The entrance opened, and Team 7 walked into the Forest of Death.
"To survive in here," Sakura Haruno began analyzing in a low voice, "our first step is to secure basic supplies: food and water."
"Shouldn't be a problem." A small spiral of chakra danced on Naruto Uzumaki's fingertip before vanishing. "My jutsu can be used for hunting."
"..."
Sasuke Uchiha's eyelid twitched. He didn't feel like talking.
The Forest of Death was far from silent. The roars of wild beasts echoed through the trees from time to time, making it clear that the exam's uninvited guests were not welcome.
Rustle, rustle, rustle...
The sound of footsteps appeared nearby.
Sasuke pinched a shuriken between his fingers and threw it instantly. He looked back at his teammates and said, "Naruto, Sakura, someone's here."
"Something feels very wrong..." Sakura shivered, her eyes scanning the dark forest. "Sasuke, Naruto, maybe we should get out of here quickly?"
"It's too late. They're already close," Sasuke said, looking at Naruto and holding up his fingers. "Which one of us should make a move to force them out?"
Both Sasuke and Naruto had mastered extremely powerful ninjutsu like Dragon Flame Song and Spiral Punch. In this situation, a strong area-of-effect jutsu could indeed force any hidden enemy to reveal themselves.
"Let me do it. I have more chakra," Naruto said, clenching his fist. A ring of chakra shattered and clung to his hand before he threw a punch. "Spiral Punch!"
The Forest of Death trembled.
Within a range of several hundred meters, every large tree was obliterated by the force, and a deep trench was carved into the ground.
All sound ceased. The creatures living in the forest, as well as the enemies hiding within it, fell to the ground, scattered and silent.
It was three genin from the Hidden Rain Village.
"I just told you to test the area..." Sasuke blinked and rubbed his forehead. "The exam has just begun, and we've accidentally killed three contestants. We aren't going to be disqualified for this, are we?"
"Probably... not," Naruto said, gulping. He pointed at the three corpses. "Anyway, let's see what kind of scroll they have on them..."
Sakura spread her hands. "The scroll... probably didn't survive that."
"Forget it," Sasuke sighed. "At least this proves that not every genin has the strength of Senior Kosuke."
"Yeah..." Naruto nodded seriously. "There are also jonin like Kakashi-sensei who slack off all the time, so it's not strange that there are some genin with poor strength."
"That... makes sense," Sasuke said, thinking back to their own jonin leader. He had to agree with Naruto on that.
"In that case," Sakura suggested, "we can avoid the strong genin and look for these weaker teams that just got mixed in. There's bound to be a team with an Earth Scroll, right?"
Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other. Passing the Chunin Exams was their main goal, and Sakura's proposal was the logical way to do it.
However, Team 7's luck was not on their side.
They had just decided on their strategy and were planning to secretly observe the other teams when they were targeted by a hunter.
Just as they were about to leave, a fierce wind suddenly ripped through the depths of the forest. The wind grew stronger and faster, blowing away countless fallen leaves and small animals as it rushed toward them.
"It's just a C-rank Wind Style: Great Breakthrough, but it's even stronger than Danzo's wind jutsu," Naruto noted, his eyes narrowing. "Sasuke, we've met a tough opponent!"
A vortex of chakra condensed in his palm, and a brilliant blue light shot out, crushing the wind head-on. "Spiral Shockwave!"
The jutsu cleared a path straight through the trees.
At the end of this path stood a woman wearing a straw hat. She slowly took it off, revealing her ninja headband.
A ninja from the Grass Village.
After the Grass ninja spotted the three of them, a slow smile spread across her lips. "The most delicious prey... I've found you."
As she approached, a suffocating, murderous aura filled the forest. She was walking slowly, yet it felt as if her footsteps were landing in their minds, disrupting the rhythm of their heartbeats.
Rustle, rustle, rustle...
To appear so openly in front of an enemy showed just how confident this female ninja was in her own strength—and it fully demonstrated how powerful she was.
The three members of Team 7 exchanged a look. Naruto and Sasuke moved to stand in front of Sakura. "Sasuke," Naruto said, "the feeling this person gives me is... she's very strong."
"The Chunin Exams have really gathered a lot of dangerous people," Sasuke replied, drawing his chakra-infused short sword. He stared at the woman radiating killing intent. "Just her aura alone is enough to make us feel fear."
As the Grass ninja got closer, she suddenly took out her team's scroll. The scroll, marked with the character for "Earth," twirled in her palm, catching the attention of Team 7.
In the battlefield of the forest, two teams—one with a Heaven Scroll and one with an Earth Scroll—were destined to be natural enemies, fighting to the death.
The woman's laugh was flirtatious. She glanced at the increasingly nervous Team 7, and her tongue suddenly darted out to lick her lips. "If I'm not mistaken, you have the Heaven Scroll, don't you?"
"..."
No one answered. Sasuke and Naruto were still wary, carefully guarding against a surprise attack from the woman's teammates. Strong people were often surrounded by other strong people.
"Heh heh heh... you want the Earth Scroll in my hand, right?"
The Grass ninja glanced at them, then suddenly clenched the scroll. Her long tongue wrapped around it, and she stuffed the arm-thick scroll into her mouth, swallowing it whole.
"I don't want it anymore..." Naruto said, pressing his brow and shaking his head in disgust. "It's covered in saliva. Just thinking about it is gross. Don't you think that's unsanitary?"
Sakura: "..."
"Idiot!" If the situation weren't so dangerous, Sasuke would have punched his teammate. "Is this really the time to be talking about that?"
"What an interesting brat..." The Grass ninja woman smiled nonchalantly, but her killing intent grew stronger, and her eyes turned cold. "I just think that a true scroll battle is one where life and death are on the line!"
A giant snake suddenly shot out from behind her, its bloody mouth, filled with a foul stench, rushing towards Team 7.
"Spiral Punch!"
A fist slammed directly into the snake's head.
Naruto twisted his body back into place and retracted his fist. A rain of blood and shredded flesh fell from the sky as the giant snake was blown to pieces.
He said softly, "Sasuke, this isn't just a test anymore, is it?"
-----
Bonus:
Orochimaru: At that moment, I was terrified...
Sasuke: Why weren't you scared later?
Orochimaru: Because I saw you...
Sasuke: Hmm?
Orochimaru: I knew I had to have you...
Sasuke: Fire Style: Dragon Flame Song Jutsu!