A/N: I forgot to say this last chapter, but: "OMG! Tobito's a hollow! Someone get Ichigo!"

With that bit of comedy gold out of the way (Sarcasm) onto the real announcement: Buffering is done Yay! From now on the story will update Wednesdays and Saturdays.

XXXVI: The Second Exam Part I

Konoha, Forest of Death, One Month Nine Days Ago:

At Anko's signal the gates clattered open and Team Seven dashed through the gate, With Hinata taking point and Naruto and Sasuke flanking her a few steps behind.

"Find us a good target, Hinata-chan." Naruto said as they sped across the tree branches.

"Maybe we should find a spot near the tower and set up an ambush?" Sasuke suggested. "It would be easier to catch a team with some of your traps."

"Good point." Naruto agreed, "But I'd rather just hit a team that has an Earth scroll and run." He shuddered, "I hate this place."

"See anyone yet?" Sasuke asked.

Hinata shook her head, "The t-two teams c-closest to us had a Heaven Scroll. We n-need to go further."

Hinata led them across the tree branches with precise jumps that barely seemed to disturb a single leaf. Sasuke and Naruto were actually having trouble keeping up.

"When did you get so fast?" Naruto panted

"Slow down, we're making too much noise trying to keep up with you."

"S-sorry, I didn't realize how fast I was going. Anko's training really helped."

"Well, she is the proctor for this part of the exam." Naruto observed, "She must have known it would really help."

"I g-guess…" Hinata said before they resumed their run through the branches.

After half an hour Hinata broke the silence, "Th-There!" She pointed through the underbrush, "Those Ame-nin have an earth sc-scroll!"

"Nice catch Hinata-chan!" Naruto whispered, "Which one as it?"

"The one with the spiky black hair." Hinata answered, "It's in his left pocket

"You ready?"

"Hn."

"N-No…"

"Eh? Why not Hinata-chan?"

"I-I w-want t-to try b-by myself…j-just make sure he doesn't escape okay?"

Naruto shrugged, "Sure Hinata-chan, if that's what you want, me and Sasuke can sit this one out, right?"

"Hn."

"Sasuke go around stop them from escaping in that direction, I've got this side. Hinata Grab the scroll and run in that direction me and Sasuke will catch up with you. Okay are we read now?"

"Y-Yes."

"Hn." Sasuke grunted before circling around the Ame team. When Sasuke was in position on the other side Naruto whispered on my mark, Three…two…one…go!"

Hinata leapt from the tree branch and landed in the middle of the Ame team. Her sudden arrival startled them, and Hinata took advantage of the opening. She swept the legs out from under two of them and knocked the other over with a blow to the chest. As soon as the scroll carrier hit the ground Hinata snatched the scroll from his pocket and took off at a dead sprint.

"Wow…That was fast Hinata-chan!" Naruto praised her when he and Sasuke caught up with her.

"You didn't even have to kill them." Sasuke said, "Impressive."

"Th-thanks Sasuke, Naruto-kun."

"If we hurry we can make it the rest of the way to the tower in half an hour.'

"Do you think completing this in an hour is some kind of record?" Sasuke asked.

"Probably, let's hurry then."

They had been running for fifteen minutes, when the attack happened. Something incredibly fast moving sped toward them, from the edge of Hinata's vision.

"Look out! Ambush!" Hinata barely had time to shout, before a giant snake appeared out of nowhere and crashed into Naruto knocking him into the woods and away from his teammates

"Now now, Sasuke-kun," The voice was soft, almost feminine, "I had to really run to catch up with you." An androgynous Ninja with long black hair and pale skin, wearing the uniform of a Kusa-nin, stepped out of the shadows ahead of them. "I absolutely hate running."

"Who are you? What do you want?"

The Kusa-nin licked his lips, "Why I only wanted to give you a little present." His tongue was too long and entirely the wrong color. "Won't you come here?"

Sasuke drew his Chokutō, "Sorry, But you're not my type."

"Oooh, playing hard to get?" The Kusa-nin giggled, "I like that."

"Let's see how you like this!" Naruto shouted as he came barreling out of the undergrowth, covered in mud and slime from his fight with the snake. "RASENGAN!" He slammed the spinning ball of chakra into the strange ninja's face.

The force of the blow launched the Kusa-nin into a tree and sent chunks of his face flying off. "Why would you do that?" Gone were the soft lines of the ninja's face, instead, where Naruto's Rasengan had struck the foreign ninja where sharp and distinctively male cheekbones around a golden snakelike eye. "I liked that face. It was ever so pretty."

"Who are you?" Naruto asked in disgust, "Or what are you?"

"Oh, that's not nice," the ninja said as he peeled the scraps of his old face off. "How would you like it if I called your humanity into question Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto?"

"What did he call you Naruto?" Sasuke wasn't sure he heard the strange ninja correctly.

"It doesn't matter." Naruto said, "You still haven't answered me, you creep. Who are you? And how do you my name?"

The strange Ninja giggled again, "My name is Orochimaru." A wicked grin spread over his snake like features, "Perhaps you've heard of me?"

'OhCrapOhCrapOhCrap.' Team Seven thought in unison

"Now," Orochimaru said sweetly, "Won't you come here so I can give you your gift Sasuke-Kun?"

"Go to hell you snake faced bastard!"

"Naruto, pissing off a Sannin is a bad idea!" Sasuke hissed.

"If you're not going to come over here…." Orochimaru said, his tone growing menacing, "I'll have to…force…you to take it."

Sasuke raised his sword, "Bring it." He growled.

"I th-thought you d-didn't want to piss of the creepy p-pedophile Sasuke?" Hinata stammered.

"Eh, it'll be more fun this way."

"Ah well," Orochimaru sighed dramatically, "So much for diplomacy." He took a deep breath and blew a seal-less Futon: Daitoppa that was almost three times as strong as Naruto's.

Team seven dodged out of its path. Hinata charged the Snake Sannin, intending to lock him down for her teammates. Sasuke and Naruto arced around her, their hands flowing through the seals for their jutsu.

Orochimaru easily dodged Hinata's first three attacks, and countered with a spinning kick that sent her crashing into a tree. Then he side stepped Sasuke and Naruto's over large fireball.

"Isn't this fun?"Orochimaru said, before pushing his sleeve up and revealing a strange tattoo, "Now it's my turn!" He bit his thumb and smeared a streak of blood along the tattoo, summoning seven giant snakes to the fight.

Two of the snakes attacked Sasuke, two attacked Naruto, and two went for Hinata who was still dazed from Orochimaru's vicious kick. The seventh, and largest, stayed back, with Orochimaru standing on its head.

Sasuke channeled his lightning chakra along the length of his blade, like he had seen Kakashi do in the Land of Sea. Despite the snakes' thick scales they were no match for Sasuke.

Naruto, however, was fighting four snakes at once trying to buy Hinata time to catch her breath.

"I-I think he b-broke m-my ribs…" She panted, before binding two of the snakes with her Suiton: Suiben. The combination of her broken ribs and the snakes' thick scales meant her Juken strikes were useless against the summons

"Now we can't have that." Orochimaru frowned, "Everyone should be allowed to play." He ordered the snake he was on forward. Mouth open wide the snake lunged at Naruto and Hinata.

Just before the snake could close its jaws on them Naruto summoned the Uzu no Tsubasa and held it vertically. When the snake tried to close its mouth on them the blade pierced the Snake's skull, killing it instantly.

Orochimaru's eyes narrowed in anger when the snake died with a shudder, "That's a dangerous toy you have there." He opened his mouth and a white snake emerged from his throat.

"That's so gross…" Naruto observed when the snake spat a sword out.

Orochimaru leapt of the dead snake and brought his sword down in an arc. Naruto raised his staff sword and blocked with the shaft of his weapon. Orochimaru's sword bounced off with a ringing sound.

Orochimaru's eyes widened in surprise, before narrowing again. "I do not wish to hurt you boy, but I will if you don't get out of my way so I can give Sasuke his gift." His soft, feminine, voice hissed, like a sword being drawn from its sheath. He swung again, and Naruto staggered under the weight of the blow.

"You want to try?" Naruto growled. His eyes turned a shade of deep purple and his irises bent into vertical slits, while his fingernails lengthened and his whisker marks thickened. "Try this!"

The Kyuubi's chakra allowed him to begin pushing Orochimaru back, "I Won't let you hurt my friends!" He shouted while red chakra began to coalesce into his chakra shroud.

Before his shroud could complete Orochimaru jerked his sword back throwing Naruto off balance. As soon as he broke contact his sword turned into a snake and curled around his wrist.

At the same time Orochimaru performed a series offhand seals faster than Naruto's eyes could perceive. Orochimaru lunged forward, grabbed Naruto's shirt and lifted it with one hand, revealing Naruto's seal. The other hand he slammed into Naruto's stomach.

Naruto let out an ear splitting shriek, it felt like every nerve in his body had been set on fire at once. He staggered back one step then two and crumpled like a puppet with its strings cut.

As he fell he seemed to age fifty years his skin became ashen, his hair grayed and his breath started to come in short sharp gasps. "How fascinating," Orochimaru observed.

Hinata stepped between the Sannin and Naruto, and assumed her Juken stance. Sasuke, covered in the gore of the other snakes rushed to her side.

"Ah, Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru said pleasantly, "Are you ready for your gift then?"

"I want nothing from you."

"You would deny a gift freely given? How terribly rude." Orochimaru feigned sadness, "Alas I must insist that you take it."

When Sasuke raised his chokutō in response, Orochimaru sighed and held out his hand. The snake coiled around his forearm slid into his palm and transformed into his sword.

"Please don't make me hurt you, Sasuke-kun," This time Orochimaru sounded genuinely concerned, "I truly only have your best interests in mind." The snake Sannin pleaded.

Sasuke attacked, first high, then low. Each strike was effortlessly parried by Orochimaru.

A strange almost wistful smile spread across the Sannin's face. "You have so much talent, Sasuke-kun, You remind me of me at your age." With a deft flick of his wrist he disarmed Sasuke. "Unfortunately, playtime is over."

Sasuke pulled half a dozen kunai from his pouch. "I won't go down without a fight, you monster."

"I would expect nothing else from you, but I'm afraid you have no choice Sasuke-kun…" Orochimaru released a blast of killing intent so strong it even made the unconscious Naruto whimper in fright. In the seconds they were unable to move Orochimaru made a single hand seal which caused his neck to lengthen until he resembled snake emerging from its hole.

"And now," he hissed, "it is time for your present." Orochimaru reared back and lashed out, like a snake striking its prey.

Faster than he could blink Orochimaru's head cleared the distance between them and bit Sasuke on the neck. Three large black Tomoe appeared where the Snake Sannin had bit him.

Sasuke managed to whimper in pain before the blackness took him. "Do look after your teammates for me will you?" Orochimaru said to Hinata, who had grimly resumed her fighting stance. "I don't want anything….unfortunate…to happen to them just yet." He patted her on the head, "Be good now." And then he disappeared before she could counter attack him.

Hinata was left with two uncurious and feverish teammates and at least three broken ribs. She did her best to drag her teammates to what shelter a fallen tree could provide 'Now what? She asked herself.

Jiraiya's Camp, Present Day:

Tsunade shuddered, "He did what? I swear every time I hear a new story about Orochimaru he seems less and less human."

"Tell me about it. Sometimes I can't believe I was even friends with that guy, let alone best friends…"

"We were all surprised by his experiments Jiraiya; don't beat yourself up over them."

Jiraiya shook his head, "I should have seen it. I could have stopped him before he went out of control…"

Tsunade laid a comforting hand on Jiraiya's shoulder, "No matter how much we wish for it, we can't change the past."

Jiaaiya sighed, "Yeah I know. And thanks for the words of wisdom Hime."