Naruto surveys the grass nin before them, and everything pauses for a second. The enemy smirks. "You got rid of my snake quickly," she says. "Well done, Naruto."
The blonde's face twists into a scowl. "That was you!" His hands fly, flashing through a familiar set of hand signs. "Shadow Clone Jutsu! You won't get to do it again!"
Dozens of Narutos poof into existence, running at the grass nin full-tilt, and Sasuke feels the vice of terror wrapped around his heart ease a little. Yes. That's a good distraction, a good way to keep her busy while the four of them try to flee for their lives, get away, and maybe survive another day.
He doesn't even care about passing the exam at this point. He just wants to live.
"Naruto!" he yells, voice strained - he can't bring himself to look at the cloud of smoke that is her decimating the clones. Fortunately, the real Naruto hung back, and Sasuke leaps from his branch to Naruto's, landing with a stagger right next to him. The blonde automatically moves to stabilize him, putting on a hand on his back and-
Wow, he reeks. And really is covered in slime.
No, no, not the time.
"Naruto, we need to run," he tells him. "She's way out of our league - we need to distract her as long as possible and get out of here."
His teammate nods, pale and shaking. "Okay."
Sasuke blinks - he hadn't really expected an easy agreement from Naruto, of all people. Before he can question it, though, someone lands behind him, and he whirls around-
It's Sakura and the Ame genin, tense and with drawn faces. "If we can get down to the ground, I've got a plan," he says, and Team 7 exchanges glances. "Look, I don't want to die today, okay!? So-"
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto yells in Sasuke's ear, and another wave of clones rushes at the grass ninja. There's no time to waste, and nothing to lose. That won't work for too much longer.
"Down," Sasuke says, and they leap together, landing neatly on the forest floor.
"We just need to delay her as long as possible," the Ame Genin says, flipping through an unfamiliar pattern of seals - and all around them, shinobi begin rising from the earth. Copies of their new ally, as well as copies of the three of them. It's. Incredibly eerie.
He turns to Naruto. "Make four clones and disguise them as us, in the bushes, and then add as many clones as you can to my illusions."
Sasuke should be in charge. Taking control. He is the de facto leader of Team 7 - but he's shaking too much. He hasn't felt blood lust like this since- since-
He thinks he's going to vomit.
Sakura leans into him, grounding him, as they watch Naruto steel himself. He inhales, exhales- "Shadow Clone Jutsu," the blond murmurs, and the effect is instantaneous.
At least a hundred Narutos populate the clearing, and as they watch, a ripple passes through them as most of them henge.
It's staggering. Sasuke had no idea Naruto had that much chakra.
The Uzumaki looks a little worse for the wear, pale with a sheen of sweat covering his skin, but he gives them a tired grin. "Let's go."
They move. The entire production only took a minute, but it's a minute they didn't really have to spare, and Sasuke is beyond terrified that grass nin will see right through it. Or, worse - was watching and is going to get the drop on them any moment. She's so above their power level it's not even funny, and getting into an actual entanglement with her will be the death of all of them.
As the three jump from branch to branch, though, Sasuke starts to think they might actually make it. Ten minutes pass of naught but their hard breathing as they go go go, and there's no sign of her. Naruto hasn't said anything, either, and wouldn't he know if all of his clones were destroyed? They might... they might do this. Survive this.
While Sasuke is starting to feel tired and Sakura is near shaking from the exertion, Naruto is looking a bit better. In fact, he grins at the Ame genin, seemingly relaxed. "Good plan, jumpsuit!" he crows, clearly not afraid of being heard. "She's still fighting them right now!"
Oh. Oh, thank god.
The Ame genin scowls, though. "My name is Oboro," he says. "Not jumpsuit." After a moment, though, he begrudgingly adds a "Thanks."
Sakura tiredly smiles, leaping to the next branch alongside Sasuke. "What was that jutsu you used back there?" she asks quietly. "I haven't seen any illusions like that before."
Oboro puffs up a little. "I bet. It's actually-"
"Quiet," Sasuke hisses, coming to a stop, and the other three shut up. They all pause for a moment, and the Uchiha stretches out every single one of his senses, desperately trying to find a source for the unsettling feeling burrowing up from his core. "Naruto," he says slowly, as hushed as possible. "Are you sure that-"
He doesn't get a chance to finish.
Sasuke moves, hurtling himself away from his branch to another with every ounce of speed in his body. He barely makes it, four shuriken embedding themselves in the spot he just vacated.
There's a laugh and the four of them look up, terrified, to see the grass ninja standing on a giant fucking snake.
Oboro curses.
"My, my, what clever children," she says, and Sasuke. Can't. Move. It's not like before, with the killing intent that felt as though it was flooding every inch of him - this is just sheer, unadulterated terror.
This ninja had realized none of the many, many copies they had left behind were real. She had slipped by all of the clones while tricking Naruto into thinking the plan was working - probably via her own clone. She had snuck up on them while riding a giant snake, and now had the them exhausted and cornered.
They were going to die.
"This was your plan?" she continues, turning slightly to face Oboro. "A pity."
It's a movement so fast even Sasuke's Sharingan can barely see it. Her tongue whips out, wrapping itself around Oboro's neck and yanks. It's barely a blink.
Barely a blink, and a crack, and he's gone.
Sakura gasps, horrified, as the woman retracts her tongue, Oboro's body crumbling, face locked in an expression of horrified shock - Sakura catches him. Sasuke can't stop staring. The last time he saw someone look like that-
The woman laughs. "A pity," she says again, and licks her lips. "If only he hadn't been with you..."
Naruto is shaking. His hands curled into fists by his side, every part of him steel and tense and he whirls, his eyes teary and red red red as he snarls, animalistic and feral. "I'll kill you!" he screams. "I'll kill you!"
He launches himself at the grass nin. Sasuke's only a beat behind him.
The Uchiha has never seen Naruto strong like this before - it's almost frightening. He punches the snake, and it seems to hurt it, to actually stop it, but Sasuke drives that thought from his mind. He blocks out Naruto taking on the snake, and Sakura rising to her feet, wiping at her tear-filled eyes and joining in. He blocks it all out.
It's just him and her.
He lunges forward and she pulls back. She lashes out with her tongue and he rolls to the underside of the branch. It's a deadly game, a deadly dance, and it's terrifying. They bandy back and forth fireballs and he tries to trap her with ninja wire but can't, his hands shaking too badly to properly direct it.
Sasuke only really acknowledges the disappearance of the snake (a summons) when Naruto leaps over him, launching his whole orange self at the grass nin with a snarl. "Don't touch him!" Naruto yells, and the woman laughs, easily dodging him.
"I didn't expect to see you here," she says, and Sasuke charges, hands flying through the seals for a fireball but- he has nothing. There's only the barest vestiges of chakra to draw upon, and it's not enough.
The grass nin takes advantage of his distraction. She flings Naruto away from her, pinning him swiftly to the closest tree trunk with three quick kunai. Before he can do more than snarl at her, she slams her hand into his stomach and he slumps, going terrifyingly still.
Sasuke falls to his knees.
The woman turns on the branch, licking her lips, and slowly - achingly slowly - begins to walk towards Sasuke. He can do... nothing. Absolutely nothing. His legs are like lead beneath him, his breath is coming so fast he's on the verge of hyperventilating, and he's almost out of chakra. (Lose anymore, and he's dead.)
"P... Please," he begs, one hand slowly, shakily moving to the pouch on his hip. He doesn't know if it will do anything - it almost feels like this is a game to her, that she's hunting them for sport - but if giving her the scroll spares them, he'll do it in a heartbeat.
He doesn't get the chance.
"Don't touch him!" Sakura screeches with all the valkyric fury of a twelve-year-old girl. Sasuke barely registers her voice before her fist slams into the grass nin's face. The woman staggers, taking a few steps back, and Sakura takes the opportunity to get between the two of them. Leg back, poised to leap, kunai in her hands and low to the ground - she's ready. "I won't let you touch him you- you murderer."
The woman laughs, straightening up and locking a spot of blood off the corner of her mouth. "Silly little girl," she says. "All ninja kill."
"Then I'll kill you!" Sakura spits, and she hurtles herself forward.
It's too fast for Sasuke to see. Sakura throws a punch at the woman's stomach, but she dodges easily and moves and- the girl cries out, a fresh line of blood slicing down her chest, through her chest, and fuck, Sasuke can't tell how deep it is. "Foolish," the woman says, and then she throws her.
Not hard. She grabs Sakura by the arm and flings her - just hard enough to push her away from the branch, but not hard enough so she can grab another. The perfect amount so she falls right into a gap.
Sakura screams falling and reaching out for something - anything - but there's naught but air. She disappears into the darkness below... and a moment later, her scream cuts off.
It's silent.
And Sasuke is alone with her.
"Well, well, that was a fun game," the woman says, walking closer once more. She's been toying with them the whole time, Sasuke realizes. She could've taken them down at any point.
"Who are you?" he croaks. "What... what do you want?"
"My name is Orochimaru," she says, crouching in front of him and gently stroking his cheek. Sasuke's skin crawls, and he tries to pull away, but she grabs his chin and holds fast. "When you want more power, Sasuke... come to me. It will be yours."
And then she bites him.
There's a fire burning in his neck, rippling through his veins, infecting the rest of him and he screams, feeling clutching at the wound as his vision flickers...
Before going peacefully, mercifully black.