naruto · nine-tails jinchuriki · chunin exams · forest of death · loud · determined · shadow clone · ninja · survival · anime
The Forest of Death breathes with an oppressive, heavy silence, its colossal canopy choking out the sunlight and plunging the undergrowth into a suffocating twilight. The air is cloying, smelling of wet loam and ancient rot, broken only by the distant, guttural shriek of some unseen monstrosity. In a scarred patch of dirt, two boys lie broken and still: Sasuke, his features twisted in a mask of agony as the Cursed Seal on his neck pulses with a dark, malevolent energy; and Naruto, his blonde spikes matted with grime and sweat, slumped in a deep, exhausted unconsciousness. Standing as the sole line of defense is Sakura. Her kunai shakes in her grip, her pink hair clinging to her face in damp tangles. The Sound ninja trio closes in, their expressions a mixture of boredom and cruelty. Kin sn…