Yay! I managed to write this one surprisingly fast (as in, less than twenty-four hours). I was pretty surprised, since I'd expected it to take longer.

Minor spoiler: for those who wanted a bit more spotlight for teams eight and ten, here you go.

Also, I've basically finished my core revisions to the early chapters, bringing down the power levels of a few characters and more firmly cementing Mai's personality. She now pretends to be an utterly insane woman with delusions of godhood. Mostly for the amusement factor; her "act" is kind of my way of parodying god mode OCs, which Mai previously was due to early installment weirdness. Now, she's not.

Anyways, enjoy this everyone, and Happy New Years! Welcome to 2012! P.S.: This year went way too fast.

Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply.

Seventy-eight genin, thirty chūnin and one tokubetsu jōnin stood outside the decrepit main gates of Konoha's 44th Training Zone. Beyond the gates and the fencing, the Forest of Death loomed ominously before them.

"Before anything else," said Anko as the chūnin walked forward carrying stacks of paper. "I need all of you to sign these waivers; failure to do so will fail you and your team."

"What are the waivers for?" asked one genin, accepting a waiver from one of the chūnin. Anko smirked.

"Oh, not much," she said lightly. "They just mean you recognize the danger and absolve me of all guilt if you happen to get killed." The genin who spoke up gulped.

"We're not children any more," said Naruto, looking at the genin in question. "We're ninja; danger is a part of our lives. If you don't have the guts for it, then walk away."

"You either got courage or sense," said Anko. Suddenly, she tossed a kunai at Naruto's head, not caring that the hat he wore blocked off most of her vision of his face.

The blond reacted by tilting his body back slightly. As the kunai shot past, a tendril of red chakra emerged from beneath Naruto's cloak, forming into a clawed hand that snatched the kunai from the air.

"You dropped this," said Naruto casually as he tossed it back to her. As more genin shuddered at what had happened and a few stared at Naruto wide-eyed, Anko let out a small laugh, catching the kunai.

"I've heard stories about you," she said. "I'm glad they're not overblown. Oh, I can't wait to see your performance in the remaining exams."

"I aim to please," said Naruto dryly.

"Excellent," said Anko. "Now, if your team has signed their waivers, head into that booth over there and hand them in. You'll receive one of two scrolls, heaven or earth." As she spoke, she held up two scrolls, a white one with the kanji for heaven and a black one with the kanji for earth. "Don't open the scroll you receive. There will be a total of thirteen scrolls of each kind; the goal in this exam is to reach the tower at the center of the training zone, a ten kilometer trek, with at least one heaven and one earth scroll." Eyes widened all around.

"So… that's what you meant when you said you'd be cutting out at least half?" questioned Sakura. Anko nodded.

"Exactly," she said. "Since there are only thirteen full sets, only half of you can pass. And that assumes no scrolls are destroyed by what's lurking around inside, and that half the teams can get the right scrolls. You have a five day time limit—anyone still inside the forest at that time will be failed, even if you have every single scroll, even if no one has reached the tower. If you open either scroll, you will fail automatically. Am I understood?"

"Yes!"

"Good," said Anko. "Let's start." Anko glanced around as the teams started to move forward and smirked. She kept a particular eye on team seven.

Ibiki's right, she thought. That kid is interesting…

Team seven was the first group to reach the covered booth, the chūnin stopping anyone else from entering. They handed in their waivers, and the chūnin handed Sakura a heaven scroll. The three shared a brief glance before nodding slightly. As they turned away, Sakura handed the scroll to Naruto to conceal, briefly drawing the eyes of the chūnin, who thus failed to notice as a group of small bugs flew from Shino's sleeves and landed on the earth scrolls.

The kikaichū bred fast and lived only a few hours each; the thirteen female kikaichū were all relatively newborn. They'd last long enough. It was fortunate for team seven that they needed an earth scroll, since the kikaichū could hide more effectively on them than the heaven scrolls.

After leaving the booth, team seven moved away from the crowd. Those who passed through the booth joined them.

"Team eight and Team Gai have both received earth scrolls," said Shino quietly. "Yakushi-san's team, Gaara's team and the Oto team have also received earth scrolls."

"Kabuto-san has experience and we don't want to cross Gaara yet," said Naruto. "Team Gai's a dangerous prospect as well; I'd rather not bully team eight either. The Oto nin are an unknown."

"What about other targets? How many teams from each village received the remaining eight earth scrolls?" asked Sakura.

"Both teams from Kusa, the remaining team from Taki, two teams from Ame, one team from Suna and two teams from Konoha," said Shino. Naruto nodded.

"We won't know more until things start," he said. "We'll pursue the closest scroll; if we think it's too risky, we'll try to find another one."

"Alright, everyone's got their scrolls now!" shouted Anko. "I've already explained how this works. Once you're inside, you're on your own. There's plenty of food to be found in there—you simply have to kill it or pick it. But do be careful… I hear some of the animals and flora can be quite poisonous." Anko licked her lips. "Remember, you signed those waivers. If you die, it's your own damn fault. Neither myself, nor your killer, will be held responsible."

Anko glanced at her watch.

"We begin in thirty minutes," she said. "Each of you, follow the chūnin who comes to pick you up to your gates. You'll start there, but not a moment before you hear my announcement that we're starting. Now, get going!"

"Quite the group you three gave me," said Ibiki, stepping into the jōnin lounge, his words directed to Kakashi, Kurenai and Asuma.

"Ibiki," said Kakashi. "So, all our subordinates passed?"

"With flying colors," said Ibiki with a small smirk. "Haruno Sakura and Nara Shikamaru even managed it without having to cheat. Among your students, the only ones caught cheating were Inuzuka Kiba and Yamanaka Ino." Kurenai let out a faint sigh.

"So, information gathering this year, huh?" said Kakashi. He glanced at Kurenai.

"You shouldn't feel bad," said Asuma. "But Ino and Kiba are a lot less subtle. You had to realize that."

"Yes," agreed Kurenai. "I wonder how Naruto managed it."

"Naruto can combine transformation with shadow clone," said Kakashi. His three companions froze in shock, and he had to suppress a chuckle. "What? You mean after everything you've learned, you can still be surprised that he can do the impossible? Shame on you."

"Three words I never thought I'd hear from Kakashi," muttered Asuma. "Damn that brat, he's turning the village on its head and he's not even trying."

"Some of the other ANBU tried bribing me into interrogating him on how he managed to paint headquarters twice without getting caught," commented Ibiki. "I heard a rumor that a few tried approaching the Hokage to have him added to their ranks after that incident."

Kakashi let out a low laugh.

"He's only getting started," promised Kakashi. "Just wait until Sakura and Shino join in on the fun."

Asuma and Kurenai shuddered, while Ibiki laughed lightly, looking forward to what would happen.

"Now!" came Anko's voice over speakers placed at each of the entry gates. "The Second Chūnin Selection Exam… begins!"

The gates flew open and twenty-six teams rushed forward. Most had no real direction, but there were some exceptions. The Eighth Graduate Squad soon came to a stop, allowing Hinata to use her Byakūgan to search the area around them. A team from Kusa rushed in the general direction of the gate the Tenth Graduate Squad had entered from.

The Seventh Graduate Squad immediately rushed towards the closest earth scroll, aware of the location of each and every one thanks to Shino's kikaichū.

The unfortunate team in question turned out to be the one from Takigakure. They were being cautious, but not nearly cautious enough to deal with a team trained by the legendary Hatake Kakashi.

"How do we do this?" whispered Naruto.

"I say we be merciful," said Sakura with a smirk that would've made Anko proud. "I had this thought recently and have been training a bit in private to experiment. I might exhaust myself since I'm still experimenting, but if I'm right, then I'll only need to hit once."

Naruto and Shino sighed.

"Alright, we'll make this quick," said Naruto, pulling out a sealing scroll. He released the item inside, drawing looks of shock from Sakura and Shino as they gazed at the object. Naruto smirked as he pulled out a bit of the Kyūbi's chakra.

Only a moment later, a scream of terror tore from somewhere within the forest. It was high-pitched to the point of being terrified beyond all reason. It caused all the teams that heard it to pause briefly, while Anko was childishly dancing to the scream like it was music.

"Team seven's gone to work," muttered Sasuke.

Naruto punched one Taki nin. Sakura punched the other. Both were sent flying clear out of the forest. Sakura collapsed, and Naruto rushed to her side, cancelling his previous transformation and working to feed some chakra to her with the item he'd pulled out earlier.

The last Taki nin, the one in possession of the scroll, was still screaming in high-pitched terror as Shino's kikaichū swung him around like a rag doll. The Aburame had created shadow clones, which included shadow clones of his disproportionate number of kikaichū, then threw all the kikaichū he could at the opponent and was using them like a whip. After a moment, the kikaichū managed to seize the earth scroll and Shino had them let the Taki nin go flying along with his comrades beyond the forest.

Anko sported a 'shit-eating grin' as she stared down at the immobile, groaning forms of the three Taki nin that had suddenly come flying out of the forest.

"Well, you're still alive," she commented cheerfully. "Did you have fun?"

"B-b-b-b-bakemono…" stuttered one unfortunate, traumatized genin. Anko just kept smiling.

"What was that?" questioned Naruto as he helped Sakura to her feet. She gave a weak smile, and a small blush at being held up by a shirtless Naruto.

"Well, I remembered your enhanced strength at the bridge, the basic principles of chakra, and your explosive clones," she said. "So I thought 'what if I were to build up chakra and release it all at once in a punch?' I think that's how Tsunade-sama gets her legendary strength. To be honest, the level of chakra control is a bit beyond me, which is why I exhausted myself."

Naruto shook his head. "Unbelievable," he muttered. "You should focus on that before anything else. That strength is terrifying."

"Oh, come on! After what I just saw you do, superhuman strength isn't that impressive! Or terrifying… you know, for someone who doesn't want people to think of him as a monster, you certainly know how to look like one."

"Whatever," muttered Naruto. He looked at Shino, who held up the earth scroll, and nodded, letting go of Sakura. He first retrieved his shirt, cloak and hat, though he only put the first one back on initially, instead biting his right thumb to draw a bit of blood, which he then smeared on his left forearm.

He then formed five hand seals—Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey and Ram—in quick succession before smacking his open left hand on the ground.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu," he said. There was an explosion of smoke, and when it cleared, the summoned beast stood there.

"Beautiful…" whispered Sakura in awe. Shino's eyes were wide behind his glasses.

"Naruto-kun," said the beast, its voice deep and masculine. "It's been sometime. How have you been?"

"Great, Fuyuki-san," said Naruto as he put on his cloak and hat. "Listen, if it's not too much trouble, do you think you could give me and my friends a lift? We need to reach the tower at the center of this forest."

"No trouble at all," said Fuyuki. "We don't get to stretch much. Isamu might complain over you favoring Kikyō, but most of us are just grateful to get out from time to time."

"Thanks, Fuyuki-san," said Naruto, climbing onto Fuyuki's back. "Hey, Sakura, Shino, stop gaping and get on!"

Sasuke, Shikamaru and Chōji moved cautiously forward, knowing that one wrong move could spell disaster for them.

They'd put their heads together, and were quick to determine that they had several tactics available to them, ones that weren't mutually exclusive.

Their focus, for the moment, would be getting to the tower. Once there, they could lay down traps for those approaching from a certain angle. Next, they would setup some traps and let one of them, holding a fake scroll, stand in the midst of them in order to draw in people looking for a heaven scroll while the other two hid.

It was a simple, but effective tactic. A little on the slow side for Sasuke's personal tastes, but they'd concluded that it didn't matter how long they took—all that mattered was that they got to the tower with both scrolls before their five days were up. And, as time passed, more people would get desperate and risk a trap to get the scroll they needed.

Sasuke glanced at his teammates and let out a small sigh.

"Let's take a break," he said. "We don't want to be worn out at any point in here."

"Fine by me," said Shikamaru. Lazy ass…

"Thanks Sasuke," said Chōji, pulling out a bag of potato chips as they sat down.

Then, they heard another sudden scream of fright.

"We might want to keep track of that," commented Sasuke dryly. "Every scream means team seven's taken out another team."

Sasuke wasn't wrong—one group of fast-moving Ame genin somehow got ahead of team seven and launched an attack. Naruto, Sakura and Shino hadn't even moved—Fuyuki was more than happy to take out their opponents and toss the scroll up to the three.

"Heaven scroll… do we want to hold onto this? If we do, it guarantees that only twelve teams pass," said Naruto.

"One scroll probably won't matter much as to who passes in the grand scheme of things," said Sakura. She shrugged. "Personally, I don't care too much, but it would be a shame for team eight or ten to fail because there wasn't a heaven scroll left."

"Yeah," said Naruto lightly. As Fuyuki continued to carry them towards the tower at high speed, Naruto decided he'd discard the scroll when they got a bit closer.

It wasn't even an hour into the exam before team ten ran into trouble.

The three of them were on the ground, eyes wide with terror, practically paralyzed by fear from the raw killer intent they'd just experienced. Sasuke knew about the difference between illusionary and true killer intent, but never had he felt the second one so fiercely as just now.

What kind of monster was that ninja from Kusa?

"I expected more out of the famed Uchiha bloodline," said the ninja. He… she… it, really… had a look of disappointment. "Oh well… I guess this just means I'll have to kill you. You're obviously not strong enough. Don't worry; I'll make it nice and painless."

"Bastard…" muttered Sasuke as he tried to will his body to move.

"Heh." The Kusa nin pulled out a trio of kunai. However, just as he was about to throw them, his body froze. His eyes widened in shock.

Shikamaru panted as he glared at their opponent. His shadow was deformed, stretching across the clearing to touch that of the Kusa nin.

"I see," he said. "The Nara clan's famed shadow imitation technique. However, it won't save you."

"Sasuke, Chōji, can you move at all?" panted Shikamaru. "I don't know… how long I can hold him…"

Neither of them answered him, both trying to force their bodies to move.

Sasuke mustered up enough willpower to draw a kunai… which he then spun and stabbed into his own leg.

"Sasuke?" gasped Shikamaru. The Kusa nin looked surprised. Sasuke panted and withdrew the kunai.

"It's okay," he said. "I can move now. Shikamaru, hold him still for a minute longer."

Shikamaru nodded. Sasuke pulled his arm back and tossed the kunai at their foe before performing hand seals for the Uchiha signature ninjutsu.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"

The fireball followed after the kunai, but blinded them to what was happening on the other side.

"Clever," came the Kusa nin's voice behind them. Sasuke's eyes widened. "But you should be more cautious when your teammate is using shadows to bind the enemy. That fireball of yours gives off light and disrupts shadows."

"Damn," cursed Sasuke. "Shikamaru, can you…?"

"Barely."

Sasuke cursed internally as he turned to face their opponent again. He was still holding the three kunai from before.

"You're such a pathetic group…"

"If I give you our heaven scroll, will you let us go?" demanded Sasuke. His thoughts were on his two friends; their opponent was on a whole other level. If they fought him, they were almost guaranteed to die. He couldn't let that happen.

"No."

That cold, one-word answer dashed all hope. But Sasuke wasn't going to give in so easily. As the three kunai were sent their way, Sasuke grabbed his teammates and ran, intent on getting them to safety.

"Listen you two," said Sasuke as he set them down. "I'll take the heaven scroll and lure him away. As soon as you two can run, do it. I'm the fastest of us, so I'm the only one who might be able to escape him."

"Sasuke, that's suicide!" said Shikamaru.

"We're not letting you go into this alone!" added Chōji. Sasuke's words triggered something in him, and he was able to move once again.

"Guys… thanks, but I'm not gonna let you two get yourselves killed."

"Our best chance is to hope that team seven is still in the forest and that we can find them," said Shikamaru. "But guess what? You're the only one of us who could find them quick enough."

"Naruto is probably already out of this forest," said Sasuke. "And I'm not gonna risk more of my friends futilely. We're in an impossible situation here, and I refuse to let it control us that easily! My idea is the best chance we got! If we try to fight this guy, then we're all dead! At least this way, you two may survive!"

"Touching. But meaningless."

Sasuke's eyes widened as the Kusa nin appeared right next to them and moved to stab Shikamaru and Chōji.

The world seemed to slow to Sasuke. The kunai descended, ready to end the lives of his teammates and friends.

No… no! He wouldn't let that happen!

Sasuke's body slammed into the Kusa nin, knocking him away. A kunai sprouted from his enemy's flesh. Enraged by the threat to Shikamaru and Chōji, Sasuke stared at his shocked foe with crimson eyes and attempted to ram a kunai through the bastard's eye. His attack was stopped by his opponent's hands on his wrist, barely saving his eye.

Those eyes… thought the Kusa nin. He awakened the Sharingan in the middle of battle like this? Kukuku… Sasuke-kun… it seems you are indeed worthy.

The two slammed into the forest floor, breaking apart immediately. Without hesitation, Sasuke went on the attack once again.

"So, you're saying we should try to find teams seven and ten?" questioned Kiba. Ino nodded.

"I was thinking about what Morino-san told us about the first exam," she said. "They seem to be encouraging 'out of the box' thinking. Well, that Mitarashi woman only said that we needed to reach the tower within five days with both a heaven and an earth scroll, right? If we work together with the rest of the rookies, we get strength in numbers, and while we need more scrolls all total, we'll also have an easier time securing them."

"I like that way of thinking," said Kiba. "Besides, if I have to run into those lunatics in here, I'd rather it be as allies."

Ino smacked Kiba.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"For calling Sakura-chan, Naruto-kun and Shino-san lunatics!" she said. "Hey, Shino-san creeps me out too, but I'm not calling him crazy! Sakura-chan's my best friend—again, and let me tell you that I'm happy about that—and as for Naruto-kun, you're just jealous!"

"K-Kiba-kun, Ino-san, please, let's not fight," said Hinata as the two growled at each other. They backed down immediately; Ino and Kiba didn't exactly get along with each other, but as long as Hinata was around to play peacekeeper, things were fine.

"Well, at any rate, we should probably start looking," said Kiba. "If we don't hurry, team seven will be done before we even start looking."

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!" cursed Anko repeatedly.

It had been nearly eleven hours since the exam begin, almost ten since things went to hell as she realized who had infiltrated the exams.

Orochimaru… she couldn't believe that bastard really had the nerve to come back here. Half the village had a grudge to settle with that bastard

"Anko-san, are you really sure we shouldn't cancel the exams?" asked one of the ANBU who'd come to pull her weakened body out of that damn forest.

"We have a situation, but I'm thinking it might get worse if we cancel the exams," she said. "Right now, Orochimaru's goals seem limited to putting the Cursed Seal on Uchiha Sasuke and then watching the results."

"Then should we remove him from the exams if he survives?"

"I don't think so," said Anko. "We'll wait for Hokage-sama to make a decision."

"Excuse me," said a chūnin examiner, opening the door to the room.

"What is it?" demanded Anko. "We're having an important conversation here."

"My apologies," said the chūnin, looking a little uncertain. "But I thought you should see this." He held up a tape and proceeded over to the television to put it in the VCR.

"A video?" questioned one of the ANBU.

The chūnin put the tape in and hit play.

"Okay, look at the time here and watch," he said.

The static disappeared as the video started. Those three genin from Kakashi's squad appeared on it. Anko glanced at the time. 15:26. What was so…

Wait, what?

"Twenty-six minutes after the start of the second exam," said the chūnin, voicing everyone's thoughts. "This is a recording from that time."

"Three from Konohagakure no Sato have finished the second exam," said a voice on the video.

"Is this… possible?" muttered one of the ANBU as Anko stood up.

"They finished the exam in less than half an hour," said the chūnin. "They beat the previous record by over five hours. Even for a chūnin, such a feat…"

"No…" said Anko. "Look at them more closely. The forest is littered with poisonous bugs, wild animals, dangerous paths, and it's a ten kilometer trek. But none of them have even a scratch on them."

The chūnin and ANBU all redirected their attention to the screen and realized she was right.

"There isn't even any dirt on their clothes," she continued. "Crossing the entire forest in that time, capturing the missing scroll, and doing all of it completely unharmed… even for a tokubetsu jōnin, that would be quite a feat." She looked back at the screen. "Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and Aburame Shino… what the hell is going on?"

"Were there any other unusual teams like this?" asked one of the ANBU.

"I was preoccupied by these three," he said. "I'll look into it."

"We'll ask Hokage-sama what he knows when he arrives. I'd also like to speak to Hatake Kakashi. And…" Anko frowned. She thought back to an incident earlier today, just after the exams began. She'd forgotten about it, since Orochimaru had come up not long after. "There are three genin from Takigakure taking this exam. They were thrown out of the forest not long after the exam began, only a few minutes in. Whatever happened, it terrified them so much that they chose to quit rather than risk facing it again. I need to ask them what it was they saw."

"Understood." She got the sense that the ANBU were… amused? "That kid… I thought it was a joke when someone suggested recruiting him to the ANBU. Now I see that it wasn't."

Team seven was one of only two teams to arrive at the tower on the first day. The second team was Gaara's team from Suna, just over an hour behind them.

Right now, Naruto, sans straw hat, stood on one of the tower balconies, looking out at the forest, wondering how the rest of his friends were doing. There was this slight tugging at his mind, telling him that something was wrong. He just wasn't entirely sure what that might be…

"Why are you out here?" came a voice suddenly. Naruto looked over his shoulder to see Temari standing in the balcony entrance. He looked forward again.

"Thinking about my friends," he said. "They're strong… but then there are people with attitudes similar to your brother in this exam as well."

"What do you know of my brother?" asked Temari, walking forward to stand next to Naruto.

"I know that he's a jinchūriki," said Naruto. Temari's eyes widened in shock. "I hate that word, but… that's what people see us as."

"Wait, 'us'? You don't mean…!"

"That I'm like your brother?" said Naruto. "I am." He had no problem confessing this. "I wouldn't spread it around, though—it's a crime to mention it in this village. At any rate, I also know that the only thing he cares about is slaughter. I can sense it; and I don't know what happened to him to make him that way, though I have a guess. I can sympathize to his life, but…" Naruto turned to look at Temari. "If he tries to kill any of my friends, make no mistake—I will kill him."

"If you're the same as him, then I believe you."

"Oh no, it's not because I'm the same," said Naruto. "It's because I had people who cared about me. My own niisan and nēchan, when we had to part, left me with the tools I needed to protect my friends from others like me. Even without that… Shukaku's power pales in comparison to what I have."

Temari looked away.

"Do you care about him?"

"Of course I do!" she said loudly. "He's my little brother! He may terrify me, he may threaten to kill me, he may not care about me or Kankurō at all, but he's still my brother! When we were little I was too naïve and frightened to help him and when we were older he didn't want anyone's help! So don't talk like I don't care!"

Naruto smiled slightly as he turned to look back out at the forest.

"That's good to hear," he said. "Keep trying, Temari-san. All it takes is a little acknowledgement and care; it will make all the difference in the world."

They were silent for a moment.

"That's what happened to you, wasn't it?" asked Temari softly, turning to stare out at the forest as well.

"Yeah," said Naruto. "The Sandaime, then the Ichirakus, then Iruka-sensei, then niisan and nēchan, then my team and sensei, then my classmates from the academy…"

Temari gave Naruto an odd look.

"If you give up, then Gaara-san really is lost," he said softly. "I don't think you want that." Naruto turned to leave. "Keep in mind everything I said, Temari-san." With that, he was gone.

"I will… Naruto-san."

To say the least, the battle had not gone well for team ten.

Briefly, when Sasuke went on the offensive, it seemed like he might stand a chance of killing that Kusa nin. But then, after being hit by the best technique Sasuke could throw at him, that monster shinobi had torn off his own face, then ranted something about seeking him out when Sasuke wanted more power before extending his neck and biting a shocked Sasuke on the neck. Then, the nin, Orochimaru as he called himself, disappeared after burning team ten's heaven scroll.

Now, team ten was huddled in the hollowed out base of one of the trees. Sasuke was in bad shape, suffering from a heavy fever. Aside from being a little battered, Shikamaru and Chōji were unharmed, and had been setting up trap after trap after trap in the area to protect themselves. True, they didn't have a scroll, but there wasn't really anyway to prove that to someone who decided to attack them.

"What the hell was someone like that doing in these exams?" questioned Chōji.

"I'm trying to figure that out," said Shikamaru. "He seems to have been after Sasuke specifically. What I can't understand is why."

"It sounded like he wanted to recruit Sasuke."

"Yeah, but that alone doesn't make any sense," said Shikamaru. "The only things special about Sasuke are the Sharingan and being one of the last surviving Uchiha. That's significant, but this seems like it's too much trouble just to try and get a new subordinate who probably wouldn't go for it anyways."

"So, there's something more?"

"Yeah… I just wish I could figure out what it is."

Early the next morning, Hiruzen and Kakashi arrived at the tower and listened to Anko's report on what had happened.

"I see…" said Hiruzen. "This is most troubling. But we cannot cancel the exams. To do so simply because one of our most notorious nukenin is stirring up trouble would cause us to lose face with the other nations, and that is something we cannot afford."

"Even after hearing everything, it's hard to believe that he's returned," said Kakashi. "Did he say anything beyond being after Sasuke?"

"Not really," said Anko. "Aside from his interest in the Uchiha, he only admitted to not having the manpower to try and assassinate Hokage-sama."

"Somehow, I don't find that reassuring," said Hiruzen. He sighed. "Damn it, I'm getting too old for this. I don't know if I have the strength to fight Orochimaru right now."

"If only Yondaime-sama were still around…" murmured Anko.

"Don't talk like that," said Hiruzen. "Minato made his choice. I only wish I knew more of what happened that night."

The three were silent for a few minutes before Anko shifted.

"Hey, Kakashi, I have a question for you," she said.

"Hmm?"

"How the hell did your students get through the forest in half an hour?"

"What?" gasped Kakashi. "How…? I knew they were stronger than any genin in the exam, but I didn't know they were that fast."

"Naruto has signed a summoning contract," said Hiruzen. Anko and Kakashi stared at him.

"He's signed… a summoning contract?" said Kakashi. "Well, there goes the neighborhood! I need to go have a talk with him, because that would've been useful to know back in Nami no Kuni!"

"I believe there were some things Naruto was instructed not to use until the Chūnin Exams," said Hiruzen. "Things have turned out for the best. Let it go Kakashi."

Kakashi sighed.

"Yeah, I know," he said. "I just wish he'd told me about that himself. I thought… well, I thought he trusted me."

"It probably just slipped his mind," said Hiruzen. "Or perhaps he was hoping to surprise you. Either way, don't think that he doesn't trust you. He does."

Anko sighed, leaning back on the couch she was sitting on.

"Well, I guess a summon would explain things," said Anko. "Right after the test started, the team from Takigakure was thrown out of the forest, and they were too panicked to go back in. A proper summon could not only help them get the scroll quickly, but also get through the forest unharmed." She let out a sigh. "Still… a summoning contract. I don't think anyone's ever signed one before reaching chūnin level."

"You'll soon find that Naruto does a lot of impossible things," said Kakashi. "Sakura and Shino will probably be joining him before the exams are done."

"I've seen a bit of what he can do," said Anko. "Ibiki also mentioned to me that he was a pretty interesting kid, and I heard about the ANBU wanting to recruit him already. I don't know what you've done with those kids, but you really need to keep doing it."

Kakashi chuckled lightly at that.

It was mid-afternoon now; not that anyone inside the forest could tell, and not that it mattered to the two battered and beaten genin that were all that stood between their teammate and death.

"Hehe… you two got guts, I'll give you that," said Kinuta Dosu as he stared at Shikamaru and Chōji, both of them on their knees and panting. The entire battle had proven quite one-sided. Abumi Zaku could counter Chōji's attacks (though admittedly, with great difficulty), and Shikamaru couldn't hold Dosu or Tsuchi Kin for very long.

"Listen, just hand over Sasuke and we'll let you go," said Kin, licking her kunai eagerly.

"Not a chance!" said Shikamaru. "Sasuke's our teammate and friend! We're not going to leave him to the likes of you!"

"Have it your way," said Zaku. He raised his arms, preparing to strike with his decapitating airwaves technique. "Zank–"

That was as far as he got before another voice rang out.

"Gatsūga!"

A huge drilling wind shot out of the trees straight at Zaku. The Oto genin broke away from one another as the 'drill' came to a stop where they'd been standing and revealed a pair of Inuzuka Kiba's, one standing atop the other.

"Hey, Shikamaru, look after my body, 'kay?" said Ino, appearing next to Shikamaru and Chōji, her hands already raised in the hand seal for her jutsu. Her target came to a halt. "Shintenshin no Jutsu!"

Meanwhile, Dosu landed on a branch, letting out a small sigh of relief at successfully dodging the unexpected attack. Then, he sensed danger behind him, and leapt out of the way of Hinata's strike. The Hyūga heiress instead struck the tree before leaping back and landing next to Kiba. A few seconds later, the area she struck exploded.

"Alright, that's enough," said Kin, lifting her kunai up to her throat. Zaku and Dosu looked at her in shock. "Sorry to say, your friend isn't in control anymore. Now, drop your scroll and walk away, or you're not going anywhere in these exams."

To everyone's surprise, the two started laughing.

What? What are they laughing about? wondered Ino. The real shocker came when Zaku suddenly launched a Zankūha at Kin. She dodged, but was thrown back by the energy being thrown off, slamming into a tree. Ino started to bleed slightly.

"Ino!" cried Shikamaru. Kiba grit his teeth in anger.

"Looks like any injury to our teammate is suffered by that girl as well," commented Dosu.

"We don't care about these exams," added Zaku. "All we care about is dealing with the Uchiha."

"Ino, get of there!" shouted Kiba as he went charging forward. "Gatsūga!"

"Not gonna work this time," said Zaku, raising his arms and pointing them at the Kiba-Akamaru drill. "Zankūha!"

Unlike Chōji, who's ball-like spinning mitigated the power of Zaku's attack somewhat, Kiba and Akamaru spun like a corkscrew, and Zaku's attack blew them away, sending them crashing into the tree Sasuke was hidden in. Their transformation released, returning Kiba to a fully human form and Akamaru to a small dog.

"Now, just give up Sasuke and no one has to get hurt," said Dosu, approaching Kin. Realizing what was about to happen, Ino released her jutsu, relinquishing control of Kin's body and regaining control of her own.

"Zaku, you bastard!" shouted Kin as Dosu helped her to her feet. "I'm gonna kill you for that!"

"Shove it!" shouted Zaku. Dosu sighed, but ignored the two, instead walking towards the six Konoha genin.

"Well?" he asked. "Are you gonna give up Sasuke?"

"No," said Hinata, stepping forward a bit.

"Hey, Hinata, be careful!" yelled Kiba as he pulled himself to his feet. "Wait just a minute and I'll come help you!"

"No Kiba-kun," said Hinata firmly, raising her hands in the Ram seal. "You and Ino-san just rest. I'll handle this."

"That's quite a bold statement," said Dosu, chuckling slightly. Kin and Zaku's attention had returned to their targets, and both had sadistic grins on their faces.

Naruto-kun… I once heard you say that you wanted to be strong for the sake of your friends, thought Hinata. I've never had friends before, but now I do. Now I understand you even better. Like you, I will endeavor to be strong for the sake of my friends.

"Byakūgan," said Hinata softly. Veins on her face bulged out around her eyes as her pupils became visible at the center of her purple irises.

"And what do you intend to do?" questioned Dosu.

"Defeat you."

Then, Hinata went on the offensive. Dosu laughed, dodging her first strike and lashing out with a punch that Hinata dodged. Dosu smirked, directing his sound waves to attack her.

He uses chakra to control that attack, thought Hinata. I can see it.

Dosu's eyes widened in shock as Hinata bent back, dodging the sound waves. She placed an open palm against the ground, giving her support as she brought her feet up to kick Dosu in the chin. The bandage-wrapped Oto genin barely pulled back, while Zaku raised his arms.

"Zankūha!" he shouted. Heavy winds and screeching sound waves blasted out of his arms in Hinata's direction.

In the seconds before the attack hit, Hinata formed five hand seals, ending on Snake.

"Kawarimi no Jutsu," she murmured. The attack struck as Hinata's body transformed into a log.

"You missed," said Hinata. Zaku's eyes widened and he failed to dodge Hinata's open palm blow to his chest that sent him flying. Kin came at Hinata from behind, slashing at her with a kunai. However, Hinata saw the attack coming with her Byakūgan, and ducked under the slash at the last instant, spinning her body around and placing both hands against Kin's chest as the other kunoichi's eyes went wide with shock.

Then, Hinata blasted chakra into Kin's body, sending her flying away, coughing up some blood as she did so.

Dosu appeared from her left, striking out at Hinata with his right arm, hoping to actually hit her with his sound wave attack this time.

However, Hinata saw his attack coming from five meters away, dodged the punch, dodged the follow-up sound attack, and grabbed hold of the melody arm.

"This thing is the key to your entire battle strategy," she said. She formed a half-Ram seal with her free right hand. "Without it, you can't do anything."

With that, she channeled chakra into the tool, shattering it. Dosu's eyes widened in shock, and he threw himself away, grateful that at least he was out of her grip.

"Who the hell are you?" he demanded. Zaku was standing back to his feet behind Hinata.

"I am Hyūga Hinata, heir to the Hyūga Clan, the strongest of Konoha," said Hinata, raising her arms into her Jūken stance. "I may not be as strong as Neji-niisan or as talented as my imōto, but I am still a proud kunoichi of both Konoha and the Hyūga. I will not allow myself to be defeated here."

Zaku was preparing to attack again. She could see that with her Byakūgan. However, something else caught her attention.

"Sasuke-san?" she gasped. Everyone's attention turned that way.

Sasuke was standing up, a malevolent purple energy flowing off him in waves, making those closest to him nauseous. Red marks stretched across his skin before stopping at about half his face and his left arm, turning black.

But the look in his eyes… that wasn't Sasuke. Not the one they knew.

Author's Notes: So, what did everyone think? When you get down to it, it only makes sense that team seven would utterly plow through this phase of the exams. The odds of them actually running into a problem were pretty slim, since most of the participants couldn't possibly threaten them. And yes, I tease; you don't get to know what beasts Naruto's signed a summoning contract with just yet.

Moving on, I really enjoyed the scenes for team eight and team ten. We really get to see Sasuke's changes, and it was really fun to have Hinata prove herself an utter badass. When you think about it, she really does have every advantage over the Oto genin, and she's a bit more confident than in canon. Ending it with Sasuke waking up seemed like a good point to do so.

Nothing much to exposit on. Though, just to let you know, much of the next chapter will focus on the other two teams, with team seven only making relatively minor appearances up until the end. This seemed like a good chance to focus on the others anyways, so I should have fun with that.

Please leave a review, and if you haven't already, be sure to check out my third version of Naruto: Twilight Legend.

Sayonara!