The Jinchuuriki's Brother

The Chunin Exams Chapter 3: The Forest of Death

"Talking"

'Thinking'

Jutsu/ Bijuu/ Summons

Flashbacks, Letters, and Setting

I don't own Naruto

Chapter 44: The Forest of Death

With Team 7, in the Forest of Death

"Alright Team, what's the plan?" Narumi asked her two friends when the second stage of the Chunin Exams officially started, the team not having moved too far from the gate that they had been assigned to.

"Why don't we start by seeing which of the scrolls we got?" Sasuke replied.

Narumi pulled out the scroll and handed it to Sasuke.

"Hmmm... so we got the earth scroll, huh?" Sasuke commented as he looked at the black scroll in Narumi's hand.

"We need to decide who's gonna hold on to this." Sasuke brought up.

"Hmm? Does that matter? What's so important about that anyway?" Narumi wondered.

Sasuke sighed. Looked like he'd have to explain the obvious.

"Think from the perspective of the ones seeking to take the scrolls from another team. We all know that each team of 3 has 1 scroll. So, there are a couple ways this can be handled. We can just defeat everyone on their team and look through ALL of their stuff until we find it. This is the most energy consuming, but surest way. Another method is to identify who has it, isolate them in some way, and then either defeat them or "convince" them to hand it over. Another way is to convince the whole team somehow and get them to hand their scroll over. This is least energy consuming way, but also difficult to achieve since most won't go down without a fight."

Narumi nodded as she paid attention. "Right. And?"

"So, the middle ground between the extremes, and the most feasible one is the second method I mentioned. Ambushing the person holding the scroll and taking it. Even if we can't catch them alone or by surprise and end up engaging their whole team, we could isolate them in a fight to focus on them." Sasuke continued to explain.

"Uh huh..." Narumi replied as if she knew where Sasuke was going with this, but the confused look she tried to hide on her face was evident to Sasuke's perceptive eyes.

"And that means it's important to figure out who is actually holding the scroll, Narumi." Sasuke explained as his patience started to diminish.

"Oh. Right! Of course!" Narumi replied.

"But that's something everyone knows. So, it becomes a psychological game, where teams will try to make it difficult to guess who actually has the scroll. Each team is comprised of people with different skills, talents, and capabilities. The basic and most obvious strategy is to give it to the strongest person because they're able to protect it best. But how about approaching the problem from the other direction? Give it to the weakest person because nobody will expect them to have it, in a bit of reverse psychology? Or maybe instead of deciding based on strength, you give it based on decision making? Give it to the smartest one because they'll make the best decisions. Or go for reverse psychology again and give it to the dumbest person who'll just guard it with their life? Or, regardless of what category you decide on, give it to the middle person who might fly under the radar? There are so many factors to consider."

Narumi's head was spinning from all of the factors Sasuke brought up.

"Sheesh! So many things to consider... So, what's your idea then?" She asked the Uchiha Genin.