Introverted

Chapter Twenty-Five

Jiraiya limped back to the tower, holding onto the charring black limb that once was his left arm. He had won. His teammate had been quicker, faster, and he had barely escaped with his life, but he had won. Orochimaru had retreated first. That was what the toad sage was thinking, as he wobbled up the stairs and was soon brought in the infirmary of the tower by the Medic Jounin assigned to it.

He wondered how his ex-teammate had managed to retain the same speed as in youth, but then again he already had many thoughts going around his mind —the Edo Tensei not the last of them.

The Kyuubi's presence had disappeared, and since there was no Ichibi frolicking around it either meant his godson had worked it out, or Orochimaru's plan had come to fruition. In any case, he could do nothing more than rest and hope to flush out whatever poisons the Kusanagi had excreted.

One thing however was unmistakable: Orochimaru worked for Akatsuki. The clouds on his cloak were proof of that.

As the Toad Sannin mulled over dark thoughts, Naruto Uzumaki was looking with a half-interested gaze at the dinner his teammates had managed to procure. Mushrooms that Sai had given the green-light to were tinged in polka dots, while strange tooth-filled creatures that resembled rabbits had been given a warily comestible value.

Cooking the stuff hadn't required much precaution. The burnt skin of the fish he currently hefted out on a stick smelled sort-of good, and in the pinch they were in would work wonders. He gazed to his right side, where Sakura seemed to be busying herself with cleaning and maintaining her kunai, while on his left Karin was yawning slightly, every now and then dropping her head against his shoulder.

He didn't know why, but it felt like being between a rock and a hard place.

"Is it ready?" Karin mumbled sleepily, purring as her cheek seemed to be pressing gently against his shoulder.

"What are you, five?" Sakura snapped back angrily. "Stand uptight for Kami's sake," she muttered. "You insufferable flirt."

Sai remained conveniently quiet in his corner, as he watched with impassiveness the two kunoichi glare at one another. He could swear there was a small line of electricity running across their eyes and meeting in the center, but then again it was probably the by-product of being tired.

They were resting behind a large tree, having covered the sides with larger plants and wide leaves. The third day was announcing itself to be extremely long, especially if this was how it began.

"Do we keep looking for more scrolls?" Sai asked, hoping to remove the tension.

"I don't know," Sakura mumbled. "We have one. We can let Naruto pass and—"

"Why me?" Naruto asked then carefully. "You or Sai should claim the scroll. I'm not so sure I want to keep going on the exam, especially alone."

"W-Well," Sakura blushed slightly. "We'd have to find the other scrolls. Unless we have a tracker, then we're…" her gaze went to Karin, who suddenly found herself the center of the attention of everyone else.

She made a hesitant smile. "I…I can find chakra, not objects."

"Look for three member teams going to the tower," Naruto quipped. "Shikamaru and Chouji won't be participating any longer I think, and since one team with three scrolls is clearly the Iwagakure one…"

"Oh right," Sakura clenched her right fist with a sadistic smirk. "They have a whore I need to settle a score with."

"Cherry, didn't they ever tell you never to kiss and tell?" Sai asked calmly, moving his head slightly to the side as silence descended in the clearing once more.

"What are you talking about Sa—" Sakura's eyes widened as the second meaning of Sai's words settled in. The moment it did, Sakura ground her teeth furiously. "Sai…" she charged ahead with murder in her eyes, grabbing the boy by the rim of his clothes and moving him furiously back and forth. "You perverted man!"

Naruto chuckled. He chuckled and slowly shook his head as he turned his gaze sideways.

"You can come out," he announced clearly. "We know you're there."

In a moment, Sakura's action became clear as Sai's form disappeared in an Ink clone —her distraction had served its purpose, as Shino found himself stepping forward with both hands up in the air and a Tanto clearly poised to strike him from the back.

Sakura had already taken out three needles, and was taking careful aim for the Aburame.

"Interesting. I thought I had covered my tracks perfectly. How did you find me?"

"You smell," Naruto retorted calmly. "Of honey."

Shino raised an eyebrow for a moment, before comprehension seemed to dawn on his face. "Ah…pheromones to guide the Kikkaichu. I didn't expect your nose was able to sense them. Is that another thing of having the Kyuubi sealed within you?" as soon as he asked, Sai's Tanto moved just a little bit closer as Sakura prepared herself to fire her needles.

"What do you want?" the pink-haired kunoichi hissed. "We're not giving you our scroll."

"I do not want that," Shino replied calmly, shaking his head. "I have come to term with the fact this exam will be my loss. Hinata has been grievously wounded, and we are moving towards the gate as we speak."

"We?" Naruto remarked quizzically.

"He's a Kikkaichu clone," Karin deadpanned, her eyes settling on the Genin. "It takes skill to hold one for so long."

"I thank you," the mass of insects remarked. "However time is of the essence: I have marked Team Nine with females from this swarm. The moment this clone disappears, the insects will fly towards their location. Should you wish for their stash of scrolls, then most certainly this should be considered…an olive branch from the Aburame clan to Uzumaki-san."

"What are you talking about?" Sakura's eyes were still narrowed in distrust. "Why should we trust you?"

"Why? Because I have no reason to go against someone who can clearly outclass me. Furthermore cooperation now may result in future benefits between my clan and him. He is the Jinchuuriki of Konoha, allying with him is the most sane and logical course of action in any event, short of being friends with the Hokage."

"Why didn't anyone else try this before?" Naruto muttered with his eyes glazed over. "I mean this 'ally' thing?"

"Uzumaki-san," Shino's clone actually brought his clone-bug glasses back to the top of his nose. "Who says they didn't try? All clans were stonewalled in the face of equity. The Hokage alone should hold sway over the Jinchuuriki, and by that I intend that the Sarutobi clan could not come in contact with you either. That is the logical thing. You are, after all, the most dangerous individual of the village whether you understand it or not." Shino calmly looked to the sky. "This clone has now served its primary purpose and will disengage back into a mindless swarm. Choose quickly."

True to his words, Shino deformed into a mass of bugs that soon began to fly in a specific direction.

"Do we follow him?" Sai asked once, only to receive a nod from both Sakura and Naruto.

The breakfast wasn't forgotten —it was just eaten along the way.

"The rabbit tastes like jelly," Naruto grimaced as he jumped and took a bite at the same time, his eyes focused on the swarm of bugs. "Had worse, but it's disgusting."

"Want to swap with the mushrooms?" Sakura queried back calmly. "They taste like carton…except the dot area, those are spicy like pepper."

"Should we really be doing this?" Karin asked worriedly. "I mean…with everything that happened the day before, shouldn't Naruto-kun rest?"

"Don't act too familiar with my teammate," Sakura snapped curtly back at the crimson haired girl. "And it's Naruto's decision."

"No, it's ours," Naruto remarked calmly. "If someone doesn't want to…then nobody will. We'll give the last scroll to you Karin, and that will be that."

"Oh," Karin cooed, "How noble of you. You just know what to say to a woman to capture their heart, don't you, Naru-kun?"

"Tsk. Shameless flirting bitch," Sakura mumbled with her eyes half-closed in disgust. She had never been like that with Sasuke, had she?

She shuddered. Of course she hadn't…that was in the past. An old Sakura had done that. She hadn't. She wasn't going to.

She's go for a mature and composed approach. She wouldn't flirt, she'd…romance? Was that how it worked between adults?

She had to ask her mother how she had managed to get father to love her.

And maybe polish her cooking skills.

"Sakura! Watch out!" it was in that moment that her neck felt the tension of a steel wire, before her body was pushed backwards by the strength of an explosion.

She had been so stupid, lost in daydreams as she was…she hadn't considered traps to have been placed by their targets.

She felt blood slowly trickle down from her throat…had it been sliced? She was falling on the ground from the top of the trees —wasn't the fall lethal from that height? She couldn't find the strength to balance herself; her ears were ringing and her sight blurring. Why hadn't the explosion pulverized her? She realized there was a weight that had tackled her from her midsection.

She looked at the back of a figure covered in shrapnel and steel bits and pieces.

The hair was black.

The skin was pale.

Sai had covered for her.

She lost consciousness the next moment, as she felt the momentum of the fall stop abruptly. Naruto had probably saved them both…hadn't he?

Meanwhile, Sasuke Uchiha was slowly walking towards the medic bay. The Chuunin, Kabuto Yakushi, had quietly come over the night before to talk about Itachi. He had apparently known his older brother for a bit, and seemed more than willing to tell him more should he wish to know about his older brother's days in Anbu. The medic Chuunin had apparently healed him quite a bit during that period…and Sasuke was curious, because any old wound badly healed could be a weakness to exploit.

He reached for the medic bay and opened the door with his left hand —his right arm was still in a cast, but it was going to come away any day now, and then he could finally start training. He entered to a sterile and green-colored environment with three white beds perfectly made and a pair of curtains separating them. On the side was Kabuto Yakushi, sitting at the nurse's desk with both his arms crossed over and his face sideways…sleeping.

The light breathing of the Chuunin startled Sasuke. Maybe he should have come later? Still, the other older boy wasn't a Chuunin for nothing, as he slowly woke up the moment he took a step inside the room.

"I'll be right ther— oh, Sasuke," Kabuto smiled as he stood up, scratching the back of his head in a bashed manner. "I'm actually embarrassed you saw me defenseless like that," he chuckled. "My sensei would kill me if he found out… anyway, what can I do for you? Are you scheduled to have the cast removed?"

"Itachi," Sasuke said curtly. "What else do you know about him?"

"Uhm…that's a broad question," Kabuto remarked. "One best answered while sitting. Sit on the bed, I'll take the chair and move closer."

Sasuke did that, annoyed slightly at the delay…then again, if he was to receive a lot of information it made sense. The pale haired Chuunin sat down near him, before crossing his arms over his chest and assuming a thoughtful position.

"Well," he began carefully. "What interests you the most?"

"His strength," Sasuke was quick to come to the answer. "How did he become so strong? He killed the entire clan in a single night, and nobody realized it. How could he do that alone? The Uchiha were the strongest…no, they are the strongest."

"That's…an interesting question," Kabuto stated calmly. "His Anbu training certainly helped him a great deal, but what truly made him strong? That…" the boy began to muse over it for a while, "I think it was the desire to always prove himself. He always trained harder than any others, and he always fought harder than anyone else."

"That's no different than what I am doing," Sasuke hissed, "And yet I'm still not as strong as him. He was stronger than me by my age! He was already Anbu."

"Well, maybe he met someone during his missions?" Kabuto said then. "If he trained in Konoha and you did too, then it comes to term that he must have trained also outside of the village."

"But with who?" Sasuke remarked.

"It's simple, really," Kabuto stated calmly. "If he did train outside, it had to be with one of the Sannin or an S-rank shinobi at the very least. Maybe he met with Tsunade Senju? No, that would have made him a good healer rather than a killer…Jiraiya of the Sannin could be an answer."

"So it was because he had a good teacher, no, an excellent one?" Sasuke finally stated.

"Highly possible," Kabuto nodded. "Then again he always fought as if every battle was to the death…maybe that made him stronger too?"

"Our sensei told us to come at him with the intent to kill," Sasuke mumbled… "Maybe I should try?"

"That's your decision Sasuke," Kabuto commented. "You know, he used to talk about you a great deal," he added as if it was an afterthought. "He called you a troublesome little brother."

A nervous tick mark appeared on Sasuke's forehead. "He said anything else?"

Kabuto smiled for a moment, before adding. "He said he used to give you a flick on the forehead and tell you 'another time' if only to keep you quiet for the day." There was a wistful look on Kabuto's face, "He loved you dearly all the same."

"Yet he slaughtered the entire clan and let me live because I was weak," Sasuke hissed back. "Why? Why did he kill mother and father?"

"You know, Sasuke," Kabuto remarked calmly. "If he had wanted to let the weak live…then why did he also kill the children?" the Chuunin asked with curiosity. "He called you 'too weak to be worth it' but you certainly were stronger than an infant, weren't you? Yet he mercilessly slaughtered everyone but you."

Silence descended in the infirmary.

"It sounds to me he either actually cared about you…" Kabuto added slowly, "Or someone ordered him to spare you."

"B-But who would order him that?" Sasuke whispered with wide eyes. "There's…he was Anbu…they answer directly to the—" and his throat clenched tightly as he realized just what that thought led to.

"But the Uchiha were…"

"Well, I can't say there's any proof around," Kabuto remarked, "But then again, why are you alive if Itachi really didn't love you? And why aren't the children alive, if he didn't kill the weak? And what of the elderly?"

"I…I don't know," his eyes closed shut. "I'll have to ask him. I…How can I?"

"You should become stronger," Kabuto nodded sagely. "If you wish, I know just the thing…it is experimental, and has a high chance of being mortal…but if you survive, then it will make you undoubtedly stronger than any other of your peers, maybe even on par with Itachi himself."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed down. "Why are you helping me, Kabuto-san?"

"Because," Kabuto replied with a small smile, "I lost my family to betrayal too once," he shook his head with grief coming out from his tone. "Only, I never even had a chance for revenge…you, on the other hand…have."

"I need time to think," hastily, Sasuke stood up and walked towards the door.

"Take all the time you need," Kabuto replied, waving him off.

Unknown to the Uchiha, the wickedest smile ever to be seen had just then sprouted on the face of the medic Chuunin, as the retreating back of Sasuke disappeared from view.

Kurotsuchi looked at the dead bodies of the three Iwagakure shinobi that had taken the exam together with her. Somebody had not only killed them, but also apparently devoured their innards and used their exterior as…as a camouflage technique. She gritted her teeth as she kicked a nearby rock against a tree.

"Three shinobi dead," she muttered. "Three shinobi from Iwagakure dead and…argh, this reeks of Konoha politics." She looked at Jibachi and then at Akatsuchi, "you two, set a perimeter. We are not going to let any Konoha team pass through, understood? We'll teach them to—"

The ground rumbled and shook as a green-spandex clad Konoha shinobi literally dashed past them with unforeseen speed. There was a moment of silence, where not even Kurotsuchi dared to speak.

Then, finally, it was Akatsuchi who decided to state the obvious. "Fast."

"What the hell was that!?" Kurotsuchi screamed then.

"Kurotsuchi-sama," Jibachi said calmly. "I think the thing had his teammates on his shoulders."

A nervous tick mark appeared on the Kunoichi's forehead. "After them, then!"

"They're mine," a voice calmly stated from behind her. She spun around just in time to be on the receiving end of a gut-punch, one that drove her very breath away as her mouth opened in shock. Her eyes were wide as she watched the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi stare at her with cold crimson eyes charged with disgust. "They harmed my team," he hissed then. "But you will do as an appetizer," the Kyuubi smiled sweetly, before plunging his right hand straight through her abdomen.

She screamed in pain as he held her close, his left hand circling her shoulders as he spoke softly to her ear. "You know, Yang chakra heals wounds quickly. I can actually cauterize and heal your wound time and time again, before breaking it apart time and time again," this had to be the Kyuubi taking control —it couldn't be the Konoha Genin that spoke with such malice, "and the pain is excruciating. Literally…it is one of the strongest things I have ever felt and watched…" his crimson twin tails slashed away at an incoming fist from Akatsuchi, the stupid idiot trying to stop the monster from killing her.

She felt blood ooze out of her mouth, coppery and bitter to the taste as the tails stopped the stone-encrusted fist of her teammate and sent the Genin to fly back and crash against a tree bark. Jibachi wasn't even trying. In the back of her mind she realized he would probably be happy if she did die —he'd have his family next in the line of succeeding the Tsuchikage after all.

"You know," the Jinchuuriki commented. "I am going to take your scrolls. It is far easier than to pursue the other three. I will find them in the finals again after all, and there…there I will personally butcher all three of them." His eyes flickered with amusement from Jibachi to her, "And then again…you should choose your allies more carefully next time," he removed his fist from her body just as she saw the darkness at the corner of her eyesight. Her arms went down protectively to her stomach, that wasn't even sporting a wound…

But the pain had been there, and she had felt it all the same.

"Your blood tastes sweet, by the way," the Kyuubi coldly remarked lapping his bloodied hand. "And your chakra is bitter and filled with a malice you can't even discern…ah, spoiled children are a course I've had quite my fill in youth."

He grabbed her chin with his left hand, and then roughly kissed her back, his tongue licking her teeth for the blood she had felt the taste of in her mouth. She widened her eyes as the Kyuubi removed himself from her lips, before giving her one simple wink. "I felt the need to return the favor of last time," he spoke firmly, as an answer.

The Kyuubi wearing the skin of its Jinchuuriki then walked towards Jibachi calmly, leaving behind a dumbfounded Kurotsuchi who had slowly brought two fingers from her right hand to touch her bloodied lips. "Give me the scrolls, before I decide killing you is worth my time."

The bug-user trembled in fright as he immediately handed over his entire bag. The stupid moron was going to get them killed! She couldn't stand because of the phantom pain still running across her body, but as she lay down there holding onto her stomach area, shuddering from the mere presence of such a monster near them, she felt a small weight thrown at her chest.

She looked with shock as one scroll was flung at her from the Kyuubi himself, a smile gracing the lips of the boy in question.

"I will taste your blood in the finals. Do not think you can escape me…" the Kyuubi laughed. "The time spent stewing your fears will be my sweetest nectar, and I would be very angry…should you waste my time," then, with a simple nod in Kurotsuchi's direction, he jumped away.

The moment Naruto dropped down in the clearing near Karin and his two wounded teammates, the chakra cloak that surrounded him disappeared. He wobbled for an instant, before steadying himself and firmly grasping at the hilt of his Tanto.

"How are they?"

"They're stable," Karin said, turning around slightly to watch him. "Did you catch on to the other team?"

"I…The Kyuubi refused. I don't know what he did…I lost consciousness and all I remember is a red haze, but I have two more scrolls now," he mumbled. "Maybe he killed two of them teammates?"

"Why don't you ask him?" she said back as she grabbed a clean piece of cloth to wash away the dirt from another of Sai's wounds. The pale skinned boy's back was riddled with shrapnel, the steel bits having no specific form and thus forcing Karin to open the wounds even more to remove them one after the other.

"I…I don't think he's going to answer me anyway," Naruto shook his head. "He doesn't do things because he wants to help me. He does things because they help him in the long run." He blinked once. "He says that should be obvious."

"Your girlfriend got lucky by the way," Karin said calmly as she gestured towards Sakura's limp form. There was gauze around her neck, blotched with crimson from the bleeding wound probably. "One centimeter more and the steel wire would have cut through a few important blood vessels. She was lucky."

"Sai kept an eye out for her," Naruto remarked. "I should have too." He sighed, exhausted, as he dropped his back down against a tree trunk. "We have three scrolls…don't you want one?"

"No," Karin shook her head. "I…I don't want to. Maybe I'll stay a Genin a few more years," she added. "Plus, they say it's easier to be traded as a Genin than as a Chuunin from village to village," she said wistfully. "I still can't believe there's another Uzumaki around, in Konoha, no less…"

"You said something similar the last time too," Naruto pointed out. "What about your parents?"

"Raiders killed them," she snorted. "And the Uzumaki have separated since the fall of Uzushio…" she bit her lips, "You haven't read about it?"

"I have but…" Naruto grimaced, "There's not much in the library to go by. They simply stop mentioning the village after the last war."

"Course they do," Karin rolled her eyes. "Konoha left Uzushio to die after all." She steeled her gaze. "Kirigakure attacked from the sea, while Kumogakure came from the North. Uzushio was in the middle and was struck down…and then Konoha came by later, claiming to be our savior…" she spat out to the side, "While in truth they just claimed our territory for their own country. And what did we get back? They sew a whirlpool over their flak jackets. Wow, wonderful way of repaying our country's seal masters, our country's destruction…a fucking piece of cloth. That's the worth of Uzushio now in Konoha's memory…and many don't even know that!"

"Weren't the Senju and Uzumaki…allies?" he asked. "I recall a Mito Uzumaki that…"

"Mito Uzumaki was the head of the clan Uzumaki back in the days when Uzushio was powerful. She married into the Senju line in order to keep the two countries allied, but annexation was never on the table." Karin bit her lips. "The death of the First Hokage and the rise of the second didn't change things, but by the time the third war began Konoha was grievously indebted because of the warfare effort." She shook her head with a mirthless chuckle. "Seals are powerful. Jinchuuriki are the prime example —think of the power to hold at bay the Kyuubi! And it's just ink and chakra, isn't it? Such power…it bred jealousy," Karin closed her eyes shut.

"Uzushio was protected by such a complex array of seals that the only way in was to either be an ally or be someone with no ill-intentions against the village," the crimson haired girl smiled bitterly. "Somebody showed the way in to Kiri shinobi, and that night Uzushio burned. Shinobi, civilians, men or women didn't matter as their corpses floated in the crimson water of their docks. Building crashed down by the dozen as chakra techniques clashed throughout the city…by the end of it, Kumogakure attacked the fleeing masses barely outside the village. My mother always told me that the only way for them to know where the escape routes were…was to have been told by someone the Uzushio government trusted."

Tears slowly pooled down Karin's face as she choked out a half-strangled sob. "And all this… it happened after Mito Uzumaki died."

Naruto clenched his fists. He didn't feel as strongly as Karin this loss of his 'hometown'. He had never been born anywhere else, and he had never actually met in the flesh his parents. He was saddened he'd never meet more than stragglers of what once was supposed to be his cultural heritage, but he was actually sadder that Karin was crying out in frustration for what had happened decades before.

He slowly moved closer to the crying girl and hugged her gently, feeling embarrassed as he began to softly caress her red hair. He felt her hands grip firmly onto his clothes, before lowering his gaze to stare at her own shining crimson orbs. She was looking at him with something akin to hope, as slowly her face came closer and closer to his and her eyes began to close. He watched her lips pucker up slightly as she was inches away from pressing her lips against his.

Her lips had a light reddish hue of lipstick, and they looked so inviting actually that he was just about to move forward when …

"Dickless," Sai's monotone drawl actually broke the entire atmosphere, bringing Karin backwards embarrassedly and turning to face Sai who was eying them from his spot on the ground. "Should I change your nickname to Harem Lord?"

"Sai!" with a scream of relief Naruto jumped right next to the wounded boy. "Are you all right?"

"I'll be operative within tomorrow," he remarked calmly. "Kinky Cherry?"

"She's still unconscious," Naruto bit his lips as he looked over to the laid down form of Sakura. "And what's that about being a Harem Lord?"

"Dickless, I have eyes."

"Obviously," Naruto deadpanned back. "But I don't understand what you're—"

Naruto froze. He had been kissed, hadn't he? "The first doesn't count!" he exclaimed, "And the second was on the cheek, really! The third one was, is, can…I," as he stuttered and stammered, Sai merely looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Dickless, I can't believe you hadn't realized it yet," Sai deadpanned. "Are you without a brain or what?"

"Excuse me! I was worried about not dying, and you know, it's not easy to have to fight through an entire chakra mass of misery and then end up thrown right or left because there's an exam to pass! For Kami's sakes, I didn't have time to think even as I went in pursuit of the bastards who did this to you two!"

"Should I be touched?" Sai remarked calmly. "This isn't a double meaning. If you dare touch me I will chop your hand off. Keep your harem to females only, Dickless."

Naruto's shoulders began to move up and down as the Jinchuuriki's eyes closed. A hearty chuckle escaped his throat, soon followed by a slight shaking of the head. "Never change, Sai," he said simply.

"Clothes would start to stink after two days," he retorted.

"No, I meant…you know what? Never mind," Naruto sighed. "Karin, can we move Sakura?"

"Uh? No! At least not until the night is over!" she quickly said. Slightly blushing, the kunoichi from Kusagakure moved to take care of Sai's back once more, remaining silent as the two teammates bantered one with the other about size of dicks and proportions related to the number of women around Naruto.

She blushed more than once, but the slight feeling of warmth that her heart was feeling there and then remained lit all throughout the day. So much so that it actually stung, when she dipped the clothes in a low-action long term poison before cleaning Sai and Sakura's wounds once more.

Then again…Orochimaru-sama had given her an order, and who was she to refuse?

The fourth day Sakura was still unconscious, while Sai was instead up and moving —albeit slowly— around the camp. "One more day to go," he remarked. "We should move carefully towards the tower," he added then.

"Do you think they planned it like this?" Naruto suddenly asked. "I mean, with all teams with scrolls converging to the tower at the same time. If someone is without, they just have to wait in ambush."

"Who remains?" Sai was suddenly alert. "The two teams from Iwagakure, the Otogakure team and?"

"I think one member of Team Nine," Naruto whispered softly, "unless I stole the scrolls from someone else…and the Takigakure team too."

"So Iwagakure, one member of Team Nine, us three, and the three from Takigakure?" Sai asked for confirmation. "Well, it could be worse."

Naruto nearly bit his tongue. "Sai, why did you have to say that?"

"What?" puzzled, Sai raised an eyebrow. "What could be worse?"

"Yes, that one," Naruto sighed. He shook his head then, "I just know you called it on us."

Ryuzetsu was an Anbu-rank kunoichi from Takigakure. The fact she was not only lithe and small, but also with a young face, had been the reason she had been chosen to pass off as a Genin and enter the forest. The two teammates were Genin all the same, if only to enhance the 'genuine' feel of her team. She was rarely afraid of anything. She had faced and battled down countless Missing-Nin, had fought through seriously crappy missions and generally had upheld the laws of Taki to her best.

Yet even she had limits.

She didn't even stop to plan. The moment her gaze settled on the broken corpses of her two 'teammates' she simply dropped all pretenses of being a Genin and disappeared with the speed that only an Anbu could possess.

And not a second too soon, as the Otogakure team's archer found himself cursing out loud the loss of five of his best arrows at the same time.

The Otogakure team had two scrolls…it would have to suffice.

The last day saw the Tower's occupants make haste to the doors, readying themselves to welcome the arriving shinobi.

There was silence as three scrolls were hurriedly settled in three of the ten holes that surrounded the double doors of the tower. The next moment, the blurred form of a green spandex wearing shinobi ran in as fast as he could, kicking the door shut behind him and holding on his shoulders a green-faced Kunoichi and a utterly pissed off Hyuga Neji.

"Lee, let me down right now!" Tenten exclaimed angrily. "We're out of danger! He hasn't followed us since…"

"LEE-KUN!" the scream was accompanied by a slight shriek from Tenten, as the kunoichi was dropped unceremoniously on the floor soon followed by Neji too. The reason for this became apparent by the next scream, coming from the Genin in question.

"GAI-SAN!" and with those words Rock Lee went to crush-hug Maito Gai, who crush-hugged him back.

"LEE!"

"GAI-sensei!"

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

"Somebody, dispel that Genjutsu," Kakashi coughed out slightly at the general mutter was the same around the other Jounin. "Well then, congratulation, now if you would—"

Three more scrolls were suddenly inserted, resulting in the doors opening wide once more to admit team Thirteen.

Yugao Uzuki actually felt pride at watching her three students stroll in, accompanied by a fourth one who simply moved to a corner and declared herself to have failed calmly. She didn't as much as give another glance to the crimson eyed girl, instead simply flickering down and stopping in front of the three.

"AH IT'S HIM!" the scream of Rock Lee was soon met with the green spandex Genin running as far as possible from Naruto himself. "Save yourself!"

The look of utter surprise on the rest of the present shinobi was equal, if not of fear coming from both Neji Hyuga and Tenten who slowly inched away from the arriving team.

Sakura coughed slightly, holding onto her neck wound that was badly itching by then. Sai too looked pale, as he carefully seemed to be leaning on Naruto who was supporting him through.

"Infirmary, all three of you," Yugao deadpanned, even as she realized Naruto was completely unscathed. Then again… "And a report, later."

"Yes, sensei," Naruto mumbled while nodding, before helping Sai out of the room.

The doors slowly were opened once more as a mixed team came in. One member from the Takigakure group firmly held the scroll, followed by one member of the Iwagakure team and two from the Otogakure group.

"Very well," Kakashi coughed once more to get everyone's attention. "All participants, to the infirmary. The winners may come back here afterwards to receive further news. Inform your Jounin-sensei of the last known location of your teammates' bodies if they died, or where they are hiding if still alive."

Kakashi eye-smiled once more. "It will be all for the moment…well done in surviving the second part of the exam, all of you."

And with those words, the second exam was officially brought to a close.

"Orochimaru-sama?" a voice whispered in the darkness. "We have succeeded."

"Well done," the snake Sannin remarked. "Very well done…Kidomaru, Tayuya. What of the distractions?"

"The Kiri shinobi were annihilated all but one; the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki strength is ascertained. The Ichibi container was killed."

"Very well then," Orochimaru said calmly. The loss of the Ichibi changed nothing…if not that it forced his hand with the Kazekage. "I will warn the rest of the organization. Operation Breadcrumbs begins now," the snake Sannin closed contact, letting his image shimmer away.

The bigger picture…

Orochimaru's golden eyes settled on the map of the elemental countries. His right hand opened like a palm over Konoha, the five fingers spread evenly. "Fools," he breathed out. "Utter fools."

He chuckled. A sickening laughter soon escaped his mouth. "I will show them what it means, to lose all that is precious to them! Your precious village will crumble to dust, sensei! I warned you once! I told you twice! And thrice…thrice did the world try and stop this," with his hand's nails, he clawed the map leaving behind deep gashes. "Now, once more, the price will be paid. You will not listen!? Then I will force you to! Listen to the screams of the world, Sensei! Listen as I drown in an ocean of flames and blood all that you cherish!"

He broke through the sides of his tent, to watch at the amassed forces of his village, the village of sound, preparing for war. "In a month…" he whispered to himself, gazing at the lines of tents. "In a month…"

He sighed.

"Let there be war!" and as he clenched his right fist up in the sky, he laughed even louder, the moon's unyielding presence a constant reminded of the bigger picture…at least, to his madness filled brain.

Author's notes

The Bigger Picture.

Second Exam done.

What happened to Hinata? Next chapter (maybe).

Ryuzetsu is the Anbu from blood prison (Girl).

(She should actually be from Kusa.)

The winners of the second bout are:

Naruto. Sai. Sakura.

Neji. Tenten. Rock Lee.

Kurotsuchi. Kidomaru. Tayuya. Ryuzetsu.

Ryuzetsu does not know the Oto team killed her teammates.