Chapter 31

Naruto groaned and shook his head to clear the cobwebs. He pushed some dirt off him and sat up. He grabbed the back of his head in pain and wondered what the hell happened just now. He looked around for his teammates but couldn't find either one of them.

"What the… where the hell are they? The last thing I remembered was… Oh shit!" Naruto exclaimed and shot up to his feet. "I remember now! Damn it, we must have gotten separated when he attacked! I need to find them and get the hell out of dodge! That guy was no genin!" That's when he heard the sound of something loud. He looked in the direction to see some smoke. He quickly made his way over to that area. He prayed that everyone was alright.

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Sakura was also making her to that area. She heard the noise and saw the smoke. She was determined to make it there fast. As she cleared some leaves, Sasuke jumped out of the deep leaves of a tree. She was glad to see him when the huge head of a snake came after him. The person who attacked them was riding it and had a smile. She was scared but she fought against it. She had to help Sasuke.

She dug into her pouch and pulled out some kunai. She attached some explosive notes to the ends and let them fly. Her aim was true, her kunai hit the snake in the eye. The snake hissed in pain and it got worse when Sakura activated the notes. The snake hissed and thrashed around due to losing its eye. The ninja tried to get the snake under control only to hear something. He turned only to be cut in two by a blue disc. The snake also got its' head cut off as well by another disc.

Naruto landed next to Sakura. The two made their way over to Sasuke, who looked scared.

"Get up! We have to get out of here and fast!" Naruto shouted at him.

"So soon?" the three turned around to see the man that Naruto thought he just killed. He had a smirk on his face. "We are just getting started. I am interested in that jutsu of yours. It looked like a chakra disc of wind." He said.

"STOP SCREWING WITH US!" Naruto exclaimed. He glared at the person in front of him. "I don't know what your game is but you are no genin! Why the hell are you targeting us or should I say, what the hell do you want with Sasuke?!" The ninja looked at Naruto with a little surprise. He then chuckled at him.

"I wanted to see just how good the Uchiha really was. He is the star competitor for the Leaf Village. I wanted to see what the fuss was about but all he has done is flee. He is so scared that he can barely stand up. I'm kind of disappointed." He said. Naruto and Sakura narrowed their eyes at him. That's when Sasuke grabbed Naruto's arm. The blond looked at him and saw the fear that he had in his eyes.

"Naruto, summon the scroll." Sasuke ordered with fear.

"W-What?" Naruto said in shock.

"Summon the scroll and give it up. He will let us go if you just give up the scroll. He will kill us if we don't. So, summon the damn scroll." Sasuke stated. Naruto looked at Sasuke for a moment before narrowing his eyes. Sasuke never saw the punch coming. He went skidding across the branch. He winced in pain and looked at the angry eyes of Naruto.

"What makes you think he cares about our scroll stupid?!" Naruto roared. "He might have been telling the truth about coming to test you but everything else is bullshit! He isn't a genin! I bet he isn't even a teenager! If he cared about the exams, he would have slaughtered us on his first attack and found our scroll! This person does not care about the exams and we need to get the hell out of here, NOW!" Sasuke balked at the rage in Naruto's tone. Sakura was even a little worried about it. The ninja chuckled, getting their attention. Naruto noticed that the pitch of his voice changed. It was more adult and snake like.

"It seems that I have truly underestimated you Naruto Uzumaki. You figured my plan out. I must speak with my inside man about his lack of information. I digress, I came here to test Sasuke's abilities and you are in the way. So, what will you do Naruto? Will you allow me to continue my testing or do I have to kill you and the girl?" He asked.

"How about option three?" Naruto asked. The man raised his eyebrow before an army of clones charged at him. The original and Sakura quickly turned around. They snatched up Sasuke and started running. The ninja easily destroyed the first clone but what froze him was that he burst into leaves. It blinded him but he was able to intercept the strike from behind, slamming the other clone to the ground, dispelling him only to get a minor burn on his hand.

'Well now, clones made of leaves and clones made of fire. It seems that I will have to investigate further. However,' he thought. That's when he unleashed another massive jutsu, destroying each clone. He looked toward the direction that the team was fleeing and vanished.

Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke were running for their lives. Naruto was ahead and moving, wanting to get as far away from that person as possible. He noticed that his other two teammates were lagging and turned to face them.

"Guys, we have to hustle! I don't know why but I know that my clones will not hold him for long!" Naruto shouted.

"How right you are." A voice said. Naruto turned back to see the ninja in front of him. He quickly raised his arms to block the punch but it was so strong that it sent him flying into the side of the tree. He would not be allowed to drop down as four snakes bit into him and held him in place. Naruto screamed in pain as he was held up. Sakura quickly made her way to free him. She tossed a kunai at the person as a distraction so she could attack from above. It was easily seen through and Sakura was hit with a powerful kick that sent her flying across the forest. She hit the side of a tree twenty yards away and fell unconscious. The ninja turned his attention back to Naruto only to feel a malevolent chakra begin to pour out of him.

"While, I would like nothing more to see you use that chakra, you have already caused me to fall behind schedule. Better to take care of you now." He said and channeled chakra to his fingertips. Small purple flames appeared on each tip, each with a symbol. "Five Pronged Seal!" He slammed his hand into his gut causing Naruto to roar in pain. That's when the lights went out and his body went limp. Orochimaru dropped him and watched him for a while. Something told him to end this boy's life but he decided against for now. He knew that it would bring untold amounts of trouble.

He turned his attention back to Sasuke. He could still see that he was still scared but he was going to do something about that. He removed the face that he borrowed and dropped it to the ground. He looked at the younger Uchiha and scoffed.

"How your clan must weep at the fear you show. I thought that the Uchiha were warriors, the elite, but here you are, shaking in fear. How could you face your brother and get your revenge if you can't even face me?" He said. Sasuke looked offended by his words and some of the fear was gone.

"Who are you?" Sasuke asked.

"My name is Orochimaru. I came to see if you worth my time Sasuke. I wanted to see if you have that fire that all Uchiha had. It seems that I was wrong and that I have wasted my time." He said before turning toward the downed Naruto. "Well, almost a waste of my time. He was certainly interesting for the short fight that he put up. Even the girl showed some skill that stunned me. You, however, were a waste and to think, I was going to give you the power to accomplish your greatest ambition."

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke demanded.

"Power Sasuke. I was going to give you the power to complete your objective, to fight your brother. But why should I waste my time and give you that power? You do not deserve it and I doubt that you would survive the process. You are too weak." Orochimaru stated. Sasuke forgot his fear and activated his eyes. No one was going to call him weak. He was NOT weak. He prepared to fight this man, missing the smile on his face.

XXX

Choji was breathing a little hard from all the running that he had to do. Shikamaru was in the same boat as was Ino. They had to run due to the fact that Ino tried to seduce Neji Hyuga. It almost ended with them nearly getting destroyed by the prodigy. They were lucky that he did not find them any trouble and allowed them to escape. As he caught his breath, he saw that Shikamaru was looking at Ino with narrowed eyes. He could only sigh as he could see the argument that was about to begin.

"Are you happy now?" Shikamaru asked with an annoyed tone.

"Don't you start with me!" Ino stated firmly. "I don't want to hear it!" Shikamaru just sighed and looked at Choji.

"Do you still have our scrolls?" he asked.

"Yeah, I have both scrolls." Choji said. He pulled out the two 'earth' scrolls. One was theirs from the beginning and the other they got off a Waterfall team that they ambushed using Shikamaru's plan. They would have stuck to the plan but Ino decided to go off the rails. When they came across Neji, they were going to flee only to have Ino try and seduce him.

"Good, at least that's some good news. We need to rest for now and gather ourselves." Shikamaru said. He gave Ino a look before moving on. Ino just narrowed her eyes at his back before turning to Choji.

"You have something to say too?" Ino asked with a tone. Choji just shook his head at her.

"I'll go and gather some firewood." He said and walked away. Ino was left by herself, her frustrations growing with each minute. Since Choji told her his true feelings, her frustrations continued to grow. She kept having an internal battle within herself. She knew that she was feeling guilty for what she did to her childhood friend but a stronger part of her told her that it wasn't that big of a deal. She saw Choji's and Shikamaru's attitudes as being childish. It was something that she believed strongly about. Either way, she decided that if those two were going to act like children, then she would treat them like children. She also was going to ignore any words that they said and do what they should have done in the beginning, go after team Kakashi.

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Sakura placed a wet rag on the forehead of Sasuke. She was currently watching over him and Naruto inside a hollowed out tree. She had dragged the two here after waking up from his unconsciousness. When she did, she saw that man bite down on Sasuke's shoulder, his neck extended. He removed his mouth from him and Sasuke hit the ground. She rushed over to him only to feel his temperature rise and his pulse begin to fade. The man who called himself Orochimaru told her to keep watch of him and that soon he would come to him before vanishing.

Sakura did not understand what that meant but it concerned her. She also wondered what that mark on his shoulder was. She did not like it as it was right where she saw Orochimaru bite him. She would have asked Naruto but he was also unconscious. Lucky for him, those snakes weren't poisonous. She gave him a simple antidote just in case. However, he would probably would know what this was and how to deal with it.

He knew these types of things after all. Hell, he even knew a curse seal jutsu himself.

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Orochimaru appeared at the tower. He kept his chakra hidden as to not alert any of the ANBU that would be nearby. He didn't need another battle today, especially since he did not know what else was on him. The fight with Sasuke made him happy. He was no Itachi but he had potential and with the mark on him, he would be easy to manipulate. There was also the fact that he held no attachments to his team. That would make it all the more easier when he ripen and wanted to join him. Everything was going well but he came across a problem. The problem was Naruto Uzumaki.

He wouldn't lie to himself and say he wasn't interested in those jutsu that he displayed to face him. Leaf Clones and Fire Clones were new, not to mention that attack that would have killed him but killed his serpent. Then there was the boy's final move. He did not realize that he placed a curse seal on him. If the boy had succeeded, he would have been dead by Anko's kunai. What concerned him was that this seal was only used by one person and there was no way that Sarutobi would allow him near the blond. So, what was going on here?

'He could be more trouble than I thought. He is an unknown and his skill is unknown as well. I will need to investigate further if I am to make any other moves.' He thought. Still, he had a first good day back in his old home. He couldn't wait for the second.

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Authors' Notes: Sorry for the late update but I was entertaining people. Anyway, I hope you like the new chapter. I know that I got some flames about it being too much like the plot. I don't see how but that's what you think. Anyway, enjoy.