"Sorry, Sasuke..." Naruto grinned and crossed his arms as he looked down at them.

"Naruto!" Sakura grinned.

"About the password..." Naruto looked at Sasuke. "I completely forgot it!"

"That's alright, Naruto!" Sakura called up to him. "You're doing great."

"Heh." Naruto grinned at her praise and Shiore glared up at the blond.

"Naruto!" Sasuke clenched his fists and yelled at him. "I know you're trying to be cool and rescue us, but... don't get involved! Just run! He's... he's on an entirely different level!"

"Hmph." Shiore rested his arm on the branch his lower body was still wrapped around and continued to glare at the blond. "Seems like you brought that giant snake down brilliantly, Naruto."

"No matter how you look at it... that guy really looks like a snake..." Naruto gulped slightly and squinted as he looked at Shiore. "I get it now... that snake before and all this trouble... it's all been the handiwork of this guy."

"Him showing up to help has never helped any situation..." Sasuke clenched his jaw and kept his eyes on Naruto, and he glanced over at Shiore from the corner of his eye. "So, what should I do...?"

"Hey, hey, hey!" Naruto pointed down at the Grass Genin "Apparently, you've been bullying the weakling! Now that Naruto Uzumaki is here, I'm gonna wipe the floor with you!"

Sasuke's eyes widened slightly. "Damn! If things continue like this, all three of us are done for! What should I do?"

Sakura bit her lip and watched as Sasuke stood rooted in place, trembling slightly as he balled his hands into tight fists until his knuckles whitened. "Sasuke..."

"Hmph!" Naruto recrossed his arms and grinned.

Shiore licked his lips and smirked and kept his gaze locked on Naruto, and Sasuke turned to watch the man with a scowl.

"It's no good. This is the only way." Sasuke's Sharingan faded and his eyes returned to their original black. "Wait."

"Hm?" Shiore turned his attention to the dark-haired boy.

Sasuke reached into his back pouch and produced the scroll and held it up for Shiore to see. "If it's the scroll you want, I'll give it to you." He held it out. "I'm asking you... just take this and go."

Naruto's eyes widened and his mouth gaped open. "W-What?! Hey, Sasuke! What're you doing?! Why are you giving our scroll to the enemy?

Shiore smirked and his eyes narrowed at Sasuke.

"You, shut up!" Sasuke snapped at Naruto.

"What?" Naruto furrowed his brows and gritted his teeth.

"I see. You're sensible." Shiore lifted himself to sit up slightly with his lower body still wrapped around the tree. "The only thing that 'prey' can hope for from the 'predator' is presenting other food in hopes of being spared, isn't it?"

"Just take it." Sasuke tossed the scroll toward Shiore with a scowl and Naruto's eyes widened.

"H-Hey!" Naruto jumped off from the branch, catching the scroll as Shiore reached out to catch it. Naruto landed next to Sasuke and glared at him.

"You! Stop interfering!" Sasuke shoved Naruto's shoulder. "Don't you understand the situation?!"

Naruto balled his free hand into a fist and pivoted his body, knocking back Sasuke with a hard punch to the cheek. Sakura's eyes widened as Sasuke jumped back to another branch, separating himself from Naruto.

"What're you doing?!" Sasuke glared.

Naruto kept his hands balled tightly and his head was down as he breathed heavily, each ragged breath shaking his body. He met Sasuke's eyes after a moment. "As for me, I don't remember the password... So, I've got no way to make sure. But you... you're not the real Sasuke, are you?!"

"Naruto!" Sakura stood and looked at the blond. "What are you trying to start?!"

"You loser!" Sasuke swiped his arm to the side and furrowed his brows. "I'm the real me!"

"Liar." Naruto's breathing remained heavy as he kept his eyes on the Uchiha. "This... this stupid coward... is absolutely... not the Sasuke that I know!"

Shiore chuckled under his breathand Sakura's eyes widened as Naruto continued.

"I don't know how strong this guy is, but how can you even be sure that he'll let us go if we hand the scroll over, huh?!" Naruto gritted his teeth. "You're the one who's choked and doesn't understand the situation!"

Shiore chuckled and his eyes darted between the two boys. "Naruto..." He licked his lips. "You're correct." He put a hand on his hip. "The scroll..." He slid his left sleeve up to reveal dark black markings. "I could easily just kill you and seize it."

Shiore bit his thumb and draw a line down the markings with the blood. Naruto's eyes widened and he ran at Shiore with his Kunai raised.

"Don't mess with me!"

"No, Naruto! Stop it!" Sasuke yelled.

"Darn it!" Naruto jumped into the air and kept his eyes on the Grass shinobi. "I've lost confidence in you, Sasuke!"

"Summoning Jutsu!" Shiore formed a series of hand seals before the boy could each him, and an enormous gust of wind knocked Naruto back. His eyes widened and Shiore now stood on the back of a large snake several times bigger than the one he had faced before.

Kotetsu, Izumo, and Mozuku stared down at a trio of corpses laying on the ground in front of a row of Buddha statues. Blood was splattered over the stones and Kotetsu frowned and knelt to examine the body.

"Three corpses." Kotetsu furrowed his brows.

"This is some kind of Jutsu, isn't it?" Izumo put his hand in his pocketed and grumbled.

"This is bad..." Kotetsu frowned and ran his fingers through his hair. "We had a problem, right from the start. I'll be damned."

Kotetsu glanced over his shoulder at Mozuku. "Inform Anko right away."

"Yes, sir." Mozuku nodded and flickered away. Kotetsu sighed and glanced over at Izumo.

"What a mess..."

Anko sat on top of the station outside of the gate to the Forest of Death, eating Dango happily and humming to herself as she chewed.

"If you're gonna have dumplings, you've got to have the red bean soup." She sighed after swallowing a bite, then took a long drink. She took another bite and thought aloud to herself, her words muffled as she ate. "Alright... once I eat this, I should speed through and go wait at the tower for those kids. With this program, the quick kids should clear it soon."

Anko threw the empty Dango stick at the trunk of the tree nearby, adding it to the others that formed Konoha's symbol.

"The Leaf Village's mark... Perfect!" Anko chuckled to herself.

Mozuku appeared in front of Anko, kneeling, and he looked up at her. "We have a major problem, Ms. Anko!"

"Huh?" Anko swung her legs and tapped her feet together. "What, so soon?"

"Corpses! Three of them!" Mozuku stood and adjusted his glasses.

"Hm?" Anko raised her brow and he continued.

"Additionally, they're strange. Anyway, please come see for yourself!"

"Strange?" Anko muttered to herself as she touched her chin.

Anko followed Mozuku with a frown and approached Kotetsu, who stood and looked at her.

"I checked their possessions and identification,"Kotetsu crossed his arms. "They're Ninja from the Hidden Grass Village registered in the Chunin Exams, but... as you can see..." His eyes narrowed.

"They have no faces." Anko's frown shifted to a scowl and she clenched her hands into tight fists.

"Yes." Kotetsu nodded. "They're smooth and flat, like they've melted away."

Anko gritted her teeth and reached up to touch the mark on the back of her neck. "Without a doubt... This Jutsu is... that man's... but why is he here at the exam?" A bead of sweat rolled down her temple and she turned to Mozuku. "Show me the ID photos of the three Grass Village Shinobi. It was on their applications."

"Right!" Mozuku held up his clipboard and leafed through the papers, then passed her the three sheets.

Anko's eyes widened as she recognized the photo of Shiore. "So, this one's face was stolen. So, back then, they were already..." She swallowed and remembered how Shiore had suddenly appeared behind her, full of bloodlust, with her Kunai held by his tongue.

"We're in big trouble!" Anko turned to the men and lowered her arm to her side.

"W-What?" Kotetsu blinked.

"You!" She pointed to Mozuku. "Let Lord Hokage know right away! Make a request to the ANBU Black Ops to dispatch two or more squads to the Forest of Death!" She turned. "Starting now, I'm going to follow these guys! Got it?!"

"Yes!" The three men stood at attention and nodded before disappearing. Anko's expression darkened and she touched her neck again.

"That man... has come back to the Leaf!"

Naruto got up slowly and caught his breath. He furrowed his brows as he looked up at the

"So cute." Shiore chuckled and crossed his arms as he looked down at Naruto. "You're such cute prey."

The snake's tail swung at Naruto, whose eyes widened and mouth gaped at the strike. It missed him, hitting the branch he stood, and he was thrown violently upwards.

"Naruto!" Sakura and Sasuke shouted out as Naruto fell, hitting the upper branches hard on his way up until he struck a branch. Blood spurted from his mouth and several bones cracked from the impact and his eyes fluttered shut as he lost consciousness.

Sasuke's eyes widened at the sound and he watched Naruto's limp body fall.

"Hm." Shiore chuckled and tapped the snake with his foot. "For the time being, eat him."

Sasuke gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, averting his eyes from Naruto as he fell. As the snake started to open its mouth, Naruto's eyes opened suddenly, glowing a bright red with slitted pupils.

Naruto twisted mid-air and furrowed his brows. "Shove it!" Naruto growled and kicked the snake's nose.

Shiore's eyes widened as the kick knocked back the snake and he nearly lost his balance from atop its head. The snake's eyes narrowed and he flicked his tongue. Shiore smirked and looked at the boy's eyes and chuckled to himself. "This brat! He can't be..."

Naruto growled again, punching the snout of the snake hard again and again, knocking it back until it crashed into the huge tree behind it and cracked the trunk.

"Naruto's... lost control..." Sakura paled and stared wide-eyed at him. "B-But... how is he so strong?!"

The snake swatted at Naruto with his tail, only for Naruto to jump off from another tree and launch himself as the serpent for another attack. Shiore closed his eyes briefly as his smirk grew, then he opened his eyes again and held up his open palm. Naruto's eyes widened as Shiore exhaled and released an enormous ball of fire at him. He cried out and was knocked back, falling once more through the trees until he landed on another branch.

"Those eyes..." Shiore looked down at Naruto as he coughed blood as he landed. "There's no mistake."

"That's... Naruto?!" Sasuke stared at his teammate wide-eyed and unable to look away.

"Hmph." Shiore put a hand on his hip. "This just got interesting." He chuckled and turned to look at Sasuke. "Next up is... Sasuke. So, what's your move?" The snake lunged at the boy, who stood frozen in place in fear.

"Sasuke!" Sakura covered her mouth and shouted at him.

Before the snake could strike Sasuke, Naruto leapt in front of him.

"I have to hurry." Anko furrowed her brows as she rushed through the trees, jumping from branch to branch as quickly as she could. "I have a... really bad feeling about this."

Sasuke's eyes widened as Naruto stopped the snake's attack on his own, blocking the serpent with his body. His body shook and his breathing was ragged. After a moment, he spoke with his head still down.

"Hey... Are you hurt?" Naruto lifted his eyes to meet Sasuke's. "You scaredy cat?!"

Sasuke stared in silence at Naruto's eyes and recognized his own words. "Naruto!"

Shiore raised his brow and crossed his arms. "He stopped the attack just like that."

"This stupid coward is absolutely not the Sasuke I know!" Naruto gritted his teeth.

Suddenly, Shiore's tongue extended and wrapped around Naruto and lifted him into the air, bringing him closer to look at him.

"Darn it! Let me go!" Naruto struggled and tugged at the tongue to try to loosen its grip. "You stupid snake-creep!"

"To think that the Nine-Tailed brat survived..." Shiore formed a hand sign and leaned in close to Naruto's face with a smirk. "When you get excited, a bit of the Nine-Tails power trickles out..." He focused his Chakra to his fingertips and small purple flames appeared on the tips. "You've grown up in an interesting way." His tongue extended down to lift up Naruto's shirt, revealing the seal on his stomach. "Look... The Seal is appearing on your skin like a tattoo."

Naruto gritted his teeth and tried to wriggle out of his grasp, but failed. Shiore chuckled and tilted his head to the side slightly before pulling his hand back and slamming it hard into Naruto's belly.

"Five-pronged Sealing!"

Naruto cried out in pain and the Seal steamed and sizzled. Once it faded, new symbols appeared around the Seal.

"Sasuke! Help Naruto!" Sakura held her hands to her mouth as she shouted at him. Sasuke continued to stare, frozen in place, unable to hear Sakura.

Naruto's body shuddered and his eyes returned to their normal blue. He went limp as he fell unconscious and Shiore chuckled as he looked him over.

"Twelve years since the Seal... Naruto's Chakra and the Nine-Tail's Chakra are beginning to act in sync." Shiore reached into Naruto's back pouch and removed the scroll. "But now... you're in the way." He tossed Naruto aside and his tongue retracted into his mouth.

Naruto fell towards the ground and Sakura's eyes widened. "He's gonna fall!" She quickly drew a Kunai and threw it toward him, pinning Naruto to a tree to stop his descent. "Naruto!"

She let out a sigh of relief as Naruto hung safely from the tree and then turned to look at Sasuke. "Sasuke, what happened?"

Sasuke stood wide-eyed and unblinking as he trembled. Sakura held a hand to her mouth and her eyes watered. "Sasuke..."

She swallowed and her brows furrowed. "Naruto's certainly different from you, Sasuke. He's a klutz and he gets in the at least he's not a coward! Not even a little bit! Right? Isn't that right?"

Sasuke finally blinked and his eyes refocused and he looked at Sakura. He averted his eyes and clenched his fists, then closed his eyes as a face appeared in his head. "Foolish little brother. If you want to kill me, resent me, hate me, and..." Sasuke gritted his teeth and balled his fists tighter. "continue to live your ugly, pathetic life. Flee. Flee and cling to your life."

Sasuke furrowed his brows and opened h is eyes, revealing his Sharingan "No!"

"Hmph." Shiore put a hand on his hip and smirked as Sasuke's eyes changed. "As expected of the Uchiha clan... his blood has begun to stir. I should take my time and confirm his true power."

"Sasuke!" Sakura smiled and her eyes widened slightly at his shift.

Shiore's smirk grew and he laughed loudly. The summoning snake vanished in a cloud of smoke, which blinded Sakura and Sasuke. When it dispersed, Shiore stood on a branch above Sasuke and he glared up at the man.