I dont own Naruto!!

Ino eventually broke away from her team mates and sauntered towards Naruto, who was leaning against a tree with his eyes closed. She announced her presence by smacking the back of Naruto's head. "Hey."

"What 'hey'?!" the genin growled, rubbing his head. "That hurts, dammit."

The kunoichi chuckled. "If you can't even stand that, how're you going to defeat me?"

"I'm not trying to beat you," Naruto retorted, grinning.

"So, what did you do in Ibiki's exam?"

Naruto was quite conscious of the curiosity in Ino's voice as she waited for an answer, sapphire eyes regarding him patiently.

"Man! If it wasn't for the tenth question I'd be toast!"

She pouted in retaliation. " well I copied from Sakura"

"Of course you did your not as textbook smart as her," Naruto slowly reasoned.

"What exactly is that supposed to mean idiot!?" the pout was replaced by a playful anger, and obvious anticipation danced in her blue orbs. "What do you think we're gonna do next?"

"We're about to know."

Mitarashi Anko was smiling brightly and she looked so joyous that Naruto had the slightest feeling that something bad (or extremely torturous) had been arranged for them. He watched Ino thoughtfully as she went back to her team.

Sighing, he walked closer to Sasuke and Sakura, though they didn't look half as angry as they were before at him (they had been fighting so much lately) . The blonde instinctively heaved a sigh of relief; maybe they're not so bad after all. The remaining twenty two teams that had advanced through the first stage of the Chuunin Exam obligingly crowded around the kunoichi, waiting impatiently for their next instruction. Anko cheerfully brandished a stack of papers, waving them about above her heads.

"You must all sign these documents," the kunoichi happily announced. "We don't wanna take any responsibility if any of you brats died in this exam. So, this is a last chance for anyone that's not up to the challenge to back out and save your sorry ass. Anybody? No one, huh? Good, when you're called, go to that booth over there and you'll receive one scroll for each group. Listen up, this is what your second test going to be."

Naruto gathered as much information from the short briefing as he could, though there was certainly not much to gather. There were two types of scroll; Heaven and Earth. Teams will be given one random type of scroll each and to complete the test, they have to obtain another type of scroll from (obviously) another group. The trick was that they had to make sure that the other group have different scroll than theirs or the fight would be a complete waste of time. The rules were simple and seemed irritatingly vague; if they lose a scroll, they failed. If they lose a team mate, they failed. If they arrive to the tower after the five days limit, they failed. And lastly, if they open the scroll before arriving at the tower, they would also be disqualified.

Now this is what I call a challenge,Naruto thought,though he was still worried about what could happen he was also excited at thought of being chuunin, carefully he hid his glee, as Sasuke and Sakura nodded at each other.At last, a real fight...

"Oi, dobe, are you ready?" the Uchiha survivor raised an eyebrow at Naruto, the annoyingly-superior smirk adorning his pale face.

For once, Naruto didn't feel like lodging a fist into that smirking face. He was far too excited to let his mood to be ruined by some stupid rivalry. Instead, he grinned. "Yeah, time to kick some serious butts!"

Sakura sighed in mock weariness. "That's so like you Naruto..."

"You make it sound as though it's a bad thing," the blonde retorted.

They went to the booth, where two chuunins were waiting. They signed the documents without the slightest hint of doubt and got their scroll; a Heaven scroll. Walking quietly out, they found a spot near their assigned gate; Gate 12. Sasuke held out the scroll, his dark eyes moved from one face to another. They would have to survive the five days in the Forest of Death, guarding their scroll from any attempts by other teams and snatching one Earth scroll in order to pass through this exam. It would be quite difficult, even Naruto had to grudgingly admit that, with twenty two teams hunting down one another. They have to make a wise decision before entering the forest; who was going to protect the scroll in future fights?

"I suggest that Sasuke-kun keep it," Sakura pretended to enthusiastically chirp. "He's the strongest among us three anyway!"

"Strongest, my ass."Naruto snorted out nonchalantly .

" it's true idiot !!Sasuke-Kun is the rookie of the year!!! "

"On come on his power is so half baked you would think it was cookie dough!"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the nonchalant look displayed on Naruto's face, before glancing down at the scroll in his hand. Unexpectedly, he thrust it forward, towards the blonde genin. "You keep it."

Sakura's eyes widened. "Eh? But... but why?"

"He looks weak," that reply from the raven-haired genin made Naruto bristle with anger but he defiantly ignored the remark, chanting self-soothing word inside his head. Sasuke smirked. "Others won't expect him to have the scroll."

Naruto snatched the scroll away and carefully tucked it away into his back pocket, grumbling out incoherent words that made both Sasuke and Sakura stare at him. The blonde arched an eyebrow and looked away.Five days with Your Lordliness Sasuke-bastard... Maybe I'm the one who's gonna kill him inside there. No, can't do that. I'll fail the exam and I'll only prove to everyone that jinchuuriki are nothing but monsters,

"Come on," Sakura suddenly spoke out, pointing at a grinning Anko. "I think she's about to let us in."

And thus, the second stage of the Chuunin Exam began!

They had been walking for more than twenty minutes then.

And no other soul was in sight.

Naruto was growing restless. He wanted to just freakin' find a group, beat them up senseless, got the right scroll and waltzed towards the tower. That would certainly save a lot of time and nerve. The genin ran a hand impatiently through his blonde spikes, sky-blue eyes warily scanning the surrounding.

The Forest of Death seemed to have lived up to its name, which was not a good thing. There was something definitely creepy about the way those thick canopies loomed above them, blocking out the sunlight and providing potential predators with ideal hideouts. Sakura had walked closer to Sasuke, who was the head of their unlikely procession and Naruto sincerely thought that it was not solely because of her hormones.

It was at that time that he realized a faint trace of chakra, stalking them.

Catching up with the two, Naruto casually leaned forward and whispered, "There's someone following us."

"There is?" Sakura surprised both boys by NOT looking around and letting the enemy know they were aware of being followed.

Sasuke frowned but they continued walking, as though they hadn't noticed anything. The Uchiha glanced at Naruto. "How did you know that before I do?"

Never the one to miss an opportunity to annoy the raven-haired genin, Naruto did his best imitation of a 'Sasuke Smirk' and said, " Simply because I'm better than you."

Sasuke and Sakura flinched in complete unison.

"Shall we go and surprise our beloved stalker?" Naruto offered generously and stopped walking at the same time.

Sasuke and Sakura (again) agreed in unison.

"We know you're there," the blonde lazily shouted out. "Just come out and save our precious time, will you?"

The reply they got was strange.

First the trees creaked near them and the dust was whipped up into the air, semi-blinding them as they looked to the twisters across the plains. There were three of them. Three gigantic columns of violently twisting air rotating around each other. At first they stood there,shocked and out of ideas.

In the tornado there was no way to know which direction was up or down, the usual landmarks were hidden behind the white wind that swirled so densely. Even Naruto's teammate Sakura ,in front of him was little more than a crude flash of a pink human mostly erased by the constant spinning of the tornado. Naruto could feel his blood cool and his skin tore from the sharp winds. Disorientation was a given; and the spinning was a killer. he cried out for Sakura to turn but the wind tornado carried his voice faster than he could speak.The world was being erased around him and he'd be with it if they didn't find shelter...in a fast burst of energy the tornado suddenly dispersed,Naruto flew out,Sakura and Sasuke went into a direction he didn't see.

The blond flew several yards away ,he felt himself crash into a tree,breaking it on impact before rolling to the floor.

"What the he'll was that?!" The boy groaned, as he sat up on something soft and rubbed his head.

"N-Naruto!!I-I can't breathe!!"

Said a breathless voice.

The blonde boy looked below himself and gasped as he realized he was sitting on Ino's back.

He blushed and rolled off of her quite comically.

"I-Ino! What are you doing here!?"

She got up and he noticed her clothes seemed to be messy and torn,her hair was also dishelved as well as there being small scrapes on her skin.

"There was this Gigantic tornado,my team and I got caught up in it and when it dispersed we all got scattered,"

She eyed him carefully, "did the same thing happen to you?"

He nodded and smiled before offering her his hand,

"Come on I'll help you find your team."

She took his hand and gave a smile of her own; of course he would help her at a time like this.

"I'm afraid neither of you are going any where until I get your scroll,"

The two blondes turned around to see one Neji Hyuuga,from his appearance and lack of teammates they guessed he was also caught in the tornado.

Naruto growled, he didn't like Neji Hyuuga.

When Ino had told him to cryptidly warn team Gai Naruto had gotten a front row seat to the way Neji Hyuuga treated everyone in his team,including his own Sensei.

He lorded his clan name over his teammates and everyone else as though he was better than them,the way he treated everyone like dirt reminded Naruto of another stoic,bloody kid with powerful eyes ; Sasuke.

"What do we do Naruto?"

" stay out of it Ino,I'll handle it, "

Uchiha Sasuke gritted his teeth in annoyance.Why the heck did I run?! I'm an Uchiha, dammit! Uchiha didn't run from a fight! This is all that stupid, dead-last, urchin--

"Umm, Sasuke-kun?"

He snapped his head towards Sakura, who was resting besides him. "What?"

"Why are we running?"

Because I'm scared! Damn, even that sounds stupid. "I don't know."

Sakura frowned darkly, her lips pursed into a pout. "Me too. But when that weird guy just appeared like that and Naruto couldn't be found, it seemed like the best thing to do..."

"Hn."

There was something about that Grass nin that made Sasuke uncomfortable. He didn't know how to explain the strange sensation he felt when the genin first stepped out of the shadow. It was as if that nin was... a messenger of death. Sasuke didn't like that sense at all; somehow, it made him feel helpless. He wanted to be strong, not to run away and leave thatdobebehind! He wanted to kill his brother but how could he do it when there was an enemy out there that he didn't dare to face?! The raven-haired genin clenched and unclenched his fists, his mind furiously trying to sort out the best solution for their current situation. They could retrace their steps and search for Naruto.I'm going to pound him to death for this...no! It was a tornado!!

Before Sasuke could set his mind on a suitable plan, a soft hiss attracted his attention and he reluctantly tore away from the thoughts that were forming inside his head. He looked up and his eyes met the eyes of the predator, abnormally long tongue licking the pale face delicately as the Grass nin they had been running away from latched himself to a tree not far from the spot which Sasuke had chosen earlier as a resting place, when they had been tired of running. The nin smirked gleefully at them, his tongue lapping to and fro like a live snake; as though he had been enjoying himself immensely. Sakura was at the verge of vomiting, disgusted by the saliva and the tongue itself; even the fearless Inner Sakura cringed in dread. And Naruto was nowhere to be seen.

"Sassssssuke-kun..."

Naruto charged at Neji first, his fist connecting a bit sluggishly with the Hyuuga's nose.

The long haired boy was shocked,he wasn't expecting Naruto to be that fast .

The blonde his leg up and attempted to kick at Neji but he blocked it,sending Naruto back a few feet.

Grunting softly Naruto ran at Neji again,this time in a big way motion ,attempting to confuse Neji just a little of he could.

The jounin Sensei's in Konoha don't usually do their jobs,Naruto had begged Kakashi to teach him some wind style techniques but Kakashi had constantly told him that he was busy with Sasuke,so in order to help him out Ino had asked her Sensei ,Asuma to help Naruto,the man had said no but Ino pressured him so he halfheartedly explained the leaf cutting exercise to Naruto but then left Naruto to his own devices when it came to actual jutsu.

But Naruto was not one to give up ,so he read scrolls ,upon scrolls and managed to master some basic wind style jutsu, nothing to powerful but,it would definitely help him against Neji.

Doing some quick hand signs Naruto took a deep breath and yelled.

"Wind style: Vacuum bullets!"

Strong gusts of wind were aimed at Neji,it tore his clothes and cut at his skin,he planted his feet firm and brought his arms up to block his face.

When it seemed as though it was over he opened his eyes and was surprised to be met with Naruto's heavy fist to his nose.

Another Naruto ,one he assumed was a clone,kicked Neji in the back and another gave him a right hook to the cheek.

With a dog like cough,the Hyuuga boy fell to the ground with a thud.

Naruto panted as he stared at him,he was sure it was over now,then suddenly the Hyuuga turned into a log.

Naruto got back on guard.

"You should give up,"

Came Neji's voice from behind.

"Your fate was decided the moment we crossed paths in this forrest."

" what's with all this stupid Fate shit you keep going on about!? "

"It's the path you were meant to walk in life,Trust me I would know best,"

Ino breathed heavily as she listened behind the remains of a tree trunk,what Neji was telling Naruto.

He told him about the caged Bird seal,which Naruto no doubt knew about,with all the studying in seals he's been doing lately. Neji spoke of Hinata Hyuuga and how unfit she was to be leader,He went onto talk about his own family and how the branch family was inferior to the main family.

All in all Ino couldn't help but think Neji was a hypocrite.

He spoke about accepting one's fate but he seemed to be constantly fighting against his.

If the Branch family was weaker,why did he fight to become so strong when in the end it would be for nothing,he would be still be weaker right ?

If he was meant to protect the branch family ,then why say those things about Hinata,someone that fate declared superior to him?

A sudden gush of pain jolted throughout Naruto's body. His stomach ached, his arms lost tension and his legs began to weaken. "Is your story supposed to make me feel sorry for you?" he sneered at Neji as he dropped to the ground. His tongue was soaked in the taste of blood. Bruised and winded, with a leg in agony, he grabbed the foot of the Hyuuga and pulled him to the ground. His head was pounding. He brought a fist to the Hyuuga's's face, snapping his nose with his knuckles.

They both ignored the unbearable pain and got up,putting distance between each other.

"It's time I end this!" Neji growled .

He ran towards Naruto who was barely standing and shoved a palm into his stomach.

Naruto stiffened and blood ran from his mouth.

"The perfect move to end this match,"

Naruto couldn't move as Neji shoved his palms into his chakra points.

"Two palms!!"

The pain throbs in his guts, it's deep and warm, but not in a nice way.

"Four palms!"

The mud and dirt had become enmeshed and spotted with blood.

"Sixteen palms!"

Naruto let out a strangled scream and felt blood well into his throat from the tongue he had just bitten in a vain attempt to keep quiet.

"Thirty two palms!!"

It kept coming as though it wouldn't seem to end.

"Thirty eight palms!!"

"Sixty-four palms!!"

Naruto who was so energetic went down,stoic,his lips that always stretched into a grin were blue and red respectively,his sun kissed hair was red with blood and his tan skin was deathly pale,in what seemed like death Naruto wasn't himself,his blue eyes were half closed and seemed lifeless as he stared up at the sky unable to even comprehend what he was looking at.

Ino saw and let out an ear bursting shriek.

Neji turned to her and glared.

"Are you going to fight too? It'll only end the same.The boy was weak and fated to lose to me,maybe next time he'll think before attacking someone far super—! "

"SHUT UP!!!!!"

Ino cut him off,her eyes seemed to go fiery red and the air around her seemed to grow hotter.

" YOU WILL NEVER MEET ANYONE ELSE LIKE NARUTO IN A MILLION YEARS!! "

It almost seemed like she was steaming.

"I WON'T ALLOW YOU TO INSULT MY FAVOURITE NINJA!!!!"

she turned to Naruto.

"Naruto !! What are you doing looking so miserable!?"

" you've come to far just to give up!! "

her eyes squeezed shut as she yelled.

"WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING UP IS WHEN I LOVE YOU THE MOST!! SO..."

" YOUR NOT ALLOWED TO LOOK ANYTHING BUT COOL IN FRONT OF ME OKAY!!! "

The boy got up shaking ,heavy breathing and a limping foot but he still smiled at her.

"You're right Ino,I'm sorry,"

"You should get out of here,it's about to be crowded,"

She nodded and ran to find her team.

The blonde boy did a hand sign that he's gotten so used too.

Hundreds of shadow clones filled up the area and Neji cringed in fear and anticipation.

"Na.Ru.To. Uzumaki 2k barrage!!"

Five minutes later.

Neji lay beaten and battered on the floor,unable to move as Naruto walked away,he called after him.

" don't you want my scroll? "

"Hm. It was never about the scroll."

A few minutes later Tenten and Lee had found him.

"My esteemed rival ! Who did this to you?!"

They both helped him to his feet and Neji ignored his question.

"Tenten,Lee,"

" Yes? "

" I'm sorry. "

Somehow they knew what he meant and they smiled softly, "It's okay."

Sakura blinked in disgust.His tongue It's, it's so, well, long!She looked uncertainly between Sasuke and the Grass nin, hesitating on their next action. She was feeling slightly worried about that blonde teammate of hers.When they finally got out of the tornado,they hadn't been able to find Naruto. He can't be dead, can he?The pink-haired kunoichi involuntarily shuddered; defiantly forcing back that very thought as she desperately tried to convince herself that Naruto would be fine.Maybe he got lost. Yeah, that must be it!Sakura nodded at that weak attempt of a self-assurance, her mind focusing on the oncoming battle. Sasuke was looking extremely wary and Sakura reluctantly stared at the long haired Grass nin.

To which she immediately regretted doing.

The man slowly displayed his Earth scroll, sneering at the two Leaf nins. "Iknowthat youneedmyEarthscroll but you will have to try harder to get it," a conceited laugh followed afterwards but that was not the reason why Sasuke and Sakura instinctively took a step back; it was the fact that the Grass nin had wrapped his super-long tongue around the scroll and swallowed it whole that made those two genins winced. In absolute horror. Touching his eyebrow in mild satisfaction, the long haired nin locked his eyes at his two preys. "Now, let the fun begin."

Dammit! This place is fuckin' confusing!Naruto focused on tracing Sasuke and Sakura's chakra but he soon found out that he actually was no good at all in this chakra-tracing business. The blonde genin groaned in complete annoyance. He increased his speed, bouncing off this tree and leaping towards that tree, in hope that he would get to his two team mates (where in the name of the ramen gods are they?!) . He jumped onto another low branch, avoided a rather thick mass of leaves and stopped to try and locate any sign of chakra nearby.

Naruto didn't feel any chakra, but he definitely smelt something burning.

Somewhere up north,

Or was it south?

Sniffing the air in a very cute Akamaru-like way, Naruto continued to speed forward, before he hesitated and frowned to the opposite direction.Where is it from?!Cursing Sasuke, Neji, the trees and every single thing available, the genin did the only reasonable thing he could; he charged ahead! Who cared about direction when one had unlimited stamina and could always turn back again when one found out that one had been going the wrong way around? But this time, it was a dangerous gamble. The future is at stake and as Naruto flitted through the forest, a grin crept onto his feature. He couldn't wait to see precious Sasuke-kun's face when the so-called dead last came to his rescue.

That very thought acted efficiently as a burst of fuel, urging him to go faster.

Maybe he was lucky that day or maybe he had unconsciously mastered the art of sniffing towards for right direction when Naruto soon could hear a series of explosions, most likely through the exchanges of jutsus from somewhere to his left. He approached the location with caution, having known better than to barge unthinkingly (like he had done in the fight with Haku) into an intense battlefield. He had thought about using genjutsu, as to make himself invisible but dismissed the idea at once, flinching slightly when he remembered that he hadn't really perfected genjutsu yet. Kyuubi's mocking voice as the youkai had oh, so merrily laughed at him when he failed continually at that particular type of jutsu was somewhat hurtful.

I could do just fine without that stupid genjutsu anytime, the blonde thought furiously.

Naruto inched closer, making sure that he was well hidden as not to waste the 'surprise' advantage that he currently hoped on. He peered from underneath an effectively concealed thicket, though it was rather uncomfortable and prickly there. The fight that revealed itself before him does not make the blonde genin excited, so to say, as he watched Sasuke 'cheerfully' dispell fireballs at the Grass nin, to which Naruto noticed had changed his face. It was more snake-like than before, and portrayed obvious maliciousness. It was a face that guaranteed instant dislike by one that followed one's sole instinct. He also noticed that Sakura was nearby, shaking with unknown tremor of fear for something that Naruto couldn't yet grasp.

He decided that it was about the right time to launch into action, after witnessing that Sasuke didn't actually fare well with the--wait, that's not a Grass symbol! It's a Sound one! So this guy's from Sound village, with that bandage-head .Wonder what they're up to now.Naruto swallowed down his curiosity as he sensed that Sasuke definitely in need of help, the pretty face contorted in fury and, was that fear? Naruto almost chortle out in amusement. The high-and-mighty Sasuke-sama was actually afraid? The amusement died down and was replaced by sheer resentment.That Sound guy must be one hell of a fighter,Naruto darkly mused. He slipped out several kunai and prepared to perform his favourite hand seal for the Kage Bunshin.

Both shinobi that was engaged in the fight was completely taken by surprise when they suddenly found themselves surrounded by so many audiences, with exactly the same smirking face and sparkling blue eyes. Naruto. The Sound nin hissed in anger, as he was so close in 'taming' the Uchiha survivor and reaching the goal as why he was there in the first place. Sasuke unconsciously grunted and one couldn't possibly tell if he was relieved or further aggravated by the way Naruto choose to make an entrance. Really, such cliché! Sakura gasped, her eyes wildly searched around for the real Naruto, as she was quite sure that the blonde genin would burst out of nowhere and started insulting snake e to think of it, he might insult Sasuke-kun too.

"Yo, Lord Snakeyness," one Naruto stepped out from the others, sneering at the Sound nin. "Changed your village already? That's kinda convenient for dirty work, isn't it?"

"You're late, dobe," Sasuke, having picked up his formal cold attitude, hastily tried to insert a better image of himself. "What took you so long?"

The snake man narrowed his slitted eyes and answered for Naruto. "You've can't defeat any of my snakes."

"Yeah, that's exactly what I plan to do and then I'll turn you into bbq snake meat," the blonde retorted in quite an annoyingly (to both snake guy and Sasuke) cool manner. He turned his attention to a certain raven-haired team mate of his and grinned widely. "Need my help...little girl?"

Uchiha Sasuke winced visibly at that particular phrase.

Out of the blue, Sakura's voice rang from behind him. "That's Orochimaru, Naruto, one of the legendary sannins! We can't possibly defeat him!"

"Orochimaru?" Naruto's eyebrows rose as he regarded the hissing nin before him. Then, without much consent, he said, "That crazy, power hungry, mentally deficient sannin? You'retheOrochimaru?"

The incredulous tone portrayed in Naruto's voice alone was enough to make the missing nin hissed louder, and Naruto took it as a rather funny imitation of a snake . Orochimaru snarled at the blonde genin, eyes burning in cold fury, a

"Yes, I am the one and only Orochimaru, brat. You'd better not stand in my way or--"

"Oh please, not that old threat," the blonde snorted in a truly exasperated way. When he locked his eyes at Orochimaru, Sasuke (and perhaps Sakura too) could see the iron-wrought determination flashed in those sapphire orbs. "Lets not waste any time, Orochimaru-sama. It's not everyday that I can fight asannin." The emphasis on that title was laced with evident sarcasm.

Though in truth, Naruto had no confidence whatsoever in fighting the sannin. he'd read about the sannin and he knew all the psychotic things he did.

Orochimaru threw back his head and laughed, sharp and cynical. He sneered lazily at Naruto and then, at a thoroughly annoyed Sasuke. "It seems that our match will have to be delayed, Sasuke-kun. You have an agonizingly -- obstinate -- brat as a team mate. It shan't take long, though."

Sasuke, unwilling as he might have been, was quite enraged when Orochimaru fixed his attention on Naruto and the bunshins but he knew that he was running low in chakra supply. It would only be like fighting a losing battle and he ain't going to lose just yet. He placed no hope, no hope at all at Naruto and that made the Uchiha even more furious.That dobe better buy me some time to think through a plan. If not, this is all going to go down the drain.Furthermore, that hole on his thigh was really starting to sting! Trying to hide the limp caused by that self-inflicted injury, Sasuke made his way to the edge of that clearing, consciously eyeing the two nin in front of him that had done nothing, yet. The bunshins were moving restlessly in the background, waiting for a signal.

Orochimaru was the first to attack, swiping a trail of blood at some weird tattoo ornamenting his wrist after biting that particular thumb. Naruto noticed at once that the snake nin was about to do another summoning and his trail of thought died immediately when a yell rang through the forest. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

A cloud of smoke and voila! Two huge snakes coiling and twisting before him.

Naruto groaned inwardly. God. I. Hate. Snakes.

Orochimaru displayed an elegant way of jumping onto the head of a snake, that dreadful smirk of his widening at the bemused look on the blonde's face. Naruto cursed violently under his breath as he glared up at the snake sennin, swearing at just about everything. The blonde genin moved several steps back, joining in the mass of his bunshins as his mind tried furiously to think about a plan.

What I need is time and maybe an area destruction type of jutsu.

He went through the list jutsus that he had learnt but Naruto couldn't make up his mind on any of them. The reason; He lacked chakra and variety,also,this is freaking Orochimaru!!

"What's wrong, brat?" Orochimaru sneered from his position, noticing the painstakingly obvious annoyance on Naruto's face. "Fox got your tongue?"

What the hell--! Okay, that's it! Snake-bastard's going down!Naruto narrowed his eyes and performed the hand seal for Kage Bunshin no Jutsu again, creating double the amount of the earlier bunshins. When he had finished, he smirked up at the Sound nin.

"Shut up you panini head!! At least I'm not so ugly that I have to use other's face to cover mine, like you did."

The exchanges of insults stopped there as one of the snakes lunged forward, diamond-shaped eyes focused on the 'Naruto's' surrounding them. The bunshins were no match at all against the summoned snake as the reptile easily rampaged through them, lashing out its tail in the rapid approach. Orochimaru stood still on another snake, watching in mild satisfaction at the destruction caused by the snake, as the real Naruto had not yet been found. The bunshins were scattered around, fighting and hurling kunai in vain before disappearing into puffs of smoke by a lash of tail from the snake. Orochimaru glanced at where Sasuke and Sakura were supposed to be hiding, gleefully licking his bottom lip.

This is useless,Naruto gritted his teeth as he crouched vigilantly behind a thick shrubbery, watching his clones being lashed to 'death' and Orochimaru leering superiorly from the top of a snake. He had taken refuge there, intending to test his opponent first by using Kage Bunshin and by the look of it; it wouldn't be long until all the bunshin disappeared.I have to do something, but what?! The blonde genin frowned but the storm soon dissipated and a large grin etched itself onto his face.Since when do I use my brain anyway? All this thinking, man, I'm growing old!

With that thought planted firmly inside his head, Naruto leaped out of hiding and landed in front of what was left from his many bunshins. He quickly performed a hand seal and the bunshins 'poof'-ed out of existence. "Right, now it's time to be serious."

Orochimaru snorted at the remark. "You mean you were not serious before? I thought you were wiser than you look but alas, even sannin make mistakes."

"We'll see about that," the blonde retorted, warily eyeing the snake before him. He brought out a kunai and fell into a fighting stance. "We'll see what you have to say when your precious snakes die one by one."

"My snakes versus your kunai and you," the sannin laughed derisively, his long hair ruffled by the sudden movement. "Struggle as you like, boy, you'll never win."

Ignoring the insult, Naruto concentrated hard on doing a foreign hand sign, with just one hand. Sasuke and Sakura, who were watching from aside, looked at each other in confusion. The only person they had ever seen that had done hand seals using a hand were Haku, and that was because of his Bloodline Limit! The Uchiha survivor tried to activate his Sharingan, in hope that he'll be able to copy the hand seals but before he could do so, Naruto was done. The blonde was grinning from one ear to another, looking down at the hand he held a kunai with. Sasuke followed the gesture, and was completely taken aback by what he saw. Naruto's hand was enveloped by chakra, plainly visible to naked eyes! And the chakra was encircling the kunai in rapid succession.

That's, that's impossible,the raven-haired genin's eyes widened.It's like Kakashi-sensei's Chidori but slightly different. Naruto couldn't have known how to do that!

Sakura opted to speak out her thought, emerald orbs clouded with uncertainty. "What's Naruto doing? There's no jutsu like that enlisted in any scrolls in the library."

Her question was left unanswered as their attention went back to the blonde genin, who had seemed satisfied by the result of the seals. The kunai in his hand was covered by flame-like chakra, distinctly glowing blue under the glare of evening sun.

It's not secret that Naruto was not a fire style user but he did know about sealing jutsu, and there were a bunch sealing jutsu that could be used to summon fire,only problem right now is that Naruto had never used one before now,the chances of it working were slim to none.

Orochimaru too was looking quite perplexed by the action from the fox boy before him but dismissed it as some sort of fancy simple jutsu that had been created by some brainless shinobi. Surely, that kunai could do nothing than scratch his summoned snake and enrage it further, something that the Sound nin wanted Naruto to do. The sannin nevertheless observed Naruto closely, as he was curious of the purpose of that one-handed seals.It didn't seem to serve any useful intentions.

Shrugging off his curiosity, Orochimaru ordered the snake to attack Naruto as he commanded the one he was on to stay still. The sannin was terribly in need of entertainment and to him; Naruto was the one that could provide the entertainment that he needed.Apart from dear Sasuke-kun, that is. Orochimaru smirked, certain of his victory against the genin. "It won't be long now, Sasuke-kun."

It was the same routine again for Naruto, evading and leaping from tree to tree though he had something purely different in mind. The snake was more agile and faster but Naruto knew that the fight wouldn't last long. His fingers curled even tighter around the kunai, pushing more and more chakra into the core of that inanimate object.The more chakra I can gather, the easier this will be.The grin on his face widened as he dodged yet another lunge from the snake. Naruto chanced a glance at the Sound nin and he chuckled lightly when he saw that Orochimaru was looking somewhat impatient. His lord snakeyness thought that his precious snake could kill the weak, little genin. Well, lord snakey thought wrong then! Time to put the plan on action!

Naruto did a back flip, gathered some chakra to his feet and propelled himself from a nearby tree straight towards the furious reptile, like a blonde-and-black missile. The snake hissed loudly and retaliated by lunging forward, displaying a pair of sharp fangs. Sakura thought that they were going to crash in mid-air, or worse, Naruto would be completely swallowed by the snake but to her utter surprise, the blonde genin managed to avoid the incoming collision at just the exact moment and moved closer within the snake's guard. Orochimaru sensed that the genin had something up his sleeves and it had something to do with that kunai in his hand. The sannin hissed in apprehension, but his eyes never did leave Naruto's figure.

Closing in on the snake, Naruto raised his hand high and with all his strength, he forcefully drove the glowing kunai through the thick scales of the reptile. Done with that particular part, the blonde genin immediately retreated and grinned from the sideway as the snake halted, staring at the imbedded kunai. It didn't feel much pain, as Naruto knew that an ordinary kunai would only feel like a puncture from a needle to the snake. But, that wasifthe kunai was an ordinary one, and in this case, the kunai acted as something quite different. The snake had resumed its predatory instinct after the momentary distraction and had begun advancing towards the still-grinning genin. Naruto, to everyone's surprise, didn't budge from his current position.

Sakura thought,What's he doing?! He'll get killed!

Inner Sakura thought,Move your ass out of there, baka!

Sasuke thought,That dobe must have been setting up something Show me, Naruto; show me what you've got.

And Orochimaru thought,Brat got something planned. Never mind, his effort will be useless once he fights me.

Oblivious to whatever the other's thought about him, Naruto's fingers began moving to and fro into yet another series of hand seals. The snake was coming closer, and Sakura had the faintest feeling that Naruto had paused for a split second, before continuing to another different set of seals. The second one caught Sasuke's attention as he missed the first set of hand seals; it was the seals for Kawarimi no Jutsu. The raven-haired genin narrowed his Sharingan-ed eyes, trying to decipher what Naruto actually had in mind. The snake, which knew and cared nothing about hand seals, was inches away from the blonde and Sakura gasped in horror when it fully-swallowed Naruto.

But of course, both Sasuke and Orochimaru knew better.

Kawarimi!

Naruto reappeared a few feet behind the enraged snake, finishing his first set of hand seals and yelled, "Ignite! Flame seal!"

Nothing seemed to happen for the next second and Orochimaru was beginning on a cynical laugh when suddenly, tentacles of blue flames shot outward from the kunai that Naruto had driven into the snake and wrapped themselves around the glistening body of the snake. Sasuke and Sakura were shocked beyond words as they stared at the reptile, writhing in pain with the raging flames totally engulfed its huge body. Orochimaru was severely taken aback, the slitted eyes widening at the display of an unknown jutsu before him. The Sound nin hissed venomously and snapped his head towards Naruto, who was grinning mockingly towards him. As the snake turned into nothing but a pile of ashes, the blue flames slowly subsided and eventually disappeared.

Naruto raised an eyebrow towards the sannin. "How's that for a genin? One down and two more to go."

"You've surprised me, brat," Orochimaru spat out rancorously. The remaining snake under his command shifted slightly, as if infuriated by the loss of its 'friend'. "But now, you have to fight me."

"Ooh, I'm sooo scared," the blonde retorted, scrunching up his face into an almost successful imitation of someone who was morbidly terrified. "Just attack, will you, I'm tired of talking already!"

Provoked by the negligence displayed by Naruto, the snake and its master lunged towards Naruto, who hastily sidestepped the attack. The blonde drew out another kunai and was prepared to make the same hand seals again for his jutsu when the snake did a turn and rammed straight onto him. With a sickening crack, Naruto was sent flying into the rows of trees. Sasuke and Sakura gasped at the same time but Inner Sakura was too worried about the blonde genin to notice that. Sakura stood up and cautiously eyed the broken trees, trying to find anything that indicated that Naruto had survived the collision but Sasuke jerked her down again, pressing a finger against his pale lips. The two remained in a silent mode, watching Orochimaru and the snake in weary vigilance.

Naruto winced; gingerly trying to stand up but found at once that one or more of his ribs must be broken. A sharp wave of pain washed over him when he tried to move and Naruto found himself quite glad to flop back onto the clutter of bits of wood. It was very uncomfortable and irritating at the same time, laying there with the knowledge that one snake bastard must be laughing at him at that time. He closed his eyes, trying to ease down the pain and fervently praying that Orochimaru somehow had an insanity fit and didn't go looking for him. But that was almost as impossible as Kakashi turning up on time. The blonde supported his weight with a hand and placed another one to his side, brushing his fingers lightly against the bruised spot.

His lips slowly curved into a smile.It's healing--

It must be because of the fox.

The blonde snorted in disdain and said, sarcastically,

I hate snakes,

Okay naruto, he spoke to himself , Let's kick some snake butts!

Sakura was starting to get very worried when she could see no trace of Naruto. The kunoichi kneeled down and efficiently tended to Sasuke's wounds to take her mind off the horrible predictions she had over Naruto's fate, wrapping the boy's leg with a roll of bandages that she had brought along. Sakura was, after all, a very thoughtful kunoichi. She glanced at Sasuke, but the raven-haired genin was still looking at Orochimaru and the snake and therefore, was quite oblivious to Sakura's inquiring gaze. His eyes hardened when the Sound nin suddenly let out a peal of laughter. Upon finishing with the wounds, Sakura shifted slightly and sat besides Sasuke. Very carefully, she tried to venture on a question but was soon disrupted by a blast from the battlefield.

Naruto stood before the Orochimaru and the snake, a feral grin etched onto his tanned face. "Miss me, snake man?"

The sennin regarded Naruto with sheer amusement. "You're a stubborn fool, brat. You should've run while you still had the chance. But now, it's too late."

"I've never thought of running," the blonde retorted, his hands moving into a series of familiar hand seals. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

He needed to finish this quickly ,he was beaten and battered from his fight with Neji,he didn't know how long his chakra would last.

In an instant, hundreds of Narutos flooded the place, encircling the real Naruto and Orochimaru, his summoned snake hissing loudly towards the sudden appearances. The Sound nin smirked and laughed that typical bad-guy laugh of his. "Bunshins, again? It seems like you've run out of option, brat."

Naruto smiled, despite the tense atmosphere that was looming darkly over them. His fingers were still entwined together, as if in poise for another jutsu. "These bunshins are not going to fight, they're to preventyoufrom escaping."

That wiped out the smirk off Orochimaru's face and the sannin narrowed his eyes towards the small figure on the ground. "Impudent remark from an inexperienced genin. You'll not live to regret this,brat!"

The snake began attacking again and Naruto was instantly on constant alert, dividing his attention between the assailants , he knew that he didn't have much chance in winning this battle and reluctant as he was, Naruto foretold that Naruto would have to use every available jutsu he had in order to gain an upper hand. The only trouble was to decide on what jutsu to use. He could use the flame seal again but figured that Orochimaru would be wise enough to evade this particular jutsu by then. Besides, the jutsu was both time and chakra consuming.

I'll have to Eliminate the snake first, and then, its master. My best option will be that I use another fire type sealing jutsu, as it is the easiest way to deal damage.

Naruto leaped to a safer distance, his fingers busily weaving into a set of hand seals. Landing in front of a mass of his bunshins, the blonde was forced to retreat further when the snake came lunging towards him again. Finishing the hand seals in time, Naruto somersaulted and NINJA bombs at the assailant.

The sannin smirked and jumped away from his summoned snake, paying no attention at all to the terrible hiss of pain when the fire bombs crashed headlong with the reptile. Orochimaru darted straight towards Naruto, who had just landed and was in a fighting stance, waiting for the snake sennin in an almost invisible anxiety. Naruto blocked a spinning kick that was aimed for his head, involuntarily staggering under the heavy force. The genin backed away in an instant, cursing loudly as Orochimaru came charging again. Before long, both was locked in an uneven battle of taijutsu; uneven being that the sannin was far more experienced and stronger, therefore succeeding in landing more than a few heavy blows on Naruto.

Dammit! If this goes on, I'll be beaten to a bloody pulp!

(You have to be faster!)Kyuubi's voice boomed again, sounding slightly irritated and frustrated. (And didn't you see that he's practically aiming for your joints? Block those attacks!)

Stop yelling, will you?! I don't need your advice demon!! Naruto dodged a lashed foot, only for a fist to connect painfully with his right side.and He's a fucking sannin for crying out loud!

Kyuubi growled in response. (Create some distance and then, I will help you.)

Help me?That brief distraction earned him a hard punch to his stomach and Naruto skidded to the other side of the clearing. He harshly wiped away the trail of blood from the corner of his mouth and frowned. Orochimaru was smirking in an annoyingly smug relish. The blonde groaned and flipped back his thoughts to the fox demon.How? How can you help me? Yapping like a mad fox does not count as helping, you know.

(I will advise you to keep your language in check, child,)the tone of resentment was far too obvious to be ignored. Naruto murmured out his reluctant apology. (Use my chakra; use my power, if you must.)

Naruto swallowed, hard.Are-- are you crazy,I know what that stuff can do me,your using me!!

The fox merely laughed at the retort. (You're not afraid, I gather? Furthermore, you must not lose, as if you dies, I will vanish along.)

I know you're a conceited fox to the root,the blonde genin acidly replied, eyeing the Sound nin that was starting to advance towards him.Just don't make me lose absolute control over myself; I don't want that to ever happen again.

(That is entirely up to you.)

Orochimaru was thoroughly enjoying his little fight with the blonde genin, but the sennin knew that he shouldn't waste any more time than he had already did. He had wanted to finish the fight quickly, put that curse seal on dear Sasuke-kun and let his Sound henchmen (and henchgirl) take care of the rest. Thus, the sannin had lunched forward with every intention to finish off this stubborn brat that had caused too much dents to his ego. His snake-like eyes slitted over and he was almost halfway towards Naruto when something -- unnatural -- began to happen to the brat. It was the air of ancient evil that stirred maliciously around Naruto that actually made Orochimaru halted in the first place, before something else caught the sannin's attention.

The atmosphere was thick with intense an swirling of chakra, flaring up from none other than the blonde genin. Naruto was half kneeling, his eyes closed and a slightly pained expression painted onto his face. He staggered slowly up, opening his eyes. They were blazing crimson with interval flashes of gold, and at that particular moment, Orochimaru realized that the blonde's chakra had also turned from the usual blue to a lighter shade of crimson. The snake sannin stirred uneasily, confused by the sudden changes happening around Naruto. Then, the answer came waltzing into his head.That's the chakra of Ninetails! Ninetails must've slipped from under the seal but by the look of it, he hasn't quite succeed yet.

"Snakey," Naruto's voice was hoarse and those crimson eyes glared straight at the stunned Orochimaru. "Now, the real fight begins."

Naruto blurred out of existence and appeared behind the snake sennin, claw-like fingers lashing out for victim but Orochimaru had already anticipated the move. The blonde's attack met with nothing but a log of wood. Glancing wildly around, Naruto suddenly attacked a nearby tree, to which Orochimaru separated himself from the destroyed bark. Both exchanged blows and kicks for several minutes; Naruto had swiftly gained the upper hand, due to his increase of speed and agility. The corner of the blonde's mouth curved up into a malicious grin, his eyes narrowing in wild pleasure at the intensity of the fight. A trace of panic could be seen surfacing from the sennin's face. It seemed like the sennin was, for once, in the defending position.

Twisted a he was, Orochimaru did deserve the title 'sannin'.

Thus, he had already devised a plan to stop the rampaging demon vessel.

Orochimaru evaded a punch and jumped back, his hands moving into a set of hand seals. As he had guessed before, Naruto followed him closely behind. The sennin abruptly stopped and ducking a kick, he slammed his right hand against Naruto's unguarded belly, exactly where the seal for Kyuubi was. "Five Part Seal!"

Stunned by the sudden move, Naruto could do nothing but snarl at the smirking Sound nin, as he slowly started to lose consciousness. There were voices resounding inside his head; Kyuubi's voice and-- was that Sakura? Staring at the pink-haired kunoichi from under his heavy lids, the blonde tried to tell her to take Sasuke and run but his arms were oddly numb, so were the other parts of his body. The Fourth's seal was burning painfully after that second seal from Orochimaru, the pain succeeding in making Naruto conscious for the next few seconds, though that didn't do much help. The smirking face of that snake sannin was the last thing Naruto saw before he completely fell prey to unconscious vulnerability, blanketing him with the familiar cold darkness.

Sasuke was beyond shocked.That dobe--did he just--that stupid dobe just turned into a demon!The raven-haired genin closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, restoring his self-composure as not to cloud his judgment.No, no! He didn't turn into Ninetails. It's just a bit of the demon's power. But, such power-- I could've killed Itachi if - I - had that kind of power!His fingers curled into fists at that very thought and Sasuke grimly watched Naruto staggered and landed heavily onto the ground, Orochimaru towering over the limp figure. He could sense Sakura fidgeting besides him but Sasuke didn't dare to make any move. Not yet. Clutching his bandaged thigh, Sasuke contemplated darkly if they could escape without actually being caught by that Sound nin.

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura hesitated, her eyes still fixed on the unconscious Naruto. "What should we do now?"

"Escape."

Emerald orbs widened in surprise. "But how? And what about Naruto?"

"Grab him in the way and go to the tower," Sasuke whispered carefully. "We have to inform them that Orochimaru is here."

"No such luck, Sasuke-kun."

That voice did not belong to Sakura. Both genins instinctively leaped away from their hiding spot, startled by the sudden appearance by Orochimaru over their carelessness. Sakura was positively trembling in fear while Sasuke had managed to look reasonably determined. The sannin eyed the pair with the air of a snake eyeing its dinner. Sakura had drawn out several kunai, holding them firmly, though her hands were considerably shaking. Her eyes kept darting from Naruto to Sasuke, before landing on Orochimaru. The raven-haired genin narrowed his eyes, trying to guess what the sennin was about to do next but he never did go far with guessing on other people's mind. Sasuke was too used to ignoring them.

"Now that the brat is out of the way, shall we continue, Sasuke-kun?"

Sakura knew that something had gone wrong with Naruto and Sasuke,from the weird way Orochimaru shoved his hand in Naruto's stomach to strange doom hickey now on Sasuke-kun's collar.

She couldn't really explain why , but there was this dread, or whatever it was, that made her unnecessarily worried. She tilted her head upward, staring at the giant canopies hanging gloomily above them and desperately tried to soothe down the pounding of her heart against her ribcage. Failing miserably, Sakura turned her attention to her two teammates, who were lying unconscious beneath some giant roots of a giant tree, the pink haired girl was angry with herself ,Anko had taught her how to fight!

Maybe she couldn't beat Orochimaru but she could've definitely helped Naruto and Sasuke. She could've done something! Anything!

Instead she chickened out and cried again.

Suddenly three ninja jumped out of the bushes,Sakura wasted no time in activating the trap she had set,but the guy with the bandaged face,destroyed with a jutsu she was not familiar with.

"What do you want," she asked noticing the sound symbol on their headbands.

" wake Sasuke up we want to fight him, "

"I won't do that! "

The bandaged head guy sneered and charged at her but before he could hit her he was sent back by Rock Lee's devastating roundhouse kick.

The guy growled, "who the hell are you?!"

" I am the great blue beast of the leaf village,Rock Lee! "

"Lee! Why are you here?"

" I promised that I would protect you with my life remember, "

She was shocked,she had forgotten about that,what's worst someone like her didn't deserve protecting.

"Thank you Lee," She looked around and spotted the only other female , I can definitely take her! Sakura thought, and whatever strength I have left I'll help Lee with those other two guys!

Sakura walked to Kin, "Your opponent is me."

Kin laughed, "oh really Beauty queen,I won't even need tinnitus for you, "

The pinkette smirked, she was expecting to be underestimated,she needed to be underestimated right now.

Sakura and Kin rushed at each other engaging in Taijutsu. Sakura sent a right punch that Kin blocked with her left arm. Kin then sent a right kick at Sakura's left leg. Sakura jumped over the kick and sent a left kick at Kin's midsection while in midair. The kick connected and sent Kin back a few steps. The sound ninja then rushed back at Sakura and sent a flurry of punches at her. Sakura kept blocking and dodging. However Kin saw an opening after she sent a left punch during the flurry. She sent a right uppercut to Sakura's jaw and it connected. She then spun and sent a back kick at Sakura with her left leg to Sakura's stomach. The force of the kick sent Sakura back a few steps and brought her to her knees. Kin walked over to the downed Sakura arrogantly ready to deliver the final blow. But she didn't count on one thing. The old shinobi method of lies and deceit. Sakura acted as though she was weakened enough to be killed and Kin took the bait. Sakura had tripped Kin as she came close. Kin fell on to her back and Sakura stood up and planted her foot into Kin's chest with a stomp. Kin felt the hit and coughed up a little blood. She then grabbed Sakura's foot and pushed her off. Kin then stood up and jumped back a few feet from Sakura.

"You're not half bad Bubblegum but I'm about to get serious." Kin told her with an arrogant smirk on her face.

"Tch bring it you banshee" Sakura told the sound genin

Kin got pissed at that remark and went into a charge at the pink haired kunoichi. Kin sent a strong right punch at Sakura's face who ducked. As Sakura ducked Kin sent a left kick to her ribs sending her flying to the side. Sakura fell on her back after flying a few feet. Kin then broke into a sprint and leaped into the air. Kin then brought her knees down as she fell on Sakura. Kin's knees connected hitting Sakura's chest. Kin then stood up and kicked Sakura in the ribs making her roll on her stomach. Kin then repeatedly stomped on Sakura's spine until she gripped Sakura by her hair with her left hand and pulled out a kunai with her right ready to slit Sakura's throat.

Wincing just a little Sakura pulled out a kunai from her pouch and cut off her hair giving it a shortened look. Sakura then sprung to her feet while Kin was trying to regain her bearings. Sakura then did a strong right punch to Kin's face. Kin was sent onto her back from the punch. Sakura then walked started walking away from Kin but then turned around after hearing the sound of metal being gripped. Sakura turned around and saw Kin wielding a kunai. Anger welled up within her,she wanted this fight to be over already.

The dishes the kunai and grabbed Kin by the hair before jamming her knee into the sound nins nose.

Kin fell to the floor,unconscious.

That is all I have for you today. Leave me a review.

Thanks for reading.