Red Is A Pretty Colour

17

Hiko's pov

There was only a few hours left before the exam was over and we were desperate to pass.

"There's the tower, that means the end is in sight." Kabuto said. "Now comes the hard part."

"Well its about time, bring it on!" Naruto cheered.

"There's someone back there." Sakura said.

Naruto turned around and fired a kunai through the bushes. After investigating we saw he had killed a giant centipede.

"False alarm, its just a centipede." Naruto said.

"Just a centipede, it's about the size of a bloody elephant!" I said.

"Hey Naruto, do us a favour and try to keep it down to a dull roar will you. The whole idea is not to let anyone know we're here so if you go crashing through the forest like an elephant you're going to draw collectors like flies. We wanna find them before they find us." Kabuto said.

"Oh, yeah, I see your point." Naruto said.

"Take it slow and quiet, lets use all the time we've got left." Kabuto said.

Time skip

We had been traveling for hours and still not gotten any closer to the tower.

"How far have we walked, that tower's not getting any closer." Sakura said.

"Now that you mention it, I was thinking that too, its weird." Naruto said.

"It would seem we've been spotted." Kabuto said.

"Someone's messing with us." I said. "Look, we've been walking in circles."

I pointed over to a tree where the centipide from earlier was pinned.

"Oh man! No way! What's the big idea!?" Naruto exclaimed.

"What's going on?" Sakura asked.

"Genjutsu." Sasuke said.

"That's what it looks like." Kabuto said. "We were so concerned with not being seen that we didn't even notice."

"They're trying to wear us down and then strike when we're exhausted and frustrated. They're trying to make us into easier targets." I said.

"You mean like we are just now?" Sasuke asked.

"Exactly, they'll be coming soon." Kabuto said.

Suddenly fifty identical shinobi emerged from the ground and trees and began surrounding us.

"Well Naruto, you wanted a fight." Sasuke said.

"Five against fifty, I like those odds." Naruto said.

"What are they?" Sakura asked.

"What do you think, they're clones you moron!" I said.

"Like cornered rats." One of the clothes said.