Ajisai ducked under a swift kick toward her temple, touching the ground with both her arms for balance. She brushed her right foot across the ground, sweeping the genin who'd attempted to kick her off the ground. When the genin hit the ground on his back, she was upon him, jumping onto his chest with both her feet. The genin cried out in pain while coughing as he was buried to the ground.

Another genin flashed from behind, slashing a kunai across her back. She jumped away, while twisting around to face the genin. Upon landing, she glanced at him, trying to help his teammate get up. She seized her opportunity and lunged toward him. The Genin saw her and drove a left hook toward her, but Ajisai held up both her hands, jumping up as she did. She used the stretched hand as a slight balance before flipping upside down. While she was still upside down, a sealing tag fell across her face. She snatched it, and released it.

A burst of electricity was discharged from the tag, hitting the genin head on. He let out a loud shriek as the electricity literally shocked him. Burning him slightly, he was knocked out cold by the shock and fell on his teammate.

Ajisai flipped once more while in midair before landing on the ground. She glanced toward Naruto, he was sitting on the trunk of a dead tree, his right foot on the throat of a kunoichi he had just defeated. Their teammate was just standing behind him, an expressionless mask on his face.

"How long are you going to keep that thing?"

"As long as it is required." Naruto said. "Besides, they are watching us. If they know we really don't have a third teammate, we won't make it."

"Not if it gets defeated and we get the required flags to bypass the rule of three."

"That will happen, but not now," Naruto looked up to the sky. "How long do you want to be around this forest?"

"Long enough… the more we meet these shinobi from the Great Five, the more we learn about them. It is not so bad. Their arrogance is something else, but not all of them are that arrogant," Ajisai responded. "How long are you going to stand on her? I know she is from a great village, but that seems to be cruel."

Naruto glanced down. "I have no mercy for someone who tries to kill me…" he said. "But she is a rather nice looking girl. I will let her live…" he said, removing his foot from her throat. The moment he did so, the girl quickly crawled away from him. "If I were you, I would summon the proctor and quit the exam. You no longer have a flag, other teams won't be merciful. They will simply kill you because you no longer have a flag."

"And you say you have no mercy."

Naruto shrugged. "Mindless and needless deaths must be avoided. If we simply kill for the pleasure, we become nothing more than animals. I'd rather not become a wild beast that needs to be tamed. On another note, your Taijutsu has improved rapidly. Learn more Ninjutsu and improve on your physicals, you will surely become a good asset for Lady Angel." Naruto smiled. It felt ridiculous calling Konan 'Lady Angel' but she was a woman who Ajisai looked up to… it was best to show that respect. Not that Naruto didn't respect her. Konan was after all a Kunoichi worthy of her rank in the Akatsuki.

"I'll take the compliment if it is coming from you but things would be a little easier if you helped."

"Meh… I dislike needless battles with genin pretending to be shinobi. For you, it is okay because this is a training exercise."

"Correction… you don't have a problem in fighting anyone. Even these genin you are disregarding now. You'd engage them, but only to teach them lessons and break them apart in their fighting style. I can only assume your lack of interest is because you have your focus on something else," Ajisai reasoned.

Naruto stared for a moment and then stood up. "We should move further a bit. A smart move would be to go the tower and wait for arriving teams. But being on the hunt for prey is much more thrilling."

Hiruzen smiled, looking at his little peeking ball. While there was nothing extraordinary that Naruto has done, his movements, mannerism were something to behold. Intelligent, yes. Had he stayed in this village, things would have been different. He could not even begin to guess what would have happened. Of course, to stay Naruto 'left' Konoha was merely masking the ugly truth. Someone had kidnapped him. And they apparently didn't brainwash him. At this stage, he would have preferred it if the blond had been brain washed. Because at this stage, there was nothing to say that would convince the blond to stay here. Especially given how the village has reacted to his presence.

He took the ball and placed it inside a drawer before lifting his eyes to meet those of both Kakashi and Jiraiya. They were the ones who would feel more personal with Naruto. "He is an interesting, young man, isn't he?"

"Should you be smiling about the current situation?"

"There is nothing we can do. What is done is done, we can only plan for the future," Sarutobi said. "Has Naruto made any contact with the Suna team?"

"No," Jiraiya shook his head. "Do you really there is a connection there?"

"A possibility we cannot ignore. There is something that is happening. There might not be a connection, but we have to be careful with how we handle things. We cannot avoid to consider that Naruto might be an enemy of the Hidden Leaf. And if he is, what has already transpired will have only strengthened his resolve."

Jiraiya frowned deeply. If he was Naruto, he wouldn't wish to be stuck in this place. No one had welcomed him. The contempt toward him was unbearable and unmasked. They had just stopped short of hurling insults and stones at him. Who knew? Maybe some shinobi were even plotting to assault him at night. The anger and hatred that was buried along with his disappearance has shown its ugly face, and this time, in tenth fold. The people would not heal.

Minato would be disappointed. Would he have even sacrificed his son if he knew things were going to be like this? No, he probably would have done so. Jinchuriki were never treated like angels before. But surely, even he would look at the village with massive disappointment. Pathetically, there was nothing he nor the Sandaime could do to make the people turn the hearts away from this needless hatred.

"You really think he could be an enemy of the Leaf?"

Hiruzen nodded at Kakashi's question. "We must not take anything off the table. There has been no reaction from him in the wake of the villagers' treatment. But he is not blind to it. This makes a case of what he might be thinking," like everyone else now, his smile slipped. "Your summons have to be ready in case something happens, Jiraiya."

"Of course…" he was loyal to the Leaf, but he really didn't feel like defending the villagers at this stage. If someone wanted to destroy them, it would not be like they don't deserve it.

"Neither of you are to make any contact with him unless it can't be helped. Though, with you Kakashi, you may likely make contact with him at the tower. We will have him here and speak to him when the time is right."

"And Danzo?"

"Irrelevant in this scenario." The Third Hokage's tone was flat, his right shoulder shrugging with a bit of nonchalance. "What is important is whether we are willing to force Naruto to stay in this village even though we know he will only be hated by the villagers."

"That seems rather cruel."

"Yes, but only if he has not joined bad people. We currently don't know anything about Amegakure or who leads it. So, we cannot make a call on that. However, we must send a message to the village and have a response before the finals. Since we already know he is alive, and know who he is connected with, even if we let him go, finding him will be easy," Hiruzen then released a heavy sigh. "Of course, the hard part will be whether he even wants to be in Konoha."

"Do we even have to ask that question?"

"I guess not. Then we must try to convince him… even if he is not willing, we must at least be allies. We mustn't forget that he was kidnapped from the village."

Hiruzen dared not think another ugly possibility; that is, Naruto had simply left Konoha on his own. Or maybe he departed with Itachi. If that was the case, he would at least have less worries.

"What if it was relatives from his mother?" Kakashi asked. "Jiraiya sensei did come across someone from the Uzumaki clan in the Hidden Rain."

"Naruto has no relatives who are alive. His grandparents were in Uzushiogakure before it was destroyed. But if it is someone from the clan, it does complicate things…" Hiruzen adopted a thoughtful look. "In any case, keep observing him while I sort out some issues."

"Scram!"

Ajisai didn't need a second warning before jumping away from Naruto. While airborne, she watched Naruto get hit by a blast of wind, sending him flying toward a tree. The blond flipped several times, before hitting the trunk of the tree with both legs, standing horizontally, while casting his sharp glance toward the opponents.

Ajisai flashed toward him, standing below, she looked up and said. "I don't think you didn't know they were coming."

Naruto glanced at her and then smiled. "You overstate my abilities… my sensory abilities are not that great, especially with battles occurring every minute. Sometimes, things slip go past my defenses."

Ajisai shook her head, turning a stoic look toward their opponents. "Isn't he a Jinchuriki?"

"Indeed, he is."

"Does he know you are one?"

"Not unless I tell him. I have extra protections, but maybe the Bijuu within him would have said something. Though, I highly doubt it can sense the Bijuu within me," Naruto jumped down, landing beside Ajisai.

"Why are we fighting them? This team is probably the strongest of them all. Fighting them here will not do us any good. I'm confident but even I know I won't be of help in this battle."

"You said you want to get rid of that," Naruto said pointing at their teammate. "I have presented an opportunity to do so. He will get crushed and we can move freely. You stand back. But watch out for the sand. Don't stand on the ground, be atop of a tree and be ready for a replacement jutsu if you sense something. The bloodlust from the redhead is quite considerable."

Ajisai merely vanished into the trees without responding to Naruto.

Naruto stepped up, looking at the Sand siblings. Ajisai was correct. These were not genin. Perhaps in rank, but in terms of power, they were far stronger than that. They were merely Genin for the sake of their mission and Suna's hidden agenda. In the face of such a formidable combination, Naruto felt excited. They were not a team. He could see it already. Gaara was standing on the side, Temari and Kankuro appeared ready to attack. If they were a team, one of two would have followed after Temari's attack.

"Just give us the flag, and maybe we might spare you." Kankuro said.

"Joker?" Naruto asked, head tilted to the side, seeing the paint on Kankuro's face. "Perhaps, you are the weakest in the team."

"What did you just say? I'm the weakest?"

Naruto ignored Kankuro and turned his eyes toward Gaara. He then started darting toward the redhead. There was no movement from the youngest Sand sibling, his dead eyes merely watched him. Knowing about the automatic defense, Naruto did not reach the genin, suddenly came to a complete halt a foot away.

"Stand still for a moment. I don't want to deal with you."

He glanced to the side, hearing the sound of air currents. Once more, gusts of wind slammed into him, but this time, he exploded into a log.

"These days it is not often that one gets to meet wind users. Play your tune and I shall dance for you." Naruto suddenly said, standing a couple of feat away from Temari. He then shook his head. "No, both of you are not short distance fighters. Neither of you get close to battle your opponents. Your fan removes the need to weave hand signs, and probably means you can't do much without it. And as for you Sasori imitator, you use puppets, stay grounded for a little while, I have no interest in testing you."

Already Temari didn't like this shinobi. He was a shinobi from Amegakure, but was he thinking of fighting them alone? It didn't seem like Gaara wanted to fight him, but something about his eyes made her feel itchy. She shrugged off the feeling, grabbing her fan firmly.

"Whether I am good at close range is something you will only know if you get close. That is if, you ca…" Temari's eyes widened, all of the sudden, he was standing in front of her. He had just disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Before she could do anything, he hit her on her chin with the palm of his right hand, lifting her up slightly. A knee followed to her gut. It was a painful blow, and caused pain to shoot through her intestines, turning them upside down. She wanted to badly hold her gut, but the other hand was still holding onto her fan. He wasn't even letting up on the attack and it was all happening a little too quickly for her to follow.

A brutal punch to her chest connected, leaving her gasping for air. There was no time to process the pain or wonder about whether something had broken or cracked as Naruto grabbed her right arm around the wrist, before stabbing his index finger on her shoulder. Her arm completely went numb, and she dropped her fan. When no other attack came, she was forced to jump away, gritting her teeth in both anger and humiliation.

The second Temari jumped away from him, Naruto glanced to his right, sensing something coming. Multiple senbon flashing toward him. Knowing how Kankuro fought, the Senbon were probably laced with poison. The Sasori experience would prove to be quite efficient in this little lesson. There was no time to pick up the fan and use to deflect the projectiles. He could either use a replacement jutsu or use a jutsu from his arsenal.

Deciding on the latter, Naruto turned around, inhaling large amounts of air before making a release. "Wind Breakthrough!" He released powerful gust of wind that collided with the projectiles, deflecting them to the sides. The gust was powerful enough to pick up dust as it moved toward Kankuro. The Suna shinobi managed to move out of the way along with his puppet to avoid getting hit.

Naruto stepped on Temari's fan and then looked at her. "Don't be presumptuous to think the opponent will not catch you off guard before you can do anything. You can free your hand by forcing chakra through the chakra points around your shoulder. However," he said picking up the fan, "I won't give you this. Have you ever fought without your fan?"

"Why are you only looking at her? You still have me!" Kankuro shouted, a little mad that Naruto didn't seem to be interested in him as he was with Temari.

Karusu shot toward the blond, its mouth opening wide before releasing more senbon. Naruto reacted to this by holding firmly onto Temari's fan, he flapped it, releasing a powerful gust tornado that erupted in front of him. It quickly moved toward the flying puppet, along with its attack. They were both wrapped into the twisting currents, before being hurled to the sides and crashed into a tree.

Naruto shot Kankuro a look. "You are in the way. I'm trying to teach your sister a lesson."

The moment those words left his mouth, Kankuro placed both his hands around his eyes, letting out a loud and pained scream. After a moment, the man screamed, 'Kai' as he stopped his cry.

"Damn, bastard…" he growled toward Naruto.

"Weakness in Genjutsu. It was a simple one. Weak for that matter. I took account of it, and yet you were howling like your eyes were being gouged out. Either way, if I had so willed," Naruto said, summoning a kunai. He coated it with wind chakra and then in simple flick, he hurled the kunai toward Kankuro. The shinobi could only release a sweat through the forehead when the kunai blasted past his right cheek, small blades of wind licking him slightly to leave a couple of cuts. "I could have done that, but would have aimed right through your throat. Look behind… I won't attack."

Hesitantly, Kankuro did as told. He the kunai Naruto had thrown had pierced through the trunk of a tree. He swallowed hard. If that had been directed toward him, it would have left a gaping hole on his throat and he would have been on the ground, rolling haplessly while he gasped for air.

Naruto sighed. "That talk just ruined everything…" he said hurling Temari's fan toward her. He then snapped his fingers and the second he did so, Gaara was on the attack.

"Sand Burial!"

Naruto was engulfed by sand, completely encasing his body. Gaara crushed the sand, resulting in an explosion of blood from the sand. But it was not Naruto who was crushed, rather, his teammate. The shinobi was then engulfed by crimson flames, turning his remains into ashes.

"Your sand is as lethal as they say it is," Naruto commented, standing next to Ajisai. "Improve your strength, Sand shinobi. Maybe next time, you shall dance for me. Now it is too soon for you." After those words left his mouth, Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke along with Ajisai.

Gaara turned to Temari, expressing his displeasure. "Weak… if you fail like that next time, I will kill you… both of you."

While there have been changes, fundamentally, Hiruzen thought he hadn't changed that much, even when stared down by his failures as Kage and a shinobi. He kept Danzo around, to do the dirty work. The only difference was that now he gave the orders, and knew it all. Before, he would have kept his eyes closed, because he knew, at the end of the day, whatever Danzo did, would probably benefit the Leaf. Every village had its darkness. Danzo was the Hidden Leaf's darkness. Though, much darker things have occurred that he hoped would never reach the light. For the sake of Konoha's image and standing amongst the Great Five.

"You called for me, Hiruzen."

The Third nodded at Danzo and then stood up from his chair, walking over toward the window. The streets were crowded with people. The Chunin exam was already taking place. There were no major incidents as yet.

"I have a mission for you. We have received a report about suspicious activities occurring within Sunagakure prior to this exam. Send people to investigate and then report back to me."

Danzo knew Hiruzen only saw his Root as expandable shinobi. But he'd not come here for this. He thought he was being called here to talk about the Kyubi's Jinchuriki. Or even Sasuke. Not Suna. He knew there was something but the bigger picture was attaining the Kyubi.

"What of the Kyubi?"

Hiruzen glanced at Danzo through the corner of his eyes. "What of it?"

"What are we going to do about it?"

"That is not your concern. You no longer serve in the Council nor are you a village elder. You do as you are told and question nothing. Now, I have given you a mission. See to its completion and then report back to me."

Danzo glared at the back of the Third. This new found spine that has all but stifled his ability to influence the village has bothered him for far too long.

"We lost the Kyubi before because of your naivety. I hope we won't lose it again because you refuse to do what must be done." Danzo said flatly. "Orochimaru has also shown interest in Sasuke. We cannot afford to lose the last Uchiha."

"I'm well aware of Orochimaru's interest in Sasuke and I have things under control."

"Under control?!" Danzo felt disdain for the Sandaime right on his throat that he wanted to shout. "You are allowing the Kyubi to roam free! You don't have anything under control!"

"Anbu!" Hiruzen called. And they appeared in a flash. "See that Danzo is escorted out and does his mission as instructed. And Danzo, if you do anything, death will not be your fate but something much crueler."

Danzo sneered but said nothing. He merely twisted around and then walked away from the office with the Anbu tailing him from behind.

The Third released a long breath once Danzo left the office and then returned to his desk. He slumped onto his chair and considered lighting up his pipe but remembered that with the Chunin exam, there was too much work for him to do. He released another long breath and then dived into his paperwork. But he only managed to work through a couple of papers. His mind was heavily clouded.

There were too many things happening. Too many holes to fill. To many questions to answer. He hoped, that he would be able to survive this. If he was not careful, he would not survive and he didn't want to think about what would happen as he has no planned successor. He'd consider Kakashi, but the Jonin was lacking in many ways. Perhaps it was time to force things on him. Tsunade was another run away who refused to return home. And he didn't seem to have any power to force her to return. At least maybe she could do a better job at being Hokage.

Naruto shifted to the right, avoiding a stab to his left shoulder. He took a single step backwards and watched as the shinobi once more, lunged toward him, swinging his sword in a vertical flash across his chest. He took a step back to avoid being cut. Once more, the shinobi lunged, swinging his sword from the left, holding it in a reverse grip, and then cut through the air, trying to slash Naruto across his chest.

Naruto leapt forward, holding out his right hand. His hand hit the hand holding the sword before it could be swung toward him. He then grabbed the shinobi by his throat with his left hand, strangling him slowly while lifting him up.

"Too slow. Your sword strikes lack precision and power." He lectured before dropping the genin to the ground. "Why must you all be lacking?" He asked while hitting the Kumo genin across his face with his left foot. There was a sickening sound when his foot connected with the genin's forehead. But Naruto merely turned away, to face Ajisai, who was staring at him expressionlessly.

"Must you toy with them?"

"It's poetic since it is one from the Great Five. They toy with the smaller nations in their war games." Naruto shrugged. "I can't really please you, can I? You were complaining that I'm leaving all the work to you. Now that I am working, you say I'm toying with them."

Ajisai didn't respond to this. She looked to the side and then picked up their 13th flag. "Two more and we should leave this place."

Naruto suddenly turned to the side.

"I'm leaving a clone with you. We will camp and reach the tower on the third day or maybe the fourth day . There is no award for finishing too quickly. We have even slowed because there is no need to hurry," Naruto said.

"Where are you going?"

"To say hello to a snake."

Sasuke pressed against a tree, battered and beat, tired as hell. He was heaving for oxygen. The dread that had run rampant within him moments ago when this man who turned out to be Orochimaru appeared was now a merely memory. But he could still feel the chill within his spine. Was he facing death? Maybe. And the didn't seem to be anything he could do about it.

He glanced to the sides: both Sai and Sakura couldn't help. He glared at the man with his Sharingan, not fully matured but getting there, just one tomoe remaining. He was not going to give up. Not when he had yet to avenge his clan. Not when he had yet to face his brother. The thought made his blood boil as he gritted his teeth in murderous anger.

"Kukukukuku!" Orochimaru laughed. "That kind of look is the right one, Sasuke-kun. I'm not going to kill you, so you don't have to worry. But you are still far away from Itachi."

"Don't compare me to that man!"

"Yes… you can't be compared. Itachi was a genius and you are just an imitation. Perhaps the tag doesn't really belong to you… kukukuku…"

Sasuke was not that weak. He was indeed skilled, for a genin. But he was not getting the kind of training he needs. His Sharingan should be fully mature by now. But he had the potential. He was a child worthy of becoming his host. He would succeed this time in acquiring the Sharingan this way after his humiliating failure with Itachi.

"But, I know you want to kill him. I can help you gain power to kill Itachi." Nothing would make him much happier than stepping on Itachi's corpse. He would not be over that humiliation. Not until the Uchiha was dead.

"I don't need power from you!"

"This village is only holding you back. I know, Sasuke-kun… you will eventually seek me out to gain more power. But for now, I will give you a taste of this power that I can give you…"

Orochimaru stretched his neck, bearing his fangs toward the young Uchiha with his mouth gape. But he never reached Sasuke. He blinked as his head twisted to the side before rolling on the ground. He could see his body standing still. His head had been severed from his body. What was that? Wind chakra?

He glanced at the direction of the attack and saw and saw Naruto leaning against the trunk of a tree, hands folded across his chest. Seeing him, the blond smiled, waving his hand toward him.

Orochimaru frowned. His snakes burst out from his neck and reattached his head before he pulled closer. He turned to the blond who was now moving toward him, carelessly so.

"Minato's son," Orochimaru growled. He had seen the blond with Itachi before when the Uchiha was his partner. What he could never tell was whether the blond was associated with the Akatsuki or not. He'd always thought Itachi was the one who took the blond after the Uchiha massacre.

"Now now, don't be like that, Orochi. I haven't seen you in a while." Naruto said, smiling at the snake Sannin. "I came here because I have been told Sasuke is off limits. You are not permitted to put your foul stench on him."

"If Itachi wanted stop it, he could have come himself," Orochimaru grinned. "Now, it would not be a loss to brand a Jinchuriki. Your body should be able to handle the cursed seal. And I wonder how it would work with the power of the Kyubi."

"Hmm… all too frightening to think about," Naruto said, waving his right hand. "I suppose you are not going to leave Sasuke alone."

Orochimaru was a Sannin. While they had gained their legendary by losing a battle, there was no question that the Sannin stood above other shinobi. The snake was powerful, no question, but he was arrogant. He had knowledge and information that many would envy, but he was an arrogant piece of trash. Still, what was Madara thinking by asking him to kill Orochimaru? He was merely a child, and the man before him has fought wars. That experience counted for something, even if the snake was arrogant.

"No… I feel insulted that Itachi would send a child to defend his brother."

Naruto stretched his hands and took a single step forward before glancing at Sasuke. He would have to be serious to get things done. To kill Orochimaru, he would have to go all out. But he hated doing that. Being serious in battle wasn't something he did lightly. But Orochimaru was the kind of an opponent who'd literally bite him if he fooled around. Even if he could do it, Naruto had no intentions in killing Orochimaru. At least not now. There were interesting things about to happen. If Orochimaru died, it would mean an end to it.

Orochimaru watched as Naruto burst into a murder of crows. He then blinked, Genjutsu? He did a hand seal to disrupt the chakra flow and when he opened his eyes, Naruto was standing in front of Sasuke. There were two of them. The other did hand seals and then slammed them into the Uchiha's chest, and Sasuke disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"That solves things, doesn't it?"

Orochimaru frowned. Those marks. Summoning seals. No doubt, Sasuke was no longer around here. Sticking around was not worth the trouble but what was wrong in testing if Naruto was also a skilled shinobi? He had made contact with Sasuke, and he was sure his message was heard. It was not yet over. Of course, he was disappointed he was not able to brand the Uchiha but that could be done at any time.

"Afraid that much?"

"It isn't that I'm afraid, it is just that I cannot afford to fight seriously and not go all out. If I am going all out and fighting against an enemy, you must die at the end. No one must see my abilities and live to tell others… If I play around, I might regret it. Although arrogant, you are a powerful shinobi who should not be looked down," Naruto explained lightly. "You will go away, now, won't you?"

"If I don't?"

Naruto took a couple of steps towards Orochimaru, before lunging head on. He suddenly disappeared in a puff of smoke. Orochimaru glanced behind as the blond appeared while holding a black rod. He hurled the rod toward the snake's back. The rod flew in blinding speed. It was only for Orochimaru's quick reflex that he was able to dodge the rod from piercing through his throat.

"Hmmm?"

The second he dodged the black rod, Naruto was in front of him, on both knees. He glanced to the side; the Naruto that had thrown the road was still there. What had happened there? His attention was brought back to the Naruto in front of him as it held out a tag. It slammed the tag on his left leg, and the tag exploded thunderously in a crimson explosion of flames that burst his leg. The explosion was so huge that it engulfed his entire body within flames, including the clone that had been in front of him.

"kukukuku…" Orochimaru laughed as the flames were blasted away by a strong wind. His burst leg forming. "I see, you were already behind me when you caught me in Genjutsu. And the clone did not disappear in puff of smoke. That was merely a diversion to get me to focus behind… kukukukuku… interesting use of strategy, Naruto-kun… I suppose you will be a little serious and this will invite Konoha… which won't be good for me… good…" Orochimaru grinned. "I will bow out for now, but I leave you with this…"

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Orochimaru summoned a huge snake into the field.

When the snake starting slithering toward him, Orochimaru was already gone. Naruto sighed, and stared at the snake. It came to a halt, its eyes turning crimson under the influence of Genjutsu. Madara would probably rejoice that he had trained all too well. But this sort of thing put a strain on his eyes even though some improvements were made to cancel limit the damage the eyes cause.

"Go to your master."

Instead of obeying, the snake burst into a cloud of smoke.

Naruto shrugged and then did hand seals. He slammed them on the ground, and Sasuke appeared in a puff of smoke, battered as he had been. Naruto lost his smile, seeing the Uchiha. There was nothing more disappointing than looking at this. Even at this age, Sasuke didn't have a fully matured Sharingan. He looked at the 'last' Uchiha with disdain. The Kyubi would probably cheer if he killed him right here and now. It would be simple for him to do so. Sasuke was not a threat, and besides, he was low on chakra, barely able to stand after his bout with Orochimaru.

Well, at least he had managed to stop Orochimaru from doing something creepy.

Sasuke suddenly lunged at him, driving a right fist toward his face. Was it his look or did the Uchiha think he could catch him off-guard? Naruto watched the punch coming toward him, it seemed slow. He raised his left hand, slapping it away. The move caused Sasuke to be off balance. Naruto seized the opportunity by jumping up while stretching out both his hands. He grabbed the Uchiha by his shoulders before landing a brutal knee on his chest.

Sasuke gritted his teeth, as he clutched his chest. That was more than a knee. He felt like he had been hit by a brick on his chest. He was tired, but he was not going to allow someone to look down on him as this person was. Besides, he had heard him talking about his brother in a way that meant that he was close to the traitor and that pissed him off.

"At this rate, you are not even worth fighting. I'd hoped that I would be able to fight Itachi's brother, but…"

"Don't say that name!" Sasuke growled angrily.

"Anger… hatred… He did tell you to hate him. Perhaps the thought was to fuel you to become stronger that you would avenge the Uchiha. But at this rate, you are not worthy of being called his brother."

Once more, Sasuke lunged at him, trying to stab him by a kunai on his throat. Naruto dodged the strike by twisting clockwise while taking a step forward. He stopped just beside Sasuke, on his right side, while holding a chakra rod. Without a second thought, he stabbed the rod right through the side of the Uchiha's chest.

Sasuke cried in pain before coughing up blood. But worse, he felt his chakra going out of control, the little that remained. He couldn't control himself. A hit on the back of his head sent him crashing to the ground with his face. His face was buried into the ground when Naruto stomped on the back of his head with his right foot.

"You are weak, Sasuke. You have no control over yourself. At this rate, you may as well join Orochimaru on his offer to become strong. But even he is no match for Itachi. But at least he will improve you. At this rate, you are too weak… so much that it infuriates me that an Uchiha who is the son of a man who was clan head can become so weak…"

"Guh!"

Sasuke cried as Naruto stabbed another rod on his left shoulder, piercing through it. "This is called pain. Weakness. Experience this pain and you will overcome your weakness. Understand that you crying now because you a weak!"

Naruto stabbed another rod right through Sasuke right leg, just around the knee. Once more, Sasuke let out another cry as the piece of metal pierced through his leg, causing his chakra to farther go haywire. "Because you are weak, you do not deserve to fight for a chance to become a Chunin. You must go back to the training ground and train hard. You must fail this exam. I suppose this will be your first time you fail an exam, but this is because you are weak!"

Naruto stabbed another rod through Sasuke's left leg, around the ankle. "I have punctured your right lung. If you don't get it treated quickly, you might drown in your own blood. Cry, shout, and beg, until someone comes to rescue you. Then you will understand that you are weak. And you will learn to overcome this weakness."

After saying this, Naruto stomped on Sasuke's head once more and leaned in, grabbing his left hand.

"Have you ever heard the sound of your bone breaking? Well, I have. My right foot was once broken by a merciless trainer. I cried. It took some time for me to walk properly. It isn't like a flesh wound after all. I won't break your leg, just your arm. But listen carefully to this sound, and remember it well. Have nightmares thinking about it. And learn to avoid it next time."

"Stop!" Sakura cried, holding a kunai while shaking, tears streaming through her eyes. "P-please stop…" she begged.

Naruto let go of Sasuke and then turned to Sakura, head tilted to the side.

"You request that I stop? No, girl… if you want me to stop, you must use your strength to stop me…" he paused, "but you have none. Why must I stop? You care for him?"

She nodded.

"I see," Naruto walked toward Sakura. His movements slow, and daunting. She slumped to her butt, but still held onto her kunai, defiantly staring at him. "The will, but weak. Commendable, but doesn't help you. You see, I don't care about anyone. I would care about my parents, maybe now I would have had a little brother or sister, but my parents died to stop the Kyubi from destroying this village. And what does the village do in return? Hate. Ungrateful. I became poor so that the likes of you may live, but you are not worth the breath. Useless. Weak. Ungrateful. And you know what, it pisses me off."

He pushed her back, making her fall by poking her on her forehead.

"In this world, people die. If you do not have the strength, you won't be able to protect those you care about. This is a lesson you must learn. To care means to hurt. There is nothing wrong with that. But you must be strong. If you are weak, your loved ones will be hurt, and you won't be able to do anything to stop it. And this…"

Snap

"Ahhh!"

Sakura let out a loud shriek after Naruto broke her right foot by stomping on it.

"…happens to you…" he frowned, being drowned by her cries. "Loud. I just broke your leg," smacked her on her forehead, knocking her out cold.

Whether you were powerful or weak, sometimes death was just inevitable. No human had the power to compel life to move into their plans. No one could twist fate like that. Loss and hurt were just part of life. This life at least. In a world of dreams, everything was perfection. Fundamentally, that was just wrong. The human was not a perfect being. True, it was a rational being that had few limits on what it could do, hence its supremacy over all things that live in this world. However, to simply ignore that flaw took something away from being human. Naruto was not in a position to argue on the subject with those above. He had lost everything, and wished to regain it. Whether Genjutsu or reality, no one could tell.

This girl could learn. To hope meant nothing if you had no strength or the genius to pull things through. If she had the brains, she could have said something to stop him. But she was weak, both in body and mind. Glaringly lacking for a kunoichi.

Once done, he turned around, "You can get up. I know you are conscious," he said to Sai. "This is rather cold you of you. Watching your teammates get beat like this while you pretend to be dead. What is your name?"

"Sai," Sai said in a flat tone. "I did the only rational thing in the position. You are strong. If I had intervened, I would have been beaten. Sasuke is badly wounded and needs medical attention. If I get beaten like him, there won't be anyone to call for help."

"Cold and rational, but the best decision for the team…" Naruto nodded. "But, what if I turn on you as well?"

"I have a message from Danzo-sama."

"Danzo? No, I have no interest in hearing it. If Danzo wants to talk to me, he can come himself," Naruto said turning away from Sai.

He'd heard more than enough about the war hawk. He could predict the message the cripple wanted to share with him. Itachi had been kind enough to share the finer details about the key players in the village. He had been curious and the Uchiha had obliged him. There was no loss on either side. For him it was valuable knowledge. But Itachi had been firm, such knowledge should never be used against the Leaf.

"You should be quick about help. If another team comes here, you will die…" he held out his right hand. "You keep your flags in a storage scroll… give it to me."

Sai didn't hesitate. For them, it was game over. Sakura could not continue with a broken leg, and with his Injuries, Sasuke couldn't perform either. He threw the scroll toward Naruto who caught it and jumped away. He landed on a tree, coming to face Ajisai, who was giving him a look.

"You saw."

"That was too much for my liking, but yes, I saw. It seemed a little personal. I didn't think you had it in you."

Naruto smiled. "I slipped," he said, shrugging nonchalantly. "We all have some emotions we have repressed. We just choose not to show them. I allowed my frustrations to show there."

He was still young, he was allowed to vent in anger. Even Madara had his hatred buried deep within. Nagato's contempt for Konoha was also apparent, even though he spoke about ending the hatred. It was ironic, since the man could not stop the hate within himself. In any case, coming here was the right decision for him. He was reaffirming his feelings toward the Hidden Leaf and learning to control himself.

"We have all the scrolls we need. But let us not hurry to the tower. Let us find a good place to camp and then we can talk about going to the tower tomorrow morning."

"Why?"

"If we hurry to the tower, I might find myself surrounded by Konoha shinobi to ask me questions. While within the confines of his exam, they won't approach me. Even those who don't have scrolls, will be probably go there since it is the only point of contact while within the forest. You can call it a safe place where you won't be attacked."

"Reasonable," Ajisai nodded. "I thought something was happening when your clone suddenly decided we must follow you."

"I was simply afraid that Orochimaru might target you get one over me. If that had happened, I would have failed this exam."

Ajisai shook her head. There were too many things happening and she didn't want to get involved in all of it. She had her mission and she was going to stick to it. "We must find a place with water. I need to bath, and eat something nice."

Hokage Office

"Thank you, Sai. You may return to Sasuke. Once he is able to move, you will be taken to the tower," Sarutobi said after Sai explained everything that had happened with Orochimaru appearing and Naruto's brutalization of Sasuke.

He'd already known Orochimaru had an interest in Sasuke. It was not the first time he had made an attempt after all. But he hadn't thought he'd do it in the Chunin exams. At least for now, Jiraiya was aware and would be on guard. But Naruto's connection with Itachi made him wary, yet a little hopeful. He knew, Itachi loved this village and if Naruto spoke about the Uchiha, then to some extent, Naruto must not have evil intentions. But his words to Sakura were bone chilling. The moment was critical, if they did anything reckless, Naruto would certainly express his contempt.

The third glanced at Kakashi and shook his head. A little disappointing his performance as a Jonin sensei. Then again, this had been his first team. Either way, it didn't excuse his dismissal performance. Hiruzen had been patient. Waiting and hoping that maybe things would fold into place. Sasuke had the Obito effect, but the regrets and failures of the past seemed to weigh on the Jonin far more heavily than he was willing to admit.

"A team compromising of Sai, and Sasuke is getting eliminated in the first stage of the exam. It is quite disappointing really. In their class, they were the best and yet they failed."

"Well, they did come across Orochimaru. They can't be faulted for failing," Anko let in.

"Yes," Hiruzen paused, glancing at his desk for a moment before looking back at Kakashi. "But let us not kid ourselves. Kakashi has not exactly covered himself in glory with his handling of his team. All of them have disappointed. I was hoping to have the finals with Sasuke in them, but not happening. It is rather ironic that Gai's team is the one that has excelled."

Kakashi had nothing to say. He knew his failures, but he did the best he could do. Well, maybe not. But given the circumstances, there was no need to be hard on the genin. They were not at war. And didn't look like one was going to occur any time soon. But then again, this was the shinobi world, anything could happen.

"In any case, we have a problem. Our biggest fear has been realized and we have to plan."

Appearing in the office, Jiraiya started speaking. "There is no sign of him. But the Anbu are still looking," he said of Orochimaru. "Konoha's standards have really fallen. Out of seven teams, only one will make it to the finals. But that is not even the biggest issue we have at hand."

"Does it really surprise you that he would have mixed feelings about the village?" Anko asked with a raised brow. She knew they were all deeply concerned about the Kyubi's Jinchuriki hating Konoha. But what did they expect? And why was he so important to them? It seemed a little personal. "What is so special about him anyway? Aside from being a Jinchuriki."

Hiruzen smiled – not a happy smile by any stretch of the imagination. "Young Naruto-kun is the only child of Minato Namikaze."

Anko blinked before bursting out in laughter. She laughed so hard, she had to hold herself from rolling on the floor. As she laughed the three men with her wore expressionless masks. "You are joking right?" No one said a word. "Well, all the more reason he should hate this village."

"Anko, you should return to the exam. You are the proctor."

"Of course," Anko bowed, let loose of a laugh before disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

Hiruzen cleared his throat to get the men to focus. "According to what Sakura said, Naruto made mention of Itachi. And the last time we heard about Itachi, he was a member of the Akatsuki. But the Akatsuki has no connection with Amegakure. Of course, we still don't know to what extent Naruto's relationship with Itachi is… or even if there is a relationship."

"You think he'd have just said that just to get us to think?"

"Jiraiya, consider how he spoke to us and to Yugao. He is very careful with his choice of words. He admits to nothing, and denies nothing. He express no subjective thought, and yet there, he allowed himself to say things. There is no way that was not intentional."

"The only way to be sure about anything is to speak to him."

"And we shall," Hiruzen nodded. "But we must be on the lookout. The exam has to continue, regardless of what. Konoha has to come out strong. Our position has weakened over the years."

"You have no helped things, sensei."

"I know," Hiruzen said. "Kakashi, go to your team. But you must know, I will appoint someone else to overlook Team 7. You will have a special job of training Sasuke. If you cannot do it, I will find someone who can do it. We cannot allow the only other Uchiha to leave the village and join Orochimaru."

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

Shikamaru frowned, seeing Naruto appear before them. Just one thought would normally play in his mind, but a thousand went through in a flash. It left him disoriented that he felt he had to settle down and adopt a thinking posture. There was much unknown, but the danger was apparent. Every inch of his body told him so.

Where were his teammates? Why was he even alone, smiling even? He glanced at Chouji and then Ino. They both quickly moved beside him, ready for battle. Wouldn't the best option be to just surround the blond? They'd started this with shouts, mostly from Kiba but it was all going to end in a whimper. Laughable but there was no shame about it. At least on their part. They were not the strongest team after all.

"Hmm… on guard… this is good," Naruto said walking over to the three, his steps slow and purposeful.

"I was hoping to avoid you."

Naruto raised an eye brow. "Why? I am rather harmless."

Shikamaru shook his head. "Sai's look said otherwise…" He'd seen many things from Sai. His attempt to form real smiles, but never a look of fear. How did you make someone pale even paler just by looking at them?

"Sai? Ah, that Genin…" Naruto waved his right hand. "Should we get started? I don't have any interest in your flag. But if you are giving it, I'll take it."

"We did come across another Konoha team, and they said you picked them apart."

"I have nothing against Leaf shinobi. But you must understand, Konoha has always been the strongest village. So powerful that other villagers needed Bijuu to act as balance of power and yet Konoha did not do so. The Shodai Hokage is said to have captured all Bijuu and sold them to other villages. Even today, the Leaf remains the strongest. So, I'm only interested in experiencing this power from the current generation."

No interest in their scroll, and but insistent in fighting them. Talk about being trapped in a corner. There was nothing they could offer the blond. Fighting here wouldn't be good for them.

"I don't think we will interest you that much."

"Are you saying we give up?" Ino asked. He was just one person. They could pull off their combination and do something.

"Before you decide anything, just know that I know about you. The Amakichi is the muscle of the team. The Yamanaka specializes in mind tricks and Nara in shadow controls. How things work would be if I get caught by the shadow, and she uses her jutsu on me and he," Naruto said, pointing at Chouji, "attacks me. That is how it goes, yes?"

"That's about it," Shikamaru said with a wry smile. "I suppose you'd be quick enough to avoid my shadow."

"Yes." A simple lunge forward and Naruto was in front of Shikamaru. The Nara didn't move a muscle. He watched Naruto's shift between Ino and Chouji before facing him. "Genjutsu is a beautiful thing on Genin. They usually don't expect it because it has become somewhat of a lost art. Not to mention, to make it effective, you continue the scene. And ensure nothing goes out of character…" he paused, smiling. "Now where were we? Yes… your attack. I think I have nullified it now, yes? You can capture me, but I'd still cast genjutsu on you. On another note, is this even reality or an illusion?"

Shikamaru knew how illusions worked. But Naruto was not weaving any hand signs. Not even a single. So, how was he casting Genjutsu? With his eyes? That could be the only possible answer but shouldn't that be possible if he has a doujutsu?

"Reality." Shikamaru grunted. "Would you accept it if we gave up?"

"What do you think?"

"Well, if you were battle hungry, you'd have attacked us already. I assume that while you like to battle, and fight different opponents, you don't engage needlessly. If not, you'd have attacked us already. I don't think you even planned on attacking us. You already know us, and I think you already determined how this will go. You most likely said you don't need our flag just to put us in a corner and make us feel like we have no other option but to fight."

"But you did not take the bait."

"A little longer and we would have."

"I did hear that the Nara are truly geniuses of the mind. I suppose you pass, for your Intelligence…" Naruto said, glancing behind. He clapped his hands, snapping both Chouji and Ino out of their illusions. "Be at your wit's end, Nara. Sometimes, intelligence will not save you. Even with your intelligence, you may still lose. Sometimes, it is power. Sometimes, it is both and sometimes it is wit. But what happens when your opponent has no wit but merely overwhelming power that cannot be defeated by strategy."

"Isn't there always a way around things?"

Naruto raised an index finger. "Forces of nature cannot be stopped."

End of chapter

The Omnipresent Sage