Whee, I glad I'm here to stay. Thank you avid readers for all for your reviews. Here's the breakdown I came up with:
1 – Naruto will summon two animals. Toads is obviously one of them, and I already know what the next ones are gonna be… but I think I'll let you all guess.
2 – Some reviewers are saying to add in older women, and some are saying to leave them out. The only definite answer I have is that our resident psychotic Snake Mistress will definitely be in the harem, but at a later point. Someone put out that they want Inuzuka Hana in, and I'd like to hear what the rest of you say.
3 – I wanted to call the bridge the Narutimate Hero Bridge, as an homage to the game franchise which kicks major ass, but that would have sounded a bit vain. So, I used the Ultimate Ninja games as the bridge's name, being that it refers to numerous shinobi and not one.
I don't own Naruto or any of its characters.
Blah Human dialogue
Blah Summon/Demon dialogue
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Chapter 4: Path to Power – The Chuunin Exams
With a low thump, Kankurou grabbed his wrist, feeling pain. Looking in the direction it came from, he saw Uchiha Sasuke sitting on a tree branch, juggling two rocks with one hand. "What the hell are you Suna-nin doing in our village?" he asked stonily.
'He's kinda cute,' thought Temari to herself. 'But why do I feel some sort of pull to this one?' she thought, glancing back at Naruto.
"Another guy who pisses me off," growled Kankurou, massaging his hurting wrist.
"Get lost," said Sasuke, staring impassively as Kankurou pulled off the package on his back, ignoring the warnings of his sister. Sasuke stiffened as he heard a voice behind him say, "Kankurou, stop. You're an embarrassment to our village."
Sasuke spun around to see another Suna-nin standing upside down. But this Suna-nin had an immense gourd on his back, dark red hair, black rings around his eyes, and a tattoo of the kanji "Ai" right above his left eye.
Naruto instinctively stood in front of Sakura defensively; his whiskers pronounced, his eyes light blue with slitted pupils, and fangs lightly bared. He didn't know why or how he did it; he just knew on instinct that the redhead that smelled of Tanuki was a threat to him and his present mate.
Sakura was caught by surprise, by both Naruto and the red-haired Suna-nin. "What…" she began, but decided against saying anything else.
"Losing yourself in a fight, how pathetic…" droned the redhead, gazing impassively at his teammate. "Why do you think we're here in the first place?"
"Listen Gaara," began Kankurou, fearful for his life and pointing at the Konohamaru Corps. "They started it, and…"
"Silence," said Gaara, narrowing his eyes. "Or I'll kill you…"
"Sorry Gaara," said Kankurou, now holding up his hands in passiveness.
'So he's the leader,' thought Sasuke, watching Gaara as he sat. 'He's got strange eyes…'
"Sorry to you guys," said Gaara, disappearing in a flurry of sand and reappearing in between his teammates. Naruto moved so that Sakura was still behind him and faced the Suna-nin.
"Why are you here?" he asked bluntly. "The only reason I can think of is to improve alliances…"
"Nearly correct," said Temari. "We're here for the Chuunin Exams."
Sasuke appeared next to Naruto, and stepped forward. "You with the gourd… what is your name?"
"… Sabaku no Gaara, at your service," answered Gaara. "I am interested in both you and your teammates' names, as well."
"Uchiha Sasuke…"
"Uzumaki Naruto."
Gaara stared impassively at Team 7, and then muttered, "Let's go." Before the Suna-nin left, Naruto stepped forward and asked, "What is your female teammate's name?"
Temari blushed and answered, "Temari…"
Naruto bowed, and the three Suna-nin leapt off. Team 7 then went their own way, unaware of another trio of watchers; two guys and one girl, all wearing BDU-style scarves and pants. "What do you think?" asked the spiky-haired male.
His male teammate, wearing an oversized kimono top with his head wrapped by bandages except for his left eye, responded "Nothing serious… but that kid with the gourd, and those two male Konoha-nin that just left… we'd better keep an eye on them." He gazed at Sakura, who had wrapped her arm around Naruto's waist, and tilted his head. 'Scratch that… watch all three of those Konoha-nin.'
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The next morning, Kakashi appeared roughly two hours late at Team 7's bridge. "Morning all," he said enthusiastically. When Naruto and Sakura yelled out that he was late, he chuckled and said, "Sorry, I got lost on the road of life…"
"Anyway, this may seem a bit sudden, but I've nominated the three of you for the Chuunin Exams." Holding out three papers, he said, "These are your applications. This is just a nomination though, so whether or not you want to take the exam is up to you."
"We'll take it," said Naruto and Sakura at the same time. Sasuke nodded in agreement, and said, "There's gonna be a lot of strong guys there…"
Kakashi's eye smiled and he said, "Good for you. Now all you have to do is sign those papers and turn them in at room 301 by 4PM tomorrow. Ja ne!" And in the blink of an eye and a puff of smoke, Kakashi was gone.
The next day, Team 7 met up at the academy, and filed in. When they got inside, they saw a commotion at the entrance of room 301. Two genin were blocking the way, and they had kicked around two genin already. "It's not worth it," said the squinty-eyed one with the spiky hair and giant kunai. "We've failed the Chuunin Exams three times in a row, so we're doing you all a favor."
Naruto rolled his eyes, and Sakura whispered in his ear that they were on the wrong floor. So, Naruto gently grabbed Sakura by the hand and began to slip away, when Sasuke said, "I appreciate your kindness… but please move. I'm going to the third floor, so I need you to drop the Genjutsu…"
Naruto winced. If Sasuke had kept his mouth shut, then there'd be a whole lot less competition. Naruto himself was feeling a bit antsy now, so he wanted to get out of there immediately.
The second of the two Genin, one with a Konoha bandana, smirked and said, "You noticed, huh…?"
Sasuke smirked. "Sakura noticed it first, since she's the Genjutsu specialist on our team…"
Sakura winced. Sasuke was obviously trying to get back in her good graces while dragging her into his mess at the same time. Resigned, she put on a smile and said, "I knew it the moment we walked in… because this is the second floor."
As the Genjutsu disappeared, revealing room 301 to be room 201, the spiky-haired Genin chuckled and launched into a roundhouse kick. Sasuke responded in kind, but the two of them were stopped by a Genin in a green leotard and orange leg-warmers.
"Fast," said Naruto, his eyes wider.
The Genin approached Sakura, who instinctively grabbed Naruto's sleeve. "Hi," he said. "I'm Rock Lee… Let's go out together! I'll protect you with my life!" he punctuated his proclamation with a wink and a thumbs-up.
Naruto barely suppressed his gag reflex. If the green leotard wasn't bad enough, then Lee's eyebrows and hairstyle was complete overkill. Sakura squeaked and hid behind Naruto, where she said, "Gomen… I'm taken…"
While Lee dropped his head in dismay, his teammate, a boy with long hair in a ponytail, bandages on his left arm and leg, and the same color eyes as Hinata walked up to Sasuke and said, "What is your name?"
Naruto went into his defensive state, and walked past Hyuuga Neji (the one who approached Sasuke), grabbing Sasuke before he could answer. "Let's go emo-boy," he said. "You can play with your new friends later."
"Naruto, let me go before I hurt you," growled Sasuke.
"I've been threatened by bigger and scarier people, Sasuke-teme," retorted Naruto, as he discreetly looked behind him. The female teammate of the Hyuuga and Rock Lee was gazing at him, with a bit of a blush on her face. 'She smells of metal,' he thought. 'A weapons expert, maybe…?'
"Naruto-kun," asked Sakura, once they were far away enough, "why did you grow… feral at that Hyuuga guy, and the Suna-nin, and not at Lee?"
"Lee's too good-natured and somewhat innocent," said Naruto, being sincere. "That Kankurou and that Hyuuga guy are dangerous though, and I see them as threats. The same with Gaara."
Speaking of Lee, he had followed them. "Naruto-san…" he said, adopting a defensive stance, "I wish to fight you."
Naruto gazed at him impassively, then turned around and started to walk away, Sakura following him. "That'd ruin the surprise, Fuzzy-brows," Naruto threw over his shoulder. "When the time comes, I will… but not now."
Sasuke stepped up and said, "I'll take you on, then."
Lee turned to him and said, "It's common courtesy to give your own name first."
Sasuke nodded, understanding. "Uchiha Sasuke."
"Okay," said Lee, adopting an offensive stance. "I've wanted to test my techniques against an Uchiha. Plus…" he trailed off, looking at Sakura. Naruto stood in front Sakura and went, "No."
"But…"
"NO."
Sasuke interrupted this tirade, and said "Knowingly challenging me… frankly, I think you're a fool. And you're about to realize what it means to challenge me…" Sasuke ran at him, but Lee seemingly disappeared. He came out of nowhere and yelled, "Konoha Senpuu!"
Long story short, even with his Sharingan, Sasuke got his ass kicked by Lee, who revealed that he was a Taijutsu user, and Sasuke's Sharingan was useless against him. He was apparently about to launch a special attack when he was attached to the wall by his bandages by a pinwheel out of nowhere.
"That's enough, Lee!" said a talking turtle with a hitai-ate around its neck. Lee abandoned Sasuke, who fell and hit the ground. He was on his feet in seconds, and Lee landed like a cat in front of the talking turtle.
"What the hell is going on?" asked Naruto, truly confused.
"I think that talking turtle…" said Sakura staring, "is Lee-san's sensei."
The turtle had been saying that Lee should have known better than showing off techniques, and then asked if Lee was ready to face judgment. When Lee nodded sadly, the turtle yelled, "Then here comes Maito Gai!!"
In a puff of smoke, a man appeared on the turtle. The man looked like an older version of Lee, from the red hitai-ate around his waist to the green leotard… they even had the same hairstyle and eyebrows. The only difference was the Jounin vest the bigger Lee clone had. "You guys are the epitome of Youth!!" he yelled enthusiastically.
Naruto covered Sakura's eyes and his mouth. "Why is this happening to us?" he asked. "First Fuzzy-brows… and now Super Fuzzy-brows!"
In the meantime, Gai had punched Lee, then pulled him up and hugged him, tears streaming. "Lee, this is what youth is all about!"
"Hai, Gai-sensei!!"
"LEE!"
"GAI-SENSEI!!"
"LEE!"
"GAI-SENSEI!!"
"LEE!"
"GAI-SENSEI!!"
"LEE!"
"Leaving," muttered Naruto as he, Sakura, and Sasuke snuck away from the traumatizing image. They arrived at room 301, and Kakashi was there to see them in. "Good work, Team 7. The Chuunin Exam lies just beyond these doors. Good luck, and take care."
"Hai," said Naruto, Sakura to his left and Sasuke to his right. "Let's go!"
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"What the…"
The room was packed with Genin, many of them older than Team 7. "Sasuke-kun!!" came a familiar voice, and Sasuke found a joyful Ino hugging him, much to his chagrin. Naruto squinted and said, "Hey, I need my teammate, Ino-chan…"
Ino glared at Naruto, who tilted his head innocently. He looked so innocent, and with his new look… Ino reddened slightly and looked away.
Shikamaru and Chouji choose to arrive at that moment. "You guys are in this, too? Mendokuse…." Chouji just kept eating his chips, and Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at Sakura's outfit. "Why are you wearing that?"
Sakura crossed her arms and said, "Because I feel like it." But she had noticed the looks that the males in the room were giving her, and moved closer to her Naruto-kun.
"What's crackin', homies?" came a familiar voice. Naruto winced and said, "Kiba, never say that again…"
Kiba had shown up, accompanied by Shino and Hinata. Naruto grinned at what Hinata wore.
Hinata still kept her original pants, but she was wearing an dark-gray kimono top held in place by a dark red obi, and a navy blue kimono coat with the kanji "Ten" (Heaven) on the back. Hinata tilted her head innocently, and offered a small smile. "Konnichi wa, Naruto-kun, Sakura-san, Sasuke-san…"
Kiba wrapped an arm around Hinata's shoulder, earning a wide-eyed look from Hinata and a growl from Naruto. Squinting, Kiba said, "What are you growling for, fox-boy?"
Naruto crossed his arms and glared at the dog user. "You won't like me when I'm angry dog-boy, and I'm starting to get angry."
Kiba snorted. "And what are you gonna do?"
Akamaru whimpered from his spot on Kiba's head. He was doing all that could to avoid making this apparent alpha angry, and he lightly clawed Kiba's head. Kiba grabbed his head and growled, "What was that for!?"
Hinata took that time to move closer to her Naruto-kun and bowed lightly. "Arigatou, Naruto-kun. Kiba-san's been trying to get me to date him for a while now…"
"Hey, could you guys keep it down?" said a voice. It turned out to be a shinobi wearing an outfit identical to Sasuke's, except his was dark purple and he had a strip of cloth around his waist, and glasses, as well as fingerless gloves. "Silly Rookies… I'm Kabuto, but look behind you."
The Genins saw a group of glaring Ame-nin (Rain-nin). Naruto grinned evilly and took a step forward, when Hinata and Sakura held him back. Naruto turned to them to ask why, when he saw the look they were giving him, and he wilted.
Kabuto noticed this, and choice to store it away. "Those guys are Ame-nin, and are known to have notoriously short tempers. So quiet down, everyone's on edge and you guys are making a scene."
Naruto noted that Kabuto smelled of snakes, and slowly went into his defensive state while Sakura asked, "Kabuto-san, have you taken the exam before?"
"Yeah…" said Kabuto. "This is my seventh time, and since it's held twice a year, this is my fourth year."
"Damn, you suck," commented Kiba.
Kabuto ignored him, and drew a pack of cards from his pouch. "It's good practice, and I've managed to gather a sizable amount of info, with my Nin-Info cards. Basically, they're information cards with four years of data burned into them."
He set one on the ground and began to spin it. "They don't do anything unless I add my chakra, and…" An image appeared. "… Bingo." The card now had a map on it with bar graphs on it.
"What's that?" asked Sasuke.
"It's a breakdown of this years exam… basically, the number of Genin and the country they're from."
"Do you individual cards?"
"Yeah," said Kabuto, putting his right hand on his 200-card deck. "I've got one of everyone, even you guys. But it's not perfect."
That didn't matter to Sasuke. "Sabaku no Gaara from Suna, Rock Lee from Konoha, and Uzumaki Naruto of Konoha." This earned a glare at him from Naruto.
"Okay," he said, removing three. Putting his chakra in them, he revealed their contents. "First, Rock Lee. He's a year older than you guys, but this is his first time taking the test. He has completed twenty D-Rank and twelve C-Rank missions. His sensei is Maito Gai, and his teammates are Hyuuga Neji and Tenten. Taijutsu is excellent, and his Ninjutsu and Genjutsu are virtually non-existent."
"Next is Sabaku no Gaara. This is his first year as well, and he has completed eight C-Rank missions and one B-Rank. His sensei is Baki, and his teammates are Temari and Kankurou, who are incidentally his siblings as well. I don't have much info on him since he's new, but it's been said that he came back from every mission without a scratch."
Naruto glanced at the Suna-nin, and caught Temari gazing at him. She looked away quickly, and Naruto looked back to Kabuto as he revealed the contents of his final card.
"Lastly, Uzumaki Naruto. This is his first year, and he completed twenty-five D-Rank missions and one B-Rank. His sensei is Hatake Kakashi, and his teammates are Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke," said Kabuto, reading off the information. "Hmm… Ninjutsu is excellent, Taijutsu is average, and Genjutsu is below average. Apparently, he's rumored to hold a rare Kekkai Genkai and Kubikiri Houcho… but those are just rumors."
"What's Kubikiri Houcho?" asked Kiba, casting a sideward glance at Naruto.
"The sword of the A-Rank Nuke-nin, Momochi Zabuza…" said Kabuto cryptically. "But like I said… just rumors."
Even so, that didn't make the Genin any more tentative of the unpredictable Naruto. Well, Hinata and Sakura were well at ease, and Ino was trying to deny anything she felt for her fellow blonde… but the males now looked at Naruto with a new light.
Naruto, who was feeling more and more antsy, was pretty sure that if the test didn't start soon, a fight would break out, with him at the head. Before his accident, he would have thought it was test jitters, but now… he was sure it was because of the large amount of males in the room, and he was viewing them as threats.
Kabuto, on the other hand, had launched into a monologue about the shinobi villages, ending with the recent creation of Otogakure (Hidden Sound Village), stating that it was the weakest village so far. The Oto-nin team didn't take that too well.
They launched into action; the mini-Kakashi throwing kunai to catch Kabuto off guard, and the Mummy swiped at him with his right arm, with said arm wielding a strange device. Kabuto dodged it, but as he landed, his glasses broke. "So that's how it is," he muttered, taking them off.
Suddenly, he fell to the ground, and lost his lunch. This caught the nearest Konoha-nin by surprise, because they knew he wasn't hit.
Naruto winced at the ringing in his ears, but he was happy that there was a fight started, because it had calmed him down, if only slightly. He looked over the Oto-nin team.
The apparent leader was the Mummy, who had a hairy… thing on his back. To his right was the mini-Kakashi, who wore a shirt that had the Kanji "Shi" (Death) on it three times, and side-guards. To the leader's left was a lovely female, with a gunmetal gray vest and long black hair with a purple bow near the end.
Naruto tilted his head at the female Oto-nin, who was glaring at Kabuto. She caught his eyes and stared at him, before looking away with a hint of a blush. "Sound," he muttered, referencing to Mummy-man's attack.
"Write this on your cards," said the mini-Kakashi. "The Oto-nin Dosu, Zaku, and Kin will definitely be Chuunins."
"Quiet down, you worthless bastards!!" yelled a gruff voice from the front as a puff of smoke appeared. When the smoke cleared, the proctors had appeared, led by a certain trenchcoat wearing scarred Tokubetsu Jounin with a bandana.
"Thanks for waiting," said "Scarface" grimly. "Welcome to the Chuunin Selection Exams. I'm your host, Morino Ibiki."
The Genin up front looked ready to wet themselves. They flinched when Ibiki pointed to the back. "You! Oto-nin! Cut that shit out, do you want to be disqualified before the Exam even starts?"
"Sorry," said Dosu, the Mummy-man. "This is our first time here, and we got carried away…"
Ibiki snorted and cast his attention to everyone else. "All right, let me make this clear to everyone: There will be no fighting without the examiner's permission. If fighting is allowed, killing will not be tolerated. Those who disobey will be put down. Am I clear?"
His glare left no room for opposition. Naruto grinned. This guy was dangerous, and Naruto was slightly on edge, but he was starting to like this guy, this… Morino Ibiki.
"Okay, we'll start Test One of the Chuunin Selection Exams. Instead of your current arrangements, we'll give you a tab with a number on it, and you'll go to the matching seat. We will then hand out the written exam."
And that possible acknowledgement went down the crapper. Naruto cursed lowly. He completely sucked at written tests, and they throw this out? He was going to be mad for the rest of this exam.
A few moments later, Naruto sat in his seat, highly on edge. There were guys all around him, and his Sakura-chan and Hinata-chan were nowhere to be found. Then he smelled a familiar scent, and he calmed slightly. "Kon, Hinata-chan…"
Hinata tilted her head. "Kon?"
Naruto grinned. "I shortened Konnichi wa into the first three letters; Kon."
Hinata giggled. "You are aware that 'Kon' is the sound foxes make, ne?"
Naruto's smile turned into a scowl. A certain fox was the cause of his trouble. Shaking that thought aside, he told her, "I think we may have four more potentials… Ino-chan, Tenten-chan, Temari-chan from Suna, and Kin-chan from Oto."
Hinata furrowed her brow. "Ino-chan I can see, but why the other three?"
"Tenten-chan seems to be a weapons expert, and Temari-chan looks like a wind user, judging by her fan. That, and it could help relations between Suna and Konoha. Kin-chan… I think she wants to get out of Oto…"
During this, Ibiki had been laying out the rules of the written exam, and the point system. "A point will be deducted for each wrong question. That is the first rule. The second rule is that this is a team test. Whether you pass or fail will be determined by the final score of your teammates. The optimum is 30 points. The third rule is… that if anyone is caught cheating by the examiners, then the offender will lose two points. Any who lose all there points will have to leave the exam."
"So, we all just have to keep our points," muttered Sakura, casting a quick glance at Naruto. "Naruto-kun might not do see well, but we can still cover for him…"
Ibiki grinned evilly. "The fourth and final rule is this… anyone who loses all their points, whether by being caught cheating five times or getting every question wrong, will fail… and their teammates will fail with them!"
Naruto winced. He knew that he wasn't book-smart, but he was at least smarter than the average Genin. There had to be a catch to all this, a way to avoid getting all questions wrong and losing the exam.
"The exam will last for one hour. Turn over your tests and begin!"
As one, the Genin in the room turned over their papers. Sakura immediately knew that Naruto wouldn't pass the test, more than likely. Naruto, on the other hand, knew some of the material, but the rest… He had now reaffirmed his hatred for paperwork. "Damnable Procter," he muttered under his breath.
It was a while before Sasuke picked up the secret to the exam. 'This isn't about our intelligence,' he thought. 'It's about our information gathering skills. They're trying to see how well we can cheat without getting caught. And they're marking down all those caught, to separate the worst from the best…'
Soon, it became apparent that everyone had figured this out. Kiba was using Akamaru to spy on the students around him, Shino was using insects to see the other tests, and Tenten was cheating for herself and Lee, through use of mirrors and wires.
Dosu followed the sounds of a specific pencils' strokes on the paper (on the wood) to reproduce the answers on his sheet, Neji used his Byakugan to see through bodies and see the papers, and Sasuke used his Sharingan to copy an examinees movements.
Naruto rubbed his head, thinking about what to do, when a kunai sped past him and embedded into the paper of the Genin behind him. "Oh my god, kunai!" gasped the Genin.
"You fail," said Kotetsu, the bandage-faced proctor. "Take your teammates and get the hell out."
When the team left, Naruto picked up on what they were supposed to do. "Hinata-chan," he whispered, "the point of this is to cheat without getting caught."
Hinata cast her eyes sideward, confused. "Are you sure?"
"Hai. That's what Scarface meant by 'Be proud shinobi' and don't let us catch you cheating." With that, he muttered, "Tomoe no Reinogan: Kanchi San." Now he was able to see through the examinee in front of him and see his paper. "The best of luck," he whispered to Hinata, and then went to work.
Pretty soon, teams left and right were being kicked out. Finally, when it came down to it, roughly half the teams were left. Ibiki smirked. 'Looks like the weaklings have been weeded out… it's time.'
"All right, it's time for the tenth question. But before I ask it, I'd like to lay down a few quick rules…"
Naruto groaned. 'More rules?' he thought.
"These are the rules of desperation…"
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"I'm bored," said Kakashi.
"Hush, Kakashi," said Asuma, taking a drag from his cigarette. "Things will get exciting."
"First thing Asuma," said Kakashi, "never tell me to 'Hush' again. Second thing, why?"
"I heard that Ibiki's in charge of the exam."
Kakashi's spirited was lifted, but he felt sorry for his team at the same time, though. "That sadistic bastard…"
"What are you guys talking about?" asked Kurenai, leaning to one side.
"Kurenai, you're new, so you haven't heard of him," said Asuma, an evil grin forming on his face. "Morino Ibiki is a Tokubetsu Jounin that's in charge of the ANBU Torture/Interrogation Force, and he's a damn good one, too. He's so sadistic, those Genin will probably have a mental breakdown by the end of the first exam..."
"Asuma, you know smoking kills…" said Kakashi, changing the subject.
"Silly Kakashi, I'm a shinobi… and shinobi don't die from smoking."
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"First, you all are gonna choose whether or not you wish to take the final question," said Ibiki, glaring at the Genin.
This got everyone's attention. Temari yelled out, "Choose? So what happens if we choose not to take the tenth question?"
Answering her question, Ibiki replied, "If you choose to not take the question, you'll lose all your points. In other words, you fail." Grinning, he added, "And when you fail, your teammates will fail with you."
There were cries of indignation, and someone yelled out, "Horseshit!! Of course we'll take the final question."
Ibiki closed his eyes, and continued on. "And that goes with the other rule. If you choose to take it, and get the question wrong…" here he opened his eyes, "you'll be banned from the Chuunin Exam for the rest of your natural lives!!"
At this point, Kiba rose up and pointed a finger at Ibiki, saying, "What kind of bull is that!? There are people here who took the Chuunin Exam before!" Akamaru added a bark for emphasis.
Ibiki chuckled. "You were unlucky this year. I am the Proctor. And as such, your shinobi careers are in my cruel, unfeeling hands. That's why I gave you the option of quitting."
At this, Kiba sat down in a daze. "You can choose to not take the final question, and fail. But you can take the exam again."
Everyone had the same thought: 'Don't take the question and fail, or take the question and stay a genin forever if the question was wrong. Either way, it's a no win scenario.'
"And so, it begins," intoned Ibiki, his voice carrying throughout the room.
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When Ibiki asked the people who were going to not take the question to raise their hands, almost immediately, half the people in the room raised their hands. When their numbers were confirmed, they left.
Sakura and Sasuke wondered what their teammate would do. Granted, Sakura had faith, but Sasuke had figured that Naruto would be better off quitting now so that they might have a better chance next year.
Naruto grinned evilly. Plenty of people had played mind games with him when he was younger, so he was sort of mad that he didn't pick up on it earlier. He raised his hand, then he immediately slammed it down, and said, "I'd hate to have you as my psychologist."
Everyone was gob-smacked by what he said. "They must be big," muttered a Genin to the one next to him. "What?" asked the nudged Genin. "The size of his brass balls."
Meanwhile, with Naruto: "I'll take your life-or-death question, and I have no fear. I'm gonna become the strongest, so I can take whatever you throw at me."
While Sakura and Hinata looked on in adoration, Ibiki narrowed his eyes. "Are you sure?" he asked. "Your very career is riding on your choice now, and I'm giving you a chance to back out while you still have everything."
Naruto grinned and said, "You wanna play rough? Then let's get wild…"
Ibiki had to hand it to Naruto, he had guts. 'Little smartass,' he thought. 'I guess there's no point in belaying the inevitable. You're an interesting one… Uzumaki Naruto.'
"Good choice," he yelled out. "Now… to the 78 remaining… congratulations on passing the first test!"
At the blank and shocked looks Ibiki was getting, he launched into a speech of how the test was designed. The first nine questions were based on information gathering skills, and the tenth question was a test of will and might.
He then talked about how information, at times, is worth more than the lives of people, and to emphasize his point, he took off his bandana, to reveal scores of slashes, burns, and screw holes in his scalp.
This made nearly everyone unconsciously grasp the tops of their heads. The man had been tortured!
He replaced his bandana, and then concluded with information being wrong would bring ruin to a mission, and to the one doing it. "With that," he finished, a genuine smile on his lips, "I congratulate you all, on making it to the Second Exam."
No sooner had he said that, then a large something flew in through the window and landed in front of him. Kunai hit the ceiling, and the object flew open to reveal a banner and a woman. The woman wore a net outfit, an oversized jacket (more like a trenchcoat), a miniskirt, and a pair of shin-guards. 'That woman's gonna be the death of me,' thought Ibiki.
"Everyone, no time to celebrate!! 'Cause the Second Examiner is here!!" She had one hand in the air and yelled, "I am Mitarashi Anko, Second Examiner of the Chuunin Selection Exams!!
Dead silence, except for Naruto's whispered comment to Hinata, "Maybe…?" Hinata's reply to that was a look that said, "Maybe later, but not now…"
Sasuke deadpanned, muttering, "Just what we need, a female Naruto…"
"Anko," said Ibiki from the side of the banner, "check the atmosphere."
Anko blanched, and then recovered. "You let 26 teams pass, Ibiki? Losing your touch?"
"Not at all, we just had some talented ones this time around."
"Oh, well." She gazed out at the teams left, grinned, and said, "You can be sure that I'll cut their numbers in more than half." That scared the crap out of a lot of people. She raised her voice. "All righty, prepare for the next exam tomorrow. We're gonna be somewhere else, so ask your Jounin sensei about it. Dismissed."
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The next day, the genin teams met at a place that had chains on the gate.
'What is this place?' was the thought on everyone's minds.
"Welcome to Training Area #44, everyone!" Then on an afternote, Anko added, "Affectionately known as the Forest of Death."
"Creepy," said Sakura, as Sasuke stood off to the side and Naruto surveyed the area he could see.
"You'll find out soon enough how it got its name," said Anko, and she narrowed her eyes when she heard Naruto mutter, "Sounds fun…"
Anko grinned. "Fun, huh?" In the span of seconds, she drew a kunai and threw it, slicing Naruto's cheek and causing him to bleed. In the blink of an eye, she appeared behind him, licking his bleeding cheek. To Naruto's credit, he didn't flinch. "To laugh in the face of death… you've got guts, kid…"
Naruto smirked. "I get that a lot… but it looks to me that you wanna lick something else."
Sakura stifled a chuckle, and so did some of the males. Even though it was crass, the crazy snake lady had walked into it.
Anko chuckled and held a kunai to Naruto's crotch. "A funny one, huh?" Her attention was caught by a Kusa-nin (Grass-nin) who came behind her and held out Anko's thrown kunai… with his tongue. "You dropped this."
Anko took back the kunai, grinning, and said, "Thanks… but don't sneak up behind me unless you want to die…"
Gagging from the stench of snakes coming from the Kusa-nin, Naruto took this opportunity to squirm out of Anko's grip and rejoin Sakura and Sasuke, the former delivering a 'bop' to her mate's head. "Baka…"
Anko blinked, then said, "Okay, before we start this test, I'm handing these out." Holding up a bunch of papers, she smiled good-naturedly and said, "These are waivers… there ARE going to be deaths during this part of the exam, and the responsibility will fall to me if you don't sign them."
"First let me explain," she said, pointing at the fenced-off forest. "Basically, everyone here is gonna be in a five-day survival test. The area is surrounded by a fence, and there are three main features: the Tower, in the center; the river, running through the forest and the tower; and the forest itself, running around the entire area. It's roughly ten kilometers from one of the 44 gates to the tower, and once you guys are in, the gates will be locked, and you can complete your assigned task."
At the confused looks she got, Anko drew out a brown scroll with the kanji "Tsuchi" on it, and a white scroll with the kanji "Ten" on it. "Each team will get either a Heaven Scroll or an Earth Scroll, and then it'll be an all-out scroll battle. Basically, you have to fight each other for a reversed scroll; like one team has to have both an Earth Scroll and a Heaven scroll."
"There are 78 people here, meaning 26 teams. Thirteen with get a Heaven Scroll and thirteen will get an Earth Scroll. I reiterate, you must get to the tower with both scrolls. Like I said before, you have five days to get to the tower. You'll be facing the same conditions any shinobi on a mission will face; hunting for your own food, constant threat of attack, lack of sleep, and great distance to complete your mission. So it's official… some will die inside."
She then went over the disqualifications; either losing a teammate, or not getting the scrolls within the time limit. "Another thing… don't open the scrolls until you make to the tower. Anyone who does… will get a big surprise. Now, exchange the three forms I gave each team member for a scroll, then move to a gate. Lastly… don't die."
As time passed, the teams got their scrolls and a made it to their gates. Naruto stole Hinata away before Kiba could notice and held her hands. "You'll stay sharp, right?" he asked.
Hinata smiled and kissed him. "I'll be fine, Naruto-kun. Shino will take care of me, and make sure Kiba stays away."
Naruto nodded. "If we run into each other, we should join up. Safety in numbers, right?"
Hinata nodded, and with a final kiss, they rejoined their teams. Soon after, the time came, and the second exam had started.
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Pretty soon, our resident Team 7, in possession of a Heaven Scroll, heard screaming. "Looks like the carnage has started," said Naruto, looking into the distance. "I'm gonna go check out the area."
"Careful, Naruto-kun…" said Sakura. A few moments later, Naruto came back. "It's all clear," he said, pointing and winking at Sakura. "Let's go this way."
Sakura started, but then, she kicked Naruto in the crotch. Naruto fell, clutching his goods, and then, in a puff of smoke, he changed into an Ame-nin with an oxygen mask. "H-how?" the Ame-nin groaned out.
Sakura crossed her arms and smirked. "Naruto-kun knows me well enough not to wink at me," she said.
"Damn straight," said Naruto, dropping from a tree. He reached into the Ame-nin's pouch and pulled out an Earth Scroll. "Jackpot," he said. "Now let's get to the tower."
"Wait," said Sasuke. "If something like this happens again, we need a code to recognize each other. If one of us gets the code wrong, then we can assume it's an enemy."
"What should the code be?" asked Sakura, noting that Naruto looked fidgety. "Naruto-kun?"
"Sasuke," whispered Naruto. "The real code should be the one phrase that is the bane of our existence."
Sasuke caught on and nodded. Out loud, he said, "Okay, I'll only say this once. When I ask, 'Nin Machine', you answer 'Hide, wound, and wait… that is the way of the shinobi… when the enemy is hurt and unaware.' You understand?"
Naruto and Sakura nodded. "I'll hold the Heaven Scroll," said Sasuke, holding out his hand. Naruto discreetly made a clone of the scroll and gave it to Sasuke, keeping the original. Immediately after that, a gust of wind came out of nowhere, and blew Naruto away.
When the wind passed, Sasuke was all alone. But Sakura came, and Sasuke held a kunai up to her. "Nin machine."
Sakura grimaced. "Super… Special… Awesome…"
Sasuke nodded and cringed. If he ever heard it again…
Naruto suddenly appeared. "Hot damn, what was that?" he asked.
"Nin machine," said Sasuke.
Naruto grinned and said, "Hide, wound, and wait… that is the way of the shinobi… when the enemy is hurt and unaware." He didn't count on Sasuke socking him. "Wha-what was that for!?" he yelled. "I said the code correctly!"
Sasuke grinned. "The code was the words that were the bane of our existence… 'Super Special Awesome'. God, how I hate those words…"
Naruto grinned evilly and with a poof, turned into the Kusa-nin with the long tongue. "Kukuku… I got a bit careless… this'll be fun, though…"
Meanwhile, Naruto landed on his feet some distance away. "That was a Fuuton Jutsu," he said, narrowing his eyes. "That had to have come from someone way stronger than Genin…" He trailed off hearing a low hissing noise. Turning around, he saw the biggest snake in his life staring at him. Like a hunter. "Mother…"
Naruto was grabbed by the snake's tail and brought to its mouth. Naruto wasn't too keen on becoming dinner for something, so after squirming, he brought out a kunai with an exploding tag on it, and threw it in the snake's open mouth. Putting his free hand into the Ram Seal, he grinned and said, "Eat this. Katsu!"
The snake was about to eat him, when it exploded, spreading blood and flesh everywhere. Dropping to his feet, Naruto sniffed the air, and found his teammates, along with the stink of snake. Growling, he went into his defensive state and tore off into the trees.
Meanwhile, Sasuke had taken Sakura and hidden. He was scared again, only this time, it was plausible. The Kusa-nin was a monster; first he had eaten his Earth Scroll, then made them see their deaths with his Killing Intent. 'We've got to get out of here!' he thought frantically.
"Kukuku… nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, Sasuke-kun…" came the Kusa-nin's voice as he appeared across from them. "I am the Predator, and you are my Prey… all you can do is run." Lunging at them, he was cut off by kunai with exploding tags attached. Backing off, he was able to get away before they detonated. He then sent a glare at the one who threw them.
"Gomen, Sakura-chan," said Naruto, his blue eyes slitted. "Super Special Awesome is the code… I now hate Tazuna-san for those words…"
"Get the hell out of here, Naruto!" yelled Sasuke. "This guys a whole level above us!"
"Kukuku… so, you managed to defeat my snake, Naruto-kun…"
"Your snake?" growled Naruto, crouching and activating Kanchi. He was incensed when Sasuke tried to bargain with the snakey bastard, using their Heaven Scroll as the bait. "You chickenshit bastard!" he yelled. "What's that gonna do!? You said he's a whole level above us… that means he can kill us now and take the scroll!"
Sasuke grew sick at this when he realized he had already handed over their scroll. The Kusa-nin reaffirmed it by licking his lips and saying, "Naruto-kun… you're absolutely right!" The Kusa-nin raised his sleeve, revealing a snake tattoo, and bit his thumb, rubbing blood over the tattoo.
Naruto growled and jumped at the Kusa-nin, ignoring Sakura and Sasuke's cries for him to stop. "Chickenshit bastard," he growled, throwing a punch at the Kusa-nin. Then he heard three words that made his blood run cold.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu."
The Kusa-nin now stood on another giant snake, which took opportunity of Naruto's momentary shock to slam the Genin into a tree.
"Naruto-kun!" cried out Sakura, as her beloved mate fell to his death at the jaws of the snake. She rejoiced when Naruto punched the snake in the upper jaw, but then, she saw him get blown away by a wind attack from the Kusa-nin's mouth.
Sasuke was shocked to see this wild Naruto, and he wasn't able to move out of the way as the snake barreled toward him, its rider yelling, "Come Sasuke-kun, what will you do!?"
The snake was brought to a halt by five Naruto's, the apparent real one glaring at Sasuke with pronounced whisker-marks and claws. "Hey," he growled. "You done whining, you emo chickenshit?"
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"Crap," said one of the proctors, looking down at the bodies before him and his companions. "Three dead ones already…"
Izumo, the Proctor with the bandana and hair going over his right eye, asked his partner Kotetsu, "Is that some kind of Ninjutsu?"
"Yeah," muttered Kotetsu, standing up. "Damn, a problem already… Get Anko over here, now?"
Anko was sitting at one of the gates, eating some dango and juice. She was also thinking about that wise-ass Genin, Uzumaki Naruto, and unconsciously licked her lips. "A funny one, and not that bad looking, either…"
She was interrupted by the appearance of one of the proctors. "Big trouble, Anko-sama!"
Anko threw the dango stick into a tree and listened to his report. "Bodies?"
"And they look strange… please come and see!"
When she got there, she paled at the sight of their heads, while Kotetsu's voice traveled through the background. "After examining their items and papers, it's clear that they were Kusa-nin who entered the exam, but they have no faces, like they melted off…"
'What the hell is HE doing here!?' thought Anko in her head, frantically. "Get me their pictures!" she snapped. When Izumo gave them to her, her heart nearly stopped. 'So, that was him…!!' She began issuing orders. "Report to Hokage-sama! Tell him to send some ANBU captains to the Forest of Death! I'm going in!!"
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"If Sakura-chan dies, then I'm gonna use your entrails as a jump-rope, chickenshit," growled Naruto. He then felt something slimy grab him around his upper body. His clones disappeared, and he found himself before the Kusa-nin. "So…" growled Naruto, struggling to get away, "you're the snake summoner… Orochimaru."
The Kusa-nin, now revealed to be Orochimaru, S-Rank Nuke-nin of Konoha, grinned and started performing seals. "I see you're still alive, Naruto-kun." He heard Naruto mutter something, and frowned when he saw Naruto's eyes turn white with three small black triangles. He felt on an instinctive level to be wary of this child, so he decided to kill him at a later date. But to the matter at hand…
He grabbed his right wrist and his fingers began to glow, revealing an element for each finger; Boku (Wood), Hi (Fire), Chikyuu (Earth), Kane (Metal), and Mizu (Water). He then used his tongue to lift Naruto's shirt, to reveal the Seal on his stomach. Or rather, a tattered version of it. "Oh my…" he muttered.
He was about to slam his fingers into Naruto's stomach when Naruto growled out "Ranzatsu". He suddenly lost all sense of balance, and he couldn't see straight; this made him drop Naruto. Orochimaru cursed and wildly cast out snakes from his arms. A set caught Naruto in the chest, and slammed the former Jinchuuriki into a tree, where Naruto lost consciousness.
Sakura saw him fall, and using Kage Bunshin, she sent her Bunshin to make sure her mate stayed out of sight. "Sasuke!" she yelled. "Naruto-kun may be nothing like you, but at least he isn't a coward!"
Sasuke was his own world at her words. His eyes shut tight, horrible memories of Sharingan eyes belonging to the one he wanted to kill, taunted him. "Foolish ototo…" said the memory. "If you want to kill me… then hate and spite… and survive like a roach! Run, little coward… run and survive…"
Sasuke's eyes snapped open, revealing his two Tomoe Sharingan in each eye. BY this point, Orochimaru had regained his sense of balance and swore to kill Naruto, but when he saw Sasuke's eyes, his joy overwhelmed his desire to kill. 'Excellent,' he thought. 'His Uchiha blood is beginning to boil…' Seeing no further use for it, he dispelled his Snake Summon.
Sasuke whipped out four kunai and a Fuuhma Shuriken, along with another kunai in his mouth. Jumping in the air, he thought, 'I can't die here… I have to kill my brother… I will survive this!' He threw the kunai at Orochimaru, who dodged by zipping right and left. He caught a tree and spun around, tossing the Fuuhma Shuriken at Orochimaru, who jumped over it.
That was what Sasuke was waiting for. He drew more kunai, except these kunai had wires attached to them… wires that went to his mouth. Tossing them at random, Sasuke managed to trick the Snake Summoner into coming between them. "Nice," said Sasuke, clenching his teeth and putting his hands in the Tiger Seal. 'Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu (1)!!'
Orochimaru was surprised not only by the wire he found himself in, but also by the fire that now raced down them. Unable to dodge, he was consumed by the blaze, and Sasuke grinned and dropped the wire, crouching and panting. Sakura rejoiced at the death of the Snake-man, but then, she and Sasuke nearly had a heart-attack by what he saw next.
Orochimaru appeared, his clothing singed and his face melting. Wait, his face was melting… like some sort of mask! The part that had melted revealed pale skin around an eye, surrounded by dark purple eyeliner, with yellow iris and slitted pupils.
"Kukuku…" chuckled the freaky Snake-man. "To be able to use the Sharingan that well at such an age… you truly are an Uchiha. Now I know… I want you…"
Sasuke could sense Sakura landing beside him, but his attention was centered on the man he now considered fruity. He watched as the man put his hand up to the grass symbol on his hitai-ate, then took it away to reveal a musical note.
Sound. This guy was really from Otogakure.
He and Sakura felt their bodies freeze. The killing intent Orochimaru was giving off was unbearable. But when Orochimaru commented on how "Sasuke really was Itachi's brother", Sasuke was able to move a little out of rage. "Just who the hell are you!?" he yelled.
"My name is Orochimaru," said the nuke-nin as he burned their Heaven Scroll. "If you want to see me again, then survive this exam… and defeat my Oto-nin."
"We never want to see your fruity face again!" yelled Sakura, as Orochimaru put his hands into a strange seal. Orochimaru chuckled, and then his neck extended like a snake's.
In the span of seconds, he had reached Sasuke and bitten the Uchiha like a vampire. When his head left Sasuke's neck and gone back to its regular spot, he said, "Sasuke-kun will seek me for power…"
Sasuke fell to his knees, crying out in pain as a trio of Sharingan-like Tomoe formed on his neck. "Happy birthday, Sasuke-kun…" said Orochimaru as he sank into the tree branch, revealing that he was a Tsuchi Bunshin.
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As the sun began to set, Anko raced through the trees in the Forest of Death. 'It's almost nightfall,' she thought. 'If I don't find him before it gets dark, I'm gonna be at a severe disadvantage. But still… why is he here right now? What is he planning?'
Landing on a tree branch, she surveyed the area, her thoughts a jumble. 'It doesn't matter now… Since you're here, I can settle my score with you. I'll stop you even if it means my life… at least, I can slow you down until the ANBU arrive… I know what you know… I was your apprentice…'
"Right, Orochimaru?" she asked to the upside-down face behind her. When she heard, "Impossible…", she pulled four senbon from her jacket and jumped, but the revealed Orochimaru lashed out with his tongue and wrapped it around her wrist. 'Hell no!' she thought, grabbing his tongue while she yelled "Sen'eijashu (2)!!", sending a trio of snakes from around her arms to wrap around the tongue and bite it. Using all of her strength, she pulled her former master tree from the tree he had fused to and swung him in front of her. With all of her speed, she grabbed a kunai and shoved it through her right hand, pinning it to his.
Orochimaru knew this jutsu. "Soujasousai (3)?"
"Bingo," said Anko with a bitter grin as she grabbed his left hand. "Now the two of us will die." She panicked when Orochimaru grinned and said, "Planning to commit suicide, Anko-chan? I'm just a Kage Bunshin..." Cursing as the Kage Bunshin exploded, Anko caught sight of the real Orochimaru. "Why are you here!?" she yelled.
"Tut tut, Anko-chan," said Orochimaru as he pulled off the rest of his mask, revealing his true face. "You're so cold to me… it's been a while since we saw each other…"
"You bastard!" she yelled, clutching her neck in pain as she glared at him. "You used me, then you threw me away! I was willing to do anything for your approval!!"
Orochimaru chuckled. "Bah, trivialities are so annoying. Besides, you served your purpose… Anyway, in regards to your question, there's a kid I found… and I gave him the same Juuin Fuuin (4) I gave you…"
Anko grinned, despite the pain in her neck from her own Curse Seal. "Sucks for you… that kid's gonna die. Remember what you said… the chances of surviving are 1/10…"
"True… but that is strong and talented, like and unlike you. He's an Uchiha after all…" Ignoring Anko's shocked look, he continued. "He's also very lovely… a perfect vessel to be my successor. If he survives, things will be very interesting…"
With a final warning to not cancel the exam, the Hebi-Sennin disappeared, leaving a pain-wracked Anko.
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"Sa… kura-chan…"
Sakura jumped as a wheezing Naruto pulled himself up to her, with the help of Sakura's clone. "D-damn," he choked, trying to stand. "Let's get out of here…"
Sakura nodded, and Naruto created one Kage Bunshin, and the five (two clones and three Genin) leapt off to a clump of tree trunks. Once there, Sakura dispelled her Bunshin and Naruto fell on his back. His Bunshin dropped the unconscious Sasuke beside him and Naruto cursed. "D-dammit…"
Sakura put a wet cloth on Sasuke's forehead, as the Uchiha began to cough violently. "His breathing's returning to normal, but it's like he has a fever…"
Naruto laughed lightly. "Could be worse… Damned Orochimaru…"
Sakura turned to him, placing a cloth on his head as well. "Who was that guy?"
Naruto, now breathing easier, closed his eyes. "Orochimaru was a shinobi of Konoha… mostly known for his Snake Summons. He was with some other two who were part of Sandaime-jiji's Genin team. For some reason, he left the village… I know this, because I've heard Sandaime-jiji talk about him a few times…"
Naruto winced. "I got careless… I never expected to run into him while here… we're lucky to be alive… but now, I need to recover. I nearly used up my chakra hitting him with Konmei, and my body's a mass of pain…"
Sakura nodded. "I'll set up some traps, then watch over the two of you."
Naruto nodded and made a watch motion to his clone. The Bunshin leapt off, and Naruto said, "He's going to scout the area… when he disappears, I'll know."
Sakura nodded and kissed his cheek. "Rest, Naruto-kun. You've earned it."
Naruto nodded and let the darkness of sleep envelop him. He faintly heard Sasuke mutter, "Mm… no… Get your hairy balls… out of my face…", and shuddered. 'Please let me wake up before him…'
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The Bunshin, after running through the surrounding area, crept behind a tree, and spied on the Oto-nin trio who sat in a clump of trees across from Team 7's hiding place.
"It's almost sunrise," said Dosu. "We've found them. At daybreak, we attack. Our target is Uchiha Sasuke."
"I don't understand; why do we have to kill the Uzumaki as well," asked Kin. "I think we should leave him be…"
"No one cares what you think," snapped Zaku, glaring at the nearly-asleep Sakura. "Just follow Orochimaru-sama's orders. Off the record though… that pink-haired girl looks like fun…"
Kin scoffed in disgust, and Zaku grabbed her vest in response. "You want that you and her switch places?" he growled, his free hand traveling to her breasts. Kin's response was holding some senbon to his crotch. "Try it," she snarled.
"Stop it, you two," snapped Dosu. "If you want her, you can have her after we kill Uchiha Sasuke. But if she and the blonde interfere, then kill them both."
Zaku nodded and let go of Kin. In frustrations, he tossed a kunai at the tree behind them… hitting the Bunshin in the chest and dispelling it.
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Sakura noticed that the sun had risen and sighed. Naruto-kun and Sasuke still had not woken up, and she was dead tired. She hadn't fallen asleep, nor had she made a Kage Bunshin due to the fact that her reserves were low from setting those traps.
"Up all night?"
She jumped at the unknown voice, and shivered at the sight she saw. The Oto-nin had found them; Dosu had his bandaged head tilted, Zaku was leering at her from a tree root, and Kin looked apologetically at her, then her face hardened.
'She looks like she doesn't want to be here,' thought Sakura as she yelled, "What do you want!?"
"Isn't it obvious?" asked Dosu as Zaku jumped beside him. "We're here to fight Sasuke-kun. Now wake him up."
Sakura glared at him, and he chuckled. "Trying to scare us won't work…" He trailed off as he saw the trap. "Nice try, but a booby trap is pointless if someone can see it."
Sakura grinned evilly and cut a wire behind her. A bunch of leaves fell down, and Dosu's eyes widened as he saw what was different about these leaves.
They had exploding tags on them. "Move!!" he yelled, and the Oto-nin leapt away as the tags went off, creating a magnificent explosion.
Dosu landed some distance away, but he was caught by surprise by a massive log that fell. "Zakuuha!" came Zaku's voice, and the log was obliterated.
"I like 'em feisty," said Zaku, licking his lips as he, Dosu and Kin approached. "But you shouldn't mess with us like that…"
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To be blunt, we all know what happened next. Lee came out of nowhere and Chuck Norris-ed Zaku, Dosu, and Kin; Lee caught Dosu in his forbidden Taijutsu move, the Omote Renge (Forward Lotus), but Zaku saved Dosu at the last minute; and Lee got his ass kicked by Dosu, all while Team 10 watched from the safety of the dense brush.
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"Look's like Sakura's in trouble," said Shikamaru as he watched Dosu kick the downed Lee. "Both Naruto and Sasuke are out cold, from the way it looks. What should we do, Ino?"
"What are you asking me for?" asked Ino.
"You're not gonna let her take them alone, are you?" he asked. "I mean, the two of you used to be friends…"
"I know!" snapped Ino, as she remembered the day they stopped. "But what can we do? We can't just jump out!"
In the meantime, Sakura threw shuriken after shuriken at the Oto-nin, but Zaku kept blocking them with his Zankuuha attack. "Damn those barrels in his arms," she cursed as she shielded her face. "Damn air pressure… he just keeps coming…" She was caught from behind by Kin, who grabbed the top of her hair.
"Gomen," whispered Kin to Sakura, then said out loud, "Much more luster than mine… looks like we have a wannabe kunoichi sex-icon. If you've got the time to do your hair, then train, you sorry excuse of a kunoichi."
Sakura, knowing from Kin's apology, knew that she didn't mean the insults she hurled. It still pissed her off, though. Mainly because she did do that at first.
"Good job, Kin," said Zaku, as he turned to face Sakura's unconscious teammates. "Now, we're gonna kill the Uchiha and the Uzumaki in front of her, then me and Dosu are gonna have some fun with her…"
"Don't drag me in your sick fantasies," muttered Dosu as he turned to Sakura's teammates as well.
Sakura was truly pissed now, and she could tell that Kin was as well. "Gomen," she whispered to Kin, before she drew a kunai and sliced Kin's arm. Kin cried out and let her go, and Sakura rushed the surprised Zaku.
"Kin!" shouted Zaku, and Kin pulled out four senbon and rushed the running Sakura, catching her in the side. Sakura was replaced with a log, and she rushed Zaku from the right, wielding eight kunai, intent on castrating the Oto-nin who wanted to have his way with her.
"Bah," growled Zaku as Sakura threw the kunai, and held out his arms. "Zankuuha!" he yelled, and blew the kunai back at Sakura, who turned into another log. "Maybe you're more skilled with your mouth than jutsu!" he shouted, grinning.
Sakura snarled and launched an aerial attack. Zaku saw her coming, and pulled out four kunai. He was surprised when he was held from behind by another Sakura. "What the hell!?"
Sakura grinned and kicked him in the face, and her Bunshin delivered a solid right cross. She and her Bunshin were about to double-team him again when Dosu threw a kunai which embedded itself in Sakura's clone's chest. The clone gave off a choking sound, then disappeared.
"A real clone, huh?" muttered Zaku as he cold-cocked Sakura, knocking her away. Walking to her and picking her up by her one-piece, he pulled out a kunai. "I should warn you… the first time's always a bit… messy."
Zaku was kicked out of nowhere, and Sakura fell back. Looking up, she saw in front of her Team 10, with Ino standing in front of her. "Sakura… I won't lose to you. I already told you that," said Ino to Sakura.
"Pft…" growled Zaku as he stood. "More freaks? Least I know that Dosu can have fun now too…"
No one had noticed the smoke rising from Sasuke's shoulder, and no one cared at the moment. Ino was pissed that the male Oto-nin were that brazen to rape Sakura, Shikamaru was annoyed that he had to be there, Chouji was annoyed because he was hungry, Zaku was both annoyed and leering at the state of Ino's dress, Kin was annoyed because she was forced into this mess her teammates were now in, Dosu was annoyed that more Konoha insects had shown up, and Sakura was annoyed because she was saved by her former best friend. Not that she didn't appreciate it, of course.
"Ino…" said Sakura, wiped blood from the corner of her mouth.
"You won't be the only one who'll look good in front of Sasuke-kun," said Ino. Sakura wanted to say that Ino could have her worthless Sasuke, but she knew Ino wouldn't listen, so she decided to wait.
"Sorry to get you guys involved," said Ino to her teammates. "But we're a team, and we share the same destiny. We'll get through this somehow…"
"Correction," said Zaku, crossing his arms. "You and Pinky share the same destiny, the rest of you Konoha worms can die by our hand… starting with you, fatass."
Chouji stiffened. "What… did you just say?" Shikamaru slumped, muttering, "That word is taboo on our team…"
Zaku smirked. "Sorry… did I touch a nerve? Why don't you run home and cry to mommy… fatass?"
Chouji lost it. "I'm not a fatass!! I'm pleasantly plump!! And you're fucking dead!!"
"Well, he's snapped," said Ino.
"This is gonna suck so much…" whined Shikamaru.
"Sakura!" said Ino to her downed friend. "Take care of Sasuke-kun and Naruto-kun! -Ino- Shika-Chou Generation Two will handle it from here!"
"Okay!" roared Chouji. "Baika no Jutsu (Multi-size Technique)!!" Chouji's body grew to twice its normal size, and he pulled in his arms, legs, and head. When he started to roll, Zaku laughed and said, "It's just a rolling fatass! Zankuuha!!" He blasted the rolling Chouji with his air waves, and to his shock, the rolling Chouji went up.
"What the…?" went Zaku as the round ball of flesh came falling. "Damn," he cursed. "I can't use any sound attacks…"
"Zaku, move!" yelled Dosu as he ran to his teammate. He found himself unable to move due to his shadow connected with Shikamaru's. "Kagemane no Jutsu… success," said the Konoha shadow user. Shikamaru then proceeded to make an ass out of Dosu as Zaku moved out of the way when Chouji plowed into the ground.
Now Kin was even more annoyed. "What the hell are you doing!?" she yelled at Dosu; not out of concern, but because she wanted to get out of here.
"Shikamaru, keep my body safe," said Ino as she put her hands into the Bird Seal. "Shintenshin no Jutsu…" As Ino's mind left her body, Shikamaru caught her body before it fell, his shadow still connected with Dosu's.
Ino took over Kin's body, and pulled out a kunai and yelled out, "It's over now! If you two don't back off, your teammate is dead!"
Zaku and Dosu showed how much they cared about their teammate. Zaku held up his left arm and sent a blast of air at the Ino-possessed Kin, causing her to collide with a tree. As Kin fell to her front and coughed up blood, Ino's body did the same.
"Wha… why…?" gasped out Ino through Kin's mouth.
"You guys are idiots," said Zaku. Dosu elaborated with, "Our goal isn't to complete this exam or get some stupid scrolls… our goal is the deaths of the Uzumaki kid and the Uchiha kid!"
"Damn," cursed Shikamaru as his shadow retreated. "What a fine time for my jutsu to run out…"
Dosu and Zaku chuckled as Dosu was freed. "From the looks of things," said Dosu, flexing his arm with his Melody Device, "that shadow jutsu of yours only lasts five minutes."
"And it looks like we can kill your pretty blonde friend if we kill Kin," said Zaku. "Shame, too… the two of them are pretty hot…"
"Disgusting," came a voice.
Team 10, Sakura, and the Oto-nin looked up to see Neji on a tree branch with Tenten crouching beside him. "What's this… some Oto-nin bullies picking on some weaklings… and declaring victory?"
Ignoring Dosu's talk of "Konoha-nin cockroaches", Neji glanced down at his unconscious teammate. "Looks like you screwed up… huh, Lee?" he said to himself. To those present, he said, "That unconscious freak is ours, and… you're going to pay for that!" He punctuated that last part by activating his Byakugan. "If you go on, I'm going all out."
"Fine," said Zaku, pointing his arms toward them and firing a Zankuuha at Neji and Tenten. The two jumped aside and onto another tree, and Tenten prepared to open a scroll. Neji held out his arm and stopped her. "It looks like we won't have to do a thing."
At that moment, something unexpected (?) happened. Sasuke, smoke swirling around him, slowly rose to his feet.
"Sasuke-kun?" gasped Ino as she sat up.
Sasuke had his Sharingan activated, but now he had dark purple flame-like marks over the left side of his body. And the chakra he was giving off was sickly and nauseating. "Sakura…" he growled. "Who did that to you…?"
'He survived!?' thought Dosu aghast. 'He had the Curse Seal put on him, and he survived!?'
"Yes," laughed Zaku, smirking. "It was I!!"
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(1) Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu - Fire Element: Dragon Fire Technique
(2) Sen'eijashu - Shadow Snake Hand
(3) Soujasousai - Twin Snakes Mutual Death
(4) Juuin Fuuin - Curse Seal
Yahoo! I finally finished this chapter, and with twenty-nine pages… according to Microsoft Word. Not much to say, except the next chapter of Wrath of the Dragon is going pretty slow, so it may come out later than expected.
Other than that, keep sending those reviews, and let me know what you think. Ja ne!
