Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I do not own any licensed property…I need a life…

Author's Notes: I'm hoping to get up to halfway done with the prelims in this chapter. Again, I thank those who were kind enough to review. Here are some answers to reviews and maybe comments:

Dragon Man 180: I don't know when they will have all nine gates open, but it won't be till at least chapter ten.

Wayfarer-redemption: Hinata didn't use her bloodline to get the answers because Naruto used his demonic one and he had an easier way of communicating.

AraelMoonchild: Technically, my stuff is short and my fights could be better.

Normal Speech

Thoughts

Jutsus!

Chapter Five: Killer Forest and First Fights

Sigh, they had to give the wacko the job. At least she can play the part, Ibiki thought. Anko looked at him as if knowing what he was thinking. "Okay whelps; meet me at Training Ground 44!" Anko yelled. She disappeared in a swirl of leaves, leaving many startled genin. Haku created an ice mirror for her team to use while Gaara and his siblings disappeared in swirls of sand and Naruto's team blinked out of existence. The rest ran as fast as possible.

Once all the teams were there, Anko began her explanation. "Okay, all teams will receive either a Heaven or Earth scroll. The objective is to gain the other scroll and reach the tower in the middle of the Forest of Death here at the end of the five day period you are in there for. Please sign these consent forms; people will die," Anko said mischievously. Naruto rolled his eyes and began mocking her. A vein popped out of Anko's head as she threw a kunai at Naruto.

He dodged as Anko appeared behind him with a kunai at his throat. Naruto just sighed and activated Kyuubi's chakra. He focused chakra as a shield around his throat and wrapped his four tails around Anko. "What the…" Anko sputtered as she was thrown in the air. Kyuubi chakra receded as he calmly caught and set Anko down. "Troublesome genin who are too powerful," Anko muttered. Suddenly a long tongue appeared with Anko's kunai attached to a grass-nin.

"Why thank you," Anko said, "But you shouldn't sneak up on me." Anko seemed happy by smiling, but her mind was in turmoil. What is Orochimaru doing here? She thought, I must tell Hokage-sama. Naruto was silently raging himself as Anko took her kunai. That's not a genin. Hell, that's not even a chuunin. It seems like that's the snake freak Orochimaru. I'll have to watch him, he thought. Anko passed out the forms and everyone went to decide to sign them.

"Hey Naruto, did you have to go demon?" Hinata asked. Naruto silently signed his form. Hinata immediately knew something was wrong. "What's wrong?" Hinata asked as Hanabi approached. "Orochimaru is here after Sasuke," Naruto said. The twins stiffened. "What can we do?" Hanabi asked. Naruto contemplated for a moment. "In the forest, we will find Sasuke's team and you guys will help them as I fight Orochimaru. I'm the only one who stands a chance," he said. He drew his katana and began storing chakra in it. The girls nodded and they went to grab their Heaven scroll. Team seven soon had turned in their forms for an Earth scroll.

Naruto and the Hyuugas stood outside their gate as they waited to be let in. Six teams dropped out, leaving twenty-two teams of which only half could succeed. As soon as their gate opened, team six charged in with bloodlines flaring in search of Sasuke. They wouldn't find Sasuke in a very good position though. Team seven was not going to have a fun time.

Sakura stood watch in a tree as Sasuke and Haku set up their base camp for the duration of the test. They had hollowed out a tree and were putting up traps and camouflage. Haku had placed an ice barrier in the entrance which Sasuke covered with a leaf genjutsu. They had just finished and were standing around until they felt a presence. They stood in a defensive stance as the long-tongued grass-nin appeared.

"It looks like I've found my Sasuke-kun already," the grass-nin said. The grass-nin pulled a Heaven scroll from his pouch. "If you guys want my scroll, you'll have to kill me," he said as he swallowed the scroll. Haku charged forward, but the grass-nin knocked her out, causing her ice barrier to drop. "Tsk. I only want to fight Sasuke-kun," he said. Sasuke charged forward, activating his sharingan. Sasuke and the grass-nin exchanged blows as they ran up trees.

At a decent level above the ground, Sasuke jumped back and formed a brief sequence of seals. "Gokukyaku no Jutsu (Grand Fireball Technique)!" Sasuke said as he shot a large fireball from his mouth. The grass-nin dodged and began slithering towards Sasuke. Sakura watched as Sasuke formed more seals. "Housenka no Jutsu (Mythical Fire Flower Technique)!" Sasuke yelled. Four fireballs shot from his mouth, but the grass-nin moved around them. Sasuke grabbed the nin as he passed him and jumped off the branch with the grass-nin held head down in a vicegrip.

They hit another branch with enough force to shatter the grass-nin's neck. Sasuke jumped off as the grass-nin turned into mud. A mud clone! Sasuke thought. Sasuke was suddenly kicked through the air as the grass-nin reappeared. Sasuke landed on a branch as he whipped out some shuriken with wires attached to them. The shuriken flew around the tree the grass-nin was near, causing him to be attached to the tree.

Sakura watched anxiously as Sasuke attached all but one wire to the ground with kunai. He began sealing a very long set for a genin. "Katon: Karyuu Endan no Jutsu (Fire Element: Flame Dragon Blast Technique)!" Sasuke yelled as a large tube of fire blasted from him into the grass-nin and further on through the tree. Close by, Naruto yelled, "Sasuke!" and bounded off in the direction of the energy surge with the Hyuugas in tow. "Good job, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura yelled as Sasuke slumped down. Haku woke up from nearby and came over.

Suddenly, the sound of wires snapping met their ears. "No," Sasuke whispered as he slumped over with bite marks in his neck. The grass-nin stood there peeling its skin off. "Well, looks like you get to see my true self, Sasuke-kun," the grass-nin said. He took his Grass forehead protector off once he was done removing the outer skin to reveal a Sound forehead protector. "Who are you?" Sasuke asked. The sound-nin smiled. "I am Orochimaru. I am the leader of the Hidden Sound Village and S Rank missing-nin of Konoha," he said wickedly. Sasuke then resumed passing out and fighting against the cursed seal's 10 probability of living. With that said, Orochimaru thrust his arm into the air and charged at Sasuke saying, "Kattakusa Katana no Jutsu (Grass-Cutter Blade Technique)!" A green blade formed on Orochimaru's arm as he went to bring it down on Sakura, who was near Sasuke.

With a clang, everyone looked up. Naruto's glowing Kyuubi Katana was pushing down on Orochimaru's grass-cutter blade. "Yo snake freak, bite this! Ryuujin Kiritateru no Jutsu (Dragon King Slash Technique)!" Naruto yelled as he pushed more against Orochimaru. The blast burst from Naruto's blade, engulfing Orochimaru. His screams could be heard loud and clear. Jiraiya, who was called into the forest at news of Orochimaru, jumped at his old teammate's screams. He ran toward the source of the screams.

"Quick, get hidden," Naruto said to his team and team seven. They bounded off, with the Hyuugas carrying Sasuke to team seven's safehouse. With a few quick seals, Haku opened her new ice barrier for them and closed it when everyone but Naruto was safe inside. Hanabi was first to notice the marks on Sasuke's neck. "Th-That's a cursed seal!" Hanabi stammered. "Shit, I'm not a good enough medic for seals," Haku said. Hinata stood look-out, waiting for Naruto to approach the barrier.

"Pretty impressive move kid," Orochimaru gasped. "Shut up!" Naruto yelled as he ran forward, swirling a ball of chakra in his hand. "Rasengan (Spiral Blast)!" he yelled. Orochimaru sputtered as he was nailed by the imperfect technique. "Nice try, you failed it though," Orochimaru said as he began to turn into mud, "You haven't seen the last of me and Sasuke-kun will still be mine!" Jiraiya appeared as Orochimaru disappeared.

"You beat Orochimaru!" Jiraiya yelled. Naruto sweatdropped. "Sasuke-bastard had weakened him, and I hit him with the Dragon King Slash and my imperfect Rasengan. He still lives though.Anyways, he was able to put the cursed seal on Sasuke," Naruto explained. "Nani!" Jiraiya roared. Naruto bounded off to the hideout. "Come on!" Naruto yelled. Haku opened the barrier as they approached. Jiraiya ran to Sasuke and turned pale.

"Naruto, we're going on a private mission between the second and third stages of the exam if Sasuke survives this," Jiraiya said solemnly. Naruto looked startled. "What? Why?" Naruto asked. "We need to get my old teammate and a medical expert, Tsunade," Jiraiya said. Suddenly, voices came through the barrier. "Oh, Sasuke. Come out, come out. Orochimaru-sama wants you." Naruto did some hand signals at Hinata and Hanabi. The girls nodded, grabbed Haku, and went out to face the threat. Naruto, Jiraiya, and Sakura stayed with Sasuke.

Three sound-nin stood looking around. Three girls appeared out of nowhere and faced them. "Hey Dosu, they sent a group of chicks out," a guy with holes in his hands said before laughing. A girl with bells along her arms and legs smacked him. "Shut up, Zaku," she said. "Whatever, Kin," Zaku said. The bandaged man, Dosu, just shook his head. The leaf kunoichi glared at them. "Call your targets. Zaku," Haku said. "Kin," Hanabi said. "I guess Dosu is mine," Hinata mumbled.

The sound-nin were surprised to say the least when the three Leaf kunoichi attacked them. Zaku saw Haku coming and put his wrists together, palms outward. "Zankuuha!" he yelled. A mirror appeared in front of Haku and she dove into it as the wind attack shot through Zaku's hands and hit the mirror. The mirror shattered as Haku hit Zaku from behind with roughly ten senbon. Haku formed some seals and said, Kirigakure no Jutsu (Hidden Mist Technique)." Large amounts of mist rolled into the forest.

Hanabi disappeared into the ground as Haku's mist rolled over her. She approached Kin from underground and saw her frantically circling. Hanabi sealed from underground. "Doton: Doro Doru no Jutsu (Earth Element: Mud Doll Technique)," she whispered. Five dolls came from the ground and surrounded Kin. "Fubuki no Jutsu (Blizzard Technique)," Hanabi said as she finished more seals. The mist near Hanabi and Kin turned into a wicked blizzard as Hanabi's dolls dove at the surprised Kin and Hanabi, by aid of her byakugan, grabbed Kin's legs.

Hinata had just activated her byakugan when the mist rolled in. Thanks, Haku, Hinata thought sarcastically to herself. Hinata dodged just in time to avoid getting punched by Dosu or being hit by the sound waves. She took out a kunai and drove it into Dosu's chest. He fell over, but stood again soon enough. "Looks like you hit my armor," Dosu said. Hinata cursed as she performed more seals. "Dokubutsu Kaze no Jutsu (Poison Wind Technique)," she said as poisonous spores were launched onto the wind. Dosu laughed. "Baka, I wear a face mask," he said. Hinata cursed again.

Haku was slowly using up her mist as she created senbon after senbon. Zaku was somehow still standing. Haku charged forward, but was blasted backwards again. Haku stared in anger at Zaku. Zaku watched as she quickly sealed and put her hands on the ground. "Hijutsu: Denkiteki Aisu Katana no Jutsu (Special Technique: Legendary Ice Blade Technique)!" she yelled. Haku pulled a shining blade made of ice from the ground. With a yell, Haku charged forward and slashed Zaku's side open. "Shit! You haven't seen the last of me!" Zaku said as he disappeared into the background. Haku went to move and collapsed as the mist and her sword evaporated. So did her barrier, again.

Kin pulled Hanabi out of the ground and threw her at her dolls. Two of the dolls were pulverized as Hanabi hit them. Kin quickly dispatched the other dolls. Hanabi stood up and was hit by nausea and the sound of bells ringing. "How do you like me now?" Kin asked as se threw some senbon at the downed Hanabi. "Dobei no Jutsu (Earthen Barrier no Jutsu)!" came a male voice. A slab of the earth popped up and blocked the needles. When it receded, a boy with purple-black hair stood sealing above Hanabi.

"Ishi Ibara no Jutsu (Stone Thorn Technique)," Zeke said. Kin was wondering why nothing was happening when a pointed segment of stone pierced her leg. Kin screamed as her blood poured down the thorn. The thorn receded and Kin collapsed. Suddenly, Zaku appeared and grabbed Kin. "We shall return," Zaku said and they disappeared. "Thank you," Hanabi stated to Zeke as she blushed slightly. Zeke looked pointedly at her and said, "Get Naruto, his help may be needed." Hanabi looked down, but went to get Naruto.

Hinata dropped her poisonous wind and focused on dodging Dosu. She had just dodged an attack when she tripped. She flipped and saw Dosu punching at her. "Tsuuga (Piercing Fang)!" came a voice as Kiba and his dog, Akamaru, spun into Dosu, knocking him away. Dosu looked ready to attack Kiba and Hinata until Naruto came charging in. Dosu turned pale and set his scroll down. "I surrender, you may have our scroll," he said and disappeared.

When they all got back to the hideout, they saw Shino, Zeke, and Hanabi with an unconscious Haku. "Oi, Sakura," Naruto said. Sakura looked up and caught the scroll Naruto threw at her. 'Go to the tower now with your team when capable. You have both scrolls now," Naruto said. Sakura nodded. Jiraiya was already gone. Zeke stood up and went to Naruto as Hinata and Kiba checked on Haku. "I sensed your earlier fight. I'll be more than glad to train you and your team in the art of bear summoning," Zeke said. Naruto nodded in appreciation.

The next morning, all three teams set out to finish the exam. They all met up again at the tower. "Congratulations on making it this far," Anko said. The seven remaining teams bristled. "Unluckily, I have to step down to Hayate now. Bye," Anko said and disappeared in the familiar swirl of leaves. The third examiner stepped up coughing. "This is now an individual match exam. Will any single person like to drop out now with no risk of dropping their team out?" Hayate asked. Slowly, Sakura raised her hand. "Haruno Sakura, out!" Hayate yelled. Sakura waved good-bye and moved into the stands.

"Okay, since there are so many people left, we'll have ten preliminary matches now and the main matches in one month. You will be randomly selected. If you're not fighting, you are in the stands," Hayate said. The twenty genin watched a shuffling electronic monitor. "Uzumaki Naruto versus Inuzuka Kiba. Please step into the arena. Everyone else, stands!" Hayate ordered. Naruto gave Hinata a brief hug before they went their separate ways. "Come on, punk. Hurry up," Kiba said with a stupid grin on his face.

Naruto stepped up to Kiba. "You're going down, dog-breath," Naruto said. Kiba started growling at Naruto. Hayate decided it was time to start. "Hajime!" Hayate yelled. Kiba charged at Naruto as Naruto closed his eyes and whispered something. "Tsuuga (Piercing Fang)!" Kiba yelled and began spinning towards Naruto. A wall found Kiba. Kiba, being the idiot he is, began to push against the hybrid genjutsu wall instead of going around. Naruto began sealing.

"Enkou Hyoushi no Jutsu (Flame Binding no Jutsu)," Naruto said. The crowd watched as ropes of fire burst from the ground and wrapped around Kiba's limbs. Naruto dropped his wall and jumped at the snarling Kiba. "Kakuu Konoha Senpuu (Aerial Leaf Spinning Wind)!" Naruto yelled as he spun and kicked Kiba in the chest, causing him to be blasted from his bindings. Lee was looking on in admiration at the adaptation of his and Gai's taijutsu.

Kiba stood up as Akamaru trotted up. Kiba tossed Akamaru a soldier pill and took one himself. "Ninmenjuushin no Jutsu (Beast-Human Transformation Technique)," Kiba said as him and Akamaru turned into feral Kibas. Naruto watched as they charged at him and began sealing. "Gatsuuga (Double Fang Destroyer)!" Kiba yelled as Naruto said, "Raikou Hoippu no Jutsu (Lightning Whips Technique)." Kiba and Akamaru spun towards Naruto as whips made of lightning appeared on his arms. The sharp cyclones tried to pin Naruto between them, but he jumped up and backwards.

As soon as Naruto hit the ground, he disappeared from view. Sasuke was able to track Naruto with his weak sharingan. Suddenly, multiple strikes hit Kiba and Akamaru, causing them to collapse. Naruto blurred into view as Kiba and Akamaru lay twitching on the ground. Naruto's whips receded as he knocked his opponents out. "Winner, Uzumaki Naruto!" Hayate yelled as medic-nins removed the dog boy and his dog. Naruto jumped into the stands next to Hinata as the board went to work again. It selected two more names.

"Yamanaka Ino versus Haku. Come on down," Hayate said before going into a fit of coughing. The girls jumped down into the arena. Haku was slowly sealing. "Hajime!" Hayate yelled. Ino was about to charge forward when Haku yelled, "Hyouketsu Butoukai no Jutsu (Freeze Ball Technique)!" Haku shot a ball of ice which hit Ino. Suddenly, Ino was encased in ice. Haku slid across some ice and uppercutted Ino. Ino was broken through the ice as she flew through the air and hit the wall. She instantly passed out.

Haku stood in the arena with her arms raised. "Fatality! Flawless victory!" Haku yelled. Sweat drops appeared on everyone but Ino, she was passed out. "Someone's been playing too much Mortal Kombat," Naruto whispered to Hinata. Hinata nodded meekly. "Okay, winner Haku," Hayate said. Haku flipped into the stands as the board flew again. "Gaara of the Sand versus Rock Lee," Hayate said. Gaara and Lee instantly appeared in the arena. "Hajime," Hayate said between coughs.

Lee sped towards Gaara and kicked out towards Gaara. "Konoha Senpuu (Leaf Spinning Wind)!" Lee yelled. He kicked Gaara, who turned into sand. Naruto blinked for a couple of seconds in the stands. Whoops left Sharikugan on, Naruto thought. He had copied the sand clone technique though. Gaara appeared from a group of sand nearby. Lee appeared behind Gaara, kicking him into the air. Gaara remained impassive as Lee appeared under him and began to wrap bandages around him.

Lee was about to perform his technique when sand was wrapped around him. They landed on the ground, but Lee stayed stuck in the tightening sand. Lee was trying to break free, but couldn't move. "I…surrender," Lee said. "Winner, Gaara of the Sand," Hayate said. Gaara continued on, trying to kill Lee. Naruto was standing on edge. "Let go of him!" Hayate yelled. Gaara continued. Naruto jumped down and pulled out his Kyuubi Katana.

"Doragon Kasai Katana no Jutsu (Dragonfire Blade Technique)!" Naruto yelled. With his katana on fire, Naruto slashed through the sand connecting Gaara to Lee. The sand turned to glass from the heat. Naruto quickly released Lee for the medic-nins. "Why?" Gaara asked. Naruto glared at him. "Because he's my friend," Naruto said. Gaara glared back before going into the stands. Naruto followed briefly, his sword returning to normal. "Anyways, next is Uchiha Sasuke versus Nara Shikamaru," Hayate said. The two shinobi stepped up. "Hajime," Hayate said.

Okay, it probably won't be a good idea to use jutsus unless completely necessary, Sasuke thought as he ran at Shikamaru. Suddenly, he had to jump back to avoid being caught by Shikamaru's shadow. Great, I can't get close, Sasuke thought as he looked at the stands. Naruto was asleep (seemingly), resting on a deeply blushing Hinata. Atleast the dobe can't laugh at me, he thought. Sasuke pulled out some kunai and began wrapping explosive notes around them. He threw them at Shikamaru.

Explosions rained out as the kunai hit the ground around Shikamaru. The shadow user was tossed into the air and landed hard on the ground. "Troublesome. I give up. Protecting myself from those explosions used too much chakra," Shikamaru said before passing out. Hayate sighed. "Winner, Uchiha Sasuke," Hayate said. Sasuke went into the stands to watch the next match. "Tenten versus Temari!" Hayate yelled. Naruto instantly 'woke up'. Tenten's in trouble. Her weapons won't hit, he thought.

The two kunoichi jumped into the arena. "Hajime," Hayate said. Tenten began whipping kunai and shuriken at Temari. Temari whipped her fan out and blew the weapons away in one movement. Tenten pulled a couple scrolls from her pouches. She opened one and tossed it in the air. Weapons of all types flew from the scroll at Temari. She then flicked the other scroll open and threw it under Temari.

Temari began swinging her fan, deflecting the weapons with the wind made. Suddenly, she saw the scroll under her. "Oh, shit," Temari said as weapons poured out. Only a few weapons nailed her before she got out of the way. "You bitch!" Temari yelled as she fully opened her fan. She put her fan on the ground and brought it up quickly, causing Tenten to be tossed into the air from the wind.

"Kyuukyoku Suraisu Kaze no Jutsu (Ultimate Slicing Wind Technique)!" Temari yelled. Huge blades of air began blasting into Tenten. Tenten's screams could be heard on the ground. Once the wind died down, Tenten slowly fell, barely conscious. Temari closed her fan and stood it under Tenten. Tenten's back slammed into the fan and she lost consciousness. "Winner, Temari," Hayate said with a cough. The fighters receded from the field as the board selected more names.

"Aburame Shino versus Kankuro," Hayate said. The two combatants moved into the arena. Kankuro had pulled his package off. "Hajime," Hayate called out. Kankuro threw his package out, attaching chakra strings to it and unwinding it. Shino just stood there. Out of the package popped a puppet. Shino waited till the puppet approached him before hitting it. A group of bugs came out and landed on the puppet. The puppet didn't even recoil from Shino's weak punch.

It was evident what Shino did when Kankuro's chakra strings began faltering. Shino's bugs were eating the chakra. "Karasu! Get him!" Kankuro yelled. The puppet, Karasu, nailed Shino in the stomach, which turned him into a swarm of bugs. The chakra-eating bugs either attached to Karasu or flew onto Kankuro. From the large amount of bugs, Kankuro soon passed out. Shino reappeared and withdrew his bugs. "He's out," Shino said. Hayate nodded. "Winner, Aburame Shino," Hayate said.

The board spun as Shino left and Kankuro was removed. Tension hung in the air as the first name was chosen, Hyuuga Neji. The owner of the first name jumped into the arena. People watched the board choose the next name. "Hyuuga Neji versus Hyuuga Hinata," Hayate said.

Author's Notes: Okay, I finally have this chapter out. For this chapter, there's a reason the fights are so short. The combatants are still worn out from the Forest of Death. Anyways, as always, please review. Also, here's a translation incase anyone wants to know the word.

Hajime-Start