Chapter 21

The next day, everyone arrived early at the Forest of Death. Karma now wore a pair of red and purple pajamas. "Karma, what's with the change in wardrobe?" Sakura asked.

"I just felt these colors suit me better. It matches my hair." Karma smiled.

"Whoa! What is this place?" Naruto questioned in amazement ignoring them.

"This is where the second part of the exam will be held. It's the 44th Battle Training Zone." Anko explained.

"Who's hiding under there?" Karma asked when he saw a moving cardboard box drawn on to look like a perfectly rectangular rock. "Oh well, it's following Naruto, not me. Hey, Kushina! Ailane! Follow me so we can make some preemptive plans!" He called out before moving away from the crowd.

"Karma, I just heard some explosions, are you sure Naruto's gonna be okay?" Kushina asked as she followed him.

"When is he not? It looked like some kids were playing around, nothing to worry about." Karma replied lazily.

"What are we gonna do, Karma?" Ailane asked.

"I think the test will be a battle. So, we'll find some random fodder to beat and pass it. Kushina, since we need to keep our skills secret, you'll be the one fighting. Only use your chakra chains, since they're the ability you showed everyone already. That's what I think we should do. It could also be a tournament, so in that case we should just focus on eliminated all the weak ones." Karma stated. "We know the other rookies, Ibaraki and Neji's teams, so they're fine to keep around. As for the guy with the gourd on his back, the blond girl is probably a wind release user if the fan on her back is any indication. The one in black is a puppeteer and the short one is a sand release user. Any questions?"

"What if it's none of those?" Kushina asked.

"We'll figure it out. For now we just need a general plan." Karma replied. Then, he took two pairs of sunglasses out of one of his pockets. "Ailane wear these. Just in case."

"What for?" Ailane asked.

"To hide our eyes." Karma replied.

"Oh." She said.

"Now, let's go back. We're more than ready to cruise through this." Karma ordered. "Nothing should be able to stop our team."

"...and then there's Karma Nekotsume. He's super lazy and boring. He always asks for my help to train when he's forced to and he pretends nothing affects him, but I'll tell you a secret, the other day he was crying about how uncool he was. His family even calls him Ka-chan!" Naruto was saying.

"...what?" Karma said aloud. "Sakura, did I miss something? What's that idiot talking about?"

"Oh, Karma. You're back. Naruto's being interviewed about the Chunin Exams by those three kids, and he's making stuff up." Sasuke said.

"Yeah, Karma he's trying to make you look as lame as him." Sakura said.

"Oh. That idiot would." Karma sighed.

"Karma, I'll be right back." Kushina stated and marched toward Naruto.

"So you already have a plan without hearing the rules?" Sasuke asked.

"Well, a little precaution never hurt." Karma replied. "Hey, now Kushina and Sakura are being interviewed. Is it a disease?"

"It might be." Sasuke said. "If we have to fight, I'll beat you this time."

"Yeah, give it your best, but I'm not gonna fight you unless I have to. It's a pain." Karma informed him.

"Hey, Karma, there are a lot of people who want to fight you- eh? Why are you wearing sun glasses?" Ino asked as she ran up and jumped on him with her team close behind.

"I can sleep easier in the darkness. If I wear sunglasses, it's a little darker." He lied. He could sleep easily at any point in time with any kind of lighting. He just didn't want his Ketsuryugan to be known if he used it. He was sure it would be known soon, keeping it secret even the slightest bit longer was a great advantage.

"All right! Everyone pay attention!" Anko called out. "This place is known as the Forest of Death, you'll soon realize why."

Naruto mocked her and Anko threw a kunai next to his head. Karma caught it on reflex. "Hey now, a pretty young woman like you shouldn't let yourself be annoyed by a fool like him." Karma said as he walked forward a little to Anko who was now standing behind Naruto trying to scare him. "And you can't scare that idiot. He's absolutely fearless."

"Evidently, we have a lot of hot-blooded kids this time around" Anko laughed.

"Indeed. Anko, will you go on a date with me after this is over? I can wait if you want, I'm only twelve now, but in three years I'll be the ripe age of 15." Karma smiled. Most of the girls who liked Karma went into a temporary shock, and sighed in relief when they heard Anko.

"A kid like you is still too weak to date me." Anko replied with a light blush that quickly faded away. "Anyway, before the start of your test I have to pass these out." Anko took out some consent forms.

"And what strength do I have to reach?" Karma replied as everyone received their consent form.

"At least Kage level." Anko smiled. "Now, the Forest of Death is surrounded by 44 locked entrance gates. There are rivers, a forest and a tower in the middle. It's about 10 kilometers from the towers to the gate. Inside, you'll go through a survival program. The contents of which are:

An anything goes scroll battle!"

'I was kind of right' Karma thought. 'I'm surprised it didn't change since my clan easily dominates here. There doesn't seem to be anybody other than me and my sisters though.'

"I want you to fight over two scrolls. The Heaven Scroll and the Earth Scroll. All together, 30 teams got through the first test. Half will get the Heaven Scroll, the other half will get the Earth Scroll." Anko explained.

"And the conditions to pass?" Sasuke asked.

"Three of you bring both scrolls to the tower at the center of the area." Anko replied. "The time limit is 5 days."

There were a few shouts and complaints, but all were ignored. Except for Shikamaru being told he couldn't quit halfway.

"Moving on, you will be disqualified if all three members of the team can't make it to the tower with the scrolls within the time limit, if a team losses a member or a member becomes incapacitated, and also don't open the scrolls until you have reached the tower. You can trade your consent forms for your scrolls in that hut over there." Anko pointed to a hut off to the side of the entrance gate.

Team 12 hurriedly got their scroll, the Heaven Scroll. Everyone payed attention to them since they didn't even hesitate the slightest. Karma yelled out, "All right! Heaven Scroll! Watch out, you weakling with Earth Scrolls!! We're ready to hunt!" He made the partition set up to hide which scrolls each team received useless as he sauntered out with the scroll raised proudly, demonstrating it was actually the Heaven Scroll.

Eventually, everyone got their scrolls and were separated, so each team could enter from a different gate. Karma turned into a small red cat before the test began and jumped into Kushina's arms while Ailane turned into a small white cat and jumped on her shoulder. "Ailane, you have the scent of the fodder teams, so you direct Kushina. I'm going to sleep." Then he went to sleep. He was confident Kushina could clear this test with only Ailane's help.

Kushina sighed. "Fine, but I get a date too."

"Sure." Karma replied. Finally, the test began and everyone rushed into the forest, using their techniques to find their targets. The ones who had an Earth Scroll and didn't know Karma, looking for his team in particular.

"Oh, and before I forget, just beat anyone you want, we can give left over scrolls to the others. I don't want to find random fodder." Karma said before going to sleep.