A Distant Relation

by Shadow Master

BtVSNaruto It's Halloween and a bit of chaos is about to be unleashed on the people of Sunnydale. However for one Xander Harris he will discover a heritage he never knew he had.

10. Begin Phase 2, The Forest of Death

The Next Day, Outside the 'Forest of Death', Xander's P

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the copyrighted material shown herein. It is the rightful property of the original creators and associated companies. I make no money off of this at all. I only do this for my own enjoyment and for the enjoyment of my fellow fanfic readers.

&

The Next Day, Outside the 'Forest of Death', Xander's P.O.V

"Forest of Death?" Xandere muttered with some mild surprise/disappointment, "Who the hell named this place? A Dungeons and Dragons fanatic?"

Now that he had met the person known as Ebisu, he had to admit that the guy was a complete moron and it was perfectly feasible for him to be a pervert like Ayeka claimed nine days before. Fortunately, though, they'd just have to deal with him for the next ten minutes or so while he explained the rules as well as the objective of this phase of the exam. If it went longer than that, he might be willing to just hop the fence and take his chances with the animals he heard coming from the foreboding forest. After all, at least all those animals would want to do was either eat you or chase you and Xander was used to things like that back in Sunnydale. None of the baddies back home were so cruel that they tried to talk you to death or suffocate you with their arrogant attitude. They just made with the standard threats, maybe a minute or so of posturing, and then everyone made with the fighting, just like always.

"Now, before we begin this illustrious second phase of the Chuunin Selection Exam, I shall pass out these to everyone." Ebisu said as if he was some kind of big shot and they should be blessed to be in his presence.

Looking at the papers the man pulled out, Xander could see the title at the top of the page and wondered just what the examiners needed 'consent forms' for.

"These are consent forms. Those planning on going any further with this most honored of exams must sign these." Ebisu said with a tone of seriousness better suited for a play.

Ever the one to ask the obvious question, Naruto inquired as to why they had to sign the consent forms.

"From here on, kiddo, people will most likely die." Ebisu said in a tone that hinted at one person in particular he'd like to see die in the forest, "Therefore, we need everyone's consent before we can begin the second phase in earnest. Otherwise I, Ebisu, would be held responsible for everything that happened afterwards. Hahahahaa!"

This guy definitely has the most annoying laugh I have ever heard and, considering I've heard Andrew Wells laugh, that's saying something. He thought as he prayed to God for someone to shut Ebisu up.

"Oh, you have a great deal to be held responsible for, Ebisu-baka." Ayeka said from her position to the right of him, "But seeing as how me and my teammates have an exam to ace I'll cut you some slack from here on out."

"Hmph. Now I shall begin the explanation of the Second Phase of this time honored exam." Ebisu said, bristling briefly at Ayeka's words, "To be blunt, you will all go through an extreme survival match."

From there, Ebisu went through several mini-explanations involving the terrain they'd be dealing with and the fact that the objective was to obtain a complete set of scrolls. One was a bone white scroll, the Scroll of Heaven, and the other was the blue scroll, the Scroll of Earth, with each team being handed a single random scroll behind a curtain after they turned in their consent forms. No one would know which scroll you had unless you let it be known and, once you entered the Forest of Death, it was anything goes as far as how a team got the other scroll from another team, from simply asking politely to taking it to an opposing team apart piece by bloody, fatal piece, it was all acceptable to a certain degree. He was certain they would intervene if a Genin forgot the objective of the exam and just kept on killing people without taking their scroll. Right? Then, of course, there was the one hundred and twenty hour time limit for acquiring both scrolls and making it to the central tower. Quitting was also not an option, which was explained when Vest-boy or Shikamaru as Hana had told him on his way there an hour earlier. That kid must think breathing is too bothersome and would probably stop doing it entirely if he could without dying.

By the time all the explanations were laid out, it looked like the trek through the woods would be dangerous in every way with no true safe zone except for the tower. Obviously this was the practical part of the Chuunin Selection Exam where you had to put what you learned from the academy and in the field to use. Still, Xander was confident that they'd get the two scrolls and make it safely to the tower without anyone getting seriously injured in the process. With Hana's mutts and Ava helping them keep tabs on the environment and the teamwork training they'd all undergone, they'd be a match for any team out there.

Getting Hana and Ayeka to follow him over to a tree, Xander figured it'd be a good idea to lay down some kind of strategy from the get go rather than come up with one when they were already in the danger zone.

"So what do you guys think?"

"This is going to be a breeze!" Hana said with her usual unassailable confidence, "With my girls sniffing out the enemy and your overgrown feather duster keeping an eye peeled, surprise attacks won't be an issue. As for the rest…well you guys can just sit back and let me do all the work. Beating these rookies isn't going to take long."

"Yeah, like I'd let you get all the glory!" Ayeka said with a snort of contempt before warily glancing at the forest, "We'll just attack the first team we come across, grab their scroll and then head for the tower. I bet we'll get there before anyone else!"

Not as 'nice' to each other I'd like but it's better than it was in the beginning. He thought as he took out a pen to write his name down on the consent form.

"So what's your plan, 'Leader'?" Hana asked with clear contempt in her voice concerning his position.

"Simple. We head for the treeline surrounding the tower and lay out a mine field of traps and wait for the enemy to come to us." He said in a slightly hushed voice so that no one else would be able to listen in easily.

"What?! That's the worst plan I've ever heard!!" Hana exclaimed angrily, getting the attention of every team in the immediate area.

"SHHHH!! You want everyone to get it in their heads to eavesdrop Tarzanna?" He asked harshly while taking a quick glance around to see who had more than a lingering interest in them.

"If it'll get you to drop this pussy plan of yours, then yeah!" Hana replied, only bringing her voice down to conversational volume, "Why take the easy way out when we can just kick the asses of everyone we come across and take their scroll!?"

"Because, dog girl, if we want to pass this Phase of the exam in the best condition possible, we need a plan to get what we need with minimum muss or fuss." Ayeka replied as though it was the most obvious thing in the world, "If we get all beat up, then it won't matter if we make it to the tower with both scrolls. You heard the pervert, didn't you? If even one of us is too banged up to fight when we reach the tower, then we fail automatically. Xander-sama's plan is, as usual, perfect for achieving the objective."

He had to roll his eyes at that because that was the same thing more or less that Ayeka said about all his plans, regardless of whether or not his battle plans worked out or not. Obviously she was taking the 'he can do no wrong' method of seducing him and wasn't about to give it up anytime soon. Too bad for her as he actually preferred women who had the…confidence to stand up to him when they knew he was making a mistake. One might have thought that that made Hana his preferable girl but then there was the fact that she couldn't stand him and he wasn't overly fond of the way she always called him 'Wannabe'. In the end, he just hoped that the blonde didn't try and jump his bones while they were in the forest because dying with his pants down was definitely not the way he wanted to leave this world.

"It's time to trade your forms for a scroll," Came a voice from the booth that had been curtained off.

"Well it looks like it's time. Let's do this!" Xander said, trying to get his team pumped for what was to come.

"Hai, hai! Let's get this camping trip over with." Hana said with a lack of enthusiasm that was matched only by Buffy's lack of interest in studying.

"We're gonna win this! I guarantee it!" Ayeka said at the other end of the spectrum before turning to him with a weird look in her eyes, "Then maybe the two of us can have a little victory celebration, eh, Xander-sama?"

"Ah…maybe…yeah." Was all he could say under the baleful glare coming from Hana.

They had reached the halfway point to the booth when that idiot Ebisu apparently singled them out and came over to say something.

"So you three delinquents actually managed to get past Ibiki's little test, did you?" Ebisu asked rhetorically with mocking amazement in his voice, "I guess the man really has taken one too many hits to the head lately if he let you three pass. Honestly, I don't know what Hokage-sama was thinking allowing thugs like you to participate in this exam!"

"Oh yeah? Well Hokage-sama obviously felt he needed to lighten the mood for the Second Phase if he assigned a clown like you as the head examiner for it." He fired back in a completely casual tone of voice.

This definitely hit a nerve with the shades-wearing examiner as a light version of 'muderous intent' began to emerge from the guy.

"On the contrary, Xander-san. Hokage-sama selected me as the examiner for the Second Phase of the exam because he knew I could keep things running smoothly." Ebisu said in a light tone before looking right at the Uchiha with dead serious eyes, "To dispatch the bad elements when they do something to stain the exam's honorable reputation."

Xander could tell by the man's tone of voice that not only was he deadly serious but that the asshole was referring to him specifically when with the description of 'bad elements'. He wanted to believe that all it meant was that he was being lumped in with Hana and Ayeka who had something of a sour reputation in the village. However, for some reason, the look in the man's eyes made him believe he was being singled out for some reason.

Time to test that theory. He thought before saying, "Yeah, well, that's probably as good a job as you're capable of. Handling crap and shoveling it where ever they tell you to throw it."

This only made the man's eyes harden all the more and, before the eyes of him and his teammates, the chief examiner of the Second Phase of the exam disappeared. He didn't stay gone (much to their regret) as he reappeared right behind the American Uchiha and leaned down to deliver a message only for him.

"Don't take me lightly, punk!" Ebisu whispered harshly into his hear, "Hokage-sama might be willing to give you the benefit of a doubt but I won't, traitor spawn!"

"What? What did you call me?" he said in an equally low voice but tinged with warning.

"You heard me. Like breeds like as far as I'm concerned." Ebisu said with true venom in his voice, "A traitor will only breed future traitors!"

Now THAT was unmistakable and unforgivable!

Turning quickly to face the man, he did his best to keep his temper in check since he knew that attacking the bastard wouldn't get him anywhere. Not only was he unlikely to win a fight with the pervert but it would also make him look bad to the ruling council of the village. Instead, he would try and fight the guy with words rather than with jutsus and try to be satisfied with that.

"Apparently Hokage-sama disagrees with you, asshole." He said with sharp eyes and a chill in his voice, "Are you saying that he was wrong to give me the benefit of a doubt? Are you disagreeing with the wisdom of the man who rules this village and has years of experience on you?"

"I have absolute faith in Hokage-sama's ability to govern this village, trash!" Ebisu said a little louder than before, allowing both Hana and Ayeka to hear what was being said, "However there are times when I think he is being overly generous to the wrong people. There are also times when he sees good in people where in fact there is nothing but darkness. I'm sure you'll become good friends with the dark when they throw your traitorous hide into prison where it belongs. After all, it's only a matter of time before that bitch traitor's filthy blood causes you to follow in her footsteps."

"Why you--!" Xander snarled, about to really let the guy have it, but froze when a hand clamped down on his shoulder.

"Is there something wrong here, Ebisu?" Anko-sensei asked from her position behind him.

"No, of course not, I was just giving your team some last minute advice for the Second Phase of the exam." Ebisu replied without a trace of the venom in his voice, "After all, this is their big shot at moving on to becoming Chuunins. I'm sure they'll be able to overcome all obstacles both from the other teams as well as their own internal problems."

While Anko-sensei's presence helped in keeping his temper from hitting the danger zone, Xander still wanted to kick this bastard's ass!

"Then why don't we get the first obstacle out of the way sooner rather than later." Ayeka said with some anger as she pulled something out of her equipment pouch, "Starting with this little thing I've been holding onto."

Looking down, he recognized it as the camera that the Mishima girl had been holding at the river the day that…the painful misunderstanding happened. Looking at Ebisu, he could tell that the pervert recognized it as well. However when he turned to look at Anko-sensei, Xander could tell that the older woman hadn't been made privy to the contents of the camera or perhaps that the pervert had been peeping on Ayeka that day.

A feral smile blossomed on his face as he awaited what he was certain was about to happen.

"Take a look at what this hentai does in his spare time, Anko-sensei." Ayeka said before passing the camera to her Jounin teacher.

While he wasn't in a position to see the images being displayed on the screen on the back of the camera, Anko's face pretty much told him the entire story. It went from shocked, to mildly disturbed and then went murderous, which was probably when she came across pictures of herself. Then, as if a switch had been flipped, her face went completely unreadable and he knew it was a sign of Mt. St. Anko preparing to blow her top.

"You three go and submit your consent forms so you can get your scroll," Anko said in a casual tone of voice but never looking away from an increasingly nervous Ebisu. "I know you'll all do me proud in there."

"You bet! Ayeka? Hana? Let's get going." He said seeing that the girls knew the same thing he did about the present situation.

Waiting until they were a respectable distance away, they then made a dash for the booth as the level of murderous intent coming from Anko-sensei skyrocketed.

"You PERVERT!" She bellowed before lunging at him only to miss by millimeters, "I'm gonna KILL YOU!"

With that, both his Jounin teacher and the chief examiner for the Second Phase of the exam ran off, the latter running for his life and the former running to end Ebisu's life.

It was a pity he wouldn't be able to see how it all ended.

&

Thirty-Three Minutes Later, Just Inside the Forest of Death

There. That should separate them enough that I can walk into their midst without a problem. He/she thought as she cancelled the jutsu that had blown the members of Team 7 in random directions.

With that done, all that was left was to give orders to her/his two subordinates even though it had been mentioned beforehand.

"Go seek out Team Anko and test them." He/she ordered with finality in her/his voice, "Pay extra attention to their new member. He is the one that interests me the most."

"Hai!" Both of her/his subordinates said before vanishing to find the members of Team Anko.

He/she knew that her primary target at the moment was Uchiha Sasuke, but she/he couldn't help but wonder if Xander-kun would prove to be the better choice in the end. She/He had already managed to learn the majority of what had happened back in Sunnydale and had been impressed by how the young man had managed to execute the B-ranked water jutsu. Not only was that a technique usually only performed by high ranking Chuunin or Jounin, but a ninja usually needed a large body of water to execute it. It had been simple enough to determine that the young Uchiha had tapped into the water being channeled through the pipes and drains of the fountain. However, as the weeks passed and further investigation had been done on the boy, it was discovered that his knowledge of the Art of the Ninja was random and incomplete. This had been odd but nothing that he/she couldn't cure with a little private tutoring. It had been just before she/he had been about to initiate her plan to lure the young man to Konoha in time for the Chuunin exam that the Uchiha had left on his own.

More and more time passed and he/she was beginning to wonder whether or not Fate itself was helping to bring him/her what he/she desired to where she/he desired it to be.

Now, though, the time had come to see whether his/her two candidates were truly worthy of the role they would play in her/his future plans. Jirobo, Sakon and Ukon would be the ones to test Xander-kun while he/she would test Sasuke personally. Should the Uchiha from America prove to be skilled enough, she/he would 'interview' him after he/she had finished with Itachi's little brother. In both their cases, she/he had already laid down preliminary plans for how each encounter would go down with Sasuke's being a bit more thorough due to the fact that Xander had only appeared months ago whereas Sasuke had been known to him/her much longer. However, the two things she/he had finalized beyond a reasonable doubt was to whom her/his two gifts would go to.

As he/she leapt into the trees and began to make her/his way towards Sasuke-kun, he/she couldn't help but laugh at the…unique balance her gifts would establish between the two Uchiha.

&

Forest of Death, Twenty Minutes Later, Xander's P.O.V

"Hey, Wannabe! We got incoming!" Hana said from his right as they leapt from tree branch to tree branch.

"How many?" He asked while making sure not to miss his landing points.

"Two and they're gaining fast!" Hana replied with some concern, since they were going pretty fast themselves.

"Alright, it's time to see if our teamwork training was worth it." He said as he made a fast pass over of the area they were approaching, "Let's do a three way scatter and concealment. Wait until we get a good look at them before we do anything else. Ayeka you hide high. You'll be our sniper and possible distracter. Hana you and your partners will wait until they get here and then encircle them."

"What'll you be doing, fearless leader?" Hana asked with a sneer, obviously not thinking much of his choice of tactics.

"I'll be the one to grab their attention and start things off." He replied, hoping she'd be happy with him taking the brunt of things, "Once they expose a vital spot to you, bounce in to take advantage of it. Make it a one shot deal since I don't want this duo to come up with any tactics of their own."

"Fine by me." She said as though she had no doubt she could take out the enemies in one hit, "Just don't let yourself get beat up too badly. We need you on your feet if we want to make it past the Second Phase of the exam."

"No problem." He said as the three of them split up, going the separate ways but remaining close to the split up point.

Zipping around the thickest tree trunk he could find, he pressed himself tightly against it and waited. While waiting for the two pursuers to catch up to them, he tried to figure out the best way to deal with them immediately rather than wait for them to show up. Considering the speed that the enemy was exhibiting, their evasive abilities would be pretty good as well as their skill at getting in close to an enemy. Any attack he sent their way would have to be on par or superior to that speed if he wanted it to work. Ninjutsu weren't a viable option since it'd take time to form the hand seals and it was possible the effects might block Ayeka's line of sight. Taijutsu was also unfavorable since two on one were lousy odds and with the speed the bad guys were displaying, he wasn't sure he'd be able to stalemate them even with Sharingan. That left only Genjutsu and the effectiveness of one of those would depend on the strength of the target's mind and their knowledge of how to break such an illusion. Still, it would at least hold them in place for a second or two and that would be enough for Hana to get into position and for Ayeka to pick her targets.

Got the perfect jutsu in mind, too. He thought as he brought his hands close together in preparation for performing the technique.

Waiting for them to arrive, Xander only had to stay still for five minutes before two figures landed in the clearing behind him. Peeking around briefly, he was able to identify them as Grass ninja based on their clothes and what he could see of their forehead protectors. Not good. For Grass ninja, the forest would provide them with many opportunities and give them a sizeable advantage, given the amount of vegetation and grass around. Neither one seemed particularly bulky and that lent further evidence to his theory that they were quick on their feet as well as agile. Still, one should never trust what they see in the ninja world, so he'd wait until he bore witness to their abilities with his own eyes.

Putting his game face on, he surged around the tree trunk, moving as fast as he could to get within maximum range of the justu he'd chosen and, once everything was perfect, he made his move.

Forming the rat hand seal he declared, "MAGEN: NARAKUMI NO JUTSU!"

He could tell that his technique had hit them when a look of fear appeared on the one without a mask on and hoped that Hana would take this as her cue to make a move.

"SHIKYAKU NO JUTSU!" Hana's voice shouted and, seconds later, he watched as a distinctly more feral looking Hana charged out with her three partners emerging as well from the three other directions.

Knowing that this move would only keep the Grass ninja back for a short time, Xander began to move around the periphery to cut off their escape routes. One by one he placed explosive tags on key trees around the perimeter and keyed them to light up if someone got within ten feet of them. He had hoped that there was a way to key the tags into specific people's chakra so he could make sure Ayeka or Hana didn't set them off but apparently there wasn't. He'd have to make sure that they didn't stray too close to the blast points or they'd ruin the entire purpose of setting the tags in the first place.

"BOKUSOU: MIDORIIRO HARI NO JUTSU," cried the masked Grass ninja.

With that, the grass that was on the ground beneath the feet of the Grass ninja went rigid as steel and flung themselves into the air as though thrown by invisible hands. Blocking them with a kunai was impossible due to the sheer number of them and, if they truly were as strong as steel, then getting hit by them was going to smart. His only shot was to pull off a jutsu he'd only seen performed once by Taiji and had no idea if he could perform it adequately himself. Still, it was the only chance they had.

Forming the correct seals he declared, "ARASHI KANMON NO JUTSU!!"

While not as stable as he would have liked, Xander sighed in relief as the kunai he had taken the time to tie mono-wire to shot out from where he'd tucked them beneath his belt. Crisscrossing in front of him and using the two nearest trees as anchor points, the electric blue energy soon manifested and, just as the green needles were about to reach him, the jutsu he'd copied from Taiji took effect. Like hitting a brick wall, the needles bounced off and fell to the ground with the chakra within them being absorbed into the barrier to make it stronger. As soon as the jutsu ended, though, he decided to let the ninja see just what they were up against as far as he was concerned in order to give Hana time to recover. He could see out of the corner of his eye that she had opted for the 'deflect-the-needles-with-kunai' approach and, while she had blocked a surprising number of them, Tarzanna hadn't escaped being hurt entirely.

Serpent, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger. He thought before declaring, "KATON: GOUKAKYU NO JUTSU!!"

Unleashing a great fireball at the Grass ninja, he wasn't completely surprised that they'd dodged it but that worked in his favor somewhat. With them split up, it would be harder for them to double team him and might give Ayeka the opening she'd need to take one of them out. His prediction was proven true when a volley of shuriken and kunai almost succeeded in hitting the non-mask one. Sadly, his prediction about these guys being fast was proven true when the ugly one managed to use the substitution technique to evade the attack. Looking around the immediate area where buttface had been, Xander tried to get a lock on the guy's location while Hana attacked Mr. Mask with renewed ferocity. Hopefully Tarzanna could keep the skeletal-looking guy busy long enough to allow him to locate the other Grass ninja. He only got a second of warning in the form of an avian cry from Ava, who had evidently turned back from her point scouting position in the air, to alert him to the one direction he hadn't looked in. Whipping around and using the momentum of the motion to increase the strength behind the technique he performed the Konoha Shōfū, slamming his foot into ugly's jaw.

Might as well build on what I already have going. He thought as he immediately executed the Kage Buyō technique, placing himself right behind Mr. Monkey Butt.

"Here's an original move that you're not going like one bit, ugly!" he said before beginning the combo that he'd used against Manzo.

Jabbing with his fingers the pressure point on his target's back, Xander then grabbed ugly's arm and, after swinging around to the front of his prey, twisted it completely before bringing his right leg back to break it. However, in a move that caught him completely by surprise, Ugly actually moved and grabbed the foot before it went halfway towards its target.

"Nice try, kid, but let me show you just how far you have to go to beat a Genin like me." Mr. Dog Butt said before doing a second impossible feat by untwisting the arm in Xander's grip.

Before he could get his head back in the game, Ugly swung him around so his was the back closer to the ground and it was then that the American Uchiha felt his first bit of pain for the Second Phase of the exam.

"MOKUZAI KUJIKU!!" The man yelled, delivering an axe kick that felt like someone had slammed a log into his chest.

Xander barely had ten seconds to contemplate the pain before a new one was introduced to his back as he slammed into the ground below. For a moment his lungs forgot how to take in oxygen but, thankfully, seeing ugly coming on down with a foot raised to cave his skull in proved to be a great motivator. Rolling to the side and using his left to push himself into a crouching position, Xander was given a good idea of what would have happened if he had remained where he had landed. With the force of a machine putting a new telephone pole into the ground, Pig Face drove his foot knee deep into the ground before pulling it out. Then, proving the speed estimate once again, the man went on the offensive since it appeared the butthead focused mostly on taijutsu moves, leaving his masked partner to perform the ninjutsu moves. Deciding that he could no longer afford to hold back, Xander activated his Sharingan and, by channeling chakra to his legs, moved to meet his opponent head on.

"MOKUZAI TSUPPARI!" Ugly declared before unleashing a palm thrust that looked like it would have been painful if it had connected.

Fortunately the bloodline limit of the Uchiha clan pulled its weight well and gave him just enough warning to duck under the attack and deliver a knee thrust to the ape-man's gut. Using the man's temporary disorientation to his advantage, Xander grabbed the arm meant to deliver the palm thrust and used it to throw the gorilla to the ground. Not wanting to let things go any further with this taijutsu expert, he decided to once more tap into the moves he had learned from the fight with the Tarakan assassins.

"RAIKOU BAKUHA NO JUTSU!!"

With a split second flash of light, a blast of lighting shot out from his hands and while he had been afraid that this too would be dodged, it looked like it had indeed connected as he saw the man go into convulsions and scream in pain. Stopping the technique just before it would have become lethal, Xander watched the jackass carefully for any sign that the man would resume the fight. When nothing happened, he breathed a sigh of relief that at least one of the enemies appeared to be down for the count leaving only one to go before this battle would be ended.

As it turned out, he had defeated his enemy just in the nick of time as he heard the scream of Ayeka and turned to see her fall from her sniping branch, wrapped in what appeared to be a vine or branch of some kind. Without hesitation he charged across the battlefield, putting every ounce of chakra he could into his legs in order to increase his speed in order to reach her before she hit the ground. Right about then, though, Murphy decided to throw in his two cents by having the fight that had currently going on between Hana, her mutts and the masked Grass ninja move right into his path. Knowing that veering around them would only take away the precious seconds he needed to get to Ayeka, he decided just to go right through the two of them. Not decreasing his speed in the slightest, he made himself a path by grabbing one of the masked ninja's arms, used it like a gymnastic vault table, kicking the guy in the face and then landing so he could continue on his way to save Ayeka. Looking ahead, he could see that the blonde projectile mistress was reaching the ten foot mark from the ground and if he wanted to save her, he had no choice but to dive for it. Hoping it didn't aggravate the place on his chest where the ugly jackass hit with his log crush technique, he dove forward hoping that his timing wasn't off.

He needn't have worried.

With his own growing skills as a ninja and his Sharingan helping out, he caught her just as she passed the five foot mark and cushioned her landing completely. Once the momentum he'd built up from the dive had played out, he didn't waste any time and immediately sliced through Ayeka's bindings with a kunai. As thick as they were, they were no match for the kunai he'd sharpened to a fine edge the entire morning prior to meeting up with the rest of the team for the Second Phase of the exam. While he had not known what the Second Phase entailed, he had figured that if the First Phase was a test of mental strength then it was only logical that the next be physical. Once he saw that the last of the vine restraining Ayeka had been removed, he immediately headed back in the direction of the battlefield confident that the blonde would follow. As he got clear of the vegetation, he was happy to see that his earlier interference in their match had knocked the tide of battle in Tarzanna's favor. Not only had she somehow turned her animal partners into copies of her feral self but, between the four of them, the masked Grass ninja didn't even have time to form seals for ninjutsus or genjutsus. However he wasn't about to believe they'd won just yet because, if his encounter with ugly jackass was any indicator, these guys were tougher than they let on.

This was proven when, out of nowhere and from a position where he couldn't quite see what was going on, the masked ninja somehow grabbed ahold of both Hana and one of her dogs and flung them into the remaining two as if they'd been academy brats. This was a level of speed and power that he hadn't seen so far with the two Grass ninjas and it made him wonder if they were truly facing two Genin. While it was true that being a Genin didn't set a specific limit to how far a ninja could progress, there was a certain range that people stayed in for the simple reason that their Jounin teachers hadn't taught them what they needed to know to proceed further. For these two to exhibit such elevated levels of physical ability and handling, three talented (in his opinion) Genin spoke of more than what met the eye.

We have to take this up a notch if we want to get out of here with only bumps and bruises! He thought as he reluctantly chose to call out the name of a team combo they'd been practicing.

"Ayeka! Hana! Let's show him the Titan Tower combo!" He yelled as he prepared to get the ball rolling since it was his job to get things started.

Charging towards the masked grass ninja, he put himself in the mindset to be like a feather in the air in how he evaded the ninjutsu's and projectiles thrown at him. He moved only enough to evade the bulk of the attack without terribly altering his course and used side flips, forward rolls and spins at random to keep the enemy guessing. As soon as he closed to taijutsu range, he decided to use the same combo that Lee had used on him when they'd first met. A punch to act as a distraction since it was meant to be dodged before immediately shifting into a Konoha Shōfū to send the man into the air. The next move was Hana's but he didn't have time to make sure she was going to do it since he had to get up high really quick if he wanted to finish the combo. Once again channeling a large amount of chakra into his legs, he leapt as high up as he could which was quite high given the amount of energy he used. It was as he reached the apex of his leap that he heard Hana call out the name of the technique that made up her part of the combo.

"NIJUU GATSUGA!!" Hana cried out and, like tornadoes sprouting from the ground, the Inuzuka girl and her partners hit the masked ninja again and again.

However he knew that they weren't aiming directly for a finishing blow but rather to soften the Grass ninja up while also pushing the guy higher into the air. By the time gravity began to reclaim its hold on him, the masked ninja was almost at the same level as his toes. Thus came the time for him to execute a technique that Hokage-sama had told him to wait a few more years before using himself due to the great chakra required. However, after seeing how strong these two Grass ninja had turned out to be, he didn't want to take the chance that the fire technique Ryūka no Jutsu would fall short of the goal. Therefore he focused as never before and then opened his eyes fully prepared to perform the B-ranked jutsu.

Serpent, Horse, Dragon, Rat, Ox, Tiger! He thought before taking a deep breath and bringing his hand up to his mouth and declaring, "KATON: KARYU ENDAN!!"

Throwing forward his head a little bit, as though he was going to blow out some birthday candles, he unleashed the B-ranked ninjutsu, putting all his will into making it work correctly. At first it looked like he'd simply pulled off Ryuka no jutsu but once the fire had time to heat up it took on a white hot color, leaving the orange only at the edges. However the attack only lasted for two seconds past the color change before his chakra gave out, rendering him as weak as a kitten. Falling back to the ground, Xander hoped that one of the girls would be there to catch him because he had no idea if he still had the strength to land safely on the ground. Fortunately, since it was now Ayeka's turn to deal the deciding blow on the Grass ninja, Hana was now free and before he fell too far she grabbed him and made sure the two of them landed safely.

Just in time for the two of them to see Ayeka's trademark jutsu.

The fifty-two card blow up combo she called it.

It began with the girl leaping into the air right after his fire attack and, once she was in the best position, began to rapid-fire objects that looked like playing cards at the target. The secret came when the cards were out of her hand for two or three seconds because it was then that the weapons she had sealed into each card were released. Projectile weapons, melee weapons and even a variety of explosive tags and bombs were sealed into the cards. When they were almost at ground level, BOY did they make a bang that was almost certainly being heard everywhere. They also had the effect of seriously increasing the guy's acceleration those last few feet to the ground, causing a dust cloud to be produced on impact. Even then Ayeka didn't stop attacking until all fifty-two cards had been thrown and their payload delivered unto the masked Grass ninja. The blonde touched down a bit after the last boom and, aside from a little wear and tear with her clothes and some scrapes, she was probably in the best shape of the lot of them.

"That'll teach them never to mess with Team Anko! AHAHAHAHAHA!" Ayeka declared before laughing in a way that was probably meant to sound regal or high society.

To both him and Hana, though, it was worse than nails on a chalkboard.

It was then, though, that the Inuzuka girl decided to distract herself from the noise by tearing into him.

"What the HELL was that about, WANNABE!?" She asked angrily as she grabbed him by the front of his shirt, "That sure as HELL wasn't the fuckin' move you used when we practiced this combo!"

"Well…these guys were a lot tougher than I…than I thought so I figured it'd be…a good idea to up the power a tiny bit." He replied, both with fatigue and reluctance in his voice.

"A tiny bit? A TINY bit!?" Hana exclaimed in disbelief before pointing in the direction of where the masked ninja had landed, "Take a look at those scorch marks you cocky, overachieving BAKA! You could've fried me and the girls! If we hadn't gotten clear of the blast zone in time, we would have been DEAD!"

"Oh calm down Hana!" Ayeka said as she waltzed up to them and put a hand on his shoulder, "I agree that Xander-sama should've warned us he was changing the combo, but it all worked out in the end, didn't it? Those Grass ninjas are toast and we're still in one piece. I'd mark this as a win for Team Anko."

"What about the scroll, you bottle blonde?" Hana asked with plenty of anger still in her voice, "In case you've forgotten, we need a pair of them to pass this Phase of the exam. What if one of those two had it on them? It could be nothing but a pile of ash now!"

"Don't worry! They're not burned up that badly and if we did overdo it, then there are a couple of other teams we can get what we need from." Ayeka said with only a trace of concern in her voice before turning in the direction of the Grass ninja he'd defeated earlier, "Now let's check these guys' pockets for the scroll so we can—"

It was then, when Ayeka stopped in mid-sentence, that they knew something had happened and when they turned to look for themselves they too were shocked.

Instead of seeing two badly beaten bodies on the forest floor they saw large clumps of grass in the rough shape of their opponents. The one that he'd fought first was the least damaged but the one that had suffered their team combo was in pieces all over the place.

"Clones!? We've been fighting CLONES!?" Hana asked in disbelief and once again rising fury.

"Great! What else can go wrong?" Ayeka asked rhetorically before she clasped her hands behind her head.

Her answer came in the form of the tie that kept the front of her shirt up snapping, resulting in her showing everyone within eyesight just how blessed she was in the chest department.

He couldn't decide if this was a good thing or a bad thing.

Hana's KO punch pretty much settled it for him as he slipped off to dream land.

&

Forest of Death, Main Entrance/Exit, Two Hours Later, Anko's Point of View

"Damn! He passed out!" Anko growled as she looked at the unconscious form of the Second Phase's Chief Examiner, "And I still had twenty more things I wanted to do to him!"

Some might think that chasing and terrorizing a man for being a peeping tom and taking photos of innocent young ladies when their guard was down was mean. Some might think that thirty minutes of terrorizing would be more than adequate for such an offense. However, they would not be Mitarashi Anko and, as far as she was concerned, the job wasn't done until she ran out of things to do to the pervert. Considering her potent imagination and the number of times she's chosen to punish someone for being an asshole, she had quite a long list indeed. In fact, Ebisu should have been commended in a way since he almost made it all the way to the end of the list when all the others barely made it halfway. Still, it wouldn't have been nearly as fun to finish off the list if the guy was unconscious, so she'd have to wake him up quickly before she headed off to the tower to meet up with the other Jounin teachers. She was just about to look for a water bottle or something to splash in the guy's face but, before she could take a step, she sensed a shinobi presence approaching. Now at first, she wasn't too worried since, once she explained what the ecchi had been doing with his camera, no one would blame her for kicking his ass. However then she remembered that she had whacked the pervert in the head with said camera, losing the evidence in the process. Considering the fact that Ebisu was the chief examiner for the Second Phase and her team were known troublemakers, she didn't like her chances for getting off scot free without proof to back her up. So, before the presence could get within eyesight of the fool, she threw him up into the nearby tree and used two kunai to keep him there.

There, embarrassing evidence removed and no one will be the wiser. She thought as she awaited the incoming ninja so she could divert him or her away from the tree.

Her concealment move couldn't have been timed any better since, five seconds after putting Ebisu up in the tree, a spectacle-wearing ninja dressed in examiner clothes appeared with clipboard in hand.

"Anko-san! Where is Ebisu-sama?" The ninja asked with urgency in his voice, "We have an emergency on our hands!"

"Ah…I'm not…sure but perhaps you…could tell me what's wrong and I'll pass it along to him when I seem him." She said, trying to dissuade the shinobi from looking further for the idiot, "After all, I was in the running to be the chief examiner for the Second Phase of the exam, so I do have clearance for this sort of thing."

"Well we found some corpses…three of them," replied the ninja, sounding a bit relieved not to have to relate the information to Ebisu. "There is something strange about them. If you'll come with me I'll show you."

"Lead the way." She said, glad to put some distance between the two of them and Ebisu who, hopefully, wouldn't be regaining consciousness anytime soon.

With a surge of chakra they were off, leaping from tree branch to tree branch, heading towards the edge of the main village cemetery, if her guess was right. In a way, it sort of made sense to commit a murder there, if it was murder that caused there to be three bodies to be left there. While it was true that there were regular visitors to the graves of loved ones, ever since the third great ninja war ended, the number of funerals had gone way down. Thus, if a person timed it right, they could pull off a murder in complete privacy with no one being the wiser for hours.

They arrived ten minutes later and, judging from the positions of the bodies, whoever they were they'd been taken completely by surprised and given little chance to resist. Landing beside two other examiners, it only took them a second to notice her.

"Anko-san? I though you were supposed to be getting Ebisu-sama." Kotetsu asked the ninja who had brought her to the murder scene.

"Well he wasn't there and, well, Anko-san was going to be the chief examiner for the Second Phase so I figured she'd be good enough."

"You just didn't want to suffer through one of Ebisu's high and mighty speeches!" Kotetsu said with contempt, though it wasn't directed at the person he was looking at, "Ever since he got appointed chief examiner, his ego has been bigger than the Akimichi clan's appetites combined!"

"Listen! You three can gripe about Ebisu later." Anko said, wanting to get the act out of the way so she could get to the tower to greet Xander and the others, "What's the emergency? I mean, three bodies in the cemetery that look like they've been murdered is serious, but more something you'd contact ANBU for."

"Well…from their possessions and IDs, we found out that they are ninja from the Hidden Village of Grass who registered for the Chuunin Selection Exam." Kotetsu explained gravely, making the importance known immediately, "But as you can see…"

"Their faces are gone." She whispered as she got a good look at one of the faces of the murdered ninja.

"Yes. Their faces are gone as if they were melted off." Kotetsu said with horror lacing his words at the heinous scene before him.

With those words an unforgiving chill of fear ran through her body and a flickering flame of anger also blossomed within the ice. She knew, she knew who had done this because she knew him all too well after being his student for so long. While she had never seen him perform this technique on a living person, he had demonstrated something similar on a tree during one of their missions. However to do this to a person… she just hoped the three were already dead when the technique was performed or the pain they must have gone through would have been beyond imagination. If he was indeed here…

"Show me the pictures of these Grass ninja." She ordered, wanting to make certain that her suspicions regarding the beginning of the Second Phase were right, "It should be in their applications."

"Right away," responded the ninja who had brought her to the scene of the crime.

Passing over three pictures to her, she looked through each of them and instantly matched them to three ninja she had seen with the other Genin waiting for that pervert Ebisu to start the Second Phase. She couldn't tell which one he had chosen to hide under but it was probably the one that was designated as the team leader for the Grass Genins. Whatever the case, she had no doubt that something sinister was in the works if he was here and if they were to have any chance of putting a stop to it they had to act quickly.

"This is serious." She said to the three other ninja present, "You three let Hokage-sama know about this right away. And then request for a mobilization of at least two ANBU squads to the Forest of Death. I will go after these guys. Got it?"

"Hai!" All three of them said before leaping so quickly to fulfill their orders that it looked to the untrained eye as though they had simply vanished.

Once they were gone, she could finally release the pent up fear and anger that she had done her best to conceal in their presence. Her old teacher, the one who took her under his wing after she'd graduated from the academy, had returned to Konoha after years of being away. Reaching up with her left hand, she pressed it against the last 'gift' he gave her, the irremovable symbol of her connection to him, and prayed that she could move quickly enough to stop whatever it was he intended to do.

You won't have your way this time! She thought as she leapt into the trees and made best speed for the Forest of Death, I won't let you!

&

Forest of Death, Same Time, Orochimaru's Perspective

I wonder if Sasuke-kun will be able to survive the cursed seal? Orochimaru thought as he recalled that only one in ten humans infected with it survived.

It didn't matter anyway since he would bestowing a similar gift upon Xander-kun soon after his subordinates returned to deliver their report on the American's abilities. In the end, all that mattered was that one of the two young Genin survived the seal ingraining itself into their very being, as it was this that made it impossible to remove once implanted and only barely possible to suppress with another seal. The only problem being that the process was generally so painful that the human mind had a high probability of breaking unless it had something stronger to focus on. For Sasuke, he knew it would be the desire to exact vengeance on his older brother, Itachi, for the slaughter of their clan several of years prior. In Xander's case, though, it'd be something a little different and perhaps insufficient to allow the cursed seal to blossom to its fullest potential. For the American Uchiha, he predicted that it would be a fierce desire to become strong so he could better protect those he cared about. The death of his mother, Jun'ko, and his inability to save her no doubt tormented him greatly, a torture the cursed seal would amplify within him, forcing him to use his desire for power as a weapon. He would either embrace his desire for more power in order to prevent a repeat of the death of a loved one or he would be destroyed by the enhanced weight of his sorrow and grief.

It was as he considered the seal he would give Xander-kun that his two subordinates returned and it was with some interest that he noted that both of their forms were somewhat mussed up.

Interesting.

"So? How did he perform?" He asked without moving from his laid back position against the tree trunk.

"Better than I thought he would," Sakon said with some anger that no doubt came from the bit of pain the wound on his arm was causing him. "He actually managed to execute the Karyu Endan justu, even though it drained him almost completely of what chakra he had left."

Most interesting.

With a puff of smoke Sakon ended the henge no jutsu that allowed him to masquerade as a ninja from the Hidden Village of Grass. Apparently Ukon wanted to put in his two cents of critique as well.

"He showed some leadership potential, too." Ukon said with his deeper and rougher voice, "If my brother and I had truly been Genin or even Chuunin, their team combo would have finished us."

"Tell me everything." He commanded with a tone that would permit any mistakes in their retelling of the encounter.

Obeying their master, his two subordinates retold the tale from the moment they first picked up the trail of their prey to the moment they left the three Genin staring at the grass bunshin. All in all, while he was pleased by Xander's ability to organize a team for an ambush and the overabundance of force used to 'finish off' his enemies, there was some disappointment to be had. Unlike Sasuke-kun, the American Uchiha had not made a single move to take on his enemies all on his own in order to prove, if only to himself, how powerful he was. It was a strong factor in the search for power that one needed to show others how strong you were and verify yourself the full extent of your power by using it on others. Where Sasuke-kun had followed this path well during their encounter, Xander-kun still seemed willing to rely on others to make up for what strength he lacked.

This would not do at all.

As long as Xander-kun was willing to rely on others, his hunger for power, his desire to get stronger, would be impaired and perhaps someday completely extinguished.

He smiled as his mind took this flaw in his prey and twisted it into how he would shape his encounter with the elder Uchiha. It would require him to be a bit rougher, a bit more brutal, with Xander-kun and his teammates but he was confident that the proper message would be conveyed.

"Return to the village and begin preparations for the next phase of the plan." He commanded with all the authority he possessed as Kage of the Hidden Village of Sound.

"Hai, Orochimaru-sama!" The two said before vanishing in a burst of speed into the growing darkness of the Forest of Death.

Now, Xander-kun. He thought as he plotted out a course in his mind to intercept his second targets' team, It is time to see how you live up to your Uchiha heritage.

&

An Hour and a Half Later, Forest of Death, Xander's P.O.V

"Dammit, Hana! Did you have to hit me so hard?!" Xander asked as he rubbed his sore jaw that had turned a slight shade of purple thanks to the Inuzuka woman's KO punch three and a half hours ago.

"Don't be such a baby!" Hana growled, though with a bit of regret hidden in her tone if one listened carefully, "Besides, I said I was sorry!"

"Tell that to my jaw." He muttered before focusing his attention on the path ahead of them and the fact that the other teams had a three and half hour lead on them.

They were still going to try their 'lay the traps near the tower' plan but they were having to hoof it there double time in order to make up for his beauty sleep. While Xander definitely didn't appreciate the manner in which he was sent off to la-la land, the bright side of the experience was that it had helped to replenish his chakra levels. While not at full capacity, they were definitely past the halfway point putting him in better shape for facing more ninjas. When he'd asked them why they hadn't just woken him up ASAP after Hana had knocked him out, they'd said that they needed him strong and didn't want the hassle of catching him every time he missed a branch due to fatigue. Whatever the case, he was grateful for the bit of shut eye and hoped that it wouldn't mess up their chances of getting into the next Phase of the Chuunin exam.

Ava was on his shoulder now, resting for a bit before returning to point bird duty, and while she wasn't being as annoying about it as before, she occasionally sent an image into his mind about what she expected as payment for services rendered. While he wasn't crazy about emptying his pocket book that much, Xander couldn't deny that she'd saved his butt back there by warning him of the incoming Grass ninja. Plus, she did serve an important role by making sure that the path ahead of them was clear of traps as well as ninja, so he supposed he would just have to go without ramen for a while. It'd be tough since he so liked the ramen the old man at the ramen bar served, but he knew there'd be sacrifices during the exam and this was just one of them.

He was about to ask the ladies what sort of traps they thought should be laid down when they reached their destination when a feeling came over him that forced him to come to a stop at the next branch. It was a feeling of malevolence, of bloodlust and a desire to throw the grim reaper many new sacrifices. While he might not have felt it before with his new ninja senses, he'd heard people describe it often enough to know 'murderous intent' when he felt it. Someone was out there, perhaps more than one person, and they were directing this unpleasant feeling at them full force! Looking around left, right and whatever other directions he could think of that an enemy might use to approach but nothing was revealed. Looking at the others, Xander could tell that they felt it to and didn't bothered asking the others if they felt it as well because they all knew their focus was needed elsewhere. Activating his Sharingan, he looked about hoping that he could use it to somehow perceive the enemy's location, even if they were using a ninjutsu or genjutsu to conceal themselves. However whoever the big bads were, they were using abilities or techniques that were impossible for his bloodline limit to perceive. All throughout his efforts, the feeling of 'murderous intent' remained strong, coming from all around them like a fog, and he was certain that it meant they were facing a team of ninja.

After all, there was no way in HELL that this sort of presence could be produced by a single person!

Pulling out two kunai, he made the hand signal for the others to rally to his position and go back to back so that the odds of a sneak attack would be slim. Looking around, Xander looked closely for any sign of movement, any sign of the people that were unleashing this feeling of murderous intent. However neither his Sharingan nor his other senses could pick up anything that would allow him to pin down the enemy.

"Any idea where?" He asked over his shoulder knowing that his teammates would know what he was referring to.

"Nothing! Whoever this asshole is, neither me or the girls can pick up his scent!" Hana said with growing frustration about the ineffectiveness of her trained senses.

"Same for me! My eyes might be good enough to hit the mark every time, but if there's someone out there I can't see them." Ayeka said with a bit of anxiety filtering into her words.

Not GOOD!He thought since it was bad enough he couldn't spot the enemy, but if the others couldn't either then all they could do was wait for the baddie to make the first move.

For five minutes straight they waited for the source of the malevolent intent they sensed to show him or herself but to know avail. Nevertheless, the murderous intent didn't fade one bit and Xander didn't think any of them were willing to risk moving at all for fear of becoming target number one. Then, without warning, the murderous intent vanished as though it had never been there to begin with.

They should have taken that as their fist hint that something was about to happen.

Without warning, what looked like a tongue emerged from the darkness and, just as he comprehended this, it wrapped around his right leg before making sure he would be comprehending little. Before he could even think of a way of freeing himself, the tongue yanked on his leg, pulling him into the air before slamming him into a nearby tree. This was done not once but twice before being released and only his pain threshold as well as his beatings at the hands of Tony Harris allowed him to recover enough in order to grab hold of a branch rather than fall to the forest floor. Looking up and watching the tongue retract back to its owner, he smiled mentally since their enemy had just made his/her first mistake. If it had been him, he would have used a technique to take out all three targets at once or at least make certain that the first to fall did NOT get back up. As it was now, Ayeka now had a target to aim for and he could tell from the hand seals being formed she was planning on taking it to the enemy hard.

"SHURIKEN KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!!" Ayeka cried as she unleashed a cloud of shuriken in the direction of the retracting tongue hoping to hit the source.

Leaping back to the branch on which his teammates stood, Xander waited along with them for sounds of either cries of pain or at least something more than the shurikens hitting nothing but wood. Sadly it was the sound of metal embedding in wood that they heard rather than the pain of their enemy and that was not an encouraging idea. Worse than that, if the enemy was no longer there then they were right back where they started and that was not knowing where to look or where to strike. That seemed to be the enemy's strategy, strike from the darkness and never provide a viable target, and so far it was working far better than those on the receiving end would like.

He tried to think of a strategy, some plan that would bring things into close-to-mid-range combat, but he could think of nothing that would lure the enemy so close. He knew that if it was a Genin that was taking the exam like them, the scroll could be used as bait but there was no way such murderous intent came from a Genin. That meant that it was unlikely that they were facing a true participant of the exam but rather someone else, someone who wanted something a little more bloody, someone that didn't belong here. It was also someone who could very well have much more experience than all of Team Anko combined. The only option he could think of would be to break off this confrontation and make a run for it because until they had a better idea of what they were facing victory was naught but a faint light on the horizon.

"When I give the signal, we scatter!" He whispered to the others quickly, knowing that it would not belong before the enemy struck again, "Head for the spot I pointed out on the edge of the forest near the tower. We'll meet up there."

"Are you telling us to run, oh great leader?" Hana asked, sounding both for and against the idea.

"Damn straight I am!" He snapped back as he quickly surveyed the area for the direction he'd flee in, "We're facing a ninja of superior skill, no idea where he is or just how powerful he is. Staying and fighting would be suicide at this point."

"I agree with Xander-sama." Ayeka said with kunai in hand as she continued to keep an eye out for the enemy, "None of us can hit anything unless we have a target to aim for and this asshole doesn't have any reason to expose himself to us. Unless that situation changes, a strategic retreat is a perfectly viable choice."

Almost as though the woods themselves found the cowardice they displayed amusing, a sinister laughter echoed throughout the treetops. This unnerved them more as it made it sound like the enemy was all around them at the same time making his plan of a retreat useless. Whether or not they were truly surrounded didn't matter since it made it Russian Roulette as far as who would choose the safe path and who would run right into the clutches of the enemy ninja.

"So this is the team of Genin that Anko has taught," Came a sinister voice from the shadows with contempt laced in the words. "Three scared Genin, so afraid to do anything, unable to do anything at all for fear of dying. Pitiful!"

It was useless to try and pin down the enemy by the sound of their voice due to the echo-facilitating nature of the forest, but nevertheless it was all they could do. With sight not being an option and smell proving useless, the number of ways they could pin down the location of their hidden attacker were small in number.

"To think that even with an Uchiha to lead you into battle you cannot find me." Came the voice again, this time definitely sounding male to his ears, "I supposed if I am to get any amusement out of this, I will have to do as you wish and give you something to fight against."

Seconds after the words were spoken, the sound of something traversing through a slimy substance could be heard and the source was damn close. Two seconds later they found that source in the form of a person walking out from a tree trunk as though the wood was actually water. Looking at the pale-faced guy, he could immediately tell that he was the third member of the team of Grass ninjas that had attacked them earlier. However this guy neither looked nor felt like he belonged in this exam or even unworthy enough to be called Chuunin. This guy was Jounin level, no doubt about it, and that meant that unless this guy was seriously feeling generous then Team Anko had already lost the fight. During their training sessions with Anko-sensei, he'd experienced what it was like to go up against a Jounin and he suspected that the only reason they did as well as they did was because the purple-haired lady went easy on them.

He seriously doubted this guy would think to do so with them.

Too bad Hana was so off her guard from the 'attacks from the darkness' routine that she didn't clue into just how powerful this guy was. It might have saved her some bruises.

"Bad move asshole! Hagane, Ishina, Seirei! Let's shred him!" Hana declared with anger as she performed the Shikyaku technique with declaring it out loud.

In puffs of smoke, her dog partners transformed into perfect copies of her new, more feral form and before he could tell her to stop she attacked the snake-eyed man.

"NIJUU GATSUGA!!" Inuzuka Hana declared before both she and her partners turned themselves into spinning cyclones of claws.

No matter how hard they tried or how many different angles they went at the guy, he dodged them with such ease that they might as well have told him where they were going in advance. Even when they stopped spinning and just attacked the sinister man with feral taijutsu moves, there was no increase in effectives nor any hits landed. This only served to heighten Hana's savagery, making her moves less thought out and more focused on venting her rage upon the cause of her frustration. He wanted to help and, judging from the fact that Ayeka was holding kunai in both hands but not throwing them, the blonde also wanted to support her teammate. However at the speeds Hana and her dogs were going there was no way for them to throw anything or perform a ninjutsu without running the risk of hitting the Inuzuka girl. They had to either break up the assault Hana was doing and try to get a team effort going or they had to be ready when Mr. Chalk Skin got tired of playing with Hana and turned to them.

Xander had a bad feeling, though, that when this asshole got tired of playing with someone, those people never played with anyone else ever again.

His feeling was proven horrifyingly correct when, in the second that followed one of Hana's charging attacks, the Grass ninja reaching out with his hand at a speed matching lightning and grabbed her leg by the ankle. Then, with unheard of brutality, he used her body as a blunt instrument to bat aside girl's trinity partners like they were baseballs and he was aiming for three straight homeruns. It was mere chance alone that none of the dogs fell all the way down to the forest floor but rather went unconscious on nearby tree branches. With a final but twice as potent swing, the Grass ninja flung the Inuzuka girl aside like week old trash, sending her back first into a tree trunk before falling unconscious to a branch ten feet below. Xander tried to see from where he was whether or not she was seriously hurt but, aside from the tell-tale signs of breath, he had no idea just what the extent of her injuries were.

He didn't have any more time to worry about her, though.

The Grass ninja with eyes of a Snake shot towards where he and Ayeka stood with bloodlust dancing in his eyes.

Not even bothering to wait, he shoved Ayeka clear of the immediate combat zone and pulled a kunai out with his free hand. Taking a chance and hoping that the oncoming ninja would be vulnerable for a split second when he landed, he used his Sharingan to time it just right before he lunged forward for a disabling strike. However this move proved to be as useless as Hana's attacks had been as, with minimal movement, the enemy ninja moved out of the path of the blade and inside of his guard. Pushing off the branch with his feet, Xander hoped to evade whatever attack the pale man would use to take advantage of the opportunity but reacted too late. A kick to his stomach knocked the air from his lungs and sent him tumbling to the rough surface of the branch, rolling for a few feet before he stopped his movement. Knowing that staying down was the same as waiting to die, he channeled what strength he could to getting into a crouching position at the least or if he was really lucky three quarters of the way to standing. With a push of an arm and sluggish positioning of the legs, he managed to achieve his crouch but only in time to see his opponent mere feet away.

Time to play one of my hidden aces! He thought as he flung out his right hand and channeled some chakra to his gloves.

It had been an idea that had come to him when he'd inquired with Ayeka about the ability to seal items in a scroll. He'd known about the fact it could be done ever since Halloween but he hadn't known the precise process as far as how to do it himself. She had been a bit surprised at this gap in his knowledge but had eagerly agreed to show him how it was done. With an excess of physical touching and close proximity, she showed him how objects could be sealed into scrolls, tags and just about anything else with only a little tweaking in certain spots. From there he had pondered how he could incorporate the skill into his own fighting style and just what he wanted to store in a scroll or a card. He had spent an hour or so each evening thinking about that and, finally, hit upon an idea that just might work. It took a few practice runs on his own time but he came upon an ace that would serve him well… he hoped.

Looking to the enemy ninja, Xander could tell that the man thought that the poor little Uchiha had mistimed a palm thrust and smirked with contempt.

Wrong.

Xander sharpened his chakra enough to trigger the symbol that he had written into the palm of his glove and a puff of smoke signaled the release of the item. With both the air displacement of the release as well as his own palm thrust and the direction the enemy was moving, he knew he'd done it perfectly. Emerging from the smoke was not a kunai or a shuriken but rather an explosive tag with the writing facing him and some adhesive applied to the opposite side. Forcing all his remaining chakra to his legs, he leapt into the air just in time to see the tag stick to the Grass ninja's forearm and then sent out a pulse of energy to trigger it. With an explosion of fire and force, the tag obscured the pale man from sight be he knew he'd seen the explosive make contact with the arm. If he had known that this guy was going to show up, he would have made the explosion much more potent. Sadly, Xander had come up with this trump card as a way of stunning a powerful foe in order to allow Team Anko to regroup. It might leave a few light burns and crack the guy's forearm, but nothing more serious than that for certain.

Fortunately it was enough to give Ayeka, once more on her feet, the opening she needed to add her own attack to the situation. With a series of quick hand seals, she unleashed a perfectly done Goukakyu no jutsu, sending a decent sized sphere of fire towards the location of the enemy ninja. Landing back a couple of feet from the point of impact, Xander watched the fireball encounter something solid, causing the flames to wrap around the object for a moment before dispersing. As this also had the effect of dispersing the remaining smoke from his explosive tag, he was finally able to see the pale Grass ninja clearly. The smoking tatters that the pale man's clothes were in pleased him as it reaffirmed that their attacks had done some damage. He could clearly make out where his explosive tag had blown up, shredding the man's shirt sleeve and the smoking signs of Ayeka's fire element ninjutsu could be seen everywhere. He was just about to relax a little when the team's enemy began to spasm like a puppet whose strings were being jerked by unseen hands.

The description prove most accurate when, seconds later, the colors and detail of the figure standing in front of them changed to chocolate brown before melting into a pile of mud.

"The replacement jutsu!?" He exclaimed, trying to think of when the pale man could have done that.

At the same time, though, both he and Ayeka looked about, trying to figure out where their target had vanished to so as not to once again be rendered without a place to direct their attacks. Up, down and all around, they looked but it was only when he looked back at Ayeka that he saw what he sought. Rising up from the tree branch much as he had done when he first appeared, the pale Grass ninja reappeared with Ayeka only at the last minute sensing something behind her. Xander tried to warn her but it was far too late for that. With palm flat and fingers pointing at the blonde haired Genin, snakes shot out of the pale man's sleeves and wrapped themselves tightly around the girl before biting down on the areas of flesh within range. He didn't even have to ask whether or not the snakes were venomous because the cries of pain that came from Ayeka were all the proof he needed.

"Pathetic! Two Kunoichi trained since for three years under my former apprentice." Pale Face said with disappointment and contempt, "It would appear I was right to discard her when I did. To produce such inferior Genin it is clear she has talent in absolutely nothing."

It was then that the bastard turned his slitted eyes towards the only remaining member of Team Anko still able to fight.

"You, however, show at least some skill, Xander-kun." The Grass ninja commented with a slimy half grin, "Sealing an exploding tag into your glove, releasing it in close quarters and then leaping away before detonating it. A surprise but, then, your mother had a talent for that as well."

With every word that this man spoke he became more convinced that this snake was no mere Genin but something much more.

"Who are you?" He asked hoping that the memories he retained from Halloween would allow him to get this man's measure once a name was provided.

"Heheheheh. Show me your strength and perhaps I will tell you." The Pale Grass ninja replied before taking up a taijutsu fighting stance.

Knowing that he didn't have time to hesitate with both Hana and Ayeka in danger from the attacks inflicted on them, Xander took a deep breath to let the anxiety he felt fall away. Focusing all his thoughts, all his determination, on defeating the man in front of him, he surged forward on chakra-empowered legs to meet his foe head on. Leading in with a short leaping kicking, he did so fully expecting the forearm block and, pushing off it slightly, immediately going for a leg sweep upon landing. Knowing that the enemy ninja's preferred style of fighting was aggressively, he planned his moves accordingly and immediately executed a Konoha Shofu in the hopes of taking advantage of the inability to dodge mid-air. However, much luck he had, the pale man used the kick as a push off point to gain some altitude and throw a volley of projectiles at him. Not wanting to be forced into a retreat, Xander whipped out a kunai and began to deflect the weapons heading for vital areas. He ignored the ones that would hit less vital areas and would only cause superficial wounds since trying to get them all would only be a waste of energy on his part.

Upon seeing the snake man begin his descent, he chose that instead of going with taijutsu once more, he would try something a little different. It was iffy but he'd seen the Sand ninja do it and had done some reading on the technique in the Konoha library since he figured it was only a matter of time before the old Harris luck kicked in. Flicking his fingers outwards, he channeled chakra through them and hoped using a somewhat whip-like movement would get the threads of chakra to reach their target. With his Sharingan activate, he was gratified to see when a little less than half of the strings he had cast out successfully made contact with the Grass ninja's body. With a feral smile he yanked as hard as he could on the threads with the intention of slamming his enemy onto the part of the branch that lay behind him. However, just as he was beginning to believe he may finally gained some momentum, the pale ninja somehow managed to snap the chakra threads himself. This didn't make any sense! It wasn't like they were normal physical threads and they were pretty much invisible unless you had the right kind of eyes to see them. Nevertheless, that was what happened but he still had something he could make of this situation because, thanks to the angle at which the enemy was coming down, they'd likely land on all fours.

Not exactly the best position to defend or attack from unless you're an Inuzuka. He thought deciding to mix things up a bit.

Charging the man's landing point, Xander waited until the last possible moment then threw some smoke balls ahead of himself, forming a large cloud between himself and his target. Once inside, he immediately used the Bunshin no Jutsu technique to create two clones and immediately ordered them to exit the cloud while he stayed put. With his Sharingan, it was easy enough to keep track of what was going outside the smoke cloud and he was glad to see that for at least a few seconds, his bunshin were holding snake man's attention. It wouldn't last, though, since sooner rather than later some hint or tell would expose them for ghost images, but all he'd need was one solid opening to end this fight, here and now, before he ran out of rabbits to pull out of his metaphorical hat.

As soon as soon as pale face exposed a vital spot, he leapt from the cloud and executed a Konoha shofu that, instead of connecting with the man's jaw, slammed into the man's crotch. However, instead of following up this technique with the Kage Buyō, he chose to employ a move he'd used before but this time it'd be for a different purpose than defense.

Forming the hand seals needed to perform the technique, Xander shouted, "ARASHI KANMON NO JUTSU!!"

Normally it was used to form a barrier in front of or around the user in order to nullify ninjutsu and taijutsu assaults but, in this case, he would use it to pin down his target. Directing the monowire-tied kunai towards the snake man, who was now reorienting himself mid-air to face him, Xander sent out nine of them with the intention of completely entrapping the enemy ninja within. The look of surprise on the pale ninja's face was priceless as the moron no doubt thought that he'd use the declared technique to protect himself. One by one, yet in perfect formation, the kunai flew by the Grass ninja until they hit the tree trunk behind it, prompting him to proceed with the next phase. Pulling the monowire close together on his end, he channeled the necessary chakra through the various near invisible strands to activate the field that would absorb chakra-based attacks and prove durable against physical ones. This would effectively hold the snake faced man in place for what would come next.

Assuming my half-baked idea actually works, of course! He thought sarcastically since his plan for attacking the Grass ninja was about as well thought out as a child's play dough figure.

Not wasting more than a second for doubt, he began to will the chakra electricity that made up the barrier closest to his hands to converge. More and more chakra electricity he focused into the center of the barrier not two feet from his hands, building up the pressure, and pushing his ability to do so to the limit. He knew he could not afford to delay in attacking for too long or else the pale Grass ninja would most likely free himself, ruining this one chance to end the battle in favor of Team Anko. Thus, after forcing one more surge of chakra to the nexus point, he channeled the condensed chakra electricity down the monowires with a cry of domination. Like lightning it shot down towards its target, a target that seemed helpless to avoid the oncoming onslaught, and, with a cry of angry resignation, the blast hit home. Keeping up the attack as best he could, it was ten seconds before Xander felt it was safe to shut down both the storm barrier technique along with the chakra electricity blast. With great satisfaction, he watched as the smoking body of the pale Grass ninja dropped to the branch below completely limp, implying unconsciousness or death.

A good thing too 'cause I'm almost completely spent. He thought as he willed himself to remain standing.

Deciding it was time to free the others, he turned to where Ayeka lay still restrained by the snakes since freeing her took priority at the moment. If she had been tied up by simple ropes then he could afford to wait a little while longer but the fact that they were apparently poisonous meant he had to work to counter the venom.

He took three steps before sinister laughter filled the air and his mind froze in disbelief at the implications of that noise. Whipping his head in the direction of where the Grass ninja had fallen, he was unable to believe what he was seeing but at the same time knew that it was indeed happening. Despite the ferocity of his electrical attack, the man was apparently unharmed. Not only unharmed but also sounding quite amused by this attempt to harm him. Despite some slight charring around the edges of the sleeves, there was no sign of any damage done to the enemy shinobi. Turning to face the man and hopefully prove to himself that the man's lack of harm was only skin deep, Xander was stopped cold with a single gesture. Instantly all his limbs became numb and signals he sent to them to remain where they were failed as one by one they went almost completely limp. He was on his hands and knees before he knew it, despite the efforts of his spirit and mind to force his body to obey him.

"Subarashii!! Despite having not grown up in a Hidden Village, despite having only fabricated memories to use in your training, you fight just as well as your cousin Sasuke." The Pale Man said with malicious amusement, "It makes me wonder if I should make you my primary choice instead of him."

"Primary choice?! Just who the hell are you!?" He yelled as he continued to try and find a way to restore normal movement to his body.

"Ah yes! I believe I said I would tell you my name if you showed me your strength and so you have." Pale Face said with another light chuckle, "My name is Orochimaru and I have been interested in the Uchiha clan for quite some time. Before learning of you, I thought that only Sasuke would be available for my plans but then you showed up. A most interesting development, neh?"

"Just what do you want with me and Sasuke?!" he growled out, not liking at all that the asshole was enjoying himself.

"That will have to remain a secret for now but I will give you a hint." Orochimaru replied with a smile of increased malevolence, "A hint straight from the pits of hell, you might even say."

Using a hand seal that couldn't be identified, Snake Face's neck extended further and further away from the man's body with the head shooting towards him. Xander tried to move, he tried to somehow block the oncoming threat but he was helpless in the grip of what he now could identify as a paralysis jutsu. Thus, he was helpless to do anything but cry out both in shock as well as pain when the asshole bit into his neck like a vamp straight from Sunnydale. However, it wasn't the bite itself that caused his pain to grow but rather what he could feel being injected into his blood through the teeth that had pierced his skin. No time was he given to diagnose what was going on because like acid was flowing through his veins pain became the only thing he was capable of thinking of from that point on. His mind barely even registered when Orochimaru removed his fangs from his neck and retracted his head back towards his body where it assumed a more natural position on his shoulders.

"Survive the pain, Xander-kun. Endure!" Orochimaru told him through the pain that encompassed his body and robbed him of all but basic thinking, "See this exam through to the end or I will be most disappointed with you."

With those final words, the man with a face resembling a snake's vanished, leaving him alone with his pain.

Alone until neither body nor mind could take it any more and the blackness of unconsciousness claimed him for its own.

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