A/N: Hello again you guys. I know I said I was gonna slow down, but I can't. While I was at work today, my writer's block finally broke wide open. It was really getting to me last night while I couldn't figure out what to do. Couldn't sleep. It's a problem when that happens. But like my teacher says: every problem is an opportunity. So, I took the opportunity being by myself presented. While I was at work, on the clock, I slacked off and wrote about five pages. So, in this lovely chapter, we see what surprised Sasuke so much! It's a doozie. Also, I've decided to make Sonora the silent type, until they really start paying attention to her. So you won't find out too much about her must yet. Oh, I've been threatened...can you see me shaking? Just read my latest review for chapter 1. I'm not repeating that. Really, who uses that kind of language in a review? Anyway, warnings? Um, mild language as usual, and a bit of violence, but that's not really what you need to worry about.

Legal Stuffiness: Ok, I think we know by now I don't own Naruto.

Time: 4.5 years after Sasuke's departure

Place: Konoha, Uchiha compound

Mission: Survival

Chapter 6: Walking Dead

Konohamaru's arm was on fire. How had this happened? No, I know exactly what happened. That freaky ANBU guy is just way too paranoid. He'd simply been walking into the front gates when he was taken by surprise by some kind of flame jutsu, which he had managed to avoid for the most part. After he finally beat out the flames licking his arm, he gritted his teeth, and formed several hand seals. He'd been hiding behind a post, but now he melted into the ground, becoming part of it. He could now move at his leisure. The problem was, even though Moegi thought differently, he had not perfected this jutsu for longer distances. The door to the Uchiha main house was very far away indeed.

He had no eyes, or ears at this point, only the acute awareness of everything around him. He was the ground. He felt the bird-beaked ANBU turning a slow circle, watching all directions at once, attempting to locate him. As he drew nearer the main house, the two young women he was sent to retrieve entered the gates, and were also attacked. Konohamaru's consciousness reeled as chakra flared from the girls, blocking the same flame attack he'd failed to dodge. Almost there…hold on! But as he thought that, he felt the jutsu failing, felt himself materializing, rising up out of the ground, and then heard the rapid footsteps of the man who was running at him.

The Sandiame's grandson had never crawled so quickly in his life. He scrabbled onto the porch, and was nearly to the door when he felt his injured arm flare in pain. With his fingers nearly touching the wooden door, he was hauled back, gritting his teeth against the pain. A foot was pressed between his shoulder blades, his blistered skin cracking as his assailant twisted his arm behind him. Still, he didn't make a sound. Kill me, go on! I won't make a damned sound, teme! As his arm was twisted harder, he heard and felt his shoulder dislocate. The only sound Konohamaru made was a sharp intake of breath, then banging his head on the plank flooring of the porch, attempting to uncloud his vision from the pain.

The door slid open, and as it did so, Sasuke found three things he'd never expected to see. The first was one of the ANBU assigned to guard his house attempting to rip Konohamaru's arm off. The second, perhaps even more disturbing, was that Hinata and her sister were behind the man, about to attack him, grim determination in their eyes. Sasuke's own eyes widened in surprise and awe as the final thing appeared to shock him more greatly than anything he'd yet seen.

Naruto, in his ANBU uniform, though without the mask, had his katana drawn once again, and had it at the other man's throat. "Hanmaru, stand down!" The blond ANBU captain's voice grated out, letting the man know that he was more than serious, and that if orders were not complied with immediately, he would be dead before he could take another breath. When he did not move, the katana was flipped around and used not for the blade, but for the back side, as a club. Delivering a crushing blow to the man's left shoulder, Naruto's steel broke bones, and the other man staggered away.

Konohamaru's arm fell heavily to the ground, and Hanabi helped him to his feet, grasping the arm that was not injured. Sasuke's attention was pulled again to his friend and the other ANBU, Hanmaru. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Hanmaru?" He hissed through clenched teeth. Naruto seemed ready to kill him.

"My job, senpai."

The captain snorted without any humor whatsoever. Sasuke saw his eyes flick to Hinata, who stood behind Hanmaru. Had the offending ANBU member been able to see the woman behind him, he'd have seen chakra flaring around her hands, though he wouldn't have been able to dodge it. It seemed that the young Hyuuga woman had taken lessons from her cousin, because what she did was similar to what Sasuke had seen Neji do to Naruto in the last chuunin exam he'd been present for. Small, tight bursts of chakra were forced into the man's tenketsu, blocking the openings, and surely causing great pain.

When she'd done with him, he lay on the ground, gasping for breath. However, true to his persistent nature, Hanmaru began to push himself off of the ground. Though he could not use his chakra, and he could not make use of his left arm, it seemed that he was not going to go down without a fight. However, the man's arms and legs suddenly drew together, and he went rigid.

"Got him!" Moegi's small voice was heard from the other side of the street. One of her scrolls was lying on the ground, and her hands were in front of her, gripping something unseen. The girl had summoned death wires. Resourceful…Sasuke had been standing in the doorway during the thirty seconds or so that this brief but violent conflict had been going on. Now, he stepped forward, walking calmly. There was something wrong with this picture.

His suspicions were confirmed when he came to a stop in front of Hanmaru. Sasuke reached up and removed the man's mask. "Here's your problem. He's not Hanmaru." The others goggled at him. "At least, he isn't Hanmaru anymore. Look at his eyes closely." What he saw, and what the others also soon saw was that the man's eyes were clouded with blood. "He's dead. Has been for a while from the looks of things. This is Orochimaru's doing." Taking a very deep breath, he said, "I suppose this means more ANBU?"

"If I have anything to do with it, we'll have at least two teams up here, if not an entire squadron. I'm getting tired of this, Sasuke." Naruto said this in a weary tone. It was true that they'd been dealing with Orochimaru for years, and that it was long past time to get rid of him. "For now, I want all of you in the house. Hinata, Hanabi, keep a lookout. Sasuke, seal all entrances. Konohamaru, Moegi, if you're going to be staying, you better be ready. This could be worse than the exam next week." The two young genin nodded gravely, but made no move to leave. "Kotetsu!" Naruto yelled into his collar radio. "Get your ass over here. The perimeter doesn't mean anything anymore. Hanmaru's been compromised. You're going to do me a little favor."

In seconds, the spiky-haired ANBU was standing amongst them. "Keep them all inside. Don't let anyone in or out. I'm going to the tower." The other man nodded, and Naruto pulled his mask down over his face, red-painted whiskers glinting in the sun. He looked at Hinata after throwing the reanimated body of Hanmaru over his shoulder. "Arigato, Hinata-chan." He said just before leaping onto the roof of the main house, then moving with great speed over the unrestricted roofs of Konoha.

The young lady blushed, and her little sister rolled her eyes. Kotetsu's monkey mask tilted to the left. "Ok, that's enough of that. Now, let's all get inside. I don't like it when the captain gets antsy." Once everyone was inside, Kotetsu worked with Sasuke to place seals on the doors and windows, allowing only those who were already inside the house to remain there safely. One other person had joined them, going unnoticed until they were all piled onto couches and chairs in the living room. A small girl in a long, dark coat sat between Hinata and Moegi, and she pushed her dark glasses up her nose. This could only be Aburame Sonora. Kakashi poked his head into the room, and said he'd be in the kitchen with his book. Honestly, he was getting lazy or something lately. Sasuke looked around.

Hanabi looked out of the window. She seemed to be thinking, and Sasuke didn't want to disturb her. Instead, he turned to the elder Hyuuga. "Hinata-chan, could you please tend to Konohamaru? He's looking a little pale." Indeed, the boy was not only losing color in his face, but was also starting to shiver. That wasn't a good sign.

"Hai. Come with me, Konohamaru-kun." They disappeared into the kitchen. Soon after, Sasuke could hear Hinata's voice, quietly telling the boy that "This is going to hurt." A hollow popping sound echoed down the hallway as the boy's shoulder was reset. Tough kid. He didn't even make a sound. Sasuke had been in his position, and though he was used to pain, he'd at least made some kind of groan the last time he'd dislocated a shoulder. The sound of running water came from the other room, and then there came a kind of hissing sound, and though he didn't know what it was, he wasn't going to interrupt.

Hinata had been using herbal remedies for some time now. He trusted her with this, and Konohamaru. Moegi looked worried, though. "Is he gonna be ok?" She asked, not really directing the question to anyone in particular.

"Of course he'll be alright." Hanabi said quietly, patting the girl's arm. "Hinata is really good at using herbs and medicines. She always carries some with her, just in case. Sometimes I tell her she should ask Tsunade-sama to train her as a medic, but she always says that she has other responsibilities. Your friend is going to be fine." The dark haired girl smiled faintly, and Moegi seemed pacified, for the moment. After about twenty minutes of sitting in silence, the rest of them watched Hinata escort the injured Konohamaru back into the room.

His shirt, singed and torn, had been partially cut away, revealing his arm to the shoulder, which was now tightly bandaged. He did seem more calm, which was good, and when he sat down next to Sasuke, he looked over at him. "That guy Hanmaru…he's dead?" Sasuke nodded. "He was being used as a puppet?" Again, the elder genin nodded. "Ok. Then I don't blame him for this." He looked down at his arm, which lay limply on his lap. With a mirthless laugh, he said, "Remind me not to piss off any more ANBU."

Kotetsu, who was crouched in the corner, pushed up his mask. "Hey, kid, come here." The boy rose from the couch shakily and shuffled over to the one remaining ANBU. They had a quiet conversation between the two of them, and Hinata came to sit once again next to her sister. Sasuke caught her eye, the obvious question in his eyes. She nodded, an encouraging smile in her face. He'll be alright. Good. Now, if we can just survive until the exam…

Neji narrowed his eyes. Orochimaru was getting sloppy. He'd come into the village himself, once again. As he stood before the Hokage with Naruto, looking down at the corpse of Sarutobi Hanmaru, he wondered briefly what the man was so desperate for. Sure, he wanted the Sharingan, but there was no real time limit for him. He had the ability to maintain his consciousness indefinitely, within any body he chose. So, why did he feel the need to have Sasuke's body right now? It was something to think about another time, as the Hokage had begun to speak.

"We've still not gained any information from that brat Sasuke and Sakura caught. He's clammed up, and now, I don't think we have any chance of making him talk. Kakashi's even tried a few things, and…nothing." She slammed a hand down on the desk. "Maybe we should just kill him and get it over with." The expression on her face at that moment was as close to defeat as Neji had ever seen her. She was starting to be really frustrated with the situation, and could see no way to improve it.

Suddenly, Naruto said in a low and almost amused tone, "Let me have ten minutes alone with him, Hokage-sama."

"What do you think you're going to accomplish, brat?" The woman snapped, her temper flaring as it always did with him.

"I think that I might be able to get him to talk, that's all." Neji wondered what he was thinking. Naruto was full of surprises, that was sure, but what could he do in ten minutes that three ANBU and Kakashi had failed to in nearly twenty-four hours? Sighing inwardly, he did what he usually did. He stood there, silent, waiting.

"Ten minutes, then. Your time begins now." After a short glance at the clock on the wall, the Hokage looked back to him, but he was not there. She laughed. "Think he'll get the guy to talk?"

Neji lifted his mask. There was an uncertain expression on his face. "I don't know. He's not the best inquisitor I've ever seen. He's sloppy, but then it might help with Kabuto. I guess we'll see in ten minutes." In the interval, while they waited, he leaned against the wall, and Tsunade looked over some papers. Eleven and a half minutes later, Naruto poked his head into the room. Twin expressions of expectancy graced both Neji and Tsunade's faces, and Naruto smiled broadly.

"He's ready to talk now."

Before he could stop himself, Neji's jaw dropped open. He heard Tsunade drop something on her desk. "What did you do, brat?"

"Henge no Jutsu!" Naruto said, forming the seal. He turned into Sakura. Oh, that's clever. Naruto used the image of the one person who would not hesitate to kill the captive Sound nin. It was obvious that he'd done something quite dastardly to get him into a talking state, which didn't really surprise Neji that much. "I just pretended to be Sakura sneaking in to get a few cheap shots in on him, and he was so scared, he wet himself…"

Tsunade sighed, shaking her head. "Well, now we know how to get him to talk. Naruto, you need a new team member. Pick one of the new recruits. Neji, get your team together. You're going too. We have to keep Orochimaru away from the Uchiha kid." She rubbed her forehead. "Damn, this is giving me a headache. Shizune!" The dark-haired woman appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. "Find Sakura. Have her question Kabuto. And tell her to be a bully." Shizune frowned for a moment, and then nodded as she left, her eyes flickering between the two young men before she did.

Neji wondered momentarily what Shizune did in her free time. It seemed that her life revolved around making sure that the Hokage did her job. The fact that she succeeded in that task at all showed her to be a formidable woman. Nearly smirking, he wondered how he would feel if he were reduced to being someone's secretary. Then, that thought was pushed from his mind.

"I'll be ready in ten minutes, Neji." Naruto smiled at him, and Neji nodded. The other captain was an odd one. He could shift from one mood to another in the blinking of an eye. Then Naruto was gone once again, off to find a fresh recruit for his team.

Bowing formally, Neji said, "Please excuse me, Hokage-sama." She waved a hand at him, shooing him out.

Naruto sighed. Hanmaru had been a good ANBU, yet he was killed. Too many of his friends had been hurt by Orochimaru. He sat in the closet that he called an office, and looked over three files. Three promising candidates, but which would he choose? Between he and Kotetsu, there was enough sarcasm in the team, not to mention enough general wise-cracking. They needed a straight man. He looked over the first file, deciding against this one. The second was a little to mysterious. Finally, he decided on the third. Thinking, he tapped the bridge of his nose.

Yeah. It'll have to be him. But man, is he gonna hate taking orders from me…They needed someone to level them out, someone who could make sure Kotetsu didn't get too lazy. Someone to gently question his orders if necessary, who would know if it were necessary. But, they needed someone who would be able to take orders and follow them with good grace.

He felt like he hadn't slept in weeks as he rose from his chair. Slipping his mask back on, he threw the files into his desk drawer and went out to get the third member of his team. There would be time to mourn for Hanmaru later, and he had to keep his mind on the objective for now. Sasuke no baka would be sitting there, being watched over by Kotetsu, Hinata, and Hanabi.

If only that Hanabi kid were able to be in ANBU…Now that would be a great addition to any team. She was fast, efficient, and level-headed. The only problem was her father. Hyuuga Hiashi refused to allow either of his children to enter ANBU. He couldn't have the heir and her younger sister running around on such dangerous missions. Oh, well. Gotta work with what you're given. Heh. What I've got isn't so bad.

"Is Shino-san at home?" The ANBU at the door asked, and was ushered into the Aburame house, to wait for Shino. He looked around, and noted the sparsely furnished space. It was immaculately clean, but he had not expected anything else. After a long moment, he saw the insect-using shinobi walk into the room. "Shino-san," The man handed him a scroll.

He couldn't see the man's eyes scanning the document, but was pleased when the scroll was rolled back up, and the assignment was accepted. "Taicho," Shino's deep voice came from behind the ever-present high collar.

The ANBU laughed. "So formal?" Shino raised an eyebrow. "Well, if you insist. But don't be surprised when the other member of our team doesn't exactly call me taicho." The Aburame's eyebrow rose again. "Heh. Come with me, Shino-san. We have an assignment." The Aburame briefly went into the next room to get a small bag, then followed the other. As they raced across rooftops toward the tower, the masked man said in a voice that danced with amusement, "If you ever get over that formality, just call me Naruto."

Shino made a noise that sounded much like a snort, and Naruto smiled behind his mask. So he can laugh.

Hinata's eyes scanned the surrounding area, through the walls of the house. She was watching the eastern half while her sister was taking care of the western. After nearly two hours, she saw ANBU approaching from the northeast. There were three of them. When they got closer, she could see also that one had a dog with him. An abnormally large dog. Neji's team…Where's Naruto-kun? Just as she was about to open her mouth to tell the others, her sister said, "There are ANBU coming from the west. Two. Looks to be Uzumaki-san, and another, an Aburame."

"More ANBU from the northeast. Looks like Kiba-kun, Neji-niisan, and Tenten-chan. They'll be here in a minute." She then went to sit with Konohamaru. His arm was wrapped, but she was still worried about him. Lifting it and turning it over, she asked, "How does it feel, Konohamaru-kun?"

"Hurts," he grunted. She had to resist the urge to frown. He was injured, so she shouldn't get angry at him for being curt. He looked over at her. "Gomen, Hinata-chan. Do you need to check it or something?" She smiled. At least he can tell if he's been mean. There are those who can't. She proceeded to unwrap his arm. There was slighly blistered skin over about half of his arm, and though she knew it would scar, it would not be a severe scar. She re-wrapped the boy's arm and smiled at him again, encouragingly. If he kept it bandaged, and applied the cream she gave him over the next few days, he should be fine by the time the Forest of Death portion of the test came around. If he preferred, it might be better if he went to the hospital. In fact, Hinata was considering trying to convince Sasuke if he'd make his teammates go home. After all, there was nearly a week left before the second part of the exam, since the first part would only last one day, and they would certainly be given a day between the first and second portions.

Kotetsu was waiting at the door, ready to pull the seal. When the knock came, he looked out of the peephole. Five other ANBU stood outside, waiting. He pulled the seal quickly, and slid the door open. "Get inside, you guys." Once they'd gotten in, he closed the door and locked it, replacing the broken seal with a fresh one. As all six of them filed into the living room, Kotetsu watched Sasuke rise from the couch.

He handed over a large ring full of keys to Naruto. "These are for all of the buildings in the entire compound. They're labeled, so you shouldn't have any problems." The Uchiha had anticipated their next move, and Kotetsu smiled behind his mask as his captain took the keys. It would be interesting to see what the Uchiha kid could do, but he wasn't on the exam staff anymore. He was just his babysitter until the second stage of the exam, and if he knew the Hokage, he'd be out with the rest of the ANBU, on high alert during the final matches.

A/N: So, hopefully I won't get any more death threats. Honestly! Hehe. How do you like Hinata? I just love her. Still isn't over her crush, is she? Now with the patrols doubled, the ANBU will begin searching the Uchiha compound, house by house. More to come, so stay tuned.