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Last time: The exams start and Team Seven corners a Rain-nin
This time: Orochimaru gets involved.
The trapped shinobi looked desperately around for a way out, but there was none. As much as it grated on his ego to admit, these Konoha bums had him stuck. He'd grown up being taught that the Rain Village was the best village in the world and that Konoha was one of the weakest, not worth the second thought. Now he realized that was all conditioning so they wouldn't run from a war with the Leaf.
The three teens were encroaching on him now, making him sweat bullets as he backed up until his wetsuit touched moist, rotting, and slimy bark. He held his hands up in a pleading manner.
"H-hey, come on now," he pleaded, hoping to appeal to the kids' better side. "Maybe we can cut a deal?"
"Sure," Sasuke said, smirking the whole time. "You can give us your scroll."
"Uh, but I don't have it."
"Wrong answer," Gohan said brightly. He was actually having a small degree of fun watching the guy squirm. He wondered if this was how his mom felt when she caught him running off on some adventure with his dad.
"My thoughts exactly." Sasuke replied. He looked at the blond in the group. "Naruto, you're the village prankster, maybe you can come up with an inventive punishment?"
Naruto thought for a second, then he grinned his fox grin and laughed in an almost sinister manner. "Sure! I've got an idea!"
The Rain shinobi shrank back under the encroaching shadows of the three boys. "No! Stay back! NOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Five minutes later and Team Seven, Sakura included, were all staring up at the struggling and swearing Rain-nin dangling some twenty feet over their heads.
"Was…that all necessary?" She asked, deadpan.
"Think of it as a morale booster, Sakura-chan!" Naruto answered brightly, draping an arm over her shoulder. "At his expense!" There was a crack of bone on bone and then Naruto's twitching feet were where his head should've been.
"Hands off, Baka!" Sakura said, allowing Inner Sakura to seep through for an instant. The reason for the conversation in the first place was that their assailant was hanging upside down from his ankles, arms bound behind his back, and a massive gash cut into the back of his wetsuit, from which his boxers, white with red polka dots, had been pulled out and the waist band stretched until it was covering his eyes.
Sasuke had been almost dismissive when he saw it. "Real original, Naruto." He'd remarked.
"Shut the hell up, Sasuke-bastard! It was the best I could do! It's not like we're in Konoha or something!"
Gohan and Sakura just looked at each other and shrugged, knowing there was no way to break the two bickering friends up. A strange feeling surged through Gohan and set him on edge, but before he could to anything, a massive wind swept through the area they were in. Everyone was a tangle of flying limbs as they all tried to dodge one way or another.
Sasuke and Sakura got clear, but Gohan and Naruto weren't so lucky. Gohan would've made it too, except that Naruto had jumped into him right as he was getting ready to faze away and knocked him over, then both of them got slammed and swept away by the rush of chakra that followed the wind.
Sasuke emerged from the bush he'd managed to hide under right when the wind hit. He'd noticed Gohan's sudden tensing, and so far, when Son Gohan tensed like that, it generally meant something bad was on the way. Thankfully he'd managed to move fast enough.
"Sasuke-kun?" It was Sakura, her own bush rustling as she emerged from it. He held a single finger to his lips, making her be quiet. Something, some indefinable force, was making the last of the Uchiha's neck hairs stand on end. A shiver, like cold water wending its way down his spine, caressed his body, raising goosebumps on his arms. Whatever was out there, he really didn't want to meet it.
Unfortunately, it seemed the thing wanted to meet them.
The bushes parted and a figure emerged, and it wasn't Naruto or Gohan.
"Who're you?" Sasuke demanded rudely. The figure, an effeminate man, merely cackled before lunging at them.
A mile from that particular encounter, Gohan's wild head-over-heels tumbling along the mossy forest floor finally came to a stop as the warrior got his feet under him and dug in, even crouching and digging a hand into the soil to slow his wild skid. The saiyan warrior straightened up and looked around the dank forest, which was cloaked in perpetual twilight from the thickness of the canopy above them.
In the distance he could feel Sasuke's ki clashing with that of another's, and something about that second signature felt oddly familiar, like he knew it from somewhere. Sakura was near Sasuke, and Gohan figured that the Uchiha would manage to keep her safe for the time being. Throwing his senses even farther out, the young warrior caught a slight feel of that bloodthirsty guy from before, the one who looked like an insomniac raccoon. He was a ways off, though, which was good, Gohan really didn't want to mess with him unless he had access to his transformations again.
Now. Where was Naruto?
Gohan couldn't sense him anywhere, and that worried him. He didn't know if the hyper blond was dead or just out of…Oh, there he was, and his ki was shining strong. No worries there. So what to do now? He had several options before him. He could check up on Naruto and make sure the blond was mortally wounded or had a broken limb or something similar, or he could go and see just what had gotten Sasuke so riled up that he was fighting as hard as he was.
In the few scant minutes Gohan had been deliberating with himself, Sasuke's ki had moved all over the area they'd last been in, then it'd flickered and moved again, though this time it felt more like a retreat than anything. That made the demi-saiyan frown. If this threat was good enough to make Uchiha Sasuke retreat, then Gohan should go and help.
He looked in Naruto's direction. On the other hand though, if this threat was that bad, then Gohan, limited as he was, would probably have a tougher time than usual in dealing with the menace. Plus there was the fact that he was still unfamiliar with the world of the shinobi. Charging headlong into battle like he usually did was probably going to get him pummeled all the faster.
"Sakura, Sasuke," He whispered to the air, hoping that the verbal plea would have at least some effect, even if it was to bolster his own confidence that his teammates would hold out just a few minutes more. "Hang on. I'll get Naruto and we'll both come to help out."
There was a flicker and Gohan was gone.
Sasuke grunted as he took a hard blow in his midsection, but he stuck it out and latched firmly onto the offending limb of his adversary. The man's face showed not surprise but a mild curiosity about what the young man was planning. That became obvious when he pulled out a kunai and stuck it firmly into the man's wrist, drawing blood and forcing the shinobi, who claimed to be from the Grass Village, to pull back and remove the knife.
"Ho?" The man said, looking over the injury, which bled profusely. Despite being a small incision, it was deep, nicking several veins and arteries. "Not bad, Sasuke-kun, not bad at all." There was an odd note in his voice. To Sasuke it sounded almost like…satisfaction? What was there to be satisfied about? He was bleeding for Kami's sake. Shouldn't he be at least a little wary? A long serpentine tongue emerged and licked the wound clean. "However, it'll take more than a mere scratch to stop me."
Sasuke gulped, taking a step back by instinct. Something about this guy was foul, and the Uchiha didn't want any part of it. His hands flew together, forming a familiar sequence. "Katon! Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"
The shinobi blinked as a raging fireball spewed from Sasuke's lips and engulfed the ninja and the immediate area where he stood. The raven-haired avenger chocked the flow and waited for the fire to burn itself out.
At the center of the affected area, the moss and dead leaves burned away and the soil turned to glass, was the shinobi, burned to a crisp and unmoving. Sasuke smirked. There was evidence of what happened when you underestimated the Uchiha.
A noise like breaking bone filled the air as the corpse cracked and fell to pieces. Sasuke started. "Kawarimi!?"
"Goukakyuu no Jutsu at your age? Very impressive, Sasuke-kun," said a silky voice in the avenger's ear.
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura shouted in alarm. The Uchiha was frozen in place. This guy had switched places with something and Sasuke didn't even notice until he'd spoken.
"What the…What the hell are you?" Sasuke asked, knowing not to turn around. Not if he wanted to keep his head.
"Kukukukuku." The presence vanished as the man took a couple of steps back, allowing Sasuke to turn. "Me? Why, I'm a shinobi, just like you."
"Don't screw with me," Sasuke growled. This man sounded too much like Itachi for Sasuke's liking. "You're not a genin. Not by a long shot."
The man snickered again. "Intelligent too. My my, you are just like your brother."
Rage erupted inside Sasuke and formed a molten ball that sat like white phosphorous in his gut. "What was that?" He snarled, Sharingan blazing to life, reacting to his emotion.
The man sneered. "Such eyes. Fine eyes, Sasuke-kun. Full of rage, hatred, a lust for power. You could be great Sasuke, very great indeed. Yet you're nothing but a puppet. A puppet of the Hokage and this worthless troublesome village." Sasuke could almost hear the creepy organ music in the background as the man held out an inviting hand. "Serve me, Sasuke-kun. Join me, and I can show you the greatest power!"
The Uchiha relaxed his stance and stood tall, regarding this guy with his crimson eyes. "Power?" He asked, sounding tempted.
"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked hesitantly from the sidelines. Sasuke wasn't about to join this nutjob was he? He was a Konoha-nin, loyal to the village, raised that way from birth, just as she had been, just as Naruto and Gohan-kun had decided for themselves with no one to instruct them otherwise.
"Yes, power!" The shinobi exclaimed in a purring hiss, an insane light shining on his face, arm still extended. "More power than you could ever imagine, and all you have to do is cast off your ties to this cesspool of a village! Cast if off, Sasuke-kun, and pledge your eternal loyalty to me and I can give you this power." He smiled malevolently. "Itachi will stand not a ghost of a chance."
"Itachi?" Sakura whispered. Was he the brother the shinobi had mentioned earlier? At least Sasuke-kun hadn't taken the offer yet. And he would never do it! Would he? The kunoichi realized that she really didn't know Sasuke like she thought she did. Naruto would never do it, he would work on his own until he had power. Gohan-kun had power, and had probably worked his ass off to do it. Sasuke? Sasuke had natural talent, but if he was tempted like this…She didn't know.
"The power to kill him?" Sasuke asked.
"Yesss!" The shinobi hissed, eyes turning from brown to gold. "That and more!" He spread his arms wide. "The power to crush him under your heel and grind his memory into dust! The power to surpass Uchiha Madara himself!" The shinobi leaned forward, the insane light growing stronger, amplified by the shadows of the forest.
"Think of it, Sasuke-kun! You would be known as the greatest Uchiha since the founding of the Clan! You would go down in history as the one who restored his family to prominence! The songs and scrolls would tell of your brilliance for centuries to come! Every child would grow up knowing and idolizing your name!" He seemed to calm down and regain control of himself. "And all you have to do, Sasuke-kun, is join me."
Sasuke's head lowered, shadowing his eyes. Slowly, he began to walk forward, sandals scraping over the dirt with an ominous slowness.
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura shouted, tears welling in her eyes. "No! Sasuke-kun!"
"Ignore her," The shinobi said. "She is nothing but a liability to your greatness. You don't need her. You don't need anyone."
"You're right." Sasuke said in a monotone. "I don't need anyone." His head snapped up, Sharingan blazing, and his hand lunged forward, a kunai sliding out of the coverings that wrapped his forearms, the knife driven to the hilt in the shinobi's stomach. "I don't need anyone to kill him!" The avenger repeated. "And I especially don't need you!" He blurred away, reappearing next to Sakura, scooping her up bridal style and vaulting into the trees, ignoring the blush that was coloring the kunoichi's cheeks.
The shinobi fell forward, wheezing and bleeding out from the wound in his abdomen. The gurgling continued then all color bled from the shinobi and he turned into a mound of mud. The trunk of a tree rippled and Orochimaru stepped forward, totally unharmed.
He snickered in delight. "Ingenious, Sasuke-kun. Simply astounding. You almost had me." A feral, predatory grin lit his face. "I'm going to enjoy this." His ominous chuckling filled the clearing long after he'd disappeared in pursuit of the Uchiha and the Sharingan he possessed.
"Naruto! Are you alright! Naruto!"
The snake that Gohan was shouting at raised its triangular head and hissed at the hovering saiyan in agitation. A muffled shouting could be heard coming from the sizable bulge in the middle of the sixty-foot long creature, whose scaly hide was tan and dappled with green spots so dark they were almost black.
Inside the snake was Naruto. He could hear Gohan shouting for him, but there was nothing he could do to answer, as mashed and compacted as he was. It was all the blond could do to even breath.
'Shit! If I don't do something soon, I'm snake chow!' Naruto thought angrily. There were two ways for him to get out of there. He could cut the snake open, or he could wait, be digested and then come out as a huge snake turd in a few weeks. Naruto liked the first idea better. He dug into his holster and pulled out a kunai, digging the blade into the snake's gullet as best he could. The slimy insides were too wet, though, and the knife slid off the flesh and out of Naruto's hand.
In the lightless environment he was in, there was no chance at all he'd be able to find it again.
"Fine!" Naruto said to the snake. "You don't wanna be cut open? Well then, get ready for Plan B!" He made a hand seal that he didn't need light to make sure he was doing the right way.
Outside, Gohan watched helplessly as Naruto moved further down the snake's reptilian length. He could blow the snake open with a ki blast, but that ran the risk of killing Naruto from the shockwave and heat. But after running through all other potential options, Gohan decided that it was the only thing he could do.
He charged a blast and took aim at the snake's head, but stopped when he noticed the bulge acting funny. It was rippling and contorting like some kind of fluid filled creature you might find in a horror movie.
A muffled cry reached Gohan's ears.
"Taijuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
The snake bulged like it was an overfilled water balloon, then it exploded in a spray of blood and thicker things, covering Gohan in slime. When the chaos subsided, hundreds of Narutos filled the area where the snake had been resting. There was a massive explosion of smoke and there was only one Naruto left.
"Naruto!" Gohan cried with a laugh as he floated down to his friend. "Wow! You showed him didn't you!"
"I hate snakes!" Naruto shouted to the world. "What am I, a snake's entrée?" He sniffed his jacket. "Dammit, now I smell like snake gut. Hey, Gohan, didn't you get eaten?"
The dark-haired fighter laughed. "Almost, but he got a little more than he bargained for."
In the forest canopy, Team Eight was clustered around a grisly sight.
"K-Kiba-kun? What is that?" Hinata asked, sounding a little faint. That wasn't really a good question. It was quite obvious that it was a snake, a massive one at that, impaled through the roof of its mouth from the tip of the pine tree that had been rammed through the top of its skull. The lower jaw was propped open by the tip of the tree, making the snake look rather surprised.
A strong wind whipped the canopy and made that tree from which the corpse was dangling sway and at the same time kicking up a foul scent.
"Looks like a snake," Shino said simply. "We should steer clear of whoever did that." There was a thud and a cry of alarm from Hinata.
"Oh no! Kiba-kun!" The boy was laying spread eagle, his eyes swirling, and obviously out cold.
"What happened, Hinata?" Shino asked.
"I don't know! He just passed out." Another wave of stench washed over them and Shino covered his nose with the sleeve of his coat.
"Must have been the smell." The bug-user sighed. Sometimes, Kiba could be so pathetic.
Thud.
"Oh no! Akamaru too!"
Shino sighed again and moved to help Hinata with his teammate.
"Wow! Snake skewer!" Naruto said with a laugh when Gohan told him what he'd done to the snake. "Remind me to never piss you off, Gohan."
"Sure, now let's get back to the others. I have a feeling that they're in a tight spot."
"Right." The two blurred away, moving to rejoin their other comrades.
Sasuke slammed into the tree with enough force to make him bring up blood. The situation had gone from bad to worse. The creepy shinobi with a huge ego had caught up with them and now Sasuke was totally on the defensive, struggling to just keep breathing as the Grass-nin played with him.
Just acknowledging that he was being toyed with set the Uchiha's teeth on edge. As much as it grated on him to admit, he really missed having Naruto and Gohan by his side.
"Well, this has been fun, Sasuke-kun, but now I think it's time to call it a day and move on with my plans." The nin pulled back his sleeve and revealed an odd-looking tattoo on his forearm. He raised a thumb to his mouth and bit down, and then swiped the bloodied digit over the tattoo, leaving a red smear. The shinobi's hands folded together in a series of seals. "Ninpou. Kuchiyose no Jutsu."
A tremendous explosion rocked the trees and when the smoke cleared, the shinobi was standing atop a mammoth snake with horned eye ridges and mud-brown, rock-like scales that looked like stone armor than anything else. The man smiled. "I warn you, Sasuke-kun, he likes to play before he eats." He shrugged in a gesture of mock helplessness. "I just don't know what to do with him sometimes."
The massive snake let off a deep and rolling hiss then lunged for him, mouth gaping wide, revealing fangs that were taller than Sasuke was. The Uchiha found himself so frozen that he couldn't do anything but sink to his knees and close his eyes, waiting for the end. There was a noise like a collision and Sasuke found himself thinking that if this was death, then it wasn't so bad.
Then he realized he wasn't dead and his eyes snapped open to see what had saved him. An astounded sight greeted his eyes. Gohan, muscles bulging and straining so hard that he was shaking, had a hard grip on each of the snake's fangs and was holding it back with just muscle power alone.
The snake pushed and forced the saiyan back a few inches, the warrior's feet digging furrows in the hard and hoary bark of the tree limb they were on.
"G-Gohan!"
"What're you waiting for!?" The other teen ground out through gritted teeth. "Get out of here!" Sasuke didn't move. Gohan swore, something Sasuke had never heard him do. The Uchiha didn't even realize Gohan knew the words to use. "Naruto! Get Sasuke out of here!" He skidded back another few inches. "Hurry, I can't hold this thing much longer!"
"Right!" A pair of arms encircled Sasuke's chest and he found himself flying through the air to land next to Sakura, who'd been paralyzed with fear ever since the nin had used some kind of weird jutsu to show them their own deaths.
Gohan glanced sideways and saw Naruto give him a cheery wave. He fazed out a second later and the snake's maw slammed shut over the spot he'd been standing just a moment before.
The Grass-nin blinked and looked to the side, spotting the entire Team Seven, from a shaking Sakura to a sweat-drenched and puffing Gohan. "Well, well, we meet again," he said, aiming his words at the saiyan.
"Gohan, you know this guy?" Sasuke asked, staggering upright again.
"Yeah. He sat next to me at the First Exam."
"Who is he?"
"I don't know, but he creeps me out."
Laughter filled the air. "Excellent show, Gohan was it?" The teen in question nodded curtly. "You're much stronger than I gave you credit for. It appears I've been lied to. There's more to your power than just a brutal sensei, and I'm going to beat the answers out of you!" The snake turned and moved for them. Gohan got ready to fight, but Sasuke stepped in front of him.
"Hey!" He called to the snake-like man. "We're not done yet!"
The man tapped his chin. "No, I suppose we're not, Sasuke-kun." He made a hand-seal and the man's neck shot forward faster than anyone could react. Next second, Sasuke was screaming in pain as the shinobi sank fangs into his neck, just like a vampire would. He withdrew, neck retracting to its normal length and Sasuke collapsed, wincing and clutching at his neck as three black tomoe, just like the ones in his Sharingan, formed on his skin.
He heard the cries of his teammates, but his attention was on the snake-man in front of him. "Just who the hell are you!" He demanded in a pain-laden voice.
The man looked surprised. "You can still speak? It appears I've chosen well then. Very well. I'll reward your tenacity. Remember this well, Sasuke-kun. My name is…Orochimaru." He reached up and pulled his right eyelid down. "I'll even show you my true face." Then he pulled his face right off, showing them a man with gold eyes, purple markings around his eyes, skin so white it looked as if he were a corpse or had never seen daylight in years, all framed by long black hair.
His hirai-ate showed a musical note. "Here you go, Sasuke-kun. This is my true face." He let the skin he'd ripped off like a mask flutter to the horrified members of Team Seven, and Gohan noticed that it wasn't a mask, but an actual face. Somehow, some way, this Orochimaru person had stolen the very face off of some hapless shinobi!
Fire shot through Sasuke's body, and he screamed long and loud, filling the air with his cries as he screamed as fast as he could draw breath, clutching hard at his neck until blood flowed. Then he fell silent and passed into the blissful darkness that engulfed him.
"Sasuke!" Gohan shouted, feeling his friend's ki begin to waver and fade. He crouched by the raven-haired teen and noticed that Sasuke was drenched in a cold sweat. "Sasuke!"
"He won't answer," Orochimaru said, not sneering or condescending, just simply stating a fact. "That Cursed Seal I marked him with had a ninety percent chance of killing him." Shock and rage slammed through Gohan, waking him up and energizing him like a jolt of electricity. "I wonder…will Sasuke-kun make it?"
"You…you…YOU!" Gohan shouted standing up and getting ready to rush and shred Orochimaru. For once, he wasn't reluctant to fight. He wanted to kill this guy, to shred and crush him, as utterly as he'd crushed Sasuke just now.
There was a noise like an explosion and Naruto was bathed in a sinister red chakra, complete with red eyes and thickened whisker marks. "I'll kill you!" Naruto howled in rage and bloodlust then leapt at the snake sannin, his speed doubled from what he'd ever been capable of before.
The snake twisted and Naruto shot past, but he swiped with his clawed hands and opened a wide and deep gash on the snake's scaly underbelly. The enraged blond rebounded off another tree and sped again at Orochimaru, the force of his chakra so great there was a burn mark in the shape of a sandal's sole on the tree.
Orochimaru leaned back then gave a short uppercut that burrowed into Naruto's belly and launched him up just as effectively as any Z fighter could, the boy's body bouncing off the tree branch above and falling back to earth, where Orochimaru caught the boy with his long and serpentine tongue.
Gohan went to help, but it was too late, Orochimaru slammed his fingers into Naruto's stomach and the boy went limp, out cold like Sasuke. A casual flick of the tongue sent Naruto flying over his shoulder and on a one way ticket to the ground and a bloody demise.
The saiyan didn't hesitate, diving for the blond without a second thought, but his ankle was snagged by a wet rope that, when the saiyan twisted around, revealed itself to be Orochimaru's tongue, again, coiled around his ankle and leg like some kind of pink python.
"Naruto!" Gohan cried, unable to do anything but watch.
A streak of sliver flashed from nowhere and Naruto was hanging, unconscious, by his jacket from a kunai that had burrowed into the bark and stopped the blonde's untimely demise.
"Got him," Sakura said, relieved that she'd made the shot.
"Thwa gwil?" Orochimaru asked, his words slurred and murdered by the length of his tongue. "Dwanmmit." He lurched and Gohan found himself flying through the air to slam into the tree next to Sakura. The disgusting rope around his ankle uncoiled and retracted back to where it belonged.
"Gohan-kun!" Sakura shouted, kneeling next to the other teen as he rolled onto his stomach and lurched upright. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah. I've been worse." He looked at Sasuke, sweating outright now and shivering, then at Naruto, swaying gently from his kunai, then at the man responsible, who was watching him in turn with a curious look. Rage punched him again, and this time he grabbed it, amplified it by thinking of Cell killing 16 and his father, of Frieza killing Krillin, and used that firestorm of hatred and anger to boost his own power.
Sakura blinked as Gohan seemed to glow, then the light exploded off of him in a shockwave that shattered the bark around her then the hurricane right behind it whipped the slivers of wood away and sent her dress flapping, Gohan's cape dancing, and Orochimaru's hair flying.
All around the forest, and even into Konoha itself, all who were even marginally knowledgeable at how to sense chakra stopped and looked around, though only a few truly knew what was going on.
The Sandaime, up to his elbows in paperwork again, ran to his windows as fast as his age and clothing would allow and looked to the Forest of Death.
'Gohan-kun…something has him rather upset.' The old man pulled out his crystal ball and sat down, searching for the boy in question. When the view entered the forest, it went snowy, like a TV with bad reception. 'The chakra in the area is too great for my view to see. What's going on in there?'
In the jounin lounge, all three of the Rookie Nine's senseis stood and ran to the balcony, feeling the maelstrom of power radiating from the forest.
"What is that?" Asuma asked, his cigarette dropping from his mouth at the sheer volume of raw chakra.
"I-I don't know." Kurenai replied. "It feels like…I don't know what it feels like."
"Gohan!" Kakashi cried. "What the hell are you doing!?"
"Gohan?" Kurenai asked. "That new kid on your team?"
The Copy-nin didn't answer, instead vaulting over the railing and speeding for the Forest as fast as he could, moving with more speed than anyone thought possible from the lazy man.
"G-Gohan-kun?" Sakura asked hesitantly, to which she only got a hard onyx gaze, and no reply.
"Kukukukukuku!" Orochimaru laughed gleefully. "Excellent! Wonderful, Gohan-kun, simply wonderful! You possess far more power than I'd ever dreamed!" He looked down with that insane gaze back again, one that seemed to warp his entire face. "I'm going to get you to tell me the secret!"
The Son of Goku didn't answer, instead reaching up to his cape and pulling it over his head, eyes never leaving Orochimaru's for a second. He held the white garment easily with one hand, then, with a deft flick, sent it flying to the side, over Sakura's head to thud on to the limb and shatter the bark and wood where it landed.
'What the hell?' Sakura wondered. 'How can he move with something that heavy on?' She looked at her friend with scared emerald eyes. 'Gohan, just what are you?'
Gohan's eyes drilled into the Snake Sannin. "Let's go!" He announced and simply vanished.
Orochimaru blinked then crossed his arms as fast as he could, Gohan's foot slamming into him and thrusting him off the snake. The sannin landed safely on the tree across from the one he'd been fighting at, though the force of his impact blew out the back of the tree as the force transferred.
He threw himself flat against the tree as Gohan shot past from above, little more than a blur to the Sannin at the level he was fighting at, gold eyes widening as several long black hairs detached themselves from his head and floated away on the mad rush of air in the speeding teen's wake.
The sadist looked down and saw a swath of debris on the forest floor as the boy skimmed over the foliage below then shot back to their level in a second, again coming for his enemy, leading with a straight attack that would take the Sannin's head off if he didn't watch it. Orochimaru reached above his head and put both hands on the tree then curled himself into a ball, just as Gohan's attack slammed home with enough force to bury his arm in the tree up to the shoulder and almost crack the mammoth plant in half.
The saiyan saw white as he didn't pull his arm out in time and both of Orochimaru's heels slammed into the top of his head, sending him speeding to the ground, his arm ripping a gash the length of the tree until he slammed to earth and raised a massive cloud of debris, from which he shot like a bullet and tried to hit the Sannin with an uppercut. The snake-man's head pulled out of the way in time, but Gohan felt his knuckles graze the man's chin, then he was past, at the top of the tree, where he pushed off hard enough to pulverize the wood, arcing back to the tree where Sakura was crouching.
Orochimaru watched the boy across from him with a guarded expression that Gohan knew all to well. It was the same look that Cell had gotten when the young Super Saiyan had proven himself an equal to the evil android. It was the look of being unwillingly impressed.
The snake was indeed unwillingly impressed, not believing that a boy, no older than Sasuke himself, could fight with such ferocity and power.
Something warm dribbled down his chin.
White fingers touched the source and came away red. Orochimaru blinked then felt under his chin, wincing when he made contact with the bruise that was rapidly forming. The kid, that kid, had injured him! It was minor, but still, a mere teenager was standing up to him, one of the Sannin, and had even managed to draw first blood!
Gohan launched himself at Orochimaru again, and the snake responded in kind, pushing off the tree to meet the onrushing warrior at the halfway point, over open space, and begin trading blows so fast that Sakura couldn't keep up. The pair's arms were moving so fast that it looked like they'd both sprouted multiple fists.
The fighting titans broke apart, Orochimaru rebounding off a tree and becoming a blur. Gohan let out a war cry and mimicked the move then the two became nothing but black streaks that bounced all over the area where Team Seven had been fighting for their lives until that point.
Shockwaves pulsed all around the kunoichi as the streaks met, bounced apart, met, bounced apart, only to meet again somewhere else, each meeting producing the waves that did everything from just create gusts of wind, to shattering tree trunks and sending up swarms of leaves when the two met in the canopy.
One tree, a good fifty feet around, simply broke apart when the blurs met at its midsection, the ancient giant shattering like a tooth pick, the entire upper half slowly falling for the ground below with a creaking noise. It never hit the ground though, because there was a string of explosions up and down its length as the two fought over, on and around it, reducing the sizeable section to nothing but pulp, wood chips and sawdust.
Gohan reappeared next to her as if he'd simply popped out of thin air, and he looked a little worse for wear. Small cuts and bruises covered him and his gi had a massive gash ripped in the right leg at the knee, showing hard corded muscle that looked like he was chiseled out of marble. He was breathing hard, panting as if he'd been running for miles, sweat staining his front and running down his face, though his eyes still burned with the intensity of the sun.
Orochimaru appeared across from them, and he was in a similar state, cut and bruised, beaten and battered, though his clothing was tattered and not gashed like Gohan's was. He was breathing hard and sweating as well, though Sakura couldn't help but notice that Gohan's breathing was deeper, and he was sweating just a little bit more.
She blinked up at the saiyan warrior from where she knelt at Sasuke's side. 'It's not possible, is it? Is it possible that Gohan-kun's still not as strong as Orochimaru!? If that's true…' She turned horrified eyes on the sinister man across from them, 'then how powerful is he?'
Gohan was having similar thoughts. 'Damn!' he cursed. 'I'm going all out and this guy is still better than me! I'm making him work, sure, but I can't keep this pace up without transforming, and he looks like he's not taking this seriously. He's testing the water, seeing what I can do, and wearing me down by matching my pace.' He glanced down at Sakura, who was watching Orochimaru as if some horrific though had occurred to her. 'She knows,' he realized. 'She knows that in the end, Orochimaru will win.' He allowed a slight slump to enter his shoulders. 'It's over. I can't win.'
Orochimaru appeared on their branch, looking smug. "Well, that was a nice warm-up. I thank you, Gohan-kun." His gold gaze turned to Sakura. "Now. I think it's time we kill the excess baggage." A sword emerged hilt-first from the man's mouth, which he grabbed. He licked his lips. "This is the Kusanagi. Pretty isn't it?" Sakura shrank back. "Oh don't worry. I'll make your death painless."
"S-Stop it!" Gohan shouted, lunging to grab the sword, to prevent a death based on a whim. A curt backhand slammed the teen into the tree's trunk. He lunged again, but was again slammed into the tree, though this time by a kick.
"Be quiet, vermin." The snake growled, losing his mask of polite malevolence and showing his true colors. "I'll deal with you in a second." He smiled, almost charmingly, at Sakura. "Now, Kunoichi-chan. Time to die!"
Gohan watched, clutching his ribs as the blade began its descent. The keen double edge glinted in the sun. Orochimaru's robe swayed gently in the wind of his arm's passage. Time was slow, giving the demi-saiyan time to observe every critical detail. He knew, he knew that Sakura's death would be imprinted in his mind for the rest of his life, just as vivid in a hundred years as it was now. He could clearly see her face, etched with fear, emerald eyes wide, mouth open in a scream, her left arm coming up in a feeble attempt to stave off death just a moment more, but it wouldn't matter, that blade would slice her arm clean off then continue into her.
He had to do something! His father would be ashamed if he let someone die right in front of him!
"No." Gohan whispered, too softly for anyone to hear. Desperation and rage, rage directed solely on himself for not being able to protect, flooded him. "No." Android 16's death played itself for Gohan, in mute fast forward, yet every detail was clear and not lost on him. The image of the man's head getting stepped on was replaced by Sakura cowering.
The sword was almost to her. If he didn't act now then she would die!
Gohan reached for the one weapon that could help him now.
Time sped back up.
"GOHAN-KUN! HELP ME!" She cowered, covering her head with her arms.
"Die girl!"
"NO!!"
There was an explosion behind Orochimaru, who stopped short, the edge of Kusanagi inches from cutting open Sakura's head, so close, in fact, that the kunoichi could feel the edge resting against her hair.
She became aware of a bright light shining even more brilliantly than the sun was behind Orochimaru, who had forgotten all about her and was watching the spectacle before him.
Gohan was floating inches off the ground, back arched, arms wide and his head thrown back as a long and loud yell ripped itself from his throat. He was surrounded by a shell of wind that kept coming off him in great gusts that forced even Orochimaru to shield his face with one arm or risk getting a piece of bark in his eyes.
The tree branch beneath Gohan, and the trunk behind him, cracked and splintered with noises like gunshots as the force of the saiyan warrior's ki slammed against it. Lightning crackled up and down his form before bursting off in bolts that lanced every which way and blew apart trees, setting leaves and the branch they were standing on alight, only to be extinguished a moment later by the fierce winds.
The kanji for One appeared on Gohan's chest and sent a helix of lightning into the sky as dark clouds gathered overhead, in a way similar to what happened when Shenlong was summoned. More lightning rippled overhead, going from cloud to cloud and back again in a dizzying display of raw power.
The lightning helix reversed direction and Gohan screamed long and loud from the pain that assailed every inch of his body. He felt as if he could burst into flame at any moment, but still he threw his entire being at the barrier that held his transformations back from him. The glass ceiling was immovable, unbreakable, but still the warrior persisted, driven only by the blind desire to protect that which was closest to him.
Again and again, Gohan slammed against the barrier, driving his metaphorical shoulder against it, yelling the whole time, trying to gain even the slightest trickle of power from the level of strength called Super Saiyan.
Orochimaru, getting nervous from the power that was slamming down on him, turned back to Sakura, who was watching the display with a numb and scared expression.
"Better kill you first, before he finishes up."
Gohan, still persisting in his seemingly useless assault on the barrier, heard him and renewed his desperate ramming, throwing everything he had into the push. The ceiling began to fight back, trying to drive him away and keep the balance which the seal so adamantly wanted.
Orochimaru raised Kusanagi to the heavens, the blade shining from the light of Gohan's power.
He swung.
The Son of Goku and Protector of the World drew back again, knowing this would be the last hurrah. It was either transformation or Sakura's life.
"HRAAAAAAAA!" Gohan screamed, eyes wide and almost maddened by desperation, slammed into the barrier.
The barrier warped.
The barrier stretched.
The barrier shattered.
Another explosion rocked the area and this time, the resulting shockwave blew Orochimaru clean off his feet and across the canopy to another branch where he slammed into that tree's trunk.
Sakura blinked as the branch she sat on was shattered into splinters. She grabbed at Sasuke, never removing her eyes from Gohan, and caught the Uchiha by the scruff of his shirt by sheer luck. Leaping to the branch that Orochimaru had been standing on before this, the kunoichi landed and turned around as the lightning that had been striking Gohan repeatedly vanished and the kanji on his chest expanded, glowing pure white, until it became a humming dome that totally shielded the teen from view.
Silence fell truly for the first time since Orochimaru had shown up, except for the low buzzing coming from the dome.
Sakura could hear her heart beat in her ears.
Once.
Twice.
Thrice.
"HRAAAAA!!"
Gohan's voice pierced the silence like an assassin's dagger and a shaft of gold light pierced the top of the dome and shot skyward, punching straight through the dark clouds overhead, blowing them away, and continued on until Sakura felt it could reach the moon.
Miles away, in Konoha, Kakashi shot through the streets, breaking speed records as he hurtled for the gates of the village. A glow spread over the horizon but it wasn't the sun. It was just getting dark now, and west was the other way.
A shaft of pure golden light shot into the sky and blew twilight away, and Kakashi was so startled that he tripped and fell, face planting into the dusty main road just feet from the gate.
The Hokage, standing at the window and puffing serenely on his pipe, paled as the light blew into the sky and turned twilight back into noon. He was so shocked that he let go of the pipe, which fell from his slack grip and jaw to clatter to the ground.
He only needed a second to figure out the source.
"Gohan-kun," the old man murmured. "He's done it! He shattered the seal!"
Sakura, shielding her face from the light, peeked out as the brilliance began to fade. There was a pulse of power, which kicked up a storm of dirt and debris, forcing her to cover her face again.
When she felt secure enough to look, she lowered her arm and gasped sharply.
Gohan was bent over at the waist, arms dangling, bathed in a gold aura that filled the air with a pulsating chirping noise. His hair, the only part of his face visible, was a brilliant gold that made Naruto's seem dull and dark by comparison.
He straightened, revealing the full extent of his change. His eyes were greener than hers and icy hard from a fury that made itself known in his stance and face. Gohan's eyes even seemed shaped differently, as if the rage he was feeling had brought on the change. His face was set, stern and dangerous, so much so that Sakura felt herself trembling from just looking, and from the waves of chakra he was giving off.
Even his eyebrows were gold, just visible under the mop of golden spikes. She noticed that his hairstyle was the same, and clung to that fact, using it to reassure her that the Gohan she knew was still in this being of power and commanding presence and flaming gold aura.
The emerald eyes looked his body over and the kunoichi thought she saw a flicker of wonder and…victory? Was he happy this happened? Then his eyes steeled and he glared at Orochimaru, who looked shocked and maybe even afraid.
"Sakura." She jumped when Gohan spoke. His voice had lost its carefree tone. Now it was lower, rougher, and way more dangerous.
"Y-Yeah?"
"You alright?"
She sighed in relief, smiling weakly. If he was worried about her, then it meant that this really was Gohan-kun and not some demon. "Yeah."
"Good." He vanished. No fazing out, no blurring. Just one minute he was there, then the next gone. She didn't even blink.
"Now, Orochimaru, you and I have some unfinished business to take care of." The Sannin tensed when he heard the voice behind him.
Something told him that this was about to get ugly.
BWAHAHAHAHA! So!? How was it!? I hope you all feel the intensity I did while I was writing the transformation scene. Speaking of transformation, I'd already started writing this scene, but then I decided I took the crossover too far and deleted it, only to come out with this one, which I like better.
SO! A quick recap, Gohan's busted the first seal (Yes I said first, think back to like chapter 1, he got two), and now Orochimaru is about to find out what it's like to fight a pissed off Super Saiyan. I know some of you have been waiting on pins and needles for this particular moment and I hope I satisfied you. I went for a more DBZ feel on this one, and I think I did rather well, but I'll let you be the judge of that. Only problem is that now I have to find a way to out do this one when it comes time to bust the second seal.
Damn, this is a long A/N. Okay, I'm having a little trouble picking which kunoichi to pair Gohan with. I was doing Tenten, but now that The Disappearance is a NaruTen fic, I want a little more variety. SO! I look to you the readers. On my profile is a blind poll. Take it whenever you feel like, it won't close until next chapter. I'm gonna forgo the Glossary this time to give you guys a special treat, The Deleted Transformation Scene! It starts right after Gohan thinks that he can't win.
Deleted Transformation Scene!
Gohan!
The boy jerked. He knew that voice, even if he hadn't heard it in more than a year. Was he hallucinating from exhaustion, or was this like that time at the Cell Games, when his father had spoken to him from Other World. There was only one way to find out.
"Dad?" He whispered, ignoring Sakura's look that told him quite clearly she'd though he'd lost it.
Yep! How you doing, son?
"But how?"
Orochimaru looked at Gohan's moving mouth and was reading the boy's lips. He'd lost it. There was no one there. The Sannin smirked wickedly. He would make this slow. Might as well let him finish his little delusion first.
What do you mean?
"You're, well, you know." Gohan was oblivious to Orochimaru being right there. He didn't want that sadist to find out that he was from another dimension.
Know what? Goku's voice was puzzled.
A new voice broke in. We're in another dimension you dumb-dumb! King Kai shouted. Now hurry up! This talking across dimensions takes a lot of work and it racks up long distance!
Oh, sorry, King Kai. Listen Gohan, I know that you think it's hopeless, but you thought that about Cell right?
"Yeah. So? It still doesn't explain why you're doing this."
What, I'm not allowed to give my son a pep talk? Admit it Gohan, you need it.
HURRY UP!
Alright alright, sheesh. Listen Gohan, to make a long story short, Grand Kai showed King Kai here how to talk across dimensions, and we've been watching you, Gohan. I have to say, I'm proud of you. Gohan could hear his father grin and he felt tears well up in his eyes. Okay, now, King Kai thinks he knows how to get you to transform and even the playing field a bit!
"What!? Really?"
Yep, and he says it takes resolve!
"Resolve?"
Yeah, and you just don't have enough. Against that ice guy you were trying to just make a way out, for that masked guy with the weird eye and the old man, you were just trying to show them. You haven't even tried for this battle and I think you can do it!
"I still don't get it…"
King Kai cut in. Listen very closely, cause I can't keep this up much longer. You're protecting your friends right now, right? Well, there's your resolve! Don't let them get hurt by that creepy guy! I'm not saying the transformation will be easy, but you can do it! Then they were gone. Gohan stood proud again, glaring at Orochimaru.
"I won't let you down, Dad." His stare became defiant again. "Orochimaru, I'm going to kill you!"
"How?" The snake asked. "You're almost at your limit, Gohan-kun. You can go no farther."
"No. I can go just a bit further."
"Oh? Show me."
Gohan slid into a deep stance. "Alright, but you asked for it!" He tensed, veins bulging on his body, muscles straining. "HRAAAAAAA!" Once again, winds blasted up around the warriors, though this time it blew with such force that it actually hurt.
Bark on the tree behind Gohan ripped and stripped away in sheets. Cracks formed on the branch beneath him, and a gold aura blazed into being around his form, flaring and growing higher in response to the Super Saiyan's growing power.
"I-I recognize this!" Sakura murmured. "This is like the day at the bridge! It was all…Gohan-kun?"
The lightning began to helix into the air, charging it with static and raising the scent of ozone. Then it doubled back and Gohan yells changed to pain.
He felt like he was on fire from every pore in his body, but his father's words rang in his ears. The power pulsed, trying to blow him of his feet, but Gohan resisted, digging his heels in and throwing his power against the barrier again and again, on the other side of which he could feel his next level begging to be released.
'Resolve!' Gohan repeated over and over in his head as his eyes changed to from black to an emerald that rivaled even Sakura's. He began to curl up, forcing his power to even greater heights. 'Resolve!'
The barrier cracked.
"I will not allow you to hurt my friends ANYMORE!!" Gohan shouted to the heavens, his voice echoing off the trees, despite the racket from his transformation.
The barrier shattered into so many pieces.
There was an explosion and everyone was knocked off their feet as Gohan screamed again and the aura went from flame-like to a column of pure gold light that shone like the sun and extended into the sky, visible for miles, pushing the clouds away from it, and bathing the forest in gold light, even shining over Konoha, where everyone stopped their business and looked at the beam that seemed to go on forever.
Kakashi gaped, almost to the gates of the village, tripping and falling from not watching where he was going.
The Sandaime's pipe dropped from his open mouth and clattered to the floor.
Sakura quit shielding her eyes as the light began to fade. She squinted then the light vanished completely. There was a burst of wind that made her shield her face again before she could look. When she felt safe again, she peeked out from her fingers.
"What the HELL!?" She shouted.
Gohan was completely changed. He was outlined in a chirping aura of gold ki, his muscles looked bigger and even more defined, a gentle breeze was rolling off him, but the most startling change was his face.
His eyes had turned green, greener than hers, and they burned with a cold fury that made them seem harder than an emerald. His hair was gold, even more so than Naruto's, and it was spiky, just like his normal style, though it seemed more so because now each spike was illuminated in cold golden relief. His hands, clenched at his sides, lowered to hang straight.
The boy spoke, his voice audible even over the pulsing chirp of his aura. "I will not let you hurt them anymore."