Bedlam

"Anko," Sasuke said in a rare tone of respect and relief. He never thought he would be so thankful to see this woman, even if she was a sadist…even out of training.

"Answer my question Sasuke. What happened here? It looks like a genin-only war zone."

Sasuke did not miss the genin-only part. If this was want genin could do, even elite ones like Naruto and himself, than he did not want to see what a true war was like.

"Orochimaru…" Sasuke mumbled. Anko froze at the name. No, impossible.

'That is simply impossible. Orochimaru couldn't be here, he just couldn't! There's no way he could have snuck by all of the routine scans around the village that the Hyuga guard do. The Wall Branch wouldn't do that…would they? Then again, it would be rather easy to sneak in with the Chunin Exams. So many people are bound to confuse even a Hyuga's eyes. Damn it!'

"Are you positive that you faced S-rank criminal Orochimaru of the Sannin in battle Sasuke Uchiha?" she asked. Sasuke's eyes widened at the formality but he nodded.

"Of course I'm fucking sure! You think I wouldn't recognize Orochimaru, Orochimaru! He left some weird hickey on me, before he ran off, Naruto chasing after him."

Anko's eyes narrowed. "Naruto was chasing him you say?"

"Yeah," Sasuke said. "Naruto was fighting with him before Sakura and I were. We weren't here for the entirety of the battle as we got split up, but Naruto was unconscious with Orochimaru looming over him when we arrived. I assume that large burst of chakra was him, trying to get our attention, although it likely got all the shinobi in the surrounding areas attention too."

Anko frowned, remembering the feel of the chakra. That was not Naruto's. He was either drawing on the Kyuubi's strength, or he has lost control. Neither were good, and the Council would not be pleased, or they would be, or both. Naruto using the Kyuubi's chakra was a mixed topic there. Then again with Orochimaru returning…

"Don't worry about it. It won't matter as I'm officially withdrawing you from the Chunin Exams."

Sasuke's eyes widened before he snarled. "What!? Why?"

Anko shook her head. "This is something important. You were attacked by an S-ranked rogue ninja. The Hokage needs to hear about this immediately, especially when there is a possibly wild Jinchuriki chasing after him."

Sasuke noted the word she called Naruto. Jinchuriki. He would ask him about that later, especially if it was related to the foul and crimson chakra.

"No." Sasuke asserted. Anko had just turned away before slightly turning to him, a glare on her face.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

"That will be a violation of a direct order. Are you sure you want to deal with that Uchiha?"

"Naruto is our teammate," Sasuke said. "I don't know what this Jinchuriki thing is, but Naruto wouldn't hurt us. He was in perfect control. He's aiming solely for Orochimaru. You will willingly get your information, but only after the end of this second exam. It means too much to us."

Ano snarled. "You are putting your own team's well being above the well being of the village."

Sasuke nodded. "I know. I'm prepared for the repercussions."

"Are you?" she asked.

Those two words instilled the smallest bit of doubt in Sasuke's mind, yet the young Uchiha would have none of it, quickly snuffing it out. He had things to do. People to save. Friends to protect, especially when a large chakra source was headed this way, and with the killing intent it was radiating, it wasn't positive.

Wait. It just changed course. The way Naruto was headed. Was that thing, whatever it was, chasing after Naruto?

Anko sighed. "I'll let the Hokage handle you. Anbu, go to the Hokage and tell him what has happened, also position yourselves around the forest, we need to be watchful." The Anbu nodded before the presumed leader looked at Anko. "And you Mitarashi?"

"I'll be chasing after the Jinchuriki and the traitor."

The Anbu nodded and shot off as Anko walked away.

"I approve of your decision Sasuke. But it's also foolhardy," she said before shooting off.

Sasuke nodded, walking over to Sakura and putting her on his back. "I know."

Suddenly three separate teams appeared, all from Ame. Sasuke sighed and put Sakura on the ground again.

"This is gonna be hard."

XxX

Naruto snarled, slamming his fist into the trunk of tree, his fist going straight through it. The tree fell over as he did so. He had lost him, that damn snake.

"Fuck." He mumbled as his tail swished behind him in irritation. "I lost the slippery bastard."

Naruto sighed before his eyes widened catching onto the warning just before the strike occurred. He shot upwards, avoiding the large hand of sand that tried to grab him. He grabbed onto the falling tree's branch, landing on it with narrowed eyes. Just before the tree landed and kicked up a cloud of dust he saw his opponent.

Gaara.

As the dust cleared Naruto saw Gaara smirking deliriously at him. He immediately felt the need to prove his dominance, although he knew that wasn't his thoughts. It was Kurama's. He would likely be running, especially seeing the large sand gourd that was dissolving, and the large wave of sand that levitated above the teen's head. It was not a welcoming sight, especially considering how much chakra it must take to do that, along with the fact that Gaara looked like he wanted to kill him and drink his blood.

Or he was just watching too many vampire movies as of late.

"Crush Shukaku! Kill him! Destroy his foolish notion that he can defeat me!"

'First off, I'm assuming Gaara is a Jinchuriki that doesn't have a very stable control over himself. I'll have to check up stuff about the Bijuu later. Next up, we are not you guys. We are simply the sheath to a blade, even if I don't personally agree with sealing you guys away for all entirety. Then again, you all do seem to harm us.'

Kurama was silent, but Naruto could just hear his annoyance with the blonde. Naruto sighed before he continued.

'Just help me out please. I can't beat him by myself.'

"You are already using my power. Make it last."

'And now you're just being a dick.'

Naruto shot forth, seemingly in an attack, but he noticed the small sand particles in the air. They quickly formed an impaled tree, the very one he was just one.

'Now that is some scary manipulation,' he thought before flipping in midair. He flew right over Gaara's large wave of sand, slamming multiple punches into it only to be rejected each and every time.

"Interesting," Naruto mumbled before landing on his hands. He did a backflip landing on his feet before shooting off, leaving a small crater in the ground thanks to his physical boost. He appeared behind Gaara, his punch already in motion, yet the second he smirked as his hand went through Gaara's head was the same time he felt a spike shoot through his stomach. He coughed up blood, noticing the acid pouring from his body. He screamed, although he did notice the large influx of power that came with it. As he lay on the ground, watching with wonder as his stomach essentially rebuilt itself he felt another form come from his tailbone. He glanced to see a second tail and he felt his control slipping.

"Interesting. Even though the seal one my stomach is just a representation of the actual seal in my mind the influx of chakra I got from it temporarily being erased was large." Naruto mumbled.

"You don't have the luxury of thinking over fuinjutsu idiot!"

Naruto felt a large downpour of sandy rain impact with him, shredding through his clothes and leaving cuts all on his body.

"Well you certainly are strong huh Gaara? Although I'd like it if you stopped attacking me."

Gaara smiled. "Mother will enjoy your blood."

Naruto sighed before jumping and bringing down his foot. He frowned as he concentrated the chakra around his foot becoming a darker crimson and the leg dropping even faster. He smirked.

"Kyuubi Rasshu (Nine Tail Rush)!" he roared. He repeatedly slammed his leg down on the sand above Gaara's head, nine times to be exact.

'Naming an attack after me. Pretentious little prick.'

Gaara smirked. "More! Give me more!"

He clenched his right hand into a fist before the sand wrapped around Naruto's crimson covered leg. The sand then imploded, but now screams of pain came from Naruto, instead he smirked.

"Looks like you are helping," he mumbled before slamming a punch into Gaara's face. The punch cracked Gaara's face, something Naruto was very confused with. However the teen still was sent flying, through several trees to be exact. Naruto watched Gaara curiously before his eyes widened in surprise. He looked down to see a large hand made of sand grasping his ankle. Suddenly he was thrown, directly towards Gaara's rising form. Gaara cocked his arm back, sand coating it before he launched it forwards, slamming it into Naruto's body and sending a vibration through his body. Naruto coughed, feeling his bones creak before he flew off into the distance. He growled, focusing on his tails.

The twin tails shot forth, elongating and wrapping around two thick trees. Naruto used those trees to slow his airborn form before he saw Gaara racing towards him, his feet leaving small indentations on the ground. Naruto frowned and sighed before he shot through handseals. He was very happy he had the Kyuubi helping him. Otherwise he would be out cold by now. At least he knew something.

Gaara was stronger than him.

As Naruto finished his jutsu he smirked. "Take this! Fuuton: Kūki no Uzu (Wind Release: Air Vortex)!"

As the giant spiraling ball of air flew towards Gaara, growing in size in the process Naruto stumble forward, feeling a significant drain on his power. He glanced back, noticing that his mind was much clearer now as the second tail dissipated. He frowned. He couldn't continue to fight like this. If using only one of his second most powerful jutsu got rid of an entire tail worth of chakra than he was definitely in trouble. The Kyuubi nearly snarled in his mind.

'Please, that pathetic jutsu isn't even a tail worth of my power. He just can't maintain that form and subconsciously forced me out. Impressive, but annoying nonetheless."

Naruto turned, and shot into the air, the ground indenting on itself and forming a crater. He swung through the trees like a monkey with the help of his chakra appendages, getting away from Gaara as quickly as he could.

He was not in the proper position to fight.

As Naruto felt he got far enough a way he landed, flowing through handseals as the power surrounding him, the fox's power, dispersed. He then walked over to a tree and slammed his palm on it. He then repeated the process with three other trees, forming a square.

"Fuinjutsu: Seibutsu no Mahi Shiringu Hiroba no keisei (Sealing Technique: Biotic Paralysis Sealing Square Formation)!"

Naruto jumped out of the seals range before it activated, barely making it. Suddenly four lines of electricity shot from seal to seal, impacting with each other before forming an area where all biotic life froze in their place. However, all abiotic features remained doing whatever they were doing earlier. Naruto smirked and hid in the bushes nearby. He smirked as his genius.

'Now, either Gaara or another team will come here. For now, I wait. I'm too exhausted to search for Sakura and Sasuke.'

With that Naruto carved out a small hole in the trunk of a tree, put some leaves in front of it, and slept.

XxX

Sasuke ducked under another stray jutsu, sighing as this was the first one that did not nearly hit Sakura. He had gotten sick of moving her. However that brief moment of relaxation was when another member of the trio slammed his fist into his gut.

"Wow, Dosu why is our target so weak?"

Sasuke glared up at the teen but he didn't have time to respond as he sloppily jumped away from a senbon thrown by the girl, Kin he believed her name was.

"Stop whinning Zaku. We were ordered to kill the Uchiha and that's exactly what we are going to do," said the leader, or at least Sasuke assumed he was. He was like a mummy.

Sasuke snarled at the trio who just laughed. He frowned as he clutched his injured right arm. He couldn't believe he was having trouble with these three. After they appeared and killed the teams that were about to take advantage of Sasuke being alone he saw them as a saving grace.

That is until they charged him.

He was fairing fine against the female and the one who just punched him in the stomach, going as far as to say he wouldn't have to use his sword for this fight. However, once the mummy came in everything changed. Sasuke had been immediately put on the defensive end of the fight as he was struck with the trick the mummy used.

Dosu…it was a name he know held with great caution. Whatever that contraption that was on his arm was, it was deadly, as it did something to not only make his vision blurry, but also make him lose balance and hence his situation. He was struggling with these three only because of Dosu, the one person he made his priority with to never engage with in close combat.

Ironically, Dosu charged, cocking the arm with the contraption backwards, however Sasuke did not see one Dosu charging, he saw seven. He cursed, trying to decipher which one was the real one before he stumbled, making him lose sight of them altoghter. Dosu smirked and launched forward his fist, unleashing a devastating right hook that sent Sasuke flying towards a tree. Sasuke's back collided with the tree before he slumped to the ground, a frown on his features. Sasuke tried to stand and glare at the smirking trio, or at least the two whose faces he could see, but he stumbled again and had to rest his hand against the tree.

Or the tree he thought was there.

He fell to the ground.

Dosu looked at him apathetically. "You're feeling nauseous, disoriented, and vertigo aren't you, along with a great deal of pain, but that's a given."

Sasuke glared at him. Dosu laughed, tapping the Melody Arm on his right forearm. "You see, my Melody Arm allows me to generate sound and direct it towards the inner ear. This causes those feelings. I don't need to strike you with my fists. I can just strike you with sound. Sound is just vibrations of the molecules in the air which creates a soundwave. These waves are then collected by your ear and then directed to your eardrum. The human eardrum, the tempanic membrane, ruptures when it is exposed to sound over 150 decibals. Moreover, if the sound is powerful to upset the fluid within the deepest inner ear cannals it becomes impossible to maintain your balance."

Sasuke snarled. "I see. Well then, there is simply one thing to do," he said. Dosu raised his one visible eyebrow. "And that would be?" Sasuke snarled, grasping his blade and closing his eyes. "Fight without my eyes. And never move."

Dosu laughed. "That's impossible! Zaku!"

Zaku smirked, raising his arms and opening his palms. They faced Sasuke. "Zankūha (Decapitating Airwaves)!"

A supersonic blast of air shot from the hollow tubes in Zaku's arms, racing towards Sasuke at impossible speeds. Sasuke, with his eyes closed had no way of knowing what the attack looked like, nor from which direction. He could only rely on his most basic sense. The ability to sense danger. However, Sasuke just got the feeling, not from which direction. Guessing, he jumped, or tried to as he felt the vertigo get to him, even with the world not truly spinning. Finding himself falling he decided to guess again, preparing to use what he had been practicing over the past weeks.

The Kubikiribocho began to glow as did Sasuke's hands. Suddenly the glow around Sasuke's hands faded, and lightning crackled to life around his blade. He smirked, swinging the blade in a horizontal slope downwards.

"Hikari Katto (Light Cut)!"

The lightning from his blade shot forth, carving the ground and creating a trench. The thin blade of lightning carved right through Zaku's attack and would have bifurcated him and also fried him had it not been for Kin's quick thinking and using her senbon to pin him to a tree away from the blade, saving him. Sasuke rolled with his fall, stopping on one knee.

"See what I mean?" Sasuke said, although he could not.

Dosu turned and glared at the Uchiha, finding it ironic that with all of his senses being null-and-void except for one he was winning, when with all of them he couldn't. No, not ironic. Annoying.

"Lucky little shit," Dosu said before racing forwards. "You won't get so lucky with me!"

Sasuke smirked, raising the lightning-covered Kubikiribocho in the air. "Let's see about that! My training will pay off!"

Dosu snarled before stepping to the side, avoiding the incoming slash Sasuke made at random. However, Sasuke's danger senses were still flaring, hence the horizontal slash he made next that forced Dosu to duck. However, the teen launched a kick that connected with Sasuke's chest and sent him flying upwards. Dosu nodded to himself before he pointed the porous side of Melody Arm at Sasuke.

"Saundo Dangan (Sound Bullets)!" Bullets of sound shot from the several holes in Melody Arm, all impacting with Sasuke. He coughed as he felt it. Two in the chest, three in each of his arms respectively, and one per leg, specifically his knee. He felt his right knee crack as the bullet hit it and he landed on the ground unceremoniously. Sasuke struggled to rise, his eyes opening on instinct. He however did not have time to look at the monotonous colors of the Forest of Death, instead meeting the even more monotonous color of dirt as Dosu slammed his foot down on his skull.

Sasuke cursed, his body weakening. He felt himself losing a clear grip, the darkness closing in. He snarled. He felt the darkness close in, but not before he heard a single voice penetrate his thoughts. A voice he was all too familiar with.

(-Flashback-)

"Foolish little brother."

(-Flashback-)

Sasuke snarled, opening his eyes, revealing the crimson orbs underneath.

"I'll show you who the foolish little brother is!"

The one tomoi on Sasuke's neck shot forth, forming a blue flame-like pattern around his body, although it seemed as if it was missing a couple parts. It was bisected down his body, covering half and ignoring the other half. A surge of chakra shot from Sasuke, sending Dosu flying before the teen flipped in midair and landed on his feet.

"The hell happened?" Dosu asked. Kin had just finished pulling her senbon from Zaku's clothing, getting a nod from him before they too glared at Sasuke. Sasuke slowly rose, all traces of his damage gone. Even his vision was back to normal. Dosu glared at Sasuke.

"What did you do?"

Sasuke glanced around, looking at his neck and body. "I did nothing," he said. He thought back to when Orochimaru bit him. "I see that makes sense now. That blue tomoi I saw earlier. Well then, let me use this power I was unwillingly gifted with, TO SLAUGHTER YOU!"

Sasuke shot forth, his previous spot a small crater now. Dosu's eyes widened before he felt a punch impact with his face, blowing apart the wrappings around his face and sending him flying through a tree. Sasuke disappeared again and appeared in front of Zaku and Kin a smirk on his face.

"Boo."

Zaku snarled, launching a right hook with his palm open. Sasuke blocked it with his forearm, however Zaku smirked.

"Zankūha (Decapitating Airwaves)!"

The blast of air and sound waves did not hit Sasuke. Instead, the attack slammed directly into Kin's unprepared form, sending her flying and causing blood to shoot from her mouth. She landed on the ground with a dull thud. Zaku's eyes widened beforehe felt a foot on his back and two hands grasp his wrists.

Zaku instantly realized what the Uchiha was about to do, turning his head towards him, even if it was only partially. "Please," he begged but Sasuke shrugged.

"You're lucky I don't torture my opponents."

With that Sasuke lifted his leg, still keeping his grasp on Zaku's arms, before bringing it down, at the same time he let go of Zaku, slamming the 14 year old into the ground harshly and forcing him from consciousness. Sasuke then turned towards Dosu who was staring at him with wide eyes.

"I will give you five seconds to drop your scroll and run."

Dosu nodded, quickly putting down his scroll. He then shot forth at speeds Sasuke did not know he was capable of, yet he knew he wouldn't attack him. Those speeds were still nothing compared to Naruto's, and with this power boost, he would easily destroy him. No, Dosu grabbed his teammates and shot away, fear tracing his mind.

"Orochimaru-sama did not mention that detail," Dosu mumbled as he ran away. He heard a fist slam into a tree before he felt a presence disappear. He shook with fear.

Sasuke sat appeared before Sakura, the power and flame-like markings fading. Sasuke suddenly felt weak again and dropped to his knees, a frown marring his features.

"So…Orochimaru sent them did he? That and I'll have to have Naruto and Kakashi take a look at this damn seal. Damn it, I feel so weak right now."

Sasuke groaned as he looked at Sakura's unconscious form.

"Your healing would be really good right now. Better yet, if you were conscious we could start looking for Naruto."

Sasuke sighed, before his body shook with another ragged breath. He sat down next to Sakura, a frown adorning his face as he lay against the trunk of a tree.

"Damn it. That weird sensei was right….the Chunin Exams are a lot harder than expected."

Sasuke smirked as he thought about it though. "I just can't wait until we get to the real fun part."

XxX

Naruto woke with a start, his eyes shooting wide and instantly checking for dangers. He sighed when he saw nothing and then double-checked his seal formula, leaving the comfort of his tree. He frowned when he noticed no one was in there, but he heard a sound and ducked into the bushes, scanning his surroundings.

He saw it then. A bush shook before a team popped out, a team Naruto recognized.

"Raylin!" Naruto hissed, however he was very happy he hadn't said it very loud. It would have put Raylin on guard. Even if Raylin was something akin to a rival, a rival he had wanted to face under more appropriate circumstances, a test was a test, and he was determined to beat him, to pass it. Although he hadn't even known that Raylin was participating in the Chunin Exams. However, as Raylin neared the transparent electrical lines, Naruto's trap, sand wrapped around his leg and his teammates. They nearly screamed, each of them reaching for kunai to get it off, however the kunai did not pierce the sand. It was at that instant that Naruto knew what was happening.

"Gaara."

Gaara appeared from behind the trio, a maniacal and annoyed grin on his face.

"Uzumaki ran off, so I guess I'll settle with you."

Sand exploded from his sandy gourd, wrapping the trip up in sand so tightly you could only see their eyes. Naruto wanted to help, he really did. As he watched he felt anger rise into his body, as he knew what was coming. Yet he knew he couldn't help them. If he did, Gaara would attack him again, although he'd likely spar the other three. It was either them or him.

Although not pleasant, it was an easy choice to make.

Gaara lifted his hand, his palm open.

"Sabaku Soso (Sand Waterfall Funeral)!" Gaara clenched his hand.

The sand imploded in a gory mess, producing three sizable mountains of blood. As the sand returned Naruto saw no traces of the three.

They were completely liquefied.

"I'm done here."

Gaara then turned and left, as if he hadn't liquefied three people with a smile on his face.

Sorry for being late on this chapter, even though I don't have a schedule anymore. I've just been hooked on a game, called Dragon Nest. If you want to play with me you can message me. Anyways, I've been exceedingly excited for the upcoming chapters, along with this one. It just revealed what I had planned for Raylin, Naruto, Sasuke, and Gaara in one go, and if you don't know what it means, well then you'll find out, eventually. Well not in Raylin's case. You found him out already. I don't have much to say honestly, except school is being a real dick. Sigh, oh well. That and the Bleach poll has officially been closed and the winner is Nel.