A Lifetime of Chances

by The Wandering Delusion

It was a freak accident. A series of events joined together to achieve the impossible. Now Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke are living their lives over and over again, with no end in sight. So they decided, be it a blessing or a curse, to make the most of the situation they find themselves in. They will live by their own rules and do whatever they want to do. This is their story.

3. Defection to Sound

A/N: I apologize for how long it's taken me to get this chapter out. My time was pretty much focused on preparing for and attending Otakon and school starts soon, so that's eating up time as well. Again, I apologize.

On the plus side this chapter is longer than my other two combined. Be warned, there are some spoilers for later in the manga here. Also, this chapter is a bit…sporadic.

Start

Sasuke stared out over the village from his vantage point on his roof. Night had fallen and the village was slowly falling asleep as the civilian activity came to an end. The village was beginning to regain its strength now that Tsunade was in the Hokage chair, but it would take time to heal.

Sasuke simply enjoyed the cool breeze as he waited. The soft sounds of muffled footsteps alerted him to the fact he wasn't alone. Sasuke probably would have missed it if he weren't specifically looking for it. Climbing to his feet, Sasuke turned to regard the four individuals in front of him.

"So I have to ask. Is Leaf's security really that bad, or are you all just that good?" Sasuke asked the Sound Four.

A man with dull grey hair grinned. "It's a little of both, really. We're the elite of the Sound village, but Leaf has plenty of holes to exploit if you know where to find them." Sakon grew serious. "We're here on behalf of Lord Orochimaru. He requests that you come with us and join the Sound village. He promises to give you all the power you could ever need."

Sasuke nodded. "I figured as much. I agree to join you." Sasuke almost laughed as the Sound Four, who were clearly expecting a fight, nearly tripped over themselves.

Sakon regained his composure first. "You're agreeing to come with us and betray the Leaf village? Without a fuss?"

Sasuke smirked. "Not exactly. I have certain…conditions to going with you."

The redheaded female, Tayuya if memory served, blew her stack. "Who the fuck do you think you fucking are, cock-sucker? Do you think we give two shits about your pussy ass conditions, you cum guzzling son of a street whore?"

Sasuke was impressed. He hadn't heard swearing like that since the time Sakura broke three of her toes and pulled a hamstring while practicing her Earth techniques.

Sakon held out his hand and silenced the irate female. He turned his gaze back to Sasuke. "I'm listening."

Scene Break

"I don't like this, Sakon. Do you really think this is a good idea?" Tayuya asked as they leapt through the trees towards Sound. Her lack of swearing showed just how worried she was.

Sakon sighed and glanced back towards Sasuke and his… conditions. Jiroubou and Kidomaru were bringing up the rear and keeping a careful eye on their charge. If there was the slightest sign of trouble, Kidomaru would use his web capture and Jiroubou would use his Chakra Drain to subdue it.

"No, Tayuya." Sakon answered. "No, I don't think this is a good idea. But you heard Lord Orochimaru's orders; bring back Sasuke by any means necessary. We don't have a choice."

Tayuya was still nervous, so Sakon continued. "Look, once we're in Sound we'll have Lord Orochimaru there. He can handle any plan this punk may have." That seemed to reassure the flautist and the rest of the trip was made in silence.

Scene Break

"Lord Orochimaru. The Sound Four have returned." Kabuto said to his master.

"Excellent." The Snake Sannin smirked beneath the bandages covering his new face. The Third Hokage had done quite a number on him, and he was forced into a new body early. "And they brought Sasuke?"

Kabuto hesitated. "Yes sir, they did. However, there was an unforeseen…complication." Orochimaru simply arched his brow, allowing Kabuto to continue. "Sasuke apparently wouldn't leave without certain conditions being met. Since the Sound Four were ordered to make as little a spectacle as possible, they agreed and hoped you would be able to sort it out."

Orochimaru stroked his chin. "I see. And just what are these 'conditions' you speak of?"

Kabuto gestured to the hallway behind him. "It would be easier if you saw for yourself, My Lord."

Nodding to his second in command, the ex-Leaf ninja walked down the darkened halls towards the entrance chamber. He arrived to see his loyal Sound Four surrounding Sasuke Uchiha… and his two teammates?

Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto each dropped to one knee and bowed as soon as they saw the Sannin. They spoke in unison. "Orochimaru, we pledge ourselves to you and your teachings, if you will have us."

Even with the bandages obscuring his face, Kabuto had never seen his master grin so widely before.

Scene Break

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Sasuke asked as he, Sakura, and Naruto settled in to their new accommodations. Sasuke had been very clear that his friends were to be in the same room as him.

Naruto sighed as he sat down on his bed. "I don't know, Sasuke. I-I feel like I'm almost betraying the Old Man by being here, but at the same time, I don't really care. It feels like the Old Man just isn't as important to me as he once was. Does that make me a horrible person?"

Sakura answered before Sasuke could. "No, Naruto. No, it doesn't. The loops just keep going on and on. That means we constantly mature and change, while everyone else around us eventually just resets after a while. Eventually, we have to pull away from those people, because in a way, they aren't the people they should be. People who were friends as kids might not get along as teenagers and so forth. It's even worse with us, because any bonds we make with people either disappear or get snapped back to a certain point. Believe me, Naruto; I know exactly how you feel."

And indeed she did. As sad as it was, between the three of them, Sakura was the one with the largest circle of friends before the loops began. Sasuke never really associated with anyone before the loops and people who Naruto cared about could be counted on one hand. Sakura not only had both of her parents, but a smattering of friends in the academy as well.

Sakura had grown distant with all of them, though the one that hurt the most was Ino. Sakura had been thrilled when she learned ways to become friends with Ino again during the loops. This joy wasn't meant to last, however. Sakura was an immature brat during her academy days. Unfortunately, while Sakura grew out of this, Ino did not. That is to say, Ino took a very long time to grow out this phase.

Due to the laid back nature of her teammates and teacher; Ino didn't really have any serious motivations to become a strong ninja outside of family obligations. It usually took a harsh wake-up call, the most effective of which was either her teacher Asuma or her father, Inoichi, dying in the line of duty.

Those events usually didn't happen until a few years into Ino's ninja career, so Sakura found it increasingly difficult to deal with a perpetually childish Ino. Sakura had, at one point, gotten the idea to train Ino herself. Thereby making her stronger and prodding her along to be a better ninja. That plan had ended in disaster.

The one time Sakura managed to convince Ino that she didn't have an ulterior motive to training her; Sakura made Ino competent enough to notice and dispel the sleep illusion cast by Kabuto during the Invasion. The sleeping illusion was actually beneficial in a lot of ways, because it kept civilians and low level ninja out of the fight. Without being asleep, Ino instantly became a target for the Sand and Sound ninja and she had been nowhere near ready for that level of combat. Sakura had an extra funeral to attend that loop.

Pulling herself back to the present, Sakura watched as Naruto processed her words. "Maybe you're right, Sakura. It doesn't matter either way." Naruto sighed.

Sasuke spoke. "Don't say that, Naruto. Of course your feelings matter. Listen, if you want to pull out of this at any time, just say the word and we're gone." Sakura nodded her agreement.

Naruto just shook his head. "Sasuke, what you said that day was right. We can use this as an opportunity to gain valuable information on one of the Leaf's biggest threats. Not only that, but hopefully we'll find a way to remove the Curse Mark once and for all. This is too important to let my own feelings get in the way. We're ninja. The mission comes first.

"Bullshit!" Sakura hissed. "Don't you even dare start thinking like Danzo. Your emotions aren't a weakness, Naruto. You should know that better than anyone. I understand that you're disturbed by your lack of a connection to the Third, but if you seriously only cared about the mission, then you wouldn't have insisted that the two of us join Sasuke."

Sasuke joined in before Naruto could respond. "And we're not just ninja, Naruto. We're time travelers. We can start over if something goes wrong. We have that luxury. We don't have to become emotionless drones that only focus on completing a mission. If something goes wrong, then we can go back and fix it." Sasuke's expression darkened. "Take advantage of the loops; don't be so stupid as to try to do everything by yourself. We're in this together, and we always will be."

Naruto gave a small smile. "Thanks guys. I really needed that. Okay, enough about me. What kind of time frame are we looking at here?"

"Since we managed to stall the Sound Four long enough on our journey here, Orochimaru had to use his Possession jutsu on someone else. That gives us roughly two and a half to three years before he's fit to try again." Sakura stated.

Naruto nodded. "Alright, then let's get some sleep. First thing tomorrow, we try out our plan to stop Orochimaru from taking Sasuke's unwilling body."

Sasuke winced. "Do you have to say it like that?"

"Don't look at me, blame Orochimaru who made a technique that is literally impossible to describe without sounding creepy."

Scene Break

"Hey, Kabuto! Wait up!"

Orochimaru's second in command turned at the sound of his name being called to find Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke jogging towards his direction. The three gave a small wave of greeting before Naruto started talking.

"We were hoping to run into you. Listen, are you busy?" Kabuto was slightly unnerved by how casually Naruto was speaking to him, considering the last time the two had met Kabuto had plunged a knife through the blonde's hand.

"Not really, no. I was just heading down to the lab to check up on some experiments. Why?" Naruto's grin widened.

"That's perfect. You see, the three of us have our own little experiment we want to try, and you're just the man to help us." Naruto patted a folder he was holding as he said this.

Now Kabuto was intrigued. "Really? Well then, follow me. Let's walk and talk." By the time they reached the labs, the three new ninjas of Sound had explained what they were hoping to accomplish.

"So do you think it's possible?" Sakura asked.

Kabuto didn't respond immediately. He was rubbing his chin while flipping through Naruto's folder, deep in thought. "It's certainly ambitious, I'll give you that. As for if it's possible… I'd say the chances of it working are less than ten percent."

Kabuto expected the three to look disappointed, instead Naruto seemed even happier. "So you're saying there's a chance."

The spectacled ninja was nonplussed. "Yes, but it's such a small chance that it's not really worth trying."

Naruto was undeterred. "You said there was a chance. That alone makes it worth doing. How can science advance if we aren't willing to take risks on crazy ideas? And if a few dozen people happen to get hurt in the process, well sacrifices have to be made. For science!"

Who was Kabuto to argue with logic like that?

Scene Break

The three wayward Leaf Ninja had to admit, Orochimaru was an excellent teacher, something he shared with his fellow Sannin. However, unlike his teammates, Orochimaru had absolutely no qualms about teaching them top of the line jutsu, strategies and illusions.

In the Leaf village, and every major village for that matter, there were very strict rules about what could and couldn't be taught to ninja of a certain level. Genin weren't meant to be trusted with A-rank jutsu for instance. There were exceptions made if you were part of a clan or if you teacher was a particularly well-respected Jonin. Hence why people like Gai and Kakashi could get away with teaching Genin techniques like the Thousand Birds and the Lotus.

If you wanted to get some real techniques, then you need to claw your way to the top. This was particularly frustrating for Naruto, since the village had such a prejudice against him. Sakura could make ANBU faster than Naruto would be promoted to Chunin in the Leaf village.

Even Tsunade and Jiraiya, who were much more willing to teach powerful techniques, had personal reasons for not just training super soldiers left and right. Tsunade, having lost so many people she cared about, was ruthless in testing and retesting a person's capabilities. If you slipped up even once, then you had to start over at the basics before Tsunade would train you further. To Tsunade, this ensured that whomever she trained wouldn't be unprepared for any form of situation, but it made training with her feel like pulling teeth.

Jiraiya, on the other hand, simply didn't like teaching in general, since, in his mind, any person he trained only had tragedy awaiting them. The Fourth Hokage sacrificed himself for the village and the only other students Jiraiya had trained ended up either dead or being in charge of Akatsuki. Jiraiya had once admitted to Naruto that he considered Pein, or rather Nagato, to be his greatest failure.

Orochimaru, by contrast, had no such personal hang ups. Instead, he seemed to enjoy teaching the most manic and destructive jutsu he could and watching Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke perform it.

As much as he hated to admit it, Naruto enjoyed learning under Orochimaru. It was nice to be taught without having the feeling that the people who were teaching you would rather be doing anything but.

Kakashi had never been interested in teaching Naruto, Sakura, or even Sasuke much of anything really. He only started really training Sasuke when the Uchiha needed the speed and power necessary to punch through Gaara's shield. Despite this, Naruto didn't really bear any ill will towards the man.

Kakashi considered himself too good to bother wasting his time with teaching a couple of rookies and, in a way, he was. Kakashi is a one of the strongest ninja in the village. He's been a Jonin since he was twelve and is highly respected both in the village and out. Fact of the matter is, Kakashi really is too skilled to be teaching rookies when he could be out doing top ranked assignments.

Kakashi only got assigned to Team 7 because of outside influence. In all reality, the same could be said of most of the other Jonin of the Rookie 12. Kakashi was on the team to help with Sasuke's Sharingan. Gai, who is as respected as Kakashi, only took on a team because he admired Lee's courage and wanted to help the boy achieve his dream of being a great ninja without ninjutsu.

Asuma, who used to be one of the Daimyo's personal bodyguards, was assigned because of his well-rounded abilities and his kind personality would benefit the Ino-Shika-Cho trio. While Naruto wished no offense to the woman, Kurenai was still a relatively new Jonin and was the only one who actually would have gotten the assignment of Jonin instructor under normal circumstances.

The only other main teacher Naruto had was Jiraiya, whose personal hang ups kept him from divulging all of his secrets. The only reason he even taught Naruto something as powerful as the Rasengan was because it was Naruto's birthright.

It just felt nice to have a teacher who wasn't afraid to teach top of the line jutsu. Even if the guy still gave Naruto the creeps on occasion, Orochimaru had insights that even masters of wind jutsu had been unable or unwilling to teach him.

"Think of the space between you and your target as a series of constantly moving particles. I want you to focus and push the particles forward. Don't gather air around you and blow the particles like a gust or slice through them with a vacuum blade. Take those particles between you and the wall and simply force them forward." Orochimaru instructed.

It was harder than it sounded. Wind was a flowing element, so it required a lot of grace and flowing movement to bend the wind to your will. Orochimaru was effectively telling Naruto to forget all that and just force the very air to move. There is an important distinction between air and wind. Wind was air in movement that could be focused or bent, but there had to be movement. The standard way was to emit chakra into the air and allow it to begin moving in the way you required. Orochimaru was essentially telling Naruto to push the still air without actually moving it.

Naruto took and deep breath and concentrated. He could feel the air around him just waiting for his command to move; instead he focused on pushing without movement. He thrust his fist forward, emitting chakra from his palm that pushed against the air particles instead of blending with them.

Naruto felt the air strike against the stone wall at the far end of the room. He was unprepared for a crater the size of Naruto's head to form from his attack. Naruto stared at the effects of what he had just done in shock.

Orochimaru clapped his hands. "Well done, Naruto. Now that you've gotten the basic premise, we'll work on control and precision."

Naruto was staring at his hand in amazement. "That was a lot stronger than I thought it would be."

"Hmm. Air is a powerful element. Fire and Lightning jutsus may be the flashiest and most visually impressive, but air has the potential to perform incredible damage. Remember, air is everywhere around us and is necessary for many things .One thing most people fail to realize about air is that if you push it, it has to go somewhere. Push with enough force and you can make a pocket of air the size of a fist hit with the force of a boulder."

To demonstrate, Orochimaru thrust his own hand out. A crater much smaller than Naruto's, yet much deeper embedded into the wall. Naruto was amazed, but Orochimaru wasn't finished. "Not only that, but people carry air inside their lungs just to breathe. Imagine, instead of pushing the air outside and opponent's body, you pushed the air from inside their lungs.

Naruto's eyes went wide as he considered the implications. "Good God, they would never see it coming. Ninja are trained to detect and counter external attacks, and internal one would catch them completely off guard." Naruto stared at the two craters in the wall. "You could split a man in half with that kind of power."

The Snake Sannin grinned. "Very good."

Naruto frowned slightly as he gazed at the two stone craters. "How is it possible for air to do so much damage to stone? Isn't wind weak to earth?"

Orochimaru chuckled. "To most ninja, yes. However, a true master of an element can disregard the elemental rock-paper-scissors matchups."

Naruto frowned in confusion. "I don't understand."

The Snake Sannin continued. "A true master of fire could ignite flames at the bottom of the ocean. A master of water could prevent electricity from conducting. A master of wind can penetrate even the toughest of stone." He gestured towards the recently made craters for emphasis.

"So you're saying that it's possible to be so strong you can overrule the laws of nature?"

Orochimaru grinned. "That's an excellent way to describe it."

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's get to work!"

Scene Break

The Sound Four entered the mess hall, intending to get some food. They had just returned from a mission in Cloud and were after some much needed fuel. They were slightly surprised to see Kabuto sitting with Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke. The four were absentmindedly eating while they appeared to be conversing over a series of notes and diagrams spread out through the table.

"The chemical ratios are still off." Sakura said. "We need more iron in the mix."

Kabuto groaned and rubbed his eyes tiredly. "I still don't understand why we have to make one from scratch. I have numerous samples that could-"

"The entire purpose is to build a blank slate from base materials that could be made over and over again." Naruto argued. "While I don't doubt that your samples are well cleaned and maintained, they will still have that slightest stain in them. It renders the experiment pointless."

Sasuke noticed the Sound Four approaching and alerted the others. Kabuto was finished with his meal so he began gathering up the various papers. "I'll see what I can do about the chemical influx. I want you three to come by tonight so I can gather more samples from you. I want to start trying to mix your variables in to see how well the structure holds." The three nodded and waved goodbye to the silver haired medic before turning to the Sound Four.

Tayuya spoke. "The fuck was that about?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Just a little pet project we've got going on. It's not really important. Would you like to join us?"

The elite of the Sound village were slightly surprised by the invitation, but saw no harm in accepting. It had been nearly a year since they had escorted the three to the village and they still knew very little about them. Constant missions and training hadn't left much time for socializing.

Once they were situated, Naruto decided to get the ball rolling with his incredible tact and subtlety. "So you all have Curse Marks, right?" Sakura gave him a smack upside the head, but the Sound Four didn't seem offended. They even leaned forward to show their differing Curse Marks.

"Does Orochimaru choose the design of each curse mark?" Sasuke asked.

Sakon shrugged. "As far as I know, he just lets the curse tailor make itself to each recipient. The Heaven and the Earth curses are the only type he ever consciously chooses to give." Sasuke resisted the urge to rub his neck where his own Heaven mark was located. It was sealed for the time being, and Sasuke had no intention of calling on its power.

Sakura seemed intrigued by Sakon's answer. "If that's true, then the curse has to have some form of adaptation ability. I wonder what factors it takes in when changing. Chakra capacity and control? Elemental Affinity? Maybe even something like personality or blood type? Not only that, but outside of the Heaven and Earth marks, is it possible for two people to have the same mark? If so, we could try to isolate the factors that created that mark and determine what causes the differences."

Naruto interrupted Sakura's spiel. "As much as I hate to dash your Curse experimenting dreams, we have our own project that we kind of need to focus on." Sakura nodded in agreement, but looked forlorn.

Kidomaru seemed uneasy. "We're not going to wake up to find you hovering over our necks, are we?" The three of them laughed at the thought, though realized the Sound Four wanted an answer.

"Perish the thought." Sakura said after getting herself under control. "It's just a medic's curiosity."

Jiroubou spoke. "That's exactly what Kabuto says when he wants to perform an experiment. One time I agreed to what he called a 'psychological test.' I woke up three days later, butt naked in a hotel in Hidden Stone village with a note that said I had 48 hours to get back to Sound."

This time, everyone burst into laughter, besides Jiroubou. "It's not funny." He pouted. His lips twitched upward slightly as the laughter continued. "Okay, it's a little funny."

"Man, that must have been a fun little experience." Naruto chuckled.

Jiroubou groaned. "Oh that's not even the worst of it. Kabuto had spent the previous few days running around Stone village causing trouble disguised as me. I only had a few minutes to try to process what was going on before people started trying to break down the door. There were Casino owners who claimed I had massive debts in all their establishments. Angry fathers who claimed I knocked up their daughters, and an entire ensemble of pet owners who claimed I had kidnapped their animals. There are still wanted posters of me up in Stone!"

The entire table was now howling with laughter as Jiroubou told his tale. Naruto and Kidomaru were practically choking, they were laughing so hard. With the ice broken, the seven ninja began exchanging stories and jokes with each other as they ate their meals.

Naruto checked the time and got to his feet. "It's been real, guys, but we have to report to training. See you around?" The Sound Four gave nods of agreement and waved the new additions to Sound off.

As the three walked off, they just barely heard Kidomaru's question to Jiroubou. "So… did you actually knock up all those girls?"

Scene Break

Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke were currently practicing a new technique under Orochimaru's carful gaze. It was called the Maniac Contortion jutsu, it allowed someone to bend, shift, stretch, or even shrink his or her body in a myriad of ways. When someone dodges a punch, they don't expect the same blow to whip around their head and strike from the opposite side.

Team 7 was currently using it to play tag with one another. Extending limbs to strike out at the others, while twisting their own bodies to avoid being tagged themselves. Orochimaru seemed to find the entire display incredibly entertaining. Kabuto entering the room interrupted their fun.

"Lord Orochimaru, we've just received word from our spies in the Sand village. The Kazekage has been captured by Akatsuki." Naruto instantly perked up as he realized Kabuto was talking about Gaara.

Orochimaru frowned. "I see. It seems that my old comrades are beginning to make their move." The three former Leaf Shinobi glanced at one another. They knew that Gaara's kidnapping was the starting point for a lot of hectic events to begin. It also meant that their three-year time limit was almost up, and it was time to put their experiment to the test.

"Orochimaru." Naruto said, gaining the Sannin's attention. "We have been working on something with Kabuto since we got here. We'd like to show it to you."

Orochimaru was intrigued. He had been aware that the four were experimenting on something, but didn't know what. Kabuto assured him that it wouldn't harm Orochimaru and could only help him, so the Snake let them have their privacy. "Lead the way."

The five of them made their way down to Kabuto's private lab. They gathered around a large glass container. Orochimaru knew these large pods were filled with chemicals to preserve bodies for observation and testing, though he couldn't make out what was actually in it due to the observation lights being switched off.

Kabuto approached the control panel and switched on the lights. Orochimaru found himself staring at…himself? Indeed, floating in the green liquid of the pod was what appeared to be an exact copy of Orochimaru.

"Okay." He said slowly. "Start explaining."

Naruto took the lead. "You wanted Sasuke here so you could use your Possession Jutsu to take over his body and gain the Sharingan."

Orochimaru chuckled, unconcerned with the implied threat in Naruto's voice. "Guilty."

"And you must be aware of the fact that we have no intention of letting that happen."

"I had my suspicions." The yellow-eyed missing ninja subtly shifted his stance as he prepared for an ambush.

"So Sakura, Sasuke, Kabuto, and I have been working on a… substitute." Orochimaru arched his brow. Now he was intrigued again. "What you see before you is over two and half years of near constant work."

Orochimaru spoke. "So you made a corpse that looks like me? I fail to see how that helps anyone. I need a living body to possess."

Sakura took over. "We're well aware of that. This isn't a corpse. This is a Cultivated Vessel. The body in there is very much alive and it doesn't just look like you, it is you."

The raven-haired ninja was growing irritated by the way there were skirting the issue. He focused his yellow gaze onto Kabuto. The medic cleared his throat nervously.

"You see, Lord Orochimaru, what we've done here is create a perfect soulless vessel for you to occupy. It took an incredible pooling of Sakura's and my own medical expertise, but by breaking down a human anatomy into base materials mixing the material with Naruto's incredible regenerative powers and using your DNA as a baseline or rather a framework, we were able to literally grow you a body."

Now it was Sasuke's turn. "It has no soul, so you won't have to constantly suppress another person's will. And since it's your own body instead of someone else, it won't naturally fight against you, so the possession should last a good deal longer than three years."

Orochimaru stroked his chin thoughtfully while the four waited to see his reaction. "This is indeed an incredible achievement." He began amicably. "However, The Sharingan is too valuable a prize to give up on. I've waited years to gain my own, and I will not be deterred."

To Orochimaru's surprise, the four in front of him actually grinned. "You don't have to give up the Sharingan, Lord Orochimaru." Kabuto said. He began typing in commands on the control panel. The Cultivated Vessel opened its eyes. Instead of the yellow snake eyes he was expecting, Orochimaru was staring into a pair of red Sharingan.

"Because we literally grow the body from scratch," Kabuto explained. "We can infuse it with any bloodline we wish. Assuming we have a decent sample of said bloodline and can sufficiently break it down. We took a lot of cues and tips from your experiments with the First Hokage's Wood jutsu."

Orochimaru's jaw was now hanging open in shock, disbelief plastered across his face. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, but failed to make a sound. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura had accomplished some amazing things during these time loops. Each of them considered shocking The Snake Sannin utterly speechless as one of their most impressive feats.

Finally, Orochimaru managed to find his voice. "So you can create the Sharingan?"

Sakura decided to answer. "Not create, exactly. More like replicate. We couldn't have done this if it wasn't for Sasuke allowing his own DNA to be extracted and his eyes constantly examined to break down the specific genes that create the Sharingan. Then we plant those genes into the Cultivated Vessel and allow it to grow naturally with the body."

"I don't think natural can be used to describe anything we've done here." Naruto quipped. Sakura ignored him.

"It's not just the Sharingan either. The Cultivated Vessel is essentially a blank slate that can be painted with bloodlines. We just need a proper sample and understanding of it. Though, not all bloodlines get along well with each other. We tried mixing in Kimimaro's Dead Bone Pulse bloodline and the whole thing blew up in our faces. We can make a Vessel with one or the other, just not both."

Orochimaru now stared at the four in front of him with wonder in his eyes, unable to fully believe what they had given him. "Is-is it ready to be used?" He asked.

Kabuto checked the screens monitoring the Vessel. "I just need to run some final check-up scans to make sure everything is in proper working order, but it's just a formality at this point. I can have it ready by tonight."

Orochimaru composed himself and nodded. "Good. Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto, I want you to meet me in the main training hall in three days, understand?" The three nodded. "You're dismissed."

Scene Break

The three entered the training hall to find Orochimaru waiting for them. He watched them enter with his newly acquired Sharingan. He was dressed differently than they were used to seeing him. Instead of the loose black and beige shirt and robe with a large purple rope belt, he was dressed more like a traditional Jonin. Black pants with combat boots, a black Jonin jacket, with straps across the chest as opposed to scroll pouches, and a Hidden Sound headband across his forehead.

The three took in the new look. They had never seen Orochimaru in official ninja clothes or with his headband. Hell, they had thought the rope and robes were the official ninja clothes for Sound given how everyone seemed to wear them. With the new clothes and the Sharingan, Orochimaru actually looked quite different. Though, this may have something to do with the serious expression he wore. Even in battles to the death Orochimaru wore an expression of smug glee more often than not. The way he regarded the three was definitely something new.

"The new look suits you, Orochimaru." Sakura commented casually.

Orochimaru's expression didn't change. "I find myself contemplating what to do with you three." He said slowly. "I intended to simply kill you two off once I possessed Sasuke, but your experiment has rendered that plan moot. More than that, you've proven yourselves to be too valuable to simply toss away."

Team 7 wasn't sure what to say to that, so simply stayed quiet. Orochimaru began pacing. "It's become increasingly apparent that you all can actually be useful beyond simple amusement and a temporary body. I have debated with myself whether or not to allow you access to my future plans, and this new vessel has sealed the deal for me."

He focused on the three. "You three are officially my new apprentices, and that means it's time to stop holding back on your training."

Now the three were confused. "Holding back?" Sasuke asked. Orochimaru laughed.

"Did you really think I would seriously train three people who I intended to kill? You three have grown beautifully under my tutelage, but if you think you know even of fraction of what I do, then you're delusional. Don't mistake my meaning; you all are easily A-ranked ninja. However, It's about time you learned the difference between an A-ranked ninja, and an S-ranked ninja."

Orochimaru dropped into a battle stance, his new Sharingan whirling in his eyes. "I want you three to come at me with full strength. Don't hold back."

The three time travelers glanced at each other. They weren't sure exactly what Orochimaru was planning, but decided to go along with it for the moment.

Sakura shot forward, her fist pulled back to deliver a super powered punch. Orochimaru ducked beneath the blow and grabbed her passing wrist. The pink haired girl was pulled off her feet and swung around like a rag doll. Orochimaru spun her three times to gain momentum, before slamming her into the ground with enough force to cause a crater.

Sasuke, charged with a full body Lightning Blade, moved in on Orochimaru. Rather than get close; Sasuke focused the lightning surrounding his body into a blade of pure electricity. He slashed at Orochimaru; the blade could extend at will and had no actual weight, allowing Sasuke to swing as fast as his arm could possibly move. It wasn't fast enough.

With inhuman speed, The Snake Sannin sped directly at Sasuke. Before he could even finish the slash, Orochimaru was directly in front of him. Sasuke expected the full cloak of lighting to protect him, he was wrong. Orochimaru seemed to completely disregard the electricity and grabbed the Uchiha's arm. The Sannin slammed his fist directly into Sasuke's elbow joint, dislocating it. The pain caused Sasuke to lose his concentration and the Lightning Blade dissipated.

Sasuke pumped Chakra into his Lightning Cloak to try and force Orochimaru back. Once again the Snake seemed to flip physics the bird and latched onto Sasuke's shoulder, not even wincing from the electricity. Unable free himself from the Sannin's death grip, Sasuke couldn't dodge as Orochimaru proceeded to viciously bombard his abdomen with his fist over and over.

The last Uchiha fell to his knee, hacking blood, as the Lightning Cloak vanished. Orochimaru turned to see five pairs of Naruto facing him. Each pair armed with a Big Ball Rasengan. Before the blondes could react Orochimaru ran straight at the pair in the center. The two attempted to nail the Sannin with their technique, only for Orochimaru to drop to the ground on all fours. His head twisted in a way that shouldn't be physically possible and catapulted his sword, Kusanagi, at the Naruto on the left in the pair on the far right.

The sword plunged into the original Naruto's shoulder, burying itself over halfway through his body. Naruto was about to pull the blade out when he realized Orochimaru's tongue was wrapped around the handle.

"Oh no."

"Thunder Style: Shock Wave." Electricity surged from the Snake's tongue into his sword, then into Naruto. The Jinchuuriki screamed as his nerves were fried, and he quickly lost control of the large Rasengan. The swirling ball of chakra ruptured, the resulting blast destroying Naruto's clones as well.

"Earth Style: Blade Barrage!"

Orochimaru turned to see Sakura back on her feet. Both her hands were flat on the ground and over a dozen stone spears erupted from beneath her and flew at the Sannin. Rather than dodge the spears, Orochimaru instead melted into the ground.

Sakura slammed her fist into the ground, causing massive chunks of the floor to fly into the air. "You can't hide below from me!" She shouted.

"Then how about above?" Sakura's head shot upward to see the top half of the Sannin melt out one of the floor chunks she had sent into the air. Sakura tried to ready a jutsu, but Orochimaru beat her to the punch.

"Water style: Dark Rain."

Pebbles of hardened water slammed down upon Sakura. The droplets had enough force to punch straight through her skin. She only barely managed to avoid a fatal blow by protecting her head with her arms, but she was now bleeding profusely from multiple wounds.

Orochimaru pulled himself from the stone chunk, nimbly dodging a series of Kunai thrown at him. Sasuke was pressed into the far corner of the room, so he would have the entire room in his field of vision. His hands were extended before him, held together to form a triangle.

"Thunder Style: Erratic Electric!" A condensed beam of Lightning shot from the Uchiha's hands towards the Sannin. Orochimaru easily sidestepped the attack, only to be forced to jump when the beam bounced off the wall and reflected back at him. Sasuke fired off another three beams in different directions, no doubt using his Sharingan to calculate the angles of reflection. Unfortunately for Sasuke, Orochimaru had Sharingan of his own now.

Not even moving from his spot, Orochimaru simply clapped his hands together. "Earth Style: Buddhist Palm." Four large hands sprouted from the ground and intercepted each beam, reflecting them all back at Sasuke.

Cursing loudly, Sasuke dove along the wall to avoid his own attack. Orochimaru was on top of him instantly. Before Sasuke could even contemplate attacking, The Sannin nailed Sasuke's head with a high kick that slammed his cranium into the wall.

Without even turning, The Sannin's hand shot out and caught his Kusanagi blade, making sure to avoid the wind enhanced blade and grab the handle. He turned towards Naruto, who had just thrown the blade. Naruto thrust his hand forward, pushing the air towards Orochimaru. "Wind Style: Unrelenting Force!"

Orochimaru held out his free hand, not even bothering to dodge. "Wind Style: Unrelenting Force." Naruto was shocked to not only feel his own attack ripped apart like it wasn't there, but to be thrown bodily across the room as Orochimaru's much stronger attack hit.

Slowly, almost casually, The Sannin dispelled the wind chakra surrounding his blade and placed the tip in his mouth, proceeding to swallow the weapon whole. Once his sword was properly stored away, Orochimaru idly noted that Sasuke was no longer lying at his feet. He looked across the room where all three of his opponents were now standing.

Sakura stood in the center holding the front end of a ludicrously large spinning pillar. The giant stone pillar was held horizontally above their heads, suspended up by wind courtesy of Naruto. The massive gyro was filled with hundreds of spinning teeth, surrounded by dozens of blades on the outside that formed a single, deadly point. Beneath the moving earth and stone, sparks of electricity were visible, as it seemed to be channeling through the entire contraption.

The three spoke as one. "Seven Style: Ballistic Drill Blitz!" and launched their group Jutsu at the Snake Sannin. The massive pillar tore through the air as it closed in on him. Orochimaru held out his hand, index and middle finger extended. A single ball of light formed just in front of his fingertips.

"Fire Style: Incineration." A beam of white heat, barely thicker than a needle, pierced straight through the drill, and the wall behind it. The group jutsu exploded as the indescribable heat of the beam melted the stone pillar, causing the Lightning within it to violently detonate. Naruto would later swear that he could feel the very air catch fire.

The force of the explosion slammed into Team 7 and they were violently flung into the wall, before everything went black.

Scene Break

Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto slowly regained consciousness. They were unsurprised to find themselves in the medical wing. Once all three were awake and properly alert Orochimaru made his presence known.

"Now do you understand the difference between an A-rank and an S-rank?" He asked.

"That was insane." Sakura growled. "We've fought S-rank ninja before and we were never beaten that badly." Orochimaru arched a disbelieving eyebrow at this, but commented anyway.

"If you truly did fight against someone of S-rank, which I very much doubt, then they most likely didn't fight full out. There is one critical weakness that all S-rank, myself included, share; arrogance. When you command such incredible power, it's easy to disregard others as not being a threat. This is a critical mistake. A knife into your heart will more than likely kill you if it's from a Genin or a Jonin. I am very aware of this weakness, but still allow my own arrogance to often get the better of me. I have you three to thank for reminding me of this critical flaw."

Seeing their confused faces, he continued. "I thought of you all as not even being close to my level, and I think I demonstrated that you aren't. However, consider for a moment what would have happened if I fought all three of you without taking you seriously. I would toy with and mock you, intentionally avoiding ending the fight for my own amusement and keeping my best jutsu in storage. If I hadn't been taking you three seriously from the start, then that last jutsu would have taken me completely off guard and more than likely kill me."

The Sannin allowed that to sink in for a moment. "You three created this Cultivated Vessel, accomplishing something I had never even thought of. It re-opened my eyes to the fact that I am not infallible and it's very possible for others to potentially outwit me. Thanks to you three, as long as I have this body, I won't be making that mistake again."

Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura's minds reeled at the information they were receiving. Sakura was right; they had faced S-rank enemies in the past. What she failed to mention was that, more often than not, it was Orochimaru himself who they fought. Since he always started skulking around the village during the Chunin exams, it only took a few quick months after team selections to find him.

The three of them had taken advantage of having an Akatsuki level ninja to test themselves against. While Orochimaru usually won, he had never beaten them that badly, not even on their first time through. At least they could damage the Snake in some way shape or form. This time they couldn't even lay a finger on him. If what Orochimaru was saying was true, then Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura weren't nearly as strong as they thought they were. Not enough to take on Akatsuki at any rate.

Sasuke understood what Orochimaru was saying better than his friends, having actually experienced a savage beat down from an S-class enemy. Back during the dark days when Naruto and Sakura were killed and he set out on his own. Sasuke had had a hand in killing a few members of Akatsuki. He had even personally killed Orochimaru, although he deliberately waited until Orochimaru was too weak to properly defend himself.

Despite this, when Sasuke fought Madara, he wasn't outmatched so much as completely out of his league. Sasuke now realized that Madara didn't have the same arrogance that his comrades in Akatsuki did. Maybe it was his long life seeing entire empires rise and fall or maybe he was simply that smart, but for whatever the reason, Madara wasn't foolish enough to hold back. When he fought Sasuke, he didn't waste time with posturing or taunting. He quickly and effectively decimated Sasuke, not giving the younger Uchiha proper time to even form a strategy. This also confirmed something that he had suspected for a while, Itachi let Sasuke win in their duel to the death.

Orochimaru could see that his lesson was taking hold on his three new apprentices. "So now that you know the truth, what do you intend to do?"

It was Naruto who answered for the group. "We're going to get stronger. Strong enough to take on any S-class ninja who has the guts to take us seriously." His friends nodded in agreement.

The familiar grin found its way back on Orochimaru's face. "Good answer. We'll begin as soon as you three are back on your feet." Seeing the confusion on their face, he elaborated. "As I said, I've yet to train you all seriously yet, but that's about to change. Rest up, because soon we begin your real training." Orochimaru turned around and headed for the door. He paused to speak over his shoulder. "Make no mistake; I intend to make you three invincible." And with that, he was gone.

Scene Break

Orochimaru watched from the doorway as Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto trained themselves into the ground under the tutelage of several mud clones. Having watched the three interact with one another for nearly three years, Orochimaru found it eerie just how similar the three were to his own genin team.

Sakura was tough and demanding, taking no shit from her teammates and not afraid to smack them upside the head if necessary, much like Tsunade. Naruto with his bright personality, unrelenting cheerfulness, and sheer determination was a quintessential Jiraiya. And Sasuke's cool indifference towards his teammates' antics almost mirrored Orochimaru's own.

However, while there were most certainly similarities, there were also key differences. Sakura, who most certainly had an incredible temper, was far better at keeping it under control. She wasn't afraid to stand up to her teammates, but never seriously struck them unless forced to. While Sakura may have given her teammates an occasional smack upside the head, it was always a light blow and never done with any real malice. As opposed to Tsunade, who would often use put all of her (considerable) strength into her blows whenever she got angry, which was often.

Naruto had a calmness and self-confidence that Jiraiya most certainly lacked in his younger years. This allowed the blonde to be much more subdued than the Toad Sannin. Naruto knew when to back off with his bright personality so he never became annoying. Naruto and Jiraiya shared an iron will and determination, but Naruto didn't have a desperate desire to prove himself to everyone around him.

As for Sasuke, the indifference to his friend's antics was only the surface; it wasn't hard to see the obvious affection he has for his two friends hiding just below the surface. However, the real difference between Orochimaru as a teenager and Sasuke wasn't immediately obvious based on single observation.

Sasuke is a good friend.

It may seem inconsequential, but it highlights the difference between the three before him, and Orochimaru's own team. Jiraiya always tried to prove he was better than Orochimaru one minute and trying to be his friend the next. Tsunade had spent a good portion of her time attempting to gain Orochimaru's affections for herself, whereas Orochimaru was uninterested in associating with either of them. That wasn't the case for Sasuke. He very clearly wanted to be friends with Naruto and Sakura as much as they wanted to be with him.

Those friends had not only betrayed their entire village to join the Sound, but had also devoted themselves to creating a substitute vessel for Orochimaru to possess. Even if that had failed, they made very clear that they intended to fight tooth and nail to stop Orochimaru from taking Sasuke away from them. Naruto and Sakura had given up everything they had known, their entire way of life, to protect Sasuke. They had refused to allow him to enter such a dangerous situation alone. Sasuke was not only aware of this, but seemed eternally grateful as well.

It was surprising and more than a little humbling to the Snake Sannin. Orochimaru had considered his team doomed to fail from the start. With Jiraiya's antics and Tsunade's temper, Orochimaru always believed that one or both of them would eventually drop out and the team would fall apart. Instead, Jiraiya and Tsunade had both proven time and time again that they not only earned their rank, but deserved it as well. Salamander Hanzo hadn't named them the Sannin for nothing.

Although Orochimaru had been correct that the team would eventually fall apart, the irony wasn't lost on him that he was the one who dropped out as opposed to his teammates.

However, watching as these three ninja worked so closely and so well together made Orochimaru wonder. What if he had been a better friend to his teammates? What if, instead of spurning them at every turn, he tried to spend time with them? Would things have been different than they were now?

Orochimaru is well aware he isn't on the right side of sane. If he were closer with his old teammates, perhaps he would have approached them with his deteriorating sanity? Maybe they could have helped him. Perhaps if he had taken the time to explain his viewpoint on why he wanted to perform his experiments on enemy ninja, his teammates might have stood with him against Sarutobi and Orochimaru wouldn't have resorted to using civilians Maybe Jiraiya and Tsunade would have done exactly as Naruto and Sakura had done, joining Orochimaru instead of staying in the village. Maybe the two of them would be here with him right now.

Orochimaru most certainly doesn't regret who he is or what he's done. If he meets his teammates again, he won't hesitate to use his full strength to kill them. After all, they would do the exact same thing, and they deserve nothing less than his full power. Orochimaru isn't a man who likes to wallow in the past. Studying and learning from the past is one thing, wallowing in regrets is quite another. Orochimaru believes that if you spend the entire time focusing on the past, then you can't focus on the future or its potential. As a man who planned to know everything, Orochimaru had no intention of letting the future pass him by.

Still… The Sannin couldn't help but look at the three enigmas in front of him and wonder, what could have been?

Orochimaru was pulled from his musings as Kabuto staggered up to him, clutching his head in pain. "Is something wrong, Kabuto?" The grey hair medic balanced against the wall and took a few deep breaths to steady himself.

"Lord Orochimaru, Sasori's seal has activated. He wants me to meet him at the Heaven and Earth Bridge near Hidden Grass Village in ten days. What shall we do?"

A grin spread across Orochimaru's face. "Why Kabuto, isn't it obvious? My dear old friend Sasori has invited you to meet, it would be rude not to attend don't you think? I'm sure he won't be upset if I happen to stop by as well, in fact…"

Orochimaru turned towards the practicing ninja. "Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke." He yelled, gaining their attention. "How do you three feel about a road trip?"

Scene Break

Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke watched from deep in the forest as Kabuto approached the Bridge of Heaven and Earth. He was wearing a large cloak to avoid being identified. The three had a little difficulty seeing through the thick foliage, but didn't dare to get any closer less Sasori sensed them. Orochimaru, who was far better at hiding his presence, had smugly placed himself just inside the forest edge, barely a hundred feet from where Sasori and Kabuto were going to meet. The three knew exactly where he was and they still couldn't locate him, so they supposed he deserved to be smug about it.

"Guys, we need to think about how we want this to go down when Kabuto pops the puppet. We don't know if Sasori is still alive or not." Sakura whispered. She received two blank stares in return. She rolled her eyes and nodded towards the bridge. "What do we do if it's Yamato in that thing instead of Sasori?"

Comprehension dawned on her teammates and they considered their options. Sasuke spoke first. "We have to fight him. We've not only gained Orochimaru's trust, but he's teaching us things that I've never even thought possible. This is too valuable a position to give up."

Naruto reluctantly nodded his agreement. "Sasuke is right, we can't give this up. Besides, Leaf might not have sent Yamato this time and even if they did, we aren't supposed to know who he is."

Sakura shook her head. "If Leaf really did finish off Sasori and got the same tip I did, then Yamato is sure to be there. Remember, the Leaf will see this as an opportunity to get at Orochimaru and by extension, us. Yamato's wood jutsu can placate the Kyuubi, so he will definitely be sent."

Naruto snorted. "If they think just suppressing the Kyuubi will stop me then they're in for a rude awakening. I don't need my Bijuu to be strong."

"We know that Naruto, but they don't." Sakura agreed. "Also, he isn't going to be alone, Leaf is sure to send a team to retrieve us"

Sasuke nodded. "That pretty much guarantee's Kakashi's presence. Both as our teacher and because of his Sharingan, but who else?"

Naruto shrugged. "If Danzo manages to get the council to agree, then Sai might be there to try and assassinate us. Maybe Ino to play at Sakura's emotional side? On the other hand, they may just send a team of Jonin or even ANBU. The Kyuubi and the Sharingan are two of the Leaf's most prized 'commodities' after all." Naruto finished sarcastically.

Sasuke's eyes focused on the bridge. "We're about to find out. Here comes the target."

The others turned to see the hunched over form of Sasori's puppet, Hiruko, slowly making its way across the bridge. They stood ready as they watched Kabuto interact with the Puppet Master. A small microphone hidden on Kabuto allowed them to listen to the conversation by wireless radio. The three were impressed with how well Kabuto played the part of a demure, helpful subordinate; given how it was completely at odds with his normal, confidant self. He had spent close to seven years perfecting this ruse in the Leaf village after all.

Orochimaru apparently grew bored with the pleasantries and made his presence known. Kabuto made a good show of looking shocked at seeing Orochimaru. In fact, his face still held the look of shock even as he lashed out and decimated the puppet.

Team Seven's fears were confirmed. It was Yamato inside the puppet.

Kabuto, now back to his confidant self, laughed at the Leaf Nin's confused expression. Meanwhile, Orochimaru was staring at the destroyed remains of the wooden Hiruko imitation with interest, no doubt connecting the dots in his head about Yamato's identity.

"It's rude to try and lie to your superiors." Orochimaru mocked. "Why don't you bring out the rest of your friends?"

Yamato gave the signal to his team in the forest. Emerging on the bridge was Kakashi, Gai, Anko, and, surprisingly enough, Jiraiya. Sasuke whistled. "They really went all out on this one."

Orochimaru's chuckle flowed over the radio. "Well, well isn't this a nice surprise, my old teammate and student. How have you two been?"

Anko looked ready to pounce at any minute. Kakashi stepped forward before she could do something reckless. "Don't toy with us, Orochimaru. Where is my team?"

Orochimaru tilted his head, as if honestly pondering the question. "Your team? I don't…oh! Do you mean Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura? I'm sorry to inform you, but they stopped being your team when they joined my village."

Kakashi actually growled. "Where are they?"

Orochimaru lowered his head slightly before raising it again. "Wouldn't you like to know?" Judging by the way the Leaf Jonin recoiled; Team Seven assumed Orochimaru had activated his Sharingan. Kakashi's next statement confirmed it.

"You bastard! What have you done to Sasuke?"

Orochimaru was completely calm, the epitome of a polite host. "Why, I didn't do anything to Sasuke, he did this himself." While this was true, Sasuke had indeed made sure Orochimaru gained the Sharingan, Kakashi leapt to his own conclusion.

"Sasuke would never let you take control of his body!" Kakashi snarled.

"Orochimaru really knows how to set people off, doesn't he?" Naruto whispered. Sakura shushed him.

"I never said he did." Orochimaru replied. He raised his hand into the air and gestured forward.

"That's our cue." Sakura said.

"Oh, this is going to be fun." Naruto muttered sarcastically.

The three landed on the bridge next to Orochimaru, much to the Leaf Ninja's shock.

"Sasuke?" Kakashi asked in disbelief. "Then how does Orochimaru have the Sharingan?"

"I fail to see how that is any of your business." Orochimaru replied.

Kakashi's gaze settled onto his former students. "Why?" He demanded, "Why would you betray the village? Did you all forget the very first lesson I taught you?"

Sakura answered. "On the contrary, Kakashi. It was that lesson that made us decide to leave." Kakashi was clearly confused by this so she continued. "Those who abandon the mission are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash. Sasuke was determined to join Orochimaru; nothing could shake him from this goal. We sure as hell weren't going to let him walk into the snake pit alone." Sakura decided to leave out the fact Sasuke needed to join Orochimaru to learn how to properly remove the Curse Seal.

Kakashi clearly didn't know what to say to this, so Jiraiya took over. "Sasuke, seeking out your brother won't solve anything; you can't expect to revive the Uchiha clan like this."

Sasuke's expression darkened. "Don't think you understand what I want."

"You want to avenge and revive the Uchiha clan, but-"

"The Uchiha clan deserves to rot in Hell!" Sasuke snarled. The venom in his voice surprised everyone, even Orochimaru and Kabuto. Sasuke took a moment to calm himself. "Jiraiya, I assume you know the truth about the Massacre and of the clan's origins?"

Jiraiya did indeed know the truth, but was trying to figure out just how Sasuke knew. Orochimaru was unknowingly mirroring his thoughts. Sasuke sighed. "If you know the truth, then you know that they deserved every single horrible thing that was thrown upon them. I do intend to seek out my brother, but it's not to kill him, and I have no intention of reviving my clan. As far as I'm concerned, the world is better off without any Uchiha in it, and I intend for the clan to die with me."

Naruto could tell his friend didn't want to continue talking about his clan, so steered the conversation towards different matters. "Let's cut to the chase here. We have no intention of returning to Leaf village. You can either back away quietly or we can fight it out here and now."

Jiraiya had been so distracted by the fact that Sasuke knew the truth of the Massacre that he had nearly forgotten about Naruto. "Naruto, Sasuke was one thing, but you? Was all that talk about getting stronger to protect those you care about and become the Hokage meaningless? I thought you had better morals than this."

Naruto shrugged. He no longer desperately wanted to be Hokage. The blonde had only wanted the title to prove himself to those around him. At this point, the only people whose approval Naruto needed were Sasuke and Sakura and he didn't a hat to prove himself to them. "I am protecting those precious to me. Like Sakura said, Sasuke needed us here with him, as for people like Iruka, Ayame, or Tsunade? Let's face it; with Akatsuki collecting the Jinchuuriki they're safer away from me. Besides, godfather, you're hardly one to talk about morals considering you were conspicuously absent from the first thirteen years of my life."

That was a completely unfair blow, and Naruto knew it. Jiraiya was a very important man, both in the Leaf and out of it. His spy network was one of the greatest information systems in the entire world. Naruto should know, he'd inherited it before on the rare occasions when Jiraiya passed on. Jiraiya simply had too many responsibilities to focus on taking care of Naruto. Naruto understood this and had long since forgiven his godfather for his absence. The only reason he brought it up was to try and demoralize Jiraiya enough to retreat. Naruto really didn't want to fight his godfather.

It seemed to work. Jiraiya looked as Naruto had physically struck him and seemed to lose all will to fight. Kakashi seemed to be in a much similar state. Hearing Sasuke damning the entire clan destroyed a lot of preconceptions the man had about his student that needed to be reevaluated. Gai appeared to be willing to retreat if so ordered. Anko was definitely itching for fight against her old teacher. Yamato, surprisingly, also seemed to want to continue.

"I have very specific orders to bring Naruto back to the village."

Naruto snorted. "I'd like to see you try. You think your little wood jutsu will stop me?"

Yamato's eyes narrowed. "The Kyuubi's powers are useless against me."

"If I ever actually used the Kyuubi's powers than that might be threatening." This clearly threw everyone for a loop. Jiraiya spoke up.

"What do mean you don't use the Kyuubi?"

"Exactly that."

"Naruto, the Kyuubi is a powerful weapon that-"

No." Naruto cut him off. "The Kyuubi isn't some jutsu that can be tossed around at the right moments. It's a demon that will take any and every opportunity to kill and cause chaos. I have no intention of relying on its power and weakening the seal. I keep a tight lock on the Kyuubi and the seal will slowly drain its chakra away until there's nothing left. Like Sasuke with his clan, I intend the Kyuubi to die with me."

Jiraiya actually turned to Orochimaru for answers. To his surprise, he got one. "I offered to train him with the Kyuubi, but he told me the exact same thing. Since it would enrage Akatsuki to no end to lose the Kyuubi, I'm all for it."

With Yamato's trump now revealed to be useless, he seemed to be much more reluctant to fight. Anko was still eager for blood, but seemed to be weakening as she realized everyone else was backing down. Sakura decided to seal the deal.

"If you agree to walk away now, I'll remove Anko's Curse Seal." All eyes now focused on her. Jiraiya immediately spoke.

"It's not possible to remove the curse seal."

"She removed mine." Sasuke said, showing off his bare neck. The Leaf contingent was shocked. "We're Orochimaru's apprentices; do you think we wouldn't learn about the Curse Seal?"

Anko was now desperately fighting with herself, torn between wanting revenge on her teacher and the possibility of getting that thrice-damned mark off her neck!

Sakura noticed Orochimaru's glare. He knew that Sakura had studied the Curse Seal extensively and had allowed them to remove Sasuke's since he no longer needed the pathway into Sasuke's body, but he wanted to know just what Sakura thought she was doing.

"Oh, what?" Sakura asked. "You don't need a body for Possession anymore and if she hasn't given into temptation now then she never will." That was a bold faced lie as Anko only had a few short years left before the dark whispers of the mark would drive her insane, something Sakura hoped to prevent now that she could properly remove the curse seal. "The only reason you have to leave mark on is to be an evil dick about it."

Orochimaru seemed to seriously debate with himself before groaning. "Oh, fine. You can take it off her, but expect poison in your next meal." That wasn't an idle threat. Orochimaru had poisoned their food multiple times to teach them to detect and fight against poison, or as he put it: to keep things interesting.

"You'll really remove it?" Anko's voice was barely above a whisper.

"Here and now if you agree to retreat. I would stake my honor on it, but that doesn't mean much coming from a Missing Nin, does it?" Sakura said with a self-deprecating smirk.

Anko turned to Jiraiya, desperation in her eyes. Jiraiya bit his lip. He desperately wanted to get Naruto back into the village, but he knew Anko had suffered under the Cures Mark for years. Being unable to help her had been a serious blow to his pride as a Seal master and as a man. Dammit, Tsunade was going to have his head for this one!

"Very well. We'll leave without a fight."

Sakura vanished, reappearing behind Anko before any of the Leaf Nin could react. She plunged a green chakra coated hand into Anko's neck. The hand seemed to vanish into the Curse Mark itself. Finding what she was looking for, Sakura pulled hard. Her hand reappeared clutching a white snake that had the head of Orochimaru. It had the hair and everything.

Sakura threw the snake into the air, where Sasuke immediately vaporized it with a blast from Amaterasu's black flames. Anko gingerly placed her hand on the back of her neck; the curse mark was gone. The proud woman fell to her knees, crying in relief now that the dark whispers of her teacher were finally gone.

Kakashi and Jiraiya had both recognized what Sasuke had done. "Mangekyou? How-"

"We're done here." Sakura cut him off, walking back towards her friends. Realizing that they were beaten without even fighting, the Leaf ninja retreated. Anko threw one last heartfelt thank you over her shoulder as she left.

"We just let five enemies get away who we could have killed." Orochimaru said.

Sakura shrugged. "Them being here proves Sasori is dead. Plus, we just sent five of the Leaf's finest away with their tails between their legs without throwing a single punch. That's going to piss off the council to no end, don't you think?"

The Sannin considered this. "Alright, we'll call it even." He said and the five went home.

Scene Break

Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke approached the main Training Hall, only to run into Kabuto waiting inside.

"Sup, Kabuto?" Naruto asked.

"No clue, I'm afraid. Lord Orochimaru asked me to meet him here. He didn't say why."

"Huh, same with us. Wonder what it's about."

"I'll tell you." The four turned to see Orochimaru enter the room. He displayed the same serious expression he wore back when he dominated Team Seven after gaining the Cultivated Vessel.

"Your four are my most trusted and most powerful allies. With you four by my side, I believe I can achieve my goal of crushing Akatsuki and The Leaf much sooner than anticipated. However, there is another important step you all must take, but it can't be accomplished here. Be ready to leave in two hours. We're going to be gone for quite some time."

With that, Orochimaru turned on his heel and strode out the room. Bewildered, the four set out to properly pack and prepare.

The Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, Kabuto, and Orochimaru quickly set off once everyone was ready. Orochimaru was being oddly quiet. He ignored all attempts to discover where he was leading them and instead stayed focused on where he was going.

Day eventually gave way to night. Orochimaru showed no signs of slowing down or stopping. When the subject of setting up camp for the night was broached, Orochimaru informed them, in no uncertain terms, that it was out of the question.

They continued traveling for days, only stopping briefly for a quick rest and some food. Orochimaru was silent throughout the trip, only speaking when spoken to and sometimes not even then. The Sannin seemed deep in thought, though none of the four had any idea what about.

Finally, after nearly eight days of travel Orochimaru stopped. "We're here."

The four Sound ninja looked around, trying to figure out what was so important about this particular area. It was night, so their visibility wasn't great, but from what they could tell, it was just an empty plain as far as the eye could see. All of them failed to see what was so special that required their presence.

Orochimaru stood before them. "What I'm about to show you, is one of my most closely guarded secrets. I'm taking a risk in trusting you four with this, but I think you all have proved yourselves worthy. Before we enter I'll say this: you're on sacred ground, be respectful and don't do anything that could even be remotely regarded as a threat, understood?" The four nodded, unnerved by how serious the Sannin was being.

Orochimaru turned around and spread his hands out in front of him. He began to chant in a language none of his companions could recognize, it sounded disturbingly like snake hissing.

Orochimaru's arms slowly morphed into a pair of white snakes. The two creatures began to stretch forward, seemingly flowing in time to Orochimaru's chant. They formed a large circle on the ground in front of the Sannin. Both snakes suddenly latched onto small snake statues that the four observers would swear weren't there before hand.

The ground within the circle began to shift and churn, before something seemed to melt out of the earth, something big. A pure white snakehead, not the size of Manda, but still incredibly large, rose from the ground. The creature stared down at the five ninja with its unnerving yellow eyes.

"Who dares summon me?" The four observers nearly jumped out of their skin at the deep, commanding voice coming from the serpent.

"I am Orochimaru, The Sage of the Serpents. I request access for myself and my four apprentices." The raven-haired ninja said.

"Very well. Enter, Great Sage." The snake's jaws opened, so impossibly wide that the four behind Orochimaru feared it would eat him. The snake seemed to immobilize, turning from living flesh into white stone. Orochimaru retracted his arm serpents, turning them back into hands.

"Follow me." He said as he ducked under the ludicrously large fangs to enter the now stone snake's throat. The four hesitantly made their way forward, seeing a set of stairs leading down the throat into the depths below. "Quickly." The Sannin's voice floated up the stairwell. Shrugging to each other, they followed after Orochimaru.

They found themselves in a complex series of caves. While not as complex as Stone's cave system, it would be easy to get lost in. A faint purple mist seemed to permeate the entire cave, making it difficult to see more than a few feet ahead of you, not at all helped by the poor lighting.

Despite this, Orochimaru knew where he was going. He walked with purpose, never bothering to glance at any of the other caves, even when there were discomforting sounds emanating from them. Such as low rumbles, soft slithering, and even hissing that Naruto would swear sounded like depraved laughter.

The four apprentices followed Orochimaru up a flight of long stairs. They arrived into a spacious chamber at the top. The first thing that caught everyone's eye was the very large stone dragonhead mounted on the wall. The fierce looking creature looked ready to leap from the wall and swallow them. Clutched in its teeth was a large scroll. Emblazoned across the scroll were the words Dragon Ground Cave.

Beneath the statue was an incredibly large white snake. The creature's scales looked as thick as armor and his coils extended not only across the entire back wall, but along the sides of the room as well. Large gold and jewel encrusted rings adorned its body. Around its throat was a beaded necklace that held a large purple sphere. Atop its head was a turban with a black crescent moon attached to the front. The points of which were aimed upward and another purple sphere sat atop the turban. Clutched in its jaws was a long cigarette holder and a cigarette that was spewing out the purple smoke that permeated the entire cave.

Orochimaru led them to a large black pedestal before the giant snake. To his apprentices' utter shock Orochimaru got down on his knees and bowed his head to the floor. They were stupefied. In all the time they had known him, none of the four had ever seen Orochimaru bow to anyone or anything, not even Manda. Still, they weren't so shocked that they didn't quickly copy his actions.

The serpent spoke. "Orochimaru, my child, it has been many years since you last came here. What business do you have with me?

Orochimaru spoke without raising his head from the floor. "Great White Sage, Father of all Serpents, years ago I ventured here and completed my training as the Sage of the Serpents. These four behind me are my most trusted apprentices. I ask that you allow them to train in the ways of the Sage just as I did."

Once again the four were floored as it began to sink in just where they were. They were in the Sacred Homeland of the Serpents, the equivalent of the Exquisite Tree Mountain for the toads or the Damp Bone Forest for the slugs. Simply being allowed to enter was an incredible honor, but to be given the chance to learn the Sage techniques? It almost overwhelmed them.

"Hmm. An interesting proposition. Tell me, why do you wish for all four to learn as opposed to only the best among them"

"Father, I can honestly say that there isn't a clear 'best' among them. They each have their own strengths that they utilize to their fullest potential. I assure you that all four are worthy and capable of becoming Sages."

"I will be the judge of that. Come closer, my children let me get a good look at you." The snake said calmly.

Slowly, each of the four apprentices made their way towards the massive snake. The Sage leaned in close to each of them, staring intently into their eyes, searching their very souls. Whatever he was looking for, he seemed to find it in all of them.

"Yes. Each powerful, yet each unique. Yes, you four will make fine Sages. They have my permission, Orochimaru. These four will become Serpent Sages."

Orochimaru got to his feet. Thank you, Father. Are my old quarters still available?" The Sage nodded. "Alright, follow me you four." Orochimaru began making his way towards the door.

Before following him, the four apprentices bowed once more to the Sage. Naruto voiced everyone's thoughts "Great White Sage, thank you for accepting us."

The beast gave a small chuckle. "Please, my child, call me Father Basilisk."

Scene Break

Orochimaru led them to a large living quarter. It was fairly Spartan, very little in the way of decorations or furniture. Orochimaru sat down upon a couch situated near a fire pit. Four other couches formed a ring around the fire pit. The four apprentices situated themselves on the couches as they waited for Orochimaru to speak.

"I apologize for springing this on you four, but I do honestly believe that you four are ready for this."

Kabuto spoke. "Lord Orochimaru, I understand why you brought Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke, but why am I here?"

"Kabuto, you have served me faithfully and devoutly ever since I took you from Root." Team Seven shot Kabuto a surprised look at this, but they were ignored. "I fear I have done wrong by you after all these years. I should have brought you here long ago, but my own paranoia prevented me. The Possession technique is a harrowing process and it takes careful maintenance before my power properly returns after a shift. I feared that without your medical knowledge on standby, something could go wrong during the process. Now that such Possessions are no longer a necessity, I felt it was time for you to take the next step in your own training."

Orochimaru sighed and scratched the top of his head. "It's also time for full disclosure. I'm about to tell you what Akatsuki is gathering the Bijuu for. Rather, what the madman running Akatsuki is gathering them for. A man known as Pein gives Akatsuki members their orders. He holds the legendary Rinnegan eyes and is a considerable force to be reckoned with. Pein is a practically an army of one, well and army of six actually, but we'll get to that. He hopes to gather all the Bijuu to create a weapon that will literally monopolize war."

"The weapon will be so great in power that ninja and armies will be rendered moot, as control of this weapon is all you would need to rule. He is aware that this will lead to quite a few decades of bloodshed, but believes that once people understand the power of the weapon, a proper ruling body will be formed to control the weapon and this will lead to peace."

The four took a moment to process that before Naruto spoke. "That's fucking stupid." All eyes turned to him. "First off, he's talking about casually killing millions upon millions of people. This war for control of the weapon will be worse than any of the Great Shinobi wars. After all that bloodshed, he hopes that people will eventually just sit down and talk civilly about it? For God's sake, Hidden Cloud village tried to kidnap the Hyuuga heiress, while they were signing a peace treaty with Leaf! Then they demanded the kidnapper's killer, as retribution or they would start another war. This Pein guy thinks that peace talks will go better with the equivalent of a giant bomb sitting in the center of the room just waiting for one guy to lose his nerve and set it off? Hell, even council meetings within the villages end with half the people overtly threatening one another. This is giving like toddlers a bunch of knives and hoping they won't end up killing each other."

The other occupants were certainly impressed with how easily Naruto laid out the plan's problems for all to see. Orochimaru continued.

"I agree, Naruto, however it won't happen. Pein may act like he is in charge, but there is another who pulls the strings from the shadows. A madman calling himself Uchiha Madara." Team Seven made sure to act surprised and confused by this news, even though they knew of Madara's existence from Sasuke.

"How is it possible for one of the Founders of The Leaf to still be alive?" Kabuto asked.

"He isn't." Orochimaru said simply. Now Team Seven really were confused.

"I thought you said that Uchiha Madara was running Akatsuki?" Sakura asked.

Orochimaru shook his head. "I said a man calling himself Uchiha Madara is running Akatsuki. The real Madara is well and truly dead. I don't know who he actually is, but he isn't the real Madara. He simply plans to use that name to attract the attention of the world to his plans."

Sasuke couldn't believe it. 'That lying orange motherfucker! I've got a Lightning Blade with his ass's name on it next time I see him!' Sasuke calmed himself enough to ask his next question. "Alright, so what does… whoever the fuck he his, want with all the Bijuu?"

"He also goes by the alias of Tobi, for now let's just call him that. He wants to condense the power of all nine Bijuu into their original form, The Ten-Tail Juubi."

Sakura said what was on everyone's mind. "Why on God's green earth would he want to do that?"

"You think Pein's plan is insane? Wait until you hear this. He plans to absorb the Juubi, thereby becoming its Jinchuuriki. Once he has control of the Juubi's power, he intends to use it project his Mangekyou Sharingan onto the moon and create and Infinite Tsukuyomi. That way, he'll be able to control everyone and everything, creating a world without war, crime, or unhappiness."

Everyone one was quiet for a moment before Sakura managed to concisely and accurately sum up everyone's feelings. "Holy shit."

"Indeed." Orochimaru agreed.

This…this is…is just." Naruto gave an aggravated sound from the back of his throat as he tried to articulate his feelings. After a moment he started again. "Let's get the obvious out of the way; the moon is only visible to half the earth at a time, what happens to the other side of the world?"

Sasuke put his own question forward." Not only that, but what would the phases of the moon do to the technique? Would something as benign as a lunar eclipse or even just a new moon break the spell?"

Sakura was next. "It's even worse than that. The human brain doesn't have the mental power to process all that information. Even if he just gives a universal command to 'be happy' what about all the psychos in the world who aren't happy if they aren't murdering someone? He would have to micromanage out the ass to keep this up."

"Not only that," Kabuto spoke for the first time. "But wouldn't this Tobi character also fall victim to this illusion if he casts it on the very moon? If he can avoid it as simply as hiding inside or underground, then he's going to have a lot of angry Stone ninja on his hands."

"Man, fuck Pein." Naruto said. "He's the patron saint of reason and rational thought compared to this maniac. There are a million and two different things that can go wrong with this plan. Can he use this jutsu while asleep? If he has to stay awake for the rest of his life then he's going to have a bad time with this little plan of his."

Orochimaru gave a satisfied nod. "I'm glad you all can see the inherent problem with this plan. My own reasons for wanting to stop Tobi are much simpler, I hate the thought of being controlled. I refuse to simply stand here and put my life in the hands of a man actually insane enough to think up a plan like this."

"So what do we do?" Sakura asked.

"We grow strong. Tobi may be utterly insane, but his power is very real and very dangerous. Each of you will be training in nature chakra to not only increase your own power, but attain the form of Sage mode." Orochimaru replied.

"What will you be doing while we train, my Lord?" Kabuto asked.

Orochimaru chuckled. "We will soon be equals, Kabuto. You no longer have to refer to me as your lord. As for me, I'll be doing some training of my own. The Possession jutsu had an unfortunate side effect; the weaker bodies I possessed were unable to properly handle Nature Chakra. Now that I have a way around this set back, I plan to retrain myself in the ways of the Sage mode."

"You had power that you weren't able to use and you didn't do anything about it? That doesn't sound like you." Naruto remarked.

Orochimaru shrugged. "Oh, I found little ways around the problem. My greatest was creating a special seal that could absorb Nature Chakra naturally and give whoever wore it a bastardized version of the Sage mode. Care to guess what it is?"

Sakura figured it out first. "The Curse Seal! That's how it's able to grant a person so much extra power and change their form. I always thought it was a chakra generator of some sort, but instead it's a filter than can absorb nature chakra. The transformation is a result from the filtered chakra warping a person's cells. That's brilliant!"

"Got it in one." Orochimaru smiled. "However, while I am indeed proud of being able to give out Curse Marks however I wish, I wasn't the one who created it. Well, I created the seal, yes, but the ability to absorb nature chakra and transform naturally actually comes from a boy named Juugo."

Sasuke twitched slightly upon hearing that name. No one noticed. "The boy's entire clan are born with the ability to absorb nature chakra, but it cost them their reason. Entering Sage mode would cause them to go berserk and try to kill, well, everything. Juugo was one of the worst. He's a calm boy normally, but he isn't able to control when the transformations happen. He wiped out an entire village and all of his clan during a rampage. He approached me in hopes that I would find a way to help him stop the transformations, but I've been unsuccessful."

"It can't be stopped by removing the seal?" Sakura asked.

Orochimaru shook his head. "As I said, the seal was my invention to replicate the transformation, Juugo does it naturally. He doesn't actually have a seal anywhere. It was actually my studies on Juugo's clan and abilities that originally led me here to the Dragon Ground Cave in the first place."

The Sannin got to his feet. "At any rate, it's very late and we've been traveling for days. Get some rest, because you're going to need it. The training to become a Sage is brutal at best."

Scene Break

The four apprentices stood in a fountain of purple venom. Large stone snakeheads spewed out the venom from above, but they gave it no mind. All four of them were up to their ankles in the purple liquid. Each had their eyes closed in concentration and their hands pressed together in front of them.

A major downside to training with Nature Chakra was that if one lost control of the power, then they would turn into a snake before becoming stone. The Sage Venom, as it was called, would allow anyone who came in contact with it to be able to see and use Nature Chakra. This allowed the four to practice synching up their chakra with the Nature Chakra and preventing the transformation.

If a person lost control, then they simply had to be removed from the venom to halt and reverse the transformation. It was a much safer method than actually drawing on Nature Chakra before being ready to properly counteract the transformation. Using the venom helped prepare their bodies for the real thing.

Naruto broke first. His eyes became slits and scales began to form along his cheeks. He quickly dove out of the venom and allowed the alterations to fade away. Naruto being the first to transform surprised no one; he had such high levels of chakra that it took incredible effort to match it evenly with the Nature Chakra.

Naruto would have liked to get back in the venom and try again, but it was a very strict rule that one could only be exposed to the Sage Venom once a day. Too much exposure could cause the transformation to trigger much more rapidly. Sighing in defeat, Naruto headed out of the room to practice his wind techniques

Sakura was the next to transform. Her near perfect Chakra control allowed her synch up with the Nature Chakra, but she still had the smallest reserves of her team and ran out the quickest. Her reserves were easily larger than a Jonin's, but the Nature Chakra was incredibly demanding, even for her.

Sakura contemplated waiting for the other two to finish, but decided against it. Sasuke and Kabuto would still be in the Sage Venom for quite some time. Sasuke's constant exposure to the Curse Seal gave him a big head start in controlling Nature Chakra, even if it was the bastardized version from the curse seal. Kabuto on the other hand seemed to take to Nature Chakra like a fish to the water. When asked about it, Kabuto simply said it came naturally to him.

Whatever the reason was, the two of them would be almost another hour before they finished. Sakura decided to go spar with Naruto.

Scene Break

"Alright you four. Today is an important day it's time for you to select you familiar. A new batch of snakes was born to today and each of you are going to select one to be your partner."

Naruto spoke. "Did you pick a familiar when you were training?"

Orochimaru rolled his eyes. "Yes, and Manda and I have been at each other's throats ever since. Take my advice; pick a partner you can get along with, not whoever happens to be the strongest."

Chuckling at their teacher's annoyance, the four followed him to the new hatchlings. They found a brown snake surrounding a nest filled with newborns of various colors. The snake spoke as they entered.

"Orochimaru, my dear, how have you been?" The clearly feminine snake asked, before she spotted the four behind him. "Oh! These must be the new potentials I've heard so much about. Please dears, come closer. My little ones have been dying to meet you."

The four approached the nest warily. Naruto leaned down to get a closer look at the snakes. Almost immediately, an orange snake shot out of the nest and landed in the blonde's hair. Naruto freaked out for a moment before he realized the small snake was simply curled up in his hair and was humming contentedly. Black, swirling patterns covered its entire body.

"Oh my, I'm sorry dear. Tatsuya has always been rather…bold."

Naruto glanced up towards the snake, who leaned down enough to look at him. "Tatsuya, huh? You want to be my partner?" The snake's head bounced up and down in excitement. Naruto grinned. "Alright then, it's settled. Welcome aboard, partner."

Emboldened by Naruto's success, the other three leaned in eagerly. Sakura's eyes were drawn to an emerald green snake, with dark diamond patterns along its back. Sakura held out her hand, asking permission. The small snake slid into her hand and curled into a happy coil.

"Her name is Tanith. She's a very sweet little thing." The mother snake supplied.

"Tanith. That's a very pretty name. I'm Sakura. It's nice to meet you." Sakura held out her finger, and Tanith wrapped her tail around it. The pink haired girl giggled in delight and knew she had her partner.

Sasuke's eyes had made contact with those of a deep red serpent with black horizontal stripes across its back and hadn't broken it yet. Not needing any words, Sasuke nodded in satisfaction and held out his hand. The snake ignored the hand, instead crawling out of the nest towards Sasuke's foot. The small snake proceeded to work its way up Sasuke's body until it came to rest on his shoulder.

"Stubborn as stone, that one. Always has to do things his own way" The mother snake remarked. "He goes by Nidhogg." Sasuke gave another nod, thoroughly satisfied with his new partner.

Kabuto continued to look through the hatchlings, but felt no connection with any of them. Out of the corner of his eye, Kabuto noticed a snake that wasn't in the nest. Instead, it was curled up in the corner, all alone. It was a very pale brown, practically gray, and had no other markings on its body. He pointed to the creature. "Why is that one over there?"

The mother glanced at the snake in question. "Oh my, that's the runt of the litter. She's too weak to be of much use to anyone, and her incredibly small size doesn't help." Indeed the snake appeared to be half as big as the others. "We're probably going to have to put her down, the poor thing."

Kabuto got to his feet and moved towards the snake. The creature noticed his approach and began to shiver in fear. Kabuto bent down closer. "It's okay, little one." He soothed. "I'm not going to hurt you, alright?"

His words seemed to calm the creature as it stopped shivering. It instead looked up at Kabuto with curiosity. Kabuto gently reached down and scooped up the snake, the tiny thing barely bigger than the palm of his hand. He scratched it under its chin and snake seemed to sigh in contentment.

"What is its name?" He asked the mother.

"She has none. As I said, she is going to be put down. There are plenty of others who would be far better suited for-"

Kabuto cut her off. "No, I want her. If she has no name, then I'll give her one." Kabuto thought for a moment, before the color of the snake's scales brought a happy memory to the surface. "I'll call you Nonou. Does that sound alright?" The snake nodded in happiness.

Orochimaru thanked the mother snake and left with his apprentices. As they walked away with their new companions, Naruto decided to comment. "I didn't take you for the paternal type, Kabuto."

Kabuto merely smiled. "I don't know where I was born or who my parents were. I just remember wandering aimlessly without any memories or knowledge of how to survive. A woman running an orphanage took me in and took care of me. She was the closest thing I ever had to a mother. She gave me a home, a family, and a name. Her kindness has always stuck with me, as such; I'll always have a place for outcasts and strays, who have nowhere else to go."

The other three looked at Kabuto in awe, seeing the medic in a completely different light. Sakura spoke up next. "She sounds like an amazing woman. What was her name?"

Kabuto wore a smile of fond remembrance. "Her name was Nonou Yakushi."

Scene Break

Sakura stood in the center a large room. The walls, ceiling, and even parts of the floor were pockmarked with alcoves and tunnels of various sizes that all connected to each other in one way or another.

Naruto sprang from his hiding spot in one such alcove, hoping to strike Sakura from behind. The blonde swore and dodged to the left to avoid being burned by a blast of fire. Sakura grinned. "Thanks, Tanith."

"I've got your back." The snake replied.

The four snake familiars had grown rapidly. Each was now close to seven feet long and could properly speak English. Sakura and Tanith absolutely adored each other. Tanith's sweet and caring nature belied a temper that could rival Sakura's, though the snake rarely, if ever, showed it. Sasuke's partner, Nidhogg, barely ever said anything. The red serpent believed that actions spoke louder than words, and would only speak when absolutely necessary, and even then it was only to Sasuke. Naruto argued with his snake more than anyone else, most likely due to the fact the two were clones of each other; loud, brash, and entirely too smart for their own good. The two who got along the best were easily Kabuto and Nonou. The two were incredibly protective of each other and would move mountains to help each other given half an opportunity.

The familiars had also each developed their own elemental affinities to complement their partners'.

"Water style: Liquid Bullets!" Kabuto shot a barrage of water spheres at Naruto, hoping to catch the blonde while he was off guard.

"Tatsuya! Shield!"

"Earth Style: Stone Skin!" The orange snake quickly curled himself into a flat disk as his skin turned to rock. Naruto used the solid snake to block the incoming water projectiles. With the water attack neutralized, Naruto surrounded his familiar with a spinning disk of wind and hurled him like a shuriken.

"Wind Style: Serpent Slicer!"

The projectile tore through the air, faster than Kabuto could hope to dodge. Fortunately, his partner was well prepared. Nonou wrapped herself around Kabuto's chest and fired a blast of wind off to the side.

"Wind Style: Quick Dodge!" The force of the recoil knocked the glasses wearing ninja to the side, causing Tatsuya to harmlessly pass them by. Instead of digging into the far wall, Tatsuya's spinning momentum sent him flying across the wall like a demented wheel. The wind covered snake carved a groove into the wall as he headed directly at Sasuke.

Sasuke, who was up against the wall as he prepped a jutsu to use against Sakura, grunted in annoyance and sprang off the wall. Despite the setback, he still managed to fire off his attack.

"Thunder Style: Shock Pulse." A pulsating orb of lightning shot from the Uchiha's palms toward his pink haired teammate. Sakura easily dodged the jutsu, only to get drenched by an Aqua Jet attack from Nidhogg. Now wet and annoyed, Sakura was about to use her own jutsu when Tanith suddenly shouted.

"Sakura! Jump!" Without hesitating, Sakura leapt high into the air. Glancing behind her, Sakura saw what had spooked her familiar. The trail of water from Nidhogg's attack led directly to where Sasuke thunder ball impacted. If Sakura had stayed still, she would have been electrocuted by the conduction.

Naruto ran and jumped into the air to catch his spinning familiar, who was still shooting around the room. Unfortunately, the blonde tripped and fell straight into one of the various tunnels that littered the chamber. "Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" Naruto's voice faded away; apparently he landed in a deep tunnel.

Sakura flipped herself upside down and planted her feet on the ceiling. She slammed both hand on the stone roof. "Earth Style: Rock Dome!" Two half domes formed, one over Kabuto, and the other over Sasuke. The two halves slammed together, trapping the two ninja and their familiars within.

A small hole opened at the top of the dome. Tanith quickly reared up over said hole. The diamond patterns along her back began glowing red as she revved her attack. "Fire Style: Cremation Statio-"

Tanith's jutsu was interrupted by Naruto and Tatsuya as the two somehow fell out of a hole on the ceiling. The two landed directly on top of the emerald colored snake, causing all three of them to roll off the dome.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head as he looked back and forth between where he fell in, and where he fell out. "Where the hell did I just come from?"

"Get off me!" The irate fire-serpent yelled.

"Oh! Sorry, Tanith!"

Sakura sighed as she dropped to the ground and cancelled her jutsu, revealing Kabuto and Nonou about to blow open the dome with a drill attack. "Let's just stop for now. The mood is gone." The others all agreed.

Orochimaru suddenly strode into the room alongside a messenger snake. Both looked very serious.

The snake spoke. "We have just received a message from the Toads at Exquisite Tree Mountain. The Toad Sage, Jiraiya, is dead. He was killed by the man known as Pein."

Naruto inhaled sharply at this news. Jiraiya almost never died in any of the loops they had lived through. The Sannin's incredible skill and power along with his luck ensured he always came out on top. To know such a powerful man was dead, especially one with such a close connection to Naruto, was a harsh blow.

As Sakura and Sasuke quietly comforted their friend, Kabuto asked a question. "Excuse me, but I was under the impression that the Toads and the Snakes were enemies. Why are you in correspondence with one another?"

"We were enemies." The messenger replied. "But we had to learn to get along with each other and the slugs after Orochimaru here teamed up with Jiraiya and Tsunade. Even after the Sannin split, it was decided that it would be mutually beneficial to keep a line of contact available if need be." Kabuto was about to ask how they communicated when Naruto interrupted.

"Orochimaru, I know you didn't get along well with Jiraiya. However, he was my godfather and one of the last few family members I had left. With your permission, I would like to build a memorial shrine to properly mourn his passing."

Orochimaru stared down and Naruto, his expression unreadable. Finally, he turned away and flippantly said. "If you want to mourn that womanizing fool then I won't stop you. Do whatever you want." Naruto gave a nod of appreciation, but the Snake Sannin was already leaving.

The shrine was quickly constructed. It was a small little thing. A red ornamental cabinet with some burning incense surrounding a picture of Jiraiya giving a cock eyed smile supplied by the toads. It didn't seem nearly enough to mourn the man, but it brought a measure of comfort to Naruto as he prayed in front of the small alter.

Sasuke and Sakura were likewise praying beside their teammate. Sasuke thought he saw Orochimaru watching them from the doorway at one point, but when he turned to look the door was empty. Shrugging it off as a trick of the light, Sasuke returned to his prayer. Once the three were finished, they decided to turn in early with Kabuto, they weren't in the proper mood to try and control the Sage Venom today.

Late into the night, after everyone had gone off to sleep, a lone figure approached Jiraiya's shrine. Orochimaru stared down at the picture of his former teammate and one time friend. The picture of Jiraiya giving a large wink and smile summed up Jiraiya so perfectly it wouldn't surprise Orochimaru if the Toad Sage himself had chosen it.

Orochimaru slowly sat himself down in front of the shrine. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a bottle of Sake and two cups. The Sannin silently filled both glasses and set them down, one in front of him, and the other in front of Jiraiya's picture.

Orochimaru set down the bottle and raised his glass, as if offering a silent toast to the deceased Toad Sannin, before downing the alcohol. He placed the empty cup down in front of him and looked at the Jiraiya's still full cup with a sad smile. The snake Sannin got to his feet and gave one last look at the Jiraiya's picture.

"Farewell, old friend. You were a worthy foe."

With that, Orochimaru turned and left, leaving the bottle, the cup, and his memories with Jiraiya.

Scene Break

Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Kabuto, were bowing before Father Basilisk on the same black pedestal they had met the fearsome snake. Every snake in Dragon Ground Cave had gathered in the chamber to witness this momentous occasion. The day four new Sages were officially instated.

Father Basilisk spoke. "Naruto, Sakura, Kabuto, Sasuke. You four came to us with the hopes of becoming Sages. Today that dream becomes a reality. You four have braved the hardships of our training and come out all the stronger for it. Now, step forward and receive my blessings."

Naruto stepped forward first. "Naruto, you are swift and determined as the wind. I grant you the title of Dragon of the Sky."

Naruto bowed. "Thank you, Father Basilisk." Sakura was next.

"Sakura, you fortitude and strength could outlast the very ground we walk on. I grant you the title of Dragon of the Mountain."

Sakura bowed. "Thank you, Father Basilisk." Now it was Sasuke's turn.

"Sasuke, your power and precision are as deadly as they are unstoppable. I grant you the title of Dragon of the Storm."

Sasuke mirrored his teammates bow and thanks. Finally, Kabuto stepped up.

Kabuto, you are fluid and maneuverable, able to adapt to any situation that you may encounter. I grant you the title of Dragon of the Sea."

With all four now officially crowned as Sages, the hall erupted into cheers from the various snakes lining it. The snakes, having no hands to clap with, instead thumped their tails on the ground. The sound of a single person clapping was very easy to pinpoint as only one other person had the hands required to do it.

Orochimaru approached the four new Sages. "You four have all done spectacularly. Each of you trained hard and have earned the right to be called Sages." He paused for a moment. "I'm very proud of all you."

"Orochimaru, Dragon of the Inferno. You are still these four senior and I expect you to look after our young Dragons."

Said young Dragons all loudly proclaimed that they could take care of themselves, but Orochimaru just smiled. "I will, Father Basilisk." He turned serious. "Are you all packed? I'm afraid it's time to leave."

The four nodded reluctantly and gave a few last waves goodbye to the snakes of the Dragon Ground Cave. As the five Dragons headed down the corridor to the exit, they discussed their next move.

"So what happens now?" Sasuke asked.

"It time we showed those Akatsuki punks just who they're messing with." Naruto replied.

Orochimaru nodded in agreement. "Yes, you four are easily on equal footing with Akatsuki now. There isn't any point in delaying the matter any farther. It's time to crush Akatsuki."

Before the five could make it to the exit, a loud voice drew their attention. "Oi! You all aren't leaving without saying goodbye, are you?" Four very large snakes approached the group. Naruto grinned as he replied to the one who had spoken.

"Of course we weren't, Tatsuya. We wouldn't just leave our friends high and dry like that." Naruto leaned forward and butted his head against Tatsuya's much larger one affectionately.

"You guys will summon us often, right?" Tanith asked as Sakura scratched the snake's head.

"Don't you worry those pretty green scales, Tanith. You all are going to get to see some serious action soon. Trust me." Sakura grinned.

Nidhogg said nothing. Instead he reached forward with the tip of his tail and tapped Sasuke on the forehead. Sasuke grinned and did the same his familiar with his two fingers.

Kabuto and Nonou didn't bother with words. Kabuto had his arms around her neck and Nonou rested her chin on top of his head. Both had their eyes closed as they drew comfort from each other. Kabuto eventually managed to pull himself away and look up at his partner. "You be ready for anything, there's no telling when I'm going to need you to back me up. I expect you three to take care of her, alright?"

The last bit was directed at the other familiars. Tatsuya nodded his head. "You can count on us to look after her."

Nonou looked towards the other four ninja. "I want you four to look out for Kabuto and keep him safe."

Naruto gave a big thumbs up. "Don't worry, Nonou. Kabuto will be safe with us."

With their goodbyes said and their mission ready for them. The Five Dragons stepped out into the world. The five were about to show Akatsuki just who they were dealing with.

"You four ready?" Orochimaru asked. He received four nods in return. "Alright then, let's go!" All five vanished into the air as they took off towards their destination.

Akatsuki had better watch out. These Dragons were out for blood.

Chapter End

A/N: Wow. This chapter really got away from me. I rarely write with a set path or goal, I prefer to let the details work themselves out as I'm writing. Sometime this causes the chapters to get completely out of control, like this one. I didn't mean for this to be nearly as long, but I just kept coming up with more things to say. Oh well, I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you next time.