Naruto groggily opened his eyes and sat up. "Agh, that's one serious headache," he said, holding his hand to his forehead. Looking around, he saw various other classmates in similar positions. Briefly, he wondered why everyone was in the tournament arena, when everything came back to him.....
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"Yeah! I won! I won!" Naruto shouted as he blew kisses to the crowd. Neji lay unable to move in the middle of the arena, as Genma watched Naruto with a slight smile on his face. Naruto felt completely overwhelmed by the applause from the audience. Finally, they're recognizing my existence.
He joined Shikamaru and Shino at the competitors' viewing platform. Gaara and his two siblings, Temari and Kankurou, were lounging at the other side. Shikamaru offered some mild congratulations, while Shino stood silently watching the arena. Naruto moved to the rail, and saw Genma standing alone. The medics had carted off Neji, and the audience was obviously ready for the next match. However, there had been no sign of Sasuke, and the cheers that had accompanied Naruto's victory were slowly fading to boos at the delay.
"What's that guy doing?" Shikamaru wondered aloud. "Is he planning to not come?"
"A wise man keeps away from danger," Shino spoke up unexpectedly. "He made a good decision."
Naruto glanced over at Gaara, then back at the arena. "What are you talking about? He'll definitely come.
But what is he doing? Naruto worried. He's going to get disqualified at this rate.
"I'm afraid Sasuke won't be joining you," came a low voice from behind them. "At least, not for this exam."
Naruto whirled around to see a tall man with black hair, black eyes, and smooth features smiling eerily at him.
"Waaaaah!! You're the snake guy from the forest!!" Naruto yelled.
"You have a good memory Naruto," said the man. "Allow me to introduce myself."
The man's features twisted and morphed. His eyes became reptilian, his skin grew pale, and his features matured.
"My name.....is Orochimaru," he said, and grinned.
Naruto heard Shikamaru gasp behind him. "Orochimaru.....one of the legendary Sannin........"
Orochimaru shifted his gaze to Shikamaru. "Your knowledge is laudable, Shikamaru. You shouldn't hide your intelligence."
"Why are you here?" Naruto demanded.
Orochimaru laughed. "Why, to destroy the Hidden Village of Konoha, of course."
Naruto took a step back. "Destroy Konoha? No!! I won't let you!!" He glanced at Shikamaru, who began the seals for Kagemane no Jutsu (Shadow Copy Technique). "Don't mess with Konoha!! Kage Bunshin no Ju--"
He never saw Temari's fan until it smashed into the side of his head.
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Remembrance flooded into Naruto as he recalled the events of the day.
"Gah!! You guys, wake up, Konoha's under attack!!" Naruto jumped to his feet. "We have to help everyone!!"
The rest of the Genins were still in the process of standing. Naruto made a quick check of who was there.
Kiba was helping Hinata up, while Shino was able to stand on his own. Choji was searching his clothes for a spare bag of chips, and Ino was looking around wildly. Shikamaru was rubbing his head and muttering to himself. Neji and Tenten stood next to each other seeming perfectly fine, and Naruto was surprised to see Rock with his casts off. He was feeling his left arm, as if unable to believe that he could move normally again. Nearby, Sakura was kneeling next to Sasuke, who was sitting on the ground grabbing his shoulder.
"Come on guys, hurry, we have to save the village!!"
"Sorry, Naruto, but there's no village left to save," came a familiar voice from the rooftop.
The Genins looked up to see Orochimaru silhouetted against the setting sun. "Your beloved village has been defeated, Genin."
"It appears you are the only survivors."