Chapter 14
(Half an Hour Earlier)
A brown-haired medic and her companion walked at a leisurely pace toward a small hut. The small structure was situated a little distance from the main gate to Training Arena 44, aka The Forest of Death. She never could get used to just how creepy it looked.
Tsuki noticed the Chuunin sitting in the small hut as she entered. The man seemed to be worrying about something. "Yaniko Tsuki, and this is my apprentice. We're here to be escorted to the tower." Her voice was friendly, though she frowned slightly at the Chuunin's unease.
The shaven and bespectacled Chuunin looked up, as if he had only just noticed she was there. "Ummmm... that is not possible at the moment. There is a…..situation…..in the forest."
Tsuki frowned and glanced at the young girl beside her, before turning back. "What situation?"
The Chuunin coughed. "I'm afraid that's classified."
Tsuki's frown deepened. "Well should we wait, or return to the hospital?"
The Chuunin looked lost for a moment. Obviously he had little in the way of instructions. "I think it best if you return to the hospital."
Tsuki sighed, both annoyed and worried. "Come on Haku, it looks like we're going back to the office."
Haku merely nodded, graceful as always. "Yes Tsuki-sensei."
The two kunoichi were leaving when someone entered the door through which they were just about to leave. A boy in a large grey coat, wearing sunglasses, ignored them and moved towards the Chuunin. They thought nothing of it and made to leave, but the boy's words stopped them in their tracks.
The young Aburame's words came out calmly. "I have important information. The legendary Sannin Orochimaru is in the fores-".
The boy was cut off by the Chuunin, who raised his hand sharply and glanced nervously at the medics. Seeing they were no longer heading out of the hut he gave the boy a stern look. "We are aware of the situation and it is being handled."
"He is fighting one of the examinees." Shino's voice was still calm as he gave the information.
The Chuunin was shocked and forgot his discretion. "A Genin fighting one of the legendary Sannin...Who would be so foolish?!"
The medic and her assistant watched with a sense of foreboding as the boy took a deep breath, obviously worn from running here.
"Hatake Naruto is the one he fights." The boy's words came out calmly, but the words resounded in the two medics' minds.
"Where is he?!" The brown-haired medic surprised the Genin and Chuunin with her urgent question.
Shino raised an eyebrow to the panicked woman who stood before him. "I left them about three miles North-North-East."
The medic instantly lost interest in boy. "Haku you stay here, I'm going to find Naruto. He may well need medical attention." Tsuki faced her student.
Haku's face was as tranquil as ever, except her eyes which showed an otherwise hidden emotion. "With respect sensei I am coming with you."
The Chuunin turned to the Genin, since he had no authority over the medics. "Anko-san is already in the forest and is looking for the Sannin. She went due north to the tower, but she will be scouting along the way and you should be able to catch up. Inform her of the situation, and then find your teammates."
Shino nodded and, without another word, fled from the small hut. A moment later the two kunoichi ran off in the young man's wake, leaving the Chuunin alone with his worries.
The three ninja headed towards the main gate in front of the forest, and climbed the dangerous looking fence. Once over, the kunoichi headed in a slightly different direction to the young male ninja. They got further apart as their paths diverged further. With no need for scrolls, and no intention of fighting, the two kunoichi ran full speed to where they hoped Naruto would be. They offered silent prayers that they would find him soon, alive.
As the minutes past Tsuki was hard pushed to keep up with Haku. The young kunoichi had been training with Naruto and his teammates, when she wasn't at the hospital learning medical skills. The result showed in her endurance and speed, but still the older medic persevered. Tsuki had become fond of Akiko's son in the last two years, who she saw fairly regularly. Sometimes she met up with him to help further his medical skills, but sometimes it was just to catch up. It was he that had asked her if she could use an apprentice. That he had a friend that needed to fill some time before the beginning of the next academic year, who was very interested in medicine.
The large twisted trees flew by in a blur and soon they detected a group up ahead, but unfortunately it wasn't the group they were searching for.
Kankuro watched his brother mercilessly kill the second and third members of the Genin team who had attacked them. He was far from squeamish, but he still found it hard to ignore the blood raining down nearby. He watched in morbid fascination as it settled on the ground. The puppeteer wanted to get away from there. "Right let's get to the tower."
"Shut up. I haven't had enough yet." The redhead stared at his brother, who was able to tell his younger brother was getting angry. That meant he was dangerous even to his siblings.
"Let's stop Gaara." The black-clad ninja tried using a placating tone. His older sister remained silent, watching with a small frown.
"Are you afraid? Coward." Gaara glared at Kankuro.
Kankuro was afraid, but not of the exam, and he let some of the desperation he felt into his voice. "Gaara! You might be alright, but this place is too dangerous for us! We only need one scroll, any more is-"
"Don't tell me what to do you piece of trash." Gaara's voice was beginning to sound more dangerous.
Temari could almost imagine the demon imprisoned within him thrashing for freedom.
Kankuro probably should have kept silent. "Give it a rest! Sometimes…Why don't you listen to your older brother, Gaara?"
His younger brother's gaze became stony. "I've never once thought of you guys as my siblings. Get in my way…. and I'll kill you." Gaara raised his hands.
Temari watched the scene with mixed emotions, knowing that if she did nothing that Gaara might do something to her other brother. She jumped in front of the eldest of her two younger brothers. "Gaara, let's stop. Don't say such cold things alright? Please listen to your older sister." Temari watched as Gaara turned to his left, as sand begin leaking out of his gourd.
Since he had met that blond masked ninja, Gaara had been agitated. Kankuro and Temari watched her brother send out a wave of sand as two kunoichi entered the clearing, apparently in rush.
Haku and Tsuki saw sand heading towards them and looked at the redhead who was apparently controlling it. They had no idea who he was, but his intentions were clear even across the clearing.
Haku immediately began to form seals and looked at her sensei, who was doing the same. Tsuki had been an active Chuunin for a few years before becoming a medic-nin and it showed.
Gaara squeezed his hand. "Sabaku Kyu!" (Desert Coffin). He immediately noticed that there was no blood as there should have been, and as his sand returned to him he saw splinters of wood fall to the ground. Gaara's eyes narrowed, as the Suna-nin sensed that the kunoichi were still nearby.
Tsuki turned to Haku and whispered from their hidden location, but still watching the trio in the clearing in her peripheral vision. Suddenly the redhead looked in their direction. "We don't have time for this. We need to get moving."
Haku shook her head. "Naruto might be badly injured and they could follow us, and that is a risk we can't take."
Tsuki hesitantly nodded, seeing the sense of what her apprentice said. "It's been a while since I had a good fight. Let's just hope I haven't gotten too rusty."
Both Kunoichi jumped aside as sand shot towards them once more and Haku turned to her sensei. "I'll take the sand wielder and the other boy."
Tsuki wasn't about to argue. Her medical skills were above Haku's, but not her fighting skills. If Haku could access the ground water that was bound to be in this heavily shaded area, all the better.
Haku jumped from the tree she was in, landing in a slight crouch, and she ran straight for who she saw as her main opponent. She frowned when his teammates made no move to help him, which she took as a bad sign for her. Sand flew towards her once more and she jumped forward headfirst, spinning rapidly, and narrowly escaped the sand as it closed around the place she had just been. She saw that the black-clad ninja was nearby, but strangely he and the blond kunoichi still made no move to assist their teammate. The raven-haired girl concentrated on detecting all the nearby water sources and smiled while forming seals. "Makyo Hyo Sho!" (Demonic Ice Mirrors) She had to use more chakra than normal to gather the water she needed from underground, but there were pockets of it all over the place and it quickly seeped up to the surface.
Gaara just watched with his usual lack of interest, until he and his brother were quickly surrounded by mirrors of ice. He found this interesting, as he had never seen a technique like this. He saw the girl appear in one of the mirrors, staring at him with an expression that seemed determined.
Tsuki ran towards the kunoichi who wore a large fan strapped to her back, the girl staring with surprise at the ice prison. "Masuizai no Jutsu!" (Anaesthetic technique)
Temari cursed herself for getting distracted for a moment, realising she was about to come under attack. Her opponent was already close and she reached for her fan with both hands. She pulled on the heavy weapon and pulled it over her shoulder, not having much chance to aim as the brown-haired older woman was almost upon her. She swung the fan onto her opponent's right shoulder.
Tsuki saw it coming and tried to brace herself as the fan hit. She bent her legs slightly to allow her movement to absorb some of the blow. It was enough to stop her shoulder bone fracturing, but it still hurt like hell and she hissed at the pain. To her credit she kept her head as she put one arm around the fan, pulling it against the already throbbing shoulder.
Temari hesitated too long in letting go of her main weapon and a hand that was aimed for her shoulder changed target. A blue glowing hand touched her elbow even as she began to jump back. The sand-kunoichi felt her elbow and the surrounding region go numb and forearm become limp. Her hand still moved, but she couldn't raise the lower half of her arm. She couldn't wield her fan even if she could get it back. "Shit!" She landed and scowled at the woman she realised must be a medic, not needing an explanation for that technique.
Tsuki let the fan go and it fell to the ground beside her with thud. She took a defensive stance, but her face looked doubtful. "We don't want any trouble. We're not in the exam."
Temari had guessed as much, it was simply unlucky for the two of them that they had entered the forest. "That doesn't matter to Gaara. I would leave if I were you. When he is done with her he will come after you."
Tsuki frowned. "You are underestimating my apprentice."
Temari shook her head resignedly. "It's your funeral……" She didn't feel like fighting anymore. These two were already dead no matter what she did.
Kankuro was more than a little worried at his current circumstances. It went as writ that Gaara would be fine as always, but the same wasn't so certain for him. The technique the girl in the mirror was using was pretty intimidating and he watched her intently. She simply watched them in return. It was then that she attacked.
Gaara was waiting unconcernedly, genuinely curious in his usual morbid way about the technique of the person he was about to kill. When the girl left the mirror she was moving extremely quickly and she was hard to follow even for him. He didn't even see the senbon coming, but his sand shot up and blocked the projectiles. Just. Gaara knew he was going to enjoy this and so would mother.
Haku's eyes widened as her attack was blocked. She had been training the last two months and was faster than ever. She entered another mirror. Sand came after her, but was rebuffed by the chakra packed ice, though it shook with the force. She observed the black-clad ninja and realised something was wrong. The places she had aimed senbon should have caused him trouble, yet he just stood there. She thought quickly and reached the only logical conclusion she could as a medic in training.
Kankuro's eyes widened as the girl attacked again and he had a bad feeling. The instant that she left the mirror the sand was chasing after her. This time the senbon were focused solely on him, the real him under the bandages. The needles hit him in the neck and the world instantly went black. The henge on his puppet dropped as he, and it, fell unmoving to the floor.
Haku noticed, as she entered another mirror, that the redheaded ninja didn't even glance at his fallen teammate. She didn't know what to make of it, but already knew the boy was unstable. He had tried to kill her and her sensei before he even knew who they were.
Temari stood by the medic, in an unspoken truce, as they looked into the mirrors at the real battle. She began to run forward when she saw Kankuro fall, but a hand stopped her. She turned, furious, to the medic who had stopped her.
Tsuki shook her head. "Haku will have aimed the senbon to key pressure points in his neck. He is only paralysed."
Temari was in two minds whether to accept these words or not, but she had no reason to disbelieve the woman. Gaara was the aggressor, not them. At last she decided that even if it wasn't true there was little she could do against the girl in the mirrors, especially with one arm disabled.
Gaara had decided enough was enough and raised his hands as more sand began to pour from his gourd. He waited until there was a significant amount and sent it towards the mirror the dark-haired girl was in.
Haku moved out the mirror just in time. She looked behind her as she flew to the next mirror, seeing that the sand moved almost as fast as she did. The large body of sand smashed into the mirror and she watched as it fractured under the blow. Things didn't look good.
Temari looked at Gaara's expression. He was done playing, "It will be over soon……"
Tsuki ignored the comment, "Haku, we can't remain here any longer. Naruto-kun's life may depend on us!"
Temari turned to the woman beside her, with a face showing surprise. "Naruto?"
Tsuki's surprised expression mirrored the girls. "Yes?" She had to wonder if this girl knew her blond friend, but Naruto kept to himself most of the time unless he was with friends or family.
"What happened?" The sand-nin's tone showed curiosity. From what she had seen of the blond he seemed capable of looking after himself.
Tsuki glanced into the prison, where Haku had hesitated in her attacks. The raven-haired kunoichi was obviously thinking carefully. She watched as Haku avoided a hammer of sand and entered another mirror. "He is, or was, fighting Orochimaru. We're on our way to see if he needs medical attention."
Temari knew who Orochimaru was, because of the sand's alliance to sound, looked at the woman as if she was stupid. "You honestly think he's still alive?"
Tsuki surprised the girl with a small smile despite the situation, her eyes never leaving the fight. "You obviously don't know Naruto-kun very well. If you did you wouldn't underestimate him."
Haku couldn't see a way to win this fight anytime soon and decided she would have to abandon the fight. She couldn't seem to harm the sand boy, yet he was breaking her mirrors one by one. The delicate looking kunoichi took a deep breath, even as yet more sand was about to break a fifth mirror. She flew out the mirror with all the speed she could muster.
Temari's bored expression changed to one of surprise, as the girl Gaara was fighting left one mirror. The dark-haired girl unleashed a torrent of senbon before entering another ice mirror, only to leave again immediately. The attacking kunoichi continued in this course of action, as Temari attempted to track the blur that she had become. Gaara's sand stopped its attack, as it concentrated on defending against a seemingly futile attack.
Tsuki tensed her body in preparation, which didn't go unnoticed by the girl beside her, but the sand kunoichi remained quiet. She watched as Haku moved from mirror to mirror, unleashing wave after wave of senbon from multiple directions. Slowly but surely Gaara's defensive sand formed a protective cocoon, little by little becoming more complete.
Temari began to understand what was happening and she knew Gaara couldn't stop it. Her youngest brother couldn't stop his sand defending him. She had to admire this Haku girl, both for her endurance and her ingenuity. She understood now why the medic beside her tensed, but she wasn't going to make any effort to stop her. She had seen Gaara kill enough people, so that one less did not to matter.
The cocoon finally became total and Gaara could not be seen through the solid sphere of sand. The senbon attacks ceased and Tsuki pounced. The mirrors began collapsing as Haku shot out the top of the prison. Tsuki landed on a falling mirror that was about the strike the sphere of sand. She launched herself again and caught the falling kunoichi, who was panting with her efforts. The girl's eyes were half closed. Tsuki didn't look back and hit the ground running.
Temari saw that Gaara's sand stayed where it was, until it became clear no more attacks were forthcoming. After half a minute the sand fell, but Tsuki and Haku long gone. Gaara looked around him, only a slight twitching of his eye signalled his otherwise hidden emotions. He was obviously trying to sense his recent opponent. When it seemed he had not detected them the sand slowly poured back into the gourd.
Temari ran to her unconscious brother and she pulled the needles from his neck with her good arm. Instantly he jerked in movement and the bandages quickly unravelled. For a moment his eyes showed fear, but then confusion. With his sister's help he shakily stood up, looking at his puppet.
"What h-" Kankuro didn't finish his question.
"Let's go." Gaara's voice sounded as bland as ever, but his siblings were in no doubt that Gaara was really annoyed at his opponent escaping. The two siblings hastened to move, quickly picking up their weapons.
As her sensei placed her on the ground, Haku took rapid deep breaths. The severity of her exhaustion was quickly waning. She had used plenty of chakra, but wasn't suffering exhaustion of it. Her last effort against the sand-nin had been like a sprint, rather than a marathon, and she just needed to catch her breath.
Tsuki knelt down and her hands glowed green as she prepared to help her apprentice. She began by refilling Haku's chakra reserves a little, before she helped oxygenate her blood. In a few minutes Haku was able to stand and the medic turned her healing hands to her own injuries. It did not take long for the bruising in her shoulder to heal. "Are you ready?"
Haku nodded confirmation. She wasn't feeling at her best, but she would manage. "Let's get moving."
Ino was mopping Naruto's head with a damp cloth, since he seemed to be running a temperature. Beside her Sakura did the same with Sasuke, as they both knelt beside their respective teammates inside the hollow of a large tree. Hinata stood in front of the tree, with her bloodline active as she surveyed the surrounding area. It was the Hyuuga's turn on guard. The Yamanaka girl felt Naruto tense and she watched as his body began to spasm violently. The muscles and tendons in his neck were beginning to stand out to an alarming degree. She began to panic, Naruto was the medic on their team, and she had no idea that to do.
Sakura stopped her ministrations of the Uchiha and looked at her cousin worriedly. "What's happening?"
Ino looked helplessly to the other girl "I have no i-" She stopped when Naruto stopped thrashing and suddenly sat up. The platinum-blond girl watched as his eyes flicked open, and as soon as they did a powerful aura seemed to surround him. His normally crystal-blue eyes were red and each pupil slit. The power he emanated was terrifying, in both its sheer scale and its very nature.
Naruto's gaze turned to the south-west and he was gone, a red blur the only visible sign he had moved.
Hinata had felt the air beside her shift and lavender eyes tried to follow her teammate's progress, but even her bloodlimit only made out a blur. Her gaze settled on the edge of the clearing when she heard the splintering sound of tortured wood. A tree had apparently been in her teammate's path and now it was torn in half. The top half of the hapless tree had been thrown some distance to the side. "Naruto-kun..." Her voice was even quieter than usual, her worried whisper barely audible.
Ino and Sakura stood up and moved beside the Hyuuga girl, as they all looked at the beginnings of a path of destruction.
Ino and Hinata turned to Sakura, not sure if they should follow their teammate or not. The only thing stopping them was that Naruto would want them to make sure Sakura and Sasuke were safe. Luckily their decision was made for them when three people arrived in the small clearing, a boy in a large grey coat from the west and two kunoichi from south-south-west."
"Shino..." Sakura felt some relief, glad at least to have her team whole again.
"Haku? Tsuki-san?" Ino was surprised, but relieved, by the appearance of the two kunoichi. Haku was not only her friend, but Naruto's as well, and she knew that she could rely on the raven-haired girl for help. She didn't know Tsuki well, the Chuunin medic was a friend of Naruto, but it was encouraging to have a more senior ninja for guidance.
Tsuki looked around the area. "We heard Naruto was fighting Orochimaru. Where is he?"
"I passed...something...on my way back from speaking to Anko-san, who was about to engage Orochimaru, something powerful." The Aburame's insects had been deeply disturbed by whatever it had been.
Ino looked to the medics. "It must have been Naruto..." She quickly brought the three up to date on exactly what had happened. She rushed her words, but managed to remain coherent.
Tsuki nodded. "Haku you check on the Uchiha boy. Shino stay with Haku and Sakura. Hinata and Ino come with me, we'll head in the direction Naruto went. He and Anko-san might need help."
Haku was hesitant, but didn't argue, she trusted Hinata and Ino to go in her stead. She was not at fighting peak so it was probably best, and the medic in her knew someone needed to check the Uchiha. Shino's silence was taken for agreement.
Naruto's teammates and his favourite med-nin, barring his mother, ran towards the broken tree that marked the beginning of Naruto's passage.
Anko had been holding Naruto close to her for only a minute, when she sensed others approaching. She tensed as she prepared to defend herself and Naruto if need be, however when she saw the three figures she sagged in relief. She didn't know Tsuki very well, only meeting by coincidence through Naruto, but from what she knew the woman was a good medic. "Tsuki-san!" She needn't have bothered calling out as the Hyuuga girl had spotted her and the three were already heading over.
Tsuki's hands were glowing with a green light before she even knelt down. Hinata knelt by her and Ino moved around to Anko.
"Are you okay Anko-sensei?" Ino was looking at the still drying blood on the purple-haired Jounin's face and clothes.
Anko nodded without looking away from the unconscious blond boy, watching as Tsuki gave Naruto a medical scan.
Ino however noticed something and she picked up Naruto's limp hand. "Look..." She showed the hand to the others. Naruto's finger nails were claw like.
Tsuki stopped her scan and lifted Naruto's eyelids. Letting them close, she continued her scan once more.
"Is he okay?" Anko asked tightly.
Tsuki looked up at Anko, with her hands still running over her patient. "I'm not sure. He's suffered chakra exhaustion, but I've seen Naruto regenerate chakra before. If he has no injuries he can recover from complete exhaustion in six to eight hours, so I should be able to detect the beginning of his recovery now." She saw that no one looked surprised. "But his chakra is not refilling at all, like something is constantly draining it. I think it's linked to his physical...condition."
Hinata looked confused. "Condition?"
Tsuki began to speak, even as she continued to scan, and her voice became more professional sounding. "He doesn't seem to be injured but his physiology is very different. The light detecting rod cells on his retina have increased in number from two hundred thousand to one million. This should allow him to see father and in more detail, and if I hazarded a guess I would bet he can see a wider range of the spectrum. His pupils have become slit, allowing faster reaction to changes in light levels. The malleus bone in his inner ear has lengthened, while the hair-cells in his cochlear canal are more numerous and of more varying lengths. Allowing for heightened hearing over a wider auditory range. The olfactory receptor cells in his nose have increased from five million to two hundred million in number, making it comparable to a dog's nose. The proteins running his nervous system have been adapted to become sodium channel based, which will result in far more rapid generation and propagation of electrical impulses throughout his body. These facts mean his sight, hearing and sense of smell are exponentially more acute. His sense of touch and taste will be affected to a lesser degree, simply due to his modified nervous system. His claws are thickened and sharpened nails more than real claws. His canine teeth are elongated also. His bone and muscle cells are extremely densely packed, several times more so than is normal. His bones are stronger, while his muscles are faster and stronger."
Anko was stunned by the physiological analysis. "He was transformed when he was using Youkai chakra...somehow the transformation has remained?"
Tsuki nodded. "There is only the normal ambient level of Youkai chakra in his system, so it's not Kyuubi's chakra doing this. It's Naruto's. Somehow his body is maintaining the changes and it's taking a constant amount of chakra. That's why he hasn't woken up yet."
Ino wasn't a medic, but she knew this was beyond unusual. "How is this possible?"
Naruto opened his eyes and saw he was once again within the hallways of his mind. His thoughts were a little fuzzy. He remembered catching Anko and healing her, but that she was safe was all that mattered.
He walked along the now familiar path, until he reached the prison room. He walked up to the bars and the blackness inside was disturbed when a pair of eyes opened on the other side of them.
"YOU HAVE COME FOR WHAT I HAVE PROMISED."
Naruto nodded. "I have." Though he hated the fox, and being here, he felt a sense of anticipation.
"HEALING."
It took a moment for the word to sink in, and at first it seemed a random utterance. Naruto stood surprised before the demon, but he wasn't an idiot. "My healing ability?" He hadn't expected this. "I though that was you." It had been the only thing that had caused him to feel even the slightest gratitude to the demon.
"YOU HAVE A BLOODLIMIT KNOWN AS THE SERUSOUSEIKI. (CELL GENESIS) THIS LIMIT ALLOWS CELLS TO BE CREATED FROM BASE CHEMICALS FROM WITHIN YOUR BODY, RATHER THAN BY CELL DIVISION. I PROMISED INFORMATION ON YOUR BLOODLINES AND THIS I HAVE GIVEN. THIS IS THE ONLY ONE THAT I AM CURRENTLY AWARE OF. NOW LEAVE."
Naruto glared at the demon, but unsurprisingly the fox seemed less than concerned at his ire. He felt cheated over his bloodline, which was an ability he already had, and that the demon had implied he had more. The demon had purposefully misled him, but then again he wondered why he was surprised. "Gladly Kitsune-teme." Naruto closed his eyes and let the darkness envelope him, taking him away from the hated fox. The visit had been brief, but as always felt too long.
Anko carried Naruto, and as she did she noticed that he was rather heavier than he should have been. She supposed it was due to the changes to his body. The Jounin kunoichi was worried about him and had to wonder if she was responsible. According to Ino and Hinata's explanation of what happened, he hadn't transformed until about the time she had summoned him. She just hoped Naruto didn't ask about how she had done that, since she could not tell him. The other three kunoichi walked along side her, occasionally glancing at the unconscious boy. According to Tsuki, he was deeply asleep and they needed to get him back to relative safety so that they could try and figure out what was going on with his body.
Haku was sitting by the Uchiha, but it was Sakura was tending him. She had already done a cursory examination and was now just keeping an eye on him. The raven-haired girl looked up when her sensei arrived and she saw her male friend in Anko's arms. "How is he?"
Tsuki looked over to Shino, who she had been informed didn't know Naruto's biggest secret, and then back to her apprentice. "He's not injured, but we need to examine him further."
Sakura and Haku knew better than to ask what had happened, and apparently Shino wasn't going to ask. For now they placed Naruto beside Sasuke, in the hollow of the tree.
Tsuki, Anko, Hinata and Ino sat around Naruto. Tsuki turned to her apprentice. "How's the Uchiha?"
"He appears to be in a low level coma, but his vitals are strong and getting stronger. I believe he'll be awake in a few hours. As for the seal on his neck, I have nothing to offer on that." Haku had never seen anything like the black mark.
Anko sighed. "That's a curse seal." If the name was not enough to convey the tainted nature of the seal, then the snake-wielding woman's tone was. "It offers power to those who bear it, but at a heavy price. When used, it warps the mind and begins to consume the body. Orochimaru must be trying to lure Sasuke to him with the promise of power. It's lucky Naruto has managed to rid himself of it, not that he would ever go to the snake-teme." Naruto hated Orochimaru with a passion that exceeded even her own, just from hearing what he did to the dark purple-haired kunoichi.
Tsuki once again scanned Naruto's body, this time able to concentrate better with more people on guard in an enclosed area. She examined him for some time, grateful that no one interrupted her intense concentration. "Hmm…I think our only option is to assist his chakra replenishment faster than the drain and then he should wake up. After that…." She didn't know.
Everyone watched as the green glow in the medic's hands brightened, and there was the familiar sound of rushing wind that came with many healing techniques. Tsuki placed her hands on Naruto's upper body and the green glow flattened out onto his chest.
After a few minutes Naruto's body stirred and he slowly opened his eyes. The kunoichi around him watched in curiosity, as his unfocused eyes were still slit. Naruto's head shifted slightly and he put his arm out, gently pushing himself up as the medic stopped her technique.
As soon as Naruto sat up, he let out a grunt and his eyes closed again. His right hand went to his forehead as he grimaced. For someone with such a high pain threshold this was worrying. The pain must have been intense.
"Naruto-kun!" Hinata started to reach out her hand, but stopped herself when she realised she was only trying to comfort herself with the gesture, and that it would do her male teammate little good.
"What's happening?!" Ino was as alarmed as her lavender-eyed team mate.
Tsuki raised her hands and once again they emitted a familiar green light, but Naruto didn't even notice. "His….body is changing." She looked confused. "The alterations are reversing."
Naruto suddenly let out a sharp breath, making everyone flinch, but his next breath in was slow and he exhaled normally. His eyes opened and it could be seen they were no longer slit. "That….stung…" Naruto shook his head, as if to dispel the remnants of the pain, and he looked around. "Tsuki-chan? Haku-chan? What's going on?"
Everyone took a moment before responding, the females just happy Naruto was awake.
Tsuki resumed her scan. "When Shino left the forest to report on Orochimaru, Haku and I overheard. We came to help."
Naruto shifted, the pain gone, and he gave an exhausted smile. "Thank you, both."
"What we don't know is what happened to you. Care to fill us in?" Ino scowled, covering the fact that she was almost delirious with relief.
"I-" Naruto looked at Shino, who stood up.
"I will give you some privacy." If the Aburame was offended he gave no sign of it, and left to do only he knew what.
Naruto watched him leave, feeling a little bad for excluding the insect user, but he had other things to worry about. "After the snake-teme bit me Kyuubi brought me before him…….." Naruto leant against the inside of the large tree as he spoke, trying to recover some of his usually near endless vigour. He told those in the tree all that he remembered happening to him. "…I don't remember exactly what happened after I woke up. I just remember running and then holding Anko-chan. My memories after I stopped using Youkai chakra are clearer. When I lost consciousness again Kyuubi told me that he actually only knew of one bloodline, apparently he didn't consider that lying. It's called the Serusouseiki and it's actually what has been healing me all these years, not Kyuubi." He finished, sounding annoyed as well as tired.
"Hmmm…." Tsuki thought to herself. "I remember reading about that bloodlimit in the medical library during my apprentice days. The information on the clan possessing it was none existent, but the information on the bloodlimit was there. I don't know who made the entry though."
Anko knew who had made the entry. A woman, who was pregnant with a child that would no doubt have the same bloodlimit as her, recorded the information in the medical library for the future generations she hoped to start with her husband. No clan information was there because she had been cut off from it, and that included all her progeny.
The brown-haired kunoichi cast her mind back, trying to remember the information which had proved very interesting at the time. "The chakra of those with the Serusouseiki is imbued with a memory of the wielders DNA. Using it cells are constructed, rather than created through cell fission. The Serusouseiki continues to get stronger as a person matures, and meditation can help increase efficiency with the bloodlimit. Somehow it must be this that was responsible for maintaining the changes to your body."
Naruto sat up a little straighter. "Changes?"
Tsuki proceeded to explain all the changes he had undergone and that the drain from maintaining them had been keeping him from recovering.
Naruto took the information in. He had enough medical knowledge to know that this was all very very strange. "So somehow Kyuubi contaminated the DNA memory in my chakra. Why am I back to normal now?"
"Perhaps it is controlled by your mind, consciously or subconsciously. Like we can have more than one memory, maybe your chakra can have more than one memory. Your chakra remembered the change and maintained it, until you woke up and overrode it. Because it's not a natural memory I think it takes chakra to suppress your natural one. It is a guess of course." Haku saw that Naruto and Tsuki seemed to consider her idea.
"I'm not sure we can know for sure, but I can't think of a better explanation." Tsuki smiled at Haku. "Excellent reasoning."
Naruto frowned. "So it could happen again?" Unfortunately no one had an answer for him.
"There was nothing harmful about it, aside from the chakra drain and the fact that it was painful to revert. You weren't physically compromised and your mind would most likely remain unaffected." Tsuki reassured him.
"Will he be okay?" Anko could not conceal her worry.
"He just needs to rest, and I mean really rest, because I can't hope to refill his massive chakra reserves. He needs five or six hours sleep." Tsuki reassured the Jounin kunoichi.
Hinata turned to Ino. "Should we abandon the exam?" She turned to her male teammate. "You are not up to fighting again and we don't know Orochimaru won't return."
The momentarily distracted Anko, who had been feeling guilt for what she kept from Naruto, shook her head. "If Orochimaru had wanted them dead they would be already. He wanted to put the seal on the Uchiha, and Naruto's was just on a whim. If he's still around then it won't be for these two."
Sakura looked worried. "But each of our teams is effectively one person down. We're at a disadvantage if we're attacked."
Naruto shook his head. "We can't give up so easily and if we do then we don't deserve to be Chuunin." He turned to the brown-haired medic. "If you put me directly into a REM sleep cycle I'll recover faster."
Tsuki frowned. "True, but it will be hard for you to wake up if needed."
"Hinata and I will protect Naruto, Tsuki-san, with our lives if necessary." Ino's voice and face were resolute and her sincerity beyond question.
Naruto was touched by his teammate's comment. It was heart warming to know their friendship meant as much to her as to him.
Tsuki's nod indicated her acceptance. "Well Anko, Haku and I need do need to be getting to the tower. If anyone notices we're with you, you could be disqualified."
Anko snorted. "I wouldn't let that happen, but I see your point." Anko stood up, wanting to leave before she changed her mind. "Good luck." She spoke to the group. "And thanks Naruto-kun…for...you know."
"Anytime Anko-chan, just try and stay out of trouble while I'm asleep." Naruto gave his friend a playful smile.
Anko smiled mischievously in return, and she turned to head off. "I'll tell the pervert to make preparations for Sasuke's arrival." As she went Haku followed.
When Sakura looked confused Hinata whispered to her. "Jiraiya." A knowing look came over the pink-haired kunoichi's face. Her cousin had warned her away from the hot springs for the foreseeable future.
Tsuki leant down to Naruto, who was lying down in preparation, and her right hand glowed blue. "Nemuri Neiri no Jutsu!" (Forced Sleep technique). Satisfied that Naruto was sound asleep, she moved to follow Anko and her apprentice. She was just about to leave the confines of the clearing when she turned back to the group. "If you see a redheaded boy with dark circles around his eyes, and Naruto is still asleep, run." Her voice was completely serious, she paused a moment before turning again and leaving.
Those present and awake took the words to heart, because they knew she meant Gaara of the Sand. Considering their previous confrontation, they weren't about to disagree.
A few minutes later Shino returned and saw Naruto was once again asleep, but didn't comment. "I think we should all get some rest. I'll take first watch."
No one protested against the placid boy's suggestion, or his offer of taking first shift. The mental strain of the day had taken its toll on Hinata and Ino. The two kunoichi of team eight lay down either side of Naruto, protectively, while Sakura lay beside Sasuke.
Shino let a group of his bugs spread out around the area to keep an eye out.
Hinata was taking her turn to stand watch while the others slept, and it was beginning to get dark. She was periodically checking around the area using her bloodlimit. "Byakugan!" She looked around once again and spotted something moving along the ground towards her. It was a red squirrel. At first she smiled at the small creature, until her pale eyes saw what was on its back. She pulled out a kunai and threw it into the animal's path, stopping it in its terrified tracks. She looked around and saw that they were no longer alone. Keeping the Byakugan active, she first shook Ino, Shino and then Sakura. "We've got company."
Ino watched as three figures landed on branch in front of the group. One was hunched over and she could see his face was heavily bandaged. There was a boy with black spiky hair and she could faintly see light glinting off his palms. The last figure was a female with long black hair, but nothing about her stood out except her sour expression. All of them wore forehead protectors for the sound village.
The hunched over sound-nin stared at them with one eye. "We only want the Uchiha. Let us have him and we won't harm you."
Ino just scowled in response. "If you leave now we won't harm you."
"Then we'll just have to go through you." The sound-nin, who was apparently the leader of the three, didn't sound displeased at the idea. Ino turned to Sakura. "You guard Sasuke and Naruto-kun." She turned to Hinata. "Who do you want Hinata?"
Hinata turned to Ino, and her expression changed to one of stony resolve. There was no sign of the usually soft-hearted Hinata in her countenance. "The leader."
Ino smiled, feeling a little bad for the boy. "I'll take the other guy. Shino you get to fight the girl." Shino nodded, all for equal rights.
The blond girl turned to her opponent. "If you're not coming to us..." She ran forward with surprising speed and half-way to her target jumped into the air. Slamming a palm into a bracelet, similar to the one worn by her male teammate, a sword was revealed. The dangerous looking blade was near identical to Naruto's smaller weapon. She reached the zenith of the jump and began to descend blade first. All this took only seconds.
Zaku jumped out the way as the sword was embedded deeply into the branch he was on. The blond girl held herself perpendicular to her horizontal weapon, with her hands closed around the hilt, but she still had her eyes on her adversary. She let her grip relax and she began to fall. She swung on the hilt and, as she came back up, wrenched her weapon from its wooden prison. The Yamanaka landed on the branch, the tip of her blade pointed toward her chosen enemy.
Dosu went to strike the girl, who had her back to him, when he felt something strike his side. Though the blow appeared gentle, it stung painfully. He turned to see the pale-eyed dark-haired girl standing before him, in what was obviously a fighting stance. She jumped away in a graceful side flip and landed on another branch. Without hesitation he followed.
Kin jumped away from the tree and the other combatants, to land on the ground below. She absently waved away a few bugs that were floating around her face, and kept alert for her own opponent.
Zaku smirked as he put his arms together and he sent chakra into the pipes embedded in his arms.
Ino had no idea what to expect from the attack, but she instinctively jumped high. The blond girl felt the very edge of the attack against her feet, causing them to tingle. She landed and looked behind her to see the invisible attack smash the trunk of a nearby tree to splinters. She quickly turned to the still smirking sound-nin.
Hinata watched as her opponent seemed to strike at the space in front of her, but she ducked anyway. The Hyuuga had seen what had happened to Kabuto before the first exam. Using her position to her advantage, she struck the ninja's thighs with her palms. The bandaged sound-nin let out a hiss of pain.
Kin saw her opponent walk up to her casually, so she quickly threw kunai all around and her bells surround her opponent. She began to pull on one of the strings, making one of the bells jingle, and threw a few non-tethered kunai.
Ino formed seals quickly, as she took a deep breath and held her hand to her lips. "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique) She unleashed a large fireball straight at her opponent.
Zaku was forced to use his main attack to blast the fireball away. Sure enough it pierced the flames and forced them back, before they were extinguished. He prepared for the next attack, but he was too late and felt a blade pressed against the skin on the back of his neck. "How?"
Ino smirked at her opponent. "I slid underneath the branch while you were destroying the fireball, then I simply ran underneath the branch and came at you from behind."
Zaku felt shame burn within him, it had been such a simple manoeuvre and he had fallen for it. The young sound-nin had underestimated the Konoha-nin, and that was his last thought before the hilt of a sword slammed hard into the back of his head. He fell to the ground with a thud.
Dosu jumped away from his opponent. The girl was fast, agile and whatever she was doing when she hit him was leaving painful damage.
Hinata, being much quicker and more agile than her opponent, leapt after him. As he brought his weapon arm forward to defend himself, she disabled it at the shoulder with one swift blow. The bandaged sound-nin pulled the arm in with a hiss, but during his distraction two pairs of fingers shot towards his neck. The Chuunin aspirant had no idea what happened as he fell unconscious.
Kin was amazed to see her opponent just step out of the way of her kunai. "How?"
Shino didn't answer the girl's question, since he couldn't hear her. Expecting an attack along the same lines as her hunch-backed teammate, his insects had filled his ears making them impenetrable to sound.
Shino lifted his arms and let thousands of his bugs fly out towards his opponent. He watched the girl wave a kunai about furiously, but it did no good as his bugs began to drain her chakra. Moments later she joined her teammates in unconsciousness.
Hinata deactivated her bloodline and checked the clothing of the unconscious sound-nin. She found what she had been looking for and picked up an earth scroll. She stepped away from the ninja and her face showed she was her usual, less aggressive, self. She left her opponent where he was. He would be unconscious for several hours and by the looks of it so would his teammates.
Sakura was stunned by Hinata and Ino, who had defeated their opponents effortlessly. "You both...did Naruto-kun do this?"
Hinata nodded while Ino replied. "He, Kurenai-sensei and Anko-sensei have been working us hard the last two months. Our progress has made us realise how weak we were."
Hinata had been focused on her opponent in her battle, so she hadn't noticed that there were others watching them.
"Troublesome." A figure in the nearby bushes turned around. "Change of plan, we find someone else." The figures dumbly nodded, while one of them barked agreement, and they quickly departed.
Sakura shook herself out of her daze and was just about to speak, when she felt a presence behind her. The young Haruno turned to see Sasuke behind her, but there was a foul essence leaking from him and black markings across his body. Sakura froze on the spot. "Sasuke-kun?"
Hinata, Ino and Shino all stood still, unsure what they should do in the presence of their fellow rookie, who looked as if he was not himself.
Sasuke took a step forward, when the other previously sleeping figure began to stir, the foul chakra disturbing his slumber. The Uchiha watched as the blond boy got up. "Fight me."
Naruto quickly became fully alert as he looked at the Uchiha. "Sorry Sasuke..." He lashed out a fist and struck the raven-haired boy on the side of the head. He watched a flicker of anger register in the boy's eyes before they closed and he fell to the ground.
Naruto turned to his teammates. "What happened? Is everyone alright?" He re-activated the nicknamed 'handicap seal' on his arm and felt the familiar resistance in his body.
Sakura stared down, worried about her teammate, but she remained silent.
"For some reason these guys were after Sasuke." Ino stated casually.
"Hmm..." Naruto nodded. "Good job." Naruto saw Hinata had an earth scroll in her hand. "Since both teams have both scrolls, I'd like to get to the tower tonight. I want to get out of this damned forest." He received nods. Nobody was keen on spending the whole night out here. "I'll carry the Uchiha." He looked at group.
"Are you okay to carry Sasuke? One of us can." Ino was concerned for Naruto, who had just woken up.
Naruto gave a sincere smile. "I'm fine, just as Tsuki thought I would be." He picked up the unconscious Uchiha and put the raven-haired boy on his back. "Is everyone ready?" He was answered by affirmative nods. "Let's go."
The trip to the tower was uneventful and they arrived an hour after nightfall. Thanks to Hinata, they had avoided any confrontations. As they stopped outside the tower, Naruto turned to team seven. "Would you like us to stay with you until Sasuke wakes up?" Sakura's team had to wait until Sasuke was awake, or they failed the exam.
Sakura shook her head. "It's fine. Besides, help won't be far if we are in trouble." She glanced at the nearby tower.
Naruto nodded. "Good luck then Sakura-chan, Shino."
Ino turned to Sakura. "Take care Sakura."
"I will do Ino. You just take care of yourself." Sakura gave a reassuring smile to her rival and sometimes friend. "You too Hinata, Naruto-kun."
Naruto turned to the tower. "I guess this is the end of the second exam."
All the Genin teams had near identical small bedrooms. Naruto sat in one such room. He held his whetstone in his right hand and ran it along the blade of the large cleaver sword, which lay across his lap. Due to its size he had to sharpen one half at a time, but he found it relaxing none. The sound of the gentle clack as the stone touched the blade, the shearing sound that rose in pitch as it began its journey down the blade, the slow lowering of the pitch as it slowed and finally the comfortable silence that fell until he started again.
It had been a trying day for team eight. Naruto himself was fully rested, but Hinata and Ino were asleep. Ino was not very different from when she was awake, the Yamanaka was the busiest sleeper he had ever seen and she fidgeted constantly. As always Hinata was quiet and graceful as she slept, with her peaceful face turned towards him.
He had already spoken to Jiraiya since Sasuke had received treatment. The Sannin had not disappointed and had been prepared by the time team seven had arrived. His father had confessed the sealing had been done much faster than he would have been able to manage himself. Sasuke was now being treated in the medical bay, but Naruto had not gone to see him. Even though he wasn't himself previously, Naruto couldn't be sure the Uchiha wouldn't try and fight him.
He'd seen Anko and Kurenai, who had been eating together, and his team had joined them. The group spent most of the time talking about the team's performance, which they all agreed had been exemplary.
His father had ruffled his hair up, so proud of his son's actions. Kakashi had sent a secure message to his mother with an overview of what had happened, though the first words had been 'Naruto is fine'. To have written otherwise would be to have Akiko tear through the forest in the middle of the night to be with her son. As things stood his mother would visit tomorrow, since she was going to be in charge of a group of medics for the next part of the exam. A group of which Tsuki and Haku were two.
There was still another four days until the end of the second exam, which meant they had that time to do as they wished. Naruto knew the time would pass slowly.