Me: I don't own Naruto! I only own my OCs and their Jutsu except some of the ice element ones. I borrowed some from Brave 10's Anastasia!

Chapter 14 – Sealed Madness

Team Kakashi

Sasuke and Sakura quietly looked around, warily watching everything around them. The forest remained deadly silent as they managed to walk through the greenery without any hostilities coming after them. The black haired Uchiha shivered slightly as the wind licked against his skin, watching the leaves slowly fall from the higher trees swaying above them. The birds crowed throughout the sunny skies as small pools of sunbeams shone through the trees.

"Where could Naruto be," Sakura shivered slightly as the leaves started to rustle around her. "He couldn't have gone very far, could he?"

Sasuke smirked deviously, increasing his pace a bit. "Not on a full bladder he couldn't have. Naruto's infamous for his lack of bladder control."

I heard a loud explosion awhile ago. Not only that, since when did Konoha begin to snow?

Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows in annoyance while continuing to walk along the forest path. However, the air slowly began to thicken darkly with malice. The male Uchiha stopped in his tracks as he began surveying around with Sakura trailing right behind him.

"Sasuke-kun," she inquired fearfully, feeling her lips quiver at the tension of the air. "What's going on?"

Sasuke refused to respond until something from the bushes began to rustle around. The male Uchiha brandished his kunai right away before pitching it straight at the bushes, earning a loud 'ow' from it. Twitching furiously, Sasuke stormed towards the bushes before dragging out a familiar hyperactive blonde ninja from the midst of it with the kunai zipping past his other cheek. Naruto rubbed both his wounds before grabbing Sasuke's shirt.

"The heck was that for teme," Naruto snorted in annoyance, meeting Sasuke's intense glare. "Now I have another set of whiskers!"

Sasuke bumped Naruto's forehead guard with his own. "You bloody dumbass, you're the one who's making things so suspicious!"

Soon, the three sat down on the ground pondering on their next move. With Naruto back in place, Sasuke thought deeply on the first encounter as it took on the appearance of Naruto. The male Uchiha however attempted to find ways to distinguish his teammates without making anything too complicated for Naruto to comprehend. He mentally slapped himself; knowing Naruto, he would forget exactly whatever they told him to do in order for distinguishing one another.

Wait a minute...

A smirk slowly formed on Sasuke's lips as he snapped his fingers in realization, walking towards his other teammates. "We're going to have to make a password."

Team Takagi

As Izumi continued bandaging some of Taichi's wounds, Mimi maintained watch while Manyama managed to fix up whatever Gray managed to sustain. The female Uchiha narrowed her eyes upon their first encounter. The Genin back there clearly had more power than normal and even the fighting skill proved way beyond their formal Jounin-level opponents. She glanced at her bandaged wrist, remembering the crushing force of the man's hand. She flinched at the memory before slumping down to the ground, checking on the others.

"Fucking hell, where did he come from," Mimi slammed her fist against the thick trunk of the willow tree, snarling in disgust. "He just toyed around with us as if we're just a bloody fucking appetizer!"

Gray scowled darkly at the thought, glancing at his bloodied hand. "Hn, we're lucky to have even made it alive."

"Don't do that," Mimi snorted disgustedly at Gray, slapping his cheek lightly. "You're gonna sound like Sasu-gay when he's trying to be fucking intelligent."

"Gray has a point and stop insulting Sasuke-kun. Actually," Izumi bit her lower lip anxiously. "The ninjas somewhat panicked the moment Taichi and Gray started going berserk. But, I completely understand that part. Taichi started howling and snarling for human meat and Gray heartlessly crushed him with this huge ice kabam and the guy had the expression of "Holy God". Not only that, Gray dismissed the total usage of hand-seals and said something like "Iga Wa Ryou no Hyoketsu" and then Taichi just became completely draconic and prepared to eat the other guys by swallowing them whole. He even grew a mane back there!"

Gray glanced at his bloodied palm, desperately trying to recall anything to no avail. "Iga Wa Ryou... no... Hyouketsu?"

Taichi blinked several times, staring disbelievingly. "I... went... cannibalistic? I didn't eat anyone, did I?"

"Considering you're more reptile than human then it's not really called "cannibalism"," Mimi chuckled lightly, shrugging her shoulders. "And no, you didn't eat anybody for lunch but that would have been extremely helpful. Then again, these people were kind of strange. They didn't show much humanity in them either with the way they threw us around."

Flashback

"I am simply a Genin passing by," the Kusagakure ninja leader smiled slowly, advancing forward. "Then again – this is the Chuunin exam. We're here to get promoted after all..."

"Like hell I'm gonna believe that kind of bullshit," Mimi performed a set of seals, inhaling deeply. "Katon; Shun En Yougeki!" (Fire Element; Flash Fire Assault)

Multiple fire bullets sprayed out of her mouth with insane speed as it flew to the ground, creating a huge wildfire. The female Uchiha smirked in triumph until a huge wind blasted the fire away, sending her against the tree. The other ninjas standing next to the leader didn't even budge an inch and continued waiting for their leader's commands. Manyama stared in shock as Gray and Taichi prepared to step up the attack while covering their eyes to prevent the debris from hitting their eyes.

"Mimi," Izumi rushed to her side only to feel something grab her, resulting to her in nearly being thrown forward. "What the heck-?"

"Ninpo; Hebi no Haaku," –a huge snake sprung out from the dust clouds before clamping its jaws onto Izumi's body and slamming her against the willow tree, rendering her unconscious. (Ninja Technique, Serpent's Grasp)

Manyama whirled her kusari-gama around, glaring angrily. "You bastard...!"

The Kusagakure ninja shrugged uncaringly before striding around nonchalantly, smiling sardonically. "Oh my, seems like you saw too much already. You all will have to die now..."

Gray, without wasting any time, launched forward with water covering up his hand and freezing it into a hard blade. "Hyouton; Tousou Ittou no Jutsu! (Ice Element; Frostbite Blade)"

The Kusagakure ninja smiled in amusement as he easily dodged Gray's attempts to freeze him, sidestepping and swaying mockingly several times before spinning around before kicking Gray straight in the ribs. Taichi however parried the blow as his flesh immediately hardened into scales, allowing him to launch Gray to perform his famous bicycle kick. The Kusagakure ninja staggered back as Gray's attack collided with his jaw, prompting the other two ninjas to move in. Manyama snaked her whirling chain scythe as it wrapped around the attacking comrade before the Kusagakure ninja's comrade suddenly exploded right in front of her, sending her all the way against the other trees. Mimi rushed past the flying Manyama before landing a kick on another one before climbing up and supposedly snapping his neck only to have him grab her by her left wrist before hanging her above the ground. His grip slowly tightened around the Uchiha kunoichi's wrist prompting a slight whine as he slammed her mercilessly against the ground multiple times only to throw her up into the air to hang her on one of the trees.

"Damn," Taichi rushed forward only to be blown away again as a huge serpent launched itself at him to devour him. "Gray...!"

The Hyuuga coffee blonde male on the other hand found his blow countered each and every time despite his Byakuggan running and watching the flow of chakra. Gray threw a few punches that the Kusagakure mindlessly flicked away before grabbing one of his arms and twisting it behind him. Gray despite that however contorted his own body to kick the man away, creating a distance between the two of them. The serpentine man however showed no sense of anger only a slow serene yet sadistic smile as he suddenly melted into a puddle of mud. The Hyuuga ninja's eyes widened until he felt something impale him. Looking behind him, he found the serpentine man holding a long katana straight through his abdomen with his dark grin.

"You must be the leader no," he whispered seductively into Gray's ear, causing the said boy to shiver in terror. "I wonder what happens... No, knowing what your body can do is more interesting..."

His tongue slithered around Gray's earlobe and neck, causing the Hyuuga male to recklessly push the man away despite the agonizing pain in his abdomen. Blood splashed against the floor until the sword shot through both his palms and feet, crucifying him on the ground. Taichi rushed over to help him only to have the man punch him straight through his body, causing the navy bluenette to actually spit out blood. Manyama stared in horror as she watched her cousin draw out blood; no one has ever made the navy bluenette draw blood and not even the sharpest blade could cut through him and this guy made short work of him.

"Argh," Gray coughed up a bit of blood, wincing at the pain. Damn, what is this...?

The serpentine man chuckled as his disguise slowly unveiled, revealing an extremely pale skinned man with bright amber serpentine eyes. "You should know who I am, boy. After all, what can you insignificant and normal Genin do against a legendary sannin such as me?"

Gray managed to glare venomously, struggling against the deeply impaled blades as the man stood on top of his body. "What exactly do you want with the village? What brings a forked bastard like you in here, Orochimaru?"

Orochimaru chuckled in amusement before slamming his foot against Gray's right arm. "Hahaha, you did a bit of research or so it seems. It is not the village I want. I've been seeking candidates to gain more power. This body cannot contain all the power I desire. You see, I've been scouting lately and you were quite the eye-catcher. A body with two dominant clan abilities, it's such a rare catch. Your female friend also – the Uchiha girl proved to be even more interesting and amusing than Itachi. He although mastered Sharingan early, so did she. But what surprised me the most is that her method of attaining her Mangenkyou Sharingan – she never told you did she? Regarding how she acquired her eyes?"

Gray bit his lower lip with a glacial glare, glancing at his other unconscious or paralysed teammates. "She did. But what makes you think I'm going to tell you the true origins of her Mangenkyou Sharingan? I know everything about her, inside out and vice versa."

Orochimaru roared with a haughty laughter before stomping hard on Gray's ribs, savouring the sickening crack that came from it. "Good, that gives me an easier time negotiating with you little brats. You hand over yourselves to me. After all, in order to gain a body – that body must have experienced the darkest experience of their lives. Itachi-kun certainly pulled off an entertaining show; Sasori did too in the Wave Country. According to him, you unleashed a darker state of vengeance than any Kirigakure inheritor he had ever met. But since Itachi and your little friend are a bit too defiant and you seem to be a bit too strong-willed despite the trauma, I'll have to go for someone whose desires align with mine."

Sasori, Gray bit his lower lip, keeping the name in mind. He must've been the guy back then... The man...!

Orochimaru punched the sword deeper into his palm as he grinned darkly, leaning closer and left a few inches between him and Gray's face. "Well then, put a nice entertaining show for your friends. It would be sad if they aren't able to spend your last moments with you. This is what people call 'True Despair'!"

Without any warning, Orochimaru's tongue extended with the sharpness of a blade and plunged straight into his abdomen. Gray grit his teeth immediately as blood splattered against his face, forcing himself to ignore the disgusting feeling of having someone's tongue explore his internal structure. He refused to howl in agonizing pain, knowing what Mimi and Taichi were capable of when thrown into a huge emotional turmoil. The Hyuuga male gnashed his teeth to prevent any noise to escape as Orochimaru began stabbing his insides repeatedly.

"Bastard," Mimi winced at she fell down from the higher branches, struggling to stand up only for her right wrist to give out. "Stop...!"

Taichi narrowed his eyes venomously as he watched his friend get tortured helplessly, crushing the stones in his hand. "Hyuuga...!"

Flashback End

Gray found himself staring at his bloodied hands before tracing the broken bones in his ribs. The coffee blonde Hyuuga exhaled in relief, knowing he could at least walk all the way to the next part of the test. He simply prayed that the next one wouldn't be as physically taxing as their first encounter. Gray cringed at the memory of being stabbed as the disgusting feeling of having Orochimaru go after him initially resounded off in his mind. Mimi slung his arm over her shoulder, bringing him along.

"You sure you can manage a fight? We haven't even gotten our partner scroll yet," Mimi scanned Gray's current condition, flinching at the sight. "You don't look like you're in any condition to fight."

"Neither are you," he chuckled deviously, managing to stand up despite the aching pain in his rib cage. "How's Salamander by the way?"

The female Uchiha pointed behind her, shrugging indecisively. "I'm not sure. He took a healthy hit from that guy too. Among all the people we've faced, Orochi-whatever his name is was the first one to punch a hole through Taichi and make him vomit blood. You're more understandable; you're fucking squishy but not enough to have him plunge his tongue straight through your skin and swim through your internal organs. Not only that, there's that thing when we were back at the village...It was that music... where did it come from?"

Gray shook his head with a dark meditative stare, watching the leaves rustle noisily. He rested his body against a tree trunk before hobbling after Mimi. Taichi managed to heal up properly but Gray knew the only way that was possible was the unlimited amount of chakra living in his body. Izumi managed to use her knowledge in botany to temporarily mend some of his injuries but the sickening crack from Orochimaru's attempt to smash his ribcage in still echoed in his ears. He shuddered violently; what exactly did Orochimaru want with the village? But that wasn't the only question egging him...

That woman... The blonde woman in my trance... Who was that?

The most shocking part for him would be the uncanny resemblance of the woman's eyes and his own. Both of them had some teal to emerald like shade for their eyes and her words slowly rolled out of his mouth like it was nothing. Techniques flew everywhere and including the one he invented through his own berserk fury: the Wandarando no Hamutsu (Wonderland's Bane). As he let out a dejected sigh to himself, a loud howl echoed into the air. All five members jerked their heads up, glancing and looking around for the source.

"That definitely sounded like Sasuke-kun," Izumi swallowed hard, helping Taichi up. "We have to find him!"

Mimi shook her head disdainfully, folding her arms defiantly. "You mad? I'm not helping the dickhead! Besides, Gray and Taichi are down! What makes you think we can fight that snake dude again?"

Manyama proposed cheerfully, imagining the scenario in her head. "At least we'll be more in number."

"That doesn't necessarily level up our fighting skill in comparison to that snake dude," Mimi wanted to head-wall but firmly decided against it. "The probability of us dying's gonna be higher since now he knows what we're capable of! Another thing to consider, we're not at full power! Secondly, did you see what he could do even without his lackeys helping him? He made us look like shit out there!"

Gray bit his lower lip anxiously but decided against his fear by standing up more erect. "We have to go help them. Takagi-sensei mentioned how Kakashi-sensei worked hard to get us in the exam. It would be a bad code of ethics if we left them despite all the help Kakashi-sensei gave us. Secondly, don't you want another chance to obliterate this guy since he humiliated you as an Uchiha kunoichi?Put aside your vengeance for now. After that, I'll help you murder him if you like."

Mimi's annoyed snort slowly became a huge grin upon Gray's bargain. "Now you're talking my language."

"It's the law of Equivalent Exchange," Gray shrugged nonchalantly before springing up towards one of the branches. "Better start moving. Who knows what kind of trouble they're in?"

Team Kakashi

Sasuke found himself completely paralysed as his body refused to move. Naruto hung limply on the branch, completely unconscious as Sakura remained frozen on the ground as well. Terror shot through him as the ninja maliciously walked towards them even after fighting them with a huge summoning technique. The male Uchiha found himself completely stupefied as to how a Genin was capable of a summoning technique – especially one of huge man-eating size. Flashes of the battle appeared on his mind as he recalled how Naruto punched him in the face, thinking he would never give up. Naruto may have been brainless but he did have a point. But their opponent proved to be beyond their capabilities and even made them pale in comparison. The other teams would have fallen to this guy as well and to make things worse – they had the necessary scroll.

Sasuke bit his lower lip, wildly pondering in a panic. How did a Genin do that? Not only that Half-Hyuuga guy is so strong but so's this guy! Am I really... that weak?

The snake launched at him a few moments ago, striking fear straight into him. The worst part came when it only hounded him with its sense of smell, rampaging through the trees and lashing out its huge tail. Despite flinging a few kunai at it, Sasuke knew deep down how futile it was to fight something at that calibre. Naruto got himself punched in the abdomen as flew all the way towards the branches. Sakura, despite being completely ignored, found herself caught up in the Kanashibari no Jutsu (Temporary Paralysis Technique).

"Now's the time," Orochimaru grinned malevolently as his whole neck suddenly shot up into the air and bit a paralysed Sasuke.

With that, Sasuke let out an agonized howl before falling unto the ground. A searing hot pain shot up his body as it completely threw him down on the ground, terrifying Sakura.

"It hurts," Sasuke bit his lower lip to resist before finally submitting to the agony. "IT HURTS!"

"It seems he was an easier prey compared to my first two candidates," Orochimaru walked around, dispelling the Kanashibari no Jutsu. "The other two definitely put up a bigger fight. Sasuke-kun had fear seize him completely while the other two used it to propel them forward. I hate strong-willed people like that; the Uchiha girl and the ice boy would have given me a bigger headache had I stayed longer."

Sakura swallowed hard, pondering on the possible candidates. Did he just refer to Mimi and Gray back there?

"The draconic one seemed interesting as well but fighting with the bijuu is such a chore," Orochimaru waved his hand dismissively, glancing up at Naruto. "It's not easy to find a body with the specific characteristics you want, you know. For now, I will leave it to Sasuke-kun to decide. After all, power is something that made him go so far to survive, ne – Sakura-chan?"

As Orochimaru vanished amongst the clump of trees, Sakura trembled violently while trying to gather up her unconscious teammates, Naruto and Sasuke. She found herself angry not at the man who savagely bit Sasuke but at herself, knowing she was nothing. From all the times they have spent together, their missions always involved her staying back and not getting a scratch while Naruto and Sasuke did most of the beat up work. During their mission in the Wave Country, Gray undertook the task with such professionalism that she found herself flabbergasted by his combat style and his strategies and Sasuke fought toe-to-toe with a Chasing Ninja. Naruto clearly out-powered the opponent with his overwhelming chakra and inspired many for reinforcements but...

What did she have?

The pink haired kunoichi hauled Sasuke onto her shoulder while jumping up to go grab Naruto. With Sasuke convulsing horribly, Sakura slung Naruto's arm over her shoulder before finding a huge tree trunk to hide in with the others by the roots. Sasuke's bone-chilling howls of agony finally quieted down as Sakura sadly tried to treat them to the best of her ability. Naruto showed no signs of consciousness either as she tended to both of them. Her light green eyes glanced sadly at the bodies of both of her fallen teammates. However, her fatigue caused her to submit as her eyes slowly shut for a few moments.

(Dream)

The forest remained completely the same as she continued nursing her friends back to health. The birds continued to chirp in the sky as the sunbeams shone through the wide web of trees entangled with one another's branches. The forest greenery glinted with dew as the cooing and sounds of animals echoed throughout the forest.

"Hey...Sakura..."

Jolted by the voice, Sakura slowly began to cry out of relief. "Sasuke-kun? You're alright! You too, Naruto!"

Naruto massaged his temples before shaking the daze off. "What happened?"

Sasuke shook his head. "Never mind that, we need to concentrate on the exam."

Before Sakura could open her mouth and let out her voice, there was no sound at all, it was as if, they took it out. Her bright green eyes widened fearfully as she began trying to conclude for the reason that her voice is missing.

"My voice-? What happened to it?"

When she looked behind her, a huge man-eating snake slithered past her and dislodged its jaws. Sakura's eyes widened with horror as she stared helplessly at the huge snake that slowly and predatorily slithered its way towards Sasuke, posing to strike. No matter how hard she tried to scream, nothing came out of her throat. A maniacal predatory smile appeared on the snake's lips as it swivelled its body around to strike.

She forcibly made herself scream, grabbing her neck as she did so. "SASUKE-KUN! LOOK OUT!"

(End of Dream)

Sakura jolted up in terror, sweat pouring down her face. She glanced around to see nothing, only her two unconscious teammates. For a moment there, the pink kunoichi truly believed there was a snake ready to devour her teammates. She shook her head dismissively at the scenario; it was not going to happen. However, the rustling of the bushes did not do anything to soothe her fear as she panic-stricken threw a kunai at it.

"Get away!"

From the bushes, a squirrel popped out and immediately dashed out heading towards the other end of the forest. Sakura inhaled sharply for a few moments, trying to calm herself to no success. The forest resumed to its normal deadly silence as only the breathing of both her teammates reached her ears.

However, she was not alone.

Behind the bushes, three ninjas stood within the shadows. A sinister smile appeared on one of their faces as the squirrel darted beneath them, squealing fearfully from the kunai. Among them, a female stood with long black hair in a camouflage suit along with two of her partners: one with a bandaged face and the other with tall jagged hair.

"You think she saw it," the female sneered darkly, sardonically watching the little rodent with an explosive tag on its back run.

The bandaged male shook his head dejectedly. "No, I don't think so. More like she was just afraid that an opponent may be behind the bushes. We cannot be too sure however."

Snorting in disgust, the male with tall jagged hair shrugged nonchalantly. "Why don't we just swoop them and take her out easy peasy? The Uchiha's out like a light after all."

The bandaged male graced his companion with no response as he narrowed his eyes at the fallen Sasuke.

It seems you have taken him out yourself, Orochimaru.

Team Takagi

"Who knew looking for Naruto and his other two numbskulls was gonna earn us a scroll," Mimi giggled gleefully while tossing the two scrolls around, hand in hand.

Taichi nodded enthusiastically, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah although, I'm bushed. You think we can go straight to the fortress after this? I want a floor I can sleep in where I don't need to worry about cockroaches crawling up my shirt. Even if I'm a guy, the feeling of crawling bugs is sick!"

Gray chuckled lightly, brushing the leaves away. "You can say that again."

Mimi glanced around for a few moments until she saw Rock Lee standing on a tree. "Hey, what's he doing?"

The whole Team Takagi directed their attention towards the green-jumpsuit ninja as he watched the leaves fall. He punched his chest in determination, nodding vigorously.

"I have to get all those fifteen leaves! That way, Sakura-chan will be impressed and go out with me!"

They all sweatdropped at his proclamation as his declaration seemed to be targeted towards no one other than himself. His loud voice only had been carried away by the forest wind as the bugs clicked and tinkered in the darkness. However, Taichi hid amongst the bushes as he suddenly became curious as to how someone like him can catch all the falling leaves. He glanced at the Hyuuga ninja while estimating the speed, recalling the Hakke Rokujyon Sho technique (Eight Trigrams Sixty Four Palms).

"Hey snowman, think you can do something like that," Taichi nudged his coffee blonde companion as they both hid in the bushes. "Twenty yen says he can't do it."

Gray smirked while folding his arms. "Catching all those leaves is a piece of cake. But for someone like Lee, I'd double that and say that he can."

Fair enough, Rock Lee leapt off the highest branch before descending down to catch all the leaves within his range. Team Takagi stared in amazement as his hand shot out easily and grabbed each and every one of the falling greenery until a squirrel appeared in his path. Grabbing the leaf at the same time as to contorting his entire body, Lee immediately somersaulted to alter his position before grabbing the explosive tag off its back.

"Hmmm, who would do this to such a poor creature," he stroked the furry creatures back as it chattered with much affection and gratitude, gently nudging it away. "There, there, you better run along now. It's going to get dangerous around here."

Gray chuckled lightly, walking away triumphantly. "You owe me forty bucks."

Taichi snorted in defeat, shoving his hands in his pocket. "Che, you knew!"

"Of course," Gray gave him his usual Trickster smirk with his usual devious drawl, running his fingers through his hair. "I'm a devilishly fortunate hustler."

Mimi rolled her eyes sarcastically with an indignant huff. "There he goes again."

"You stupid little bitch!"

The five ninjas swivelled their heads towards the loud direction of the yelling. Glancing at the others, Izumi noticed a nod coming from all four of them. She bit her lower lip anxiously while following after her teammates. Their first encounter with the Kusagakure ninja nearly had them killed if not for Gray and Taichi's berserk fury. Despite their bandaged and injured states, they had to be strong. Faltering during the exam could mean their deaths however...

She couldn't help but feel scared for what lay ahead of them.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

That's the revised chapter of Chapter 14! Please review!