The Forest of Death really wasn't as bad as it sounded.
So far, they had yet to encounter anyone, or even any of the gross bugs and animals that were said to lurk in the forest. Sakura considered that a plus. Of course they had probably only been running for five minutes now, but that was unimportant.
Then they heard the first scream.
It startled her enough that she stopped in her tracks, turning towards where she had heard the sound. Naruto and Sasuke halted as well, eyes narrowed.
"Do you think people are really going to kill? Just for some stupid test?" Sakura tilted her head in thought, a worried expression on her face. All they needed to do was get their hands on an earth scroll, and Sakura was confident they could take another team down without resorting to killing.
She knew she would have to make her first kill eventually, it was something all shinobi encountered, but she wasn't about to do it for a test. It wasn't something she was looking forward to.
"We can't assume that everyone thinks the same as us." Sasuke commented, motioning for them to begin moving further into the forest, "We have to be prepared for anything, you said it yourself."
They went quiet after that, besides the occasional comment about the forest. Sasuke had suggested they found somewhere to set up deep in the forest where they could come up with a plan to get the scroll.
After almost half an hour of being in the forest, Naruto suddenly stopped and jumped out of the trees and to the forest floor.
"I gotta pee, give me a sec!" He shouted before disappearing into the trees. Sakura groaned in annoyance as both her and Sasuke hopped down to the ground. It was only about a minute or two when Naruto came back, a large grin on his face.
"Man that took a while." He laughed, rubbing the back of his head in what seemed to be a gesture to show he was sorry. Sakura stared at him for a moment, a feeling of unease washing over her.
Something was wrong with him.
As Naruto moved closer, it finally clicked, and Sakura quickly pulled out a kunai and threw it down at his feet.
"Don't move." She said, another kunai already in hand. "Look at his kunai holster Sasuke, it's on the wrong side. This isn't Naruto."
Sasuke had picked up on that detail as soon as Sakura threw the kunai, and had already slipped into a battle ready stance.
"H-Hey, You've got it wrong. It is me." Naruto insisted as he stepped over the kunai and continued his path towards them, "You guys must not be paying enough attention, my holster is always on this side." His laugh was anxious, movements a bit jerky as he moved towards them.
Sasuke suddenly darted forward, fist easily making contact with the fake Naruto's face. The boy stumbled backwards from the force, crying out in pain. His back smacked against the tree behind him, and he slid down as he held his red cheek in pain.
"Huh. You're smarter than you look." He murmured before releasing the transformation technique. In Naruto's place sat a rain ninja with a shock of brown hair, the forehead protector tied around his forehead. He had on a pale yellow jumpsuit, along with a rebreather and a white cloth tied around his eyes, with holes in order for him to see.
"So tell me, which one of you has the scroll?" The rain ninja was suddenly up and rushing towards them, kunai drawn. Sasuke intercepted him, his own kunai clashing with the others.
"Go find Naruto!" He grunted, jerking his head towards Sakura before he jumped away and rushed through a few seals, "Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu!"
Breathing out several bursts of fire towards his opponent, who just narrowly dodged every single one, he gave Sakura enough time to sprint towards where they last saw Naruto.
The rain ninja moved towards Sasuke once again before seemingly thinking better of it and swiftly turning and jumping up into the trees. Sasuke followed in pursuit and a moment later saw Sakura untying Naruto on the ground near a bush. Satisfied, he focused back on the enemy just in time to see him throw several kunai at the branch he was standing on.
Easily stepping off of the branch, he spread chakra to his hands to keep himself on the branch as the kunai embedded into the wood. The explosive tag hanging from one of the kunai caught his eye and he only had a moment to shove himself away from the blast.
Twisting mid-air, Sasuke managed to land on all fours, scraping a knee as he did so. Wincing in pain from the impact, he went to pull himself up when the rain ninja suddenly appeared behind him. Narrowing his eyes as the feeling of the kunai pressed against his back, Sasuke said,
"You really should pay attention to your surroundings."
"You're one to-" In a flash, Naruto was upon the enemy. Without hesitating, Naruto pierced his arm with a kunai, using the force of it to bowl him over. Straddling him, Naruto tugged the kunai out of his arm and pressed it loosely against his throat.
"Where's the rest of your team?" He questioned, with no real threat behind his voice. Naruto had no intention of harming the ninja further, having only injured him to keep Sasuke from getting hurt.
"T-They aren't here. I came alone." The rain genin admitted, voice shaky as he stared up at Naruto with wide eyes, who in turn looked back at his team in order to hear their thoughts.
"We should just let him go." Sakura spoke up as she reached them, eyes glancing over Sasuke to check for any injuries. "His team would have attacked the moment we were all separated if they were actually around."
Accepting Sakura's words, Naruto picked himself off the genin and stepped back. They all watched as he scrambled up and hurried off, hand covering his bleeding arm. Standing there in silence for a few moments just in case the ninja came back, Naruto wiped his kunai off with his sleeve before pocketing it.
"I should have thought of this before, but we need a plan in place to make sure this doesn't happen again." Sakura finally spoke up, "Any ideas?"
"A password?" Sasuke suggested as he started to dust off his clothes from his fall. "One that even Naruto might remember."
Sakura nodded before mouthing the words 'watch closely' and beginning to speak.
"A ninja waits until the time is right. When the enemy sleeps and drops his guard, when his weapons lie forgotten in the stillness of the night. That is the moment for a ninja to strike." Sakura brushed her right hand against her cheek before resting it on her kunai holster and tapping a single finger against it as she spoke, showing them what she actually wanted the password to be.
"Just.." Naruto copied her previous gesture, wanting to make sure he understood what she was wanting him to remember. Sasuke went through the motions as well, and Naruto nodded in understanding.
"That will work for now, we can figure something more permanent out later."
"Alright, let's get going." Sasuke said, with Sakura immediately turning to lead the way.
Suddenly, a sharp blast of wind sliced Naruto's cheek and they all turned towards the direction it came from. Not even a moment later, a large force of wind came towards them, forcing them to the ground.
Sasuke, who was closer to Sakura, grabbed a hold of her arm and managed to drag them out of the way and towards a nearby bush that was out of the blast, calling out for Naruto to do the same.
The force of the wind has caused a few scratches and cuts, though Sasuke paid no mind to it as they waited for the blast to die down.
"What was that?" Sakura whispered once the jutsu was over, only standing up when she saw Sasuke moving to get up. "That was a huge burst of chakra, whoever used it must be strong." Her teammate didn't answer as he stepped closer to the now large depression in the forest floor. Rocks and dirt were strewn about, the path that the jutsu took was empty of anything but dirt.
"Hey! You guys okay?!" Naruto came running out from the trees near them, waving his arm in the air. He looked scratched up, his clothes rumpled from the wind. He stopped in his tracks when Sasuke motioned for him to stop, kunai ready in hand.
"What's the password?" Sakura responded, understanding Sasuke's thinking. She was going to give Naruto a piece of her mind the next time she saw him if this actually turned out to be an imposter once again.
Without hesitation, Naruto began reciting the spoken password from earlier, hands staying down by his sides.
Sakura and Sasuke looked over at each other before nodding and sliding into a fighting stance.
"Your transformation technique is better than the last one at least, reveal yourself!" Sasuke growled, annoyed that once again his teammate had been caught and restrained somewhere.
"Huh. I'm impressed." A sliver of a tongue peeked out as he licked his lips, in a gesture that looked odd on Naruto's face. His voice was suddenly higher, with a high tone to it. With a quick hand sign, a cloud of smoke signaled his transformation.
In Naruto's place stood the grass ninja that had returned Anko's kunai.
"Why put a password in place if it wasn't meant to be used?" The grass genin questioned, a curious expression on her face. A hand pushed up her straw hat as she gazed at the genin before her, allowing them to get a better look at her face.
"It wasn't the correct password, Naruto would have known that. That phrase wasn't meant for us, it was meant for anyone that happened to be eavesdropping. You fell right into the trap." Sasuke smirked, stance loosening as the satisfaction from tricking the enemy ninja crept in.
"I did, didn't I?" The woman smirked, suddenly pulling off her hat as her tongue flicked out, "This will be entertaining."
Sakura tightened her grip on her kunai as she saw the grass ninja's hand slip into a pouch on her side, eyes widening when she saw the scroll that was pulled out.
"Oh? Is this what you want?" Chuckling, the woman brought the earth scroll up to her mouth. Tongue wrapping around the paper, her throat revoltingly bulged as it slid down her throat in a slow manner. Once swallowed, she swiped her tongue across her lips and smiled darkly,
"When this is over, one of us will have both scrolls.." A hand came up to tug the waterline of her eye down, grin widening.
"And the other will be dead."
Immediately, Sakura felt the cold rush of dread flowing through her veins as she felt herself being pushed down by the extremely murderous aura of killing intent flowing off the woman before her.
A scream ripped from her throat as she watched herself being torn apart by the ninja's chakra, the pain unlike anything she's ever gone through. Barely conscious, she saw Sasuke go down as well, though her eyes remained locked on the blood splattering the dirt.
I don't want to die. I don't want to die, please-
As quickly as it came, the feelings faded for a moment before coming back with full force as a kunai lodged itself into her skull.
Just like that, her vision came back and her body involuntarily fell to the side as she expelled the contents of her stomach. Coughing as she tried to lift herself back up, she was aware of Sasuke beside her attempting to do the same. Her body was ignoring her efforts, and the terror was still coursing through her veins. The wetness staining her cheeks was all she could focus on, unable to shake the image of her own death.
Sakura was vaguely aware of the woman speaking, of Sasuke pulling himself up to his feet and drawing a kunai.
Then a sharp slap shoved her out of her thoughts and fear, and she blinked to awareness.
Cheek red from Sasuke's hand, she was suddenly aware of where they were.
"Sasuke what-" His hand came up to press against her mouth, silencing her.
Sasuke was paying no attention to her, or the wound on his thigh. His eyes were darting back and forth as he kept watch to make sure the woman hadn't followed them. His body was still shaking from the encounter, eyes wide with paranoia.
A hissing sound stole Sakura's attention and she didn't hesitate to rip Sasuke's hand away from her mouth, "Move!"
Lunging, the snake's teeth bit down on the tree bark where they had been sitting, both genin jumping away as it made contact. It easily pulled off the branch and lunged for Sasuke once more, hiss shrill as it followed it's prey.
"Get away from me!" Sasuke shouted, digging out a handful of shurikens and launching them towards the large reptile.
The shurikens embedded itself in its skin, with one landing directly into its eye. It flopped down onto the tree below it, red blood staining the bark as it flowed from its wounds.
Breathing heavily, Sasuke landed on a branch and wiped the sweat from his brow, his sharingan active and spinning widely.
Sakura was about to jump over to him when she noticed the skin on the snake's neck cracking open, a figure shoving himself out of the skin.
No, It can't be. This can't be happening.
"I sense your fear and desperation." The grass ninja crowed, the white saliva of the snake covering her from head to toe, "It's only natural. The prey must never let down it's guard, not even for a moment, in the presence of it's predator." The woman's eyes were wide with excitement, long tongue flicking out.
Not waiting for the genin to make a move, the woman's body suddenly stretched and contorted as she began to slither along the tree near Sasuke.
"Wait a minute!" Three kunai suddenly stuck out from the tree bark, stopping the woman in her path. Naruto stood on a branch above them, arms crossed as he grinned widely.
"Looks like I came just in time!"
Sasuke started in horror at his teammate, fear rushing back in full force as he realized Naruto was about to throw himself into the fray,
"Go Naruto! Get out of here!" He yelled, "Sakura, you too! Just get out of here!"
He didn't want them to die. Not here.
"So Naruto, you managed to escape from my friend. Well done." The grass woman spoke up, eyes narrowed. "I had hoped to distract you longer, but no matter."
"Whatever, lady. Go and slither back into whatever hole you came out of and leave my-"
"You can have it." Sasuke spoke up, cutting Naruto off.
He was doing what he had to do to keep them from getting killed. He couldn't let them die here.
Pulling the heaven scroll out of his pouch, he held it up for the grass ninja to see.
"Take it and leave us in peace."
"Sasuke! Are you crazy?" Naruto suddenly yelled, eyes wide in confusion. "We can't just give the enemy our scroll!"
"Shut up Naruto! You don't understand!" Naruto shouted another protest, though this time Sasuke ignored him as he tossed the scroll towards the foregin ninja.
Launching himself off the branch, Naruto shunshined towards them and grabbed the scroll midair before using the tree in front of him to lunge back towards Sasuke.
"Stop trying to be the hero!" Sasuke growled, fists clenched as he whirled around to face Naruto. "It isn't the time for that."
"This isn't the Sasuke I know!" In a flash, Naruto's fist connected with Sasuke's jaw and sent him flying back. Sasuke groaned in pain as he managed to twist midair and land on a nearby tree, wincing as he touched his chin.
"This isn't a-" Sasuke was cut off as the grass woman suddenly stood up, body returning to normal as she clapped her hands together.
"I'm getting a little bored here. I could just kill you and take the scroll for myself, but that wouldn't be much fun." Biting her thumb, she pulled her sleeve up and swiped a trail of blood across an array of black seals.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Naruto, panicking, rushed towards her with a kunai, only to be pushed back by a gust of wind as a large snake suddenly appeared underneath the woman's feet. Catching himself on a branch, he gazed up at the reptile before them.
"It's time to play...Careful, my friend likes to play with his food." The woman chuckled before the snake's tail suddenly came down on the branch Naruto was on, the force knocking the genin down.
Naruto crashed through several smaller branches before his back landed against another, the impact forcing a bloody cough from his lips.
"Naruto!" Both Sasuke and Sakura yelled in unison, watching the scene in horror. Sakura was about to throw herself down towards where he fell, until she saw a blur jump up from the direction he fell and throw itself at the snake.
It was Naruto, but there was something different about him, something that she couldn't place. The boy attempted to take the snake out, only to be thrown back down again. When he didn't get up again, the snake and woman turned towards Sasuke.
"Your turn." She chuckled, eyes wide in triumph as the snake lunged towards Sasuke faster than before.
Sasuke was paralyzed in fear once again, unable to get his body to move as he watched the snake getting closer and closer.
I can't die here.
Just before the snake made contact, Naruto appeared once again and slid a kunai into its skin, using all his strength to stop the snake in place. His red eyes gleamed in the dark forest, pupil a black slit.
"You're not hurt are you?" Naruto grinned, twisting the kunai that was stuck in the snake's skin, "You scaredy cat!"
Sasuke stared at him in disbelief, thinking back to when he himself had said those exact words.
Taking advantage of the moment, the grass woman's tongue snuck down to wrap around Naruto's torso, lifting him up towards her.
"Oh! Gross!" Naruto shouted before gagging at the slimy feeling on the tongue on his skin. Sasuke was about to finally push his fear down and rush over when the woman lifted Naruto's shirt up to reveal a black seal on his stomach.
Why does he have a seal?
Purple chakra suddenly sparked from the grass ninja's fingertips, and Sasuke watched in horror as she slammed her hand against the seal on Naruto.
"Five Pronged Seal!"
A loud groan of pain erupted from Naruto as steam bellowed from the seal, his red eyes flickering to blue before closing as he passed out.
"Damn it! Sasuke, we have to do something!" Sakura suddenly shouted, though she was unable to make her legs move from the branch she was on. When the woman flung Naruto towards the side though, she hurriedly pulled out a kunai. Flinging it towards Naruto, it caught onto his shirt and embedded itself into a tree, saving Naruto from a deadly fall.
"Why are you just standing there? Move!"
A rush of anger flowed through Sasuke suddenly, and he flung his head up to glare at the woman before him. His sharingan had involuntarily activated, a second tomoe now decorating the eyes.
The sight brought a grin to the woman's face, and with a single hand sign, the snake below her disappeared.
"Let's play."
I haven't changed a bit. If I can't face this demon, how can I even think about taking my brother down?
Sliding into a battle stance, Sasuke reached into his pouch and pulled out one of the kunai he had wrapped with wire.
I can do this.
Placing the kunai between his teeth before pulling more out, Sasuke began to speed towards the ninja. Augmenting his feet with chakra, he kicked off the branch and launched himself into the air, flinging the several kunai towards the woman. Landing on another tree, he used it to fling himself towards her and they began a quick taijutsu battle. The woman was able to block and dodge every kick and punch he threw her way, his sharingan spinning wildly as he saw through every move she made.
The woman suddenly pushed herself away and became a blur, zipping through the trees and foliage around him.
He was able to track every move, even at her speed.
I can see.
Flipping through the hand signs, Sasuke breathed out a large fireball towards where he knew she would land, before repeating his motions and sending an even greater flame towards it.
The woman had somehow managed to dodge his jutsu, slithering towards him with a blurring speed. Sasuke launched himself back before falling into a fighting stance, his eyes not once leaving her form.
It became a sudden game of chase as Sasuke jumped from branch to branch, dodging every gust of wind thrown his way. Then he saw the chance to hit her, and he took it. Using chakra to enhance his speed, Sasuke sped down towards her before wrapping his arms around her torso and flipping backwards off the branch. With the enhanced speed, they were flung down towards a lower branch, where Sasuke swiftly attached a few paper bombs onto the back of her clothing. Pushing off of her at the last second, Sasuke landed safely on the branch as he stepped back a bit. Hoping that was enough, Sasuke watched in anticipation to see if she would get up again.
To his horror, her body melted into a form of mud before sloshing onto the wood.
A slather of kunai suddenly came pelting down on him, with one slicing his cheek before he could react. Throwing himself off the branch as the ninja suddenly flew down at him, Sasuke pulled a roll of wire out of his pouch and flung it onto a branch in order to swing himself to safety.
He was only given a moment to breathe before he felt a crack as a fist slammed into his face. Forcing himself his reflexes down, he allowed the woman to knock him to the ground with a few punches. A few seconds later, the paper bombs he had placed earlier went off, and he hurled himself away as the woman stumbled to the ground.
Reaching into his pouch, he pulled out his prepared shuriken and launched them with precision, several wires surrounding the woman. Tugging at the wire between his teeth, he managed to restrain her against the tree.
Katon: Ryūka no Jutsu!
The scream that expelled from the woman's mouth was piercing, and Sasuke had to force himself not to cover his ears as he watched his fire take effect.
Sakura jumped down from where she had been watching, a worried look on her face.
"Is it over?" She murmured, reaching out to steady Sasuke who seemed to be barely keeping himself up.
"Such Mastery.."
The sound of the woman's voice sparked a cold rush of terror in both genin, who turned towards her in shock.
"Impossible..That should have killed her." Sasuke whispered, eyes wide as the killing intent from earlier washed over them once before.
No! This can't be happening!
"Of the Sharingan at so young an age." The woman's voice switched to a deeper bass halfway through her words, the voice rough.
Parts of his face had peeled away from the flames, revealing white skin and a piercing yellow eye. There was an obvious lack of blood flowing from the burned skin, and the ninja seemed unphased.
"You are definitely his brother, your eyes may even be keener than his. You'll do nicely.."
Itachi? Who is this demon? How do they know him?
Staring up at the ninja in terror, Sasuke forced himself to stay calm as he choked out,
"Who are you? What do you want?"
Chuckling, the ninja pulled out their heaven scroll from earlier, holding it up with a feral grin.
"My name is Orochimaru." The scroll in his hand burned a bright green as it disintegrated before their eyes, with Sakura choking back a gasp beside him.
"What I want will have to wait until we meet again." Forming a seal, Orochimaru's neck suddenly stretched out and veered towards them, fangs gleaming as he got closer.
Sakura could only watch in horror as the man's teeth sunk into Sasuke's neck, unable to move her body to defend him. When he pulled back, Sasuke was left groaning in pain and holding tightly onto his neck.
Panicking, Sakura forced her body to move as she tried to help him, paying no mind to the enemy ninja. Her focus was entirely on the boy before her, who let out a rough scream before finally collapsing into her arms.
Sakura stared down at him as a feeling of dread crept in before glancing up at Naruto's unconscious state.
I'm all alone.