A/N – I really need to stop writing fanfictions that I know will have extremely slow updates because I know that readers hate waiting, I know I do. However, I couldn't resist it! This idea came from when I was trying to decide what Naruto's summon should be for 'The Great Medic'. One of the summon ideas was a hybrid snake summon but I later decided to just make an entire story with this. It's going to be so cool, I can't wait!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto; I wish I did, though. The only things I own are any original characters/animals I decide to put in here.
Summary: After a humiliating spar with Sasuke, Naruto wanders off after school ended. He falls down a steep slope, becoming unconscious. When he comes to, he finds one of Orochimaru's abandoned experimentation laboratories where several different hybrids can be found. Things are sure to ensue. Follow Naruto and the Off Colors as they deal with many difficulties in their intertwined lives.
Naruto pursed his lips, a crease in his forehead due to the stupor he found himself in two hours after leaving the academy for the day. His hands had been angrily stuffed into his pockets as he walked aimlessly, no real destination in mind. His thoughts were preoccupied with what had occurred earlier that morning that had left him in such a sour mood. "Teme." The eight-year-old hissed out quietly, the words directed at a certain Uchiha. The blond-haired boy grit his teeth, lips curling into a snarl, unconsciously turning left into an open alleyway and out into the forests beyond.
Earlier that morning, Iruka decided to make pairs of his students spar with each other. Of course, Naruto found himself being paired against Sasuke towards the end of the spars. The blond-haired boy can admit that he knows he's not the best ninja in the world and that Sasuke honestly does have him beat – as of right now, mind you – in the taijutsu department. However, the reasoning for his current anger was that the Uchiha had made a complete fool out of Naruto.
Usually, their spars were fair… or as fair as they could get when you were fighting an Uchiha who had been trained by professionals for most their lives against an orphan who everyone seemed to hate. "Not today…" Naruto mumbled to himself, nearly bumping into a tree. Sasuke was especially brutal that morning, toying with that fact that he was – ultimately – better and extremely skilled when compared to someone like Naruto. The eight-year-old boy couldn't get a single hit in throughout the entirety of the spar. It made him frustrated because Sasuke at least gave him a chance in their spars. Naruto absentmindedly kicked a rock that had been in front of him, forehead scrunching up in thought, "Why was today different? Did I do something to make him mad at me?"
Towards the end of their spar, Sasuke had kicked his side, making him skid across the playing field. Naruto had tried to get up to continue fighting – having vowed to never give up – but the Uchiha slammed his foot down on the boy's back. Like a ghost, he could still feel Sasuke's foot pressing down harder and harder on his back. It made his chest feel heavy and his back aches just at the thought. Subconsciously, Naruto felt himself walking down a sharp decline, the grass becoming taller and taller around him. The blond-haired boy had ultimately felt humiliated as the other kids laughed at him for doing so poorly. On the outside, he had brushed it off and laughed along with them. On the inside, however, all Naruto wanted to do was curl up and cry.
A surprised shriek left the boy's mouth as his foot connected with a large object on the ground, body flinging forward into action. The precipice took his rolling and twisting body down. Naruto could feel one of his legs twisting up in an odd angle, another scream flitting out through his mouth. In his panicked and pained stupor, he could feel the crimson liquid inside his body leaking out of the wounds he was accumulating. His chest felt like it was going to burst at any moment, rolling down this steep decline at an even faster pace. Naruto's head pounded, being thrust against the terrain at a harsh speed. He wanted to cry, scream, anything but darkness was clouding up his vision and he couldn't seem to think anymore. Naruto didn't know how long he'd been falling or how hurt he was, he just wanted it to stop.
Shutting his eyes, he let unconsciousness take him over, the numbness in his body being welcomed.
When he awoke, Naruto found that he ached everywhere. A groan of discomfort left his lips, his vision slowly starting to be regained. He blinked a few times, the blurriness in his eyes dissipating. Sitting up, he stared at his body. What he saw was something out of a horror movie. There was blood everywhere. Blood soaked into the ground, leaving a red tint in the surrounding area. Most of the entirety of his body was covered in dried, sticky blood. A stuttered gasp left his mouth in shock, pushing his body up with shaky arms. "Oh, K-Kami…" He whimpered out.
Naruto's quivering palms were pulled up in front of his face to see dried blood stuck to his hands and underneath his fingernails. Letting his hands drop to his side, he stared at the rest of the carnage his body sustained. Most of his clothing, he found, was torn from his rocky descent. There was nothing left of his orange jacket and his pants were shredded in several places. Both had been covered and soaked in crimson from the supposed hours he'd been lying unconscious. His chest still felt constricted and pained, but his mind was still on other things.
Naruto looked up, the precipice he'd fallen from looked as if it was miles high from where he was sitting. He knew it couldn't be that long but he felt so exhausted that just the looks of it made his stomach churn. While observing, he finally noticed the darkness that had filled the area. He raised a concerned eyebrow, "How long have I been unconscious?" Naruto's attention left the surrounding area to look around for a possible place to spend the night because he felt too tired to try and get back home. He could see a small and rounded object about thirty feet just to the right of him. Taking a shaky breath, Naruto leaned against the terrain behind him to inch his way into a standing position. His bones ached from laying on the solid ground at such an awkward angle for a long period of time. Luckily, he could stand after a few seconds.
Taking a step forward, his knee buckled and he fell forward. A hiss of pain left him, hand subconsciously reaching down to examine his leg. Naruto lifted his pants leg to see his ankle looking purple and blue up to his knee, not to mention the swelling. His foot was at such an odd angle; it was probably broken or extremely sprained, he couldn't tell. Naruto gulped back the bile in his throat and, now knowing that his right leg was hurt, tried to stand up once again without putting pressure on his injured leg. The blond-haired boy groaned once more, taking a deep breath before starting to limp towards the object he'd seen earlier.
Upon further examination, Naruto could tell that this object hadn't been touched in several years. The surrounding vegetation had taken it over. He could see as he got closer to the object that there was a set of stairs that led to an ajar door. Whatever this place was, it was underground and led to who-knows-where. He'd never admit it to anyone, but he was honestly terrified. The eight-year-old had no idea where he was – which was a feat in and of itself because Naruto had made it a point to remember different areas of Konoha – and it kept getting darker and darker. Not to mention that he was practically starving.
Naruto gazed down at the stairs and gulped, "This is going to hurt." He took a step with his good leg, putting all the pressure onto that one as he brought his injured one down. He did the same thing for the next step; put all the pressure on the good leg before being the injured one down. It was a slow process and took several minutes for him to get to the bottom of the stairs. Naruto felt out of breath after climbing the stairs. "Kami, please give me the strength to at least get something to eat." He mumbled out, straightening up and pushing the open door wider. The creaking made an echo sound as a hallway appeared before him. He gulped in fear, heart racing, "Please don't be ghosts." He took one step into the dark hallway. A shifting sound echoed inside, making Naruto tense up. Light fixtures on either side of the hallway started to light up, making the hallway dance with shadows against the wall. "Yeah." He whispered out, releasing the breath he hadn't known he's been holding, "It's ghosts."
The blond-haired boy started to walk down the hallway, making sure that his leg wouldn't hurt as he went on his way. There weren't any turns or doorways, just a long stretch of hallway. Since he honestly had nothing better to do, Naruto looked intently at the walls, seeing multiple cracks with vines and other plants breaking through it. "How long has this place been here?" He wondered to himself, "Seems pretty old."
It wasn't until nearly ten minutes of walking aimlessly that a doorway appeared before him down the hallway. Naruto tried not to rush himself, minding his leg, but that didn't mean that he wasn't curious. Unlike the one leading outside, the door in front of him was shut. It wasn't luck, to his surprise, but definitely shut. "Maybe someone didn't want anyone to find this place?" He thought to himself, pushing open the door. The creak this time didn't become louder with an echo. It seemed almost cut off as the hallway opened up into a medium sized room.
"What the hell even is this place?" The eight-year-old academy student thought aloud as he entered the room. There were papers and broken bottles scattered across the ground. An examination table he'd seen the hospital use once was towards the left farthest corner. The entirety of the right side of the room were shelves that were either empty, full or just a mess. Near the entrance, there were about a dozen medium sized test tubes that looked to have been broken, the contents missing and the liquid inside is gone. "This probably was an experimentation lab." Naruto mused to himself, having heard of something like this from some of the members of the civilian council while he was setting up another prank.
Deciding not to look at all the creepy stuff at the left side, he inched his way towards the shelves on his right. The blond-haired boy furrowed his eyes in mild curiosity as he stared at the contents on the shelves. There were four shelves that all held different things. The one in the middle was mostly filled from top to bottom with notebooks that had some pages torn from them and books of all kinds. He kind of found it boring and ultimately decided not to look through any of them. The two beside the middle shelf was either empty or had the bare minimum of content. A few empty test tubes and three scrolls. Naruto then turned his attention to the far-right shelf that looked cool. Unlike the other shelves, this one had glass doors. Taking one of the silver handles, he pulled it open, accidentally setting off a mini dust cloud. He coughed several times, one hand over his mouth while the other swatted the air to get it to dissipate. After a few seconds, he could breathe without having the assistance of his hand. The blond-haired boy could see about half a dozen scrolls inside the closed off shelf along with a dusty sign. Naruto wiped away the dust and read what the sign was saying. In large letters, it read:
FAILED EXPERIMENTS
Those two words sent a chill down his back, as he looked at what was on the shelf. Whatever these 'failed experiments' were, they certainly weren't in plain sight. He pulled out one of the scrolls, reading the black writings on the side of it. "Experiment #2029…" Naruto mumbled to himself. With a sudden curiosity, he slowly pulled open the scroll. It wasn't until he had pulled it halfway out that he could see the lettering. He raised an eyebrow, not exactly being able to read what was written down and kept unveiling the scroll. He finished opening the scroll, the lettering he'd seen earlier forming a circle with different types of symbols and the likes of.
The eight-year-old leaned forward, pursing his lips out, "Maybe I'm supposed to touch it?" Setting the scroll down on the dirty ground and slowly sitting down in front of it, he laid his hand in the clear part of the circle. Waiting a few seconds, Naruto let out a sigh. "Of course, nothing." He stated before a sudden thought entered his mind, "What if I add chakra to it?" Three weeks prior, Iruka – his academy teacher – had taught his class how to use and mold chakra. After a few days, Naruto had gotten the hang of it, trying to use his chakra for hours and hours on end. It was exhausting but worthwhile. The academy student took a slow breath, concentrating on his core and pushing it out. His hand flashed blue as the words on the scroll started to change colors. Eyes widening, Naruto backed away from the scroll as quickly as possible.
In a flash of light, something was sitting in the middle of the circle, it wasn't anything large but it looked like an overcooked noodle. The boy could feel his heart starting to beat faster and faster, frozen to his spot. That thing lifted its small head, large, yellow eyes staring unblinkingly at him. Naruto could now see a similarity between this thing and a black mamba. The only difference he could conclude what that it was partially feathered and two black bird legs which didn't really resemble anything he'd ever seen before. The black and white feathered-snake started to move towards him, claws tapping against the tiled floor while also showing off small wings protruding from their back. His eyes widened in fear, the feathered-snake starting to take flight, moving over to him. Shaking hands started to push himself away from the creature, not being able to look away from it. No matter how far Naruto got from the snake-like creature, it kept following him. His heart quickened its pace as he felt a wall touch his back. No longer being able to move, he stared into the eyes of the feathered-snake, fear coursing through his body.
"You're… different." It spoke, the words sounding quiet and precise, making Naruto confused and scared.
"W-What?" He stuttered out.
The feathered-snake landed on the ground in front of him, tuckering their wings close to their body and walking closer to him, "You are much different than that man."
Naruto blinked, "What man?"
It nodded its small head up and down slowly, "Orochimaru, an evil and selfish man."
"What did he do?" He asked, honestly hoping this thing wasn't going to eat him.
"When Orochimaru was growing up, he used a reverse summoning jutsu to get to my homeland where my Boss allowed him to use us as his personal summon. At the time, I was fine with him using us in combat and for companionship sometimes, but after a while…" The creature trailed off, head hanging down.
Naruto could feel himself calming down, shoulders relaxing at his side, "What did he do?"
The feathered-snake looked up, unblinking eyes no longer seeming creepy to Naruto, "He took about a dozen of us, merged our bodies with other animals and hoped for something new. About half of us died off, not being able to handle it while the rest had to live on like this. We are the snake summons, feared by most other animal summons and highly respected. To be taken and degraded like that man has… it's diabolical."
"He made snake hybrids?" Naruto questioned, getting a slow nod from the feathered-snake.
"We've all been stuck in those scrolls for years." They admitted.
"Why?"
The hybrid snake heaved a deep sigh, "I'm not sure of the exact reasoning, however, I'm pretty sure that he had gotten caught up in another project he was starting. I do know, though, that one day, Orochimaru put us in a scroll and never unsealed us… until now, of course." They inched closer and laid its small head on the boy's good leg, rubbing it affectionately. "Thank you for unsealing me." The creature hummed out, "I really appreciate it."
He gave the hybrid snake a small smile, "I'm glad. To be honest, I wasn't sure what I was going to find inside those scrolls. And all the other ones on that shelf, are they also the other hybrid snakes?"
"Yes, if you wouldn't mind…" The feathered-snake mumbled out, "I wish for my brothers and sisters to be released from their prison. Can you release them like you released me, young one?"
"Yeah, sure." He grinned.
They hummed, "What is your name child?"
"I'm Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki." He stated confidently
"Naruto Uzumaki." The hybrid repeated before bowing, "I am Sachiko."
The blond-haired boy gave them a grin before trying to get up once more. His leg didn't hurt as much as it did before which honestly concerned him. "Alrighty then, let's go unseal your family." He let a laugh fill the damp experimentation laboratory. The feathered-snake gave a content hiss, unfurling their wings and taking flight. They flew beside Naruto as he limped towards the shelf once more. "Can I ask you something, Sachiko?" He stated after about a second.
"But, of course," They nodded.
"This may be weird but… are you a girl or a boy?" He sheepishly asked, rubbing the back of his head.
They chuckled, "I am a female."
He chuckled, "Thanks. I couldn't really tell and I didn't want to use the wrong pronouns for you."
Sachiko nodded her head, "That's quite alright, Naruto."
He reached the shelf then, the opened doors revealing the hybrids. "Is there any specific one that you want me to open up first or just pick a random one?" The eight-year-old questioned.
"Don't get any from the top shelf yet. Those are the larger snakes that Orochimaru experimented on and are the most dangerous out of the lot of us. That's the only advice I could really give you." She stated, landing on his shoulder, making sure not to dig her claws into his body.
He bobbed his head in understanding, pulling the second scroll off the shelf. "Experiment #2030." He thought to himself. He walked back over to where he first summoned Sachiko, moving her scroll somewhere else before laying down the second one. Doing the same as he had done before, he placed his hand on the empty circle and pushed chakra out. Once again, the lettering in the scroll lit up and another snake hybrid took the empty spaces place. This one appeared to have a smaller body in a sense of roundness but was by far longer than Sachiko, who was only about a foot long. This new snake-hybrid was an aqua color with splashes of a darker blue. It also looked like it was sticky to the touch which made Naruto kind of uneasy. "Um... Hello?" His words seemed strange in his ears.
The new hybrid turned around, small white eyes staring up at him before turning their attention to the feathered-snake on his shoulder. "S-Sachiko-chan?!" It suddenly called out.
"Arata-kun." She breathed in content, flying down to rejoin her brother.
"Why are you with this heathen?!" He shouted out, hissing loudly at Naruto, tail flicking around widely, a slimy substance leaving it.
Sachiko placed laid a wing over his sticky back, "Calm down, Arata-kun, you'll accidentally release a chemical and kill us all. Besides, Naruto is the one who released us."
Arata hissed once more, "He only released us so he could experiment on us, just like that bastard!"
"You mean Orochimaru?" Naruto questioned.
"See!" The aqua snake was growing louder and louder, "He knows the bastard's name! He's in cahoots with him!"
Sachiko chuckled, "Arata-kun, please, hear me out." He huffed but nonetheless quieted down long enough for her to speak. "The only reason he knows about that man is that I told him about the man who did this to us." Naruto nodded to confirm the story, "He released us, having no idea what was inside."
The other snake narrowed his eyes, "You better not have any ill intentions or else I'd have to kill you."
Naruto could feel his face paling just at the thought. The feathered-snake he'd released first swatted her brother with her tail, earning a quick yelp. "Don't scare the young one." She chastised, "If you do that, he'll leave without releasing the rest of us."
"W-What?" Arata suddenly was at a loss for words, "He's… He's releasing all of us?!"
"Yeah, you guys had to go through a lot and I seem to be the only one left around here." Naruto smiled, "So, of course, I'm going to help you out."
The snake-hybrid bowed his head, "Thank you, um…"
"Naruto Uzumaki." He finished for him.
Arata nodded, "I apologize for threatening you earlier. Force of habit, I'm guessing."
"It's fine, really." Naruto smiled brightly, pushing Arata's scroll away. Getting up once more, he headed over to the shelf and pulled out another scroll: 'Experiment #2028'. He turned to look at the snake hybrids who followed him closely, "Which one is this one?"
"That's Ozumo. He's skittish so don't say anything yet." Sachiko replied, "He's one of the younger ones out of us and will most likely be frightened."
He nodded in understanding, using his chakra to unseal Ozumo from his confinement. There was a small poof, a hybrid snake smaller than both Sachiko and Arata appearing before those in the room. He turned around, showing off its vibrant orange body plates across his back. A pair of claws that resembled something from a crab was attached to the head of the snake hybrid. Small eyes stared unblinkingly at the three before a startled squeak left Ozumo's mouth, slithering off to one of the farthest corners of the room. "G-Get away!" He called out with a quiet voice.
Arata slowly slithered towards the frightened snake-crab hybrid, looking unamused, "Ozumo, chill out."
The smaller hybrid made another startled noise, claws tapping against each other in worry, "H-He's going to h-hurt us!"
Sachiko sighed slightly, giving Naruto an apologetic look before flying over to where her brothers were. "Ozumo." She whispered, wrapping her wings over the younger creature in a caring, loving way, "It's okay. Naruto here is going to help us all out."
The orange hybrid titled his head before turning his attention to the young boy standing awkwardly by himself, "He is?"
She nuzzled him with her small head, "Yes, he's going to release us all from our prison."
"Oh." Ozumo mumbled, tilting his head down in guilt, "I apologize, Naruto. I couldn't help but think you were going to be like that m-man."
Naruto gave him a small smile, rubbing the back of his head, "O-Oh, it's fine, really. I can only imagine what you had to go through."
Sachiko nodded, pleased by how accepting everyone was becoming of the blond-haired boy, "Shall we continue?"
"Yeah, sure." He headed back over to the shelf and pulled yet another scroll to release the hybrid inside. "Experiment #2032?" The eight-year-old turned to look at the three snake hybrids behind him, "Who is this one?"
Ozumo's eyes seemed to light up, "That's Umeko-sama!"
"Umeko-sama?" He raised an eyebrow in question.
Arata gave a huff of annoyance, "Yeah, she's a feisty one."
"Be careful when addressing her. She loves to be respected." Sachiko informed, "She's the oldest out of us."
Naruto nodded before unsealing her from her confinement. The first thing he noticed from this snake was that it was much larger than Ozumo, Arata, and Sachiko. Pale eyes stared menacingly at the academy student, tail flicking around her curled body. His eyes drifted to the moving tail, noticing that it looked oddly like a spider. Remembering Sachiko's words, Naruto moved his head so that he was bowing before the snake hybrid, "Umeko-sama."
Her tail stopped moving instantly at the words, a hiss leaving her mouth, "Raise your head, human filth." He blinked at the insult before straightening up before the creature. Umeko turned to look at her sister and brothers standing beside Naruto and flickered her tail once before turning to look back at the academy student. "What are your intentions with my brothers and sister?" Umeko questioned, the harsh words making the boy nervous.
He blinked his blue eyes and gave her a small smile, "My intentions are to release you from your prisons."
She stopped once more, "Sachiko, is this true?"
The only other female hybrid nodded her head once, "Absolutely, Umeko-sama."
"Arata, Ozumo, what are your thoughts? Do you agree with this human filth?" She hissed out.
"Yes, ma'am." They both stated instantly.
Umeko moved towards Naruto at a fast pace, "If you dare to disturb my family, you will regret ever stepping into this place."
He nodded slowly, watching at the snake hybrid went to lay beside her family, "I wouldn't even think of it." Shaking off all the nervousness from the encounter with Umeko, he headed back over to the shelf. He turned back to the other snake hybrids, "Um… who is 'Experiment #2031'?"
"That would-be Kiyoko. She was a disciple under me when we both were snake summons." Umeko stated, giving Naruto a dirty look, "She is young and inexperienced. Be kind to her."
Naruto nodded once more, unrolling the scroll and placing his hand in the middle of the empty circle. Pushing chakra into his hand, he unsealed the snake hybrid that was inside, releasing that he felt quite dizzy. He blinked several times as the smoke started to dissipate, "Could this be what chakra exhaustion feels like?"
Kiyoko, unlike the others, sprung to life and looked as excitable as ever. She was the most colorful snake hybrid out of the ones Naruto's seen so far, full of blues, greens, oranges, and reds. The underside of Kiyoko's body appeared to be very slick while her back looked almost leathery. She twisted around on the ground in excitement before noticing the others in the experimentation laboratory. "Umeko-sama! Sachiko-chan! Arata-kun! Ozumo-kun!" Her voice was squeaky and fluid as she moved at a fast pace over to her family, "You're here! We got out!"
"You can thank what's-his-face over there," Arata stated, motioning his tail over to Naruto.
Kiyoko turned her head to look at the blond-haired boy, "Thank you, What's-His-Face!"
He chuckled, "It's actually Naruto."
"Oh!" She blinked in childish innocence, "Thank you, Naruto-san!"
"Naruto-san?" The academy student blinked at the thought, blushing slightly, "Um… Naruto is fine, no need for a suffix, y-you know? I'm not all that special."
Kiyoko bobbed her head, "Naruto it is! So, what's everyone doing out here?"
"We've been freed from out prison," Umeko stated in a monotone voice.
"Oh," She hummed in content, "That's why I am supposed to thank Naruto because he was the one who freed us."
"Yes, and we should be thankful that he is also going to release everyone." The older snake-hybrid gave Naruto another look, making him glance at the ground.
Kiyoko nodded once more, "Alright, Umeko-sama."
Sachiko giggled quietly, using her wings to land on Naruto's shoulder while brothers and sisters bickered together on the ground. "Thank you so much for doing this." She whispered, "How low are you on chakra?"
"Um…" He thought for a second or two, "I think I do have more than enough to unseal the last two… and you're welcome."
Sachiko sighed in content, "You honestly didn't have to do this. I can tell that you are injured, young one, and that you are a troubled individual."
"I know I didn't but… making people – or snake-hybrids – happy makes me happy." Naruto admitted, "Plus, you have a family that you care about and…"
"You are an orphan, correct?" She questioned.
"Yeah, I'm an orphan. I have no idea who my parents were; all I know about them was that they died the day of my birth but they loved me very much." He gave her a grim smile, "Not a lot to go off, huh?"
The feathered-snake stared into his blue eyes, "You are very strong, Naruto, to go through something like that. I bet it was hard."
"You…" His smile faltered slightly as he looked away, "You have no idea."
"Hey, whats-his-face, you going to release the other two?" Arata called out irritably.
Naruto nodded, "Yeah, sorry about that."
"It's quite alright, Naruto," Sachiko whispered out, still perched on his shoulder.
"Go for Minho, he's 'Experiment #2033. Even if he's one of the strongest out of us, he has a calm personality." Umeko informed, the academy student making a grab for the scroll on the top shelf.
"Minho is a chill dude." Arata laughed, making Ozumo giggle beside him.
Naruto placed the scroll on the ground, subconsciously realizing that most of his wounds had healed. He placed his hand on the scroll, pushing his chakra into it. He winced as it was drained from him, pulling his hand back quickly. A large plume of smoke appeared before them. Sachiko quickly flecked her clawed black bird feet on Naruto's shoulder, making him tense up. She seemed worried which only made the boy feel panicked as well. Arata may have said that Minho was a 'chill dude' but that was around the other snake-hybrids; what would he do around Naruto?
Minho obviously looked much different from what Naruto had been expecting. He was extremely long and large, probably an anaconda-like snake. However, sections of his body were somewhat rounded into sections, something you would see on an earthworm which was weird. Minho had vibrant hazel eyes, looking annoyed and tired. "What's this thing doing here?" His voice was deep and shocked the academy student out of his stupor. He was about to say something to Minho, but Sachiko beat him to it.
"He's releasing us all from our scrolls." She stated quickly.
The large snake-hybrid stared at Naruto with unblinking eyes, "Eh, whatever. Do as you please."
"U-Uh…" Naruto was at a loss for words.
Umeko groaned, "Minho, why are you always like this?"
"I'm just tired, woman, get off my back." He shook his head, slithering off to sit beside Ozumo, curling up.
Sachiko heaved a sigh, "Well, there is only one more left."
"Yeah!" Kiyoko's sharp voice caught everyone's attention, "Good luck!"
He gave a small smile, the feathered-snake-hybrid jumping off his shoulder to stand beside Kiyoko. As he approached the shelf, Naruto could feel the tiredness in his body, calling for him to just go to sleep. However, there was just one more scroll left to be unsealed. If he could get through this one, he could just go to sleep for a while. The blond-haired boy could feel the other snake hybrids eyes on his back, watching his every move.
"Naruto." It was Umeko's voice.
He turned, hand hovering over the last scroll on the shelf in front of him, "Yeah?"
"Please be careful with that last scroll. The last one holds Ryōji, the largest and most aggressive one out of all of us." She informed slight worry in her voice.
Naruto knew that his face had paled significantly, preparing for the worst in this situation as he pulled off the last scroll that held Ryōji. He turned to look at the six snake hybrids behind him, getting a few nods of encouragement from them. Laying the scroll on the ground and opening it up until the circle of lettering could be seen, he placed his shaky hand on the empty part of the circle. Taking a deep, slow breath, Naruto released his chakra into the scroll. Light and smoke overtook the entirety of the experimentation lab, making visibility almost nonexistent. His head felt light and exhaustion was kicking in. He should have asked for a break to build up so more chakra.
Suddenly, he felt something large and scaly wrap around his body and lift him off the ground. Naruto yelped as it tightened against him, arms being pinned to the side in a painful position. Tears started to prick his eyes as it continued to become tighter.
"RYŌJI!" It was Sachiko calling out, "PUT HIM DOWN!"
"YOU'RE GOING TO KILL HIM!" Ozumo shouted, fear in his voice.
Naruto felt the tears trailing down his face, noticing that the smoke had completely disappeared. He looked down, seeing absolutely nothing lifting him up in the air. His eyes widened at the thought, trying to twist his head to look at the other snake hybrids. Naruto was about to call out for help before getting caught off guard by scales starting to appear out of nowhere. He followed the trail of a snake body coming out of camouflage. It led up to a large tail wrapping around his torso, squeezing tightly. It continued to drop its disguise until Ryōji's entire body could be seen.
Naruto cried out as the hybrid tightened once more, finally getting a look at Ryōji. Large, yellow cat-like eyes peered into his own. Fear seeped into Naruto like nothing ever before. His heart sped up quickly, oxygen leaving his system. The large snake hybrid hissed dangerously, constricting his hold on the boy who cried out in pain once more. "I'm going to squeeze the life out of you, filthy human." His words were like knives to Naruto.
"Ryōji, put that boy down this instant!" Minho hissed at the larger snake hybrid, uncurling himself from his previous position.
Blood forced its way out of Naruto's mouth, a new pain erupting in his chest as something cracked inside him. There was more shouting but he couldn't anything except the dull thumping of his heartbeat in his ears. He barely saw Minho launch himself at Ryōji, using his large force and bite to make the hybrid drop him. He fell ungracefully onto the cold ground, crimson liquid leaving his mouth. Naruto couldn't see anything anymore, whether he'd lost his vision or his eyes were closed, he couldn't tell. There was dull screaming going on, something slick touching his chest.
"Some way to spend a Tuesday afternoon." He mulled to himself as he allowed unconsciousness to take him.
Snake-Hybrids
1. Sachiko (female): Black Mamba + Dove
2. Arata (male): No specific snake species because I'm lazy + Sea Cucumber
3. Ozumo (male): Kenyan Snake Boa + Crab
4. Umeko (female): Snake-Tailed Horned Viper + Spider
5. Kiyoko (female): Corn Snake + Flatworm
6. Minho (male): Anaconda + Earthworm
7. Ryōji (male): Basilisk (picture the basilisk from Harry Potter) + Cuttlefish