Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, I'm not making any money from this. Just having some fun with the Naruto universe, enjoy.
"Naruto-kun, what are you doing here?" the Sandiame said in amazement.
"Easy jiji, I'm just a clone," 'Naruto' said. "We've got a problem. One of the genin, a Yakushi Kabuto, knows a lot more than he should."
"What do you mean?" Hiruzen said.
"Well for one, he knows about my B-rank mission," Naruto said. The Hokage's eyes widened. "He also knows of my elemental affinities and the details of Team 7's mission to the Wave."
"You think that this Kabuto is a spy, or a traitor, like Mizuki?"
"I'm leaning more toward spy, since he has all that classified information. Also he smelled weird, like snakes or some other reptiles," Naruto said.
"Snakes?" the Hokage said.
"Yes, snakes, any idea why? The only person I've heard of using snakes was Orochimaru," Naruto said.
"This could be either very good or very bad," the Hokage said. "Naruto, what I'm about to tell you is an S-class secret."
"Oh joy another one," Naruto grumbled. But seeing the look in the Hokage's eyes, Naruto added quickly, "Sorry Hokage-sama."
"We have received reports that Orochimaru has founded a new village, the Sound," Hiruzen said. "It's possible that he is planning something regarding the Chunin Exams."
"I wonder if Kabuto is a spy then, his nin-info cards seem too detailed to have just gotten information off our ninja registration," Naruto said. "Also he said that he failed the Chunin Exams seven times, that strikes me as odd."
"Quite so Naruto-kun, please be careful during the Second Exam," the Hokage said. "I would like to see you do well."
"Oh don't worry old man, we'll do fine, believe it."
The clone dispelled, leaving the office empty save the Hokage.
"So Orochimaru could be planning something, but what does that Kabuto guy have to do with it?" Naruto muttered to himself as he watched the stars from his perch. "And that Kusa nin who snuck up on me and the proctor really smelled like snakes, I mean, reeked of them. What's that about?"
"Naruto!" Sasuke's voice broke through his thoughts.
Naruto turned to see Sasuke standing above him.
"What's up?" the blonde asked.
"My turn for watch, go head in and get some sleep," Sasuke said, jerking his thumb over his shoulder to the cave. Naruto nodded.
"My clones are still out there so nothing's come by," Naruto said. "If any dispel, that should be enough to wake me up."
Sasuke shrugged. Naruto clapped the Uchiha on the shoulder and leap down to the cave mouth. He walked in and unsealed his sleeping bag, and climbed in. Just before he closed his eyes, Naruto looked over and saw Sakura asleep in her own sleeping bag.
'She looks so beautiful,' Naruto thought as he rolled onto his side and fell asleep.
Sunlight streamed through the canopy of the Forest of Death. It was day two of the second phase of the Chunin Exams, and Team 7 was getting ready to move our from their campsite. Sasuke and Naruto had let Sakura sleep the entire night. But when she awoke, Sakura laid into the boys for not letting her do her share of the watch.
"Relax Sakura-chan, we just wanted to make sure that you were at 100% for today, you're the one who keeps me and the teme from doing something stupid."
Sakura blushed. "That didn't stop you from acting like an idiot yesterday against that Iwa team, you could have been seriously hurt. And if you had been, where would that have left Sasuke and me. You really need to be more careful," Sakura said.
"Gomen Sakura-chan, it was just something I needed to do," Naruto said. "I wanted to see how strong I am. Sasuke knows what I mean."
"Hn," the Uchiha grunted.
"Boys," Sakura sighed. "Let's just get to the tower, I want to get this test over with."
"Right then Sakura-taichou," Naruto said cheekily.
"Naruto," Sakura growled. Naruto grinned and leapt out of Sakura's reach.
"Come on you two, let's go," Sasuke said. The other two felt their cheeks burn slightly but they followed the Uchiha into the forest.
They had been going slowly as to avoid any unwanted attraction, though Naruto felt that someone or something was watching them. They were less than two kilometers from the Tower when Naruto felt a great chakra spike.
"Take cover," Naruto roared as a great gust of wind shot through the clearing.
"Argh!" Naruto cried as he was thrown through the trees away from Sasuke and Sakura.
"Shit! That was no genin-level attack," Naruto groaned as he got to his feet, battered, bruised and bleeding slightly. "There was no way in hell a genin could have produced such a strong attack. This is bad."
A loud hissing sound came from above Naruto. He looked up and saw a gigantic snake, coiled around a tree above him, looking down at him.
"Oh this is not good," Naruto muttered.
The snake flicked its tongue at Naruto and reared back. With blinding speed, it struck, nearly swallowing Naruto whole. While the snake missed with its first strike, it followed up with a tail sway that sent Naruto flying into a trunk at nearly 20mph. Naruto cried out as he felt at least two ribs crack from the blow.
"Damnit, I don't have time for this," he growled, gingerly getting to his feet. The snake looked down at Naruto, eyeing him up like a piece of meat, and Naruto didn't like it. "Damn snake, you're going down, you're not keeping me from my team," he growled. "Kage Bunshin!"
Twenty clones appeared around the snake's head. The snake seemed to blink, then smile at the appearance of so many more treats. It hissed almost happily and shot forward and in the blink of an eye, it managed to swallow two clones.
Naruto smirked and said two words.
"Bottoms up!"
The clones inside the snake exploded with the force of a dozen exploding tags, each. The snake's whole upped 'body' expanded like a balloon, and burst with a sickening splat.
"Nasty," Naruto commented as he surveyed the damage. Suddenly there was another explosion; this one of smoke and the shredded snake vanished.
"What the! That was just a summon?" Naruto said. "The only person who can use snake summons is…oh shit! I've got to find Sasuke and Sakura-chan."
Naruto leapt off into the forest, releasing his seals and pouring chakra into his legs to go faster.
About a kilometer away, Sakura and Sasuke were in a fight for their lives. The female Kusa nin, who had snuck up on Naruto and the crazy proctor before the exam, had found them and was toying with them.
"Ah yes, the marvelous Sharingan," the Kusa nin hissed, causing Sakura and Sasuke to shiver. "To have awakened the Sharingan so young, truly an accomplishment. However, wasn't it true that your brother, Itachi, had a fully mature Sharingan at your age, quite disappointing eh, Sasuke-kun?"
Sasuke roared in anger and charged at the ninja, who deftly dodged every blow easily, bending almost as if she had no spine.
"Such anger in those eyes Sasuke-kun, yes use that anger, it gives you power and strength," the woman said. "But will it be enough to kill your brother."
"Katon: Ryuujin Kaenhoushaki!" (Dragon god flamethrower.)
A stream of white-hot flames shot out of Sasuke's mouth. The Kusa nin's eyes widened as the flames engulfed her. Sasuke smirked, while Sakura breathed a sigh of relief.
"Ku, ku, ku, ku, well done Sasuke-kun, to be able to produce such intense flames and wield them so well at such a young age," a sinister voice hissed.
Sasuke and Sakura watched in horror as the Kusa nin walked serenely out of the flames, untouched except that half of the woman's face seemed to have been melted off.
"What are you?" Sakura whimpered.
"A good question little girl," the woman said. "And I shall answer it in due time, but first."
Sakura and Sasuke froze as they caught eyes with the woman, an eye that was a pale, sickly yellow with a silted pupil like a snake's. An immense pressure settled onto the two genin, neither could move nor even breathe. Images flashed in front of their eyes, scenes of death. Their deaths.
'This is insane, I can't move. That time in the Wave with Zabuza was nothing compared to this,' Sasuke thought. 'We need to move I need to move. Come on body, Damnit MOVE!'
"Well, well, well, looks like we've got a fighter," the Kusa nin said. "Good, it's no fun if the prey is weak."
Sasuke managed to force himself to stab himself in the thigh with a kunai and grab Sakura before a pair of kunai that had been thrown at them slid between their eyes.
Sasuke was breathing heavily as he laid Sakura down against a tree; she was still in shock at the KI that the ninja had levied at them.
"Sakura, Sakura, snap out of it," Sasuke said, roughly shaking Sakura alert.
Life came back to Sakura's eyes. She looked around wildly, her eyes still full of fear.
"Sasuke, what's going on? Where's that Kusa ninja? How'd we get away?" Sakura asked in rapid succession.
"Sakura, calm down. We got away, we're safe," Sasuke said.
"Oh, I'm not so sure about that?" a sickeningly familiar voice hissed from behind Sasuke.
The two genin spun around in horror as the Kusa ninja appeared out of the shadows, like a ghost.
"Who are you? Why are you coming after us?" Sakura cried.
"Who am I isn't important, but what is important is what I can give you Sasuke-kun," the woman said.
"What could you give me that I could possibly want?" Sasuke barked.
"Power," the ninja hissed. "Unlimited power, the power to kill your brother and avenge your clan."
"What do you mean?" Sasuke said.
The ninja smiled; a cruel, calculating smile.
"What the hell Sasuke!" a new voice roared from above them. It was Naruto.
"Naruto!" Sakura cried in relief.
"Where have you been dobe!" Sasuke cried.
"I was taking care of this guy's not-so-little friend," Naruto answered, glaring down at the Kusa nin with rage.
"Dobe, that's a woman you moron," Sasuke scoffed.
"That's no woman Sasuke, am I right Orochimaru?" Naruto growled. Sasuke and Sakura froze hearing Naruto say the name of one of Konoha's most notorious nuke-nins.
"Ku, ku, ku, ku, you truly are Konoha's most surprising ninja, aren't you, Naruto-kun?" the now named Orochimaru cackled.
"What the hell are you doing here, you hebi-teme?" Naruto growled.
"I'm here to give Sasuke-kun an offer; the offer of power to take his revenge on Itachi!"
Naruto looked sharply at Sasuke, who was looking at Orochimaru with veiled interest. "Sasuke, if you think that he'd give you power for free, you're as delusional as your brother was."
Sasuke glared at Naruto. "I don't care. I need power to kill my brother, and I will do whatever I need to do to achieve this."
Orochimaru smiled and his hands flew through some hand signs, his neck elongated and shot toward Sasuke, mouth open. Before either Naruto or Sakura could move, Orochimaru sank his fangs into Sasuke's neck, the boy screamed out in pain.
"What the hell did you do?" Naruto roared, as Orochimaru's neck returned to its normal length. Sasuke collapsed in a heap, unconscious.
"I gave Sasuke-kun a gift that will grant him unimaginable power, he will seek me out in order to gain more," Orochimaru said.
Naruto narrowed his eyes at the man. "Then I'll give you a parting gift myself, you bastard," Naruto cried. He leapt off the branch and sped toward Orochimaru at speeds that Sakura couldn't follow. Orochimaru sneered at the blonde.
"You're years away from even thinking that you can harm me, boy," Orochimaru said.
A swirling blue ball of chakra appeared in Naruto's hand as he appeared in front of Orochimaru. The Snake Sannin's eyes widened as he saw the attack.
"Rasengan!" Naruto roared as he slammed the ball of chakra into Orochimaru's stomach. The ball expanded and with a scream, Orochimaru was sent spinning like a corkscrew into the forest.
"Sakura, we need to go," Naruto said, as he reappeared at her side. "We need to get to the Tower as soon as possible that attack didn't stop Orochimaru, something didn't feel right when I hit him."
"What was that jutsu Naruto? Where did you learn that?" Sakura asked.
"No time, we need to go NOW!" Naruto ordered, he threw Sasuke over his shoulder and turned to Sakura. "Come on Sakura, now! I'll explain everything when we get somewhere safe."
Sakura wanted to argue with Naruto but also knew that he was right. She nodded. "Fine but you have to answer me when we get to the tower."
"Deal."
The two conscious members of Team 7 leapt off, Sasuke thrown over Naruto's shoulder. They didn't see a pair of yellow eyes gleaming in the shadows. "Interesting, the Kyubi brat has some talent as well. To be able to master such a jutsu at such a young age, I'll have to keep an eye on him, though now with Sasuke-kun, it will not matter," Orochimaru hissed before sinking back into the shadows.
Naruto and Sakura, with Sasuke over Naruto's shoulder, made it to the Tower in short order. When they entered, they found an empty hall with a poem with two blanks in it.
"What are we supposed to do now?" Naruto asked.
"Maybe we should open those scrolls that we collected? The proctor didn't say we couldn't open them in the Tower, only in the forest," Sakura suggested.
"I don't have a better idea," Naruto said. He dropped Sasuke on the floor; Sakura glared at Naruto but pulled out the Heaven scroll that she had been carrying while Naruto retrieved the Earth Scroll from Sasuke's body.
"On three, one, two, three."
The two opened the scrolls; Naruto noticed something written on the inside. "Sakura, drop the scroll," he barked. She did and they leapt back. There was an explosion of smoke, Naruto and Sakura tensed, their hands gripping a kunai each.
"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto cried out as the smoke cleared.
"Hello there, Naruto, Sakura…what happened to Sasuke?" Iruka asked sharply when he spotted Sasuke laying on the ground.
"He's just conscious Iruka-sensei," Naruto said. "But I need to speak with the Hokage as soon as possible."
"Naruto, you can't demand to speak with the Hokage like that," Iruka scolded.
"Sensei, I don't have time for this. Sasuke needs medical attention now and I have to speak with the Hokage NOW!" Naruto barked, his voice commanding.
Iruka stiffened. "Fine, I'll get him," he said before vanishing in a swirl of leaves.
"Naruto, what the HELL is going on!" Sakura cried.
"Later Sakura-chan, I promise once I talk with the Hokage, I will tell you everything," Naruto said.
Just when Sakura was about to argue, there was a loud puff and Iruka returned with the Hokage, Kakashi and a pair of medics.
"What happened?" the Hokage barked in what Naruto had dubbed his 'Hokage' tone. It commanded complete and absolute obedience.
"He's here," Naruto said shortly.
The Hokage's eyes widened. "You mean…"
"Yes sir, Orochimaru is here, we just got away from him after that hebi-teme gave Sasuke a nasty hickey. He's been unconscious ever since."
"So he's after the Sharingan then," the Hokage said.
"I'd be careful with Sasuke, Orochimaru offered him power and Sasuke seemed pretty interested. Hebi-tem also said that the hickey was a gift or something."
The Hokage's eyes narrowed. "I see. Kakashi, I want you to find Jiraiya, you should now where he is. Tell him I need him now, I won't take any delay."
"Hai Hokage-sama," Kakashi said before he vanished in a swirl of leaves. Hiruzen then turned back to Naruto and Sakura.
"You two, I'll need a full account of what happened out there. Come, there is a conference room upstairs that we can use," the Hokage said. Naruto and Sakura nodded, though Sakura looked absolutely terrified at the prospect of being in the same room as the Hokage.
"Hey jiji, has any other teams made it yet?" Naruto asked. Sakura looked at Naruto like he was insane for calling the Hokage that, the jonin that were walking with them nearly face faulted at the exchange.
"There is one team, the Suna team, that beat your team. They managed to complete the exam in under two hours," the Hokage said.
"What!" the two genin cried.
"Wow, they must have gotten lucky," Naruto said. "To have found a scroll so quickly."
"Yeah or they are really strong," Sakura said.
"That Gaara guy seems familiar somehow, I can't explain it but he gives me this weird feeling," Naruto said, looking at the Hokage, who nodded. 'So Gaara is like me, he's got a demon inside him too. I wonder which one?'
"Judging from the circles under his eyes, and the fact that he's from Suna, it's plausible that that midget carries Shukaku, the One-tail," a deep voice in Naruto's head.
"Kurama-san, that you?" Naruto asked.
"Of course it's me you baka, who else do you know that's a giant talking fox and is inside your head," Kurama said.
Naruto rolled his eyes and cut back to the outside world where the group had just reached the conference room. They were let inside and saw that the room wasn't empty. The proctor of the second exam was there as well, and she didn't look good.
"Hokage-sama, I don't wish to be rude but what's with the brats?" Anko asked, pointing at Naruto and Sakura, who glared at her.
"Relax Anko-chan, I have brought Naruto-kun and Sakura-chan here because they fought the same man that you did this afternoon," the Hokage said.
"These two gakis fought Orochimaru and lived!" Anko cried.
"Yeah and what of it?" Naruto snapped, his anger getting the better of him. "And why do you smell like snakes, it's faint but the smell is still there."
The Hokage, Anko and Sakura looked at Naruto in a mix of confusion, awe and a bit of fear.
"You can smell snakes on me?" Anko asked, her voice soft.
"Yeah, there are two different scents. One far older and darker, while the newer one isn't as much," Naruto said. "Why do you smell like that?"
"It's because I used to be Orochimaru's apprentice," Anko said. "Let me finish," she added quickly at the faces of the two genin. "Back when he was a jonin of the Leaf, he choose me to be his apprentice and taught me many things, I thought that he cared for me, but in the end, that bastard cast me aside like a piece of trash, all I was to him was an experiment and data."
"Oh ok," Naruto said. "Sorry for jumping down your throat like that, I guess the adrenaline hasn't left my system yet."
"It's fine but if you two fought Orochimaru, how are you alive?" Anko asked.
"Well, for starters, I didn't really fight him," Sakura admitted. "I was so scared, that I couldn't even move. Sasuke and Naruto saved me, well Naruto saved us both."
"Let's start at the beginning, shall we?" the Hokage said. Sakura and Naruto nodded and began their tale. How they were separated by a great gust of wind, Naruto told them how he killed the snake summon by blowing it up. When they asked how, he said he used an exploding tag, but Anko and Hiruzen could tell he was lying. Sakura picked up the tale from there. Her voice was quiet to begin with but it gained strength as she talked about how Team 7 was separated, then how Orochimaru attacked Sasuke and her. How the Sannin played with Sasuke's mind, playing on his anger at Itachi, Sakura mentioned how Sasuke managed to land a Katon jutsu on Orochimaru but the man seemed to just shrug it off like a fly.
"Then Naruto showed up," Sakura said. Hiruzen and Anko turned to the blonde. Naruto took a deep breath.
"I showed up just as Sasuke was getting drawn in by the Hebi-teme, and tried to snap him out of it but Sasuke only cares about power, and he said as much. Then Orochimaru did some weird jutsu that elongated his neck and then he gave Sasuke that hickey."
Anko's eyes widened. "That hickey is a curse seal, the Uchiha brat will be lucky if he survives it."
"You speaking from experience Mitarashi-san?" Naruto asked. Anko's hand shot to her shoulder. "Don't worry, I figured that you have one since jiji had you here as well."
"What happened after Orochimaru gave Sasuke-kun that seal?" the Hokage said.
"We escaped," Naruto said shortly. Hiruzen and Anko looked at Naruto, knowing that he wasn't telling the whole story.
"Naruto, what are you talking about?" Sakura cried. "Hokage-sama, Naruto is being modest. He beat Orochimaru in one shot."
"Sakura!" Naruto snapped.
"No Naruto," Sakura retorted. "It was amazing. Naruto nailed that bastard with some jutsu called Rasen…something, and it blew Orochimaru away."
The Hokage and Anko looked at Naruto in amazement.
"Naruto-kun, you learned that jutsu?" Hiruzen asked.
"Yes Hokage-sama, I finally mastered it," Naruto said. "And I did manage to hit Orochimaru with it but that wasn't really Orochimaru.
"What do you mean?" the Hokage asked.
"One, I got lucky. That bastard wasn't suspecting me to attack him head on, let alone with that jutsu, and second, when I hit him with it, it didn't feel right. It felt like I was hitting one of my shadow clones."
"It's possible," the Hokage said. "My wayward student always liked to hide in the shadows. It's likely that what you fought was only a clone."
Naruto nodded while Sakura looked frightened.
"Naruto, what was that jutsu that you used? I've never heard of it," Sakura asked.
"Really, I'm surprised that the brightest kunoichi didn't recognize such a revered jutsu, but that was the jutsu that I started learning in the Wave," Naruto said.
"Rasengan, right? It does sound familiar," Sakura said. "But I can't remember where I heard of it."
"Sakura-chan, I would appreciate it if you don't tell anyone about me using that jutsu," Naruto said. "I want to keep it a secret."
Sakura frowned but nodded. She could see the idea of keeping such a powerful jutsu secret. "All right Naruto, I promise."
"Thanks Sakura-chan," Naruto said brightly.
The Sandiame grinned. "All right you two, I'm sure that you are both exhausted. Upstairs there are rooms in which you can relax and recuperate. You will have to remain in the Tower until the Exam is over, but congratulations nonetheless. Also, I what you both to know that what we've discussed here today is considered an S-class secret, so…" the Hokage trailed off, as the consequences of the situation settled on the two genin.
"Hai Hokage-sama," they chorused.
"And thanks jiji," Naruto added.
"Baka, show the Hokage some respect," Sakura scolded. "Um, Hokage-sama, what about Sasuke?"
"I will be checking on him shortly, and don't worry, Kakashi-kun will inform you when we know more."
"Hai Hokage-sama," the pink-haired girl said.
The Hokage and Anko took their leave and the two genin made their way upstairs to their rooms, where both exhausted genin collapsed onto a bed each and fell asleep.
"So there's another jinchuriki in the exams," Naruto said in his mindscape. "I wonder why?"
"I don't care, but be wary of Shukaku's host, that rodent is bat-shit insane. He's likely eaten away at his host's personality over the years, making it impossible for the host to get a good night's sleep. The host is probably just as insane as the rodent inside him," Kurama said.
"I didn't know you cared Kurama-san," Naruto snarked.
"I don't," the fox snapped. "I just wouldn't be able to live down the grief if I were to lose to that stubby rodent. The other biju wouldn't let me live it down when they heard. I have a reputation to uphold."
"All right, then what do you know about Shukaku?" Naruto asked.
"He's bloodthirsty and has a serious inferiority complex since he's the One-Tail and is the weakest of us all. And since he's the Sand spirit, his host can probably manipulate sand very well," Kurama said.
"So avoid the sand at all costs," Naruto quipped. "Hopefully, I won't have to fight him until at least the finals, that way I can get some more intel on him."
The final three days of the Second Exam passed slowly for Team 7, both Naruto and Sakura were waiting on word on Sasuke. Naruto's opinion of the Uchiha had dropped to an all-time low after hearing his declaration of power is the only thing he cares about in the Forest. Even Sakura seemed to have removed her Uchiha-colored glasses and seen that Sasuke wasn't the prince that the village made him out to be, though she still cared for him as a teammate. Naruto saw several teams stagger into the Tower over the final three days of the Exam, including Team 8 and 10 and the green spandex-wearing ninja's team. He also saw that Kabuto's team had made it as well, and a team from Oto, Mizu and the Iwa team that Team 7 had fought on the first day of the Exam. Naruto and Sakura stayed in their room, enjoying the grace period that they had achieved.
There came a knock at the door. "Uzumaki-san, Haruno-san, you are wanted down in the main hall for the preliminaries," a voice called through the door.
"Preliminaries?" Sakura asked.
"No idea, I'm sure that jiji will explain it all when we get down there," Naruto said.
"What about Sasuke? Do you think that he'll be there?"
"Don't know. If he's awake, I'm sure that they'd have to drag him away in chains to keep him away," Naruto said.
"You're probably right," she said.
"Say Sakura-chan, I understand if you don't want to answer this but I've noticed that you've stopped calling Sasuke, Sasuke-kun."
"Oh," Sakura said, a light blush adorning her cheeks. "Well, I guess it's because my eyes have been opened. Sure Sasuke is attractive and at the Academy, I thought that I loved him, but ever since I joined Team 7 I've seen a side of Sasuke that I didn't, or didn't want to, see at the Academy. He's cold, cruel and completely power hungry. I understand that he wants to avenge his clan but it seems that he'll go to any and all lengths to achieve this. Maybe we can help him?"
"To be able to help someone, they must want help," Naruto said. "I don't like Sasuke very much; he's arrogant, cold and an all-around bastard. But he's also a young man who has been through a lot, too much for someone his age, and has had no one to rely on."
"What about you then Naruto? From what you said in the Wave, you've had it harder than Sasuke but you're not…" Sakura said.
"A conceited bastard?" Naruto suggested.
"I was going to say normal, but your phrase works too," Sakura said. Naruto chuckled warmly.
"I've had people looking out for me, unlike Sasuke, and those people treated me normally, not like a crown prince of some soap opera. Having very few people in my life made me appreciate everything that I have now. Sasuke had the village hanging on his every whim, which made him believe that he deserved anything and everything."
Sakura nodded.
They reached the main hall where the other teams that made it through the Forest of Death.
"Looks like the teme woke up in time," Naruto said, spotting Sasuke in the group, Kakashi standing beside him. Naruto and Sakura walked over and stood next to their teammate and sensei.
"Hi Sasuke, how are you feeling?" Sakura asked. All she got in return was a grunt, which they took as an "I'm fine."
"Kakashi-sensei, what's with these preliminaries?" Naruto asked.
"Well, too many teams passed the Second Exam so we have to have preliminary tournament to lower the numbers," Kakashi explained.
"What?" Naruto cried. "We have to fight after going through all that forest and stuff!"
"Fraid so," Kakashi said.
Naruto and Sakura groaned.
"Deal with it losers, at least now I can show how strong the Uchiha elite are," Sasuke sneered.
Naruto growled at the Uchiha heir but before he could say anything, the Hokage stepped forward to explain the rules. He was interrupted by a sickly looking jonin, named Gekko Hayate.
After finishing his explanation, Hayate asked if there were any dropouts, and Yakushi Kabuto did so. Naruto narrowed his eyes at the silver haired genin as he walked out. He also noticed a Sound jonin watching Kabuto leave the hall as well.
"If that's everyone, please direct your attention to the screen, where two names will appear. Those two will remain here while the rest of you will proceed up to the viewing platforms."
A chime signaled that the board had chosen the first two combatants.
Uchiha Sasuke vs. Yoroi Akado.
A/N: Hopefully you all liked this chapter. I know Naruto was able to beat Orochimaru pretty easily but I think I explained it in the chapter. Now that we're getting to the preliminaries, I'll need some help in coming up with the match ups, I know the Sasuke/Yoroi fight is canon, but that's just to get me started. Here are the teams that made it through:
Team 7, 8, 10 and Gai from Konoha
Kabuto's team
The Sound team
The Iwa team from Chapter 9
Gaara, Temari and Kankuro
Mizu team
I haven't come up with the names for the Mizu team, so if you have any suggestions please tell me. As always read and reviews, please.
Thanks, Phoenixflame