The Blonde Uchiha

by G3rMan

FemSasuke The Curse of Hatred has lasted centuries, and brought about the near destruction of the Uchiha clan during the Massacre. Two lives are spared, as mother and daughter fight to survive a village of politics. Their fate is intertwined with that of the boy who is the embodiment of their ancestral opponent, the Will of Fire. Together, they will usher in a blessing of love.

14. An Inescapable Destiny

The Blonde Uchiha

Chapter 14

An Inescapable Destiny

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

"speaking"

'thinking'

"Jutsu"

"Tailed Beast Speak"

NarutoxSasukixMikoto

Age Alert!: Just to let everyone know where we stand, Sasuki and Naruto are now age 13 (Normal age during time frame) and Mikoto is 33. Mikoto has been made younger for our purposes in this story.

Time Frame: Naruto and Sasuki are now genin while Mikoto has returned to active duty as a Leaf Jounin.

Hey guys, time for another chapter of Blonde Uchiha. It has been quite a while since I updated so I'm sure you have had plenty of time to wonder what will happen in this next installment. It is particularly important to the story as it is at this point that Sasuke receives the Cursed Mark during the Second Exam.

Many have expressed fear and disdain to the idea of Sasuki receiving it like her alter ego. Your questions will be answered in this chapter needless to say, although the consequences of these events will not be properly conveyed by brushing up on the manga chapters or episodes in the anime. This story is not a carbon copy by any means and while it follows the same general story, the characters that exist within Blonde Uchiha transform this into its own world.

Look forward to the future chapters with no knowledge of what it will bring, there will be many twists and turns that you may or may not expect.

This chapter will be centered around the First Exam, rivalries between the Genin present, and the most important part of the Second Exam; the showdown with Orochimaru.

000

Genin Assembly

Classroom

000

Team 7 arrived at the set of doors they were instructed to go to for the first exam, all feeling much better they had made it on time. To their surprise, Kakashi was waiting for them at the door. Leaning against the wall and lazily looking out the window it was hard to tell whether he was there with a purpose or not.

The three made their approach and made him turn his head to greet their arrival.

"Looks like you all made it, just as expected."

Sasuki crossed her arms and gave him an odd look.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Kakashi got up from his spot on the wall to stand before them, blocking their entry to the next room. With a shrug he made it clear that it wasn't very important; they had arrived, that was all that mattered.

"Oh nothing, just good to see you all together is all."

He hid his beaming smile beneath a facade of sarcasm. There was some dissent among the Jounin whether the Uchiha would participate after the unfortunate events surrounding their clan in the past few years. Although he knew it was idle talk with little knowledge to back it, it still annoyed him how so many could underestimate Naruto and Sasuki.

'Now they can prove it to everyone how much they've grown..and how strong the Uchiha really are.'

"The testing will start soon, we should get inside and prepare ourselves."

Shino reminded them after a long pause of standing in the hallway. Kakashi just nodded and looked over the three of them one last time, after this he wouldn't get to see them for a while. The next time he was them, they would have gone through trials they would never had expected. It would either make them or break them; Kakashi was betting on each one of them heading straight for the end.

"Naruto..Sasuki..Shino.." He slowly turned to each one, acknowledging them in his own way.

The Jounin smiled, a smile that spread to their faces.

"I'm proud of you, you really are a part of my team."

With a few steps to the side, he subtly opened the path before them and allowed the team to continue.

"Get in there and show them what you can do."

Naruto and Shino walked ahead and grabbed a door handle, opening the entryway for Sasuki to head in first. With her head held high, the young girl entered and did not recoil upon seeing dozens of other ninja staring at her. Instead, she merely gave them a dismissive shrug and waited for the rest of her team to enter before walking over toward the wall to find their own spot to stand.

Naruto had to admit he felt a bit unnerved at how many stares they were getting, he hoped it was only normal for all teams. It seemed many eyes focused on their crests emblazon on their attires; some held their gaze with awe and fear, others with an excited smile of the coming battles.

"Well talk about the competition." Naruto mumbled, he had never seen so many shinobi in one place before.

Sasuki just leaned against the wall and smiled, this would truly be a proper test for her. Her eyes gazed across the sea of shinobi and relished in the challenge that each would bring, although knowing she would be the victor over each spoiled the fun.

Naruto and Shino joined her in waiting but did not share her anticipation in the coming trials. For the Aburame it was a time for calm, to keep his thoughts focused on the task at hand. He would not allow their enemies to shake his resolve after coming this far.

For the blonde all he needed was to see Sasuki's confidence for it to reflect on himself. They would win this exam, he was sure of it. He smiled, if it was what she wished then he would do it.

'I will make sure she keeps that smile.'

"Sasuki-chan, you made it!"

They turned their heads to recognize the new arrivals, Squad 10 walked over with Ino leading the charge. The Uchiha girl frowned, it seemed they still didn't leave her alone. Ever since the academy the boys had only eyes for her beauty and the girls both hated and admired her for it. Her looks, her skill, her intellect; all of what a kunoichi should have aspired to become.

What they could not beat they eventually bowed to, much to her chagrin. While Sasuki enjoyed being above others in a metaphoric sense, there was no value in it if they did not seek to challenge her.

The blonde girl took what she thought was her rightful place on the wall next to Sasuki, basking in her presence. Shikamaru just sighed as he found himself migrating over to Shino and Naruto with Choiji following close behind. Girls in his opinion brought nothing but trouble and were significant drags on his day. Ino was bearable on most days but it seemed Sasuki tipped her annoying scale.

"So you guys got dragged into this exam too?" The pineapple head asked, shaking his head.

Naruto just scratched the back of his head and Shino remained silent.

"Not much of a choice I'm afraid. Sasuki would have killed either of us if we forfeited, not that we planned on it."

Shikamaru looked at Naruto and was surprised to see confidence radiate from him; even Shino stood straighter upon mention. The boys of Squad 10 had not been looking forward to what they saw as way too much work way too soon, but it seemed their counterparts on Squad 7 disagreed.

"We aren't gonna back down until all of us are Chunin. There is no way we can lose."

The lazy genius sighed at Naruto's proclamation, he had finally gone crazy.

"Yeah well good luck with that. If you haven't noticed.." He hiked a thumb over his shoulder toward the rest of the participants. "..You've got a lot of people to go through before you get a promotion."

"Including me."

They turned to the new voice and saw Kiba arrive with Squad 8, Sakura and Hinata in tow. The pink head quickly saw Ino attempting to befriend the clearly annoyed Sasuki and rushed over to break up whatever conversation was happening between them.

Kiba immediately headed over to the other boys and smirked at Naruto, happy to see his rival was attending. It would give him the chance to finally knock some sense into the idiot and show who was the real alpha male among their class. Then maybe Sasuki would wake up and see who was the real loser.

Naruto scowled, there was the dog boy. For the longest time it seemed Kiba had something against Naruto, but what he could not understand until very recently. He had caught him sending glances to Sasuki and being properly ignored, although she never told Naruto that he was doing it.

'Obviously she was trying to keep us from fighting one another..' Kiba stood across from the blonde as he turned to face him. 'Might not be so avoidable anymore.'

"Naruto."

"Kiba."

Sasuki slipped away from the two arguing girls and tried to rejoin the others, but found they had all backed off to allow Naruto and Kiba room. Joining Shino she saw the two were staring each other down and for the first time were not backing down. Had they finally decided to do something stupid like fight over her?

'Can't say I'm flattered..' She scowled, this would not end well.

"Just thought I'd let you know, now that we're taking this exam together."

Kiba smirked after saying something she had not caught to Naruto; the blonde tried to hide his anger. His fists shook as he stood his ground, glaring at the Inuzuka.

"You don't know what you're talking about Kiba. If you think I'm going to let that happen, you must be insane."

Akamaru felt his master's anger rise with his heaving chest, and he whimpered in response. It wasn't like Kiba to act like that in most situations but it seemed he was quite serious in challenging Naruto over the girl.

"First chance I get, I'm going to destroy you. That will show everyone just how strong I am and prove I'm the right male for Sasuki."

Naruto ran forward and was able to grab his coat, holding the other boy with an iron grip. In anger, he held up a fist and seemed ready to smash his opponent's face in.

"She is NOT a dog you bastard! Don't talk about her like you own her."

Kiba took the opportunity to grab onto Naruto's shirt with an equal strength, staring him down.

"That's where you're wrong blondie. She's mine, you just don't know it yet."

"You wanna die mutt?"

"Fight me whiskers, unless you are..scared?"

Just before they could come to blows, a presence appeared between them. Before they could react both were pushed away to the far sides of the room. Laying eyes on the interruption they were surprised to see Sasuki breaking it up, both arms outstretched from pushing them back.

Sending a glare to both of them, she ignored all the eyes now on her to deliver a proper message between the bickering ninja.

"Would you two get a hold of yourselves? You are acting like children.." She crossed her arms in annoyance making Naruto look down in shame and Kiba get even more angry.

"She is so cool." Sakura said from the sidelines with the others, Ino nodding in agreement.

Shikamaru just sighed as Choiji ate his bag of potato chips, as if things weren't already bad enough they were fighting one another. What this showed for their village's unity must have left a lot to be desired by the other shinobi.

Hinata didn't know which one to be more concerned for, her teammate Kiba or her crush Naruto. It seemed Sasuki was taking care of the situation so they wouldn't have to fight one another, she thanked her quietly.

'I don't think I could bear to see something like that.'

"Oi, I wasn't done with-"

"Shut up. I won't have you roughing up my brother right in front of me, especially when you are both doing it because of me!"

She sighed, why did boys always have to make such trivial matters into such big of deals!

"I'm not interested Kiba, nor will I ever be interested. If that isn't good enough I will be happy to beat some sense into you during the exam, or let Naruto finish what you started."

Kiba growled and took a step forward upon hearing the challenge.

Naruto just stayed to his side of the room and tried not to antagonize the situation, it wasn't worth getting on Sasuki's bad side. When she got like that it was impossible to argue with her, her intellect combined with her stubbornness kept anyone from countering her opinion.

Besides, she was right in that case. They had to save it for when they were allowed to fight one another and then they wouldn't have to hold back and could settle it once and for all.

"A runt like him couldn't beat-"

"Couldn't beat you? Please Kiba, it isn't even a fair contest between you two. It's just one of the many reasons why you haven't had the nerve to try something like this before right? Getting selected to participate in the exam gave you some boost of confidence as you believed you had surpassed an Uchiha in skill?"

Sasuki just smirked and shook her head, he was as foolish as he was brash. Whatever gave him the thought she would allow herself to be won over to his side was a strange thing indeed.

"He isn't an Uchiha, not really. I'm going to prove it after I run him into the ground."

Kiba shook his fist and glared at Naruto to protest his point, although his confidence floundered under Sasuki's disappointed gaze.

"If that's what you really think, then I will not feel bad for you if we fight one another. Someone like you.." She just shook her head and returned to her squad near the wall.

"Someone like you.." She mumbled, not allowing anyone to hear her final thoughts. "Would never understand the real me."

Naruto hesitantly rejoined Shino and Sasuki as Kiba kept his distance, thoroughly beaten in the argument. He had no doubt that he and Kiba would cross paths again, and that time Sasuki wouldn't be able to stop them. It was fine though, as it would finally give him a real opportunity to show his strength and prove why he was at Sasuki's side.

"You handled things appropriately Sasuki." Shino noted with an approving tone.

"I don't need your praise Shino. I can't stand it when stupid things happen around me, especially when Naruto has to get involved." The Aburame shrugged and Naruto purposely avoided eye contact with Sasuki in embarrassment.

"Hey, you guys mind keeping it down a little?"

Eyes turned to meet a silver haired genin that looked a bit older than them, standing a head taller than most. A smile adorned his face, although it gave him a haughty look with his condescending tone. There was something about him that made Naruto feel unsettled, but he couldn't tell what.

"What do you mean? Who are you?" Ino shouted in annoyance.

Kabuto just smiled and shook his head to their naivety. It seemed they needed a proper education on the exam's etiquette before it started. His eyes wandered over to Sasuki and it was almost as if he was studying her body before shaking himself free of thought.

"I am Yakushi Kabuto, and I ask you to look around again."

They looked and were reminded of the large group of shinobi who were watching them carefully, studying their every move. It unnerved Sakura and Ino in particular but the rest kept their cool, even if it was just a facade to hide their trepidation behind.

"I said to keep it down so you don't draw so much attention to yourself. All of these guys are your enemies, the last thing you want is for them to focus their attention on you."

Kabuto shrugged and smiled, trying to give them encouragement.

"It can't be helped though, its your first exam. Someone here needs to give you guys a heads up and I suppose it would be best for me to do so as this is not my first time."

"So..how many times have you done this Kabuto-san?" Sakura asked out of curiosity.

"This is my seventh attempt in four years." Their eyes widened, that was a long time.

'These exams are that difficult? What kind of a situation have we gotten ourselves into this time..' Shikamaru held his head in his hand, trying to calm himself.

"Then that means you must have a lot of information right?" Sasuki asked with her arms crossed, somewhat skeptical of their upperclassmen.

Kabuto smiled and nodded.

"That's right, and I'm willing to share what I know."

"He still has not been able to pass, keep that in mind." Shino reminded, not trusting of the overly friendly genin.

"That's true as well, but I've kept my information on the other shinobi here quite up to date. I'm sure you will be satisfied."

He proceeded to pull out a deck of cards and knelt to the ground in front of their group, preparing them for use. Sasuki and Naruto migrated to the front of the pack, curious.

"These cards are designed to hold information via chakra, two hundred in all. They have information on most of the shinobi in this room so just give me what you know about them and I'll look them up."

They were quiet for a moment, not sure of who to ask. This was their first exam and they knew few people there, the few they did know were from their class and as such they believed they knew all there was to know already.

Sasuki on the other hand had a few particular shinobi she had been paying close attention to and wanted more information on. Although she was confident in her skills, a little bonus was always appreciated.

"What do you have on Rock Lee of Konoha and Gaara of Suna."

Receiving the order, Kabuto looked up to see the girl was serious in her question and quickly began to focus his chakra.

"Since you know their names this will be quick. First we have.." The card was covered in smoke before revealing Rock Lee's portrait with corresponding information.

"Rock Lee. Fourteen years old, your senior. With eleven C-ranks and twenty D-ranks, it puts him with a good amount of practical experience." Kabuto pointed out the skill chart that was largely one sided. "As you can see, his taijutsu skills are very high, but it shows in the other fields where he lacks any ability."

Naruto examined the card and saw it reflected Lee perfectly. As demonstrated in their fight he used no genjutsu or ninutsu, just taijutsu and to a deadly effect. If he hadn't caught onto Lee's reliance on foot movement and stance he would have surely lost.

Sasuki examined the card for herself, biting her thumb lightly in thought. It seemed her sharingan hadn't lied and that Rock Lee really did only use physical strength to compete against Naruto. It would make facing him troublesome but Naruto had warned her about watching his footwork and that would give her a proper advantage.

"He caught the spotlight last year as one of the more experienced genin and was expected to take the exam. However, his team did not participate. This will be the first time for them, same as you."

Hinata flinched as her thoughts wandered to her cousin. It was her personal fear that she would be forced to fight him and she knew in her position victory was almost impossible. Despite that, she still went through with the exam for her team and for her clan, it was not in her place to refuse.

"Next up is Gaara." The card filled in quickly but was bare, surprising even Kabuto.

"Huh, it seems I don't have much information on him. Looks like he is about the same age as you, but has gone on a B-rank mission as a genin. Impressive. Other than that..it seems his skills are largely a mystery."

That didn't leave the Uchiha with much to go on but from their encounter with him, they could tell he would be a dangerous opponent. With such a cold demeanor, they had no doubt his instinct would be to kill and they could not afford to hold back if they met him.

"I'm not sure if we're ready for this.." Sakura said, shaken by the tone in which the conversation had taken.

"Too late to say something like that." Sasuki responded coolly.

"There is a new village that is taking part, Oto. I don't have much information on them since they were just recently created, but its easy to say all participating are the elite of their country."

With this the genin took a moment to think over the implications they were now faced with. Knowing they would be fighting against the best, did they really stand a chance? The Uchiha shared a look between one another and they slowly began to smile, surprising some.

"What do you think Naruto?"

"I think these elite need to be taught what it means to face an Uchiha."

"I was thinking the same."

Their confidence unshaken, the duo remained strong under the room's collective glare.

000

In one particular corner of the assembly, three genin of a recently mentioned village eyed the group with annoyance. They had heard the dismissive comments made on Sound and were too prideful not to take offense.

"Did you hear that? They made it sound like Oto was a small and inconsequential village."

"They need to be taught a lesson."

"Let's play for a bit."

They disappeared in a blur, running across the room for their target. A few heads turned but barely any registered their movement as they flitted through the gaps of people with ease.

000

Sasuki and Naruto turned their heads and noticed the movement soon realizing their target was Kabuto. The blonde glanced over and saw the Leaf genin had noticed as well, watching from the corner of his eye.

They watched as one launched up into the air and threw kunai at Kabuto, forcing him to fall back. That made him take his eyes off the real threat as Dosu launched himself forward, thrusting his melody arm out and just barely missing Kabuto's nose. Sliding back he was able to escape their attack and take a moment to catch his breath.

Observing the attack it seemed as if it wasn't meant to hit him physically, but the others did not understand why. At first it seemed as though they had missed their mark and the silver haired genin smiled in confidence. That was until his glasses shattered, forcing him to remove them.

"So..it was that kind of attack." He said quietly, grasping the concept behind Dosu's move.

"How could that be, the attack missed." Sasuki said in confusion.

"It must have hit his nose, that's what he gets for trying to show off." Shikamaru denounced Kabuto's casual stance with the attack.

The Oto ninja remained in a standoff with Kabuto as his calm composure faltered suddenly, forcing him to his knees in pain. He was forced to vomit, surprising those watching the display.

"Kabuto-san!" Sakura shouted in concern.

Naruto kept replaying the attack but was unable to come up with a proper conclusion. Kyuubi had been up for some time sensing his brother's presence nearby, waiting for an opportune time to warn Naruto. Sensing the boy's confusion, he decided to weigh in his own observation.

"It was an attack based off of sound waves produced from the device attached to that boy's arm. You noticed how he purposely missed because the point behind the attack was not physical."

'Sound waves? Its possible to manipulate them into a weapon?'

"You would be surprised how lethal they can be, but to find anyone who can use them like that is rare. He will be a dangerous opponent if not dealt with properly."

Naruto eyed the Oto shinobi carefully, it seemed they really were not ones to underestimate.

"You don't seem so tough for a four year veteran."

"Write this on your card; the Oto genin are going to become Chunin!"

Dosu mocked the downed Leaf genin while Zaku gloated.

"Quiet down you punks!"

Attention was brought to the front of the room as a large puff of smoke appeared following the loud announcement. It revealed a host of examiners standing behind the tallest and most intimidating of them all, a man in a large trench coat and many scars adorning his face.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. I'm Morino Ibiki and I am the first exam's proctor."

He pointed an accusing finger to the back of the room where the altercation took place, making a few sweat in anxiety. With a scowl his voice again filled the room in a harsh scold.

"You three from Oto, don't think you can get away with fighting when we aren't around!"

Dosu turned his head and bowed in address, smiling beneath his bandages.

"Apologies, I was just a bit excited since this is my first exam."

Ibiki just shook his head and looked around the room at the rest of the examinees.

"This is a good opportunity to say, that you are not allowed to fight one another without permission from an examiner. Any future infractions will be met with more than a warning, got it?"

The silence following confirmed his order had been received.

"Now then, hand in your applications and take a number card along with your test. Go to where the number tells you and wait until we begin."

A few became unnerved upon learning they would have to take a written test, expecting something more physical.

"Well, looks like this is where we get split up." Naruto whispered as they got in line.

"Scared you will fail this early?" Sasuki prodded him with her elbow only for him to respond with a smile.

"I could say the same to you. All that practice you did was with jutsu, I bet you already forgot how to take a test."

"If I remember correctly I was acing tests while you were doodling in your notebook!"

Before the two Uchiha could make another scene with their inherent competitiveness, Shino quickly moved to diffuse the situation.

"We will not pass this exam by arguing."

They reluctantly followed their teammates advice and quietly moved along with receiving the test and sitting down in their assigned spots. As expected all three were scattered around the room, isolated from one another. Naruto found himself sitting next to Sakura and an Ame shinobi.

Sasuki found herself between two leering Konoha genin that would no doubt find themselves too distracted to take the test. With a fiery glare with her sharingan, it forced both into their respective corners of the desk.

Shino was seated well in the back among a few Kusa and Ame shinobi and he was already preparing himself. Outstretching his arm to adjust the place of his paper and writing utensils, a few bugs flew from his sleeve and began to migrate around the room to avoid suspicion.

'I can use my sharingan to copy Sakura's pencil movements.'

Naruto had his own plan to handle things and knew his teammates would do fine on their own. Waiting for the order to start, it was time for the long awaited Chunin Exams to begin.

000

For the Reader's Convenience...

000

Konohagakure

44th Training Ground

000

Their handler unlocked the gate and allowed Team 7 to rush into the Forest of Death. They planned to get as much distance from the starting point as possible before stopping to discuss. Naruto watched as Sasuki and Shino leaped from branch to branch, not missing a step. He opted to run through the bushes and leaped over a downed tree trunk now a rotting corpse on the ground.

All around the forest was impossibly dark with no light to shine on the surface. It gave the entire area an ominous feel as if an opponent could be anywhere, watching them and waiting for the right moment to strike.

Having been given a Heaven scroll and were instructed to seek out a team with the corresponding Earth scroll, it didn't take long for them to realize this was not only a battle of survival, but a battle between the genin. There was no way to tell for sure if another team had the scroll without seeing it first hand, and they could not afford to battle every squad they came across.

'Our only chance is to get the drop on an unsuspecting group and get lucky enough that they have what we need. The longer we stay in this forest..' Bugs chattered and loud growls of a beast could be heard, shaking Naruto's concentration. '..The more danger we will be in.'

"Don't forget what I told you about Ichibi boy.." Kyuubi's voice rumbled in his head, reminding him of their conversation during the first exam.

He had told Naruto about the Sand Demon and what he may face if he were to fight the carrier. All together it seemed like a scary prospect to face another Jinchuuriki, their power being substantially greater than most normal shinobi. It would rather be his desire to get along but he knew it was a naïve thought based on how Gaara acted previously; with such a cold demeanor, how could anyone get along with him?

"We should stop here!" Shino shouted from above and landed next to the now stopped Naruto.

Sasuki remained in her tree for a moment longer to survey the area and make sure it was the right decision. With a shrug she too landed on the forest floor and noticed Shino was often reaching into his coat pocket to ensure the scroll remained safe.

"Stop that Shino or else you will give away you are the one with the scroll!"

The bug user stopped his hand in mid stride and nodded, berating himself for showing such a tick. It seemed even he had some anxiety going into this exam as none of them had faced anything like it before.

"Alright, we're here now. What's the plan?" Naruto asked anxious to move along.

Sasuki looked between her two teammates before crossing her arms in thought.

"First we need to acclimatize ourselves to this terrain and get used to hiding among the shadows. Then we use Shino's bugs to find another squad and..well you explain bug boy."

Passing the torch to the now slightly annoyed Shino, he nevertheless picked up where she left off while releasing a few Kikaichu from his sleeves. They watched as the bugs scattered in all directions to begin searching out chakra signatures for them to follow up later.

"My Kikaichu feed off chakra and are adept at seeking it out. Acting as our eyes they will guide us to the nearest squad and subtly begin to eat their chakra, weakening them for when we arrive. With the element of surprise we should have little trouble handling most in our way."

Sasuki nodded and smiled, satisfied with the plan. Although she regretted her Sharingan couldn't be more useful in the initial stage as the Aburame's bugs, she knew it would be her and Naruto that would pull the weight when they entered battle.

Naruto agreed and felt it was pretty solid for what they had to go on. Before suggesting they get started he suddenly cringed and held his stomach, he had to go to the bathroom.

'Ah..I knew I should have went when we were still in Konoha.'

"Hey guys..I'll be right back. I need to go take a leak.."

It took a moment to register with Sasuki before her face blushed in anger and she hit him over the head.

"You idiot! Can't you use more polite terms in the presence of a woman!"

Shino just shook his head as Naruto mumbled an apology before running off, he must have really had to go. The girl just shook her head furiously trying to erase what she had just heard. Naruto had his moments of brilliance but sometimes he could be so crude!

It was some time later that they found themselves still waiting for his return. Sasuki didn't want to admit it but while at first she was annoyed it was now worry that covered her features. Keeping calm the Aburame present listened to the chatter of insects in the forest attempting to gather further information. It was then that a few of his Kikaichu indicated they had attached to a human chakra signature and it was close.

'That's impossible, the only one that should be close is Naruto and I specifically made my bugs digest their chakra to ensure they would not..get..confused..'

Alarmed, Shino awoke from his trance and oriented his head in the direction the sounds were coming from. Noticing something was wrong his teammate looked at him and then in the same direction, unable to piece the dots together as he did.

"Sasuki, trouble!" He took off in a dash as the surprised Uchiha stumbled and began to follow.

"What's the matter all of a sudden?" She shouted.

"Someone other than Naruto is close by! I think he may be-"

Before he could finish his sentence a great amount of heat could be felt and their peripheral vision showed an orange projectile headed their way. With little time to spare they backed out of the way of Naruto's attack as he revealed himself on a nearby tree branch, fighting in close combat with an Ame ninja.

"Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu!"

Flying through hand signs as he dodged a punch from the opposing shinobi, Naruto launched dozens of fireballs from his mouth. This forced the Ame ninja named Oboro to back flip away from the blonde whom he had been trying to subdue for some time now. Weaving in and out of the dangerous projectiles he sensed new presences below and saw the rest of Naruto's team approaching.

'Damn! I took too long..I can't handle all of these guys.'

"Get away from him!"

Sasuki launched into the air while going through hand signs forcing the enemy's attention her way. Gathering up air in her lungs, she fired a large fireball from her mouth in an attempt to destroy the opposition.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"

The flames forced Oboro off the branch, searing his left arm and leaving black soot all along his side. He clutched his arm in pain and watched as the Uchiha united on the branch and pursued him to the ground. Rolling away he began going through hand signs as he needed a distraction to get away.

"Doton: Doryūheki!"

A wall of mud separated the fighters as it quickly solidified into a tough rocky substance. As they attempted to climb over it Oboro began to retreat until he was forced to stop, their other teammate stood in his way. With his hands in his pockets and with what appeared to be little interest in the Ame ninja, Shino was both frightening and yet gave off no threatening notion or killing intent.

"Outta my way!" Oboro launched forward and punched Shino who dodged underneath the attack by bending his knees.

With a smirk the Ame ninja launched a kick at the low Konoha nin only to watch him dodge by leaping into the air. Unable to react in time Shino kicked Oboro in the face while in midair, sending him into a nearby tree. The siblings arrived in time to watch the Aburame's trap spring as Kikaichu charged from all directions and began to swarm over the body of the Rain shinobi.

"AHHH!" He screamed in terror unable to escape the insects.

Knowing it would only be a matter of seconds before his chakra was drained Shino was content to stand back and watch his insects work. He became unsettled as Oboro's outline began to deteriorate underneath the swarm and ordered the Kikaichu off of him. They watched as his body melted into mud, apparently he had enough chakra to use the jutsu to escape.

"He got away.."

Naruto said crossing his arms, he wanted to pay him back for trying to attack him. It seemed as if he wouldn't get the chance to, at least not that time.

"Dammit..I was going to make him pay." Sasuki growled.

Shino remained quiet, thankful his teammates did not blame him. Although his family would hate to admit it, there was no one hundred percent way to capture an opponent even after ensnaring them with Kikaichu. A resourceful one could use a jutsu to escape or somehow get the bugs off their person.

Still, he was not aware there would be such skilled combatants in the exam. He would have to be even more careful the next time he used that technique.

"We made quite a ruckus, we should move before more squads show up."

Agreeing with Shino's words the three began to move when a loud howl came from a far off area, forcing them to turn in its direction. Seeing a projectile headed for him Naruto quickly brought up a hand and caught the small pebble inches from his eye.

Confused, he scrunched his eye brows and again looked in that direction. The howl only got louder and they were able to identify it as the familiar howl of a strong wind, but it was unnatural.

"What is this.." Shino began to feel the wind pushing at him and dug his heels into the ground, leaning forward.

"It isn't natural, we need to-"

Before Sasuki could warn them further the attack hit their position and sent them flying back. She found herself flying through the air in some sort of whirlwind. Desperately she oriented her body and properly landed on a tree, her feet planted with chakra. Staying in a low crouch she held up an arm to shield her eyes from dirt and tried to make out her teammates in the chaos.

Shino ordered his insects to retreat from the area as they were being flung all over the place. Sasuki was right the attack wasn't a natural occurrence, his bugs could sense the chakra and at first tried desperately to halt it to no avail. Whoever was attacking them was extremely powerful with Futon techniques. He was able to safely land on a tree branch and saw Naruto go flying without anything to grab onto.

"Naruto!" He shouted in vain to get his partner's attention only for the blonde to be flung farther into the forest, separating them.

'This isn't good..'

As the wind died down the remaining teammates were able to regroup with one another. Shino pointed out the direction in which Naruto flew in an attempt to calm the stressed Uchiha girl.

"We need to go get him! He might be hurt.."

"It will have to be fast, before the person who-..wait.." Shino turned around, sensing something. "..wait.."

They turned their backs to one another trying to find the new presence. Their attacker soon revealed themselves by leaping down to the ground with them; the Kusa shinobi. Her smile caught them off guard as she eyed them like mice.

"I finally found you, I was starting to think I would never get the chance to face the infamous Uchiha." She laughed, a sinister sound that echoed in their ear drums.

While looking them over she noticed that one was missing but realized it would make little difference. It would seem her attack had stirred up nearby wild life and she was sure he would be appropriately handled.

"Kukuku...at least that pretender isn't here to bother us. It will give us time to..get to know one another.." Sasuki's eyes widened in anger as she retrieved a kunai, not taking kindly to the insult.

"How dare you insult Naruto in front of me.." Shino put a hand on her shoulder to try and reign her in, there was something seriously bothering him.

The Kusa ninja reached into her back pocket and retrieved an Earth scroll, making their eyes widen and focus on the objective they had been given. With a smile she held it up and moved it around as if teasing a cat with a ball of yarn.

"This Earth scroll is what you need..is it not?"

Shino froze, eyes wandering down to his pocket to see the scroll still stashed away. How did she know?

"Let us make it the prize for this battle then.." With that she stretched her mouth and like a snake, devoured the scroll in one gulp.

This disturbing scene upset the two young genin who found themselves suddenly woefully unprepared for the standoff. Regardless of this person's power level, they were not right in the head. The Kusa shinobi didn't even need to taunt them as she was already in their head, propagating herself as their nightmare.

"Now then.." Staring them down she spread one eye lid open, forcing their attention.

They were overtaken with a very vivid vision of their future death at the hands of the person before them. A large weight slammed onto their shoulders and forced them to the ground, unable to shake the fear or even move an inch.

Disappointed the Kusa shinobi saw they were no longer cornered animals and now resembled cowering mice. Retrieving two kunai she sought to end the fight quickly.

"If this is all you can handle..it would seem this is the end." She approached the two slowly to draw out their coming demise.

'Have..to..move..' Sasuki's hand twitched as her fear kept her paralyzed, unable to look away from their executioner.

Shino took a deep breath and began to focus, calling his Kikaichu to return. If his body was paralyzed then he would have to adapt to the situation accordingly.

He only hoped Sasuki was thinking the same. It would take all they had just to escape this new enemy, let alone fight him.

000

Naruto attempted to orient himself as the technique's wind wore off but failed to react quick enough to stop himself from hitting a tree. Shaking it to the roots the blonde focused chakra to the soles of his feet and oriented himself on the trunk, rubbing his head in obvious pain.

"Ow..where did all that wind come from?"

"Be careful..I sense trouble approaching!"

Heeding the warning Naruto kept his eyes on the surroundings and he was able to feel a slight vibration on the tree. It was as if something very large was making its way toward him, but at the same time it was so subtle it was hard to tell what the creature was.

It was out of nowhere that a large brown snake charged him on the tree and forced him to launch himself higher. Tree bark shattered as the serpent smashed head first into the spot where Naruto had once been, reorienting itself to face his new location. It wrapped itself around the tree and surged forward, surprising the blonde at its speed.

"Oh crap!"

Naruto leaped from the tree and just barely missed the creature's gaping maw, clamping down just a few inches from his head. Landing on an opposite tree the blonde reached into his back pocket for shuriken and kunai, launching a few while giving ground to the fast approaching snake. While most landed all they did was serve to annoy the creature into launching more heated attacks and Naruto feared he was wasting valuable time.

'If this thing is here to distract me from helping Sasuki and Shino..I need to take it down quick!'

"Then use my chakra!" The Kyuubi ordered with a growl, annoyed the boy was only now realizing it. "Use it to protect your precious Sasuki.."

Naruto felt himself tempted as he knew how effective it was, but he remembered his family's fear to seeing him encased in the orange chakra. He remembered the looks he would receive from townsfolk, how they despised him for what he could become; a monster, he could not deny the bloodlust that flowed through him every time he took chakra from Kyuubi.

Glaring at the approaching beast the blonde made up his mind. Standing his ground he closed his eyes and when he opened them, his red sharingan activated in opposition to the approaching serpent.

'No..I don't need your chakra Kyuubi. I'm going to use a technique I learned from the Forbidden Scroll..'

The beast growled in anger but kept itself in reserve. At the very least the boy was making use of the techniques it worked so hard for him to memorize. Although it was frowned upon by the other shinobi he knew it would give his container an advantage, especially with the sharingan eyes used to copy them perfectly.

Remembering the hand signs Naruto began to build up chakra in his gut, keeping calm as the creature charged him on the same branch. Taking a deep breath the blonde bent his head back and launched the white hot flame forward to engulf the creature. Not since the Third Hokage had the technique been performed correctly, no one having the chakra nor control to hold the super hot flame for long.

"Katon: Karyū Endan!"

The wave of white flame engulfed the serpent right in front of the Uchiha, halting its advance and forcing it writhe around in pain. Naruto felt great pressure on him as he kept up the jutsu, realizing why it was in the forbidden text quickly. Nevertheless he continued to spew the flame as the snake began to disintegrate into ash, only stopping when there was little more than soot left.

Canceling the technique Naruto fell to one knee and held his chest, feeling out of breath. It was as difficult as referenced to in the scroll but he was still able to pull it off. Despite his position it gave him a little hope for the future to know his strength was increasing.

"Don't doddle unless you wish to see your friends destroyed!"

With those words Naruto awoke from his dreams of grandeur and launched himself in the direction he had come from. He didn't know why but he felt a rock forming in his stomach, pain and worry that seemed to echo from his friends.

Whatever was happening he would stop it..he had to.

000

"And this is how it ends.." Orochimaru launched the kunai at Sasuki and Shino, forcing them to play their cards.

Kikaichu swarmed over the bug user and the kunai passed harmlessly through them. Scattering the insects revealed that Shino had substituted himself and was now elsewhere, safe for the moment.

Sasuki stabbed herself in the leg with her kunai using the pain as a forced awakening. Rolling to the side and away from the attack she launched herself into the air and onto a low hanging tree branch. Removing the bloodied weapon from her leg, she knelt down to catch her breath and to try and calm herself.

'That was too close..this person is not normal!'

The Kusa ninja smirked and the Konoha shinobi were taken by surprise as a snake launched from the forest behind her, pursuing Sasuki through the nearby branches. Its large jaw enough to snap a tree in two the young girl found herself overcome by fear as she leaped from branch to branch trying to evade it.

Shino found himself having difficulty keeping up and was unable to protect her. He watched as she launched into the air a mere moment before the snake destroyed a branch in an attempt to eat her.

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" She screamed launching half a dozen shuriken into its mouth, shredding its insides and making it fall limp on a nearby branch.

Sasuki reoriented herself on a nearby tree and took a deep breath watching the snake for any movement and momentarily forgetting about the Kusa shinobi.

Shino had lost track of their opponent until his insects warned him that there was something inside the snake. Focusing his eyes on it he cringed in disgust as the snake's skin moved around from the inside as something pushed its way through.

The Uchiha girl's eyes widened in unbridled fear as Orochimaru emerged from inside the snake unharmed. Playing with his tongue like a snake he threatened to devour her whole even from his distance.

"Your eyes match that of prey..good. To survive you can never look away from the predator."

The Kusa ninja launched kunai and shuriken at Sasuki forcing her higher up the tree and allowing him the time to jump to her location. Running up the trunk of the tree he was like a vanguard of her doom and her knees shook with fright. All her previous strength had been sapped and she knew herself outmatched.

'Naruto..I need you here..help me!' She pleaded clutching her kunai as a lifeline, unable to move.

Mere moments before reaching her a hail of kunai and shuriken were launched from above, forcing Orochimaru to retreat in the face of a new arrival. Their eyes gravitated upward to see a very familiar Uchiha boy standing on a large branch, arms crossed and a defiant smile spread across his lips.

"Looks like I made it just in time."

Orochimaru scowled as he had hoped his pet would have kept him out of the way longer, even killing him wouldn't have been out of the question. His alone time with Sasuki was at an end. No matter, he thought, he would just have to break him in front of her.

Shino caught up and quickly read the situation, glad to see Naruto had arrived when he did. Free from fear he began to position his Kikaichu and launched them at the Kusa shinobi, forcing him to leap from branch to branch to escape. It bought them some time for Naruto to pick up Sasuki and get her away from the fight for a moment.

Quickly the blonde set her down against a tree trunk allowing her time to catch her breath and for him to assess the situation. It seemed their opponent was the Kusa shinobi from before and he had done something to frighten Sasuki. It almost unnerved him seeing her in that state as it was difficult to shake the girl from her usual attitude.

"Calm down Sasuki..everything will be alright." He assured her with a smile, something she could not return.

"Na..Naruto..we need to get out of here. He's too strong!" She grabbed his shirt, shaking him in an attempt to get him to listen.

Confused he placed his hand over hers and tried to loosen her grip but found it difficult to do so. She wasn't just scared, she was downright terrified. Her eyes darted left to right watching for the enemy and her legs wobbled so much he was afraid she might not be able to stand on her own.

"Sasuki..what happened to you?"

"Naruto, you need to hurry!"

The blonde looked over his shoulder and saw Shino struggling to control his bugs fast enough to keep up with Orochimaru. He jumped from branch to branch and slithered up the tree trunk to the Aburame, unable to be stopped. In a last ditch effort Shino ordered his Kikaichu to him and then sent them forward in a tidal wave to overwhelm the opponent.

Sensing no movement he let his guard down for a moment when Orochimaru appeared from beneath him and launched a fist into Shino's face. It sent him flying back and downward, shattering tree branches to slow his descent before coming to a stop against a lower branch out of their sight. Not moving, the Aburame was unconscious from the hit.

"Shino!" Naruto shouted unable to believe his teammate was taken down with a single hit.

Orochimaru landed on a nearby branch as Sasuki got into a crouch and eyed him with fear. Even with her sharingan activated she still could not follow his movements fully and knew they were at a terrible disadvantage. That conclusion left her with only one viable option to save her team; give up the scroll.

"Stop!" She cried out making the two fighters look at her. "We will give you the scroll if you leave us alone!"

The Kusa ninja smiled, bowing his head.

"A well contrived thought, in this situation it would seem to be the only option for you to survive." He looked back up and saw Naruto with a look of betrayal displayed across his features. "However, it would seem your team member does not agree."

Sasuki returned Naruto's glare with her own, he had no idea what he was facing. If this was her only way to protect them then she would do it without hesitation.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" Naruto growled in disbelief that his sister was giving up.

"You have no idea what this enemy is! There is no way we can beat him like we are now, we will be destroyed! If Shino were-"

"It's thanks to Shino we have the ability to counter attack! We need to work together to destroy him." Naruto interrupted her in frustration trying to make her see.

"STOP IT AND JUST LISTEN TO ME!"

Annoyed with his idiocy and ignorance of the situation she raised her voice to him for the first time, practically screaming. Her reaction fell on deaf ears as Naruto turned away from her and faced their opponent, a glare settling on his features as he knew that that person was the culprit for Sasuki acting differently.

"I'm listening alright.." She calmed herself as she listened to him, not sure what he was trying to say. "And all I'm hearing is defeat and fear..I think someone needs a reminder of just who they are."

Sasuki couldn't believe her ears as she watched him reach for a kunai, getting into a ready stance.

"Naruto! Don't!"

"Let me refresh your memory on what being an Uchiha is all about!"

The blonde launched forward and created clones in midair, meeting the Kusa ninja in close combat. The clones were quickly defeated with a series of punches and kicks as their offense was sloppy leaving only the original blonde to contend with. Activating his sharingan Naruto weaved in and out of punches and kicks seeing the moves before they were done by Orochimaru.

Kneeling under a kick the blonde grabbed the bark for a hand hold and launched his legs forward in a kick forcing his opponent back. Going through hand signs he surprised Orochimaru by charging forward, not giving him a chance to prepare.

"Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu!"

Dozens of small fiery projectiles launched from his mouth and forced the snake to become semi-elastic to dodge them all at such a close range. A clone appeared at Orochimaru's side and took him by surprise, kicking him and launching him into the lower branches. The blonde leaped off the edge in pursuit as Sasuki could only watch and weakly call his name through her tears.

He was fighting for her, to protect her. She could never forgive herself if he got hurt because of her inability to fight.

It was then his words to her echoed in her mind and they sent a chill down her spine.

'I will protect you with my life!'

"No..Naruto..you can't..you can't die. You can't!"

000

The two shinobi launched their jutsu at one another, Orochimaru's mud collided with Naruto's fireball and forced them to break off as they landed on a tree branch. Grabbing a kunai Naruto charged forward but was taken by surprise as Orochimaru launched a kick that went one way but then bent in another direction. It sent him flying from the branch as the man bit his thumb and began going through hand signs.

"Kuchiyose."

He slammed his hand onto the bark and from the smoke appeared another serpent, this one even larger than its previous brethren. With a smile he launched it at its target but not the one that was prepared for it.

000

Naruto landed on a branch below and looked up to see a new snake had been summoned. Grabbing another kunai for one in each hand he prepared to meet it in the air, launching forward. Instead he saw it arch up for a higher branch and his eyes quickly followed it to a frightening conclusion; it was headed for Sasuki!

"Dammit!" Naruto landed on a branch and then launched himself upward, knowing he would not make it in time.

'Kyuubi, lend me some of your chakra!'

With a sudden boost of speed the blonde launched himself into the air one more time in a desperate attempt to cut off the serpent before it could hit the vulnerable Sasuki.

000

The Uchiha girl had watched the short but intense fight between her brother and the Kusa shinobi from the higher branch, trying to gather what strength she could to move. Finally able to stand on her own, her legs locked again as she saw the snake make its way toward her. Their eyes locked she once again remembered her fear and could not move.

She watched as its head came barreling toward her, preparing to smash into her. Unable or unwilling to watch she closed her eyes and kept them shut waiting for the inevitable hit. When none came, she slowly opened her black orbs to see a heavily breathing Naruto mere inches from her, both kunai stabbed deep into the snake's skull. The blonde got between her and the serpent and was able to use a combination of his chakra and Kyuubi's to stop its inertia at the branch at the cost of much of his energy.

Slowly he looked up and revealed his sharingan to her, some blood dripping from his mouth from internal wounds. Unable to say anything Sasuki's lip quivered in shock, he had saved her. Even after she said it was impossible Naruto had done it.

"Sasuki..are you OK?" He asked with somewhat deep tone, the aftereffects of Kyuubi's chakra.

"Naruto.." She squeaked out unable to think of more to say.

Orochimaru landed on their branch and charged forward turning Naruto's attention away from his beloved sister. Detaching himself from the snake he launched forward and engaged Orochimaru in close combat. Under much fatigue, the blonde was hard pressed to keep up with the Sannin who had only been playing with him previously.

'To truly finish him I suppose I will have to seal away that nasty chakra.'

Orochimaru kicked Naruto in the stomach and forced him back to where Sasuki was. The blonde stumbled but got back up in a broken Uchiha stance, not willing to let him near her while he was drawing breath. The snake put one arm behind his back and gathered chakra for the seal while Naruto charged forward in an attempt to stop him before he was ready.

"Naruto please stop!" Sasuki shouted, he had already done too much for her.

'Please..please don't die for me..'

"I..won't let..you near her!" He shouted as Orochimaru smirked, sending his glowing hand forward for the Uchiha's stomach.

"It's over for you brat!" Naruto felt all the air leave his lungs and blackness overtake him as the pain from sealing was too great for his body to handle.

With a violent kick he was sent flying off into the darkness.

"NARUTO!" Sasuki screamed, trying to reach out for him only to realize he was gone.

Her eyes turned back to Orochimaru who began to approach her, his sickening smile riled up locked away anger that flooded her body.

"Now that the nuisance is out of the way-" Orochimaru was cut off as the girl suddenly disappeared and then sent a bone shattering punch to his stomach, knocking the air from his lungs.

Not wasting time she sent an equally powerful kick to his head that sent him flying back into the tree trunk. Her sharingan ablaze and vengeful tears flowing from her eyes, her glare sent chills down the Sannin's spine.

"I'll kill you..I WILL KILL YOU FOR THAT!"

000

Naruto's body continued to drop at an alarming rate through the forest, deep into the lower branches. It was only when a kunai was thrown and pegged his shirt to a tree did he finally stop. A wounded Shino found the strength to stand and saw that he had successfully saved his teammate from what would have been a lethal drop. It was then that he knew he had to go and help Sasuki finish the fight or else it would not matter whether or not Naruto's death was staved off by a few minutes.

'I need to hurry!'

He launched himself up the trees even with some difficulty in his legs from the fall he took. Above him he could see distant forms of light and far off sounds of battle and knew he had to hurry. It was a good sign to see Sasuki was fighting again but it would matter little if they could not figure out a way to defeat or disable their opponent.

Sending his kikaichu in first he hoped they would at least do some good as he made his way back up to the top branches. A shower of tree bark and wood nearly hit him and he figured the battle was getting worse, making him push himself harder to leap from tree to tree.

More fire and wood later and many of his insects' burned carcasses began to drop from above, signifying their defeat. Ignoring the small feeling of shame that they were not able to help Sasuki he jumped again and finally arrived within visual distance of the fight.

Wires had wrapped around the Kusa shinobi to tie him to the tree, keeping him immobile for Sasuki's Katon attack. Holding the ends to said wires in her mouth she went through the proper hand signs and launched the tendrils of fire straight at the central point of attack. Knowing he would only get in her way Shino kept his distance and allowed her to finish the attack, trying to catch his breath at the same time as analyze the fight.

A scream soon echoed the forest as the flames reached their zenith, hitting a crescendo as Sasuki intensified the attack fueled with all her anger and pain. As her chakra ran dry the girl released the wires and slowly the battlefield went quiet. Their eyes rested on the unmoving form of the Kusa shinobi in hope that it was finally over.

Their inner fears were realized when an eye opened from what appeared to be flayed skin. They soon realized it was a second layer, the real skin of the monster was snow white with yellow piercing eyes set on the young Uchiha. Although shocked the girl let out a roar and charged forward, taking her teammate by surprise.

"Sasuki NO!" He launched himself forward but flinched in pain, unable to make the jump properly.

The wires fell from Orochimaru's body allowing him to free his neck and launch it forward toward the girl, intent on giving her a reward for her great performance. Unaware of the danger posed Sasuki readied a fist to hit the approaching head, trying to use her sharingan to track it expecting a headbutt.

Shino landed on the branch and ran forward to try and stop her even though he knew it was too late. The Sannin latched himself onto the girl's neck, easily avoiding her attack thanks to her fatigue. She screamed in pain as the man began to transfer blood and chakra into her body, even as Shino desperately charged them with his remaining Kikaichu to try and stop whatever he was doing.

Orochimaru detached himself from her, whispering a few words in her ear before retreating to his body and disappearing into the bark.

Shino ran up behind Sasuki and leaned down to help her when she began to scream again, this time even louder and in serious pain. He watched helplessly as some sort of mark appeared on her neck from where Orochimaru had bit her. Whatever it was it was clear that the girl was not in a healthy state as she fell to her knees, clutching her neck in an attempt to keep the pain from getting worse.

The man's words continued to play in her head as unconsciousness fell over her. Unable to forget, those words would haunt her for many years to come.

'You will come to me for power Sasuki-chan..it is impossible to escape from your destiny.'

"Sasuki!" Shino knelt down to check her pulse after she collapsed, fearing the worst.

A small sigh of relief came over him after realizing she was only unconscious, but that was when his mind caught up with him. He had failed the squad, he was the first to go down and was unable to support Naruto when he needed him the most. His hand brushed Sasuki's wound, even she had been lost because of his weakness.

Gathering her into his arms, he slowly made his way back down to Naruto. He needed to find a safe place to nurse them back to health..and reflect on his failures.

'Father..Naruto..Sasuki..'

As the young Aburame leaped from branch to branch, he felt an emptiness settle in his gut. It was a feeling he had not felt before, it was shame.

'I have failed you.'

000

And so the mystery of whether or not Sasuki would receive the cursed mark or not has been confirmed. For some this may lead to some radical thoughts as far as what may happen in the upcoming chapters and arcs, and how this will affect our young Sasuki's thoughts and actions.

Poor Naruto, for all his effort to protect Sasuki he was unable to fulfill his promise. He would rather have died than let Orochimaru touch her, it will be tough to see him react when (if?) he finds out what happened while he was out.

And what of Shino? Although he did his best to keep Orochimaru occupied he was overwhelmed by the Sannin's speed and defeated early in battle. Seeing his teammates fall in front of him has really sapped the confident and cool demeanor the Aburame generally holds. Is he really at fault as he thinks he is? How will he redeem himself in the future?

All these answers will be found in the next and upcoming chapters of Blonde Uchiha where the Oto squad preys on a weakened Team 7. Will they find a cornered group of mice to pulverize or will they wake up something that could only come from their nightmares?

Find out with the next update as I see you next in Namikaze Assassin!

Review!