Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto the anime or manga. This story is based off the world of Naruto. All rights go to Masashi Kishimoto.
A/N: Please contact me if there is a spelling mistake in the chapters previous, current or ahead or if you would like to have a chat in general through the Private Messaging function. It'd be best as well to communicate if you have a FF account to do so (wouldn't want to have a mystery or be left at a Cliffhanger from a guest review).
If you wish to chat by email, email the address "ParidiseChat" on gmail.
Thank you and enjoy the story.
Chapter 15 – Beyond the Eyes
"You think Orochimaru is in the Forest of Death, dressed as a student from Kusagakure?" Hiruzen asked.
Kotaro nodded as he stood in front of his leader, the man he considers a grandfather. "I do. Anko freaked out. She completely lost her cool. Her eyes were of the time when her nightmares resurfaced after we placed the seal on her neck. It has to be him Jiji," he told him. "I can think of nothing else."
"And what do you think Orochimaru wants?"
Kotaro could only shrug. "I don't think he wants Naruto. He could have done something before I came here to Konoha to do something about him. No one else really comes to mind."
"Well give it a think. You're smart Kotaro, I know that better than anyone else, you should see it clear as day considering the stories I told you. Anyway, I'm dispatching two ANBU squads into Training Grounds 44 to investagate. Hopefully they'll find Anko before she does anything crazy. Even if a false alarm, we can't take any chances," Hiruzen stated.
"No we cannot."
Kotaro smiled at Hiruzen and then turned heel to the door. "See ya Jiji. I'm bouncing."
"Kotaro, we're not done here." Gaining back the attention of the redhead, Hiruzen coughed into his fist. "I'm ordering you to attend the Centre tower ceremony at the end of the five day period of the second exam. Keep an eye on Anko and keep her in line once we get her. She still has psychological issues with Orochimaru. You are probably the best person at keeping her calm. Do you understand?" he asked with his sternest voice.
"Of course Jiji, anything for you Jiji," Kotaro responded swiftly.
"Good. Now, leave and let this old man rest. Naruto is probably sound asleep waiting for the thing to end to move onto the nezt stage."
Deep within the North-Western Quadrant, The Forest of Death
Darkness surrounds the whole environment. A sense of total, drowsiness and tiredness holds down the Genin in the forest.
GASP!
He felt trapped and alone. He couldn't see a damn thing. Naruto's body was wrapped in moist soil. Digging himself out of the ground, it didnt' take him long to reach the top of the forest floor.
"How the hell... Where am I?" he pondered as he looked around with dull eyes.
Turning his head back to where he dug out from, his dull eyes brightened in colour. The colour of shock resided in them.
In his view, a large snake, one that would ruin a town as it slid through had its head pierced through a tree, blood was everywhere.
The area seemed haunted in Naruto's eyes. Almost as if he resurrected from the dead. Naruto had to get out of there.
Although tired and drowsy, forced his arms to move and jumped up and down. There was a thud as he landed without grace. Falling to his knee, Naruto started to breathe rapidly and raggedly.
Naruto walked to a deep grove near the mountain Ash trees. Collapsing to his rear, Naruto took some time to collect himself.
Naruto was thinking over what just happened before everything turned to darkness. It was a crazy chain of events.
"Orochimaru… Sasuke… Sasuke's eyes!? Damnit, he's going to kill Sasuke! Or has he already… And that snake? Did I do that... or did it?"
Naruto realised the worst possible outcome. His heart sunk with a deep pull.
Naruto gnashed his teeth. Fury was evident in his eyes.
"Nobody will kill my friends. I must get to Sakura and Sasuke, they could be nearly dead. Shit... Damnit!" Naruto hissed the end under his breath. There was real fear coursing through his voice.
Naruto stood up and went off. As he stepped towards the forest clearing, a burning sensation came and went like lightning. Naruto gripped his abdomen. He choked and vomited some blood.
Wiping his mouth and spitting out the rest. Naruto narrowed his eyes on the small puddle of his blood.
"What the hell was that?"
Naruto jogged through his memory. He was trying to find what could have caused this pain.
Naruto's eyes flashed open. It was that damn Orochimaru again. Naruto remembered it all now, it was a death seal. A unique type of chakra seal that exceedingly difficult to create, control and then execute. For the inexperienced, it can cause recoil damage in the form of burns or even an explosion. Losing a finger could be a possibility.
Naruto hasn't learnt them yet. They were advanced seals. Naruto couldn't create unique seals on his palms or fingers with his current skill. Kotaro, the best sealer he knows doesn't like to use them himself, despite their clan creating them.
Naruto knew how Kotaro worked mentally. How he thought about his next move, especially in a fight. He loved to get down into the gritty end of it. He loved the blood, sweat and pain.
These death seals were a ticking time bomb once activated on the target. Kotaro found that it ruined the fun. It took the edge off the fight.
Naruto found it funny that his brother was so against using these chakra seals in battle, yet he always laments him to use the most effective and efficient path to a success. Whether it be a mission, fight or a day out of fun. The hypocrisy was palpable.
Naruto could only laugh since they were both the same in that aspect.
Naruto took off his orange sleeve-less jacket and then took off his blue shinobi shirt. With his upper body now naked, Naruto flowed his chakra around his belly button. Black markings slowly appeared and formed an intricate pattern. A black swirl in the middle with black markings around the swirl. It was supposed to appear instantly, with crisp not fuzzy seal markings.
"The Eight Trigrams Seal. It doesn't look too damaged much. Where is the extra crap the freak put on me?" Naruto said as he looked at his belly with sluggish eyes.
Some seals can affect the pattern and purpose of an already existing seal.
Naruto knew the Five Element Seal is one of these seals which can violently affect the chakra network of a ninja. They can affect the chakra network so much that the person that has the seal won't be able to mould chakra properly at all if it's in effect.
Naruto felt around his seal and felt nothing different from the last time he remembered what it felt like. There were just some tender areas from the attack.
If a seal is not strong enough or the already existing seal is a very advanced seal, the new seal will have no effect. This only holds truth unless you have a Sealer who has mastered the arts. It could even hurt the user trying to put on the new seal.
This did not mean that Naruto didn't feel the seal that was tried to be put on him. He was still agonizing over the pain. The death seal was still dangerous to him. A danger.
Since Naruto had taken the death seal head-on and the new seal didn't take effect, he has a chance of suffering from chakra poisoning from the chakra residue. It is chakra aimed to kill after all. Naruto knew he would have to check into the hospital to see if he was alright.
COUGH!
Naruto coughed up blood and spat it right out, it landed on the dry ground. Naruto, while taking his time, looked to the blood-stained dirt and saw that his blood was much darker than it should be.
"That doesn't look good," he murmured under his breath. "I don't know what to do with that. I'll get Nii-chan or someone to look at it later."
Naruto breathed in and out and reflected once more over the past events. "That's what must have happened. He must have tried to kill me with that seal but the Yondaime's seal kept me safe. But, holy shit, my belly is in so much pain! I can barely move!" he complained as he went back to get his clothes.
Naruto reached to one of his back pouches to get a sealed scroll, which was filled with food and water supplies. When his hand delved into the pouch, it felt very strange. It was empty. Completely empty.
Naruto ticked his tongue and swore under his breath. He was annoyed he lost his belongings. Yet, Naruto was happy that not every belonging he had was missing. The most important was still in his possession.
Putting back his shirt and jacket, Naruto did some quick stretches. After feeling springy, he jumped to the trees to see the treetops.
Reaching the top, Naruto could see the huge area that is Training Grounds 44. Naruto needed one thing badly. Water.
Scanning the environment around him, Naruto tried to look for a river or lakebed. He knew there were some areas of water in the grounds, but he had no idea where.
A shine of light beamed across his visage. Naruto spun his head and saw sparkling light. Grinning to himself, Naruto leapt across the treetops and ran to the light.
Landing quickly, Naruto dashed to the crystal light. It was water. A fresh spring in fact. There were small animals drinking from the built-up water. Rodents and insects. Naruto heard the quacking of a duck. He saw the yellow-billed duck enjoying himself. A smile appeared on Naruto's face.
Naruto sighed depressingly. He was lectured a hundred and one times on why you shouldn't drink dirty water. But Naruto was quite thirsty. What choice did he have?
Cupping some water with his hand, Naruto rehydrated himself with the water in front in him. It had a small metallic taste as well as an herbal one. This confused Naruto, but with a quick look to the flowing water, there were river herbs growing beside and in the river.
Naruto nodded to himself. This explained everything.
There was a loud ruffle heard in the bushes in front of Naruto. Large footprints were digging into the ground. The ground shook slightly with every passing step.
Naruto jumped back a fair distance and took out his kunai from his holster. His last kunai.
'Damn, I used all my kunai against the freak and the Ame ninja. And my spares were stored in my sealed scrolls. I have the worst luck ttebayo.'
Naruto griped onto the kunai hard and focused his eyes on the bushes ahead. With only one kunai and no shuriken in his arsenal, Naruto had no bladed weapons to spare. This kunai is the difference between life and death until he finds another ninja or a ninja corpse.
RAWR!
Naruto's eyes widened from the monster in front of him. A brown grizzly bear came out with its long claws, swiping through the bushes and trees. Tearing apart the foliage with total ease. It had strands of salvia hanging down its mouth.
The creature was massive. Naruto swore that it was at least ten feet tall.
Naruto immediately jumped back further and then jumped to the trees.
The bear saw Naruto move and charged after him. The bear dug its claws into the bark of the tree that Naruto was residing and started to climb on top of it.
Naruto freaked out. Not knowing what to do, Naruto hopped to the next tree, and then the next, and the one after. Naruto never looked behind, the bear could do something nasty to him in his weakened state.
If Naruto was fully fit, he knew he could take the bear on like a mad man. Though Naruto didn't want to kill the bear, he could certainly knock it out with the use of his fists.
Even then, Naruto knew that bear meat wasn't exactly nice to eat. The bear's last meal would have a large effect on the final taste. And since the bear was close to a river and lake, Naruto wouldn't be surprised if the bear devoured a lot of fish, making the bear meat taste vile.
There would be a lot of energy exerted just to kill, then skin and cook the bear. Too much for one person, let alone a young teenager.
Naruto kept his eyes on the prize, away from the threat. Naruto could feel the cool wind going south. A northern wind. This was an unusual wind current for the Land of Fire during the Summer period.
Naruto bet that if he followed this path, it would soon enough lead him to either the Central Tower or close to his companions.
Naruto was hoping he would cross paths with Shikamaru and his team on his venture. Naruto knew Shikamaru would help him out, even though they were "against" each other in this exam. Shikamaru's lazy, yet remarkably effective, brain could help him find his teammates
Naruto kept up his run for twenty minutes. He then stopped in his tacks. The hairs on the back of his spine stood tall. His senses were on high alert. He was wondering what could be alarming his senses.
Naruto settled his nerves and breathed in the air. There was a vile smell. A rotting smell.
Naruto descended and tracked down the source of the smell. He moved through the leaves and jumped to the ground. Pushing through the thick bushes and leaves, using his kunai as a hacking tool, he finally got to lay his eyes on the scene of questioning.
Blood and needles littered the clearing. Naruto, who walked a few steps forward, saw three figures that made him sick to the stomach.
Three corpses that were compressed, completely lacking in blood or water and maggots feeding off their flesh.
The deaths didn't freak out Naruto in the slightest. It was the nature of the kill. Completely ruthless. The mouths of the dead were stretched wide. They were screaming until they left the land of the living. Only one thing creeped Naruto out, it was the fact that the kills were old.
There was dark sand around the corpses. Naruto saw some more in the mouths and clothes of the ninja, which from their headbands indicated that they affiliated with Amegakure.
"Sabaku no Gaara… He is the only ninja I know that uses sand as a form of ninjutsu. Is it a Bloodline Limit? I don't know, but the guy is weird," Naruto said.
Naruto went around and searched the ninja. He was sceptical on finding anything worthwhile apart from kunai and shuriken.
Alas, there was no scroll for the exam's objective. Naruto wasn't surprised from the result. The Suna ninja that killed this group would have been idiots if they didn't. However, it was not a situation where Naruto needed another scroll.
The Ame ninja had no food on hand however, they had water bottles. Naruto desperately needed one, so he took them from the dead and strapped it around his waist. Ready to refill soon for his future journey.
Naruto stood up and dusted himself off. Cracking his knuckles, Naruto followed the natural ravine close-by, going downhill from there. Naruto, being taught survival skills by both the Academy and his brother knew that often enough, you will find a water source this way.
They weren't wrong as Naruto found a flowing river. The same river that flowed from the spring that he found before. Naruto quickly unscrewed the cap and filled his bottle with surprisingly clean water.
With the essential water by his side, Naruto was now ready to delve into the mystery of finding his team and friends. Team Seven were down for now, but they sure aren't out.
Naruto jumped high and waltzed through the trees towards the centre of the grounds. Going with the wind, Naruto was heading south. He could tell from the sun's rays that it was still east. This made it easier to navigate to his destination. The Central tower located exactly on the centre of the circle boundary.
Naruto kept close to the trees, staying at the middle height as he jumped through the forest. Sometimes going onto his feet to run on the large and long branches that stretched for many metres.
Naruto didn't let up, he kept going forward. The early morning transformed to noon. The sun was beating down hard onto the damp forest. Naruto took a break as he reached the central area of the Forest of Death.
The humidity made the forest a living hell. Naruto was sweating bullets from the dense air.
Rumble!
Naruto heard and felt the rumble of his empty stomach. He had extraordinarily little to eat aside from the few berries that grew throughout the forest.
There was only so many edible and safe food found in this forest. There forest was always theming with many poisonous fruits, berries and fungi in the forest. Some lead to paralysis, others lead to a slow and painful death. No wonder they were used for poisons and antidotes.
Naruto was never one for poison, though he knew they had their strong points. Naruto didn't know how to make it, apply it or even use it in an effective manner. He knew this will be another thing to add to the list for becoming one of the best ninja in history.
"I don't have time to waste looking for food. Sakura and Sasuke come first," Naruto said as he looked around the landscape.
"Things would be so much easier if I could do that."
Naruto calmed his chakra and closed his eyes. Breathing in and out, he tried to remember all the steps. He needed to find his friends and fast.
~ One Month Ago – The Uzumaki Residence ~
"You want to what?" Kotaro asked. He was looking at Naruto with surprised eyes. His voice was one of shock as well.
"You heard me Nii-chan," Naruto said. His arms were crossed. His whole figure was serious.
Kotaro stared at Naruto for a few moments before letting out a deep sigh. Then, a smile grew on his face. He couldn't say no to him. He finished the piece of bread he was eating and dusted his hands clean.
Kotaro moved to the front door and opened it. "Well, if ya want to learn it, we better go soon. I have a busy schedule, so we won't have much time to this."
Naruto cheered with a fist-pump before running out of the house. Kotaro sighed with a happy grin and caught up to his energetic little brother.
Kotaro walked along the path towards the forest nearby their home. Naruto followed him by his side.
"Nii-chan, why aren't we doing it at our place," Naruto asked. They usually did their training there.
Kotaro shrugged his shoulders as they kept moving. "Naruto, you will find out soon enough."
Naruto didn't question further. He followed Kotaro as they went off to the dirt road and into one of Konoha's many forests. The leaves were thickening, it gave the forest the impression of being dense with life.
Their walk was long. Naruto was wondering when they would finally arrive to this mysterious location. He was about to open his mouth again until he saw why they came here.
Kotaro had brought them to a waterfall. The cliff-face showed its bare rock. Water was flowing heavily from the top. Water was pooling at the bottom with a large volume.
The ground was covered in stones beside the river that ran off from the waterfall. A perfect place to train.
Kotaro walked to the water and stood on top of it. He then moved towards the centre of the pool.
"When the weather really comes, this place will be a great spot to catch some sun and play in the water. But, it's not that time yet Naruto. So, we can use it for training.
"Now, what you asked to be trained in isn't something you can learn overnight. It is a skill that grows as you grow. It grows as you become stronger, more controlled with your abilities and when your willpower increases as well," Kotaro said.
He rested his hands on his hips whilst talking to Naruto. He was in a good mood.
Naruto nodded and listened. "Does that mean I won't be able to do it?" he asked.
Kotaro shook his head. "No, it doesn't mean you can't do it. But, it will be harder for you to do it. What you're asking is something that becomes a part of you. Naruto there is a lot more to 'sensing' then what meets the eye. However, today we will make a start on it. Hopefully it won't go badly but sensing chakra is one of those things that nobody is good at from the start."
Kotaro did a 'come here' gesture to Naruto. Naruto ran over to Kotaro and water-walked close to Kotaro's position.
Kotaro took out a cloth and spun Naruto around. Folding the cloth, Kotaro wrapped the cloth over Naruto's eyes and tied it tightly from the back.
Kotaro then moved away from Naruto. "Stay calm and don't move until I say so. Training begins right now. Now, why do you think I took away your vision?" Kotaro asked.
Naruto didn't move from his spot. "Because you don't want me to see you, duh! I can't see you at all ttebayo. So, what now?" Naruto asked.
"Correct, and don't be so cheeky. Your vision and hearing are your primary sources of detecting others. They also are important because we need them to communicate of course. So, now that your vision is gone, you are severely hampered.
"If you are not trained in your other senses, you will die on the field. A good ninja should have tools that puts your senses at a disadvantage or at least use the environment to hurt one of them.
"Seeing that you can't see me, but you can hear me, you can still predict or even know my location. If your vision and hearing are gone for some time or even permanently. What would you do?" he asked.
Naruto didn't know how to answer the question. "I don't know."
Kotaro laughed. "Good. I didn't expect you to know. Ninja can train their perception of observation to detect others by chakra. Having the experience of feeling others chakra is strange, but it's almost as good as your true vision. For others, it can be even more useful than your own sight.
Sensing chakra can help predict attacks, know the next position, the emotional state of the enemy. Since chakra is intertwined with our body and spirit, people who can 'sense' chakra can tell a lot about others just by their chakra. Naruto, sensing is on a whole other level," Kotaro said.
"Woah… That's amazing," Naruto said.
"I know. But like I said before, this is something that takes years to master. The Nidaime Hokage was known to able to sense the chakra of his enemies from miles away. If you didn't know Naruto, Jiji is also a sensor."
Naruto shook his head. "How could I know? It's not like he talks much about his own skills. He always wants to know about mine," he complained.
Kotaro rubbed his face. "Yeah well, the man is busy. Alright! Let's get started," Kotaro said as he clapped his hands. "Follow the sound. Tell me when you can't hear me anymore."
Naruto nodded. Kotaro walked around Naruto at a normal pace. Every step was decreasing in sound volume. Moments later, there was only silence. Naruto was concentrating hard to find where Kotaro was hiding.
Splash!
Naruto turned around and pointed his finger. "Aha! found you!" he shouted.
"I'm right over here Naruto. A frog jumped into the water just there," Kotaro said loudly. His voice was coming from behind Naruto.
Naruto slumped. He was disappointed. For a second, he really thought he was a prodigy at this.
"This is harder than I thought," Naruto said.
Kotaro sighed. "Of course, it is. Sensing is a sixth sense Naruto. Right now, you have no idea what it feels like or how you should manipulate it. But once you grasp even the slightest of it, you should be able to improve on it to a mastery level. But others will always be better than you in this."
Naruto slumped even more. "That's not nice to hear."
Kotaro laughed lightly. "Sure, what do you expect Naruto? You might not be the best at sensing, but you could become the best 'wind' user in existence. You have the tools, we just need to work on it. But, that's for another day. Come on! You're wasting time here."
"You're the one who's supposed to teach me!" Naruto said quickly. There was irritation in his tone.
Kotaro clicked his tongue. The noise was sharp and loud. Naruto instantly straightened up. "Looks like you want to go on the harder difficulty. Oh Naruto. You silly boy. Try to find me now," Kotaro said with a voice filled with evil.
Naruto shivered on the spot. The water flowed more fiercely after Kotaro said those words. There was also a cold breeze that hit his face. Naruto was now scared.
Naruto tried to calm himself down. But he simply couldn't. His brother was scary when he gets into these types of moods. Naruto never had a solid idea on what the guy was going to do next.
Naruto walked slowly forward. He had no idea where he was going. The damn blindfold did its job well. Too well in Naruto's opinion.
Naruto could feel that his heart was about to burst out of his chest. The suspense was killing him.
SWISH!
Naruto felt the side of his left cheek. There was a warm liquid flowing down. It was blood!
Naruto then gasped for air. The stinging pain only came now! He wondered, why was there such a delayed reaction?
Naruto jumped from the spot to another location. The surroundings were unknown to him. He was cursing Kotaro on choosing this place. He had no idea where anything was.
Then it clicked. It all made sense for him now. Naruto cursed his older brother even more. Kotaro brought him here on purpose so he couldn't use his memory to help him survive this training. He had no idea what the layout of this place was, and he never studied it before. He was essentially a sitting duck.
It's like what Kotaro said. Sensing was on a whole other level.
Naruto stopped his movements and hunched slightly forward. He was mentally preparing himself for the potential onslaught.
Nothing happened. The only sounds were the crashing of water to his side. The waterfall was making itself noisy.
The birds were singing their songs. The wind danced through the forest trees. Naruto could very well enjoy this tranquil environment if it wasn't for his brother now.
Naruto ducked forward on instinct. He had no idea why, but his internal danger alarm screamed to hunch forward. A mere moment after, there was a large cracking noise further away. Naruto could swear it was the sound of breaking bark.
"Ara-ara. Isn't this something? Naruto, why did you move like that?" Kotaro asked.
Naruto gulped. Somehow, Kotaro was right behind his ear. Did he just form out of thin air!?
"I don't know Nii-chan. I just had to move," Naruto answered.
Kotaro hummed. "It seems too early. Hm, you must have heard something. That's good. If you didn't move, you would have gotten a very nasty cut. Come on, let us not waste your precious time Naruto," Kotaro said with a cheery voice.
"Shut up Kotaro-nii."
"Sorry, my bad. Alright, I'll stop teasing you now. So, I'm going to throw shuriken from different positions. I can throw them anywhere from this area around the waterfall. But, you must stay on the water. The only way to do this is to make it hard," Kotaro said.
Kotaro went off and disappeared from Naruto's radar. Naruto calmed himself down. Trying to feel out Kotaro's chakra, body and soul.
Naruto couldn't feel a damn thing. Not like he was expecting to. "This is harder than I thought," he muttered under his breath.
"Naruto. Stop wasting chakra. You're expelling it slowly from your body. You supposed to feel out chakra, not pour it out," Kotaro yelled at him.
Naruto bit his tongue from snapping at Kotaro. He knew he meant well, but he found it annoying that he was called out for his attempt.
Naruto breathed in and out, trying to calm his chakra once again. Naruto focused on his own flow, trying to feel where the surges of chakra were going.
He started to sweat. This was difficult for Naruto. It always felt that his chakra was being pulled at one end or pushed out by the other. What could be causing this disturbance?
Swish!
Naruto yelped in pain. It was a quick sting. Another cut but on his other cheek. "Do you feel like adding more whiskers on my damn cheeks, huh? Nii-chan!?" Naruto yelled out.
Kotaro laughed. "That was funny Naruto. Good one. This is only one way to train. If you don't like it, find someone else to teach you. But, I know my way will work on you."
Naruto nodded. "Bastard brother. Alright. What should I be doing?" he asked.
Kotaro didn't reply straight away. "Do you think I know the answer? Everyone is different. You must find your own way to do this. It isn't as simple as training with a weapon. There's only so much I could physically help."
Naruto listened and agreed to the words. He was positive that the Hokage's way and his brother's way of sensing were different, but both served the same purpose and delivered the same result.
They resumed their training. Naruto was waiting patiently.
Naruto felt something dark and heavy. It had no true weight but there was a glimpse of a heavy force oozing out somewhere. It was only for a mere moment. Not even a second. Naruto turned around to the direction where he felt where the source of it should be.
Naruto felt a prickling sensation on his right ear. He leaned hard to the left. He could feel in in the air. A shuriken blitzed past him.
Spilt!
The sound of bark splitting was heard. The shuriken impact must have been powerful.
"Sweet! I did it!" Naruto said with a grin. He whispered it under his breath, to make sure Kotaro didn't hear him.
Grab!
Before he could even speak again, Naruto felt a pair of hands grip his ankles. The force was unreal. He couldn't even budge. Trying to pull his legs up was futile.
Splash!
Naruto was pulled underwater. His whole body felt the pressure of the water hit him. He was freaking out.
Lucky for him, he didn't scream when he was pulled. He would have choked on water then. That would have been embarrassing for the aspiring ninja.
Naruto felt his ankles free up. He immediately swam up to surface. It was getting easier and easier as he rose up.
Gasp!
Naruto inhaled the sweet air. Slamming his hands on the water, he climbed up using chakra and stood on his feet. Naruto felt that he was a great deal heavier now. He lifted his arm. The clothes made it impossible to move as fluid as before. He was clearly soaked to the bone.
"What the hell Nii-chan!? Why'd you do that for?" Naruto demanded.
Kotaro laughed lightly at his brother. He calmed down but kept his smile. "What's the ultimate rule of being a ninja Naruto? The rule that determines your survival?" he asked.
Naruto knew the answer. Yet, he didn't see where it fitted here, in all the places. "Expect the unexpected. Come on, that's like the first thing you taught me Nii-chan."
Kotaro hummed in agreement. "Indeed, I did teach you that little brother. Now, you must be wondering why I would I pull my sweet little brother under the water. Well the answer is simple. It was to see if you were sensing properly."
"Sensing properly? I was trying to-"
"Trying to and doing it are two different things. There's no way that you will get it on your first go but if you're not thrown in the deep end… at some point, you're never going to learn. If you noticed, I haven't moved at all since after the last time we spoke," Kotaro told Naruto.
Naruto gasped. "You mean you-"
"Yes. I used a jutsu to pull you under the water. A water clone to be exact. Did you feel my watery hands get your ankles? That was my chakra manipulating the water. A sensor or someone who is trained in water ninjutsu would be able to feel that my chakra was moving and using the water around us.
Seeing that you had no idea of this, it means that you didn't sense the chakra. But… you moved your body, you were facing me when I made no movement or noise. Did you feel something? Or was it a coincidence?" Kotaro asked. Maybe his little brother was a prodigy after all.
Naruto didn't know what to say. "I don't know. I just felt something dark… Like sadness. A negative force was around here ttebayo. That's it Nii-chan, I really don't know what to say," Naruto admitted.
Kotaro was thinking hard. 'Naruto shouldn't be able to sense yet. It takes far too long to use it for combat or field missions. Maybe he is a genius at this. But… we were only really training the senses, not his chakra sensing. What is this 'negative force' he was talking about?
Naruto would never lie to me about this. Yet, only the experts of sensing can truly determine what people's emotions are like from just feeling their chakra. Hell, I can't even do that, and I've been able to sense for God knows how long… Maybe there is something more to this. We can only find out from more training.'
Kotaro rubbed his face again. It then clicked in his mind. Before Kotaro did his water clone, he was going back through his memories to pass the time. Some sad ones must have popped up and made him feel a little depressed.
It only made him wonder more now. How the hell could Naruto feel that? How could the kid even feel sadness or these other negative forces by just standing close to you?
Kotaro was wondering if he could do the same or if it's only a 'Naruto' thing. God, sometimes Kotaro hated the amount of stuff his brother can do that he can't.
'Life just isn't fair…' he thought.
The two brothers stayed at the waterfall and trained until the sun was going down. The temperature was falling with time. Naruto could only shiver. His clothes were still damp and full of river water. The only warmth he could feel was the fresh blood bleeding out of his fresh wounds.
Kotaro watched Naruto stay on his feet. The boy was struggling to breathe. Kotaro knew if he kept this up, Naruto would collapse from mental exhaustion in less than an hour.
Kotaro looked up to the sky and saw that darkness has come to greet him. The only natural light was the stars that popped out and the half-crescent moon.
The time flew by, it was far too late for the two. Neither had their dinner yet. This was something that genuinely surprised Kotaro. Naruto would complain and complain some more if he didn't get his dinner. Also, Kotaro wasn't one to skip on the meal, it was his favourite after all.
The two were just so focused on the training on hand to really think of anything else.
Kotaro clapped his hands, alerting Naruto. "Naruto. Training is done for now. We're going home."
As soon as Naruto heard those words, he let his body drop into the water. He was half submerged. He would have gone deeper if it wasn't for Kotaro pulling him up and dragging him the river bank.
"Thanks, Nii-chan," Naruto said.
"Don't mention it. Now, let's go home," Kotaro said after.
Kotaro took off Naruto's blindfold and put the wet cloth into his pocket. He will deal with it later. He then grabbed Naruto and placed him on his shoulders.
Naruto had enough energy and instinctively straightened himself up, using his brother's head for stability.
Kotaro smiled as he walked slowly home. His brother would usually complain if he wanted to give him a piggy-back ride. Naruto being so tired must have broken of his all the defences.
"So, how did I do?" Naruto asked.
Kotaro lightly laughed before speaking. "Well, to be honest, we made very little progress," he admitted.
Naruto whimpered. "It's going to take forever then ttebayo! What do I need to do to make it better?"
Kotaro sighed. Naruto was always the impatient type. If he didn't get what he wanted form someone, he'll try to get it himself or go off and forget about it.
"Just keep practising. Remember when you were downtrodden about your sealing skills, but with enough hard work, you broke through your plateau, your 'brick wall'. With sensing, it is the same thing. There is no sudden change from no sensing to good sensing. It's gradual. You will have a feel for it then you will develop it, so it can be a worthy skill. That's all there is too it," Kotaro explained.
"I get that. But do you have any tips to speed it up?"
"Naruto… Listen to what I'm saying here. There is no straight path to achieving this. I already told you what you need to do when we were training by the water. You must feel out the person's chakra. That's it. Everyone has their own unique way of doing it.
But, you will eventually get it. If we improve your chakra control and as you get more experience with missions, it should come easier. Sensing blooms under stress," Kotaro said.
Naruto slumped. "I just want to have a cool ability. Sasuke has his Sharingan ttebayo. If I had Sensing, then we would be equal."
Kotaro felt the back of his clothes get wet from Naruto's wet clothes. It didn't help that Naruto placed all his weight on him. Kotaro thought over the words Naruto said. He also thought of Naruto's tone of voice, he sounded depressed.
"I heard that there's a myth that if an Uchiha can train their Sharingan to such a level, they could see a couple seconds into the future," Kotaro said. He moved from the dirt path to the gravel path. Their home was close.
Naruto gasped. That sounded amazing. Realising that, he slumped even more. "Great, now Sasuke can see into the future. Like he needs another ability."
Kotaro laughed. "You are so jealous of him Naruto. And it's only a myth, it's most likely not true. The Sharingan just gives the wielder faster reaction times. I bet some people or even the Uchiha themselves said they can see into the future to scare enemies."
"Still though. I don't have those amazing eyes. What do I have?" Naruto asked.
Kotaro stopped in his tracks. Naruto was confused.
"Are you ashamed of our blood? I thought you were proud to be an Uzumaki, or was I wrong? We have the blood of the seas and wind. We can have the power to lock and hold down anything in this world. How does the Sharingan compare to that?" Kotaro asked with steel in his voice.
"I didn't mean it like that Nii-chan," Naruto said, defending himself. "I just meant-"
"Having huge chakra reserves. Having a quicker regeneration since our blood is so full of life energy. Being able to live over a hundred years if we do not die in battle. I don't know Naruto, I rather have that then the Sharingan," Kotaro said.
Naruto felt bad for saying such words before. Kotaro started walking again. There was silence between the two brothers.
Naruto finally saw the banner hanging over their door. The Uzumaki swirl displaying itself proudly. Naruto felt uplifted from the red swirl. A smile manifested onto his face.
Kotaro turned his head and saw the smile. "See? You are proud of it. And you should be Goddamnit. We have the power to change the world Naruto."
"The power to change the world. You sure?"
"If we stick together. We can do anything. Now, let's get dinner."
~ o0o ~
The Forest of Death
Naruto opened his eyes. The memory was long. He then grinned. "It's time to flip the world upside-down. But first, I have to get out of this forest."
Naruto moved south with pace. Every few minutes, he would stop and calm his chakra, and try to feel out Sasuke's and Sakura's. Naruto knew that every person would have a unique chakra signature. Relatives would have similarities, but they would still be unique. Naruto didn't know what theirs were like, but he had to try his best to find them by any means.
On the move again, Naruto didn't know if was going in circles or if he was just having rotten luck.
Naruto suddenly stopped in his tracks. "What the hell is that?" he wondered out loud. It had a slime like feel to it. He felt around his body but there was nothing to behold.
Naruto tried moving towards where he felt it.
Naruto felt it again. But it was more familiar than he first thought. It was chakra. 'What's this disgusting chakra!' he thought.
Naruto ran like hell towards the source. He was hoping for dear god that it was Sasuke and Sakura fighting some crazy ninja on some performance enhancing drugs. That was one way to make your chakra feel strange, by overdosing or ingesting a strange substance.
Naruto heard a snapping noise. It was like the sound of bark breaking apart from a strong force. "Fight! There must be a fight!" he said. It was the first thing that popped into his mind.
Naruto kept up his pace until he saw a glimmer of grey clothing. Naruto stopped in his tracks and watched down on the scene like a vulture waiting for its prey.
What he saw shocked him. There was Rock Lee on the ground. The same Rock Lee that kicked Sasuke's ass. The worst part was that Lee was battered beyond belief.
Scanning through the area, Naruto picked out the members of Team Ten and Team Nine standing around, most of them were tired. Some were gasping for air.
With the battered Lee on the ground, the clearing was also in a dire state. There were uprooted roots, huge mounds of dirt blown away, pink hair scattered all around.
Naruto looked desperately, and at last, he saw Sakura looking up to Sasuke from the ground. But, this Sasuke was not the same Sasuke Naruto was used to. He was shrouded in purple emissions; his skin was littered with black markings. A sense of evil was in the air.
"This is troublesome…" Shikamaru said under his breath.
I want his eyes. Now, I better make myself known to him and the little pink girl.
The words raced through Naruto's mind. This was the work of Orochimaru. Naruto resisted going down and investigating. He didn't want to make the situation worse as it is now. He has to go in at the perfect moment.
"Sasuke-kun! You woke up!" Sakura said then gasped at the sight. Sasuke did indeed stand up, however the purple emissions were spreading everywhere.
Everyone in the vicinity could only stare at Sasuke, bewildered on what was happening. Red marks like flames appeared on his face and arms.
Sasuke took one step forward and looked at the terrible state of his teammate, "Sakura," he said. "Who did that to you?" he asked, in a scarier tone than his usual.
"Sasuke-kun… What's wrong with your body?" Sakura asked as she deflected his question, staring intently at Sasuke. The purple emissions kept wrapping around his body and the red flame like marks turned to black.
Sasuke looked at his left hand with his Sharingan eyes. "Don't worry. More importantly, I feel power surging inside me," he said, clenching his left fist tightly.
"I'm feeling great right now. He gave it to me. I understand it perfectly now. I'm an avenger! I must obtain power no matter what, even if I must let the devil take hold of my body," Sasuke said. He seemed to be staring off to the future.
'Sasuke, what's this terrible feeling? This terrible chakra. What did Orochimaru do to you? I will have to stop this,' Naruto thought
"Sakura! Just say it! Who the hell hurt you!?" Sasuke demanded to know.
Sakura was silent however the others weren't, "I did!" Zaku said with a big grin.
Sasuke looked at Zaku in an instant with his right eye. It was stone cold.
Sasuke then turned his whole body to face the Oto ninja. Ino, who was still in possession, was looking at the scene in confusion.
"INO! Return to your body, you're only going to get the enemies confused. Chōji, you come here too. We're have to hide now!" Shikamaru ordered.
Chōji nodded and jumped to where Shikamaru was. Ino released her jutsu and returned to her body, she scrunched her face in discomfort. "Shikamaru, what's going to happen now?" Chōji asked him.
"How the hell should I know?" Shikamaru shouted at Chōji's face. He lost his composure. Shikamaru had no idea what to do. This scared him greatly.
Sasuke was staring down at Dosu and Zaku, his black flame marks turned red again and spread even further on his body, his power and chakra increasing with it.
"This is too much for us! His chakra is too much!" Dosu said shaking.
"Dosu! Don't be afraid of a half-dead guy!" Zaku said as he prepared for his jutsu.
Dosu turned to his teammate. "No, stop Zaku! You don't understand! He'll kill us all!"
The warning fell on deaf ears.
"I'll kill them all with this! I'll finish this in a flash! Maximum Air cutter," Zaku shouted.
The air blast from his palms were powerful. The force pushed back the limp body of Kin, Dosu had to crouch down to the ground and Team Ten gripped onto the bushes they hid in for dear life.
After five seconds it stopped, there was a trench that followed the path of Zaku's attack. Zaku was heavily breathing and he was sweating profusely.
"Heh, they blew up into pieces," he said with a grin.
"Who did?" Zaku heard before he was hit in the head with a back-handed left closed fist, courtesy of Sasuke. Zaku tumbled back to where Dosu was.
'This vile chakra has gotten stronger… Damn, I can't let this go on for much longer. My stamina is recovering, but's recovering way too slowly. I better get up soon,' Naruto thought.
"Zaku! Below you!" Dosu warned him.
Sasuke flashed to the front of Zaku before gripping his arms and pulling them back. He then moved himself to the back of Zaku and pushed his right foot down on the middle of the back. Zaku was restricted of his movements, he couldn't escape Sasuke's grip.
Sasuke pulled on both Zaku's arms, making the latter groan in pain. All the Konoha Genin couldn't believe this was the Sasuke they knew from the academy.
Sasuke repositioned his foot on Zaku's back and pressed harder. "You seem quite attached to your arms. It would be a shame if they were to be… ripped off!" Sasuke said in a creepy voice, his huge grin adding to the horrifying effect.
Zaku turned his head to face Sasuke, his whole demeanour was showing fear. "Please… Don't!" he begged.
Sasuke smirked evilly. He then pulled and twisted Zaku's arms whilst pushing down on his back. Two loud crunches and cracks were heard. Everyone was horrified at the scene. Sasuke broke both of Zaku's arms. Zaku collapsed onto the floor.
Sasuke turned his head to face Dosu. "This just leaves you," he said, making Dosu shiver and shake on the spot. "You better entertain me better than him. Small prey only does so much," he said as he stalked over to Dosu.
"Stop!" Sakura shouted as she ran over to Sasuke and hugged him from behind. Sasuke stopped and looked at her with his right eye, she was crying. "Please stop it," she begged.
Sasuke felt that his blood and chakra calm with the hug, the touch. He could feel his violent intentions waning. His black markings turned red and started to retract.
SURGE!
Sasuke felt a surge of pent up anger and sadness flow through his body, the source from his neck.
Sasuke pushed Sakura away from him and started to trash around like a wild animal. He lost all control.
Sasuke turned on his heel and moved towards Sakura with intent to hurt. Sakura was frozen on the spot. She couldn't understand why Sasuke was like this. Because of this, she lost her ability to think straight and to get out of the way. She closed her eyes from her horror.
"What is that!?" Neji said with confusion. Tenten was confused by the words Neji spoke.
SMACK!
Sakura opened her eyes to see a boy with blond hair with his fist deep in Sasuke's face. "Naruto…" she said weakly. Sakura believed she was imagining what was in front of her.
Sasuke skidded across the floor. His ravaged face stared down at Naruto who was approaching him with pace.
Naruto came in close. Sasuke swung a heavy left swing. Naruto ducked and pushed out Sasuke's right angle, making him unbalanced.
Naruto couldn't believe how easily he got through Sasuke's defence. This Sasuke he was dealing with was much more physically powerful, but his attacks were outrageously sluggish compared to his normal self. Naruto knew it was time for a combo attack.
Naruto clenched his left fist and hit Sasuke's gut. In quick succession, he clenched his right fist and hit Sasuke's gut on the other side. Without wasting a second, Naruto leaned back slightly back. Opening both his hands, he gripped both Sasuke's shoulders and pulled him down hard. Raising his left knee up for a liver kick.
The impact hit and Sasuke regurgitated blood. His body also hunched over from the attack. It is one of the weakest spots to target for any human being. Naruto aimed for this from the beginning.
Naruto jumped back and landed in front of Sakura. He saw that she was in a state of fear and confusion.
Sasuke collapsed from the attack and stayed on the ground. His black markings retracted to the back of his neck. Naruto was keeping an eye on the whole process. He would need to inform his older brother and the Hokage about this.
"Naruto?" Sakura said loudly, surprise was evident in her voice.
The others were shocked as well. The presence of Naruto was not known to them. Neji was quite annoyed that Naruto somehow didn't reveal himself when he was using his activated byakugan.
Sasuke spasmed from the aftermath on the ground and breathed heavily. "Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said in worry as she held the poor boy up.
Naruto was looking at his teammate with his clear blue eyes. 'Those marks seemed to take a lot out of him. Sasuke is fitter than most other Genin in our class and it looks like he just sprinted for hours. His chakra felt so unnatural yet powerful. I could feel it.
I bet it was that Orochimaru that did something to Sasuke to make him go into a state like that. That's the only explanation. I'll have to ask Sakura later about what happened after we got separated.'
"You're strong," Dosu said, gaining the attention of Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura. Dosu took out a scroll of Earth and placed it on the floor.
"We cannot defeat you. Let's make a deal. Please let us leave. We might be asking for too much, but we must confirm something. In exchange, I can promise this, if we were to fight for a second time in this exam. We will neither run or hide," Dosu stated as he picked up the bodies of Kin and Zaku and walked off.
"Wait!" Sakura shouted at the Oto team. Naruto looked at his teammate to see what was up with her. "Who is Orochimaru? What did he do to Sasuke-kun!? Why Sasuke-kun?" she demanded to know.
Naruto sighed from the question. It answered his own suspicions. This whole event will greatly affect Konoha, he just knew it.
Dosu turned to look at her, "I do not know. We were just ordered to kill Sasuke-kun," he said before he walked off into a dense part of the forest.
Naruto composed himself, he walked over to where the scroll was and put in his pouch. He looked back to see Ino checking on the fallen Lee.
Sasuke was staring at his shaking left hand, muttering "What was I?" repeatedly to himself. Naruto felt bad for his teammate.
"Oi Naruto," Shikamaru said loudly, gaining the attention of the blond.
Naruto jogged over to where Shikamaru and stood in front of him, "What happened when I was gone?" Naruto asked with crossed arms.
"Sasuke was out cold and Sakura was ambushed by those three Oto ninja. They would've died if it wasn't for Lee. It would explain why he was nearly knocked out when we arrived. Then we came in to save the day. The rest of Lee's team came but then Sasuke went berserk… this is too troublesome," Shikamaru told him.
Naruto nodded and bit his lower lip. "I think I know what happened to Sasuke ttebayo. Nii-chan and Hokage-Jiji need to know about it immediately," Naruto said.
Shikamaru gasped slightly. "Is it that serious?" he asked. Naruto blankly stared at him for two seconds before nodding yes.
"Damn… But what can we do? There's only one day, no there's even less time to when the exam will be finished. We won't be able to see them until then," Shikamaru pointed out.
Naruto stomped his foot, "What!? I was out of it for over three whole days?"
Shikamaru nodded to the question, "Damn!" Naruto spat out.
"Do you have a set of scrolls?" Shikamaru asked.
Naruto grinned. "Yes, but Sakura and Sasuke don't know that," he said with a soft laugh at the end.
"What the hell do you mean?" Shikamaru asked, not following his friend completely.
"I'll give you the short version ttebayo. Real genius moves from the number one ninja of the leaf. We were attacked by some guy. A Kusa kunoichi, but it was really Orochimaru in disguise. I saw from above that Sasuke was going to give him our scroll.
I couldn't let this happen so before I ran off, I used the Transformation technique to change an empty scroll into our scroll. I then jumped and grabbed our real scroll after Sasuke threw it and did the old switcheroo.
When I woke up, I tried looking for my other scrolls, my sealing scrolls. They were all gone but the scroll of heaven was still with me. So, the guy took the fake one and destroyed it while I kept the real one dattebayo!" Naruto said enthusiastically, with hand gestures to emphasise his genius move.
Shikamaru sighed at his friend but had to admit that was a good move from Naruto, very unpredictable in an extremely dangerous situation. "And now you have the scroll of Earth. Good, both our teams have a full set," Shikamaru told Naruto.
Naruto's eyes widened, "You got a scroll? I'm surprised Shika, I thought you would quit halfway through," he said with a soft smile.
Shikamaru gave Naruto his dirtiest glare.
Naruto's face turned serious. "We should form a party with both our teams and head to the tower together. Chōji, Ino, Sasuke and Sakura are all hurt. It'll be safer if we stick together," Naruto stated with a 'no bullshit' voice.
"I have to agree. It'll be too troublesome to go separately," Shikamaru agreed.
Naruto other looked at the Genin again and saw Tenten shake Lee vigorously. Lee snapped out of his sleep and dropped to the floor but was awake. Naruto walked over to the thick eyebrowed boy.
"Fuzzy eyebrows, do you need medical treatment?" Naruto asked as he crouched beside him, he noticed Tenten tense up as he approached them.
Lee smiled at the blond but shook his head. "No thank you Naruto-kun, my youthful spirit will heal me up," Lee replied tiredly but with a kind smile.
"Naruto? One of your scroll things was dropped near us after we were separated. It's under the grove," Sakura informed him.
Naruto gave her a nod of thanks. He saw that she was cradling Sasuke like a child. He didn't say anything, both needed comfort.
Naruto smiled then sighed, he was drained. He went over to the grove and go this lonely scroll. He walked back to the gathering of his fellow Genin.
Naruto then spread the scroll out. There were many seals, every odd seal had the kanji for 'food' and every even seal had the kanji of 'water'.
He only showed the first two seals, he placed his index finger on the first seal and flowed his chakra into it.
The food storage seal puffed into smoke and a stack of Naruto's brother's energy protein bars appeared. Naruto looked at his fingers and furrowed his eyebrows.
'Why was that so hard? I really had to force my chakra to flow out there… Must be that seal Orochimaru tried to put on me. I need Nii-chan to look at it,' Naruto thought in annoyance. Naruto did the same for the other storage seal and a six-pack of water bottles puffed out.
Naruto took one bar and bottle and was about to dig in until he realised that a few pairs of eyes were looking at him. Naruto sighs, "You can take one if you want," he said before he ate his own bar.
Chōji didn't hesitate to take one of the bars as well as Lee. Before either Ino or Tenten could warn them that it could be poisoned. They munched the soft bars into small bits and swallowed quickly.
Lee took a water bottle and gulped it down to a single drop. Only after a few seconds, energy flowed all over their bodies. Lee was even able to stand up, as if the injuries he had received never happened.
"Yosh! I feel the flames of youth. That bar is magnificent. Naruto-kun has a truly youthful spirit to help out his comrades!" Lee shouted with a shaking raised fist.
Naruto chuckled as he saw everyone bar Ino take a bar. He stood up and saw that Neji has walked over to where Lee and Tenten were. "Yo," he said gaining their attention.
"What are your names? I'm Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto asked as he looked at both Neji and Tenten.
All three Genin looked at the short blond with more focused eyes. "I'm Tenten," Tenten introduced herself after a few seconds of awkward silence.
"Hyūga Neji," Neji said, his clear white eyes still looking at Naruto.
'I'm surprised they haven't recognised my name. Did Kotaro-nii not mention me?' Naruto thought.
"Well it was nice meeting you. Thanks, Fuzzy eyebrows, we probably wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you," Naruto said then went off with a wave.
The three of them could only stare at Naruto. Naruto looked behind and saw the three of them discussing something quietly and then jumping off back into the deep forest.
Naruto looked back to where the remaining Genin were and saw that Shikamaru and Sasuke were the only ones noticed that they left. Chōji was eating the rest of the bars while Ino was fixing Sakura's short hair
Naruto did a 'come here' hand gesture to Shikamaru. Of course, Shikamaru walked over to Naruto albeit slowly, which infuriated the him.
Once Shikamaru finally stood beside Naruto, Naruto clapped his hands three times to gather the attention on him and Shikamaru.
"Shikamaru and I decided our teams will be going to the tower together," Naruto announced, getting shocked expressions from the four sitting on the dirt ground.
Sakura was the first to speak up, "Naruto, don't you remember that our scroll got destroyed." She said.
Naruto chuckled and took out a white scroll with the kanji of 'Heaven' on it. "Oh, Sakura, you underestimate Team Seven too much," Naruto said with a sweet smile.
Sakura and Sakura were flabbergasted when they saw it. "How?" they both asked.
Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "It'll take too long to explain. We have both scrolls as well as Team ten ttebayo. The tower isn't too far but we're all injured so we need time to recover. Shikamaru told me that we have less than a day left so we're going to run to the tower together, yeah?" he said with crossed arms.
"Who made you the leader?" Ino asked a bit heatedly, she did not like being ordered around by anyone.
"I did," Shikamaru replied with the same heated tone This surprised Naruto as his friend was always lazy with his expressions, he saw irritation and slight anger in his friend's eyes. "We better go before we exceed the time limit!"
The two groups of Genin responded by going towards the centre of the Training Grounds, where the tower is supposedly supposed to be.
The Genin teams moved fast. The energy they got from the bars helped immensely.
After an hour's travel, they see a structure cropping out of the forest. It was the central tower!
"Come on, come on! We're nearly there!" Naruto said.
Naruto did look back from the front of the pack and saw Sasuke hiding his struggles. He knew that Sasuke needed a proper rest and food. Sasuke was probably just as starved as he was. It didn't help when a S-class ninjacomes knocking in and beats the ever living crap out of as well. Naruto just knew this will be a very fond memory for Team Seven.
The group responded with faster running through the forest. It took extraordinarily little time to get to the entrance of the tower. Naruto was thankful that they were close to it.
There were multiple doors that circle around the base of the tower. The groups didn't waste time and entered two rooms separately. They knew they'll see each other on the other side.
"What do we do now?" Sakura asked. She was under pressure. Sasuke was using her for support. It was clear he was exhausted.
"Open the scrolls and lay them very each other, trust me I know," Naruto said quickly. 'Thank you Nii-chan for telling me this!' he thought afterwards.
Naruto gave one scroll to Sakura and opened the other himself. They both spread out the scrolls and made a X-shape. The markings on the two scrolls illuminated and a puff of smoke came.
A figure was behind the smoke. The team went into defensive stances. "Well done you guys. You are now in the third round of the Chūnin exams!" the voice of Iruka said. He sounded incredibly pleased.
When Iruka laid eyes on the Genin team after the smoke dissipated, his mouth dropped to the floor. "What happened to you guys!"
Naruto lightly laughed. All of Team Seven were filthy. Their eyes were droopy from exhaustion. "Well… It went a little something like this Iruka-sensei."
~ 0 ~