Chapter 10-Pain
Naruto, Shino, and Hinata made their way through the Forest of Death in an attempt to make it to the center tower like everyone else was now that they had what they needed to qualify. However, as they ran they came across a blast of killing intent that made them freeze for a good 10 seconds, as it was beyond anything they had ever felt before that was clearly not that of a Genin level Shinobi, and it meant one thing to Naruto.
Orochimaru was nearby.
"Shino. Hinata. Follow me," said Naruto heading towards the source of the killer intent with his teammates following behind him.
"Naruto-kun what is this killer intent. It's so frightening," said Hinata, who amazingly didn't stutter from the sheer seriousness behind it.
"It's Orochimaru," said Naruto getting a gasp from both his teammates, who knew of the man's legendary status, as a Sannin, and a traitor all in one.
"My bugs are frightened by the prospect of fighting this foe. There is no logic behind us engaging him whatsoever," said Shino since the chakra Orochimaru was giving off was quite intimidating in itself.
"I know, but we have to at least check it out to gather info that we can give to the old man, and help him prepare for whatever the Hebi-teme has planned for Konoha," said Naruto since his team was a scout team and this was the perfect chance to do so.
"It would be negligent of our duties as a scouting team if we did not do our jobs to gather what we could from spying on the Sannin," said Shino coming to agree with Naruto's logic in the matter.
"What if one the Rookie teams are in danger from Orochimaru?" said Hinata knowing that the Sannin could have gone after any of their dear friends or her cousin for that matter.
"All the more reason to investigate Hinata-chan," said Naruto heading towards the source of powerful chakra that was laced with killer intent.
Naruto wasn't that surprised to see it was Team 7 being attacked by the disguised Sannin, who was dressed like a girl with a grass headband on, and had a look in his/her eyes that did not bode well for Hatake's team. Seeing them frozen like that, Orochimaru was in the process of making hand signs, and before all their very eyes the man's neck extended to unnatural lengths going for Uchiha Sasuke.
Orochimaru was almost at his intended target when a nodachi class sword nearly hit him and had forced him retract his neck back to turn his attention to Team 8.
"Well well well. Look what we have here. More prey to feast upon. I would deal with you later, but something about this sword that nearly got me tells my mind I should make an example of you, and do it quickly to achieve my objective," said Orochimaru before looking at Sasuke for a second and then returning his gaze back Team 8.
"Leaf Shinobi protect their own asshole. So unless you want to bite off more then you can chew I suggest you back the hell off...Orochimaru!" said Naruto before cracking his knuckles and feeling his bloodlust rising him.
"Bold words for such a small insect, though it is surprising that you would know of me in this disguise, and not be frightened like the others" said Orochimaru peeling off the fake female skin to reveal his true pale like face before looking at the nodachi and tried to pick it up only for the hilt to zap his hand heavily making his arm bleed through his shirt much to his surprise.
"Trickster is very picky when it comes to choosing who wields its Hebi-teme. Did you really think such a weak man, who is afraid of death could wield a sword of incredible power, and expect the sword itself to just accept you? For a self proclaimed genius you sure are an idiot," said Naruto knowing that attacking the man's ego would divert him away from Team 7 and to his team.
Or just him if he just did the insulting.
"You will pay for that boy," said Orochimaru scowling at the blonde, who simply had a smirk on his face, and it made the Sannin even angrier.
"Then make me pay Hebi-teme. Unless of course...you are actually afraid of a 12 year old Genin?" said Naruto his taunts seemed to be getting under Orochimaru's snaky skin at the moment.
"Naruto what are you doing?" said Shino finally having the nerve to talk to the boy, who seemed to be in his own world right now, and it was not with either of his teammates at the moment.
"When I give the signal, you two break away from me, and get Team 7 the hell out of this place. Find a spot to hide while they recover from this paralyses the Hebi put them in," said Naruto seeing the uneasy look both were giving him despite Shino's look not being as obvious.
"He'll kill you Naruto-kun!" whispered Hinata not wanting her teammate/lover to die at the hands of the Sannin.
"Better me then any of you. Besides, I've trained with my dad for so many years, and he's made sure I was pretty damned difficult to kill. Not to mention I have the Kyuubi's power to back me up should things get nasty," said Naruto whispering his words to her and she reluctantly nodded knowing he was no pushover either when it came to battles like these.
"Please be careful," said Hinata, as she worried about him even now against such a strong opponent.
"I'll be careful. I promise," said Naruto seeing some of the tension in her eyes lessen, but not all it.
"Perhaps I should see if you are worthy of being my vessel too," said Orochimaru seeing something familiar about the blonde, but couldn't put his finger on it.
"Thanks, but no thanks. I'd rather not be some snake pedophile's play toy," said Naruto before flipping the Sannin off making the man more infuriated and charged at the young Namikaze to teach him a lesson.
Instantly, the two beside Naruto got out of the way while met the Sannin head on while the man was in mid-air, which surprised Orochimaru a little since he didn't expect the kid to do that, and it showed him that this blonde youth was not afraid of fighting someone stronger then him. Naruto of course, got in a lucky shot in thanks to the surprise that his plan to attack Orochimaru first, and throw the man off guard. The end result forced the Sannin back to where he had been standing originally while Naruto jumped back to land a few feet away from him in a fighting stance that Orochimaru narrowed his eyes at.
'So it's true. Namikaze Naruto does exist. I wonder what else I've heard about him is true from what my spies have told me,' thought Orochimaru, who would have gone after the boy himself, but had heard he was under the protection of a powerful Demon Lord that had already killed a quite a few Shinobi, and a large number of civilians that crossed him.
Still, he didn't see the supposed Demon Lord around, and this was the Forest of Death where anything can happen.
'Let's see if I can make this Namikaze disappear,' thought Orochimaru summoning his Kusanagi from his mouth while he saw Naruto grab Trickster and got into his Kenjutsu stance.
"Ready to die you miserable leech?" said Naruto his body glowing with immense chakra that made Orochimaru look at him cautiously.
"Hasn't anyone properly told you about me? I am immortal my young Namikaze friend and I cannot nor will not die!" said Orochimaru charging forward bringing his sword down upon Naruto, who blocked it with his own, and countered it with a move of his own while the two blade sparked periodically.
(With Team 8 & 7)
"What are you guys doing here? We had everything under control!" said Sasuke getting out of his frozen state had half a mind to hit one of them for their interference.
"You had no control of that which you claim Uchiha Sasuke. We saw your team frozen by the massive power behind Orochimaru's killer intent. Had we not interfered, then the Sannin that is the infamous Orochimaru would have done something to you, and if the data on file is correct...your teammates as well," said Shino wondering how the Council could continue to baby the Uchiha.
"Like I care what happens to the Inuzuka runt and this weak female Shinobi I have for teammates," said Sasuke, who turned his eyes to the Hyuuga girl trying make Akamaru feel secure in her arms.
"It is an attitude like yours Uchiha Sasuke, which will be your undoing, and will never allow you to advance in life," said Shino turning to Hinata to talk to her about a possible strategy to help Naruto.
"Where is the Namikaze? Did he die or something?" said Kiba heartlessly, as it meant he could get into Hyuuga Clan's good graces, and later into Hinata's pants.
"Stupid baka! Naruto-kun is fighting against Orochimaru so we could save you from the Sannin," said Hinata, who got looks of shock from Team7 since such an insult would normally never come out of Hinata' s mouth, and wondered how much of an influence Naruto had in her life.
"I don't need that Namikaze's help! I'm an Uchiha and I will not be saved by some a no talent jerk," said Sasuke rushing off to engage Orochimaru to prove he was strong and didn't need the help of some bastard child of the Yondaime.
"Wait! Baka Uchiha. He's going to get himself killed and knowing his arrogance it will also mean the end of Naruto's life as well," said Shino his bugs sensing the powerful force behind each combatant and knew how insignificant Sasuke was to the two.
It was like a fly trying to challenge a bull in a head on collision.
"Don't talk about Sasuke-kun like that! He's strong enough to handle Orochimaru, as he's an Uchiha, and Uchiha's are the best!" said Sakura still being the loyal fan-girl that she was.
'We are surrounded by baka's,' thought Shino and Hinata, who held back their sigh's of frustration, and saw Kiba shrug since he could exactly argue with either party.
(With Naruto and Orochimaru)
"Your skills in Kenjutsu are very good for a child. I must say you clearly surpassed the expectations I had set for Uchiha Sasuke," said Orochimaru, as he blocked another strike against him before pushing Naruto back ripping the boy's shirt in the process, and going through a set of one handed hand signs.
"Oh no you don't! 'Elemental Kenjutsu Wind Style: Wind Slice Jutsu!'" said Naruto going through hand signs and channeling his affinity into the sword before launching his deadly assault on Orochimaru.
"Earth Style: Mud Wall Jutsu!" said Orochimaru creating a dome of earth around him to block the attack though the wall barely held together and when Naruto saw it collapse the Sannin was not to be seen.
'Behind me!' thought Naruto turning slightly while moving his sword at a strange angle that barely caught Orochimaru's that was trying to slice him in two.
"Not bad. Not bad at all. Indeed I may just take you for a vessel and just wait a few more years for Sasuke-kun, but then again your demon would prevent me from taking you over so I'll have to handle you in another fashion" said Orochimaru, who shot his tongue out, and wrapped it around Naruto's neck.
"This is so wrong unless it's with a woman and even then your aiming the tongue in the wrong place," said Naruto seeing Orochimaru's now free hand now had 5 burning finger tips and sent them into the blonde's stomach where the seal holding Kyuubi was.
'Five Prong Seal!' thought Orochimaru hitting the seal dead on and seeing the markings on the boy from his work come to life over the seal.
'AHHHH! Looks like he got me, but at least I can make him earn his victory,' thought Naruto using one of his own hands to grab Orochimaru's that hit his gut and snapped it at the wrist before leaping up to kick the Sannin hard in the face hearing the satisfying noise of the man's jaw breaking while the teeth bit hard on his tongue.
Naruto fell back onto the ground clutching his stomach feeling whatever it was that the Sannin did to him hurting like there was no tomorrow. He struggled to get up from the tree branch while holding onto Trickster for support and looked at Orochimaru holding onto his jaw with his mouth bleed from his nearly bitten off tongue.
'This boy is clearly a nuisance. I would kill him now, but I have an Uchiha to mark for becoming my neck vessel, and I cannot not delay it anymore,' thought Orochimaru, as he sensed Sasuke approaching, and decided to take a page out of the Namikaze playbook by meeting the Uchiha head on.
Shedding his skin to heal his wounds, Orochimaru put Kusanagi away, and headed for the Uchiha.
'Damn it! It's a good thing I don't depend on Kyuubi for everything or else I would be out like a burned out bulb,' thought Naruto, as he wondered what Orochimaru hit him with, and felt what power Kyuubi filled him with fading, and decided to ask the old man what it was about later.
(With Sasuke)
The Uchiha headed towards the battle that was raging between Naruto and Orochimaru while his own blood was boiling at how he needed saving from the Sannin. It was absurd! The Uchiha had no intention of being shown up by some Namikaze, who thought he was the next Yondaime, and take his Father's place as the next Hokage.
'Naruto once said an Uchiha never became Hokage so...why not become one later on. He took away my dreams in being recognized as the strongest at the Academy so why not take it from him by becoming Hokage down the road to take away his dream,' thought Sasuke knowing that such a victory over the blonde would be most...satisfying.
His thoughts on the matter were cut off when he felt a knee hit his face sending him back against a tree followed by hard punches to his gut that made him cough of blood. Before he could react further, Sasuke heard a voice speaking into his ear, and recognized it as the Sannin Orochimaru.
"I had heard from my spies that you have activated your Sharingan recently Sasuke-kun and while it took you a few more years then it did Itachi, I am confident that you can do just as well as him...if not better!" said Orochimaru seeing the boy tense up through the corner of his eyes at the name of Itachi and saw the Sharingan Eyes the boy possessed become active.
'I must get stronger to surpass Itachi and the only way I can do that is by fighting people around Itachi's level. People like this guy!' thought Sasuke before he began to retaliate against the Sannin, who blocked his attacks easily enough, and began toying with the Uchiha.
"Come attack me Sasuke-kun. You'll see where you stand against your older brother by fighting against someone of my caliber," said Orochimaru before knocking the boy back several times despite the boy having the Sharingan Eyes activated since they were no match for him and even more so since they were incomplete.
Sasuke tried to hit the man using his areal acrobatics Kakashi taught him and the various Jutsu's he knew from the scrolls in his clan home, but found they were useless against the great Sannin. Every time, Sasuke tried to attack Orochimaru, the Sannin would just smile that mocking smile at him, and it infuriated the Uchiha to no end that no matter what he did this person was still stronger then him.
'Why won't this guy just die?!' thought Sasuke before he tried to land another hit on the Sannin only to be knocked back again and before he could do anything he soon felt a pain on his neck from a pair of fangs biting his neck.
"This is my gift to you Sasuke-kun. The Curse Seal of Heaven. A gift of my own design that holds unmatched power that I give from me to you. It is the key needed to beating not only your brother, but the Namikaze as well, and only through me will you achieve the glory your clan is feared for," said Orochimaru seeing the boy cry out in pain, as the Curse Seal mark appeared on his neck, and knocked the Uchiha out cold.
Orochimaru was pleased with his work and would have continued smiling when a pain coming from his back to his stomach was felt and upon looking down at the surprise of being caught of guard saw a nodachi blade sticking out covered in his blood. Turning his head slightly with annoyance on his face, he saw that Naruto was behind him breathing heavily, and the Sannin now wished he had killed the boy when he had the chance.
"Surprised?! I never relied on Kyuubi's chakra so whatever you did to cut him off from me won't take me down so easily as you would like," said Naruto twisting the blade hard and took some satisfaction in seeing Orochimaru flinch in pain from his actions.
"Stupid Namikaze. You are going to pay for that attack much later I promise you," said Orochimaru before he painful turned slowly and gave Naruto a hard kick to the gut.
The hit sent Naruto back while he still held onto his blade now coated in Orochimaru's blood while the Sannin himself was holding onto his stomach region.
'Damn! Even in his wounded condition he could tear me to pieces and I wouldn't be able to do anything about it,' thought Naruto wondering how he was going to get out of this one.
His prayers were answered by the arrival of his team and Team 7.
"So more kiddies have come out to play. No matter. I'm done here so I will take my leave of you all. Good luck to you all during the exams...you'll need it," said Orochimaru he vanished into the ground like it was water.
"Naruto-kun! What did he do to you?" said Hinata looking her lover over seeing he was a little bruised up with some blood leaking out the side of his lip.
"Don't worry Hinata-chan. I got him pretty good. He did something to my seal, but I'm not sure, and I think I need to have a seal master take a look at it," said Naruto now in a whispered voice since there were other people that didn't need to know about it outside of his team.
"What happened to Sasuke-kun?" said Sakura seeing her crush sweating up a storm with the Curse Seal of Heaven on his neck being revealed to her and Kiba.
"What the hell is that?" said Kiba pointing to the Curse Seal while Akamaru was letting out whimpers to his owner to stay away from it.
"We need to get to the tower right away," said Hinata seeing her love was now passed out from the strain of the fight from Orochimaru.
"We are still too far away from the tower, therefore it is only logical we find shelter until it is safe to move out again," said Shino seeing Hinata nod at him and the other two in Team 7 giving a reluctant nod to his words.
(A Few Hours Later)
"How are they doing Hinata?" said Shino having found a large hollowed out section from under a tree that could hold all of them for the time being.
"Naruto-kun's burning up, as is Sasuke-san, and nothing I have can bring it down," said Hinata using her bloodline to see the two boy's chakra network was not doing to well.
"Great! Next thing you know we'll be attacked by those Sound Ninjas," said Kiba, who got popped on the head by Sakura.
"Baka! Don't say things like that," said Sakura before turning to Sasuke seeing him now moving his head back and forth while sweat left his body in buckets.
"Regardless, I have setup several bug sentries around the area so if anyone disturbs it, they will release a scent only my bugs can smell, and will give us the needed time to prepare for any surprise attacks," said Shino having taken the liberty to think ahead for this moment.
"When should we make for the tower Shino?" said Hinata knowing that the sooner they got there the better.
"Depends. Kiba, how many scrolls do you have, and what kind?" said Shino seeing the Inuzuka look at him suspiciously, but decided to answer since Aburame's weren't known for backstabbing anyone.
"We only got two Earth Scrolls. We ran into a shitty Mist team and we took theirs, but we still need a Heaven Scroll to qualify for this part of the exam. Why?" said Kiba seeing the Aburame reaching into his pouch and threw a Heaven's Scroll at the Inuzuka, who caught it before looking at it to see it was in fact the genuine thing.
"We have more Heaven then Earth," said Shino stating a simple fact and left it alone before turning back to his own devices with his bugs.
(With the Sound Ninjas)
Get ready to strike. Orochimaru-sama's orders were clear. Kill both the Namikaze and the Uchiha immediately," said Dosu seeing his teammates Zaku and Kin nod in full agreement.
"What about the Hyuuga girl? She would be great to have as my personal trophy in this place," said Zaku with evil perverse intentions in his eyes and voice.
"Pig," said Kin only to be grabbed by Zaku and glared at by the clearly unstable Genin on her team.
"You want me to take you in her place? Then shut up and stick to the plan," said Zaku, as he turned to look from his position at the group from their spot in the trees.
'Bastard!' thought Kin deciding she would stick to the plan for now, but when the time came she would remove Zaku from her life.
After all...what happens in the Forest of Death stays in the Forest of Death.
"You two can bicker later. Its time to attack," said Dosu before the three of them moved swiftly to the entrance of the two teams little hiding spot.
"Come on out you weaklings," said Zaku, as he got ready to obliterate the group should they try anything funny, and send them to the other side.
(With Orochimaru)
"So he knows, as does his team. How fortunate it is for you Kabuto that I sent my team to annihilate them all. Well...most of them anyway," said Orochimaru, as he believed that the Uchiha would embrace his Curse Seal, and kill his Sound team after they destroyed the others.
"His power is incredible Orochimaru-sama. I admit I was quite fortunate to get away from him when I did," said Kabuto seeing his master weakened from his battle with the Namikaze.
"No matter. He won't survive against my team now that he is no doubt unconscious from the strain of my Five Prong Seal I hit him with. Continue to the central tower as planned Kabuto. Here are the two scrolls you will need to pass. Your teammates may be dead, but fortunately for you Kabuto, I have further use of you, and want you to stay for the entire duration of what is going to happen next," said Orochimaru seeing the shocked look on the other man's face.
"What? Why?" said Kabuto since if Naruto somehow survived with his team they would rat him out to the Hokage and get interrogated for it.
"Because I want you to possibly fight the Uchiha when he reaches the next stage of the exam. The Hokage won't do anything, as I have already ran into my old apprentice Anko, who despite having her mark removed was still not match for me, and I told her not to disturb the exams," said Orochimaru, who didn't tell Kabuto that Anko had gotten much stronger since he last ran into her, and had nearly gotten him had he not got a lucky shot in to keep her temporarily down.
"As you wish Orochimaru-sama," said Kabuto before he vanished back into the trees to continue his loyal service to the Sannin.
(With Team 8 & 7)
"So it was as my sentries detected earlier. Sound Ninjas and no doubt working for the Sannin we just escaped," said Shino walking out with the others.
"Smart guy. Maybe we should give him to Orochimaru for experimentation?" said Zaku feeling particularly bloodthirsty for some reason.
"Calm yourself Zaku. We are here to kill the Uchiha and Namikaze per instructions by Orochimaru-sama. Let us do our jobs and maybe we'll let you live. After all what does happen here in this place stays here," said Dosu seeing the two teams in front of him scowl at him for even considering it.
"If my teammate were still conscious, I would imagine he would say the words 'Go to hell!' right now, and I have to believe that they seem quite appropriate right now," said Shino, as he stared at the Sound Ninjas in front of him, who didn't look too pleased with his response, and got ready for a fight.
"Time to die you pampered brats!" said Zaku raising his hands to obliterate the group before they would have time to react.
Or rather he would have, had one Rock Lee came out of nowhere, and kicked him right in the face sending him flying back. Kin moved to strike him with a kunai, but Lee's skills in Taijutsu were too much for her, and after being disarmed she was knocked back by a (much softer) kick to the stomach. Dosu however, saw his opening, and used his sound bracers on his arms to hit Lee with its power that made Lee collapse in pain while he held parts of his body from where the sound waves hit him.
"Had the Namikaze not stopped us back right before the first exam, you would have seen what my sound bracers could do, and would have made a much better attempt in trying to counter it," said Dosu, picking up Kin's kunai, and readied to bring it down on Lee.
Much was his surprise when it exploded with hundreds of bugs swarming onto his body feasting on his chakra like an Akimichi does food at an all you can eat buffet.
"Never take your eyes off an opponent or his allies," said Shino having sent his bugs to do an alternative version of the bug clone to mimic the kunai to see if it was possible.
"Same thing can be said for you bug boy," said Zaku finally recovering from the blow dealt to him earlier before firing his sound blast based Jutsu at the Aburame, who with the others jumped out of the way, and barely missed the powerful attack.
Zaku was about to continue firing when he realized the entrance to the groups hideout was clear to fire upon since everyone, but the two targets were inside, and he may never get such an easy target to shoot at again. Grinning mercilessly at the spot, Zaku fired at the cave where Naruto and Sasuke were unconscious from their ordeal with Orochimaru, and now believed the mission was now a success upon looking at the destruction left in its wake.
"Naruto-kun!" said Hinata the horror of losing him running through her mind once more like it did on the bride in Wave Country.
"Sasuke-kun!" said Sakura seeing her supposed love being buried under the rubble.
"Oh damn! The Council and the Hokage are going to kill us," said Kiba knowing how the Council favored the Uchiha and how the Hokage favored the Namikaze.
"Now that those two are taken care of let's take care of the other fools," said Zaku aiming for Kiba and Sakura only to find his arms stabbed multiple times by kunai thrown at him from above.
An angry looking Tenten and Neji were burning holes through their heads right now.
"More Leaf Shinobi?" said Kin before she found herself trapped due to her shadow being caught by one Nara Shikamaru, as Team 6 made an appearance, and they didn't look to pleased either.
"If you think we are just going to let you get away with hurting a good friend of mine like Naruto, then you're even stupider then I thought, and what I thought was too troublesome from the start," said Shikamaru seeing Kin trying to struggle against him.
"Naruto may have come from a prestigious and powerful clan, but he never flaunted it around like he was better then everyone, and always treated us like we were equals. I'm going to enjoy pounding you all into jelly," said Choji since he and Naruto would always hang out together when the Namikaze wasn't training, on missions, etc.
If Naruto were a food, then to Choji, he was a rare dish one doesn't eat for a long time, and doesn't take it for granted.
'There will be hell to pay!' thought Tenten and Ino seeing how they like Naruto too like Hinata did only they had yet to tell him.
Now they may never be able to.
'Naruto, I failed you. I don't know how I will be able to explain this to your father, but I will try to offer up some form of penance for my failure,' thought Neji feeling that he had been cheated out of a good friend, who didn't see him as an inferior person, but someone that was an equal, and wished it had been him now buried under that rubble rather then Naruto.
"They're like roaches! Kill two and six more pop up to take their place," said Zaku, as he began to feel panicky, and didn't like being cornered.
"It doesn't mean anything. Let them have Kin. Fight your way out and meet up later at the tower," said Dosu, as he got his body ready to move, and Zaku did the same.
They were stopped when a blast of purple chakra erupted from the rubble the Uchiha and Namikaze were buried under only to see the Uchiha becoming the source of the evil power.
"Sasuke-kun!" said Sakura seeing her crush alive and well despite how he looked with dark markings on his face.
"It can't be. You only had a 10 percent chance of surviving that Curse Seal!" said Dosu making many in the group wonder what happened to Sasuke earlier to put him out of action.
"So, this is the power Orochimaru told me about. I have to say it feels pretty good. Very good indeed," said Sasuke before charging forward and hitting Zaku hard into a nearby tree creating a spider web imprint on the massive tree trunk.
'This chakra is evil and it's unnatural,' thought Neji seeing it with his Byakugan, as did Hinata, who refocused on finding Naruto, and began looking for him.
She was stopped when a hand was wrapped around her throat and that hand belonged to Uchiha Sasuke.
"You're the Hyuuga bitch that loser Namikaze likes. We'll his loss will be my gain. I'll invoke my clan restoration act rights and have the Council see to it that you are married to me," said Sasuke seeing the look of horror on Hinata's face and reveled in it only for him to be stopped when he saw defiance in her eyes followed by a hard chakra fueled slap to his face.
"I'd rather die then be your wife!" said Hinata getting into her family's Gentle Fist stance with her Byakugan activated once more.
"That...dear Hyuuga can be arranged you miserable bitch! 'Fire Style: Grand Fireball-AKC!" said Sasuke only to be spun around, pulled forward, and see along with feel a fist hit him in the face into the ground creating a pretty deep crater in the process.
"The only miserable bitch here is you Uchiha-teme," said Naruto a little cut up from the remains of the tree that hit him.
"Naruto-kun!" said Hinata running up and hugging him tightly loving how sexy he now looked without shirt on.
The other girls secretly agreed on that too.
"Hey Hinata-chan. That was one hell of a wake up call. Damn, that's going to give me a killer headache later," said Naruto before Trickster appeared levitating next to him while surrounded by Kyuubi chakra until he grabbed it.
"How did you survive that attack?" said Dosu seeing, as how he could understand the Uchiha surviving due to the Curse Seal, but not the Namikaze, and he was beginning to wonder if either of the two were remotely human.
"Like a magician, a Shinobi must never tell his secrets, and even then it must only be learned by his or her successor," said Naruto his sword now in hand.
"Wait! If you let us live. I will give you our scroll in return," said Dosu holding out the scroll before putting it down.
"Which one is it?" said Naruto not seeing the kanji on it to tell if it was one or the other.
"It's the Earth Scroll. It's a spare we picked up from one of the other teams we attacked earlier before yours," said Dosu before went to pick up an unconscious Zaku and he saw Naruto nod to Shikamaru in letting Kin go free.
"Get the hell out of here and if I see you assholes before this thing is over I'm going to roast you three over an open flame," said Naruto some of his chakra flashing like it was electricity over his now exposed seal with some of the Kyuubi's and purple from the Five Prong Seal Orochimaru hit him with.
"Before we go tell me...is it true? Did you really wound Orochimaru-sama?" said Dosu looking at Naruto seeing the shocked looks on everyone else's faces.
"Yes I did," said Naruto staring at Dosu with eyes that told the Sound Ninja to get out of there while he still could.
"That's all I wanted to know," said Dosu before he and Kin left to head to the tower to recuperate and plan for the next step of the exam.
"Good. Because I don't think I can stand on my own much longer," said Naruto before nearly falling to his knees had Hinata not caught him while she tried to hold her blush back at feeling all those wonderful muscles rippling on her touch.
'That bitch! I want to do that!' thought Tenten and Ino looking a little peeved at Hinata getting to feel all those incredible muscles Naruto was sporting.
Elsewhere Haku and Temari shivered at a new feeling going up their spines and believed that it was because they missed something really good or bad concerning Naruto.
"Are you okay Naruto-sama?" said Neji with Tenten behind him while Team 6 walked closer with Lee parallel to his two teammates.
"What about Sasuke-kun? He's in a crater thanks to this baka!" said Sasuke pointing fiercely at Naruto while making a mental note to tell the Council about what Naruto did to Sasuke from her impartial point of view.
"Not our problem. You have what you need to advance. Besides, I doubt the 'last Uchiha' would want to even be in this group," said Naruto seeing Shino's eyebrow rise up, as he wondered how Naruto knew that, and also wondered if the boy was not as unconscious like he thought he was.
"How the hell do you know that?" said Kiba looking at Naruto while keeping his rage at Hinata being so close to him barely in check.
"Because I know Shino well enough to not leave a fellow member of the Leaf hanging out to dry even if the person or in this case team involved is consists of a bunch of weak arrogant pricks that think they are strong when they are clearly...not!" said Naruto seeing the Inuzuka and Haruno glare at him while Sasuke was still out of it.
"Why you little Namikaze piece of shi-HEY!" said Kiba, who got a sword pointed at him courtesy of Tenten, and made him back up a little seeing her angry glare.
"You got what you need to get to the tower Kiba. Whether you, Sakura, and Sasuke get there in one piece or in pieces I don't care. It's high time you stopped relying on others to get where you are and actually use the spine you were born with," said Naruto walking with the help of Hinata over to the Earth Scroll Dosu left behind before picking it up and giving it a once over.
"I don't suppose you would cut us a break and let us have that Earth Scroll would you?" said Shikamaru since they got the Heavens Scroll and were possibly the weakest among the Rookies.
"Depends. What do I get out of it?" said Naruto seeing Shikamaru sweat drop, as it was clearly Naruto's style to make things troublesome for him.
"A date with Ino," said Shikamaru seeing Ino's eyes light up with joy while Hinata and Tenten gave the Nara a death glare saying he was going to get it later on.
"Deal," said Naruto seeing Ino now have stars in her eyes and no doubt ideas of how to seduce the Namikaze into having her be his number one girl.
She would have to get in line.
Naruto tossed them the Earth Scroll, which Shikamaru caught before they headed out, and Naruto noticed Ino give him a quick wink.
"I thought the plan was for us to stick together?" said Tenten looking at Naruto for an explanation.
"Sometimes a team that is weak in long terms fight also runs the fastest as well. The lazy bum won't admit it, but aside from Team 7 here, they are technically the weakest of us, and will be decimated if they stay any longer. However, they can move the fastest of all of us to the tower at the same time, and I'd rather they get to the tower safely then be hit by some rival village's team while with us," said Naruto knowing that Ino will make sure that Choji moves his large butt forward while yelling into Shikamaru's ear to get to the tower so she could get her date with the Namikaze Heir.
"I see your point Naruto-sama, but if it's all right with you I would like our team to stick with yours?" said Neji getting a rolling of the eyes from Naruto, who really wished the Hyuuga would not call him that, and simply call him Naruto or Naruto-san.
"You don't have to ask me for permission Neji since I said you could. Also, stop calling me Naruto-sama. I may be a Clan Heir, but it doesn't mean you have to give me that type of suffix because of it, and if you have to use one just have it be san," said Naruto before putting Trickster away and the group headed out while Kiba called for them to come back while Sakura was telling Sasuke to wake up.
"Not to be unyouthful, but was it really wise to abandon Team 7?" said Lee, who was a man of honor, and felt it was his duty to stick by a fellow Leaf Shinobi to the end.
"We didn't abandon them. We gave them what they need to make it to the tower. If they can't get there, then it's their fault, and we are not obligated to help them any further," said Naruto jumping from his tree branch to the next with Hinata right beside him should he suddenly collapse.
"Naruto-san is indeed correct. Sasuke, Kiba, and to some degree Sakura have the skills of a Shinobi in them. If they have the scrolls they need and not make it to the tower before time is up, then they are not ready to advance beyond their current levels. That being the case, it would also mean that their sensei is not doing a very good job, and he will have to be reported to the Hokage to ensure that they do not make the same mistakes a second time," said Neji seeing Naruto smirk from his line of sight and knew that Naruto knew that he hit the nail right on the head.
"And that my friends, is a lesson we can all learn without falling asleep bored from our good teacher Iruka-sensei, who would always put us to sleep during his history class, and yelled at us for not paying attention when it was his fault we fell asleep in the first place," said Naruto earning a few laughs from the group since Iruka's lectures had been boring from the start.
(1 Day Later)
"Yes! We made it and not a moment too soon," said Lee having reached his room to rest for a good while until the other applicants (if any) arrived to the tower for the next part of the exam.
It had been a grueling event in getting to the tower with the situation with the Forest of Death being the home to so many animals, giant bugs that not even Shino wanted to be around, and the occasional Shinobi team trying to take care of the Team 8 & 9. When the two teams opened the scroll, they were introduced to Iruka and Anko, who praised them on a job well done, and told them they had some time to rest in the temporary living area that was set up for early arrivals like the Suna team. The two teams also told Anko to prepare Sasuke for immediate sealing of his Curse Seal given to him by Orochimaru upon his entry into the tower.
Later, upon meeting the Hokage, Naruto was told that what the Sannin hit him with was the Five Prong Seal, which upon overlaying with the Shinigami Seal, effectively cut off Kyuubi from his system, and shot his charka control right into hell. When Naruto asked if he could remove it, the old man said he couldn't due to the crude way it was done during the fighting, and wanted to wait until a proper seal master that would soon be in Konoha arrived to deal with it.
"Lee, please keep it down. The last thing we need is for you to upset another team and have them kill us in their sleep because we didn't kill you ourselves for being so loud," said Tenten letting out a sigh seeing the green spandex Genin excited about advancing this far and wondered how Naruto was doing.
"I have to agree with Tenten. If you get too excited you will upset the other teams from the other villages. Remember, the boy Subaku no Gaara is not stable from what Naruto told us, and it would be wise to tread cautiously in what you do," said Neji making Lee pale at the thought of facing Subaku no Gaara when the unstable boy was directing his anger at him.
(With Team 8)
"We have a day or two before this stage of the exams ends so we need to consider the possibility of us fighting next judging by that area we saw earlier," said Naruto seeing his teammates nod in agreement with him having seen the same area too.
"I agree. We have taken a written test, a survival test, and now a test of our combat skill would be the logical choice next. If a Chuunin does not have the power of his or her own self, then the authority of that person will be cut in half when giving orders to the Shinobi under that Chuunin's command," said Shino having gone over all the data in his head about this and reached the same conclusion as Naruto.
"Which means that depending on who arrives at the tower by the end of the time limit we might have to face later on," said Hinata seeing the others nod at her in agreement.
"Which means we better get some more rest and hope that no matter what happens were ready for anything," said Naruto, as he had a distinct feeling that something bad was going to happen, and he was not about to let such things go after his friends/teammates.
(With the Suna Team)
"Is something wrong Gaara?" said Kankuro frowning at his brother, who seemed to be in deep thought, and it was times like that when simply sneezing could earn you the red haired boy's wrath.
"Mother says the Namikaze has lost some of his strength. If I fight him now, I might be able to kill him, and feed Mother good blood," said Gaara wondering what caused the decrease in the Namikaze's incredible power.
"Don't underestimate him Gaara. I heard he was able to hurt the Sannin Orochimaru shortly after whatever it was the man did to him," said Temari having walked in during the middle of this conversation after hearing from a few people what Naruto did to the Hebi.
"I will. Even without his other power, I sense great strength in him, and I want to face it to prove my existence," said Gaara, as the bloodlust in his eyes grew, and made both his siblings nervous.
"It may take some motivation to bring it out Gaara. The Namikaze aren't known for the flaunting of power that they wield," said Kankuro wondering what his little brother was thinking, but thought against it since anything in Gaara's mind involved blood, and the occasional talk with his "Mother".
"Then I will just have to find a way to bring it out of him, won't I?" said Gaara giving off a cruel smile that spelled doom for anyone that got in his crosshairs.
Things were going to get nasty.
(A/N: YAY! I updated. It took some doing, but I did it. Now I have plenty of time to give you the Prelim matches you are so eagerly awaiting. Someone of them will NOT be what they are in the cannon and will be pretty crazy. You may even flame me. LOL! Seriously, you might hate what happens to a few good people. I won't say who, but it will make you slightly upset (at least that much), and by the end of the next chapter you will see the fury of one Namikaze Naruto that you have yet to witness in any fan fiction at this stage of his life. Until next time...PEACE!!)