I don't own Naruto or anything affiliated with Naruto. Nor do I own Jackie Chan Adventures or any of its affiliates…If you don't know what I mean by Jackie Chan Adventures then you either haven't seen the series, or you aren't paying close enough attention!
REVIEW. That's all I have to say…
In Saiyan's Point Of View:
'If I'm talking, it looks like this.' If not, I'm just thinking it.
Italics mean words spoken in Japanese
It also is used as word emphasis.
Italics and Bold are used for jutsus
*Saiyan's/Cyan's Point Of View* - Forest of Death
For a moment, absoluately nothing happened. The world was on mute.
Team Seven are officially in shock.
And Orochimaru was staring at me.
Just staring.
No expression. Just the wide-eyed look of stunned surprise in his snake-like eyes.
I don't even dare move.
Another half second goes by.
Finally, the Grass ninja's face comes back to life.
His mouth slowly curls into a grin, one that seems to break his face in two. Then his head tilts back and he starts to laugh.
It's still his women's voice but it has that manic, sadistic edge that he only uses in moment of extreme insane delight. His laugh grows in volume until it bounces from tree to tree.
Behind me, comes a feminie whine of fear.
He stops.
He stares back at me, still smiling like his mouth is being physically pulled upwards.
'So you know who I am? I must say, I am quite surprised that anyone would be able work out my true identity…'
He tilts his head slightly and gazes at me pointedly with one eye.
'I would very much like to know what else you know about me?…'Well, he asked…
'You're a Sannin, one of the Legendary Shinobi of Konoha, the most intelligent and the most powerful of the Three. Your skills are only surpassed by your desire for knowledge and your murderous nature...'
I pause.
'But your Henge is complete rubbish.'
His smile remains but he says nothing.
'You are, the only person, in ALL the Ninja Villages, to have a tongue as strong as someone's arm and as long as a fully-grown python. And besides, the Grass ninja's face you stole is awful. Not only is it far too similar to your face in terms of hair and face structure, but also neither she nor you have any even remotely feminie features like breasts or curved hips. You're both as flat as boards. Anyone could tell you aren't a woman.'
He is still smiling but his head is tilted down so he's staring up at me. His smile looks more dangerous now.
'Aren't you an observant child?'
He begins to unwind his body from the tree branch. His boneless legs regain their definition and finally he stands at his full height.
'But sadly, while your knowledge of me was very flattering, it really raises more questions than it answers.'
'Who cares who you are?!'
I actually jump at Naruto's sudden voice. I turn back towards Team Seven. Sakura still looks really shaken but Sasuke managed to regain a decent amount of composure. Naruto looks downright furious.
'I don't care that you're Orochi-whatever or that you're from Konoha! I'm still gonna beat the crap outta you for what you tried to do!'
'Naruto.'
The Uzumaki turns to look behind at Sasuke. Sasuke is fiddling with something behind his back, and after a moment, he produces Team Seven's Earth scroll.
'Here. We'll give you our scroll if you leave us alone.'
'What?!' cries Naruto
'Sasuke!' cries Sakura.
'Oh, cock…' I cough.
Orochimaru purrs quietly. 'Offering something the predator wants in order for the prey to save its own life…'
'That's not going to work Sasuke.' I say, fully turning towards him. 'He has no interest in the scroll. He's trying to get you.'
And I think everybody knows how wrong that sounds.
'He's trying to get your Sharingan.'
Everybody freezes.
I turn back to Orochi. He's only slightly smiling now.
'Ku, ku, ku…it is true I harbour an interest in the Uchiha's bloodline limit…I would like to know the full intent of its powers…'
I look back towards Team Seven. 'I want you guys to head off to the tower and get out of here. Never mind the scroll for now. I'll be dealing with Orochimaru.'
Naruto raises an instant objection.
'No way! We're not leaving you behind with this freak! I'm not running away from this fight.'
'Look, I don't want you to get hurt. And I'm not sure I can stop all of his attacks.'
'That doesn't matter! I don't leave my friends behind, and if you're going to fight then so am I, Saiyan-chan!'
'Sasuke told you it was me, didn't he?'
There's an abashed silence.
Yeah, that's what I thought.
'And what makes you think youare a match forme?…'
I look back at Orochimaru. He's got a very deadly smile on his face. Eyes wide with a horrible smirk.
I takes me a minute to realise I'm smiling like that too.
'I don't know…I guess we'll just have to see, now won't we?'
I straighten my back and move to face him fully on.
'Tell you what. I'll go easy on you if you take off that bad excuse for a face and show me your real one.'
He brings his hands up to form the Tiger sign.
'If you're that confident in your abilities…perhaps it would be a better challenge for you to remove my face yourself…'
I put on foot behind the other in preparation for a run.
We stare at each other.
There is an almost mutual feeling between the two of us. The idea of a challenge fuelling the desire to fight but whereas he's relishing in the thought of a kill, I'm overcome with the excitement of a fight against him.
With every moment it grows on the inside, until it becomes a physical feeling…
Time…
To…
Go…
NOW!!!
In less than a quarter of a second, I'm across and the branch with my right fist embedded in his gut.
He lets out a choked, gargled scream. For a moment nothing happens.
An odd feeling comes across my hand. Almost as though his insides are getting mushier…
Mud splatters down the branch and all over my right arm, wetting my top.
Mud substitution. I actually smile wider. I knew he'd see that coming. Fantastic, this is going to be a great battle…
Cackling laugher echoes around the forest. 'Well, well…it does indeed seem that you do have some skills after all…but have you ever fully experienced the true horrors of battle?…'
A shadow covers the branch.
Sakura lets out a huge scream.
I turn to see Orochimaru atop other of his huge snake summoning barrelling towards us. I leap up as high as I can.
There's a whoosh of air and an overwhelming feeling of stomach-twisting airborne nausea. Just as my ascent begins to slow, I reach out for a branch.
My nail just catches on the wood before gravity begins to pull again.
The tree is too smooth to grip. I'm going to fall!
'Naruto!' I yell.
I let go of the branch.
Something grasps my arm.
I look up.
'Sakura?!'
The pinkette saved my life?!
Oh, god. How humiliating.
She strains to pull me back up onto the branch.
'How did you find me?'
'You screamed and I saw your nails digging into he wood.'
Getting me halfway onto the branch she exclaims, 'Why didn't you use your chakra to grab the branch?!'
'I was busy. But thanks for the catch.'
Standing slowly on the branch, I look back down.
The snake had smashed the branch I was on to pieces. Both Sakura and I are up pretty high, right above the snake. Naruto is pounding at it and being flicked away each time. Sasuke is nowhere in sight.
It almost the time when Orochimau Five-Pronged Seal's Naruto!
I turn to Sakura, in "absolutely dead serious" mode.
'Listen to me, Sakura. Go find Sasuke and get him and yourself out of here. Find him and do whatever it takes to get him away from here. I mean it, stab him with a kunai if you have to. This guy is Kage level and crazy to boot. I'm going to go and save Naruto.'
I jump off the branch, this time fully reaching to the tree across.
'But Saiyan…'
'Get to Sasuke and flee the area!'
I bound on, nausea being overridden with returns feelings of excitement and worry.
I halt on a branch and nearly send my self off from the force of the jump.
Orochimaru is right below, facing Sasuke who is on a branch just below him.
The snake goes to strike.
There's a flash of boiling red and the snake's head flies back.
There's a moment when nobody seems to realise was has just happened.
Naruto is standing on a branch cloaked in a red…light? Smog? Must be chakra. I don't have to rely on the distinctly fox-like animal form the chakra has taken around his body to know that the Kyuubi's chakra is at work.
The area actually feels hotter. Holy Crap.
Naruto leaps at Orochimaru, only to be thrown back by the snake. He hits a tree but before he can do anything else Orochimaru's long tongue slips out of his mouth and wraps itself round Naruto.
The Snake brings the Fox-boy up close to his face.
I jump off the branch.
I descend through the sickening feeling resulting from the upmost vertigo of freefall.
I slam down on the snake's head in an impact-absorbing crouch position just behind Orochimaru.
This time I give him a full-powered right hook to the back.
There's a another gory crack of bone and Orochimaru's whole form seems to crumple in on itself. The tongue unwinds and the red-eyed, fanged-toothed Naruto drops out of sight.
I swing my fist around behind me.
It hits something.
Just as the Orochimaru I just punched turns to mud, the real one launches his own fist at me from behind.
He's still wearing that face?!
I launch another punch. He dodges and sends a kick at my head. I block with both arms crossed.
There's a sharp, horrible pain and I'm almost forced off of my feet.
I bring up my hands and grab his feet, then I swing him around behind me to throw him to the ground.
Suddenly, his other foot connects with the back of my head and I'm sent skidding facedown along the head of the snake.
That bastard!
I'm suddenly very ticked off.
I'll kill him for that.
I sit up quickly and turn to face him in a crouching position.
He moves to attack.
I dash up, super speed still working, bring both hands together in a double fist and slam them down on his head.
Before his face hits the scales, I kick him with a foot and his head spans back up.
Now the fun begins.
I send a barrage of punches, each one as fast as I can. By the time he's hit by one, he's feeling the force of another two.
While he's still reeling, I jump and spin kick him hard across his face, just like he did to the Hokage in the upcoming fight.
He flies back with a yell, skidding along the snake's scales on his back.
I leap after him.
I drive a fist into his gut and he lets out another unintended cry of pain. I'm still so freaking mad with him.
My teeth are gritted together and all I want is to swing him around by his hair.
'Enough.'
His black eyes open in surprise.
'I want to see your real face.'
I take the hand that isn't in his gut and reach for his face.
My fingers reach up to his hairline and scratch.
Something flakes off.
I pull. There's a elastic tearing sound and what's left in my hands is rubbery skin.
I look at his real face.
His as pale as a dead person. White to almost grey. His cheeks are slightly sunken in as a result of his high cheekbones and the fact he has no fat anywhere on his face. The purple coloured kohl around his eyes cover his eyelids and run right down the bridge of his sharp, aquiline nose. His skin is unnaturally smooth and unblemished.
He reopens his eyes.
They surpass anything I could've imagined.
You see pictures and shots of Orochimaru's eyes from the manga and anime but it just doesn't cut it to the real thing.
Dark green-yellow in moments of curiosity and contemplation, golden yellow in sadistic joy or angry brooding and a near luminous sickly yellow in times of savage cold-blooded killing delight. Almost constantly shifting between one and another and mixing together. His slit pupils stand out from the golden mass like solid black markers, shrinking and growing every time you look.
I just stare in amazement and excitement, one hand absentmindedly stroking his black hair.
Golden-yellow eyes continue to stare with a snake-like fixation at me.
I smile at him, feeling almost wonderfully happy.
The eyes change from green-ish to yellow.
'I see you.'
What?
Something wet and slippery curls around my neck.
Orochimaru's mouth curls into a joyful smirk showing all his teeth.
I only have time to shove half of my left hand up under the tongue before it tightens into a choker.
He stands up, still smiling, his tongue lifting me up like a rag doll in front of him. He speaks in his proper, raspy, snake-like voice and I tingle all over.
'It looks like you were able to succeed in getting my face off, Saiyan-chan…but it seems that your invisibility has worn off.'
I try to breath as the tongue remains tight around my neck. He's out of my reach. Even if I tried to kick him, I couldn't make it.
'I must admit, I am very interested in your unusual techniques…nothing quite like I've ever seen…'
He grabs hold of my right arm from trying to free my throat and turns it so he can see the tattoo. He runs a finger along the kanji and black leaves. A hot, tingling feeling ripples along the skin where he touches.
'A summoning tattoo…'
Nani?!
'What?' I choke.
'Ryoukuyou… I wonder what it would summon?'
Ryouku-what?
'A summoning tattoo is quite a oddity for a mere Genin to have…but then again, I seriously doubt that you are a Genin, Saiyan-chan.'
Even with the super strength jutsu still in effect and one hand holding the tongue from choking me, it's taking me everything I've have not be strangled. Even Tsunade had trouble with his tongue.
'I also doubt that you belong to the Sand Village, am I right?'
Crap…
His eyes are slightly covered by his eyelids, so I can't see his whole slit pupils. He smiles in a satisfied way yet when he speaks he shows all of his teeth.
'You're correct in that I came for the Uchiha…but perhaps I should mark you, too…'
His tongue pulls me in slightly closer so we're face-to-face. His eyes widen and his snake eyes dance.
'…And I think you know what that is too…'
A roar comes up out nowhere and a blazing crimson Naruto leapt up.
The choking tongue around my neck loosens off.
CRACK
My back exploded in pain.
He threw me into a tree! The arsehole! My back!
I land on my hands and knees on the ground.
Damnit!
I get up slowly, trying to crack my spine back into position in the least painful way.
There's a slam a few feet away from me. Another tree with another person-shaped hole in it.
A sore, but still very angry, Kyuubi-Naruto drops down on all fours, panting hard.
It takes more time to blink before I'm over besides him.
Thank Jebus, my strength and speed jutsus are still working.
'You all right, Naruto?'
He growls, an actual proper growl. 'Yeah…but this freak is really starting to piss me off!'
'Yeah, he seems to have that affect on a lot of people…'
Naruto's red eyes suddenly focus on me.
'Hey, you're visible again, Saiyan.'
'Good observational skills. But that's just a side issue at the moment.'
I look back up.
My eyes widen.
'Oh, hell no…'
Sasuke has joined Orochimaru on a branch, who has un-summoned his snake. Sasuke has a kunai in his mouth and is staring in hatred at Orochi, who wags a finger towards himself in a "come-and-get-me" way.
Sasuke bolts at Orochimaru, only for him to leap up higher into the trees, away from the clearing. Sasuke follows immediately behind.
Orochimaru is trying to lead Sasuke away from us so he can Curse Mark him!!!
I turn back to Naruto. 'Orochimaru is trying to lead Sasuke away from us so he can do something really bad to him. I need your help to get Sasuke away from him.'
Ok, now…
'Naruto, I don't know how to climb trees using my chakra and I don't have time to learn. I need you to give me a lift up the tree.'
There, I said it.
'Climb on my back.'
What?!
'Uhh…'
'Com'on,' he says, a slightly foxy fanged grin on his face. 'If you climb on my back I can run up the tree and get to Sasuke, and then we can finish off that snake freak!'
'If this were any other situation…fine.'
So I get onto Naruto's back for a piggy-back ride.
Saved by Sakura and Naruto gives me a piggy-back ride.
Worst Mary-Sue Super Fight EVER.
Naruto takes off.
He leaps up onto a tree and literary runs up the trunk on all fours, snorting and growling in an animalistic manner.
The crippling vertigo starts to kick in a again really quickly…
'What does that bastard want with Sasuke anyway?' Naruto asks.
'What does any old man want with a attractive, young boy, Naruto. Just please don't ask me any questions when we're running up a forty-foot tree!!!'
Naruto leaps off the trunk and on a high branch.
I jump off his back and cling to the trunk.
'Let's not actively try to do that again…'
Naruto growls menacingly in response. I turn around.
Sasuke still standing a little way off on another branch. He's looks battered and is shaking and it looks like he can't move, or is trying to move but can't because-
'Sasuke!'
I leap towards him. From branch to branch in a matter of seconds.
I land besides him and turn around to face what he is seeing.
A white face with violent fangs like something out a Japanese Anime Dracula movie comes out of nowhere, black hair flying behind it with something between a hiss and a roar coming out of it mouth.
It twists through the air, and dives towards us.
So I punch it on the chin.
The white head and elongated neck attached to it flying back only to wrap themselves a few times around a branch from the force of the punch.
…
…that was weird…
…
Slightly disturbed and a bit out of it, I turn back to Sasuke, who looks just as bad as me.
'You. Coming with me. Now.'
He nodes.
'Naruto, Sakura, everybody here now.'
The pinkette jumps up another tree and a No-longer red Naruto joins us on the branch.
I look at all of them in turn.
'So…who wants to go now?'
Before anyone can answer, a familiar cackling laugh breaks the silence.
For some reason, most likely the fact that this whole fight has been a heavy tax on my sanity, I freak out.
With a yell, I grab Sasuke and Sakura by the waist and put them, struggling wildly, under each arm in a carrying position.
'On my back! On my back, Naruto!'
Thankfully the Uzumaki leaps on in a piggy-back position similar to the one I used on him without question.
Then I jump off the branch.
Four people scream.
Sadly, my crazy spell is far from over.
I hit the forest floor and run as fast as I can. Once again trees blur and time stands still as I rush in the direction that gets us the further away from Orochimaru as possible.
Naruto's nails grip into my shoulders and Sakura and Sasuke stop struggling and try to hang on from the force of the speed I'm going at.
I carry on, unaware of any of them.
Finally after what only seems a few minutes, I begin to slowly stop my sprint.
I halt, drop all my passengers and fall flat on my face.
…
'You guys alright?'
Three people moan.
'Good…'
…
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…
…
…
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'So…
…
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…
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…How has the Forest Of Death been for you guys?'
I've got good news and bad news. Good news, I'm off to Uni! Bad news, after this chapter I won't be back for a few months like before. But I pushed myself to let you off the cliffhanger I left on my last instalment. So enjoy.
Goodbye for now, but hopefully not forever. ;)
P.S. Check out my updated Bio Page. I've added a picture of Chibi Vegeta I drew for the Avatar. He's adorable when he's scared ^_^
*Ryoukuyou – Don't know what it means? Don't worry, all will be revealed! Or you can take a guess…
*NEW SECTION!*
Snake-based ramblings:
It isn't Makeup:
I do not believe that the purple markings around Orochimaru's eyes are makeup. Anybody who has seen the flashbacks with young Orochimaru from the Hokage fight can see that, even as a boy, he had those markings. I do not believe that he was using makeup at that young an age. He was too busy being trained to kill people by his loving sensei. I believe that those markings are akin to those you'd find on an animal like a cheetah. Those marks are like kohl, and act like a pair of natural sunglasses. Since his eyes have slit pupils, like those of all nocturnal snakes and other animals, he is obviously more adapted to seeing at night and in dark places, so the markings in a dark colour (purple) act to shield his eyes from the sun during the day. So I bet he has had those marks since he was born. In conclusion, NOT makeup.