Chapter 20: A Lifelong Rival? (Part One)
Inside Training Ground 44, the Forest of Death, most of the foreign ninja were complaining as they moved, muttering curses under their breath without breaking stride.
Konoha hadn't given a single thought to how any of them felt. The arrogance of a great nation was something else entirely.
Threading through the dense forest, a handful of the less clear-headed genin had let their anger get the better of them. They were pushing their pace harder and harder, trying to catch up to the lone Konoha ninja who had let his scroll be seen.
"Faster! Don't lose him!"
"That kid flashed his Heaven Scroll in front of everyone. We have to get there first."
The boy shouting was around thirteen, with a mess of wild black hair. He twisted back to warn his teammates without slowing down.
"Something feels off. Why is he alone? We should be careful..."
The girl wearing a Kirigakure headband was their tracker and sensor. She was the youngest of the three, and right now she was also the most cautious.
The young man at the back, the oldest of the group, with a long scar running down the right side of his face, ignored her entirely.
"Enough. It's three against one. We hit fast, we hit hard, and we make that arrogant Konoha ninja pay."
No one argued. All three of them pushed faster, leaping from trunk to trunk through the massive trees. Sweat appeared on the sensor girl's forehead as the unease grew stronger.
"He's moving too fast. What is this Konoha genin doing?"
* * *
By evening, the canopy of enormous trees had pulled the Forest of Death into near-darkness. Animal calls broke the silence every now and then.
Furukawa Osamu had stopped to rest not far from the Central Tower. After sweeping his senses across every candidate's chakra in range, he had decided to wait.
Any squad carrying the Earth Scroll would be tracking his position. All he needed was one team stupid enough or confident enough to come straight at him, and the second stage would be half done.
He sat by a small fire, hands folded in a seal, and felt out the chakra signatures around him. Four squads were close.
More than I expected. Did they lose their heads that badly?
Three of the four squads had stopped moving. Only one came straight in, without hesitation.
Osamu stayed seated.
"Just a kid, like I thought! We've got him surrounded on three sides. This'll be over in seconds."
The wild-haired boy said it with a grin, already moving into formation with his teammates, a triangle closing around the target. The scarred young man glanced at the Heaven Scroll and let his contempt show.
"Entering the Chunin Exams alone?"
"Hand over the scroll. I'll allow you to take your own life in apology."
The two of them were still talking when the sensor girl started to tremble. In her perception, the chakra of the short Konoha genin had spiked without warning.
"Watch out!"
Her sharp cry cut through the trees. The wild-haired boy felt a sudden cold across his chest and lost consciousness entirely.
"Stop!"
The scarred young man shouted in alarm. Osamu had vanished from in front of him. In the same instant his teammate hit the ground, blood spraying from his chest. He jumped backward immediately, trying to open distance.
He had barely found his footing when pain tore through his back. A blade tip emerged from the left side of his chest. Before the scarred young man lost consciousness, he heard a quiet voice close to his ear.
"Don't threaten me with death."
Thud.
The body dropped into the dirt. Blood spread slowly across the ground. The sensor girl stared, frozen, her eyes wide with horror. When she saw Osamu walking toward her with the short blade in his hand, her legs gave out entirely and she sat down where she was.
"So not completely brainless after all. I'll be taking the Earth Scroll."
He tucked the scroll into the weapons pouch on his back and said nothing else. By the time he sheathed the blade, the girl had already scrambled to her feet and was crashing into the undergrowth.
On the other side of the trees, Maki and her two Sunagakure teammates had watched all of it without making a sound. When Osamu called out to them, they turned and ran.
"I can see you."
"One of the requirements for this joint exam is that candidates enter in three-person teams."
"I'm here alone. And you thought it was a good idea to ambush me without thinking it through?"
"Anyone who makes that kind of decision has no business leading a squad..."
The words had barely landed when an explosion of sound came from behind him. The three Kumogakure ninja nearest to the blast looked at the crater Osamu had opened in the ground with a single kick, and every one of them went pale.
"Hey! Don't you dare look down on—"
One of them dodged a chunk of flying rock by leaping backward and started to shout. He didn't finish the sentence. Osamu hit him once and sent him flying.
The stocky Kumogakure ninja sailed more than ten meters and went silent when he hit a tree trunk. The other two saw it happen and started their jutsu at the same time.
"Lightning Style-"
The jutsu never formed. Shuriken appeared in front of them at a speed that didn't seem possible. They barely got clear, and before they could pull their chakra together again, the curly-haired boy was already airborne.
An uppercut drove him straight into another tree trunk. Osamu's brow tightened slightly. The boy had managed to cover his head at the last moment. His own speed still had room to improve.
"Don't underestimate Kumogakure!"
"Lightning Style: Electromagnetic Murder!"
The remaining Kumogakure ninja released the current from his right hand and was certain he had the advantage. Then Osamu vanished again.
He threw his arms up on instinct. It didn't help. A blow landed in his gut, and the last Kumogakure ninja was sent tumbling, rolling across the ground and going still.
The fight ended fast. The three Sunagakure ninja were already running, and all they heard behind them were impacts and screaming.
"What is that thing?!"
Maki heard her teammate's terrified whisper and her expression shifted. She shouted immediately.
"Split up!"
"Shadow Shuriken Jutsu..."
The barrage of shuriken forced the three of them apart. Then explosive tags went off and Maki's focus cracked.
Stay calm.
The forest was too dark to see clearly. Another scream reached her, she ran through hand signs.
"Wind Style: Gale Palm!"
The blast of air launched her target backward. A pop of white smoke, and the figure dissolved. Shadow Clone.
On the wide branch above, Maki spun fast. She blocked the next strike, and the one after that, then got swept off her feet. She rolled and came up quickly, ducked a high kick, and took one straight to the chest.
The impact drove her into the tree trunk behind her. She couldn't get up. A low groan was the best she could manage. Her arms and chest were in agony. Even breathing had gotten difficult.
"Haven't met someone with reflexes this fast in a while."
Maki pressed a hand to her chest and tried to hold her voice steady.
"...You're not going to kill me? Sunagakure ninja don't need your pity."
The pain was winning. Her voice kept getting smaller. She was losing her grip on consciousness. And somewhere at the edge of it, she caught a murmur that didn't seem meant for her at all.
"...Instant extraction really is difficult..."
Just before everything went dark, Maki felt something that was equal parts relief and wounded pride. One thought was still there when the rest of it faded.
This person will be my rival for the rest of my life.
* * *
"Furukawa Osamu's time through the second stage is five hours and seven minutes."
"Tsunade-sama, that is the fastest record since Training Ground 44 began hosting the exam."
The chunin managing the Central Tower's reception desk could barely contain his excitement as he made the report.
Tsunade, in her green jonin vest, gave a single nod and said a quiet "good work" in return. Then she crossed her arms and turned it over privately.
He's growing that fast?
***
I genuinely don't like how the OG author write fighting sequences, everytime u have to "think" who is who, what is what, it's sort of confusing