The next morning showed no improvement in Sakura's condition, in fact it had worsened over night proven when Karin reached out to feel her adoptive sisters forehead only to flinch back unable to get close.
Sakura was exuding heat like a living furnace making it impossible to touch her "That's not a normal fever" Karin explained, looking to be on the verge of breaking down in tears and what was worse she could feel a darker chakra coming from her sister now.
Nawaki wrapped his arm around Karin's shoulder "She's battling it whatever that woman did to her all we have to do is have faith for now" Nawaki assured, getting the sense that Sakura was doing her best to not let whatever had been injected into her take over.
Karin reached up and squeezed his hand in relief before attempting to place a cool rag on Sakura's forehead only for it to sizzle and become dry upon contact "Here my ice release is better suited for this kind of thing" Haku took over attempting to cool the pinkette down.
By making the ground Sakura laid upon icy "Good thing we're all kind of packed in here together otherwise we'd probably be freezing right now" Naruto commented, wanting to object as he rubbed his arms but he knew the rosette needed all the help she could get.
Even if it meant they themselves had to suffer for a bit "Just in case we should cuddle more so none of us get sick" Sasuke suggested, scooting closer to Naruto, pushing him into Nawaki who was already snuggled up with Karin.
Which helped them keep warm because none of them were willing to venture out of their hiding place, thankfully around ten o'clock Sakura's unnatural fever broke, that didn't mean she woke up however instead she remained unconscious.
And every once in awhile let out whimpers of pain that broke all of their hearts "I'm going to go check the traps" Haku decided unable to sit there any longer now that there was no use for his kekkeigenkai.
"Poor Haku I can't even begin to imagine how he's feeling at the moment since he has a crush on Sakura-chan" Karin rubbed her eyes tiredly, not having slept very well during the night since she'd been to worried about Sakura.
Three pairs of eyes snapped to her "Well I guess if anyone deserves Sakura-chan's affections it's Haku" Naruto sighed, having also developed a sort of crush on Sakura but he knew that she didn't seem him that way.
If he had to guess it was most likely that Sakura saw him as annoying little brother "AH HAH I remember now that person had to be Orochimaru, Big Sis said he went bad turned rogue" Nawaki burst out before calming down and explaining what he remembered.
"What I don't understand is why he would target us, we're not that interesting" Sasuke scowled not having realized apparently that Orochimaru had specifically come after him, Sakura had though and she'd paid the ultimate price in protecting him as she had.
Eventually Haku came back and handed out lunch in the form of meat jerky along with bamboo canteens filled with pure clean water, it filled their bellies so they couldn't complain about the basic meal.
Though Nawaki did fill Haku in on his revelation "He's one of the Sannin like Tsunade-sama and Jiraiya that went rogue a long time ago" Karin said just in case Haku didn't understand how serious this situation was.
Haku put his head in his hands tiredly "Maybe you should try to get some rest, you to Karin, neither of you slept well" Sasuke suggested, seeing the bags forming beneath their eyes indicating they were exhausted.
Both of them wanted to object "Perhaps Sasuke's right, if something happened we'd be no good during the fight" Haku sighed, relenting by laying down next to Sakura, Karin caved in just as quickly by doing the same.
Leaving Team Seven to keep watch, Haku and Karin slept clear up to and past dinner so Nawaki passed out some more jerky "We don't want to risk a fire" Nawaki stated, glad that Team Thirteen had thought ahead for all of them.
A couple more hours passed in silence with only Sasuke venturing out to check the traps before returning to find Haku awake "She seems to be doing a little better" Haku noted, gently feeling the pinkette's forehead.
Because they didn't want that fever to come back, he felt like it had been doing more harm to Sakura for some reason "Yeah, a little quieter to, she hasn't been crying out as much" Nawaki nodded glad that he wasn't the only one who thought Sakura seemed better now.
"I don't know I'm kind of worried about her stomach, she kind of twitched her arm towards it sometimes" Naruto frowned, obviously not convinced that Sakura was going to be okay completely yet.
Sasuke quirked a brow at his teammate "Wouldn't hurt to check just in case" Sasuke admitted, watching as Haku carefully undid the wraps around Sakura's stomach since she often wore a tube top that covered only her chest.
Karin happened to wake at the worst possible moment and misunderstood the situation "Care to explain what your doing" Karin growled in a worse mood than before, Haku held up his hands in a placating manner and explained just as she asked.
Helping her calm down so she helped Haku remove the wraps to reveal Sakura's stomach and there above Sakura's navel was the strangest mark, to her while it looked pretty, like a five petaled flower Karin could feel the dark chakra inside it.
Deep within Sakura's conscious at that very moment Sakura was fighting a representation of Orochimaru's chakra, she'd been fighting it from the time she'd passed out actually "Mice should know when to quit and give in" the chakra representation glared.
Jade orbs hardened into emeralds glared back "I made a promise you bloody bastard, never in a million years would I give up" Sakura shouted, growing more determined as time wore on though she didn't know how long she'd been trapped in her subconscious fighting.
She wasn't willing to give up so she kept relentlessly attacking her opponent over and over, wearing him down since it was only a chakra representation of the real person, thus weaker and able to be beaten.
Orochimaru was clearly not happy she was fighting back as much as she was, unbeknownst to her the properties of the curse mark seal were changing, weakening him further "You are a worthy opponent Sakura Haruno, I look forward to our meeting in the future" Orochimaru chuckled darkly.
When the girl landed the final blow on him and he popped much like a clone out of existence from her subconscious, on the outside, Karin swung towards her sister as the dark chakra that she'd felt since the incidence vanished.
Followed by Sakura finally waking up "Hi Karin-chan" Sakura greeted, while her head felt like it had been stuffed full of cotton, her throat was hoarse and overall she just felt terrible, tears filled Karin's crimson orbs.
Before the redhead threw herself at her sister with a happy cry "Oh Sakura-chan I..we were so worried" Karin cried, waking their entire camp and possibly alerting the enemy to their position but right now she didn't care.
Sakura was awake after being unconscious for an entire day "Sorry I had something to do before I could wake up, I wasn't about to let that bastard control me with anything" Sakura explained, pressing a hand to her stomach.
Where she could still feel the seal "Huh what could you do while you were sleeping Sakura" Naruto cocked his head to the side in confusion, not letting on that he'd had the wits scared out of him until he realized there was no danger.
"Ahh when I blacked out I somehow got pulled into my subconscious, I ended up fighting within my mind against a chakra representation of the Sannin Orochimaru, for control over my body and I won, this seal is harmless now" Sakura rasped.
Patting her bared stomach "Sounds like you could use a drink of water, hang on I'll be right back" Haku noted, feeling like he was back to himself and able to function now that the integral part of their team was awake again.
Then he was gone to fetch some water for the girl "What I want to know is why" Sasuke demanded after Haku had come back with a canteen, Sakura sipped at it slowly because she knew better than to down liquid to fast.
Unless she wanted to get sick "Didn't you see Sasuke, Orochimaru was aiming for you, he wasn't until you flashed that sharingan of yours around, this seal was meant for you" Sakura informed bluntly being brutally honest.
Sasuke reeled back as if slapped before becoming confused "Now wait just a minute I don't have my sharingan it hasn't awakened yet" Sasuke frowned, apparently not having realized he'd been using his sharingan during yesterday's fight.
"Only one way to test that, focus chakra into your eyes Sasuke" Nawaki chimed in not wanting an argument to occur, disbelieving Sasuke did as told and when he opened his eyes his clan's dojutsu was displayed proudly within his iris.
A compact mirror was held up for him "Last question, sure I can't feel the dark chakra emanating from it anymore but what did you mean that the seal was harmless now I'm not sure I understand really" Karin turned her attention back onto her sister.
Everyone leaned forward wanting to hear that answer "Think of it as a glorified chakra storage seal on my body, kind of like Tsunade-sama's hundred strength seal but different it's reserve chakra and it won't tempt me since I defeated Orochimaru's chakra" Sakura explained.
Nawaki jolted "So if you used it, you'd be enhancing everything about yourself just differently than the way my big sis does it" Nawaki clarified for those that couldn't follow the conversation, mainly Naruto if he was being honest.
"Cool so your going to be more badass than before" Naruto managed to grasp onto Nawaki's explanation when Sakura nodded then smiled at his simpler explanation of the seal she now carried probably for the rest of her life.
Haku couldn't hide the visible relief that appeared on his face "In any case we should get some more rest, tomorrow we'll only have three days left and these guys still need an earth scroll" Haku reminded not saying what else they should do.
With that the six of them laid down to get some more shut eye after Naruto had made five clones to keep watch during the night, morning dawned bright and early, Sakura was still a little weak but at least she could walk.
Being helped along by Karin a little as she changed out of her stinky clothes into clean ones, breakfast was a pretty quiet affair but just as they were preparing to set forth from their hiding spot they were found by another genin team.
From Otogakure, the one wearing a straw poncho stepped forward "Hand over Sasuke Uchiha, we are under orders to kill him by Orochimaru" he demanded, possibly the leader of his team as the other two hung back for the time being.
In response Sakura's head snapped in their direction "Orochimaru you said huh" Sakura said, beginning to shake in an attempt to reign in her rage that she felt at the Sannin, her whole body tensed from her effort at maintaining a level head during this confrontation.
"Yeah so you better do as we say and hand Uchiha over or we'll kill you to Pinky" the other male on the Sound-nin's team declared smugly only to frown when the girl started laughing and he felt like she was mocking his threat.
She was but that was besides the point "Let me think how about no, and I wouldn't normally do this but anyone who is willingly loyal to that bastard doesn't deserve to live" Sakura mused for a couple of minutes.
Then point blank refused the demand being made of them "Are you sure that's a wise idea Sakura" Haku questioned when Sakura concentrated her chakra into the seal on her stomach, activating it and ink spread across her flesh in a mesmerizing pattern.
Darkening her hair to a dark pink color and her eyes lightened up considerably while her skin tone remained the same "Relax Haku I'll be okay" Sakura assured, stretching out her limbs and feeling lighter on her feet.
The Oto genin didn't have a chance to formulate a plan as the rosette appeared before them in less than a second "DOSU" the who'd been threatening her yelled as she began to crush the contraption on Dosu's arm.
Karin bit her lip undecided on what she should do until she saw one of the other genin attempting to attack Sakura while her back was turned "Haku can you handle that guy, Naruto gang up on the girl with clones" Karin instructed.
Glad that these three were in fact genin and nothing like the monster that Orochimaru was "Got it Karin-chan" Naruto grinned, making the hand seals necessary, in a poof of smoke there were twenty shadow clones.
All of them charged at the lone kunoichi of the Sound-nin's team, Haku merely threw senbon that hit several nerves in the remaining enemy, preventing him from harming Sakura as she gripped the one named Dosu by the throat.
Clearly not afraid to kill if it came down to it but something stayed her hand "I thought you said you were going to kill me" Dosu coughed, having been unprepared for the pinkette which had been his mistake.
Light green irises glared murderously at him "First your going to tell Sasuke why Orochimaru wants him dead especially after that bastard tried to bite him and mark him with a curse seal" Sakura hissed venomously at the one caught in her grasp.
Dosu swallowed nervously unafraid to admit inwardly that this girl terrified him "Our orders were to kill Sasuke that's it so I'm afraid I don't have the answers your seeking" Dosu admitted, feeling her hand tightening around his throat.
Crushing his airway "Sakura wait let them live so they can pass a message along to Orochimaru for me" Sasuke called out at the last second when Dosu was going blue in the face indicating he couldn't breathe.
Her hand relaxed allowing Dosu to swallow air greedily "Tell him that I will make him pay for what he tried to do to me someday and that I'll return all the pain he inflicted upon Sakura tenfold for biting her instead" Sasuke relayed.
With that Sakura released Dosu since he couldn't fight back anymore and with his teammates they left, the pattern on Sakura's flesh receded back into the seal on her stomach "Ah man we could have taken their scroll if you hadn't interrupted Sasuke" Naruto sulked.
"Who's to say we didn't get their scroll" Nawaki grinned, waving the earth scroll he'd nicked from the kunoichi who had gone down rather easily so now both of their teams could head to the center of the forest.
Thanking the kami that Sakura was back to normal even if she had been in complete control of herself he wasn't ready to see her kill in front of him yet neither were Naruto or Sasuke really if he was being honest.
As they packed up and hurried deeper into the forest "How are you feeling Sakura, do you need to stop for a bit" Haku asked hours later a little past noon in which they'd simply kept running in order to reach their destination.
For better protection against anymore insanely strong people that might be after them "A little sore I guess, I don't think it's a good idea to stop yet though not until we get to the tower" Sakura admitted, nibbling on some elk jerky that she had brought into the forest with her.
Since she'd saved some back "Yeah I kinda agree, maybe Haku could carry you Sakura-chan so that we can go even faster and you get to rest" Naruto agreed while making a suggestion even knowing that Sakura would possibly reject the idea.
She about did to when Karin gripped her hand and stared at her pleadingly, a quick stop and soon Sakura was settled comfortably on Haku's back because the pinkette couldn't refuse her sister apparently who bit back a smile at the sight the two made.
Though Karin also knew now wasn't the time to tease Haku about his crush on Sakura as they doubled their speed through the forest before finally arriving at the tower around dinner time "Guess we'll see you on the inside" Sasuke sighed.
Now that they had no choice but to split up from one another and go inside the doors marked with their gate numbers "And we'll also make sure to tell someone about what happened" Nawaki announced following his teammates in.
Prompting Team Thirteen to do the same after Haku had helped Sakura off his back only when they went in there was no one to greet them except for an empty room and a chalkboard "Right this is not what I expected" Karin frowned.
Confused as she read what was on the chalkboard aloud "Open the scrolls, the missing letter is person which I assume will summon someone if we open the scrolls together now that we're in the tower" Sakura sighed.
Feeling exhausted again, the ache coming back fiercely making it difficult for her to remain standing as she slid to the floor in a heap "Guess we don't have a choice, Sakura really needs help" Haku whipped out the scrolls.
Handed one to Karin and together they unrolled the scrolls until they made an x completing the formula it began glowing so the both of them quickly moved into a protection position in front of their downed teammate.
An explosion of smoke blinded them for several seconds, Karin was the first to recognize the chakra "Fugaku-sensei it's Sakura-chan she needs help" Karin cried lunging through the smoke before it completely dissipated.
Latching on to the stern faced man, unthinkingly his hand came up to settle on her head as the rest of the smoke cleared allowing him to see properly "What happened" Fugaku demanded, seeing that Sakura was out for the count.
"Orochimaru is what happened Fugaku-sensei, he attacked us in the forest on the first day, tried to bite Sasuke and Sakura interrupted him so he bit her instead" Haku explained, a scowl forming on his lips because he'd been useless during that moment.
Fugaku's frown deepened "He bit her" Fugaku grit out, activating his sharingan, Karin released him from her uncharacteristic hug as he moved forward and knelt at the pinkette's side, carefully rolling the girl onto her back.
Revealing a seal unlike any he'd ever seen on Sakura's stomach, he raised a finger and probed the seal with his chakra activating it unintentionally, it spread across her flesh but he couldn't feel anything that indicated Orochimaru was its creator.
There was none of his chakra in it which surprised him and he relaxed "I won't ask just yet since Sakura needs rest but when she wakes I want to hear the whole story is that understood" Fugaku announced.
Gently scooping Sakura up "That was our intention anyway Fugaku-sensei, right now Sakura takes precedence" Karin breathed a little easier at her sensei's reaction, if he wasn't worried then she didn't need to be wholly worried out of her mind either.
With that Fugaku led them out of the room carrying Sakura, those milling about in the tower stopped and stared at the extremely unusual sight "Will she be alright Father" Sasuke pounded towards the foursome.
His teammates on his heels "Yes Sakura will be fine son, for now rest, all of you" Fugaku assured, Sasuke's shoulders drooped in relief having previously been tense, he wasn't surprised when Naruto and Nawaki relaxed as well.
"Is something going to be done to remove that seal from her" Nawaki questioned once they arrived in a guest room and Fugaku had placed Sakura down on the bed before stepping back allowing Karin to cover the girl up.
At the question Fugaku turned towards him "We'll talk about this later now rest" Fugaku shook his head not really wanting to delve into what complications could occur if they tried to get rid of the seal that Sakura had already managed to contain herself.
Something not even Anko had done "Nothing to it I suppose but to wait and rest like he said" Naruto sighed, having wanted to be able to do more than just sit around while Sakura was suffering on their behalf.
Imagine his surprise when he sat only to be shaken awake the following morning by Sasuke not even realizing he'd fallen asleep "Seriously all that whining you did and you ended up being the first one to pass out" Sasuke teased.
Naruto huffed and stuck his tongue out "Don't act like you weren't just as tired Sasuke" Naruto shot back, and the two argued over who had been more tired, Nawaki rubbed a hand down his face not sure if he should intervene.
Unfortunately that was taken out of his hands by Sakura waking up "My head feels like its splitting enough already so if you two don't stop arguing this minute I'm going to punch your daylights out" Sakura growled.
Leaking her killing intent at the two which shut them up instantly "Aren't you just a peach this morning Sakura-chan" Karin snickered softly, helping Sakura sit up on the bed, her pink hair in complete disarray.
Making her look like some kind of monster emerging from it's disturbed slumber "Just got a headache is all and they weren't helping" Sakura grumbled as she pushed all her hair out of her face then raised a glowing green hand to her forehead to heal her headache.
"Good your up, maybe you can tell me the whole story of what happened in the forest" Fugaku entered the room five minutes later when she'd started brushing her hair, clipping her bangs in place before braiding the rest.
Though at his appearance and the request Sakura straightened "Well everything was normal when we first got in the forest, we had a brief encounter with a genin from Ame and got our second scroll right off the bat then continued on to meet up with Team Seven as promised" Sakura said.
Keeping her head held high because she wasn't ashamed of helping her friends out "Their not the only ones who had that kind of encounter, Naruto got tied up and impersonated by a Rain genin to" Nawaki chimed in.
"And then we arrived and set forth together in the forest looking for an earth scroll for them, we had stopped for a quick break when Naruto had to go to the bathroom but when he came back Karin instantly noticed that it wasn't him" Sakura continued.
Taking a shuddering breath "Outed he/she it I'm still really confused undid the transformation, Orochimaru was using the form of a Kusagakure kunoichi at the time so I attacked while Nawaki and Karin went to find Naruto" Sakura explained.
Coming to the hardest part "While I distracted her..him, Haku prepared his jutsu but she..he shattered Haku's ice mirrors and threw Haku into a tree so Sasuke started fighting Orochimaru until Nawaki and Karin came back with Naruto" Sakura exhaled.
"That's when I noticed he was weaving some kind of hand signs and then his neck extended, he was aiming for Sasuke but I got in the way so he swerved his neck and bit me instead, then while I slept I fought a representation of Orochimaru's chakra in my mind" Sakura finished.
Fugaku quirked a brow at that "Fought…..and won is that how you purged yourself of all of Orochimaru's chakra that should have been in the curse mark" Fugaku intoned incredulously, especially when the girl nodded.
"It wasn't an easy fight by any means but the more I resisted against his chakra the weaker it got because I don't enjoy the thought of being controlled by anyone so I wasn't about to let his disgusting chakra take up residency anywhere upon my person" Sakura said.
Her sensei seemed pleased by that answer, his smirk was short-lived as it turned into a scowl in the next moment as someone else barged their way in the room "Haruno Sakura, the council have seen fit to demand your withdrawal from the Chunin Exams" the elder decreed.
Sakura simply stared at him "No I didn't make it this far and go through utter agony just to withdraw because someone demands it of me, besides I made a promise and I'm going to keep it come hell or high water" Sakura sneered.
Off to the side Nawaki laughed quietly under his breath, Sakura was reminding him more and more of his big sister every day, the elder glared at her with his one good eye and stepped forward "Danzo stay away from my student, you heard her answer now respect it" Fugaku warned.
"And you have no authority over the contestants in the exam anyway so I suggest you leave" Fugaku further declared not trusting this man before him in the least, Danzo glared before storming off.
Allowing the occupants of the room to relax once more "That was Danzo huh, now I know what his face looks like if he ever attempts to harm Sakura or Karin" Haku hummed, sharpening a kunai absentmindedly.
Just as ruthless as his teammates could be "On that note I'll show you to the canteen where you can get breakfast" Fugaku cleared his throat, drawing their attention back onto him and fifteen minutes later Teams Thirteen and Seven were eating breakfast.
Team Eight was there as well along with Desert Siblings "Not to sound mean or anything Sakura but I'm glad to have more than your meat jerky to eat" Nawaki said, grateful for the more substantial food after the past couple of days.
She waved him off "S'okay I can't expect everybody to have the stomach to eat it day in and day out, I like it so much because it's more of an acquired taste, plus the jerky I brought along is from Iron" Sakura assured.
Nawaki flushed red and smiled sheepishly "Before we forget here Sakura your sword I picked it up for you when you dropped it in the forest" Sasuke slid a scroll over to the rosette who as ashamed as she was to admit it at that moment hadn't thought of Shūryō-suru until just then.
So the sword was quickly unsealed and tied at her waist "Hey Sasuke since when were you nice so girls" Kiba whistled from the table across from the two teams, having seen the moment and had thought it extremely odd for the normally arrogant cocky Uchiha.
"Don't go there Kiba, these girls aren't to be taken lightly and they can and will kick my and your ass if they want to plus I had a bit of a revelation about my attitude awhile back and decided to change so I don't continually push people away" Sasuke snorted.
Unafraid to say in a roundabout way that he was terrified of Sakura and Karin "Little brats like them pfftt don't make me laugh, they barely have any chakra" one of the Suna-genin chortled from the table further away.
The one wearing the dumb hoodie with cat ears "Oh I almost forgot I was suppressing my chakra" Karin blinked realizing quickly unblocking her chakra and Sakura did the same, the purple faced teen reeled back at the amount of chakra the two had actual access to.
When they weren't specifically blocking it, even Kiba was massively surprised, this prompted the doors to the cafeteria to swing open and two Cloud genin appeared "You have to stop worrying us like that Sakura, Karin" Karui groaned.
Relieved to find her second and third best friends okay "Anyway can we ask a favor you, Minori got hurt pretty bad in the forest after we managed to snag our second scroll, could you heal her you two" Omoi explained.
Karin worried her lip "I'll go, Sakura you stay get some more rest" Karin decided in the next second not wanting Sakura to sacrifice even more of herself for someone else at the moment so she followed her two friends from the canteen done with breakfast to their assigned room.
"Ready to go back to the room Sakura" Haku tilted his head down to peer into Sakura's eyes as she cleared her third plate of food, she pursed her lips then shook her head "Sakura you really should be resting" Haku frowned.
But that wasn't enough to deter the rosette "In a bit, right now I want to stretch and get rid of this soreness in my limbs then I'll go lay down, contrary to what everyone believes I do know how to take it easy" Sakura huffed.
Pouting, bringing a gentle smile to Haku's face "Exhausting" Naruto sighed when the duo left the canteen, teammates nodding their agreement as they eventually finished eating breakfast themselves before wandering off to find their own assigned room.
A while later found all of Team Thirteen gathered together again as Sakura rested, making them do the same only this time on proper beds considering six growing teenagers had tried to crowd themselves into the room at the same time.