Gomen, (Bows low) Gomenasai. I don't know what took me so long with this chapter. (looks over the audience) (sound of shotgun being cocked) Right! On to the Fanfiction!
Disclaimer: As always, I don't own Naruto.
Chapter 21 – Orochimaru and Cursed Seals!!
Last time:
Anko snatched them away and stared intently at the very first photo. 'So this is the face he stole. Why is he here?' The face was none other than the Kusa kunoichi that was now after Sasuke and Sakura. Anko snapped around at the assistants again and barked out new orders. "We've got big trouble! Go tell Hokage-sama exactly what's happened here. While you're at it, tell ANBU Black Ops to send a couple of convoys out here." Anko turned to face the three bodies again. "Meanwhile, I'm gonna go in after these three. Move out!" The three vanished, speeding away to their destination. Anko was still looking at the bodies, thinking about who had done this. 'I may not need you to get rid of the seal after all Gaki, he's come back. Orochimaru is back in Konoha.'
This Chapter:
The Kusa kunoichi now held Sakura by her throat. Sakura's hands were grasping onto the kunoichi's lone hand, trying to decrease the discomfort of having her own body weight pulling down on her neck. "Let's find out if your teammate values your life more than his own." The kunoichi hissed lightly as she walked off the branch and on to the waiting snake's head. The snake lowered itself to be level with where Sasuke was last seen. The kunoichi stepped off of the snake and on to the branch. The snake moved away slightly and coiled itself around a lower branch.
Sasuke pressed his body harder into the tree he was hidden behind. Hoping she, or her pet snake, wouldn't be able to find him. He strained his ears to try and figure out where she was. For what happened next, he needn't have bothered.
"Sasuke-kun! Oh, Sasuke-kun! I have a dear friend of yours here. If you wish for her to stay alive I suggest you come out now." The kunoichi called out in a mocking tone into the surrounding trees.
Sakura pried a pair of fingers between the kunoichi's hand and her throat. She managed to get enough space to call out. "Sasuke-kun! Don't come out! Get aw-Hrk!" She was cut off abruptly.
The kunoichi withdrew her fist from Sakura's stomach. "You're too noisy for your own good, child." One of Sakura's hands shot for her stomach, while the other tried to keep a firm hold of the hand at her throat. The kunoichi looked back into the trees in front of her. "I will give you five seconds to come out of hiding, boy. If you don't, your teammate will take your place as my snake's snack." At those words the snake's head propped up and got ready to receive it's treat like a dog and it's master.
The kunoichi moved from holding Sakura's throat to her hair by the end of her ponytail, Sakura screamed and scrambled her hands to grab her hair. "One... Two..." The kunoichi started the countdown.
Sasuke heard it all clearly. The countdown and the scream. He had cringed slightly at hearing the scream. 'I've got to save her! But if I do that I'm dead! Then I can't go after Itachi!' He dared to peek around the tree, he instantly redrew his head. The kunoichi's head had started turning his way. 'WHAT DO I DO!?'
"Three... Four... Five." The kunoichi scanned the forest for any movement. When she found none she smiled a sick smile as she turned to Sakura. She was now in tears from the pain in her scalp and the fear of her imminent death. "Your time is up. Seems your teammate is smarter when it comes to his life." The kunoichi stated as she took out a kunai. She raised the kunai to Sakura's ponytail. "Goodbye, my dear." She said in a cold tone as she savagely cut through Sakura's hair.
Sakura watched as the kunoichi started moving away from her, through the blur of tears, as if in slow motion. Further and further away she went. Sakura's severed hair flew out from around her head as she fell, like real cherry blossoms. Then the heat from the snake's mouth and the smell of it's saliva came to her as she neared it's mouth.
The kunoichi watched Sakura's fall with sick delight. Just waiting for the satisfying smack of the snake's mouth that would signal the end of another meddler. She dropped the pink hair in her hand after Sakura, creating even more fake cherry blossoms.
She opened her mouth to start cackling but stopped. There was movement, from two different directions. Two blurs, one was white, blue and black. The other was black, blonde and the glint of metal. The white, blue and black blur was moving too slow to intercept the falling Sakura and save her. The black and blonde blur, however, was moving considerably faster.
Sasuke knew he was moving too slow. His sharingan told him he was going too slow. He'd activated it in the heat of the moment. He wasn't too happy when he saw that by the time he reached Sakura she would already be in the snake's mouth and down it's throat.
His sharingan also told him something else. It told him that the other blur was moving fast enough to get to the snake before it swallowed Sakura. It also told him who the other blur was. He got a clear picture of who it was just before he landed in the snake's mouth. He got the picture of Naruto holding that huge sword of his again.
There was a difference this time though. Naruto's eyes, they weren't the usual friendly blue or the cold blue of when he fought even. They were red as blood with black slitted pupils. There were also some pieces of torn paper hanging from under his gauntlets. Lastly, he only had one arm in the vest he wore.
Sasuke looked up from his spot on the snake's bottom jaw. He saw half of Naruto's bear back. He saw some of the large scars that littered Naruto's back. The scars that had been covered when they wrote on his back, as the symbols were shown clearly where they had written them. 'That's why... he doesn't like showing his back to any one. They were only a few inches away from where we wrote. How couldn't I have noticed?' Sasuke was broken from his thoughts when Naruto spoke up.
"You're not as much of a coward as I thought. You might actually be able to face your brother if you keep that up." Naruto stated as he looked over his shoulder at Sasuke from his spot. He was at the front of the snake's mouth, holding the top and bottom jaws apart again. Sakura held under his left arm and the sword in his right being used to hold up the top jaw. 'Same damn situation, twice in the same day! How the hell does this keep happening?' Naruto thought, annoyed.
Sasuke's irises contracted in surprise. "What...?" Sasuke asked dumbfounded.
"Don't just sit there! Take Sakura and get out of here!" Naruto shouted as he turned slightly and held Sakura's limp body out to him.
Sasuke looked at Sakura and simply nodded. "Right." He took Sakura's arm, placed it around his neck and turned her so he could carry her bridal style. He turned and leapt straight out of the snake's mouth, bounced off one tree and onto a branch opposite the Kusa kunoichi's position.
Naruto looked back toward his enemy. The woman that almost killed his teammate come apprentice. "You are a persistent little pest aren't you?" The kunoichi heckled as she stored the kunai she had used to cut through Sakura's hair. She seemed to inspect Naruto a little closer.
"I'm more than persistent. I'm like a bad cold, I just won't go away unless you get rid of me completely." Naruto shot back as he placed his now free left hand on the flat of his blade to make holding the snake's mouth open all the easier.
'There's a fire in his eye. It seems familiar and yet it's not as fierce or bloodthirsty as it was all those years ago. Still, could he be the one?' She thought as she prepared a jutsu. "I suppose I'll just have to get rid of you then!" She hissed as she shot her right arm forward and several snakes flew toward Naruto from her arm.
Sasuke laid Sakura down gently on the branch he had escaped to. He wasn't all that surprised when a couple of Naruto clones showed up and told him not to worry and that they would look after her. He nodded weakly again, he stood up and turned away to watch as the real Naruto was attacked by their opponent.
His sharingan started spinning. Lazily at first and then faster as his anger, at himself and their enemy, rose. He started recalling what his so-called older brother had told him. Immediately after he'd been put through a small hell.
Naruto saw the attack coming easily, thanks to the fox eyes. He pushed up quickly to open the snake's mouth further and simply leapt out. The snake's that were after him curled around where he used to be and followed him. The larger snake's head also followed him, angry that it had been denied it's small meal.
Naruto looked back and saw all the snakes that were now after him. He landed on a tree's bark and launched himself right back at the oncoming snakes, half of his vest fluttering behind him in the wind. He drew his wakizashi from it's lavender scabbard with his left hand. When he reached the snakes, his left hand was nothing but a blur as he cut down the small snakes. His right arm brought Kubikiri Hōchō down over his head in an perfect arc right down the middle of the larger snake's head.
The larger snake vanished in a puff of smoke as it had taken all the damage it could stand. The smaller snakes simply wilted and fell from their master's arm. "You're gonna have to move faster than that if you want to catch me." Naruto stated simply as he landed on the same branch as the kunoichi.
The image of his brother's, of Itachi's, eyes that night flashed before him. Itachi's words echoed clearly in his mind. 'Foolish little brother, you can't kill me, your hate's not strong enough. You're not strong enough! If you want to kill me, hate me, detest me, and survive in an unsightly way. Run, run and cling to life. And then some day, when you have the same eyes as I do, come before me.'
She looked at him with open annoyance shown in her eyes. "I see, you're not a normal genin are you?" She hissed at him.
"Look who's talking." Naruto shot back as sheathed the wakizashi and snatched out the scroll he stored all his swords in. "You're not that much of a normal genin yourself." He stabbed Kubikiri Hōchō into the branch and opened up the scroll. He held it out to the large sword, it disappeared with a puff of smoke in a fraction of a second. "You have to be at least jounin level, probably higher." He rolled the scroll back up and stored it.
"Oh, much higher than that." The kunoichi hissed again. "In fact, I already have you!" She hissed with more malice as several snake's burst from the branch beneath Naruto. He reached for his broadswords as had been his plan for this fight, as they were smaller, faster than his zanbatō.
He was too slow to draw the swords, though. The snakes wrapped around his arms, legs and torso. They bit into the unprotected underside of his forearms and into his shoulders and lower legs. He flinched slightly at the pain of the puncture wounds. He managed to get a shaky smile on his face as he faced his enemy again. "So you caught me, big deal. I can still break free." Naruto started pushing his arms outwards, trying to tear away the snakes and draw his broadswords at the same time.
Sasuke started shaking from rage at the insult Itachi's words brought him. He'd just been doing what his brother had wanted him to do. He'd been trying to run. He'd been clinging to life. 'If I can't face this demon of a woman, then how can I stand before my brother. Naruto, I'm no coward, I'll show you!'
The kunoichi merely started walking to him as she made a half ram seal. Suddenly Naruto's veins were on fire as the snakes started pumping their venom into him. He let out a small scream of pain as his arms came back to their original position. "Not this time. This time, I'll be sure to take care of you." She dropped the half ram seal and took out a kunai.
She lifted the mesh shirt to just uncover the bandages that covered his abdomen. She brought the kunai dangerously close to Naruto's skin as she dragged it down the bandages. Any bandages that didn't fall away, she pushed away from his bare stomach. "What the hell are you doing now?" Naruto spit through gritted teeth.
She didn't bother replying as she eyed his bare stomach. 'Strange, he obviously has the eyes of the fox demon and yet the seal that binds the fox to him has not shown itself.' She thought as she stored the kunai and made a hand-seal. 'Could it be an ability passed on by the fox? I had planned on killing this boy as he was being such a nuisance but this requires more study. He may even be an interesting transfer body in the future.' She held onto her left wrist as chakra built up in her left hand. She turned her hand to face Naruto as purplish flames of chakra appeared one by one on her finger tips.
Naruto continued to stare with interest at what she was planning. When he saw the five seals appearing in the flames, though, he decided enough was enough. He started spinning the layer of chakra over his abdomen as fast as possible. By the time the Kusa kunoichi drove her hand into his abdomen with a yell of, "Gogyou Fuuin!" his spiral armor was all warmed up and held her completely at bay.
When she saw her hand wasn't connecting with her target's skin the Kusa kunoichi looked up to his blood red eyes with open annoyance. "You aren't putting a damn seal on me!" Naruto growled to her as he started pushing his arms out again, trying to break free.
The kunoichi was about to command her snakes to inject more of their venom into Naruto, when she caught a foot that was headed for her head. "So, you finally decided to join the fight, young Uchiha." She stared directly into Sasuke's blazing sharingan and cracked another sick smile. 'So, he's finally seen through the fear. It took one of his teammates almost being killed to bring his Uchiha blood to a boil. An admirable trait but that is not what I'm searching for. This will finally give me a chance to properly test his ability. As long as there are no more interruptions.' She pushed Sasuke's foot away and Sasuke along with it.
Sasuke landed a few feet away in a crouch. He stood slowly as the kunoichi turnd to face him fully. "Now that's what I'm talkin' about. Time to kick ass Teme!" Naruto shouted over as he pushes out even further, nearing the snakes tearing points.
"Silence, child." The kunoichi hisses as she brings her hand up in a half ram seal. Naruto screams out in pain as more venom is pumped into his veins. His arms return once again to be by his sides.
"Naruto!" Sasuke shouts trying to see what's happening to Naruto behind his enemy.
"Do not worry about your teammate. My snake's venom merely paralyzes with the dose I've given him, he will be immobile for hours. I merely want him out of the way, for now." The kunoichi hisses as the snakes lift Naruto up behind her, pushes him along the branch and slams him into the main body of the tree they're using as a battle ground.
The snakes withdraw their fangs from their prey and slither back to their master. Leaving Naruto to slide down into a sitting position on the branch. 'Hey, Kyu-sensei. Think your youki could purge the venom?'
'Most definitely, I'm sending some youki to purge it now.' Kyuubi replies hurriedly.
'Good, 'cause this enemy's not normal. She has the same smell as the snakes, Anko and Kabuto and his guys. They must be connected somehow, but how?' Naruto pondered as he felt Kyuubi's youki flowing through his chakra network.
'Worry about that later, survival now.' Kyuubi ordered him.
"Now, you should worry about your own life." The kunoichi hissed as she charged forward. She threw a flurry of punches and kicks at Sasuke. He anticipated each one as he saw her muscles move with the sharingan. He ducked, weaved and blocked all he could, before he decided it was time to go on the offence again.
He leapt up, trying to land a kick on her chin as he went, missing slightly as she leaned back. He drew several kunai in mid air and, using the sharingan's superior vision, threw all of them toward his enemy. She hopped back as each kunai struck deep into where she had been standing.
Sasuke landed on another tree's main body as he stuck with his chakra, he looked up quickly to see that the kunoichi had evaded his shots. 'Gotta go faster!' Sasuke thought frustratedly. He took out another kunai and quickly sliced open the arm and leg warmers he wore, releasing the weights he kept hidden there.
The kunoichi saw him doing something with a kunai and sped toward the tree he was on. Her body became malleable as she wrapped around the tree Sasuke was on and slithered her way up it. She dodged the weights that came at her as she traveled up the tree. 'So he was holding back slightly, excellent.' She went even faster toward the Uchiha. Until she had stop and move away suddenly as more kunai came toward her face.
Sasuke launched himself off the tree after he threw the kunai and started doing hand-seals. He twisted in the air and blew out a stream of fire that engulfed the tree he had been on and the kunoichi that had been chasing him. He stopped and landed in another crouch on a another branch. 'Where is she?' He thought hurriedly as he tried to peer through the flames and see her burning body.
Anko stopped on a branch as she looked toward the setting sun. She'd been traveling through the trees for hours now. "It's getting late, I need to find him soon." She thought out loud. 'My odds at beating him are bad as it is and they get even worse in the dark. The thing is, why is he here? Why now? What the hell is he after? Argh, doesn't matter now, I just gotta find him.' She thought just before leaping onto the next branch in search of her target.
Sasuke glanced to his right as the sharingan had picked up movement, sure enough there was the kunoichi. She was winding her way through some branches as she came toward Sasuke. He drew another couple of kunai and dashed toward where she would arrive. He threw a kunai into a spot right in front of her and activated the exploding tag he had attached. It blew up right as she arrived, creating a hail of splinters.
'Very good, you can read my movements.' It didn't seem to slow the kunoichi down as a trail of cracks started making it's way toward Sasuke. He hopped back slightly when she erupted from the branch. He pushed off his back foot and dashed directly toward the kunoichi who was still partially in the branch. He hopped again as he came up to her and planted a foot right on top of her head, pushing her face into the branch.
As he leapt away he turned to face a section of the forest. "NOW'S YOUR CHANCE, SAKURA!" As soon as the last word left his mouth, a fireball sped at the downed kunoichi. It exploded on impact creating another hail of splinters. Sasuke looked back up at the exhausted looking Sakura. She'd shown up just before he'd used the exploding tag. She still had a pair of Naruto clones with her.
He looked back to where the enemy kunoichi had been. He had to glance around as it was revealed the kunoichi had disappeared again. All he saw was the blurring form of the kunoichi as she dashed up behind him and struck him in the side of the head as he turned to face her. 'That meddler again! They're like cockroaches!'
Sasuke tumbled a few feet before he regained his bearings and leapt toward the enemy. 'How does she keep surviving the fire attacks!?' He thought as he tried to drop kick the kunoichi. She blocked him and grabbed onto his foot and shin. She dragged him down, kneed him in his stomach, then his face and finally knocked him away with a kick.
He tumbled to another stop as he clutched his stomach. "Pathetic, a true Uchiha should be more of a challenge. They'll thank me for eradicating you!" She drew kunai ready for the final strike and walked toward Sasuke. She was about to simply flick the kunai toward him before he pushed up and shot a small fireball right at her face. 'He copied the girl's explosive jutsu and used it perfectly in the midst of battle. It is annoying but it is a good sign.'
The fireball exploded right in her face and she stumbled backward clutching her face. Two shuriken with wires attached to them flew from the surrounding trees and wrapped around her. 'Finally, it took the earth clones enough time to get up here. The Dobe was right, they are slow.' Right on cue another two Sasukes showed up either side of him holding on to the wires that were now around the kunoichi.
Sakura dropped down onto a branch a few feet away from them with a single shadow clone in tow. She started doing more hand-seals. 'CHA! She'll never dodge or block this now!' Her inner persona cheered. Sasuke saw what she was doing and ordered his clones to do the same. Sasuke himself took the wires from his clones and bit down on both of them as he started doing some different hand-seals.
Sakura and the two Sasuke clones finished the seals at the same time and, as one, shouted out, "Katon: Bakudan!" The three fireballs connected with the bound kunoichi and exploded at the same time. The explosion was considerably larger thanks to the combined jutsu. The kunoichi's screams could be heard as the branch underneath her was almost completely destroyed. Sakura almost dropped to her knees before the Naruto shadow clone caught her and leapt away with her.
Sasuke waited for a few seconds for the fire to clear before he unleashed his jutsu. When the flames cleared, it revealed the kunoichi with her clothes burnt and her hair singed, she was hunched over and breathing heavily. Part of her sleeve where Sakura had aimed for was completely burned away, showing burnt skin. 'That's not the end of it! Katon: Ryuka no Jutsu!' Sasuke screamed mentally.
A large flame engulfed Sasuke and traveled down the two wires in his mouth. The flames slammed into the kunoichi and caused the wire to snap as she was pushed back into a tree from the force of the jutsu. The flames went past the kunoichi and even broke through the tree. She was screaming again just as she had been when the triple bakudan hit her. Being hit at close range only made it even more powerful.
The flames around Sasuke died down as the jutsu finished. He was breathing heavily now. 'Guess I used too many fire jutsu.' The two earth clones behind him crumbled to rocks and dust, his sharingan faded to reveal his usual onyx eyes. His face covered in sweat, Sasuke dropped to his knees in exhaustion.
Naruto had watched the fight. As much as he could when they were in his line of sight anyway. He didn't need to have the final attack in his line of sight to have seen it though. "Hm, nice one Teme." He watched as Sasuke dropped to his knees. 'Hey, Kyu-sensei, the venom almost gone?'
'Most of it, Kit. You should be able to move a little by now. You'll be happy to hear you'll have more of a natural tolerance for this venom when this is over.' Kyuubi replied as he surveyed the area through Naruto's eyes.
'Thanks Kyu-sensei. I think we may need to move out now anyway.' Naruto moved his legs slightly, they were stiff, as were his arms. He could move alright, he just couldn't stand properly, yet.
Sasuke looked up at where the kunoichi had been pinned to the tree. She was still there, the wires still bound around her but she wasn't moving and still standing somehow. 'That's a good sign.' He looked back down for a second as he tried to regain some energy. His head shot back up though when he heard the crunch of burnt wood and the snap of wires being broken. 'I had to jinx it!'
Sasuke and Naruto watched in horror as the kunoichi stepped forward and broke the wires that held her. Simply by spreading out her arms out as Naruto had tried to do with her snakes. She passed a hand over the plate of her hitai-ite and the symbol changed from that of the grass to the sound symbol. "Even with the interference of the pests you showed a high level of skill, strength and speed. As well as great mastery of the sharingan, even copying a jutsu and using it flawlessly in battle. Yes, your eyes may even be sharper than Itachi's were. Yes, you will do nicely." The kunoichi mused in a voice that seemed to turn more... masculine?
Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the muse about his brother. "What do you know of my brother!? Who are you!?" Sasuke screamed as loudly as he could.
"My name is Orochimaru. As to what I want, that will remain a mystery, as well as what I know of your brother. That is until, you seek me out. Before that though, you must defeat the sound ninja I have placed in this exam and survive the test." He/she answered the young Uchiha.
Naruto's eyes had been wide open from the moment the shinobi's name was revealed. "Orochi... maru!?" He muttered in surprise as he drowned out the rest of the conversation. 'I read Dad's file on him, the first thing it said was to avoid him at all costs.' An image of Anko and the smell that came off her and the others came to the front of his mind. 'ANKO! I knew her name sounded familiar, she was his apprentice. The smell, the smell of snakes, why does Kabuto and his team have it? There was no mention of other apprentices.' He shook his head quickly, getting back on track. 'That doesn't matter right now. He's a sannin, he was trained by Jii-san, HE'S A TRAITOR! He could have killed all of us at once without breaking a sweat. So why didn't he!?'
Sasuke wanted to know about Itachi, he had to know. "What do you mean? How-"
"Do you find me? Don't worry, you'll find me, you'll have to if you wish to control your power." Orochimaru announced as he made a hand-seal.
Elsewhere in the forest, Shino, Kiba and Hinata stopped abruptly when Akamaru let out a slight yip from Kiba's jacket. "Of course that's gonna be out here Akamaru. This is a test with fighting and a chance of dieing in it after all." Kiba berated the small dog with a slight annoyance. He received another series of barks and a small whimper from the small white dog. "That much!? Is there any one still there?" Akamaru replied with a simple shake of his head.
"W-what's the matter with A-Akamaru, Kiba-kun?" Hinata asked quietly from Kiba's right.
"I believe he picked up the scent of copious amounts of blood. Most probably the result of some other teams fighting." Shino answered her in his monotone. "I received the exact same information from my insects immediately after Akamaru's announcement."
"Yeah, think we should check it out? Akamaru says there isn't anyone there, maybe we could pick up some spare kunai?" Kiba asked excitedly, all the while petting Akamaru.
"We do still have four days. A few extra minutes will not be a significant loss. The chance of learning of how they fight from the left over surroundings is tempting in the need of creating a counter. Very well, we shall inspect the area, if Hinata does not disapprove." Shino analyzed while looking in the general direction of the scent.
"I-I don't mind." She announced quietly.
"Alright, lets check it out!" Kiba cheered as he turned the way Shino was looking. He stopped quickly as he got a small glare from Shino. "Right, quiet, gotchya." Kiba quickly spat, imitating a zipper over his mouth. They set off at leisurely pace once Shino stopped his glare.
A small walk and a few minutes later and they found themselves in a very open area. Grass with a few splotches of dry dirt littered the ground. Trees and bushes surrounded it, closing it off to other things. All in all it would have seemed like a nice area to rest in if you weren't a ninja trying to hide. There was, however, one thing that turned the area into a macabre scene. Blood, it littered the whole area, the ground, the trees and the bushes were covered in blood. Some were just small spurts that could have come from a kunai cut. Others, were pools of blood that could have come from a person's slit throat.
Shino seemed to look over the area with blank stare thanks to his glasses. If anybody were to see what was under them they would be shocked, because his eyes were as wide as the lenses of his glasses in shock. 'What kind of jutsu could cause this degree of blood shed!?' Hinata was also thinking along these lines. She had only taken a few steps into the clearing and her legs refused to take her further. She merely stood with a hand to her mouth, shaking slightly as she looked over the bloodied area.
Kiba on the other hand was looking around the clearing with a mix of shock and awe. "I've gotta learn what the jutsu was that did this!" He mumbled to himself, Akamaru giving off a slight whimper, while covering his nose.
Shino heard his comment and looked over to Hinata quickly before addressing him. "Kiba, we are departing for the tower once again, now!" He then turned back to Hinata, walked up to her, blocking her view of the blood soaked area, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hinata, do not let your mind dwell on the battlefield. Now, let us make haste for the tower."
Hinata nodded once before she turned away from the area and walked back into the surrounding forest. She was soon followed Shino and then Kiba, who gave one last look over the area before walking through the bush after his teammates.
Naruto saw the hand-seal and, as if in slow motion, watched as Orochimaru's neck extended up and toward Sasuke. Naruto didn't think about what he did next, he knew what happened but it happened automatically for him. He slid his other arm out of his vest, got up to his feet and as fast as he could, dashed to stop the snake loving sannin. He felt his canines grow as did his whisker markings and nails.
He made it in front of Sasuke as Orochimaru's head came to Sasuke's shoulder. He grabbed Orochimaru's neck and yanked him away from Sasuke before he could sink his fangs into him. He brought his hand closer to Orochimaru's head and slammed it down into the branch. He was angry, he'd started to redirect the youki that was purging the venom into his muscles to make them move faster and to make them stronger. He wished he had more to activate the tails and claws. He started to breath heavily from the strain on his muscles since they were still under the influence of some of the venom.
Orochimaru took it in his stride as he looked up from his spot on the ground and studied the exposed seal on Naruto's stomach. "So, you are the container, that explains how you are able to move so soon. Excellent, you'll be a very useful subordinate... if you survive." He mused as he stretched his neck further and brought his face up to Naruto's right shoulder. Naruto yanked one of the knives from behind his back out and made a move to cut Orochimaru's neck wide open. He stopped short though, as Orochimaru bit down into his shoulder and started injecting something into his bloodstream.
Naruto got angrier and dropped the knife. He scratched at Orochimaru's face with his elongated nails, trying to get him off. Which Orochimaru did, once he tried using the fox claw jutsu on him. Orochimaru's head withdrew slightly to get away from the enraged Naruto. Naruto tried to chase him but fell short as he grabbed his right shoulder and started screaming in pain, collapsing to his knees. "What did you do to me!?" Naruto growled through the pain, the youki affecting his voice box.
Through out the whole incident, Sasuke had merely stared at the two as they fought, well, as Naruto fought. Sasuke was surprised by the sudden malice and rage shown in Naruto's eyes and the viciousness of Naruto's attacks, they were almost... animal-like. Not only that, but the sudden increase in power and speed. The seal showing up on Naruto's stomach and the red claws that had manifested over Naruto's hand only increased his curiosity... and envy. 'Where did he get that power and what's this guy talking about!? Container? A container for what?'
"Something to remember me by, it will also help you seek me out." Orochimaru replied as he withdrew his head more. A black mark seemed to appear near where he'd bitten. It didn't take any shape, it merely shifted and changed, as if it couldn't decide on a shape. 'He's resisting it! It must be that Kitsune demon inside him. No matter, it will take over in the end, it is only a matter of time.' Naruto let out another scream of pain before he keeled over and fell into unconsciousness.
Naruto keeling over seemed to be the cue Sasuke needed as he got up shakily and tried to walk over to Naruto. Only to stop again. 'What the!? I can't even move now!' He forced his head to turn and look toward Orochimaru's hands. Sure enough they'd been put in another hand-seal.
"Kanashibari no Jutsu. I won't have you struggling like the other one. After all, you're my prize." Hissed the elevated head of Orochimaru. Sasuke could then only scream silently as Orochimaru sped forward and sunk his fangs into Sasuke's left shoulder. When he finally pulled away, Sasuke finally found his voice as he too started screaming. "There. You will seek me out, Sasuke, just as your teammate over there will. If either of you survive this, of course." Again, a black mark appeared near where Orochimaru had bitten. Unlike Naruto's, this one took shape immediately. It formed into three tomoe that circled each other.
Jade green eyes snapped open to the sound of Sasuke's screaming. Sakura lifted her upper body off the branch as quickly as possible. She turned her head quickly from left to right, searching for her two teammates, some shadow clones or the source of the screaming. When she found none and the screaming stopped, she started to panic.
"Otome? Otoooome?" She stiffened on hearing the hissing voice of Orochimaru. "Your teammates are in need of your care and protection, Otome." Sakura lifted herself up again so she was standing now. She was still slouching slightly from the stress of using a little too much chakra at once. Thankfully the soldier pill was still in her system and causing her body to replenish her reserves slightly faster than normal. After waiting a couple of seconds to regain her strength, she started to walk to the end of the branch.
She gasped when she reached the end and took in what was a few hundred feet below her on another couple of branches. There was Naruto and Sasuke, both convulsing slightly, out cold, laying face down on their branch. While across from them stood who looked to be the Kusa kunoichi who was staring right at her but her face was different, it was more, masculine. The Kusa kunoichi's hitai-ite had also changed, for some reason it had a sound emblem on it now. "What did you do to them!?" Sakura cried out as she prepared herself to leap from her branch.
"Me? I just gave them a little parting gift." Orochimaru replied as he looked to the two twitching genin. He then looked back up to Sakura. "I would have liked to kill you for being a meddler but they will be very vulnerable to enemies and any wild animals that may come their way for some time. It would be a shame if they were to be killed before they had a chance to try and survive their 'gift'." He/she started chuckling as he/she sunk into the tree branch.
"Wait! Who are you!? What did you really do to them!?" Sakura shouted as his/her head disappeared into the branch. Even though the strange shinobi had disappeared the chuckling was still resonating through the forest. If this would have happened before Naruto's training she probably would have broken down crying and holding onto her two teammates. Now though, she just let her tears fall as she leapt on to their branch and went about taking care of them. She ignored the fear and panic that seemed to build in her mind and focused on protecting her helpless teammates. She had to work fast, the sun had set after all.
Anko stopped abruptly as she felt a familiar chakra and a familiar pain in her shoulder. She took one glance around the area she was in and took off again with double the speed. 'He's near, I can feel him.' She thought as one hand rose to her shoulder. She dropped onto another branch and ran it's length before launching off the end again, her hand going back to her side.
She landed over a small entanglement of branches. She ricocheted off several of the small branches before landing on a larger branch. She started running again and launched herself off the branch, diving in between a pair of close branches. She landed again on a branch stump, the rest having either broken off from rot or a battle that happened previously.
Anko didn't dare about the state of the branch she was on though, not at that very moment, not with what she saw a few branches below her. There, on a very large, thick branch, was Orochimaru. He was almost out of the branch when she found him. He had also noticed her, because as soon as she had arrived he was staring directly at her.
Half of the face he had stolen was melted off, revealing his yellow iris and the purple marking that surrounded his eye. The part of his face that was revealed also revealed his own, sick grin, while the stolen skin was far too melted to move. He started to speak as soon as he fully emerged from the branch. "Ah, Anko-chan, so good to see you again."
"This is no time to reminisce. You're an S-class criminal, top of the most wanted list of Konoha and it's only fitting for me to be one to bring you down!" Anko shouted the last part as she lunged at her former sensei from her high branch. Two kunai dropped from both her sleeves as she lunged. She lobbed three at him while keeping a hold of the last one. He simply caught the thrown kunai as he stepped and then hopped back from her swiping at him with the kunai she still held. Instead of advancing again she raised her empty hand. "Senei Jashu! Get back here!" She yelled as snakes advanced from her sleeve and caught him, or so she thought.
The Orochimaru her snakes had caught turned into mud. "So sorry that I don't have the patience to play with you Anko-chan. I had my fill of fun with the other three, I have to say they were quite entertaining if not a little annoying." Orochimaru's voice sounded from behind Anko. She turned in time to see him perform a half ram seal.
A searing, paralyzing, pain erupted in Anko's left shoulder. "So you finally came back to assassinate Hokage-sama?" She ground out through gritted teeth.
"Oh no, not yet, I don't have enough followers to do that just yet." He replied in an almost playful voice.
She couldn't take it anymore, she groaned and dropped to her knees from the pain, her snakes returning quickly to her sleeve. She dropped her kunai as she screwed her eyes shut and put a hand to her curse mark. A couple of seconds and she managed to get over the pain enough to raise her head and open her eyes. Somehow, she also found the strength to talk again. "Who are the other three you were talking about!?"
Orochimaru seemed to completely ignore her as he spoke again. "Ah, the curse mark, I put that very same mark on two of those young genin a few moments ago." He walked up to her and kneeled in front of her to be eye-level. "One will be a very useful pawn while the other is a very promising prospect."
"You haven't changed at all, you're still selfish as always! Both of them will probably be dead by morning thanks to you!" Anko shouted as she was hit by another pulse of pain.
"True, the chance of surviving is one in ten. One of them may survive, though, as you did." He spoke completely calmly.
"Sounds like you want one of them pretty badly." Anko spat back.
"Jealous, Anko? You can't forgive your old sensei for using you and then tossing you aside? Regardless, the one I want has more potential than you had. You see the one I wish to survive has inherited the sublime abilities of the Uchiha clan. Then, once I'm done with the Uchiha, the Kyuubi brat will make a very good little attack dog." He stood and spread his arms in a shrugging gesture. "At the very least they make things interesting. Just make sure that no one stops the exams early." He turned and started walking away. "Three of my followers are also in the exams, I'd like to see how they fare." At those words he vanished in a blaze of purple flames. Even with his body gone his voice still echoed through the trees. "Keep this in mind. If anything happens to deprive me of my fun anymore, it will mean the end of Konoha."
Sakura sat at the entrance of a small hollow of a tree that was hidden by a couple of bushes. There were small gaps in the bushes so she could see if there was anyone coming towards them or near them. She'd managed to drag her teammates and Naruto's vest along with them all the way there. She'd had to go back over their trail to the hideout since dragging Naruto's vest along had dug up some dirt. 'What the hell did senpai do to his clothes! That thing felt heavier than all three of us put together!'
'CHA! We'll make sure he pays for making us drag that thing back!' Her inner persona shouted.
She smiled lightly at what her inner self said as she looked back over to her two teammates. She'd laid them both next to each other and had to take both their hitai-ite's off to place a damp cloth on their foreheads to stave off a fever. "If they wake up." She mumbled quietly before going to change the cloths. It had already been a good few hours since there fight with Orochimaru and neither had stirred. They just kept convulsing every now and then.
She'd had to take out the medical supplies along with the water from Naruto's scroll to take care of them. She'd also had to borrow some kunai and shuriken to arm herself, she also took the knife Naruto had dropped for good luck. She hadn't fully comprehended her lost hair yet, rather she didn't care right now since her teammates needed help.
She got a small shock as she went to change Naruto's cloth because when she got near him she noticed something she hadn't noticed from her place at the entrance. There was some sort of dim, red aura surrounding Naruto's body and it looked like it was getting a little brighter. She shook off the shock and quickly replaced his dry cloth with a damp one.
She crawled back to the entrance and gave a quick scan beyond the bushes before settling back down. She held Naruto's knife a little closer to her chest as she thought of this new information. 'This is either really good or really bad, hopefully it's good since that black stuff on his shoulder still hasn't taken shape.'
Up in a tree, not far from Sakura's position, sat the three sound ninja from before the exams. "Can we please kill her now and then kill the other two? It took us long enough to find them thanks to that hiding place of their's and pinkie's little genjutsu's didn't make it any easier." Zaku asked in an annoyed tone.
"Hey! I noticed them and got rid of them quick enough didn't I?" Kin retorted angrily.
"Yeah, after having gone through them like three times! Even then we only found them thanks to that trail of dug up dirt that led here." Zaku retorted holding up three of his fingers.
Kin was about to shoot back an insult but Dosu beat her to the punch. "Both of you! Shut up! We found them and that's all that matters right now." He turned to look at both of them before speaking again. "We'll wait until morning before we attack. Then that girl will be too fatigued to put up much of a fight. We'll take turns to watch her until morning just in case she tries moving them again. Kin, you take first watch, then wake up Zaku after about an hour. Zaku, you do the same for me after another hour. I'll watch until morning from there." He stated clearly with the intent to harm if they argued with his orders. He received two simultaneous nods before he and Zaku stalked off to rest and leave Kin to the watch.
Ten-ten was currently looking over a team of genin from Taki. Her team had split up about half an hour ago to look for other teams. After they'd left the entrance gate they'd found a secure location and rested up until early the next morning to look for teams that had laid down to rest. The order given by Neji had been clear, head out and then get back to the meeting place in exactly one hour. Right now she was pondering on wether or not to engage the enemy. Finally she gave a slight nod and slipped out the scroll Naruto had given her. She gave a small smile at the sight of the gift, it really boosted her arsenal.
She unrolled it quietly and brought a finger to her chin, trying to remember which seal the weapon she wanted was in. It only took a couple of seconds to remember as she went to the middle seal and released the weapons sealed within it. 'I'm gonna have to remember to separate these things when I get the chance.' She thought as she picked up a knife with several ropes attached to the bottom of the handle along with several kunai from her own holster. She started tying kunai to the ends of the ropes. 'Now I just have to wait for one to go off on their own.' She thought when she secured the final kunai.
She didn't have to wait long as one of the Taki ninja got up, woke up one of his teammates that had been sleeping, exchanged a few quick words with him and then walked behind some bushes. 'Perfect.' Ten-ten hopped over her pile of weapons, the knife and it's trailing ropes grasped in her right hand. She quickly and silently made her way over to the lone Taki ninja.
When she found him, he was about to open up his fly. She moved quickly to keep him from going any further. She started spinning the kunai weighted ropes over her head by the knife handle, like a set of bolas and threw them at the Taki nin. He did manage to turn his head at the last second, just to see one of the kunai plunge into his shoulder, another to dig into the tree he was next to and the ropes wrap around his arms, torso and the tops of his legs. Ten-ten wasn't that far behind the make shift bolas as she dropped down behind him and brought a kunai along with the knife that held the ropes up to his throat.
"Try to scream and I'll slit your throat." She informed him in a low and deadly voice. No sooner had she said that, a twig snapped behind her. She instantly thought she'd been found out and brought the kunai closer to the nins throat. "Come on out or I'll kill your teammate!"
"Baka! I told you to be careful!" A voice sounded from behind one tree.
"What's the point? We were gonna show ourselves sooner or later anyway." Another voice sounded from another tree, although, it sounded exactly the same as the first.
"That's true." The first voice said again as it's owner stepped out from behind a tree in her line of sight, revealing it to be...
"Naruto-kun!" Ten-ten exclaimed as she almost dropped the kunai she'd been holding.
"Yep!" Another Naruto announced as he dropped down next to the first. "We're clones! We've been trailing these guys waiting for the right time to inform the original. We were gonna catch this guy like you did and then tell the original but you beat us to him." He finished.
"Okay... that explains why you're here, but why haven't you tried taking a scroll from me too?" Ten-ten asked with a confused look. Her grip loosening slightly on her kunai.
"Oh, that, well, ano, the original wants all the rookies to get through these tests as far as possible. As far as I can tell he wants your team to get through too. Something about wanting to have a chance of fighting one of your teammates and seeing how much your skills have grown." One clone answered as he held a finger to his temple with his eyes closed in a thinking pose.
Ten-ten stayed quite as she had an 'Oh!' expression on her face. That expression was quickly replaced by surprise as the Taki nin started struggling and then turned into a log. He reappeared a second later leaping over their heads, heading back to his campsite. "Dammit!Seeing as you guys are here mind helping me get a scroll from those guys?"
"Ten-chan..." One Naruto started as both of them covered a fist with the opposite hand.
"... it would be our pleasure!" The other finished as they both cracked their knuckles. The next moment all three had disappeared, leaving a dust cloud in their wake.
Neji and Lee sat impatiently, waiting for Ten-ten's return. There had been near fifteen minutes since they were supposed to regroup. Lee was also jumping for joy on the inside though as he had actually completed a task he had assigned to himself. He had promised that if he could catch twenty leaves before they hit the ground that Sakura would start liking him. Seeing as he had actually accomplished a task for once, it meant that it would come true... right?
"Where is she?" Neji muttered, more to himself rather than Lee.
"Do not worry Neji-kun! I am sure she will be back soon! She probably just found a team and decided to show off her Flames of Youth by taking their scroll!" Lee announced a little too loudly while punching a fist in the air.
"Lee, if you don't turn down your voice, I will use my Jyuuken to silence you." Neji stated in a cold tone, not even glancing Lee's way.
Lee was about to respond when another voice joined the conversation. "I'd do as he says Lee. 'Cause if he doesn't get you to quiet down, I will!" Ten-ten dropped down a few feet from them. "Sorry I'm late but I did manage to get a scroll!" She announced with glee as she held out a white heaven scroll. She also had a few small cuts and grazes decorating her arms and face. Her clothes seemed a little ruffled and worn as well.
"We already have a heaven scroll, Ten-ten." Neji stated coldly, staring at the heaven scroll held up by Ten-ten.
"I know that! But I know a way to turn it into an earth scroll too!" She stated with a smile that showed she knew something they didn't.
"YOSH! What do we need to do Ten-ten-chan!" Lee asked excitedly as he hopped off the root he was sitting on, a goofy smile decorating his face.
"First off, be quiet Lee, that's your last warning. To turn this into an earth scroll all we have to do is find Naruto-kun's team." She informed them calmly as she tucked the scroll into her shirt. "Before you ask, I met some of his clones when I tried getting a scroll by myself. He's got a ton of them tracking other teams to try and get their scrolls. One of them got destroyed while we were fighting and the other told me about the original having two earth scrolls before he disappeared too. So we could probably trade our extra for their extra." Ten-ten finished in a matter of fact tone.
Neji had a bemused look cross his face as he processed what she said. "Hmph, alright, let us search for the Uzumaki's team and trade scrolls." Neji announced as he stood confidently and activated his Byakugan. "This way." He ordered after a couple of seconds of scanning the area. All three took to the east immediately.
A few hours later at the sound ninja's location. Zaku was currently trying to wake both of his teammates. It was already almost time for Dosu's watch but in the last few minutes of his watch, Sakura had almost fallen asleep a couple of times. "C'mon, move it assholes!" He kicked Kin in her shin causing her to wake up with a hiss and a glare directed towards him.
Dosu woke up a second later. "Don't even start fighting. Why are you waking both of us up?" He asked in a bored sort of tone.
"'Cause she's almost falling asleep over there! I say we attack her now!" Zaku announced with an impatient tone.
"Show me." Were the only two words Dosu said before the three headed towards the watch post, Kin delivering a quick kick to Zaku's shin on the way.
Author Notes;
Whoever wants to know, Otome means little girl, all I'm hoping is that I used it in the right context.