The fans in the Hospital were running exceptionally slow this morning… causing a real heat rise. Exar's room was really a stereotypical view of hospitals… cream coloured curtains, a small white bed with white curtains surrounding it. Exar had only just regained consciousness, his last visions were a blur… he only remembered one thing…

The black dragon soared towards him like an arrow; it was seconds away from crushing him for good. Exar closed his eyes, prayed silently, and then looked into the eye of the demon. But after he opened his eyes, he saw nothing but a blur appear in front of him. The blur grabbed hold of the dragon, tearing it to shreds instantly, as if it were nothing but a play toy. Exar's eyes came more into focus… and his last vision before he past out were of a large orange jacket.

It seemed as if Naruto had saved him, and later that day, he came to pay a visit.

"Exar… first thing is… I'm really sorry for what happened," Exar gazed into the ceiling motionless, he didn't care much for apologies. "What Kirai did was wrong, and he completely lost control of himself. I will make sure he receives proper punishment for his act-."

"Don't," Exar spoke suddenly, "He did what he had to do… he won the fight at any means necessary, and is that not what they teach Jounins to do?"

"Well… yes… but still, he went overboard with something that was only a sparring match," Naruto's eyes brightened a bit, "However, as for the terms of your new ninja rank, I gladly accept you into the Konoha Leaf Ninja Jounin team!" Exar's eyes lit up, he didn't believe he'd pulled off that great a performance.

"Thanks! But… I lost?"

"Uchiha Exar, you have more speed and natural talent then I have ever seen in any other Ninja, there is no way the outcome of any match you play will deny you the rank of Jounin." Exar blushed quickly; he hadn't spent enough time with other people to be used too flattery and compliments.

"Thank…you." He finally said. Naruto smiled again, and patted him on the shoulder "So… youngest Jounin in Konoha history I reckon, second was Kaguya Apoc, he's in the room down the corridor. Well then, get better, and ill see you in the mission collection." Naruto winked, and calmly left the room. Exar relaxed into his bed when he had left. The day had been tiring, and he would need a long time to recover. He slowly drifted off into a deep sleep…

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Down the corridor, only 6 doors away, Kaguya Apoc stirred in his sleep. He felt a draft creep up his neck, and he lazily opened his eyes. He sat up carefully; the room was pitching black, except for the objects illuminated by the moons shine through the window. He wasn't sure how or why, but he was positive someone was in the room with him. No, not someone, two someone's. He tried to get out of bed, but winced from the pain, and that's when the figures in the darkness spoke.

"Try not to move Kaguya Apoc, you will only make your death more unpleasant" one of them hissed.

"Who are you!" Apoc tried to sound threatening, but his words came out in a croak. His throat was still soar. The two men looked at each other, and nodded.

"Since you are going to die, we see no point in not telling you. We are assassins Kaguya Apoc, paid to kill. We have been asked to murder you, and that's what shall happen. Why you, you ask? Simple. The man named Honoo Sage is planning something, something that will eventually lead to a massive raid of Konoha, causing many to die. And therefore, he cannot let anyone know even remotely what he plans to do. You overheard his plans, so now you must die." One of the figures drew a blade, and stepped into the light. Apoc stared back in fear, he had always been arrogant and cocky, but this time it was for real. He was defenceless, only a little boy and he was going to die. A yellow stain appeared in his crotch area, and he quickly tried to rush out of the room. One of the assassins blocked his exit, and Apoc gazed up into his gleaming red eyes. The second man appeared behind, and thrust his blade deep into Apoc's spinal cord. Apoc gasped in pain, blood splurging from his mouth and back. The man gave another quick thrust into his heart, and Apoc went still. He was dead before he hit the ground.

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The exact moment that Kaguya Apoc died 6 doors away, Uchiha Exar awoke from his sleep. He looked over to the doorway, to see a familiar figure standing there. Uchiha Kirai. He still had that smiling expression all over his face, and had a large packet of flowers grasped in his hand. Exar sensed he had nothing to fear, so he broke the silence.

"Can I help you?" he said.

"I just came to say, Exar-kun... Get well soon" he spoke politely and dropped the flowers into a vase beside Exar's bed. But suddenly, his eyes opened, and he lent in closer to Exar, "Because it would be no fun for me if you die here…" and just as suddenly, his face turned back to the smiling expression

"Goodbye Exar-kun!" And he walked out the room, leaving an extremely shocked and dazed Exar. What's up with this guy?

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The two assassin brothers made there way down the hall. They were pretty sure there next target, Anko, was in room 16. They slowly treaded through the darkness, but surprisingly stopped. A figure had just walked out of a room at the end of the Corridor. He had snow white hair, and was extremely pale. They recognised him from the Hidden Mist Bingo Book, Uchiha Kirai was the name he went by. The two brothers smirked. They only had the intention of killing there targets, but taking out a Top ranked Jounin would be a bit of fun. Kirai turned his back to them, and walked down the hall steps. The two brothers crept down the hall after him, and each picked out a kunai from their pouches. They smirked again, and quickly flung the Kunais into Kirai's back. The Kunais flew through the air, and impaled Kirai deep into his spinal column. He let out a gasp, and collapsed to the floor. The two brothers looked at each other with large grins, and walked over to his body.

"Easier than I thought" Omaki muttered, and turned around towards the window. Big mistake. Suddenly, Omaki felt a force smash into him from behind, sending him flying forwards into his brother, and together they went flying straight through the glass window. They both landed on the outside courtyard with a thud of shattered glass, and groaned as they tried to make it to there feet.

"Baka." A voice behind them sighed, and they turned to see a White haired boy standing with a huge smile on his face. Uchiha Kirai.

"Kawarimi…" Omaki muttered, and him and his brother rose to their feet.

"Pleased to meet your acquaintances," Kirai politely bowed, "But I'm afraid you must now leave my village."

"Hahahaha," The two brother chuckled, "And who's gonna stop us?"

"Well, very clearly, me." Kirai quickly pulled back his sleeve, and swung his right arm, causing needles to shoot towards the two brothers.

They expected it, and quickly evaded the needles, rushing towards Kirai at a fast speed across the courtyard. Kirai performed a single seal, and suddenly a mass of long fearsome green snakes flew from his sleeves

"Senei Ta Jashu!" He yelled, the snakes flew across the yard and enveloped one of the brothers, who were caught by surprise. They trapped him in a mass of slivering bodies, and so the second brother stopped, and ran to his aid. Kirai took advantage, and dashed across the courtyard. He flung a shuriken into the second brother's leg, which deeply cut into his shin. He roared in pain, and turned around. Quickly he performed a seal,

"Kage mane no jutsu!" suddenly, his shadow seemed to extend, and rushed towards Kirai. Kirai noticed it in time, and dashed away before it could get closer. He ran in circles around the yard, managing to avoid it, but the snakes had retrieved into his sleeve, making matters even worse. So far he was getting a good distance from the shadow, but suddenly he felt a large smack into the back of his head. He collapsed to the floor, the shadow extending into his. He felt his body could no longer move. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a third figure above him, clearly another assassin by the looks of his clothes.

"So you did need my help after all" the assassin said.

"Shut up and kill him already" on of the brothers yelled. The second brother rose to his feet, as did Kurai and the first one drew his sword. He sprinted towards Kurai, his sword raised, ready to deal the final blow. Kirai closed his eyes; there was nothing more he could do.

"Gamadosuzan!" A voice above him yelled, and Kirai quickly heard the sounds of slashing and ripping. He flinched, expecting to feel pain, but he didn't. He slowly opened his eyes, to see a tall figure standing above him. The figure had his sword drawn, a long katana, and below him on the floor was the decapitated body of the first brother.

"Karasu!" One of the brothers yelled, and the tall figure wiped the blood of his blade. Kirai saw now that he was wearing an ANBU mask, one that represented a wolf. Kirai's eyes turned back into the "" shape.

"Kakuza-san," he whispered "Thank you."

"No problem," the figure above him laughed, and carefully drew back his mask. What he revealed underneath was a very handsome young man, with fair long black hair.

"Got a distress call from this area, guess this is what the problem was." Kirai smiled, he had known Kakuza in the ANBU elite for many years, and he knew he would be safe now. The shadow slowly left Kirai's body, and he rose to his feet slowly. He turned around, to see the third assassin backing away in shock.

"I call the sneaky fucker," Kakuza yelled, and dashed towards the third assassin. Kirai turned towards the first brother, and smiled. The first brother got up, his face full of rage,

"YOU WILL PAY!" He screamed, and quickly performed a large amount of seals. Kirai was about to counter, but then he recognised the seals that were being performed, and smirked. How dare he try to attack me with my own technique…? And he quickly performed the exact same set of seals.

"Kokuryuu Boufuusetsu!" They both simultaneously yelled, and two black dragons immediately formed out of thin air, charging into each other.

On the other side of the courtyard, Kakuza was bashing blades with the third Assassin. The assassin sliced downwards, but Kakuza avoided to the right, swinging his blade towards his arm, but the assassin held into it with his sword again. They battled a show of strength for a moment, but then Kakuza smirked. He let go of his grip, causing the assassin to fall forward, and quickly drew out a second Katana.

"Funshi Suraisu!" He yelled, whilst bringing down the second katana and ripping the first one upwards, slicing clean through the assassin's neck, killing him instantly.

The two dragons on the other side of the courtyard battled fiercely, but then Kirai chuckled, and performed seals.

"Souryuu Boufuusetsu!" He roared, and suddenly, the two dragons span together in the air, mixing energies to create an incredible Black Tornado. The tornado ripped into the ground, causing a massive crater, and shot towards the brother. The brother was rooted to the spot in fear, and stared up at the monster before him. The tornado drew him into its vortex, ripping and shredding him to pieces instantly. Kakuza smirked as he watched the Tornado died down,

"Always did like to make a scene" He said. Kirai turned around, and smiled.

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Orochimaru didn't keep many things from his disciples, but there was one tiny little bit of knowledge he knew, and they didn't. For you see, Sound Ninja headbands are more than they seem. Behind each one, is an almost impossible to see "Tracker", which follows the person wherever they take the headband with them. Sometimes, with his old age, Orochimaru's favourite hobby is to sit at his throne in the evenings, and watch the mini screen, showing all the locations of his hundreds of students. He often enjoyed it to just feel that sense of power… that he knew everything about them, even the things they kept secret. He knew they happened to mourn at a gravesite every night, or that that they liked to pace the streets every morning, etc. The only problem was, he couldn't actually SEE any of it, and he just had to guess by the co-ordinates of the dots. But still, a fun game for an old man.

He never particularly noticed anything strange, people just doing what he expected, except for one night. He had come to notice recently that one of his Jounins, "Irakizu", had spent the last week spending every night from 7-10 in an abandoned warehouse just outside the village. Orochimaru wondered over what a man like him could be doing there by himself. Of course, that's when the thought hit him. What if he's not by himself? He continued to watch Irakizus screen thoroughly for the next week, almost completely forgetting about his other students. And for an odd reason, one day, he entered the fortress directly after 10 o'clock. Orochimaru was alert when this happened, but kept his cool, and watched the dot slowly. It cautiously proceeded along the hallway, and carefully went into Orochimaru's private chamber. He continued to watch the dot, as it lingered by the door for many ages, and then crept inside. The dot moved along the room, into the bedroom, and stood by the bed. Orochimaru waited for more movements, but it did nothing else. It stood at the bedside for 10-20 minutes, and then left. Orochimaru puzzled for many hours over what he could have done. If it was anyone else, he would have been worried over an assassination attempt. Ever since turning 65, he had lost all his cunningness and sly, he was now just a fragile old man, capable of being killed my many individuals. But Irakizu… he had apparently been awaiting this job for 3 years; there was no reason he would try something like that. What could he possibly be doing? The thoughts continued to buzz in and out of his mind, before he casually fell asleep into his throne.

He awoke startled the next morning, to see students frolicking around the hallways. He yawned, stretched his arms, and sat up.

He would have to make sure he spoke to either Kabuto or Irakizu before he entered his room later that day; he was still unsure what was in there. For now he would be protected by his soldiers, only if he let down his guard in an insane way could he ever be hurt in the main hall. He carefully stared around the room; eyes still dazed, and thought he saw a strange sight. He rubbed his eyes, and looked again, but there it was. Kaguya Rain was smiling at him across the hall, her long… sexy figure posing provocatively against wall. She bit her lip as he noticed her, and beckoned him towards her with a sly finger. Orochimaru didn't know what was going on; he suddenly had no control over his body and his urges… all he could feel was… I want this girl… she beckoned him again, and he rose to his feet, and walked towards her. Carefully, she slid back, leading him down the hall behind. He followed her, like the drooling, perverted, greedy old man he had become. Rain uneasily beckoned him again… as she started to remember the night beforehand…

Rain entered the small, dark, misty room, extremely hesitant. She closed it quietly, and walked blindly into the middle of the room…

"Err… hello?" she whispered.

"Hello, Rain-Chan" a voice in the middle of the room spoke. She jumped slightly, but then the voice sounded familiar to her.

"What… what are you doing here!" she whispered loudly.

"Its apart of my new job… Rain, I have an assignment for you."

"Oh, look who's acting like Mr.kingpin now! I got you in this position remember!"

"I believe you're confused. I am not talking about my job for Sound Army, im talking about my job that involves me working for the most powerful Shinobi in the world…"

"What…?"

"Rain, let me break it down for you. There's going to be a war soon, a large war, and you're either with me or against me. That is, with my master or against him. He has so far gotten me to eliminate Leaf's top ranked Jounin, Kaguya Apoc. He now wishes me to do one more task for him…" the man shifted in his seat "Eliminate, Orochimaru-sama." Rain's eyes widened and she moved back startled.

"What… what do you want with me!" She yelled, and the figure calmed her down.

"Rain, it's as simple as this im afraid. You will either, at 8am tomorrow morning, lead Orochimaru to his bedroom, and then leave it at exactly 8:05am, or, you will tell Orochimaru of what I have told you, and die." His words hit her like an ice cold slap.

She couldn't believe HE was telling her this, him of all people.

"Ok…" she nodded, and her flashback ended.

She was now at the door of Orochimaru's Private Quarters, and she checked her watch. 8:02 Am. He was slowly pondering towards her, so she decided to make him speed up. She carefully zipped down half her jacket, and winked at him. It had an immediate effect, causing Orochimaru to run hungrily towards her. She walked backwards quickly into his room, and he desperately followed. She walked over to his bed, and then she was lost. What now? That was when a fast pair of greedy hands spun her around, and immediately started to grope her. Rain's immediate reaction was to cry out, but then she remembered, and slowly let him have his way. It hadn't been the first time she had been used as a tool to pleasure him, it was just the first unwilling time. He licked his lips, and continued to feel her body, carefully removing garments he felt unnecessary, until Rain lay half naked on his bed. She was stretched out welcomingly, and he fumbled to gain his clothes of. He had a vast amount of wrinkles, causing a shiver to run down her spine. She checked her watch 8:04am… he slid onto the bed, putting his hips on top of hers, and drew his head in to lick her face. His long slivery tongue licked all the smells and tastes of her flesh. She flinched, and he murmured into her ear…

"Sweet, sweet rain…"

He carefully began to remove her last items of clothing, when a deep voice behind them spoke.

"Who'd have known death tasted so nice" Orochimaru span around, to see a smirking Irakizu resting against the wall. Orochimaru couldn't believe he hadn't sensed him enter, could he have been so carried away? Irakizu almost read his mind, and replied.

"There's something else you failed to see, you perverted old man." And quick as a flash, he performed a seal. Orochimaru looked puzzled, and then it suddenly hit him. He quickly hung his head over the mattress, and pulled up the cover. The colour drained from his face, as he laid witness to thousands of exploding tags, slowly turn yellow, and explode.

The Catastrophic explosion of three thousand exploding tags was heard by the entire sound village. The explosion tore into the fortress walls, shattering the ones surrounding Orochimaru's Quarters like dust, leaving his room completely surrounded by halls, and the outside. The fire roared on through the hallways, exploding everything that came in its way. People stared and gasped on the outside village, as the explosion disappeared as quickly as it came. The cool breeze from the wind was quick to blow the dust away from the explosion, to reveal what was left of the room. Everything in the room had been vaporised, even the two logs Irakizu and Rain had used for Kawarimi. Of course, Orochimaru had not been so lucky. Rain and Irakizu stood on what was left of the rooftop of the fortress, staring down into the bottomless pit beneath them.

"Is… is he dead?" Rain nervously whispered.

"Not yet." Irakizu firmly replied, and dropped down to what was left of Orochimaru's room. The first thing he noticed was a pile of rotting flesh on the floor. It was as if a Snake had shred its skin a thousand times, and left it to rot in a pile. But underneath this, was a very clearly alive Orochimaru. He was in total agony; he had lost every single layer of his snake armour, an advanced Kijutsu he had learnt, much like the Amour of Sand. To save him from the explosion, he had used almost all the Chakra he had. He tried to move, and he gasped out in pain, but he carefully rose to his feet.

"Ig…norant ch…ild!" he hissed, "Nobody takes advantage of Orochimaru's weak points!" Irakizu kept a straight face.

"Im sorry master, but it is time for you to die now, and the true master of sound to take your place." He carefully stepped back, and closed his eyes.

"Hahahaha! What makes you so cocky eh! WHATS TO STOP ME FROM KILLING YOU RIGHT NOW"

"Me." A powerful voice boomed behind him. Orochimaru's sadistic and insane expression left him immediately, and he turned around. There, floating on a cloud of fire in the sky was a tall young man with Dazzling spiky white hair. Orochimaru had heard recent stories, but never seen him face to face. He was apparently his new client, but he guessed he had been tricked all this time. The man before him was Honoo Sage. Sage smiled, again feeling the satisfaction he got when his very presence inspired fear. Orochimaru faced him boldly, his skin beginning to peel from the after-effects of the explosion.

"Oh, so who do we have here! A deceptive little coward." Orochimaru spat, obviously become very deranged, and loosing all sense of the slyness he had in his recent years.

"Oh why no, it was my good friend there who has deceived you, Orochimaru-kun," Sage smirked, "Im just here to kill you." He raised his hand slowly, and with a mutter of a word, fire began to form into his palm. It was then that Orochimaru realised how helpless the situation was. He was naked, burnt, entirely out of chakra, and surrounded by powerful Ninjas. Even if his fellow sound ninjas came to his aid in time, it was too late. His laziness over the past years to keep up his strength had finally been exploited, and he would die here because of it. Orochimaru sighed, and accepted his fate. It consumed him in a vortex of lava, and he saw the final sight before he died. The face of the man who killed him, Honoo Sage.

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It had been the first time, since Uzumaki Naruto had been elected Hokage, that all of Konoha's Ninja had been gathered to one spot. The village centre before the great Konoha Mountain was packed from Genin to Chuunin to even Jounin. Everyone had been told to come on incredibly short notice, and nobody was sure why. They fussed and talked in large groups, but finally the Naruto took to the stage, and began his prepared speech.

"Thank you all for coming," his voice immediately silenced the villagers, "Im here to give you all great news, for an old tradition has recently come to my attention. Exactly one hundred years ago on this Sunday, Konoha had their first Worldwide Shinobi Grand Tournament." The crowd immediately started a fuss, excited whispers circling the ground. "And, as I am one for tradition, I have decided to re-enact this Tournament, and for the first time in one hundred years, Konoha will again host a worldwide tournament for all Shinobi of all classes!" The crowd cheered mindlessly, although some were still confused. "Now let me explain. This Sunday, any ninja who wishes to take part must go to the outskirts of the city, near the forest of death, and wait for further instructions. Now let me explain the rules. This is a grand tournament, allowing ANY ninja, from ANY country or village, to come and take part. This will be a great show on which countries military power is stronger, and will once again decide who has the greatest vote among the villages. Any ninja may enter, but at their own peril. This tournaments first round WILL be a battle to the death, and so I strongly recommend no Genin take part. There will be certain individuals I deem to "outclass" most Shinobi, and they will be spoken to in private and taken out of the tournament. Do not wish to not participate just because, say, an incredibly powerful Shinobi enters, as there will be no "one on one" contests, this will be a battle of wits as much as strength. That is all I can say for now, what will happen in this tournament is up for you to find out this Sunday." The crowd seemed rather restless, talking amongst themselves, and Naruto realised he would have to explain more.

"Im sure a lot of you are wondering, why has this suddenly happened? Well that is actually the same thing as the prize for the winner. It seems I have come under possession of a Grand artefact, a sacred scroll said to teach amazing Justus, and it will be awarded to the winner of this tournament! Not only that, but the winner is sure to receive eternal glory for his actions. That is all; I hope to see many of you attend this Sunday." And with that, he left the stage, and so did everyone depart. Uchiha Exar stood at the bottom of the crowd, close to Uchiha Kirai and Kakuza, who also had not yet left. They all seemed to be pondering over the same thing. The fact that it was a tournament for ANY ninja from ANY country meant they could well find out what had recently been happening in Konoha. An attack, a Jounin found dead in his hospital room, and now this? It all seemed to be too much for coincidence…

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------End of chapter notes fairly decent in my point of view. All my friends liked it, but I doubt anyone from this sites gonna read this anyway, oh well.

Next weeks got a LOT of action, be ready.