Forest of Death
"This is Training Ground Forty-Four, also known as the Forest of Death."
Hongshi: "(˘̩̩̩ε˘̩ƪ) Oh my goodness~ the Forest of Death~ so scary~."
Yuhan clapped a hand over Hongshi's mouth. "Boss, shut up!"
Mitarashi Anko continued, "You'll soon find out why this place is called the Forest of Death!"
Naruto pointed at Anko and shouted, "Quit trying to scare us! Who'd be afraid of that?"
Anko: "(*＾ー＾) You're certainly enthusiastic..."
With that, she threw a kunai. Naruto dodged aside. "Hehe, missed me."
Anko looked a little surprised. "Not bad, kid."
But a Grass Ninja standing behind Naruto wore an unusually sinister expression, his eyes fixed on Sasuke. There was no telling what he was thinking.
Anko let the matter drop and addressed everyone. "The Forest of Death has forty-four entrances. Each team will be randomly assigned to one. Inside are rivers and forests, with a tower right in the center. The entrances are about ten kilometers from the tower. You'll be testing the limits of your survival within this confined space."
She took out a scroll. "Your objective is a battle for scrolls. Obtain them at any cost."
"Scrolls?"
"You need to collect a Heaven Scroll and an Earth Scroll. There are twenty-seven teams now. Fourteen teams will carry Heaven Scrolls, and thirteen will carry Earth Scrolls. To pass, all three members must reach the tower together with both scrolls. The time limit is five days. Exceed it, and you fail."
"So, the elimination rules for the second exam are: first, failure of all three members of a team to reach the tower together with both scrolls within the allotted time; second, a team member dying or becoming unable to fight. Over the next five days, you cannot withdraw midway, and opening the scrolls before reaching the tower is strictly forbidden."
Naruto: "What happens if I open one?"
Hongshi: "(•̀⌄•́) It explodes."
Naruto: "!!!∑(°Д°ノ)ノ What?! It's that serious?!"
Mitarashi Anko: "All right, those are the rules. Three consent forms for one scroll. One final piece of advice: don't die."
Holding their consent forms, everyone slowly began moving toward a wooden booth covered in black cloth to exchange them for scrolls.
Yuhan received an Earth Scroll, and their entrance was Number Fourteen.
Hongshi: "I hate that number, but it's so close to that person. Hehehe."
"All right, all teams, assemble at your assigned exits. You'll enter the Forest of Death simultaneously in thirty minutes."
Thirty minutes later, at Entrance Fourteen.
The iron gate opened, and Hongshi's team of three slowly walked through the entrance.
Yuhan gave Hongshi a gentle smile. "Boss, I want to try out Yuhan's power."
Ever since Haku had become Yuhan's Jinchūriki, they had begun communicating on a basic level, and he could already use a small portion of the energy. But being in Konoha, he had nowhere to put it to use and had long been itching to try.
Hongshi used sensory ninjutsu to confirm that no Anbu were following them, then smiled. "No can do. Your Ice Release stands out too much. It'll make the Anbu suspicious. So you two go steal scrolls. I'll intercept Orochimaru."
"All right..."
Yuhan patted Hieimon, who was drawing plans in a notebook. "Let's go."
"Oh, right."
Hongshi parted ways with Yuhan and Hieimon. "Hmm... let's see how strong Orochimaru is."
However, because Hongshi walked too slowly and even took a nap along the way, it was already dusk when he found Naruto's team.
After Hongshi's training, Naruto and Sakura were already far stronger than they had been in the original story.
At that moment, the three were locked in battle with Orochimaru.
"Demon Wind Shuriken: Shadow Windmill!" Sasuke threw a smoke bomb, then hurled the giant shuriken in his hand.
Only when the shuriken drew close did Orochimaru discover an identical shuriken hidden in its shadow.
"This level of attack won't hurt me." Orochimaru leaped up to dodge, but after missing its target, the upper shuriken suddenly burst apart. It was actually Naruto using the Transformation Technique.
"Dog-Hare, Dog-Hare, Twin Wind Bullet Technique!"
Naruto unleashed his fastest ninjutsu from below, sending two wind bullets flying toward Orochimaru.
Orochimaru merely chuckled. "You call that Wind Release? Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
An even stronger blast of wind swept downward, blowing the wind bullets back and slamming Naruto hard into the ground.
"Earth Release: Rock Gauntlets!"
Just then, Sakura appeared in Orochimaru's blind spot behind him. Both her fists were covered in rock as she swung at him with tremendous force.
"When did you-? I see. The Shadow Windmill?"
Neither of the Shadow Windmill shuriken Sasuke had thrown was real. Naruto had undone his transformation first to draw Orochimaru's attention, while Sakura had circled around the large tree to attack from above.
"Excellent teamwork! But..."
Bang! When Sakura's fist struck Orochimaru, it felt as though she had punched water, without any resistance at all. "What's going on?!"
Orochimaru and Sakura fell, while Sasuke was already waiting on the ground, holding the Five Release Blade Hieimon had given him. He poured lightning release chakra into it, forming a lightning katana. His Sharingan remained fixed on Orochimaru, predicting his next move. "Sakura! Get out of the way!"
Sakura pulled a kunai wrapped with wire from her ninja tool pouch and threw it into a nearby tree. With a tug, she flew away.
"Oh? What an interesting toy!" Orochimaru looked at the Five Release Blade with considerable interest.
Rip! Sasuke leaped up with incredible speed, cutting Orochimaru in two with a single slash.
But Orochimaru's body turned into earth.
"An Earth Clone?!" Sasuke looked around. "Where is he?!"
"Sasuke, over here!!" Orochimaru had already captured Naruto.
Sakura formed hand seals. "Aaaah! Let Naruto go! Water Release: Water Severing!" With no water nearby, Sakura could only expend a large amount of chakra to create it. A thin stream of water shot toward Orochimaru, instantly slicing through his tongue.
Orochimaru withdrew his tongue, seemingly unaffected. "Sakura Haruno. Superhuman Strength, Earth Release, Water Release, and almost perfect chakra control. You might even learn that release someday."
Once freed, Naruto immediately used Multi Shadow Clone, producing over a hundred clones to keep Orochimaru occupied. "Sasuke! Now!"
"Even Sakura's fighting hard. I can't hold us back!" Sasuke leaped high into the air. "This is the last of my chakra! Snake-Dragon-Hare-Tiger, Fire Style: Dragon Fire Technique!"
Sasuke used all his chakra, spewing an enormous blaze from his mouth toward Orochimaru.
Orochimaru laughed. "Hahaha, wonderful! A genin's ninjutsu on a scale comparable to a jonin's! It seems I was right! But this technique is too slow!"
Naruto landed beside Sasuke. "Wind Release: Tornado!!!"
A powerful whirlwind rose behind Naruto. With the wind's help, the initially slow Dragon Fire Technique became a blazing tornado that rushed toward Orochimaru at tremendous speed.
Startled, Orochimaru hurriedly formed hand seals. "A joint ninjutsu? What a brilliant idea!"
Hongshi: "You flatter me."
But just as Orochimaru was about to unleash his ninjutsu, a chill came from behind him. "This is the last of my chakra too! Water Release: Great Water Arm Technique!"
"When did you get there?! Water Body Flicker?! You actually learned a ninjutsu like that?!"
When Sakura had used the Water Severing Technique earlier, she had left some water behind Orochimaru, then used that water to perform Water Body Flicker.
Water formed from a large amount of chakra wrapped around her right arm as it struck Orochimaru squarely in the back. Orochimaru felt as though a mountain had hit him, and his body was knocked straight into the fire tornado.
"Combination Ninjutsu: Fire Tornado!"
"Aaaah!!!!"
Orochimaru's hoarse screams rang out from the fire tornado. The three had exhausted their strength by then and knelt on one knee. "Huff, huff, huff! That was dangerous!"
Sasuke kept his Sharingan trained on the fire tornado. "This man is too strong!"
The fire tornado slowly dissipated, revealing Orochimaru standing at the center of the flames, his body charred black. An acrid, scorched smell filled the air.
But what happened next chilled Naruto and his teammates.
"Hahahahaha." Orochimaru's charcoal-like body split down the middle. Like a snake shedding its skin, he crawled out completely unscathed. "It seems I really have discovered a treasure!"
Sasuke felt nothing but fear. "What?! Even our trump card couldn't leave a scratch on him? Who is this man?!"
Naruto tried to stand and unleash another ninjutsu, but he was too exhausted to get up. "Damn it!"
Sakura was in even worse shape, already on the verge of passing out.
"Since none of you can move..." Orochimaru chuckled, licking the air with his tongue. "Then... Shadow Clone Technique."
Poof, poof, poof! Three shadow clones appeared and leaped to their sides.
"Though plenty of people are proficient in Water Release and Earth Release, few are at this age. Such precise, almost perfect chakra control. A rare genius indeed."
"The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Reckless, but very strong-willed. A rare experimental specimen as well."
"Sasuke, with the Sharingan Kekkei Genkai. The body I want most!"
"In that case, I'll give all three of you the Cursed Seal of Heaven!"
The three shadow clones stretched their necks several meters and bit Sakura and her teammates on the neck.
"Ah!" "Ah!" "Ah!"
The three reacted as though electrocuted. After being bitten, they writhed on the ground for a while before losing consciousness from the intense pain.
After applying the Cursed Seal of Heaven, Orochimaru's three shadow clones vanished.
Orochimaru chuckled. "Hehehe. Grow quickly. Crave greater power."
Suddenly, a dark shadow fell over Orochimaru's body.
"Are you finished? I crave greater power too..."
At some point, Hongshi had appeared behind Orochimaru.
"Who's there?!"
Orochimaru immediately leaped away, but his body suddenly froze in midair, unable to move.
Hongshi's eyes had reverted to the Rinnegan. He raised his right hand. "Deva Path: Banshō Ten'in."
"What? The Rinnegan's power?! How wonderful!" Orochimaru hurriedly formed hand seals. "You can taste the Cursed Seal of Heaven too!"
His neck stretched, and he bit Hongshi's shoulder.
One minute later.
"Clack, clack." Two teeth fell to the ground.
"(ー_ー)!! Sigh, I used to think stabbing Susanoo with a kunai was stupid. You actually bit me with your teeth. What a genius!"
At that moment, a crow that had been watching the fight from a distance flew away. "Idiot... idiot..."
Hongshi waved at the crow. "Don't worry, Itachi."