The spectators all watched Sasuke's resistance gradually weakening. He cried out as his Chakra was siphoned, though the sound had began to soften. Sakura clasped her hands together in front of her and Naruto gripped the rail tightly and clenched his jaw.

"Y-You..." Sasuke's eyes fluttered shut and his grip on Yoroi's arm loosened until his arms fell limp to the ground.

"Yes... Yoroi has the rare ability to absorb Chakra. It's a magnificent art that absorbs the spiritual and physical energy simply by holding his palm against his opponent's body. And, if all of your own Chakra is absorbed, Sasuke, you'll be forced to rely solely on the power of my Curse Mark."

Sasuke cried out in pain, his eyes bursting open as the last of his Chakra was drained.

"Now, release that luscious power! That is the only way left you have to survive."

"Y-You... little..." Sasuke balled his hand into a tight fight, then lifted his leg and kicked Yoroi hard in the stomach. It surprised him and knocked him back. Sasuke sat up slowly and glared at his opponent.

Yoroi stood and chuckled. "To think you still have the strength left to resist, though you're only a guinea pig."

"That was a close one..." Sasuke's breathing was heavy and his legs still would not support his weight.

"Put your mind at ease, boy. I'll end this right away."

Yoroi gathered Chakra to his hand and rushed at Sasuke as he stood, swiping at the boy only for him to dodge the attack. Sasuke staggered slightly as he regained his balance. He narrowly dodged a series of swipes, and the Chakra gathered around Yoroi's hand grazed his ear. He groaned and staggered away before stopping and gritting his teeth.

"Hey, what's the matter?" Yoroi laughed. "Are you already finished?"

Sasuke spun to quickly deliver a kick, and Yoroi jumped back to dodge.

"His aim is a single, close-quarter attack. What should I do? At this rate, I'm bound to lose. I can't let that happen."

Gaara stared down at the dark-haired boy with his arms crossed. "Sasuke Uchiha, is this the best you can do?"

"Sasuke..." Lee grabbed the rail tightly as he stood beside Naruto.

Sakura shut her eyes tightly and looked away, clasping her hands together tighter. Naruto's grip on the rail loosened and he turned to watch her expression briefly. His brows furrowed and he turned back to Sasuke.

"Sasuke! You call yourself an Uchiha and a member of Team Seven like that?! Stop looking so lame! You're supposed to be a winner!"

"That guy..." Sasuke looked at Naruto as he caught his breath and his eyes widened slightly as he looked at Lee. "That's it!"

"Hm?" Hayate watched at Yoroi gathered Chakra to his hand once again and ran at the boy.

"You can't afford to be inattentive!"

Sasuke dodged each strike and each of the Chunin and Jonin watching wore a similar expression on their face.

"Is this as far as it goes?"

Sasuke smirked, and Yoroi blinked.

"He vanished?"

Rock Lee's eyes widened as he watched the scene unfolding before him. Sasuke had dropped to the ground below Yoroi's line of sight, then kicked directly up at the man's jaw. The sound of bone cracking echoed throughout the room and a small amount of blood spurted from his bit tongue. Sasuke landed on all fours, and then leaped high into the air to follow his opponent.

"That's my...!" Lee's mouth gaped and he leaned forward.

"What?!" Guy's own eyes widened slightly as he recognized the technique.

"Huh?" Naruto blinked to be sure at what he was seeing. "Isn't that Bushy Brow's technique?!"

"From here on, this is all my own." Sasuke smirked and appeared behind Yoroi and pressed two fingers against his back. "It'll be over after this."

"The Dancing Leaf Shadow?" Yoroi mumbled and Sasuke's jaw clenched suddenly. The Mark throbbed and glowed like burning embers, and he cried out quietly and spat out blood. His body tensed and the muscles in his limbs twitched.

"Damn it! It's responding every time!" Sasuke shut his eyes as the pain surged and Sakura's pleading cry whispered in the back of his mind. "Please, Sasuke! I'm begging you! Please stop!" Naruto's shouts followed after. "Sasuke! You call yourself an Uchiha and a member of Team Seven like that?! Stop looking so lame!" His eyes burst open and he gritted his teeth. "To think that those two would be worried about me..."

"Is this it?" Kakashi watched his student carefully. "Does he not have the strength to suppress it, after all?"

Is that the Curse Mark?! Natsumi gripped the railing and watched as it spread from Sasuke's neck to slowly creep down his arm and over his face. As she blinked, she concentrated briefly and then frowned. There's no mistake. That's Orochimaru's Chakra. She glared across the room at the Oto Jonin, who was smirking broadly. Was this part of your plan, too?

"Why has he hesitated?" Hasu brushed his hand against Natsumi's and asked in a whisper. "What is that on him?"

"That's the Curse Mark we've heard about." Natsumi mumbled back. "That's what Kanna has."

"The...?" Hasu's eyes widened slightly. "What is going to happen?"

"I don't know." She looked back at Sasuke and tapped her fist against the railing. "You'd better not let yourself become his pawn, Sasuke Uchiha. You're arrogant, rude, and irritating, but you're better than that!"

"I refuse..." Sasuke balled his hands into fists. "I refuse to be consumed by this thing! The only one who controls me... is me!" The markings receded as quickly as they had appeared, along with the pain. The Mark faded to black and Sasuke smirked.

Hah! There's the Sasuke I know. Natsumi's lips twitched in a smirk and she glanced over at Orochimaru, who was deeply scowling. How do you like that, you Snake Perv?!

"The Curse Mark receded?!" Anko's eyes widened. "How?!"

"It looks like he's regained his resolve." Kakashi let out a short breath. "It seems I underestimated him."

"Let's go." Sasuke twisted his body and kicked his opponent's side mid-air.

"Your strength is gone." Yoroi chuckled. "Your attacks are weak."

"Hmph." Kakashi narrowed his eyes. "You're the weak one."

Sasuke turned his body again to bring his fist down on Yoroi's face. The bone and cartilage of the nose cracked and the man grunted.

He began to descend to the floor rapidly. Sasuke drove his fist into his sternum hard.

"I'm not done yet!" As Yoroi hit the ground, Sasuke twisted once against to drive his heel into Yoroi's abdomen. "Lions Barrage!"

Yoroi coughed blood and clutched at his abdomen and Sasuke slid back on the floor before he came to a stop. Hayate looked between the two fighters that lay motionless and he coughed and slowly approached Yoroi. He knelt beside him and pressed his fingertips to his neck.

Hasu shuddered slightly. "Is that man...?"

"There's no need to check." His eyes rose to Sasuke as he stood. His body trembled violently and his breathing was ragged, but he managed to sit upright.

Orochimaru's face twitched and he licked his lips. His eyes burned with excitement and, and he trembled slightly as he watched the Uchiha boy. "What a marvelous victory... for you and I both, Sasuke."

Sasuke wiped the blood from his lips and met Hayate's eyes, and the man coughed.

"I'm stopping the match from going any further." Hayate stood and waved over at the hall where the medical team waited before looking back at the boy. "Therefore, the winner of the first battle is Sasuke Uchiha. Congratulations on passing the preliminaries."

"Yes!" Naruto jumped up and pumped his fist into the air. "He did it!"

Natsumi let out a sigh and relaxed her grip on the rail. The fight finished without incident. I thought my heart was going to explode out of my chest if that Snake Perv got what he wanted.

Sakura broke into a broad smile and Kakashi looked up from his book- though he hadn't actually been reading it- and nodded slightly to himself. Sasuke's strength waned and he tipped over, only to be supported by Kakashi''s legs after the Jonin flickered behind him, the book still in hand.

"Well, as your teacher, I should tell you good job, Sasuke."

"Hmph." Sasuke smirked fainting and looked over his shoulder at Kakashi, who lowered his voice.

"Before that Lions Barrage, your movements were the same as Guy's Taijutsu. So, you copied his pupil's movements with your Sharingan."

"Sasuke!" Naruto leaned over the side of the railing and laughed. "You won but in such a lame way! Look at you, all battered up! You idiot!"

"That loser..." Sasuke looked over at the blond and frowned slightly. "But, then again, if it weren't for them..."

"Sasuke, thank goodness everything went fine." Sakura smiled down at him.

"Oi." Kakashi nudged Sasuke gently with his leg, glancing up at his other students, and then down to Sasuke. "I think there is something you should say to them later, for causing them to worry."

"Tch." Sasuke averted his eyes and made a face. He turned his gaze to Lee, who looked back at him with an intense look. "Lee, because of what I learned from our fight, I managed to save my neck. There's no telling how bad things might have been if I hadn't captured your technique with my Sharingan." He clutched at his chest and grunted at the wave of pain. "But it doesn't appear to be a technique that I can use too frequently."

"I see. When we fought before, he copied a portion of my technique that I only used once? So, this is the ability of the legendary Sharingan. Sasuke, you are quite a person. You rapidly get stronger. I think I almost feel a bit of... fear."

Guy glanced at Lee from the corner of his eyes and observed his student's expression. "For a sequence of high-speed Taijutsu Lotus movements, it's impossible to acquire this without brutal training that whittles away flesh and blood. No matter how much you use the Sharingan, it can't be mastered in such a short span of time. Moreover, the Uchiha boy's idea for that finishing move..." His eyes rested down at Kakashi and he crossed his arms. "Kakashi, that boy reminds me of when you were that age."

Tenten turned her eyes from Sasuke to her teammate and furrowed her brows. "Last year's undisputed number-one rookie was Neji Hyuga, but it's clear that this year's is Sasuke Uchiha. Between the two of them, I wonder just who is stronger?" She smirked finally as she watched Neji. "I may be biased, but I'm certain it's you, Neji."

"Really, he's something else." Kakashi glanced down at Sasuke. "To think he'd develop the true power of the Sharingan in a situation like this... What's most to be feared? The Uchiha ability, or the Uchiha willpower?"

"That was surprising." Anko kept her eyes on Sasuke and she reached up to touch her own Mark. "To think he was able to bring the Curse Mark under his control on his own like that... that's not something I've ever been able to pull off."

"Hmph." Kiri frowned slightly, crossing her arms as she looked away to mutter under her breath. "Itachi was better."

"Did you say something?" Natsumi looked toward her, and Kiri quickly blinked and held up her hands.

"N-No! I was just thinking about the last set of Chunin exams I watched. Don't mind me." Kiri's arms dropped to her sides as Natsumi's attention shifted across the room, and she looked down at the dark-haired boy below. "Maybe it's not fair to try to compare them, but I can't help it." She crossed her arms again with a sigh. "I'm too young to be this damn nostalgic."

Hasu gulped and he kept his eyes fixed on the unmoving Yoroi as Medics gently slid him onto a stretcher. "Does no one else care about his condition?" He closed his eyes slightly and turned away.

"Hey, what's up with you?" Naruto scratched his head and looked over at the older boy.

"It's nothing." Hasu managed a faint smile but went silent again, and Kiri nudged his shoulder.

"Hey. He's not dead." Kiri said gently. "Notice they didn't cover him with a sheet?"

"He's not?" Hasu looked back, and then let out a small breath that he had been holding. "I see."

"I wonder what's that all about?" Naruto narrowed his eyes slightly at Hasu. "Maybe he's afraid of seeing dead bodies?" His expression almost softened. "Did... something bad happen to him?"

"I was mistaken, then." Hasu smiled and nodded at Kiri, who smiled back. "I wonder what the next match will be like?"

Naruto frowned, and then scratched his head as he looked at Sasuke. "My match has got to be soon, I bet. I can't let Sasuke show me up!" Naruto clenched his fists. "I've got to win, too! And I'll do it in a much cooler way!"

Gaara's hand gripped his arm as he had them crossed and his brows furrowed. He trembled slightly and Kankuro glanced at him from the corner of his eyes. His eyes narrowed and he frowned.

"Tsk. Again?"

"Heh." Zaku smirked and glanced at Dosu beside him. "This keeps getting more interesting, doesn't it?"

"Kya! Sasuke is Sasuke after all!" Ino squealed and Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"What is that even supposed to mean?" Shikamaru sighed as she shot him a look, and he rubbed the back of his head. "This is as far as we'll be going."

"I'm hungry..." Choji grasped at his stomach and pouted.

"W-Wow..." Hinata whispered. "What a decisive win..."

"Hmph." Kiba scoffed. "That was nothing special. Just wait until it's my turn."

"Magnificent..." Orochimaru licked his lips, his eyes never looking from Sasuke. "Sasuke Uchiha..."

The medics carried out Yoroi, and another approached Sasuke.

"Sasuke Uchiha, please allow us Medics to treat your injuries."

"Not to interrupt, but I think this is beyond your area of expertise." Kakashi raised a hand to interject.

"Huh?" The medic asked and looked down at the boy.

"I'll take him under my care, so don't worry." Kakashi knelt beside Sasuke and lowered his voice, placing his hand on his shoulder. "I'm going to take you to a secure spot and seal with Curse mark."

"Can't this wait until the preliminary fights are over?!" Sasuke furrowed his brows and hissed. "I want to watch the matches and see who will be in the third stage."

"No. Now." Kakashi stood and closed his book. "Don't get so riled up. We can come back and observe the rest of the matches when we're done. However, if we let things go any further, the situation might become irrevocable. I won't accommodate you anymore."

Sasuke made a face, and Kakashi nudged him.

"Come on. Follow me."

"...Fine." Sasuke stood slowly and followed the Jonin out, and Sakura's expression fell as she watched.

"Sasuke..." She averted her eyes and looked down as Sasuke glanced over at them, and Naruto turned to watch her expression.

"Sakura's still down about what he said before... I know he was a real jerk, and I don't really get why he said all that, but there's got to be some way to cheer her up." Naruto turned back to Sasuke, and, for a moment, saw the markings superimposed over his face and neck. He remained in solemn silence for a while, and then looked over. "Say, Sakura... during the match... did you also see something strange about that Mark on Sasuke?"

Sakura's breath caught in her throat and she looked down, thinking about Sasuke's words from the forest of death. "Promise me, don't say anything about this mark to Naruto. This is also a... part of teamwork. It won't do to have him worried unnecessarily." She curled her fingers to form a fist and she paused. "What do I do? Sasuke made me promise to not tell Naruto, but I also can't just lie to Naruto... especially not when he's asking me directly. This isn't teamwork..."

"Sakura?" Naruto blinked and waved his hand in front of her face. "Why're you spacing out?"

"Then... what do I do? If I lie to Naruto, I'll be keeping my promise to Sasuke, but if Naruto finds out, his trust in me will be gone. But if I tell Naruto the truth, Sasuke will be angry and won't trust me." Sakura opened her eyes and hugged her arms close. "I'm not sure what to do." She gripped her arms and shut her eyes again. "But then... Sasuke also did snap before and say that it wasn't any of our business, and to not get in his way. I don't think he's thinking clearly at all. He can't say that it's not my business if he also wanted me to make a promise like that. We're his teammates, after all... we're supposed to support each other."

Sakura gulped and slowly cracked her eyes open. "Then... in that case... I just have to do what I think is best for us as a team... as friends, and accept whatever consequences there are."

"Sakura, what's wrong?"

Sakura exhaled and then turned to Naruto, lowering her voice as she leaned in slightly. "Naruto, what I'm going to tell you, you can't go around telling anyone else, alright? Sasuke didn't even want me to tell you, but..." She paused and glanced away. "Lying to you doesn't seem right."

"Huh? Sasuke said that?" Naruto frowned and clenched his fist. "But why? We're his teammates! What doesn't Sasuke want me to know?"

Sakura tugged Naruto's hand to pull him out of earshot from the nearby group and lowered her voice to a whisper. "You that man Orochimaru that attacked us, right? And that he is the one who injured Sasuke?"

"Y-Yeah." Naruto nodded quietly, furrowing his brows. "What about him?"

"He..." Sakura paused. "Whatever he did, that's what caused that strange mark to appear on Sasuke. I don't know what it does exactly, but... it's not good. If it spreads over his body, Sasuke... doesn't act like himself anymore. You were still unconscious when it happened, but it was..." She shuddered. "I'm worried about what might happen if he gets that way again."

"Doesn't act like himself?" Naruto repeated under his breath, then scrunched his face in thought. "I don't really understand, but Sasuke needs us, right?"

Sakura nodded, and Naruto nodded back.

"I don't like the idea of not telling anyone about it, but if Sasuke's in trouble, then we've got to be here for him and do whatever we can."

"Thank you, Naruto." Sakura let out a sigh. "I almost forgot... how thoughtful Naruto can really be sometimes. With all of us working together, I just know that we'll be able to find a way to help Sasuke." She looked back at Naruto, who was smiling at her strangely with his face red. She blushed and took a step back. "N-Naruto! Why are you making that face?!"

"Sakura... you're still holding my hand." He pointed at their hands, and Sakura's blush deepened before she tugged her hand away.

"I-Idiot! Don't get the wrong idea!" She hurried back to where they had been before, and Naruto followed slowly, staring at his hand

"Heh... Sakura was holding my hand..."

Where are they going? Natsumi watched Kakashi lead Sasuke, who was holding his hand over the mark, out of the room. Her eyes narrowed and she turned her attention back to Orochimaru, who followed the pair with his own eyes. I'm getting a really bad feeling.

"Umm... now, then." Hayate stepped back in the middle of the room and coughed. "We'll get right to it and begin the second match."

All eyes turned toward the monitor on the wall as a new pair of names were displayed:

Abumi Zaku

vs

Shino Aburame.

"Heh." Zaku smirked and looked over at the Leaf Genin. "Which of these weaklings is it?"

Shino gazed across the room silently toward the Sound Genin, and Kurenai locked eyes with the Jonin from across the room.

"Both of you, please come forward." Hayate coughed and waved his hands. Zaku and Shino descended the stairs and came to stand across from each other. Hayate looked between them. "Well, if neither of you has objections or wishes to forfeit, we will now begin the second match."

Sakura's eyes widened slightly as she watched the challengers face one another. "T-That's the Sound Ninja who... had his arms broken by Sasuke!" Her lip quivered slightly and she looked at his arms, which were bandaged and hung from slings. "Is he really going to fight like that?"

"I wonder if Shino is going to be okay." Hinata whispered meekly, and Kiba glanced at her from the corner of his eyes.

"What do you mean? He'll be fine. He's strong."

"Kiba?" She looked at him, and he looked back at his teammate.

"I'd happily go up against almost anyone besides him."

Hayate stepped back and then coughed. "Now then... please begin."

"Now, Zaku..." Dosu mused. "How you fight will be an interesting sight to see." He glanced to his right, where Orochimaru smirked and then formed a hand sign, vanishing in a cloud of smoke. "Where is he going?"

Natsumi's eyes widened as Orochimaru vanished and her heart began to race.

What just happened?! Was that a clone?! Where is he now?! She looked around the room, and her eyes fell on the door. Oh no... Sasuke.

She gripped Hasu's arm suddenly and whispered. "Hasu, you stay close to Kiri, do you understand? There's something I need to do."

"Natsumi?" He blinked in confusion but nodded slightly. "All right. I will stay right here. Is there trouble?"'

"Stay with Kiri." Natsumi clenched her fist to calm herself as her voice nearly trembled, and she turned to walk away.

"Natsumi, where are you going?" Naruto crossed his arms. "The match is gonna start, ya know."

"I'll be right back." She mumbled, slowly stepping back.

"Huh?" Naruto squinted, then tapped his fist against his palm and leaned closer to her to whisper. "Oh, I get it. You have to go P-O-"

Natsumi blushed and then grabbed Naruto's collar with a dark expression. "Finish that sentence and I will eat all of the limited-edition ramen you've been saving up and make you watch."

Naruto paled slightly and gulped, then nodded. Natsumi let him go, and he let out his held breath as she hurried down the stairs and left the room.

"Yikes..." He scratched his head. "When did she get so scary?"

"If you fight me, you'll be finished. Withdraw." Shino narrowed his eyes behind his glasses and Zaku smirked slightly.

"Unfortunately for you, this one still works." He moved his left arm slightly in the sling and glanced down at it, sliding his arm out to hold it out in front of him as he dropped into a low stance. "On arm is enough to take care of you!" He sprang forward to rush at Shino and swung his arm at his head.

Shino blocked with his forearm without moving and maintained his composure. "You can't beat me with only one arm."

"Stop looking down on me!" Zaku shouted and channeled Chakra to his palm as a low sound pulsed from the opening there. "Take this! Slicing Sound wave!"

A shockwave sent Shino flying back and he rolled to a stop, facedown and sill. Zaku smirked and stood straighter.

"Too easy."

Hinata and Kiba's eyes widened, and Naruto stared down as the smoke slowly cleared.

In an underground chamber beneath the tower, Sasuke sat in the center of the room where a large circular seal had been drawn. Kunai had been placed around the circle at intervals and Kakashi continued to write the remaining necessary seals over the boy's bare torso with his blood in silence. Finally, he stopped and drew his hand back.

"Okay. That should do it." Kakashi straightened. "Hang in there. This will be over right away. I can't guarantee it won't be painless, though."

Sasuke looked over his shoulder at the Jonin and nodded, then Kakashi formed a long series of hand seals.

"Curse Sealing!" He placed his hand over Sasuke's Curse Mark and Chakra surged into the area. Sasuke let out a scream and the seals glowed with a blinding light. The screaming echoed throughout the chamber and the sealing symbols were drawn toward the ember-burning Curse mark until they formed a circular mark around it.

Sasuke gasped for breath as the pain slowly subsided and Kakashi let out a sigh once the Curse Mark darkened once again. He fell forward onto his hands and knees, his breathing ragged for several moments before it returned to normal.

"Next time, even if that Curse Mark starts to kick in again, the power within this seal should suppress it."

"Should?" Sasuke gritted his teeth and glanced at the Mark.

"This Sealing Jutsu makes the strength of your will its foundation, Sasuke. This means, if you begin to doubt yourself or your resolve takes a dip, the Curse Mark will once again activate, and my Seal with be undone."

Sasuke's eyes fluttered shut and he fell forward, unconscious on the cool stone of the floor.

"It appears he's quite tired. After all that's happened, he deserves a rest."

"To think you've become adept at such advanced Sealing Jutsu..."

Kakashi's eyes widened at the voice from behind and the chuckle that echoed hauntingly through the room.

"You've grown quite a bit, eh, Kakashi?" Orochimaru stepped out from behind a pillar, his disguise gone and his true face exposed and twisted in a smirk. Chakra emanated from him visibly and he glanced down at the unconscious boy.

Kakashi remained frozen in place as the Sannin approached, only able to turn enough to look at the man, a bead of sweat gathering down his temple.

"You...!"

"Long time no see, Kakashi."

"Orochimaru..."