Chapter 34

Sasuke began to open his eyes. Everything was still blurry so he had to blink a few times. He was groggy from whatever hit him earlier. His sight began to clear but he was still a little out of it. However, he looked to his right and saw an ANBU ninja looked right at him. He looked to his left and saw another ANBU. He started to get nervous when a cough got his attention. He looked forward and saw the Hokage at the foot of the bed. This woke him up very quickly as the stern look he was getting made him nervous.

"It seems that you have had quite the second stage Sasuke." Hiruzen stated. Sasuke would remain quiet. "My former student was always the sneaky one. He could infiltrate any place once he put his mind to it. I knew that he had ambitions, mostly to do with extending his life and learning all the jutsu in the world. If I had only put a stop to it, many wouldn't need to suffer, like you. For that, I apologize."

"I don't understand." Sasuke said.

"The mark that you received, it is something that he worked on and it looks like he perfected it." Hiruzen explained. Sasuke realized what he was talking about and looked to his shoulder. He got a glance at the mark and was relieved to see that it was still there, something that Hiruzen did not miss. "Quite a power he gave you, isn't it Sasuke? However, that power comes at a price and I see it in your eyes that you might be willing to pay that price if it would help in your ambitions. A shame that it has been sealed."

"What?" Sasuke said and looked back at the mark. He saw the other marks around the curse seal. He turned back to Hiruzen and glared. "Remove them."

"I'm afraid that I will not do that." Hiruzen said calmly.

"I said to remove them!" Sasuke shouted. That's when he felt the cold steel on his neck. The two ANBU were ready to take his head off. Sasuke was stunned at this and looked at Hiruzen. His face got sterner and he directed his chakra at him. It made him sweat and he just realized that this was not the kindly grandfather Hokage he use to see. This was the 'God of Shinobi' and he was not playing around.

"Good, it seems to me that you realized who I am. Do not think for one second that I will not end your life Sasuke. The blood of the Uchiha and the Sharingan will not save you here. I am the law and I give the commands. If you ever step out of line again, I will not hesitate to cut you down. Do you understand me, boy?" Hiruzen asked with a tone. Sasuke could only nod in understanding. "As I said, I will not remove the seals. You will just have to deal with my students little gift. Also know, that I will be watching you Sasuke. Your actions in the forest has shown me that you cannot be trusted. Know this Sasuke, I will know what you are doing and if you step out of line or become a danger to the village, I will kill you."

With that said, the blades were removed and Hiruzen stopped leaking chakra. He turned and walked out of the room, leaving Sasuke alone. Sasuke's expression of fear slowly turned into anger. He was angry at the fact that the Hokage threaten him and the fact that he denied him the power that he used in the forest. Even with all the anger surging through him, he was able to figure out how the Hokage knew of his actions and who might have sealed the mark. He swore that he was going to get back at them for this hit to his pride.

XXX

With the second stage coming to a close, Hiruzen stood with his jonin and looked at the remaining teams. The Sand team might have blown all of the team out by arriving first but he was very impressed with the rookies. They all made through the Forest of Death without dying, which was saying something. With the exception of team Guy, all the teams that recently graduated made here with two or three days to spare. It showed that the change in the academy's training was working. Sure, it could also be due to the fact that many of the rookies were from clans but the change was working because of the things that they were able to do during the exams. However, this also worried him.

If what the genin of Asuma reported was true, then they had a spy working for Orochimaru for years. He shouldn't have just believed that Mizuki was the only spy. He should have dug deeper, which was what Ibiki was doing right now. The news that Kabuto's teammates might have also been spies also bothered him. They found one of them near the tower with his throat slice opened and the other they found half eaten by the animals. It made him think how many more spies were employed by his student.

The team Naruto captured probably did not know anything but he would have Ibiki pressure them. Perhaps they knew something about what Orochimaru was planning. He put all of this in the back of his mind and faced the remaining genin.

"Congratulations on succeeding in this stage of the exams. You fifteen are the only ones who passed the test. It seems that Anko here made good on her promise. Now, with the second stage over, we can move on to the final stage of the exams, which will happen one month from tomorrow." Hiruzen explained.

"What's going to happen in a month?" asked Naruto.

"You will all compete in one-on-one battles in front of the village, potential clients and leaders of other countries. These exams are like showing others just how good your village is. Every ninja village competes to outdo the other. This exam is also like a version of a war. We are always fighting each other, proving who is the strongest. You will all fight and you will all either rise up or fall down."

"I don't care about that. Just get on with it already." Gaara said. Hiruzen just scoffed at him and turned to Anko. She walked up to the front and looked at each of them, holding a box.

"Okay brats, all you guys have to do is get a number and call it out. We then write you name on the board and that will be the order of the match. Pretty simple right? Now because of an annoying little, blond rat who will pay for countless humiliations can't get near me, I will pick his number for him." Anko said, glaring murder at Naruto who just smirked at her. She reach in and pulled out a number. "Naruto Uzumaki's number is five." The man nodded and wrote his name down. That's when everyone stepped up and picked a number.

"One." Kiba called out.

"Seven." Hinata said.

"Twelve." Shino said.

"Eleven." Shikamaru said.

"Ten." Choji said.

"Four." Ino said.

"Eight." Sakura called out.

"Six." Sasuke said. As he walked back, he gave Naruto a dirty look. Naruto ignored it and listened in for the other numbers.

"Two." Neji said

"Fourteen." Lee exclaimed.

"Nine." Tenten said.

"Thirteen." Gaara said.

"Three." Temari said

"Fifteen." Kankuro said. With the final number on the board, Anko looked at the full roster.

"Okay, the first match will be Kiba Inuzuka vs. Neji Hyuga. The second match will be Temari vs Ino Yamananka. The third match will be Naruto Uzumaki vs. Sasuke Uchiha. The fourth match will be Hinata Hyuga vs. Sakura Haruno. The fifth match will be Tenten vs. Choji Akimichi. The sixth match will be Shikamaru Nara vs. Shino Aburame. The last match will be Rock Lee vs. Gaara of the Sand Waterfall. Kankuro gets a bye but will face the winner of the Lee/Gaara match. Alright, you have a month from tomorrow to get stronger and show everyone just how strong you are. We're done here." She said. With that everyone began to file out of the tower.

Naruto and Sakura watched as Kakashi grabbed Sasuke and vanished with him. Neither really were surprised by the move. The blond looked at his pink haired teammate.

"Are you going to find Haku?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, I just hope he has time for me." Sakura said. With that, everyone just followed the adults out of the tower.

XXX

The two males appeared at the training ground. Sasuke angrily pulled his arm away from Kakashi and got some space. He looked at the jonin with an angry expression.

"What the hell do you want? If you brought me here to give me another lecture, then you have wasted your time." Sasuke spat.

"Now Sasuke, you brought this on yourself. Threatening your teammates and comrades, what were you thinking?" Kakashi asked.

"Those two aren't my teammates and the others are not my comrades. They were in my way and tried to stop me from testing that new power." Sasuke stated loudly.

"A power that Orochimaru is using to control you. The Curse Seal gives power but it makes you dependent on him. He is using you and you don't see that." Kakashi explained. Sasuke calmed down a little after that. While he liked the power the Curse Seal gave him, he did not want to be under someone's thumb or to be used. He gave Kakashi a look that still held some anger.

"So what do you want? Why did you drag me out here?" Sasuke demanded.

"We are here to discuss our training for the month. We are going to start early but I want to plan everything out first." Kakashi said.

"Oh, and what is this training going to be like?"

"It is going to be the same training that the ANBU get." Kakashi said, getting Sasuke's attention. "There is a facility outside the village that isn't used as much anymore. It was where I got my training for the ANBU. It is also where Itachi trained. My goal is to get you up to my level by the end of the month. Do well and I might just show you a jutsu that will not only win you a promotion but it will be the jutsu that ends the life of Itachi."

Sasuke was intrigued by the offer. The ANBU were the elite of the village. Also, it would be in the same facility that his brother trained in. That was all he needed to hear. Kakashi saw his interest and was glad that he got Sasuke to agree. With the month he had, he was hoping to get through to the boy. He was hoping to show him another path rather than revenge. He wanted Sasuke to form bonds and it would start with him. However, there was this voice in the back of his mind that told him that this would not be a good idea. That his plans would fall apart. He quickly banished those thoughts and began to plan the training.

Unknown to either one of them, two men heard everything that Kakashi said. One was the Third Hokage. The other was a tall man with waist-length, spiky white hair that was tie back into a pony tail. There were red lines under his eyes which extended down his face, going all the way to the bottom. He wore a green short shirt kimono and matching pants, under which he wore mesh armor that was visible at his wrists and ankles. He was also wearing hand guards, a black belt, traditional Japanese wooden sandals, and a red haori with two yellow circles on each side. He carried a large scroll on his back, had a tattoo on his left palm, and he wore a horned forehead protector with the kanji for "oil".

The look on the two men face were not happy looks.

"When I got your message, I was going to ignore it at first. However, I took it seriously and rushed over here. Now I see that I did the right thing. Boy, Kakashi has really screwed up." He said.

"That is why I need you to get Naruto ready. With Orochimaru's interest in him and the unpredictability of Sasuke, Naruto will need all the help he can get. Do not treat him as if you would treat Minato. Minato was a talent like no other but he takes after his mother when it comes to training. Also, it might give a chance to bond, something I know you want Jiraiya." Hiruzen said. Jiraiya stood up straight and looked at his sensei. He then picked up Naruto's file that was on Hiruzen's desk. Reading it, he couldn't help but smile.

"Don't worry sensei, that Uchiha kid will not know what hit him. I'm going to make Naruto into a ninja that they will be proud off." Jiraiya said. He then looked at the picture of the Fourth Hokage. "I will do right by him, Minato. This I swear."

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