The Hidden Rain trio didn't wait. One threw down a smokescreen bomb, covering the area in thick mist. But this was no ordinary fog, it buzzed faintly, and lightning crackled in the mist.
"Static mist!" Sakura shouted, "Don't touch it, it'll paralyze you!"
"Too late!" Naruto had already leaped forward, and the mist sizzled against his skin. "Ow! Okay! Bad idea!"
Sasuke took the opportunity. "Cover me," he said, vanishing in a blur.
"Wait, where'd he-?!" The Rain shinobi barely reacted before Sasuke appeared behind one of them. A quiet chirp echoed as his palm sparked with blue lightning.
Chidori.
The masked shinobi twisted, trying to deflect, but Sasuke used the Vanishing Rasengan in his other hand, catching him in the ribs. The enemy was sent flying, crashing through the tree trunks and knocked out cold.
"Show off!" Naruto yelled, forming his own Rasengan.
The second Rain ninja tried to intercept him, using a whip made of water to snap at Naruto's legs. Naruto grinned and jumped over it, hurling a kunai infused with chakra at the enemy's chest. As it exploded, Naruto used the smoke to charge in with his Rasengan.
It slammed into the ground just as the enemy dodged, but the force blew the Rain ninja off his feet.
Meanwhile, Sakura faced the third one. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them, they glinted faintly, ready to cast the genjutsu that was taught by Kurenai.
The Rain ninja launched explosive tags at her, but she disappeared in a flicker of water clones. One clone exploded into mist, and the Rain ninja looked around wildly until everything started to twist. The forest bent, turning blood-red, and hands grabbed at him from the trees.
"A genjutsu?" he gasped.
"You're trapped," Sakura said behind him, forming another seal. "Water Style: Crushing Water Coffin!"
A sphere of water enveloped the enemy's body, locking his limbs in place. He thrashed helplessly, unable to breathe or escape.
Sasuke landed next to them a moment later, his Sharingan whirring. "All three are down."
Naruto dropped next to him, slightly singed. "That was awesome!"
"They were average," Sasuke muttered. "But coordinated."
"They were trying to kill us," Sakura said, staring at the restrained bodies. "If we weren't this strong…"
Naruto suddenly grew quiet, then gave a nod. "Thanks to Kakashi-sensei's training, huh?"
The three Rain shinobi groaned faintly, still alive but unconscious or bound.
"They had an Earth scroll," Sakura said after checking their pack. "We need a Heaven scroll."
"Let's leave them tied up here," Naruto said. "Let someone else deal with them."
"Wait…" Sasuke paused.
Everyone turned to him.
"I feel another presence. Watching us."
Sakura's eyes sharpened. "Where?"
"I don't know. They're suppressing their chakra. But it's strong… much stronger than the others."
Naruto glanced at the treetops. "Do you think it's that snake guy?"
"No…"Sasuke shook his head. "But it's not friendly either."
Sasuke scanned the forest again with his Sharingan but saw nothing. "We need to stay alert."
They moved again, deeper into the forest. This time, they took a tighter formation, Naruto and Sasuke on point, and Sakura in the center,
They didn't speak much. The recent ambush had reminded them that this exam wasn't just a test it was survival.
As they pressed onward, the wind grew still.
High above, in the trees, a shadow slipped away, grinning with interest.
"So… that's Kakashi's Team 7," Kabuto muttered to himself, pushing his glasses up. "Impressive."
He vanished in a flicker.
Back on the ground, Naruto paused feeling annoyed. "Did anyone else feel like we're being toyed with?"
"Yes," Sasuke replied. "And I don't like it."
Team 7 had barely caught their breath when Sasuke suddenly paused.
"There's a team approaching. And they have Hostile intent," he said calmly.
Sasuke activated his Sharingan. "There are three of them. That one in front… sound waves around his gauntlet."
Naruto squinted ahead, scratching his head. "Huh? That guy looks like a half-finished music player."
A few moments later, Team Dosu burst through the clearing, Dosu Kinuta in front, Zaku Abumi to his right, and Kin Tsuchi to the left. They stopped short, spotting Team 7 standing calmly, barely even bothered.
"We've got dibs on your scroll," Zaku sneered.
"You really think you can beat us?" Sakura asked, unimpressed.
"We'll see who's laughing when you're unconscious," Dosu growled. "Get them!"
Before he even finished talking, Naruto had already vanished.
"Wha!?"
"Boo." Naruto reappeared behind Zaku, grinning.
"GAH!" Zaku spun to attack, but Naruto slapped a tag on his chest, pushing him back with a gust of wind chakra. "Stay down, speaker boy!"
Sasuke moved before Dosu could react, his Sharingan tracking the smallest motion. "Too slow."
A blur of movement, a flick of lightning, and Dosu's gauntlet was cut in half before he could raise it. Sparks flew.
"My amplifier!" Dosu gasped. "How?"
"You picked the wrong team," Sasuke said simply, kicking him into a tree.
Kin tried to throw senbon laced with explosive bells at Sakura, but Sakura didn't flinch.
"You know," Sakura said, stepping calmly to the side as all three senbon missed, "I was trained by Kurenai-sensei."
Kin blinked. "Wait, what?"
Sakura's eyes shimmered faintly. "Now sleep."
Kin dropped to the ground instantly, caught in a simple but effective genjutsu.
"Done," Sakura said, brushing her hands.
Dosu groaned, trying to push himself up, only for Naruto to suddenly stand over him with a goofy grin.
"Don't worry, Mr. Radio Head, I'll take care of ya!"
He slammed a small Rasengan into the ground next to Dosu's head, just enough to freak him out and leave a smoking crater beside him.
"Okay okay! Take the scroll! We surrender!" Dosu yelled in fright.
Naruto plucked the scroll from Zaku's belt, tossed it in the air, and caught it behind his back with a smug smile. "See that, Sasuke? That's style."
"You were just being weird," Sasuke said flatly. This idiot was using Rasengan to do such dumb things.
Sakura looked around the smoking clearing. "So… should we tie them up or just leave them here to think about their mistakes?"
Sasuke stepped forward with sealing tags. "I'll make sure they don't follow."
In less than five minutes, the entire enemy team was bound, sealed, and left under the cover of brush, safely out of the way.
"Team 7! Still undefeated!" Naruto struck a pose.
"No one asked," Sasuke said, already walking.
"It was too easy!" Naruto said as he scratched his head while ignoring what Sasuke said.
"They were cocky," Sakura said. "And underprepared."
"Like Naruto," Sasuke added.
"Hey!" Naruto whined. "I'm not cocky! I just know I'm awesome!"
As the team moved deeper into the woods again, the sun began to set behind the trees. But their pace stayed strong, each of them confident. With both scrolls in hand, they were ready to reach the tower unless something worse waited in the dark.
Naruto was already humming a tune.
Sasuke sighed. "We're doomed."