The Paths We Walk

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The Second Exam, part 1; Naruto goes Berserk!

"Oooooooooooh! The Forest of Death! Oh no, I'm soooooooo afraid!" Naruto yelled with sarcasm. "If you're trying to psych us out, I'm not gonna fall for it, ya got that!" He yelled out. Everyone just stared at him. This guy was either extremely strong and unafraid, or he was just stupid. Most were going with the latter.

"You're a pretty cocky brat, ya know that?" Anko said with her eyes closed and smiling, just as she flicked out a kunai from inside her coat sleeve and flung it at Naruto, all in the blink of an eye. The kunai struck Naruto but just grazed his left cheek, and landing behind another applicant from grass, who lost a strand of hair from the passing kunai. Suddenly, the psychotic woman was behind Naruto, licking at the blood from his wound trailing down his cheek.

"Heh. Brats like you are always the first to fall, spilling all that rich, lovely, luscious red blood. I love it." she said in a scarily happy tone. She suddenly flicked out another kunai in her hand from her coat and grabbed it, as if preparing from attack. When Naruto looked around, he saw a tall grass ninja with long hair, a traditional hat, but all of that went unnoticed by Naruto, as his attention was entirely on the long tongue coming from his mouth, holding a kunai.

"Your kunai, I believe you dropped it."

"Hey, thanks." Anko said, taking her kunai. She stuck her tongue out, but wasn't able to match his, and they glared for a second. "I suggest you don't stand behind me, with all that bloodlust. Unless, of course, you wanna die."

"My apologies. I'll try to behave myself, but the sight of fresh warm blood drives me crazy, and I was already revved up from losing a strand of my beautiful hair." He said as he turned away, walking back to his group.

Sakura was worried with the whole situation 'This is really bad. We got a real nutcase in charge of this exam. Not good, not good at all.' She looked at the grass ninja. 'And then there's him…that tongue isn't normal.'

'What's with that huuuuuge tongue?' Naruto asked himself.

"Well well, looks like we've got some hot-blooded teams on our hands this time! This is gonna be fun!" Anko said.

'Uh-oh. We're hot-blooded, and she's blood thirsty!' Naruto worried.

"Now, everyone, listen up! Before we begin the exam, I have something to hand out." Anko announced, and pulled out a pile of forms. Everyone was looking at the forms in confusion. "Anyone wanna guess what I got? Guess not. These are consent forms. You'll have to sign one before we can begin."

Naruto was suspicious. "…Why?"

Anko smiled and laughted a bit before answering. She was still smiling happily. "We just wanna cover our backs. We've gotta make sure all the details are covered before the first deaths occur. You have to sign them so we can't be held liable. You wouldn't want me to get in trouble, now would you?" She was still smiling. Some of the applicants began to look worried. 'Deaths?' 'How dangerous is this gonna be?' 'I'll get the first blood!' and along those lines. "Okay, first, I'll explain the exam, and then you can sign these forms for us. With your whole squad, bring your forms over to the hut behind me, and submit them. Okay? Good. Now, about the actual exam. I'll put it simply…" She paused for dramatic effect. "…it's an all-out survival test."

Shikamaru moaned in complaint 'Another one? This is such a drag. I should quit now.' "Hey, can we quit if we think it's too troublesome?"

"No." This received a sigh and a "How troublesome" from Shikamaru. "Now, let me explain the geography of the training ground. I'll explain the rest later." She pulled out a map, showing a circle, with a river running through it, trees everywhere, and a tower in the middle. It had lines around the circle, indicating the 44 gates. There was also a tower in the middle, which seemed to be 10 kilometers from the starting area. "Training ground 44 is bordered by a circular perimeter, which are interrupted at evenly spaced intervals by 44 locked gates. There are forests and a river, and a tower in the center about ten kilometers from the gates. Inside this training area, you'll be taking the survival portion of the exam. During the exam, you may use any ninja technique or weapon you choose."

Everyone went over what they brought, and some cursed themselves for not coming fully armed.

"Okay! Now that that's explained, let's get onto the fun stuff! This is kind of a fight-to-the-death version of capture the flag you played at the academy to train in stealth and strategy and such. Though in this case, it's capture the scroll."

A few people were wondering about the scroll, and some asking about the scrolls, which Anko quickly answered.

"There's a scroll marked with the symbol for 'heaven' on white paper on a white scroll, and a scroll marked with the symbol for 'earth' on white paper and on a black scroll." She showed them the scrolls, the heaven in her right hand and earth in the left. "Your objective is to capture both scrolls. There are eighty-one teams here, so that's twenty-seven three-man squads. That means thirteen heaven scrolls, and fourteen earth scrolls. Uneven? Too bad. You need both scrolls to pass. Your objective is to keep your scroll, and capture, through whatever means, a scroll of the other type from an opposing team, and bring them both to the tower in the center."

"So, that means that over half the teams, those who get their scrolls stolen and the one who has the earth scroll and is left out, all fail the exam." Temari said.

"Bullseye! And along with that, there's a time limit, too. You have 120 hours to get to the tower and complete the exam, which is five days if you suck at math." Several turn to Naruto.

"Five days! That's way too long in a forest!" Ino said.

"What are we going to do? What about lunch time and midnight snacks?" Choji asked.

"That's your problem, not mine. Relax. The forest is full of nature's bounty. Just go out and eat. Of course, just make sure that nature's bounty doesn't eat you. There are many giant animals in the forest…among other things…that will gladly have you for lunch." She explained. "There's no chance that even thirteen teams will pass. As the time shortens, the trials will become harder, faster, and more desparate, with less recovery time for any mistakes, accidents, or injuries. At all times, you'll be completely surrounded by your enemies, so sleep with one eye open, or you'll have your throat cut n your sleep. So, not only will some die defending their scrolls, or capture one, but some will be bound to succumb to exhaustion, exposure, injuries, starvation, dehydration, and heatstroke. Have fun."

Everyone in the crowd was seriously beginning to reconsider this exam, some more than others. "Now let's talk about the rules, and what you can and can't do, and what'll get you disqualified, and no, killing won't get you kicked out." Many genin smirked sadistically at this little fact. "It goes without saying that any team that fails to reach the tower in time, with all three members, with both the heaven and earth scroll, are gone. Same with any team that looses a comrade to death, severe injury, or otherwise. Also, under no circumstances are you to leave the forest until the five days are up. That's right. No breaks, and no time-outs. It's all-out survival. One more little thing. Everyone is forbidden to look at the contents of the scrolls until you're at the tower with all squad members and both scrolls."

Naruto wanted to know what would happen "And…if we sneak a peek?"

Anko smirked "Well, that's really for those who look to know." Naruto looked at her with confusion. "If any of you make it to Chunin level, there will be times when you are entrusted with top-secret documents. Part of this test is testing your trustworthiness. Okay! That's it! We'll trade one scroll for every three forms. When you've got yours, choose a gate and get ready. Everyone goes on my mark. One more word of advice...Stay alive!"

A proctor emerged from the hut, and placed a sheet to cover it. "It's time to distribute the scrolls." He said.

Anko nodded. "Okay! Line up in an orderly fashion behind the curtain! One team enters at a time, you clear?" Everyone nodded. "Well, then why are you standing around? Get in line!" she shouted, and getting the desired effect.

Sasuke was standing in line with his team, thinking about the exam, and how it was set up. 'Pretty smart, keeping us blind. While we're behind the cloth, we can't see who got what scroll. It's just like that Ibiki guy said, stealing intelligence is a matter of life and death. Everyone's an enemy!"

Anko looked at their faces as it began to sink in. 'Heh heh. It's finally sinking in, why we want those forms.'

Naruto's team arrived at the stand, and got their scroll, which was a heaven scroll. They proceeded to gate 12, and waited to begin. Naruto spoke his mind "Yeah! Yeah! We can't lose, now! Anyone attacks us, I'll kill them myself!"

"Oh, please!" Sakura said.

Just then, Anko shouted into a speaker, sounding throughout the area "Part two of the Chunin selection exam begins…NOW!" She shouted.

Naruto's gate flew wide open, and his group walked in. Naruto went in front, balled his hand into a fist and yelled "Alright! Let's go!"

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"When I said those words, I had no idea what I was getting myself into, and what would happen, and how the following events would impact me. I was completely pumped, ready to prove myself to everyone. To say the least, I proved myself, and more."

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Almost five minutes into the exams, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura heard an ear-splitting yell in the forest. This proved to them that this was the real thing. "You guys hear that scream?" Sakura asked. "This place is really creeping me out!"

"I'm telling ya, Sakura, this is no big deal." Naruto said. They stood there for ten seconds longer, when Naruto made an announcement, unzipping his pants. "Wait a sec. I gotta take a leak."

"Not in front of me, you idiot! I'm a lady! Use the bushes over there!" Sakura yelled, hitting him over the head. 'If it were Sasuke, on the other hand…heh heh heh…'

A minute later, Naruto came out from behind a tree. "Oh, man! Sweet relief! Ready to go!"

Sakura twitched, before yelling at him again "I told you, there's a lady present! Don't you dare use such vulgar language in fron-" She was cut off as Sasuke gave Naruto a hard punch to the right cheek, sending him flying into a tree, bleeding from the mouth.

"Sa-Sasuke-kun, I appreciate the chivalry and all, but that was way too far!" Sakura yelled.

"What the hell was that for, Sasuke!"

"Tell us what you've done with Naruto." Sasuke said, completely serious.

"Where do you think! I'm right in front of you!"

"Then I'll have to force you out of it!" Sasuke yelled, charging at Naruto, pulling out a kunai. Naruto pulled out a kunai in response, standing up. Sasuke made a downward strike with his kunai, which Naruto blocked. They proceeded to exchange blows, neither making contact. Sakura was yelling for the fight to stop, and what Sasuke was doing. Finally, Sasuke made a strike to Naruto's right side, which he blocked, but Sasuke grabbed his wrist, tugged on it, bringing Naruto foreward, at the same time jumping, flipping behind him, and kicking him into another tree.

"Don't try telling us you're Naruto again. It won't work. You're wearing your shuriken and kunai pouch on your left thigh. Naruto's not left-handed. Also, you forgot about the cut the examiner gave Naruto on his left cheek just before the exam. Even Naruto's better at henges than you."

Naruto just snickered while Sakura wondered what happened to Naruto. Naruto then 'poofed' and was surrounded by smoke. Out of it came a guy with a cloth with eye wholes, a white suit, and a mask on his mouth which extracted oxygen from water. His voice was made more metallic from the device. "Since you forced me to come clean, why don't you follow? Where's the scroll and what scroll is it?"

Sasuke and Sakura just stood there, getting ready to fight. "Well, it seems you've forced me to be more direct!" He yelled as he charged the two. Sasuke jumped in the air, and flipped through hand-signs, ending by placing his hand over his mouth, with a whole in the middle, meaning a fire style jutsu was going to be used. "Katon: Housenka nu jutsu!" Sasuke said as multiple fireballs flew out of his mouth. As they impacted the ground, the target managed to evade them all, zigging around their landing points, and avoiding hits. They met in the air, and the clanging of kunais could be heard. His opponent hopped over some branches, and Sasuke followed, also finding the dunce.

"Sasuke! A little help!" Naruto yelled up to him. 'That idiot' Sasuke thought as he threw a kunai at the ground for him to undo his bindings. "Yeah!" Naruto yelled, but he left an opening for himself, which his opponent gladly took advantage of. He threw a barrage of kunai at Sasuke, which hit a tree limb. Sasuke used his chakra to allow him to go under the tree, but he noticed something attached to a kunai. 'A letter bomb!' he thought, releasing his chakra, and falling to the ground, just as the bomb exploded.

The rain nin decided to taunt them "I'm getting better and better. The first mistake you make will be your last. Now, give me the scroll, and I let you live." He said, landing right behind Sasuke, with a kunai held at him.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura yelled.

Just as she said that, a kunai whizzed through the trees, heading for the rain nin, which forced him to jump upwards. "You're not getting away with out a fight!" Naruto yelled.

"Late as usual, dope!" Sasuke yelled. His foot went over the kunai, and using his chakra made it stick to his shoe. He did a round kick, and flung it at the rain nin in the air. Sasuke jumped up to meet him, and grabbed the kunai, still on its way to the target, and plunged it into the rain nin, damaging his arm.

"Sasuke…" Sakura said gently.

"He left me no choice! Now we gotta keep moving! We don't know where his squad is! Got it? Keep standing there, and it's a one-way ticket to the shinigami!"

The rain nin had no choice but to retreat for the time. "Damn! I though coming alone would conceal my presence, but it's been my downfall!" He said before he retreated through the trees.

"Good" Sasuke said.

Later, in the forest, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were discussing a strategy as to avoid events like that again. Sasuke came up with a solution first.

"Okay, remember this. If we ever get separated again, we can't trust each other blindly! It could end up just like last time."

"But…how can we do that, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked.

"Simple. The safest thing for us to have is a password, one that no one else knows. That way, we'll know each other, and when someone is faking, no matter what kind of henge they used to alter their appearance. If they get it wrong, they're the enemy. Now listen carefully. I'm only gonna say this once. This is a poem called Ninki, or ninja opportunity in the unformal way. When we ask for it, this is what we say:"

Below them, in the earth, was a grass ninja, using a tube for air, listening to their every word. "We thrive on the chaos of the enemy tide. Quiet shinobi don't need dens to hide. Our only concern is to watch and wait, until the enemy lowers the gate."

"Got it." Sakura said. Naruto just stared at them with a blank face, before bursting out his opinion.

"How do you expect me to remember that!"

"You really are a dunce. I already got it down." Sakura said.

"Well Excuuuuuse me for not being the smartest person in class. We need a better password! An easier one! How about swordfish?"

Sasuke stood up, ignoring Naruto "I'll take the scroll." He said. Suddenly, a hail of grass flew at them, followed by a large wind gust. Before they could say anything, they were scattered throughout the area. The grass nin appeared; the one with the giant tongue told the other two to wait, saying it would be fun.

Sasuke had immediately recovered from the blast, and had taken cover under a bush. He heard footsteps, and saw Sakura walking near him. "Sakura…" he said, standing up.

"Sasuke-kun! You're okay!"

"Wait, stay back. Don't come a step closer. First, the password. What is it?"

"Right, Ninki." Sakura said, knowing it was Sasuke from the fact that he knew about the password. "We thrive on the chaos of the enemy tide. Quiet shinobi don't need dens to hide. Our only concern is to watch and wait, until the enemy lowers the gate."

"Good." Sasuke said.

"Hey! There you guys are!" Naruto said, emerging form the forest.

"Not so fast, Naruto. The password?" Sasuke said.

"Oh yeah, right! Ninki! We thrive on the chaos of the enemy tide. Quiet shinobi don't need dens to hide. Our only concern is to watch and wait, until the enemy lowers the gate."

Sakura let out a relieved sigh. Sasuke just smirked, and flung a kunai at Naruto. Naruto managed to dodge it, leaving a confused Sakura and an angry Naruto.

"Sasuke-kun, what was that for? Naruto got the password right!" Sakura yelled.

"Exactly, and he dodged my attack by a mile." Sasuke pointed out.

"Wait a second, he's right!" Sakura yelled.

Naruto just grinned evily, and transformed back into the grass nin. "Well done. What gave me away?"

Sasuke smirked. "I knew you were listening to us underground, listening to our every word, and I knew you'd go after Naruto. That's why I chose that kind of password, the kind the real Naruto could never memorize. You lose, imposter!"

The nin took off his hat, and glared at them, with an evil smirk still on his lips. "I see. You sure do know your comrades well, don't you. Watch and wait, huh? This is gonna be fun, alright!"

Elsewhere in the forest, Naruto was still recovering from the blast. He was on the ground, groaning in pain. Suddenly he heard a noise coming from behind him. He noticed he was completely in shadow, and soon saw why. Before him stood a huge snake, its head alone was bigger than Naruto. I've never seen a snake that big in my life!' Naruto screamed mentally. 'What's up with this forest?' They had a short glare, and Naruto summoned his courage.

The snake decided to begin their fight with a strike at Naruto. Naruto managed to jump out of the way, but failed to notice the tail end of the snake behind him. It grabbed his foot, but Naruto quickly pulled out a kunai and slashed it, making the snake release him. He tried running up the snake's back to it's head, but only managed to reach a third of the way by the time the snake reacted. It rolled over, forcing Naruto to run along its side. Suddenly, the snake switched, and Naruto tumbled off. The snake saw its chance, and lunged at Naruto, successfully swallowing him.

"What the hell! The snake ate me! IT ATE ME!" Naruto yelled, still inside the snake.

Back with the others, Sasuke couldn't believe that Naruto was caught, again! 'If this was the real Naruto, he'd have said something stupid like "What was the password again?" This is not good. This one gives me the creeps. Where is that idiot Naruto anyway?'

Sasuke had the same question in mind. "Where's Naruto? What have you done with him?" he demanded.

The grass nin just smirked and replied "Wouldn't you like to know. Anyway, aern't you looking for an earth scroll?" He asked, holding his out. "Very well." He said, before swallowing the whole scroll in one gulp, wrapping his tongue around it. Sasuke and Sakura just stared in disbelief. "Now, let's see just who will be stealing from who. From this point on, we fight to the death!" he said.

Suddenly, Sakura and Sasuke were frozen, and weren't able to move. They felt as though they were being ripped to shreds, and had been impaled by kunai everywhere. Blood was flying off their bodies, and limps everywhere. Pain coursed through their bodies. Suddenly, everything just stopped. Sasuke suddenly puked, realizing the truth. He sat down again, in a defenseless position, and was unable to move.

'That wasn't actually death, but it sure felt like it. It was just genjutsu the whole time, and a good one at that. A perfect illusion of death. We just looked into his eyes, and felt everything! Ju-just who the hell is he?' He looked over at Sakura, and noticed she was paralyzed with fear, tears running down her cheeks.

Sasuke panicked. 'Crap! If we don't retreat now, then it's all over! The only other option is death, and I can't let that happen!'

"It looks like you two are paralyzed. That just makes my job all the easier." He said, before pulling out two kunai, preparing to kill.

Back with Naruto, he was yelling at the snake about letting him go. "Hey, hey you! Let me outta here, or I'll beat the crap out of you. Let me out now, and I'll spare you, okay!" Needless to say, the snake ignored him. It was enjoying a lovely nap, digesting its meal.

'Crap! I gotta get out of here before I'm snake chow, but how? I gotta make it hurl, but how do I do that?' Suddely, Naruto remembered his and Sasuke's little eating competition, and remembered what eating too much did. 'That's it!' "Kage bunshin no jutsu!" he yelled, creating over a hundred clones inside the snake. The snake quickly awoke, and tried to keep its food down, but couldn't and hurled all the clones out, including the real one. The real Naruto dismissed the clones, and stepped up. "I'm the ninja who's gonna surpass the Hokages, so don't mess with me! I got more important things than become a piece of snake crap!" He yelled, before noticing that the snake wasn't dead. "Ooooooooh boy…"

Sasuke was worried. He could hardly move, and Sakura couldn't move at all. He had to think of something quick, and he did. 'If I can just get this kunai out, the maybe…' he thought, positioning the kunai near his leg, and stabbing it. This brought him out of his trance long enough to grab Sakura and jump out of there before the man threw the kunai.

'This guy is far above genin level, that's sure enough. No genin can pull that off.' He though as he hid in a tree with Sakura. He proceded to remove the kunai from his leg, once he thought it was safe to do so. He began looking around, thinking, Sharingan activated. Sakura snapped out of her daze and noticed what had just happened, and looked shocked.

The grass nin looked around amused. He noticed some blood, and became aware as to what happened. He smirked in amusement. 'So, the boy managed to stab himself so he could focus on the pain long enough to block out the illusion! This kid is more than I expected. Definitely above the common prey!'

Back with Naruto, Naruto was trying to outrun the snake, but was just barely keeping ahead. He didn't have a technique that could take this on. The best he had was kage bunshin, but they couldn't do anything against a giant snake. 'This is bad, real bad' Naruto thought, jumping into a tree to buy himself time. 'If I don't do something fast, that's it, I'm done for!'

Naruto was desperately thinking, when he noticed something in the forest. There was a metal object in the ground, facing up. The sun was gleaming off it. Whatever it was, one thing was for sure: it was big. It was at least a hundred yards away, and he had to think fast. 'Like I have a choice. If I do nothing, I'm done for anyway. Oh well, here goes!'

Naruto ran down from the top of the tree and landed on the ground, running all out for the metal object. The snake disengaged itself from the branches, which in its case, meant braking every branch around it and falling to the ground, and going for the boy. It was gaining on him quickly.

'This is soooo not good. It's catching up. I need speed and lots of it, or it's over!' and, as if responding to Naruto's pleas, something inside him sent him a hot feeling through his legs, he managed to gain an extra burst of speed. He reached the metal object, and gasped. He stood there for a few seconds, clearly in shock of what he saw.

In the ground stood a giant sword, and it really was giant. It had have a blade nearly a foot wide and at least four-and-a-half feet long at the tip. The unsharpened back of the blade was the part four-and-a-half feet long. The sharpened edge of the blade was just over four feet long. Both points met via a sharpened part of the top, which made the top look like a triangle. The tip at the top looked sharp and as if it could stab through anything. The back of the blade was a dark grey color, and had two holes near the bottom. The sharpened edge of the sword was a shining steel color, and looked like it was ready to cut. The area where the blade met the handle was a shining sand-color, with various designs interlaid. The handle was about a foot long and covered in red material, and had a pommel the same color as the sand-colored guard.

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"When I found that weapon, I was relieved. It was big enough to destroy the snake. That sword would save my life many times in the future. However, at the time, I had no idea what the power I used to get it was, or what the true abilities of the sword were. All I knew was that the sword was there when I needed it. I had no idea that the sword really had come when I needed it."

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Naruto got out of his short trance and grabbed the blade, and it was heavy! He managed to pick it up and get into a stance, but knew he couldn't hold it long. The blade was pure steel! No normal ninja could use a blade like this effectively! He even heard the seven swordsmen of the mist had other lighter materials in their blades so they could use them effectively, which meant they constantly needed to be repaired. Whoever used this must have had super-human strength.

'Damnit! This thing is my last hope, and I can barely lift it! I need more strength to swing it, but where do I get that! I'm done for now!' Just then, that same feeling that was once in his legs went all over his body, giving him the strength to wield it. 'Where does this keep coming from? Does it have something to do with my eye?' Any further thoughts were cut off by the snake charging at him at full speed.

The snake made for a strike, but Naruto jumped to the side, swinging the blade, he struck the snake in the side, causing it to move away slightly from the pain. 'This thing's incredible. I can't wait to see Sasuke's face when he sees this! I'm keeping this!' he thought excitedly.

The snake came around for another strike, mouth open. Naruto jumped up, did a flip in the air, and landed on the snake's back, which was still moving from the strike, and plunged his sword into it. The snake tried to buck him off, but Naruto jumped, and landed on his head. Using his chakra to stick to its head, he lined his sword up for the killing blow, and plunged it strait into the gaint snake's brain. The snake went limp, before poofing out of existence, leaving Naruto in midair. He wailed for a moment, limbs flailing, and fell to the ground "Hey! Ahh! Woah! Noo! Oof!" He said as he landed, next to his sword.

He stood up, admiring his new blade for a second. From its size and shape, he labeled it a buster blade, due to the massively oversized blade. He realized that the blade was slightly taller than him! 'This is gonna be a problem…' Naruto used some rope he had to tie the sword to his back, with the knot in front, and with the blade at an angle so the handle was just above his head and the blade was a few inches from the ground. It was a lot easier than carrying it in hand. He was almost five foot, so it fit well enough. 'But I'm still the shortest. Damn!'

He took some time wondering about the power he had. When he needed new strength and his life was in danger, he got it, like now, the first exam, and his fight with Haku, so any fights that were life-threatening. 'Soooooo how do I activate it? Is it a bloodline? But usually bloodlines are controllable. Mine isn't. Oh well, whatever. I got it, and that's all that matters.' He thought. He also realized the snake had to have been a summon, by the way it poofed out of existence once he made the killing blow.

"Anyway, I'd better find Sasuke and Sakura. That snake sure was a pain in the ass!" He said as he jumped off into the forest to find his teammates.

"Sasuke-kun, please speak to me-" Sakura was cut off when Sasuke covered her mouth.

'We've got to remain quiet and get moving. If we stay here, he'll catch us again. The real question is how we evade him…uh…umm…how should we do that? How can we run?...' Sasuke thought, sweating from stress.

Sakura was looking worriedly as Sasuke 'Sasuke-kun is so jumpy. I've never seen him like this before.' She thought, just when she saw something. She tried to speak, but Sasuke's hand was still over her mouth. "Mmmmmmmm! MMMMMMMMMMM!" she said, but it came out muffled. She managed to pry Sasuke's hand off and yell "SNAAAAKE!"

Sasuke turned in time to see a giant snake about to strike. Both of them jumped away, but the snake decided to go after Sasuke. 'Whoa! My chi is completely out of whack! I even overlooked a giant snake! Suddenly, Sasuke looked into the snake's eyes, and saw the grass ninja staring at him. He freaked out. "AAAAAH! GET LOST!" he yelled, throwing a barrage of shuriken at the snake, ripping its face to shreds. The snake fell onto a branch, dead. Sasuke landed, panting. Suddenly, both of them stared in shock as the snake ripped open near the head, and the grass nin stood up.

"For shame, actually lowering your guard! Stay alert and ready, like good prey! It makes the chase so much fun when the prey fights back…for the predator!" The grass nin began going up the tree in a snake-like manner. It was heading for Sasuke. Just as it made its fourth pass up the tree, the nin stopped as a barrage of shuriken and kunai hit the area of the tree where he has headed to. Everyone looked up to see the attacker.

"Sorry, Sasuke. I can't remember the stupid password!" Naruto said, with his hand on his sword.

"Nice, Naruto!" Sakura yelled. Naruto just stood there, smirking. The grass nin looked surprised, slightly angry, but unworried.

Sasuke yelled out "Naruto, even if you're psyched to save the day, this guy is way out of out league! It's time to run four our lives! There's no other choice!" None of them could see the sword on his back from the distance, except for the grass nin.

"Heh heh. My compliments for your stunning defeat of the giant snake, Naruto-kun. That's quite impressive. Tell me, where did you get that giant sword?"

"Huh?" "What Sword" Sasuke and Sakura asked. Naruto stared and said "So you can see it? Heh. I was gonna use it on my grand entrance, so I will!" Naruto yelled, undoing the knot in front of him, and releasing his sword. He grabbed the hilt and swung it around as he jumped down. He aimed a strike at the snake man, but he merely dodged it. The sword slammed into the branch, completely cutting through the two-foot-thick branch. Naruto managed to plant his sword on a branch below, Near Sasuke and Sakura. He got up and held his sword in an attack stance that he saw before, with his feet like a box and the sword held up, ready to block or strike.

Sasuke and Sakura stood in shock. They stared at the giant sword and what it had done. Sasuke was the first to speak "Naruto…where did you get that?" he asked. Sakura wanted to know too.

"You want the truth? I found it when running from a giant snake, and I cut it to bits! Why, jealous that I've got something you can't copy, Sasuke?" Naruto exaggerated, but this was one thing he had that Sasuke didn't: Great talent in kendo.

"Blade or no blade, the outcome will still be the same. You can't win. Still, I'm impressed. That blade is made of pure metal, not even the seven swordsmen of the mist could wield that blade with the same effectiveness of motion. You must have abnormal strength to wield it correctly. This only makes the game more fun." The grass nin said sadistically.

Sasuke was still worried. Even if Naruto could wield it, he only just found it, and didn't have the proper training to use it. They still had no chance 'I gotta think of something fast! This is all I got…' Sasuke deactivated his Sharingan, and took out their heaven scroll. Everyone looked at him, wondering what he was doing. "Hey, you came for our scroll, right? Here. Just take it and go!"

"WHAT!" Naruto yelled, lowering his sword in disbelief.

"Huh?" Sakura said.

Naruto continued "Sasuke, what the hell are you doing! Is this apart of a clever strategy for beating him? By handing over our ticket to the tower!"

The grass nin smirked "Well well…it seems you're naturally born prey after all, knowing that your only hope for survival lies in the predator being distracted by some tastier treat."

Sasuke submitted "Fine. Here it is." He said, tossing the scroll. Naruto obviously didn't agree with this, and jumped as fast as he could to intercept the scroll. He grabbed it and landed next to Sasuke, placing the scroll in his pocket. "Stay out of this, dope! You'll ruin our chance!" Naruto just stared down darkly, before punching Sasuke in the face as hard as he could, which Sasuke managed to slightly dodge, but because of Naruto's amplified strength, it still hurt! Sasuke managed to recover and land on a nearby branch. "What the hell are you doing!"

Sasuke stared in shock "Naruto, what are you doing?"

Naruto just said angrily "I forgot the stupid password, so I can't prove it, but that alone was proof enough. The person I just hit is obviously not Sasuke!

"What!" Sakura gasped.

"Naruto, you dope! It is me!"

"But the crap, whoever you are!" Naruto said before continuing. "You're the dope, you dope! You're a coward. Sasuke's no coward! There's no way you're him! I'm not so sure we need to be afraid of this guy, but even if we just hand over our scroll, do you really think that's a guarantee he'll let us live! So, even if you really were Sasuke, I'd still be telling you you're a dope, and a chicken, too!"

The grass nin laughed "Oh, Naruto, this is rich, and you're right!" he said, licking his face with his giant, slimy tongue. "Why bargain, when it's far more fun to simply take the scroll by killing you?" he said, before biting his thumb and running the blood down his right arm along a snake-like tattoo.

Naruto became clearly enraged and charged at the man. "Shut up!"

"Don't do it, Naruto!" Sasuke yelled.

"Even Sasuke-kun couldn't hurt him! You don't stand a chance!" Sakura yelled.

Naruto was even angrier now. He held his sword, preparing to strike 'That's it, my feelings for Sakura…my faith in Sasuke…are nothing but shattered glass on the floor!' he thought 'They don't even encourage me! They don't help me! They don't care!'

The grass nin finished his jutsu "Kuchiyose no jutsu!" and he was suddenly surrounded by smoke. When it cleared, he was standing on top of a giant snake, even bigger than before. It lashed its tail out, and before Naruto could react, it sent him flying into the trees behind him, crashing through branches. If it wasn't for his incredible stamina, he'd have stopped right then. He finally struck a tree, and coughed up blood. He began falling, and the grass nin told his snake "Excellent. Now, let's finish this. Eat him." He said sadistically. Suddenly, Naruto's grip on the sword returned, and he regained most of his monstrous strength, his hair gained silver highlights, and his left eye went red with a slit, and the right turned pure red, giving off an evil glow. He landed right next to Sasuke and Sakura, head facing down. Just before the snake struck, he looked up, revealing a look of rage, and his evil eyes. Sasuke and Sakura stared in shock, at a complete loss for words.

The snake tried to eat Naruto, but he jumped, and the snake went between Sasuke and Sakura. Naruto was in the air, preparing to strike the snake. However, the grass nin blew a gust of chakra-enhanced wind at him, stopping his attack completely, and sending him into a tree twenty hards away. The enemy ninja stared. Those eyes…one he could have expected, but he'd never seen an eye like that red glowing one. It was on another level compared to Kyubi.

"Is this really Naruto?" Sasuke asked, still staring.

Just then, the grass nin ordered the snake to take out Sasuke. Sasuke was still frozen in fear and shock. The snake plowed through the tree branches, and was just about to his Sasuke when an orange blur blocked it. He held back the strength of the snake, his sword still in his right hand, and was panting, his blond/silver hair covering his face. The grass nin looked impressed.

After a few seconds, Naruto spoke to Sasuke, who stood frozen mere feet from him. "Hey, you okay…" Everyone was looking at him. "…you big chicken!" Sasuke just stood there, remembering the time he called Naruto that. They were even.

The grass nin was looking amused. "So, looks like I have to go through you first, Naruto-kun." the nin said, adding the friendly title to tell him he was a worthy opponent. "Come" he said, his snake moving back and preparing to attack.

Naruto didn't need more than a second before he jumped to meet it in the air. The snake lunged at him, its mouth open, ready to swallow. Naruto had his sword trailing behind him. The snake was about to swallow him, when Naruto moved in midair to the side of the snake, and slashed his sword so hard, the entire head fell off. The grass nin now had a look of true shock on his face. Not many could do that, and NO genin had ever made a scratch on this level of snake. 'This is no ordinary kid. This may be a bit of a challenge.'

The grass nin jumped off the snake before it poofed out of existence, and prepared to attack the boy. Naruto raised his giant sword, and swung it at the snake nin, but the guy used shunshin no jutsu to body flicker away to a tree, and Naruto followed. He used shunshin no jutsu again and appeared behind Naruto, and aimed a strike at him, but missed as Naruto jumped onto his arm, and did a front flip, trying to slice him in two. He nearly succeeded, and took off a lot more than one strand of hair. The grass nin didn't look worried, until he noticed something. 'His strength keeps rising. This is getting bad. I'll be facing jounin before I get out of this forest, so I can't use even a quarter of my chakra on him. I have to finish this fast. The kyubi must be supplying him that power. I may not know about that other power, but if I seal off the Kyubi, then it should cause enough of a shock to his chakra circulatory system to knock him out. I wonder what that power is.' The nin thought.

The grass nin prepared a jutsu once he was far enough to prepare it. He prepared Gogyo Fuin, and each of his fingertips on his right hand held a blue fire, one for each of the five elements. Just as Naruto came at him, he pulled his shirt up and slammed his right hand into the boys gut, where the seal was etched. A new pattern with five symbols appeared around it, and Naruto lost conciousness. He released his sword when he was hit, sending it into the three about fifteen yards away, facing out. The grass nin, done with Naruto, threw him away, just over his shoulder, sending him to the floor of the forest. Sakura and Sasuke were about to do something, but they didn't have to. A blur of yellow intercepted Naruto and threw him onto the sword. None of them knew what just happened, and were on their toes for nearly a minute.

'The yellow flash?' the grass nin thought 'No, he died years ago. What was it?' After that time passed, he decided to let it pass for now, and focus his attention on the other two. "Looks like your friend got lucky. However, you won't be!"

Sakura was getting angry, surprisingly at Sasuke "Sasuke! Naruto may be nothing like you. He's lazy, an idiot, and can hold us back, but at least he's got guts! Naruto's no coward, right!" Sakura yelled, not adding the kun for the second time since entering the forest.

Sasuke concentrated for a second, thinking heavily about something, remembering why he was doing this, and what his goal was. He wasn't going to lose it now. 'NO! If I can't take this guy on now, then what chance would I stand against him!' he yelled in his head, and activating his Sharingan. He pulled out four kunai in his right hand, and a windmill shuriken in his left, crossing his extended arms, and placing another kunai in his mouth. 'Maybe I've been the dunce the whole time. Thank you, Naruto…Sakura…for showing me that. I've got a plan. I've got to survive this, or I'll never avenge my clan.'

Sasuke jumped into the air, hurling the Kunai at the grass nin, which he dodged, and the kunai landed in the branches. Sasuke grabbed onto a tree, and using his hand, circled around it hurling the windmill shuriken at the enemy, which he jumped over. Sasuke followed by enhancing a kunai with his chakra, and flinging it at the grass nin, who simply tilted his head to the side. The grass nin was clearly admiring his ability to see is ever move.

Suddenly, the grass nin noticed a string attached to his hands and mouth, one in each. He saw that it was a trap, that the kunais were hanging in the air, with the string preventing his escape, and the windmill shuriken circling back at him. 'A three-pronged attack! Incredible! But…' he thought, as he caught the shuriken with his mouth, surprising everyone. 'It still isn't enough. Still, he perceived my escape routes and closed them. Very impressive.' "Such a shame it didn't work." He said, just noticing the hand signs he was making. 'Uh oh!'

"Katon: Ryuuka no jutsu!" Sasuke shouted, suddenly sprouting fire everywhere, and focusing it along the wire and sending it right into the grass nin's face, making it burst in to flames. Both Sasuke and Sakura expected him to be dead, but suddenly, just as Sakura reached Sasuke, they both became paralyzed. They looked and saw the man, still sanding, with a burned face, but seemingly unharmed.

"To think that one so young has such mastery over the Sharingan. You are truly a worthy successor to the honored Uchiha clan! I believe I do want you after all." He said as he placed his hand on his forehead protector, causing it to steam, and after removing his hand, he revealed a sound headband. "It was marvelous fun, having you show me your tricks. You really are his brother, aren't you? Your eyes have powers even your brother doesn't have, and even more when you receive training. You're interesting, all right."

Sasuke was afraid, and shouted "Just who the hell are you!"

"My name is Orochimaru, the Giant snake. If you'd like a rematch, then pass this exam as fast as you can!" He said as he burned their scroll. "NO!" Sakura yelled. "I'll see you again. I'm sure of it. That is, if you manage to defeat the three sound ninja who answer to me."

"What do you mean! We never want to see you again!" Sakura yelled.

"Perhaps, but not all hopes and dreams come true." Orochimaru said, forming a hand sign, and causing his neck to grow, flying towards Sasuke with fangs out, and biting into the left part of Sasuke's rear-neck. When he rose, three comma-like marking appeared on his neck, much like the Sharingan. Sasuke began feeling intense pain, and fell over as the paralysis wore off. "I'm looking forward to our next meeting, Sasuke-kun. I just left you a little something to remember me by. We'll meet again." He said, before disappearing into the ground.

Sasuke was on the ground, in extreme pain. It was throbbing inside of him, spreading throughout his body. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" he yelled, falling to his hands and knees. Sakura knelt by him, trying to comfort him. She began to sob for him as he fell closer to the ground.

"Naruto, Sasuke is…" she stopped, noticing Naruto was still on his sword, unconscious with his back against the tree. Blood was falling from his lips. Sasuke fell unconscious on the branch. Sakura decided to get them to safety for them to recover. She noticed an area under an above-ground root and decided to use that as a shelter. First, she took Sasuke down, placing his head on his pack as a pillow, and used some of her water to wet a cloth, and removing his headband, placed it on his forehead, which was warming up.

After that, she went back for Naruto, who was still safely on the branch. First, she grabbed Naruto, taking him down and doing the same thing for him that she did for Sasuke. After he was safe, she went back for his new sword, which was still stuck in the tree. She managed to pull the sword out, but she had to focus more chakra to her feet to stay on, and the sword went straight down, her barely being able to hold it. 'How does he carry this thing like he does?' she asked herself. 'It must be because of his incredible stamina and strength.' She dragged the sword over to Naruto and placed it beside him. She noticed Sasuke was breathing heavily, and had a high fever. 'I…I have to protect them both, no matter what.' She thought. She didn't notice the sound warriors, waiting for dawn to come to attack.

Naruto was inside a dimly lit corridor, covered in a thin layer of water, which was continuously leaking from above. "Where am I?" Naruto asked himself. Pipes covered the ceiling, and lights were on the bottom of the floor, and shadows on top. He heard a roar come from behind him, and it echoed around the corridor. He felt two evil auras coming from that area. He knew what one was. He wondered what the other one was. He decided to find out. He walked for about a minute, before coming to two hallways, one on each side of the main hallway. From the right one, he sensed incredible evil. From the left was another incredibly evil chakra, but it was less evil than the one to the right. He took the path to the left, having an idea as to what was too the right. He walked down the corridor for another minute, wondering what this lesser evil was. When he arrived, he was shocked at what he saw: a giant gate with a seal tag in the middle.

'What?' Naruto thought. What was behind this gate? He heard a deep, evil voice coming from it. "Come closer." Naruto did as he was told, not knowing anything else to do. When he was a few feet away, three giant claws came at him, barely missing him. He fell to the floor in shock. "I want to rip you apart, but this damn seal won't let me. Such a pity." it said as a huge face with great fangs and evil red eyes. Naruto suddenly knew he chose the wrong path. If the lesser evil was Kyubi, then what was the greater evil?

"Y-you're the Kyubi, right?"

"Correct, brat."

Naruto had to know "What happened? Am I inside my mind?"

"Perhaps I shall explain. I shall need your help. Yes, this is a part of your mind, where my mind exists, among other things. I brought you here because I need your assistance."

"What kind of assistance is that?"

"When you arrived here, you sensed two charkas, right? Both evil, but one less than the other, correct?"

"…Yes"

"And you went down the path with the lesser evil, right?"Naruto nodded. "Of course you did. That's how you ended up here. The other is a greater evil, one that even I fear."

Naruto was in shock. "What evil could be so great that even the kyubi feared it?"

"I've never encountered it, with the exception of one: Yondaime Hokage!" The kyubi shouted it because of his hatred for the man that sealed him within this idiot. "This evil…is beyond me. Ever since you were a child, I've been holding it back, keeping it from consuming you, for my sake. This power would absorb me, and would take over your body."

"Then what's the problem? It's no big deal, just keep holding it back. What's the big deal?" Naruto questioned.

"The power has been able to seep past me, at times. Remember when you were fighting Haku, and your hair, eye, and skin changed, with various other effects? Very few were caused by me. I gave you a small portion of my power, but the other power gave you far more because of that little break of my chakra. The same happened during the first exam. Some of it broke through, and during the second exam, while fighting the snake and that Orochimaru."

"Okay, but what's the big problem now? It may leak every now and then, but what's the big deal? It's still only small amounts of power."

"That's not the real problem. Orochimaru sealed away my ability to send Chakra throughout your body. That means that nothing is keeping the power at bay. Even now, it's slowly transforming your body. You have no control right now. It just took over your body. That's what sent you here, because your real mind has been sealed inside your own body. The evil power is now in control of your body. Personally, I'd rather have you in control, because that other presence is going to turn everyone against you. I have sensed something. It lives to kill, from what I have determined."

"If it's taken over my body, what's it doing with it? Can you show me?"

"Of course I can show you. Although, you may not like it. I can't wait to see you squirm. I just hope you regain control of your body before they're forced to kill us. If your body dies, so do I, though I hate to admit it. If you do regain control, you must fight the power to keep it at bay while remaining in control until I can regain access to your chakra circulatory system. Now, let me show you what the other power is doing with your body."

The Kyubi showed him a vision of the outside world. The Kyubi had learned to create a technique that allowed him to see into the outside world, to protect himself, and give his chakra to the boy when his life was in danger so that he wouldn't die himself. He showed Naruto the vision, which caused the boy to back away in fear. It was the sound nins, fighting the other genin. Sasuke was getting up, surrounded by purple Chakra and black fire-like lines spreading like fire around his body. But that wasn't what scared Naruto. He was looking at himself. His body was changing, dramatically.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"That sight, and what happened there, haunt me even now. It showed me what I was dealing with, that there were worse things than having the Kyubi sealed inside you, but most importantly, it showed me what I could have become."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Earlier…

Sakura had been up all night, nodding off sleep whenever she got drowsy. She couldn't fall asleep now. She had to protect both of them. Naruto was fine, he was just unconscious. Sasuke, on the other hand, had a high fever, and was breathing raggedly. She was worried. She'd been awake all night, and neither had woken up.

Suddenly, she heard a sound behind her. She gripped her kunai, and turned around, only to see a squirrel. 'A squirrel? I'm way to jumpy.' Suddenly, the squirrel ran towards her, and she threw a kunai at it when she noticed it was getting too close to her. 'That was close. It almost sprung the trap.'

Sakura waited there until the sun began to rise, when she heard another rustle in the leaves. She turned around, expecting another squirrel, but instead saw the three sound nin they'd seen earlier. The one with the large cloak spoke for the group.

"Heh. Been staying up all night on guard, eh? Well, you're off duty now. Just wake up Sasuke for us. We want to take him on, now."

"Wha-what are you talking about! I know some guy named Orochimaru is the one who's been pulling the strings behind the scenes, so what do you want!" Sakura yelled, her hand reaching for a kunai. The sound nin stared in shock 'Orochimaru was here?' "What's this mark on Sasuke. And with Sasuke in this condition, you want to fight him! Get out of here now! Go!"

"…This is unexpected. I wonder what Orochimaru is doing…" Sakura stared, wondering what they were talking about.

The one with the word death on his shirt spoke next. "Whatever. I can't walk away after hearing something like that! I'll destroy you, girl, and your little friends, too." Sakura just waited, determined to protect them.

"Wait, Zaku"

"Wha? Why?"

Sakura knew what the cloaked guy was talking about. He kneeled, and began lifting the ground up. "Someone's been setting booby traps, but such poor technique. You've left evidence everywhere that warns the enemy.

"How amateurish!" Zaku said.

"Well, the girl is no use to us. She only threw the kunai to stop the squirrel from setting them off. Well then, we'll just have to eliminate her first. The rest are easy prey." With that said, the three jumped in the air. Sakura smirked, and cut a wire attached to a kunai, bringing down a giant log attached to a vine on the sound nin.

"A log! So, the trap was above us all along." He said as the log approached them. The cloaked one simply placed his hand with the device on it on the log, and made a hand sign with his left, blasting a whole for them in the log, leaving a shocked Sakura.

"You really have no talent, you know that? You should've stopped dogging and worked at it. It's an insult to be underestimated by losers like you!" he shouted, preparing to drop on the girl and blow her apart. Sakura just froze there, with a tear in here eye, before…

"KONOHA SENPU!" a green figure yelled, kicking the sound nin out of their path in a circular movement, and sending them flying back. The green blur landed in front of Sakura, with his right hand held out, as if inviting them, and his left tucked behind his back. The squirrel from earlier was on his shoulder. "Look who's talking. Try taking your own advice to heart!"

'Whoa…it's that guy with the bad haircut.' Sakura thought.

"Who are you?" the cloaked sound nin asked.

"Konoha's handsome beast, Rock Lee!"

"Where did you come from?" Sakura asked.

Lee took the squirrel off his shoulder. "I came because you needed me, and I always will! Actually, one of the reasons is my little friend here. He had an explosive tag on him, and I decided to investigate. Thankfully, I arrived in time to help you."

Sakura wiped a tear from her eye and smiled at Lee. "I don't know how to thank you. You saved my life."

"I promised when I met you, remember? To protect you, till death do us part!" Sakura remembered Lee saying that, doing the good-guy pose. 'Yes! I understand, Gui-sensei.' Lee thought.

"Well, it looks like we have to fight you, too. It can't be helped." He tossed Zaku their earth scroll. "This guy's mine!" He said, charging at Lee, and jumping into the air when Sakura threw a kunai.

'This is bad. It looks like Sakura is out of stamina, staying up all night. Even her Kunai was off.' Lee thought, plunging his arm into the ground, and bringing it up just before the sound nin reached them, bringing up a giant root with him, which stopped the sound nin in his tracks. "These attacks are illusions, right? So it'd be a waste of time dodging them as if they were real. I've seen you use those moves before. Bad move."

'He's…strong…' was all Sakura could think.

'Still, it's one vs. three, so they hold the advantage. It may be a gamble, but if I can take them down one at a time, then I should be strong enough to beat them.' Lee began to undo his bandages, preparing to fight. 'Gui-sensei, I'm sure the time has come to use the forbidden technique you taught me, and go all-out! I'm defending the life of someone important to me!'

The sound nin was just about to attack him, when he disappeared. "Where is he?" Just as he thought that, Lee appeared underneath him, on his right hand and foot, kicking him upwards in the chin with his left, and jumping into the air to meet him. "I'm not done yet!" Lee shouted. He wrapped his bandages around the enemy and began to swirl them in around, preparing to plow him into the ground "Take this!" Lee shouted, plowing him into the ground "OMOTE RENGE!" Lee shouted as they hit the ground. Lee jumped away. 'This does not feel good…' When the smoke cleared, Dosu was in a crater, but he was getting out. "What?" Lee said.

"Well, looks like I made it. Dosu looks fine" Zaku said, with his hands in the ground.

The other guy had gotten out of the crater, and Lee was horrified. 'No way!'

"What a powerful technique! I landed on a pillow of soft soil Zaku made, and it still nearly ended me! Well, It looks like it's my turn. I'll pay you back for the damage you did!" He said, revealing his sound device.

'This is not good. That last move just drained me. I'm running on empty!'

Dosu charged at Lee, who just barely dodged. Yet, he couldn't dodge the sound waves that Dosu sent at him. Lee fell to the ground, finding it hard to balance. "Your moves are fast, I'll admit that, but mine are supersonic! Muscles alone can't break down walls of sound."

Lee was on the ground, trying to recover. Suddenly, just like Lee, just like Kabuto, puked on the ground, and began bleeding from his left ear. 'What happened?' Lee said, trying to cover his ear from further damage. "What did you do?"

"I guess I'll tell you. It's this appliance on my arm. You see, it prevents you from blocking my attacks." Lee just continued to sit there, trying to recover.

"What did you use on Lee!" Sakura asked, still in shock.

Dosu just laughed for a few seconds, before answering "It's sound! Even if you block the punch, the sound waves will reach you. Do you understand? Sound is different because of its fundamental nature."

'Sound?' Lee thought.

"The vibrations." Sakura asked, seeing the truth.

"Precisely. When you hear a sound, it's actually those vibrations which are displacing the air, which tremble against your eardrum. The human eardrum-the tympanic membrane-ruptures when exposed to sound levels in excess of 150 phones. Moreover, if the sound is powerful enough to upset the liquid within the semi-circular canals of the deepest inner ear, it becomes impossible for you to maintain your balance. Heh heh. Just so you know, it'll take some time before your equilibrium returns."

Zaku decided to taunt him. "So, you see, crude, old-fasioned arts such as taijutsu just won't cut it against us." Lee glared at him. "You did start off well, though. It's rare for a foe to reveal the true nature of my techniques, but the tides have turned against you, now! I can wield sound waves as a weapon, with enough force to crush entire boulders! And, with a mere thought, I can use sound waves to force air into the earth beneath me, transforming rock-hard soil into soil as soft as a pillow, far more elegant and effective than your crude application of brute force."

Sakura looked worried, and lee just glared, also growing afraid. 'Dang.' Tears started falling down his face.

Dosu charged at Sakura "And now, it's your turn. Say goodbye!"

"No!" Lee shouted, running to intercept him.

"What!" Dosu said."That's not possible!"

"Lee!" Sakura shouted.

Lee, with a determined face, used his technique. "Konoha Senpu!" However, his attack was too low, since he couldn't balance. Dosu just hopped off it, and attacked him again. "Looks like my last effect is finally taking effect. You actually startled me there, but now, your agility, strength, and laser-sharp attacks are useless against me now!" Dosu sent his right arm flying at Lee in a hook, which Lee barely blocked, but the sound waves still hit him, hard.

"This arm device allows me to magnify every little sound from within to the utmost lmits, like a speaker. Not only that, but I can use the momentum from my punch to direct it all at you using my Chakra. You're receiving the full force!" Lee was hit by a high sound to his left ear again, and fell to the ground. "And now, for the coup de grace!"

"Not if I can help it!" Sakura shouted, throwing three kunai at Dosu. He merely blocked them with his gauntlet, but not expecting four shuriken to follow them. Zaku got in front of them, and used an amplified sound wave to send a wave of air at Sakura, as well as her own Shuriken, striking her. Sakura fell to the ground, on her knees, and before she could get up, the other girl got behind her and grabbed her hair, forcing her to remain in place.

"Such lovely hair. Such bounce and shine, mine just can't compare. What kind of ninja technique is this? Kondishona- no jutsu? You're a disgrace to all shinobi, fussing over your looks when you should've focused on your training! Hey, Zaku! I'll hold her down. Why don't you finish off her fallen heartthrobs, one by one, in front of this lovesick pig? Let's give her a show before we finish her off."

"HA HA! Good one, Kin!"

'No, they couldn't…they wouldn't.' Sakura tried to convince herself.

"Sa-Sakura…" Lee said, still eating dirt.

'I can't summon any strength. I've always been a burden; just someone for everyone to protect. I'm always behind them, never helping when the going gets tough; not even in this forest. I was hoping this time would be different…I need to help the people I care about for once!"

"All right. Let's do this." Zaku said. The seal on Sasuke's neck began to give off steam, and an aura was spreading around his body. They didn't see Choji, Shikamaru, and Ino behind them in the bushes, watching the whole scene unfold, deciding whether or not to help.

Sakura took out a kunai knife. 'I always thought of myself as a real ninja, proud to be an equal as I followed behind my teammates, always crushing on Sasuke and scolding Naruto. I was always watching them from the background, while they were up front, risking their lives. Lee did the same for me, and risked his life, to protect me, even though he was supposed to be my enemy. You've all shown me what I want to be. Now, you'll watch my back.'

Kin just laughed. "Your tricks won't work against me, dunce."

Sakura looked at her and smirked. "Oh, you think so?" Sakura took out her kunai and cut her hair, letting it and her headband fall off, flowing in the wind. Everyone around just stared, not believing what they saw. Ino was especially shocked, knowing she grew her hair out to impress Sasuke. She stood up, thinking about everything she should have done, but didn't, and how she couldn't fail this time.

"Kin, finish her off!"

Kin was about to stab her with a kunai, but Sakura had gone through hand seals and used Kawarimi no jutsu to replace herself with a log. Zaku was preparing to strike and was thinking 'Here and there, she's making a mockery of this, trying to deceive us with such low-level techniques.'

Sakura appeared charging at Zaku from his right, with three kunai in each hand. She threw them a Zaku, and prepared another Kawarimi. Zaku used Zankuha to send them back at Sakura, who turned into another log. Zaku looked up, expecting her to be there. She was using a hand sign, and Zaku threw four kunai at her. "As many times as you try it, it'll never work on me! My smallest skills are enough to handle you!" He shouted as the kunais hit. He began looking around for her, when he felt a drop of blood on his face. He looked up, and saw Sakura, bleeding, with a kunai in hand, and preparing to strike. 'This isn't kawarimi! It's real!' He just barely managed to bring his arms up to block the kunai from hitting his chest, which Sakura plunged into his right arm, and Sakura bit his other arm, keeping him down.

As Sakura took more and more hits, and as her face got covered in blood, and as she slowly lost strength, Ino was looking at her, and what she was doing. She remembered how they'd met, and how she'd helped Sakura get over her forehead phobia. They'd been best friends, inseperable, until Sasuke came, and they became rivals over him. She thought to herself, Sakura was the one fighting, being courageous, and here she was, with her team, hiding in the bushes, and the girl before her stood alone. She wasn't the same cry-baby she was before. If anything, they switched places! Ino wouldn't admit it, but she thanked Sakura for showing her that she needed to be more courageous, like a ninja should be.

Zaku finally managed to throw Sakura off, sending her flying into the dirt, face-down. "You bitch!" he shouted, preparing Zankuha, when Ino and her team emerged from the bushes, Ino and Shikamaru dragging Choji by his scarf. Sakura looked on in shock. Dosu and Kin looked surprised at them. "Hmph. The freaks just keep coming." Zaku said.

"Ino…" Sakura said in a low voice.

"Sakura, I told you…I'd never a let you show me up in front of Sasuke!"

"Ino…why?"

"Did you really think I was going to let youmake the big sacrifice? Did you really think I'd let you show off in front of Sasuke?"

Dosu spoke up "More annoying bugs from Konoha."

"They're not the only ones." Came a voice from behind them. Behind them stood Shino, Hinata, and Kiba, entering the clearing. Kiba spoke again. "We decided to take out some more teams before the end of the exam, plus, we don't exactly wanna be at the tower now, with those guys from sand there by now."

"And must you use the words buys in such an insulting way? My friends don't like that" Shino said.

"You guys…" Sakura said.

Kiba spoke again. "We're not much into fighting other Konoha teams. Not now, anyway. Besides, Hinata doesn't want us to fight other Konoha teams. Shino even said it's like going against our village. Besides…we had some bad experiences with shinobi of other villages. Let's leave it at that.

"So, the rookie nine are assembled again. How troublesome" Shikamaru said.

"G-guys, what do you think you're doing? These creeps are dangerous! They'll kill us! Let go of my scarf!"

"Sorry, buddy, but that's the way it is. We're men here. We can't abandon the lady of our team, or any of our teammates for that matter, just because the going gets rough, even if we die, no matter how troublesome."

"Sorry to drag you guys into this, but we are a team, all for one and one for all."

"If we have to, I guess that's the way it is."

Zaku made fun of Choji and his cowardice. "Heh heh. We'll let you off the hook if you run now, fatty."

Choji froze. "What did you just say? I could've sworn he just called me…"

Shikamaru was hoping he didn't say it again. 'That word's taboo with Choji. If he says it again, things are gonna get ugly.'

"You're welcome to run and hide…that is, if you can even find a hiding spot big enough to fit you, fatass!

Choji turned to face him, with death etched all over his face. "I'M NOT FAT! I'M JUST PLEASANTLY PLUMP! YOU GOT THAT! ROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAARRRRRRR! Does everyone get it! Konoha and Oto are at war!

"Congrats. You made Choji lose it." Ino said, as Choji had fire burning in his eyes.

"Great. This is turning into a mess. How troublesome." Shikamaru gave his opinion of the status.

"Yes, it is." 'We were supposed to kill the Uchiha under cover of this exam…but…'

"Oi, Sakura." Kiba shouted. "You look after your teammates. We'll take care of these guys. Just give us five minutes."

"Right!"

"Alright! We'll go first. Time for the Ino-Shiko-Cho formation! You're up, Choji. Get the guy who called you fat!" Ino ordered.

"Yeah! Baika no jutsu!" Choji began expanding like a balloon, and retracted his arms, legs, and head into his body, before announcing his next technique. "Nikudan Sensha!" He yelled, rolling madly at his opponent, chanting "Roll, roll, roll roll!"

Zaku didn't think much of it. "Heh. It's just a rolling fatass. Zankuha!" He shouted, sending a large wave of air at Choji, but Choji just used his energy to bounce into the air, and headed strait for Zaku. Zaku didn't have time to react, and was forced to dodge. Choji landed on the ground, hard. When the smoke cleared, Choji could be seen back to his normal size, stumbling dizzily. Dosu was running at him, trying to finish him off, but Shikamaru intervened.

"Kagemane no jutsu!" He said, as his shadow leeched out and latched itself onto Dosu, forcing him to follow his every move. "Wha?" he said, confused. Shikamaru explained. "This jutsu forces you to follow my every move. You can't escape. Ino! Only the girl is left! Get her!"

"Sure thing. Shikamaru, take care of my body for me." She said, forming hand signs. "Shintenshin no jutsu!" She said, before slumping over. Kin froze up for a second, before shouting to her teammates. "You're finished! If either of you moves, I'll kill your teammate! I've transferred my mind into her, so she's under my control. When I no longer sense your charkas, she'll be released. Leave your scrolls here, and finish the exam without them!" To everyone's surprise, the other two just smirked. Sakura saw what they were getting at.

"Ino, they're going to-" She was cut off when Zaku raised his arm and sent an air blast at Kin. Before it reached Kin, Shino sent bugs out to protect her. "To attack your own teammate. You're despicable."

Zaku smirked evilly and said "You underestimated us. Bad mistake."

Dosu finished. "Our objective is not to capture the scroll, or to pass this stupid exam. We're after Sasuke." Everyone froze at this.

Shikamaru released his jutsu, as he couldn't hold it any longer. 'Damn' "So, your little trick can only last five minutes? And the art that girl is using…if we kill Kin, she dies too. That should be easy."

"How low, to kill your own teammates." Everyone turned to look in the trees, where Neji and Tenten were. "You bubonic nonentities think you're good just because your sonic powers could beat these novices? Not impressed." Neji said

"More? The freak parade is never ending." Zaku said.

Neji and Tenten turned to Lee.

"Lee…" Tenten said.

"Looks like he blew it." Neji added.

Sakura recognized them. 'Those are Lee's teammates…'

"That kid with the bowl cut Hairdo Belongs to us." Neji said, activating his Byakugan, making veins near his eyes pulse. "You hurt him, and now you have to deal with us!" He hissed. Everyone froze seeing his eyes. "Stop while you can, or we'll give you everything we've got!" Neji stopped, sensing something.

'What's this chakra I'm sensing. I'm sensing two, both in the area. One is foul, but the other is completely alien…and its aura is…everywhere. The less foul one is coming from Sasuke, but I can't sense the other one.

"Hey, the aura is around here!" A girl's voice said. Out in the clearing came Michiko, Hotaka, and Yoko. Michiko spoke again. "Okay, who's aura is that? Anyone gonna answer me!" she said assertively.

Yoko decided to explain. "We sensed two auras in the area. Both foul, but one completely radiating evil. Would anyone care to explain?"

Zaku couldn't believe it "How many of you Konoha scum are there!" he said in disbelief that now 15 of them were there.

Hotaka ignored them and looked around, eyes widening upon seeing Sasuke. "Well, I think we know where the lesser aura is coming from." He said, pointing to Sasuke. Everyone looked and stared. Sasuke was rising, but purple chakra spiraled around him, radiating evil. His Sharingan was activated, and flame-like lines spread around his body, turning black once they stopped spreading.

"Sasuke-kun…"

"Sakura, who did this!" Sasuke demanded, a sizzling sound coming from his body.

Everyone froze, except for Zaku who pointed at himself "It was us."

"So…it was you."

"Sasuke-kun, your body…" Sakura said.

Sasuke just looked at his body, and the flame-like pattern on it. "Nothing to worry about. I feel strong…bursting with power!" He said, lowering his arm. "I got it from him, that sound ninja. I understand it now. I am an avenger! I must do anything to obtain power, even sell my flesh to the devil!"

Dosu was shocked at the markings 'I knew it! The curse mark that that girl was going on about. He channeled it and mimicked it, channeling it even to his feet!'

Shikamaru shouted "Ino! Get out of that body, now! Or you'll get dragged into this!" Shikamaru was leaving the battlefield himself. Ino released Kin, and returned to her body, leaving Kin confused as to what just happened.

Sasuke's curse mark was spreading, now covering his whole body. 'His chakra's immense! His body can't even contain it!' Sasuke began to run towards Zaku, who prepared a counter.

"Snap out of it, Dosu! He just refuses to die. Let's knock him out of that stupor of his! Zankuha!"

"Wait, Zaku! Don't you get it!"

The air Zaku shot at blasted at Sasuke, which seemed to defeat him. However, when the dust cleared, Sasuke wasn't there. Zaku looked around, before feeling someone behind him plant their foot on his back and grab both of his arms. "That was quick." Sasuke said, with a dark look on his face. Zaku was forced to kneel over due to the pain. Sasuke smirked. "You take such foolish pride in your arms. Time to bid them farewell." Sasuke said, just before pushing his foot down and pulling Zaku's arms up, effectively dislocating the shoulders. He screamed a cry of pain, before falling. Sasuke turned to Dosu. "You're mine. I hope you're more of a challenge."

Sakura couldn't take this. This wasn't Sasuke. He may be quiet, but not sadistic. This Sasuke reminded her of…Orochimaru. When he looked at her, she'd seen Orochimaru in his eyes. With tears in her eyes, she ran to him and hugged him from behind. "STOP IT!" She yelled desperately. "Please…please stop…" The marks on Sasuke slowly began to recede, until they'd completely vanished. Sasuke fell to the ground, with Sakura beside him. Neji admired Sasuke for a moment, thinking how he'd make a worthy opponent. She walked him back to the others, and saw Kiba with Naruto's sword.

"Hey, Sakura! Now that that's over, can you tell me who's sword this is? It's heavy!"

Tenten walked over and looked at it. "That's pure steel! No ordinary shinobi could wield this! Gui-sensei may be able to wield it, but even he would have trouble, and he's the strongest taijutsu expert we know."

"Wow! So Sakura, Sasuke, who's is this? I found it where Sasuke was; is it yours, Sasuke?" Kiba asked, wanting to know who owned such a weapon.

"It's not mine. Naruto found it, and used it to fight a snake, apparently. He used it pretty effectively, so it can't be as hard as you say it is." Sasuke replied.

"Let me try" Kiba said, raising the sword above his head, only to fall down the other way as the sword took him with it. "Nope, that's heavy. Ow…" he said.

"I wonder how Naruto did it. He does have incredible stamina. Anyway, couldn't you tell it was Naruto's? It was right by him."

"No it wasn't."

'Yes it was."

"No, it wasn't. It was by Sasuke. Naruto wasn't there."

"WHAT!" Sakura yelled. Everyone looked over to where Naruto was supposed to be, and saw nothing. He'd disappeared. "NARUTO! I'M GONNA KILL YA WHEN YOU GET BACK FOR NOT HELPING US!" She shouted loud enough for the whole forest to hear.

"My my, worried over your little friend, aren't you?" Dosu said, with Zaku and Kin beside him, both ready to fight. "How foolish of you to think it was over. You gave us time to place Zaku's arms back into their sockets and gave Kin time to recover. Sasuke lost that power so now it's time for us to finish this."

Just as he stepped foreward, he stopped, eye widening. He grunted for a few seconds. A kunai was stuck in his throat, avoiding his voice box, but allowing blood to flow into his lungs and out of his mouth. Everyone stared. Someone had snuck up on those who use sound. They wondered who. Their questions were answered as the kunai was removed, and he was pushed down, revealing a transformed Naruto with a sadistic grin on his face.

Some gasped at what they saw. As Naruto walked closer to them, they saw the changes in Naruto. His hair was flowing freely without his headband, and had turned completely silver. His right eye was glowing red, causing Michiko to gasp when she saw it. 'I got a glimpse of that in the first exam!' His left eye was a venomous green with a black slit for a pupil. His skin was turning a mix of pale grey and pale blue. He walked past them, to Kiba, who just stared at Naruto in fear, trembling. He ripped the sword out of his hands, and to everyone's disbelief, help it with one hand, with his arm raised out, pointing it at the sound nin. "You're dead" He said in a voice that was surely Naruto's, but a sadistic version.

"That's it. That's the power we sensed: the other aura. The evil one." Yoko said, staring.

Zaku, who was usually cocky, was loosing his nerve, tried to act tough all the same. Dosu was still on the ground, but on his knees, gasping for breath as his lungs filled with blood. Kin was frozen, not moving at all.

Dosu finally stood up, which Naruto liked, licking his lips in anticipation. Everyone looked at him; this wasn't the same Naruto as before. "Good. You're first." He said, appearing right in front of Dosu. Dosu swung his arm at Naruto, which he didn't even bother to block. He amplified the sound as high as he could, sending Naruto into a Nearby tree. Dosu grinned as well as he could, blood still dripping down his lips. Everyone paled when Naruto came out as if nothing had happened. "hmph. That's all you got? I'll make this quick." He said, before charging, and in one swift motion, cut Dosu in half by the chest, his blood-filled lungs spilling its contents all over Naruto, sending him into a bloodlust.

Zaku and Kin just jumped away, clearly in fear. Naruto turned to Kin, saying "You're next." Kin screamed and threw all the needles she had, some with bells and some with none, at him, trying to catch him using genjutsu casting bells, but Naruto just swung his sword, creating a wind, and stopping the bells where they flew, causing the scatter in all directions. Naruto just stared before jumping slightly to the side, and apprearing behind her, and doing it again to appear by her side, and kept doing this, faster and faster. Eventually, after-images were left, and soon, after-images were everywhere. No one knew where Naruto really was. After thirty seconds of this, Naruto stopped, and while the after-images were still keeping her attention, cleaved her right down the middle, from head to toe. He turned to Zaku, and grinned sadistically. "And then there was one."

Zaku yelled in fear, closed his eyes, and jumped in the air above Naruto, who just stood there. He shouted ZANKUKYOKUHA!" Sending a giant blast of air down on Naruto, crushing him under the air coming down on him, and the ground keeping him from moving back. Zaku landed with a terrified look on his face in front of a small crater. For a second, he thought he won. That was before he saw Naruto walk up out of it, sword on his shoulder. Everyone was terrified. Zaku tried to get up, but he'd put everything he had into that last attack. He just looked up, ready to cry. "Say goodbye!" Naruto yelled, before performing slashes so fast on Zaku that they appeared as flashes of light to everyone else. When Naruto was done, he was behind Zaku, or where he once stood, with is sword in his right hand, behind him, and his left hand forming a seal near his face, Zaku was splattered all over the battlefield. Naruto relaxed, still being forty feet from the other Konoha nin. His sword was at his side, facing foreward, and his head was down.

"Na-Naruto…how could you?" Sakura said, with tears in her eyes. Naruto just stood there, not moving.

"ANSWER US, NARUTO!" Kiba yelled. Naruto didn't move.

"Naruto-kun…"

"I saw that red eye in the first exam, but nothing like this happened!" Michiko yelled.

"What power…" Sasuke said

"Even they didn't deserve that, Naruto. You went too far!" Ino yelled.

"That was too much, Naruto!" Hotaka said.

Everyone else just stood there after that. After a minute of silence, Naruto raised his head slowly, and did something that made everyone pale and freeze: he raised his sword at the group, grinned sadistically, glaring at them as if this was a fun game.

"Who's Next?"

Next time: The Second Exam, Part II: 14 vs. 1, Fighting a Friend!

Notes

Naruto fighting the other 14 genin, can't wait, can you! And a cliffhanger, I'm so cruel:)

Over 14.5 thousand words! WOW!

I'll update as soon as I can!

Spread the word about this story, if you would.

Here are my thank you's!

Thank you, AzureSky123, for your comment. I'll update soon!

Thank you, Vegeta the 3rd for your comment, and let me answer your question: I never said it was a bloodline technique, as many will have determined from this chapter. All I'll say is what's already been said: it makes the Kyubi quail in fear. And thank you for reviewing every chapter up so far!

Thank you, AznAltron, for your comment, and it's only going to get more original (I spent months planning this fic, so it'll be original, and I'll never abandon it!) If I need techniques I'll contact you.

Thank you, got-ramen, for your comment, and Naruto's new power will be further explained throughout the story. It will be interesting, so keep reading!

Thank you, Angel of Forgotten Souls, for your comment, and don't worry. There won't be any chapters like chapter 2 again. They'll all be like a traditional story, but with the future Naruto popping in now and then.

Here are the translations for this chapter:

Henge-Transformations

Katon: Housenka no jutsu-Fire Release - Chinese-Phoenix Immortal Fire Technique

Shinigami-Death god

Kage bunshin no jutsu-Shadow clone technique

Kendo-Sword Technique

shunshin no jutsu-Body flicker technique

Gogyo fuin-Five elements seal

Katon: Ryuuka no jutsu-Fire release: Dragon Fire technique

Konoha Senpu-Konoha/Leaf Hurricane

Omote Renge-Front Lotus

Taijutsu-Body techniques

Kondishona- no jutsu-Conditioning technique

Kawarami no jutsu-Body replacement technique

Zankuha-Decapitating air wave

Baika no jutsu-Multi size technique

Nikudan Sensha-Human Bullet tank

Shintenshin no jutsu-Mind Body Switch Technique

Genjutsu-Illusion technique

Zankukyokuha-Extreme Decapitating Air Waves

Okay, go it! Leave a review if you read, and see if others would review my story. Thanks!

Well, that's all. Drop a review.

Later

Tsurugi-Sama