Shooting Straight

Chapter 25

With the four other genin following him, Kabuto began to explain where they were headed and why. While the other three listened intently, Arrow was too focused on sensing chakra signatures in their area to tune in to Kabuto's words very well. 

Kabuto explained that they could potentially spend the rest of the exam wandering the forest in hopes of coming across a team with the scroll they needed, but there was next to no guarantee that they would find anyone. However, if they simply headed towards the tower in the center of the forest anyway, which was the final destination, they would have much better chances of finding teams with the scroll that they needed.

Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura nodded along, wondering why they didn't think of it first. Sakura was mildly ashamed of the fact that she almost let Naruto disqualify them with a plan that, to their knowledge, had very little chance of actually working. Honestly, Sakura couldn't believe she was still that naive, even after all they'd been through. She vowed to never fall prey to Naruto's dumb plans ever again. 

~~~

Finally, the tower came into view and the five genin gawked at it, looming over the trees and illuminated by the soft moonlight. It was quite a pretty sight, Arrow mentally remarked. He was tired, and his muscles were sore from the seemingly constant movement. To some degree, he felt like he couldn't get a break, and he was more than ready for the exam to be over so he could get home and make himself comfort food and check on Ash. His only thought was getting home to his brother, who he missed terribly. 

"Hey! There's someone over there!" Sakura exclaimed, causing everyone to whip around to where she heard a noise. Naruto threw a kunai, hearing the satisfying sound of it sinking into something other than wood. 

Sakura's eyes widened in horror as she looked over to where the kunai landed, which was in the middle of a giant centipede's head as it was trying to crawl up the side of a tree. She cringed, backing up and directly into Arrow. 

"Oh, it's just a centipede." Naruto shrugged, kind of irritated that he wasted a kunai on a giant bug, considering they weren't cheap and he didn't really feel like retrieving it from the bug's head. One of the legs twitched, causing Sakura to squeal in disgust and sink further into Arrow, who put a hand on her shoulder for reassurance. 

"Just a centipede??" Sakura scoffed, "that thing is huge!" Arrow nodded in agreement, causing Sakura to blush a little. She internally scolded herself, trying to ignore the warm feeling that coursed through her body at any sliver of reassurance or agreement she received from Arrow. 

Kabuto ignored the giant bug, instead, turning to Naruto. "I'd like to avoid inadvertent sounds and careless actions from here on. Rushing ahead through a dense forest making noise like an elephant is the same as giving notice in a loud voice that we're coming, which defeats the purpose of being stealthy. As long as time allows, we should go slowly while remaining hidden."

Naruto looked like a child being scolded, but still nodded his head and voiced his understanding and agreement along with the other three of his team. His face was tinted a rosy red, feeling embarrassed that he'd made such a commotion without thinking of the potential risks. Choosing to ignore it, he bowed his head and continued along with the rest of them. 

~~~

On the way, they came across a scene of dead shinobi strewn across the trees, bodies littered with kunai that seemed to have struck fatal wounds. Sakura cringed back, gagging on the scent of death that hung heavy in the air. Sasuke's eyes flicked to the ground, choosing to avoid looking directly at the bodies. Naruto gawked at the deceased, caught off guard and trying to piece together what had happened.