Chapter 8 – Sasuke's New Team; Orochimaru Strikes!
After entering the academy, the three Genin of Team 8 didn't speak much as they made their way up towards the third floor. However, after arriving on the second floor, all three of the Genin (plus Akamaru) were all dumbstruck at what they saw. "Umm, Naruto? Why there hell are all these people standing outside a room on the second floor? This doesn't make any sense." Kiba whispered to the blonde, doing his best to make sure none of the competition heard him.
Sakura shook her head and sighed before whispering to her two teammates quietly. "Genjutsu. They all fell for such a stupid Genjutsu. What do you want to do Naruto-kun?" Naruto looked to Sakura and then to Kiba and found himself smirking. "Want to go see who decided to pull this little stunt? I'd like to check out some of our competition too. Wouldn't you Kiba?" When Kiba nodded with a grin, they both heard Sakura sigh. "Don't be like that Sakura-chan; I'm sure all of them can't be totally stupid. Besides, we won't even stay long. Just long enough to get a glimpse of some of the competition and see who's responsible for the Genjutsu, and then we'll continue on our way. I promise."
The pink-haired girl nodded her head calmly and readjusted the black gloves she had on her hands. "Let's just get this over with. I don't want to be late because we decided to play around." Receiving nods from both of her teammates, Sakura nodded in return and walked with them towards the crowd. Shortly after arriving, a young man with a bowl cut hairstyle and bushy eyebrows was knocked back through the crowd and landed at Naruto's feet. With a shrug of his shoulders, the blonde extended a hand and helped the Genin to his feet. "Hey there, be a little careful all right? What's going on?"
Rock Lee glanced between Naruto back to the two blocking their way, and then back again to examine the members of Team 8. As he was about to answer, Lee's eyes finally rested on Sakura Haruno and his eyes instantly turned into hearts. Quickly grasping her hands, the young Genin began running circles across the backs of her hands with his thumbs. "Your beauty far surpasses what I expected based on the stories I've heard of you thus far Sakura-san. Perhaps you would be so kind as to accept my offer of a date?" Bowing to her for a moment, Lee prepared himself and gave her his 'nice guy pose'. The Genin's eyes and teeth were sparkling as he held his thumb up before her face. "I promise I will treat you right!"
Sakura's eyes narrowed dangerously and her teammates both facepalmed themselves, groaning as they knew exactly what was coming next. In an instant, Rock Lee was laying flat on the ground with a large lump on his head while Sakura was slapping her hands against each other. "No! I'm sure you're a nice guy, but you're also creepy! C'mon Naruto-kun, Kiba, let's just move on." With that, the pink-haired kunoichi of Team 8 grabbed her teammates by their wrists and began leading them away from the crowd so they could move on.
Naruto shot a glanced back at Rock Lee and smiled at him. "Sorry about that. Do take care. Hopefully we'll see each other again later all right?" Chuckling softly to himself, the blonde Genin stepped in front of his teammates as they began their way upstairs to the third floor. Sadly, the three heard a familiar voice that caused them each to groan. Ugh, that fucking idiot!
"Idiots. How could you all fall for such a ridiculous Genjutsu? You should be ashamed of yourselves. After all, this is only the second floor. Come Fu, Sai, let's be on our way." As Sasuke finished, the two that had been barring the door in the first place began to laugh. "Wow, the Uchiha's still as arrogant as ever, isn't he Izumo?" Izumo nodded sadly and shook his head. "I guess some things never change Kotetsu. However, if you think you're so special, why not take a look over there at the group climbing the stairs? Not only did they get here before you Uchiha, but they figured it out right away as soon as they stepped foot on this floor. If you were wise, you would have taken their lead and left the other losers here to fail for failing to see through our 'ridiculous Genjutsu' as you so delicately put it. Now shoo boy. Run off with the rest of the competition and sulk because you were too stupid to think things through."
The members of Team 8 snickered as they walked off. As they left, they could hear Sasuke fuming and a small scuffle taking place as soon as they were out of sight. However, they soon froze once more as they heard the green spandex-clad boy talking once again. "Hmph, sounds like Eyebrow-san just stopped Teme from getting his ass kicked. He might be better than we gave him credit for Naruto." Kiba stated. Naruto simply gave a shrug before the four set off once more.
Moments Later – Exam Room
As Team 8 entered the exam room, the three Genin were struck by a wave of killing intent. However, instead of flinching from it, the three of them began to laugh while Akamaru yipped excitedly from atop Kiba's head. Clearly confused by the three of them, the Genin soon shrugged and turned around to continue doing whatever tasks they were doing before.
Naruto turned when he sensed a team to his left and grinned almost instantly when he recognized Shikamaru & Choji. "Hey guys, what's up?!" Walking closer to them, Naruto and Kiba greeted their best friends and hugged them tight. "It's been a while since we saw you last. It's been over a month or so since we last hung out right? Please tell me you two have been training hard? I want the four of us to make it all the way to the end!"
Choji nodded with a grin and looked to Shikamaru who yawned before nodding himself. "That damn friend of yours, Sean-sensei? He's trained us into the ground every day this damn month. And yet as tough as he's been on us, Ino hasn't let us complain once." Glaring at his female teammate, Shikamaru groaned and shook his head. "I swear she's got some kind of sick crush on him." "Yeah, Ino's been trying to impress your friend Naruto. Whenever he praises her, she gets all giddy. I have to say it's kind of funny." Choji added as he popped a few more chips into his mouth.
Ino blushed furiously and hit the both of them over their heads and sent them to the floor. "J-Jerks! It's not that bad. Sean-sensei's only fourteen years older than I am. I just need to grow up a bit more and in three or four years I should be developed enough for him! Then…" Sakura's groaning and Naruto's red face caused Ino to shut up instantly as she stared at them puzzled. "W-What's the problem?"
"Ino…you're talking about one of my very best friends. I don't even want to IMAGINE the kinds of things you've thought about doing with him. Plus…you might want to get to know Sean-sensei a bit more before you really start to think about things like that. Okay?" Naruto commented. Sakura decided to add her two cents in as well. "Jeez Ino-pig, couldn't you like somebody your own age? Sean-sensei's…old. Not Hokage old, but still…"
Ino pouted cutely and turned her back on her friends. "You just don't understand true love Forehead! And Naruto, your friend's AMAZING! Unlike Sasuke he's been so sweet to me and he took a true interest in me and my training. He's done so much for me already and…and…" Swooning, Ino turned around and held her hands to her face as she blushed deeply. Her teammates and the members of Team 8 just sighed and shook their heads as the next team walked up.
Team 7 stared curiously at the scene before them, but rather than comment, Hinata quickly threw her arms around her Naruto-kun and kissed him deeply in front of everybody. "I'm so glad to see you Naruto-kun! We're going to go all the way to the finals together, right?" Naruto chuckled softly and nodded his head as he brushed his fingers through his girlfriend's hair. "That's right Hinata-chan. I'm not sure what the Chunin Exams have in store for us, but with all the training we've been through, I just know we can make it all the way to the end. We made a promise to each other right?" Hinata giggled cutely and nodded her head before kissing him again. "Yes. No matter what happens, I'll make sure to meet you in the finals."
Haku sighed as she watched her teammate and her crush make out in front of her. Shino seemed unaffected however and simply gazed around at all the competition. Not much was said between them for a while until Team 9 walked in, shortly followed by Sasuke's team. Everyone glanced at the six of them, and upon spotting Sasuke and the shape he was in, the group began to chuckle. "Man Sasuke, what happened to you? You look like you were run over by a horde of stampeding bulls!" Haku shouted at him before she continued to laugh hysterically.
Sasuke grumbled and simply turned to look at everyone in the room. Sai, of course, didn't speak a word. Instead he merely gazed at the current competition and considered what each was most likely capable of and who would be the biggest threat to him and his team. Fu on the other hand soon walked up and threw her arms around Naruto before placing a kiss on his cheek. "Oh, he's just upset because he got his butt kicked in an unofficial Taijutsu spar with Rock Lee. Don't get me wrong, the jerk put up a decent fight, but Lee totally outclassed him in the end. Makes me wonder if he actually learned anything from that sensei of his."
Sasuke turned to glare at her and was about to say something to her when a silver-haired Genin with glasses and a Konoha hitai-ate walked over and began to speak to the large group of Genin. "Would you all please quiet down? If you haven't noticed, you're attracting a LOT of attention to yourselves right now. Take a look if you don't believe me." The young man stated calmly as he waved for them to look behind him.
All the Genin that had been conversing took a look behind him at all the glaring Genin in the room before they all took a look at Kabuto. "Those idiots with the weak killing intent? Who cares? There are only a few of them that actually seem worthwhile. The rest are just trash." Sasuke stated, and despite what the others may think of him, each of them nodded in turn.
Kabuto stood shocked for a moment before he regained his cool and nodded his head. Calmly pushing his glasses up with his right index finger, the young man began to speak again. "Well then, since that doesn't seem to bother you in the least I don't see any problem then. My name is Kabuto Yakushi. It's a pleasure to meet all of you."
At this point, Kiba interrupted. "Yeah yeah, what is it that you want exactly Kabuto-san? I doubt you approached us just to make small talk, right?" The others nodded and the man with the glasses chuckled dryly to himself. "So true. Did any of you know that this happens to be my seventh time taking these exams?" The shocked looks on some of their faces forced him to take on a grim expression. Soon, Kiba spoke up again. "Dude, you must really suck if it's taken you this many times just to become a Chunin!"
Kabuto shook his head and smirked wickedly at him. "While that might be true, I can assure you that the exams are just that tough. However, I would like to offer my help. If there is anyone you happen to be curious about, I can give you information on each and every person here. So, if any of you happen to be curious about any of your competition, just tell me what you know about them and I'll give you whatever information I have available. Who knows? It might give you a leg up on the competition and save you some trouble later on."
Sasuke grinned at this and stepped forward, shoving his way past Naruto in the process as he approached Kabuto. "All right then, I've got some people you can look up for me. Rock Lee, Gaara, and Naruto Uzumaki. Call me curious." The others present weren't at all surprised that Sasuke would be curious about Naruto. While before some of them may have been shocked, they had all heard plenty about his exploits and could completely understand why Sasuke wanted info on his rival.
Kabuto pouted and spoke up as he drew some of his cards and began pouring chakra into them. "That's just not fair. You already know their names. Takes all the challenge out of this." He muttered quietly as he flipped over the first card. "Rock Lee. His teammates are Neji Hyuga & Tenten. Sensei is Might Guy and…well, this is odd. Co-sensei is currently Anko Mitarashi? Since when did Konoha teams have co-sensei? Ah well. Let's see here. His sensei, Might Guy, held Lee and his team back from the past two Chunin Exams to further prepare them for the exams. He has absolutely no skills in Ninjutsu or Genjutsu, but he's apparently an exceptional Taijutsu specialist. It's also said that he's gained skills in Bojutsu and other weapon arts. In terms of missions, he has been on 13 D-rank missions, 7 C-ranks, 1 B-rank, 0 A-rank, and 0 S-rank missons. Not bad."
Everyone nodded and Naruto gave an approving smile to Lee before he looked back to hear the information on the next person: Gaara. "Gaara. His teammates are his two elder siblings: Temari and Kankuro. Sensei is a man named Baki. As you no doubt already know, they hail from Sunagakure. His skills are widely unknown, sadly. He has been on 0 D-rank missions, 7 C-rank missions, 4 B-ranks, 2 A-ranks, and 0 S-ranks. It's said that he has never suffered a single injury on any of the missions he's been on. That's actually quite incredible considering the types of missions he and his team have been on. It truly makes one wonder what type of abilities this Gaara has, doesn't it?"
Sasuke snarled at the many unknowns about Gaara. He hated the fact that he might be going into battle against such a foe. Grumbling at his shitty luck, the last Uchiha shook the thoughts out of his head and motioned for Kabuto to turn over the last card. "Come on, show me the last one. I want to know his information now." Sasuke wasn't the only one curious. All of his them were curious about what Naruto had been up to and what his skills currently were, even his teammates!
Kabuto smirked and went to flip over the last card, but blinked a few times as he found it missing. "That's odd. Where the hell did that card go?!" Looking up, everyone followed his gaze to a humming Naruto as he looked over the information on his own card. "Well that is interesting. Do tell me Kabuto Yakushi, how would you have this kind of information on me? A lot of this information is supposed to be top secret." Smirking at the 19 year-old man before him, Naruto tore up the card and burned the remains to cinders using a small fire jutsu, much to everyone's surprise.
Kabuto looked a tad nervous at that. "I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about Naruto-san. What information on that card has you so upset?" Naruto shook his head and narrowed his eyes. "Nothing that concerns anyone here, least of all you. However, I will get my answers from you later if I have to Kabuto. There were secrets written on that card that very few people are privilege to. You'd best be on your guard throughout this exam Kabuto-san, or you'll regret showing your face to me." Smirking wickedly, Naruto stepped back and decided to let the others talk to the foul man.
Kabuto groaned and shook his head. Not good. I may have already blown my cover Orochimaru-sama. Then again, he was the dead last of his graduating class; I doubt he could be a true threat to our plans. Smirking again, Kabuto nodded and looked to Sasuke once again. "Well, you have information on two of the three you asked about Sasuke-kun. As I'm sure you've no doubt realized, I happen to have information on practically everybody here. There are ninja from all over the world here and I could tell you about every single one. Kusa nin, Suna nin, Kiri nin, I could give you information on all of them. Though there are Genin from a newly formed village that I have little to no information on. Otogakure. As they are only recently formed, I can pretty much guarantee that they won't be any threat to highly trained Genin such as you." The young man smirked and nodded his head as he slipped away his cards and readjusted his glasses once more.
Everyone in the group sensed it almost immediately. The three Genin from Otogakure whispered amongst themselves and quickly dashed towards the group, each one radiating a small amount of killing intent. As they reached the group, the one with bandages wrapped all over his face and arms hidden by a poncho approached Kabuto quickly and attempted to attack him. Naruto, despite seeing the attack coming, decided to see what this new enemy of his was capable of. However, the blonde was disappointed as the young man simply jumped backwards slightly to avoid the punch. Soon after, Kabuto fell to his knees and vomited as his glasses cracked.
Well that was certainly odd. I have a feeling Kabuto could have easily dealt with the Mummy Man and dealt with an attack such as that. Stranger still is that attack. It didn't land, and yet…ahhh, I see! Glancing at his teammates, Naruto nodded at them and the three nodded back at him. Good, they've noticed it as well. I'm sure the others did too. These Oto Genin are not to be underestimated.
Soon, a small explosion of smoke flooded the room and the proctor for the first exam appeared with an entourage of Chunin and Jonin level ninja flanking him on both sides. "Sit down and shut up! You three stop this instant or I'll fail you all for fighting without permission!" The three Oto Genin quickly bowed their heads and grinned. "Sorry sir, we're just a little excitable right now. After all, this is our first Chunin Exams and we're eager to show what Oto Genin can do." The scarred proctor shook his head. "Don't let it happen again. Now, find your assigned seats and sit down maggots! Then I'll go over the rules."
As soon as everyone had taken their seats, Naruto glanced around at where everyone was sitting and found himself practically as giddy as can be as he realized he was seated right next to his girlfriend, Hinata Hyuga! Reaching over, the blonde gently squeezed her hand and the two smiled at each other, happy that they could be so close during this first test.
The two were interrupted from their thoughts however as the proctor spoke up again. "All right maggots, listen up! My name is Ibiki Morino and I'm your proctor for the first part of these exams. As I'm sure you may have noticed, I have numerous assistants scattered throughout the room. I will get to the reason for their presence here shortly. Now, before we begin, I would like to explain what you'll be doing. No doubt you have all noticed the papers sitting before you on your desks. You will be taking a written exam for your first test! However, there are some extra rules that need to be set in place before you may begin."
Grinning at some of the expressions on the faces of some of his 'victims', Ibiki continued on. "Firstly, anyone caught cheating three times will be failed. Should this happen, not only will you fail, but so will your teammates." When somebody dared to speak out against him, Ibiki let loose a wave of killing intent that instantly silenced everyone in the classroom. "Do not interrupt me maggots! Listen, and listen well lest I choose to punish the next person that dares to speak against my rules!" Receiving nods from all the Genin in the room, Ibiki nodded and continued on. "Second, there will be a tenth question given towards the end of the test. You will have 50 minutes to complete the first nine questions on your test. After those 50 minutes are up, I will pop the last question on you. Now, all of you get ready." Looking towards the clock and then towards his helpers, Ibiki smirked and nodded his head. "You all may begin!"
Naruto
As soon as he flipped over the paper, Naruto looked over each of the questions and groaned inwardly. Great, just great. Sean-sensei may have helped me out a lot and I may be smarter now, but this? This is just insane! Okay Naruto, think for a moment. Rules, rules… After about a minute, it all clicked and the blonde Genin grinned to himself. Clever. The answer is hidden within the rules. We're meant to cheat! Otherwise as soon as we were caught cheating just once, we'd be kicked out and the entire team would fail. All right, that makes things simpler for me.
Calmly glancing around the room for a moment, Naruto found that a number of people had already begun filling out the answers to the test. Smirking to himself, the young man nodded his head again. As I suspected. Clever Ibiki-san, very clever. You planted some Chunin and Jonin throughout the room that already knew the answers. Now to bring out a little friend. Chuckling inwardly, Naruto unzipped his brownish red jacket slowly and put his finger to his chest. Soon a small wind creature slipped onto his finger and the young man brought it to eye level and whispered quietly to it. "All right Ginzo, I want you to find somebody with the answers and report back to me once you have them. Got it?" When the small cricket made entirely of wind hopped off, the blonde smirked to himself and quickly jotted down something on the back of his test while he waited for his friend to return with the answers.
10 Minutes Later
When the wind cricket returned to Naruto, he let it hop up onto his shoulder and smirked as it began relaying information to him. The blonde quickly jotted down all the answers before setting his pencil down and nodding calmly. "Very good Ginzo-san. Thanks for the other information as well. Information on their abilities should come in very handy." He whispered with a smirk as the cricket snuggled back into his inner shirt pocket again. Glancing sideways at Hinata, he saw that she was almost done as well and nodded approvingly before he saw a kunai flash past his face and hit the desk behind him. Turning slightly, he saw that the kunai had imbedded the test of the Genin behind him. Just like before with some of the other teams, this Genin and his team were soon booted from the room for failing the test.
Sighing in relief, Naruto laid his head down upon the desk and closed his eyes. For a minute I thought they had caught me somehow. Then again, if that was the case, they would have already booted Kiba from the room, failing Sakura and me in the process. After all, Akamaru keeps yipping and giving his master the answers that way. Guess I'm just being paranoid. I think I'll just relax until the last question is given out. Yawning slightly, Naruto soon let his thoughts drift while he awaited the final question.
10 Minutes before the end of the test
Hinata gently reached out and shook Naruto awake again. Giggling at how cute he looked as he was stretching and opening his eyes, she pointed him towards Ibiki who was scowling at his display. The blonde quickly relaxed himself and nodded for the proctor to go on. "Now that we're all awake!" This particular comment wasn't just directed at Naruto of course. A certain Nara was targeted as well for the very same problem. "We can continue on with the final question."
Ibiki smirked and glanced around at everyone that still remained. "This final question comes with an additional set of rules." Looking around again, Ibiki was glad to see that none dared to interrupt him this time. Nodding appreciatively at how quickly they learned, the proctor went on. "First and foremost: if you refuse to attempt to answer this question, you will FAIL! Thus you and your team will be forced to leave."
Temari soon raised her hand and voiced a question that was on everybody's mind. "I don't mean to interrupt you sir, but can you please explain? Why wouldn't we choose to attempt the question if we'll fail for refusing it?"
Ibiki nodded with a smile and answered her somewhat politely. "That's actually a good question. If you choose to attempt to answer this question and you answer it wrongly, you and your team will fail! However, that's not all: should you get the answer wrong, you and your teammates will never get the chance to become Chunin ever again. So it is your choice: either stay and try to answer a question which you will very likely fail, or you can leave now and participate in the next Chunin Exams where you may attempt to become Chunin again. If you're smart, you'll choose option number 2." Smirking wickedly, Ibiki watched as many people began to sweat. One tried to argue with him, but upon seeing the look the proctor shot him, the Genin quickly shut up.
After a good five minutes, only about half of the Genin remained. Glancing at Hinata to see how she was faring, Naruto frowned. She appeared to be nervous and was fidgeting constantly. Crap. Looks like I have to do something before she throws in the towel. Nodding to himself, Naruto stood up and slammed his hand down on the desk in front of him, quickly grabbing the attention of everybody in the room. "Are you all idiots?! I can't believe you're falling for this crap! Think about it for just a minute you dumbasses! Ibiki-san has no control over the future of the Chunin Exams, especially if they're not held here in Konoha again for a time. This is another test! It's a test of our resolve! We ninja aren't always given the opportunity to back down when things get tough. Sometimes a mission's going to get hard and we're going to have to face some hard decisions. At times we might have to push ahead against impossible odds all because we have to protect our home and those we love and care about."
Looking around at everybody, the blonde Genin chose to give an important example to everyone in the room. "Take for example this hypothetical situation: you and your team have an enemy on the run. You know he's leading you into a trap, but it's also known that he has stolen a document pertaining to the defense of your village. You're most likely going to run into a situation where some of your teammates will die, but can you simply go back just to save yourselves? Of course not! Sean-sensei taught me about this at a young age and I know it's an important lesson dattebayo! So all of you grow a fucking backbone and don't quit just because Ibiki-san's as intimidating to you as Sean-sensei or Zabuza! Sit your butts down and stay the course."
With that said, Naruto sat down and folded his arms across his chest with a proud grin plastered on his face. Hinata soon placed her hand on his arm and smiled sweetly at him. "T-Thank you Naruto-kun. I don't know what came over me. I guess I'm still working on the confidence thing even now." Lowering her head in shame, she soon blushed when she felt her boyfriend place a gentle kiss upon her forehead. "Now now Hinata-chan, I won't be having any of that. I did this for you dattebayo." Grinning at her, they both looked to Ibiki and prepared for the final question.
Ibiki looked around and sighed as the time ticked away. Well, well, well, it looks like the Gaki's speech did its job. Nobody else is going to leave. Might as well call it then. Glancing around to his assistants, Ibiki nodded in sync with them and he quickly turned and threw his arms out to his sides. "Congratulations, all of you! You have all passed the first test!"
Soon, cries of disbelief could be heard throughout the room and the proctor groaned. "Before any of you dare to ask why or what the hell happened, I'll explain. As most of you figured out, the first part of the test was designed to force you to cheat. It was all about information gathering in dangerous circumstances. Most of you did pretty well. A few of you were caught cheating at least once or twice, but you came through in the end. Since that lesson doesn't exactly require any further explanation, allow me to move on to the second part of the test."
Going quiet for a time, Ibiki untied his bandana and removed it slowly from his head, revealing his many scars. "Yes, I've seen my fair share of battle and torture in my days. As Blondie over there explained to you, you aren't always going to be given an easy decision. Sometimes you have to make a hard decision in order to do the right thing. Blondie already gave you a perfect hypothetical, but let me elaborate a bit more." Tying his bandana back around his head, Ibiki smiled broadly for a moment. "Think on this for a moment would you? Say a companion from your village has been taken hostage. You know for certain he's going to be tortured for whatever information he (or she) may hold. A rescue mission is to be staged, but you're to venture deep into enemy territory and enemy opposition will be high. As the Gaki stated, there's a high chance that some, or all of you may die during this mission. Should things turn south, are you supposed to run to save yourself and your team? No!" Glaring around the room, Ibiki decided to continue. "If the hostage has valuable information and there's nothing else you can do, you make that hard decision and you find a way to end the hostage's life. It's not easy, it never is when making a decision like that, but you have to do it in order to keep your village safe! It's a hard reality to face and it may make some of you as sick as these scars of mine tend to make people, but you may have to deal with it one day soon. Now…"
Before Ibiki could continue, the window burst and glass flew around the front of the room as a kunai and ball hit the floor in front of Ibiki. In a matter of seconds, a banner sprouted up and clung to the walls. The words upon said banner read as follows: "Introducing the Second Test's Sexy Proctor: Anko Mitarashi!" Groaning, all those that knew her immediately slapped their faces and listened as she appeared in the center of the room and began to give her spiel. Dear Kami, what is wrong with you Anko-sensei?!
As she glanced around the room, Anko frowned and turned to Ibiki. "What the hell Ibiki?! You've never let this many pass before! Are you losing your touch old man?" Ibiki simply chuckled and shook his head. "First of all, you're early again Anko. Second, perhaps you'd best not underestimate these Genin. It may just be that this year's crop is better than any before now. You'll have your work cut out for you." With a small smirk playing at her lips, Anko looked around at all those she had the honor of teaching throughout the past three months and smiled. "Well, we'll just see about that Ibiki. By the time I'm through with 'em, about half of these little Gakis will be dead."
Gulping at that statement, many of the Genin began to doubt themselves again. The grin on her face seemed to PROMISE death and the gleam in her eyes was seriously creeping them out. Team 9 lowered their heads in shame and shook their heads. "Anko-sensei, you are so weird!" Tenten shouted before Anko simply shrugged. "Maybe so Gaki, but at least I've got some style." The Snake Mistress smirked at that and Tenten simply sighed. "All right Gakis, meet me at Training Ground #44 in half an hour. Don't be late!" Laughing to herself, Anko soon jumped out the same window she crashed through and disappeared.
Naruto sighed and shook his head. "Well Hinata-chan, I say we get our teams and get going. I assume she's shown your team to that particular training ground before right?" When Hinata nodded and smiled at him, the blonde ninja grinned and took her hand. "Then let's get going Hime!"
As the Genin filed out of the room, Ibiki went about collecting the tests and chuckled at some of them. When he reached Naruto's, the proctor blinked a couple of times as he lifted it to eye level and began to read the note on the back of the paper. Kabuto huh? All right, I'll report this to Hokage-sama immediately. Might as well see what he wants to do about the little punk. With that, Ibiki set the papers down and ordered his assistants to handle them while he shunshined out of the room to go and speak with the Hokage.
Training Ground #44 – 15 Minutes Later
As Teams 7 – 10 and Sasuke's team approached the training ground where the second part of the Chunin Exams would take place, Anko grinned at them. During her wait, she had been gradually sharpening a kunai and now found herself eyeing each of them carefully for a time. Once they finally reached her location, the Snake Mistress hopped from her position on top of the fence and chuckled softly as she looked them over again. "Well, it's good to see all of you here. Naruto, Hinata…others. Any of you mind telling me how Sean's been?"
Ino began to fume at this point as she walked up and pointed her finger threateningly at Anko. "Why do you care?! You'd better stay away from him you crazy bitch!" The others that knew Anko quickly paled and took many steps away, much to the confusion of the others. This actually included Ino's teammates as they had heard plenty of crazy things about her from the others.
Anko's eyes narrowed and she began to chuckle darkly. "A crazy bitch am I? What? Does little blue-eyed blondie have a crush on her precious sensei?" As Ino's eyes went wide and she began to blush furiously, Anko laughed. "Hate to break it to you Blondie, but I saw him first. You're a little too young to be chasing after my man Gaki!"
Ino began to fume at this point and a long argument began between the two women with feelings for Sean. Meanwhile, the other Genin simply chose to ignore them and talk amongst one another about the two with HUUUGE crushes on Sean or even about what the second test could have in store for them. Every now and then another group of Genin would show, but they still had time to just sit and relax with each other while they waited.
Another 15 minutes later
The argument between the two girls had ended a few minutes ago after Naruto and Sakura chose to talk to them both. Both of them had put up an argument that neither kunoichi could argue against: Sean wouldn't want them to do this or act like this. So, realizing the truth of that statement, the two had apologized to each other and returned to what they were doing before they had begun to argue.
"All right Gakis, now that most of you have arrived and the thirty minutes is up, I'll explain the next round of the Chunin Exams to you. First things first though: every team that hasn't made it here within the time limit is hereby disqualified. Sucks for them right?" Chuckling to herself, Anko gripped a piece of paper tight and waved it around in the air above her head. "Second, you're each going to be handed a form that looks like this. Think of this form as a kind of waver. The main point is to make sure you all acknowledge that if you happen to die in the forest that you've accepted your fate. This is mainly here as a political move so we can avoid some stupid, unnecessary war with your countries. If you're too afraid, you and your team can leave now. Shoo, shoo to all you cowards out there."
A few teams did leave at this and Anko snickered at them as they left. With a shrug of her shoulders, Anko sent a few of her assistants to hand out the forms. Soon, she began to explain the rules of the next round to the Genin. "All right Genin, on to the rules of the next test!" Waving her arm out, the beautiful Snake Mistress grinned wickedly and listened happily as the beasts of the forest began to play their part perfectly. Roars, leaves shuffling, and more could be heard from within the Forest of Death, and all of it played in very well with Anko's little speech. "Welcome to Training Ground #44, a.k.a. the Forest of Death. As you can no doubt hear there are all kinds of nasty creatures in there and other things just waiting to tear into your flesh and make you bleed."
Some of the Genin were shaking, but the expected teams didn't show any care in the world. Naruto instead found himself smirking at Anko as she looked his way. Anko-sensei, we already know about the dangers of the forest. You may be able to intimidate the others with this, but you can't intimidate us. The blonde thought to himself while Anko just smirked his way and nodded appreciatively. At first she considered throwing a kunai at him to make an example, but she decided against it as she didn't want to upset Seanie-kun by 'assaulting' his favorite student.
Settling for just sighing, Anko pulled out two scrolls, both held different seals. "All right Gakis, listen up. The test this time is this: all teams will received a scroll. You will either receive a Heaven scroll or an Earth scroll. Your goal is to find a team that possesses the scroll you need and take it from them. Heaven scroll if you possess an Earth scroll and an Earth scroll should you possess a Heaven scroll. You may collect the scrolls by any means necessary upon entering the forest. You will each go to your designated gate, and when I say go, you'll be allowed entry. Also, you should all know that you are NOT permitted to even ATTEMPT opening the scrolls until you reach the tower in the center of the forest. You've five days to get the scroll you need and reach the tower. Any team who doesn't make it by the end of the fifth day will be disqualified. I shouldn't have to warn you to be careful in there and use your wits. Do yourselves and your villages proud!" With that, Anko turned and walked into the tent so she could begin handing out scrolls as soon as the teams began filing into the tent. This would be so much nicer if Sean was here beside me.
Moments Later – Inside of the tent with Team 8
The Genin of Team 8 entered the tent and smiled at Anko as they handed her their forms. She soon handed them an Earth scroll and Naruto sealed the scroll away into a storage scroll just to be safe. Anko smirked at that and nodded her head appreciatively. "You probably should have waited to do that until you were in the forest, but I'll let it slide Gaki. You three should be careful in there okay? You're not just up against the dangers of the forest this time; you're up against other Genin teams from all over the continent. You know Seanie-kun cares about you three very much. So does the old man and numerous other people. Make everyone proud and do your very best okay? I know you can do it." Smiling at them, Anko ruffled Naruto's hair and sent them on their way.
Gate #17 – Team 8 – Moments Later
Seeing as how everyone had finally collected their scrolls and were now positioned at the many entrances into the Forest of Death, everyone was anxious to finally begin the second phase of the Chunin Exams. When Anko announced it through the speakers attached to the gates that it was time, Team 8 watched as their gate opened and quickly glanced at each other. Naruto grinned and nodded his head. "Let's go. I'll send out my shadow clones in search of the closest teams. Depending on what I find, it should help us determine which of the teams we should target. My clones will dispel when they learn which scroll the discovered team has so that will definitely make our choices easier for us. However, we need to be extremely careful. There are certain teams I don't want us to have to face in here."
Kiba nodded calmly and looked to him as they dashed through the trees to find a good place to hide out until Naruto's shadow clones found something. "That Suna team has me worried. Something about that Gaara guy gives me the creeps. Then there's Teams 7, 9, & 10. I don't want to deal with them. I'm sure you don't want to wipe out Sasuke's team if we can help it. After all, your little Fu-chan's part of that teme's new team and you want to see her go far, right?" Smirking to himself, the dog boy soon found himself smacked hard on the back of his head by the pink-haired kunoichi of the group. Sighing, he chose to simply sniff around for anything out of the ordinary that they should watch out for.
Sakura huffed angrily and shook her head. "Shut it Kiba. Naruto-kun's with Hinata. There's absolutely nothing going on between him and the three of us. They only have eyes for each other after all." Sighing sadly to herself, the young Haruno shook her head and focused on the matter at hand. "Ugh, now you've got me thinking about that Kiba. Thanks a lot! We need to focus on the exams. What do you want to do after we get the scroll we need Naruto-kun?"
Naruto shrugged his shoulders and soon pointed upwards to a darker part of the forest where they could hide in the shadows. Ascending to the point he pointed at, he began to converse with them some more in sharp whispers. "It honestly depends on how things go. Of course, I'd prefer to discuss it with you two first. In my personal opinion, I think we should head straight for the tower as soon as we have both scrolls. I don't want to run the risk of getting ambushed by a team and losing one of our scrolls. Of course, they won't be able to take our scrolls to begin with without our blood, so I suppose there really isn't much to worry about huh? What do you guys think?"
Kiba nodded and Akamaru barked quietly in agreement. "That's actually exactly what I was thinking. As soon as we have the scrolls, we should head for the tower. Akamaru and I can easily get us around any traps or enemy teams no problem. By that point, your shadow clones might draw too much attention to us to be honest Naruto."
Sakura nodded. "I agree with Kiba. However, there is something else I feel I should mention. If we come across one of our friends' teams in trouble, what should we do Naruto-kun? I'm all for helping them out if you want to."
Naruto thought it over for a moment and both he and Kiba nodded at the same time. "That sounds good to me Sakura-chan. I hate the prospect of helping Sasuke out though, but I'll do it for Fu-chan. Teams 7, 9, & 10 I'll gladly help out. We may not know the members of Team 9 all that well, but I've met Tenten before and she's a great friend. Lee's not too bad either. I couldn't care less about Neji though. That punk treats Hinata-chan like dirt. I'd just as soon kick his ass all over this forest as I would rescue his teammates." Snarling a bit, Naruto did his best to calm himself as he prepared to speak further.
Before he could however, one of his Shadow Clones dispelled and he shook his head. "Well that team's a bust. An Earth scroll just like us. Though another one just dispersed that says a team just south of us has a Heaven scroll. My clone didn't view them as much of a threat, but they have what we need and they're close. About seven minutes away. Shall we go pay them a visit?" As his teammates nodded and Akamaru barked, happily wagging his tail, the team of four quickly jumped off to pay their opponents a visit.
Meanwhile with Sasuke's Team
Sasuke, Fu, and Sai were shaking uncontrollably as they fought their hardest to remain standing. The Kusa nin's killing intent was unbearable to the point they could literally see their own deaths. All three of them managed to break free after a short period of time by stabbing themselves in different body parts and quickly dived out of the way of the kunai aimed at each of their heads.
The Uchiha snarled as the kunoichi before him began to clap condescendingly. "Who the hell are you and what the hell do you think you're pulling by attacking us on your own?!" He shouted angrily as he began trying to devise a plan to deal with their enemy.
The Kusa nin glanced over at Sasuke and smirked wickedly. "Why Sasuke-kun, I was beginning to wonder if you'd ever ask. My name is Orochimaru and I'm simply here to see you. Is that so bad?" She smirked wickedly as she went through a series of hand seals faster than any of the three Genin could follow. However, instead of attacking Sasuke, she turned towards Sai and shouted: "Futon: Daitoppa!" In an instant, before he could even move, Sai was lifted off the ground and sent rocketing backwards into a tree, hitting it incredibly hard. Coughing, the young Genin collapsed to his knees and began to spit up a small amount of blood as he tried to recover from the attack. Glancing up, he could see Orochimaru slowly approaching him with murderous intent in his eyes.
Groaning from the immense pain he was in, Sai pulled out his scroll and ink brush and began to sketch something quickly. As soon as his drawing was finished, he shouted out the name of his technique as the animal on the scroll leapt off the page to attack and hopefully buy him some time. Looking up at their enemy, Sai watched hopefully as his ink snakes wrapped themselves around Orochimaru and restrained him. His hopeful expression didn't last long however as the powerful enemy destroyed them with a technique he didn't recognize.
As Sai prepared another drawing, Fu suddenly shot up from behind Orochimaru and attacked with her own technique. "Hiden: Rinpungakure no Jutsu (Secret: Hiding in Scale Powder Technique)!" she shouted as a fine, silvery powder shot out of her mouth and surrounded the area. The confusion worked to her advantage as Orochimaru soon screamed out as he was blinded by the powder. Landing before him, Fu kicked Team Sasuke's enemy as hard as she could in his chest and sent him flying towards Sasuke. As he did so, the green-haired young lass went through more hand seals.
As Orochimaru came his way, Sasuke went through hand seals of his own and quickly put his fingers to his mouth in an O shape. "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" As the fireball flew at Orochimaru, Fu shouted out her technique as well, "Powerful Wind Wave!" Soon a powerful blade of wind shot forth from her mouth and, despite Orochimaru's best attempt to duck out of the way of the two techniques, the jutsu collided and formed a powerful combination attack. Sasuke's team quickly leaped behind cover while their enemy was caught in the powerful jutsu, his body being torn to shreds.
Fu panted heavily and glanced out from behind her cover. "D-Did we get her?" Sasuke and Sai both shook their heads from left to right, giving her the answer she was fearful of. "If it were that easy, I doubt we'd all be shaking so much right now." Sasuke explained as he went to examine the burnt carcass lying on the forest floor in the center of the clearing. Soon, much to the disgust of everyone, the burnt carcass' stomach began to swell. Stepping back, they watched as a man burst forth from the dead Kusa nin's belly and Fu soon found herself vomiting up her lunch from earlier in the day behind some bushes. "Ugh! Gross dammit! What the hell are you?!"
Orochimaru simply chuckled and cracked his neck first to one side, then the other. "Why, I'm the Snake Sannin Orochimaru! And there's no way that you three can possibly beat me." Turning to Sasuke, the Snake Sannin smirked and began slowly walking towards him once more. "I must admit, you're better than I thought you'd be. However, you've got nothing on your dear brother Itachi. You may have fully developed your precious Sharingan, but by the time he was your age, he was already so incredibly powerful. But don't worry Sasuke-kun. I can give you power unimaginable!" Cackling madly to himself, Orochimaru nearly missed the jutsu Sasuke fired at him. "The Gokakyu no Jutsu again Sasuke-kun? Is that really all you know?"
Quickly dodging the technique, Orochimaru smirked and soon went through a few more hand seals of his own. Upon finishing, he disappeared from view and Sasuke began looking around frantically. When the realization hit him that he was trapped in a Genjutsu, the Genin Uchiha quickly acted and stabbed himself again. At this point, he heard Fu shouting at him to move and he glanced over his shoulder fearfully. Leaping away from where he was currently standing, Sasuke hit the ground and rolled along until he was crouched with his back turned to Fu. "I guess they don't call him the Snake Sannin for nothing, huh Fu, Sai? Those are some HUGE snakes. Did either of you two see where that slimy bastard went?"
Fu and Sai shook their heads, but the two soon stepped forward and combined their techniques to deal with the snake summons before things got out of hand. Fu quickly went through hand seals while Sai drew a few lions. As her teammate's ink lions charged forward, Fu shouted out: "Fūton: Kami Oroshi (Wind Release: Godly Wind from the Mountain)! Sasuke, mind lighting it up before it hits 'em?!" Sasuke stepped forward with a smirk and quickly went through the hand seals for another Katon jutsu. Upon finishing, he shouted out the name of his jutsu once more, "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" and sent a large fireball into the stream of wind.
While Sai's lions leapt upon the snakes to distract them temporarily, Fu's & Sasuke's jutsu combined once again to create something truly deadly. Upon reaching the snake summons, a raging fire jutsu exploded upon them and took all three of them out in one blow. Smirking, Sasuke nodded to his teammates. "Now we just need to find that slimy snake bastard and finish this." Turning around, the Uchiha didn't expect what happened next.
Orochimaru rose from the ground and chuckled darkly before his neck extended out and he began to talk. "I'm proud of you Sasuke-kun! You've demonstrated amazing skill here today, but you could be so much better. As it is, I've dallied here for far too long already. So, I now leave you with a gift. Be well little Sasuke-kun!" Extending his neck further, Orochimaru bit into Sasuke's neck before he could even react. A searing pain shot through the Uchiha's body as the Cursed Seal of Heaven appeared on his neck. As he retracted his neck, the Snake Sannin cackled maniacally as he watched his new victim collapse unconscious to the ground. Slowly, he raised his gaze to his two teammates and smirked wickedly. "When he awakens, tell him to seek me out if he desires the power to achieve his goals. Sasuke-kun will seek me out, I guarantee it." And with that, he disappeared into the forest.
Grumbling, Fu knelt down next to Sasuke and shook her head. "Hey Sai, know anything about this seal here?" She asked as her other teammate joined her in examining the curse mark. Quietly, the young man shook his head and frowned. "I'm afraid not. We'll have to get somebody to examine it when we get to the tower. For now, we need to find someplace out of sight to let him rest. We will have to protect the Uchiha in the meantime." Fu nodded and lifted Sasuke onto her back, quickly jumping off with Sai in search of a suitable hiding spot.
With Team 8
Kiba and Sakura were laughing about how pathetically easy their enemies had been. It was so easy to steal their Heaven scroll and now they couldn't help but smile about it. Soon however, Kiba and Akamaru froze and began to growl. "Naruto, Sakura…stop." As soon as his two teammates stopped, Kiba pointed down to a small clearing where they could easily see the Suna siblings. Nodding, they crept up and hid, doing their very best to hide their chakra from the Sunagakure trio. "This is a good chance to see what that Gaara guy is capable of. Let's just hope we don't get caught in the process. Right Naruto?" Kiba whispered quietly.
Naruto sighed and nodded his head calmly. "Gaara worries me. Whatever we can learn here would truly be a boon to us in the end. Now let's hush and watch." After that, Team 8 went silent and watched the battle unfold before them intently. As they watched, it became obvious real quickly that it was a completely one-sided battle and the only one of the Suna siblings fighting was Gaara. In the end, blood was splattered across the field and each of the three Ame nin lay dead around the clearing. Feeling disgusted by this, Team 8 looked away a moment and tried to calm their stomachs.
As Gaara approached Kankuro, Naruto could feel his killing intent and he practically snarled. Quickly dashing out of the bushes, Naruto punched at Gaara to keep him from harming his brother. As his hand was blocked by more of Gaara's sand, the Kyuubi Jinchuriki snarled as his eyes slowly turned to slits and reverted back into their usual blue color once more. "Your brother was only stating the truth Gaara! You went overboard, none of that was truly necessary! I don't know what the hell your problem is, but you need to calm the fuck down and stop with this bloodlust of yours! I don't care how damn strong you are and I don't care about your fucking sand, I'll find a way to beat you if you keep acting like this! Now…"
Turning his gaze to Temari and Kankuro, the blonde Jinchuriki smiled at the both of them and bowed his head slightly. "Are the two of you okay?" Receiving nods in return, Naruto didn't quite expect what they said next. "Naruto right? Thanks for worrying about us. We both appreciate it. You're not really like other people are you?" Kankuro asked as he watched Gaara walk a short distance from them, his eyes narrowed as he stared at Naruto. The blonde decided to ignore the young Suna ninja unless he decided to pull something. Turning to Kankuro with a smile, Naruto nodded again as his teammates stepped out from behind the bushes. "Yeah, I'm a pretty nice guy. Believe it or not, sometimes I don't even understand why I am the way I am. Most of Konoha's done pretty much nothing but treat me like crap my entire life. Most still do. You'd think I'd be some vengeful psychopath with everything they've pulled, but I have friends. Great people that I'd do anything for and I know they'd do anything for me. Aaaanyways, my point is this: despite being enemies currently and being unsure about whether or not I can trust the two of you…I'll watch over you if need be."
With a shrug of his shoulders, the blonde Genin turned to look at Gaara again and frowned. "Even…if it has to be from your own brother. You honestly don't seem so bad to me. You both seem to understand right from wrong, so letting you die just wouldn't sit right with me. Now, since both our teams have both scrolls we need, what say we don't fight and simply head to the tower okay? Together or not, it doesn't matter. I just don't want us to fight." Turning back around, Naruto saw Temari and Kankuro smiling at him and he shook their heads. "Thanks for understanding you two. Kiba, Akamaru? Are you two going to be okay until we reach the tower?"
Kiba and Akamaru nodded slowly and walked to stand beside him. "Y-Yeah. That kind of bloodlust is crazy though. Sorry Naruto, but that scares the hell out of me. I don't want to fight Gaara." Naruto nodded in understanding and gently began to pet Akamaru. "You two will be just fine, I promise dattebayo. Sakura-chan, how are you feeling?" Sakura stepped over to him and held his hand gently for a moment and breathed a heavy sigh. "B-Better now. Just let me hold your hand for a little while and I'll be fine. Okay Naruto-kun?" Naruto chuckled softly and nodded his head. "All right, we should get moving now." Everyone nodded besides Gaara and the group of seven quickly set off for the tower, though each of them was wary of the Suna Jinchuriki as they went along.
With Orochimaru, elsewhere in the forest
Orochimaru stood over his former apprentice and chuckled dryly. "Tsk, tsk, tsk Anko-chan. You should have known better than to try and challenge me. I still control you remember?" Snickering to himself, he began to slowly approach her. However, before the ex-Konoha ninja could reach her, he was forced to retreat backwards from simultaneous jutsu that struck the area he had been standing. Soon both Sean and Jima appeared standing with each other on the branch with Jima kneeling next to Anko.
Orochimaru grinned and began to cackle madly as he looked at Sean. "Sean-kun! It's so great to finally meet you in person! I've heard so very, very much about you. In fact, I'd say you would make the perfect host, but I've already marked the one I want and I'll take him soon enough. Still, perhaps you'd make a nice servant?" The Snake Sannin asked hopefully.
The Wind God narrowed his eyes as he summoned a wind sword into his hand. "You hurt Anko-chan. After she requested backup once it was revealed that you had shown yourself Orochimaru, Hokage-sama sent us. I care not for you or your stupid plans. As long as Konoha has people such as Jiraiya-sama, Sarutobi-sama, Kakashi-san, and more, you cannot succeed. Now, I will give you this one chance before I cut out that piece of shit you call a tongue: LEAVE!"
Orochimaru began to cackle again as he drew the Kusanagi from his throat and clutched it tight within his right hand. "Oh yes, you are a most interesting individual indeed Seanie-kun. You would make such a fine bodyguard, but I'm afraid my curse seal might not work on someone from your clan. It's such a shame too. Ah well, shall we begin dear Seanie-kun?"
Sean smirked devilishly and shook his head. "I'm amazed you haven't realized it by now Orochimaru. I'm afraid I've already begun!" Realizing what he meant, Orochimaru quickly shot out at the man before him and cut him in half, only for it to be revealed that it was a Wind Clone. Grumbling, he looked forward and saw that Anko and Jima had disappeared. Angry, Orochimaru shouted curses to the sky before he was kicked hard in the back of his head.
With the Snake Sannin's head firmly planted in the tree, Sean landed behind him and chuckled darkly. "While Anko is delivered to safety, you'll have to settle for playing with me for a time Orochimaru. I hope you're prepared." With that, Sean swung his wind sword hard at Orochimaru's back, only for the body to turn into mud upon doing so. Sighing, the Wind God shook his head and chuckled dryly. "Well doesn't that just figure?"
Orochimaru tried using his Sen'eijashu, but his opponent simply spun around and sliced his snakes to pieces in a matter of seconds. Growling angrily, the Snake Sannin engaged the Jonin before him in a fierce Kenjutsu battle, his Kusanagi matching Sean's wind sword practically evenly. Suddenly, the Snake Sannin shot his tongue out and wrapped it around the Wind God's throat, only to scream out in pain as he turned to wind once again and the razor sharp winds shredded part of his tongue. "You bastard! It's true what they say; trying to combat you is like trying to stop the wind itself! Sneaky punk!"
Sean appeared behind Orochimaru and chuckled softly. "Aww, is wittle Slimy-Wimey upset with big bad Sean? Why don't you and I step it up a notch Orochimaru? I know you're holding back on me. It can't possibly be this easy to fight you." Orochimaru chuckled and nodded his head. "Yes, yes. I suppose you might be right. I had hoped to simply give my message to dear Anko-chan to deliver for me, but you just had to interrupt didn't you? After I beat you, perhaps I'll carve my message into your corpse!"
Soon enough the two disappeared once again and their battle began to rage throughout the forest. Sparks flew throughout the area and the sounds of battle echoed all around. Between the two of them, their killing intent caused all animals within the vicinity to flee and all Genin teams to either pass out or run away in fear. After some time, both combatants reappeared again. Sean had gashes across his body, but he was standing strong even still. In fact, the Wind God found himself smirking as he looked upon Orochimaru's wounded body. "You'd do well to try something new Orochimaru. These cheap tricks won't help you against me!"
Nodding his head, Orochimaru began to flash through hand seals before he found himself slamming hard into the ground below. Growling angrily, he looked up only to see Sean's cousin, Jima standing right where he had just been on the tree branch up above. What infuriated him more is the fact that Sean was laughing at his misfortune! "You two will pay! I don't have time to play with you freaks of nature!" Jima simply looked to her cousin and nodded slowly before they both went through hand seals of their own as Orochimaru began to prepare a jutsu of his own. In a matter of seconds, three jutsu were on a collision course, each one just as powerful as the next. "Jūha Reppū Shō (Beast Tearing Gale Palm)!" "Suiton: Mizubōsō (Water Release: Rampaging Water)!" "Doton: Migoto Na Do Dama (Earth Release: Masterful Earthen Sphere)!" Sean, Jima, and Orochimaru shouted respectively. The Forest of Death had just become a very dangerous place to be.