A/N: To everyone, I'm extremely sorry for not updating in a while. I've been extremely busy working, so I haven't been able to update. My job requires a lot of running, so when I come home, I really have no energy to write. I am very sorry.

Anyway, this chapter is short...painfully so by my standards. I just wanted to get something out there. I'm hoping that my routine can be updating 3-4 times a week now that I'm not so busy.

But now to address concerns.

1. This lil guy is always very very important. Sakura isnt as strong as Hinata. I mean, she's been training with ANBU and whatnot, but her raw potential isn't as high as others. This means she's gotta work a lot harder to get stronger.

2. The Byakugan can NOT see through genjutsu. It can see near 360 degrees, see for 50 meters in any direction, see through objects, and it can see the chakra circulatory system. But just remember, Hinata still kicks ass. She's not gonna die anytime soon.

Anyway, thank you all for reading.


The Second Test

"I'm only going to say this once, so listen up," the trench-coat wearing kunoichi knows as Mitarashi Anko said to the crowd of exam takers, "you will have 5 days inside this training ground in order to complete the second part of the test."

A few of the genin looked apprehensive about entering the dark, fenced in forest. "Each team will receive one scroll, marked either Heaven or Earth. Your objective is to retrieve the opposite scroll to make a set. Once you have both scrolls, make your way to the tower in the middle of the training ground."

"What are we supposed to do for food," Chouji hollered, hugging a bag of chips.

Anko gave an evil grin. "The forest is full of nature's bounty. There are also man-eating animals and poisonous plants too. That's why," she paused dramatically, "this is called the Forest of Death!"

From the middle of the crowd, Anko heard a genin laughing. She looked in annoyance at a blonde boy who was doubled over with laughter.

"Are you telling me," Naruto said, still laughing, "That was supposed to scare us? The Forest of Death? Big fucking deal."

The proctor threw a kunai straight at the loud boy's face. Naruto simply caught it. He looked to toss the weapon back to the woman, but she had disappeared.

He felt the cold steel of a blade against his neck. "The loud one's are always the first to die. Learn to shut up." The blonde smirked before exploding in a puff of smoke. 'A clone?'

Anko felt a finger tap her shoulder. "I am seriously not dumb enough to anger a jounin and let myself be wide open like that, it's just stupid."

The woman nodded. 'He's not half bad, maybe he won't die in there.' "Everyone get in your teams and line up, we will give each team a scroll!"

There was a flurry of movement in which everyone split into their teams. Sasuke noticed that aside from Team 7 and Team 10, the only team without three memebers was the Haruno, who appeared to be working alone.

'She may know a few more genjutsu, but from that punch she took, she hasn't gotten any stronger. She's useless against the Sharigan. Even Hinata shouldn't have much trouble.'

Sasuke grabbed their scroll, Heaven, and moved to their instructed gate. "Naruto," Sasuke muttered.

"Yea," he said seriously. This was no time to be joking. While he loved being loud, now was the time to focus.

"Remember, we need an Earth scroll. We should stick to the canopy and ambush when we find a suitable target."

"Right. Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." Two clones appeared, one who used a henge to turn into the Uchiha. "There, now we'll catch someone off guard."

A small gunshot went off and the metal gate in front of them opened. Team 7 immediately ran up the nearest tall tree and began moving silently towards the tower, which looked to be a distance away.

Five hours later several of the jounin who were awaiting their students were startled by a chunin running into the room with a videotape.

"You've got to see this," he said in awe, "it's incredible." He went to the television set and put the tape in the VCR. On the screen, the three Suna nin appeared, walking in the doorway to the tower.

"That's not possible," a genjutsu user known as Kurenai yelled, "it's only been five hours! It would take a jounin 2 hours to get here if he knew the way!"

The man next to her took a drag on his cigarette and nodded. "Those Suna nin must be powerful. I did hear that they are the children of the Kazekage." The group of jounin nodded at Sarutobi Asuma and his words.

Hatake Kakashi just gave a small groan. "Did any of you bother to examine the tape at all," he asked. The jounin sighed when all of his comrades gave him a look of confusion.

"Look at the time on the upper right corner. The time says 4:03." The multiple ninja there still looked on in confusion. 'Oh dear Lord,' he cursed in his mind. "It's 5:10 right now, meaning this tape is an hour old, which means the team from Suna finished in slightly over 4 hours."

As the group of jounin marveled at the team from Suna, the second test continued.

"Hold here," Shino said. Lines of bugs trailed out of his sleeves. "There is someone near."

Kiba nodded, "I smell them, and so does Akamaru." The dog in his coat barked. "They don't smell strong at all."

"An ambush tactic would be best, since we know nothing of them. Leave no one conscious."

"Let's do this Akamaru!" Before Kiba could leap into action, a girl behind them coughed.

"I don't think we should attack them," Hinata said in her soft voice. Her team turned around to face her.

"Why the hell not?" As Kiba rounded on her, Hinata held up one Heaven and one Earth scroll. She was smiling.

"I took their scroll already, Kiba, while you two were talking," Hinata said brightly.

"How," Shino asked with a notable trace of surprise to his voice.

"It was a group of older boys, so I acted like the typical lost little girl. I was originally going to knock them out quickly, but I didn't like the look in their eyes, so I went a little overboard."

"Come again," Kiba asked. He had trained with Hinata for months now and knew she was a gentle girl. But God help whoever made her mad.

"Oh nothing," she smiled widely, "I'll just need to ask father was effects the gentle fist have on the groin."

Kiba and Shino both gave a noticeable wince and covered themselves. Hinata motioned for them to keep moving towards the tower. If they kept this pace, they'd be there by morning after resting for the night.

Meanwhile a group of mist nin were stalking a black-haired boy and his blonde partner. As the only pair in the exam, they'd be easier. The trio unsheathed their weapons and charged the pair.

Up in the canopy, the real Uchiha and Uzumaki were watching. The blonde made a seal right as the enemy ninja got close.

"Bunshin Daibakuha," Naruto muttered. They watched as the clones exploded, knocking the three mist nins back. As with the others, they were out cold.

"You think that hurts a bit," Naruto asked, turning to Sasuke.

The boy rolled his eyes. "Not at all," he muttered sarcastically. He leapt down and began rummaging through the boys' to take any items of use they carried on them. He also grabbed an Earth scroll, which would make it four pairs of scrolls they had.

Sasuke joined his partner in the canopy and began looking for a strategic point to rest for the night. They found it in a secluded patch of trees. After destroying the pairs of scrolls they didn't need and finding some food, the pair fell asleep with their senses heightened.

Naruto awoke early in the morning, having to answer his body's call. Naruto nudged Sasuke awake, and then went off to relieve himself.

The blonde stood, finishing his business, when he heard several loud crashes of trees being broken. Whatever cause it was coming towards him. He sniffed the air. 'Ugh, I hate the smell of snakes.'

Sasuke had just finished packing when his instincts told him to dodge. Several shuriken hit the space where his head had been.

On the branch he was standing on was a man with extremely pale skin, long black hair, and eyes that were yellow and slit like a snake's. He wore a white robe with black underneath, and a purple rope around his waist.

"Good morning, Sasuke-kun," the man said in a high voice. "Let's have some fun." The man looked Sasuke in the eyes.

Sasuke felt a kunai imbed itself in his forehead. The feeling of death, the fear of it all ending, swarmed around him. His body began to shake. This was the absolute worst feeling. It was worse than Sakura's genjutsu in the academy. It was like the man was Death. Just when he felt as if the icy hand of Death would grasp him, it vanished.

'A genjutsu! This man…he's far stronger than I am.' Sasuke's revelation did nothing to deter him from attacking this man. He charged, but felt his body move sluggishly. The pale man sent him away with a swipe of his hand.

"Your body knows it is my pray, Sasuke-kun. Your mind should accept it." Sasuke's Sharingan eyes stared into the snake-like eyes of his opponent. The man was right. If he wanted it, Sasuke would be dead. He should simply accept defeat.

The man's silky voice carried into the woods. "Those eyes, that beautiful body, yes, you are exquisite, Sasuke-kun. Come with me quietly, you can't hope to ever win."

The Uchiha felt his mind giving in. 'He's right. I'm nothing compared to this amount of power. I've trained so much, but in the end, I'm still just a genin.' Sasuke felt his feet moving towards the enemy, his body and mind hanging in defeat.

'Come to me, my boy. Your eyes will never see through this shroud. Not yet.'

Naruto saw the trees in front of him splinter as a giant brown snake barreled towards his position. Before he could move, the snake bit at him, swallowing the blonde and a large chunk of a tree with him.

'He just swallowed me? Fucking snake…' Naruto drew his swords from inside the snake and began hacking and slashing at the serpent's stomach. Despite his flurry of swipes, he was not making much progress.

'I could just use the Renkudan to blow myself out of here, but that would leave me too weak.' Naruto pondered his options. He needed to get out of a stomach. A flash went off in his head and he performed his favorite technique.

A horde of Naruto clones spewed out of the snake, the serpent unable to keep the volume of clones inside him. Hundreds of clones had hacked and slashed the snake, doing the damage that one of them could not.

The snake disappeared in smoke. 'A clone of that size? There shouldn't be any genin able to do that!' That only meant that someone very dangerous was near. The boy sprinted off towards Sasuke's scent. Naruto felt his anger growing, much like the time on the bridge.

"You will enjoy your life in Oto. You will gain power like you could only imagine. Be by my side, always, and you shall be favored most of all," the snake said. Sasuke's mind was putting up a protest, but the part that had conceded was too strong.

'He's too strong. But I have to fight. You'll die. I don't care. If you die, you can't avenge your clan.'

"Stop trying to fight the truth. No one can help you." The man's eyes looked at the boy with an evil craving. It was as if the Uchiha was a piece of meat. "You are weak. Your friends are weak. Your village….is weak."

Suddenly, a black blur came out of nowhere and punched Sasuke. The Uchiha, not expecting any attack, was knocked out of his stupor. Sasuke hit the ground hard and rolled on the ground. The snake man looked at the newcomer with a small bit of interest.

"And who might you be boy," the man asked, looking at the back of the boy's head. Naruto's gaze had not moved from off his teammate.

"What are you doing Sasuke," the blonde asked solemnly, his bangs covering his eyes.

Sasuke coughed, his mind spinning as his world righted itself. "Get away from him Naruto! He's way stronger than us! We're going to die if we stay here." Naruto responded by punching the boy again.

"Get the fuck up Uchiha. We're shinobi of Konoha, we don't run away. And as Team 7, we don't fear anyone."

"We have to run you goddamn idiot! I don't know who this guy is, but he's not a genin!" Sasuke stared at the man in fear. Naruto merely looked at him.

'He's right. We might actually die here. But I refuse to die like a coward. I vowed to be strong for everyone.' "You," he said, glaring at the pale man, "I know you look like a pedophile that hasn't seen the light of day for years, but who the fuck are you."

The man chuckled and bowed. "I'm Orochimaru, the exiled Sannin of Konoha." Sasuke only looked at Orochimaru in utter fear, but Naruto seemed unafraid.

'Ok, so yeah, we're going to die here. But we aren't going to die like this.' "Sasuke," he said, "this guy is going to kill us probably. But we have to fight."

"I-I can't," the boy yelled. "My body isn't moving like it should!"

Orochimaru laughed. "That's because you're weak. You can't even realize you're in a genjutsu, let alone break it. You are pathetic."

Naruto's temper flared. "Don't talk about him like that," he snarled. "This village and its ninja are the best in the world."

"I suppose that's why I left this place, boy? Because it had too much potential? No, the Leaf is weak, its people and shinobi are weak. Even your Hokage is weak. I shall destroy this place by tearing apart its foundation."

"Meaning what, you boy-loving faggot," Naruto yelled.

The snake laughed madly. "I'm going to kill your Hokage. Just watch." The man seemed to dissolve into mud. He was gone without a trace.

Naruto yelled in frustration. "Sasuke, move. We have to tell the people at the tower what is happening."

Sasuke only sat, shaking. His partner sat down in front of him. "Sasuke…"

The black-haired boy only looked at his friend, slightly rocking back and forth. His Sharingan had deactivated, and his body looked paler than usual.

"SASUKE!" The boy yelled loudly, causing the Uchiha to flinch. 'Fuck, he's so afraid. It must be that damn genjutsu.'

"You'll forgive me for this, you pain in the ass." Naruto took his hand and knocked the Uchiha out. Naruto made a clone to carry the boy.

'Right, let's get to the tower.'

Three Days Later

A well-rested Team 7 was notified by a jounin that the second test had finished, and that due to the large number of people who passed, there would be a preliminary fighting round.

"The Haruno made it," Sasuke muttered as they walked down the stairs. Sasuke had been broken of the difficult genjutsu almost immediately after they had entered the tower. Naruto had thanked Hinata's sensei. Unfortunately, Sasuke hadn't heard the end of it.

"Better hope you don't face her since you apparently suck with genjutsu," the blonde grinned.

"It was done by Orochimaru! You can't blame me for that at all," Sasuke yelled back. "You would have done the same."

"Oh, so I would have turned into a comatose baby?"

"I'll kill you."

Naruto just laughed. "But you are right. The Haruno has improved immensely. I mean, her genjutsu is good, and from what I could tell from it, she has good control."

"But she can't take a punch, if you remember." Naruto grinned at looked up in bliss.

"Ah, punching her felt so good. She should be happy I'm not going to kill her. Then again, she wasn't expecting the hit."

"True," Sasuke said. He looked at a list in his hand. It was the names of those genin who passed the second test. "We have us, Team 8 and 10. That makes 7 already. Then we also have Team Gai, the Suna team, and a team from Oto. But one of their memebers died." They both gritted their teeth at the sound of Oto.

"That's 15. But then there is the Haruno. That makes 16. So it looks like 8 matches, one on one."

Sasuke opened the door they were walking to. They walked through it and onto a balcony that wrapped around the entire room. Below them was a training area. They saw that there was a large statue of the Nindaime making a seal to the left of them.

They walked over to their fellow Konoha genin. Naruto looked over, where Sakura stood against the opposite wall. She was staring at them.

"If any of you get the Haruno," Sasuke said, "she'll be using genjutsu. She doesn't have much physical stamina, it looks like. So just hit her lots and she'll go down." The group nodded.

"She is unstable," Hinata said. "I can see it in her eyes. That makes her dangerous."

"I believe she will kill us if she is given the opportunity," Shino mumbled. "If we treat a fight with her as if it was anything but a life or death situation, we are underestimating her."

"It's starting," Kiba muttered. The board had begun flipping through names at random. Finally, it settled on a pairing.

Hyuga Hinata vs Zaku Abumi.