A Snake in the Grass

I don't own Naruto or Star Wars.

Sakura and Sasuke arrived at the Forest of Death and found Naruto meditating in a field of Genin.

"Where did you go, last night?" questioned Sakura, "Elie was worried about you."

"I was out on a date." said Naruto as he barely moved from his position.

Before Sakura could speak, Naruto was on his feet in an instant and held a knife to the neck of Kin.

"Hey…" said Kin as she looked away.

"Hey." said Naruto as he removed the knife.

"So, what happened last night?" asked the Sound Nin, "All I remember is a lot of alcohol."

"Oh nothing." said Naruto with a smile, "All you told me was that you're dating a girl."

Kin blushed and went back over to her team while Naruto examined the rest of the people that had made it. He stopped on a male Kusa Nin and clenched his hand. Anko noticed Naruto wasn't paying attention and threw a kunai at him. Naruto shot the kunai out of the air with a blaster then pointed it right behind him between Anko's eyes while the Tokubetsu Jōnin held a kunai to his neck. He then moved the pistol behind Anko and pointed it directly at the Kusa Ninja.

"I just wanted to return this." said the Kusa Nin as he held out Anko's kunai with his long tongue.

Naruto moved the blaster away and wrote on a piece of paper before handing it to Sakura. Sakura looked at the signature then looked at Naruto.

"What language is this in?" asked Sakura.

"Mando'a." said Naruto as he walked toward a tree.

He sat down and tried to get some sleep. After she was finished explaining the exam, Anko went up to Naruto and sighed.

"You know about Tayuya, don't you?" she asked.

She then heard Naruto snoring a little and got on her knees. She bowed her head and Naruto opened up one eye from under his hood.

"I'm sorry." apologized Anko, "I was at your family's apartment the night Tayuya was taken. I could've stopped it but was too scared."

She then stood up and walked back to her position at the fence. Naruto opened his eyes all the way and frowned a little. He looked over at Hinata and the young girl blushed as she hid behind a tree when she saw Naruto was looking at her. Naruto stretched as he stood up and walked over to her.

"Good luck, Hinata-chan." said Naruto as he gave her a smile.

Hinata turned the color of a tomato and Naruto chuckled a little before he walked back to his team.

"So, Naruto, since we have a couple minutes, why don't you tell us about yourself?" asked Sakura while Sasuke wasn't even bothering paying attention.

"Like what?" asked Naruto as he kept his head down to avoid showing his face.

"Well, where are you from?" asked Sakura.

"Here." said Naruto.

"I mean where were you raised?" clarified the young Kunoichi.

"A planet called Coruscant." said Naruto calmly.

"Please." said Sasuke sarcastically, "You really expect us to believe you're from another planet?"

"After what Sakura saw yesterday, she'd believe it." said Naruto.

"I have to admit, I'm actually beginning to believe him." said Sakura, "That servant of his actually looks like a cat."

"Well, buir thinks of her as a slave but to me, she's just a casual friend." said Naruto.

"What's a buir?" questioned Sakura.

"It means mother in Mando'a or Mandalorian." explained Naruto, "I was taken from the temple I was living at when I was six after it was attacked. Buir taught me the arts of being a Mandalorian or a Bounty Hunter as you call it."

"What is a Mandalorain exactly?" asked Sakura.

"They are a culture of people made up of many different species." said Naruto, "We're taught the Resol'nare from the moment we join a clan."

"Resol'nare?" asked Sasuke.

"The core of what it means to be Mandalorian." elaborated Naruto, "A sacred law giving us direction and purpose. Education and armor, self-defense, our tribe, our language, and our leader – all help us survive. We educate our children as Mandalorians, obey the commands of Mandalore, speak Mando'a and defend our clans."

Naruto looked up a little and spun around.

"The exams are starting." he advised his teammates.

Sasuke and Sakura got ready as the proctor opened their gate and they walked into the forest. A loud beeping was heard and Sasuke and Sakura looked around.

"What is that noise?" asked Sasuke.

Naruto pulled out his personal holocom and turned it on to see Shae appeared before him.

"Su'cuy, buri." said Naruto to the image while Sasuke and Sakura looked shocked. (1)

"K'olar." said Shae. (2)

"Vaii?" questioned Naruto. (3)

"Ni r'nari haar me'sen." responded Shae, "Kyr'am Kurs." (4) (5)

"Olar?" questioned Naruto in a surprised voice. (6)

Shae nodded and the call ended.

"I have to go." explained Naruto as he put the holocom away, "Think you can handle yourselves without me for a while?"

"We lasted weeks without you." said Sasuke, "We can handle ourselves for a few hours."

Naruto pulled out his blaster and flipped it so he was holding the barrel.

"Aim down the barrel and shoot." said Naruto as he held the blaster out to Sakura.

She took it and Naruto sped off into the forest at blinding speeds. Naruto followed the Force and found a rather large cave that was big enough for his and Shae's starship to fit inside. He walked in and turned on a flashlight and soon came to the ship. He walked aboard and found Shae leaning against the holoterminal.

"What did you need?" asked Naruto as he came up to her.

Shae slapped Naruto across the face he stumbled back.

"What was that for?!" shouted Naruto.

"You sent a message out through this holoterminal." said Shae angrily.

"I just wanted to send a message to Satele." responded Naruto in the same tone.

"I spent years trying not to get the Republic's attention and you basically just gave me up!" shouted Shae.

"I thought Mandalorians were actually supposed to care about their children!" yelled Naruto.

"Not when they rat their parents out to the Republic!" yelled Shae.

"Ni gar or'parguur!" shouted Naruto as he stormed out. (7)

He threw a beskad at Shae's feet and Shae picked up the blade.

Naruto swore in Mandalorian under his breath as he walked back to Sasuke and Sakura and kicked a pebble. He heard a loud hissing behind him and spun around to find a giant brown snake staring at him. The snake lunged at him and Naruto Force Jumped onto a branch. He looked down at the snake and threw his cloak off as he grabbed his longer lightsaber and activated it. Two long green blades shot out of either end and Naruto got into a stance.

The snake lunged at him again and Naruto jumped onto its head. He stuck the lightsaber down through the snake's skull and it hissed loudly in pain. The snake shook him off and Naruto hit a tree. Naruto grunted as he hit the ground and pulled out his blue lightsaber and activated it. The snake snapped at him again and Naruto struck it each time it got close.

"This is why I hate these kinds of animals." said Naruto as his left eye turned red and slitted before he threw his free hand out and shot black lightning from his fingertips.

The snake hissed in pain as Naruto was shocked at what he was doing ceased the lightning. He then reached out toward one of the trees towering over him and the snake and focused as hard as he could. The trunk began cracking when the snake got ready to lunge again. Naruto went beyond his limits and clenched his hand. The trunk snapped. He quickly jumped back as the tree fell on the snake just below the head and suffocated it. Naruto fell to his knees as everything began to go black when he felt his team in danger.

Sakura quickly pulled the blaster Naruto had given her and fired it at the giant snake that was going after Sasuke. It hit the snake right in the eye and it hissed in pain before it fell to the ground. Sasuke froze in horror as the Kusa Ninja came out of the snake's corpse and looked at him.

"You can't let your guard down for a second." said the Kusa Ninja.

Something in black landed on the ground and caused a small crater while sending out a huge shockwave that tore the snake corpse to nothingness. They all looked at what caused it and the person in question got up from one knee.

"I don't really care about these brats but this idiot is forcing this body to do it." said the person as they raised their head.

"N-Naruto-kun?" questioned Sakura.

The older and much stronger looking Naruto looked at the Kusa Ninja and frowned.

"Can you please just die on your own so I don't have to do this?" asked Naruto in a bored tone.

"I never imagined I'd see a real Jedi." said the Kusa Ninja as he took a metal tube.

The Kusa Ninja pressed a button on it and a glowing red blade shot out of it. Naruto held up a long metal tube as well and two blades of green light shot out from either end. Naruto broke into a run and began fighting the Kusa Ninja. Sasuke and Sakura watched the dance of color from the blades as Naruto and the Kusa Ninja fought and seemed to be evenly matched.

The Kusa Ninja backhanded Naruto and he returned it with a wheel kick. The Kusa Ninja began to gain ground as Naruto was pushed back a little and fell to one knee because the Kusa Ninja brought their lightsaber down on him but he managed to block it. Naruto struggled under the pressure and reached out to the right. The trunk of a smaller tree broke and fell between the two, separating them. They both jumped on the trunk and began dueling again.

"No way." thought Sasuke, "How can Naruto be this strong?"

The Kusa Ninja threw his hand out toward Naruto and an invisible force sent Naruto flying into another tree. The Kusa Ninja jumped toward Naruto and he dodged the Kusa Ninja's lightsaber by jumping back onto the fallen tree. Naruto then spun around to continue fighting but was stopped when the Kusa Ninja cut his lightsaber in two. He then held up his hand and blocked the lightsaber while he grunted in pain from the heat that was beginning to burn his hand.

Sakura and Sasuke heard a roar of rage and looked to see a woman wearing silver armor and a helmet flying toward the Kusa Ninja and pushed him back, making him drop his lightsaber. The Kusa Ninja managed to gain traction on the ground and pushed the woman back. The woman grabbed the Ninja's punch while the man grabbed her other wrist.

"Stay away from my son." said the woman as she opened up her hand and revealed a beeping metal sphere.

It then exploded, causing a shockwave that sent both of them flying. Naruto then threw both his hands out toward the Kusa Ninja and sent shockwaves out from his hands that sent the person in question into another tree and making it and several other fall on each other. The woman walked up to Naruto as he returned to normal after being encased in a black energy and hugged him. She felt something wrong and looked at Naruto's shoulder to see it was bleeding heavily and giving off a strange smell. He then passed out and went limp in her arms.

(That Night)

Shae prodded a fire with a stick with R2 next to her while Sakura took care of Naruto and Sasuke, who were both unconscious. R2 beeped worriedly and Shae smiled at the fire.

"He'll be okay, Artoo." said Shae as she threw another log on the fire.

Sakura finished switching out the wet cloth on both Naruto and Sasuke's foreheads and went over to sit by Shae and R2.

"You trained him well." said Sakura as she took a cooked fish on a stick and began eating it.

"None of that fighting he did was because of me." explained Shae as she stared into the flames, "They were taught to Naruto before we met and from him."

"Him?" questioned Sakura.

"Inside Naruto, there is a dark power." Shae told her, "It alters his appearance and give him strength. However, it brings Naruto dangerously close to turning to the Dark Side."

"I heard that before from Elie." replied Sakura, "What is this Dark Side and Light Side?"

"That is a question for Naruto." said Shae, "The poison in his system should be gone by tomorrow thanks to that antidote I gave him."

She pulled out a silver helmet and went over to Naruto. She placed the helmet over his face and began speaking in Mandalorian.

"What are you doing?" questioned Sakura.

"The antidote I gave him has never been tested on the poisons of this planet." explained Shae, "I'm giving him his last rites in case he doesn't survive the night."

Once she was done, Shae walked to the edge of the darkness and stopped.

"You saw what that poison did to him." said Shae as she looked over her shoulder at Sakura, "If he survives, never let him remove that helmet."

She vanished into the darkness and R2 worriedly stood beside Sakura.

(1) = Hi, mother.

(2) = Come here.

(3) = Where?

(4) = I am in the starship.

(5) = Forest of Death.

(6) = Here?

(7) = I hate you!

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