. "Gah!" Naruto gasped for air, completely soaked. Sasuke put his hands in his pockets. "Come on, is that it? I only got four. Now go and do it again." Sasuke sighed, Naruto glared up at him from the water. "What?!" Naruto's voice cracked, he growled angrily. "I could eat four fish myself." Sasuke rolled his eyes, Naruto slammed his fists into the water, splashing around. "Well, if you think it's so easy, why don't you get wet, and I'll stand on the shore!" Naruto shouted at him, his face starting to turn red as he shouted, anger bubbling up inside him. "Sasuke!" Sakura called out with a smile, Sasuke turned his head around. "The fire's ready to light! I could use one of your fire balls!" Sakura shouted, holding a stick in her hand. "Ugh, I've got to do everything around here." Sasuke sighed, turning away from Naruto. "You do huh?! What have I been doing?!" Naruto shouted.

Everyone sat around the fire, I was still asleep, my body still as I slept, my chest slowly heaving up and down. "It's already been four days since the second exam began." Sasuke sighed, the fish were heating up on the fire, he turned his head over to me. "Yeah, that's right." Sakura sighed, staring at the fire. "We sure not going to break any records." Sasuke shook his head, "We only have twenty four hours left." Sasuke scooted over to me. "I wonder how many other teams have already gotten their scrolls and finished." Sakura sighed, I wonder when this fish is going to be done, I could eat a whale! Naruto grinned, looking down at the fire. Sasuke lifted me closer to his chest, if we don't get a break soon, we're finished. Sasuke sighed, he sat me down in his lap. Almost ready. If I move fast, I bet I could snag the biggest one before the others get it! Naruto his lips.

"What are we doing? What are we chasing? There's probably no one left in this forest anyway!" A leaf ninja shouted, gasping for air. "So what do we do?" His teammate called out, the three of them jumped to the ground. "You're right. The other teams must of all finished by now." He sighed, out of breath. "Yeah, it's been four days. Anyway, we've been going since dawn, no need to kill ourselves." He sighed, standing up. "I'll go and try to find something to eat, you guys rest." He nodded, jumping back into the trees. They both sat on the ground.

"Hey," He called out, holding the earth scroll tightly in his hand. "Yeah?" His teammate looked over at him. "If I remember right, I think the other scroll, it had heaven written on it, and it was different from this one because it had white around the edges, right?" He asked, holding the scroll up for him to see. "Um, I guess so. I really wasn't paying too much attention when she showed it to us, there was this kid in the front...well, anyway, why? What's the big deal all of a sudden?" He asked him, his teammate chuckled. "Wow, you're not really thinking!" His eyes widened.

"We have to face it, there may not be anymore heaven scrolls left." Sakura sighed, looking down at her fish. "Well, that's a cheerful thought..." I yawned, "Hey! (Y/N)'s awake!" Naruto smiled between bites. Sakura looked over to me, her eyes soft. "That may be true, but this is the fourth day we've been out here." Sakura called out to me, I rubbed my eyes. Thank goodness I woke up, I couldn't take any more of my fathers lecturing. "We've already used up eighty percent of the time we've got to complete the exam, only thirteen teams can pass because there are only thirteen pairs of scrolls." Sakura explained, Naruto passed me a slightly burnt fish, I took it with a smile. Man, I'm starving! I smiled, sinking my teeth into it. "And then you've got twenty six teams, seventy eight candidates out looking for them. And if those odds weren't bad enough, things have gotten even worse. Don't forget that that creep Orochimaru-" "Hey!" I shouted, waving my finger at her. "Uncle O isn't some weird creep, he's actually pretty cool when you get to know him!" I dropped my fish in my lap, placing my hands on my hips. "Sure..." Sakura whispered, looking back down at the fire. "Anyway, the number of complete pairs of scrolls the could be found was reduced by one right there." Sakura shook her head, "Hmm?" Naruto looked over at her. "Not to mention all the ones that have been found and secured by other teams since then." Sakura sighed, her shoulders slumped down. Sasuke looked over at the earth scroll. "Maybe we gave ourselves too much time to rest and recover from our last fight. I don't know, but what I do know is that we've got to get serious now, to make up for lost time." Sasuke sighed, watching the fire start to die out. "The next enemy we face could be our last chance." Sasuke said, standing up. "(Y/N), you're looking a bit pale. I'm going to get some water." Sasuke turned away, a tall bamboo cup in his hand. "Thanks." I sighed, watching him leave.

Naruto sighed, grabbing onto the earth scroll. "Hmmm..." He mumbled, "Hey, (Y/N), Sakura. I know how we can do this without having to fight anyone." Naruto whispered with a nod, pulling his pants over, he was still in his shorts. "Huh?" Sakura's eyes widened. "Look!" Naruto pulled out his pouch, dumping a couple of scrolls out onto the ground. "Look at what?" I sighed, peering over his shoulder. "What do ya mean, 'look at what'? Scrolls!" Naruto nodded his head up and down. "I've got tones of them. Y'know, manuels on ninjutsu and stuff like that. We could change one of these to look exactly like the heaven scroll-" "Stop! Don't even." I shook my head, "Hm?" Naruto tilted his head. "Even if you could fake the outside, how could you fake what's written inside? Besides, it's just plain cheating either way you look at it." I crossed my arms, Sakura nodded. "Yeah, it's just stupid, Naruto." She shook her head. "But I've got it all figured out. I think these things have a secret code written in them that only makes sense if you put them both together! Yeah! And that secret code is like the password you need to get into the tower at the end of the exam! Get it?" Naruto asked us, smiling. "All I get is that you're a nimrod." Sakura clenched her fists, 'We've don't got a heaven scroll, so how are we going to be able to fake what's inside it?!" Sakura shouted, "Uh...oh." Naruto hung his head down, "The next brilliant idea you get, how bout keepin it to yourself?" Sakura sighed, "We've got enough problems." Sakura shook her head. "But wait. We do have a clue to what's inside of the heaven scroll, the earth scroll." Naruto picked it up, "No way! You heard what the proctor said, it's cheating! We're not supposed to look inside of the scrolls!" I jumped, shouting at Naruto, he turned his head over to me. "It's our only chance, I'm going to open and read this scroll!" Naruto nodded a serious look crossing his face, "No!" I shouted, punching Naruto on the top of his head. "GAH!" Naruto gasped, falling back. "Naruto, we're expressly forbidden from opening the scrolls before going to the tower!" I shouted, raising my fist up, Naruto held onto the top of his head. "I know, but if we don't do anything, we'll never make it!" Naruto sniffled, holding onto his aching head. I sighed, looking back down at the scrolls. Silence fell before us.

Kabuto watched closely from behind, his stare intensifying.

The leaf ninja held the scroll in his shaky hand, he looked over at his team mate, putting the edge of his thumb under the paper. "C-Careful, it could be y-trapped or something!" His team mate waved, scooting closer. "Yeah..." He breathed out, looking back down at the scroll. "I thought of that." He gulped, digging his thumb under the paper, he started to lift.

Naruto looked down at the scroll, I crept over his shoulder, peering down at it. Sakura scooted closer. Naruto gulped, he looked back at me. I sighed, giving him a small nod. Naruto dug his thumb under the paper. He started to lift it up, I jumped, closing my eyes as I fell back onto my , my heart racing. "Wha-what?!" I gasped, dust settling. Kabuto's back was facing me, his hand covering the scroll. "Don't." He said sternly, Naruto's mouth was wide open. Sasuke turned the corner, his eyes widening as he saw Kabuto, he rushed over to us.

"I can't believe you guys!" Sasuke crossed his arms, I hung my head low. "If I haven't come along while I did." Sasuke sighed, "Sorry Sasuke." Sakura looked down at the ground. "Yeah..." I mumbled, Naruto puffed out his cheeks. "There have been others who had broken the rules and tried to peep at the scrolls, I've seen what happens to them. They're protected by a powerful hypnosis jutsu, a kind of y-trap for those who tried to read them. It'll knock you senseless, and by the time you wake up, the exam is over." Kabuto sighed, tapping the side of his glasses. "Kabuto, right? You were the man at the registration." Sasuke squinted his eyes cautiously, "What are you doing wandering around all by yourself?" Sasuke asked, Kabuto turned to him. "Don't worry, I'm not after your earth scroll." Kabuto waved, "I guess not. I suppose if you were you'd just of swiped it from Naruto when you had the chance. So, you're looking for a heaven scroll too, huh?" Sasuke put his hands in his pockets, Kabuto shook his head. "Not really, you see, I already have them both." Kabuto dug into his pockets, showing us the two scrolls. "Awesome! You must of fought a lot of people or something, yeah?" I smiled, "No, not really. I just had some good luck. I was heading towards the tower to meet my teammates, so, if you'll excuse me." Kabuto nodded, turning around, I waved.

"Hold it." Sasuke called out, Kabuto stopped, turning his head back around. "I'll fight you for it." Sasuke glared at him. "What a lucky break." A voice whispered from the trees peering down at us, unnoticed. "You'll fight me for it?" Kabuto grinned, "But Sasuke..." Sakura whispered, "Hold on a second! Is this a joke or what?!" I shouted, clenching my fists. "Are you serious?" Kabuto turned around to him, "Perfectly." Sasuke's eyes were locked on him. "Sorry, but I don't have time to play nice." Sasuke clenched his fists, "Back off Sasuke! In case you forgot, Kabuto saved our butts!" I pointed at him, glaring daggers down at him. "(Y/N)'s got a point, we don't want to be ungrateful or anything." Sakura waved, "Shut up." He grunted at her, her eyes widened. "Sasuke?" She called out, "It can't be helped. It's either him or us, out here it's all about surviving and winning, nothing else matters." Sasuke reached his hand down to his kunai hilt, Kabuto put his hand on his hips. "You're lying." Kabuto shook his head with a grin. "Uh...he is?" Naruto tilted his head. "Come on, admit it. For all your tough talk, your heart really isn't in it." Kabuto shrugged, Sasuke's eye twitched. "If it was true, if winning was the only thing that mattered to you, why would you challenge me to a fight?" Kabuto squinted his eyes at him, "Why announce it and put me on my guard? Why not just jump me when my back was turned?" Kabuto adjusted his glasses, "After all, that's what a ninja would do." Sasuke clenched his fists. Naruto tilted his head, his arms crossed. "Hm, that's pretty deep." Naruto nodded, "What?" I whispered, looking at him oddly. "That's okay, actually, I admire you for it." Kabuto waved with a smile, "Huh?" I turned my head over to him. "So here's what I'll do, I'll show you the path you should follow. But it's best that we go, let's get out of here. The smell of that cooking fire is going to draw every wild animal near, and not only that but competition too." Kabuto turned his head to the trees, "Huh?" Oboro gasped, darting out of the way.

"Think there are still other candidates out here?" I asked Kabuto, jumping from branch to branch. "Oh, yeah. Just think about it, what do you think is the most efficient way of finding scrolls in areas as large as this? To go searching through the forests for them?" Kabuto looked over at me, I was by his side. "Uh...no." I rubbed the back of my neck, "No. You wait for them to come to you. The tower in the center of the forest is the goal, right? So, on the last day of the exam, the area will be crawling with teams converging towards the tower with their scrolls." Kabuto explained, I nodded. "Oh, yeah! I get it. Like an ambush! So we just head to the tower, find a hiding place, and when a team comes along with a heaven scroll, we jump em and take their scroll!" I smiled, Kabuto shook his head. "That's one third of the problem." He sighed, "Hm? That sounded fine to me." Naruto crossed his arms. "You guys aren't the only ones thinking of this. Every other team that's lacking a scroll will be lying in wait just like you." Kabuto explained, waving his index finger, I nodded. "So what? More the merrier I say! Whoever they are, we'll take care of them!" Naruto shouted with a grin, "Ha! Wouldn't want this to be too easy, that wouldn't be any fun. Okay, so we grab someone else's scroll and keep those losers from grabbing ours, bingo, we pass the exam!" Naruto shouted, waving his hands in the air. "That's two thirds of the problem." Kabuto shook his head, "Well, at least we're getting closer. What else?" Sakura asked, her pink hair fluttering behind her. "Well, there's bound to be some collectors lurking around at the finish line." Kabuto said, continuing to jump. "Collectors?" Sakura asked, "Even when you think you're home free, you can't relax your guard for even an instant. This kind of example always brings them out, collectors. They gather extra sets of scrolls to use for various ends, for example, to bribe their ways out of unexpected situations, or to provide their village mates a scroll they're lacking. Some collect to keep rivals from enemy villages from passing, other's collect for their own dark purposes. They'll hang on to them to use against the stronger teams later, down the line. They'll be there alright, and they're bad news. Those who get to the tower would be likely to run into them." Kabuto explained, the lense of his glasses shining in the sun. "I see. I'm beginning to understand why you brought us along with you." Sasuke grinned, "Hm?" Kabuto looked over at him. "It's because you're frightened, aren't you?" Sasuke asked, Kabuto smiled. "You bet I am!" He chuckled, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Don't worry, we're all here for you!" I smiled, punching my fists up into the air. "Yeah! You've got the world's best ninja by your side!" Naruto shouted, nodding as we continued on our way.

Night time soon fell upon us, crickets chirped peacefully while the moon loomed over us. Sasuke was close to my side, Kabuto on my other. Naruto peered over my shoulder, Sakura clasped her hands together as we looked through the trees. "There's the tower, and that means the end is in sight." Kabuto whispered, I smiled as I looked up at the sky. "Now comes the hard part." He sighed, "Well it's about time, bring it on!" Naruto shouted, punching his fist up into the air, smiling ear to ear. "Huh?" I turned around. "There's someone back there." I whispered, "Gah!" Naruto jumped, throwing a kunai behind us, it landed.

The kunai went straight into a large centipede's head, Naruto sighed. "Ha, false alarm. It's just a centipede." Naruto wiped his forehead, "J-Just a centipede?! That creepy things as big as a bus!" Sakura shivered, her shoulders sparking up. "Hey, Naruto." Kabuto sighed, "Hm?" Naruto looked up at him. "Do us all a favor and try to keep it down a few notches, will you?" Kabuto put a hand on his hip, Naruto tilted his head, a confused look crossing his face. "Just try to stay quiet, if we make too much noise, some one could hear it. It'll draw those collectors to us, and we want to find them before they find us." I explained, Naruto nodded his head up and down. "O-Oh, yeah, I see your point." He gulped. "Take it slow and quiet, let's use all the time we've got left." Kabuto warned us, I jumped up with a nod. Kabuto smiled down at me. I don't know how much longer I'm going to be able to keep this act up...(Y/N) looks so happy, what I'd give to see that smile turn, to see those cutisie little eyes bulge out of their sockets. Kabuto clenched his fists, staring down at me with his smile widening. "Hm?" I turned my head to him, is it me or is Kabuto starting to get a little...creepy. I shivered, shaking my head. No, I shouldn't be concerned with anything other than finding the heaven scroll and getting to the tower. I nodded, turning my head back to the forest.

I was sneaking through the ground, listening to the quiet vibrations of the land above me, I clasped my hands together, focusing. Sakura was cautiously walking through tall grass, taking each step more slowly than the next. Sasuke crept along a small streams shore, crouched down at he watched for any signs of movement. Kabuto was crouched down, his chakra hiding him as he backed up against a tree. Now this is more like it. He quickly jumped from branch to branch, "Hm?" He mumbled, looking over to his side, Naruto grunted. Naruto was trapped in a bunch of vine, struggling to untie himself. I shook my head with a sigh, "Well, that's Naruto for ya." I whispered, crossing my arms.

"Okay, we're getting closer." Kabuto whispered, staring at the tower. I looked over his shoulder, the moon had risen some. The five of us continued to walk, "Hm?" I stopped on the dirt path, a piece of rope dangled in my face. Some kind of...trap? I wondered, scratching the top of my head. "But...it's so obvious." I whispered, crossing my arms. "Not for them." Kabuto put his hand on my shoulder, looking up at into the trees. "Huh?" I gasped, I jumped back into Kabuto's chest. "Sorry!" I waved, stepping over to his side. "A trap, huh." Sasuke looked over at Kabuto, his stare intensifying. "Yeah, and it only gets worse from here on out." Kabuto sighed, continuing to walk down the path. That look on (Y/N)'s face...Kabuto grinned down at himself, everyone else also started to move on, I stayed for a second looking up at the tree. Three mingled corpses were strewn about, rope loosely connecting them. "Hm." I looked away, continuing to walk. As I picked up my right foot, something caught onto it, I looked down, starting to fall forward. "Huh?!" I shouted, a loud swoosh came from both of my sides. "Look out!" Kabuto shouted, throwing himself over to me. "AHHHH!" I shrieked, falling backwards, kunai stuck into Kabuto's back as he fell to the ground. "Kabuto! No!" I shouted, crawling over on my knees to him, "Huh?" In a puff of smoke, a log layed on the ground. "S-Substitution." I sighed a breath of relief, looking around. Kabuto stared down at me from a tree branch, holding onto the side of his glasses as he peered down at me, his grin widening. That look of surprise...the fear mixed with excitement...their eyes. Kabuto held onto his frames tightly, they started to dent under the pressure of his fingers. If only I could get them alone...their fear is beautiful. Just imagine...the taste.

"Well, that was close." Kabuto's voice rolled, I looked up at the trees. "Like I told you, it only gets worse from here on out." Kabuto pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, Sasuke was staring at him awkwardly, the tension between them quickly picked up as we started to walk again. It felt like we had been walking for hours. "Ha...ha...ha..." Sakura panted, falling to her knees. "For crying out loud." She whined, "Sakura?" I looked down at her. "How far have we walked?" She looked down at the ground, I knelt to her. "That tower's not getting any closer." She sighed, looking up at it. "Now that you mention it, I was thinking that too." I nodded, Naruto put his hands on his hips, stopping next to us. "Yeah, it's weird." He scratched the top of his head. Maybe not. Sasuke thought, looking around cautiously. "It would seem that we have been spotted. Someone is playing games with us. Look." Kabuto pointed behind us, "Ring a bell?" He squinted his eyes. "Huh?" Naruto twisted his head around, "Oh man, no way! It can't be!" Naruto shouted, we looked back at the centipede pinned to the tree. "Hey! What's the big idea?!" Naruto stomped his foot into the ground, "W-What's going on?" Sakura asked, her eyes widening. "Some sort of genjutsu?" I asked Kabuto, "That's what it looks like. And we fell for it completely. We were so concerned by not being seen by any one, we didn't see that we were walking around in circles." Kabuto sighed, fixing his glasses. "What's there game?" Sasuke asked, his arms crossed. "They're probably trying to wear us down and then strike when we're frustrated and physically exhausted." Kabuto explained with a nod, "You mean, like we are right now." Sasuke took a step closer to me, Kabuto squinted his eyes at him. "Right..." He mumbled.

"Huh?!" Naruto exclaimed, "Wha..." I gasped, watching as the trees started to bubble. Clones popped out from the bark, I reached towards my pocket, pulling a kunai out quickly, Sasuke's shoulder touched mine, Kabuto was staring at him with an angry look. Naruto took a step closer to my other side, Sakura jumping towards Sasuke. The clones started to circle us.