Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Naruto Shippuden. All characters in this story, excluding those that are created by me, are the intellectual property of Masashi Kishimoto. Please show support by reading or watching the original source material.
~Confronting the Shadow: Chapter Nine~
"The Forest of Death"
There had been a couple of instances in Sakura's life where she wondered if becoming a shinobi was a mistake. The first was when she was nearly killed by the Demon Brothers. The second was watching the high-level battle between Kakashi and Zabuza. The third was when she almost got her skull split in two by Mangetsu Hōzuki. And now, finally, the fourth was when she looked into the Forest of Death for the first time. To say that the place was a veritable hellscape would be an understatement.
The trees were so thick that very little light managed to penetrate through the leaves and branches. Therefore, standing outside and looking in, the fenced-in training area appeared as though it was somehow perpetually evening inside. It made Sakura wonder what it was like to be inside that place once the sun set. Well, odds were she was about to find out.
"I think I just heard an animal getting eaten in there," Naruto remarked as he Sayuri and Sakura stood in front of their designated gate. "That's crazy. Did you hear its bones crunch?"
"Can you please not?" Sakura snapped, earning a look from Naruto. "I'm nervous enough as it is. I don't need your grisly commentary."
Upon arriving at the testing location, it was revealed that they would be participating in a survival exam. Each team would be given one of two scrolls, either Heaven or Earth. The objective was to obtain the other scroll and make it to the central tower within the one-hundred-and-twenty-hour time limit. To make matters worse, they were required to sign waivers beforehand — the implications of which nearly caused Sakura's knees to tremble.
Naruto shrugged, "I'm a descriptive soul," he countered.
Internally, Sakura crunched the numbers. In total, twenty-six teams passed the first exam. That meant that thirteen of the teams would have Heaven Scrolls, and the other thirteen would have Earth Scrolls. So, at max, only thirteen teams would be able to pass since each team needed two scrolls to proceed. This, however, did not account for the possibility that some teams may die or be unable to make the time limit. Therefore, it was more likely that less than thirteen teams would make it through the second test. Sakura wagered it would be closer to somewhere between five and eight teams when she factored in the many different variables that the forest presented.
"We need to decide who's going to carry the scroll," Sakura spoke up, looking over at the Heaven Scroll that was in Sayuri's possession.
"I will," Sayuri replied immediately, her tone leaving little opportunity for debate. She then proceeded to place the scroll into her weapon pouch, as if to prevent either of them from trying to take it from her.
She would get no argument from Sakura.
In Sakura's eyes, Sayuri was the logical choice to carry the scroll. She was the perfect balance of strength and responsibility. Sakura may be the most cautious and analytical member of Team 7, but she wasn't strong enough to protect the scroll from the more powerful exam participants. On the other hand, Naruto was just as strong as Sayuri was, but he was also careless at times.
"If that's what you want to do, then come over here — and bring the scroll," Naruto said to Sayuri before rummaging through his weapon pouch.
Initially reluctant to follow along, Sayuri eventually complied when she noticed that Naruto didn't seem to be joking around. He then pulled out a brush and a canister of ink, which Sayuri found odd. Was he going to write her some sort of note? Or maybe he was going to paint the scroll to disguise the fact that it was a Heaven Scroll?
"Choose a hand and stick it out."
After a moment of thought, Sayuri extended her left hand and nearly flinched when Naruto grabbed it with his own left hand. He then removed her white wrist warmer and turned her hand over, exposing her underarm. After that, he began to paint a strange-looking diagram on her wrist, which mostly consisted of small kanji and the occasional symbol. Once he was apparently finished, the kanji were left with an empty circle in the middle encircled by three arrows. Naruto then took the scroll out of Sayuri's other hand and placed it directly on top of the symbols he had drawn.
With a look of concentration, Naruto muttered, "Seal!"
The Heaven Scroll immediately vanished in a puff of smoke, and the circle at the center of the three arrows was filled in by the kanji for the word scroll. Apparently satisfied with his work, Naruto stepped away with a small smirk before handing Sayuri her arm warmer back. Needless to say, his teammates had questions.
"I have to say, Sayuri. You have surprisingly soft skin."
Despite her best efforts, Sayuri blushed at the unexpected compliment. She then quickly composed herself, "What the hell did you just do?"
Naruto grinned, "Just some basic fūinjutsu. It's simple enough if you practice. I can teach you guys later if you want," he explained. "If you need to remove the scroll, all you have to do is channel your chakra into the seal, and it will be released. For now, though, I suggest you put your wrist warmer back on, so nobody sees it."
Sayuri scowled, "Let me guess, the perverted old man who taught you how to summon toads taught you that too?" she asked, while indignantly following his instructions and putting her wrist warmer back on. Naruto simply nodded in response with his trademark cheeky grin. "How many other techniques are you going to conveniently pull out of your ass?"
"That's the last one, I swear."
Sakura appeared baffled and out of the loop, "A perverted old man?" she asked before shaking her head. "And what was that about toads?"
"It's a long story."
Before their conversation could continue, a chūnin came over with a key and unlocked their gate. They looked up at their gate — gate twelve to be specific — and mentally prepared to get started. The chūnin continued to stare at his watch until the time was precisely 1:30 PM. At that moment, the test officially started, and the gate was opened. Without any hesitation, Team 7 blurred forward and disappeared into the trees.
Once they were out of sight, the chūnin locked the gate and returned to his station.
Now that they were in the Forest of Death, Team 7 immediately felt that it lived up to its name. Everything in the forest was unnatural. The trees were massive, and so was the wildlife. And as noted previously, very little light managed to break through the leaves and branches above, making it feel like they had been transported into a completely different time zone. Eventually, the trio found a relatively defendable position and landed to discuss their strategy.
"Sakura, I'm sure that you've already assessed the situation," Sayuri said. "You should take the lead."
Surprised to be chosen for such an important role, Sakura raised up her hands, "Wait, I don't know if I'm the one for the job," she responded. "One of you two should be in charge."
At Sakura's side, Naruto grinned, "Are you kidding?" he asked. "If not for you, we wouldn't have passed the bell test. You were made for this, ya know?"
As soon as Naruto finished speaking, Sayuri nodded in silent agreement. Frankly, Sakura was touched that her teammates had so much faith in her abilities. However, it was one thing to formulate a plan during a team training exercise and another thing entirely to do the same in a life or death situation. There were so many variables that Sakura couldn't account for. How strong was the competition? How much actual sleep would they be able to get in such a stressful environment? Was food plentiful or difficult to come by? These were all things that she couldn't account for with her current knowledge.
Yet, as Sakura continued to doubt herself, she remembered her desire to stand on equal footing with her teammates. Whether she thought that she was ready or not, this was her chance. If she would fail, then at least she would do so without any doubts. Furthermore, Naruto and Sayuri didn't seem like the type of people who would blame others for their failures, as they were mostly self-critical by nature.
"Alright," Sakura relented after wracking her brain for a strategy. "Naruto, how difficult would it be for you to make four shadow clones?"
"Do you even have to ask?"
Sakura smiled and nodded, "Good. We need you to have four clones maintaining a perimeter around us at all times. If they see anything suspicious, they need to create another clone to take their place and then dispel. That way, their memories will be passed on to you, and we can always know about any danger before it reaches us. While we travel, we'll stay in formation with Sayuri at the front using her Sharingan to detect any danger that might get passed the clones."
Both Naruto and Sayuri seemed onboard so far.
"Every team has the same final destination in mind," Sakura continued. "Outside of that, we don't know what the others are planning or doing. I propose that we head straight to the central tower and pick off any teams that we find on the way. If worse comes to worst and we can't get a scroll this way, we can always ambush teams as they approach the tower."
As soon as Sakura finished explaining her strategy, Naruto immediately created four shadow clones, and they fanned out to create a perimeter. Team 7 then entered a triangle formation, with Sayuri at the front determining their route — with her Sharingan activated, as instructed. Seeing her teammates following through with her recommendations without any hint of doubt or disagreement brought a pleasant feeling to Sakura's chest. It was difficult not to feel more confident with such support from her comrades.
With their strategy being employed, Team 7 began their journey to the central tower. For the initial portion of the trek, they remained silent and focused. Having just entered the forest mere minutes ago, it was difficult to NOT be on guard. Everything was huge and terrifying. Sakura nearly gasped when she thought she saw a giant centipede coiled around a tree but kept silent in the hopes that her eyes were simply playing tricks on her.
"I'm officially bored," Naruto spoke out of the blue. "Let's talk about what we're afraid of. For me, it's got to be ghosts."
Sayuri scoffed from the front of their formation, "Ghosts? Really? There's no such thing."
"And how would you know that?" Naruto countered. "Are you some kind of ghost expert?"
"Hard to be an expert on something that doesn't exist."
While unsure if he had done so on purpose or not, Sakura was grateful that Naruto broke through the silence and initiated some casual conversation. Seeing as this was the Chūnin Exams, and they were currently moving through the most dangerous training ground in the entire village, it would be easy for them to get stressed out and make a mistake.
Sakura pondered Naruto's question carefully, "I guess I would say snakes — if I had to choose only one," Sakura revealed. "They're just so creepy."
Naruto nodded sagely before turning to Sayuri, "Well? What about you, Ms. Know-It-All?" he asked.
"I'm not afraid of anything."
"Yeah, right," Naruto replied. "I remember you were trembling like a leaf when we first fought Zabuza."
Even from behind, Sakura noticed the slight red hue that spread across Sayuri's cheeks at the accusation. Her lack of response was all the confirmation that Naruto needed if his smug look was anything to go by. To be fair, though, Sakura felt that she had no room to judge if what he said was true. She recalled that she could barely hold her kunai properly under the weight of Zabuza's killer intent.
"Shut up, loser," Sayuri growled.
With thinly-veiled amusement, Sakura awaited Naruto's reply. Over the past few months, she had grown to appreciate her teammate's little spats — as any spectator to a grand spectacle would. However, when Naruto failed to respond as she'd anticipated, Sakura and Sayuri looked over their shoulders to see that he had stopped in his tracks for no discernible reason.
With a bewildered expression on his face, Naruto attempted to explain, "My clones were just—"
Before Naruto could finish what he was trying to say, an incredibly powerful blast of wind hit like a train. Thinking on her feet, Sayuri was able to reach out and grab Sakura's arm to prevent her from being taken in as well. However, Naruto wasn't so lucky, as he seemed to take the full brunt of the attack head-on. Sayuri and Sakura were only able to keep their eyes on him for a brief moment before he was sent flying deep into the forest.
Sayuri clicked her teeth in irritation at their misfortune before quickly dragging Sakura into a nearby bush to hide while they still had the chance. While surveying the area, she noticed that the jutsu used to attack Naruto had been so powerful that it uprooted trees and left a shallow trench in the soil. While initially uncertain about what it was, Sayuri eventually concluded that it must have been a powerful wind style jutsu.
Upon regaining her bearings, Sakura's head swiveled around in worry, "Where's Naru—"
Wary of whoever just attacked them, Sayuri placed her hand on Sakura's mouth to silence her. Now more so than ever, they needed to think tactically. Naruto was strong and would be able to take care of himself, but until they could confirm what exactly they were going up against, it would be foolish to try and help him.
Sakura was initially cooperative, but then for whatever reason, she began to panic and before shaking Sayuri's hand from her mouth, "Sayuri, behind you!" she warned.
Internally cursing her inability to sense the danger, Sayuri looked over her shoulder and was astounded to see a massive snake looming over them. Unsure if it was somehow connected the whoever attacked them, or if they were just plain unlucky, she and Sakura quickly created distance and fled deeper into the forest. However, before they could advance very far, they were soon face-to-face with a strange-looking woman with long black hair and matching eyes.
The Grass kunoichi tipped her conical straw hat in greeting before smiling fiendishly, "My oh my, it would seem that I've stumbled across something rather interesting," she remarked with an almost silky voice that made Sayuri and Sakura's skin crawl. "This should be fun."
Team 8 watched in horror as they witnessed what could only be described as an utter massacre. During their search for a scroll, they had come across a standoff between two teams — one from the Hidden Sand and the other from the Hidden Rain. Initially, it appeared that the Hidden Rain team would have the upper hand. Their leader was a towering, intimidating figure with scars while his opponent, Gaara, was a pipsqueak in comparison.
Oh, how wrong they were.
Gaara displayed unnatural power, as he was shown to be capable of manipulating sand to devastating effect. One of his teammates, a boy named Kankurō, described the sand as an ultimate defense, stating that it protected Gaara from all danger, independent of his own will. The leader of the Hidden Rain team fittingly attempted to defeat Gaara with a shower of senbon needles. Yet, the attack was effortlessly blocked by the sand. Then, one by one, each member of the Hidden Rain team was bound by sand and then crushed with enough force to cause their blood to fall from the sky like rain.
"We need to get the hell out of here," Kiba advised with uncharacteristic fright. Frankly, they probably should have booked it a lot sooner.
Both Hinata and Shino were in full agreement, and Team 8 immediately turned around and made to flee. However, before they could manage to do so, a wall of sand rose and blocked their path, preventing their escape. Their hearts immediately sunk as they realized they'd been spotted. Upon looking back over their shoulders, they saw Gaara standing within arm's reach of them.
With his arms crossed over his chest, and a stoic look on his face, Gaara addressed Team 8 as a group, "Naruto Uzumaki and Sayuri Uchiha," he spoke, much to Team 8's surprise. "Do you know these names?"
The first to compose himself was Shino, who opted to not displease the guy he just watched turn three people into a literal bloody pulp, "Yes," he responded. "They were our classmates."
"Tell me everything you know," Gaara demanded in a threatening monotone.
Despite fearing for his life, Kiba couldn't help but become irate at being asked to essentially sell out his comrades, "What's it to you anyway?" he growled. However, he immediately regretted his decision when Gaara's eyes were then fixed solely on him.
"I don't like the way that you're looking at me," Gaara growled before uncrossing his arms and extending an open hand in Kiba's direction.
To his credit, Kiba stood his ground. His features became more feral, and his claws extended. Even if he probably wouldn't be able to win, he wasn't the type of person to cower away from a threat. A tendril of sand then burst from the gourd on Gaara's back and headed straight for Kiba, who managed to jump back and avoid being snatched out of the air. However, as he landed, he felt his foot sink into the ground, and he realized that Gaara had also maneuvered sand beneath his feet.
Now unable to move, Kiba could only watch in horror as another wave of sand approached — no doubt with the intention of crushing him into pieces. Hinata watched her teammate's impending doom and felt her own fear quickly be replaced by determination. She activated her Byakugan and noticed that Gaara's sand seemed to be saturated with chakra. Recognizing the possible weakness, Hinata jumped into the path of the sand and hit it with a well-placed gentle fist strike that managed to divert its course.
Upon witnessing Hinata's bravery, Gaara looked as though he had been struck across the face. He hunched over and gripped his head while muttering something faintly under his breath that couldn't quite be heard. Team 8 was hardly eager to wait there and find out. They used the unexpected interruption to flee as far as they could.
As Team 8 made their escape, they couldn't help but lament at how close they had been to death. Kiba glanced over in Hinata's direction and was unable to find any words. At first, he was miffed at the idea that someone would need to come to his rescue. However, once his adrenaline faded away and was replaced by the fear of death once more, he felt grateful at the fact that Hinata was willing to put herself between him and danger.
"Hinata," Kiba spoke up, trying to sound as confident as he could despite his nerves. "I owe you one."
With a smile, Hinata nodded, "You would have done the same for me."
Sayuri struggled to suppress her pounding heart as she hid behind a tree like a skittish animal. Loathed as she was to admit it, she and Sakura were forced to flee after their encounter with the kunoichi from the Hidden Grass Village. That woman — no — that thing, was straight out of a nightmare. With a mere glance, she was able to freeze Sayuri and Sakura in place under the weight of her malice. It was only by the skin of their teeth that they were able to escape.
"Are you sure that your leg is okay?" Sakura whispered with concern.
Reminded of the injury that she suffered, Sayuri looked down at her left quad to see a puncture wound that was still oozing blood. When frozen under the Grass kunoichi's killing intent, she had been forced to stab herself with a kunai to fight through the fear. The pain briefly pulled Sayuri out from her pitiful state and allowed her to grab Sakura and escape.
"It's fine," Sayuri muttered hurriedly, inwardly disgusted at how afraid she sounded.
While she didn't seem all that convinced, Sakura relented and opted to remain silent. She was just as unnerved as Sayuri, but at the moment, her worry outweighed her fear. Naruto had been gone for a long time — and to make matters worse, he was utterly alone. Even as horrified as she was with her current circumstances, Sakura at least felt secure in the fact that she had Sayuri by her side. She didn't even want to imagine what Naruto must have been experiencing all by himself.
The forest then became quiet — too quiet for Sayuri's liking. She silently leaned out from her hiding place and took stock of her surroundings. While half expecting to see yet another colossal snake, Sayuri sighed in relief when she saw nothing. Pleased that her paranoia seemed to be misplaced in this particular case, Sayuri leaned back against the tree and sighed wearily. Maybe the Grass kunoichi had finally given up on chasing after them?
"You seem content to live as prey. How disappointing."
Sayuri's eyes widened in horror as she heard the familiar voice right next to her ear. She turned fully and saw that Grass kunoichi's face sticking out of the tree — almost as if she had melded through it. Both Sayuri and Sakura were quick to jump back. Yet, they were immediately pursued as their enemy extended her body like a snake.
Without any thought, Sayuri rapidly weaved through six hand seals, "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"
After gathering chakra in her chest, Sayuri unleashed a volley of small fireballs from her mouth. The Grass kunoichi hardly seemed concerned, as she managed to elude the attack almost effortlessly as she continued to close the distance. Just as she was about to get within arm's reach of Sayuri, Sakura lunged into view and attempted to stab her with a kunai — though the attempt was easily avoided.
Sakura received a punch to the stomach for her trouble and then a knee to the face that sent her tumbling to the ground in an unconscious heap. Moving solely on the instinct to protect her teammate, Sayuri closed the distance and began to engage the Grass kunoichi in taijutsu. They traded punches and kicks, with neither landing any significant blows on the other. Sayuri then attempted a leg sweep, but the Grass kunoichi jumped over it before vanishing in a flash of speed.
Nevertheless, thanks to her Sharingan, Sayuri was able to anticipate the Grass kunoichi's counterattack. She formed the hand seals for the Fireball Jutsu and managed to achieve a direct hit. Nevertheless, her attack proved useless, as the Grass kunoichi avoided any damage by tunneling into the tree branch before emerging just underneath Sayuri's feet.
Sayuri avoided being grabbed by leaping into the air and landing several feet away. There was then a brief interlude in the fighting where they both seemed to observe one another. The Grass kunoichi seemed rather pleased with how the battle was progressing and didn't appear winded at all. On the other hand, Sayuri's chest rose and fell visibly as she felt a surge of adrenaline course through her body. Never before had she felt so in control of her actions. It was exhilarating. All of Sayuri's fear was now wholly forgotten.
"You nearly burned my hair just now," the Grass kunoichi remarked while casually inspecting her dark locks. "How rude."
With a smirk now present on her face, Sayuri rummaged through her weapon pouch and felt a handful of shuriken, along with a spool of shinobi wire. Having everything that she needed, she jumped off the tree branch and threw every shuriken she had at the Grass kunoichi. Predictably, they were avoided with minimal effort; however, that was precisely what Sayuri was planning on.
It was only at the last second that the Grass kunoichi noticed that there were wires attached to each of the shuriken. Using her hands and teeth, Sayuri altered the paths of the shuriken, which in turn resulted in her opponent being pinned against the tree by the wires. Before the Grass kunoichi was allowed to move, Sayuri formed four hand seals and spewed a stream of flames from her mouth that extended all the way down the wires to hit her opponent dead-on.
Sakura awoke to the smell of burning flesh and a shrill shriek of agony. Initially worried about Sayuri's safety, she was relieved to learn that the screams had originated from their enemy. After standing up on wobbly legs, Sakura regained her balance before jumping up the tree to crouch down at her teammate's side. Now that the battle was over, Sayuri fell onto her butt as the adrenaline that had been keeping her going gradually faded away.
"You did it!" Sakura exclaimed.
Too tired to respond, Sayuri could only bring herself to smirk at the praise. However, Sakura's declaration was then revealed to have been premature.
Both Sayuri and Sakura watched in horror as the Grass kunoichi broke free from the wires as if nothing happened. By this point, a portion of her skin appeared to have been peeled off of her face, revealing sickly pale skin and serpentine golden eye underneath. Before Sayuri and Sakura could even decide whether to continue fighting or flee, the Grass kunoichi formed a hand seal. Once more, they rendered them completely paralyzed.
"To possess such skill at your age is a marvel, indeed," the Grass kunoichi complimented — though her gender immediately came into question as her voice suddenly changed into that of a man's. "Yes. I think I'll make you mine."
The man — as he was now revealed to be — then placed his palm upon his headband before pulling it back again to reveal that he replaced the Hidden Grass symbol with a Hidden Sound symbol. Meanwhile, Sayuri tensed her body as she attempted to break free from the paralysis. Yet, unlike last time, she wasn't even able to injure herself to break free. Had this man just been toying with them the whole time?
"You are definitely his sister. If anything, I'd argue that your eyes hide even more potential than Itachi's," the man continued, immediately capturing Sayuri's attention at the mention of her brother's name. "It would be a crime to let him have you all to himself."
"Who the hell are you?" Sayuri demanded. "What are you after?"
The man produced an eerie smile, "I am Orochimaru," he revealed. "But as to what I want, that can wait for later. For now, I'd suggest that you do everything in your power to pass this exam. Though, that may require you to defeat my servants — the team from the Hidden Sound Village."
Before Sayuri was even allowed to respond, Orochimaru extended his neck all the way over to her, and he bit her right above her shoulder. Almost immediately, she felt a sharp pain shoot through her body. The paralysis that had been keeping her place was now an afterthought, as Sayuri collapsed onto her knees and writhed in visible agony. Sakura watched on in worry as a black mark, consisting of three tomoe, soon appeared right where she had been bitten.
"What did you do to her?!" Sakura screamed. Her concern for her teammate's safety was briefly overshadowing her fear of Orochimaru.
Orochimaru began to chuckle ominously as he slowly sank into the ground, "Think of that as a present for her to remember me by. I'm sure that she'll find it useful," he explained before disappearing into the ground entirely. "Until next time."
Sakura was hardly given a chance to celebrate Orochimaru's departure, as she was far too concerned with Sayuri's condition. The mark itself was worrisome enough, even without its sinister origins. However, to make matters worse, it also seemed to cause Sayuri ungodly pain — which was so incredibly intense that she eventually passed out due to shock.
'I need you, Naruto,' Sakura thought in terror as she realized that she was now all alone. 'Please be okay.'
The first thing Naruto saw upon regaining consciousness was a girl that he'd never met before kneeling at his side. She had crimson eyes, fair skin, and striking red hair worn in an unusual style. The right side was short and spiky, while the left side was long and straight. Naruto also noticed sunlight reflecting off of her face and realized that she was wearing glasses.
"It's about time you woke up," the girl complained. "Do you know how many animals I had to fend off while you were asleep?"
Naruto raised a single brow, "How many?"
"Well, just one — but it was a giant snake!"
A drop of sweat trickled down the side of Naruto's head at the admittedly small number, "Well, thanks. I guess," he said. "The name's Naruto. What's yours?"
"I'm Karin."
Oddly comfortable around the strange girl, Naruto decided to sit up and stretch. Almost immediately, he noticed that his muscles were extremely sore and cramped. No doubt, he'd suffered no small number of injuries after being flung through the forest. Anyone else in Naruto's position would have probably broken bones or possibly even died. It was moments like these that he was grateful for being built so tough.
"How long was I out?"
After performing a mental estimate, Karin responded, "I'd wager a couple of hours."
Naruto did a double-take at the revelation, "Wait, seriously?!" he shouted. "I need to go and find my team. They need me!"
Karin watched in silence as Naruto jumped to his feet in a panic. However, before he ran off to search for his comrades, she decided to offer some helpful advice.
"You're not going to be able to find them by yourself," Karin explained, causing Naruto to halt in place. "Like I said, you were out for a couple of hours. They could be anywhere by now."
Or they could be dead.
Naruto immediately banished the negative thought as soon as it arrived. Sayuri and Sakura weren't weak — they wouldn't die so easily.
"So, what are you proposing that I do?" Naruto asked with a frown. "Nothing?"
Karin shook her head, "I never said that," she responded. "Your teammates are the Uchiha and that pink-haired girl, right?"
After a moment of hesitation, Naruto nodded his head. Initially, he was reluctant to reveal anything about his team to a complete stranger. However, seeing as he was worried about their safety, he made the decision to trust Karin.
"Well, lucky for you, I'm a sensory type," Karin explained. "And I made an effort to memorize the chakra signatures of all the dangerous-looking teams before the exams even started."
Naruto appeared skeptical, "So you're saying that you can sense Sayuri and Sakura right now?"
"I can sense the Uchiha girl's chakra, yeah," Karin clarified. "But at the time, I didn't think that your other teammate's chakra was worth remembering — no offense. There is a second person there, though. So, it's probably her."
A wave of relief immediately passed through Naruto's body at the revelation that his teammates were alive. Who would have thought that out of everyone currently in the forest, he would be found by the one person who could find out where his teammates were located? Granted, Naruto was still a bit miffed that he had to go find them in the first place, but he would take what he could get.
Yet, before he could be comfortable going anywhere with Karin, Naruto had a question that he needed answered first, "Why are you helping me?" he asked. It was a fair question, considering the fact that they were competitors in an exam.
Karin fidgeted under Naruto's gaze, "My team didn't make it," she revealed in apparent sorrow. "And I don't stand any chance surviving here by myself. At this point, I've already failed the test. Now I'm just trying to make it out of here alive."
"I see," Naruto replied. "Well, if you help me find my teammates, you can stick with us on our way to the tower. Does that work for you?"
Based on Karin's pleased expression, it was clear that Naruto's plan was something along the lines of what she had probably thought of herself. Honestly, if she proved to be capable of getting him to his team in once peace — and after making an effort to protect him while he was unconscious — Naruto felt that protecting her on the way to the tower was the least that he could do.
"Alright, sounds like a deal," Naruto said once they reached terms. "Lead the way then."
Getting Sayuri to safety had been a struggle, but eventually, Sakura found a safe place. It was a sizeable hollowed-out tree that was adjacent to a small clearing. The tree provided shelter from the elements and hid them from view. With that, and the various traps that she set around the area, Sakura finally felt that she and Sayuri were safe.
Well, as safe as anyone could be in a place like this.
Sakura soaked a cloth in cold water and then placed it on Sayuri's forehead. Ever since that bastard Orochimaru placed that strange mark on her neck, she'd been running a fever. And to make matters worse, none of Sakura's medical ninjutsu was able to do a damn thing. While she had managed to heal the stab wound on Sayuri's thigh, she couldn't make any progress in reducing the fever at all.
"It seems like all I'm good for is healing you after you get hurt," Sakura muttered under her breath as she watched Sayuri suffer in her sleep.
Despite her best efforts, Sakura hadn't been able to help Sayuri during the fight with Orochimaru. Even though deep down, she knew that there wasn't anything that they could have done against such a powerful foe, she still felt guilty. There was a critical part of Sakura's mind, which argued that Naruto would have done a much better job fighting at Sayuri's side. No doubt, that was the truth.
As soon as her thoughts shifted to her other teammate, Sakura's shoulders slumped even further. Given the circumstances, she hadn't even been presented with the opportunity to go and find Naruto yet. While Sakura wanted to agree with what Sayuri said earlier and choose to have faith that he was okay, now she wasn't so sure. Given what Orochimaru showed himself to be capable of, Naruto could be dead for all she knew.
"N-Naruto…"
Sakura's eyes widened in surprise when she heard Sayuri mumbled Naruto's name in her sleep.
"You're worried about him too, huh?" Sakura inquired with a sad smile.
Whether Sayuri would admit it to anyone or not, it was clear that Naruto was an important part of her life. Sakura would compare their relationship to her's and Ino's, but there were too many differences. Naruto and Sayuri played off each other's energy so well — to the point where they didn't even need to communicate with words. They were the perfect pair.
More than anything, Sakura wished that she could achieve that kind of bond with her teammates someday.
After finishing up with everything that needed doing, Sakura was now struggling just to stay awake. It was getting close to evening, and after a full day of fighting and stress, she would love nothing more than to lay back and go to sleep. However, given the fact that Sayuri wasn't in any condition to stand watch, Sakura would need to stay up for the entire night to make sure that nobody attacked them while they were sleeping.
Nevertheless, Sakura's head would occasionally bob up and down as she struggled to stay awake. Eventually, she opted to lean back against the inside of the hollowed-out tree and ty to focus her mind on anything that would keep her awake. After a few moments of consideration, Sakura smiled as she began to ponder what Kakashi-sensei looked like under his mask.
Meanwhile, the lone team from the Hidden Sound village observed Sakura and Sayuri from a distance. Despite having the advantage — in both numbers and physical condition — they didn't act.
"Why can't we just take her out now?" Zaku complained — though he was mindful enough to keep his voice down.
"Lord Orochimaru ordered us to attack at dawn," Dosu countered. "Do you intend to disobey him?"
Even someone as brash as Zaku would never consider getting on Orochimaru's bad side.
"Ugh, that girl's clothes are so gaudy," Kin complained as she watched Sakura attempt to fight off her drowsiness. "And I bet she spends an hour combing her hair every morning."
Predictably, Dosu and Zaku weren't all that concerned with Sakura's looks — especially Dosu, since he was hardly one to judge a person's appearance.
Zaku clicked his teeth in impatience, "If that pink girl gets in the way, we can kill her, right?"
Dosu's eye crinkled in amusement, "Of course," he replied. "Sayuri is our only target, after all."
Back in the tree, Sakura remained utterly oblivious to the impending danger as she continued to try and keep her mind occupied.
Karin was acting far too evasive for Naruto's liking. When he'd agreed to come with her, it had been because of the promise that she would be able to find his teammates. Yet, as they progressed further and further into the forest, Karin was acting oddly suspicious. At first, Naruto attributed it to the possibility that she was shy — but he quickly reminded himself that this was an exam, and she was competition. And yet, Karin had access to his unconscious body for hours, so if she thought that he had a scroll, she would have searched him and found nothing. So what reason would she have to lie?
"What's taking so long?" Naruto asked. "You said that you could sense their chakra."
"This is a big forest, and you were separated from your team for a while," Karin replied. "Everyone has moved a lot further in now that the first day has ended — your teammates included. Would you prefer that we go full-speed ahead and fall into every trap known to man?"
Naruto frowned, "I would prefer to know where we're going and how much longer it'll take. That's all I'm saying."
"Just a few more minutes. We're headed in their direction, but I've had to adjust course a couple of times because I sensed other people as well."
Pleased to have gotten any information at all, Naruto simply nodded and carried on following Karin's lead. As he continued to observe her, he noticed a bite mark on her left forearm. What made it even more strange was the fact that it was clearly left behind by a person and not an animal. Naruto wanted to ask why she was bitten, but in the end, he decided not to. In all odds, it was probably something that she didn't want to talk about.
As his thoughts drifted back to his teammates, Naruto couldn't help but worry. Whoever had attacked them was powerful enough to take out all four of his shadow clones in a blink of an eye. Moreover, the jutsu they used to send him flying across the forest was also a worrying sign. Neither he nor Sayuri had anything like that in their arsenal. Though, thankfully, despite all of his worries, his teammates were still alive — at least according to Karin.
More so than anything else, Naruto was furious over the fact that he hadn't been able to help his team at all. Whether they were victorious or not, he wasn't there when they needed him the most. He got taken off of the board in the very first move. It wasn't a feeling that he ever intended to experience again.
"We're here."
It was Karin's subdued voice that alerted Naruto to their new location. It was a small clearing that was adjacent to a cave. It seemed like the perfect place to camp out for the night, and yet, Naruto saw no source of light inside the cave. Maybe his teammates decided that making a fire would alert the rest of the competition to their location? It certainly sounded like a precaution that Sakura would take.
And yet, after a few minutes of waiting for his teammates to reveal themselves, Naruto heard and saw nothing — aside from the pitch blackness of the cave's bowels and the rustling of the wind against the trees. He turned to Karin and saw that she was refusing to face him. Immediately sensing that something was wrong, Naruto summoned a chakra kunai and kept it concealed behind his back.
"Where are they?" Naruto demanded, causing Karin to flinch.
"I'm sorry."
Quickly realizing what was going on, Naruto lunged at Karin with a burst of speed and prepared to plunge his kunai into her back. However, before his attack could strike true, he felt his body seize up entirely as if he were turned into a statue. The only part of his body that he was still able to operate were his eyes, which immediately turned toward the cave when he heard the faint sound of footsteps echoing from within.
'I fucked up,' Naruto internally chastised. It was pure arrogance on his part to assume that he could trust Karin. It was all because he thought he was too smart to be tricked.
Eventually, two figures emerged from the cave, each cloaked in black. Their features were almost entirely hidden from view, but it was clear that one was a man, and the other was a woman. The man was fairly tall, while the woman's size was average — though, her chest was anything but, which was how Naruto deduced that she was a woman in the first place.
"You did well," the man spoke with calm authority. "You've earned your place and your freedom today."
It was obvious that he was speaking to Karin, who visibly jumped at being addressed directly. Her reaction confirmed Naruto's suspicions that he was, in fact, screwed. He was the one who was paralyzed against his will, not Karin. Yet she appeared even more anxious than him. He wasn't keen on tangling with someone who managed to elicit such fear from their comrades.
"And you," the man continued as he shifted his attention to Naruto. "I'm pleased to finally lay my eyes on you after waiting for so long, Naruto Uzumaki."
Shit. Whoever these people were, they knew Naruto's identity already. This wasn't just some team trying to scam other competitors in the exam. No. These were adults who had gone out of their way to capture him. There was now no doubt in Naruto's mind that Karin finding him was no coincidence. She had clearly been tasked with bringing him here.
The man then turned to Karin once more, "Leave us. We will retrieve you later."
Naruto's eyes immediately swiveled back to Karin. For the first time since betraying his trust, she looked back at him. He saw a mixture of fear, regret, and sorrow on her face, making it clear that she had taken no pleasure in what she'd done. Nevertheless, given his current circumstances, Naruto wasn't feeling all that forgiving. While unable to form a facial expression, his eyes reflected such venom that Karin visibly flinched before averting her gaze altogether. She then obeyed the mysterious man's instructions and left.
"You shouldn't hold it against her," the man said as Karin vanished into the trees. "She was simply doing what she needed to achieve a better life."
The paralysis that had overtaken Naruto's body then vanished in an instant. He nearly fell forward at the unexpected change but was quickly able to regain his bearings. Now finally able to control his body, Naruto looked over at the cloaked strangers and glared. Whoever they were, it was clear that they weren't friends.
"Who the hell are you?" Naruto demanded.
The man was quiet for a moment before replying, "My name is Genichiro," he revealed before gesturing to his partner. "And this is Rikka."
Genichiro then pulled down his hood, revealing that he was a young man with red eyes and red hair — the latter of which was styled into a shaved top knot. Strangely, he had a red circle with a ring around it seemingly tattooed onto his forehead — almost resembling a third eye. As for his attire, along with his black cloak, he wore a maroon jacket with black buttons and lining, and matching pants with black shin-high shinobi sandals. The woman, Rikka, apparently opted to keep her appearance a secret.
"Now that you know my name and have seen my face, we're no longer strangers," Genichiro continued. "And I've known you for a very, very long time, Naruto."
Without warning, Naruto vanished in a body flicker and at Genichiro's back. At this point, a chakra tanto was already manifested in his right hand. He attempted to attack the much taller man's blindside. However, before his strike could land, Genichiro swiveled around with even more impressive speed and landed a back fist square across Naruto's jaw. The force of the blow sent Naruto reeling and would have likely separated a lesser genin from their consciousness.
Upon recovering from the blow, Naruto lurched back and formed the shadow clone hand seal. A dozen clones then appeared and surrounded Genichiro before proceeding to attack him simultaneously and from multiple angles. However, Genichiro avoided every blow and countered perfectly, until each and every clone was eventually dispelled. Yet, once the smoke from the clones vanished with the breeze, Naruto was revealed to have disappeared.
"He decided to escape. Clever," Genichiro calmly praised before turning to his colleague, Rikka. "Find him."
Naruto frantically leaped from tree to tree as he made his escape. He was now less concerned with finding his teammates and more focused on actually remaining alive. From the moment he realized that he was led into a trap, his plan immediately became to flee as soon as possible. Fighting someone who could paralyze his body on a mere whim was not a prospect that Naruto was interested in dealing with. He had learned in the Land of Waves that there was no shame in retreating when faced with stronger and more experienced opponents.
"Who said that you were allowed to leave, mongrel?"
Despite his high-speed movement and the pounding of his heart, Naruto heard the strong feminine voice clear as day. He stopped on a dime and looked back to see Rikka casually leaning against a tree. Her hood was now pulled back, revealing that she was a woman of almost unimaginable beauty. She had flawless skin, long, flowing red hair, and purple eyes, which seemed to reflect nothing but contempt.
Not wanting to allow her to make the first move, Naruto clapped his hands together. Rikka merely watched dismissively as hundreds upon hundreds of chakra shuriken manifested in the air surrounding them. Once he was seemingly finished, Naruto then separated his hands and manipulated all of the shuriken at once before sending them flying toward Rikka with astonishing speed. The force that the attack generated when it landed was enough to create a cloud of debris the obscured Naruto's vision.
After a moment, the wind blew away the debris only to reveal that Rikka had vanished. Unable to react in time, Naruto was struck hard in the back of the head and sent falling onto the ground. Before he could try to move or escape, Rikka slammed her foot onto his skull and pushed his head into the dirt.
"Pathetic," Rikka muttered under her breath, looking down on Naruto as if he were a bug.
Rikka then snapped her fingers, and a purple rift appeared directly behind her. Almost immediately, Genichiro walked through the opening as if exiting a tunnel. Naruto watched the display with no shortage of awe. Had this woman just created a portal like it was nothing? Naruto recalled past conversations in which the Pervy Sage told him about space-time ninjutsu. Apparently, it was supposed to be an incredibly rare and complex art. Was that how she managed to move so fast?
Genichiro looked down at Naruto's prone form and frowned, "Is such disrespect really necessary?" he asked before turning to Rikka.
"He's not worthy of respect," Rikka countered before grinding her foot into Naruto's skull even more, as if to prove her point. "You know that."
Hearing the blatant mockery in Rikka's voice sparked a fire within Naruto's stomach. Almost immediately, he felt the Nine Tails' chakra pour into his body and made no attempt to stop it. The chakra was only meant to be used during emergencies. Yet, Naruto felt that pretty much anyone would agree that his current predicament warranted its usage. Now wasn't the time to hold back if he actually wanted to live.
Sensing the foreboding chakra building up beneath her foot, Rikka appeared surprised when she looked down and saw blood-red eyes staring back up at her. She attempted to jump back and create distance, but a clawed hand quickly grabbed her ankle and attempted to snap her leg like a twig. However, before any such damage could be inflicted, Genichiro blurred forward and kicked Naruto in the face with enough force to send him skipping back like a stone.
"See where your reckless showboating gets you?" Genichiro chastised Rikka after coming to her aid.
Annoyed at being lectured like a child, Rikka crossed her arms under her chest and averted her gaze. Meanwhile, Naruto rose back to his feet and hunched over like a cornered animal. He then prepared to lunge forward and rip his two enemies to pieces. However, before he was given a chance, Genichiro formed a hand seal with his right hand. Once more, Naruto was completely paralyzed.
Then, Naruto began to feel his body act on its own, as if he was being manipulated by some kind of invisible force. His arm slowly reached down to the hem of his jacket and pulled it up, revealing the seal that contained the Nine Tails on his abdomen. Genichiro walked over and looked upon the seal with an appraising gaze. Eventually, he reached out and placed the palm of his hand against the seal, causing Naruto's skin to crawl at the almost tender nature of the physical contact.
"An Eight Trigrams Seal," Genichiro remarked, clearly familiar with the fūinjutsu style. He then looked back up to Naruto's face. "Your Fourth Hokage was truly an extraordinary man. It seems that there's no need for me to alter his work, after all. Yet, I see no harm in speeding things up a bit."
Genichiro then raised his right hand, and his fingertips were enveloped in blue chakra the flickered like flames in the wind. Once the preparations were complete, he slammed his fingertips directly into Naruto's abdomen. The seal then began to glow a fiery red, like hot coals in a forge, and Naruto's body was wracked with unbelievable pain.
Once he was finished, Genichiro relinquished control of Naruto's body and watched in silence as he collapsed onto the ground and writhed in agony. The Nine Tails chakra was almost visibly bubbling underneath his skin like molten lava — which was an apt description considering the utter suffering he was experiencing. No human body should be capable of withstanding the amount of concentrated chakra that Naruto was currently being subjected to. He felt like he was going to explode.
Around the forest, both the exam participants and wildlife alike were alerted to a chakra of almost supernatural magnitude. Those with a weak disposition were nearly brought to their knees under the malice's sheer weight — which would be best described as a primal fear that was prompted the animals to flee to safety.
Being a sensory type, Ino was able to sense the chakra far more clearly than anyone else. Without warning, she collapsed onto her knees and struggled to breathe as she felt as though some outside force was compressing her lungs. Shikamaru and Chōji were affected as well but were not able to detect the malice as clearly as she was. They both crouched down at her side with looks of concern.
In contrast, all the way at central tower, Gaara hunched over and gripped his skull tightly with a psychotic grin. While waiting next to him, Temari and Kankurō were unable to decide what they should be more afraid of — the chakra or their brother.
Similarly, Han set off like a starving dog that smelled fresh meat. He immediately stopped what he was doing and looked in the general direction of where the chakra was coming from. While in far better control of his emotions than Gaara, anyone who looked closely enough would be able to see his tightly clenched fist tremble with excitement.
Meanwhile, after finally settling into camp and believing that the danger was over, Sakura's heart sank as she detected the malevolent chakra in the distance. Her first instinct was to assume that it was somehow related to Orochimaru. And yet, even she was able to tell that whatever she was sensing was something completely different than what she'd experienced earlier in the day.
'I hope you're okay, Naruto,' Sakura thought as she clenched her eyes tightly in order to suppress tears.
Naruto was now barely distinguishable with the mass of chakra swelling around him. Despite the intense feeling, neither Genichiro nor Rikka appeared all that affected. No doubt everything was going exactly as they'd intended; otherwise, they wouldn't appear so calm. Slowly but surely, the Nine Tails chakra began to calm down before eventually condensing back into Naruto's body. However, that didn't mean that his pain was over — not by any stretch of the imagination.
"The Fourth Hokage used the Eight Trigrams seal for a reason," Genichiro explained over Naruto's cries of agony. "He designed it to weaken over time, which would allow both yours and the Nine Tail's chakra to become one. I've simply accelerated the process a little. While it may hurt now, you will ultimately thank me later."
Understandably, Naruto was hardly capable of listening in his current condition.
"Once this is over, you will experience an incredible change," Genichiro continued. "You could even say that I've unlocked your potential. But I won't lie and pretend like I've done this for completely selfless reasons."
The pain that Naruto was experiencing hadn't lessened even a bit — if anything, it became more intense with every second. However, there was only so much that his body could take. After a few minutes, he became almost numb to the pain — likely due to a mixture of shock and adrenaline. He found himself laying face-first on the ground, digging his fingers into the soil as his body occasionally spasmed under the torment. Eventually, his screams turned to muffled groans, and then ultimately, silence.
Genichiro appeared almost impressed as he watched Naruto get a handle of the pain, "We have to leave now, but eventually, we'll come back for you," he revealed. "When that time finally comes, I promise that everything will be properly explained. Until then, I advise that you continue to become stronger, Naruto."
Now finished, Genichiro turned to face Rikka and nodded. Upon receiving the silent order, she created another portal and walked through without hesitation, evidently glad to finally be leaving. Genichiro followed soon after, but not before looking over his shoulder one last time. In return, he received a fierce glare from Naruto, who at this point had suffered a subconjunctival hemorrhage, painting the whites of his eyes a bloody-red. While most men would have recoiled at the admittedly intimidating sight, Genichiro actually offered up a satisfied smile.
With that, Genichiro walked into the portal and vanished. Now without the subject of his rage gone, Naruto was unable to fight back the pain any longer and slipped into unconsciousness for the second time since the exam started. The last thing he thought about was his team, hoping that keeping them in his mind would somehow give him the strength that he needed to survive the night.
'Sayuri…Sakura,' Naruto thought before finally fading into sleep.
~End~
Hey, guys. Hope you enjoyed the new chapter. As I was writing this chapter, it was getting way too long (probably would have ended up being over 20,000 words) so I decided to cut it in half and upload each part as a separate chapter. With that said, Chapter Ten is almost pretty much done, pending the completion of a few scenes, proofreading, grammar edits, etc. Anyway, expect Chapter Ten to come out a few days after this chapter is posted. To be specific, my goal is to post Chapter Ten sometime next week. Anything could happen between then and now, after all. I'd say a safe bet would be sometime before the end of next week.
Next chapter will mark the end of the second exam, and the plan is for Chapter Eleven to center entirely around the preliminary matches. I'll gloss over/summarize the fights that are the same, but a couple of match ups are completely different. I think you guys will enjoy the new fights a lot. I know that I'm really excited to write them. In fact, I'm generally really pleased with the direction that this story is taking.
As usual, if you have any questions, just leave a review and I'll almost always respond. However, don't expect me to answer anything that will result in the plot being spoiled for you all, lol. I have to keep some things secret, after all. For now, just trust me when I say that all of your questions will be answered at some point in the story in as satisfying a way as possible.
Thanks again!