Author's note: I don't own any of the characters. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto. The original characters belong to me.

Chapter 21: Hellish Exams Part 5

Team Menma's location

There they were, the three friends consisting of Nashiko Uzumaki, Shunsuke Uchiha and Takeda Inuzuka were given a shocking experience they never expected to happen, as they were only relaxing by the waterfall and the lake beneath it. All this shaking came from the waterfall and the trio got out of the lake as quickly as possible. They grabbed their bags and were on their way out, but they paused once they heard a hissing sound coming from the waterfall.

"There is something coming out of the waterfall!" Shunsuke cried while pointing his finger towards it.

The team stood their ground, but they were horrified by what was sticking out from the waterfall. The head of a giant snake opened its mouth, thus revealing its terrible teeth and long tongue. It had black skin and its eyes were shining yellow.

"What the hell is that thing!?" Takeda asked while Arata growled at the giant snake, even though he was smaller than the gigantic serpent.

"I don't know! Maybe this is one of the many dangerous animals living in this jungle" she suggested, although she could not confirm whether it was true or false. "But whatever it is, we were lucky that we didn't venture into the waterfall. Otherwise, we would be swallowed by that snake" she noted grimly while eyeing the serpentine creature.

Suddenly, the giant snake began crawling out of the water fall in a slow pace. This made the trio cautious and they all decided to make a run for it. They ran in their wet clothes, using their strength to jump on the trees branches, hoping to prevent the snake from reaching them. But out from the large bush, the snake appeared, with its tongue sticking out to pick up whatever scent it could find.

The trio stood on one of the many upper branches while seeing the snake crawling around the jungle, probably to search for them. The snake had even begun crawling on some trees, although those trees were not necessarily as high as the one Nashiko and her teammates stood on.

"Just look at the size of that! I've never seen snakes like that before!" Nashiko exclaimed with shock as she saw the serpentine creature crawling below.

"Is that thing gonna come after us?" Shunsuke asked worriedly. "It hasn't been crawling away or anything. From what I see, it's crawling where we once stood" he added, while noticing the way the snake was crawling.

"Whatever, it plans on doing, I'll be damned if I am eaten by a giant snake before the finals of the Chuunin Exams" Takeda said while gritting his teeth in anger.

While Team Menma stood there thinking of a solution to this unexpected trouble, they could see two kunais being thrown on the branch they stood on. But those weren't any particular kunais, as they carried burning papers on their butts. The three friends widened in shock.

"WHATCH OUT! THOSE ARE KUNAI BOMBS!" Takeda shouted in fear.

The trio wasted no time standing and immediately jumped off the branch. But in just a few seconds, a large explosion erupted from the combined explosions of the kunai bombs. It almost caught the trio, who were lucky enough to find safety on the top of a tree, where the longest branches met. They hid themselves, hoping to not attract the attention of the snake.

"Man…that was close!" Nashiko said while panting.

"Those kunai bombs….obviously someone must've thrown them at us" Shunsuke said while he also panted.

Takeda was getting angrier by the state he and his friends were in. "So that's it then! Some of the competitors are really hell-bent on eliminating their opponents. Damn, do those the ANBU watchers even know about this?" he wondered while thinking about this event.

But the trio snapped once they heard laughter coming to them nearby. They slowly began crawling to get a look at who could be doing this. There were actually three people who were laughing and they stood on one of the branches near the tree Team Mamuro were hiding. Their eyes widened once they got a look at who it was.

"Enjoying your stay in this jungle, Hidden Leaf brats?" the voice came from Noburu Yakushi, as he and his comrade stood on the branch facing Nashiko and her team, while having his arms crossed. Noburu smirked. "It amazes us that young shinobis such as you don't give a damn about how serious this competition really is" he added to his statement.

Nashiko and her friends gritted their teeth in frustration at the trio of Sound ninjas in return. They even stood on their feet to face them. They still remembered the confrontation they had with them, before the first phase of the Chuunin Exams began.

"It's those overconfident jerks again!" Nashiko thought in her head while facing them. "What the hell do you think you're doing, throwing kunai bombs while trying to flee from a giant snake!?" she demanded an explanation from them.

Noburu only shrugged his shoulders. "Why, do you expect us to cuddle you or something? You three are way over your heads! If i didn't know any better, we are technically enemies now!" he mocked Nashiko's question as his teammates began laughing at her. "But as for your latter sentence, this giant snake is actually…..ours" he revealed to them.

Nashiko and her friends were filled with shock over seeing the black snake suddenly raising its head high while facing her team standing on the tree. Actually the snake was just a few meters below the branch Noburu and his comrades were standing on.

"You gotta be kidding me….." Takeda was at loss of words as he witnessed the snake appearing beneath the Sound ninjas.

"Those Sound ninjas actually have a snake!? That's gotta be one heck of a pet if you ask me!" Shunsuke noted grimly while seeing the black-skinned snake.

"Allow us to introduce you to our very own "mascot". This is Kuro, the Giant Mamba of the Nightmares" Noburu proudly introduced the snake to the trio.

Rei mused by seeing their reactions. "I think Kuro might have made them shit in their "trousers". You can tell it by the looks on their faces" she said while directing an insult towards Nashiko and her team.

"But what do you suppose we do with those kids?" Yuudai asked his comrades. "They probably know that we created those traps in the jungle" he added.

Nashiko and her friends were stung by the masked ninja's words. Their expressions were also filled with anger. They actually didn't want to back down from this confrontation after hearing this.

"You…..you were the ones who built those dangerous traps in this jungle!?" Nashiko angrily demanded while glaring at the trio. "You unforgivable bastards!" she exclaimed angrily towards them.

Noburu only stared at her with his own glare in return. "You three punks can just mind your own damned businesses! We don't give a shit about this second phase in any way, so we've got no quarrels in silencing you!" he said bitterly, and threw many shuriken towards the team. Those were even empowered by his own chakra.

Before Takeda or Nashiko could react, Shunsuke stood before them, doing a few hand seals quickly. He then faced their opponents with determination. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Shunsuke cried and blew out a giant fireball towards the Sound trio. It also melted the shuriken in the process.

Noburu were angered over seeing this, but suddenly smirked as he and his comrades jumped and landed on Kuro's head. As a result, the fireball missed its target and hit the branch. Shunsuke grew frustrated over this.

"Damn it! They avoided my fireball!" the raven-haired boy cursed.

But Takeda put a hand on his shoulder to cheer him up. "But you did manage to get rid of those shuriken. We're still standing here rather than being dead with shuriken stuck on our bodies" the brown-haired man said, making Shunsuke nod at him in return with a smile.

But they were focusing on Noburu and his team, who were still facing them while standing on Kuro's head. The grey-haired boy adjusted his glasses before speaking. "I see. So you're an Uchiha, unless I'm mistaking" he said while facing Shunsuke.

The raven-haired boy glared at the four-eyed boy. "Yeah, what does that matter to you!?" he asked with anger in his voice.

Noburu chuckled by his reaction. "Oh, it's nothing. I've just read that the Uchiha clan are infamous for their talent in fire-based jutsus, which would explain how that fireball of yours managed to melt my chakra-empowered shuriken" he said while expressing interest in Shunsuke's attack. "Being an Uchiha, it would make you one of Sasuke Uchiha's spawns, correct? How amusing! You know, our dads used to be partners when they worked under the legendary Saanin: Orochimaru" he revealed to him with a grin forming on his face.

Shunsuke's eyed widened after hearing this. He had heard that Sasuke had in fact been trained by Orochimaru before he defected from him the start his own actions. Both Takeda and Nashiko could see anger growing inside the raven-haired boy, as he faced the Sound trio with a glare.

"I don't care what my dad did…but don't you dare comparing him to that disgusting creature you call a Saanin or whoever the hell your dad is!" Shunsuke shouted towards them. Never before had he been this angry.

Both Takeda and Nashiko were somewhat amazed by Shunsuke's sudden anger. But they could understand what a sensitive issue the atrocities committed by his father was to their friend.

The raven haired boy was doing a few hand seals again, but this time, he was gonna use another attack on him. Both Takeshi and Nashiko wondered what type of attack it was. "Fire Style: Burning Ash!" he shouted and blew out smoke from his mouth. This was chakra infused with gunpowder.

The smoke was covering the Sound ninja trio, who were wary about this attack. However, Nashiko and Takeda were also curious about this technique. As he saw his opponents covered in black smoke, Shunsuke mused to himself.

"Almost…just a little bit further" he said to himself while seeing the majority of the smoke covering even the snake's head. This made his eyes snap and he did a few hand seals once again. "Finally, now burn!" he declared and all of a sudden, flames sprouted from his mouth and ignited where the black smoke was floating.

His two teammates stood behind the teammate while watching how advanced yet amazing techniques he possessed. They had to admit that Shunsuke was indeed talented in fire-based jutsus.

"Woah….did Shunsuke just burn them?" Takeda wondered while eyeing the fire Shunsuke created stunningly

Even Nashiko was amazed by her teammate. "If Shunsuke knows about such fire-based jutsus, I wonder how Inojin is. Aren't they both on equal level in terms of fire-based techniques?" she wondered while eyeing the raven-haired boy.

But all this was short lived, as the flames soon started to vanish, all thanks to the combined efforts of the Sound trio. Team Menma was shocked by seeing them emerge from the fire, not even burned. Shunsuke was filled with shock over seeing this.

"No….NO! I HAD THEM FOR A SECOND! HOW COULD THEY HAVE SURVIVED THAT!?" he wondered in his head with distress.

Yuudai could be heard laughing through his mask. "Was that the Uchiha-punk's best move? How pitiful!" he said while eying the raven-haired boy.

"Based upon this, he rarely knows how to use a technique such as this" Rei stated while facing the boy. "It takes more time to master a technique like the one he just pulled" she added sternly.

Noburu adjusted his glasses while facing Shunsuke and his friends with a smirk. "What we are trying to say here, Uchiha, is the fact that: you talk big, but you lack guts!" he concluded while he and his teammates chuckled, much to Team Menma's irritation. "So I'll finish this in an instant, by showing you what a REAL technique really is capable of" he said and did a few hand seals while Team Menma's eyes widened. They wondered what kind of technique he was gonna use now. "Lava Style: Melting Jutsu!" he shouted before blowing out liquid from his mouth towards the trio on the tree.

The liquid was almost nearing Shunsuke, who was standing there in shock. But luckily, Nashiko had used a Shadow Clone of hers to drag him with her and Takeda. They were now jumping from the tree, not knowing where to land next. This was a big problem for the team, as they were in the middle of the air while the tree behind them was taken by Noburu's unfamiliar jutsu.

"WHERE THE HELL ARE WE GOING!?" Takeda shouted in the air to his comrades. "WE MUST FIND SOMETHING TO LAND ON!" he shouted again.

The team began falling down towards a large log acting as a bridge over a dark gorge. They thought that they could land perfectly but as they landed on their feet, the wood beneath them shattered and they fell down once again, until they had fallen through the giant log. Therefore, they continued falling towards the darkness beneath it, and they shouted in fear, wondering whether this could be their deaths. Only time would tell.

Team Kazue's location

The night was nearing and Minami, Ochinko and Saburou had just managed to climb up the rocks, thus reaching the tops of the mountains. However, they didn't expect to face such harsh winds once they reached there, as they were now freezing themselves.

As they were to start wandering the snowy plains, Minami and Riko were overjoyed by discovering a hole in the plains. This could mean shelter for the stormy night.

"Finally, some shelter!" she exclaimed while she held around herself to keep it warm. "Let's go inside before we freeze ourselves to death" she said to her teammates.

She walked straight towards it, and her teammates followed, even though they were uncertain if this was a good idea. Nevertheless, finding shelter would be beneficial to the team, so they followed Minami and Riko without question.

As they got inside, they could notice how icy the cave was, despite the fact that the hole was located in the snowy plains. There was snow inside, but only on the ground. It was the walls and roof that were made by ice. The team were amazed by it as they slowly walked around to get a good look.

"This is amazing. I've never seen such caves before" Ochinko remarked while studying the icy walls.

Saburou adjusted his sunglasses before dropping off some of his bugs to crawl on the wall of ice. "This might be a normal cave, but my insects will determine whether it's true or not" he said while watching them crawling.

Minami dropped her bag on the snow before sitting on it. The snow wasn't as cold as it were outside and it made her feel comfortable. Riko crawled out of her collar to get some rest, and his owner gladly stroked his fur. But she thought about something while doing it.

"This test may be harder than what we originally anticipated. But Konohamaru-sensei did tell us that this would be a challenge to all of us" she thought while remembering what he had said. "I just hope that we can find a key so we can get to this ruined city" she added to her thoughts.

Ochinko was beginning to sketching some ice pillars that existed in this cave. He was fascinated by their shape. But while he sketched, he could hear someone yelp to him. He quickly turned around and saw that it was one of his many ink rats that had been drawn by him to scout the area. Saburou and Minami also took notice of this with interest.

The teal-haired boy smiled as he picked up the ink rat in his arms. "So glad you made it back to me. I take it your journey to find us must've been hard. You really were a terrific scout" he said to the rat nicely. But he shifted his face to that of seriousness. "Little friend, I apologize for asking so much of you, but I need to look through your eyes and see what you have seen before you came back to me" he said and all of a sudden, the ink rat jumped into Ochinko's face, thus splashing.

"I see. Ochinko can see what that rat has seen. It just jumped into his face to share its memories with him. How interesting" Minami said while seeing Ochinko close his eyes to see through the ink rat's eyes.

"I wonder what that rat managed to capture" Saburou wondered. "Either it discovered the location of a key or it will reveal something else to us, like the road to Shimbala" he thought about answers.

As they watched their pale-skinned friend sitting there in silence, they were stunned once they could see him reopen his eyes, while gasping in fear. They were worried for their teammate.

"Easy there, Ochinko. You almost look like someone who just awakened from a nightmare" Minami said while calming her comrade.

Saburou faced his teal-haired friend, as he was panting deeply to find harmony within himself. "Just tell us in your pace, Ochinko. What did you see?" he asked lowly while respecting his friend's condition.

Ochinko was still panting, but eventually he stopped with it to explain it slowly, although his comrades could tell that he was still feeling uncomfortable. "A black snake…I saw a giant black snake crawling around the jungle! And it was actually not a snake native to this island" he revealed to them, who widened their eyes in return.

"So you mean to say that someone owns that snake?" Minami asked, with interest. Ochinko only nodded as a yes. "That does not sound good" she remarked grimly

"Speaking of sound, I managed to catch a glimpse of those who commanded the snake. From what I could see, it was a trio of ninjas, but not just any ordinary ninjas" the teal-haired boy continued.

"Those Sound ninjas" Saburou stated grimly by hearing this. "The team consisting of Noburu Yakushi, Rei Tsurugi and Yuudai Akado, that team, I mean" he clarified.

Minami expressed her displeasure about hearing their names. "Yeah, I remember them" she said. "Was there something else you saw through the ink rat's eye, Ochinko?" she suddenly asked him.

The teal-haired boy sighed deeply before answering. "This is probably the worst part I saw. Because the Sound ninjas were in a combat against Nashiko and her teammates" he revealed to them, causing them to gasp in shock. "From what I could see they were holding up in a tree, while the Sound ninjas stood on the snake's head. However, Noburu began using an unfamiliar jutsu towards them and they all jumped to avoid it" he explained to them.

"Did you get a glimpse of where they possibly could've landed?" Saburou asked him.

Ochinko shook his head as a no before speaking. "All that I could see was that the log that acted as a bridge over the black gorge had a few holes on it, indicating that they may have fallen through it and down towards the gorge" he came to a conclusion.

Minami was gritting her teeth in anger over hearing about this. She had just discovered that her twin brother had fallen into a gorge or whatever that thing was. She rose up on her feet, much to her teammates surprises, as she had a determined look on her face.

"Whatever happened, I refuse to believe that they are dead" she said lowly. "We're gonna find them" she added, determination burning inside of her.

Saburou was growing confused at this and decided to stand up on his own feet. "As much as I admire your sympathy, we cannot do that" he spoke lowly in return.

The bluenette confronted the blonde-haired boy with sunglasses. "Just cut it out, Saburou! We all know that we can't just sit by and let it all slide! They need help!" she said, with low anger in her voice.

But Saburou stood his ground. "But Minami, in this phase, we are enemies. It's even forbidden for teams to cooperate with one another, not to mention that there are ANBU watchers all over the island" he pointed out.

The young girl could not take it anymore, so she angrily grabbed her teammate by his collar and faced him with her bright eyes. "You think I care about those lame-ass rules!? To hell with them! My brother and his team fell down towards a gorge after being attacked by those cowardly Sound bastards, and we don't have the slightest clue about what their conditions are!" she began yelling while glaring at the blonde-haired boy.

Saburou was gritting his teeth in irritation at this. "But that doesn't concern us! We shouldn't be meddling in something we don't have the slightest information about!" he hit back

Ochinko stepped in between his teammates, trying to make them stop fighting. "Enough of this, you two!" he pleaded. Eventually Minami and Saburou turned around to face their backs to each other while having their arms crossed. This made the teal-haired boy standing in the middle, along with Riko, who only eyed this with worry. "Okay guys, we this isn't time for any disputes. We must stick together, remember?" he tried to remind his two teammates, but it was no use. They didn't want to even look at one another.

"This is what always keeps us apart. You always gotte be focused on doing what you are told and whatever!" Minami said to Saburou while looking over her shoulder.

This made the blonde-haired boy irritated, and he turned around to face her back. "I'm trying to help you understand what's right. Don't you get it?" he tried to convince her, but to no avail. This made him frustrated. "Kazue-sensei is worried about the situation you and your family are in, and she will do anything in her power to help you. But know this: I'm also trying to help you" he said with honesty.

The dark blue-haired girl gritted her teeth by hearing this and turned around to face him with a scowl on her face. "What the hell does that even matter to you!? You have a family of your own, Saburou!" she angrily barked. She then took a few steps towards the boy with sunglasses. "If you and Kazue-sensei think you can help my with anything, then you have sadly mistaken! This problem will only be solved by…" before Minami could continue attacking Saburou, she stopped once she heard cracking sounds in the cave.

The trio became cautious about this and looked to each side to see where it was cracking. Sadly, they couldn't spot one. "I'm beginning to regret over entering this cave" Ochinko whispered lowly to his comrades, as they all could still hear the cracking noises.

"Where are the cracks? I don't any on the walls or the ceiling" Minami asked them lowly.

Saburou suddenly froze, because he had somehow discovered where those cracks were. "It isn't the walls or the roof that is cracking" he said to his teammates and eyed the snowy ground, where he could see the snow falling down. "IT'S THE FLOOR WE'RE STANDING ON!" he shouted in shock.

The icy floor covered in snow began disintegrating and before they knew it, they fell on their butts and began sliding on ice. They screamed in shock, not expecting something as scary as this to happen. It was also obvious that they were gradually sliding downwards from the tops.

Next day, at Team Ayumu's location

Once Chouta had dismantled her drome of earth, she and her teammates were filled with wonder by what they saw. Right before their eyes, the sun was shining on the snow, thus making the place a "winter wonderland" as people would call it.

"Woah….look at this!" the chubby girl exclaimed while dropping her jaw. "It's much beautiful here during days" she remarked while watching this area.

Shikaien only mused at his friend's reaction. "Someone's really surprised" he thought while musing over the fact.

Inojin only closed his eyes to about what to do now. Perhaps this was the time for him and his comrades to go search for a key. On the other hand, they could just snatch a key from some other team, if they came across one.

"We better start walking. We'll see if we can find a key or snatch one" the raven-haired boy explained, before walking.

Shikaien yawned in return before following him. "Alright, I'm right behind ya, pal" he said in return, although he sounded a little bit lazy.

Chouta giggled in amusement. "Oh this is gonna be so fun!" she exclaimed before following her two teammates on the search.

After wondering through the snow, Team Ayumu stumbled upon something they never expected to find by the rocks existing on the snowy tops. They discovered blood lying in lying amongst the snow, and they got suspicious about this situation.

"Damn….that looks nasty" Shikaien said.

"Do you think there could be monsters on these tops?" Chouta asked while gulping. "I've heard stories about how they look and..." she stopped once she and Shikaien saw Inojin following the trails of blood.

They decided to follow him, hoping to discover what they would discover. The blood trails eventually lead them into a small cave in the rocks. Unlike the one Team Kazue had encountered, this one was rocky on all sides, even the ground. But they could spot something at the end of the tunnel. It was stairs made of rock which eventually lead them to a small altar made of rock

However, they also witnessed something horrible. ANBU-watchers lied lifeless across the stairs of rock, with some of the steps even covered in their blood. This shocked the trio, as they know what the watchers'' purpose was in this phase.

"Oh no…..those ANBU members…they are…" Chouta expressed her sorrow about seeing proud ninjas of the Leaf dead. "Who…who in the right mind would so something as horrendous as this!?" she then asked in anger, while trying to dry her tears.

"Whoever those bastards are, they must've slain these watchers for a reason" Shikaien said lowly and eyed the altar above them. "Obviously they were after something, and I've got a feeling that this altar can give us some clues" he suggested to his friends.

The trio walked slowly up the stairs, while trying not to stomp on the dead bodies. As they reached the altar, they discovered two statues of shinobis holding hands while symbols could be seen above them on the wall. But there was more, a small chest was lying underneath the statues opened, but it was empty. This only made the trio curious about this place.

"I know who that man is" Inojin said while pointing his finger towards the man with the long hair, who had the Leaf Village's symbol on the wall over him. "He was one of the founders of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, as well as the First Hokage: Hashirama Senju" he added lowly.

"You're right. It really is him" Shikaien agreed, after getting a closer look at the statue. He then began studying the second statue and the symbol above him. "However, I can't say I know who that old geezer with the moustache is" he noted.

Chouta, had also decided to look into this and she suddenly came into a realization once she saw the logo above the man with the moustache. "I recognize that symbol! All the jounins back home has that symbol attached on their outfits" she explained while memorizing. "And unless I'm mistaking, Nashiko's dad always wear a sweater with that symbol on his back" she added.

While Inojin and Shikaien gladly accepted her facts, they soon discovered that something was written beneath the small chest's location. It was carved into the stone, so they had to clear off the dust before they could read. Cheika also followed closely. The description was written like this:

In this small enclave on a distant but wonderful island, exists a gift from the moon itself. At this very spot, it was decided by two allied clans: the Senju clan from the Village Hidden in the Leaves and the Uzumaki clan from the Village Hidden in the Whirlpools that the Orb of Asura would be kept in this cave, free from whatever forces of darkness that dared to exploit it for their own nefarious ends. To that day, the orb's safety was entrusted to the two great clans and their respective leaders: Hashirama Senju and Ashina Uzumaki. May the two great clans bound by blood watch over the orb.

"Whoa…..I didn't realise that Nashiko's family were of noble origins" Chouta suddenly remarked when thinking about the pinkette.

Shikaien mused at this, glad that he had learned something new. "So the Senju and Uzumaki clans were distant blood relatives, huh? I you ask me, it kind of sounds similar to the bond shared between the Akimichi, Nara and Yamanaka clans" he noted in amusement.

But both Shikaien and Chouta could notice that Inojin was still fixing a serious glance on the two statues and they wondered why he did that. The raven-haired boy was now thinking about what he had just read.

"There was no statue of Madara Uchiha at this altar" he thought while facing the statues. But he closed his eyes and fixed a slight smile on his face. "But I'm okay with it. That power-hungry bastard doesn't deserve credit" he added to his thoughts. He also began eyeing the palm of his right hand before clenching it. "But like him, I am also an Uchiha. And I have begun to realize that a hidden darkness has been crawling inside of me. But what is that darkness? Is that the same thing darkness that affected Madara…..or him?" he wondered and by him, he meant of course his own father, Sasuke.

His teammates could realise what he was thinking and they decided not to interrupt him until he spoke up. In fact, they kind of wanted to have a moment of silence. They were still horrified by the fate of those poor members of the ANBU and wanted to pay their respects tothem.

But all things stopped, once they could hear steps coming towards them. The trio quickly turned around to see who it was.

"I thought I smelled Leaf Village scum skulking around here" the voice came from Noburu Yakushi, as he, Rei and Yuudai were standing in the middle of the cave facing the trio standing by the altar.

Team Ayumu decided to jump down to confront them, with Inojin jumping first, thus making Chouta and Shikaien to follow him. The two teams stood face to face.

"It's you creeps from the Sound Village. What a pain in the ass" Shikaien said while facing them sternly.

"What are they doing here?" Chouta wondered. "Are they after us for a key?" she tried to find an answer.

Noburu took a few steps forward, eyeing the trio smugly. "Going on a treasure hunt or something? Well that's too bad, because there ain't anything but dead fools here" he sarcastically said to them.

Chouta was filled with outrage over hearing the four-eyed boy's lack of remorse and glared at him. "Who do you think you are!? Those watchers are dead and you don't even show a slightest thought of remorse!?" she exclaimed while pointing her finger towards them.

Before everyone knew it, Rei threw a kunai towards the chubby girl, who narrowly dodged it. She and her teammates couldn't even see her reaching for her kunai. This made the situation grimmer.

Rei faced Chouta with an annoying glance on her face. "Do us a favour and shut up, fatso! We honestly don't give a shit about those ANBU watchers" she said with venom in her voice.

This made Chouta grit her teeth in anger and clenching her fists. "What did you just say to me!?" she angrily asked her.

Inojin began taking a few steps forward while confronting Noburu. Shikaien and Chouta made sure to stand behind him. "I take it you are the ones who murdered these men in cold blood and stole the Orb of Asura" the raven-haired boy said seriously.

Noburu only raised an eyebrow at this in confusion. "Say what? Are those people there ANBU watchers? I thought they were only a bunch of losers who….." the four-eyed boy widened once he got a closer look at the corpses. "Argh shit! Don't tell me that he actually…" Noburu was interrupted by Yuudai's voice.

"Hey Noburu…the Orb of Asura…it's gone!" the masked ninja told him while pointing his finger towards the altar. "I just scanned the area. It's 100 % not here! Just see for yourself!" he added.

"What!?" the four-eyed boy asked in anger while using his glasses to scan the altar. He could see that the orb was indeed, not there was it should've been. "That backstabbing son of a bitch! We had an agreement!" he shouted in anger.

Team Ayumu expressed interest at what Noburu just said, and given that he was talking about someone. They took a few steps towards the team of Sound ninjas, who noticed them doing that.

"Based upon what you're saying, it's obvious that you three are somewhat in league with those who murdered those watchers and stole this orb from its guardians" Shikaien noted grimly while facing them. "We don't know what your plans were, but we sure as hell ain't letting you walk away from this" he added seriously.

Chouta crackled her knuckles. "He's right! You have broken the pledge you made to Master Naruto!" she said while pointing an accusing finger towards the trio.

The four-eyed boy fixed an angry look at the trio. "Screw you, Leaf Village pricks! You're not gonna interfere with our business!" he said, before reaching for something in his pocket. "Suck on this!" he said before throwing it towards them.

Inojin gritted his teeth by seeing this. "It's a Smoke Bomb!" he stated his irritation as a large chunk of smoke exploded and covered the entire cave. While Shikaien and Chouta had been blinded, Inojin had activated his Sharingan to get a better look through the smoke. "I see you!" he shouted once he caught a glimpse of the Sound ninjas' silhouettes.

But Rei was doing some hand seals before putting both of her arms on the ground. "We better scram, but we must first make sure that they stay inside!" she said while doing the hand seals. "Earth Style: Mud Wall!" she shouted and she erected a large wall of earth to imprison Team Ayumu inside the cave.

To be continued…

Author's note: Hope you enjoyed this chapter. The first part was focused on Nashiko, but the rest were focused on Team Kazue and Team Menma. In the next chapter, we will get to know how they are doing, as well as the Mist ninjas. I also wanted to make Noburu, Rei and Yuudai different from Dosu, Zaku and Kin. More of their scheming will be revealed in future chapters.