The Red Maelstrom

[19] Codeword

Kohana stared, wide-eyed at the trees that towered over them. It was so very dark within the forest that she seriously wondered if they would even be able to see the light of day once inside. She could only imagine how large the creatures that probably existed in the forest were, and how many of them crawled up the thick wood waiting to feast on humans. Kohana shuddered at the thought... she never particularly minded insects, but she'd be a fool to think there wouldn't be swarms of insects she'd never hoped to see.

Shaking her head, she decided that she was going to find out anyway. It was best to prepare herself psychologically; there was no way she was going to freeze up and have an oversized leech kill her or something of the sort. Anko was just too much; she clearly derived happiness from terrorizing the poor genin.

"You'll soon find out why it's called the 'Forest of Death'."

Naruto just mocked the special jōnin's words. Sakura and Sasuke, on the other hand, both looked irritated just at the thought of being next to Naruto.

"You think that scares me? That's nothing!"

Anko merely smiled. "Yeah, you're spirited..." Her smiled remained... until she produced a kunai and shot it at Naruto's direction.

It was so fast that Kohana couldn't stop it. By the time Anko had reappeared behind Naruto, the kunai was gone.

"Kids like you are killed easily..." A shiver ran up Kohana's spine as Anko flicked a tongue over the wound on Naruto's cheek. "Spraying that red blood I love."

And then, an overly long tongue slithered out of a genin's mouth. They'd suddenly appeared behind Anko this time. Kohana, sickened, pulled Naruto away from Kohana. What was wrong with these people?

"Here's your kunai," said the newcomer. Kohana couldn't quite see their face, for it was hidden under a straw hat, but they had long black hair and a purple rope tied around their waist. She wanted to keep an eye on this one; they seemed like Anko's type: the type that found enjoyment out of disturbing others. Should they ever face a person like that on the battlefield, they had to be prepared.

Anko didn't seem the least bit bothered. "Thank you," she said politely, "but don't stand behind me like that. That is, unless you want to die young."

Like a snake, the tongue slithered back into the genin's mouth. "Well, I get itchy when I see blood. Also, my precious hair was cut, so I got excited. I'm sorry."

"Sis, why does that guy have such a long tongue?" Naruto stuck his tongue out as far as he could. She simply ruffled his hair, still unable to bring herself to talk after witnessing such a dangerous tension.

Once the genin left, Anko she turned to everyone as though that didn't just happen. She reached inside her cloak and produced a ream of papers. "Now before we start the second test... there's something I have to pass out. You have to sign these agreement forms." She was explaining this to them a little too gleefully. "There will be deaths in this one. If I don't have you sign these, your deaths will have to be my responsibility."

There was chill in the air but Anko easily took it with pleasure and hooked a thumb behind her. "I'm going to explain the second test, then you can sign it afterwards. And then, each team will check in at the booth behind me." She then handed the ream to Naruto, who took one and passed it to Kohana, who also took a sheet and passed it to a random ninja—who wasn't exactly as random as she thought. The ninja standing nearest to her was the Kusa-nin and his team. He barely even glanced at her.

"Now I will explain the second test. Simply put, you will attempt the ultimate survival..." She produced a scroll and let it unroll itself to reveal a map of the forest. "Around Practice Arena No. 44 are 44 locked gates. Inside, there's a forest; a river; and a tower at the center. There are ten kilometers separating the gates from the tower. During the survival in here, you will be asked to complete a certain task. Using your many weapons and jutsu, you will compete in a no rules scroll battle."