The Link:
Chapter XI: Playing With Snakes
Naruto had woken earlier than anybody that day – so early in fact, that he got up even before Neji did. When Naruto had sneaked out of the universal bedroom Neji was still comfortably tucked in his blankets, Naruto's walrus sleeping cap on his head as he slept like a log. It had just been a week after Christmas, with the snow finally starting to melt. Naruto went to the kitchen and cooked breakfast, afterward went to tackle the laundry and then finally going outside and performing warm-up exercises. Twenty minutes later, when Naruto was doing his curl-ups, Neji woke, and gave a noncommittal sound of surprise upon seeing his chores done for him.
"Naruto, this your doing?" the Hyuuga called from the house.
"Yeah!" Naruto answered.
And Neji did not ask any more questions after that. Naruto finally finished warming himself up and started to pace impatiently around the house. He so wanted to wake Orochimaru now and begin the training, but Jiraiya told him that that should be the last thing he'd ever do. Orochimaru taught when he felt like it – push him and you'd get a good kick in the groin for your efforts (or, in Anko's case, a good yell that sent her staggering for three days due to middle ear problems).
Naruto squatted down by the porch, thinking of summoning Gamakitchi to take care of his boredom when the door slid open and Orochimaru (still under the Sexy no Jutsu), stepped outside. Naruto quickly leapt to his feet, looking expectant. However, the fox's eyebrows rose when he saw the big lunch box Orochimaru was holding.
"Eh?" said Naruto, nodding toward the lunch box.
"We won't be training here." Orochimaru replied as she tucked a few stray strands of her raven hair behind her left ear. "We'll be going somewhere open. Dangerous, Senei Gyashu. You don't want to end up grabbing the wrong heads."
"Okay," Naruto nodded. He reached for the lunch box. "Allow me."
"Thank you."
They walked away from the house side by side and in silence. Naruto, on the other hand, kept throwing furtive glances toward the pale woman beside him. What he saw made him smile. The careworn expression left the Serpent's face a few days before Christmas, to be replaced by a look of...contentment. Naruto guessed this must be the effect of the drinking session with Jiraiya – the one where he and Neji heard Orochimaru shout Tsunade's name. Yeah, that had to be it. Or maybe it was the Christmas party itself? Or the Link? Maybe all of it. Much better.
"I heard from Jiraiya that you have already mastered Kuchiyose no Jutsu?" Orochimaru asked all of a sudden.
Naruto nodded. "Yeah. I have Gamabunta as my principal summon."
"Senei Gyashu won't be a problem for you, then." Orochimaru replied, giving Naruto a sidelong look. "It basically uses the same principles as your fundamental Kuchiyose, except you focus your summoning down your sleeve, as this is where the snakes will appear to aid you in grabbing or stopping an opponent's attack. I understand you have seen Anko do this?"
"Yeah, yeah!" Naruto answered eagerly.
There was a pause before Orochimaru chuckled lightly. "Jiraiya speaks most highly of you, Naruto. And Tsunade wouldn't have sent you to capture me in the first place if you do not possess talent. I, in turn, have high expectations from you as your mentor. I want you to give me your best. I want you to utilize the Kyuubi's Chakra at all times, do you understand me?"
"I will, I will!" Naruto replied passionately. He quivered with excitement. This was it! He was actually Orochimaru's student! He was being taught by Sandaime Hokage's best student! Hah! He recalled the past years. Who would've thought that he'd be one of Orochimaru's precious few? Something that Sasuke wasn't able to accomplish!
They finally descended to the hamlet proper, and luckily, not too many people were up and about. Naruto was sure Orochimaru would definitely go berserk this time if somebody would again dare to try and...and flirt with her. Soon they were walking out of the village and out into the open, barren land. Naruto guessed they would circle the frozen lake – Neji said there was a nice little dell over there; perfect place for training.
But...
"Wait a minute..." Naruto piped up. "How're you going to teach me? Are you just going to give me general instructions? I mean, I can follow those okay, but a proper demonstration would be most welcome..."
"We'll see." was all Orochimaru said.
Like what the fox guessed, they circled around the frozen lake and climbed down a second rocky (and slippery) path before finally coming into the secluded dell. A few dead pine trees surrounded them from above, providing a very good screen. Tsunade's house was partly visible – but Naruto was sure Neji was watching them from afar with his Byakugan. Naruto laid their lunch on a rock that jutted out of the snow and readied himself. Orochimaru was already standing some forty meters away from him. She was gingerly flexing her bandaged right hand.
"Watch carefully, Naruto." She said in a no-nonsense voice. "I won't be able to do this again."
Naruto swallowed and blinked hard several times to focus his vision. Orochimaru pivoted on her heels and –
"SENEI GYASHU!"
The fascination was still there; strong as ever, as Naruto watched open-mouthed as four, gigantic brown cobras (or were they vipers?) shot out from Orochimaru's kimono sleeve. They darted through the air, their jaws stretched, and their fangs glistening in the early wan sunlight. Naruto's gaze darted from the snakes' jaws to Orochimaru's sleeve. They seemed to have no end, these reptiles. There was a very audible crack as the four snakes sank their jaws onto a dead pine trunk, and Orochimaru's hand closed on their bodies. The Serpent gave a mighty pull that wrenched the entire dead pine from the soil. For a moment the pine flew in the air before it splintered into hundreds of bits of dried twig and bark.
"WOW!" Naruto said in awe. "WOW – that was really -!" He turned to Orochimaru. "Oi!" The snakes vanished.
Orochimaru had dropped to her knees and was clutching her right arm very tight as she bit her lower lip so hard it bled. Naruto ran to her side and saw that blood was starting to ooze from the bandages and stain the snow red...
"Oh shit, that was really stupid of me – really bad idea – damn!" Naruto cursed as he hurriedly took out his medical kit. "Stupid, stupid Naruto – why you had to ask for a demonstration -!"
"Leave it, I'm okay." Orochimaru panted. "Leave it, Naruto-kun."
"But we can't ignore the bleeding – it'd get worse – your arm might crack this time -!"
"Leave it, I said..."
"We really should ask Old Crone to heal you; I mean..."
"LEAVE IT!" Orochimaru raised her voice to a shriek.
Naruto stopped dead, gaping at her. Orochimaru tried to move her arm, but it won't respond. The slightest twitch sent ripples of white-hot pain throughout her body. She might have pushed it too far this time...
"Don't worry about me. I'm okay." She said. "Now you try it. Exactly the way I showed you. Focus your Chakra. Aim well. And then shoot."
"But..."
Orochimaru gave a tired sigh. "Naruto, I chose to demonstrate for you. I performed the jutsu when I was perfectly aware of the consequences. I could have refused to show you the jutsu firsthand, but I did not, do you understand me? It was my choice. Now let me stand up for choosing to do what I did, and you do your task as a student."
Naruto clamped his mouth shut. She's doing it for ME. She's risking losing her arm for ME. She's changed so much, I know it... "As you wish...Orochimaru-sensei."
Orochimaru blinked in surprise at the title, but smiled anyway. Naruto grinned back and straightened up, ready.
All right, I can do this!
"SENEI GYASHU!"
"They'll be surprised, trust me." Maito Gai was saying as he and Kakashi leapt from tree to tree, all the while nearing Kikuyu. "Imagine missing that superb party – I'm ready to bet that Naruto was crying his heart out..."
Kakashi did not say anything. He and Gai were carrying a big box of new supplies each for the gang in Kikuyu. Tsunade had dispatched them yesterday afternoon, worried about the four people currently residing in her house in this godforsaken place where Time seemed to ignore. Truth be told Kakashi was slightly sad for Naruto and Neji, who missed half of their lives by failing to come to the biggest and happiest Christmas party held in Konoha. Circumstances dictated otherwise, they couldn't do anything about that – and Tsunade was certainly doing her best to cheer up their beloved fox.
"Gai, have you mentioned the problem about the refrigerator?" Kakashi asked.
"Huh? Yes I did. Godaime-sama did say that she would do her best to procure one for them, but she can't promise it, not until February..."
Kakashi nodded and looked into the box he was holding. There were several noodle stocks from Ichiraku as well as general instructions for Neji to follow. Apart from that there were several huge slabs of ham, cake, baskets of fish and only the Hokages know what else.
"Lucky men, they never have to think of where to get their food for the next day." Kakashi commented. "All of these supplies sure make me want to become a tenant in their house as well."
Gai grinned, teeth flashing. "Maybe we could ask them."
"What? You want to stay with them too?"
"Neji would have returned to Konoha by now if it wasn't fun, now would he? Besides, with Lee training on his own, I thought I might want to seek up some fun for myself. It's getting really boring nowadays, Kakashi."
Kakashi wondered what sort of fun Gai had in his mind. He really wanted to stay in the house because he'd been growing worried about Naruto. Tsunade was getting increasingly impatient and worried as months went by, and for the Sharingan user, that couldn't be a good thing at all.
"True..." he muttered.
"Let's see if Naruto agrees!" Gai said.
"Whatever you want..."
And the two Jounins sped off above the trees.
Jiraiya was eyeing Neji askance. The Hyuuga was rolling on the floor as he clutched his belly, tears of hilarity leaking out of his Byakugan-ed eyes as he laughed and laughed like there was no tomorrow. Curious, the perverted Sannin stood up and looked out of the window Neji had been observing from for at least four hours now. He could see nothing except snow and dead pines, and the tiny thatched roofs of the outer houses from the hamlet below.
"What are you cackling about now!" Jiraiya demanded.
"WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA – you should see – HAHAHAHA – Naruto – getting flattened – WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Neji guffawed, unable to provide a straight answer.
Frowning, Jiraiya looked out of the window. He suddenly wished he had the Hyuuga's Byakugan at that moment. He wondered what was so funny...
...and the answer lay to the two men training in the secluded dell below, too far for Jiraiya's normal eyes to see.
Naruto was currently cowering on the snow, hands thrown up above his head as he winced with his eyes shut tight. Orochimaru was standing over him, eyes ablaze in insane annoyance, and her sleek black hair standing on end and seemingly crackling of Chakra.
"YOUOVERTLYSTUPIDBOYHAVENTITOLDYOUTOUTILIZETHEKYUUBISCHAKRAATALLTIMESYOUNEVERLISTENYOUREANNOYINGMEICANTBELIEVEIMWASTINGMYTIMETEACHINGYOUYOURSKULLSSOTHICKICOULDHAVEBOREDAHOLETHROUGHITAAAAAAAAAAAARGHHHHH!" Orochimaru shouted in one rapid breath.
"Anh! Anh! There's no need to get angry!" Naruto protested as he kept his face shielded with his arms. "I only thought that the jutsu was easy – I never did try doing anything fishy – the jutsu was easy, what's the point of using my red Chakra -!"
Orochimaru's golden eyes flashed, and she grabbed Naruto by the collar, amazingly able to dangle him a few inches off the ground. Naruto swallowed really hard and looked down at his mentor. It looks like annoying the hell out of Orochimaru was never a good idea. Orochimaru inhaled and Naruto shut his eyes again and covered his ears.
"YOUDAREANSWERMEWITHYOURROTTENPHILOSOPHYHAVENTITOLDYOUTOGIVEMEYOURBESTYOURENOTSERIOUSINTHISDAMNYOUYOUREJUSTWASTINGMYTIMEIWONTBOTHERTEACHINGYOURIFYOURELIKETHAT!" Orochimaru yelled.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Naruto said, throwing up his hands. "I'll be more serious now, I promise!"
And then in a fraction of a second he was sitting on the snow, blinking, Orochimaru standing some twenty meters from him, arms folded beneath her breast and glaring at him. Naruto stood up and concentrated, all the while feeling that intense gaze hitting the right side of his face full force. Eyes narrowing, Naruto shifted his shoulders uncomfortably. If looks could kill, I would be dead by now. He thought.
He scanned the cliff surrounding the dell and found a dead pine that looked easy to pull out of the soil. He threw another furtive glance toward his mentor (egad, it was creepy to think that Orochimaru was actually his mentor now!). Orochimaru was watching him like a hawk. Naruto swallowed. If I don't use my other Chakra, I know she's going to give me a sound beating even if it does bounce back to her three times! I better do this right, I don't want to know how scary she can be once her patience runs out – and perverted hermit did say she doesn't have enough patience to begin with!
Naruto drew within himself, focusing to that locked cage – that cage where all of his tremendous power came from. He did not need to ask nor do anything, because the power was just there, waiting for him. He called for it, and it came to him in a rush of red flood, flowing into him, filling him to the brim -!
Blue eyes snapped open, and Naruto felt he'd do it right this time. He won't go for simple rattle snakes – he'd had king cobras! He aimed toward the dead pine tree and...
"SENEI GYASHU!"
There was one wild moment of smoke, and six brown king cobras shot out of Naruto's sleeve, arching in the air, necks spread and jaws opened to their full extent, fangs glistening.
Very good, Naruto! Orochimaru thought, lips spreading in a proud smile.
And then...
"Uhh...Orochimaru-sensei...how do I control the force of these snakes?"
What? Orochimaru blinked and made to say something, until she realized what she was looking at. The pine tree that Naruto grabbed had fallen off a cliff, and Naruto was now flying in the air, dragged by the force...and soon enough the pain blossomed in her chest, and then her feet left the ground as well...
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHH! GODDAMN YOU, NARUTOOOOOO!"
Neji cringed. "Yeouch, so there they go falling off the cliff now..."
Jiraiya choked on his piece of sushi. "They what?"
"They fell off the cliff. Naruto used the snakes to try grab one of the dead pines, but he somehow did not know how to control the force of the snakes so he ended up pushing the pine off the waterfall...and the two of them (him and Orochimaru of course) just fell off the cliff." Neji explained as if teaching simple addition to an extremely stupid toddler.
Jiraiya shook his head. "Well, I don't envy Naruto later."
Neji chuckled as he went back to his cooking. "That dolt...sometimes I don't know whether he really ought to be Jounin or be reverted to being Chuunin...he surprises me with his new jutsus and sometimes makes me sigh with his sheer stupidity..."
The Hyuuga paused in the middle of stirring soup (creamy mushroom), frowning lightly. He exited from the kitchen while Jiraiya resumed his tea and came back a minute later with Kakashi and Gai, both carrying big boxes filled with food.
"What a pleasant surprise! What brings the two of you here?" Jiraiya greeted as he set down his mug on the table.
"Godaime-sama has sent us with your usual packages of food and entertainment." Gai explained, flashing his perfect teeth while Kakashi took a plate of sushi from Neji. "So how are you doing here? I must say that Godaime-sama was quite generous to make up for you three missing the Christmas Party...the boxes are way heavier this time and we still have two more left in Konoha."
"She needn't have bothered, but the food's welcome anyway." Neji grinned as he started handing out tea to the visitors. "We had our own little party and it was way fun than what the Academy had, I expect."
Gai frowned up at Neji and noticed his earrings. "Weird little earrings you have, Neji."
Neji only gave his mentor a mysterious smile. And then the sound of sliding doors could be heard, and Naruto's loud voice rang out.
"WE'RE HOME! HEY NEJI, DO YOU HAVE A NICE SNACK FOR US! WE'RE STARVING!"
Kakashi and Gai turned to watch as Naruto entered the kitchen, followed by... Kakashi blinked, but Gai's mouth dropped open. While Kakashi was busy noticing the leaves and twigs stuck in Naruto and Orochimaru's hair and clothing, Gai was busy gaping at the 'woman' behind Naruto. The Green Beast had no eyes for others except for her alone, she, whose beauty snared his heart upon first sight. Suddenly Gai stood up from his chair and knelt in front of the woman, taking her bandaged right hand (and conveniently forgetting it was bloodstained).
"O, fair maiden, it would honor me so if I could know your name." Gai said passionately. "I, Maito Gai, Green Beast of Konoha, is forever slave to your beauty!"
Orochimaru's eyebrows rose. Neji, Naruto and Kakashi gaped while Jiraiya promptly fainted.
"Uh...sensei...I really don't think that's a good idea..." Neji began.
"He...is...mad..." was all Kakashi managed to say.
Orochimaru snatched back his hand. "Do you want to die that badly, eyebrow-man?"
"Fair lady, do not treat me so. I want to know your name!" Gai persisted. "Your beauty exceeds that of the moon's on a sultry night, and not even the sun can compare to your golden eyes..."
Naruto covered his mouth with his hand to stop himself from laughing while Neji started to rub his temples.
"Do you know who you're talking to?" Orochimaru said, her voice rising. "My name is Orochimaru, you fool!"
Gai blinked, stood up and laughed. "Orochimaru? No, fair maiden. You cannot be that old fart!"
"Ok that's it, so I'm running for cover!" that was all and Neji vanished in a puff of smoke.
A vein started to throb on Orochimaru's forehead. "Old...fart? You dare...call me...an old fart...?"
There was another puff of smoke and Orochimaru reverted to his male self, hair standing on end and eyes blazing. Gai stepped back, horrified, his mouth opening and closing rapidly, making him look like a confused goldfish.
"WHO'RE YOU CALLING OLD FART, FREAK!" Orochimaru shouted as his bandaged fist slammed full-force into Maito Gai's jaw.
There was a tremendous crash and Maito Gai flew out of the house through a hole in the roof. Jiraiya whistled.
"Wow, that must have been one hundred and twenty feet, a new record for you Orochi-kun..."