*Chapter 17*: Chapter Fifteen: Pastiche

Previously: After a devastating battle where Kiba was slain by a falling branch, Naruto was overcome by Orochimaru's shrewd thinking and superior knowledge and skills. But Sasuke- the genin that the snake sannin had counted outmanaged to prove that Orochimaru's judgement was not infallible, and stalled him until help could arrive. Before Orochimaru could repeat his prior performance, the jonin instructors of the participants in the second exam arrived to head the fight against Orochimaru. As all eyes were focused on the snake nin, a curious Ancient abducts the Konoha jinchuuriki, and has identified a number of flaws he intends to fix in this strange, fascinating creature, who has combined many different abilities into himself... Chapter Fifteen: Pastiche

pas·tiche pa-steesh, pah- –noun : 1. A literary, musical, or artistic piece consisting wholly or chiefly of motifs or techniques borrowed from one or more sources. 2. an incongruous combination of materials, forms, motifs, etc., taken from different sources. , Unabridged, version 1.1

-admittedly it is an intriguing creature-

-yes indeed it has an amazing intuitive grasp of life shaping for being a member of such a limited species but why awaken us from our torpor this could easily have waited til we next awoke-

-this creature has a hodge podge of conflicting traits-

- can it hear us-

-yes Takahomaratuchidohemnaphuniri it is awakening itself-

-amazing how quickly they awaken do they never truly sleep-

-of course Takahomaratuchidohemnaphuniri their sleeps are often a mere eight hours or less-

-how can they rest in so little a time-

-but to the original question why are we awoken for this-

-because there is a parasitical energy that is altering it and I cannot seem to remove it-

-this looks somehow familiar-

-of course it does Amarolemnionnakajeshni you did something similar with beetles-

-yes the kikaichu of course-

-how annoying the energy continues to attempt to alter his body-

-I see your problem it has entwined itself with the trait you have been playing around with-

-how could you tell that I had been tinkering with that trait lkuaheshoniphabachipabu-I have known you since you awakened sprout I would know your handiwork anywhere-

-well guess again all I have done is consolidate two separate traits it carried and smoothed out their conflicts-

-so then you merely refined the work that this biped began-

-incredible that a creature with so crude a thinking matrix could grant unto itself sight such as ours-indeed Takahomaratuchidohemnaphuniri and-

Bii-san? Is that you? You sound... funny...

-wait-

The other "voices" hushed. The one that had halted their conversation continued, -it is awake now and it can hear us-

Naruto felt confined. His arms and legs were in a neutral position and he had a feeling of sudffocating closeness, although his breathing was working just was dark, here. Naruto tried again. Bii-san? Are you there?

-what is this bisan it is asking of -I do not know I will dissect its matrix-

NO WAIT DON'T

Then Naruto felt a searing pain in his head and his mind was torn violently open.

-Takahomaratuchidohemnaphuniri this was unexpected-

-indeed for an animal it is quite bright-

-much of this is the influence of its modifications to itself Amarolemnionnakajeshni-

-do you imply the effects of the sharingan/byakugan as it calls these traits with which it imbued itself -

-the damage constantly repaired caused dendritic fibers to be progressively brachiated and reinforced as they burned themselves out and were renewed partial connections repaired along with those completely lost each time a cell was killed-

-what gross effect do you infer from these events-

-it has an untapped intellect at its command that when fully repaired may exceed that of any of its species- the parasite is advancing into its intellect-

-fascinating the chakra parasite affects instincts judgement reason emotion hormonal and adrenal centers look at it go to work now that the biped's mental defenses are stripped away-

-as fascinating as this may be Takahomaratuchidohemnaphuniri the parasite is causing possibly fatal alterations we need to take action-

-indeed the parasite is permanently intertwined with the biped but we can possibly make alterations to the infection itself and head off the damage this way-

-it is resisting us-

-where could such a thing have come from-

-endocrinal alterations are cascading-

-reestablishing proper hormonal secretion balance-encountering autonomic neurological function failure-inducing autonomic signals to preserve biological support-

-Amarolemnionnakajeshni it is invading his judgement centers in his brain-

-I need more time-

-pancreas and thymus are being compromised his temperature regulation is becoming unstable-

-Takahomaratuchidohemnaphuniri awaken the others immediately regardless how hard it may be because we will need their help-

-how many others -

-all of them-

Three days later

Naruto awoke slowly, a strange feeling of peace in his body as he attempted to take in where he was, what had happened to him. He felt a strange sense of clarity in his thoughts, as though his mind were unbounded by the limitations of flesh. Hello? Bii-san? Are you... are you still there?

-the being whom you know of as bisan is asleepAsleep? Why is he asleep? And hey, who is this?

-I am your ATMA is recovering from a large strain as we used him to short cut your recuperation-

Recuperation? What do you mean recuperation? Recuperation from what?

-we were forced to make... some alterations-

The last of the daylight was fading. The darkness of the night was filling in the hollows of the tree roots quickly; crouched in one such an alcove was the three remaining members of team Akachi.

"We've searched the majority of the forest." Shikamaru said.

"He's out there, somewhere. I know it." Sasuke replied.

"Sasuke." Shikamaru said. "We have to face the possibility that Naruto really did go with him."

"NO!" Sasuke roared, grabbed Shikamaru and slamming him against the tree. "I WON'T accept that! Not him! He's too strong for-"

"Sasuke san..." Haku said softly. "You said yourself that the oto nin defeated Naruto... it is possible that he took him by force..."

"..." Sasuke suddenly let Shikamaru go. As the Nara heir rubbed at his neck, Sasuke turned away and took a couple of shuddering steps before dropping to his knees in the dirt. He placed a hand on the nearby tree. "Dammit."

"Sasuke." Shikamaru said. "We should leave the forest. Naruto had the scrolls. And even if we DID have them, without Naruto we couldn't pass anyways."

"What about you?" Sasuke snarled, glaring at Haku. "How can you want to give up! Aren't you in love with him?"

Haku flinched backwards, his face bright red. "I- I don't... I mean, he's-"

"Sasuke!" Shikamaru snapped. "Listen to yourself! If somebody was hearing this conversation, they'd say if anyone is in love with him, it would be you!"

"He's more my brother than Itachi ever was!" Sasuke yelled back. "He's the only family I have left and I WON'T GIVE UP ON HIM!"

There was a moment of silence. The light breeze of the early evening rustled the leaves high above them with a sussurant whispering. Shikamaru shook his head after a moment. "By all the Kami above, Sasuke, you're such a pain."

"So you want to give up on him?" Demanded Sasuke.

"No." Shikamaru said. He pulled out a kunai and began scraping dirt out from under his nails. "I realize he may not be as... central to my life as he is to you two... but looking around out here is spinning our wheels. We've spent more than eighty hours looking for him here in the Forest, and no matter how many times you search a place, if the thing you're looking for isn't there you WON'T find it. Sasuke, get it THROUGH your head- Naruto ISN'T here." He flicked the bit of grime off the tip of his kunai, before scowling. "Man, I wish Choji was here."

"Huh?" Asked Sasuke. "Why him?"

"He's my best friend- I find I think better when he's around." Shikamaru replied. "Besides, strength for strength he's probably as strong as Naruto."

"Pfft! That lard ball?" Sasuke scoffed. "No way he could hold a candle to Naruto."

"Don't underestimate him." Shikamaru said coldly. "Choji is stronger than you know. He doesn't know all the jutsu's Naruto does, and Naruto is really talented at fighting... But Choji has a brute strength that could go toe to toe even with Naruto."

"Hmph." Sasuke snorted, looking up at the branches far above them. "If you say so."

Haku hung his head, eyes closed. Naruto sama... where are you?

Naruto watched as Kabuto landed lightly on the branch ahead- he'd been keeping watch over team Akachi when the blond genin had arrived. He had learned much with his new Kamigan- most notably, that Kabuto was something other than he claimed himself to be. His chakra control was exquisite- and his reserves were great, perhaps even as high as those of Kakashi sensei. He'd been surprised by the degree of information the slight activation of the new Kamigan had given him, and had to admit that for the loss of certain aspects of the Sharingan and the Byakugan, it was a more than fair trade.

The Ancients had talked to him extensively after they had repaired the damage to his mind, some of which had been inflicted by their initial, rough examination, but most of which he had inflicted on himself, or had suffered from his inner nature competing against the nature of the ATMA within him, the Kyuubii. It had indeed been a foolish organism they had caught before, but he was... more than he had been.

He flickered the Kamigan again- he no longer had the option to activate Byakugan or Sharingan separately, now, only the combinatory ability. The Mangekyou was for now lost, more or less, although the Ancients had assured him it was merely a matter of relearning how to use what was already in him. The Kamigan could no longer teach him jutsu for the time being, and his ability to see the chakra pathways was likewise at least temporarily diminished- both of these, according to the ancients, were the fault of the Chakra parasite that Sanninorochimaru had implanted in him in the final moments of their battle. But its ability to destabilize control in a bearer's chakra had instead infused the Kamigan with the ability to disrupt chakra flow and control in anything he touched with a counter burst of 'chakra static'.

He couldn't use it to block tenketsu, of course, but all he needed was to contact a pathway on their chakra coil with a burst of his own chakra to disrupt the shape of a jutsu- meaning given a fast enough response he could probably disrupt any advanced jutsu, although the simple stuff wouldn't be affected nearly as much. His mind flashed to the sixth question on the test and snickered. It likely wouldn't affect the basic academy jutsu at all, they were so easily crafted... an odd little vulnerability of the ability, not to mention that while he used it his ability to execute jutsu was also disrupted.

The sight of the Kamigan... He could read moves, but his ability to learn jutsus from it was possibly gone for good. When fully retrained, he might be capable of learning faster than any unaided individual, possibly even approaching the speed of learning inherent to a Sharingan user, but he would never be able to mirror jutsus in the fashion that Kakashi did. Naruto didn't mind this too much- somehow, when he contemplated that particular tactic of Sharingan use, it struck him as rather cheapening of the skills so acquired. Mind it or not, however, the alteration was a necessary action, they'd said, as it was the chakra overload of this aspect that would kill him were it not for the ATMA within him- who would have guessed that was the proper name for the Biijuu!- and had he passed the former ability on to his children, would have killed them as well.

And that was another thing- the tangled mess of bloodlines he'd implanted in himself had made him sterile- a condition the ancients had reversed. But they'd not only made him able to sire children, they also implanted his abilities into his bloodline. Naruto wasn't certain how he felt about this.

Naruto noticed the look on Kabuto's face. Straining his ears, he listened to what Kabuto was whispering to himself.

There you all are, Kabuto thought to himself, as he touched down on the branch. But still no sign of Uzumaki. At least the Uchiha kid is here. He sighed. There's no way Orochimaru san would have taken Naruto, he wanted Sasuke to reach the semi finals. He wouldn't just throw that away on a whim... would he?

Kabuto found himself feeling... conflicted.

("Anyone who attacks a citizen of Konoha in my presence… their life is forfeit.")

A member of his home village- his TRUE village- attacked him. He'd been prepared for the risk of suich a thing, of course, but... Konoha had the largest number of applicants this yea, over eighty. Of them, not even his own team mates came to his aid when the Otogakure genin attacked... Yet the Kyuubii container, one of the most disliked shinobi in the village, came to his aid. There were Konoha Nuke nin looked on with less animosity... and he stepped up to help him. Not just Naruto- all of team Akachi, all four of them, stood ready to defend him.

("Where we can, we help one another.")

And they had- all he'd really given them was a little information on Subaku no Gaara... And they'd repaid him by risking life and promotion. For the others, it would have seemed a fair exchange, except...

("Anyone who attacks a citizen of Konoha in my presence… their life is forfeit.")

Except Kabuto was certain that Naruto stepping to his defense had nothing to do with their deal. He felt certain that Naruto would have done it, deal or no deal... and that bothered him.

"Uzumaki Naruto, where are you?" "I'm right behind you."

Kabuto nearly yelled out- reflexively, he spun, chakra scalpels forming in his hands, when his wrist was blocked by a hand. He felt chakra flow out of control in his hand, and the precision chakra scalpel dispersed. "Hey, easy, man! Did you want my help or what?"

Kabuto looked at the blond genin before him. It was Naruto, undeniably Naruto but... Different. Kabuto gaped. "Naruto... what happened to you?"

Naruto was taller- incredibly so. Kabuto had been almost a full foot taller than Naruto during the first exam- but now, Naruto had somehow gained three or four inches. And Naruto's eyes- they'd held a constant tension before, a mounting anxiety and pain. But now they were... calm. Almost hypnotically so. Naruto's expression became thoughtful as he considered the question. "I don't know if I can tell you." He responded finally.

Kabuto blinked. "You don't trust me?" Somehow, though it was a smart move, Kabuto felt... somewhat put off by the thought.

"No, it's not that. Simply... there really aren't any words to... describe what happened to me." Naruto said after a moment.

Kabuto was stunned. His speech, his very motions... everything about him was different, and yet... still very much Naruto. Naruto's eyes flickered oddly; a pulse of black that covered iris and sclera alike, before returning to normal. "You have two scrolls. That's good. Do you know where your team is?" He asked.

Kabuto paused, then nodded. "Ah... Yes, they're waiting for me near the tower. When I meet up with them, we'll finish the exam."

"That's why you're here, then? Safety in numbers?"

Kabuto nodded again. "Exactly. We had a deal, right? Your turn to hold up your end."

"Then let's go meet up with my team... but you go down there first. I'd like to... surprise them."

The last rays of sunlight were fading, giving the forest a deeply shadowed look that seemed darker than pitch black night, for the contrast made it hard to see anything. Team Akachi was relaxing into their sheltering tree root when the crunch of leaves accompanied footsteps that slowly drew nearer.

Sasuke's hands shot to his weapon pouch, but Haku moved faster. An ice mirror shot over to the approaching figure in the unsteady twilight, and Haku stepped out from it, a senbon poised at the throat of the tall figure.

"Whoa! Is this how you greet your friends?"

Sasuke lowered the kunai he'd drawn but didn't put it away. "Kabuto?"

Shikamaru looked over at the genin. "Not necessarily." He cocked his head to the side. "What was on Naruto's card for Sasuke, Kabuto?"

Kabuto's eyes flicked slightly wider as he tried to suppress his laugh at the memory. "A r-really long collar."

Sasuke scowled, the severe expression belied by the glint of humor in his eyes at the treacherous corner of his mouth that attempted to turn upwards. Shikamaru relaxed. "Good. It is you."

"Not just me." Kabuto intimated mysteriously. "I've found something you lost." Kabuto looked behind himself into the trees.

Sasuke looked in the direction Kabuto indicated, as did Haku and Shikamaru. There was an indistinct shape in the shadows that dropped down from the tree above them.

Haku's breath caught in his throat, and his heart threatened to burst from his chest. "Naruto sama?"

The figure strolled liquidly into the camp- too tall and too fluid, his graceful motions a sharp contrast to the former pruposeful prowl of the blond genin, and what was more, this new figure was three inches or more taller than the blond assassin. His clothes were short on the boy's body- there was no questioning the red and black of team Akachi, but the frame they adorned wasn't that of the deadly Konoha genin. But the greatest difference was in his eyes- no longer haunted, no longer strained, their former slate grey had been replaced with a sharp blue like an endlessly deep ocean. "Haku." He looked back at Sasuke. "I know I'm not much like I was before- how long was I gone?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, and raised his kunai. "You're the worst henge I've ever seen. You don't walk like Naruto, you're much too tall, and you don't act like him. So you're here to take our scrolls. Since you've got Naruto's clothes, I can only assume you either beat him or are with whoever it was who did. But we don't have our scrolls, Naruto had them, so this is fairly pointless."

Naruto looked at Sasuke with a bland face as he began to recite, "Tazuna, our first mission. I fought the Demon brothers with you, used a lightning jutsu on their chain. You found my juggling funny. I fought Zabuza to free Kakashi from a water prison. You feared me because of an advancement I had made with my Sharingan. While I slept you proposed that I probably shouldn't wake up. Need I go on?"

Shikamaru looked utterly befuddled. "Naruto? It's seriously you? What happened?"

"Mind telling me how long I've been gone? The others were, um, a little vague on how much time had passed."

"It has been three days since... you were taken from us." Haku said softly. "What happened to you?"

Naruto shook his head. "It'd take too long to explain. We move out at midnight. Oh, and by the way," He said, pulling a pair of scrolls out of his tool bag on his leg. "As soon as midnight passes, it's the fifth day. Best to get there before we have to fight everyone left in the forest."

"We probably already have." Sasuke snorted. "Although, you wouldn't believe how useful that glass trick is when setting up snares."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, before he stared slightly off. His eyes flickered to a liquid black- in the light of dusk it seemed as though his eyes had vanished into empty holes before the blackness receded. "Ah. Clever. Wish I'd thought of that before."

"N-Naruto sama...!" Haku said, taken aback by the terrifying eyes he'd shown. "What- what just-"

"There's been some changes in my Kamigan." Naruto replied. "But never mind that." Naruto looked at Shikamaru and Haku with a gentle expression they'd never seen on him before. "I'm sorry I worried you."

"You didn't-" Sasuke began, but Naruto cut him off.

"I didn't worry you, Sasuke? No... I didn't... I scared you out of your mind. And I'm sorry for that too." Naruto shook his head.

"Get some rest, guys. I'll keep watch."

The moonlight was strong as it filtered through the leaves- with Naruto's kamigan pulsing every five seconds, he maintained surveillance over all the snares and surrounding terrain easily- a brillliant influx of information each time he did so.

KID.

So. You're awake, now. Are you feeling better?

NOW YOU UNDERSTAND WHY I DIDN'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT... WHAT I KNEW.

Yes. You were an ATMA. You were originally created to kill them by others of their kind, and were only halted when others of their kind figured out how to capture you and seal you into an had a history with them. But I never would have guessed that the confines of my chakra coils would cause you pain- a being so great and powerful as yourself, in torment for fourteen years, now. No wonder you hated me.

I... DON'T HATE YOU. THE PAIN I'VE BEEN IN WAS VERY MUCH LIKE WHAT YOU FELT EVERY TIME A

MEMBER OF THE VILLAGE TURNED THEIR BACK ON YOU. IT... GAVE ME MORE OF A REASON TO UNDERSTAND YOU. AND YOU ARE THE REASON I'M NO LONGER IN PAIN NOW. HAD YOU NOT INTERVENED WITH THE ANCIENTS ON MY BEHALF...

I suppose. You've been healing my wounds for fourteen years, relieving my physical pain. I would be remiss were I not to do the same for you as soon as I found it within my ability.

YOU WERE NOT THE ONE WHO CAUSED MY PAIN- THAT BLAME LAY ON THE SHOULDERS OF HE WHO

SEALED ME IN YOU. Kyuubii paused. MY NATURE WAS TO KILL. IT WAS WHAT I WAS CREATED FOR. FOR A

GREAT TIME I LAY DORMANT IN THE NINTH PHILOSOPHERS STONE, AND BEFORE THAT, I RAMPAGED

AND DESTROYED MUCH AS I WAS CREATED TO DO... BUT I NEVER HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT LIFE WAS LIKE UNTIL I HAD LIVING FORCED ONTO ME. FOR ALL THAT I'VE EXISTED FOR TIME UNCOUNTABLE... I'D NEVER KNOWN LIFE. IT IS A HUMBLING EXPERIENCE.

They told me that they altered you inside of me. That they altered your instincts because it was your connection to my mind that was driving me insane, your nature intruding on mine that created a dual personality, an echo of your nature of destruction. They had to do that at the same time as they were altering me, and as they were altering what the snake nin did to me.

HOW DID THEY ALTER YOU?

My chakra coils were drastically altered and given a tertiary redundancy- that's why you aren't in pain anymore. I can't activate Byakugan or Sharingan separately, and my Kamigan itself functions so differently now that I have to relearn how to use it all over again. All the other Kekkei genkai from the scroll that we decided on? They removed them completely, used them as bait for the chakra parasite and removed the most harmful aspects of it when they removed the abilities. All I have left now is Kamigan and Mokuchi. They reformed my physical body into what it should have been without my almost constant state of malnutrition from when I was younger- too much ramen and not enough vegetable or good proteins. They removed my sterility, and turned the Kamigan into a true Kekkei genkai I can pass along to my children... if I ever have any. They also warned me that attempting too many kekkei genkai in one body will strain the chakra systems of anyone in my bloodline, probably killing them, and even if it doesn't, it will sterilize them like I had done to myself. Few other things.

JUST A COUPLE OF CHANGES. The mental tone the Kyuubii used held a wry amusement. WHY DO YOU MERELY FLICKER BACK AND FORTH FROM YOUR EYESIGHT TO THE KAMIGAN?

It uses less chakra than keeping it on continuously. I know it doesn't take me as much chakra as it used to when it was both Byakugan and Shingan still, but... Waste not, want not, I guess.

Naruto's Kamigan flickered again, but this time he caught on the periphery of his awareness a genin in a rubber suit, wearing the headband of Takigakure. Naruto stopped flickering it, and fully activated it with as low an amount of chakra as he could manage. Despite this precaution, the curse mark throbbed- he'd quickly learned through experimentation that so long as his chakra shaping was kept to a minimum, the mark wouldn't pain him- and regretted again the caginess that the Ancients had exercised as to the full effects of the chakra parasite. His volumetric field of perception narrowed to a long cone, and he saw both teams from Takigakure approaching, carefully navigating their way around the glass spheres that had been arrayed around the camp. He realized, as his strengthened perception registered the rubber suited nin following the slight moisture trail, that they had been tracking the path of water vapor that team Akachi had been exhaling.

Naruto shook his head. Both teams were here- and they had between them one each of heaven and earth scrolls. Meaning that by taking down team Akachi they could fulfill the needs of both teams in one stroke.

Not tonight, you won't. Naruto focused- he had no idea if this would work, but the chakra coil redundancy allowed him

more flexibility in his chakra control, letting him recycle excess chakra and more easily handle smaller amounts than before. He located a root system with the Kamigan and applied his chakra to it, encouraging growth. The plants to which it was connected expanded, swelling upwards and widening, until the threads which had been bound about them, supporting the glass spheres, finally stretched too far and snapped.

There was a staccato of tinkling and shattering glass, and after a moment, a pair of muffled cries and some thumping noises of bodies striking the forest floor. Rapid footsteps accompanied dragging noises that faded away into the night, and all was quiet once more.

Naruto closed his eyes. They would not have done any less, and likely would have done more, given the chance. And he would not watch his friends bleed their life into the dirt.

He quietly got up, pulled thread from his pack while carefully watching the area surrounding the camp, and began resetting the snares.

Team Akachi watched as Kabuto rejoined his team. Kabuto's demeanor was severely shaken- Yoroi stepped close to him as they walked into the tower. "What the hell is wrong with you?" He demanded in a low, sneering voice. "Where is the medic nin Kabuto? Where is the favored disciple of-"

"Yoroi." Said Kabuto shakily. "Orochimaru sama has made a terrible mistake. And if we're not careful we're all going to die."

"What happened to you?" Misuma asked him.

"Not to me." Kabuto said with a shudder. "But it doesn't matter. Orochimaru has set his touch on something that should never have been disturbed. And we have to warn him."

Kabuto and Misuma unfurled their scrolls, watched as their sensei acknowledged their completion of the second exam.

As they continued to their temporary quarters, Kabuto handed a quartet of cards in passing to the Otogakure Jonin sensei. The Oto nin made no acknowledgement of the cards. "Kabuto. I think it would be nice if you advanced to the third exam, and attempted it."

Kabuto stopped, and turned back to face him. "Orochimaru sama... I must respectfully decline."

Orochimaru smiled. "If you face him, you might die." He commented softly. "If you betray me, you WILL."

Kabuto's eyes were tense. "Why did you save me?" He asked slowly. "Just to kill me here?"

"Do you have what it takes to be a chunin?" Orochimaru replied. "Have you forgotten the lesson they drive home in the second exam? There is risk to all aspects of being a shinobi. Besides- he rather likes you."

"That will change on the day of the third exam." Kabuto replied, shuddering. "When he finds out-"

"By the day of the third exam, he will already be mine." Orochimaru answered. "And by the end of that day, there will no longer be a Konoha. So don't worry. I still need you- and I wouldn't risk you needlessly, even if the risk itself is minimal- he rather likes you, you know."

"He likes me, but he doesn't trust me. And those eyes of his..."

"Yes?" Orochimaru said with a smile. "Do go on."

"They began as something... slipshod, almost," Kabuto related with a thoughtfuly expression, thoughtfullness leavened with fear. "But they've evolved into something that terrifies me. His eyes see... everything."

Orochimaru shivered with a grin. "And you can still ask me if he is worth having?"

"He sees with the eyes of a Kami." Kabuto said firmly, his own eyes pleading with Orochimaru. "We face him and he will kill us."

"His eyes will be mine, Kabuto kun." Orochimaru said. "And you need not worry yourself- you could take on even

Sharingan Kakashi, should you set your mind to it. If push came to shove, and you fought Naruto-"

"You don't understand." Kabuto said. "Orochimaru sama... the card I gave you on Uzumaki should explain everything. The only reason we have any time whatsoever is the mark you gave him... but that mark makes him all the more deadly. Kimimaro himself could not defeat him now, and should Naruto learn to use the mark as have the Sound Four-"

"Five." Orochimaru said calmly.

"Then Kimimaro has recovered?" Kabuto said hopefully.

"No." Orochimaru said smugly. "But we have found a new member to swell their ranks, and all it took was for me to get him a new sword- along with a few other minor alterations. Don't worry, Kabuto kun- all will be mine, in the end."

Team Akachi watched as Kabuto rejoined his team. Per Kabuto's request, they waited for several minutes before they entered the tower as well. They found themselves standing before a massive framed scroll, depicting a quotation on the virtues of shinobi.

"The scrolls." Said Shikamaru. "Yamato-san said we don't open them before we enter the tower."

"I guess we open them now." Sasuke answered.

Naruto nodded in agreement, pulling out the scrolls as team Akachi stood underneath the sign quoting the Sandaime

Hokage. He handed one to Shikamaru, the other to Sasuke, while he and Haku kept watch. There was a puff of smoke, as Kakashi appeared, holding an orange covered book. "Yo." He said with a little wave, not looking up. "Congratulations on passing the second exam."

End Chapter Fifteen

-AN: Takigakure, waterfall village- portrayed as a rather pathetic little place in Battle at Hidden Falls. I can only assume that the loss of their most promising genin at the Chuunin exam caused a definite harm to their forces, as in the special Takigakure's ninja really aren't that great. But if you examine the manga carefully, between the completion of the first exam and the start of the second, you will notice that four separate ninja outfits are drawn on the four ninja portrayed wearing the hitai ate of Takigakure. I conclude from this(Since only complete teams passed the first exam) That either 1) both of the teams from Takigakure passed the first exam, either through superior cheating or superior knowledge, or 2) Kishimoto screwed up bigtime and forgot that he only listed six entrants from Takigakure on Kabuto's information card. I'm going with the first interpretation and concluding that the abilities of the Takigakure nin are subtle and sneaky, even if not expecially powerful, and thus the two teams are likely to be crafty and bide their time.

I'd like to thank all of you who reviewed after chapter Fourteen, and am a little flattered by the degree of response it received. I hope to put forward a good story, and I'm glad so many people liked the fight between Orochimaru and Sasuke. Incidentally, Sasuke didn't get the curse mark... but that doesn't mean to say he's not going to. Nor does the previous sentence mean he IS going to. I will let you all puzzle out the meaning of that little bit yourselves. Just to muddy the waters further, I'll let you know that both of those sentences were true.

Beyond that, I'd like to say that this has been a blast to write, but this chapter was if anything harder than the one which preceded it. Hopefully things will get a little bit easier for the next few chapters as I have a clear image of what happens next in my mind's eye. So the next few chapters should flow MUCH more smoothly. I recognize it's SEVERELY shoddy, and with my prereader's assistance, it will hopefully improve. But a day late, well, better than not at all. Again, my apologies for the delay, and hopefully the preread chapter by wednesday 10-8.

Ja mata.

-AXENOME