For the second part of their test, they were led to the outskirts of a huge forest. There was a long, wired fence surrounding it and creeped Kokoro out to look at it. Whatever was in that forest would not be her friend. Standing with Sasuke and Naruto, she glanced around, looking for a certain red-head and his siblings. They were standing together a few feet away and Gaara caught her gaze when she settled on his form. His eyes narrowed and he looked away. She sighed, catching Sasuke's attention.

"What is it?" he demanded. She shook her head and waved him off, not wanting to deal with the attitude she knew was to come.

"This place is called The Forest of Death. You'll understand why soon," Anko announced. Naruto mocked her and said he wasn't scared of the challenge. Anko took that as a challenge and pulled a kunai from her sleeve. She threw it and it landed on the ground a few feet behind Naruto after grazing his left cheek. A trail of blood slid down his cheek as Anko disappeared and reappeared behind him. A Kusa genin picked the kunai up with her tongue and held it out for Anko to take. Kokoro cringed at the movement and the aura radiating from the genin. She took note to refrain from crossing paths with her.

"Before we start the exam, you'll each have to sign a consent form," Anko said as she walked back in front of the crowd. "From here on out, corpses are going to come out, and I have to get your consent for that so I won't be responsible."

She handed the stack of papers to Naruto, who took one and passed it along.

"Training Field 44 is surrounded by 44 locked entrance gates and is comprised of a river, a forest, and a tower in the middle approximately ten kilometers from the gates. During the second exam, each team will either receive a Heaven scroll or an Earth scroll. Since there are 26 teams, thirteen teams will get a Heaven scroll and thirteen teams will get an Earth scroll. It is your job to bring both a Heaven scroll and an Earth scroll to the tower in the center," Anko explained.

"So half of the teams will be eliminated by the end of the second round," Kokoro surmised.

"Not exactly," Anko said. "You have to complete your task within the time limit. You have 120 hours, or five days, to complete your task. If all three members of your team can't make it to the tower within the time limit with both scrolls, you will be disqualified. If a team loses a member or if a member becomes incapacitated, you will be disqualified. If you look at the scrolls before you reach the tower, you will be disqualified. Do I make myself clear?

This is a test of your reliability. Once you sign your forms, you may pick up your scroll and stand by an entrance gate. The gates will open simultaneously once everyone is ready. A friendly word of advice: Don't die!"

"I know the both of you think we can handle whoever comes our way, but we have to be smart about this," Kokoro said. They were walking through the forest, listening for anyone who may be near or ready to attack them. She was holding the scroll.

"Let whoever come!" Naruto said. "I can take them!"

"Keep your voice down, idiot," Sasuke hissed. "Besides, you can barely take on me and Kokoro. What makes you think you can handle anyone else?"

"Don't start," Kokoro warned. "We need to focus and arguing in the middle of a forest filled with our enemies is the last thing we need to do."

A scream echoed throughout the air and they stopped in shock.

"I-It was nothing, dattebayo!" Naruto said, trying to convince his teammates and himself. Then he turned in his heels and announced he had to pee. He started unzipping his zipper when Kokoro scoffed and told him to pee away from them. He walked into the bushes and came back a few minutes later.

"Ah, that was refreshing!" he said as he scratched his head.

Kokoro rolled her eyes and said, "Well, let's get going. We only have five days to get another scroll and arrive at the tower. It'll be beneficial to finish within the first three days."

Suddenly, Sasuke attacked Naruto, kicking him so hard he fell against a tree. Kokoro stared in shock at his actions and questioned him with her eyes.

"W-What was that for?" Naruto asked right before Sasuke attacked him again. "What are you doing?!"

Sasuke pulled out a kunai and continued attacking Naruto, refusing to give up, while Naruto defended himself with a kunai. Kokoro wanted to step in, but she didn't know how much help she'd be. Plus, she wanted to figure out why Sasuke was attacking him. There had to be a reason. From the sidelines, she studied Naruto's form and realized he wasn't moving like he usually did. He was more precise and faster than he'd ever been. Where did he get his new moves? And why was he using his left hand when he was right-handed?

"Look closely!" Sasuke shouted at her. Then, he addressed Naruto and said, "Where'd the scratch on your cheek go?"

Kokoro's eyes widened as she finally understood what Sasuke was implying. The person in front of them was an imposter! She pulled out a kunai from her pocket and held it up defensively.

"Where's the real Naruto?" she questioned. A puff of smoke encased 'Naruto' and a genin from Ame appeared in his place.

"You caught me," he said. "Now, which one of you has the scroll? If you follow my orders, I'll spare your lives."

When Sasuke and Kokoro refused to speak, the genin charged them and engaged them in a fight. Sasuke jumped into the air and performed a fire-style jutsu while Kokoro dodged out of the way. The Ame genin dodged Sasuke's attack and met him in the air, clanging his kunai against Sasuke's. Kokoro ran to meet the genin as soon as he touched back on the ground. She charged him and swung her kunai, just missing his skin.

"Hey, over here!"

The shout drew her attention away from the genin and to Naruto, who had his arms and feet bound. Sasuke threw him a kunai to get himself out of the binding. While she was distracted, the genin swung at her. She leaned to the right and continued dodging his punches. She timed his punches and grabbed his left fist. She threw him over her shoulder and sent a kick to his midriff. He recovered quickly and threw a barrage of kunai at her. She flipped back and jumped between trees to get out of their trajectory.

With Kokoro out of the way, the Ame genin focused on Sasuke. He threw a paper bomb attached to a kunai at Sasuke, who dropped down to the ground after being hit by it. The genin stood behind Sasuke and held a kunai to his throat. Finally, Naruto freed himself and joined the fight. He threw a kunai at the genin and jumped down beside Sasuke.

"I won't let you get away!" Naruto exclaimed.

"You're always late, Naruto," Sasuke complained. He activated his Sharingan and threw a kunai with his foot using a chakra absorption trick. He followed the kunai's trajectory, plowing into the Ame genin and stabbing him in the chest. Sasuke pulled the kunai out and the genin ran away. Sasuke tried pursuing him, but Kokoro placed a hand on his shoulder and stopped him.

"It's not worth it. He most likely doesn't have his team's scroll. We'd only be wasting energy."

He sighed in resignation and backed down. He motioned for Naruto and Kokoro to sit down on the ground next to him. Once they sat down, Sasuke began talking.

"We need to decide on a password in case we get separated again," he said. "If the password is incorrect, no matter what, presume they are the enemy."

"Password?" Naruto asked.

"I'll only say it once, so pay attention. You asl, Ninja Song, "Ninja Chance." And the answer is this: The chance to sneak up when a large number of enemies are making a scene. The quiet place has no secret hideout. It is important for a Shinobi to know the right time. The time when an enemy is tired and drops his guard. That's it."

"Could you say it again?" Naruto asked.

"I told you I'd only say it once. Could it be you couldn't memorize it?" Sasuke taunted him.

"It is a bit lengthy," Kokoro mused. "I understand why but you'll have to forgive me if I don't repeat it word for word."

"Well, I-I memorized it perfectly," Naruto said, unsure.

"I'm sure you did," Kokoro muttered as she stood up and stretched.

"I'll hold the scroll," Sasuke said. His hand was outstretched.

"Hey, wait Sasuke," Naruto said. He stopped when something hit him on the cheek. He turned in the direction the object came and stared. A burst of wind came rushing at them and they shielded their face with their arms. They tried to stand their ground, but they were blown away in different directions. Kokoro hit a tree with a loud thud and sagged against the ground. She grabbed her head in her hands and groaned. Noticing she was alone, she glanced around frantically.

The bushes to her left rustled and she immediately stood up to defend herself. A kunai whizzed past and deflected off her arm guards. She stared intensely in one direction, not noticing the person creeping up behind her. At the last second, she sensed them and jumped away just as they tried to grab her. She landed on a high branch and assessed the person. It was a male wearing a black poncho. From out of the bushes, another man made his entrance. This one was bald. Both had a thick, purple rope tied around their body.

They were Kusa genin.

Kokoro bit her lip as she thought of a way out of her situation. Two versus one was not in her favor and she had no idea where her teammates were or if they were okay. She didn't know if they would follow her or if they would let her run away. Judging by the blood-thirsty looks on their faces, she figured she'd have to fight her way out. The worst part was she still had the scroll. She couldn't let them take it. It'd be impossible to collect two scrolls!

One of the Kusa genin shifted in her peripherals and she jumped away on instinct. That was the wrong move as the other one met her mid-air and kicked her down to the ground. She landed on her hands and knees and stood back up. She jumped back, creating distance between her and the two genin. She reached into her back pocket and pulled out five shuriken. With her hand behind her back, she started running away. They pursued her immediately.

Looking over her shoulder, she threw the shuriken at them. They dodged them and the bald genin ran up a tree so he was running above her. She cursed and analyzed her surrounding area. Up ahead to her right was a river. A plan developed in her mind and she changed her running course. Once she reached the river, she hid behind a tree and quickly went through the hand signs for her water clones. She produced two and sent one of them out.

The water clone stood in front of them confidently and attacked the genin with the poncho. Kokoro sent out her second water clone when the bald genin attacked her first clone. With her clones engaged with the two Kusa genin, she snuck behind the bald one and attacked. She kicked him forward, catching him off guard. He got up and his face met the bottom of her shoe. Her water clone used a flurry of moves to keep him on his toes while Kokoro slipped out a kunai. She threw it straight through her water clone and it embedded itself in the genin's heart.

Without thinking about what she did, she gave her attention to the genin in the poncho. He struck her water clone and caused it to puddle at his feet. He smirked at her and performed an Earth jutsu, causing the ground around her to shake. She stumbled and held onto a tree trunk to stabilize herself. She cursed her dad out in her head for not teaching her any lightning jutsus and ducked to avoid a shuriken to the face. She ran up a tree, trying to gain an advantage, and ran through a series of hand signs. She gathered chakra in her body and spit out several water projectiles. [1]

The Kusa genin dodged them and disappeared. He reappeared behind her and grabbed her to throw her against another tree. Before she made contact with the next tree, the Kusa genin grabbed her again and threw her to the ground. She landed in the river, her head smacking against a huge boulder sitting on the edge of the river. She floated to the surface disoriented and dizzy. She tried getting up, but the Kusa genin grabbed her by the throat and dunked her head under the water. She clawed at his hands as dark spots clouded her eyesight.

As a last resort, she gathered chakra and blasted water from her mouth. [2] It hit the Kusa genin in the face so hard he flew back. Kokoro climbed out of the water and gasped for breath. Her hair clung to her skin uncomfortably and her clothes weighed her down. Through the strands of her hair, she saw the Kusa genin stand up and walk towards her. Her breath was labored and she had used far too much chakra than she should have. His sandals entered her vision and she felt him grab the back of her clothes and haul her up to face him.

"Such a shame," he grinned evilly. Discreetly, she pulled out a paper bomb from under the ribbon of her belt and slapped it on his neck. He dropped her in shock and shouted right as the paper bomb went off. The area around her quieted as she laid pathetically against the grass. As soon as she caught her breath, she sat up and checked to see if the scroll was still with her. Thankfully, it was. She stood up sluggishly and teetered to the left when she tried to walk straight. She shook her head and coughed harshly, jostling her irritated throat.

I have to get to Sasuke and Naruto, she thought as she slowly walked forward. I can't let them down.

She took five steps before she fell and landed on her side. She tried to keep her eyes open, but they refused to stay open. As darkness crept into her vision, she prayed Sasuke and Naruto would be okay until she found them again.

[1] - Water Release: Gunshot

[2] - Water Release: Wild Water Wave

I'm trying not to make too many chapters with the Chunin Exams because I really want to get to the good stuff (lol) but I don't want to cut too much out. I went a little rogue with this chapter just because in the episode, Sakura doesn't do much. No hate to her. I feel like Kishimoto focused so much on Naruto and Sasuke that he forgot to have Sakura do stuff. Anyway, I have this really cool idea for a new Naruto story! I won't be posting any new Naruto story until this one is done (which might take a while/hopefully by the end of the year or by next summer). I'll let you know more about it later :)