A/N: There's going to be a delay for next weeks chapter, exam week starts tomorrow for me so I won't have the time to edit. So sorry for the delay guys.

Chapter 20: Cruelty

He could...see himself.

Somehow, Sasuke could see himself.

Young and small and weak and unable to protect a single damn thing.

It was similar, in a way, to his nightmares. The images of his mother being killed as she screamed, the mangled corpse of his father, the sound it made when it was stepped on top of filled his mind.

They'd died.

They'd all died, and he'd been too weak to be able to do anything.

Except...things had changed.

They had deserved it, hadn't they?

His clan, his family, his parents...

They'd all deserved it for treating their own children as nothing more than pawns in their bid for power, nothing more than sacrificial lambs to use as stepping stones.

The one who had really suffered back then had been...

Itachi.

He'd been the one who was cruelly used and tossed aside. His kind and gentle brother had covered himself in blood, and all because of what?

Sasuke hadn't been strong enough.

A weak, powerless child in need of protection, that was all he was

Even now.

He could clearly see her, covered in crimson with merciless blades piercing her body. Because she used herself as bait.

She'd wanted to protect him.

And he'd been weak.

Not strong enough.

Not anymore, though...

It was bright when he opened his eyes. The sounds of a fight sounding both near and far away at the same time. He moved slowly at first, as Sasuke left the place he didn't recognize, a place that didn't matter because he could hear her.

Her voice was as clear as always.

Crimson eyes could see her, all of her, as she stumbled, her blood spilling to the ground, staining her long raven locks that were falling in messy waves on her back. He could see the pained expression on her face while she made her way towards him. Two people he vaguely recognized were trailing behind her.

His blood felt like boiling.

She'd protected him.

Once again, she was injured, bleeding because of him.

It would be different, though. This time, it would all be different.

He was strong now.

"Kagome."

Her name slipped from his lips with ease, his gaze never wavering from her form.

"Sasuke," She came up to him, even as the two behind her stopped, as if afraid. Kagome kept going though, her slender fingers reaching up to brush his cheek, the touch light and shaky. "that thing is acting up, I need to..."

"Kagome," he repeated her name, stopping her worried tirade while the sounds of the fight slowly died down. "Who was it? Who was the one who spilled your blood?"

"It was me!" Finally, his eyes moved from the girl, landing on a tired-looking Oto nin. "What of it?"

"Sasuke."Her voice caught his attention once more. "look at yourself. We need to check what's going on..."

Oh, she was right. Dark, black markings were appearing across his skin like spilled ink on parchment. He should probably be concerned, and yet...

"There's nothing to worry about. I feel well; strong...bursting with power." The pain he'd felt was nothing but a memory now, the feel of his chakra overflowing in his veins in a way he'd never felt before. "I got it from him, I get it now...if it gets us closer to our goal, closer to him, then I don't mind selling my flesh to the devil."

He allowed his gaze o move back to the field; he could see them, the three Oto nin that had acted up earlier in the exam. The ones responsible for Kagome's pain warily glancing at each other. He saw the other female with needles in her hands, like the ones still piercing her skin. He saw the hotheaded guy glance at her with hatred and hunger in his disgusting eyes.

"So...it was you."

There was a moment of hesitation on the culprit's frame as the Uchiha directed his sight to the ones that deserved retribution. It was gone in an instant, replaced with stupid bravado.

"Snap out of it, Dosu! Just because he refuses to die!"

"Zaku, no!" The one covered in bandages screamed, trying and failing to stop the idiot from rushing in. "Don't you get it?!"

Ah, he was so slow, so pathetically slow.

And Sasuke could see every little thing. The air moving towards him with a speed that should be unavoidable, the sound of the explosion as it launched at him threatening to deafen him.

He was faster than that.

So much faster, taking hold of the only two persons worth anything in this pitiful excuse for a village and getting them out of danger. It all felt so easy, almost as if he was only walking. The mere idea that he could be grazed by it was utterly laughable.

"Ha!" The idiot scoffed, stupidly celebrating. "Blew that pipsqueak to bits."

"What pipsqueak is that?"

It didn't even hurt, as he hit the other boy strong enough to send him flying. No, it was more a wave of his hand than an actual hit; he had so much strength at his disposal now.

Crimson eyes fell on the boy who'd managed to regain his footing. He still wasn't bleeding enough; every drop of blood that Kagome had spilled would be paid double by him and the others. His hands flew through the seals, heat gathering with more ease than he'd ever experienced, pooling chakra to it with as much ease as breathing. The fire that surged around him far more potent as it enveloped the shurikens aimed at him in less than a second.

"You're getting overconfident!" the idiot smiled as he saw the Uchiha's attack, too ignorant to realize the difference in their skills. "I can just blow this away!"

It was so satisfying, seeing the shock on his face as the blades pierced his skin, crimson flowing through the new wounds. But it was not enough. It wasn't enough to pay for what they did.

"Zaku!" Again, one of the others tried to give a warning. "Behind you!"

Too late.

Sasuke had a grip on the teen's wrist in an instant, bending the arm in an unnatural angle, one foot on his back. A smile bloomed on his face as he thought about what he could do, what could be used as payment. It would be fun, instructing even; he'd never tried to see how much he could pull until a limb came loose. How much strength would it take to rip it apart?

He could find out.

"Heh, you take so much pride in your arms...time to bid them farewell."

He pulled.

He could feel it. The muscles tensing against his grip as he forced the limb to move in an unnatural direction, the way they ripped under his fingers blending with an agonized scream. The sensation nothing short of intoxicating as he continued pulling. The sound of bones breaking and snapping joining the cacophony that filled his ears. Could he pull even more? Would the skin rupture as well?

"Zaku!"

The needles directed at him were slow and sloppy.

He was by the woman's side by the time the now limp body of her teammate hit the ground with a dull thump. Fingers tightly wrapped around her throat as rage boiled to the surface once again.

There were senbons piercing Kagome's arms, and this was the culprit. His grip tightened for a fraction of a second before he reminded himself to relax his hold. No, he shouldn't be hasty; a quick death was too kind of an ending for her. If this woman was so fond of needles, then...he could try and see how many she could handle before she bleeds to death. He grinned again, his free hand moving towards his pouch only to be stopped halfway through.

Slender fingers wrapped around his wrist, the soft and familiar touch forcing his movements to freeze. Crimson fingers moved to his left; her deep azure gaze was locked on him. Kagome was standing next to him, her hand gently holding the one he had crushing the throat of the bitch that hurt her. There was no hint of wariness in her form.

"Is this..." Her voice was soft, quiet as she seemed to search for something in his eyes. "...really for the best?"

Of course it was.

They'd hurt her; making sure they suffered thrice over was only natural, so why...

"Think about it, is nothing affecting your thoughts right now? Is your head clear enough to make this decision?" Kagome stepped closer, her eyes never leaving his as she spoke again, this time in an even lower voice. "We can't make impulsive moves now. I need you with me, Sasuke."

There was worry in her eyes as she kept her gaze on him. The warmth of her body so close to him as she kept looking for something within his eyes was enveloping him completely. Was his head clear?

He'd thought so, but...

She looked at him like she feared he wasn't there. He'd seen it before when she'd awaken from her nightmares and still feared he wasn't real. When her fears made her think she could still be trapped in that endless dark maze, alone.

She was more important.

More important than their suffering, more than satisfying his lust for revenge. He wouldn't leave her alone.

With a wave of his hand, he sent the Oto kunoichi in his hold to the ground. His strength faltering along with his rage. His knees failed to support him, sending him to the forest floor, Kagome following right beside him.

"You're pretty tough," The only conscious sound genin broke the silence. "Obviously, in your current state, we have no chance of defeating you." His hand was raised, a scroll was held as a peace offering. "Please accept this as a token of my admiration...and as some reparation for your trouble...

"Please...allow us to leave. It may be a lot to ask for, but something big is afoot that merits further investigation and confirmation." With a grunt, he lifted both of his teammates onto his back. "I give you my word on behalf of my team, that if you let us go now, then the next time we face you, we will stay until the battle is done, no matter how poorly we fare."

"So, as I thought," Kagome spoke from beside him, her voice controlled once more. "You weren't told a thing, were you?"

"We were just following orders."

With those words, the Oto nin vanished, leaving Sasuke far more disoriented than he'd felt in a long time. The red haze that had been covering his vision vanished but left a weird feeling of loss within him.

His attention snapped back to the present when he saw the girl begin to move her hands in a string of familiar seals.

"Don't." His hand shot to grab hers, he may not have a clear picture of what had happened, but he could get a pretty accurate idea just by looking at her. "I feel fine, there's no need for a diagnostic."

"You had a fever for the better part of the night, and I still don't know what else that thing could've done..."

"You're tired. You probably used a lot of chakra right now, and you can't have much energy left after yesterday's fight." She was very obviously in pain and exhausted, like hell he'd let her knock herself out when he could handle the shadow of pain he could still feel. "I'm fine; you can check later when you're properly rested."

"He's right, Kagome-sama."

His eyes snapped at the older teen standing a few paces away from them, the tension coming back into his body in less than a second. He'd been so focused on her that he forgot there were others around them. The pair that had been near her was looking at them (no, at him) with wariness in their eyes. The brunette girl was being held by the boy with the monk outfit, probably out of concern because of whatever it was he'd done just a few minutes ago.

"And you are?" It was less of a question and more of a demand.

"The ones who've helped me." Kagome's hand was on him again, an attempt to keep him calm, no doubt. "Apparently, they need me breathing so they can keep tabs on me."

Frustration surfaced and was quickly stomped. If the girl was still calm, it meant her original opinion of them was so far right. They were being watched, but she didn't feel in danger.

"Tch, and Naruto?"

"Still unconscious, I've been keeping an eye on him, and it looks like he's just sleeping right no. I didn't want to mess around when trying to wake him up, though." So whatever had happened, the snake freak had messed up something with the Kyuubi chakra, and the girl didn't want to risk a rampaging Naruto if she could help it.

"We help your team, and we don't even get a thank you?"

His now onyx eyes looked back. The last member of the Taisho team was scowling in his direction; Sasuke restrained a scoff at the ridiculously long silver hair and bright red clothing. The guy was really trying to get noticed. And he was also not happy with being ignored.

"Hold on, Inuyasha."

"You're trying to tell me there's nothing in it for you?" the Uchiha scoffed. "You've been watching us since you arrived in Konoha."

They'd been good at keeping hidden in plain sight, but he'd be damned if he failed to notice someone as eye-catching as the silver-haired Taishos or the fake monk coincidentally taking a linking to the stores they frequented. Just because they turned out to be temporal allies didn't mean he had to like them. Especially when he still had no clue what it was they wanted with Kagome.

"Argh, listen you..."

"Now, now, Inuyasha." The fake monk interrupted again. "Sasuke-san has good reason to be cautious right now. That said, please, worry not." He took out a pair of scrolls clearly labeled on the front. "We've already completed our set.

"There's something I would like to confirm, if possible. Kagome-sama, what you said about being targeted..."

"Right..." The girl trailed off for a bit. "Just, give me a moment. I think we might as well all be present for this."

Her eyes traveled to the left to a bunch of bushes moving in a strange way considering the lack of wind. Frustration welled up inside the Uchiha; they were being watched...yet again. Was that all they could suffer through in this stupid exam?

If he was being completely honest, he would've very much preferred to be on some nice quiet clearing cloud gazing rather than be stuck in this headache of an exam. The idea of refusing only briefly crossed his mind before he realized what a drag it would be to deal with not only his family but his teammates as well.

Oh, Asuma-sensei had assured him that taking this test was an individual decision, something he would've appreciated had he believed it for a second. The way teamwork was regarded and considering the responsibilities of a chuunin, there was no way they wouldn't grade their to work as a team at some point in the exam. Meaning if he did what he wanted and bailed, he'd have to endure Ino's whining for weeks after or even months.

So, here he was.

Hiding in the bushes along with his teammates as he watched his former classmate lose his mind and maim one of his enemies. Bright blue butterflies fluttered nearby despite the noise.

It was all Ino's fault, really.

After hearing the loud explosions, the blond got the oh-so-brilliant idea of checking it out. If the fight was as intense as it sounded, then they could just pick on whoever won (and should presumably be tired and battered) and take advantage of the fact that there should be two scrolls in the area. It all went out of the window, of course, once they actually got a good look at one of the parties involved.

Higurashi Kagome had been fighting alone.

He didn't really have an opinion on the girl.

She'd been one of the few quiet girls of the academy, and unsurprisingly, had a decent number of admirers that never dared to get too close for fear of the Uchiha's death glares. Personally, Shikamaru's was only grateful for the fact that she had a talent to stop fights before they started.

She'd also finished second in their class.

Which didn't mean she could take on three opponents on her own. The uncomfortable realization that if she was on her own, then none of her friends were in any condition to help chained them down to the stupid bushes. Because even if Choji could be convinced to run away, if Sasuke was under the roots she was protecting, there was no power on the planet that could tear Ino away.

Luckily, and interestingly, before they were forced to choose between staying safe in their hiding place or help the cornered girl, the Taisho team took over. Straight out admitting they had been ordered to watch her. Watching the new trio interacting during the battle made it abundantly clear that none of them was taking it seriously. Sure, the guy who was fighting kept having to jump around to dodge, but no one showed even a sliver of worry over his well being.

And then it all went to hell.

The last Uchiha had never been a particularly likable person, but he was most certainly not the same as the boy sadistically laughing at the agonized screams of the Oto nin. The marks on his body had to be the reason behind the sudden change (probably also the reason he'd taken so long to help the Higurashi heiress).

Relief had threatened to send him tumbling to the ground when Kagome managed to bring him back to his senses. Neither he nor his teammates were ready to witness the kinds of messy deaths the usually moody boy would've delivered to his enemies. Now all they had to do was wait and retreat...

"If you're not planning on attacking us, why not come out?"

The barely stable voice of his former classmate rooted them to the spot before Shikamaru could pull his team away. Of course, she knew they were there. Ignoring Ino's frantic motions to run, the Nara simply stood up, hands in his pockets, and an annoyed expression on his face. The only ones in a good enough condition to fight them, was the team that had no reason to do so.

"So, since when did you notice?"

"From the moment you got here." Kagome smiled, one of the ones that were so normal after the tragedy. A polite, political smile. "I didn't really want to drag anyone else into this, but...I think it's only fair to let you know."

"Well, what is it?" Ino had gotten up with a huff, one hand on her hip and the other dragging a nervously eating Choji with her.

"Honestly, I doubt he's still in the forest, but...the reason we're all so banged up. It's a man who didn't come here for the exams, you probably remember him, the one who almost attacked the main proctor before we entered the forest. If you see him or his teammates, just turn around and run away."

"What, scared of him?" Ino scoffed.

"Yes."

He could feel the shock painted on Ino's face on him as well. Admitting fear was the same as admitting weakness, and for all her pacifism, it was the one thing none of them had ever seen the Uchiha raised Higurashi do. This guy had to be seriously bad news if she was willing to admit it like that. That Sasuke was just silently watching from the ground beside her didn't make him feel any better.

"Did you happen to get a name, Kagome-sama?" the monk wanna-be, Miroku he was almost sure, asked.

"He introduced himself as Orochimaru."

"The name sounds familiar," he muttered, but he couldn't place it.

"Oh, it should," Miroku spoke again, a mysterious smile on his face. "After all, it was this village who created him."

"Mind stopping with the cryptic words and just answers." And there was the Uchiha Sasuke he remembered from school.

"Ah, well, I suppose trying to hide it would only be natural." The clinking on the guy's weapon was becoming annoying as he kept playing with it. "It might just be a coincidence, but if my memory serves right, then Orochimaru is the name of one of the great Sannins, the one who went rogue."

Oh, now he remembered.

Yes, they'd briefly studied those three for history lessons. Shikamaru couldn't quite recall what had been what caused the legendary ninja to betray and abandon the village. Not that the details were all that important right now. If this guy had been the real deal, it was a miracle his former classmates were still breathing.

"So, are you going to report it to your teacher?" The Nara turned to ask the fake monk, clearly the spokesperson for his team.

"Huh?" Chouji asked, confusion lacing his words. "Why would that matter?"

"Even if we go ahead and report this to our teachers, the decision on what to do about someone of that caliber infiltrating would still be in the Hokage's hands. Whether he chooses to keep going with the test or decides the examination has to be suspended, it's all on him." the lazy teen explained in a bored tone, his eyes never leaving the foreigners. "If the information reaches someone else, especially if the supervisor from the Taishos himself starts making a ruckus, though, there would be no chance of this not being canceled."

"You might be right, but even if we were to report it, I don't think it will make any difference." The still-unnamed girl finally entered the conversation.

"But you got involved in this; you can be in danger too." Chouji's bleeding heart was really a thing to behold, worrying about complete strangers.

"Keh, if we were to be killed, all that bastard would say was that it served us right." The loud one scoffed. "Getting killed means we were too weak, being too weak means we're just wasting his oh-so-precious time."

Talk about family fights. He'd seen their supervisor before, the young man looking like a more refined version of the red-clad boy in front of him. He would run laps around Konoha if those two were not closely related. And this one very clearly disliked the other.

"That's...about right, I think," the girl smiled sheepishly.

"Most likely, yes. So you can rest assured, we have no intention of intervening with this exam." Miroku finished, and the picture of their supervisor in his mind was getting worse and worse.

"If that was all," Kagome said, she was doing a good job of hiding her pain, but Shikamaru could still hear the strain in her voice. "Then, I think it would be best if we all left this place. I'm kind of surprised no one else has decided to try and pick the leftovers."

"Will you two be alright?" Ino finally spoke again, genuine concern in her words.

"You better worry about yourselves."

"We'll lie low for a while and recover our strength," the Higurashi girl added, probably trying to soften the blow of the Uchiha's words. "We'll be fine."

Before anyone else could get another word in an orange hyperactive blur yelled.

"Argh, get down!"

His head was hurting just from trying to understand what the hell had happened while he was unconscious. The last he remembered was that Sasuke was acting weird, going on and on about being unable to defeat the snake freak (and yeah, thinking back, he may have been right about that one, but it was still nonsense to him), and him snapping and trying to attack on his own.

Apparently, he'd missed a lot.

Including how Kagome ended up looking like she'd been through a blender what with all those bandages; more importantly, how Sasuke ended up knocked out long enough to allow that to happen.

"Okay, so let me get this straight." They were sitting in another clearing that looked like all the others in the forest. Without a fire because they wanted to avoid attracting attention while Kagome was so depleted. "So the snake weirdo bit you, and you fainted?"

"Moron..."

"It wasn't a bite...per se.." the girl intervened quickly, probably because there was still some tension between the two boys. "I'm not sure how, but he placed some sort of seal as he did that."

"Well, that's fine, right? Seals use chakra so you can get rid of it." That was the point of her kekkei genkai, or at least that was how the blond had understood it.

"Not...exactly...I mean, I can. But to be able to do that without risks would take me years of training."

"But then..."

"I'm fine." The Uchiha almost snapped. "As I said, I don't feel different. Whatever that was, it's over for now. We need to focus on the exam."

Naruto frowned; he didn't like what he was hearing, but if Kagome could do nothing about it, then there was no way to get Sasuke any medical attention. According to the rules, they were stuck in the forest until they finished. If they somehow managed to contact someone on the outside, they'd most likely be asked to give up in order to get out. And clearly, his childhood friend was completely opposed to that.

"How long until your reserves are up?" the Uchiha turned to Kagome.

"Completely? Four or five days." The girl tried to look confident. "But we can move by tomorrow with no problems."

"Are we changing our plans?" the blond asked.

"No, our original strategy still works; we'll just have to be more careful with the execution."

"Huh, why? The strongest teams are likely to finish early, right? So, shouldn't the last one be weaker?"

"Probably, but they're also the most desperate. An animal is at its most dangerous when cornered." The blond refrained from pouting, Kagome was trying her best to answer like she always did, but she was pushing herself. "It would be best if we could get it tomorrow instead of waiting until the last minute; there should still be enough scrolls around during the third day."

"Alright then! We're getting out of here tomorrow!"

The sound of bushes moving behind him almost had him jumping as he turned around only to find a disheveled Kabuto, bleeding considerably from his left arm.

"Oi, are you alri..."A hand grabbed the back of his shirt, forcefully pulling him back. The Uchiha's dark eyes were locked on the older genin. "Hey, what's wrong with you?"

"We just went through a string of impostors," Sasuke hissed.

"Not an impostor, promise." The older teen was panting a bit. "I did just met you a few days ago; impersonating me to get close to you would be a risky gamble here."

The boy tried to take another step only to falter, a pained wince accompanying the movement. Crap, her was bleeding a bit too much, and Kagome's reiki was completely depleted. Hell, she must be more tired than he thought if she failed to give them a warning.

Still, the girl rushed forward, a roll of bandages and the scroll they used to store all their first-aid stuff on her hand as she looked back at the Uchiha.

"I can't feel any genjutsu, and the wound looks quite real." Oddly enough, Naruto wouldn't say she sounded hurried. "He could bleed out if we leave him like this."

"What about your team?"

"We got separated." Kabuto managed to remain mature despite the Uchiha's needling. Really what was up with him? "I managed to get our second scroll, but the Ame nins gave chase, separated all of us. I finally lost my tail but well..."

"And none of the others are going to look for you?" Sasuke scoffed.

"We agreed from the beginning to meet at the tower if this were to happen. Looking around blindly would probably get us lost."

"So, you barged in here to look for protection." Sasuke just wouldn't let it go.

"You can say that."

"And what would we gain from having you here?"

"Hey!" Finally, Naruto snapped, he understood being careful, but Sasuke was being more of a bastard than normal. "Sure, he's not on our team, but he's still from Konoha; you can't seriously be saying we should leave him here on his own?!"

"I can help you get whatever scroll you're missing if you still need one. There's also safety in numbers even if only as a bluff, in case you already finished that part." Kabuto answered, a smile in place still trying to calm the Uchiha. "Dealing with collectors will also be less of a hassle."

"Collectors?"

"Bottom feeders, they're the ones who may not be good enough to beat every enemy they find so, they try to get their hands on as many scrolls as they can, to get themselves safe passage from anyone they can't or won't face fairly. Some of them also want to have some extras so they can offer them to other teams from their villages who may not have fared well. And let's not forget that they can also use it to gain intelligence for the next stage of the exam.

"And there are those who are not after the scrolls at all; they're after your life. They want t to eliminate strong teams now just so they'll have less competition to deal with as they move to the third phase."

"So injured as you are, you'll just be easy picking."

"Oh, cut it out, you bastard. He helped us earlier in the first exam." And his paranoia was getting tiring.

"It should be okay, Sasuke" Naruto would never understand Kagome-chan's endless patience with the jerk. "He does have a point; we're less likely to be randomly attacked if they see four of us."

"See, even Kagome-chan agrees!"

"Whatever," the Uchiha sniffed.

"Ah, it's a bit shameful; to end up having to rely on my juniors..."

"Everyone can be taken by surprise." Kagome's reply was her usual kind type of answers; it sounded a bit off, though...

"Yeah, besides, we are awesome." Naruto grinned as he pushed those thoughts aside; the girl was exhausted, of course, she sounded off. "You can count on us!"

The older teen flinched as his childhood friend began cleaning the cut on his arm, blood still sluggishly dripping to the ground. Her hands moved deftly around the injury with the same calm as always. The blond relaxed slightly; if the girl was acting at this speed, it meant it wasn't too bad.

"You're pretty good at this."

"Hehe, Kagome-chan is always patching us up," the prankster added, happy to heap praise on one of his friends.

"And I'd really appreciate not to have that much practice, you know,"

Naruto smiled sheepishly; he was one of the reasons the girl had as much practice as she did. He might be a little too impulsive, though most of his injuries were never half as bad as Kabuto's were. Unsurprisingly, however, she was just as effective now as she was when dealing with sprained wrists and dislocated shoulders.

"You'd probably make a good medic."

"I see, so you're still missing the Heaven scroll." The older teen murmured. The new day had done little to ease the tension between their temporal ally and the Uchiha, but Kabuto was taking it well enough. "Your strategy is not bad, though you'll need to be really careful."

Naruto nodded as he kept racing through the trees; they'd been running since they woke up that morning. The faster they got to the tower, the better. Or at least that was the intention.

"You're sure you're not going to slow us down?" Gods, the Uchiha just wouldn't let it go.

"Luckily, they missed the important parts, it hurts a bit, but thanks to Higurashi-san's help, I should be able to fight without fear of reopening my wounds." The blond was seriously beginning to admire the older teen's maturity.

"Lay off, bastard." It was more of a grumble than an actual complaint; Naruto already knew he'd be ignored.

But really, Sasuke was starting to become paranoid. Sure, he knew they had to be careful around anyone not from their team (two people already had tried to trick them), but this was too much. Hell, the bastard had even convinced Kagome to warn him against saying a word about both the snake freak and anything regarding the girl's reiki. Kabuto had advised them even when he didn't need to, and was now honestly asking for help, and the Uchiha was overly suspicious. When he asked Kagome, she'd been unable to give a clear answer.

"Thanks, Naruto, but there's no need to worry." The older teen sent grinned at him. "I can handle this much, at least."

"You can still reopen your wounds if you're not careful, Kabuto-san..." The girl trailed off slightly before looking back up again. "Let's just try to make our way to the tower."

Tension began to crawl up his spine. Oh, it was a small thing, and yet, Naruto had seen her give a quick glance towards Sasuke as her hand reached to pull her unbraided hair back twice. The meaning of the code was not lost to him for once. They were being watched...again...why the hell was everyone so obsessed with watching them?

The blond tried to concentrate for a second, attempting to find whatever it was that placed his friends on guard only to find the slightest trace of chakra around them. Normally, he wouldn't have considered it as something to be careful around, now though...it felt just like the second floor of the academy.

Genjutsu.

Kagome-chan may not be at her peak, but she'd always been good at that stuff, and last night she'd gotten some rest. He didn't doubt for a second that she was capable of sensing an illusion even when tired. She wasn't saying a word of warning to Kabuto...

Sure, if they wanted to fool their new enemy, saying out loud they caught on to their tricks wasn't a good idea, but the girl had to be able to try and subtly imply it to the older teen. She was good at that kind of thing.

Were they waiting to see if the older genin was good enough to catch it?

Or were they trying to look weaker than they were?

Before he could decide whether to speak up himself or not, the loud sound of something crawling through the forest filled the area. Bushes and branches moving wildly around to show dozens of oversized centipedes rushing at them.

The blond screamed as he sent a kunai in their direction only to watch it disappear in the monster's long body like it wasn't even there.

"Those are illusions, don't waste your blades." Kabuto's voice was suddenly tense. "It seems we got caught in a genjutsu."

"Just knowing will do you no good." A white-clothed nin with an oxygen mask on his face came from inside one of the insects. Naruto almost let go of his kunai.

He was sure these guys would've been disqualified by now, after al...

"This time, we'll be taking both the scroll...and the antidote."

A/N: Ah I managed to finish it on time, I wasn't sure I'd be able to get this done on time, thankfully the chapter was shorter than other hahaha. Since my term lasts only 4 months we really don't have a lot of free time. It didn't help that I had a bit of an off week. Next week's chapter is definitely delayed though, no way I'll be able to squeeze enough time.

As for some of the characters who've gotten POV that may feel a bit weird (Kurenai, Shikamaru, etc) it's because I do have plans for them in the story and need to begin developing them from early on. Basically, if they're not in an omake and they have a POV then they're going to be important to the story at some point.

With regards to the rest of the Inugang's clothing, it's mostly the same. Sango's slayer's suit fits well enough in this world, and her using a long normal yukata/kimono to hide the suit under feels really natural. And Miroku is also keeping the usual monk robes just because he's fond of it, in the original he could move well enough with it so I don't see him having too many issues, also he's mostly intelligence though he can certainly fight. Inuyahsa's probably just a bit less baggy, but the exact same shade of eyecatching red.

Also, friendly reminder that character's personalities will change depending on how different their surroundings and stories are when compared to their canon selves. Sasuke trusts in Naruto enough to tell him about the curse mark, Naruto is less desperate for acceptance, Sesshomaru and Inuyasha genuinely respect each other despite how much they like to fight, and of course, Kagome's character is the most different from the others because she went from a completely pacific and loving environment to one where she was warned not to trust anyone and that killing someone else was just a part of the job.

As always, thank you so much for reading, and any review/comment/constructive criticism is greatly appreciated (they help with the motivation way more than one would think). Happy belated Halloween!