Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

A/N: I think I uploaded this one in good time. Thank god it's summer. I've been getting a lot of writing done, and I've completed my second one-shot I plan on posting as soon as my computer stops screwing up. With so much time on my hands, I've been able to focus on multiple stories at once. But my friends keep dragging me outside all the time. Not that I mind though, it is summer after all. The next chapter should come soon. Enjoy.

Notice 6/30/08: I knew I forgot to say something yesterday when I uploaded this chapter. Now that I remember what, I'll say it.

I claim ownership to any OC and made up characters that I make. Heath, Anna, the experimented children, all mine. Also, I noticed this story hit 100 reviews so I thank all of you who have reviewed this story. (Next chapter should come soon I hope)

Chapter 11

Naruto stared at the entrance to the Forest of Death. Its huge, dark trees were a familiar sight. The barbed wire gate was the only thing separating him from the starting second exam. He smirked to himself and looked around.

'This'll be cake. We've got the advantage. Thank Kami we train here.' Naruto thought. A quick glance at his teammates and he knew they had the same thoughts.

"This is training ground forty-four, A.K.A the Forest of Death." Kurenai said to the crowd. Everyone whispered nervously to each other. "Before we take start the second exam, I will need you all to fill out these forms." Kurenai said holding up a bundle of sheets.

"What are they for?" Asked a curious genin.

"They are consent forms stating that we are not responsible for any injuries…or deaths…that may or may not occur during this exam." Everyone broke out into nervous chatters. Kurenai shrugged. "Do not take its name lightly.

"C'mon. It's not that dangerous." Shikamaru muttered.

"Aside from the giant snakes that Anko attacks us with." Naruto whispered back.

"All teams will have five days to reach the tower in the center of the forest." Kurenai continued. Team eight exchanged glances. What tower? Naruto's brain clicked and he sighed. So much for getting back soon. Anna was probably gonna be crying when he got back. "Before getting to the tower, you must have at least one of each of these scrolls." Kurenai held up two scrolls. One was brown labeled "earth", and the other was white labeled "heaven"."You will be given one of these scrolls before taking the test. It's your job to get the other. This is a survival test, so anything goes. Good luck, and don't die."

Naruto was handed the consent forms. He handed them to Shikamaru. The boy looked at him with an annoyed expression.

"I'll leave the paperwork to you." Naruto smiled. "Besides, you didn't do shit in the last exam."

"Neither did you." Shikamaru snapped.

"You say something?"

The Nara sighed. "No…no I didn't."

Naruto took this small break time to check out the rest of the competition. All of them had paranoid looks on their faces. Wimps. Naruto then noticed his ticking was back. He growled in annoyance. He looked at the sand trio who were also filling out their forms. He hoped they'd start the exam soon. This ticking was starting to give him a migraine. It wasn't faint like before. It was really, really loud. Naruto shook his head. Why was it so loud all of a sudden?

"Sign your name." Shikamaru said handing a piece of paper to Naruto. The blond scribbled his name down on the piece of paper.

"Let's go turn these in now."

Under a trap was a table where two Chunin sat. A whole bunch of scrolls lay next to them. Naruto noticed that one of the Chunin's nose had a bandage over it and the other looked tired. They looked familiar. His brain clicked again. He smirked as he made his way towards the table.

"Well, well. If it isn't the guys who we beat up before we started this exam." Naruto smiled. "Hey losers, how's it going?"

Instead of exploding, the two men smiled. "Oh, hey kid." Said the man called Kotetsu.

"Yeah, uh, sorry about before." Izumo said sheepishly. "We were bored and kinda wanted to have a little bit of fun before the exams started. Guess we got a little carried away, huh?"

"It was very troublesome." Shikamaru sighed.

"Think of what we did as a preliminary round of the Chunin exams." Kotetsu smirked. "You three were the only ones that passed."

"I-I'm really sorry about knocking you out." Hinata said bowing.

"It's cool. We deserved it." Izumo smiled.

"Well, we were a bit drunk." Kotetsu pointed out.

"Oh yeah. We went to the bar this morning, didn't we?"

"Yeah. I can't believe a kid was there."

"Kid? What kid?" Hinata asked curiously.

"Well, a friend of ours, Anko, walked into the bar this morning with a baby kid in her arms. Iruka pulled them out, but Anko didn't seem to care she had a child with her."

Hinata and Shikamaru glanced at each other. They looked worriedly at Naruto. His shoulders were shaking.

"She is so freakin' dead when we finish this exam." He snarled.

X.X.X

Team eight lined up at their designated gate. In Shikamaru's pocket was their earth scroll. They all figured that he wouldn't lose it despite him being totally lazy. They readied themselves. Kurenai's shout was heard. The trio darted into the woods.

"So what's the plan?" Naruto asked as they jumped through the trees.

"I think we should find the scroll first." Hinata suggested.

"Not yet." Shikamaru said.

"Why not?"

"Think." Shikamaru said. "Other teams will be searching for each other already. We've got the Byakugan, so we can find a scroll anytime. Our first priority should be to find the tower and ambush a team with the heaven scroll. Other teams should also have the same plan so we'll run into someone eventually. Let's just get to the tower."

"Agreed." Naruto nodded. The ticking started again. He growled.

"What is it Naruto?" Hinata asked.

"Nothing. Just still a little bit tired." Naruto replied not looking at her. "Let's just get to the tower.

Hinata looked at him. He seemed…different all of a sudden. She looked at Shikamaru. He nodded, also seeming to have noticed. They all remained silent with the only sound being the taps of their shoes against the trees branches.

X.X.X

Team Wave was currently on the other side of the forest making their own plan. It was the same as Shikamaru's only they had more things to discuss.

"What's wrong Haku?" Saki asked turning to the older girl. "You've been acting kind of strange since we started the second exam."

Haku wondered whether or not she should tell them. She wasn't completely sure if her suspicion was true, but it kept bugging her. The tick was becoming unbearable. She shook her head. They needed to know so they'd be more cautious.

"Guys." Haku said solemnly. "I'm not the only demon container here."

Saki and Azrael exchanged glances. They both very well knew that Haku was the demon container of the Sanbi no Isonade, and they knew that Naruto was the container of the Kyuubi no Yoko. Haku had also told them Gaara was the container of the Ichibi no Shukaku. Saki looked at Haku oddly.

"We know. You, Naruto, and that scary boy, Gaara, are containers. You told us." Saki confirmed not getting the point.

"That's true." Haku said leaning against a tree. "But I have a feeling that a fourth container is taking part in the exams."

Saki's eyes widened. "P-Please Haku. I'm sure your senses are just messed up because there are two other demon containers here." Saki giggled dismissively. She shrunk back when Haku glared at her. She was serious.

"No Saki. I'm almost sure that there's another container here." Haku said darkly. "I first felt it when we came to this forest. The ticking in the back of my head became worse than it already was. I couldn't dismiss it. My senses were already going crazy because of Naruto and Gaara, but the ticking increased to a point where it was almost painful. I'm sure there is a fourth container in these exams, and we're going to find it."

"I-I think w-we should avoid d-danger. M-Much less a d-demon c-container." Saki stuttered completely terrified at the thought of fighting a container.

Saki was their healer and the optimistic one of their team. But she was also a coward. The look Gaara had in his eyes at the academy building scared her to death, and she did not want to go looking for a container. She had always had a sense of paranoia ever since those cloud ninja had killed all her friends. She avoided danger whenever possible.

Haku looked at her sympathetically. "I'm sorry, Saki. But it has to be done. If we let this demon container run amuck, it could endanger the lives of the other students. You don't want that, do you?"

"N-No…" Saki mumbled quietly.

"I'm sorry." Haku said again. She turned to Azrael. "Could you locate Naruto and Gaara?"

"Sure." Azrael said casually. His eyes widened and turned to a dark blue color. Black streaks could be seen going across them. Azrael closed his eyes and reopened them. They were back to normal.

"Naruto's group is over that way." Azrael said pointing in front of him. "They are on the other side of the forest though. Gaara is not far from here. His group is to the northeastern side of the forest.

"We'll avoid Gaara, and get to Naruto." Haku said solemnly. "I must warn him about this as well."

"Hold on." Azrael murmured as he took out a senbon needle. He threw it into the trees. A rain nin fell from one of the branches and landed on the ground with a loud thud. Haku walked over to him and searched through his pockets. She found an earth scroll and stuffed it into her pocket with her heaven scroll.

"So this guy came alone?" Haku thought aloud.

"His team probably thought it'd be easier to find a scroll if they split up." Azrael shrugged.

"Well, at least his carelessness means that we don't have to go hunting for a scroll." Haku nodded to herself. "Now we can go find Naruto's team. how did you know he was there anyway?"

"Accidently spotted him while looking for Naruto and Gaara." Azrael answered. "His chakra signal stuck out like a sore thumb. Very inexperienced."

"Guess Ibiki didn't eliminate all the hopeless candidates after all." Saki giggled.

"Enough chit chat." Haku ordered. "Let's go." The Wave trio headed in Team eight's direction. Suddenly, a large explosion was heard. Haku's eyes widened as the ticking in the back of her head grew louder and louder. She turned to her teammates.

"MOVE!"

X.X.X

The explosion rocked the trees almost making Naruto lose his balance. He and his teammates stopped and looked at each other.

"What was that?" Hinata asked.

"An explosion." Shikamaru said looking around. "But it was too loud and powerful to be an explosive tag. Hinata!"

The Hyuuga girl nodded as the veins around her eyes popped out. She looked in all directions trying to find the source of the explosion. Her eyes widened.

"It's Sasuke's team!" Hinata said astonished.

"The teme?" Naruto asked arching an eyebrow.

"Not just them." Hinata continued. "It looks like their being attacked by someone. Kami! I haven't seen chakra reserves this big since…"

She looked at Naruto. Shikamaru did the same with wide eyes. Naruto's eyes narrowed. The ticking in the back of his head was going crazy.

'Is it Gaara?' Naruto wondered. He turned towards Hinata. "What direction?"

"That way." Hinata said pointing to her left.

"We've got to help them." Naruto stated matter-of-factly already on the move. His companions followed close behind.

X.X.X

When they reached their destination, they were shocked at the amount of damage the explosion had caused. Giant trees lay scattered and broken all over the landscape. Team seven was already in bad condition. Sakura leaned against the trunk of a tree that was still standing. A wide gash was in the side of her leg, bleeding like crazy. Shino and Sasuke stood on one of the large branches. The bug nin had a bunch of dead bugs scattered around his feet and looked like he was struggling for breath. Sasuke's arm was bleeding and a trail of blood dripped from his mouth. Though more ragged looking, he looked better off than Shino. Standing on another branch a few feet away from them was a female grass nin. Her face looked burned and seemed to be peeling off. Naruto whipped out a kunai and launched forward. Hinata took a fighting stance and Shikamaru prepared his shadow possession jutsu.

"Hey ladies! Hope we're in time for the party!" Naruto chortled as he jumped towards the grass nin. Team seven looked shocked at the sudden appearance of team eight.

"NO! Dobe! Get away from him!" Sasuke cried desperately. His eyes had the tear spiral of the sharingan.

"Well, well, well. It's just surprise after surprise with these exams." The grass nin chuckled. "So glad you could join us, Kyuubi."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. Now he knew why his ticking was louder than usual. This girl, or man it looked like as the he-she's skin started to peel more, was a demon container as well. But what demon? How many tails? Nonetheless, Naruto knew he had to go all out of this one. His Chakra Claws formed around his hands.

"So what are you?" Naruto said as he slashed at the ninja. The gender bender chuckled.

"No what fun would that be if I told you?" The shemale smiled. Naruto growled and shot a good amount of chakra bullets at the person. He/she dodged them easily.

"Dobe! He's too strong! I'll just give him my scroll and we-"

"Shut the hell up!" Naruto shouted as he blocked a punch from the grass nin. "You think he'd do all this just for the scroll?" Sasuke looked at the carnage around him helplessly.

"I'm glad we get to fight again so soon, Kyuubi. Last time, you beat me, but this time things will be different." The ninja laughed as he delivered some rapid punches at Naruto. The blond went on the defensive, jumping backwards to block attacks. He launched a kick at the grass nin's face, but the gender bender avoided it and jumped back. The powerful nin frowned.

"Wait…you're not the Kyuubi, are you?" The man asked. He smiled sadistically. "Oh, I see, the fur ball hasn't taken control yet, has he? Though he does seem to have an influence on your body."

"Naruto! What's he talking about?" Shikamaru called. "What hasn't taken control?"

"Shut up!" Naruto roared as he launched himself towards his opponent. The grass nin shook his head.

"You sure are as reckless as the fur ball though. He has quite the influence on you indeed." He bit his thumb and outstretched his palm. A snake, probably as big as one of the trees in this forest, came out of the man's palm. Naruto eye's widened. It was bigger than Anko's snakes!

"A summoning!" He cursed as he tried to avoid it. He was already in motion though and couldn't change his direction. Everyone watched in horror as the giant snake swallowed the blond whole. Shikamaru growled as he pulled out some shuriken and a kunai. Hinata ran forward towards the man with tears in her eyes.

"You'll pay for that." Shikamaru growled as he threw the shuriken towards the man.

X.X.X

At the center of the forest, inside the tower, were the exam takers senseis. Anko sighed as she played with the sleeping Anna's hair. She glared at Iruka who sat across from her. He glared back.

"Leave it to you to ruin a good time." Anko muttered under her breath. Iruka heard this.

"Good time?! You took Anna to a BAR Anko. A BAR!" Iruka exploded throwing his hands into the air. "For Kami's sake, she's no less than a year old!"

"She's ahead of the game." Anko smirked.

"What will Naruto say if he finds out? You're lucky I was there to stop you. Something could have happened."

"You can't boss me around! I'm an adult!" Anko said childishly. Anna started to stir in her lap.

"Can you two keep it down, please? I'm trying to read." Kakashi said politely not looking up from his orange smut book.

"Shut up, perv." Anko snapped. Anna was wide awake now. She smiled.

"Perv." Anna giggled.

"Can't wait till her daddy hears that one." Anko laughed. Iruka looked paranoid.

"So who do you think will arrive first?" Asuma asked. He had enough of his friends fighting.

"I think my team will!" Gai declared. "They are the most youthful in this exam!"

"My team will." Anko smiled.

"Why do you think that?" Asuma asked.

"Just a feeling I've got." Anko grinned. 'They trained in this forest.' Anko thought smugly.

"I think my team will do well." Asuma smiled. "Kiba is good a tracking and such. They'll get a scroll and find this place in no time."

"Same with Shino." Kakashi said. "He's good at tracking. So is Sasuke now that he's got the sharingan. Plus, they've got Sakura's brain to think up a good plan.

"My team could beat up all your teams." Anko said smugly. Everyone looked at her. "Hinata could outmaneuver Shino, Tenten, and Ino. Shikamaru could outsmart Neji, Sakura, and Chouji. And Naruto could easily beat Sasuke, Kiba, and Lee." Anna started clapping her hands at hearing her father's name. Anko smirked at her friends. "My team is better than your teams!" She sang. Everyone sighed.

"Guys!"

Everyone turned to look at Kurenai who had just burst through the door. She looked tired, ragged, and extremely worried. Asuma ran over to support her as she started to fall over.

"Kurenai! What happened?" Asuma asked worriedly.

"I…go…here…as fast…as I…could." Kurenai panted. "We found…bodies…of grass nin…their faces…were…missing." Anko's eyes widened at this. She handed Anna to Iruka and started towards the door.

"Anko? Where are you going?" Iruka asked as Anna started to squirm in his arms.

"I know who did this!" Anko yelled furiously turning to him. "That bastard is here and I'm going after him! It's high time I rip that cocksucking snake's head off!" Anko's eyes widened and she suddenly collapsed on the ground, yelling in agony. She clutched her neck.

"Anko!" Kakashi yelled rushing over to her. He pulled down her jacket's collar a bit and nodded at what he found.

A cursed seal that looked like a triangle of tears. The seal that Anko had since she was little. He also knew who did this. The seal was glowing red.

"Have…to…go…" Anko said angrily as she struggled to get up. Kakashi held her in place.

"You're in no condition to go anywhere." He said firmly. Anko turned her furious face towards him.

"Don't you get it? That bastard is a demon container! Container of the eight-tailed snake demon, the Hachibi no Hachimata! The most powerful demon besides the Kyuubi! Naruto will most likely go after that bastard because of that! The kid is strong, but he can't beat him! Not when the demon is in control!" Anko felt tears gather in her eyes. "I won't let that bastard take anything away from me. I'm not gonna let him hurt me again." She whispered. A few tears fell from her eyes.

"Anko? Crying? My, my. This certainly is serious, isn't it?"

Everyone turned to see an ANBU wearing a tiger mask leaning against the door. He removed his mask and smiled at them.

"Tenzou?" Kakashi said arching an eyebrow.

"…Yamato." Anko said softly.

"Don't worry Anko." Yamato smiled. "I'll find him. I'll make sure nothing happens to him." Before anyone could say anything, Yamato was already gone. Anko looked down so her bangs covered her eyes.

"Yamato…thank you…"

X.X.X

Naruto coughed as he wiped off the snake blood and grime off his skin, face, hair, and clothes. Thank Kami for Kage Bunshin. He would have been digested in that snakes belly had it not been for his signature jutsu. He looked around. More trees seemed to have been felled and there were indents and scorch marks on them. That snake summoner and his friends were no where to be found.

Then he heard a girl's scream in the distance.

"That was Sakura." Naruto muttered as he jumped through the foliage. He hoped that they were all okay.

X.X.X

"You hear that Neji? That was a scream of a maiden in danger!" Lee declared pointing in the direction of the scream. "And that scream can be no other than Sakura's. We must go to their aid!"

"We have our own business to take care of, Lee." Neji sighed. "We need not concern ourselves with how the other teams fare."

"I don't know Neji. That scream…and the explosion we heard before…" Tenten said puckering her lips. "You think something's up?"

Neji's eyes narrowed. "Maybe…but we can't worry about it now. We found the other scroll, now let's get to the tower."

"Alright." Tenten said uneasily.

"Wait, I hear something." Lee said holding his hand up to signal for his teammates to stand still and be quiet. Some rustling could be heard.

"Show yourselves!" Lee yelled out. Three people, two girls and a guy, burst out from the bushes.

"Who are you?" Neji asked activating his bloodline limit.

"Are you one of Naruto's acquaintances?" The older looking girl asked.

"Yes, I know Uzumaki." Neji replied. "What's it to you?"

"Then let us pass. We fear that he may be in danger."

"How?"

"The explosion and that scream. They're probably being attacked." Said the boy.

"W-We w-want t-to help t-them." A younger and more nervous looking girl said.

"So you're his friends then?" Tenten asked. The trio nodded.

"Then we shall accompany you!" Lee smiled. "I too, am worried about my friends."

"How do you know it's them?" Neji asked suspiciously.

"Naruto seems to have a habit of getting himself into trouble." The older girl smiled.

"That, I cannot argue with." Neji smiled. "What's your name?"

"Haku." She bowed. "These are my teammates and friends, Saki and Azrael."

All six of them headed in the direction of the scream, aided by Neji's Byakugan.

X.X.X

Naruto stopped running and landed in a clearing. He looked above him to see that his friends were in the trees, still fighting against the snake ninja. He jumped up and landed next to Shikamaru.

The boy looked like he had seen better days. His shoulder was gushing out blood. It looked like he had been stabbed there. His head was also bleeding a bit. He turned towards his blond friend and smiled weakly.

"Heh. Should've known it'd take more than a giant snake to take you out." Shikamaru smiled. Naruto smiled slightly, but frowned as he turned his attention back to the current situation.

Shino was down. He laid by Sakura who was attempting to heal him. It looked like he was unconscious. Sasuke and Hinata were facing the grass nin, who's face had completely peeled off to reveal a pale, white, and male face. Hinata had scratches all over her face and her clothes were a bit torn. The bleeding on Sasuke's arm seemed to have gotten worse and his stamina was almost all gone. Naruto jumped and landed in between his companions.

"Naruto! You're okay!" Hinata said happily. Sasuke acknowledged him with a curt nod. Naruto glared at his opponent who smiled back.

"Looks like you've got more in you than I thought, kid." The man smiled. "But then again, you are the Kyuubi."

"What's he talking about?" Sasuke asked in frustration turning to Naruto. "He's mentioned Kyuubi so many times that's it's starting to get annoying. Do you know this guy?"

"No." Naruto growled as his Chakra claws reformed.

"They don't know?" The man asked astonished. He threw back his head and laughed. "You deceive them, boy! Hasn't he told you what he is?"

"Shut up." Naruto snarled menacingly.

"Don't you know what kind of monster this child is?" The man laughed.

"I SAID SHUT UP!" Naruto roared as he threw himself at the man with his claws outstretched.

The snake nin's smiled and pointed his palm towards Naruto. Another giant snake appeared and opened it's jaws waiting to swallow the teenager. Naruto was ready for this. He did a front flip in the air making him rise up a bit. He plowed his claws into the snake's head, spraying snake blood on his hands and clothes. The snake nin smirked. This boy was more powerful than he thought. And annoying.

"I grow tired of your rampaging." The snake nin sighed. "He pointed his palm towards Hinata and Sasuke. A snake, almost two twice as big as the last one, erupted from his palm and jumped at the Hyuuga and Uchiha. Naruto cursed wildly and pumped more chakra into his claws. He dashed in front of his friends and launched himself at the snakes head. He smashed the snakes skull in at impact, but one of the reptile's teeth had cut Naruto across the chest. Blood poured out the wide gash, making Naruto recoil and cough up even more blood. The snake nin jumped towards the injured boy and punched him across the face. Luckily, Sasuke caught Naruto as he was blown backwards by the force of the punch. Naruto stared weakly at Sasuke and Hinata who eyes were wide with shock.

"R-Run!" Naruto gasped as he coughed up more blood.

"No!" Hinata said shaking her head as tears started to form in her eyes. "I'm not going to leave you! Not after you…oh Kami, Naruto!"

"Dobe! How did you do that?" Sasuke asked. "And how the hell could we leave you after you did that?"

"This is all nice, but I have business with my fellow demon."

Sasuke was thrown backwards and smashed into a tree. The snake nin smirked and punch Hinata across the face, making blood fly from her mouth. He hoisted her up and threw her to the side. She crashed into Shikamaru who was running to help his friends. They landed on one of the lower branches.

Naruto felt something wet and slimy wrap around his torso and haul him up in the air. It was the snake nin's tongue. The blond struggled to move or get away, but most of his chakra had been used trying to stop that snake. He had also lost a lot of his energy from the gash across his chest. The snake nin lifted up Naruto's shirt and smirked.

"So this is what the seal looks like, huh?" The snake nin smirked. "But what's this? It's seems to be dulling. Is the fur ball breaking free? I can't have that, so I'll fix it for you."

A purple flame appeared on each digit on his right hand. He smiled as he watched Naruto squirm.

"Gogyo-Fu-in!"

The ninja hit the boy in the stomach, letting him go as he did so. Naruto fell limp and was thrown against a tree. He slumped over, knocked out.

"Naruto!" Sasuke groaned as he tried to get up. The snake nin smiled and turned towards the Uchiha.

"And now to do what I came here to do." He smiled. "You remind me so much of your brother."

"Itachi?!" Sasuke gasped. Shit! Why couldn't he move?

"I am Orochimaru, one of the three Sannin of Konoha and also know as the Great Snake." He smiled. "Come and sneak me out after you've passed this test if you desire power. It doesn't matter if you want to or not. They all come eventually." His head stretched and sprang towards the black haired genin with his mouth wide open. Sasuke closed his eyes and waited for the impact.

It never came. He opened his eyes and was shocked at who had saved him.

Shikamaru stood there with the snake nin biting his left arm. He slashed the ninja across the forehead with a kunai making the Great Snake pull back. Shikamaru smiled.

"Didn't think I was out yet, did you?" He smiled.

"BRAT!" Orochimaru roared. "YOU INTERFERED!"

Shikamaru's smile turned into a grimance. He screamed and fell over, clutching his arm.

"It hurts! It hurts!" The Nara yelled rolling around. Sasuke stared at him in shock. He was the only on left standing. What could he do?

"Sasuke-kun!"

The Uchiha's eyes widened when he saw Rock Lee appear in front of him. The jumpsuit wearing ninja smiled and gave him a thumbs up.

"We're here to help."

The rest of Lee's team appeared along with three more people Sasuke was unfamiliar with. He smiled. Their chances of winning had increased.

"Saki! Take care of the injured." A girl wearing a mist ninja headband ordered. A younger girl wearing the same headband nodded and leaned down to help Shikamaru. The older girl turned towards him.

"Can you still fight?"

Sasuke smirked. "I'm just getting started." The girl smiled at him.

X.X.X

Naruto opened his eyes. This drips and drops he heard confirmed his whereabouts. He was in his mindscape.

Terrified would be a good word to describe how he was feeling. He couldn't remember the last time he was here. He could hear the Kyuubi's breathing echoing through the corridors. Naruto closed his eyes and tried to break out of mindscape, but every time he tried he was still ankle deep in water, pipes were set over his head, and the Kyuubi could still be heard. As Naruto turned to run away from the Kyuubi's cage. He suddenly found himself staring into the demon's large red eyes. Naruto screamed and fell back into the water. The Kyuubi laughed.

"Long time no see, kit." The Kyuubi chuckled. He frowned at his container. "But you seem to think differently of me now. You're scared of me. What's wrong? Are we back to basis one?"

"Why am I here?" Naruto asked standing up, regaining some of his cool.

"You were knocked out, kit. My old acquaintance placed that seal on you in a feeble attempt to keep me locked up and separate from you. But I've already made to much of an impact on your body to be separated. He was a fool. Always was. That's the downside to using a human body. You're limited to the foolish mortal seals of the earth. But it looks like that snake hasn't touched his host's soul. What a weakling."

"Which one is he?" Naruto asked.

"He is the container of the Hachibi no Hachimata, the eight-tailed snake demon. The strongest bijuu. Besides me, of course." The Kyuubi chuckled.

"Snake, huh? Fits him." Naruto muttered darkly.

"You know…I can't wait to get out of here and beat that arrogant snake myself." The Kyuubi mused. Naruto's eyes widened. "It's awfully cramped in the cage nowadays. Indeed, I can't wait to be free again."

"You're not getting out." Naruto said fiercely. His voice was a bit shaky. The Kyuubi laughed.

"You're denser than I thought! And even more dense than that! Or is it just stubbornness. Maybe denial? It won't matter much soon." The Kyuubi laughed ignoring the blond before him.

"Earlier…you said that the Hachibi hadn't touched his host's soul. What did you mean?" Naruto asked.

"The Hachibi is completely in control of the host's body." The Kyuubi replied. "Though the human remains conscious at the same time, aware of what the demon is doing with his body."

"Complete Shift?" Naruto asked with his eyes wide.

"No." The Kyuubi shook its massive head. "If it was Complete Shift, he would have turned into the Hachibi's animal form. The human's appearance hasn't changed at all."

"So the pale skin, purple marking, bad dress, and transvestite look is what Orochimaru's body really looks like?" Naruto muttered in disgust.

"The human is too weak to fight off someone as powerful as the Hachibi. So, the demon is the current user of the body, though he cannot use any of his demonic powers. Since he is using the human's body without completely transforming it, he is limited to the flimsy jutsus and techniques you humans use to fight. The only thing that's really different is his immense amount of chakra. He's got a lot of it, but not as much as you." The Kyuubi added as an afterthought. "The only thing keeping Hachibi from obtaining his true form is the human's will to keep a hold on his own soul. He refuses to let the snake devour it. Pity for him, lucky for us."

Naruto took all this in. So the real Orochimaru wasn't in control after all? So it was the Hachibi he had been fighting? The only thing keeping him from fighting a real demon was the fact that the real Orochimaru was still in possession of his soul? Could he still beat the demon if he was limited like the Kyuubi said? Naruto frowned. No. That demon had taken down his team, and team seven. Not to mention he was mortally wounded. What could he do?

"You want to save them, kit?"

Naruto looked up and his eyes widened. A boy, that looked just like him, stood in front of him. He knew this boy. He had the same hair, only it was red and slightly more wild. His skin was pale white, not sickly like Orochimaru, his skin seemed to glow and looked transparent. His whisker marks were bigger and they were red. He wore the same clothes, only they were pitch black. He had glowing blue marks all over his skin. The part about this boy that scared Naruto the most were his eyes. Black, needle-like slits were his pupils, much like his own. His eyes were not blue, but a blood red. What creeped him out the most was the thin line of blue that bordered the slitted pupils, but was inside the red of his eyes. His teeth were sharp and jagged as he smiled and his nails ended in points. This boy, was a demon.

"You could use my power, kit." The boy chuckled. Naruto winced. The part that made it even worse was that this boy was the Kyuubi.

"Never." Naruto spat.

The Kyuubi chuckled and shook his head. He reached forward. Naruto tried to take a few steps back but he found that he couldn't move. Was it fear that kept him from moving? The demon boy's hand kept on inching closer and closer. It seemed like a swinging pendulum that would cut him in two at any moment. The Kyuubi grasped Naruto's face.

But his hand past right though.

The Kyuubi pulled back and shook his head at the petrified Naruto. "It sucks that I can't take on a physical form yet. That damn seal really is a pain in the ass. Oh well, I'll be patient."

"W-What?"

"Or we could just hurry things along a little bit." The Kyuubi boy smiled. Naruto's eyes widened. "Use my power, kit. We can save you're friends."

"Heh, 'WE'? There hasn't ever been a 'WE' in our relationship." Naruto snarled. "It was only recently I realized it had always been a 'YOU'. From the time you started training me you've been planning this. Planning to use my bloodline to release your chakra and take control of my body. I know using your power releases more of your chakra. Never again will I go into Partial Shift to benefit 'YOU'!"

"You're right about that, kit." The Kyuubi smirked. "But I don't think you have a choice now, do you? I know what's happening out there. You're friends are losing. That other Hyuuga and his teammates have come to help. So has the Sanbi's container and her team. They can't win. And you can't either unless you use my power. There's no way out of this one. Not this time."

"I WON"T!" Naruto screamed. "I believe in them, they'll win."

The Kyuubi rolled his eyes. "Believe in them? What good'll that do? I don't think you fully understand their situation."

The Kyuubi slashed upwards and a rift opened. No, it was like a vision. A TV screen showing his friends battle the Hachibi. Naruto stared at the vision the Kyuubi had made.

Sasuke was down for the count. He sat groaning against a tree next to his teammates. Sakura tried her best to tend to him. Shino was still unconscious. Team Gai and team Wave were fighting the snake nin. Lee looked like his stamina was running out and Neji looked no better. Haku still seemed to be in good shape, but Naruto could tell she was starting to falter. Tenten supported Azrael, ignoring the gash on her leg. Azrael had a huge cut on his hip. Orochimaru smirked and seemed like he was going to finish all of them off. Aside from a cut on his forehead, he was relatively unharmed.

Naruto's eyes widened when he spotted his teammates. Saki was tending to a yelling Shikamaru with Hinata trying her best to help the healer. The Hyuuga heiress also seemed to try her best not to cry. Shikamaru was screaming in agony, clutching on to his arm. He saw something as Saki tried to lift his arm up. It was a mark that looked like a triangle of squiggly lines. It was weird, but he could tell that thing was what was causing him so much pain. The Kyuubi snapped his fingers and suddenly Naruto could hear what they were saying.

"Kami! It feels like my arm is being torn off!" Shikamaru screamed as tears started to gather in his eyes. It hurt so much.

"P-Please! Try to calm down!" Saki begged as she tried her best to work on his injured shoulder. "Hinata! Can you find out what's up with that mark?"

"T-The skin around it is irritated. It looks like it's infecting his body." Hinata answered. Her Byakugan was activated. "I-I can't find what's wrong though. He's just won't stop burning up!"

"I'm done with his shoulder, let's see what I can do!" Saki said making her way back to his arm.

The Kyuubi snapped his fingers again and the rift closed up. Naruto fell to his knees. His eyes were wide. The Kyuubi laughed sadistically.

"I am all to familiar with that seal!" The Kyuubi Naruto barked. "It's a seal that Hachibi has always used. It was meant for the Uchiha boy, but it looks like your foolish friend interfered. That curse mark is used to mark people he wants for his followers, or new body."

"New body?" Naruto asked.

"Yes. In order to remain living and young he must take control of someone's body and use it for himself. It's like shopping for new clothes in a sense. You don't have to worry about your friend being used though, the seal would probably kill him anyway."

Naruto's eyes widened. He slowly looked up to his demonic double. The Kyuubi cackled.

"Did I forget to tell you? Only ten percent of the people marked with that seal live. Only the strong come out alive. I doubt your friend will live. Most likely it would be too, 'troublesome', for him to fight it!" The Kyuubi laughed sinisterly.

"Shikamaru…dead…" Naruto muttered. His eyes had dulled in color and his tone was emotionless. The Kyuubi continued to laugh.

"Don't think he'll stop there! He'll kill all of your friends! The Hyuuga girl, The Sanbi container, everyone!"

"Everyone…"

"…But you can save them. Only by using my powers." The Kyuubi held out his hand.

"…"

"Don't you want to take revenge against that snake? Don't you want to kill him?"

"…"

"…"

"Yes."

"Then let the Hachibi witness MY power once again. I'll remind him that he still fears me!"

Naruto reached forwards and grasped the Kyuubi's hand. It didn't go though this time. A flash of light enveloped the blond.

"…I'll be sure to leave a mark on you after this one, kit…"

X.X.X

Haku panted as she looked up at her opponent. Things were looking grim for their team. Everyone was almost out of strength and the snake nin had done something to Shikamaru. She didn't know what to do.

"This has been fun, Sanbi." Orochimaru chuckled. Haku glared at him. He had been referring to her as her demon thoughout their battle. It perplexed and confused team Gai, but they didn't asked questions. "But I feel I must end this. I become bored." Haku's eyes widened as he made some hand signs to perform a forbidden technique.

"Everyone! Run!"

Orochimaru was suddenly smashed into a tree by a vine that had appeared out of nowhere. An ANBU wearing a tiger mask landed on one of the branches and raised his fists at the Great Snake.

"Come, Orochimaru!" The man yelled. The man climbed to his feet and glared menacingly at the newcomer.

"It's just pest after pest. THIS IS ANNOYING!" The man shouted as he attacked the ANBU man.

"Run!" The ANBU said again as he blocked the snake nin's various punches. "I'll hold him off!"

"Enough."

Everyone halted. They all turned towards Naruto, who was climbing to his feet. His features were sharpened, and a strange red aura appeared around him. All his wounds were healed.

"No…not again…" Hinata whispered.

"Damn!" The ANBU cursed as he jumped back. He made a few hand signs. "I have to stop this before it goes to far!"

Branches and vines sprang towards the Kyuubi container. But all the wood was burnt to a crisp before it could even touch the boy.

"Hachibi." Naruto said looking up at Orochimaru. The snake nin's eyes were wide.

"Die."

Naruto was suddenly in front of the snake nin. The blond punched the man in the stomach, almost punching right through his skin. The sannin rocketed off with Naruto running after him. Naruto ran and caught the man's foot and swung him into a tree, making the giant oak fall over when the snake nin hit it. Everyone watched in astonishment and Naruto fought the snake ninja. And he was winning!

"EVERYONE GET OUT OF HERE NOW!" The ANBU roared. "I'll handle Naruto and Orochimaru! Get going!"

Everyone nodded dumbly and did as they were told. Sakura picked up Sasuke and Haku hoisted up Shino. Rock Lee helped Tenten support Azrael and Neji activated his Byakugan. Saki helped Shikamaru up. The boy was out cold. Hinata just stared at Naruto. He was slaughtering the snake nin.

"Everyone! Follow me!" Neji commanded. "I'll find us a safe place to rest!" Everyone ran off, following the Hyuuga genius. Hinata stayed rooted in place. The ANBU noticed this.

"What are you doing? Get out of here!" The ANBU repeated. Hinata stayed where she was.

"Naruto." She whispered.

The blond lifted up Orochimaru, holding his head. The ninja's face was beaten and bleeding. So was the rest of his body. He coughed up some blood.

"Damn you…Kyuubi." Orochimaru coughed.

"Damn, straight." Naruto smirked. His voice was different. His Chakra Claws appeared. They were red instead of blue. Naruto plunged them into the snake nin's stomach. Orochimaru's eyes widened as he coughed up even more blood.

"You'll pay for what you did to my friends." Naruto growled. He launched off, taking Orochimaru with him. The snake nin was smashed into trees as the blond guided him through his trajectory. The snake nin tried to escape, but the claws in his stomach held him in place. His back exploded in pain as he was smashed into each tree. They got farther and farther away from the ANBU and Hinata.

"I have to follow them." The ANBU nodded. He turned towards Hinata. "You go find your friends, I'll take care of this." He darted off in Naruto and Orochimaru's direction.

Hinata sat there. He had changed again, only it was worse than wave and cloud. Tears formed in Hinata's eyes. If only she could help him…

Shikamaru's words floated into her mind. Hinata looked up. Determination flashed in her eyes. She climbed to her feet and activated he Byakugan.

"I won't leave you, Naruto." Hinata said. "I said I'd stick by your side. Whatever is happening to you…I'll help stop it!"

She took off in the direction the ANBU went. Her Byakugan flared. She would be the one to help him this time.

X.X.X

A/N: Hmm…the beginning was okay, the transitions were fine, and it was a good length. Alright. I'm okay with this chapter. Are you guys okay with it?

Well, the majority of the bijuu containers have been introduced. Naruto, Haku, Heath, Gaara, and Orochimaru. Only three left to go!

Hope you guys are okay with Orochimaru being a demon container. And also that Shikamaru got the curse seal instead of Sasuke. Those were actually TWO of my surprises. Don't worry, it's all for plot development and the things I plan to do with the Hachibi and Shikamaru's cursed seal will please you all I'm sure. I hope. Just be patient with me. Things will hopefully get even better. You guys will probably complain about Sasuke and not having the curse seal, but hey…tough shit. And will Hinata finally talk with Naruto about his Demon Shift?

Anywho, you know how before Gaara met Naruto he lived for killing? Well, until I finish this story, I live for getting reviews for it. Please review.

Kiiam.