<Last Chapter>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<Home Page>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ < Next Chapter>
Day 1: Arriving on the Island
Disclaimer: I own nothing in 'Naruto'
"Why did they send us here?" Naruto wondered aloud, scratching his head, as he looked around at the big island on which they were now stranded along with the other nine subordinates.
Flashback
"...to survive" Tsunade-sama finished. She dismissed them after telling them to report to their senseis, leaving them wondering what kind of test they'd be taking. Each team left to see their senseis so they could start preparing for the test the best way they could and as soon as possible.
They had been told that their senseis were waiting for them on their usual training grounds. They were walking along in thoughtful-yet-pleasant silence until-
"A twenty one day test. So we should be finished by..." Naruto said thoughtfully as he began counting on his fingers.
"Tuesday." Sakura calculated quickly as she walked beside him, with Sasuke walking beside her.
"WHAT!" yelled Naruto, clutching his head in agony,"Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"
"Calm down, Naruto, what is it?� said Sakura trying to shut him up as she cringed under the many stares his screaming had earned them.
"D' amen estybal." he mumbled in reply, looking miserable as though he had just lost a very close friend.
"What?" Sakura asked looking very concerned.
"The Ramen Festival." he repeated more clearly between wails of agony. "It's on Monday, free ramen for a month to whoever eats fifteen bowls of it the fastest."
Sakura paused for a minute trying to comprehend the stupidity of what he had just said until she soon finished and WHAM. Her fist came down on Naruto's head like a hammer on a nail.
"Ow-ow-ow-ow-ow!" Naruto reacted loudly as he ran in circles holding the huge lump of a bruise that had formed on his head from Sakura's blow, "Why did you hit me, Sakura, why?"
"Because you made me worry for nothing!" shouted Sakura forcefully, growing twice her usual height as she towered over him and gave him an additional punch.
"OWWWW!" screamed Naruto in pain, once again running in circles as another huge lump formed on his head.
"Stop bickering you two, Kakashi sensei is waiting for us." Sasuke finally spoke. He had been amusedly observing the action and was now tired of it.
"Sasuke-kun is right, Naruto," Sakura immediately agreed, suddenly losing her anger and acting more civilized, as she remembered that Sasuke was standing there, "Stop complaining and let's go."
"Ow," muttered Naruto as he rubbed his now lumpy head, "Good thing you can't really beat me in a fight."
"What was that, Naruto?-!" Sakura yelled, as she towered over him again, looking as though she was about to bite his head off.
"Nothing, Sakura-chan," he said nervously, waving his hands in front of him, pleading his innocence, "I just said: 'Wow, good thing you can't ever expect Sasuke to not be right.' "
"Of course you did." said Sakura, giving him a piercing and suspicious look that made him feel as though she could see right through him, but she let it go.
Naruto silently puffed Anime "phew" smoke behind her back as she turned around and started walking again. He and Sasuke followed her through the woods in silence until they finally reached the clearing, where they usually trained. Of course, no one was there.
Hmph, thought Sasuke knowingly. He was positive that even with their delay, they'd still end up waiting for Kakashi-sensei as usual.
That Kakashi-sensei, Sakura thought as a vain in her head started bulging, you'd think he'd be on time just once even.
Kakashi-sensei is not here as usual, thought Naruto, relaxing as he lie down on a patch of grass.
Two Hours Later
"KAKASHI-SENSEI, YOU�RE LATE!"Sakura and Naruto both shouted at a surprised looking Kakashi-sensei who had just emerged from the woods. It was now growing dark outside.
"Sorry,� he replied, a hand rubbing the back of his head while holding in the other an open little red book, "I was walking up this really steep hill and..."
What a liar, the three subordinates thought-although Sakura actually yelled it, too. Kakashi-sensei started talking so they calmed down and listened carefully.
"Ah, right." he began, "I am here to give you this scroll and inform you that your test will begin tomorrow morning. Tonight you are to pack three things, you will take that and nothing else with you on your mission or you immediately fail. The three things should be something that you feel will help you succeed in your mission. The beginning of your test will take place at the dock. Be there at 6:00 am sharp or you will not take the test and you will fail."
"Pack?" repeated Sakura looking dazed, "No more than three things? But I have a lot of things to pack..."
"No more than three things or you fail," repeated Kakashi-sensei, "Your test will take place away from Konoha Village. Here is your scroll and good luck." With that he disappeared.
"Ok, let's open the scroll then." Naruto suggested. He was untying the string that held it closed when-
-Poof! Kakashi-sensei suddenly popped into existence amid a puff of smoke, "Oh," he said cheerfully, "You may not open the scroll until you are told to-or you will be disqualified." Poof! He was gone, leaving a puff of smoke behind him. The kids stood there for a moment, staring at the spot where their sensei last stood, before going separate ways to their homes so they could pack.
Sasuke went home and quickly chose his three things. Then he set out to go training in the woods to practice his aim. In minutes, at least five trees had no less than twenty kunai puncture holes in them-each.
Sakura went home and sat there for more than two hours before finally choosing her three things.
Naruto went home, quickly got two of his three things, and headed towards the 'Ichiraku Ramen' stand.
Meanwhile in The Fifth's Office
"How do you think they will do?" asked Iruka worriedly.
"Just fine." replied Kakashi calmly.
"I m not so sure about that." said Asuma, the cigarette in his mouth tilting in different directions as he spoke.
"But I am," insisted Gai, "I have trained my students well."
"We all have," replied Kurenai, "But this will be an unusually difficult test."
"Stop worrying." said Tsunade-sama, "We will see what happens and that's that."
"Tsunade-sama is right, you know." Jiraya said, trying to look wise and intellegent as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully and nodded. Tsunade-sama saw right through him and gave a good whack. He dropped the act and went to sulk and mumble stuff in a corner. The other's all sweatdropped.
The Next Day (6:00 am)
The twelve subordinates were at the dock on time along with their teachers-except kakashi-sensei, who came at 6:10 am. Each team was given a mid-size boat and a map. They were to take themselves to the place marked on the map and that was where the test would take place. That was only the first part of their test. The second was to follow the instructions given on the scroll once they reached their destination. However, they didn't know what was written in the scroll yet; they had been forbidden to open them until they reached their destination.
So at 6:30 the test began. The teams separately set off towards whatever it was they were headed for.
Sakura pulled out their map and spread it out on a little table that was actually connected to floor. They all looked at it for a few seconds. Then Sakura seemed to get it.
"This is where we are, Konoha Village," she said pointing to a spot on the map. "And this is where we're going" she said pointing at a marked spot this time. "So that means we should head north-east to get there." The two boys nodded in agreement and started turning the steering wheel.
"Sasuke, what are doing?" asked Naruto, "Your steering the wrong way!"
"No, you are steering the wrong way." Sasuke replied dryly, "Baka, north-east is that way." he said, pointing in the right direction. So that's why the steering wheel seemed so heavy, he thought, That baka, Naruto, was pulling it the wrong way.
"Your wrong, Sasuke," Naruto said confidently, "North east is where the sun rises." he said still pulling the wrong way.
"Naruto, can you point at the sun?" Sasuke asked, wearing an amused smirk on his face as he watched Naruto point to the sun-the same direction Sasuke was pointing. Naruto's confidence disappeared as the truth dawned on him-Sasuke was right, he was wrong. He muttered something under his breath that sounded awfully like 'Why does 'Sasuke' always have to be right?'.
Sakura sighed and went to explore the rest of the boat. She found out that there were three bedroom quarters placed right beside each other, one bathroom and a miniature kitchen which was empty. She chose the middle room and settled down with a book that said 'How To Be A Better Ninja' on the front. It was one of her three things.
After making sure the boat was headed in the right direction, Sasuke went to his room-right side of Sakura's-and lie down to think for a while.
Naruto, having also left the steering wheel, went to check out the kitchen before going to his room and falling fast asleep with the thought of ramen to keep his dreams occupied.
The three kids woke up almost twenty four hours later when their boat hit land and jolted them awake. They got their stuff, tied up the boat and went to explore the new place.
They followed the shore for about a minute before they saw the other three boats approaching the shore. They acknowledged their presence and resumed their walking. Nine minutes later, they saw their boat againg beside all the others, which had been tied up since earlier when they left to explore, and realized that they were on an island.
End of Flashback
The others were all pulling out scrolls and starting to read them. Naruto saw this and pulled out his own team's. The scroll said:
'Your score in this test will be determined by the way you survive on this island for the next twenty days. In doing this you must succeed in your mission while abiding by the following two rules. Should you break the second rule, you can no longer continue to lead the life of ninja or be one at all. Should you break the first rule, however, you will never become a higher rank than the Genin level. The rules are:...'
<Last Chapter>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<Home Page>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ < Next Chapter>