I'm switching to PMing to answer reviews. It's just easier.

Also for some reason people think I'm taking Naruto way out of character, even for a betrayal fic, due to the fact that he's using Black Rukh. I must disagree. While I may be taking Naruto out of character is not because of Black Rukh. Matter of fact, I'd say that if Naruto stayed in Konoha and followed canon him using Black Rukh would still happen. Why? Simple, Black Rukh is created when one goes against fate and fights their destiny. Note the Neji fight. That's what I have to say about that. Of course it's still created from hatred and malice, but with the Kyuubi I don't see why he wouldn't end up using Black Rukh if the two universes were fused.

Also quick question for anyone who knows Magi. It's hinted that a Black Rukh world would be a terrible place to live in, yet everyone would have the powers of a Magi. But also it does bring a massive, OHKO God that pretty much kills everything. Yet are Black Rukh really, evil? Hatred isn't necessarily an evil emotion, although malice is. But again Black Rukh requires people to fight against fate. Is that such a bad thing?

Magi poses some philosophical questions man.

One Step Forward

Naruto grunted as he awoke from his forced unconscious state. The blonde grunted, trying to clear his eyes with his hands only to find them bound by chains. The blonde grunted, frustration appearing on his face as he glanced around the cell he was held in. There wasn't much there. A simple bed for him to sleep in and a toilet. The chains that restricted his arms were attached to the stone wall behind him, making it all be assured that he wouldn't be capable of escaping.

He couldn't rip stone from the walls after all.

"And this is why you don't go around threatening foreign dignitaries."

"Shut up," Naruto stated, his frustration with Kurama put to the side as he traced over the bars in front of the cell. The hallway outside was light, and while he couldn't see a guard he didn't doubt that one was there. It would be better for him to keep the conversation inside of his head, just in case they were actually paying attention.

'You see anyway out of this?'

Kushina grunted. "Well maybe if you hadn't attacked whatever a Magi is you wouldn't be in this situation?"

'Is this just a shit on Naruto day?'

"You deserve it. In all seriousness, I think the best way for you to get out of this situation is to stay on the Magi's good side. Clearly she doesn't hate you, in fact it seems like she wants to help you. Kurama explained to me what happened with Hagoromo when you were asleep. If two extremely powerful people are warning you about this power, I think that they may have a point."

'Why should I trust either of them! We just met this Magi lady, and Hagoromo-'

"Is trying to keep your dumbass alive, no thanks to you," Kurama interrupted. "Look you may not want to listen to these two but you don't particularly have a choice. Play it smart Naruto. First you need to get out of here. Clearly you can't defeat either of them in a fight so frankly speaking your opinions are irrelevant. Do as they say."

"Strength does not decide who is right," Naruto muttered.

"This isn't a debate Naruto this is the real world. Might makes right, you've known this since you were a child. It's the very shinobi way. The only thing that has the potential to be might is brains, and you're not using yours right now! Listen to your mother brat!"

Naruto clucked his tongue, frowning only for his eyes to widen as he saw Scheherazade standing right in front of him, her eyes pleasant despite the violent episode he had had before he was imprisoned.

"Forgive me, I must have been interrupting a conversation. I do not know who is here, but feel free to finish said conversation."

Naruto was silent.

"I see. Please forgive me. I should not have asked you such a question before. I overstepped my bounds, but you see I was just trying to gain more information about you. It is rare when someone from the Elemental Nations comes to our lands. Most are simple traders, no one quite as interesting as yourself. And certainly no one who was touched. My questions must have pushed you too far."

Naruto stayed silent, his eyes studying her own. Scheherazade sighed, frowning. "I have no wish to keep you caged forever you know, despite the fact that you use Black Rukh. I merely wish for you to be safe, and happy. Whatever that means is fine by me."

"I suppose that's because you think that will make me stop using the Black Rukh?"

Scheherazade smiled. The boy was smarter than she thought. Then again she wasn't exactly trying to hide it.

"I won't deny that. In the early stages you can still come back from using Black Rukh. I think you forming friendships would help with that."

"I suppose I don't have a choice."

"I'd prefer if you came along willingly."

Naruto grunted, before he sighed. He was going to reject the offer, until Kurama's words came back to his mind. The only way to defeat someone who was mightier than you was with wit. Clearly Scheherazade was stronger than him, and he wouldn't even consider him being remotely near her level in intelligence. The best way for him to leave Scheherazade was to make her believe that she had his loyalty. Then he could start planning what he would do. First he had to get stronger, that was his primary goal. After that?

He didn't know what he would do. Heading back to Konoha was something he would rather die than do. But he was no fool, he was a Jinchuriki. he was too valuable to truly be tossed away, especially if the shinobi that had pursued him were any indication. His old life would be coming. He just had to be strong enough to fend them off.

"What would you have me do?"

"You want me to work with you," Naruto blanched, confused as he was led back into the palace. Scheherazade nodded, a smile appearing on her face.

"Yes. You're quite new here so it only makes sense. Leaving you to another task would be dangerous considering you don't know our customs and the culture. You might end up offending someone or doing something that you shouldn't. If you're with me I can stop you from making those mistakes. Plus, you'll probably learn things much faster."

Naruto blinked, confused. He turned to look at Ignatius, the man having started following them the second Scheherazade let him out of his cell. The man shrugged. "It wasn't my idea brat. Frankly speaking, and I mean no offense by this-"

Whatever the man was going to say was cut off by a sharp look from Scheherazade. Naruto blinked. Clearly the man didn't like him, probably because he was touched. Scheherazade was likely trying to spare his feelings, possibly another ploy to make him less likely to call upon the Spirit. It wouldn't work. The blondes thoughts drifted from her attempts to make him less likely to use the Spirit towards the practicality of the job Scheherazade was asking him to do. She wanted someone to help her think, to bounce ideas off of. That was it. It was an interesting job. He'd likely learn quite a bit about the Rukh Continent, information that he could use to his advantage. Plus, having people that he knew in high positions of power was never a bed thing, as long as they didn't betray him.

The only question was could he get her trust. She was clearly trying to trick him, the only question was could he trick her first while being able to reap the benefits of this position. The blonde sighed, before he glanced at Scheherazade, who was looking at him expectantly. She had probably already predicted that he would come to this conclusion. It was only logical.

Let the games begin.

"Sure."

Neji grunted, looking at his teammates. "Alright, that's enough resting for now. Other teams will be starting to set up camp right now," Neji stated, glancing at the setting sun. Tenten and Lee looked at their leader, both understanding the situation they were about to be put in.

"That means it's time to strike. You know the plan. We split up and fan out, whatever happens, whether we make contact with another team or not, we meet up back at this spot, got it?"

"Understood," Tenten and Lee stated. Neji nodded, throwing a kunai into the ground to mark the area before all three of them disappeared in a burst of speed in different directions.

Hiruzen grunted, putting down the report that had told him the grave news. Anko Mitarashi, K.I.A. The Yamanaka, despite their untrustworthiness at the moment, had been called in to try and glean the last bits of information from her body as they could before her memories became lost forever. As Inoichi made his way over to the Forest of Death, escorted by a group of ANBU, Hiruzen sighed.

He knew this handiwork anywhere. Anko wouldn't use a technique that could create such lethal poison if it wasn't him. This was Orochimaru, without a doubt. He was in Konoha, and likely looking to burn it to the ground. That was a very serious problem. A problem that required possibly an overbearing solution, especially considering the fact that Danzo was likely on the move. They knew of Sai. If Orochimaru as here, coupled with Danzo and straining tensions with Suna. That boiled down to a very difficult time bomb just waiting to go off during this Chunin Exams. The peace treaty wouldn't even be acknowledged in a situation like this.

And with Iwa here.

Hiruzen immediately started writing a letter. Jiraiya's group had to get back here now, or else the entirety of Konoha would be in jeopardy. Even then it was unlikely that Konoha would be able to withstand the potential overwhelming force that was going to arrive at its doorstep. All of a sudden he very much wished Konoha had its Jinchuriki.

Shikamaru sighed as he checked Sasuke's forehead, frowning as he saw the boy continuing to moan in discomfort. That was a problem. If he kept this up he'd start attracting a lot of attention. He was being far too loud. Even at night, when most of the Genin contestants would likely be resting, it made for a serious issue. Shikamaru took his hand of Sasuke's bare forehead, having removed the forehead protector, as Ino, Sakura, Sai, and Choji arrived back in front of the large root tree. He had sent them all out to start preparing for traps to guard the area. It was time to set up camp, and having one of their members incapacitated was never a good thing. Ino and Sakura had wanted to stay back and take care of Sasuke, but the boy wouldn't let them. The two were far to emotionally invested in Sasuke for them to be thinking clear enough to help him. Besides, what exactly could they do? It wasn't easy to lift whatever jutsu Orochimaru had placed on the boy.

Shikamaru sighed, glancing at Sai. Sai held an earth scroll, the one that Orochimaru had thrown to the side before he had engaged Team 7. Sai had gone to retrieve it. With his team still having a heaven and earth scroll, courtesy of the Iwa team they had engaged, the only needed to find one more team with an earth scroll before they could finally leave.

If they were lucky that meant one more battle. If they were lucky, that meant the only had to deal with an unconscious Sasuke to carry to the finish line. He didn't look like he'd be waking up any time soon after all.

"How is he?" Sakura asked.

"The same as the last time you asked that question," Shikamaru stated plainly. "High fever, although he is breathing a little easier. How troublesome. What about you guys? Did you finish setting up all the traps?"

Sai nodded. "Yes, pineapple head. We finished creating the traps. No team should be able to get towards us, at least not without us being prepared to engage them."

Shikamaru sighed, nodding. "Alright good. We rest for now. I'll take first watch, followed by Sakura, Choji, Ino, and finally Sai. Hopefully we'll be fine."

The group nodded, everyone but Shikamaru quickly getting some rest. The Nara was left for his thoughts for about an hour before the snap of a branch brought him to the world around him. Frowning he drew a kunai from his pouch but did nothing else, eyes carefully watching the forest that surrounded their tree. However, no matter how intensely he looked the forest was silent after that. It was probably just a team passing through that hadn't spotted them. It wasn't long before he went to sleep, waking up Sakura for the next watch.

"We strike at daybreak," a shinobi stated to his teammates, drawing their attention. "Remember orders. Our target is the Uchiha."

"Yeah but if the rest get in our way we can kill them too right?"

"Of course."

The remainder of the night was completely silent for the Genin team. But elsewhere in the Forest of Death a war was waging.

A blazing fist soared through the air, smashing through ANBU body armor, sending the operative flying into a nearby tree. Three more leapt towards the man, only for him to twirl, dodging just barely before snakes shot forwards from his sleeves, their fangs ripping apart the necks of the three operatives that had dared to attack him. It wasn't long before hands shot from the ground, clasping around him like iron, only for the body to turn to mud in their fingers.

With a flash of silver a handless shinobi appeared from the ground, cries of agony spreading out before they were silenced prematurely.

Four squads of ANBU, all sent to kill one man.

All failing.

With a roar a snake appeared, and the battle raged on.

A wave of flame lit up the beautiful Konoha night sky, bathing the massive snake. It wasn't enough. The user of the fiery technique was quickly seen plummeting to the ground, his assailant already attacked by five more of his allies. In a flash three were cut down, a single motion of the blade ending their lives. One launched their tanto, forcing the monster to dodge, the other palming a kunai and lashing towards the creatures neck. In a sickening display of inhuman flexibility, the man's neck curled, reaching around and shredding into the operatives unprotected neck. Her ally leapt forwards, a war cry cut short by the flick of a blade.

Another dead body hit the floor.

Amemasu grunted as she saw the group of Fanalis near a large town. That was unexpected. The group seemed to be nomadic, relying primarily on hunting for survival. They spoke the common tongue, suggesting that they likely needed to have some form of interaction between people, but for them to be going into a town to seemingly rest was unexpected.

The Fanalis were clearly much more sophisticated than she previously considered them to be. She grunted as she saw the Fanalis leader walk out of the large building, gesturing for the other members of the tribe to move in. It wasn't long before the group started to get centered. The ROOT member blinked, noticing men in golden and white armor greeting the red-headed superhumans, leading them into the hotel.

Amemasu grunted. This was a problem. The soldiers were an unexpected factor. If the Fanalis were aligned with some much more powerful group, especially one that ROOT had no information on, they became much more dangerous. There wasn't much that she herself could do about it.

The ROOT member glanced at the sun, nodding as she easily calculated the time. Only three hours to night, good. That would be fine. She could kidnap one of the Fanalis and soldiers in order to gain some information on the two groups. Perhaps they weren't even two groups, but rather the same group? The lack of knowledge was a critical factor that Danzo-sama would not appreciate.

The more information about the mythical Rukh Continent she could obtain the better prepared they would be if the two continents eventually came to blows. And if she knew her master and his ambitions, it was likely.

Amemasu flexed her hand, glaring at the soldier who was talking to a particularly young Fanalis.

Night couldn't come any faster.

Hinata frowned as she walked through the walls of the tower in the center of the Forest of Death. Her team had finished relatively quickly, only being behind a Suna team that somehow managed to overcome all opposition in their way and the Kumo team. The Kumo team had managed to defeat a team that ran through their trap and reach the tower just a few minutes before her own team did.

That spoke of their skill. She had made the right call in avoiding them. Plus, due to her Byakugan being active, she managed to pick up on some of their fighting styles and techniques. With a gentle push the young Hyuga opened the door in front of her, revealing her two teammates. Kiba was laying on the bed, playing with Akamaru, while Shino was sitting silently, leaning against the wall. From what the Hyuga knew of Shino's tendencies he was likely counting the number of Kikaichu in his hive.

The two glanced up to look at her as she entered the room.

"Hinata, where were you?" Kiba questioned.

"I was getting you both dinner," Hinata stated, placing two plates on the table in their room. "You both forgot. I was also scouting out the competition."

"Thanks!" Kiba stated, digging in. He quickly passed Akamaru the food Hinata had gotten for him too.

Shino nodded. "This was much appreciated. Why? Because we must be at full strength to handle whatever the examiners throw at us next. A full stomach will only assist with that."

Kiba nodded. "What did you learn?"

"The Suna team was not there," Hinata stated. "So I have no information on them. However I did learn about the Kumo team. They are a three man squad, all three of them utilizing kenjutsu. Two girls, one guy. The blonde girl is quiet, but the other two are quite talkative. The boy seems to have a tendency of overthinking things while the red haired girl is far to brazen. I wasn't paying too much attention to their fights in the Forest of Death, but from what I can tell their personality matches their fighting style. The boy is slow to strike, thinking far too much. He's fast when he moves though, and is very good with his sword. The red haired one relies solely on her blade and rushes in quickly. She can use some minor lightning jutsu in combat, but she's slower than the boy. She's much more powerful however."

Hinata took a pause, frowning. Kiba blinked. "You said that there were three of them? What's about the last one?"

"The last one," Hinata stated. "She is someone to be wary of. The blonde haired girl is perhaps the most skilled of all of them. She is as fast as the boy, but also as strong as the other girl. She also seems to have a larger repertoire of jutsu, all being in the lightning element. I would be wary of her. She is definitely the most skilled out of all three."

Shino nodded. "Did you catch their names? Why? Because having name-based information could be very useful depending on our future circumstances."

"Unfortunately no. They were not referring to each other by name in the cafeteria. Probably on purpose because I was there. Either way, watch out for the Kumo team. They are skilled, much more than the previous team we engaged here."

A nod came from the two males of Hinata's team, before the duo continued eating their food. Hinata sat there, frowning. How was she going to handle this situation? Her team had never fought people who wielded swords. It was going to be challenging.

Naruto grunted, pulling his body out of the stuffy clothes Scheherazade had stuffed him in. "What is this," the blonde muttered, trying to yank it off, only for Scheherazade to swat his hand away.

"Stop it. That's very delicate, and you'll need to look good for this event."

"What event?"

"There's an upcoming reception that's welcoming back some soldier of ours. It's in about three weeks. It will take some time for the tailor to get you some clothes prepared, so Lady Scheherazade is preparing clothing for you," Ignatius stated. "I assume she has planned for you to attend."

"Indeed," Scheherazade commented. "You'll meet quite a few important people in Reim at that reception. There may even be a few foreign dignitaries."

"Aren't you throwing me in the deep end a bit here?"

"Yes," Ignatius interrupted, getting a sharp look from the Magi. The man brought his gaze to the ground, a frown on his face. Naruto could only watch with wonder. The power and respect this Magi commanded was insane. He had made a good decision in trying to stay on her good side.

"As Ignatius said, I am throwing you a bit into the deep end," Scheherazade stated. "But you need to learn to sink or swim. I think you're the swimming type."

"Sure," Naruto stated, rolling his eyes. "I still don't like this."

Scheherazade smirked. "That's good. I'll have the tailor come in tomorrow, as she's currently out. In the meantime Ignatius will show you your room. I have a meeting I have to attend, and I'm afraid the Emperor does not want you there."

Naruto frowned, but nodded, following Ignatius. The two walked in silence for fifteen minutes, Naruto marveling at the grandeur of the castle before they finally arrived at his room. The blonde's eyes widened when he saw the rich and delicate sheets, the soft carpet, picturesque walls, and the soft bed. Walking around the blonde noticed the window, his eyes widening as he looked out over the city of Remano.

"People can live like this," Naruto whispered, awe in his voice.

"Of course," Ignatius stated, breaking his tirade of explaining where things were. "Most Emperors live like this. Anyways-"

"I've never," Naruto muttered, liquid starting to fall from his face. "I've never seen anything like it."

Ignatius blinked, confused by the blondes behavior. The man wanted to say something, but could only stare as Naruto took it all in. Eventually the noises stopped, causing Ignatius to walk over to the boy, to find that he was just smiling and looking out the window.

He had nothing to say.

It wasn't long before Naruto grew bored in his room. Ignatius had left about an hour ago, and despite the grandeur of the room that he was in Naruto had been left with nothing to do. The hyperactive blonde did not do bored. When he was leaving Konoha his focus had been to get as far away from Konoha as possible, and considering an ocean was a fair distance away, he didn't really have to keep that goal in mind.

He needed to do something else to occupy his time.

"Train," Kurama immediately stated, making his presence known again.

Kushina nodded. "Kurama does have a point. We're surrounded in a foreign country full of people we can't trust. And you already know that quite a few people in this country are extremely powerful. You need to get stronger."

Naruto grunted. "Alright, but where's a place to train in the first place?"

"You can train right in here. What your mother and I are going to have you work on will not be anything that will cause much destruction or be too big."

"Is it really that useful then?"

"Often the smaller things are more deadly than the larger ones," Kushina stated. Kurama nodded, causing Naruto to roll his eyes before he nodded and got to work.

Sorry for the short chapter, but it's mainly a setup chapter for the next bout of action and plot movement. Everyone's making progress, in some manner, which is why the title is called One Step Forward. 30 cookies for someone guesses the next chapter title. Anyways, yeah people are progressing. Naruto's no longer chained up, although that was never going to be for a long time. In fact he's working with Scheherazade. He also is getting more training from Kurama and Kushina. Sasuke hasn't progressed himself, but his group has found a hideout, unknowing of the impending attack on their location. Hiruzen is drawing Jiraiya and his group back, and even Hinata's group completed the Second Exam and have gathered some information.

The Forest of Death is quickly drawing to a close, having about only two more chapters before we move on to the prelims, which actually won't be that long. After that the month long training session, the finals, and then, well then we have the final arc before the timeskip.