Don't do drugs. Stay in school.

"Uh, I'm sorry, I must've had something funky in my ear. Could you run that by me again?" Kiba stated as he cleaned out his ear, a little confused about the news he and everyone else still in the room had just received.

"Heheh. Well you certainly didn't use your brain to decide to stay here, judging on your reaction," Ibiki chuckled darkly. "Oh well, I suppose I do of you an explanation after brain fucking you all for the past hour."

"You got that right," Kiba muttered under his breath. One of the proctors nearly hit him with a kunai, just to nail the test paper of the guy sitting next to him.

"Okay now, clean the wax outta your ears and listen up, 'cause I'm only explaining this once," Ibiki started, getting everyone's attention. "The point of this exam wasn't to be able to answer the questions on your own, but to be able to take the answers from another person without them noticing. In the real world, information is power, and being able to acquire it without getting caught was the key. Now, I know that unless I put a few of my own men into the exam who had the answeres, that there might not have been anyone here smart enough to answer the questions. Men, you're dismissed," he concluded.

At that moment, three seemingly-random Leaf Genin stood up before being covered in a puff of smoke, revealing themselves to be three more beige-uniformed shinobi. Once they left, Ibiki continued once again.

"Hey wait a minute," Tenten interrupted. "If the point of this exam was to be able to collect information, then why set up the last question like you did? You made it sound like a life-or-death thing the way you worded it."

"That was a point I was about to get to. In the real world, you won't always have the luxury of knowing what's in front of you," Ibiki started. "Say for example you're on a mission to acquire a scroll containing top secret information from an enemy stronghold. You don't know the building's layout, how many men there are, whether or not there are traps, or even how well-armed or how skilled they are. Now, you could choose to step back and live to fight another day, but at the same time, doing so would put your village in great danger. On the other hand, you could go in for the information like you already would, however there wouldn't be any guarantee that you'd come back alive. Those are the life-and-death decisions each f must make, and it is for that reason itself that I have structured the first exam as I did. To ensure that only those who were ready to be chūnin would advance."

"Man, that's a relief," Kiba sighed as he let his head fall onto the desk. I couldn't even answer one of those damned questions, he added to himself, hoping to hide the blank paper under his arms until the last possible minute.

As everyone sat in their seats, most completely shocked by the turn of events that had just taken place, Koten's survival instincts suddenly flared into overdrive as the sound of something moving through the air in the test room's direction met his ears.

"Fire in the hole!" he cried before ducking under his desk as fast as he could while throwing his arms over his head, drawing the attention of the remaining genin sitting around him.

The next moment, a large burgundy cloth broke through the window before spinning in mid-air, two kunai embedding themselves into the ceiling letting the banner fall, reading Anko Mitarashi, the Chūnin Exam's sexiest instructor. And like the banner said, Anko Mitarashi had used it to make her entrance into the room a bit more… memorable.

"Alright you little maggots, listen up!" Anko blared out as she began spinning a kunai on her finger. "I'm Anko Mitarashi, and I'm going to be your instructor for the second stage of the Chūnin Exams!"

Those taking part of the exams just stared up dumbfounded, thinking something along the lines of "What the hell just happened?" At the same time, Koten poked his head above the desk, earning strange looks from the people who were sitting within his general vicinity.

"What? That could've just as easily been a bomb or something," he argued.

"Ahem. Anko," Ibiki said from behind the curtain. "While I'm thankful for your… enthusiasm, you're a bit early."

"Oh? Well sorry about- Wait a minute what the hell!" she said changing her attitude mid-sentence as she looked around the room. "Twenty seven teams? Don't tell me your getting soft in your old age."

"Well maybe we just have a promising group of candidates this year," Ibiki countered. "Did you ever stop to think of that?"

Anko just huffed as she put her hands on her hips. "Yeah well, it won't really matter all that much, because…" she said in a matter-of-factly way, "by the time I'm through with them, that number will be cut right in half."

At that moment, some of the teams started to pale, wondering just which half of the room would be the dead half during the second part of the exams. As for those who were critical thinkers, they wondered just who would be cut in half, since twenty seven three-person cells meant that eighty one genin would be moving on to the next stage, and in order for that specific number to be cut in half, someone was going to have to be cut down the middle.

I'm rambling again aren't I?

I'll just cut to the next scene then.


After they had gotten their senses back together, everyone followed Anko to a massive fenced-off area outside the village. Large metal bars and barbed wire with metal gates bearing huge locks and chains forming the perimeter. A dominating feature was a sign that had the words Training Grounds 44 on it, but was crossed out with red paint and replaced by the words Forest of Death. Streaks of paint across the wood showed the new title had been removed numerous times, but at one point whoever maintained the fence simply gave up on the endeavor and simply left the unofficial name to stay.

At the same time Anko was explaining about the forest's relation to the second exam, previously-interrupted thoughts were now racing double-time.

Man, things are going to get really bad, I can feel it, Koten thought to himself. Those three that attacked Kabuto, they're the same as back then. I'm sure of it.

"Well what're you going to do?" Koga asked.

The only thing I can do, Koten thought back. Get a message out and hope I don't make it too vague, but at the same time, just vague enough that those guys don't catch on, he thought as he pulled a paper bomb out of his pocket and hastily scribbled a message onto the back of it while no one was looking.

"So how're you going to get that message out of here without anyone knowing?" Koga asked. "If what you're saying is true, then you can't just pass on a message in broad daylight."

Koten looked around frantically until his eyes landed on Anko.

Koga. I think I just found my messenger.

Koga simply muttered, "Oh boy."


As Anko neared the end of the explanation for the Second Exam, a voice from the crowd suddenly cut her off.

"Really? The Forest of Death is it?" Koten suddenly blurted out, a little louder then was needed, capturing everyone's attention. "I've seen worse," he said in the most confident tone he could. "This'll probably be a walk in the park if you ask me. Hahahahaha!"

The next moment the stinging sensation of metal cutting through flesh flared across Koten's left cheek. A moment later he sensed Anko behind him as she began to lick the blood off his cheek, causing a chill to go up his spine.

"You know, you should save that kind of talk until after you've passed the Second Exam," Anko said confidently as she pat his shoulder after licking her lips, then suddenly brought out another kunai and had it poised behind her.

"Excuse me, but I do believe you dropped this," a Grass-Nin with a really long tongue said to Anko, passing back her kunai with said tongue.

"You know, you shouldn't sneak up on me like that," Anko said as she took the kunai back. "I might end up killing you."

"Sorry about that," the Grass-Nin apologized. "It's just that I get so excited at the sight of spilled blood."

"Spilled? This is hardly even a trickle," Koten argued under his breath as he wiped the blood off his face and onto his arm guard.

"Anyway, moving on," Anko said as she walked off and stood back in front of the fence. "The objective for the next part of the exam is simple. Each team will receive one scroll; either a Heaven or Earth scroll," she said pulling the two from her inside pockets. "Your objective is to get one of each and make it to the tower in the center of the forest. You have five days to procure a scroll and make it to the tower before you're considered failed. Also," she said pulling out a batch of papers. "These are release forms. You have to sign them in exchange for a scroll, and the entire team will need to sign it."

"Why do we need to sign release forms?" one genin asked.

"So that way when you die the village won't be held accountable," Anko replied in a tone that almost guaranteed death for at least one unfortunate soul out there.


A minute later with Team 7 after the forms had been handed out.

"How did you do on your exam Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked.

"Not so well," Naruto admitted, since he couldn't have done what Kiba did with his companion using Kirara. "Still, we all passed, and we just have to keep going."

At that moment Kirara seemed to mew apologetically, Naruto scratching her under her chin.

"Hey, it's okay girl," Naruto said as he scratched his companion's chin. "Even though we can't talk to each other that much, that doesn't make you any less of a companion to me."

With that, Kirara mewed happily, licking Naruto's cheek before climbing back atop his head, resting between his ears.

"I can never get over how cute the two of you are," Hinata cooed at the sight before her.

At that moment, Naruto noticed a familiar square 'rock' with eye holes in it sneaking up behind Hinata, the rock lifting itself up to get a better look, revealing a set of hands and knees.

"Kirara. Go play," Naruto said evenly as he pointed at the box with a neutral expression on his face.

Kirara mewed before jumping off his head, running under the lid of the box before it could lower itself. The next moment, grunting and crying noises could be heard as it began to bounce about wildly, Kirara's growling echoing through the eyeholes until the box was thrown back, once again revealing Konohamaru, Udon, and Moegi, who's head at the moment Kirara was sitting upon as she licked her paws and cleaned her face, the three kids having a few scratches here and there across their skin and clothing.

"Aw man. Naruto-Sensei, why'd you do that?" Konohamaru whined.

"Because I told you explicitly not to use that box-rock camouflage anymore," Naruto ranted as he poked the boy in the forehead, causing him to stumble backwards back onto his rear.

"Ah! Kirara! You're just as cute as ever aren't you?" Moegi cooed as she snatched the cat from her head and began stroking her fur, Kirara mewing at the affection.

"Naruto-kun, who're your little friends?" Haku asked as she walked into the group.

"Ah, Haku-chan, I haven't introduced you yet," Naruto said as he brought the KNS to attention. "Boys, and girl, this is Haku, a very good friend of mine. Haku, these are my friends Konohamaru, Udon, and Moegi, who in the ninja world call themselves the Konohamaru Ninja Corps."

At that, Konohamaru whistled. "Man sensei, you sure have an eye for quality," he said with a smile, causing the ice-user to blush slightly at the open compliment.

"Heh. You could say that," Naruto replied, but then noticed Hinata pouting at him cutely. "Hinata is also a very good friend," he said pulling her to his side, earning a squeak from the Hyuga heiress.

"I amend my last statement," Konohamaru said. "You have a really good eye for quality."

"Hehe, you're such a charmer Konohamaru," Hinata giggled. "If you're anything like my Naruto-kun, you'll have the girls all over you in a few years too."

"I just hope they're as pretty as you two are," Konohamaru replied with a smile. "So Naruto-sensei. What's the deal with the woods-on-steroids?" he asked pointing to Training Ground 44.

"That would be the Forest of Death," Naruto replied. "And it isn't just for hype either. People really do die in there on a daily basis. Don't ever go in there unless you're super-confident in your abilities, or are taking the Chūnin Exams."

"Don't worry about us Naruto," Konohamaru said as Udon and Moegi stood behind him. "In a few years' we'll be genin too, and after that, chūnin as well."

"Good luck to you three then," Haku replied.

Naruto was about to walk to the booth to exchange his team's forms for a scroll when he noticed something about Konohamaru that he realized he forgot to resolve the last time he saw him, and, in restrospect, was kicking himself for not doing so earlier.

"Konohamaru. You should really shorten that scarf. If you don't, you'll end up tripping on it or have it yanked from behind you one day and make a fool out of yourself," Naruto sighed.

"But Naruto-sensei, don't all the greats wear scarves?" Konohamaru asked.

"Some, but theirs were of a more reasonable length," he replied as he grabbed the end of the cloth and held it out, showing the distance between them after taking a few steps back after giving it a small yank.

"Well how do I fix it boss?" the boy asked as he rubbed his neck.

Naruto just sighed again as he held the end of Konohamaru's scarf up into the air with his left hand, then, with his right, slashed through it with his claws before letting it settle down, now laying just above the boy's waist in length, as opposed to dragging on the ground like it was before by several feet.

"There. That fixes that," Naruto said, thankful to have that issue resolved.

"Wow boss! You're so cool!" Konohamaru cheered, stars in his eyes as his now shortened scarf blew slightly in the wind behind him, the slightly shredded look making it look battle-worn. "I'm gonna have you do this to all my scarves!" he said enthusiastically.

"Methinks the boy give you too much credit," Inuyasha chimed in.

You don't say… Naruto thought sarcastically as the excited boy ran off with his friends. Still, moments like these are why I became a ninja. To protect those I care about.

"Save the sappy stuff for after we kill everything in our path huh?" Inuyasha asked, visibly retching.


At around the same time, Koten, Haku, and Sai had all turned in their papers, intent on passing these exams for their own reasons after acquiring their scroll.

The group split up shortly after that to take care of any last-minute business for the exams, leaving Koten alone by one of the stone outcroppings, the stinging in his cheek beginning to go away, provided he not agitate it.

"H-Hey Koten," a voice suddenly greeted from behind him. When he turned around, he saw a familiar pair of sky blue eyes and blond hair, accompanied by a purple outfit. It took a moment for him to remember who she was, and when he did, Koga chimed something in that made the host say the 'S' word into his head.

"Oh, Ino, how've you been?" he asked in greeting as Shikamaru and Choji followed behind their teammate.

"O-Oh? You r-remember my name?" Ino asked shyly.

"From the way she's acting like Hinata used to, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say Ino likes him now," Choji whispered to Shikamaru.

"I figure so," the Nara boy replied. "The two of us watched the clouds together one time after bumping into each other, and he seems okay. Though my dad says he can't hold his sake. Oh well. At least she's over Sasuke, so this is an improvement at the least, and that she won't pester us as much. Troublesome blond."

"Of course," Koten answered. "Why wouldn't I remember your name?"

"Ah- Well- I- Ah…" Ino stammered for a moment, trying to think of something to say before she noticed the unattended cut on the boy's cheek. "Ah! Koten! You're still cut," she cried. "Here, let me patch you up," Ino said as she reached into her tool pouch and pulled out some salve and a bandage. "C-Could you kneel down please?"

"Sure, but this is only a scratch," Koten said as he dropped to one knee. "It'll heal in a few days on its own."

"While that may be true, that cut could still get infected," Ino said as she rubbed the salve onto his cut, then placed the bandage over his cheek. "There. All done."

Koten rubbed the bandages on his cheek, noting that Ino had taken great care as to not agitate his cut, which deep down, he appreciated a lot. "Thanks Ino. You're very kind," he said with a smile.

"Ah-Ah it was nothing really," Ino said as the turned around, hiding the blush on her cheeks. Oh man! I've gotten just as bad as Hinata! Even him smiling makes my face red.

"Say, since you helped me out, how about I return the favor?" Koten asked. "I can't do that much at the moment, but if there's something I can do, just let me know."

"Well… Um…" Ino said trying to think of something, not wanting to turn down the boy's kindness. "Do you have any advice for the next exam?" she asked after a few minutes. "Anything would be a big help really."

"Advice huh…" Koten thought to himself as he rubbed his chin. "Ah, I've got something. My advice on how to win a fight with greater ease."

"Really? What is it?" Ino asked.

At that, Koten took a few steps back before jabbing a thumb at himself. "Hit me."

"Huh?" the blond asked.

"Try and hit me," Koten replied. "You'll see what I mean."

"Oh, um, okay," Ino replied nervously as she got into a taijutsu stance, then ran at him.

"Don't hold back," he reminded her. "Otherwise, I may not be able to forgive you," he added playfully, though Ino took it seriously.

She swung her fists at him a few times, but Koten simply moved them aside or pushed them out of the way. When she tried to kick at him, he either jumped or ducked the hits. After a failed roundhouse, Ino lost her footing and suddenly fell backwards, Koten catching her and inadvertently drawing her to his chest.

"You see? As long as you don't get hit, then your opponent can't beat you," Koten asked as he let her go, Ino resting against his chest for a few seconds before she snapped back to attention and got back to her group. "It's not much, but I hope the advice helps."

"I-It did," Ino said with a bow, then elbowed her teammates into bowing as well. "Thank you for the advice, Lord Koten," she said formally.

"Hey now, we're friends, so you don't have to be so formal with me," Koten replied. "We are friends, right?"

"O-Of course," Ino replied. "Thanks for the advice."

"If what you're saying's true, then why do you have so many scars?" Choji asked curiously between chips.

"Those were unavoidable circumstances." Koten responded. "Anyway. You three should probably get moving. You'll have to hurry if you want to get your scrolls for the next exam."

"R-Right. Thanks again," Ino said as she ran to the black-curtained booth with her teammates.

As Ino and her team ran off, Koten's hand brushed against the bandage on his cheek, a slight smell of flowers present as well.


Fifteen minutes later, everyone who was going to continue had received either a heaven or earth scroll for their squads. As the tension in the air reached its peak, a beige-uniformed shinobi stood by each of the gates

"Oh, and one more thing," Anko announced. "Try not to die. We may not be able to find your bodies in there," she added grimly.

When the gates swung open with the creaking of rusty metal, all the squads rushed into the forest, some intent on getting the opposite scroll immediately and getting to the tower, while some were just hoping to come out of that in one piece.

"Heh, let the games begin," Anko said devilishly as she licked her lips. "Heh, that kid's blood had a strong flavor to it. Probably got that flavor from the wilderness," she added darkly, causing those by the gates to shudder a bit.


Chūnin Exams:
Day 1


A half hour into the exam, Team Wolf –the unofficial name for Koten's cell for the Chūnin Exams- stopped leaping through the trees and landed on a high branch. Koten began to sniff through the air, but caught mostly the scent of blood, fauna, decay, and a few other smells he didn't yet recognize.

"So we've got three days to do this," Haku stated. "How will we find the Earth scroll?" she asked, since she was keeping their Heaven scroll on her person.

And no, I do not mean in her person. You perverts.

"I happen to know that the Earth scrolls are dyed black with a material that smells slightly stronger than the dye on the Heaven scrolls," Sai said evenly. "Given the placement of the other teams before we entered the forest, it should be safe to assume that the best shot of getting to the scroll with the least amount of trouble would be to intercept those who are heading to the tower immediately, before they have time to fortify themselves."

At that moment, Koten stopped sniffing through the air, his nose picking up a dry earthy smell (Ironic, huh?). "I think I've got something. Probably five or so meters to the northeast of our position. I'm not too sure about the distance though. Math isn't really my strong suit."

"Oh I agree," Sai said with a smile. "Why would you need to be able to calculate the strength and angle needed to deflect a kunai off a rock and into an enemy's stomach when you can just go up behind them and snap their necks while they're not looking yourself?"

"Can we please get back on track?" Haku asked. "I'd like to get out of this forest before someone becomes leech food," she said remembering the team they passed earlier on that had been eaten by the leeches indigenous to the Forest of Death. The scroll they had was a Heaven, so they merely pocketed that one, should they need to bargain with it later.

"Right. Let's go, and stay sharp," Koten said as they rushed off through the trees, narrowly dodging the head-sized leeches that attempted to latch onto them at the moment they left. "Tomorrow morning, we'll only have four days. We need to get the other scroll and get to the tower with enough time to rest before the Third Exam, and I doubt I'm the only one thinking along those lines."

And lo and behold, every genin within that forest was thinking along those same lines too.


At the same time with Team Seven, Sasuke, Sakura, and Kiba continued through the forest until the latter suddenly stopped in the clearing.

"Hey guys, hold up a minute," Kiba said.

"Why?" Sasuke asked dryly.

"Nature's calling," Kiba answered kurtly as he unzipped his pants and faced a bush, Amakaru raising his leg until Sakura kicked the two of them in the ribs.

"Hey! Take that somewhere else you dog! You're in mixed company!" Sakura shouted angrily.

"Fine, fine, I'm going," Kiba mumbled to himself as he and Akamaru walked off into the forest. Lousy bitch, Kiba muttered while Akamaru whimpered as he walked off the kick he received. "Don't worry boy. Maybe if we're lucky, she'll get eaten by a giant snake or something."

Oh if only you were that lucky.


About a few hours later, outside the Forest of Death as the sun had begun to set.

"So Anko, how many do you think will survive this time?" a test proctor asked Anko as she sat atop the exam registration booth, a dango stick in her hand as she looked intently at the tree in front of her.

"Eh. I dunno. Maybe six, eight teams as the most," she said as she threw the dango stick like a kunai, finishing a perfect leaf village symbol made entirely of fifty eight dango sticks.

"But still, if twenty six teams made it past Ebiki, don't you think more would survive?" the test proctor asked again.

"I still think Ibiki's getting soft in his old age," Anko said. "In fact, if it were me, I'd-" she started as she slipped her hands into her pockets, but suddenly paused when her right hand brushed into something. "Huh?"

As she pulled it up, she found a crumpled up paper bomb, a message crudely scrawled onto the back.

It only took a few moments for Anko to realize when it had been slipped into her pocket, and when she did, a smug grin presented itself across her face. "Well wadya know? That wolf kid's smarter then people give him credit for."

"Hm? What'd you say?" the proctor asked.

"Watch the gate until I get back," Anko ordered as she turned on her heel and faced the Hokage Tower in the distance. "I've got something I need to take care of," she said as she disappeared in a swirl of leaves.


Meanwhile in the Forest of Death, Kiba and Akamaru relieved themselves on one of the many trees in the forest of death. Every tree there was fresh territory for an Inuzuka hound, but given the circumstances, the two Inuzuka chose not to chance it.

As Kiba zipped his pants and Akamaru put his leg down, the two of them suddenly felt hot breath on the backs of their necks.

When they turned around, the two slightly paled at the sight of a really fucking huge brown-skinned python staring at them, its tongue darting out of its mouth every few seconds as it stared at the two like pieces of meat, which, given the current circumstances, wasn't too far from the truth.

At that moment, only one word came to Kiba's mind, and at the same time, Akamaru chose to speak in human tongue prematurely.

"Shit," the both of them said as the snake charged.


A few minutes later from her perspective, Anko had appeared in the hokage's office and ordered for an immediate private meeting. After setting up the seals, Anko quickly placed the note she'd received onto the desk. When Sarutobi picked it up, he immediately knew this was more than just some elementary school note by the way the message was worded, and in the direness it had been delivered in, since most sane people wouldn't get themselves cut just slipping a meaningless message into someone's pocket.

TO HOKAGE
BIG TROUBLE
30 HEADBANDS
MUSIC NOTE
REALLY BAD FEELING

"So you're saying Koten slipped this into your pocket before he went into the forest?" Sarutobi asked.

"Yeah," Anko answered. "I thought he was just being overconfident back there, but to pull one over me like this while I was enjoying the taste of fresh blood… I guess I must've gotten a little sloppy myself. So what do you think the note means?"

Sarutobi put his hand to his chin in thought as he tried to decipher the vague note. Clearly it was a call for help directed at him, and the quote about thirty headbands could be about his personal collection. However, it took him a few moments to connect the dots between what had been put in Tsume's report when they'd found Koten, and the mysterious Sound Ninja present in the Chūnin Exams bearing a similarity to those in Koten's report.

"Anko. Are you currently carrying your lock-picking tools?" Sarutobi asked.

"Heh, aren't I always?" Anko asked coyly as she pulled out a leather-bound case from her pocket.

"Normally I'd be concerned, I really would, but my old bones are telling me something bad is coming on the horizon, and I can't worry about the little things right now."

"You mean like the stashes of paper bombs I've got hidden under the civilian council member's houses?" Anko asked.

"The what?" Sarutobi asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Nothing," Anko replied averting her gaze, wanting to change the subject as she struggled to hide the smirk adorning her lips.


At the same time, Naruto's group moved through the Forest of Death, using the canopy for cover as they tried to find another team that had the Heaven Scroll they needed. It took some doing, but eventually, Hinata was able to locate the white-colored scroll with her Byakugan.

"I see them," Hinata said as the three of them, Kirara sitting on Naruto's head, overlooked a small clearing where some Stone-Nin were taking a break.

"Good job Hinata," Naruto replied. "Now we just have to soften them up a bit before we go in for the prize. Shino, you're up."

The Aburame simply nodded in recognition as the three of them descended to the ground below, releasing some of his insects through the grass and at the enemy nin's ankles, where they slowly began training chakra.

After a few minutes, the group began to move around to their rear flank through the bushes, attempting to catch them by surprise until Naruto noticed something was wrong.

"Hey. Where's Kirara?" he asked worriedly.

His question was answered as said cat demon suddenly jumped out of the bushes in front of the Stone-Nin, her fur standing on end as she growled at the three enemy ninja.

"Hey boss. What's that thing?" one of the Stone-nin asked.

"Don't know. Doesn't look bloodthirsty enough for the Forest of Death," another replied.

"I say we cut it up and make it into soup," the third said maliciously as he brought out his kunai, Kirara standing her ground as the three continued walking towards her. Even though she growled at them and her fur stood on end, they didn't yield.

"Change of plans! We attack now!" Naruto said as he leapt out of the bushes, Hinata and Shino right behind him before Kirara could transform into her other form out in the open. It would be bad if her ability to turn into a giant sabertooth flaming cat were revealed, since it could potentially ruin her effectiveness as a snuck-in predator in future missions.

"What the- We've been ambu-" the leader started, only for Naruto to tackle him to the ground before getting thrown off, the two leaders engaging in a brief taijutsu battle before Naruto lashed out at him.

"Iron Reaver Soul Stealer!" he shouted as he slashed his claws out in a horizontal strike, separating his opponent's top half from his bottom half.

Before the second one could do anything, Shino rushed him and started delivering punches and kicks at him. A few seconds into their fight, the stone-nin got a lucky hit in and managed to drive a kunai into Shino's heart, only for him to dissolve into a swarm of kikkei insects that quickly swarmed over him, draining him of his chakra as he was brought to the ground.

"Guys!" the sadistic ninja cried at seeing his two teammates fall. When Kirara scurried away, she ran behind Hinata, who the ninja's eyes settled on. "You! Because you my partners are dead! So just stand still and die you bitch!" he shouted as he grabbed a kunai and lunged at the Hyuuga heiress.

"Byakugan!" Hinata intoned as she activated her kekkei genkai, her opponent's chakra network revealing itself to her as he aimed to stab her heart, only for her to parry the strike and drive her palm into his shoulder, causing his right arm to fall limp at his side.

"Dammit!" he cried as he swapped hands and continued to slash wildly at Hinata, forcing her to back away until a root caught her ankle and caused her to fall backwards. "Now you're mine!" the stone-nin cried as he dove at Hinata's throat with his kunai outstretched.

"Hinata!" Naruto cried out.

The next moment, Hinata dove slightly to the left to avoid the kunai, then drove her palm into the stone-nin's heart, causing blood to splatter out of his mouth as he fell onto the ground face-first. As she took the moment to catch her breath, the stone-nin suddenly got up again, his eyes rolling over in his head as he tried to blindly lash out at her with his kunai in a blind fury as he was dying.

As Hinata continued to back away, one of the dying nin's strikes managed to cut her sleeve, causing her to cry out as she drove her palm between the nin's eyes, his body going limp after a few seconds as blood began to leak out of his mouth and ears as well.

"Hinata, are you alright?" Naruto asked as he grabbed her shoulders and looked her in the eye as Shino dragged away the body like it were normal business.

"I-I'm fine," Hinata answered, a bit of fear in her eyes as her life had flashed before them for a brief second. "Just need a few minutes is all."

After checking the bodies, Shino liberated the Heaven Scroll they needed from the top half of the corpse of the one that appeared to be the leader. After that, Naruto made a few clones to drag the bodies into the bushes. Before they got back, they slit the corpse's throats just be sure they were dead before dismissing themselves, Naruto trying to maintain a neutral face as to not worry Hinata.

Though in retrospect, he only had to slit the throat of the one who got attacked by Shino's swarm. But hey, if it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing.

"Naruto… that was the first time I've ever taken anyone's life," Hinata said quietly.

" . . . Do you want to stop for a few minutes? Let you clear your head?" Shino asked.

Hinata shook her head. "No. I'm fine. It's just, that look he gave me when I struck his heart… I just don't know how to describe it," she answered as she fought the tears coming from her eyes.

"There there, it's okay Hinata, let it all out," Naruto said as he put his arms around her, letting the pale-eyed girl cry into his shoulder.

Shino simply adjusted his glasses as he stood a good distance away, making sure to be ready in case someone tried to break up this trying moment for his team. A necessary hurdle in our careers. Doesn't make it any easier though. For girls like Hinata, it's usually the hardest thing you have to do. The shaking of her hands will eventually stop when she takes a person's life, but that same feeling of dread will always remain, he thought to himself.


Elsewhere.

About a half hour's commute and careful lock-picking time later, Sarutobi and Anko stood within the Okami house's attic. Various trunks were bunched together in the corners, blood seals lining the locks as to prevent any unwanted intruders from looking into what they shouldn't.

On the far end of the wall by a small window, Koten's collection of taken headbands hung against the wall, their surfaces having begun to collect dust, as things in attics tended to, though not as much as one would think since the windows were opened a crack to let the air circulate.

"So the rumors were true huh?" Anko asked as she flipped some of the hitae-ate around so she could see the metal plates. "He really has been busy out there."

"Yes. And he has the scars to prove it," Sarutobi said, quite literal in his statement. "Quickly now. Time is of the essence. Find the 'Music Notes' mentioned in the message," he said as he began flipping headbands around.

After a few minutes of flipping the hitae-ate around, Anko finally found what they were looking for. "Over here. These headbands have eighth notes on them."

Sarutobi walked over and looked at the black-clothed headbands. After looking them over a few seconds, Anko spoke up.

"Hey! These are the same as the headbands those Sound-Nin were wearing in the First Exam," Anko stated as she matched the music note on the headbands before her to the ones that Dosu, Zaku, and Kin were wearing.

Sarutobi nodded as he began pulling the facts together. "From Ibiki's report, he stated that a Sound-Nin attacked one of our own using a technique no one has seen before. There are only a few people who would be able to develop techniques like that in secret, and even fewer who would be able to place genin who could use them into the Chūnin Exams so soon after a new village is established."

"Do you have any clues as to who it may be?" Anko asked.

"In Koten's testimony, one of them said that their master wanted to experiment on him," Sarutobi stated. "He didn't fully remember the name until I filled in the gaps for him, and when he did, I knew things were going to start getting bad."

"Why? Who did he say those other guys said?" Anko asked, though deep down, she already knew the answer.

"Orochimaru," Sarutobi replied, and at that moment, Anko's eyes narrowed, her hand going to the curse mark on her shoulder.

"That bastard. So he finally rears his ugly head."


An hour later in the Hokage Tower, after Sarutobi had whatever ANBU were available search the outskirts of the village for any clues that could point to Orochimaru's hand in these recent events.

"Lord Hokage. It appears your suspicions were in fact correct," a monkey-masked ANBU said as he appeared before Sarutobi and Anko. "The bodies of three Grass-Nin were found on the outskirts of the village, and their faces had been taken off."

"So Orochimaru has indeed returned to the village," Sarutobi sighed sadly. "I should have killed him when I had the chance all those years ago. He was right there, but I couldn't bring myself to do it."

"Damn right you should've. Do you know how much shit I've gone through, all because you couldn't kill him when you should've?" Anko spat.

"Mitarashi, that is no way to speak to the Hokage!" the monkey-masked ANBU argued.

"No, Monkey, she is right. Had I not been such a coward back then and done what had to be done, we wouldn't be in this mess," Sarutobi said remorsefully. "Anko, I need you to track him down in the Forest of Death and try to stall him, and if you can, find out his objective. I'll gather the ANBU and assist you as soon as you can."

"Got it," Anko replied as she disappeared in a swirl of leaves.


Later that night in the Forest of Death, Orochimaru, the Snake Sannin and traitor of Konoha, had just placed the Curse Mark upon the last Uchiha's neck, the Haruno girl and Inuzuka brat barely alive, but enough so that they could still move around left behind.

As a low chuckle escaped from his lips, a presence he had not felt for a long time began approaching him at near break-neck speeds until the proctor for the second exam herself appeared before him.

"Why if it isn't little Anko-chan," Orochimaru cooed. "My how you've grown. But oh, you haven't made use of the gift I've left for you."

"Gift? After everything you put me through, you have the nerve to call this thing a gift!" Anko hissed as she readied her kunai.

"Kukukuku. How naive of you. Oh, but by the way Anko-chan, my spies have informed me that the last of the Okami Tribe asked you out on a date of all things quite recently. How sweet," the Sannin taunted, completely undaunted by Anko's attempts to intimidate him with the massive amounts of KI she was sending at him.

"What does that have to do with any of this?" Anko asked, her eyes narrowing at her former sensei.

"Just wondering what anyone would see in the disciple of Konoha's greatest traitor," he replied back, loving the look of hatred he was receiving from the purple-haired jounin's eyes. "After all, you were among my most faithful subjects."

"It was all your fault and you know it!" Anko hissed. "If I'd known what kind of sick bastard you were, I never would've joined you!"

"Well, it doesn't matter what you think really," Orochimaru lamented. "But while you're here, let me tell you a story. Around a year or so ago, I had received a report of a potential Okami sighting in the mountains north of Earth Country. Now, seeing as how they supposedly became extinct, and the opportunity to acquire an Okami speciment was simply too good to pass up, I sent around thirty lower-chūnin-level shinobi out there to invite him to Sound, should he be there if the reports were accurate."

"And what significance does that have now?" Anko asked.

"Well, when the squad didn't come back, I sent a few scouts to discover what had happened to them. Much to my amusement upon reading the report, they had all been killed in various ways, be it from bludgeoning, maiming, slashing, or otherwise. Seems the Okami pup managed to learn a few things after all," he replied. "There was a fair amount of dried blood around the area though, and I was afraid the poor child had wandered off somewhere and had died alone in the wilderness. Although now, I'm quite glad he survived."

"Is there a point to that story?"

"Well I just figured, now that he's here in this village, I may as well take the last of the Uchiha, and the last of the Okami, for myself," the snake-nin cooed.

In her mind's eye, Koten's likeness appeared for a split second, smiling at her the way he did whenever he wasn't nervous out of his skull. The next moment, he was whisked away by Orochimaru himself, who at the moment was laughing playfully, almost like he was taunting her. Anko's eyes then narrowed dangerously, the killing intent around her building to greater as she stared at the traitor with nothing short of pure, absolute hatred, actually garnering his attention.

"I'm not going to let you take Koten, you snake bastard!" Anko roared as she lunged at her former sensei, her attacks even fiercer than they had been before.

"Oh? And what are you going to do about it? Destroy me?" Orochimaru cooed as he continued blocking Anko's strikes, which, at the moment, were becoming less and less precise as Anko's anger grew. "Oh, but don't worry, I wouldn't dream of tainting that truly unique body of his with the Curse Mark. After all, I'll need him in top condition when I need to breed myself a new body, or when I want my next army. After I acquire the Sharingan of course. Maybe in a few years, I can use both. Kukukukuku."

"Like hell I'm going to let that happen!" Anko roared.

"And what will you do about it? Kill me?" Orochimaru asked. "You and I both know you don't have the power, nor the hatred to do it. After all, you'll always be my little Anko-chan. Hahahahaha!"

"RRRAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Anko roared as she lunged at the traitor, intent on tearing his throat out and killing him slowly and painfully.

At that moment, the snake mistress had fallen into the snake sennin's trap.


Chūnin Exams:
Day 2


With Team Wolf, the group had just woken up and had begun heading for the tower. After catching a lucky break and wiping out a weakly-skilled set of Rain genin, they had both scrolls in their possession, though not after the aforementioned had put up a decent fight.

Mid-course, Koten suddenly signaled them to stop with a hand held up, his eyes scanning the forest as his nostrils flared every few seconds.

"Sai. Watch Haku and don't leave this spot unless absolutely necessary," Koten instructed.

"Why? Do you need to go to the bathroom?" Sai asked.

"No I already went," Koten answered, Haku a little disgusted that he'd answer it so openly. "I just caught a familiar scent, and for some reason, it has me worried that it's in here."

"Someone you like?" Sai asked coyly.

"Well… I can't really say for certain at the moment," Koten sighed, remembering how his "double date" went. And by that he meant back-fired. "Anyway, just stay here unless you have to move. I'll be back in a bit," he said as he rushed off into the forest, not bothering to leap through the trees since for him, running had always been faster.

When Sai turned to Haku, he saw that she had a somewhat peeved look on her face, along with how she was tapping her foot.

"Is there something wrong?" Sai asked.

"You do know you're in mixed company right?" she asked threateningly as she drew a senbon from her sleeve.


Meanwhile with Naruto, Hinata, Shino, and Kirara woke up from the night of sleep they'd been able to get after getting both scrolls.

As Shino let his insects fan out, Kirara transformed so that he would be able to get some rest. When Naruto extended his senses toward the front, with Hinata directing her Byakugan to their rear flank while riding on Kirara's back, the group of four quickly sped through the Forest of Death, a splotch of red hidden in the distance between the trees and alcoves.

"You ready guys?" Naruto asked.

Hinata nodded while Shino held onto Kirara's collar. At that moment, Naruto was thankful that Hana had given him the nice one-size-fits-all collar and remembered to thank her after that exam was over.

"Good, then let's go," Naruto said as the group spread off.


As Koten ran through the darkened forest, the sun slowly rising at the horizon, he tried with much difficulty to sift through the smells of rotting tree bark, blood, animal urine (it has a distinct smell), and carcasses permeating the forest air in order to find the one smell he was truly after.

After a few minutes, he caught the scent he was looking for. An earthy, yet sweet-and-flowery smell with a hint of snake, but not too much. For some reason, there was a lot of other snake scent in the forest.

Upon locking onto the scent, he leapt at a tree before crouching down and launched himself to the left, aiming directly for where he believed Anko would be. When he came upon the clearing, his vision faltered as his eyes had to readjust to the light. Once they had, he caught sight of Anko's purple hair and orange skirt. At the same time, he also caught sight of two massive tigers stalking towards her.

Anko! She's probably been injured, he figured as he ran across the clearing as he saw Anko with her back against a rock, hardly moving. If nothing's done, she could get hurt, or worse.

At that moment, he pried of his greaves and tried to remove his weights, finding it surprisingly difficult to do so when you were running.

Man! I really need to find a better way to do this! he mentally berated himself as he got the left leg weights off and began hopping around on one foot as he began to remove the other set.


Dammit. I can't believe I lost so badly, Anko cursed to herself as she tried to rest against the rock she'd come to lay against. Even after all these years, the bastard was just toying with me.

At the same time, the two hungry tigers stalking towards her weakened form didn't help either.

Shit. Canceling the Twin Snake Sacrifice Jutsu took out too much energy, she continued as her vision began to fade.

The next moment a black and blue blur appeared beside one of the tigers before it lashed out with its leg, knocking the first one into the other before they both fell in a heap. The next moment the blur fired several air bullets into the creature's sides before growling at them menacingly, causing them to run away as the blur ran up to her as her eyes closed.

"Anko! Anko are you okay!" a voice called from the darkness. "Anko speak to me!" the voice pleaded as she felt someone's hands on her shoulders.


Back from Koten's perspective, he was beginning to panic as Anko refued to wake up. After mulling everything he knew about medicine (which wasn't that much), he settled to just check her pulse, and if need be, try CPR or something. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing.

He placed one hand on the bottom of her wrist and another under her chin. After waiting for his own heart to slow down (courtesy of a forced command from Koga), the wolf-nin sighed in relief as he felt Anko's pulse. It wasn't as strong as he'd liked it to be, but it was still there, though whatever she had faced, or who she'd gone up against, had really taken a toll on her.

"Oh man, that's a relief," Koten sighed as he shifted Anko into a better position after making sure nothing was broken. Moments later, five ANBU appeared in the clearing, two bringing out medical tools and checking Anko's condition while two of them hoisted Koten up by his shoulders and brought him to face with a boar-masked ANBU.

"ANBU. What's going on here?" Koten asked/demanded.

The man before him only made a hand motion to calm him down before answering.

"You don't have anything to worry about. We'll take her to the hospital to get checked out, and she'll probably be out in a couple days," he continued as he gestured to the other ANBU here.

"Thank you. And please, keep her safe," Koten said as he turned around to leave, only for one of the ANBU to stop him.

"Wait, before you leave, make sure to act like nothing's amiss," a crane-masked ANBU stated. "These orders come straight to the top, so be sure to follow them. Don't ask questions and we may all come out of this in once piece. And remember, this never happened."

Koten only nodded before heading out. Even though he hadn't been in the village that long, he figured if an ANBU told him to do something, he should do it as long as it wasn't asking for too much.

"Got it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to my team," Koten said as he dashed off, making sure to grab his leg weights before following the inky scent of his pale-skinned teammate.


Chūnin Exams:
Day 3


The previous day, night had fallen sooner than expected as Naruto's team made their way to the tower. Even though they could just see it in the distance, the group decided to turn in for the night before making a mad dash for the tower first thing in the morning. Naruto took watch, while his two team mates got some well-earned rest.

As he waited for his team to awaken, the morning sun rising in the distance, he remembered what had transpired the night before.

Flashback

The moon hung high in the night sky above the Forest of Death. The sound of rustling leaves in the wind, some giant crickets, and a few nocturnal animals eating the giant crickets echoed through the quiet forest. Every once in a while, Naruto's ears would pick up the dying scream of some unfortunate genin out there, but cast it aside as a non-issue as the voices were usually too far away for it to be an immediate concern.

As Naruto continued to scan the forest, his ears proving more effective than his eyes at that point, he heard a small whipmer coming from behind him. When he did, he saw that Hinata was clearly having a nightmare, obviously about what had happened only hours ago.

Quickly creating a shadow clone, he crawled into the hollow and settled himself down beside Hinata, putting his hands on top of her own to calm her down, since waking a person up from a nightmare too quickly could have negative health reprucussions.

For a minute, Hinata continued to whimper, but then, her hands tightened around Naruto's and drew them into her chest. Much to his own embarrasment, but he forced it down as he put his free hand on her shoulder, the troubled girl resting her head on his shoulder as she began to fall into a more peaceful sleep. Taking a life was a big step in any genin's career, and most didn't go as smoothly as hers had.

"Don't worry Hinata. Everything's going to be okay," Naruto whispered as he simply stayed by the girl's side, not wanting to wake her up from her now peaceful slumber.

"I promise. We'll all make it through this."

Flashback End

As the two began to wake up, Naruto sighed as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Even though his stamina reserves were immense, a godsend among those in the shinobi world, he still needed sleep as much as any other guy, and he would be sure to get a few winks in when he got to the tower.

"Morning you two. You sleep well?"

"Fine," Shino answered.

"Good," Hinata replied, though not immediately.

Naruto nodded his head as the group packed their belongings, Naruto summoning a few shadow clones to scout ahead and set off any traps they could find. It was right in the morning that they woke up, and while some of the teams were still sleeping away their fatigue, now was as good a chance as ever to haul ass and get to the tower.

"You two, get on Kirara's back," Naruto instructed as their feline friend transformed, after making sure no one was around. "We can get to the tower within the next half hour if we make a break for it."

The two nodded as Shino got on Kirara's back, Hinata holding onto his waist as the four shot off through the forest. For them, and potentially a few other teams, the Second Exams had drawn to a close.


At the same time on the other side of the forest, the same circumstances had occurred for Team Wolf as well after the group reunnited, forcing Koten and his team to seek refuge within another tree hollow. Koten took watch while the others slept, thankful that no questions rose up as to why he left the team for a few hours, delaying their arrival at the tower.

The next morning, Haku looked up from where she and Sai had been sleeping, thankfully a good distance from each other since she couldn't stand him, her jaw suddenly dropping at the sight before her when she looked to the mouth of the tree hollow they were sleeping in.

Sitting at the mouth of the hollow of the tree was Koten sitting on his heels talking to a squirrel. And not just any squirrel, but a huge squirrel with humongous fangs and the eyes of a predator just a few inches shorter then he was when sitting on its haunches.

What's worse, the giant killer squirrel seemed to be talking back to him. I mean sure it was just some animalistic chattering, but it was still talking back to him. It was almost like the two of them were actually having a conversation.

"Koten what the hell is that?" Haku demanded as she reached for her senbon in case the giant squirel became hostile. It isn't that often that the words "squirel" and "hostile" are used in the same sentence either.

"Her name happens to be Shirley," Koten replied crossing his arms as if nothing were wrong, the giant squirrel chattering in agreement.

Haku just shook her head and set herself back down on the moss-made pillow she had gathered. "I must be too tired. Give me five more minutes."

As soon as the ice-user drifted off to sleep, Sai got back up too, looked the squirrel over, then went back to sleep without saying a word or changing expression.

Koten looked back to the giant and shrugged his shoulders. "You're right. Humans are weird."

"Cha cha cha cha cha cha cha," the giant squirrel chattered at him.

"No I don't know that," Koten said back. "Good grief. How could you even ask such a thing?"

"Cha cha cha cha."


With that being said and done, Team 7 and Team Wolf, along with the team from Suna made it to the tower in the center of the Forest of Death within the first three days, giving them at least two to rest up before the upcoming of the last exams.

However, for both our Jinchuuriki (since Koga is technically a demon with a tail and is "sealed" inside Koten) these exams have brought up some very important questions.

For Naruto; What was with that team from Sound? They acted as though they had someone on the inside of the exams. What of Gaara of the Sand? Does he contain a tailed beast like me, and if he does, which one? What was that nagging feeling in the back of my mind when we went through the forest? Was it a smell, a sensation, or something else that had me on edge? Also, are Koten and Koga's existence linked together, just like Inuyasha and I?

For Koten; Those genin from sound wore the same headbands as the guys who attacked me a year back. Are they part of the same group, or is it coincidence, and if so, how do I stop myself from being recognized? Why was Anko out in the forest injured like that, and also, what was she doing in the forest in the first place? Also, why does Haku look like she wants to tear Sai's throat out through his face? And is Naruto linked to this Inuyasha fellow Koga keeps telling me about?

These questions, and maybe a few others, may either be answered, or remain unanswered. To see which ones, the only thing that can be done is to wait and watch.


Omake (Title: Konoha Firsts, Part 2)
Setting: Konoha alley

"Smoking?" Koten asked. "You mean like when you light something on fire?"

"That's part of it," Asuma said as he took a drag from the cigarette in his mouth. "Here. Try one. It calms the nerves," he said as he lit the cancer stick and passed it to Koten.

Koten looked at it unsurely before Asuma lit it for him, then brought it up to his lips. After a few seconds, he looked to Asuma for instruction.

"You inhale, then let it out," Asuma said, demonstrating by taking another drag.

Koten looked back to the smoldering end of the white paper tube unsurely, then, inhaled. A moment later, he fell onto his knees and began hacking his lungs out as his body clearly disagreed with the prospect of smoking nicotine. "Wha- *cough* What the hell *hack* is in this thing? *wheeze*" he cried as he continuously coughed the grey smoke out of his lungs.

"You inhaled too much," Asuma said flatly. "Doesn't matter really. Smoking isn't for everyone," he said exhaling some smoke from his mouth.

A moment later, a woman carrying some groceries under her arm turned the corner, but suddenly stopped when she saw Koten on the ground, coughing his lungs out, and a gruff-looking man smoking a cigarette standing above him.

"Ahhhh!" she suddenly cried out. "That brute's trying to poison that young man!" she said as she pointed a finger right at him.

"Say what?" Asuma asked, but slightly paled as two dozen women/fangirls suddenly formed up at that end of the alley.

"CHARGE!" all the women/fangirls roared as they charged at Asuma.

"Ah! No! Wait! It was just one cigarette!" Asuma cried as he ran from the angry mob, said mob parting around Koten before resuming the chase after the bearded jōnin.

A few minutes later, after finally coughing as much smoke as he could from his lungs, Koten looked around and saw nothing but footprints in the ground all around him. "Asuma?" he asked as he looked around. "Where'd you go?"


Author's Note:
I think this goes without saying, but smoking can be very deadly to your health.
Even more so if it incurs the wrath of angry women.
So, for a "public service announcement", don't smoke. You'll end up getting hurt. Usually in more ways than one.

Back on topic, you've all probably heard the rules and all that jass for the chūnin Exams before, so I'm simply going to paraphrase it. Also, I paraphrased Anko's fight against Orochimaru because no one goes into detail, though we know what happens. As for Sasuke getting the Curse Mark, it play's out the same way, just with a slightly different team formation when they get rescued.

Needless to say, they'll look like hell come the Third Exam prelims.

Anyway, like it says on my profile, since I'm going to college, while most of my stories are on Hiatus-status, the rest of my stories will be updated still, but just alot slower than the rest. That aside, thanks for reading, and be sure to Review. Future works usually benefit from comments from the readers.