Team 7 hadn't encountered any real problems so far. In fact, they hadn't encountered anything just yet.
But that was hardly a surprise; after all, this forest was massive, and they had a full five days for this part of the exam, and they weren't given the better part of a week just for fun.
No, they were given that much time because they might just need it.
After all, shinobi were masters of stealth; it was hard enough to find a normal person in a forest this size, never mind a shinobi who didn't want to be found.
"I think we should just go straight for the tower," Sasuke said as the three came to a rest next to a small creek.
"But Sasuke-kun, we don't have the Earth Scroll yet," Sakura said as she filled her water flask with fresh, cold water.
"I know that," he said, barely holding back a sigh. "But trying to find anyone in this forest without a sensor will be difficult; the forest is simply too big, so it would be far easier to find someone around the tower itself. It's a smaller area to cover," he explained.
This wasn't the first time Sasuke had been inside this particular training ground, and indeed, it was well worth its name.
It was filled with all manner of old traps and critters, from venomous snakes to poisonous insects, to giant bears and tigers, enhanced by chakra until even a Genin might struggle.
Indeed, this forest was deadly, though Sasuke wasn't afraid; he had been here when he was younger and weaker, and while yes, he hadn't been alone, he wasn't alone here either.
And while the people from the Hyūga clan he had been with back then were pretty good, it wasn't like his current team was any worse; in particular, Naruto was pretty good.
Sure, he still had a long way to go, but just his ability to spam a nearly endless number of shadow clones was enough to deal with any danger in here.
Well, with the exception of the other Genin teams.
Even then, he didn't fear too many of them; he had taken the chance to mess up the competition during the first round, and most of them weren't all that strong.
Or well, they might be good enough for a Genin, but Sasuke was hardly a normal Genin, never mind Naruto, who was a total walking cheat.
Sasuke had seen the fool get up from career-ending injuries the day after, as if nothing had happened.
The Uzumaki clan's vitality was indeed crazy as hell.
"I guess that makes sense," Sakura muttered as she considered the plan.
"You know, I could just send some clones out to scout the forest. Shouldn't be hard," Naruto offered.
He had long since learned of the advantages offered by his shadow clones, and had become rather skilled at using them under Kakashi and Sasuke's guidance.
"No," Sasuke shook his head. "While that will indeed allow us to find other teams, it also risks them finding us in return, allowing them to prepare for us."
He did admit the plan wasn't bad; in fact, it was a solid approach. The problem, however, was that he didn't trust Naruto's ability not to get spotted.
Because, while he had long since gotten rid of that hideous orange outfit he used to wear back at the Academy, he still wasn't exactly the quietest of people.
He quickly got bored, and as such, so would his clones.
So no, the clones were indeed perfect for infiltration and scouting, but Naruto himself wasn't.
Better he stick to just using them in combat, that was what Sasuke thought.
"Hey! I can totally be stealthy!" Naruto said, as if he knew what Sasuke had just thought about him.
"Sure, but better safe than sorry. We have plenty of time, so there is no need to rush, or to do anything risky," Sasuke said, to which Naruto grumbled but didn't argue.
He was sure he could do it, but if Sasuke didn't believe him, then whatever. It wasn't like there was any real prize for being the first to complete this exam, so if they were a bit slower, who cared?
And so, after finishing up, the three continued to make their way toward the tower in the heart of the forest.
They couldn't see it from the many trees, but their training allowed them to still be able to find their way.
A true Konoha shinobi wouldn't get lost in a forest, ever.
It did, however, take them the better part of a day to reach the outskirts of the area near the tower.
After all, this wasn't a normal forest; they had to be extra slow and careful as they moved, with both the potential for traps and enemies around. One couldn't just rush right for the tower.
Not unless they were beyond confident in their abilities, and in fact, had the strength to match that confidence.
And despite how strong Sasuke knew he was, he wasn't foolish enough to make any stupid mistakes.
Because there were at least two teams in here that he had to be careful about, and a few others he would rather not run into either if he had the choice.
One was the Suna team, the three children of the current Kazekage. They weren't people he dared to underestimate.
Gaara in particular, that one gave him a strong sense of danger.
Not to mention, if that other Genin, Kabuto, was to be believed, then Gaara had completed A-rank missions, and without ever getting hurt.
And while Sasuke himself had done missions like that, he couldn't truly claim to be able to never get hurt.
So Gaara likely had some kind of either overwhelming offense that killed his enemies before they even had a chance to hurt him, or a powerful defense, which might be even worse.
With the Sharingan, he was confident he could avoid any attack, but defense? Something able to allow someone to be unharmed in A-rank missions? That wouldn't be easily breached.
And given what he had seen from the other two members of Gaara's team—one was a puppet user, and the other a Wind Dancer—two offensive specialists, which made the team truly dangerous.
Worthy of being the children of a Kage.
Another team he worried about was the Ame team.
Amegakure was a small village, but it was also the strongest of them all; it had once been considered a true candidate for the sixth great shinobi village.
Its leader was even given the title of Demi-God of Shinobi.
And despite how Hiruzen Sarutobi had been given the title of God of Shinobi, Sasuke knew well that his reputation was highly exaggerated, due to politics and to make Konoha seem more powerful.
But Hanzō's title was real; he had indeed defeated all three of the Sannin at once.
Which meant that Amegakure shouldn't be underestimated, and a team from there was sure to have a bit of that strength.
Though the true reason he considered them a team of interest was because of the red-haired kunoichi, Karin Uzumaki.
Sasuke had met her once before, and what he remembered was the way she stood side by side with both Kaguya-hime and Kakuzu, without showing any fear.
That alone spoke of her strength, and if she was anything like Kaguya, then she wasn't someone to be taken lightly.
Though she likely wasn't anywhere near as powerful as either of the two legendary shinobi she had been with, she was an Uzumaki, and one trained by one of only two known S-rank kunoichi in the world.
And from last time, Sasuke had confirmed that she was taking full advantage of her clan's innate talents: their massive chakra reserves.
She likely knew countless powerful ninjutsu and had the chakra to use them.
And while Sasuke himself knew plenty of ninjutsu and had the Sharingan to copy any used before him.
He didn't have the chakra to match an Uzumaki.
So if he ended up in a pure ninjutsu battle, he would lose in the end, not to mention what other skills she might have; indeed, she wasn't someone to underestimate.
As for other teams, well, he knew Neji, and he was indeed the strongest Hyūga of his generation, someone Sasuke wouldn't take lightly, and that Rock Lee, well, he had to admit, his taijutsu was good.
Really good.
And if...
If he had learned the legendary Inner Gates belonging to the Might family...
Then he was indeed someone to take seriously, even for him.
Beyond them was that new village, Otogakure.
He didn't know much about them, and he hadn't been using his Sharingan back when they had attacked Kabuto, so he hadn't been able to see their trick.
But Kabuto had clearly dodged and still got hurt... indeed, even a small village had its own secrets.
And finally, there was Kabuto himself.
Sure, he might be a fellow Konoha shinobi.
But Sasuke didn't trust him.
After all, what kind of Genin knew the mission information of the Genin from other villages, much more a team made up entirely of the Kazekage's children?
No, it was suspicious as hell.
So Sasuke was on guard against him.
(End of chapter)
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