Previously:

"!!" Sasuke choked, trembling with fear, too terrified to move.

"Sasuke-kun!!!" Sakura screamed frantically, knowing she would never make it time.

The enemy ninja smirked sinisterly as he and his snake closed in, but then a blur of orange suddenly shot out in front of Sasuke, and the snake was forced to slide to a halt.

"!!" Sasuke gasped, astonished when he saw what saved him.

There, straining against the giant snake with it's injured nose pressed against his back, and stabbing it with a kunai in each hand, stood Naruto.

The grass ninja stared down at the unpredictable boy with his brow furrowed and his eyes cast in shadow.

"Hey…" Naruto panted, his breathing labored from the effort of holding the monster behind him at bay. "You alright..."

"…!" Sasuke stared at him with wide eyes.

"…" Sakura was too stunned for words.

"Scaredy-cat?" Naruto finished with a smirk, raising his head to look his staggered teammate in the eye, with blood dripping from his busted nose.

Chapter 48: I Must…!!

Kakashi was still waiting in the jōnin standby station with his friends and fellow teachers. As far as he was concerned, everything was fine until he tried to turn to the next page in his book, and a small tear formed. Kakashi's eyes widened, startled by the damage he had just caused to one of his favorite objects. This particular volume was still relatively new. It wasn't like the paper had become fragile, so for it to tear like that…

"Ah!! Could it be... a bad omen?!" Guy gasped dramatically, having witnessed the whole thing from the spot on the floor where he was practicing backbends.

"Don't say such unlucky things…" Kakashi chided him calmly, sweat-dropping. 'However...' he thought, glancing out the window when he saw a flash of movement out the corner of his eye in time to catch a glimpse of an Anbu agent rushing by in hurry. Kakashi furrowed his brow and narrowed his eyes slightly with concern. 'I do have a bad feeling about that...'

'Naruto...' Sasuke thought, staring at the other boy in shock. His 'scaredy-cat' taunt made him remember the time he had said the exact same thing to him when he froze the first time they had to protect Tazuna-san on their way to the Land of Waves. He had thought he was so cool back then, mocking his scared teammate. And then there was Naruto's other words… There's no way… such a stupid coward like you is the Sasuke I know!!

Sasuke and Sakura furrowed their brows, startled when the grass ninja's tongue abruptly shot forward from his mouth.

"!!" Naruto and Sasuke both gasped when it wrapped around Naruto and lifted him up off of the ground.

"Uwaa!!" Naruto cried as he was yanked back until the grass ninja had him held in the air in front of him. "Damn it!!" Naruto cursed, trying to flail around to escape the abnormally strong tongue's grip. "Let go of me!!!"

"Hehe… so the Nine Tails brat is still alive..." the enemy ninja said, quickly forming more hand seals.

"!!" Naruto exclaimed, furrowing his brow when he was jerked close enough for their forehead protectors to touch. He wanted to move, but the tongue was wrapped around his arms and upper torso, and he wasn't able to get a good kick in either.

"When your emotions are heightened… the power of the Nine Tails overflows… very interesting..." the grass ninja mused while the kanji for 'metal', 'wood', 'water', 'fire', and 'earth' formed in the chakra gathered at his fingertips. After that outsider got herself in trouble, Naruto's distress made his chakra flare and blend with the Nine Tails', allowing enough of it to flow through his body to increase his durability; so much so that the boy was able to avoid breaking any bones or being seriously burned by his fire release jutsu. He moved his tongue to push up Naruto's jacket to give him access to his belly. "Oh my… the seal is visible..." he could see the normally invisible markings very clearly. 'Five part seal!!' he thought, thrusting his glowing hand forward to place a new restriction over the old seal.

Naruto flinched and cried out in pain from the attack.

"Sasuke-kun!!" Sakura screamed. "Naruto is…!!!"

Naruto's eyes widened at the intense burning sensation. His instinct was to lash out in retaliation, and for a moment it looked like he would… but then his slitted pupil rounded, and his eyes drooped closed.

'Twelve years since the seal...' the enemy ninja thought, watching Naruto's body fall limp in his grip. 'Naruto-kun and the Nine Tails chakra are beginning to fuse… But right now, you are in the way...' He smirked and hurled the unconscious boy away, leaving him to his own fate.

'He's going to fall!!' Sakura thought, furrowing her brow. April was incapacitated from saving him before, and Sasuke was still frozen. "Naruto!!!" she cried, throwing a kunai to stop his fall by pinning the back of his jacket to a tree. She was relieved when it held. "Sasuke-kun!!!" she yelled, disappointed by his current behavior. Tears formed in her eyes when she saw the way he was trembling, but at the moment, she couldn't bring herself to forgive him. Like Naruto said, this was not the Sasuke she knew and loved. "It's true that unlike you, Naruto is clumsy and can get in the way, but..." Her eyes wandered to their unconscious teammates. She saw how beat up Naruto was from fighting, the blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. The way April's face was still cringing and twisted in pain even after she passed out, all because she had put her own life on the line to save a friend. She remembered how April had saved her and Sasuke when that grass ninja's bloodlust froze them with fear, the courage she gave them to move again. And the cruel way Sasuke had repaid her for it. "At least he's not a coward!! At least he would never choke a teammate!! Right!!!" she yelled at him.

Sasuke gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut at her scolding, at war with himself. He knew she was right. Naruto was an idiot, but he would never do any of those things, no matter how scared he was. While he was frozen with fear, Naruto and April had both been fighting desperately to protect everyone. April had a handicap, yet she still… They had put their lives on the line for the team, but he…! Sasuke's trembling increased as he recalled his brother's final words to him after slaughtering their parents and the rest of their clan. His reason for living...

Foolish brother… if you want to kill me… then curse me!! Hate me!! And live a long and unsightly life… Run and run… and cling desperately to your pitiful life…

'No!!!' Sasuke thought, furrowing his brow as his eyes popped open again, glaring at the enemy with his glowing red Sharingan.

'Hehe… The blood of the clan is beginning to boil...' the enemy ninja thought, smirking.

'Sasuke-kun!!' Sakura thought, her eyes widening slightly. Did this mean he was ready to fight again?

'I'll take my time and test your ability,' the enemy thought. He could do it as his leisure now that the two nuisances were no longer able to move. He formed a seal to release the snake, allowing it to return from its summons in another strong gust of wind. He stood on what was left of a nearby tree branch and waited for his young opponent to attack.

Sasuke reached into his pouch and drew five kunais, holding one in his teeth and the rest wedged between his fisted fingers. In his other hand, he wielded and a medium-sized shuriken. 'I must survive in order to kill my brother… That's what I believed,' he thought, frowning at himself when he remembered the way April hadn't fought back because she trusted him, the shocked expression on her face when he turned on her because he was too stupid to realize she was helping him. Right now, he was more of a loser than Naruto had ever been. But she and Naruto hadn't hesitated to risk their lives for him while he cowered in fear. Not anymore. He wouldn't run away on his own again. His time as a pathetic coward ended now! Sasuke leaped high into the air and threw the kunais in his right hand. 'If I can't risk my life here, then how can I expect to be able to kill my brother?'

The grass ninja dodged each weapon so swiftly that he was blur to Sakura.

Sasuke grabbed onto the tree with one hand and hooked his foot on its curve. 'I can see!!' he thought, narrowing his red eyes as he swung around, using his momentum to increase the speed when he hurled his shuriken at his enemy.

"!!!" the grass ninja frowned at the dangerous attack but jumped up to dodge it with ease.

"!" Sasuke frowned, but kept going. He grabbed the kunai from his mouth, covered it with his chakra transformed into flames, and threw it straight at his enemy's head.

The grass ninja smirked while he dodged. 'Not bad… He's reading my movements and going for a critical hit. So he can see...'

But Sasuke had one more trick up his sleeve. He kept his teeth clenched tight and pulled back.

TNG.

'Wires?' the enemy ninja thought, surprised when the thin metal gleamed in the light, revealing that the kunai he just threw was tethered to the tree, while the shuriken he threw seconds earlier was connected to two wires—the first was tethered to the tree, the second was being held between Sasuke's teeth. When he ducked and stepped aside to dodge the kunai, his head had come up right between the shuriken's wires. 'This is… the Sharingan Windmill, triple blade!!' he realized, turning to look over his shoulder with wide eyes, as Sasuke pulled the wire tighter and the shuriken came spinning back at his head.

"Alright!!" Sakura cheered when the shuriken hit the creep right in the face.

"..." Sasuke watched while the grass ninja's body stood there. "!" he furrowed his brow when he noticed something wasn't right. At first, it had appeared that the enemy's body was being held up by the shuriken embedded in his face, but he quickly realized that wasn't the case. His suspicions were confirmed when the bastard turned back around to look at him again with the shuriken caught safely between his teeth.

"Hehe… Too bad..." the grass ninja told him, though he was a little impressed with the use of his Sharingan. 'To read all of the places I could run and attack from where I can't see...' His eyes widened again, and he flinched in shock when his opponent suddenly clapped his hands together and formed a tiger seal around the wire in his mouth.

"Hmph," Sasuke smirked. All according to plan. 'Fire Release: Dragon Flame Jutsu!!'

"!!" the enemy ninja gasped when the flames from his jutsu spread rapidly down the wire, giving him barely enough time to concentrate a protective layer of chakra over his skin before it hit.

"!!" Sakura exclaimed, astonished.

Sasuke let go of the wire, panting while he caught his breath. He furrowed his brow. The bastard was still standing.

"To be able to use the Sharingan so well at this age… You truly are the man that carries the Uchiha blood," the enemy complimented him. That last technique was not one for amateurs either. The skin he had been wearing was badly burned and started to peel, but his true face remained unharmed. "Just as I thought… I want you..."

"Sasuke-kun!!" Sakura called, leaping over to join him.

The grass ninja raised his hand and held it against his forehead protector, covering the Kusa village's symbol. "I had fun testing your powers." He fixed them with a sharp glare.

Sasuke and Sakura flinched when the force of his stare hit them.

'Guu… My body is frozen...' Sasuke thought as they began to tremble, unable to move again.

The grass ninja smirked. The outsider couldn't help them this time. He removed his hand from his forehead protector, revealing the symbol of his true village: a music note. "You really are brothers," he remarked. "I sense power in your eyes that surpasses Itachi."

"!!" Sasuke gasped when he heard that. It was enough of a shock to loosen his tongue. "Who the hell are you?!!!" he demanded furiously. How did he know his brother? How dare he mention his name in front of him!

"My name is Orochimaru," the newly revealed sound ninja replied. He briefly considered reaching out with his tongue to flip the outsider over so he could remove their Heaven Scroll from her pouch but decided it wasn't worth the trouble. He sensed a familiar presence not too far away. He should finish this before they were interrupted. "If you want to see me again… Then survive and pass this exam. Of course, you will have to defeat my men, the sound ninja quartet, along the way."

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Sakura shouted incredulously. "We'd never want to see your face again!"

The sound ninja smirked and formed a crossed tiger hand seal. "Hehe… It won't go that way..."

"!!" Sasuke and Sakura gasped in alarm when his neck suddenly elongated to an unnatural length and his head swiftly snaked its way through the air towards them. They stared helplessly, still too paralyzed to escape.

"!!!" Sasuke exclaimed as the enemy sank his fangs into his neck, his eyes widening at the sharp pain from his bite.

Sakura was horrified. She wanted to do something, but she couldn't move!

'!!' Sasuke thought, alarmed when he felt something enter his body through the fangs. Did he just get poisoned!?

Orochimaru opened his mouth and withdrew his fangs from his prey's neck, retracting his own back to its original length.

"..." Sasuke stared at him in confusion, wondering what had just happened.

"Sasuke-kun will seek me… to seek power..." Orochimaru stated confidently as his head and neck finished returning to rest on his shoulders.

"!!" Sasuke winced when his neck began to burn near the bite. "Urgh… What's this? Pain!!" he groaned, doubled over in agony with one hand holding the affected area.

'Huh?!!' Sakura thought, flinching in shock and alarm when she saw how much he was hurting. She glared at the evil sound ninja. "What did you do to Sasuke-kun?!!" she demanded furiously.

Sasuke tried to resist the pain and gritted his teeth against it, but a strangled cry escaped his throat as he collapsed to his knees. "AWW!!"

Orochimaru laughed while the wood of the branch he was on parted under his feet, and he began sinking into it. "I gave him a going away present."

"!?" Sakura gasped as he completely disappeared into the branch, bewildered by his words an actions.

"AHHHH!!!" Sasuke screamed again when the torturous burning increased, spreading to the rest of his body.

"!!" Sakura cried in alarm. She realized she could move again now that the sound ninja was gone, and she quickly dropped to her knees beside him to try to help him. "Sasuke-kun!!!"

"UHHHHHH!!!!" Sasuke screamed, shaking and tearing at his hair. "GAAAAA!!!!"

"… Sa… Sasuke-kun..." Sakura said, tearing up while she watched him suffer. "Hang in there, Sasuke-kun!!" she cried, grabbing his hands and holding onto them so he wouldn't hurt himself more.

"AHHH!!" Sasuke groaned, trembling violently, lacing his fingers with hers while he clung to her like a lifeline.

"Please!!" Sakura begged as her tears fell. She hated this! But she didn't know what to do. What could she do? What could she do for him!? Why did this have to happen to Sasuke!? If only she knew what that creepy bastard did to him!! "Uh," she winced at how tightly Sasuke was squeezing her hands, but she didn't pull away.

"AHHH… GAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!" Sasuke roared in agony, lowering his head as he slumped forward.

Sakura could see a strange mark on his neck now. It looked like three three tomoe, grouped together to form a mitsudomoe. She was sure it wasn't there before. It must be the cause… the thing that was hurting Sasuke so badly… "U...Uuu..." she sobbed, looking around for help. "April..." she started to call, hoping she might be able to help her figure out what to do, until she looked over and saw that she was still unconscious. Not only that, but she looked pale as death. Sakura flinched in shock and suddenly remembered what Orochimaru had said about how the seal might kill April. Her eyes went wide with panic. "Naruto… Naruto… Sasuke-kun and April-chan are…!!" she gasped when she looked up and saw that he was still hanging were she left him, as limp as a rag doll. Not Naruto, too!

"AHHHH!"

Tears streamed down Sakura's face while Sasuke's screams echoed through the forest. "..." She stared up at Naruto, and then at April, feeling helpless without them. "Uu… u..." she whimpered, starting to tremble.

"GUU!!"

Sakura was startled out of her self pity by Sasuke's pained cry. She raised her freehand to shield her face when something like a gust of wind hit her. She heard a group of crows call out to each other, flying away as the wind picked up. The trees rustled. The forest seemed to be spinning around them. "Kyaa!!" she cried, clinging to Sasuke in an attempt to shield him.

"Ugh..." Sasuke groaned.

"!!" Sakura gasped when she looked up and saw some kind of whirling vortex above them. Her skin tingled. What was that? What was going on!?

"Uu… GUAA!!" Sasuke screamed, going limp in her arms as he finally succumbed to the pain, passing out when it became too much to bear.

Sakura was still staring up at the mysterious phenomena above them. The wind or whatever it was began to die down. Was it somehow connected to Sasuke!? 'I… What should I do?!!' she wondered desperately, squeezing her eyes shut while she held him. Sitting there, feeling scared and alone, afraid that her teammates might die, April's words from when she broke free the first time they were paralyzed came back to her…

"You… are not what I'm most afraid of..." she answered the enemy grimly after deflecting his attack to protect them. "I won't … let you kill my friends!!!"

Sakura's grip tightened around Sasuke, her tears fell, staining his shirt. Friends… That's right, they weren't just teammates anymore… they were her friends!!

"We're going to survive you… We're going to pass this test…"

More tears fell as she imagined their smiling faces.

"And we're going to go on lots more missions together…"

She remembered all of the fun they had together, even when Naruto got on her nerves.

"I won't let it end here!!"

Sakura wiped her eyes and pulled herself together. "That's right!!" she said, forcing herself to stand, propping Sasuke up with his arm over her shoulder. They couldn't stay there. She needed to collect Naruto and April, too, and find a safe place to treat everyone's wounds. 'I won't let it end here, either!!' she thought with renewed determination. 'I won't let my friends die!!'