Lotus Of The Leaf ~Book One~

Chapter 29! Battle Plan

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"Breakfast time!"

Naruto and his shadow clones readied themselves to jump into the stream by our campsite while Sasuke stood in wait, ready for the fish to jump out of the water so he could use his kunai to pin them to the tree. I wanted to try and use my water release, but with my chakra still low, all I could do was gather edible mushrooms and plants for us to eat, just un case I needed to defend myself. I came back to the fire with my arms full of edible plants to hear Sasuke and Naruto arguing about the fish. I sighed out and started brewing up burdock tea to replenish our energy. "What's that, Ren?" Sakura hummed, squatting down besides me as I set down four bamboo shoots full of liquid and root.

"Burdock. It's nature's cure all." I state with a smile. "I make this all the time when Kakashi and I train at home. It's great for reinvigorating your body." As I finished explaining the properties of burdock, Sasuke and Naruto came back with the fish. Sakura and I got to work cooking them. We all huddled up by the fire, sighing out when the warmth washed over our bodies.

"It's already been four days since the second exam began," Sasuke commented.

"That's right." Sakura exhaled, watching me adjust the fish so they cooked properly. I started handing out the tea, smiling when the aroma wafted up to my nose.

"We're sure not gonna break any records," Sasuke continued. "And we only have twenty-four hours left." I sighed in annoyance as the wood burned my fingers slightly when I handed out the fish to everyone. Naruto immediately started horfing it down, while Sasuke, Sakura, and I savored it. And with the mushrooms finally cooked enough to eat, I attempted to hand them out.

"No thanks. You and Sakura need those more than Naruto and I." Sasuke commented. Naruto was about to complain, but stopped when he gazed at the bandages covering my hands and face. I looked like wreck with scratches, scrapes, and puncture wounds covering my body.

"Yeah! You and Sakura were totally awesome, fighting against those Sound Ninja! Believe it! All we did was sleep the entire time!" Naruto giggled, rubbing the back of his head. I smiled gratefully and set the mushrooms down between Sakura and I. 

"There's probably not any more heaven scrolls left." I state, wrapping my arms around my knees.

"Well, that's a cheerful thought." Sasuke grumbled.

"Maybe so, but it's true," I answered. "Look, you said it yourself, Sasuke. This is the fourth day we've been out here. That means we've already used up eighty percent of the exam. Only thirteen teams can pass and there are only thirteen pairs of heaven and earth scrolls. And you've got twenty-six teams for them. And if those offs weren't bad enough, things have gotten even worse. Don't forget -Orochimaru- burnt the heaven scroll we had, and ate the earth one he had." I snap.

"Yeah, I remember." Sasuke, begrudgingly, admitted.

"The number of complete pairs of scrolls that could be found was  reduced by one right there, not to mention all the ones that have been found and secured by other teams since then."

"Maybe we gave ourselves too much time to rest and recover after our last fight." Sasuke thought aloud. "I don't know. What I do know, is that we've got to get serious now, and make up for lost time. The next enemy we face could be our last chance." Sasuke stood up before walking off. "I'm gonna go get water."

Sakura looked after him, worrying. Naruto picked up the scroll they had before, having come up with an idea. "Hey! Sakura!" We both looked over at him after popping in a mushroom or two while he explained how we could switch out the scrolls for one of the ones he had, and make it look like the heaven scroll before being immediately silenced by Sakura. She tried to deter him, telling him that even if he could fake the outside, he couldn't fake what was written inside and that it was a stupid idea that would get them disqualified. Naruto tried to explain himself while Sakura called him a nimrod.