A/N: First up to the two guest reviewers that commented: thank you for the comments and the romance is coming I'm just trying to build up to it. Naruto is in the process of learning Fuinjutsu and the harem has already been set I'm sorry to say, so I won't be adding any more to it. Next I will be trying my damndest to get chapter 9 out before the 24th because from the 24th to the 10th my beta will be out of contact. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, followed and favorited, I am so happy to see people are enjoying this story.

Disclaimer: I don't own.

Beta: Reenan Lefey

Chapter 8

"This time there are a lot of outstanding ones." He replied.

"Bah, that's fine. I'll cut them in half in the second test." She turned back to the participants, hearing the murmurs of dissent. "I'll explain everything once we change places. Now follow me."

Team 7 stood at a fenced area, surrounded by many of the ninja that had passed the first test. Sakura clutched her hands to her chest nervously, and Sasuke stood on one side of her looking up at the fence impassively.

"This place is creepy," muttered Naruto thoughtlessly.

When the moderator, Anko, appeared and started talking about The Forest of Death, Naruto couldn't help but think she fit well in this place. Both the area and the woman were creepy. She jumped down from the branch she had been standing on and pulled out a stack of papers from her jacket.

"You all must sign these agreement forms. There will be deaths during this test and if you don't sign this piece of paper it will be my responsibility." Anko said all of this with a grin on her face. "I'm going to explain the second test, and you will sign this paper after I'm finished then go and check in at that booth over there."

The explanation was long for a survival test with no rules. Basically what it amounted to was get a scroll, go into the forest, do whatever it takes to get a scroll that you don't already have, and make it to the tower in the center within 5 days.

With their scroll in hand they made their way to gate 12 where someone was waiting to let them into the forest. With Naruto in the lead, Sakura and Sasuke followed him passed the gate and into the forest to start the second test.

Right off the bat Naruto's nerves got the better of him and he had to excuse himself for a moment, much to the displeasure of his two teammates. When a false Naruto came back Sasuke took him out no problem.

Sakura was starting to become more and more discouraged. She thought she had gained more confidence and had improved, but with just two observations Sasuke had pointed out a major weakness on her part. She had improved in most areas except one; she still paid more attention to Sasuke than she did to her other teammate or her surroundings.

Naruto was found not too far away, tied up and struggling to get out of his bonds. Naruto turned his head away in shame while Sasuke cut the ties binding Naruto's hands and feet together. Once free Naruto rubbed at his wrists and ankles.

Sasuke stood looking down at Naruto, his arms crossed, and an arrogant smirk crossing his face.

Naruto jerked his head up, glared at his teammate, and growled at him, "Don't even say it Sasuke. I don't need to hear it."

Naruto got up and turned his back on Sasuke and Sakura. He walked back in the direction they had come from without saying anything else to either of them. Sasuke scowled at Naruto's retreating form but closed his mouth and followed, with Sakura falling into step with him.

When they reached the clearing where Naruto had separated from the team, they took a moment to sit and come up with a plan for if they separate for any reason. The password was ridiculous and long but Naruto held his tongue and just went along with it.

Getting separated was expected and when it happened once again Naruto wasn't too worried. He just hoped Sakura stuck close to Sasuke; Sasuke would be able to protect the both of them. What wasn't expected was the enormous snake that appeared out of nowhere. Then again the proctor did say that there were dangerous creatures in the forest.

Naruto kept his eyes on the giant snake and tried to think a way out of the situation he found himself in. It would be difficult to kill, but he figured if he could distract it he could get away; it was a mindless animal after all. But when the snake's tail wrapped itself around Naruto's body he didn't see any way out without killing it. Then it swallowed him and Naruto found himself in an even worse predicament.

Sasuke and Sakura faced another false Naruto. This one was a ninja from the new, unknown Sound Village. This one pulled out a Heaven scroll and seemed to know they needed one. The Sound ninja taunted them with the scroll and then swallowed it. Sasuke and Sakura appeared to be at a loss for words, both a little amazed and disgusted by the act.

The amount of killing intent froze Sasuke and Sakura in place. It was so strong they saw their deaths played out in front of their eyes. The killing intent was so much more than either of them had ever felt, so much more than even Zabuza could produce.

Sakura fell to her knees, shaking in fear, and tears streaming down her face. Sasuke knew they were in a bad situation and needed to get out now. He fought with his body to get his hand to move. His weapon pouch wasn't that far away from his hand but it was taking everything he had just to twitch his hand in the right direction.

Sasuke finally got a hold of a kunai and slowly got his hand back to the front of his body. Two kunai flew in Sakura's direction, and suddenly he was free from the intense killing intent, He didn't think, just moved as fast as he could push himself. In the blink of an eye Sakura was free and sitting in front of Sasuke, watching him pull a kunai out of his thigh.

Naruto didn't even bother panicking; he was in too much of a rush to get back to his team for that. He ran through a list of possible ways to get out. A kunai wouldn't work too small and would take too much time. He didn't have any seals that would work in a situation like this. His Ninjutsu list was limited, but he figure since he needed the snake to spit him out he would just stuff it full. So it all came down to his trusty Shadow Clone Jutsu. He produced as many clones as he could, and the result didn't disappoint since he made the snake explode instead of spit him out. Covered in slime, blood, and guts he left and started to see if he could find his missing teammates.

The snake silently slithered down the tree and hung from a branch above Sasuke and Sakura. Sakura was the one to see it and bring it to Sasuke's attention. They leapt back just seconds before the snake lunged at them and hit the branch in the spot they had been hiding. It didn't stop there though, the snake went right after Sasuke and kept him moving, not giving him a moment to breath.

When Sasuke finally killed it with a couple well placed shuriken, he landed on a branch panting for breath. Sasuke's face showed all of his shock when the ninja they had been working to get away from burst through the skin of the dead snake. Now the lower half of the ninja's body was that of a snake. It went after Sasuke so fast he had no time to move out of its path.

The kunai and shuriken that halted the snake-ninja were a surprise, and not an unwanted one. And when Sasuke heard the apology in Naruto's voice, he would never admit it, but it was the happiest he'd ever been to see the blonde.

Even with Naruto, Sasuke knew none of them were even close to this guys level and he tried to get Naruto to run. He knew it was pointless since Naruto didn't know the meaning of retreat, but he did his damnedest to get the blonde to run.

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief when he arrived in time to stop Sasuke from being hurt or killed. He ignored Sasuke when he yelled at Naruto to run. When Sasuke offered up their scroll, Naruto forgot about controlling his emotions and saw red.

Naruto's clarity came to him in flashes. One minute he was standing on a branch somewhere above Sasuke and the next he was standing next to his teammate and punching him in the face. Then the Sound ninja was summoning a snake easily twice the size of the one that had swallowed Naruto.

It hit Naruto in mid-air and knocked him into a branch. Naruto knew he was forgetting something. He had gotten hit hard enough to break bones but he felt no pain. He was trying to remember what he had forgotten, and in the process his body was moving without any input from his brain.

Sakura saw the change in Naruto, his strength and speed drastically increased, and she recalled the discussion they had with Haku. Now she got to see the Kyuubi's chakra working through her friend first hand.

The snake knocked Naruto away again and went right for Sasuke. It moved faster than Sasuke thought possible and was inches away from him when it stopped suddenly. Naruto was in between Sasuke and the snake without Sasuke even registering his presence.

"Hey, you alright? Scaredy-cat." Naruto taunted.

Sasuke opened his mouth to snap at Naruto but his breath caught in his throat when Naruto lifted his head to look Sasuke in the eye. Sasuke saw what Haku had been talking about that day: red colored irises, slitted pupils, the black markings around his eyes, and his whisker markings more defined than usual.

Haku was right, Naruto was more intimidating like this. Following that though was he should not be intimidated by Naruto of all people. Sasuke had no idea what to do. Naruto was holding off this gigantic snake by himself and Sasuke was just standing there dumbfounded.

Something slimy and pliant grabbed Naruto around the waist and lifted him off his feet. Face to face with the Sound ninja he saw it was a tongue and was a little grossed out by it. He held Naruto in place with his tongue and started making hand signs, when he was done all five fingertips of one hand looked like they were covered by fire. With his free hand the other ninja lifted Naruto's shirts and found the visible seal on his stomach. He jabbed his hand into the seal, causing Naruto to shout out a harsh scream.

Sasuke and Sakura saw the ninja drop Naruto who was now unconscious. Naruto had been using the Kyuubi's chakra but was still rendered useless by this Sound ninja. If Naruto couldn't take him down using the Kyuubi's chakra what kind of chance did Sasuke have? It took Sakura screaming at him that he was a coward to snap him out of his self-imposed pity.

He was not a coward. He knew that he wasn't strong enough to take on the other ninja but he couldn't just run. His brother's emotionless face popped into his mind. He wasn't strong enough yet but he would be. He would do anything to get strong enough to kill Itachi and nothing would stand in his way, not even this unknown ninja.

Sasuke closed his eyes, slowed his breathing, and cleared his mind. He could do this. Even if he was only able to hold the other guy off, he would do it. When he opened his eyes his Sharingan had been activated. He reached both hands into his weapon pouch and pulled out as many weapons as he had the skill to use all at once.

Sasuke thought he might have gotten one up on the ninja with his Dragon Fire Jutsu, but that didn't do much except melt the guy's face. The shocking part was under the melted skin was another face, not like the one they had seen, and the skin was unmarked.

Orochimaru was not a name that either Sasuke or Sakura would ever forget, nor would they forget the sight of his neck elongating and his head flying toward them to bite Sasuke. It was painful and dropped Sasuke to his knees.

Orochimaru faded into the branch he had been standing on without an explanation on what he had just done to Sasuke, only saying Sasuke would seek him out for power.

Sasuke only barely registered the words but had no chance to reply or even think about them; his whole body was on fire. Sakura stood with her hands hovering over Sasuke, who was curled over his knees shaking from the pain coursing through his body. She had no clue what to do for him. She had never seen Sasuke like this and it was scaring her. Sweat was pouring down his face and she could hear his teeth grinding together as he tried to keep any sounds of distress at bay.

Sakura grabbed his hand and laced their fingers together, trying to give any sort of comfort she could. When the sounds could no longer be contained, he let out a pained scream and toppled over to his side, leaning all his weight on Sakura. Silent tears leaked from her eyes, leaving streaks on her dirt covered cheeks. That's when she caught a glimpse of the black mark on the juncture of Sasuke's neck and shoulder.

Sakura now had two unconscious teammates on her hands, and no idea what was wrong with either of them or what to do at this point. She let her tears fall for another moment, then cleaned her face and took a good look at their surroundings. They were up off the ground but the whole area was wide open. She couldn't protect Naruto and Sasuke where they were. She leapt over to where Naruto was hanging from a kunai pierced through his shirt to the tree. Sakura grabbed Naruto and laid him next to Sasuke. As much as she didn't want to do it, she would have to leave the two of them and find a place close by that was easily defend-able.

She found what she was looking for easy enough. It was an opening at the base of the tree her teammates were resting on. Sakura moved them, one by one, into the clearing under the tree and set up some traps. With the traps in place and Sasuke and Naruto resting for the moment, she left them where they were and went in search of water.

Back at their makeshift camp, she soaked some bandages with the water and placed them on Sasuke's forehead, trying to bring down the fever that started raging through him. She noted his breathing returned to normal, but his face was pinched and showed he was feeling pain even sleeping.

She sat back and watched them closely, determined to keep her team safe. Sakura was exhausted and it was a fight to keep her eyes open. Then one of her trap was triggered, putting her on high alert. She pulled out a kunai and waited. She let out a gust of air when a squirrel scampered out from under a bush.

The three Sound ninja that showed up demanding Sasuke scared her only slightly less than Orochimaru. Sakura deduced that they probably would not be as strong as Orochimaru but they were more than likely stronger than her. She knew it wasn't a smart move demanding answers from these guys but she didn't have much of a choice. She needed information on what exactly was done to Sasuke so she could let someone know when they finished this test. And there was no question; they would finish it. She had that much faith in Naruto and Sasuke.

The Sound nin set off and avoided all of Sakura's traps when they charged her. Sakura had braced herself for their combined attack when a green blur positioned itself between her and the three ninja, knocking them all back in separate directions. Sakura fell to her knees, her sudden relief causing her muscles to relax. She looked up at the figure standing in front of her; it was Rock Lee. They both knew she was in no condition to fight but she wasn't going to leave it all up to Lee to protect her team, not while she still had the ability to move.

Teams 8 and 10 had shown up by the time Sasuke woke up. His return to consciousness might have been a good thing if it hadn't been for the black markings that spanned from the left side of his face, down his neck, and ending at his fingertips. The chakra surrounding him had a sinister feel to it and his face was twisted into a fierce scowl. When he spoke, his voice was low and gravelly.

The marks began to spread over the rest of Sasuke's face and then he attacked the three Sound ninja. He played with them like a child with toy soldiers. If he had put any effort into the fight it would have been a massacre. Sakura could only watch in horror as her teammate tortured one of the ninja. The grin on Sasuke's face showed a sadistic joy. The breaking of bones made her flinch.

Sasuke showed no sign of stopping and Sakura finally opened her mouth and started screaming at him to stop. She begged, but it didn't seem to be doing any good. Sakura had no energy left. She couldn't move, and Sasuke wasn't listening to her.

Naruto could hear Sakura's shrill voice piercing through the darkness that tried to keep him under. He could hear the fear in her voice but didn't catch the words. He opened his eyes and groaned at the bright light that stabbed at his pupils. Blinking rapidly to clear his vision he sat up slowly. Naruto could still hear Sakura's voice and crawled toward her.

Out from under the tree, he could see the scene clearly. It took a matter of seconds to register where everyone was and the state they were in. Sakura looked the worse of any of them, not counting the ninja lying at Sasuke's feet.

Naruto had no clue what had happened to the ninja they had been fighting before he had passed out or where these other ninja came from, but he could now hear what Sakura was saying. She was begging for Sasuke to stop, and from the look of the guy on the ground Sasuke had done a number on him.

Naruto pushed himself to his feet and walked past Sakura. The closer he got to Sasuke the clearer the black markings became. Naruto could feel the sinister threat pouring from the unnatural chakra surrounding his friend, and while he may not know what was going on he knew that Sasuke needed to be stopped. No good would come from anyone using chakra that felt like that.

"Sasuke," It came out as a rough whisper but the clearing was so quiet at that point everyone could hear Naruto.

Sasuke obviously heard Naruto say his name and hesitated before taking his next step. Naruto could see that talking wasn't getting anywhere, and he hoped his friend was still in there somewhere because this wasn't the Sasuke he knew.

Naruto walked up behind Sasuke, and as he was about to take another step, Naruto reached out with both arms and wrapped them around Sasuke, pulling him back against Naruto. Sasuke's body was rigid with barely suppressed tension. Naruto had both his hands pressed flat to Sasuke's chest, and he could feel Sasuke's heart beating rapidly under his palms.

Naruto rested his chin on Sasuke's shoulder and spoke quietly in his ear. "Sasuke, if you are going to kill them, do it, but don't do this. We only torture if we have no other choice, and you have a choice here. You have already proven you are stronger than them, so please stop." It was a desperate plea and Naruto prayed that Sasuke would hear him.

Naruto watched the black markings recede from Sasuke's arms and neck. He let out a shuddering breath and pressed his forehead to Sasuke's shoulder. When the black mark had retreated as far as it could go all the tension left Sasuke and he slumped further on to Naruto who supported all his weight. Naruto lowered Sasuke to a sitting position on the ground and knelt next to him, resting a hand on the back of the raven's neck. Naruto was afraid if he stopped touching the other boy the sinister chakra would return.

Sasuke allowed the contact, using the heat radiating off the blonde to ground himself. His hands wouldn't stop shaking.

The Sound ninja left a scroll for them and carried their wounded off, claiming they weren't strong enough to beat Sasuke. Sasuke watched them leave, a tired scowl plastered to his face. When the enemy was completely out of sight, he leaned fully on the blonde, allowing himself a moment of weakness and not caring about the shocked gazes of the surrounding Konoha ninja.

Sakura was envious of Naruto; he pulled off what she couldn't. He got Sasuke to stop and got those black marks to leave. Naruto seemed so comfortable embracing Sasuke, like he always did it; even though Sakura had never seen them touch outside of sparring. She wondered if she had tried to stop Sasuke like Naruto had would he have stopped for her too. And now Sasuke was practically in the blonde's lap. She bit back her resentment and took Ino up on the offer to fix her raggedly shorn hair.

While Neji waited for Tenten to retrieve their recently conscious teammate, his eyes never left the Uchiha. He knew the Uchiha clan were once revered as some of the most powerful ninja in history, but seeing such ruthless power with his own eyes was still unsettling.

Shikamaru was baffled. He liked to believe that was an uncommon state for him. The chakra that had surrounded Sasuke was like nothing he had ever witnessed, blood-thirsty and terrifying. It definitely had not belonged to the Uchiha. The black marks had retreated into a single mark on Sasuke's neck at the same moment the dark chakra had faded. The two events were clearly linked, but he couldn't imagine what could have happened to team seven to create such a mark.

He also couldn't help but notice the lopsided dynamic in team seven. Even at the academy Naruto had always divided his focus between Sasuke and Sakura, rival and crush. But now the hyperactive blonde was ignoring Sakura completely in favor of Sasuke, and the raven-haired boy was returning the favor. Even more surprising was that, even in the grip of the dark chakra, Sasuke had reacted to a mere whisper from Naruto when Sakura's ear-piercing screams couldn't reach him. Team seven had become a puzzle, and Shikamaru liked puzzles.

When Naruto finally pulled his attention away from Sasuke long enough to ask what happened, it was Sakura who answered, in the simplest form possible. She gave a careless wave in the direction of the others, "They all helped out."

Naruto flashed a sincere grin at the group. "Thanks," was all he said.

Shikamaru was trapped by a sapphire gaze. For a single moment, just one, a member of Konoha's Nara clan stopped thinking.

On The afternoon of day two found Team 7 beside a river. Naruto had stripped down to his boxers and was working on catching fish, he wasn't making much progress and Sasuke watched with concealed amusement while Naruto struggled at his task. The blonde had filled out a bit and Sasuke was willing to admit that he was enjoying the show. Just to torment the blonde further, Sasuke snagged three fish that breached the surface with a few well-aimed kunai.

Kabuto stumbling on to their camp was an unexpected surprise but Naruto was happy to find out Haku was still part of the test and that Kabuto had only gotten separated from Haku and his other teammate. They found out Kabuto had both scrolls and was going to meet with them at the tower.

Sasuke wanted to fight Kabuto for his Heaven Scroll but Naruto argued against that course of action since Kabuto had helped them before. Plus the blonde flat out refused to risk Haku's chances in the exam, much to Sasuke's irritation.

Kabuto offered to help them again and they followed him in the direction of the tower. As they got closer to the tower, they ran into another team. This time the battle was brief and breathtakingly easy. Naruto had to wonder if the ninja they had faced in the forest so far had been genin at all, especially since they all seemed to be after Sasuke rather than the scrolls.

After defeating this new team, they finally had the Heaven Scroll they had been searching for. They spent the night resting and made it to the tower mid-morning on day three. At the tower Kabuto left them to meet up with his team and promised to let Haku know that Naruto and his team made it.

Opening the scrolls revealed Iruka and the passing of the second test. Since they had two and a half days left before the second test concluded, they were shown to rooms in the tower for them to stay.

The next morning there was a knock on the door of the room Sasuke and Naruto were sharing. Sakura had already joined the boys earlier that morning and all of them were laying around, getting what rest they could before the third test started.

Kakashi entered the room and explained he would have to take Sasuke with them for a little while. He explained to all of them what the mark on Sasuke was and who it was that put it on him. He let them know he was going to seal it so it wouldn't cause Sasuke any more problems and left, with Sasuke in tow.

The sealing process only took a couple hours. Kakashi carried a passed out Sasuke to his room and asked Naruto to take care of him. He told the blonde that Sasuke would be fine by the next night. Naruto moved his futon to lay next to the unconscious Uchiha. He fell asleep that night watching the rise and fall of Sasuke's chest.

Naruto barely left Sasuke's side the next day, using every excuse to touch the brunette and generally making Sakura feel like a third wheel, even as she fussed over Sasuke herself. For his part, Sasuke seemed shaken enough to allow the attention without too much protest.

By the morning of the fifth day, Sasuke was back to his old emotionless self and Naruto and Sakura could barely contain their relief.

At the start of the Third Test, all teams that had passed the Second were lined up in a big open room. Naruto wasted no time catching Haku's eye and waving frantically before flashing the other boy a thumbs-up. Haku smiled and waved back before snapping to attention with his team. Sasuke clenched his jaw and attempted to tune out the blonde's antics.

The Hokage stood in front of the room on a raised platform. All the Jounin Sensei's were there as well as a few Chunin and the Proctor.

"First off, for the Second Test, congratulations on passing," The Hokage's voice boomed out over all the passing Genin. "Now I will explain the Third Test."