It was the third great ninja war in the Shinobi world. Hiruzen Sarutobi was the current Hokage in the Hidden Leaf Village. Two of the legendary Sannin were in the Hokage's office. They were Tsunade Senju and Orochimaru Hebi. A young girl who was approximately three and a half years old, stood between them as they argued back and forth. She was their subject of argument.
"She's far too young Orochimaru! Why would you even suggest something so dangerous!?" Tsunade yelled at him.
"Tsunade, you know as well as I do, Zemaria is far stronger than any three year old in this village! Her power would be a great advantage in this war," he argued back.
Orochimaru had requested prior to the start of the argument to allow his and Tsunade's young daughter who was not even in the ninja academy to fight alongside them in the war. Of course, Tsunade being a concerned mother, would not allow this to happen. Orochimaru insisted she had enough strength and intelligence for her age to be beneficial to the war. Sarutobi closed his eyes in deep thought and to tune out the arguing parents. Zemaria stood quietly and fiddled with her fingers.
Sarutobi let out a heavy sigh, "Tsunade, Orochimaru, why don't I give Zemaria a choice? Let her decide what she'd rather do; stay here in the village or fight in the war."
They both stared at him. "You want to let a three year old decide for herself on a matter like this?" Tsunade asked confused.
He nodded, "Yes. If Orochimaru says she has a great amount of intelligence then she can make this decision on her own."
"But Lord Hokage, she's far too young to make such a decision!" Tsunade insisted.
"Hm..." he looked down at Zemaria, "What do you say? Will you stay here in the village, or go to the battlefield with your parents?"
Zemaria thought a moment, "I... I..." she shut her eyes tightly and blurted out, "I'm scared mother and father won't return! So- I... want to go with them."
Her eyes looked as though they'd express great sadness. Both Tsunade and Orochimaru stared at each other in silence. Then Orochimaru formed a satisfied smile on his face. Tsunade had been defeated. She looked away from him in utter distaste. Sarutobi allowed Zemaria to ultimately take Jiraiya's place for the team of Sannin.
Because it was an order from the Hokage, Tsunade had no choice but to accept that her only child could be accompanying her to the battlefield. Sarutobi dismissed them from his office and they immediately went home to get ready for their dangerous mission. Once they were ready, they set out for the land of waves. They were going to fight hidden mist ninja. As young as she was, Zemaria possessed great speed and beyond advanced chakra control.
She didn't know all too many jutsus but it hadn't been long since Orochimaru had sealed something special; something of great power inside of her. That power was the three-tailed beast Isobu. The three were making great progress. They traveled quite the distance in a short amount of time and Zemaria was easily able to keep up with her parents. They took limited number of breaks along the way.
Orochimaru scanned their surroundings as they drew closer to the border from the Leaf to the land of water, "So far, I don't sense any enemies around here."
Zemaria's ears perked and her head shifted slightly, "Father! There's a group of ninja three miles out at 45 degrees west." She pointed in the direction she mentioned.
Zemaria had quite the unique sensory skill. She could hear a person's heartbeat and in turn, identify the person it belonged to after encountering them. Orochimaru nodded to Tsunade and they setup a trap nearby. As the enemy drew closer, they readied themselves for battle. It only took ten minutes for them to show.
"Get ready," Tsunade said.
Once the trap activated, only a few managed to get through. A short lived battle followed the aftermath of the trap's effects settled and the area uttered a calm hush. The enemies were taken down. Zemaria took little damage. Tsunade healed whatever wounds they did acquire and they continued on their way.
On the battlefield, an intense battle was already underway by the time the three of them arrived. Tsunade and Orochimaru took on the most difficult looking shinobi. Zemaria swiftly glided along the shimmering surface of the water they fought on, effortlessly taking down enemy after enemy. It was as if she didn't have to think of what to do at all; a natural reaction. In no more than half an hour, she had killed without a second thought more than fifty enemy shinobi.
After a short while, she changed her appearance and linked with Isobu. A cloak of chakra covered her entire body in the shape of the three-tailed turtle beast. She threw beast bombs at groups of enemies and swished her tails at others, tossing them across the vast body of bloodied water. A large number of allies backed far away from her in a scared attempt to hold on to their own lives. They thought if they didn't... they'd be killed too.
Isobu's chakra limit has faded away and Zemaria changed back to her original form. The chakra disappeared. At that precise moment, an enemy managed to slip passed her defenses. She quickly tried to react appropriately but the ninja with one slick movement swiped his kunai upwards. It sliced right up the side of Zemaria's face barely missing her eye.
Zemaria staggered back slightly and covered her eye with one hand, "Ah!"
Orochimaru was the first to react, "Zemaria!"
The injury only fazed her for a moment before she regained sight of her priority; take town the enemy. As Orochimaru hurried to his daughter's side, Zemaria violently stabbed a sharp kunai deep into the ninja's throat. The reaction made Orochimaru's movements come to an abrupt halt. He realized she was just fine and could take care of herself. An enemy appeared behind him seizing the opportunity to take the Sannin by surprise while he was still distracted. He easily sensed his presence and killed him in one clean hit.
The battles raged on for several days. After almost two weeks, the enemy had fallen back. This was Orochimaru and his team's queue to heal up and return to the Hidden Leaf. For now, the Hidden Leaf shinobi had won the battle. Once they had returned to the village, they immediately reported in to the Hokage.
"So, Zemaria did quite well for her age on the battlefield did she?" Sarutobi asked impressed.
Tsunade nodded, "Yes. I didn't expect her to handle war as smoothly as she had."
Orochimaru snickered, "I told you she would be a valuable asset to the war."
Tsunade scoffed at him, "Is that supposed to be an 'I told you so' response to me?" She crossed her arms annoyed with him.
"Oh, don't be so sore at me Tsunade. I know potential when I see it is all. She is our daughter so it's only natural she excel more than most would," he gloated.
"That's enough, both of you! You two act like a married couple. Zemaria will sit out future missions concerning the war. One was too many as it was. The elders of the council have already given me an earful after you three left about allowing such a young child to go to the battlefield," Hiruzen explained to them.
Both responded, "Yes Lord Hokage."
Once dismissed, all three decided it was best to rest at home. Orochimaru branched off in a different direction than Tsunade. Zemaria hesitated, unable to figure out which parent she should follow home. As smart as she was, she couldn't understand why her parents lived in two separate houses. Of course, the pair weren't together that way. They were merely teammates and comrades.
Neither of them had any love interest in the other. During this time of war, there was another ace team participating; team Minato. This team consisted of Kakashi Hatake, Obito Uchiha, and Rin Nohara with Minato Namikaze as teal leader. Minato adopted the nickname 'yellow flash of the Leaf' due to his incredibly fast speed and ability to instantly teleport anywhere so long as he has his special kunai on hand. The team had a growing reputation throughout the shinobi world.
Zemaria trained with Minato when he wasn't out on missions or fighting in the war. As time passed on, she grew stronger and stronger. Her speed increased exponentially. At the age of five, Orochimaru asked Minato, now the Hokage for a special request. Since the war's end, Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya had been training Zemaria.
"What is it you wanted to request of me?" Minato asked.
"I'd like you to... observe and make a decision one Zemaria's skills. You know as well as I do that she's already reached the level of a Gennin. With her rapidly growing strength, she could be a Jounin before she's even a teenager," Orochimaru said.
Minato thought a moment, "I see. So you want me to evaluate her and make a decision on whether or not to simply make her a Gennin without her even attending the academy. Very well then. Since I did have a hand in training her for a short period of time, I would be a good choice with something like this."
Later that same day, Orochimaru and Minato met up with Zemaria at the training grounds. They created a multiple staged test for her as a sort of cross between a graduation exam and the Chuunin exams. It would consist of tests that focused on physical stamina/strength, intellect, speed/evasion, and strategy. Orochimaru would be primarily in charge of most of the stages while Minato would help him with the speed/evasion part. Minato explained the rules and time limits for the exam to Zemaria.
The first stage was the physical stamina/strength exam. This one would be focused on mostly taijutsu; hand to hand combat and the time limit was for no longer than four hours. Of course, her opponent was to be her father; the one person she hadn't had a lot of experience fighting with using taijutsu. One of the rules was that only the open area could be used. Retreating into the cover of the trees was not allowed. However, it was okay to end up on the water area.
"The first part of the exam will now begin! Remember, you have a time limit of four hours. That should be enough for me to get a good idea of how well you can stand up against a strong opponent in a critical situation," Minato explained.
"I'm ready. And father, don't worry about holding back. I want you to fight me at full power," Zemaria replied.
Both Orochimaru and Zemaria readied themselves and assessed each other before deciding on how to start. Zemaria took a few steps to one side carefully calculating how she would attack. After a moment or two, they ran in opposite directions before charging at each other. They exchanged quite a good number of blows, both dodging one after another. It didn't take long for one of Orochimaru's hits to send Zemaria flying back.
She tried to recover but ultimately ended up slamming directly into a nearby tree. As she made contact with the three, she let out a pained grunt and slid down. Orochimaru gave her a minute to gather herself. Since this was simply a test, he had no need to be too brutal with her. Slowly, she leaned forward and staggered to her feet.
She wasn't going to let herself be beaten down so easily. Orochimaru charged at her once she was standing. The way they fought was as if they were dancing together. Minato was impressed simply by watching how coordinated their attacks were. It was like they already knew what the other was going to do.
Incredible. It's as though they can anticipate each other's movements. It's hard to believe Zemaria is only five years old. Her attacks are so flawless and smooth. Minato thought.
After four hours, Zemaria was just barely still standing. Both of them panted in exhaustion. Even Orochimaru had been worn down so much his energy was running low. Minato congratulated Zemaria on withstanding four hours of taijutsu fighting. Orochimaru dropped to the ground onto his butt.
"Ungh. I'm getting too old for this kind of endurance," he let out a heavy sigh.
Minato laughed, "You getting too old? That's certainly unusual for you to say!"
Orochimaru looked up at him, "Next time, you can spar with her using only taijutsu for four straight hours."
"Well, lucky for you I decided there will be a break before we move on to the next stage of the exam. You can both rest for three hours. Sound fair?" He smiled.
They both nodded. Zemaria plopped herself on the ground and leaned against the nearest tree still trying to catch her breath. Orochimaru shifted around and laid down. It was unlike him to become exhausted to easily. Minato disappeared to search out some much needed 'fuel' for them to help re-energize them. He returned in no time with a bunch of food and drinks.
He handed each of them something to eat and a drink. Orochimaru sat up and Zemaria moseyed on over to be closer to her father. She was definitely a little daddy's girl all the way. Food in hand, she dropped to the ground and started eating. Orochimaru couldn't help but to laugh lightly at his daughter's quirky personality. She certainly didn't pick it up from him or Tsunade; maybe the first Hokage's personality got passed down to her somehow.
"Minato-Sensei, you're the best!" She exclaimed; rice bits stuck to her cheek.
Minato laughed happily, "I don't know about that!" He placed his hands on his hips.
Zemaria Smiled, "It's true. You brought food even though we didn't ask."
He placed a hand to the back of his head rubbing it lightly, "Well… I just thought you guys would need something to replenish that lost energy from your sparring match is all. It was nothing really."
Orochimaru closed his eyes, "You're a very modest person Lord Hokage."
They ate and talked for the three hours they had for resting. Once they were rested enough, Minato took Orochimaru's place. He had talked it over with him about switching out for the intellect exam. It was because he had a sudden idea for it; something he and Orochimaru knew about all too well. He was going to use the 'bell training' that he used for his team and Orochimaru went through with Hiruzen when he had his team with Tsunade and Jiraiya.
"Now, Orochimaru and I are going to switch out for the second stage," He explained.
"Switch out?" Zemaria asked.
Minato nodded, "Yes. There's something I'd like to have you do. I used this training on my team and your father had to do it when he was under the leadership of Lord Third." He held up a single bell. "Now, to be fair, this was supposed to test each Gennin to act as a team in order to get the bell. But since there's only you, it will focus more on using your intellect in order to get it."
Minato added that she could use any weapon and jutsu she desired in order to obtain the bell. He also told her to come at him as if to try and kill him; otherwise she would never get it. She nodded and he set the timer for another four hours. He would be able to really assess her intellect and how well she can manage to obtain an item. The clock started and Zemaria immediately went into hiding to think up a plan.
Minato smiled at her quick thinking; buying time in order to gather data on her target. He got to work on searching her out in order to prevent her from planning to deeply. Orochimaru followed to watch the whole thing play out. Zemaria in the meantime was already setting up quite the elaborate trap. It was convoluted and intricate so much so that it was approximately half a mile in diameter. There was one small spot that she made blatantly obvious on purpose. That one was the bait to set the rest of the trap off.
Now she had to lure him straight into the trap. Carefully navigating around, she listened for him in the woods. Her movements were slow but swift and completely silent. Ten minutes passed before she caught the sound of his heartbeat close by. She first created a clone to throw him off or at least try to. Next, she let him and the clone see each other. Minato suspected it was only a clone but also wanted to see how things would play out.
The clone smiled at him and ran off in the direction of the trap. Just in case, Zemaria had setup a backup trap as well. She sensed his heartbeat twice and picked up on one of them being a clone too. Armed with this knowledge, she quickly fled from her current location and headed straight for the backup trap. While the real Zemaria lead one Minato to the backup trap, the clone was almost at the first trap.
Zemaria's clone reached the first trap and disappeared in the blink of an eye and reappeared directly in the middle of the trap. She made a few hand signs once Minato was close enough and set off the first portion of the trap. It triggered a pit to open up under his feet. With a quick reaction, he avoided falling in but once he was planted on the ground again, the second portion of the trap was triggered. A barrage of kunai, shuriken, and kunai with paper bomb tags flew at him.
Minato dodged the barrage of ninja tools except for a single kunai which had pierced his right arm. She setup a trap with multiple triggers. Clever. He thought and removed the kunai from his arm.
Over with the real Zemaria, it appeared as though the Minato that followed her was actually the real one and the one with the clone was his clone. The Minato clone poofed from being injured by the kunai. Zemaria's clone disappeared too. The release of either one's clones alerted them to what was up. Minato took the opportunity to actually attack Zemaria while she lead him to the backup trap. He used a fire style jutsu.
Zemaria reacted quickly and made a few hand signs, "Water style: water wall jutsu!"
A giant wall of water shielded her from the fire's affects. Minato flicked one of his special kunai so that it just barely missed her. Then he teleported behind her. Taken off guard due to his speed, Zemaria reflexively used her arms to guard herself. Minato shifted his body and attempted to side kick her but she moved her arms accordingly to accommodate his hit. The impact pushed her back slightly and she looked down to where the bell was attached to Minato's waist.
She focused her chakra to her forearm that was against Minato's leg and forced him away. Then she weaved hand signs again. "Fire style: fire ball jutsu!" She took one slight step back.
A giant ball of fire burst out from her mouth and raged forward toward Minato. He looked shocked and for a moment, didn't move. It didn't take long but he shook it off and managed to dodge it. However, the delay caused his Hokage cloak to take damage on the corner.
"That was a close one. A moment more and I would have been toast. Water style and fire style. It's rare that someone so young can possess more than one chakra nature; let alone use fire style like that," he observed. Suddenly, he realized something. Wait, she used a water style jutsu without any body of water nearby. How is that possible?
While he was deep in thought, Zemaria got close enough to him and swiped the bell right from his pants. Minato snapped back to reality and blinked in confusion. What just happened? He looked down and saw the bell was gone. When he looked at Zemaria, she giggled, held up the bell, and stuck her tongue out at him.
"I win sensei!" She happily announced.
"Huh? How did-? Wait, I- you…," He asked still confused.
"You should pay more attention to your enemy," she giggled again.
Minato sighed defeated, "Yeah, I should have known better than to let myself get distracted and drop my guard. Well, that completes the second stage and with an hour to spare too. Good job."
He walked close to her and gently patted her on the head and smiled. Orochimaru laughed at how Minato had been defeated by a five year old. He was having way too much fun watching all of this. The third stage was next. For this one, Minato and Orochimaru hid close by on opposite sides up in the trees while Zemaria was on ground level in between them. Both Orochimaru and Minato threw a slew of kunai and shuriken directly at Zemaria.
This was to test her agility and dodge/evasion skill. Of course, this wasn't anything new for Zemaria as it was how the Sannin trained her in this aspect. She was easily able to dodge every single kunai and shuriken they threw at her. She had passed the third stage. Minato decided that since she used both intellect and strategy in the previous stage, there was no need for a fourth stage for just strategy.
"Alright, I've made my decision," Minato said as he came out into the open.
Orochimaru did the same, "Oh? What have you decided?"
"I've decided to allow Zemaria to become a Gennin," he announced. "She's shown great skills beyond any other her age; even those who have gained early access to the academy. Therefore, she is capable of performing the duties of an official shinobi. With her skill level, it would be possible for her to clear missions as difficult as a B rank."
Minato knelt down to Zemaria's level, removed a ninja headband from his pouch, and handed it to her. She smiled and gingerly took it from his hand. After placing it against her forehead and tying it on, she flung herself forward and gave him a hug. He embraced her and Orochimaru smiled proudly knowing his daughter had such advanced skills. The only thing left was to place Zemaria on a team. Minato looked up at Orochimaru; an idea swirling in his head. He'd have Zemaria's own father lead her for the time being. It would have been a hit or miss placing a five year old on a team with older Gennin.
The basic purpose of a team is to work together as one to successfully complete missions. If the team couldn't get along, the mission would be a failure and that was how people end up getting hurt. Orochimaru gave Minato a confused look. He looked like he was plotting something.
"What are you thinking Lord Hokage?" He finally asked him.
"I was thinking I could place Zemaria under your leadership temporarily. She's far too young to be placed on a team with older Gennin. You know someone would give her an unnecessary hard time about her age and being a shinobi. Plus, it will be good for her to have not just her father as her sensei but also a Sannin," he answered.
Orochimaru placed a curled hand to his lower lip, "Hm… I suppose that makes sense. Then when she's old enough, you'll be placing her in a full team?"
He nodded, "That's the plan at least. If push comes to shove, I'll find two fresh Gennin or two that have at least a year or so experience depending on each person's skill levels and give them to you to train. That way you have a full team."
"One is fine, but two others? I'm not really fond of kids except my own of course," Orochimaru told him; hiding the fact he really didn't mind kids at all.
Minato laughed lightly, "Admit it! You like kids and you know it." He folded his arms.
Orochimaru also laughed and smiled. Minato had seen right through him. It was a little known fact that Orochimaru actually disliked Minato simply because the third Hokage picked him to take over as Hokage; a title Orochimaru wanted himself. Sarutobi felt Orochimaru would not have been right for the role and responsibility of Hokage which was why he had chosen Minato instead. However, for the sake of Zemaria and the fact she looked up to Minato, Orochimaru learned to tolerate his presence. After a short silence, Orochimaru and Zemaria went home and Minato went back to his unattended work at his office.
It didn't take too long before Minato summoned Orochimaru and Zemaria to give them their first mission together. Only a week had passed by this time and the mission was B ranked. They had to track down a group of rogue bandits and their Leaf village rogue leader. The leader was an S class criminal and extremely dangerous. Orochimaru debated at first. A B rank mission is one thing for a five year old's first mission as a shinobi, but to add in taking down an S class rogue was another. He knew he would be just fine but he'd have to also keep an eye on Zemaria if they encountered the bandits and the leader in the same place.
"Zemaria did just fine during the war. I believe in her to be successful with this mission. Her unique skills will be an asset with it," Minato told him.
Orochimaru sighed, "Alright. Fine. We'll go on this mission."
Minato dismissed them and they left to gather a few items before heading out of the village. They traveled for several days before reaching the first small village that had felt the sting of the bandits. Buildings were destroyed, small fires still flickered in anger on canapés above abandoned shops. Zemaria cautiously scouted around the village for any signs of life. It seemed as though very few villagers had survived the attack. The ones that came out of their secure hiding spots had minor injuries.
Zemaria offered to treat their wounds for them. She asked if they could tell her anything about the ones who attacked their village and that she and her father were sent to the area from the Hidden Leaf village to track down the bandits and take care of them. While she was doing that, Orochimaru took care of others who were injured in another part of the village. They gathered enough information to know that the group of bandits had left right after their rampage through the village and headed in the north eastern direction. The pair took off in the direction they were told the bandits headed after the survivors were taken care of.
As they traveled along, Zemaria's ears picked up foreign heartbeats and they were relatively close by. She alerted her father and they stopped. If it were the bandits and their leader, they'd take them on then and there. It's not like the pair were exactly weak or anything like that. The group of bandits made their attack. Zemaria didn't waist any time taking down the enemy like usual.
"Father!" She blocked one attack.
"Right," he quickly assisted her.
There were eight bandits in total and together, Orochimaru and Zemaria took them all down. The rogue leader finally showed his face at that point. His whole group of underlings were taken down in such a short amount of time. He couldn't believe his eyes; a kid took down highly skilled bandits but then again, she did have help from one of the Legendary Sannin of the Hidden Leaf village. Zemaria and Orochimaru readied themselves for the real fight.
"Hm… so, my crew was taken down by one of the Sannin of the Leaf and his twin?" The rogue observed.
"What did you just say?" Zemaria's chakra flowed out of her in rage.
Orochimaru looked at her, "Well, that's not good."
Zemaria weaved hand signs Orochimaru didn't recognize the jutsu to, "Forbidden art: four elemental dragons!"
"Huh!?" The rogue's eyes widened and he took a step back.
Four dragons appeared together: Earth, fire, water, and lightning. Each attacked accordingly. First the water dragon, next the lightning dragon. After those two it was earth and then fire. All four hit their mark. The rogue was flung back and slammed against a nearby tree. Zemaria teleported directly in front of him and slit his throat with her claws.
Orochimaru stood amazed. He had no idea his daughter knew a forbidden jutsu like that. It was odd for her to use any forbidden jutsu to begin with. In the end, their mission was completed. They found the bandits and took care of the rogue ninja. He calmed her down and they started back to the Leaf village.
Once back in the Leaf, they reported in to Minato. Orochimaru explained that they crossed paths with the bandits and after they were taken care of, the rogue had shown his face. He requested that Zemaria be dismissed as he needed to talk to the Hokage alone. Minato nodded and Zemaria left the room and headed back home.
"What did you need to talk to me about?" Minato asked.
"It's about Zemaria. She showed great potential and skill during the mission, however, I'm a bit concerned where her actions are concerned," he explained.
"Oh? What do you mean?" Minato looked confused.
Orochimaru paused a moment, "She used a forbidden jutsu on the rogue ninja and took him down with one move. After using the jutsu, she didn't hesitate to finish him off by slicing his throat open."
Minato gasped in shock, "She what!? Why would she behave in such a manner?"
"It was because of what the ninja said. He referred to her as my 'twin' and if someone says something like that about her; stating such an obvious thing that she looks identical to me, it really sets her off," he said.
"Note to self: don't ever comment on her looking like her father…," Minato noted. "All I can really do is allow her to continue with missions as they come in. However, at some point I'll consider placing her in the Anbu Black Ops. That may help her channel those types of outlandish responses and she won't be around you so no one will have a reason to question her appearance. Unless of course, the enemy knows who you are and what you look like."
Orochimaru nodded, "Very well then. I'll be on my way. That was my only concern with her."
With that, he left the room. Minato interlocked his fingers and thought about the conversation he just had. It was very concerning to him how Zemaria behaved on the mission. He too hadn't known her to be able to use forbidden jutsu. The next day, Zemaria went to see her father. He had been working on something new and she wanted to see what it was.
When she walked into the room he was in, he was holding a syringe in his hand. She made her way over to him to see what it was. "What's that father?" She asked.
"Hm?" He said and turned around. "Oh, this is what I had been working on before. I just finished it. Would you care to be the test subject for it? I know how much you enjoy being my guinea pig." He smiled.
Zemaria shrugged a shoulder, "Sure, why not?"
Orochimaru injected her with the mixture into her neck. She let out a light gasp and her eyes changed; the left became a Sharingan and the right a Rinnegan. Her body overloaded with the new power and she dropped to the ground in pain. Orochimaru knelt down beside her to assess the situation. He then got up and went to grab a jar that contained the eyes of many different snakes. He took the jar over to Zemaria and knelt beside her again.
"Try not to move," he told her.
Unscrewing the top for the jar, he took out one eye. Then he removed one of Zemaria's eyes and replaced it with the one from the jar. He did the same with the other eye as well; replacing it with an eye from the jar. After her eyes were replaced, the right eye reverted back to the Rinnegan while the left eye remained that of a snake's. As it were, her own original eyes weren't strong enough to handle the power of either Kekkei Genkai. With the replacement eyes, however, they adjusted much better.
"Interesting. Your original eyes failed to accept the serum but the replacements have taken to it just fine. Now I'll have to train you how to use your new eyes," he laughed under his breath with a smile on his face.
It felt weird to Zemaria to have her right eye as the Rinnegan since it doesn't ever technically deactivate. In time though, she would learn to get used to it. There was a lot she needed to learn about the different techniques that come with either Kekkei Genkai. Orochimaru had her start training immediately. It wasn't as though they had a mission at the time so it worked out perfectly.
He started out with getting her education on how either one worked and their known techniques. Once she was educated in this, he could move on to having her perform the minor techniques; ones that wouldn't affect the state of the village or surrounding area. A couple of weeks passed between missions and training. Zemaria was pleased with her new abilities. She learned quickly how to use them in battle. Orochimaru was impressed with her improved skills and strength.
The Leaf Village faced an incredible danger one year later; the rampage of the nine-tailed fox spirit Kurama. At this time, Minato's wife Kushina had just given birth to their newborn son Naruto Uzumaki. A masked man however, intervened and used Kushina's weakened state and the weakened seal for the nine-tails to destroy the village. Kurama rampaged throughout the village taking down all of the shinobi fighting to keep it at bay. Minato quickly took back his abducted baby and took him to safety. He then put his focus on Kushina's safety and stopping the nine-tails.
"Your battle is with me!" The masked man interfered.
"Why would you do something like this? What do you gain from it?" He asked him infuriated.
The masked man simply laughed and made his move. Minato easily got around him and went on to focus on sealing the nine-tails once more. When he reached Kurama, Zemaria was close by. She unfortunately had ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time. Minato quickly got her out of harms way and disappeared to take care of the fox. Kushina was nearby and attempted to use the last bit of her strength to restrain the fox with her special chakra chains jutsu.
Naruto had been moved in order to perform the sealing jutsu. As Minato started to weave the signs for it, Kurama tried to attack Naruto and pierce him with his claw. Both Minato and Kushina acted instinctively in order to protect their child. However, Zemaria appeared first. Kurama's claw pierced right through her and she used every ounce of her chakra to stop his advance. Minato stood in a shocked horror. Why? Why would she do something so stupid!?
"M- Minato-Sensei…," she coughed up a massive amount of blood.
"Zemaria! Wh- why would you-!?" Minato's eyes filled with tears.
With the last bit of her chakra, she weaved almost identical hand signs as Minato was trying to do. The nine-tails began to split in two; one half of his chakra surrounded Zemaria and entered her body while the other half entered Naruto's. Zemaria dropped to her knees barely conscious at this point and coughed up even more blood. It was too late to save Kushina, but at least she was able to save Minato. Now Naruto wouldn't have to be alone with the burden of having the nine-tails inside of him and shunned by the villagers.
The barrier containing the area the fox was in disappeared. Lord third had been close by at the time and hurried over to see what had happened. There were several units of Anbu with him when they saw Minato kneeling over Zemaria with a massive hole in her stomach area. The third stopped short knowing that if Orochimaru had found out his only child was on the brink of death, he would not be happy at all.
"...Sensei- I… I'm sorry," she mustered out before closing her eyes.
"Lord Hokage, what happened here?" Sarutobi asked unable to move.
Minato was shaking, "She- she intervened when Kushina and I were willing to sacrifice ourselves for the safety of our son. Then she split the nine-tails and sealed the Yin half inside herself and the Yang half inside of Naruto."
A medical unit arrived and quickly worked on sealing the wound to stop the bleeding. That way, Zemaria would at least have a fighting chance. For the first time as Hokage, Minato didn't know what to do. His student, a shinobi of the hidden leaf, and someone he had sworn to protect was in danger of dying because of him; because she wanted to save his child from being orphaned. She wanted to give him a chance to be a father instead of dying to keep the child alive. Once Zemaria was taken to the hospital, her parents caught wind of what happened and rushed to the hospital.
Minato slowly picked himself up to his feet with Naruto cradled in his arms. The Anbu gently picked Kushina's body up and carried her to the hospital in preparation for her funeral. Minato took Naruto to the hospital to be looked over and cared for as he would have been had the nine-tails not been forced out of his wife. A few hours had passed before Zemaria was moved to a recovery room. Minato sat at her bedside still upset about what had happened. Orochimaru entered her room and upon seeing Minato, instinctively clocked him straight in the face.
Minato flew back and hit the wall. "How dare you!?" He shouted at him.
"Orochimaru! Stop it!" Tsunade held him back.
"It's his fault! If Zemaria hadn't gotten so attached to him, she never would have stepped in like that!" Orochimaru was infuriated.
Minato wiped the blood from his lip and stood up, "I didn't ask her to save me! I, along with Kushina were prepared to die in order to protect our son! She may not be my daughter, but I'm also greatly upset about all of this! I helped train her and… she's always been there smiling and trying to make me laugh if something was bothering me." He looked away.
The tension just barely calmed down. Orochimaru took his focus off of Minato and put it all on his daughter. She was the only one he had after all. For almost two weeks Zemaria had been unconscious until she finally started to open her eyes. When she looked to one side, she saw a sleeping Minato resting over her bedside. She strained to lift her arm and placed her hand gingerly atop of his head and smiled.
"...Sensei…," she whispered.
He woke up and lifted his head slowly, "Z- Zemaria? You're- awake?"
"I'm sorry if I worried you and my parents. It's just- you got me out of harms way but I- wanted to repay you for that," she told him.
His relieved face turned stern, "Well… don't do it again, you hear me?"
She couldn't help but giggle lightly, "Yes, Sensei. I hear you loud and clear."
After two years, Orochimaru gained two new Gennin to make his team full. One of them was Itachi Uchiha. This would prove however, to be a grave mistake on Minato's part. Orochimaru had wanted the Sharingan for years and now he had the most talented Uchiha as part of his team. The thing was though, Itachi wasn't stupid. He instinctively knew that Orochimaru was up to no good. This arrangement was wonderful for Zemaria though.
She had a thing for Itachi. He was cute, talented, smart, and mysterious. Itachi was friends with Zemaria for several years so it was good they were on the same team together. In terms of teamwork, they worked well with each other. The success rate of missions with Orochimaru's team skyrocketed having Itachi on the team. Minato noticed this instantly. A year later, Orochimaru recommended his team of Gennin for the Chuunin Exams.
Zemaria and the team went to the academy building for the first stage of the exam; the written test. The written test consisted of impossible to answer questions. In the end, Itachi and his teammates managed to pass. The second exam went smoothly as well. They were able to reach the tower in the Forest of Death in a record amount of time and with barely any effort. There was a preliminary round after the second stage due to the large number of teams that had passed it.
The only ones from Itachi's team that passed were himself and Zemaria. To prepare for the final stage, the Hokage gave the ninja that passed one month to prepare themselves. The first battle was going to be Zemaria against a Hidden Mist Ninja. Of course, Orochimaru was going to train his young and talented daughter. Itachi's father would help him train whenever he could. Otherwise, he'd be on his own for training.
Zemaria panted, "I… think I used the Sharingan too much." She dropped to her knees out of breath.
Orochimaru walked over to her, "Stand up. You need to withstand Itachi's stamina in order to be able to even come close to his skill level. You know he'll be able to win his match."
"I'm… sorry father. I- I can do this," she stood up.
The time finally came; the third stage of the Chuunin exams. Zemaria won her battle and Itachi won his. The last battle was the one all of the honorable guests were anticipating; a fight between an Uchiha and a Senju. This hadn't happened since the on going fighting of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha. Itachi and Zemaria stayed on the ground while the rest of the competitors made their way up to the viewing area. The battle began. Neither of them moved at first. They were observing the other trying to figure out who was going to make the first move and how.
"Hm…," Itachi sighed. I've seen a lot of her moves while on missions with her as well as when we did some training together. But during the month we had before this to train, she had Orochimaru-Sensei training her. What new tricks will she bring out?
Both of them stared at each other; kunai and shuriken lining the spaces between their fingers. After almost three minutes, they ran in opposite directions strategically. Carefully, they threw a specific number of kunai and shuriken at each other. Both dodged each one. They entered into a taijutsu sparring match. This was their way of testing the other's strength before getting serious with each other.
They seemed to be matched even in taijutsu. It was time for them to get serious now. Itachi and Zemaria both activated their Sharingan and Zemaria fully activated the Rinnegan. Seeing a Senju with such eyes was extremely unusual. After several more attacks, they both stopped moving. They had simultaneously activated the Tsukuyomi and were trapped in each other's genjutsu battle. The spectators had no idea what was going on. They had randomly stopped moving and attacking each other.
There were murmurs from the spectators while Fugaku; Itachi's father frowned at the idea of a non-Uchiha possessing even one Sharingan eye. He knew her eyes were only a result of Orochimaru's experimenting. The battle inside of the Tsukuyomi lasted a mere five minutes in reality's time before one of Zemaria's carefully placed shadow clones interrupted it. The physical battle continued on. Itachi and Zemaria both executed a flawless fire ball. Itachi's was overpowering Zemaria's until she activated the Mangekyou; the next level to the Sharingan.
She countered his fire ball with Amaterasu; the black flames which couldn't be extinguished. Fugaku was taken back seeing her using that jutsu and even activating the Mangekyou to begin with. What was Orochimaru's goal coming up with a way for her to have the Sharingan and Rinnegan? Itachi managed to avoid the affects of the Amaterasu and attacked from Zemaria's left side. Quickly shifting herself, she used the almighty push; a technique for the Rinnegan. Itachi flew back and hit the wall creating a deep indentation.
He gathered himself with just enough time to react to the oncoming water dragon Zemaria sent in his direction. It was one jutsu after another. Zemaria was able to use two chakra natures; fire and water. Their battle lasted a stunning twenty minutes before they stood face to face only inches from each other. Exhausted, they exchanged weak punches before Zemaria dropped to her knees unable to even stand. Her body tilted forward no longer capable of fighting.
The proctor called it, "Zemaria is unable to battle. The winner of the first match is Itachi Uchiha!"
"I- over used my Sharingan…," she muttered and forced herself to stand up.
The spectators gasped. Zemaria placed a hand on Itachi's shoulder and smiled. He smiled back and extended his hand out as a sign of peace. They interlocked two fingers and he helped her out of the stadium. She might not have won the battle but she was pleased that she was able to have such a thrilling fight with her friend and teammate. Everyone watching seemed confused.
Zemaria and Itachi went straight to the infirmary. They were both exhausted and low on chakra. Fugaku got up from his seat and left for the infirmary to check on Itachi while Orochimaru had the same idea to check on Zemaria. Fugaku didn't look too pleased to see Orochimaru but kept his attention on his son. Orochimaru went straight over to Zemaria to see how she was holding up.
"Well, you didn't win the match but you showed great strength. You possessed the abilities and qualities of a Chuunin. Now let's see if those in charge will see it the same way," Orochimaru told her.
"Thank you father. Your words mean a lot to me. Did- did I make you proud of me?" She asked.
He nodded, "Yes. I'm very proud of you."
"You fought well, Itachi and showed great sportsmanship. Even though your opponent lost, you showed that there was no bad blood between you two," Fugaku said.
Itachi responded, "Zemaria and I are friends. After battling with her like this, I can say now that I acknowledge her strength."
Now that the Chuunin exams were over, Itachi, Zemaria, and a few others were summoned to the Hokage's office. This could mean only one thing; they were there to be promoted to the rank of Chuunin. It had only been a couple of days before they were summoned there in order to give the competitors some time to recover from their battles.
"I'd like to congratulate all of you here. I'm sure you know why I've summoned you," Minato started.
"We've been acknowledged by our superiors as having the skill sets needed to become Chuunin," Itachi finished for him.
Minato nodded, "That's right. All of you possess the abilities and qualities for being Chuunin; leaders and teachers to others."
He handed each one of them a Chuunin vest. Zemaria was thrilled. She was a Chuunin. And of course, she was happy about Itachi becoming one too.