I pulled my book out of my back pouch and deadpanned. I took my book on seals instead of sensory. Oh well. Maybe I'll finally find the key to making chakra seals. I don't have my ink with me, so I can't exactly make physical seals if I need to.
The group kept walking at their fast pace, soon leaving me as a straggler in the back. No one really paid me any mind as I walked along, book in hand.
I did, finally, find the key I needed and began to practice making a seal with my chakra. I stared down at my book as I did so, not at all paying attention to what was around me.
That was, until someone fell into step with me, their presence dangerous as they walked next to me.
"Staring is rude," I pointed out as I kept the majority of my focus directed towards my latest work in progress.
"I haven't seen someone as skilled as you in a long time," the... girl(?) (Cut me some slack, they were giving off very mixed signals) replied.
"Hn," I said in a very Uchiha-esk fashion. I tried focusing on my chakra, only for their staring to freak me out. I hissed slightly when my seal reacted badly with my body. I shook my hand to alleviate the burning feeling before looking at the person with a Kusagakure hitai-ate on. "Do you... need something?"
"What's your name?" The person asked.
"Etiquette required one to give their own name before asking the name of another," I stated, not actually wanting to give my name out to the weirdo.
"Call me Shiore. And you?" They asked.
Definitely a guy, not a chick, I thought before forcing a smile onto my lips. "The name's Ren."
"What about your clan name?" He pressed.
"What about yours?" I questioned.
We stared each other down for a minute.
"I don't have a clan," he finally said.
"Neither do I," I lied smoothly before going back to my book. I carefully scanned a few pages to make sure I had my information right. I then tried once again with making a chakra seal.
"You're lying to me," Shiore stated, amusement clear in his voice.
Ah, another sociopath. Just my luck, I thought before giving a small sigh. I waved him off before concentrating on properly getting my chakra to form the needed seal.
"Are you an Uzumaki? They have good control of seals. Ah, but you don't have to trademark red hair," he mumbled to himself.
Uzumaki? My Uzumaki-kun sucks at practically everything. I doubt he could make a seal to save his life. Besides, he doesn't have red hair either. Perhaps there are two Uzumaki Clans? No, the Uzumakis are all from Uzushiogakure, and they were then scattered around the globe after the destruction of their village. I paused for a moment before remembering that it wasn't my top priority. I waved those thoughts off and instead focused all of my mind towards perfecting the seal that I was going to use in case I ever lost my physical seals.
"Your chakra reserves seem average, yet you're pulling that off very well. Do you know how to suppress your chakra at such a young age?" He questioned.
I ignored his question and took in a deep breath. I closed my eyes for a moment and envisioned my chakra mixing together. I then imagined the seal that I had already developed for my chakra. I carefully forced my chakra into that design before opening my eyes. I stared down at my hand which didn't seem any different. I gave a small hum as I felt my chakra ready for use. I touched the ground and walked next to Shiore for a few seconds before making a familiar hand sign. I was teleported back to the spot I touched.
"There's no way a boy your age could perform the hiraishin jutsu," the guy said with a small gasp.
"...Hah! And she said I couldn't do it!" I gave a victorious laugh at the thought of my sister being wrong. I then quickly rushed past Shiore and through the crowd. "Excuse me! Pardon me! Excuse me! Please let me through! Oh, hey Lee-senpai." I reached my fist over to him, and he happily gave me a fist-pound. "Thanks man." I then continued on, slowly getting closer to my sister. "Pardon me! Please move! I said move, Puppet Bitch!" I screeched as I shoved Kankuro out of my way. "Move your fucking face, Duckass!" I pushed Uchiha out of my way and then smiled at my sister. "Guess what I just did!"
"What?" Sakura asked with an annoyed expression.
"No, you have to guess," I said as I motioned for her to give me a random answer.
"You stayed quiet for a minute?" She suggested with a raised brow.
"Besides that," I muttered.
"Just tell me," she demanded.
"I can now do the hiraishin jutsu without a physical seal. It's all chakra seals from now on! And you said I couldn't do it! One day, I shall be as good as Tobirama-sama!" I gave a laugh at that thought only to have Sakura snort.
"Can you do it without making any hand sign?" My younger twin questioned.
I paused once I realized she had a point. "I'm getting there... It just takes time..."
"There's no way a kid like you could have it down at your age," Mitarashi-san accused as she pointed at my face.
I gave on offended gasp before quickly teleporting to my previously marked space. I then teleported to the Duckass and put my hands on my hips. "Try me, Mitarashi-san."
She glared down at me for a moment before giving a smirk. "The name's Anko, brat."
"So Anko, are we going where I think we're going?" I asked as I began to get the spring back into my step.
"Hah! Probably not. I doubt a kid your age has been here," Anko replied as her grin widened.
"If we're going where I think we are, then our destination will be the 44th training ground," I said as I gauged her reaction.
She gave me an impressed look.
"Please, please for the love of kami-sama, tell me we're going to that place," I pleaded, ready to get down on my knees if I had to.
"Oh, we're going there," she replied, sharing my enthusiasm.
"Fuck yes!" I yelled as I threw my fist into the air. "The last time I was there, I got the coolest scar on my back!"
"You're sure an excitable brat, huh?" Anko asked.
"Unless you're going to hurt those I hold dear," I chirped as I began to skip along. I then paused and looked back at the Uchiha. "And I'll never get excited over anything regarding the Duckass there."
Sakura swung her fist at me and hit my back.
I smiled in delight at the punishment. "Ah, the wonders of being beaten."
"You're kinda twisted," the purplenette noted as she looked down at me with a raised brow.
"Thank you," I said with a devious grin.
"It wasn't a compliment," Sakura told me as if I had no idea and didn't just give a sarcastic reply.
"Hey, are you not going to be weird anymore?" Uzumaki-kun asked, making me look at him in confusion.
"What do you mean by that?" I asked
"You kept acting weird since we got back from Nami no Kuni. Are you going to be normal again?" The blonde questioned.
I poked his forehead and replied with a small smirk, "Perhaps."
"What's with you and poking my forehead?" The boy muttered as he rubbed his headband clean of any fingerprints I had left.
"It's a bad habit I picked up along to way - one that I use at very certain times, just as he had with me many years back," I answered with a small, forced smile.
"Who is he?" Uzumaki-kun inquired.
I poked his forehead and replied, "Another time, perhaps."
He pouted as he rubbed the metal clean once again.
Soon, I'll be back to that sealed self again. It'll be over soon, and then you'll discover the new me, the better one. I smiled softly at the thought of making Sakura happy with my bad traits sealed away.
"Ah, there it is," Anko said to herself, catching my attention.
I looked at her before glancing towards the direction her gaze was directed at. I spotted the 44th training ground in the distance and gave a grin. "Well, well, well... It seems to have gotten even worse since the last time I laid eyes on it."
The group soon stopped in front of the main entrance of the training ground. Nearby, three proctors sat under a shelter and watched on.
Anko quickly turned to us and said, "This is the arena for the second exam: Training Ground 44. Also known as... The Forest of Death!"
"It looks like a pretty creepy place," Sakura noted as she looked at it with her hands clenched together in front of her chest.
Anko chuckled. "You're about to find out firsthand why they call it the "Forest of Death"!"
Uzumaki-kun wasn't having any of that. He stuck his butt out before putting his fists on his hips. "Ooo, you're about to find out firsthand why they call this the "Forest of Death"!" He mocked before standing up and pointing at her. "Like that's really going to scare us! You're trying to psych us out, and I'm not gonna fall for it!"
"Bro, that really is the Forest of Death. You could seriously die in there from all the wildlife. Not to mention the poisonous plants and rugged terrain. Like, dude, there are literal tigers in there, and the landscape ranges from forest to field to hills with steep rocks. I dick you not," I said seriously as I kept my hand clasped on his shoulder.
"Yeah, right!" He yelled, sealing his fate.
Anko gave a smile that clearly said she was about to kick Uzumaki-kun's ass. "Oh, really? You're pretty cocky, huh?" She then dropped a kunai from her coat sleeve down into her hand. The woman threw the kunai, which scrapped the blonde boy's cheek enough to draw blood before continuing on.
I watched as the kunai cut a single strand of Shiore's hair before moving out of Anko's way. I held my hands behind my back as she appeared behind the boy.
"Heh. Your kind are always the first to go," she noted before grabbing his right cheek. The purplenette leaned down and licked up some of the blood that came out of the cut. "Spilling all that rich, red, lovely, luscious blood..."
I looked at Shiore, who crept up behind Anko, before motioning for him not to get any closer. I got ignored as his tongue extended out to half of his body length, holding the kunai out towards the proctor.
The woman dropped another kunai down her sleeve before whipping it back to counter the kunai coming towards her.
"Your kunai... I believe you dropped it," Shiore said as he tipped his hat up a bit.
"Gee... Thanks," Anko replied sarcastically.
The stared each other down for a second while I awkwardly looked between them and motioned to the group they were putting a show on for.
"Don't just stand behind me radiating bloodlust... unless you're in a hurry to die," the woman finally said as she grabbed her kunai. She drew her tongue back into her mouth with a small grin.
The man took a step back as his tongue quickly withdrew into his mouth. "I'll try to keep it under control... But the sight of warm, fresh blood really makes me crazy... And I was already revved up... from loosing a strand of my precious hair." He then turned heel and walked back to his group.
"Sorry about that," Anko apologized, totally not sorry.
Uzumaki-kun watched while rubbing his cheeks before sticking his tongue out, clearly trying to stretch it out like Shiore did to his.
I sighed before gently elbowing the blonde. "It's clearly his kekkei genkai. Normal people can't do that with their tongues, so he most definitely has some special mutation in his blood which allows him to do that sort of tongue thing."
"Looks like we have a hot-blooded team on our hands this time out! Heh... Should be fun..." Anko said with a grin before reaching into her coat. "Before we begin the second exam... there's something I have to hand out." She pulled out a stack of papers that had the words 'Consent Form' on top of it.
Yep. People are going to die left and right, I thought as I stared at her blankly. "You know, Morino Ibiki said that we couldn't harm any other applicants with the intent to kill. It that being revoked?"
"As a matter of fact, yes. These are consent forms. Everybody has to sign one," Anko said.
"...Why?" Uzumaki-kun asked.
"We want all the details to be covered before the first deaths occur. Sign before you go in, so we can't be held liable. You wouldn't want me to get in trouble, would you?" She gave a laugh. "First, I'll explain what the second exam entails. Then you can sign the forms. With the other two members of your team, bring the forms to the hut behind you and submit them. Got that? Now about the exam." She handed the stack over to Uzumaki-kun, who took one before passing the papers to me. "To put it simply..."
I took my own before passing it to someone else, my eyes directed towards the woman.
"... It's a no-holds-barred survival test. Let's start with the topography of this training ground. I'll explain the rest later." Anko pulled out a map and unrolled it to show a diagram of the Forest of Death. "Training Ground #44 is bordered by a circular perimeter, interrupted at regular intervals by forty-four locked gates. There are forests and a river... And in the center is a tower about ten kilometers from those gates. Within the confines of this area carefully delineated area, you're going to undergo a survival test. During the course of the test, you may use any ninja jutsus or weapons you have at your disposal."
Many deaths. Let's see... I'm guessing that only 19 people will pass this part of the exam. I glanced over at my team before thinking, I'm willing to bet on their survival.
The proctor pulled two scrolls out of her coat, one white one and one black one. "It's a kind of fight-to-the-death version of "capture the flag"... Or, in this case, "capture the scroll"."
"Scroll?" Some dude asked.
"Exactly!" Anko chirped before holding out the two scrolls.
The white scroll had the kanji for heaven - ten. The black scroll had the kanji for earth - chi.
"There's a "scroll of heaven" and a "scroll of earth" ...And your objective is to acquire both scrolls. There are seventy-nine of you here. That's twenty-six three-member teams and one person that's taking the test on their lonesome. Thirteen teams will start out with a heaven scroll, and the other thirteen will start with an earth scroll. The one taking the test by themself will start off with no scroll. But, you'll need both scrolls to pass. So, your objective is to hold on to your own scroll, get your hands on one of the other kind, and bring them both to the tower at the center." She held both of the scrolls together to get her point across.
"In other words, at least half of us - the thirteen teams whose scrolls are stolen - will fail," Sakura noted with a furrowed brow.
"You bet! And there's a time limit!" Anko added. "You have 120 hours in which to complete this exam - exactly five days!"
"Five days?!" Ino-chan exclaimed in shock.
"What are we supposed to do for food?!" Chouji-san yelled.
"That's your problem. The forest's full of nature's bounty. Of course, they're also full of man-eating animals, deadly insects, and poisonous plants," the woman answered nonchalantly, "There's no way as many as thirteen teams will pass this. As the time shortens, the trials will come harder and faster with less recovery for any mistakes, accidents, or injuries. You'll be surrounded by enemies at all times, so you'll have to sleep with one eye open. So, in addition to those who die in attempts to defend or capture a scroll, some of you are bound to succumb to exhaustion, exposure, starvation, and dehydration."
She gave a smile and a wave. "Now, let's talk about the rules and what offenses you can be disqualified for!" She held up her index finger. "Obviously, the teams that fail to reach the tower in time as a three-man team, save for the one odd person, carrying both a heaven and an earth scroll are out."
She held up a second finger. "So is any team that loses a member, whether to death or severe injury." Anko then placed her hands on her hips. "And under no circumstances can you leave the forest before the time is up. No recess. No timeouts. Also... You're forbidden to look at the contents of the scrolls until you're inside the tower!"
Duh. Who looks at the scroll they are supposed to carry from one place to another? I thought with slight annoyance.
"What happens if we sneak a peek?" Uzumaki-kun asked.
The proctor held up a finger and replied, "That's for those who look to know!"
"Eh?" The blonde muttered.
"If any of you make it to the chûnin level, there will be times when you'll be entrusted with top-secret documents, so consider it a test of your trustworthiness. That's all the explanation you get. We'll trade one scroll for every three forms, unless you're the exception. When you've got yours, choose the gate you want to start from. Everyone will begin at the same time. One final piece of advice..." She trailed off before looking at us seriously. "Stay alive!"
The three other proctors drew a curtain around the small hut and called out, "It's almost time to distribute the scrolls."
I snapped my fingers at my team before motioning for them to go away from the rest of the group for a bit. I was thankful they followed after me. Once I was sure we were a reasonable distance away, I crossed my arms as I looked at them. "You're being targeted. Remember that guy with the long tongue? He has his eyes set on this group, probably because it was announced before the last test that you guys are rookies. Therefore, before the test begins, I'm telling you here and now that I can only help you so much before I must depart to take the exam myself."
"Why would you help us though?" Uzumaki-kun asked, his brow furrowed slightly.
"You're my teammates, chûnin exams or not. I will not allow you to get harmed if I can do something to protect you. Kakashi-sensei taught us teamwork, and I don't intend on letting any of my teammates die any time soon. My heart can't take it..." I lowered my head as I clenched my hands into fists. "Not after the bridge. I refuse to allow it to happen again."
"It's fine. We're going to be together. No one will get badly hurt," Sakura said reassuringly as she placed a hand on my shoulder.
"And I'm going to make sure. Have you decided what gate you'll start at?" I questioned as I looked at them seriously.
"No. We don't know which ones have been chosen yet," Uchiha answered, making me hum.
"Then go to 12. It's close to a water source, but not so close as to put you in danger of those who are well-versed in water jutsus. I'll take 13," I said, earning nods from my teammates. "Great. Let get these things signed and head out."
"I'm so ready for this!" Uzumaki-kun cheered, earning a punch to the head from my sister.
I gave a small sigh before heading over to the booth. I found a stray pen along the way, so I signed my name before chucking the pen towards my team. I then went over to the hut to hand in my consent form. I was slightly annoyed that I had to do extra work, but life wasn't always kind to people.
"All right everyone!" Anko yelled as soon as everyone got their scrolls, "Follow your proctors to your respective gates! When the signal sounds in half an hour, the exam will begin!"
I followed said proctor to the 13th gate and stretched my limbs. I hummed a simple tune as I got ready to head over to my sister to guide them towards the tower.
The proctor unlocked the gate and allowed to chains to fall to the ground. He then looked down at his watch while waiting for a certain time.
"In sickness and in health... We share joy and pain," I internally sung as I focused my chakra.
The man suddenly opened the gates and allowed me to step in.
I did so before teleporting to my sister. "Now let's hurry. We're sitting ducks out here."
"You said you've been here before, right? What's the fastest way to the tower?" Uchiha questioned as we quickly began to move into the forest.
"Though this isn't the fastest way, it's the safest. If we keep heading in that direction, we should reach the tower without facing any man-eating animals. We only have to worry about other shinobi at this point," I explained as I pointed in the direction I was headed in.
"Are you sure? This place is really creepy," Sakura muttered as she looked around warily.
"I would never lie to you about something that's a matter of life and death," I stated, not bothering to shoot back a look of annoyance at her lack of trust in me.
After a few minutes of moving, a scream echoed out through the air.
We all stopped on the ground and looked in the general direction we came from.
So it has started, I noted blankly.
"Did you guys hear someone... scream?" Sakura asked hesitantly. "This place is creeping me out!"
"I'm telling you, Sakura, it's not big deal," Uzumaki-kun said with his hands behind his head. He suddenly gained an odd look on his face before walking over to the nearest bush. "...Uh... I gotta take a leak."
Sakura quickly punched his head as I facepalmed in the background. "Not in front of me, bozo! I'm a lady! Use the bushes!"
"Ow!" Uzumaki-kun cried out before walking into the forest out of sight to take a leak.
"If any of you have to go to the bathroom, I suggest you do it now. We need to cover ground, and fast," I said as I crossed my arms and looked between the two.
"I'm fine," Uchiha stated, and Sakura quickly nodded to agree.
"Great. Now we just have to wait for the fool," I mumbled before something entered my somewhat small field of sensory range. I looked over and narrowed my eyes at the bushes Uzumaki-kun went into not too long ago. I quickly grabbed a kunai and got ready for an attack.
Uzumaki-kun, or someone who badly transformed into the boy, came out of the bushes with a grin. "Oh, man! What a relief! Feelin' good now!"
I quickly ran to him before holding a kunai to his neck. "You have a scroll on you, Amegakure fool?"
"H-have you lost your mind?!" The fake Uzumaki-kun yelled at me.
I gave him a wide grin as I grabbed the front of his shirt. "My little blonde idiot is right-handed, not left-handed. And besides, Anko gave him a cut before the exam began, in case you forgot."
The guy pushed me back before releasing his transformation. "Since you've forced me to come clean, why don't you do the same? Which one of you has the scroll?!"
My teammates quickly drew kunais as I teleported to him. I pierced the gas-part of his mask before quickly jumping back. "Uchiha!"
He did a few quick handsigns before performing a fire jutsu aimed at the man who I had exposed. His flames barely caught the tip of the gas, causing a small explosion.
I grit my teeth as the Amegakure ninja jumped into the trees, somewhat unaffected. I glanced over at the Uchiha before letting him deal with the enemy. I teleported to Uzumaki-kun and quickly cut him free. "Next time, just stand behind the nearest tree and piss. Gross or not, it's better than this."
"S-sorry," Uzumaki-kun apologized as he stood up.
I quickly went after Uchiha and narrowed my eyes at the guy who had gotten behind my teammate. I threw my kunai and watched as the other guy retreated.
Uchiha activated his sharingan as he used chakra to grab my kunai with the bottom of his foot. He then kicked that foot forwards and allowed the kunai to quickly fly through the air in the direction of the enemy. He pulled out another kunai and stabbed the Amegakure ninja's arm.
"Good call!" I yelled as I appeared next to him to give backup.
The ninja kicked Uchiha back, causing me to retreat so I could catch the Uchiha.
"Sasuke-kun..." Sakura gasped, horrified that he'd actually stab another person.
"He gave me no choice! Now move! We don't know where his friends are! You got that? Keep standing there, and you'll end up dead!" Uchiha yelled back at Sakura before getting steadied by me.
"He's alone. It doesn't seem like he has his team's scroll. Should I track him and get his team's scroll?" I asked the slightly taller boy.
"No. We need to do something else first," Uchiha said before wiping the blood from his face. He sat down and motioned for my other two teammates over. "Remember this. If we get separated again, we can't trust each other blindly! It could end up the way this did!"
"But what can we do?" Sakura asked.
"The safest thing is for us to have a secret password," Uchiha replied, "That way, we'll know. No matter what they look like, or how they sound, if one of us gets that wrong, they're the enemy! Listen very carefully. I'll say it only once! It's a poem called "ninki"!"
Ninja opportunity? I think I've heard it before. It's too long for Uzumaki-kun, which is probably the point. I can tell who my teammates are by their chakra, but they don't know me as well as they think they do. I gave a small sigh as he began to speak again.
"When I ask for it, here's what you respond... "We thrive in chaos of the enemy tide. Quiet shinobi don't need dens to hide. Our only concern is to watch and wait until the enemy lowers the gate"," Uchiha recited.
"Bingo!" Sakura replied with a happy smile.
"And you expected me to remember that how?!" Uzumaki-kun yelled.
"You are such a dunce. I've already got it down!" Sakura scolded.
"We need a better password! How about swordfish?" Uzumaki-kun asked.
"I'll take the scroll," Uchiha said as he got up to his feet. He quickly took the scroll from Uzumaki-kun.
"They're here," I told Uchiha as I got to my feet as well. I looked towards Shiore as he used a high-end wind jutsu. I slipped away into the trees and stared down apathetically as he moved in. I then turned my attention to his teammates, who stayed back. I gave a small grin before making a few kage bunshins. I looked at them, nodded, and then turned my focus down to the two sitting ducks.
One of my kage bunshin made the first move. They lunged at the two men with a kunai drawn.
My brow furrowed as they failed to move. I watched as my bunshin killed the other two with a surprising amount of ease. I looked over to my other shadow clones, only to see that they were just as confused as I.
One of my bunshins suddenly pointed down and muttered, "Mud."
I looked down and saw that the two that my other bunshin had just killed were turning into mud. I jumped down and stared in confusion as everything but their faces turned back into mud. I hesitantly picked up one of the faces, only to recoil in disgust upon realizing that it was genuine skin.
"Mud clones with real human faces? What a sick fuck. Shiore probably isn't who he says he is," my bunshin noted as he pulled my single sealing scroll out of my back pouch. He sealed the faces away before holding the scroll back to me.
I felt disgusted as I stared down at it. I didn't want to carry two faces around, no matter how much of a sadist I was. "I need to go."
"Should I go ahead and warn the proctor?" He asked, making me pause.
I looked at him blankly before giving a small sigh. "Alright. Just don't get me disqualified."
He nodded, put the scroll away, and then rushed off.
I can trust myself to get the job done. Now I just need to deal with Shiore, I thought before teleporting to Sakura. "I'm here."
Uchiha glanced at me and asked despite the fact Shiore was literally a few meters away, "Password?"
"Fuck you, Duckass... It's swordfish, right?" I snapped, making him nod simply.
"You're Ren," he declared.
"Where the hell is the idiot?" I muttered, earning a shrug. I looked up towards the trees were my shadow clones were still located. I smirked as they all scattered to find the blonde and help him.
Shiore suddenly pulled out a chi scroll and held it up. "I suppose you'd like to steal our earth scroll, wouldn't you? Since you've already gotten a heaven scroll!" He suddenly brought the scroll up to his mouth and wrapped his long tongue around it.
I watched him deep-throat the scroll and internally thought, Never gonna suck a dick after this... Not that I ever have before, but still.
"Now..." Shiore said after he finished swallowing the scroll. "Shall we see... just who will be stealing scrolls from whom?" He looked at us and pulled his lower eyelid down. "We'll fight to death!"
I felt horrified as my body was suddenly being torn apart by the wind. I felt my blood being splattered everywhere before a kunai was sent towards my forehead. I forced my fight hand out and blocked the kunai that was surely going towards my sister's forehead. As the cold metal pierced through my skull, I was released from the genjutsu.
That was... It was only... Just a genjutsu... That genjutsu could have rivalled one from the Uchiha clan.
Genjutsu... My worst possible area of expertise. I should have worked on genjutsu, I internally criticized myself before taking in a shaky breath. I then closed my eyes and ignored the fact my heart was still pounding with fear. I placed my hands on my teammates shoulders before channeling a large amount of my chakra into them.
Sakura suddenly released a gasp as she got her shit together.
Uchiha released a small grunt, whether that was in thanks or something else, I couldn't tell.
I stood up shakily before glaring at Shiore's neck. "I suppose it's a good thing I have this habit..."
"So you can stand up after something like that? You really are special, aren't you?" Shiore questioned with a small chuckle. "Even though I'm not here for you, it'd be a shame to let you go."
"Sakura, Sasuke... Leave," I demanded as I pulled out a kunai. I began to walk towards Shiore as my chakra fluctuated around me. I'm not going to be around for much longer... I'm willing to bet on it now. Whether it be from death or some life-changing injury... I grit my teeth before starting Shiore dead in the eyes. "You're not going to keep me down with something that can't even dream of holding a candle to Itachi's sharingan!"
His eyes widened before a grin came to his lips. He definitely wasn't just a genin. He was much more dangerous, but I wasn't going to tuck my tail and run.
I teleported myself to him as I swung my kunai towards his chest.
He jumped back before grabbing my wrist tightly.
I swung my feet around to nail to side of his head. "Aren't you going to try your genjutsu again?" I watched him duck under my kick and quickly pulled a kunai out. "Come on! Summon up your illusions!" I demanded as I tried stabbing the hand that held my wrist. "Stab me! Kill me!" I was finally freed from his grasp and gave a wide grin as I stood up and faced him with my arms extended out. "I'll even give you a free shot!"
Shiore narrowed his eyes at me. "You're definitely not normal."
My grin became ten times more malicious as I looked down at him with narrowed eyes. I threw the kunai I was holding at him, only for him to dodge to the left. I pulled out two more kunais and threw one at the direction he was going before teleporting to the kunai I had previously thrown. I looked at the Kusagakure shinobi's back as I pulled the kunai I was holding with all of my might. I watched as he was split in half before frowning at the log that took his place.
"I'll need to take care of you first!" Shiore yelled as he rushed forwards with a kunai in his hand.
I dipped under his kunai before kicking his solar plexus as hard as I could. I then backtracked as I drew a few shuriken. I should have brought more weapons.
Shiore rushed after me with murderous intent in his eyes before he cast the same genjutsu he just used.
As the wind ripped me apart, I laughed and lunged for the guy, my shuriken heading straight for him. "This move again?! Don't you have anything more original?!" I felt my heart pounding harshly in my chest as the genjutsu was suddenly stopped, revealing that Shiore had moved away several meters. I drew my last kunai as I yelled, "What's wrong?! You were talking all that good shit a second ago! And then I got through your fucking genjutsu!"
"What clan are you from?" He growled at.
"I've from the civilian household: Haruno! My name is Haruno Ren, and I'm the best goddamn rookie in Konoha!" I declared smugly before chuckling. "And today, we have this fake Kusagakure ninja that were gonna tear apart and eat for lunch! I can't wait!"
He narrowed his eyes at me before suddenly smirking. "So we're going to have to go this route, eh? It's a shame. I didn't want to have to kill you."
"Life's a bitch, and then you die. And right now, you're looking at the biggest bitch this side of the Forest of Death," I said before teleporting to him once more while swinging my kunai.
He grabbed onto my arm before suddenly jerking my body to the side. He made it evident he was just playing with me earlier as he slammed my body into the ground. Shiore dug his foot into my stomach, causing me to grit my teeth before a laugh broke out of my throat.
"Kick me harder, Shiore~!" I cooed at him before dropping my kunai. I grabbed it with my other hand and threw it towards his face, only for him to easily catch it. "Son of a bitch."
The imposter gave a chuckle before pulling me up by my arm. He slashed my kunai across my chest, leaving a deep cut that would need immediately treatment should I be allowed the privilege to stay alive. Shiore then dropped me as if I was a broken toy he had no interest in.
Play along. Let him out of sight, and then you can bandage yourself up, I thought as I fought against my body's urge to twitch to life.
"And now, for the Uchiha..." Shiore muttered before jumping into the trees.
Oh, fuck me, I thought as I sat up. I quickly pulled a roll of bandages out from my pouch before pulling my shirt off. I stared down at my bleeding chest and felt dizzy just looking at the amount of blood I had already lost. I was cut from just under my right collarbone to under my left pectoral. I bandaged my chest, not worrying about the infection that I was sure to spread through the wound.
As it turns out, sitting there like that made me a sitting duck for a certain animal. A large snake slithered up behind my before flicking its tongue at me a few times.
I felt my blood drain from my face as I finally finished wrapping up my chest. I looked up at the snake before shakily raising my middle finger. "Could you maybe fuck off for a few minutes?"
The snake stared at me silently before opening its mouth wide.
I released a groan before pulling out several of my shuriken. I teleported to a nearby kunai before throwing the shuriken at the snake. I watched as the snake fell to the ground and groaned again as my head fell back. "That was my favorite shirt!"
The dead snake didn't roll over to allow me to get my shirt.
"Fine, fucking whatever. I have to go help Sakura and the Duckass anyways," I grumbled under my breath before collecting all of my previously disregarded weapons. I teleported to Sakura and groaned at the feeling of my body wanting to lay down and die.
"Ren! What happened to you?!" Sakura exclaimed as she grabbed me and laid me down on the branch she was on.
"Where the fuck is Uchiha? That Kusagakure ninja isn't actually from Kusagakure. He's some sort of weirdo that took the place of that shinobi. Right now, he's after Duckass," I explained as I sat up despite her protests. I looked around before realizing I had literally no idea where anyone else besides Sakura was.
"W-we got split up again. I haven't been able to find Sasuke-kun or Naruto," she said as she looked around worriedly.
I gave a groan before sensing out the chakra seal on the duckass. I then grabbed ahold of her hand and lead her to an area near Uchiha, who was, at that very moment, battling Shiore. "Oh my fucking gods! I leave you fuckers alone for three goddamn minutes-"
"Get away!" Uchiha yelled as he threw shuriken at the snake that was rapidly approaching him. He landed on the branch in front of my sister and I.
The snake's skin suddenly opened, and Shiore came out, slowly standing up.
"I suddenly remembered why I hate puddles!" I blurted out as Sakura gave me an odd look. "Yo! That dude looks just like the puddle people I saw!" I pointed at the dude to get my point across before pausing. "I mean, he's more slimy, and he's coming out of a dead snake... But it's basically the same thing!"
"Your puddle people don't exist! This is a really bad situation, Ren!" Sakura scolded.
"Yeah, no shit! You think I'm bleeding this badly for kicks?!" I yelled back while motioning to my chest.
She shut up before looking back at Shiore, who had started wrapping his body around the tree while slithering in the general direction of Uchiha.
"You're never going to Kusagakure," I whispered to my twin, who gave a simple, but horrified, nod.
Suddenly, a row of shuriken impaled the tree in Shiore's path. As everyone looked up towards where they came from, Uzumaki-kun yelled out, "Sorry Sasuke... I can't remember that stupid password!"
"I have never been so glad to see an idiot in my entire life!" I cried out, earning a small smack to the back of my head, courtesy of my sister, of course.
"Sweet! Naruto, that was awesome!" Sakura praised.
"Naruto to the rescue, huh? You're completely psyched about saving the day... But... Now would be a good time to run for your life! This guy is way out of our league!" Uchiha yelled at Uzumaki-kun.
"For once, and I never believed the day would come where I would have to say this, but Sasuke is right! We need to go! Get your ass over here, so I can transport us somewhere else!" I yelled at Uzumaki-kun.
Shiore gave a small chuckle as he draped himself over the branch he was on. "My compliments on your stunning defeat of the giant snake... Naruto."
There was a glare off between Uchiha, Uzumaki-kun, and Shiore. They were clearly all trying to asses the situation and see what could work to their advantage.
"Hey! Why don't you pick on someone your own size...? Or something like that..." Uzumaki-kun said, lamely at that.
Uchiha silently glared before suddenly deactivating his sharingan. He pulled out his team's scroll and yelled, "If it's our scroll you want, come and get it! Just take it and go!"
"Huh?" Sakura muttered, earning a nod from me.
"Sasuke! What the heck do you think you're doing?! Is this some clever way of beating the enemy?! By handing over everything we've got?!" Uzumaki-kun yelled at the boy with a brain the size of a duck's.
"Well done," Shiore praised as his body unwrapped from around the tree. "You're obviously natural-born prey... Instinctively knowing that you're only hope lies in the chance of the predator being distracted by some tastier bait!"
"Come and get it!" Uchiha yelled as he began throwing his team's scroll to the other ninja.
Uzumaki-kun suddenly jumped and intercepted the scroll. He caught it and landed right behind Uchiha.
Duckass swirled around with fury in his eyes. "Stay out of this! You'll ruin everything!"
The blonde then punched Uchiha across the face, sending the black-eyed boy to flying through the air, causing him to land on a different nearby branch.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Uchiha yelled at the panting Uzumaki-kun.
"Naruto... What are you...?" Sakura trailed off as I forced myself to sit up a bit straighter.
I winced a bit at the pain in my chest before allowing my head to flop fowards. I watched as some blood splattered against my lap and groaned softly. Perhaps me not being around for long will be because I'm going to die. Ah, this hurts, and not in the good way.
"Ren!" Sakura gasped softly as she forcefully laid me back down. "Don't get up anymore. Just stay still. Please don't try to do anything else. You could die."
I grit my teeth, but followed my sister's request. I decided to just listen to the fight and save up my energy.
"I forgot the stupid password... So I can't prove it... But this so-called Sasuke is obviously fake!" Uzumaki-kun yelled.
"What?!" Sakura exclaimed.
"Naruto... You idiot! I'm me...!" Uchiha replied.
"That's bull!" Uzumaki-kun snapped, "And you're the idiot, idiot! You're a coward. Which Sasuke isn't. So you're not him! I'm not so sure we need to be afraid of this guy... And even if we did hand over the scroll... There's no guarantee he'd spare us! So, even if you were Sasuke, I'd still be telling you you're an idiot... And maybe a chicken, too!"
"Oh, Naruto! This is rich!" Shiore pipped up with a large smile before his tongue came out to lick his lips. "And you're right."
Uchiha jolted in surprise.
"Why bargain..." He pulled up his left sleeve, showing a tattoo on his skin. "...when I can simply kill you..." He bit his right thumb just enough to draw blood. "...and take the scroll?" He smeared his blood down his arm on a straight line over the tattoo.
"Shut up!" Uzumaki-kun yelled as he rushed towards Shiore.
"Don't do it, Naruto!" Uchiha demanded, worry evident in his voice.
As Uzumaki-kun lunged for the fake Kusagakure shinobi, the air around Shiore began to whip around. His eyes were filled with wrath as a snake suddenly appeared, making me realize that the large snake I killed earlier was a summoning.
As I stared at Shiore with wide eyes, a certain memory I hadn't thought about in years suddenly came barreling to the front of my mind.
"Geez. That grin makes you look just like Orochimaru," the blonde commented as she looked down at me.
"Who's Orochimaru?" I asked with a small tilt of my head.
She flinched away, her amber eyes quickly looking away. "He's no good."
I stared for a moment before questioning, "Aren't you gonna tell me more? What happens if I run across this freak and all I know is his name?"
She punched my head, sending me crashing into the ground. "Shut up! Make an inference based off his name, and leave me alone!"
"At least tell me what rank he is!" I demanded as she stomped off.
"S-Rank!" She yelled back before pausing. She suddenly looked back at me with narrowed eyes. "He holds the same rank as me, and if you know as much about me as you claim... Then you should know he's not someone that you want to mess with."
I felt horror bubble to my life as I sat up once again. "There's no way... I have to be wrong..."
"Ren! Lay-" Sakura cut herself off upon seeing my horrified expression.
I shakily stood up before yelling out, "Shiore! Your real name is Orochimaru, isn't it?!"
The black-haired man stopped in his tracks before looking over at me with a wide smirk. "It sure took you a while to figure out. You're not as clever as you make yourself appear."
"R-Ren! What's wrong with you?!" Sakura exclaimed as I collapsed to my knees.
I dug my fingers into the bark of the tree before muttering, "That guy... He's an S-Rank criminal - a legendary sannin that was taught under Hokage-sama himself... I thought it was weird that he knew some jutsu that could actually remove someone else's face. It's probably a forbidden jutsu." I shakily brought my hands up to my face and held it as I began to hyperventilate. "We're this close to death. Oh gods, what if he decides to kill us all. I don't have enough chakra left to do anything. I need to warn the proctors. An S-Rank criminal snuck in, and he's after Uchiha-"
"What do you mean he's after Sasuke-kun?" Sakura interrupted.
I blinked before looking up at the sole survivor of the Uchiha Massacre. "He's after Sasuke, and him specifically. He's the sole survivor of his clan, and probably the easiest target for his clan's kekkei genkai. Uchiha needs to keep away from Orochimaru at all times."
"H... He's after Sasuke-kun's sharingan?" Sakura questioned worriedly.
"Most likely. You three need to leave, now. Transform into someone else and just go. I'll hold him off for as long as possible," I said as I shakily stood up, my hands trembling as fear ran through my body.
"Are you crazy?! We're not leaving you alone!" Sakura yelled.
"Yes, you fucking will!" I screamed as I glared at her, causing her to flinch back. "You couldn't possibly image what kind of shit-storm we just walked into. We could all die. I shit you fucking not!"
"You're in no condition to fight!" Sakura replied as anger and worry swirled together inside of her jade-colored eyes.
"I know. But I'm just going to die anyways. Mind as well go out with a bang," I gave a chuckle before spitting out some more blood.
Sakura punched my kidney, causing my knees to buckle down from the pain. "Stay here, idiot!"
I whimpered as I fell down on the branch and curled into a small ball. "That's not going to help me."
"You're not dying," she muttered as tears came to her eyes. "You're my brother... I'm not letting you die."
"Hey! Get off of me!" Uzumaki-kun yelled loudly, gaining our attention. His eyes were red with fox-slit pupils in them. The birthmarks on his face had widened, and his teeth were barred like he was some sort of animal.
Orochimaru had wrapped his tongue around the boy's waist and pulled him up towards himself. He made some odd hand sign with his hands and said, "Heh heh... The brat of the kyūbi is still alive and kicking!" He put his right hand to the side as chakra became visible at the very tips of his fingers. "How fascinating that, when he is consumed with rage, he loses himself... And a bit of the nine-tailed demon trapped within comes through. An amazing development!" He used his tongue to lift up Uzumaki-kun's shirt, revealing an odd-looking seal on his stomach. "There's the proof. The spell that seals the monster within appears on your skin like a tattoo." Orochimaru suddenly slammed his right hand into the seal, causing the blonde to gasp in shock.
"Sasuke-kun! Naruto needs you!" Sakura yelled at the Uchiha.
Uzumaki-kun's eyes went wide before he blinked. The red disappeared, leaving a hazy blue in its place. He then flopped over like dead weight.
Orochimaru flung the boy over his shoulder after taking the scroll.
"Naruto!" Sakura yelled as she threw a kunai. Her kunai, thankfully, caught Uzumaki-kun's shirt just right, allowing the boy to hang from a tree without the worry of falling to his death.
Uzumaki-kun wasn't waking up though, making it evident that he was down for the count.
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura yelled at the shaking boy, tears coming to her eyes. "Naruto may be nothing like you... He's clumsy, and he holds us back. And sometimes he's a big nuisance, but at least he's got guts! Naruto's no coward! Right?!"
I stared at her in shock, impressed that she finally told the Duckass off. I was tempted to clap my hands, but my body was honestly against that sort of movement at the moment.
Uchiha suddenly activated his sharingan as two tomoes appeared in both eyes. He was going to get his ass kicked...
Orochimaru wiped the blood from his arm, causing his summoning to disappear.
Uchiha rummaged around in his back pouch for a second before pulling out several kunais, and a larger shuriken. He threw four kunais with one hand, causing Orochimaru to jump back. He then grabbed ahold of a nearby tree. He threw his shuriken before summoning chakra to his hand. He threw his last kunai, only to have Orochimaru dodge it.
Orochimaru suddenly jolted when he realized that string was attached to the weapons. "A sharingan "windmill" - a three-pronged attack!" He then caught the shuriken in his mouth and mocked out, "Heh... Such a shame..." That cockiness didn't last very long as he looked back st the smirking Uchiha.
Duckass had made a few handsigns as he gripped onto one of his wire strings with his teeth. He then used a fire jutsu that quickly shot down the metal string, hitting Orochimaru's face dead on.
Shisui-san could do much better, I internally criticized as the fire on Orochimaru quickly went out.
"That one so young should have such mastery of the sharingan power...! Truly, a worthy successor to the honored name of the clan Uchiha!" Orochimaru lifted his head up, revealing the face he had was flaking away, showing what he truly looked like underneath. "In fact... I believe I want you, after all...!"
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura exclaimed as she left me to go stand next to Uchiha.
I took in a deep breath as I grabbed a kunai from my pouch.
"It's marvelous fun, having you show me all of your tricks!" Orochimaru exclaimed as he trapped Uchiha and my sister in another genjutsu, paralyzing them. He brushed away the Kusagakure symbol, revealing the Otogakure symbol on his headband. "You really are his brother, aren't you? You can see - and conceal - things with those eyes if yours that Itachi himself never dreamed of!"
This motherfucker thinks he knows Itachi's sharingan?! That's hilarious! Bitch probably hasn't seen a quarter of what Itachi-senpai can do! I thought as I made a hand sign, my kunai in between my upper and lower jaw.
"Just who the heck are you?!" Uchiha yelled, making me internally facepalm.
"I'm Orochimaru, the giant snake. If you'd ever like a rematch, then pass this exam as quickly as you can!" Orochimaru replied as he burned their scroll.
"Oh!" Sakura exclaimed upon seeing their progress go down to zero.
"I'll see you again, if you manage to defeat the three oto-nin who answer to me," Orochimaru stated.
"Wh-what are you babbling on about?! We never want to see your face again!" Sakura yelled, even though I was willing to bet his face would never permanently go away.
He chuckled softly as he made another off hand sign. "Perhaps not... But wishing won't chase me away." His neck suddenly elongated and headed towards Uchiha and my sister.
I used the last of my chakra to teleport to his body. "Maybe wishing won't! But a lost organ will!" I spat my kunai out before stabbing it into one of his kidneys. I grinned viciously as a bit more of blood came out of my mouth. As my world spun and turned black, I pulled my kunai out of his wound. That last thing I remember from that day was Sakura screaming my name as I fell down from the tree branch.
The man held his side as he stood over the white-haired boy who was sprawled out across a branch hidden away by many leaves. A kunai was in his free hand as he glared down at the boy whose chest was just barely falling and raising.
The boy suddenly released sharp cough before his head tilted to the side. He coughed a few more times until blood came spilling out past his lips, onto the bark below.
Taking in a breath through his nose, the man kneeled down and slipped his kunai away. He ran his hand across the wound he made that was wrapped up. "I didn't realize it, but you bandaged it well. You've done several stupid things before, haven't you?" The snake-like man stopped moving his hand, and his eyes widened. "This chakra..."
The boy made a small face of discomfort as his left collarbone was being touched without restraint. He groaned softly as pressure was added to the skin that showed off part of his skeletal structure.
"Perhaps I will allow you to live after all. You aren't worthy enough to be a vessel, however..." The man made a hand sign as his teeth seemed to sharpen.
That's when the boy randomly rolled onto his side and slipped off of the branch he was previously laying on.
The taller of the two quickly extended his tongue out and caught to the boy who had curled himself into a ball while falling to his death, or what would have been his death had he not been caught. "You're definitely not worth the trouble, at least not today. Maybe one day in the future, but for now..."
The boy was set down on the branch and was left to defend himself.
"I'll let you live on. Hopefully you won't disappoint me, Ren-chan." And with that, the man quickly departed.
