Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Please note I will not repeat this, so assume this Disclaimer applies for all chapters.
All right, this is how it's going to work. Every chapter (save this one) will have a little blurp at the top in script format that will explain possible inconsistencies between this story and the Manga. After that, you will have Chapter (insert number) and the chapter's name, as below, and the chapter. After that, there will be a dividing line and a glossary of the Jutsu used in the chapter that have made their first appearance in the story. After that, there may be an Author Note (again in bold) that will show some of my thoughts on the chapter, or give credit to idea's I may have drawn from other places. Well, of you go, peoples. I've wasted your time enough. Read!
Chapter 1,
Dead Bone Pulse
"I will not be ignored, boy." A massive red furred, nine tailed fox roared, as its blond, borderline white, haired host turned away from the beast's cage, walking down the sewers to the rest of his mind.
"Whatever, fox. Stop yammering." Uzumaki Naruto called back, waving his hand. "I don't care about your crusade with the snake." Those words only served to increase the Kyuubi's rage.
"You will obey!" Kyuubi roared once more. Naruto stopped walking,turning absently and cocking his head to the side as he stared right on back at the Kyuubi, two red dots sitting prominently on his forehead.
"You… and who's army?" He asked bluntly, raising a finger and wagging it in front of the Kyuubi as it roared out at him again, shouting obscenities. Only when the Kyuubi decided to take a bite at his parents did Naruto point his finger at him, outrage on his face. Suddenly, a bullet made of bone shot from the fingertip, narrowly missing the fox's ear. "The sealed have no influence on the container" Naruto snarled at the Kyuubi, his speech oddly flowery for a teen who had been attributed to absolute stupidity. "You have no power here, fox. You never did, and if I have anything to say about it, you never will." With that, Naruto stalked away. Ignoring the Kyuubi's words. The beast couldn't help but snort as the boy vanished from view, eventually deciding to settle down to sleep.
"If nothing else…" The Kyuubi admitted. "He's a brave little kit."
-
Barely one minute and forty three seconds earlier…
"What's wrong, scaredy cat?" Naruto snarled at Sasuke, having stopped a giant purple snake single-handed. The teen didn't have time for much more then a yelp as a impossibly long tongue wrapped itself around his midsection, dragging him into the air and face to face with the 'freaky snake man'. The serpentine ninja let out a sinister cackle, as he examined the seal on Naruto's stomach.
"So, you're the Kyuubi brat. Still alive, I see..." He mused pensively. "Pity, if it weren't for the fact that the Ten no Juin would intefere with the Shiki Fuuin, I'd mark you too. No matter, if you cannot be tamed, then you will have to be neutralized." The hebi-nin started forming hand seals, ignoring Naruto's struggles to free himself, even going so far as to merely tilt his head out of the way of a hastily thrown kunai.
'Damn it… I can't believe this is how I'm going to die.' Naruto thought, thinking the snake-man was preparing to kill him with an obscene and painful Jutsu. 'I'm not ready to die!'
"Gogyo Fuuin!" The snake-man cried, as five purple flames lit up upon his fingertips. With a cry that could only be likened to glee, he thrust it at Naruto's stomach, who had long since scrunched his eyes shut as he awaited the inevitable.
'I'm not ready to die!' He screamed out into the blackness of his mind. For a moment, he thought he saw a sewer, but the image vanished just as fast. Then he heard a loud thump, as if flesh had struck something harder then rock.
"Nani? Of course, Shikotsumyaku!" The snake-man screamed out in surprise. Naruto opened an eye, his kill or be killed instincts flaring up and overwhelming truly conscious thought.
Several bones had shot out of Naruto's chest, twirling around each other as they formed a barrier above the seal on Naruto's stomach. He could almost taste the snake-mans surprise, but on some level he knew it wouldn't last. With a final squirm Naruto managed to position himself just right to lash out with his foot, aiming to catch the man under the chin. His foot didn't even come close, mainly due to it's owners overall shortness. However, the bones that shot out of his toes like bullets sure did, two grazing the snake-mans cheek and one going straight through his ear. In his surprise, the snake-man's tongue unravelled from Naruto's body, the teen falling to the forest floor like a rock.
"Katon, Housenka no Jutsu!" Naruto had forgotten that Sasuke was even there, but was grateful for the distraction, five fireballs flying at the hebi-nin in an erratic fashion. There was no choice for the snake, it was move or be cooked. Naruto was rather shocked to find that the snake took the third option, launching his own barrage of fireballs to match Sasuke's. Both sets of fire blew up rather spectacularly.
Having finally crashed down onto the forest floor, Naruto was glad that Sakura had leapt of her branch and caught him just before he had landed. Leaping out of her arms and onto his feet, he began searching the area for the snake, who was nowhere to be seen.
"Naruto, up!" Sasuke roared from the tree's, narrowly avoiding a barrage of poisonous snake's. Naruto didn't even have time to think, his hand acting as if it had a mind of it's own. It went straight up, firing off a barrage of white bullets from his fingertips...
'Wait, those are my fingertips!' Naruto suddenly realized, almost retching at the realization. Without thinking about his actions, Naruto leapt from tree trunk to tree trunk, making his way back into the branches of the forest roof, regaining what little advantage height gave him. To his far left, on a slightly higher branch, stood Sasuke, while Sakura stood to his right, with the snake-man flickering into existence in between the three.
"Who the hell are you?" Naruto asked vehemently, barely able to keep his emotions separate from the towering rage that seemed to be trying to envelope him. The snake man only chuckled in reply, a sinister smirk finding it's way to his serpent-like features.
"Kukuku… I am Orochimaru of the Sannin. I must admit, you three are rather… impressive for little Genin." He replied, giving Naruto a sarcastic bow. Sasuke scoffed at Orochimaru's words, having regained some of his shattered confidence.
"Naruto, Sakura, let's remind him why he shouldn't mess with Team 7." Sasuke called. Naruto nodded, although his usual enthusiasm was not present.
"Right." He replied softly. Sakura gave a small smile in response, obviously willing to follow Sasuke into hell itself. Naruto could almost feel his heart breaking at that smile, but something was preventing him from crying out in sorrow. He could only watch as she whipped out a pair of kunai with tags on them and hurled them at Orochimaru. Orochimaru snarled at her, before flickering out of existence.
"Doton, Doryu Sasudan!" Orochimaru cried, as a mud dragon lunged from the earth below the trio, spitting spinning bullets of mud at them. Sakura quickly formed the ram hand seal, causing the tags to explode, before the trio leapt away, each sliding along the forest floor in search of their opponent.
"Here, Sasuke-kun!" Orochimaru whispered from behind the Uchiha survivor, his fist smashing into Sasuke's stomach as he spun in surprise. Orochimaru's hand reared back for a second blow, only for something white and sharp to slice right on into it, pinning it to a nearby tree-trunk. Sasuke spat to the side as he dropped and rolled away, Sakura jumping over his body as her hand reared back. Orochimaru made an attempt to jump away, but two more white spikes went through his feet, his face almost contorting into an amused grin as Sakura's hand smashed him into the ground, where he surprisingly bounced, almost ignoring the laws of physics.
"Shannaro!" Sakura screamed, delivering a second, overpowering cross to Orochimaru's stomach as he rose off the ground, sending him flyingthrough several trees and towards god knew where.
"Katon, Goukakyu no Jutsu!" Sasuke roared, blasting a fireball at Orochimaru's air-born body, only for it to turn to mud as it ground itself along the ground in a charred heap. "A clone?"
"No, a replacement!" Sakura called, as the trio stood back to back. "We got him pretty bad." Naruto shook his head.
"Not if he's the Sannin he says he is." He muttered. "He underestimated us."
"Indeed." Orochimaru stated from his perch above them. "You are a strong team. Perhaps Sensei is trying to force the creation of a second generation of Sannin. Ku, the senile old fool. We were the best, and only, Sannin." Orochimaru suddenly hurled a volley of kunai at the Genin from who knew where. To Naruto, it was as if they'd materialized out of the man's sleeves. Nethertheless, the volley did it's job, forcing Team 7 to part. "You fought well, though. You are very much worthy of my gift, Sasuke-kun!" Suddenly, Naruto felt consciousness flicker away into nothingness, something wet and red dripping out of a wound in his ribs, where a kunai was now jammed into his body. He fell to his knees, barely able to see what was happening. On some level, he was dimly aware that Sakura had crashed into the ground beside him. That wasn't the only realization the boy had made. Somewhere, he could recall Iruka telling him that a kunai between the third and fourth rib was usually fatal, especially if aimed slightly upwards. He couldn't recall why, though.
Oh, that's right, because it went right into the heart. Naruto used the last of his strength to rip the ninja knife out, before he collapsed completely.
"Good work, Sasuke-kun. Ten no Juin!" Naruto heard something blow up and a scream of pain, before he surrendered to the bliss of nothingness.
-
Eight hours later…
Sakura could feel herself nodding off to sleep, but she fought it, struggling to remain awake out of the deep-seated need to protect her teammates. Glancing around her as she had barely eight seconds ago, her weary mind was glad to find that no one had entered the clearing, nor that any animals had strayed near her decoy trap. Her head fell a few inches, rose a few more, then fell again, as she struggled vainly to stave off sleep.
'No, got to stay awake.' Her mind ranted, the teenager shaking her head and looking up again. It was no use, though. Soon after her head drooped again and she fell asleep, where reality could no longer reach her.
That was exactly how Naruto found her once he awakened, ribs miraculously healed, barely five minutes later. He smiled, ruffling Sakura's hair affectionately, before sitting down by the fire and stirring it up. Sakura shot to awareness just as the fire flared.
"You know, once upon a time I would have asked for a date right about now." Naruto muttered, to the sleepy Sakura's surprise.
"Ano… what? Naruto, I'm…" She started, still struggling to avoid sleep, but Naruto cut her off.
"In love with Sasuke. I know, and you know what, I think I can accept that now." He replied, the image of her being hurled aside when she tried to help Sasuke coming to mind. He couldn't help but laugh. "Strange, isn't it. The sight of you trying to save Sasuke should have made me more desperate to win your heart, but it just… set me free." He sighed, lying on his back and using his arms as a pillow.
"Naruto…" Sakura muttered, staring at him. "For what its worth, I love you too. Just… not in the way you wanted me to."
"Love? Sakura, what is love, exactly?" Naruto asked. "I don't understand. You can love someone, but not love them?"
"Love… it's a lot of things, Naruto." Sakura tried to explain, yawning. "Can the explanation wait until morning?" Naruto smiled.
"Sure, but I'll hold you to that." He replied. "Sleep tight."
"You too, Naruto…" Sakura replied, curling into a ball. She was asleep within moments. Naruto quickly glanced around the clearing, his prankster experience quickly identifying Sakura's fake trap for what it really was. A diversion. A devious smirk appeared on Naruto's face, as he stood up and set to work improving the trap.
He almost felt sorry for the fool who got caught in it.
Almost… but only almost.
-
The next morning…
"Naruto?" Said demon container glanced at Sakura as she said his name, as she sizzled some bacon over the fire. "How do you like your eggs?"
"I'll have them runny." Naruto replied from his place by the tree. "How is he?"
"No change. I think we may need to pull out of the exam." She whispered. Naruto smiled.
"Not yet, Sakura. We still have a day." He replied. "Sasuke will pull through. I know he will."
"Maybe." She didn't sound too confident, as she handed him breakfast. "How did you do it?"
"Do what?" Now Naruto was curious. Sakura tapped his shoulder.
"Shoot bones from your fingers?" She replied. Naruto laughed nervously.
"Honestly, I'm not sure." He said. "All I know is that if I force a little chakra into my fingertips like this…" He pointed his index finger at a branch above him, as his fingertip shot out like a bullet. Sakura gave a soft giggle, before settling down into a thinking pose.
"You know what…" She muttered, finally stopping. "I think it's a Kekkai Genkai." Naruto glanced at her as he ate.
"Really? I suppose that puts me in a clan of some sort." He replied. "Does that mean I have a family out there?"
"Probably not." Sakura answered. "If you did, they would have come for you, wouldn't they?"
"I'm not so sure." He whispered, finishing his meal. "What if I was unwanted?"
"I doubt that, Naruto. You can be annoying, but no one would deliberately leave you to die." She smiled. "Well, I suppose we better get ready to leave. If we hurry, we can get to the tower even with Sasuke in that condition."
"We still need another scroll." Naruto called. Sakura shook her head. "We have to accept defeat, I think." She muttered. "We are one member down."
"We might not have the numbers, but we have the will." Naruto stated, brushing his paling hair out of his eyes. "We can do it."
"Your right." Sakura glanced at him. "Well… Naruto, get down!" Naruto dropped as soon as he heard that, narrowly avoiding a senbon with a bell attached that flew by his head. Naruto swiftly moved into a crouch, firing off a bone bullet at the bell even as he glared at the trio of Oto-nin behind the pair, a snarl on his face. He was rather satisfied to hear the bell shatter, though.
"Well, what do we have here? A bunch of little Konoha Genin." A boy who could only be likened to a mummy stated. Naruto let out an animalistic growl in reply, standing up.
"Sakura, give me support." He stated, his hands reaching up to his shoulders. The mummy sneered at him.
"What, hiding kunai in your shoulders? How unprofessional." He jeered. Naruto smirked, letting his instincts take over. He certainly hoped his body knew what it was doing, or he'd look like an absolute idiot.
"Kunai? Why would I need kunai when I have… these!" With a scream of pain, Naruto ripped out the bones in his upper arms, sending blood flying as they formed two white short swords. The mummy's jaw dropped open at the display of machoism. .. or outright insanity. Who knew?
"Did he just?" The sole female Oto-nin asked. Her other companion nodded., fear in his eyes as he backed off a step.
"He did. That's… insane. Who rips out his own bones?" He asked in horror. Naruto let his smirk vanish, his mouth forming a thin line.
"I do!" Naruto roared, as he sped forward. The mummy stepped forward in response, pointing his gauntlet at Naruto.
"Kyomeisen!" He roared, unleashing a blast of sound. Naruto felt a sharp pain in his ears, but it was gone almost instantly as, unbeknownst to him, the bones in his ears hardened and sealed until the sound waves had no effect. The mummy took a step back, shocked.
"Guys… he shouldn't be doing that!" He cried, looking more then ready to turn around and bolt. His male companion simply groaned, screwing up whatever remained of his courage.
"Step aside, Dosu!" He roared, shoving him aside and pointing his palm at Naruto. "Zankuha!" Suddenly, a buffet of air flew from his palm, but Naruto spun around it awkwardly, continuing his charge. Swearing, the final member of the team lunged forward, kunai in hand, just as Naruto struck, leaving the pairs weapons entangled and at a standstill.
"Dosu, Zaku, move it! I can't… hold him…" She cried, as Naruto quickly overpowered her, a bone sword biting deep into her arm as Zaku placed both palms together.
"Zankuha!" He screamed, sending a massive air blast at the pair. The female screamed in horror, and was saved only by a swift kick from Naruto that sent her hurtling into a tree, Naruto then simply jumping over the attack. There was no need to use a Kiwirimi... yet.
"What the hell? She's your team mate." Naruto cried, disgusted at Zaku's lack of teamwork. Zaku shrugged in response.
"Yeah, and?" He asked. Naruto spat to the side, dropping the bone swords.
"Burn in hell. Sakura, volley!" He called, as his team-mate hurled a volley of shuriken at the trio. Naruto spun in a circle as he withdrew a folded fuuma shuriken from under his shirt, the massive weapon unfolded and thrown at Zaku in a flash.
"Zankuha!" Zaku cried again, destroying the fuuma shuriken. "Damn it, Kin. Pull your weight!"
"In case you haven't noticed, sound doesn't work on this guy!" She screamed back. "I don't see your methods working either, Zaku!" Naruto felt a tick mark form on his forehead., even as he watched the enemy regroup.
'Kami, can't anyone get along on their team?' He wondered, firing several volleys of bone bullets from his fingers, forcing the trio to dodge or die, whichever they preferred. Naturally, they chose to live.
"Ah crap! Now he can shoot from his freaking fingers!" Kin snarled. "Can this get any worse?" Behind her, Dosu groaned as several bullets impaled themselves in his left shoulder.
"It just did!" He growled, as a green-garbed teen leaped from the bushes. "Lookout!" Of course, it was too late.
"Konoha Senpu!" The newcomer cried, as he unleashed a pair of spinning round kicks on Zaku, sending him crashing into a tree. Dosu swore.
"Another leaf ninja. Damn it, they're crawling out of the woodworks." He growled. The newcomer quickly took a relaxed stance, one hand in the small of his back. Naruto felt almost annoyed that the newcomer wasn't taking his foe's seriously, but didn't comment. After all, if he and Sakura were more then a match for the Oto-nin, then three was overkill.
"I am Rock Lee, the Green Beast of Konoha!" He cried. "Sakura-chan, are you okay?" Sakura looked like she was about to yell, but quickly calmed down.
"I'm fine, Lee." She replied. "Naruto, stop playing around!" Naruto nodded, ripping out his bone swords once more... or he would have, except his left bicep came out with the blade. Naruto hurriedly shoved that one back in before he started ripping the sinew that attached it to the rest of his nervous system, waiting a moment for the Kyuubi to fix his injury. Naturally, the beast didn't, but something did. Naruto decided that it was something to ponder later, perfectly amazed at how far his muscle could apparently stretch, as he removed his right bone sword, this one coming out perfectly.
"Alright, let's dance." He growled, giving his arm an extra moment to finish fixing itself properly. At this point, the Kyuubi had finally pitched in, although it really wasn't much more then sticking the muscle back on the bone. Kin froze, a dribble of bile running down her chin, as Dosu cursed even louder.
"This is really screwed up." He growled. "Isn't Sasuke meant to be the threat?" Zaku let out a groan as he got back to his feet, cradling his now broken arm.
"That's what Intel said. That bastard was wrong." He replied. Kin wiped the bile away.
"What do we do?" She asked. Dosu shrugged.
"We run." He replied simply. "We can't win against someone who uses his own freaking bones as weapons. How the hell do we hurt him?"
"Screw you. I'll kill him easily, you freaking coward! Zankukyokuha!" Zaku screamed, sending out a massive blast of air. Naruto spun sword in a circle, before slashing straight down with both hands, dividing the wind in half and allowing it to fly past and completely disintegrate a pair of trees. Zaku's eyes bugged out as he examined the carnage.
"You're kidding…" Kin muttered. "Those bones must be harder then steel."
"We are screwed." Dosu muttered, as a chill came over him.
"Your right. You are." Sasuke called from behind him, black markings covering the left side of his face. "Naruto, this doesn't look like much of a fight."
"It isn't really, Sasuke." Naruto replied. "Watch out for mummy boy, though. His attacks use sound waves." Sasuke nodded.
"Noted. Shall we?" He asked. Naruto smirked.
"Hell yeah. Let's rock!" He cried, dashing at Kin and Dosu as Sasuke seemed to teleport behind Zaku, his leg easily breaking the boys other arm with a crack. Kin screamed, as Dosu lunged in front of her, taking the slash on his gauntlet.
"Wait, we surrender!" Dosu cried. Sasuke shrugged nonchalantly.
"We care why?" He asked. "You have something we need."
"Take the scroll." Kin growled, shoving it into Sasuke's hands. "I'm out of here. This is too messed up." Dosu sighed, glancing at the pathetically moaning Zaku.
"That makes two of us." He muttered, as Naruto's bone sword crumbled away. He walked over to Zaku, picking him up.
"Wait, what does Orochimaru want with Sasuke?" Sakura called. Dosu shrugged.
"Who knows? Our mission was to kill him. Freaking suicide mission with bone freak over there." He replied, walking away. Naruto sighed, scratching the back of his neck nervously.
"Is it just me, or was that anticlimactic?" He asked. Sasuke and Sakura both glanced at him, the marks on Sasuke's neck receding. "What?"
"Do you even know what that means, Naruto?" Sasuke asked. Naruto frowned.
"Hey!"
-
"Yosh, your flames of Youth are burning brightly, to defeat the Oto-nin so effortlessly, so flawlessly, so…" Naruto twitched, interrupting Lee's rant with a wave.
"We get it, fuzzy-brows." He muttered, glancing at Sasuke. "You okay, teme?"
"I'm as fine as I'll be for a while." He replied, rubbing his neck. "This seal… left me a bit winded, that's all." Sakura smiled a little at that, as she drank from her canteen.
"Well, we have both scrolls. We just need to get to the tower, now." She said. Naruto shrugged, his face thoughtful.
"Where's your team, fuzzy-brows?" He finally asked. Lee's face fell.
"In my… passionate Youth… I seem to have left them behind." He whispered. Naruto smashed his palm against his face in annoyance.
"Great." He groaned. "Just great…" Suddenly, his hand whipped around, several bone bullets flying at the tree beside a white-eyed boys head. "Who's there?"
"Please excuse us." His companion stated, a girl in a Chinese vest. "We're just here for Lee."
"Neji, Tenten!" Lee cried, tears flying from his eyes like rivers. "How I have missed your passionate flames of… ack…" Tenten had obviously heard enough and smashed him over the head with her fist.
"Sorry about our wayward team-mate. He's overenthusiastic." Tenten apologized profusely, giving a bow. Her team-mate simply scoffed.
"Come, Lee, Tenten." He stated calmly, walking away. Sasuke was about to leap to his feet, when Sakura's hand stopped him.
"No. Let them go, Sasuke-kun." She whispered. "Neither you nor Naruto are at one hundred percent. If we fight, we risk our place in the finals. Better to live and let live." Sasuke nodded, accepting her explanation.
"Well, Naruto, I think it's time we took off ourselves, ne?" He asked. Naruto nodded, looking at the sky.
"It's almost noon. We've got maybe three hours left. Not much time." He replied.
"Then run like the hounds of yomi are after us, Naruto!" Sasuke cried, leaping into the trees. Naruto and Sakura were not far behind him.
-
"Sasuke, we're running out of time." Naruto called ahead. Sasuke suddenly came to a stop, eyeing the pale haired boy wearily.
"Didn't we just pass that centipede?" He asked. Naruto frowned, examining it closely.
"Genjutsu." Sakura muttered. Naruto swore vehemently, smashing his palm into his head repeatedly.
"That makes sense. Damn it, then we can't trust the sun!" He screamed, venting his rage by smashing his hand into a tree. Sakura shook her head., deciding to elaborate.
"This Genjutsu's short range. Whoever used it is right on top of us. It's probably from a desperate team. We have time." She explained quickly, barely making sense. Naruto nodded at her explanation, turning to Sasuke.
"Break it?" He asked. Sasuke nodded, his face thoughtful.
"Break it, Sakura." The cherry blossom haired girl smiled.
"Genjutsu Kai!" She cried, focusing her chakra. Suddenly, the centipede vanished. Naruto glanced at Sakura, then to Sasuke.
"Split up, meet back here in ten. The password is the name of the ninja that almost killed us twice." Sasuke cried, leaping into the trees. Sakura spun around, charging down the path, as Naruto leapt into the woods.
-
"Who would have thought we'd be lucky enough to catch two teams in that little Genjutsu of ours?" An Ame-nin snickered, as Team 8 and the Oto-nin desperately tried to avoid a multitude of kunai. Kiba swore vehemently, one striking his forearm.
"Hinata, have you worked out where they are yet?" He yelled. Hinata shook her head.
"I-iie… I can't tell. The chakra in the air is too thick." She replied. Kiba swore.
"The airs waterlogged and full of chakra. Great." He groaned. "Hey, Oto-nin, you work out anything?"
"They aren't staying in one location." Kin replied. "I can't use my bells on them. I'll hit everyone at once." She let out an annoyed grunt as she sliced the throat of an Ame-nin with a kunai, only to find it to be a Bunshin. "Damn it. I wish bone boy were here now, his bone bullets would have come in…." She trailed off as an Ame-nin let out a scream, a white sword of bone flying through his elbow, severing it and spraying blood on the ground. "Speak of the devil…"
"Shit… Kin, you do remember that his team was hell bent on killing us the last time we saw them." Dosu growled, blocking a kunai with his gauntlet. Naruto let out a snarl as he charged at the Ame-nin, ripping a second bone sword from his left arm and, with a flick to remove his blood from the blade, shoving it through the hapless Ame-nin's throat.
"Looks like the past hours enemy becomes this hours friend." Sasuke called from his perch on a branch. Sakura nodded from the other side of the battlefield.
"Naruto, don't hog the fun." She called, drawing a kunai. "We need to get some action too, you know."
"Great, we're surrounded with three teams after our scroll." Kiba groaned. Shino shrugged.
"My Kikai bugs are afraid of Naruto for some reason." He stated. "His chakra is very different now. We should flee." Naruto snickered from beside them, pulling out yet another bone sword, this one covered in crusts of calcium.
"Stop worrying. We'll deal with the Ame bastards. Hey, I owe you guys for ambushing me on the toilet." Naruto called, leaving Hinata and Kin red faced.
"Wait, what?" Kin spluttered indignantly.
"Ano…" Hinata simply shook her head at Naruto. "T-that's Naruto-kun for y-you." Zaku groaned, as Dosu ripped a kunai out of his thigh.
"I feel like a freaking pincushion." Zaku muttered, glancing at Dosu. "We're screwed, aren't we?"
"Maybe not." Dosu replied. "Let's wait and see." He suddenly gagged; as Naruto began ripping the straight bones out of his body at random and hurling them at the Bunshin's like kunai. Behind him, Hinata and Kin simply threw up.
"How does he do it?" Zaku asked, wincing as Naruto hurled what looked like his forearm at an Ame-nin clone. "Damn, that has to hurt."
"Not really." Naruto's voice called back, to everyone's surprise. "Sasuke, they're at point C!"
"Right. Katon, Goukakyu no Jutsu!" Sasuke cried, blasting a fireball down into the centre of the battlefield. Sakura pulled out several kunai's with wire, as two figures leapt from the cloud of smoke into the air. With a grunt, she hurled the kunai at them, watching the wire tie the pair together as they flew to the ground, bound helplessly.
"Got them." She smiled.
"We didn't need your help." Kiba growled, as Naruto set about looting from the dead Ame-nin's body. Shino sighed, stepping in front of Kiba and holding his hand above his chest.
"Kiba, do not be rash. Naruto did more then we did as a team on his own. I have very few doubts he could take us out single handed, as my Kikai bugs refuse to go anywhere near him." Shino explained stoically. Naruto shrugged, as he grabbed a Ten scroll from his deceased opponent. Without a word, Kin's kunai came to Naruto's throat, as Sasuke's came to hers and Sakura's came to Dosu's. "We need that scroll." Kin growled. Naruto frowned, glancing to Sasuke, an unspoken argument going between them. With a sigh, Sasuke withdrew his kunai.
"Very well. What are you willing to trade?" He asked in reply. Kin sighed.
"What do you want? We've got kunai, shuriken, explosive tags…"
"Information." Naruto spoke up. "Why is Orochimaru in Konoha?" Kin shook her head.
"Honestly, we have no idea." She replied. Zaku coughed.
"Uh… don't quote me on this, but I've hear of Orochimaru experimenting on his own ninja. Maybe your seals a part of it." He said nervously. Naruto's gaze fell on him, a bone bullet whizzing past his head.
"Explain, now!" Sasuke growled. Zaku shook his head.
"I overheard Orochimaru and a spy. They were talking about the death rate and that there seemed to be hundreds of side effects. Hightened aggression, extra strentgh, the like. That's all I know." He cried out in fear. Naruto sighed, handing the scroll to Kin.
"You've got thirty seconds." He replied. "Get out of my sight before I kill you." Kin and Dosu nodded, as the trio fled into the trees. Naruto sighed, glancing to the captured Ame-nin.
"Ano… N-Naruto-kun, what a-are we going t-to do with t-t-the Ame-nin?" Hinata asked. Naruto shook his head. He wasn't going to let anyone watch him intentionally stain his soul black.
"Go ahead, guys. I'll catch up." He stated simply. Sasuke nodded. In understanding, quickly rounding up the group.
"Come on, Kiba, Shino, Hinata. We'll escort you to the tower. People will think twice about attacking a group of six." Sasuke explained.
"W-what about N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked. Sakura shook her head.
"We're better off not knowing." She said. She had an inkling of her intentions, but as the five leapt into the trees, she forced it out of her mind. Naruto turned back to the two remaining Ame-nin, removing a bone sword from his left arm. It was stained in blood. How fitting.
"W-wait… what are you…" One cried out in fear. Naruto shook his head, a look of disgust on his face. A tear absently trailed down his left cheek, but whether it was for the Ame-nin or not, the teen didn't know.
"That's twice you've ambushed us." He stated, stalking over to them. "I can't take the risk that there will be a third time. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
Bird's suddenly scattered from that section of the forest, as a dull thud hit the ground.
-
"Naruto-kun?" Hinata murmured, as Naruto swept through the trees beside her. Sasuke spared only a quick glance at him.
"You okay, Naruto?" He asked. Naruto shrugged.
"Maybe." He replied softly. "Worry about me later, Sasuke. We need to get to the tower." Sakura gave him a worried glance, her expression mirrored on Hinata's face, but no one called him out on his words, as the group rushed to the tower in silence.
-
Five minutes prior to the end of the exam…
"I don't get it. What do we do now?" Kiba asked, as the two teams entered the tower. Naruto frowned, reading the board on the wall.
"If you lack Ten, acquire knowledge. If you lack Chi, train your body. This is the way of the…" He read.
"Ano… does Ten mean s-spirit and C-Chi mean body?" Hinata asked, fiddling with her fingers. Sakura sighed, as she rolled the riddle around in her head.
"I suppose you could liken it to that." She admitted. "I think we need to open our scrolls."
"On three?" Sasuke asked Naruto, as Kiba and Shino withdrew their pair of scrolls.
"One… two… three!" Naruto called, opening his scroll. Sasuke swore aloud as realization struck, hard.
"It's a summoning scroll. Toss them away!" He cried, hurling his scroll away. The rest of the boys followed his example, watching as two clouds of smoke erupted from the scroll, revealing Iruka and Kurenai.
"Congratu… wow, two teams at once. Has this happened before?" Iruka asked. Kurenai shrugged.
"It probably has at one point." She admitted. "Congratulations at passing the Forest of Death."
"Not that I'm not happy to see you, Iruka-sensei…" Naruto spoke up. "But… why are you here?"
"To explain the writing on the wall behind us." Iruka replied. "If you lack Ten, seek knowledge…"
"Meaning if your weakness is your mind, like Naruto and Kiba…" Kurenai spoke up with a wry grin. "Then acquire knowledge." Kiba let out a small growl.
"Hey, I'm not…" Naruto cut him off.
"She's right. We don't know nearly enough, Kiba." Naruto muttered. Iruka continued on.
"If you lack Chi, train your body." He stated, once again allowing Kurenai to elaborate.
"Meaning if your weakness is your body, like Hinata and Sakura, train hard to become stronger." She elaborated. "These two tenants are vital to the skills of a ninja."
"This is the way of the…" Iruka started. "Chunin…" Naruto inputted. "This is how a Chunin should live his life, right?" Iruka nodded.
"Very good, Naruto." Iruka congratulated.
"These tenants were created by our own Sandaime Hokage." Kurenai stated. "A whole two generations have lived their Shinobi lives by these tenants."
"They will guide you in becoming stronger." Iruka finished. Naruto nodded, walking past the pair.
"I see." He muttered. Iruka frowned.
"Naruto?" He asked. Naruto placed a hand on the wall.
"For me to grow stronger as a ninja, I need knowledge." He reiterated, looking at Sasuke. Sasuke nodded at the teens analogy, almost surprised that Naruto was deferring to him.
"You're catching on, Naruto. Where did the dead last go?" Sasuke asked. Naruto shrugged, smiling.
"He grew up when his friends nearly died." Naruto replied.
Jutsu Glossary
Doton, Doryu Sasudan (Literally Earth Style: Earth Dragon Pierce Bullet), Original
A-rank Ninjutsu, 0-10 metres
Summons a dragon made of mud, which then proceeds to spit bullets of mud. These bullets spin to gain momentum, and increase damage. Chakra consumption for this technique, however, is high, and requires the user to stay completely still. Still, unlike many of the Jutsu's sister techniques, this technique may not necessarily be lethal.
Basis: This Jutsu actually originated from the fact that Doton, Doryudan seemed a little underpowered in comparison to the other dragon Jutsu shown in Naruto. It's really little more then an incomplete power up from the original, although with its drawback, sometimes you are better off with the original. This is an original Jutsu of Orochimaru.
-
Katon, Goukakyu no Jutsu (Literally Fire Style, Great Fireball Technique)
C-rank Ninjutsu, 0-5 metres
The user performs the necessary hand seals, before exhaling deeply. His breath erupts into a large fireball that is capable of incinerating anything short of rock or metal. Due to the chakra necessary to perform the Jutsu, most Genin in Konoha cannot even attempt the Jutsu.
-
Katon, Housenka no Jutsu (Often translated as Phoenix Flower Technique)
C-rank Ninjutsu, 0-5 metres
The user performs the necessary hand seals, before spitting out a barrage of small fireballs. Damage dealt, unfortunately, is minimal, making this Jutsu best used as a distraction.
-
Zankuha (Decapitating Air Waves)
D-ranked, presumably Ninjutsu, 0-5 metres
Using the air pathways implanted in his arms, Zaku can unleash highly pressurised blasts of air that can destroy stone and, presumably, metal, too. It is believed that the technique is impossible to perform through other methods, although the air pathways may just be an aid.
-
Zankukyokuha (Extreme Decapitating Air Waves)
C-rank, presumably Ninjutsu, 0-10 metres
A Jutsu that is little more then a super powered Zankuha; one can assume that it has even greater destructive potential. Unfortunately, the only time it was actually seen, it didn't actually hit something of note.
-
Kyomeisen (Vibrating Sound Drill)
C-rank, presumably Ninjutsu, 0-5 metres
Using a special gauntlet called a Melody Arm, the user can directly manipulate sound waves and cause nausea, generally through attacking the inner ear. Unfortunately for Dosu, Naruto unknowingly used the Shikotsumyaku to harden his inner ear and protect himself from the Jutsu.
-
Bunshin no Jutsu (Doppelganger Technique)
D-rank Ninjutsu ?
A basic technique that creates a set of insubstantial clones. It has been a topic of debate for many years, whether this is a Ninjutsu or a Genjutsu. Unfortunately, seeing as the technique is down right useless, the argument will probably never be settled.
-
Gogyo Fuuin (Five-elements Seal)
A-rank Fuinjutsu, 0-5 metres
A technique that creates a seal on its target. The seal then proceeds to disrupt the targets chakra flow. When placed on an even numbered seal, however, this effect is more pronounced, and, if powerful enough, will completely seal the targets chakra. Orochimaru attempted to use this on Naruto.
-
Teshi Sendan (Literally Drilling Finger Bullets)
Un-ranked Kekkai Genkai (Shikotsumyaku), 0-10 metres
A Jutsu that literally uses the fingertips of the user as bullets, sending the finger bones spiralling towards the target. The potential for damage from this technique is negligible to very high, depending on how the bones are manipulated. Naruto uses this unknowingly throughout the whole chapter.
-
Tsubaki no Mai (Literally Dance of the Camellia)
Un-ranked Kekkai Genkai (Shikotsumyaku), 0-5 metres
The user uses the humorous (upper arm bone) to create a bone sword. Depending on how the user manipulates the bone, it can become harder then steel. Naruto uses this several times throughout the chapter without knowing its name. Like the Teshi Sendan, the Tsubaki no Mai is an instinctual reaction for Naruto.
-
Shoubi no Mai (Literally Dance of the Rose), Original
Un-ranked Kekkai Genkai (Shikotsumyaku), 0-10 metres
The user rips out either his humorous, shin or forearm, and turns it into a makeshift spear, which is then hurled at the enemy. Depending on the bones density, the damage can be negligible to almost certainly fatal. This technique also comes naturally to Naruto, although, unlike Tsubaki no Mai and Teshi Sendan, is painful to use. Thankfully for Naruto, he has a high pain tolerance.
Basis: Honestly, the only scene where this was used, I was thinking about Diablo 2, and the Necromancer's Bone Spear. Unfortunately, none of the Dances, Anime, Manga or Game, really fit the techniques description, so I was forced to come up with a new move. It's naming was after the thorns of a rose, fitting with the plant theme of the dances.
-
Shikotsumyaku (Dead Bone Pulse)
Kekkai Genkai
A bloodline limit that allows the user to make use of his own bones as weapons. This bloodline was formerly unique to the Kaguya Clan, but the dormant gene has been passed through the previous three generations of Uzumaki. It has finally awoken due to Naruto's fear of death.
-
Sharingan (Copy-wheel Eye)
Kekkai Genkai
A Doujutsu (eye Jutsu) unique to the Uchiha clan that allows them to instantly memorise hand seals and the environment around them. As the Sharingan can see chakra, this allows for the instant learning of Ninjutsu and, if the user sees it, Genjutsu, but the owner must be using his Sharingan to take advantage of this memorisation. The Sharingan is almost useless when learning Taijutsu. Sasuke had the Sharingan active during the battle with Orochimaru, but never used it again in the chapter.
-
That would be chapter 1. If you like, drop a review. If you find a mistake, or something drastic that needs immediate fixing (such as me being extremely inconsistent or forgetting to explain something that needed to be explained), drop me a review saying that, or PM me. I'm more likely to get the review, though. If you don't like it, then don't flame. Simply hit the back button and find a story you do like. Keep me happy, people, and I'll try and keep you happy. Annoy me, and I'll probably just give up. I've seen it happen before.
Well, there you go. Chapter 1 is now revised. Hopefully it reads better, now. I altered some dialogue and fight scene's, as well as cleared up the formatting. Zaku's answer to Naruto has been altered to fit in with later events, or we'd have continuity errors.
Enjoy the new Chapter 1. If I've made an error, please let me know, and I'll fix it right away.