⏪ Back in Time! (HELP!) [Sakura Timetravel AU]

17: The Second Phase! A Deadly Forest!

Anko turned around to face the tall forest behind her, "There it is guys!"

Sitting just behind a tall fence was a dense forest full of tall trees. Looking up, Sakura sized up the tree to be at least long as four giraffe necks, very massive and healthy trees. The leaves growing were very dense and gave it a bushy look with some vines wrapping around the barely peeking branches at the top of the trees. Perfect for staying undercover in. The smell of swamp and grass wafted over the group, making some scrunch their nose. Sakura closed her eyes and tried to remember the forest's layout to the best of her abilities. While she knew the terrain fairly well because she took the exam multiple times in her past life and even instructed it once, she forgot who had which scroll during her first time. Sakura opened her eyes and side-eyed Naruto who was pacing around while waiting for the instructor to start speaking.

My memory is all jumbled up... What else am I forgetting? Something about Naruto?...

Anko snapped her fingers twice and looked back at the group with a mischievous look, "Hmmmm... Any of you regretting this yet? You know that you have to fight for your life in there." Cocking her head to the side, her eyes widened and stared creepily into each individuals eyes, "Poor little babies, I can tell that some of you are doing this for the first time...." she cooed, then she straightened up. Phasing out of existence, Anko phased back in beside a particular shivering genin. They jumped in response to Anko's sudden appearance, sweat dripping off their face. It was clear that they were weak in the heart, not fit to be a ninja. "You still have a chance to back out... Just raise your hand..." Anko smiled somewhat sweetly at the cowering genin who instantly shot up their arm.

"I....I... can't stay here.... Sorry... team...." They stuttered and then backed away from the group, giving a sorrowful look to two people who were presumably their teammates.

"Uh oh, now that they're out, their teammates are too!" Anko eyed the other two team members knowingly and they both responded with a resigned look, leaving the group to chase after their teammate. This event caused discussion within the group, some teams deciding to lock in and stay to do the 2nd exam, while others were split on who didn't/wanted to stay. Anko stayed on the lookout for any raised hands, her eyes gleaming every time when a genin nervously raised their hand.

The last one to go was a boy from Kumogakure, "I-I don't want to die! I'll go!" He called out to Anko and pushed his way out of the crowd of genin. Ignoring his enraged teammates, he looked up at Anko for permission to leave.

Anko raised a brow at his teammates pleas, but she folded her arms and sent him off, "Very well, go." She said firmly and flicked her wrist, signaling for the group of Genin to leave.

Poor teammates, they must have traveled a long way to get here, but in the end one of them got cold feet. Sakura watched as the teammates ran after the boy, attacking him with insults and threats.

Anko searched the crowd for any more requests, but no one else raised their hand. With a small smile she clapped her hands together, grabbing everyone's attention, "It seems that our group got smaller, huh? Alright let's begin!" Anko snapped her fingers and in a moment, a group of assistant ninja appeared by her side. They all held a stack of paper in their hands. Snatching a sheet for herself, Anko shooed at the ninja on her right, "What are you waiting for? Hand them out!" The ninja began giving out the papers to the genin with lighting-speed, some ending up with the paper in their hand faster then they could blink. "You will be given a form, which will have answers to ALL of your questions on it and some more info about The Forest of Death. As you can see, on the bottom there is a place where you will sign your name. Remember this, when you sign this form you are agreeing to the possibility that you will be put in danger and potentially DIE." Anko raised her arms up as if mimicking those cliche evil villains.