Once Again (A Naruto Fanfiction) (Sequel to Another Take) (Complete)

Ch. 5: We Won't Back Down

~We're gonna burn your city, gonna bring your system down. I'm gonna drown my pity, turn this to a ghost town~

Kiyomi's POV

I hate being right.

Yes, we were in a deadly location. Yes, we were all about to fight to the death. But no, it wasn't over scrolls this time.

That's where this exam differed from the Konoha one. In this one, you were required to defeat a certain number of opponents.

See, that was the whole point of this exam. All us genin were released into the cold mountains outside Kumo, in a specially-fenced in area just for us. Then we all had to fight over points.

The points were little tick marks that appeared on your skin with every person you defeated. They were the result of a jutsu that was cast on us all when we signed the consent form. The marks took the form of black lines on the inside of each person's wrist. Everyone started with one, and if we got defeated, we lost it. If we beat someone, we gained another.

The whole point of the exam was to obtain ten total points among your team members, then return to Kumo's north gate. It sounded easy- beat six people, and then head back. But everyone was out to do that, which made it much more difficult.

After we'd all wandered into the mountains, the proctor gave us twenty minutes to spread out, then the fighting could begin. We had a maximum of three days to get our ten points, then the exam was over.

Besides my team, there were ten other teams to be competing against. Forty people. Forty enemies. 

"Alright, let's get going," Gin commanded, taking control. "We should find a place to ambush. In these mountains it's our best chance at taking someone down. Unfortunately, I doubt any of us are particularly comfortable in the mountains. We'll make do, I suppose."

I chuckled at the same time as Naoko. "Hey, I may be from Suna, but I trained as a samurai in the Land of Iron," Naoko laughed. "I'd like to say I'm rather comfortable here."

"Same," I agreed. "I spent a year training in the mountains with my sensei. I may not be as good as Naoko, but I'm sure not horrible."

"Well, I am," Kadan announced. "I've never set foot in the mountains once in my life."

"I have," Gin frowned. "But it was only for a short while during a mission."

A scream echoed across the mountain, making us all pause the conversation. Then Naoko shrugged. "Well, I guess it's time to start. Let's find some people to beat, ne?"

"Right!" Kadan cheered, pumping his fist. "I'm so ready for a fight! The first exam was boring, but now I get to show off my skills!"

"Calm down," I remarked, smiling a little at my teammate's enthusiasm. "We need to be cautious. And we need a plan."

"Of course," Gin agreed. "Kadan, I want you as the main ambush. You can turn invisible, and then launch a surprise attack. Naoko and I will be scouting and back-up. Kiyomi, you're bait."

"No," I immediately disagreed. "That's not smart for a good number of reasons. For one, I have a genjutsu that will make me invisible as well. Kadan can also pass on his invisibility to us anyways. We don't need bait. We just all go invisible, then ambush a team." Then I snorted. "And plus. Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I have to be the bait."

"That's a good-" Naoko admitted, but was cut off by Kadan.

"How did you know I could pass the invisibility on?" he questioned seriously, staring straight at me. "That's the one thing I made sure not to mention during the introduction."