Disclaimer

I, Syraxes, do not own the Naruto manga, Naruto anime, Naruto shippuden anime, the Boruto manga or anime, video games or Naruto novels. They are property of Masashi Kishimoto and Studio Pierrot. I am a fan making this for the enjoyment of other fans. Please support the official release

Naruto threw the kunai up, watching as it spun through the air. He caught it on the edge of his finger. It was a decent chakra control exercise, the amount of control and precision needed to keep the kunai from falling off was nothing to sneer at.

The sky above the city was pitch black in darkness, nightfall having come some time ago. After they had gotten their scroll, a heaven scroll, they had returned to the small apartment. The exam wouldn't begin for another twelve hours, so Sasuke brought up the topic of more sleep. Naruto and Sakura had agreed with him; the exam would be on continuously for the next five days after all. Now was a good time to catch up on sleep when they didn't have to worry about being attacked.

They had gotten up at ten, two hours before the test was due to begin. Sasuke had made dinner, Sakura making sure they had all the supplies for the night ahead of them.

The wooden floorboards creaked behind him. "Is it time?"

"Almost," said Sasuke. "One minute to midnight."

Naruto pumped the chakra through his hand, the kunai shooting upward, cutting through the wood on the roof above them.

"Why did you put a kunai in the roof, Naruto?" asked Sakura. He could hear the sigh in her voice.

"Couldn't help it," was the answer he gave. Naruto stood up and took the kunai holster and shuriken pouch offered, attaching them to his waist. The scroll pouch on the other side.

"It's time," Sasuke announced.

"Right." Naruto wasted no time; he barreled over to the window and jumped out, the cold night air refreshing, landing on top of the closest building. He broke out into a sprint, Sasuke and Sakura joining him moments later.

"This city doesn't have much of a nightlife," Sakura commented. All around them, the only source of light were the street lamps; the streets were mostly deserted, other than the odd person stumbling home. The few bars or taverns open as they passed were small and didn't appear to have much in the way of customers.

"It appears not," Sasuke agreed. Naruto looked at him for a second, seeing the unmistakable red of his Sharingan. The night wouldn't hide any secrets from him.

"Now we just have to find another team," Naruto mused aloud. "Where do you think we should-"

"That won't be a problem," Sasuke said confidently.

"Why is that?" asked Sakura from his other side. Naruto resisted the urge to look at Sasuke, pushing the chakra through his legs as he jumped to the next building.

"We're being followed." Sasuke's answer brought a smile to his face. Someone so early in the game? This is almost too good to be true.

"Looks like someone knew where we were staying."

"Or they just got lucky and came across us as we left," Naruto answered reasonably; he took precautions so no one would know where they were staying. Though if the team following them had an earth scroll, they could get it and be on their way to the red building.

"Okay, let's start." Naruto's body moved to the right and he was jumping off the building. He landed on a smaller building, jumping again, until he hit the street below. The area he picked was completely deserted. Naruto pumped chakra through his body and began to speed across the pavement, towards the small playground just a little ways away. Sakura and Sasuke were at his side when they set foot on the wood chips and waited.

It reminded him of the playground that was by the orphanage he had been brought up in. The same small swing set, the climbing bars designed to look like animals. It wasn't exactly a replica but it was close enough to bring back memories. Good times.

He dismissed them at once, not having to wait for the other team for long. Three shinobi landed in front of them. Naruto didn't recognize any of them; their hitai-ate displayed the cloud of Kumo.

The leader was a girl, that Naruto would guess was a little older than him. Two boys flanked her.

"So, you knew we were following you?" the boy at her right asked.

Sakura snorted. "It wasn't too hard to detect you. What are you, Academy students?"

Naruto grinned. Of course Sakura would start with the smack talk.

"You little bitch."

"I'd be careful what you call her," Naruto said at once to the boy. "We haven't fought yet and it's not wise to make her mad. She might take it personally."

As if to emphasize his point, Sakura draw a kunai.

"Enough Toba." The girl held out her hand, stopping the boy from saying anything else. She reached behind her and pulled out a blue scroll. "We have an earth scroll. There's no point to us fighting if you also have one."

Naruto got the feeling that it didn't matter what scroll they had and she was just saying that. "That's good, because we have a heaven scroll." Sakura had been entrusted with it. Unlike the other girl, Sakura didn't take it out to show them.

"I see," the girl said, tossing the scroll to the masked boy, who caught it effortlessly. "Then we will take it."

Sasuke was prepared; he didn't expect the Kumo team to sprint towards them at the drop of a hat, but he knew something was coming. He was ready when they began to move, rushing forward to meet them.

Naruto followed him and was going for the masked boy, the one with the scroll. They must really be confident if they revealed who had the scroll.

He was going to move out of the girl's way. Sasuke's Sharingan flared to life again, spinning, ready to place the girl under a genjutsu. Sasuke looked into the girl's eyes as they drew level and he began to slowly weave the illusion over her-

It shattered in a second; his chakra expelled from her system. Her fist was raised, connecting to his face less than a moment later.

It felt like the bones on his face were cracking; pain searing through them. Sasuke was thrown back, his body flying. For a moment he heard the outraged and disbelieving hisses off his teammates.

His body connected to one of the playground equipment, shaped like a monster. When he fell over, Sasuke saw he had put a dent into it.

He had just enough time to jump to his feet and block the girl's kick. Like her punch, the force behind it was unbelievable; it reminded him of Kakashi's hits, the power behind them similar. Though even sensei hadn't put as much of that power and force into his hits as this girl. She's a monster.

"Hello little boy, won't you play with me for a little bit?" Sasuke recognized that look; that of a predator, cornering its prey.

"I don't think you'll like playing with me very much," Sasuke hissed back. He channeled all the chakra he could in a short amount of time, funneling it to his right leg. As her fist came on, Sasuke grabbed it with his hand, wincing at how much it hurt. Sasuke flipped up sideways, using his momentum to swing his body upright, his right leg connecting with her head.

The girl stumbled away from him and Sasuke landed out the ground. He pulled two kunai from the hostler, attaching his steel wire to the end of both and threw them in different directions.

The girl moved quicker than Sasuke would have thought; she shook her head and glanced at him. Sasuke quickly began to weave the signs, the girl sprinting towards him again. "Kanton: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"

Sasuke blew the ball of fire right where she was running and watched as his fire engulfed her...

Sasuke turned around, figuring she was finished, planning to help Naruto, when the sound of footsteps reached his ear. He looked back in time to see the girl bring her knee up, slamming it into his stomach. Sasuke could taste the bile rising but she wasn't done; her fist once again connected to his face and Sasuke staggered away, the pain worse than before. In his mind, Sasuke was dimly aware of how much he owed Kakashi; if his sensei hadn't pushed him so hard, put him through as much pain, Sasuke doubted he would be able to handle it as well as he could now.

Sasuke jumped up and back, landing away from the monster. He could feel blood leaking down his face.

"My, you're a resilient one. It must be that Uchiha blood in you."

"What?" Sasuke looked down, seeing the grin plastered on her face.

"You're Uchiha Sasuke, are you not? The last survivor of such an ancient bloodline. Well, other than your brother-"

"Don't talk about him!" Rage, fiery rage, filled him.

Then the rage was extinguished; the feeling of righteous indignation vanished, replaced by the purest form of fear Sasuke had ever felt, rivaled only by Itachi on that night. It was like ice was being forced through his veins. His body was frozen on the spot, the fear so strong he couldn't move.

It was the same feeling he had gotten from Kakashi in Horobiru that first night. During the training he had given them for the Chunin Exams. He called it killing intent. Kakashi had been holding back then, but this girl wasn't; Sasuke could see the moment where she killed him, her kunai going through his throat.

I don't want to die. The girl from Kiri, Haku, had almost killed him. Sasuke knew he wouldn't be so lucky a second time.

I don't want to die!

Kakashi had exposed them all to it during training, multiple times, stronger and stronger as they were able to recover from it, but this girls' was one a whole other level. Still, Sasuke had experience and he knew how to best break that hold.

Sasuke watched as the girl pulled two kunai lazily in her hand. Sasuke shut his eyes and took a deep breath, focusing on his center; on his need to survive, his will live.

I DON'T WANT TO DIE!

Sasuke's eyes snapped open, in time to see the kunai flicked towards him. He forced his body to move, jumping away from the path of the incoming kunai.

The killing intent had shocked him to his core. What chance did he or his teammates have against a monster like her? She would kill them with a smile on her face.

Foolish little brother. You can't kill me. Your life is too precious to you.

Was it really?

So run.

Itachi's face came to the forefront of Sasuke's mind; his Sharingan spinning wildly, that look of contempt as his brother stared at him.

That's right; run away, and live.

No!

Sasuke couldn't say why now of all times, his brother's mocking words came to him. That face he hated so much. The face that haunted his nightmares. The rage began anew, stronger than before. How could he ever have thought about running? Maybe the rage was clouding his judgement, but Sasuke didn't care.

Itachi had haunted him since the day he fled the village; the day he murdered the Uchiha clan. Sasuke had been living in his brother's shadow for so long. If he couldn't face the demons that stood in front of him, the girl from Kiri, the monster he faced now, how was he ever going to face his brother?

He turned around quickly, pushing his feet off the structure, into the air. Fire didn't work against her; his jutsu earlier proved that. His plan had been to wrap her up in the wire, and set her alight, like he had with Kakashi. That wouldn't work, if she somehow resisted his fire attacks.

Well if fire won't work.

Sasuke pulled the wire with both hands, watching as it sharply shot up, coiling around her body. Immobilizing her in that spot, Sasuke held the wire tightly and wove the seals.

"Raton: Ore kiretsu!"

Sasuke preformed the change in nature flawlessly, watching as his chakra took on

Sasuke didn't want to use the chidori; it used much more of his chakra. This jutsu was a better option; designed to immobilize an enemy, or knock them out.

He channeled more chakra than was needed strictly, but he wasn't in a very charitable mood at that moment. The blue electricity shot down the wire, hitting the girl. She let loose a scream and had she not been planning to kill him, or having brought those memories to the forefront of his mind, he might have a touch more sympathy towards her.

Sasuke jumped down, landing on his feet lightly. He walked over to her, reaching his hand out to check her breathing. Though the body looked real, it wasn't the sensation of skin he was touching.

Something fell onto his shoulder; a hand. Suddenly the killing intent was back, stronger than he had ever felt it. Soul cracking, it felt like it was going to destroy his body.

Sasuke strained his head to look back and saw the girl standing behind him. "Well done, Sasuke. You put up quite the fight."

"W-who are you?" She couldn't be a genin; no genin could have a killing intent like hers.

"Look there." She pointed past Sasuke's head. Sasuke turned to look. The wires were still wrapped around her unmoving body. How is she behind me? "That was me. I wanted to test your ability, Sasuke, and you didn't disappoint."

The girl touched her hand to Sasuke's face and if he could move, Sasuke would have jerked away. "Still, in the grand scheme of things, what does that level of skill amount to? Sure, you're league's above that a genin should be; perhaps even a high level chunin. Kakashi has taught you well; I suppose he's learned his lesson about pulling punching when training a student."

What does that mean?

The girl chuckled and continued; "If you stay with Kakashi, you could become an exceptionally skilled shinobi, but how long will that take you? Right now you couldn't hope to kill Itachi."

His brother's name shut down all thoughts of Kakashi's other students, any lesson he may have needed to learn, and who this girl was.

"I know Itachi, you see. Since he has left your village, his prowess has grown. At your level of advancement, you'll never catch up to him."

Sasuke struggled to speak but the words wouldn't come.

"You want to kill him, don't you?"

He did. Sasuke had dreamed of avenging himself and his clan against his brother, but what did that have to do with this?

"You'll never do it like this, stuck in that village of yours. You want power, and I can give it to you. Seek me out, Uchiha Sasuke."

Sasuke turned back, with enormous effort and glared. She gave Sasuke a monstrous smile and leaned to whisper in his ear; "Until you do, allow me to leave you with a parting gift."

Sasuke watched as she bit into his neck.

Orochimaru sunk his teeth into the boy's neck. He let out a shocked scream and Orochimaru began to infuse his senjutsu into Sasuke's body. He pulled back, watching as his Curse Seal formed on his neck, causing Sasuke to scream.

The boy passed out and Orochimaru set him on the ground. The genjutsu had worked to invoke rage in the boy; Orochimaru didn't know what he saw and heard, but it was enough to cause him to throw caution to the wind. If it had to guess, it was something to do with dear Itachi.

His form flickered, moving through the air faster than any genin would be able to see. Probably most chunin as well.

He came to rest atop one of the buildings, looking down at Sasuke's teammates; Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura, if his spy was to be believed. Not that he had any reason to distrust that young man.

Naruto was the vessel for the Kyuubi no Kitsune. That very interesting man might be around to pay him a visit sometime. Naruto had thrown the mask off of Daichi, as the Jinchuriki's fist broke slammed into his face.

Toba wasn't fairing much better; he noticed Sakura had already taken the earth scroll and was just finishing on one of his followers. Daichi and Toba were just barely better than your average genin; he didn't feel the need to train them up. They were just pawns, that would have no further use for beyond the third exam. Oh well.

They knew the way back and how to remove those faces. He didn't want anything to interfere with the exams, so he would have to go fix the bodies faces he borrowed, and make it look like another genin team did them in.

Sakura's kick brought a satisfying crack! sound as she connected to his shoulder. He jumped back, holding his hurt arm. She cracked her hands, stepping forwards; that was all it took for the boy to turn around and run. Sakura let out a satisfying laugh.

As he fled, Sakura reached back into her pouch, pulling out the heaven and earth scrolls, examining them side by side. The big bad Chunin Exams. And here I thought it would be harder to get the other scroll.

That did beg the question; how did her teammates do? Sakura hoped Sasuke hadn't made too much noise and gotten seen. She had managed to put a genjutsu around this area, one that would dampen the sound, but the girl had pushed Sasuke away from them. Looking around, Sakura couldn't see any lights on, and no one was peering out any windows. The streets remained completely deserted.

"Sakura," Naruto moved next to her, "how did it go on your end?"

"Sent him running. You?"

"Same. You seen Sasuke?"

Sakura chewed her lip and shook her head. "No. Not since they attacked."

"Come on. We better go look for him."

It didn't take them too long to find Sasuke. On the ground, unconscious, breathing heavily. Naruto whistled. "Man, she must have really done a number on him."

"He got her back," Sakura said dryly, staring at the form of the girl bound in wires.

Sakura leaned down, reaching her hand out. She had been touching him since their first date and Sakura knew how hot Sasuke normally ran. He was way warmer than he should be. She touched his forehead and sighed. "He has a fever."

"That's not good."

"No, Naruto, it's not."

His skin was sweaty. Other than the fever, he seemed to be in okay condition...

What's that? Something black was on his neck. Sakura pushed his shirt away to get a better look; three black tomoe were on his neck. It almost looked something like a tattoo. More strangely, below the marking, was what appeared to be two bite marks.

"Naruto, come take a look at this." She gestured to where the bite marks and tomoe were on his neck.

"That..." For once, it appeared Naruto was, at least temporarily, out of words. "Doesn't look good," he finally said.

"We have both scrolls. We should take him to the red building. The proctor said bringing an unconscious teammate was fine, as long as they woke up before the exam ended, right?"

"Yeah. Sasuke is strong; he'll be up by tomorrow."

Kakashi set down his book. It was the third time he had re-read the newest Ichi Ichi Paradise and it was going to be a whole year before the next one came out. Kakashi couldn't help but sighing; it might even be longer, depending on how long the book itself will be and how busy Master Jiraiya was. Kakashi's prospects weren't looking good.

I might as well go to bed.

He was half way to said cozy, comfortable bed, when the sensation hit; a tugging sensation in his gut, spreading throughout his body. He hadn't experienced it many times, but he knew at once what his meant; his body was preparing to be summoned. Which could only mean one thing. Well two things, but he hoped his students weren't stupid enough to break that simple of a rule.

The world around him morphed and vanished behind a wall of smoke. When the smoke cleared, he wasn't in the room that had been given to him for the remainder of the exam, but one of the rooms under the red building.

It didn't take much effort to find him his team; Sakura and Naruto looking at him, Sasuke on the floor unconscious, but breathing, both the heaven and earth scrolls-

"What happened to Sasuke?" The last thing Kakashi expected to see was Uchiha Sasuke passed out on the floor. At least he was breathing.

"The enemy knocked him unconscious," Naruto said. "We talked to the proctor upstairs but he said as long as Sasuke is alive and regains consciousness before the five days up are, we pass."

"Yes, those are the rules. Anyway, I'll take Sasuke to get looked at, but first, congratulations. If it isn't anything too serious with Sasuke, you three have officially passed the second exam."

Sakura and Naruto were grinning widely. "I wouldn't be surprised if you were the first team to pass, now that I think about it."

"Third," Naruto said with an annoyed look on his face.

My little perfectionists. "Well. At noon, the day after the fifth day, you're to report back to the red building. Here take these."

Kakashi held out two of the three white arm bands. "Tie these around your arms."

As they began to tie the arm bands, Kakashi looked over as Sasuke. He really didn't look good.

Kakashi walked past them and was at the perfect angle to get a look at his neck. Kakashi's blood ran cold; he knew that mark. He had seen it on Anko's neck many times. Only one person could have put that on Sasuke.

"Naruto. Sakura. Who did you get the other scroll from?"

"A team from Kumo." Naruto answered right away.

Kakashi made the seals. "Kage Bushin no jutsu." A shadow clone was created, the clone turning to Naruto and Sakura.

"What did they look like?" With the transformation jutsu as his disposal, he could look like anyone. If they could find the team that they had encountered...

As his clone grilled the two, Kakashi leaned down and scooped Sasuke up in his arms. He had to get him away from the others; if he survived, that seal would activate and Kakashi didn't need Naruto or Sakura around when it happened. Anko had explained to him in detail what that was like.

When he survives, Kakashi corrected himself. Sasuke would pull through this. He knew Sasuke and that boy wouldn't let a thing like this kill him.

He had to get Sasuke somewhere secured, deal with him when he woke up and seal that mark on his neck.

Anko ran down the hallway, nearly knocking over one of her grey clad staff, saying an apology as she moved. The door she was looking for stood out; two masked Anbu stood in front, arms crossed. Neither stopped as she threw the door open, slamming it closed behind her. Two more Anbu were in the room, at the bedside, standing beside the Hokage and Kakashi.

"Anko," The Hokage acknowledged. Hatake remained silent. "The students I inquired about?"

"Dead, Hokage-sama. I had my staff search the city. We found the girl wrapped in wire, where you said she'd be. She died in Uchiha Sasuke's attack, by the look of it. Her teammates were harder to find; we found their bodies in an alleyway. It looked like they had succumbed to wounds."

The Hokage hummed to himself, peering down at the unconscious body of Sasuke. She took this chance to ask, "Is it true? Is Orochimaru in the city?"

The Hokage looked up at her and nodded. "Come here, Anko. Look at Sasuke's neck."

She moved until she was standing beside her Kage, looking down to where he gestured to. Anko's heart felt like it had skipped a beat; on the boys neck, Orochimaru's cursed seal was branded on his skin.

Anko brought her hand up to her neck, gripping the spot she knew her own cursed seal was. The memory of that night played in her mind, the burning as her sensei's chakra forced itself into her body. As it forever left that symbol on his victim's body, leaving it unclean. Infected.

Anko clenched against her neck harder than she meant to, her nails breaking skin; she could feel blood start to fall.

Behind her, the door opened once more. Anko was surprised to come face to face with Jiraiya the Toad Sage.

"Is this Sasuke?" He brushed past her, examining the mark on his neck.

"Yes. You've been in deep cover at one of his facilities. Have you learned anything beyond what he knows?" The Hokage's eyes flashed to her while he was speaking.

"Orochimaru himself had come to the facility. I'm not proud to say he saw through my disguise the second he looked at me."

Anko snorted. "What else would you expect from him? From what I understand, we can only get people in as low level flunkies. Even those we try and pay off end up getting found out rather quickly if they're in any important position."

The sage's eyes found hers. "Intelligence?"

Anko nodded. "Yeah. The only spies we seem to be able to keep are those low down the chain of command. Orochimaru is very skilled at finding traitors.

"As for the seal, not too much, sensei. I know he puts them on any vessel candidate."

Anko's face spasmed; that had been a sobering truth they uncovered. Orochimaru and his immortality jutsu.

Jiraiya continued: "Other than potential vessels, he only puts the seal on his most trusted subordinates. Such as his closest guards, must trusted assassins. We've found a few like Anko here, whose seal has been dominant. People he has, for whatever reason, most likely abandoned. Those who had the seal on them, before he began his current practice of seal usage."

Kakashi spoke for the first time: "So, then he's marked Sasuke as a candidate for his next host?"

"Yes," said Jiraiya, leaning in closer to exam the seal. "This is interesting. We've never been able to exam an active Cursed Seal before. When the host dies, the seal vanishes and those we've found like Anko here, have inactive seals. Not only is this one fully active, it's just starting its integration with the host body..."

Anko's eyes moved back to Sasuke; she couldn't seem to look away from him for long. She had gone through the agony of the cursed seal and she knew the pain, the visions of horror, the way his chakra weaved through the body, exploiting trauma and weaknesses. This kid had seen the aftermath of his clan murdered, knowing it was his brother who did it. She couldn't imagine what was going on inside his head, as that seal tried to corrupt him.

Memories of her own vision swam before her mind; Anko had watched the Kiri-nin murder her parents before her eyes, saved only by the timely intervention of the Anbu. Only in the fever dream of the cursed seal, she had been the one to kill the Kiri-ninl, embracing the dark part of her mentor.

"Kakashi, do you know what's going to happen if Sasuke wakes up?"

"He will," Kakashi said firmly.

The survival rate was one in ten, if Orochimaru is to be believed. That's not good odds in the kid's favor.

Jiraiya changed tactics: "Do you know what will happen to Sasuke when he wakes up?"

"... Anko has informed me."

Jiraiya looked towards her. She shrugged.

"That seal will active when he wakes up and Sasuke won't be in his right mind."

"He'll lash out," she interjected. When Anko had awakened, she attacked her teammates, and nearly killed them both. At the time, she had been consumed by the power and was ready to attack anything. Sasuke would end up the same way. "Someone will need to be here to stop him. If he gets out, into the city, there's no telling what he'll do."

Well Anko had a pretty good idea what he'd do, but she didn't feel like bringing that up would be of any great help. By the look Kakashi gave her, he knew what she was thinking.

"I think it'll be best if I stay," Jiraiya declared, turning to Kakashi. "I know you can perform the sealing jutsu. He's your student, I won't stop you from being there. If you prefer, I'll allow you to perform the jutsu. But I want to study it's effects first hand. When it first actives, the power is always different. To have a chance to study it could prove invaluable."

"What do you say, Kakashi?" The Hokage asked. Anko wasn't sure if he was giving Kakashi the choice or just asking for his opinion.

"Of course, Master Jiraiya."

"Then it's settled. Keep me updated." He gave Kakashi one last glance and left the room.

Jiraiya took the empty chair on the other side of Sasuke's bed.

"Orochimaru-sama."

Orochimaru turned and smiled at his servant. "Kabuto."

Leaning against the alleyway wall, one of his best spies and most useful servants smiled at him. Those cold eyes focused. "How did it go? Did you place the seal on Sasuke?"

"Aren't you the curious one, Kabuto."

"Information is my specialty."

"I did. He put up quite the fight. Sasuke is truly an heir to the Uchiha Clan. He put up such a fight, I added something extra to his seal."

"Extra?" Kabuto frowned. Orochimaru understood why; never before had he tampered with the seal. But this time he couldn't help himself.

"Yes. Another obstacle for Sasuke to overcome. Something to really put his mind to work. I wonder if he'll have the willpower to overcome it."

It wasn't a permanent fixture of the seal; if Sasuke had the will to overcome it, it would break. If not, then he hoped Sasuke could live with what it would make him do.

Author's Note:

Shiore and her team were the Kusa genin Orochimaru killed and took their faces. I've given the other two names, as only the girl Orochimaru stole the face of, Shiore, ever had her name revealed.

And Orochimaru's plans are progressing. He put his cursed seal on Sasuke and has plans for the finals. Oh, what fun.