Chapter 12 - Sasuke Vs. Yoroi
A/N: I do not own the Naruto Franchise!
I do however own Mari Kaede and any other OCs mentioned.
Warnings: Contains dark themes, such as depression, murder, experimentation, emotional, mental and physical torture, possible attempted suicide and mentions of sexual activities!
Please read responsibly.
I'm so glad I split this chapter into parts, otherwise it'll have been over 10k words long! Geez, I need to be careful when I write these things.
Enjoy the new chapter!
'Damn, even when I was a Genin, the air never felt this thick...'
Akari couldn't believe the atmosphere in the room as she stood in a large arena with a statue of two hands forming a ninjutsu seal right in front of her. On all sides, she was surrounded by other examinees, each of them staring ahead at the Hokage in the middle of the room with a line of all the Jounin Senseis behind him and two lines of Konoha Jounin on either side of the platform, watching over their every move.
Since the Forest of Death, she had expected everything to become a little more tense, but this was far higher a level than she ever thought they'd go. Orochimaru was an S-Rank shinobi, but they shouldn't know that he was even here, so why were all the Konoha Jounin looking around anxiously.
Did that asshole do something unessesary again?!
The Ninjutsu Expert's eyes narrowed suspiciously and she looked behind the Third Hokage at the man she knew was Orochimaru in disguise, his face was stoice, but his eyes shone with glee and that alone made her assume her fears were correct. After all, when did this man make anything easier for his subordinates?
'Dammit, does he have t'make everything so much more difficult?!'
One of the Examiners, Anko, who they all knew very well, cleared her throat, causing everyone to straighten up and listen as she started speaking. "First off, congratulations on passing the Second Exam."
The tense stress that seemed to flood from the Genin relaxed almost instantly, a few sighs heard from the less confident of the bunch. Akari could almost breathe again now, with the air much thinner than it was a moment ago.
Her eyes locked onto Kabuto's form a moment later and she noticed the bandaid on his nose, a small smirk curled her lips and a sense of satisfaction filled her heart. 'Well at least one good thing'll come out of this mission...The ones who tortured me'll get some good old fashioned karma thrown their way.'
Kabuto stiffened up when Orochimaru suddenly smirked, his signal for the next part to come. Closing his eyes, he smirked himself, causing Akari's brown orbs to narrow once again, just when she was starting to feel satisfied, he had to go and do that.
She knew what was coming, and really wished she didn't have to be a part of it. 'Whoever I go up against ain't going t'come out of this happy.'
"We will now have an explanation of the Third Exam from Hokage-sama. Everyone listen well." Anko called out, rallying in the attention she needed once again as all the Genin focused on the leader of Konohagakure. "Hokage-sama, please do the honors." She said, her voice no longer being broadcast to the entire arena.
The Hokage nodded to the Second Examiner and stepped forward, clearing his throat before calling out to all the eager ears awaiting his words. "The Third Exam will begin. But before the explanation, there's one thing I want to make clear to all of you."
Everyone who was ignorant to the exam listened with soft gasps of confusion, while Akari rolled her eyes subtly and just half listened. She'd heard this a thousand times during her many former exams.
"It's about the true purpose of this exam. Why we do a joint exam with the allied nations." The old man pulled down his hat just a little bit, before continuing. "'To maintain good relations with the allied nations' and 'heighten the level of the ninja'...Do not let these reasons deceive you. This 'exam,' so to speak is..." He paused as he collected his thoughts on how to drop this bombshell, taking out his pipe and letting out a steam of smoke before meeting their eyes one by one. "The epitome of a war between the allied nations."
Everyone ignorant of the world they lived in froze with shock at these words, one of them, which Akari recognized as Rock Lee's teammate, was the first to speak up. "What do you mean?"
"If we go back through history, the allied nations right now were...Neighboring countries that have fought each other over and over again. To avoid wasting military power, those countries decided to choose a place to fight...That is the beginning of the Chuunin Selection Exam."
"Why do we have to do that?" Naruto piped up, looking both confused and angry to be dragged into such an event. "We're not doing this to select Chuunin?"
"Yes, this exam does examine those who are worthy of the Chuunin title." The Hokage responded as he took another drag of his pipe. "But, on the other hand, it's also a place where shinobi fight and carry their country's dignity."
"Country's dignity?" Sakura breathed.
"In this Third Exam, feudal lords and famous people from various countries who may be potential clients are invited here as guests. And feudal lords from countries with hidden villages and ninja leaders will see your battles. If there is a significant difference in power, the strong country will be flooded with jobs. If a country is seen as weak, their jobs will decrease. And at the same time, countries are able to show how their village has grown and possess excellent military power to the adjacent countries. In other words, they can put foreign pressure on them."
"So why do we have to fight with the risk of losing our lives?" The boy with the dog yelled, oddly more vocal and a little more obnoxious than Naruto himself was.
"A country's power is the village's power. And a shinobi's true power is only born in life-or-death battle. This exam is also a place to show off the ninja power of one's country. Since this is an exam where you fight with your life on the line, it has a meaning...And your predecessors have fought and dreamed of being in the Chuunin Exam because of it."
"But why did you say it was to promote good relations?" Lee's teammate asked the whole reason this long-winded explanation began in the first place. Akari just wanted to get this over with and go back to training.
"I told you at the beginning not to get it confused with that." The old shinobi scolded her, sounding a little annoyed. "The custom of shaving one's life and fighting to maintain balance...That is the good relation in the world of shinobi." His eyes turned serious and a little cold. "This is a life-or-death battle for your dream and the village's dignity."
Silence filled the room and Akari sighed with relief, she had heard that speech enough times in her life to recite it word for word, it may be said by different Kages, therefore in different ways, but the meaning behind it was always the same.
Naruto let out a huff of laughter, getting Akari's attention. "I understand now." He said confidently, not a shred of fear in his eyes.
"I don't care..." Gaara hissed out, his voice alone making the older woman shiver, he was a force to be reckoned with, she should know, having come from the same village. "Tell us the details of this life-or-death exam."
The Hokage nodded, commending the pre-teen's bravery, but condemning his impatience. "Then I will now begin the explanation of the Third Exam, but..." He clenched his fist before coughing into it.
Suddenly a Special Jounin came out of nowhere and bowed down before the Hokage. "Excuse me, Hokage-sama..." He said, his head lowering further as an apology for the interruption. "I, Gekkou Hayate, the judge, will explain."
Sarutobi stared at him for a second, before accepting this. "Please do."
The Special Jounin stood up and spoke without turning to the Genin he would be observing. "Everyone, it's nice to meet you." He then coughed hard, causing some of them to have doubts and concerns, while Akari's brows knitted together with confusion.
'Is he really up for this?' She thought silently, placing a hand on her hip with a sigh, no longer taking this seriously. She could tell he was probably stronger than he looked, but he wasn't the one she'd have to fight, so there was no need to stress herself out over it.
"Everyone, before the Third Exam..." Hayate continued, pausing to cough again. "There's something I want you to do..." He turned to face them, then let out a deep sigh, like he had better things to be doing. "Fight in some preliminary matches to see who gets to advance to the Third Exam's main battle."
This caused a little confusion to wash over the group for another second, before mumbles and loud outbursts of irritation were heard, more specifically Shikamaru's complaints. "Preliminary matches? What do you mean?"
"Sensei, I don't understand what you mean by preliminary matches." Sakura called out, being far more polite than ol' Pineapple Head in the back. "Why can't we just start the Third Exam with the remaining examinees?"
Hayate let out another sigh, sounding tired this time. "In this case, it must have been because the First and Second Exams were too easy, I don't know...But there are too many examinees left. According to Chuunin regulations, we must decrease the number of participants for the Third Exam."
The Pinkette let out a shocked noise before an exclaimation of dissapointment followed. "Oh, no!"
Of course, some of the others felt the same way but said nothing as Hayate ignored Sakura's little outburst and continued what he was saying. "As previously mentioned by Hokage-sama, there are many guests for the Third Exam, so...We cannot just have a lot of matches." He raised his hand slightly with a shrug of his shoulders. "We are limited on time as well. So those who aren't feeling well..." Suddenly he stopped and covered his mouth as a harsh coughing fit overcame him.
Even Akari had to raise a brow now, this man seemed completely ill, weak and unable to perform any of his duties, let alone the one of an examiner...Was he really one of Konoha's Special Jounin?
After a moment, the raspy coughing stopped and the Examiner raised his head once again. "Excuse me." He spoke politely. "If anyone wants to quit after hearing the explanation...Please let me know. The preliminary matches will begin immediately."
"Immediately?!" Dog Boy snapped angrilly, his puppy had seen better days, he was frightened and whining softly, any owner would want time to get them help.
"But we just got through the Second Exam..." Ino complained followed by her Pinapple teammate's usual 'how troublesome,' and Chouji's usual meal complaints.
A lazy noise left Hayate and everyone more or less sweatdropped when he spoke slowly. "I forgot to mention this, but you will have one-on-one matches from here on out. So please withdraw if you wish."
Akari huffed, her eyes turning serious as she glanced behind the Hokage to see Orochimaru standing there, that arrogant smirk still curling his creepy lips. 'I ain't giving up now...' She thought, her fist clenching, almost drawing blood with how deep her nails dug into her fake pale flesh.
While the usually tanned woman thought this, Naruto's group were having trouble, as the Curse Mark Orochimaru had passed onto Sasuke as a present began to throb. With a silent chuckle, the Sannin tried not to give away his glee at the sight and listened intently as the Hokage along with two examiners discussed the problem.
"Just as I thought," Sarutobi spoke, staring at the three as they bickered over the mark on Sasuke's neck.
"What should we do?" Ibiki asked, having been informed, along with most of the Jounin and Chuunin associated with the exam, about the situation.
"We should take him out of the exams and isolate him with ANBU escorts," Anko told them, looking at the Third seriously. "We need to advise him to withdraw immediately, and-"
"He's not the type that'll listen to you that easily." A lazy voice interjected, and all eyes that belonged within the conversation turned to Kakashi, who didn't seem to care that he had interrupted them since he had a hidden smile on his face. "He is part of the famous Uchiha Clan, after all."
Anko felt a spike of rage stab into her at his cheeky words and spun quickly, pretty much yelling at the man. "Stop fooling around! I'll make him quit, even if I have to use force!" She stepped closer, speaking honestly and openly. "The Curse Mark reacts when he tries to mold Chakra, and it will try to extract power out of him!" Slowly her tone lowered and while speaking from experience, her hand reached up and cupped around her own Curse Mark. "It's a Kinjutsu that undermines the affected person!" She turned and looked at the boy with the serious black eyes. "It amazes me that he is able to withstand it. A normal person would be dead..."
Lowering her eyes for a moment, a small bout of silence in the air as Anko allows her emotions to calm, then suddenly, she turns to face the Hokage, her eyes once again alight with determination. "Hokage-sama!"
The old leader didn't answer as he watched the children continue to fight before Sakura began to raise her hand. However Orochimaru wouldn't allow that to happen, he cracked his neck slightly, a natural reflex for those who had stood for too long, but not so natural for this very unnatural man.
Seeing this action, Kabuto smirked and quickly raised his hand, enacting his part in the plan. "I'll quit." He said, gasps and shocked eyes locking onto his carefree, smiling face.
Silence seemed to be quite common today as everyone hushed for a moment, processing this. "K-Kabuto-san...?" Naruto breathed, the one to break through the conversation barrier.
Hayate hummed with question, not actually sure who this was. Lifting his board, the man searched through his information sheets until he came across the older teen, letting out a soft cough before he spoke. "You're Konoha's Yakushi Kabuto-kun? You may leave then."
"Yes." Kabuto accepted this and turned, starting to walk away with that slight smirk still on his lips. Akari's mood was soured when Kabuto glanced at her as he passed, making her feel nothing more than a desire to drag him back, just so she could kick his ass during one of the fights. It disgusted her how easily he accepted his role and allowed Orochimaru to manipulate his every move.
"Kabuto-san!" Naruto shouted, stopping the white-haired teen in his tracks, as the blonde boy made a gesture of anger with his arms. "Why are you quitting?!" He was just as loud as ever, even with all the news just given to him about the exam. Couldn't he think about himself for once? "Why?!"
Kabuto glanced at the Jinchuuriki over his shoulder, slightly surprised that the boy would care whether his fake friend would be leaving or not. "I'm sorry, Naruto-kun, but my body is completely worn out already." He said, pretending to sound sincere, even though Orochimaru, his teammates and the Oto 'Genin' knew this to be a rouse. "Even before the First Exam, after I had that quarrel with those Oto guys, I couldn't hear anything in my left ear."
"You're welcome, Four Eyes!" Akari called out, looking at him over her shoulder with a wild, slightly malicious grin. "Even just watching, I ain't had that much fun in ages!"
Kabuto stared at the redheaded spy with narrowing eyes. He would have to ask Orochimaru if he could poison her drinks later. Ignoring her words, for now, he returned his attention to the pre-teen who shared her personality, abeit much kinder. "I can't fight right away, especially if it's a life or death battle."
It would have crushed any normal person to see the anguished sorrow in those young, blue eyes. However, for Kabuto, he felt the same sick glee Orochimaru felt whenever he caused pain to others. Though Akari couldn't understand his obsession to remain by his lord's side, it was merely because when around the Snake Sannin, he could act how he usually would without quarrel or judgment.
"I've seen him a few times," Sarutobi said as he watched the boy converse with Naruto, his mind recalling the many exams he'd been in. "I believed he retired during the Main Exam last time, too. What is he thinking?"
Silence passed for a moment before Ibiki broke through it by getting Anko's attention, the woman trapped in her own thoughts. "Anko."
The woman hummed, looking at the scarred man's face before it clicked. "Ah, yes." She said, looking through her own information for this mysterious young man. "Yakushi Kabuto...According to our data, he has failed six times in a row."
The Hokage's distrusting eyes locked onto Anko as a very chilling question was left hanging in the air for a moment. "What about his personal history?"
"He didn't stand out in his Academy years, and his grades were normal. He passed his graduation exam on his third try. After that, he did two C-Rank missions and fourteen D-Rank ones. He doesn't have any outstanding accomplishments." The younger woman lifted her brown orbs to meet the Hokage's. "But..."
"But?"
"It's about before he entered the Academy..."
"Yes?"
"Do you remember the story about the boy that was brought back from the Kikyo Pass battle?"
The mood between them seemed so sour and the Third lowered his head slightly as his seriousness rose beyond normal levels. "Yes. A Jounin from the medic squad took custody of an enemy's boy that was left on the battlefield." He never took his eyes off Kabuto. "So he's that boy?"
Orochimaru enjoyed their little conversation greatly, suppressing the desire to lick his lips for the time being as not to bring attention to himself. To think they would recall such a child, especially after Danzo tried his very best to erase him off the map. How amusing.
Kabuto finally turned to leave, when he heard his teammate, Yoroi, speak lowly, so only he could hear. "Don't act on your own. Did you forget Orochimaru-sama's orders?"
The young adult turned his head and the look in his eyes greatly resembled the arrogance that his lord held within his very frame. "I'll leave it to you two." He whispered, lips curling further. "Especially you, Yoroi-san...You will have no problems with your special ability. It's your chance to show what you're capable of. Since you're irritated because I got ahead of you."
"So you're Orochimaru-sama's favorite...Don't get cocky, kid."
The bright smile Kabuto gave Yoroi caused the man to clench his fists as not to plant his knuckles into the medic's glasses and blind him right then and there. "Okay, Senpai~" Was the last thing he heard before the teen took a few steps, waved happily to Naruto, before finally, oh so finally, he left the room.
If he had stayed another minute, the man in small black shades would have killed him.
'Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun...' Kabuto thought to himself silently. 'I wanted to play with you a little longer, but if I keep going on...The old blood in me might awaken.' He pushed his glasses up his nose, and a repulsive gleam coated those black irises. 'I'm a spy, even if I don't look like one. I can't let you see my true face here. Also...' Kabuto didn't turn his head but looked into the corner of his eye, where he knew Orochimaru would be positioned a fair distance away. 'If you're going to watch it yourself, my information gathering job is done, right...Orochimaru-sama? Let's save the fun for the future...Sasuke-kun, Naruto-kun, you two, too.'
Finally, the door closed as the white-haired teen disappeared behind its wooden structure, Akari was relieved to be rid of one nuisance for the time being, at least.
A silence stretched for a single moment before the Examiner's soft cough caught their attention. "May I assume there are no more people who wish to retire?" He asked, looking at the examinees. Hushed whispers were heard as Sasuke's cell began to argue quietly among themselves, but no one raised their hand far enough for it to be considered an actual act of retirement.
The Hokage took a puff of his pipe, speaking seriously. "What Orochimaru said worries me a little." His thoughts returned to when Anko mentioned everything Orochimaru had said to her. "Let's let Sasuke go on, and just observe him for now."
Anko's reaction was one Orochimaru, the Hokage and even Ibiki had expected as she gasped and spun to face him. "Hokage-sama!"
"However, if the Curse Mark opens up and his powers become uncontrollable, stop him." The wise old man finished with a slightly raised voice to overtake her's. Ibiki accepted without any qualms, however, Anko seemed to struggle just a little more, going to say something, but stopped herself before she could, gritting her teeth and accepting his orders.
"I understand."
When no one else seemed to raise their hand for several moments, Hayate spoke again. "Then, let's begin the Preliminary Matches." Naruto turned to face the older Special Jounin again, while Akari hummed and a grin curled her fanged lips.
'It's about Goddamn time! I ain't had an explanation this long since the Kazekage lectured me on starting fires in people's hair when I was thirteen!'
That memory always both amused and bored her to pieces.
"It'll be a one-on-one match. In other words, it'll be like real combat. Now that we have exactly twenty people, we will have ten matches..." The Examiner said. "And the winners will be able to advance to the Third Exam. There are no rules. You will fight until the other person dies, is knocked out...Or admits defeat. If you do not want to die, give up immediately. However, if I judge that the match is over..." With a pause to cough up a lung, he took a deep breath and continued. "I may stop you to prevent any unecessary deaths. The thing that will hold your destiny..."
Hayate then stopped speaking for a moment, glancing back at Anko, who hummed, giving herself a moment to catch up before she gave him a swift nod and turned talking into the microphone held up near her lips. "Open it."
Everyone watched as a wooden panel situated in the top, left-hand corner of the room clacked, as if some internal mechanism had been activated, and slowly began to open up, revealing a screen beneath the purple pane.
"...Will be this." The sickly Special Jounin said. "This electric bulletin board will randomly display the names of two fighters for each match." He looked back at the examinees. "Without further ado, I will now display the names for the first match."
Akari watched, her arms crossed as her serious brown ringed eyes watched the board light up and many of the Genins' names flicker through its black depths. She honestly hoped she wouldn't be the first fighter up, since being knocked out by Sasuke, her head had been throbbing, she could do with a sit down before anything else.
Though she wouldn't mind facing that red-eyed brat just to knock him down a peg for the harm he caused her and the struggle she went through just for this god-forsaken mission.
When the board bleeped, she was only slightly dissapointed to find that Sasuke was facing another Oto Shinobi by the name Akadou Yoroi. She'd heard about him during her time in the hideout, didn't he have some sort of ability that made him useful to Orochimaru? Otherwise, why would the Snake Bastard have such a bland looking ninja around?
Akari dropped her arms and watched as Hayate called the two shinobi out, and they stepped up, standing on either side of the older proctor with their eyes locked in a battle of leers. "The first match's fighters are Akadou Yoroi and Uchiha Sasuke. Are there any objections?"
"No." Both of them chimed at once.
Orochimaru, who was more than amused at the match up, allowed a small hum to leave his throat and a very familiar smirk to curl his usually white lips. That smile only continued to widen however when Sasuke flinched, an obvious sign of the pain the Curse Mark caused.
He could already tell that the Chakra infused pattern was causing a change within the young genius, he was hungry for power, a type of which had been lacking during their fight in the Forest of Death. The experiment was a success, perhaps sooner rather than later, Sasuke would come seeking him for power, just as he anticipated he would.
The gleeful chuckle that left him went unnoticed by the others, due to its low volume, he couldn't deny how pleased he was that things were going just as planned. Soon, he'd have the power he sought, and the village would be in ruins.
Oh, the future seemed bright.
Hayate let out a tired sigh, not wanting to drag on the explanations anymore, it was obvious he just wanted to get these fights over with. "We will now begin the first match." The Examiner lifted his fist to his mouth with a harsh cough. "Everyone other than the two fighters, please move up there." With a slow, lazy motion, he gestured to the higher balconies where spectators would stand and watch.
Akari hummed glad to be able to stretch her legs a little after the long speeches. Relaxing her body, she walked towards the steps, only to become rigid once again when a familar form slithered to her side.
"Remember..." Orochimaru breathed, not looking at her. "During your match, you are to withdraw halfway through...I need your true power to remain hidden until the final battle..."
"Why me?" Akari asked a question that had been bugging her from the very beginning. "I'm sure y'have plenty of subordinates who outrank me...Why have someone as unpredictable as me up there during your 'fated' match against the Third Hokage?"
"Hm, hm..." The Sannin chuckled, not answering for a single moment as they climbed the stairs, only the multitude of footsteps their backdrop, drowning out their conversation to wandering ears. "Though you are a loose cannon..." He started, causing the woman to scoff and his amusement to grow. "You have exceptional Katon and Futon abilities that surpass any living Uchiha...Power like that will come in handy against a man who knows all Konoha Jutsu..."
"Heh, sounds t'me like you're scared to face him alone~" The Redheaded Ninjutsu Expert sneered as she stopped on the balcony and leaned against the railing, watching the others heading up the stairs on the other side.
"I'd watch your tongue, Mari Kaede..." His tone was threatening, mouth closer to her ear than before, eyes locked ahead, but there was a predatory, dangerous gleam in their golden depths. "Or I may just end up facing him alone, after all...'
Orochimaru feared no one, he just knew that having more fire power would guarantee his success. However, if she continued to speak to him in such a way, power or not, he may dispose of her anyway. Challenge or not, there was only so much of her attitude he could take before he would lose his patience.
Akari however, wasn't scared of his threats, tapping the metal bar of the banister with her paler-than-usual fingers as she glared at the wall in front of her. She had already tossed aside her own life in pursuit of her goals.
What was tossing away another one?
"Hey! Kakashi-sensei!" Came the obnoxiously loud voice of Uzumaki Naruto who was still stood on the ground below, waving Kakashi, a white haired man in a blue fabric mask, over.
"Sasuke..." Kakashi spoke as he stopped behind the young teen. "Don't use your Sharingan."
Sasuke gasped, his eyes widening for a moment before his expression settled into an impressed smirk. "So you know?" He asked softly, not wanting their blonde buffoon of a comrade to hear.
"If that Curse Mark on your neck become uncontrollable, it may kill you."
Sasuke stiffened for a moment at the thought of death, but his expression just softened into a sharp seriousness befitting his Uchiha name. "That's what I figured."
"If that happens, the match will be canceled." His sensei said with a relaxed tone, almost as if he was patronizing him, but in actual fact, he was just stating the truth. It was then that he decided he'd stuck around enough and began walking towards the stairs once again. "I'll stop you, so keep that in mind."
Sasuke's eyes widened and they locked onto the man's distancing form. 'Cancelled?!' He lifted his hand to cover the mark. 'This Curse Mark seems to react to my Chakra.' The memory of the fight with the Amegakure shinobi slipped into his mind when he used his Sharingan and the mark reacted, nearly causing him to black out from the pain. 'If I try to mold Chakra...It takes over my mind and will extract Chakra out of me without limit.' His eyes locked onto Yoroi's, who had heard everything, despite their low volume, and was fighting the urge to smirk. 'In other words, using my Sharingan is out of the question, and I can't even use normal techniques.'
Orochimaru watched the boy stare down Yoroi with his arms crossed and a sinister grin on his lips. 'But Yoroi's ability will turn out dreadful for you...Sasuke-kun.'
"Hey, Snake Eyes," Akari spoke, catching his attention, golden eyes locking onto brown ones filled with question and distaste. "What's with that Yoroi guy, anyway?" Her tone dropped to a level only he could hear since they stood a small distance from the other villages' shinobi. "Other than those weird black dots over his eyes, I ain't seen him do anything exceptional during training. Why'd y'bring him?"
The Sannin chuckled and stepped only a little closer so she could hear him well. "His abilities are quite unique...I suggest you watch the match to understand them completely."
Akari huffed and looked back at the two fighters awaiting Hayate's command for the match to begin. Why couldn't that asshole give her a straight answer?
Just what was Yoroi's 'ability?'
Hayate looked between the two Genin and raised his arms. "Begin."
Yoroi wasted no time in raising his hands into the signs he needed. "Let's go!" He roared, pumped up to finally show Orochimaru what he was capable of. Kabuto would no longer be the favorite after this match!
"Okay!" Sasuke called back, slipping into an alert stance.
Both of them stood there, staring each other down as Yoroi dropped one hand, now glowing with his chakra, as the other reached into his back pouch. Just as Sasuke grabbed and pulled out a kunai, the older man wasted no time in grabbing several shurikens and tossed them out towards the Uchiha boy.
Sasuke made a noise of determination and slashed at the many projectiles, sending them all shooting back towards his enemy. However, his Curse Mark decided then to glow and his shoulder to throbbed with pain. Due to the shock of the agony, the teen stumbled and fell onto his front just as Yoroi vanished out of sight to avoid the star shaped projectiles coming his way.
Of course, having the keen senses of a promising Genin, the boy's eyes snapped open and he quickly rolled out of the way as Yoroi slammed his hand down, breaking the floor where the child's head had been. Using his kunai, Sasuke stabbed it into the ground to stop his movements and curled his body, using his foot to sweep under the man's ankle, causing him to fall. With little effort afterwards, the 'Konoha' Genin was rendered useless with the Uchiha brat's legs wrapped around his neck and arm, while his wrist was trapped between both his hands.
"He did it!" Naruto called out, however, he did not see what both Akari and Orochimaru did. Yoroi's arm curled around and grabbed Sasuke's neck, his hand glowing with Chakra. This caused the Sannin's lips to curl up into a gleeful grin, exposing his teeth, and his redheaded subordinate to narrow her eyes with curious confusion.
'Is this the ability Orochimaru was talking about?' She thought as Sasuke's grip loosened and the man in question slammed his arm down hard on the boy's chest, before jumping away. 'What did he do? Judging by Sasuke's loosened grip, he's either paralyzed him or weakened him somehow...'
"Have you figured it out yet, Kaede?" Orochimaru asked, chuckling when she looked back at him, her eyes flooded with questions. "Perhaps you should keep your eyes on the match, then you will figure it out..."
"Don't patronize me." She warned him with a snarl, leaning against the bar a little more as she focused her attention on the fight.
Yoroi chose then, while his opponent was immobalized, to lunge forward, ready to strike a decisive blow. "Sasuke-kun!" Sakura cried out, the boy's eyes widened then and his body moved, sitting up in time to see his enemy stood right before him with a glowing palm. Unable to dodge in time, all Sasuke could do was cry out as the hand grasped his forehead and he was pinned to the ground.
Akari's questions were answered then when the genius child, who's grip had been firm on the Oto spy's arm, began to falter, before falling, his hands twitching, arms unable to move at all. "I see..." She said, smirking slightly. "You're going t'use Yoroi t'suck out his Chakra so he has t'rely on the Curse Mark..."
"Well, well, you do have a rather sharp mind, after all." The older Snake shinobi mocked as he stepped closer, his own eyes drawn to the battle, an interest sparked in their depths. "I was starting to think you were losing your edge."
"Heh, you're more likely t'go senile before I do, Ol' Snake Eyes." She taunted, grinning with defiance. "And when that day comes, I'll be there t'put you out of your misery!"
"Hm, hm, don't count on that just yet, Firecracker."
A growl was heard from her throat and that only increased the entertainment the man got from their many interactions, though she was a pain in the ass most days, he found her reactions to his words more amusing than the irritation she caused him...Well, sometimes.
'Yes, Yoroi's unusual ability is absorbing chakra.' The Sannin thought silently, ignoring the scoff he heard from Akari, who focused on the fight to supress her anger. "Yoroi's wonderful technique enables him to suck out the mind and body energy from an enemy's body by putting his palm on the enemy. And once your Chakra is sucked out, Sasuke-kun, you must rely on my Curse Mark.' His thoughts were interrupted for a sheer moment by a pained scream from the object of his interest.
'Now, release it...' His eyes widened with a desire to see the Curse Mark in use, mixed with the power of the Sharingan. 'Release the sweet power. That is the only way you can survive.'
However, his eyes widened for a different reason when Sasuke clenched his fist and used his foot to shove Yoroi away from him. "Get off!" The man landed hard on his back, looking up at Sasuke who managed to sit up in the space of time it took him just to get to his feet once again. It looked like he'd already drained a fair amount of Chakra out of him.
The man with eyes like black coins let out a huff of laughter as he watched the Uchiha boy struggle. "You still had some strength left? You're just a guinea pig though."
Sasuke managed to get to his feet, breathing heavily as he tried to muster up whatever energy he had left. 'That was close...' Was the only thought in his mind at the moment, he was exhausted, any more Chakra and he may have passed out.
"Relax, I'll end this quickly." The Oto shinobi with the unique ability said, his hand glowing once again as he kicked off in a sprint towards the staggering young genius. the boy had to pull all his strength together to avoid the various swipes and thrusts of Yoroi's hand, making sure it didn't touch him at all. However not even a child born an Uchiha could dodge everything, the man's hand brushed his hair ever so slightly, and Sasuke gasped, staggering forward as a little more Chakra was taken from him.
The black eyed Genin turned his head and watched as Sasuke struggled to keep his footing. "What's wrong?" He taunted, smirking behind the cloth covering his mouth. "Are you done for already?" He jumped in the air as the black haired teenager swung his foot out to kick him, and landed a fair distance away from the boy.
Sasuke watched his enemy land as he tried to catch his breathe, coming up with a strategy in the meantime. "He wants close combat...What should I do? At this rate, I'll lose."
"Sasuke!" Naruto's obnoxious voice called out, breaking through the smarter boy's thoughts and catching his full attention. "You call yourself Uchiha Sasuke with that?! Stop acting like an idiot! Get serious!"
The so-called Uchiha stared at Naruto for a moment before his eyes drifted to Lee, who was staring back, looking a little disappointed. 'He's...' Suddenly the black haired rookie's eyes widened as he was struck with realization, an idea that could gain him victory. 'I've got it!'
Yoroi was sick of this kid already, gripping his wrist as it began to glow blue with his harsh Chakra. "You don't have time to look the other way!" He shouted out, running at the young teen with the intent to drain the last of his power from his body.
However, he didn't seem to realize that, as Sasuke looked back at him, the young teen didn't have an ounce of hesitation, nervousness, or struggle within his black eyes.
No...Nothing but resolve.
"This is it!" The older Oto spy sneered, lifting his hand to strike. Thrusting out his palm, he planned to grab Sasuke by the neck, stopping his movements all together, of course, it wouldn't be that easy, since the young Genin just avoided every single one of his blows.
'Ho?' Yoroi thought to himself, continuing his merciless assault. 'Is he finally getting serious?'
During a small gap between the other Genin's attacks, Sasuke found an opening and smirked, using unnatural speed to vanish from sight. This caused his opponent to let out a gasp of confusion and stop his attacks. "He disappeared!"
However that wasn't the case, all Yoroi heard and saw before a harsh blow was centered against his jaw, was a palm slam against the stone tiles beneath him, and a single sandaled foot enter his line of sight before he was sent upwards with a bloody tongue and spasm of agony. Without giving the man time to respond, Sasuke flipped himself over and used all his limbs to shoot himself into the air after his enemy.
Orochimaru grinned as Akari let out a soft whistle, smirking at the boy's intellect and strength. "Looks like he's outranked y'Curse Mark after all, Snake Eyes..." She taunted, glancing back at the man who was paying her no heed. "What y'going t'do now?"
"Don't underestimate the power of the Curse Mark, Kaede..." Orochimaru responded, surprising her a little. Just like a snake to hear her, even when he seemed void of all but his one desire.
Sasuke appeared behind Yoroi who was still accending into the sky, surprising the man at his sudden appearance. "From here on out, it's all original, though." The blue haired Uchiha said strongly, causing confusion within his opponent.
What was original?!
Of course, the man had no time to ponder as two fingers jabbed into his back, making him aware that he was helpless in this situation. "Shadow Dance?" He ground out.
"Eat this." Came the childish response of the pre-teen. However, it was a demand he had to put on hold as a searing pain shot up his neck and the Curse Mark reacted to the signs weaved and the Chakra he had weaved while placing his fingers against Yoroi's back.
Coughing up blood, Sasuke's entire body twitched as the mark began to spread over his skin. "Damn it...It responds when it doesn't need to..." He ground out in agony, unable to move an inch. With a harsh gasp, the mark's power leaked into his eyes, preparing to take over and drive him into power mad hunger.
Though it couldn't stop his memories. He thought of Sakura, and her pleas for him to stop his brutal assault upon Zaku, Dosu and Akari inside the Forest of Death, and the obnoxious words of Naruto when he had been lying on his back, unable to fight off Yoroi's grip upon his forehead.
'I can't believe I've gotten them worried.' The mark stopped it's possession if for a moment. 'I won't...Let this thing take over!' Suddenly the mark began to pull back, as if being dragged back into it's holding upon his neck, slowly, oh so painfully until finally it reverted back to it's black colour and did not move.
It took a true power to stop something so greedy and dark such as that.
Everyone was shocked to say the least, at this new development. Even Orochimaru's eyes narrowed with surprise as Kaede huffed and walked over to him, leaning against the wall by his side with a hint of arrogance in her tone. "You were saying?"
Of course, Sasuke's smirk mimiced her own for different reasons as he steadied his descent. "Let's get this on." Without a moment to lose, he slapped his hand off Yori's back, causing him to turn towards his foot as he lifted it to kick the older man's gut.
But his foot was caught. "Not good enough!" He sneered, though he spoke too soon as the Uchiha genius swung his body round and slammed his forearm into Yoroi's neck, sending the older Genin hurtling towards the ground. Then he punched him hard in the gut, only speeding up his descent further, before finally, Sasuke finished off the combo by spinning back towards him, his foot poised for the final strike. "I'm not done!"
Finally, everyone flinched ever so slightly, when young Sasuke's foot hit Yoroi's stomach and blood was spat into the air, a delve cracking into the stone below him at the heavy impact. "Lion Combo!" The young teen skidded away with the recoil and stopped a fair distance away, after doing a flip onto his stomach, bruised and a little scraped, but other than that, fine.
Silence filled the area as neither contender moved, Hayate taking it upon himself to walk over to the Oto spy, crouching down and staring at his blood coated features, even hidden behind the cloth and small black circles, he already knew this man was dead. 'There's no need to confirm it...'
Everyone who was watching the match stared at Sasuke as he began to stand, breathing heavily from over-exertion. Akari crossed her arms, a small bout of seriousness showing as she assessed his abilties. 'At this rate, I won't be stronger than an Uchiha for long...' She thought, making note of his strengths and weaknesses. 'No wonder this insane asshole has his eye on you...Uchiha Sasuke.'
Speaking of which, she heard something at her side and hummed, looking up to see Orochimaru in a state she had never seen before. His eyes were wide and locked onto Sasuke, mouth slightly agape as he let out an excited breath. His entire body trembling with the desire to take that power as his own. It made her feel sick, her stomach twisting visciously at his obvious glee.
'I feel sorry for you, kid. He ain't no normal maniac either.'
Sasuke wiped the blood from his lip as Hayate lifted his head slightly. "I will stop this match now." He said as he got to his feet. "The first match winner is Uchiha Sasuke. This means he passes the preliminary round."
Naruto and Sakura both send cheers their teammate's way, but he wasn't in the mood for celebrating, slowly, a dizziness swam behind his eyelids and he swayed back, only for something solid to touch his shoulder blades, keeping him upright. "You did okay." Came the familiar voice of his masked sensei.
Of course, the boy turned his head and huffed with a strong smirk. "Sasuke!" Naruto called out, getting both their attentions. His gleeful laugh and broad smile enough to lighten anyone's heart, well if they knew him well enough not to hate him. "You won in such an idiotic way!"
Or not.
"Geez, that idiot..." Sasuke ground out, glaring at Naruto who was still laughing. However he just had to huff out a chuckle of his own, at least he had won his battle, despite being unable to use his Sharingan. He turned his head slightly and locked eyes with Rock Lee, who wasn't moving his eyes away from the Uchiha child one bit. 'Lee, I was able to win thanks to you. If I didn't see your move up close, I would've been done for.'
Just as he said that, a sharp wave of pain shot through his form, causing his body to sieze up and tremble with strain. 'Although it seems I can't use the move consecutively too much...' His breathing was laboured, in fact, if he moved, the dizziness he felt would overtake him and he'd probably collapse where he sat.
On the stands, Zaku let out a huff of amusement. "It wouldn't be interesting if you didn't do that." He commented, arms crossed and in slings, Akari had assumed because of his encounter with Sasuke, considering his arms were fine before the fight.
Orochimaru let out a shuddered breath, the trembles overcoming him increasing in strength as he replayed the fight over and over again in his head. 'Wonderful.' He thought sinisterly, his tongue snaking out of his mouth to stroke his upper lip, a creepy, gleeful smirk on his pale features.
Akari watched with a serious frown as medics took Yoroi away, she could tell, just by the fact that the man wasn't moving, that he was dead. Sasuke had killed him in one blow, and Orochimaru couldn't care less, in fact, he was happy over it.
Disgusting.
"Uchiha Sasuke." One of the medics called out, walking over to the young Genin who had gone way past his own limits. "We medics will give you the best treatement we can."
However, Kakashi was quick to intervene. "This isn't your field." He told the medic, only just glancing up from his perverted book as the doctor hummed with confusion. "I'll take him."
Sasuke was just as lost as the medic, looking behind him as Kakashi crouched down and spoke quietly in his ear. Neither Akari nor Orochimaru could hear him from this distance, but it didn't take a genius to realize that he was going to attempt to seal the Curse Mark.
Sasuke tried to reason with Kakashi, but the older Jounin wasn't going to budge on this. "No!" Was the only word heard from him, which was met with a huff of irritation from his deciple.
The rest was unheard, but Akari smirked when Sasuke relinquished and got to his feet, slowly following Kakashi as the pair of them went to leave the room.
Oddly, the older Ninjutsu Expert had enjoyed that match more than she'd originally thought, it had been some time since she'd seen a real battle, and it was quite entertaining to watch when her own life wasn't in danger. She found it vile that a leader like Orochimaru wouldn't care for the life of his subordinates, but she herself didn't see any of them as allies.
If all of them died, she'd just be relieved, anything to make her mission a little easier.
"Now we will begin the next match." Hayate called out, looking up at the people on the balconies above. With those words, everyone's eyes locked onto the black screen by the Ninjutsu statue and watched as many names filtered through the screen, before falling onto two in particular.
Zaku Abumi and Aburame Shino.
Zaku huffed out a laugh, his eyes moving to look at all the other competitors. "Who's the other weakling?" He asked, unaware that there was a silent pre-teen in small sunglasses awaiting the moment he could step centre stage. Even Orochimaru was smirking with the matchup, this ought to be interesting.
The Third Examinee coughed slightly, his arms outstretched to call the fighters forward. "Fighters, step up."
Doing as they were told, Zaku and Shino stepped towards one another, waiting for the moment they could finally lock arms in battle. "We will now begin the second match."
The two stared at each other for a moment, before Hayate stepped back and uttered the one word that sent them flying into combat.
"Begin."
Akari hummed as she heard a sound at her side and turned just as a puff of smoke bellowed out from where Orochimaru was standing. She knew what he was going to do and huffed, leaning against the railings with disinterest. She didn't care about what he did, as long as he didn't involve her more than she already was involved.
~BHBL~
In the dark room behind the arena, in the centre of some perflectly aligned pillars, stood Kakashi, who was painting symbols onto a sitting Sasuke's back using his own blood. Around them were black circles embedded with several kunai and had the same symbols pointing outwards on four sides.
The Jounin worked quickly as he applied the final marks and made a statement of approval, stepping back. "Bear with this a little." He told the young, teen before him. "It'll be done in no time."
Sasuke nodded with acceptance and turned to face forward, bracing his body for the intense pain that was surely to follow. Kakashi then prepared himself mentally, moving his hands into the right position before he began to spout out seals one after the other with quick succession. "Fuuja Houin!" He ground out before placing his palm against the young boy's back.
A sharp light errupted from their connecting flesh and all Sasuke could do was scream out in agony as the blood symbols began to slowly move up his form, soaking into the Curse Mark on the space where his shoulder and neck met.
Once the symbols all vanished, Kakashi removed his hand and watched the Curse Mark glow aggressively due to the new symbols surrounding it, surpressing it's power. With a final scream from his student, the glowing ceased and the Uchiha boy had to catch himself on his hands as he fell forward, almost collapsing there and then.
"If that Curse Mark tries to activate again, the power of the Fuuja Houin will hold it in." The boy's mentor explained, watching his every move as Sasuke tried to catch his breath and looked over his shoulder at Kakashi. "However, Sasuke, this Fuuin Jutsu utilises your will as it's main source. If you lose faith in your power and your will sways...The Curse Mark will reactivate."
With that, Sasuke couldn't hold on anymore, and collapsed in a heap over the circle they'd prepared. The older Jounin let out a huff of soft concern and amusement. "Looks like he's tired out." He said quietly, unaware there was someone else in the room.
"So you can use Fuuin Jutsu now..." A very familiar, dark voice called out from behind him, causing the white haired teacher to freeze in fear. "You've grown, Kakashi."
Kakashi himself slowly turned his head to look over his shoulder, a cold shiver running up his spine as he watched the man reveal himself, the scrapes of his footsteps the only sound around them right now. "You're..." He managed to say, moving past his fear to speak.
"It's been a long time, Kakashi-kun~" The man said, standing there with his hands in his pockets, an obvious air of confidence and danger around him.
"Orochimaru."
"I'm sorry, but I have no business with you." Orochimaru said without any sense of true remorse in his tone, his eyes darting to the unconscious Genin behind him. "But I do have business with the boy behind you."
Kakashi's face scrunched up with disgust. "Why are you after Sasuke?"
Orochimaru chuckled slightly, raising his head to look down his nose at the Jounin. "You're lucky because you got what you wanted already." He said with an enigmatic air around him. Couldn't he ever just explain something like a normal person would? The white haired man gasped with realisation. "You didn't have that a long time ago. That Sharingan in your left eye!"
Kakashi's body went rigid with digust and anger, shaking ever so slightly as he tried to surpress it. He was no match for Orochimaru, only the Third Hokage could match his strength. "I want it too." The Sannin continued, he didn't even have his guard up, that's how little a threat the white haired male was to him. "Uchiha's powers, that is."
Silence passed between the pair of them as the Snake-like shinobi's words were processed. "What is your purpose?" The Konoha Jounin asked sharply.
"The recently made Otogakure is mine." Orochimaru explained, his smile widening slightly. "You understand if I just say that, right?"
"What a stupid ambition."
"Oh my..." The villain laughed slightly. "That was blunt." He raised his head again, eyes narrowing with desire and determination. "But to accomplish my ambition, I need pieces to become my legs and arms and accomplish things for me." His thoughts went to Zaku, Dosu, Akari and Kin, just for a moment.
"So Sasuke is one of those pieces?" Kakashi asked, eyes narrowing as well as he tried to understand the madman's mind.
"No." His blunt response surprised the white-haired Konoha Jounin. "Sasuke-kun is a supreme piece. And the ones taking the exam are..." His eyes widened with insane amusement. "Merely sacrifices!"
It was then that the Sannin started walking towards the makeshift altar, his guard still down. He had nothing to fear with this Jounin being the only wall between him and his ambitions. As he moved closer and closer, Kakashi's body tensed with every step, until finally his lingering fear of the villainous traitor kicked in and he quickly moved, lowering his arm and posture, he aimed his attack at the ground. "Don't get any closer to Sasuke!"
This actually surprised Orochimaru as he let out a little gasp, watching the sparks of electricity shoot from the Konoha shinobi's hand. "Even if you're one of the legendary Sannin..." He started, glaring at said Sannin with no hesitation in his eyes. "I can sacrifice my life to kill you."
A moment passed before the rogue ninja lowered his head and let out a deep chuckle, which slowly evolved into relentless, cold laughter.
"What's so funny?" Kakashi asked, his expression angered and terrified all at once, a dangerous combination.
The Snake Bastard raised his head, and sent a shiver of pure terror up his opponent's spine at the sight of his remorseless reptillian eyes. "What you say and do don't agree with each other..."
"What?"
"There's no point in using that seal..." Orochimaru continued. "You know, right? He has a heart that seeks power no matter how evil it is. He possesses that kind of disposition. He is an avenger..."
"So you took advantage of that." Kakashi breathed. "But Sasuke won't..."
The snake-like shinobi tilted his head to the side curiously. "Eventually he will seek me out." He turned and started walking away, he didn't have time to play with insects. "Seek me out for power, that is." He paused near the exit. "Also, you said that you could kill me? Try, that is, if you can."
Kakashi's eyes widened and he felt a deep shudder run up his spine, and without another word, Orochimaru vanished into thin air.
Was he right? Would Sasuke seek him out, or was he stronger than that?
A/N: Thank you for reading! Please review, all comments help me improve!
Japanese to English
Fuuin Jutsu = Sealing Techniques
Fuuja Houin = Evil Surpressor
