"The Forest of Death? Surely they can't be serious." Mikoto's lips pressed together, worry lines marring her beautiful features.

"There have been exams conducted in there before," Fugaku said. "And casualties were kept to a minimum if I remember correctly."

"To a minimum?! Do you even hear what you're saying?" Mikoto stared at her husband, wide-eyed. "And that was when we were at war… under constant threat of invasion! We had to go to those sort of lengths in order to protect ourselves and ready them for what was to come. But these kids have never even seen a war; there's a chance they may never see one. I don't see the purpose in spoiling their innocence by throwing them into a place like that."

Fugaku shrugged in an uncommitted way.

"For all the discussion we could have about the topic, there's absolutely nothing we can do about it." His tone was firm. "And there's no need to frighten the poor boy, either."

Naruto had the resist the urge to stare at them. Really, he was doing a remarkably good job of keeping calm—only a skilled shinobi would notice the tremor in his hand.

He couldn't exactly talk so openly to them. He was standing right beside Sasuke and Sakura, after all. They had been handed their scrolls and were now waiting to be directed to which gate they would enter at. Five days and five nights was how long they'd spend in that place. He hoped they wouldn't have to spend a second longer then that… even from way outside, the forest gave him the chills.

Naruto was oh-so-curious. And Fugaku and Mikoto seemed to know a little about the forest itself. But how could he ask them without looking like a lunatic?

An idea struck.

Purposefully, the blonde made direct eye contact with Fugaku. Then he loudly cleared his throat and asked his team: "What kind of stuff do y'all think we'll see in there, anyway?"

Sasuke and Sakura's reactions were predictable. The former said nothing and remained passive; the latter shrugged, biting her lip with anxiety.

The purpose of his question hadn't been for their answers though.

"Ah." The very corner of Fugaku's lip quirked up. "I see."

"Hm?" Mikoto tilted her head slightly.

"Naruto, many of the creatures in the forest are immensely dangerous. Blood-sucking leeches, hungry predators. Your best course of action is to stick with your team, swiftly eliminate another team, and get out of there as soon as humanly possible. The more time you spend in the Forest, the more likely you are to be eliminated or worse."

Naruto's face hardened slightly. "I hope it's not too dangerous," he said, to Sakura and Sasuke but not to them. "I mean, there isn't anything in there that can kill us or whatever, right? That purple haired freak was just trying to scare us."

Once more, Sakura shrugged and Sasuke said nothing.

But, once more, their answer wasn't what Naruto was looking for.

"There's plenty in there that can and will kill you if you don't take this seriously, Naruto," Fugaku continued. "And no, she wasn't trying to scare you. She was honest, which is a rarity amongst examiners I assure you."

Naruto gulped.

The gates clanged open, rusty metal yearning in the eerie silence.

Team 7—Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura. They stood there for the briefest of moments, staring into the depths of the forest that awaited them. To Naruto's side were Mikoto and Fugaku, who looked more than solemn.

"Let's go!" Naruto shouted.

And then they sprang into action. Sprinting at top-speed, sandals slapping against dirt and leaving a cloud of dust behind them.

Being kidnapped on his first day in the forest hadn't been in Naruto's plan.

He struggled against his bonds uselessly, but it was to no avail. Whoever had done this—he couldn't recognize the little symbol on the guy's headband—had made sure he wouldn't escape.

Mikoto and Fugaku had tried to warn him, but he'd been a little too focused on… 'ridding himself' of the quart of soda he'd had before the exam.

Needless to say, there wasn't much he could do as he heard Sasuke and Sakura talking to the Fake Naruto.

His team was wise, though. They caught onto the act. They fought off the Fake Naruto and eventually freed the real one.

They crouched in a forest clearing, forming a small triangle. Naruto rubbed his wrists, muttering incoherent obscenities under his breath.

"We can't let that happen again," said Sasuke. "We're just lucky that guy was an idiot and didn't know how to disguise himself properly." He sucked in a deep breath. "Let's come up with a code, something only the three of us know. If we get separated again, we can use that code to ensure the other isn't an imposter."

"Sounds good," Sakura and Naruto choursed.

Sasuke proceeded to say the 'code' outloud.

Naruto could barely remember a word of it five seconds later. But he didn't want to make himself look stupid by asking Sasuke to repeat it either, so, he elected to remain quiet. All he had to do was stay with his team… right?

Right.

Too bad it seemed another team had other plans.

Mikoto and Fugaku's eyes widened; even in their spiritual state they were still jounin, and they sensed it coming before Naruto did.

"Look out!" Mikoto shouted.

It was too late.

A large—no, enormous gust of wind caught them by surprise. Naruto felt it lift him off of his feet.

Like tumbleweeds in a desert storm, Team 7 was thrown asunder. Naruto didn't black out, but his vision turned so blurry and his head became so cloudy that he hardly knew what was going on...

"Ugh."

Naruto clambered to his feet, rubbing a swollen spot on his head.

He looked around. Mikoto and Fugaku were there, at his side, but he was more focused on finding his team.

"Sasuke?" called the blonde. "Sakura? Where are you guys?"

His voice echoed off into the thicket, bouncing from tree to tree, yet finding no answer.

"Do you guys know where they are?" Naruto said quietly to the two ghosts.

Mikoto nodded. "Fugaku stayed with you while I went and made sure Sasuke and the girl were alright. They're that way," she said, pointing in a direction that looked the exact same as any other. He would have been utterly lost if he was on his own.

"Awesome," Naruto mumbled. "Let's get going, then—"

Mikoto and Fugaku froze.

A moment later, so did Naruto.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end; goosebumps coated every inch of his skin. He turned at least half a dozen shades more pale.

Slowly, he turned.

An enormous snake hovered over him.

Naruto stared at it, wide-eyed.

"Oh, shit—"

He tried to dodge to the side, but it was too late. Mikoto and Fugaku stared in shock.

The snake bent low and swallowed him whole.