Hey, everyone. How's it going?
Dextron11: Would Naruto know about Oto being multiple bases? That's unique to Orochimaru's village, and they have to be invited, so Naruto would assume its location was known.
DarkbladerX666: In canon, Sakura's hug and her begging him to stop snapped him back to his senses and he fought against it. Here, his team calling out to him was enough. And yes, sealing jutsu will be a major part of Naruto's arsenal.
2021: I will say some of that is going to happen.
Narutoreader750: Not yet. You know, I was pretty surprised when I refreshed my memory on that flashback Karin had and I noticed something:
Sasuke said that they both had Earth Scrolls. That means he saved Karin after they encountered Orochimaru.
What was he doing on his own when he'd just gotten the Curse Mark? He couldn't even use his Sharingan!
Jintolin: Yeah, so much wasted potential.
Was Ino's fangirling that bad in that chapter? I mean, her claim that she couldn't let Sakura be the only one to look good in front of Sasuke was just an excuse/banter. She was mad at Sakura for breaking their friendship. And the last time she saw them before that whole thing with the Oto genin before the first test, Naruto and Sakura did kinda suck...
I've seen a few good NaruHina fics. A Growing Affection and Yet Again with a Little Extra Help come to mind. And one where Minato and Kushina either survive or are brought back to life that I can't remember the name of.
Windninja1000: Actually, the flashback was in the manga too.
Also, after getting several reviews concerning how I canceled the original because of complications around giving Naruto the Rinnegan due to the complications introduced by canon, many of which advised me not to stick to canon or even insulted me for doing so, I decided to go more into detail on why I reimagined my 'Jinchuriki of the Six Paths' fic into 'Rise of the Uzumaki'. If you care, that's all in an update to the chapter one author note.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Sasuke sighed as he looked at his teammates as they sat together. He could still hardly believe they'd just come face to face with an S-ranked criminal: an enemy in the same league as him. It was a reminder of just how far he still had to go.
But that wasn't the concern at the moment. Sasuke's teammates did not look well. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, it was clear how rough a time they'd had while he'd been out cold.
Sakura's eyelids were drooping. At times, one of her eyes would be half-closed. And she was still shaky on her feet. Naruto was better off, but even then, there was a weariness about him. Far from the norm for the exuberant blond.
"I hate to say it, but I think we should take the day off from the test," Sasuke told them, drawing shock from his teammates.
"What!? But Sasuke, we only have four days left! And we don't even know how many Heaven Scrolls are still out there!" Sakura replied, now sitting up on full alert.
"Sakura, you had to keep watch while I was out. You've been up for over 24 hours now. And you haven't fully recovered from that sound attack. You think you're in the best condition to fight?" Sasuke pointed out. He then turned to Naruto. "And Naruto had to camp out by himself. With all the predators and enemies out there, he would have had to sleep with one eye open."
"Yeah," Naruto added with a grimace, rubbing the back of his head. "He has a point. Also, have either of you eaten since breakfast yesterday? I know I haven't."
As if on cue, a rumble rang out from Sakura's stomach. The pink-haired girl put a hand to her belly and blushed. Sasuke shook his head. "Yeah, that's what I thought. So, we rest and recuperate for today, then pick things up tomorrow. With Naruto's shadow clones, it shouldn't be too hard to find another team. At least now that Orochimaru's not around to destroy them."
"Guess we have no choice..." Sakura slumped slightly. And with that admission, her eyes fell half shut. It seemed like she wasn't trying to fight her exhaustion anymore.
"Alright, I'll have my clones scout out a place to hang out heads today," Naruto said, putting a fist to his chest. "We cook whatever we catch here, then head out."
Sasuke nodded. "Hopefully, we can get it done before someone or something follows the smoke." He then stood up. "I'll get us something to eat. Out of the three of us, I'm in the best condition."
"My clones will bring back any berries or whatever that they find," Naruto added.
"I've been studying local flora. I should be able to tell if any of it's poisonous." Sakura threw in.
Naruto pointed off into the forest. "There's a stream about 40 yards that way if you think you can round up some fish."
Sasuke nodded. Naruto's clones were extremely useful. "All right. I'll be back in half an hour." He said before he walked off, then leaped into the trees in a burst of speed.
It didn't take long before he found the stream Naruto had mentioned. Standing at its shifting waters, he brought a hand to the mark on the nape of his neck and grimaced. The pain had mostly subsided; all that remained was a dull throbbing. He remembered what Naruto said; this thing was probably supposed to get him addicted to its power.
He suddenly had a bad feeling about something.
He called upon the Sharingan, but as his eyes bled crimson, the dull ache became a burning, stabbing pain that shot through his whole body. He let out a strangled cry as he doubled over, gripping the mark with both hands.
Great. This thing was going to try to force Sasuke to use it. That's just great.
He stood there for a few moments, taking in heavy breaths as he waited for the pain to subside. When it was over, he took on a taijutsu stance and ran through a kata.
Taijutsu didn't set it off. He'd thought as much, given how he was able to make it here in the first place. Though, even that might trigger it if he did anything too intensive. Still, he had taijutsu, his skill, and the seals Naruto gave him didn't use much chakra, so those should be fine. So he wasn't completely helpless.
Still, he'd have to tell the others when he got back. They deserved to know, and he didn't want this to come out when they were in the middle of a fight.
Half an hour later, Sasuke came back with eight fish caught with a make-shift spear he'd made. Naruto started a fire while he set about making brine to salt the meat. Sakura, meanwhile, separated what the clones had brought back. Quite a few plants and mushrooms got tossed away, the pink-haired girl saying they'd either give them stomach problems or kill them.
Soon enough, their food was roasting as they sat around a fire. Naruto's clones had a perimeter, so they should be alerted to anything that came their way. All three of them eyed the cooking with anticipation.
As they waited, Sasuke sighed. "Well, I guess now's as good a time as any..." The Uchiha said, drawing his teammate's attention. He pointed at the seal on his neck. "This thing won't let me use jutsu. Any time I try to use too much chakra, it tries to make me use it."
"What!?" Naruto exclaimed.
"Wait, then-" Sakura began.
"I'm not helpless." He cut them off. "I can still use taijutsu. And Naruto's seals."
Well, that was a relief. Still, this just got worse and worse. It pissed Naruto off that the bastard had waltzed in their village and as good as branded his friend. And then he left without so much as a by your leave.
And what he did to those genin from his own village. Orochimaru saw people as nothing but pawns that he could throw away or do whatever he wanted with, whenever he wanted. It made him sick.
They both calmed down. Naruto grimaced and crossed his arms. "We need to get to the proctors. Maybe we can get them or Kakashi-sensei to do something about it before the next test. I mean, they're going to have to talk to us anyway, since we ran into Orochimaru."
Sasuke and Sakura nodded. "They should. I mean, that's not exactly part of the exams..." The pink-haired kunoichi said.
"How're you holding up, Sakura?" Naruto asked.
"I'm fine. I'm getting better. I think I can stand up straight without a problem now. Just tired. And hungry." Sakura replied. "I didn't do much aside from watching Sasuke all night." She then looked at him curiously. "What about you?"
"Same. I didn't really run into any trouble." Naruto shrugged, and then he smiled. "I did meet this girl, though."
Sakura raised a brow. "A girl?"
He nodded. "Yeah, this green-haired girl from Taki named Fuu. Orochimaru had some other snakes waiting for me, and she jumped in to help. She said she wanted to be friends, and then we went our separate ways."
"Huh. I'd suspect that was a trap, but it doesn't look like this girl tried to follow you." Sasuke observed.
"We said we'd meet up at the tower. I hope so. Fuu seemed like a lot of fun." He then chuckled. "She rode on one of the snakes like it was a bull trying to throw her off."
Sakura looked at him dully. "Seriously? Why am I reminded of a certain someone right now?"
Naruto just laughed and rubbed the back of his head.
A day later, and the three genin of Team Seven were well-rested with full bellies. Sakura had mostly recovered from her fight with the Oto genin, and Sasuke was as good as he would get until they got someone to look at that seal. It was time to get a move on and hopefully finish this test so they could get out of this forest.
As they leaped through the trees, moving towards the tower, Sakura turned to Naruto. "Have your clones found anyone yet?"
Naruto shook his head. "Doesn't look like it."
"We should keep heading toward the tower," Sasuke said. "If we're lucky, we'll find a team along the way. If not, we can set up an ambush. That's sure to net us both scrolls."
"Sounds good to-" They were interrupted by a roar coming from the forest floor. All three turned to look in that direction, but Sasuke was the first to move, with Naruto following close behind.
It sounded like something big had cornered something.
They moved down the tree until they were running along the trunk, and they spied it: it was a giant bear. And it had cornered a redheaded girl with a Kusa forehead protector by some tree trunks. She wore a mesh shirt and stockings, a purple skirt, a light brown short-sleeved jacket with an orange stripe going across the chest, and black sandals. She'd fallen prone on her stomach, helpless.
Sasuke was the closest, and so he launched himself at the beast. Proving he was, in fact, far from helpless, he flipped through the air and brought his leg down on the bear's head in a move Naruto recognized from their spars. "Lion's Barrage!"
He flipped two more times, slamming his foot into the beast's head twice more. The third hit knocked the oversized bear out cold, and it fell flat on the ground. Sasuke stood triumphantly on its head, looking down at the girl, who stared up at him.
"Huh. An Earth Scroll, like ours, huh?" Sasuke asked.
Naruto wasn't sure he approved of him thinking of the test right now, but hey, he did save the girl's life. Besides, they really needed to get out of the forest and talk to the Old Man. He and Sakura jumped down and landed by the Uchiha's side. "Is she alright?" Naruto asked. The girl jolted at his voice and quickly scrambled for, oh, she had glasses.
"She looks like it. I don't see any cuts or scratches." Sakura noted.
"We're in a hurry. If the girl's ok, then let's-" Sasuke began, only for the girl to cut him off.
"Wait!" The girl cried out. All three of them looked to her to see she was scrambling to her feet, looking at them desperately. "Please, wait!"
"Is something wrong?" Naruto asked, a bit worried about the expression on her face. She looked like she was terrified of something.
"You're Naruto Uzumaki, right?"
Naruto blinked and raised a brow. "Yeah, why?"
"I'm Karin Uzumaki! Please, you have to help me!" She cried, distress clear in her voice.
What!?
Both of his teammates froze as they all looked down at the girl with wide-eyed shock. His mind reeled as he realized who she was.
That this girl could be part of his long-lost family.
Karin looked up from her place on the ground and still couldn't believe it. There, beside the boy who saved her, was Naruto Uzumaki. The boy who'd so brazenly announced himself to all the genin. Who had blown away all the fears of the genin at the end of the first test.
Her distant cousin.
Part of her had wanted to reach out to him then and there, but she'd known there was no hope there. Her teammates would never have let her say anything if they even let them talk at all. After so many years in Kusa, she had all but given up and accepted her lot in life.
But now, there was a spark where there had only been emptiness before. Brought about by the kindness Karin had received from the black-haired boy. The first act of kindness she'd received since she set foot in Kusa. And by the presence of her cousin. She didn't know him yet, but she was practically begging fate that their relation would mean something. This was the first time she'd felt any sense of hope in years.
She hadn't felt any since the day she'd seen her mother lying on a hospital bed, covered by a white sheet.
Naruto was the first to recover and leaped down, standing in front of her. "Really? You're from my clan?"
She nodded. "Please... help me."
"With what? What's wrong? Can't your team-" He started, but she shook her head violently.
"No, they can't! They're part of the problem!" She yelled. She then became timid, afraid of rejection. Fearful that this last tether of hope would be severed. "Please... hear me out."
Naruto frowned and crossed his arms. He briefly glanced around before looking like he was thinking hard. Right, they were in the middle of a life or death exam. This probably looked kinda sketchy. She knew her teammates wouldn't have gotten cornered that easily. 'Please...' After a moment, he nodded. "All right. Let's hear it."
Her heart soared. Maybe this nightmare would end. "Can we move? I don't want my team to find us."
"Sounds like a good idea to me." The blond replied with a shrug.
"Are you sure about this?" The pink-haired girl asked skeptically. "This could be a trap..."
"If it is, we'll deal with it," Naruto replied firmly. "Let's see what she has to say."
"Let's go, Sakura." The coal-eyed boy said. "He's made up his mind. You know as well as I do that once he's decided on something, there's no talking him out of it."
Sakura nodded to him and turned to Karin. "What direction did your team go in?"
She pointed in the opposite direction of the tower. "Good, we were heading the other way anyway. Still, let's veer off a bit, just in case."
They traveled in silence for ten minutes, Naruto taking point, Sasuke to one side while Sakura was behind her while she was in the center. Probably in case she tried anything, not that she would. Hell, she couldn't even if she wanted to. There was a reason her teammates had left her behind.
Thoughts flew through Karin's mind as she looked to the two boys: the one who had saved her life and her cousin, who she hoped would do so a second time. She remembered everything that had happened to her in Kusa and looked to her cousin, praying that he would help her.
Finally, the black-haired boy pointed down. The other genin nodded. They were soon standing within the roots of one of the giant trees of the forest.
"Ok, what's the trouble, Karin?" Naruto asked, and Karin was struck, not for the first time, as she looked at him.
She could sense chakra. It wasn't too uncommon, from what her mother said, but in some members of their clan, a powerful version of the ability manifested. It wasn't just the range that was impressive, but the accuracy. At least it would be once she honed it more. Right now, one unique power of hers was the limited ability to read the hearts of those in close range. Chakra felt warm the more kind a person was, and colder the crueler or more evil they were.
Naruto's chakra was so warm.
"How much do you know about our clan?" Karin asked.
Naruto seemed confused by the question, but he answered. "Not much." He then looked a bit sad. "I'm an orphan, and no one ever talked to me about it. Honestly, I only recently found out we were a clan."
Karin was surprised, from what her mother had told her about their relationship to Konoha, she'd thought he'd know a lot more. But something else stood out to her. "So, you're alone too?"
"Not anymore," Naruto replied. "I've got my team and some other people close to me. But, what about you?"
Karin looked away for a moment, taking a breath as she gathered her thoughts, steeled herself from the emotions she knew would follow, and prepared to explain everything. "Well, our clan has five abilities my mother explained to me before she... passed. Aside from our vitality and our sealing techniques, there's the power to create chakra chains. A rare sensory skill that I inherited. And... one other ability that I have."
Naruto seemed to sense that this was difficult for her and looked concerned. "What is it?"
"... We can use our vitality to heal others... by having them bite us. Our vitality is channeled into them through the bite. It can heal fatal wounds in moments." Naruto's eyebrows shot up, and his teammates seemed just as surprised. "My mother and I... we originally lived in a small farming that got attacked. She brought us to Kusa and offered to use that ability to heal their people if they let us live there. They-" She choked up a bit. "They drained my mother, day in and day out until they sucked her dry. And- and then..." She closed her eyes and looked away as she reached to her collar and pulled it down. She heard two gasps ring out as they saw the close to a dozen bite marks there alone. "The only reason they even brought me here was so my team could use me to keep up their strength." When she opened her eyes, her vision a bit blurry, Naruto was staring in shock. Sakura looked horrified while the black-haired boy had moved past that and looked cold and angry. "Please! I know they'll kill me too if I go back! You have to get me out of Kusa!"
Now anger began to filter into fill Naruto's face. His hands clenched at his side as his face twisted, teeth grit in rage. Then the expression dropped. He stepped forward, placing his hands on her shoulders before pulling her into a hug.
"Don't worry. I'm not letting you go back there. I don't care what I have to do; I will help you!"
She teared up and wrapped her arms around him as she sobbed into his shoulder.
Once Karin calmed down, she was left sitting against the roots while Team Seven stood together, discussing what they'd just heard.
"Naruto, I understand that you want to help her, especially if she's actually your cousin, but what do you think we can do for her?" Sakura asked before glancing back at Karin. "Don't get me wrong, if that story's true then I want to help her too, but what are three genin going to do? Help her go rogue ninja?"
"But it's not just three genin." Naruto pointed out with a smile. "Come on, give me some credit. I have thought this through... kinda. It's not like I walked up to her without a backup plan in mind." Naruto said, glancing up at a bird silently gazing down at them as it groomed itself. "We need to talk to Old Man Hokage. If anyone can help her, it's him, and he's probably already going to talk to us, thanks to Orochimaru. We just have to get to the tower soon enough for him to get to us, and we were already going to do that so someone could take a look at that seal on Sasuke."
"Knowing Lord Third, he'd definitely want to do something about this." Sasuke assessed with a nod, crossing his arms. "And he's right. They'll probably want to know about what happened. If not the Hokage, then some other higher up, and we can pass what we know about Karin up to them." He then looked to Naruto. "But what if he won't, or can't help?"
Naruto grimaced and rubbed the back of his head. "I'll cross that bridge if we come to it."
Sasuke sighed. "Try not to make promises you can't keep." He then shrugged. "Anyway, it's worth a shot."
Sakura nodded in agreement and Naruto smiled. "Thanks, you guys." The trio rejoined Karin, who looked to them with hope. "Ok, the first thing we need to do is get to the tower, but we're still one scroll short."
The redhead nodded. "What do you want me to do?"
Naruto shrugged. "Well, if there's anything you can do to help, we'd appreciate it."
Karin seemed to shrink away. "I... can't do much. I can sense chakra, but I'm not really good at pinpointing locations right now."
"We can handle that. In the meantime, use the transformation jutsu in case your team comes looking for you." Sakura told her, only for Karin to flinch.
"I... can't."
"What do you mean you can't?" Naruto asked, raising a brow. Even he could pull that technique off back when he was at the academy. Hell, his(now forbidden) original jutsu had been based on it!
"I don't know how."
Sakura grimaced before facepalming. "Oh boy... I see. They as good as killed your mother and used you as a walking elixir. Of course, they wouldn't teach you enough to run away." She then looked at her dully. "Let me guess, they only taught you enough to keep up with them so you wouldn't slow them down, didn't they?" Karin flinched again, curling into herself a bit. "Did they even teach you how to fight?"
"... Not really."
Sasuke sighed. "I wondered how you got cornered by that bear so easily..."
"Bastards..." Naruto cursed under his breath. And they sent her to these exams with so little training? He'd wonder if they were trying to get her killed, but after the whole 'walking elixir' thing, this shouldn't be a surprise. "Alright, we can take care of that. You just stay out of sight when we find a team, ok?"
Karin nodded.
They resumed moving toward the tower, with one extra among them. Naruto glanced back at Karin, who still seemed troubled after telling them her story. He wanted to talk to her. To give her comforting words or just speak with the first blood relative he'd ever met. But... what was he supposed to say after that? He couldn't think of anything that wasn't either lame or wouldn't go back to that story. Instead, they simply traveled in silence.
It was a bit over half an hour later that a rush of memories flowed into Naruto's mind. There was a trio of genin traveling towards the tower, keeping low to the ground. And they weren't too far from where they were right now.
He didn't know which of them had their scroll, but if they were heading in their direction, then there was a good chance they either had both scrolls or had the same idea they did. Even then, there was a 50-50 shot they had what they need. This could be it.
He held up his hand, gesturing for the rest of his team to stop. They landed on a branch and looked around, spotting a tree with a hollow space near the bottom. He turned to his apparent cousin and pointed to the empty space.
"Hey, Karin. We're going to go hunting for a scroll. Hideout down there, ok?"
Karin nodded. "Ok." They watched as she jumped down to the forest floor.
"Found someone?" Sasuke asked.
Naruto gestured to the right with his head. "Yeah, there's a group heading towards the tower. If we move now, we can set up an ambush."
His teammates nodded, and they headed out.
Three genin from Ame traveled as blurs across the forest floor. All three wore blue outfits with cloaks and had large umbrellas on their backs.
Wherever they were going, they seemed to be trying to keep quiet; darting beneath the trees wherever possible.
Shame they'd already been spotted.
As they emerged from the shadow of a root system, a blinding light erupted ahead of them. The three came to a stop, crying out in pain and shielding their faces as the light burned their eyes.
"Crap! Ambush!" One of them called out before he suddenly let out a cry of shock. Sakura must have done her part.
"Daiki!" One of the others called out. And now it was his turn. He made a hand sign and inhaled deeply, kneading the air in his lungs. 'Wind Style: Air bullets!' A volley of balls of air flew from his mouth towards the two Ame genin. They dodged as the light disappeared, revealing their friend had been buried up to his neck in the ground.
The pair leaped backward, only for a few stones behind one of the genin to burst into smoke, revealing two of Naruto's clones. They shot towards the nearest genin while he was still in mid-air. He twisted his body in an attempt to dodge the impending attack but wasn't nearly fast enough. One of the clones drove his fist into one of his kidneys. The other slipped beneath him and struck him in the jaw with a kick. One last air bullet from the real Naruto slammed into his chest, driving him into the tree behind them.
The remaining genin grit his teeth. "Damn it!"
Sakura burst from the ground, forming a hand seal "Earth Style: Earth Flow Spears!"
The final genin jumped into the air as a trail of stone spears moved ever closer towards him. Right where they wanted him. He gasped out as a trio of shuriken flew out from behind him, flying past him before changing course, wires glinting in the light. They wrapped around him and tightened, pulling him towards a nearby tree and binding him there as they dug into his skin.
Naruto looked around and saw no sign that they were getting up. "Looks like we got them!" Sakura called out.
Naruto grinned as he jumped down. "Good work, guys! Now, let's see if they got what we need."
Sakura gestured to the buried genin as Sasuke stepped out from his hiding place. "Well, it's not on him."
They ultimately found what they were looking for on Sasuke's target. Naruto let out a whoop as he held up the beige scroll they'd been hoping to see.
"Great! Now we can get out of this forest!" Sakura said, putting her hands together. He didn't blame her; between Orochimaru, that seal, and their much-needed talk with their leader, he was eager to get out of here too.
Naruto turned to the bound genin. "No hard feelings, right guys? We didn't make the rules here."
The genin seemed to know he was beaten and turned away. "Just take it and go!"
It looked like things were finally going their way again. After they got the scroll, the three had left the three Ame genin where they caught them and returned to Karin's hidey-hole, where they found her curled up against one of the roots.
With the redhead in tow, the trio made their way to the tower. It took a few hours, but they made it without any more complications. Karin stood at the entrance as the three genin of Team Seven stepped inside one of the rooms and looked around.
"There's no one here," Naruto said.
Sakura noticed something and pointed to above them. "Hey, look up there." The genin looked up to see a poster on the far wall. After reading it for a moment, she turned to her teammates. "I think it's telling us to open the scrolls."
The three exchanged looks and nodded. Naruto pulled out the two scrolls and handed one to Sakura. They looked at them with trepidation, unsure of what was unfold. After a moment, they unfurled them at the same time.
They never had a chance to read what was written on them because the moment they'd been opened up, smoke began to rise from them.
"It's a summoning jutsu! Get back!" Sasuke said, and Naruto and Sakura immediately dropped the scrolls and leaped backward. A figure appeared within the smoke and the three genin tensed while Karin partly hid behind the doorframe.
Slowly, the smoke cleared to reveal...
Naruto's eyes widened before he smiled widely. "Iruka-sensei!"
The scarred chunin smiled. "Hey, Naruto. Good to see you." He gave the three genin an appraising look. "Looks like you had a rough time of it, but I'm glad you got here in good time."
"You don't know the half of it, Iruka-sensei." Naruto began before his eyes widened. He'd been so surprised to see Iruka that other things had slipped from his mind for a second. He looked at his former teacher urgently, and the man frowned as he picked up on it. "Listen, you need to call Lord Hokage. Orochimaru is in the forest!"
"What!? Orochimaru!?" Iruka exclaimed, taking a step back. It was probably a mark of how serious he was that he had referred to him as 'Lord Hokage' instead of Old Man or something.
Naruto nodded. "He attacked us on the first day!"
"He put some weird seal on Sasuke's neck!" Sakura added. Iruka looked between them, then to Sasuke, who nodded, placing a hand over the mark.
Iruka closed his eyes and calmed himself. "I see. I'll tell Lord Third immediately. He'll probably want to talk to you and look at that seal."
"Can he do something about it?" Sasuke asked. "Using too much chakra seems to trigger it."
Iruka nodded. "If it's what I think it is, I believe so. I'm glad you're alright and..." It was then he noticed Karin, who was still partly hiding behind the door. The redhead hesitated for a moment before stepping into the room. "And who's this? A ninja from Kusa?"
"She's not a part of that," Naruto explained with a shake of his head. "That's a whole other situation that I wanted to talk to the old man about." He looked at the chunin pleadingly. "Just trust me, Iruka-sensei. She's in big trouble."
Iruka held his gaze for a moment before looking back at the girl. After a moment, he nodded. "I'm not so sure about this... but I guess there's no harm in bringing it up with Lord Hokage if he's coming here anyway." He then turned and walked to the door. "Come with me."
And with that, Iruka led them through the tower.
Karin joined Team Seven behind the scarred chunin, looking more than a little concerned. "Who's Orochimaru? And why did that have him so worried?"
Naruto frowned. "Orochimaru's an S-ranked criminal who came from our village. So him suddenly showing up here is a pretty big deal." He explained.
Karin looked at him in confusion. "S-ranked?" She questioned and then shrugged. "Well, if he's a criminal from Konoha, I guess I understand."
Sakura sighed. "They didn't tell you anything, did they? Bunch of..." She trailed off into a series of grumbles before putting her hands on her hips. "S-rank basically means the shinobi is so powerful that fighting them is usually certain death, even for standard jonin in large numbers."
Karin's eyes widened. "And you fought him?"
"And got our asses kicked," Naruto replied.
"So, who is this girl anyway?" Iruka asked, half turning to look at Naruto.
"Her name's Karin. It's a long story. Like I said, I'm hoping the old man can help her out." Naruto replied, glancing at the girl.
"And why do you think we can help her if her village can't?" Iruka questioned with a raised brow.
Naruto scowled. "Because her village is the problem."
The scarred chunin frowned at him, clearly not understanding. But in the end, he shrugged and closed his eyes. "Well, I'll trust you on this one. Lord Hokage will sort it out, one way or another."
Iruka stopped at a pair of double doors and opened it for them. It was a large room with a table, a couch, and a desk against the far wall. "All right, stay here until Lord Hokage arrives." And with that, he vanished in a burst of speed.
"So, I guess there's nothing else to do but sit tight until the old man gets here," Naruto said before turning to Karin. "So, you mentioned you lived in a farming village? What kind of things did you like to do there?"
"... Well, I used to like reading the books my mother got me."
The four genin were alone in the room for a few hours. During that time, Naruto got to know his cousin. Sakura had been happy to find that Karin was as much of a bookworm as she was, though she hadn't had much to read in the last few years. Or anything to be happy about, really. Apparently, she'd had to report to the hospital first thing in the morning in Kusa and spent the whole day there.
He was really starting to hate Kusa.
There hadn't been much else. Typical farming village stuff, though Karin had liked to go exploring in the forest. They didn't pry much farther; they hadn't wanted to bring up the village's fate or her time in Kusa.
Eventually, there came a knocking on the door. The four turned to it as it was opened by an ANBU member, who stood aside to allow a familiar figure to enter. Naruto couldn't help but return the smile the old man gave them. "Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura. I'm glad to see you well after your harrowing experience."
"Hey, old man Hokage. Uh-" Naruto blinked as he registered that he wasn't the only familiar person who entered the room. "Kakashi-sensei? They called you here too?"
"Is it any surprise when my team is concerned?" The silver-haired jonin asked.
"Well, glad to see you weren't late this time. And..." Naruto trailed off as a man he didn't recognize entered, along with two more ANBU. He had long ash-blond hair reaching into his lower back, which he wore spiky on top and ending in a long ponytail and light green eyes. He wore the standard flak jacket over a black outfit with handguards, a forehead protector, and a sleeveless red haori.
"Inoichi?" Sakura said, stepping forward, seeming confused by the man's presence.
"Sakura. Long time, no see." The man, Inoichi, greeted with a nod. So Sakura knew him? And that name... and while it was a different shade of blond...
Sakura turned to him and Sasuke and confirmed what he was suspecting. "This is Ino's dad: Inoichi Yamanaka."
"I called him here to help with the... less urgent concern." The man known as the Third God of Shinobi said before turning his eyes to Karin, who seemed to shrink under his gaze. "As I'm sure you can imagine, I was rather surprised to hear that you came here with a foreign shinobi in tow, claiming she was in some kind of danger." He said as he stepped forward with his hands behind his back. He gave her an appraising eye. "I believe I have a suspicion as to this girl's identity, but can you confirm it for me?"
Naruto nodded and gestured towards the redhead. "This is Karin Uzumaki."
Kakashi's eye widened while Hiruzen nodded, looking at Naruto harder than he remembered in a long time. "I see. I hope you didn't bring her here to plead her case, just because she's your apparent cousin?"
Naruto began to quickly wave his hands back and forward in front of him, looking vaguely panicked. "No, no! Of course not! I mean, that's not all. I wouldn't have brought her here if I didn't think she needed serious help." He turned to Karin, who seemed even more uncertain. "Tell them, Karin."
Karin nodded and stepped forward. "Um, Lord Hokage?"
"Yes, young lady? I trust there is a good reason my genin have brought you to me?"
"Yes... I... I begged them for help," Karin began and then explained her story. Hearing it still made Naruto's hackles raise, but he took a moment to look at the other occupants. He didn't glance at the ANBU; he knew he wouldn't see anything from them.
Kakashi took it all in seemingly as stoic as ever, but his gaze was as sharp as it was during his battle with Zabuza. Inoichi was scowling. The other blond's hands clenched when Karin revealed the bite marks on her neck.
As for Old Man Hokage, he stoically took it all in, his gaze still as hard as before, but Naruto suspected it was for a different reason now. When Karin's story ended, he sighed.
"Unfortunately, Kusa's distaste for outsiders is well known. It has brought them no end to conflicts in the past. This is about what I'd expect from them."
"You believe she's telling the truth?" One of the ANBU asked.
"I believe her story is plausible. I know that the ability she described is indeed a rare Uzumaki trait." The Third replied before he stepped to the side and looked at Inoichi. "I suspected your abilities would be useful here when I heard of the girl. If you would Inoichi, confirm her tale to the best of your abilities."
"As you wish. It shouldn't be hard with a genin." Inoichi said as he stepped forward. Karin seemed uneasy as he approached. "Just relax, and stay still. I'm not going to hurt you." He said gently.
Karin nodded after a moment. Inoichi placed a hand on her head and closed his eyes. Karin jerked a second later, then seemed to relax to allow Inochi to do... whatever it was he was doing.
"What's he doing?" Naruto asked.
"He's reading her mind," Kakashi-sensei said as he took a spot beside his genin. "It's a rare skill, but of course, the Yamanaka clan excels at arts related to the mind and spirit. He's likely the most proficient with this ability in all of Konoha."
"Whoa..." Naruto uttered in awe. He hadn't known that was possible.
When Inoichi took his hand away, he looked disgusted. He turned to their leader with a glare. "Unless someone altered her memories, she's telling the truth. The whole thing." He said before he cursed and stepped away from her.
"I see," Hiruzen said, and he looked at the girl more softly than he had before. "I'm sorry about your mother. And that you had to endure such treatment."
"Thank you," Karin replied, looking up at the elder shinobi more hopefully. "Will you help me?"
The Third nodded. "I believe it would not be out of the question to offer you asylum." He said before he cupped his chin. "Although, I imagine Kusa will raise a fuss. And it will reflect poorly on Konoha to seemingly poach another village's talent. We'll need to come up with something."
"I don't believe that will be a problem, Lord Hokage," Inoichi spoke up, frowning deeply. "They barely trained this girl. She spent pretty much all her time in the hospital being used to treat any injured shinobi. I wouldn't be surprised if your grandson could outfight her. She wouldn't stand a chance against the forest's hazards alone."
"You don't know the half of it." Naruto cut in, furious as he recalled how they met his cousin. "She was about to get killed by a bear when we found her. We only got to her because we decided to look into what was going on when he heard the thing roar."
"Then they have every reason to assume her dead... and thus aren't likely to complain unless she makes a name for herself..." Hiruzen mused before nodded. "Very well. You may find shelter here in Konoha."
Karin's face lit up. It was the first time since meeting her Naruto had seen her happy. She bowed deeply. "Thank you, Lord Hokage." She then turned to him. Before he could say anything, she ran over and threw her arms around him. "And thank you for listening."
He returned the embrace. "Don't mention it, Karin. I wasn't about to leave you to die like that."
For a moment, no one said anything before Lord Hokage coughed. "While I would like nothing more than to leave you to get to know one another, there are procedures to follow in these circumstances." He looked at Karin. "You will be going with Inoichi. Rest assured, we will not demand that you use your power for us, though we would welcome whenever you chose to use it to help another."
Karin nodded as Inoichi stepped forward. "Sorry, but it's best we get started as soon as possible."
Karin looked as disappointed as he did but gave in. She walked over to the blond man before giving them one last look. "Thank you again; for saving me." She then looked at Sasuke. "Twice."
"It's nothing. None of us would stand aside and watch someone die like that. I just got there first." Sasuke said with a small smile... and she blushed?
Oh, great... well, at least she had more of a reason to have a crush on him than Sakura, Ino, and all his fangirls back in the academy did. He did save her life.
He watched as the now ex-Kusa kunoichi left with Inoichi, one of the ANBU trailing behind them as they disappeared behind the closing doors. His gaze lingered there for a few seconds.
"I once told you all that shinobi who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum," Kakashi spoke up, drawing his attention. He, too, was staring at the door before he looked at his students. "That... that I have no words for."
"What's going to happen to her?" Naruto asked.
"Well, as I said, there are protocols to follow. Besides, as unlikely as it is, it is possible that the girl's memories have been altered." The Third Hokage stated as he looked down at Naruto. "She'll be kept in isolation. In these circumstances, she'll be treated well but effectively under house arrest. During this time, we will do all we can to examine her for any signs that she may be a spy or a threat to the village. We'll also give her a DNA test to confirm she is a member of the Uzumaki clan. If all checks out and we find no cause for concern, she'll be inducted into the village in a month or so."
Naruto was silent for a moment, smiling at the thought of getting to know a relative. Of having a family... no, that wasn't right. Team Seven, the Third Hokage, Iruka, Teuchi, and Ayame were his family. He wasn't gaining one; he was adding to it.
The Third Hokage smiled down at him for a moment, letting him bask in that thought before his expression hardened a bit. "Although, I hope you didn't take her story at face value. Especially in these circumstances."
Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Well, I wanted to believe her." He replied. "But it's not like I walked into it totally defenseless. I had some shadow clones disguised as birds following us before we even met her; they would have jumped in if she'd tried anything."
The Third nodded. "Well, it's good that you had a backup plan." He then looked at the three genin seriously, looking like the strong leader he was. "Now, onto the issue that brought me here. Describe your encounter with my wayward student."
And so they did. And when the three genin finished relaying the tale, the Third had moved them to one of the rooms meant for the genin. He now stood over Sasuke and examined the seal while the Uchiha sat on one of the beds. Kakashi had been dismissed, being assured that the Third would personally handle it. "Definitely one of his Curse Marks, I see..."
"Curse Mark?"
"It's a type of Cursed Seal Orochimaru invented," Hiruzen explained. "Cursed Seals are different from traditional sealing jutsu. They are meant to control people, usually by manipulating thoughts or paralyzing or even killing the bearer on command or if they break some taboo established by the seal's creator. Orochimaru's seal, however, is insidious. It grants one power but corrupts their mentality the more they use it, gradually making them more like him. Ultimately, they join him willingly, granting him a powerful and loyal servant."
Naruto clenched his fists in anger while Sakura looked concerned, her hands clasping together before her chest. The Third continued, "Fortunately, it will go dormant if it goes unused for long enough, and it can be sealed." He then looked from one genin to the other. "I should warn you, Orochimaru's subordinate Dosu was right: Orochimaru has threatened to destroy Konoha if the exams are interrupted." That got exclaims of shock from Naruto and Sakura and a widening of the eyes from Sasuke. "For that reason, we will continue with the exams. We'll prepare for the worst while hoping that Sasuke was his only objective in coming here."
"How do you know so much about the Cursed Mark, gramps?" Naruto asked after a pause.
"There is a shinobi in Konoha who was marked with this same seal before Orochimaru left the village. I'll say no more; it is not my story to tell." Hiruzen said before turning to the Uchiha heir. "Sasuke, I'm going to restrain the Cursed Mark. It will not be easy on you, though it won't be as strenuous as having it placed on you in the first place. Even so, you can expect to be out the rest of the day. Are you prepared?" Sasuke nodded and braced himself.
The Third nodded. "Very well." He brought his hand to his mouth and bit into his thumb, drawing blood, and then placed it on the nape of Sasuke's neck, just below the Curse Mark. "Four Corner's Restraining Seal!"
And then Sasuke cried out in pain as the blood flowed up his skin and formed a circle around the Curse Mark four points in what was meant to represent the cardinal directions. When it was over, Sasuke slumped forward.
"Sasuke!" Sakura cried as she and Naruto ran forward to catch him, finding he had already lost consciousness.
"Sasuke will be fine," Hiruzen said as he put his hands behind his back. "Team Ten will be informed that they are not to speak a word of Orochimaru's involvement in the exams, should they arrive. For now, you are free to roam the tower, as is Sasuke once he wakes up." The Third walked to the door as Sakura laid Sasuke down. "Take the remaining time to relax and unwind. I hope the rest of your trials here will be more conventional."
After taking the time to use their room's bathroom to clean up a bit, Naruto took to exploring the tower, as Sakura stayed in their room and watched over Sasuke. He found there wasn't much to see. There was a cafeteria, but aside from that, it looked like it was all meeting rooms and bedrooms.
'Geez... I might just go back to the room and practice my sealing jutsu.' Naruto thought to himself as he put his hands in his pockets as he looked out a nearby window. He was high enough to be above even the massive trees of the forest. He briefly wondered what kind of creatures wandered the place, but it wasn't like he could see anything from here. He shrugged and kept walking.
It was then that he heard footsteps approaching from around the nearby corner.
"Man, I am so bored... isn't there anything to do here?" A familiar voice groaned. Naruto smiled as he recognized it. A second later, Fuu rounded the corner, slumped forward and looking more than a little down. She blinked when she saw him before her face lit up. "Naruto! You made it!"
He waved at her. "Hey, Fuu. Good to see you."
The green-haired girl crossed the distance between them in a single bound, laughing as she took a spot in front of him, her face inches from his. "I'm so glad you're here! Maybe now we can have some fun!"
Naruto scratched his cheek. "Geez, you act you've been cooped up here by yourself. Don't you have your team with you?"
Fuu deflated at that and slumped forward again. She looked away and rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah, but we're not exactly friends. Our team was kinda put together at the last minute for the exams. I asked if they wanted to hang out, but they both wanted to do their own thing." She began. "And everyone else I met here is so caught up in the exams that they don't want to be around someone from another village, so..."
Oh... so she pretty much had been on her own then. Naruto gave her a grin and put his hands behind his head. "Well, I'm game. What have you got in mind?"
Fuu brightened up again. "How about we play cards? Or backgammon?"
"Uh..." Naruto raised a brow at her. "Did you bring cards or a backgammon table? Because I sure didn't."
"... Damn it." Fuu cursed under her breath. "Then how about we take a bath together?"
Naruto's face went red. "That's not something you do with someone you just met... or if they're a boy and you're a girl."
"Really? I know I've heard that friends do stuff like that..." Fuu replied with a frown, crossing her arms and looking like she was thinking hard.
Naruto got the feeling that Fuu didn't have many friends if she thought that was normal. "Trust me, it isn't."
Fuu seemed to fall into depression. "Then what are we going to do? Wander the halls together?"
Naruto cupped his chin and thought. She was right: this place was boring. And they had two whole days left to kill. He racked his brain for ways to pass the time before the favorite hobby of a particularly lazy member of the Nara clan entered his mind. "We could go cloud-watching."
"I do plenty of that back in Taki. It's not really fun..." Fuu replied with a shake of her head.
Naruto thought for a moment before an idea sparked in his mind. "Then let's make a competition out of it!"
"Hm?" Fuu tilted her head to the side.
"Whoever spots the coolest shapes wins!" Naruto said, raising a fist in challenge.
Fuu didn't look impressed. She sighed as she shrugged her shoulders and put her hands on her hips. "I don't know... we're still just watching clouds go by..."
"Look at that one!" Fuu exclaimed as she sat up, pointing at the sky. "It looks like a flock of birds taking off!"
"Oh, yeah. I see it." Naruto said as he looked where she was. She was right: it really did look like three birds in formation, their wings raised mid-flap.
Fuu fell onto her back and closed her eyes, smiling with confidence as she laid on the tower's roof. "Heh heh, try and top that."
Naruto got her attention by poking her in the shoulder. When she looked at him, he gave her a cheeky grin and pointed. She followed his finger and sat up, her eyes bugging out.
He was pointing at a cloud that looked like a dragon in the middle of a rampage. The bipedal kind, it's head and torso poking out from behind a building it could knock down at any moment.
He made a victory sign. "Looks like I win again."
Fuu growled, burying her hands in her mint green hair before turning to Naruto. "Just you wait; the next round's mine!" She then smiled and giggled. "You know, this is actually a lot of fun."
"Yeah, I'm surprised too." He then raised himself up, propping one arm on his knee looked at her with a smile. "Hey, how about I show you around the village once we're out of this tower? I'll show you all the sights and the best restaurant in Konoha!"
Fuu's face lit up with excitement. She made a joyous exclamation as she turned to face him fully, leaning towards him and placing both hands on the roof. "I'd love that! I can't wait!"
Originally, I'd just planned on Sasuke saving Karin by himself and bringing her in much later with the help of Jiraiya, but after some thought I didn't think that worked.
As I said at the start of the chapter, I don't know what the hell Sasuke was thinking to be out alone in the forest when he couldn't use jutsu or even his Sharingan. He had to have some inkling of what the seal did to him at that point. I can only assume he was so much of a loner he didn't want to share that with his teammates or lean on them if he didn't absolutely have to.
Well, that's not the case here, and I can't see them letting him go off on his own when vulnerable like that. So, yeah, they were there when he saved Karin.
I went with Karin's anime background because I find it more plausible than what the databooks suggest. For those who don't know, according to the databooks her village was attacked and destroyed, and Orochimaru came to her in the aftermath. After asking how she survived and learning of her sensor abilities, he asked her to go with him and she agreed.
But this leaves some questions unanswered. First, Kusa still exists, and that flashback of her being a kusa genin does occur in the manga too, so I can only assume the village described was her home, like a farming village, and she was visiting. Ok, but then why go with Orochimaru? She had a place to go back to. She must have had ties to Kusa besides just being from a village in the same nation, and she's clearly not a disloyal person given her genuine loyalty to Orochimaru. The databooks give no indication she was mistreated, so why cut all other ties? Because Sasuke was with him? Again, she appears to be pretty loyal, so I don't see that being enough.
The anime background perfectly explains why she'd want to leave and why she'd be so loyal to Orochimaru.
I'm assuming Karin knew she was an Uzumaki. If so, how could she not react to Naruto shouting his name out to everyone? Her team, obviously. So, if she encountered Naruto alone in the forest... well, yeah, you saw my take on how that would go.
She'll be a pretty different character from when we were introduced to her in canon. I'm pretty sure it was her time in Oto that turned her into the mood swinging, stalker-ish person she was when introduced. So, let's see how that goes.
Unfortunately, she'll have to sit the rest of the arc out. Like I've said before, I can't see them just letting someone in, barring official transfers between allies, without taking a lot of precautions to make sure it wasn't a sleeper agent.
And Fuu's back! And she has a whole two days to spend time with Naruto. Shame there's so little to do. Yeah, she struck out with all the other genin, but that's to be expected. Even her team. But at least she has a friend in Naruto.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please review.