Lionheart: A new chapter. Thanks for all the reviews… I'm happy to it has pushed me to 200 reviews. I'm extremely thankful. I've decided that Naruto will be the one to receive the curse mark.

Ayge: Akamaru…I seriously considered putting the curse mark on him, but this is action/adventure, not comedy. But…nice suggestion. It made me laugh.

TankerMDK: Thank you very much for the thoughtful insight. Your review made me sit down and seriously think about the next chapter, and i'm happy to say that with your help you indirectly helped made me make a great plot line, according to some of my friends. Thank you very very much.

Thanks for the thoughtful reviews reminding me to make this good. I won't let you down. And I promise the next couple of chapters will be action packed.

Summary: Naruto, who has already seen his best friend go under Orochimaru's control once, is not about to let it happen again. He is eager for the confrontation that will undoubtedly take place…inside the Forest of Death.

Chuunin Exams: Orochimaru Gets His Way

The three Genin leapt side by side quietly, on guard as they traveled through the eerie forest. "Okay," said Sasuke suddenly, as he landed by a tree, "We'll stop here for now. Let's come up with some kind of formation or strategy in case we're attacked."

Sakura and Naruto both nodded, "Right." "So, what do we do," asked Sakura. Sasuke scratched his head, thinking, "Hold on a minute." "Hey, dobe, okay, so are we agreed? Let Orochimaru catch us and take him out?" "DEFINETELY," replied the blone Genin. Sasuke noticed he trembled a bit, and knew it was from anticipation and anger. Sasuke nodded, "Naruto, don't be foolish. even though we have the advantage this time, we must not underestimate him." Naruto nodded in response, and Sasuke cleared his throat.

"Okay, I'll take the lead, since I'm the quickest out of all of us. Sakura, you will be in the middle. You have the greatest strength out of all of us, and you can provide support to both Naruto and I. Naruto will fan out behind us, like a sweeper, providing the defense in case we're caught off guard."

"Wait," objected Sakura, "and no offense Naruto…but is that really a good idea?" Sasuke nodded, "Don't underestimate Naruto. Trust me, he may be a dobe, but he is not weak." Naruto glared daggers at Sasuke, while Sakura chuckled. "Okay…Naruto, you better watch out real good," threatened Sakura, "or…" She punched her fists together, as Naruto gulped, "Yeah…S-sakura-chan.

Changing the subject abruptly to keep the team focused, Sasuke said, "all right, we'll walk from here. I'm feeling particularly lazy," said Sasuke, with a grin. "Yeah, someone will find us eventually." Sakura looked nervous, though she nodded. "Let's go," said Sasuke.

As Sasuke turned to leave, he detected a familiar presence nearby. "Hey, Naruto, his team has the opposite scroll. Find out if he has it." "Right," replied Naruto.

"Umm, Sasuke, wait," said Naruto. Sasuke acted surprised and stopped. Sakura turned, "Naruto, we haven't even been here that long, and now you already have to go to the bathroom?" Naruto sweat dropped, "Wow, Sakura-chan, how did you know?" Sakura glared, "Well…you're holding your pants…that's one."

Naruto chuckled, "Right…umm yeah, I'll be right back, then." Sasuke shrugged, "Don't lose your guard dobe…" Naruto nodded, as he leapt into some nearby bushes.

Sasuke sat down on a nearby log, and Sakura joined him. For a moment the two sat in an awkward silence, while Sakura fiddled with her fingers. Irritated, Sasuke took hold of her hands, "relax, Sakura. Don't worry…we're all going to be fine, if we all work together. Don't get cold feet now."

Sakura nodded, though her mind filed with nasty thoughts of their bloody and gruesome deaths. 'What is wrong with me? Why am I feeling like…this?' She was interrupted as Sasuke suddenly stood, with a concerned look. Fearing for Naruto, Sakura leapt up, "Sasuke, what's wrong? Is it Naruto?"

Sasuke covered her mouth and motioned to be quiet. As he did so, Naruto stepped from behind a tree. He pulled his zip up and then walked over to Sakura. Sasuke watched him closely, and then found Naruto telepathically.

He inwardly groaned, "Naruto…you have about five seconds to tell me what the heck just happened." Naruto's reply came back almost instantaneously, "I let him catch a bunshin. I'm looking around for the teammates. He doesn't have the scroll." Sasuke snarled, "Stick to the formation, dobe…and hurry up." Kyuubi chuckled, "That kid is a natural idiot."

Meanwhile, Naruto showed off to Sakura, "Aww, I feel so much better now. Maybe you should go to, Sakura…it does wonders." Sakura eye's darkened and in a swift motion, slapped Naruto into the ground. As Naruto stood, he moaned and then muttered something about 'let's go.' Sakura and Sasuke both turned, the latter seemingly unaware that Naruto was grinning evilly.

As Naruto took a step forward, Sasuke suddenly flipped behind him, sending out a bone-shattering punch. "AAHH," yelled Naruto as flew into a tree. At the same time, Sakura jumped in half surprise and half fright. "Um…Sasuke, what was that for? I think that was a little too harsh…you could have hurt him."

Naruto leapt up, "Yeah…yeah, you could have hurt me. What's your problem?" Sasuke drew a kunai and pointed it at Naruto, "hey…you have about five seconds to tell me who you are. Before I rip off every part of your body with this kunai." Sakura stared frighteningly at Sasuke… "u-ummm." Fear suddenly overtook her as she raised her hands.

Naruto slowly stood, wiping blood off his face, "Hey, Sakura, we better watch out. I think he's going crazy." Sasuke chuckled, "yeah right. What happened to your shuriken pouch? I notice it's on your left hip…Naruto's right-handed." Sakura suddenly gasped, as she tried to process the fact of an imposter Naruto.

"Your transformation jutsu is terrible. A Shinobi must be accurate in all his maneuvers…he must be stealthy, secretive, and wise. You," said Sasuke with emphasis, "have neither of those." Naruto remained silent for a second, before breaking into a wide grin. "Well, it looks like you've caught me. Hn, but I'm still going to take your scroll."

Naruto disappeared, as smoke covered him. Another face popped out of it, belonging to a rain ninja. He dashed forward swiftly, as Sasuke grunted, and Sakura suddenly froze in surprise and fear. "So," cried the rain ninja, "which one of you has the scroll, or should I just take you both you?"

Sasuke smirked, and leapt up, doing fast hand signs. He flipped upside down in mid-air, and with his Sharingan activated, said, "you fool. Katon: Hosenka no jutsu!" (Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Technique) From his mouth Sasuke shot out ten fireballs, which followed the rain ninja, who stopped and placed his hands together, "Oboro Bunshin no…" (Haze Clone) Before he could finish his technique however, Sasuke had appeared behind him.

"Hey, over here…" The rain ninja froze with nervousness before Sasuke sent a lights out punch towards his head. The rain ninja took the blunt of the blow and was swallowed in a large fire by Sasuke's fireball attack and was knocked high up, smoking. Sasuke leapt up after him, gathering chakra into his has finger to puncture the man's heart, but to his dismay, Sakura got ahead of him, smashing the Genin down with a bone-shattering punch. She looked like the wild Sakura he knew.

The rain Genin choked blood as he landed on the ground. Sasuke landed nearby, "Well…under normal circumstances I would just kill you now…but that doesn't seem too fair does it." The rain Genin muttered something, though all that came out was blood. Sasuke grabbed the ninja by the throat, "Sorry, I didn't quite catch that."

Sakura watched as slowly, the Genin's faces went from one of cockiness to that of absolute horror. For some reason she enjoyed every second of it.

"Y-you're friend," choked out the rain Genin, "if you let me go, m-my friends will spare him." Sakura suddenly gasped, remembering that Naruto wasn't there. She was about to go look, when Sasuke grabbed her hand with his free one. "Don't worry, Sakura… Naruto is just fine." The rain Genin chuckled, "I wouldn't be too sure…but if you let me go…" Sasuke frowned, though it soon turned into a smile. "Well, if you're so confident that our friend is in trouble, then who is that over there?"

Fearfully, the rain Genin turned to see the orange clad Genin standing on a tree branch nearby, 'WHAT? How did he get out of that rope trap?' "Haha, Naruto Uzumaki is here," shouted the blonde. "Sorry, teme, I got ambushed by some sand ninja. They had the same scroll as us, but they're out of the contest now."

Ignoring Naruto, Sasuke turned back to the rain ninja, "So," continued Sasuke, "First, you attack us…then, when you get your ass whooped you try to threaten us…not to mention doing it through a bluff. I think you 'deserve' to die."

The rain Genin gulped, "N-no, p-please don't. I-I'll give you 'our' scroll. Don't hurt me." Sasuke shook his head, "If you had the scroll, my friend would have found it on you when he searched you. You never caught him…you caught a kage bunshin." Realizing that he had fallen into a trap, the rain Genin gasped and closed his eyes, realizing he was about to die. "Tell you what," said Sasuke, "you go back to your little pals, and tell them to train hard. Because next time we meet, we're going to beat your shit team down and take your scroll. Until then…" Sasuke didn't finish his line as he forcefully hurled the rain Genin into the darkness of the surrounding trees.

The rain Genin landed on his feet somehow, and bounded away. He turned back with a look of pure anger in his eyes, "this isn't over," he shouted. Ignoring him, Sasuke turned back to the team. Naruto and Sakura both gaped at him, "Wow, Sasuke, why did you let him go," asked Sakura. Sasuke shrugged, "Too weak for me to even bothering wasting my energy on."

"Brat…Kit, Orochimaru is lurking near." Sasuke tensed, and focused his chakra to his senses. He detected Orochimaru in his grass ninja disguise about one thousand feet away. Two other unfamiliar chakra presences were with him. Naruto also detected the presence, for Sasuke saw the familiar signs of his whisker marks growing, which was always a bad sign. "Brat…calm down," complained Kyuubi, "don't you remember the last time you tried to transform into that? You lost all control!"

Naruto seemed to get the message for his chakra levels went down, causing Sasuke to sigh in relief. "Okay," said Sasuke, mostly to Sakura, "after that last incident we need to sit down and think about what to do if a situation like that occurs again." Sakura nodded, "Right…how about a password? Something only the three of us would know?"

Sasuke nodded, "I have one ready. Naruto…pay attention!" Naruto turned his attention towards Sasuke, thought Sakura noticed his eyes kept shifting towards their left. Her eyes narrowed, wondering if Naruto was keeping something quiet.

She was pulled out of her suspicions by Sasuke who nudged her, "you ready Sakura?" Sakura nodded and listened closely. Sasuke nodded, "Okay, listen closely because I only want to say this once. The question will be, 'When does a ninja strike?'" Sakura nodded and repeated the question to herself.

"Alright, the response is," said Sasuke, speaking a little more loudly, "A ninja waits until the time is right, when the enemy sleeps and drops his guard, when his weapons lay forgotten in the stillness of the night, that is the moment for a ninja to strike. Got it?" Sakura nodded and grinned, "I got it."

"Easy," replied Naruto. Sasuke raised a knowing eyebrow at Naruto; though he was interrupted when he detected a surge of chakra from behind. "Something's coming…get ready."

The three Genin leapt into a triangular shaped formation, with Sasuke in the lead. The Uchiha prodigy placed his hands together as the wind suddenly pounded into them. 'This jutsu…,' thought Sasuke, 'besides me, only Naruto and he knows it.' The three Genin were desperately held their ground, but slowly they were pushed backwards. "Naruto," shouted Sasuke over the wind, "use your earth techniques."

Naruto nodded and forced his way in front of Sasuke and Sakura. The Uchiha held onto a branch, while his free hand held Sakura in place, "Hurry…NARUTO." Naruto finally stopped and formed some hand seals. He placed a hand to his mouth shouting, "Doton: Doryuheki!" (Earth Style: Earth Style Wall).

Naruto spewed a stream of mud from his mouth, which quickly turned into a solid wall. It effectively blocked the wind attack, and the three Genin panted for breath behind it. Naruto peered in front of the wall, surveying the area. Many of the trees had been leveled, leaving little cover. "We have to move," said Naruto, quickly, "we're exposed."

Sasuke nodded, "follow me. We'll use the same formation. Let's catch this guy off guard." Sakura nodded, unaware that it would be very difficult to catch Orochimaru off guard. As they leapt through the forest in single file, another wave of wind hit them from the side. While, Sasuke helped Sakura, Naruto used another Doton: Doryuheki technique to block the wind.

Landing on a nearby branch, Sasuke shouted, "Sharingan." His eyes turned blood red, and Sakura noticed that his Sharingan looked different that it normally did. Noticing her gaze, Sasuke said, "It's the mangekyo Sharingan…better than the standard Sharingan basically." Sakura nodded impressed, while Sasuke peeked behind their barrier.

His eyes detected the chakra presence of Orochimaru fifty feet away. 'Damn, he's faster than I predicted.' "Okay," said Sasuke turning back, "he's fifty feet in front of us. I'll go straight for him, and while I hold him, Sakura…you and Naruto hit him from behind. Naruto will take the lead." Before Naruto could object, Sasuke had leapt away.

"NO TEME," shouted Naruto. Before he could move, Sakura grabbed him, "No, Naruto. We need to follow Sasuke's orders. C'mon he could be in trouble." "Damn, hurry up NARUTO!" Frustrated, Naruto handed Sakura some kunai, "Sakura, when you see the target throw these at him. Preferably not all bunched up." Confused Sakura asked why. "Argh, forget it Sakura, just do it…now take my hand."

Naruto placed his hands together and shouted, "Hiraishin no Jutsu!" (Flying Thunder God technique). Bewildered, Sakura suddenly felt herself moving at incredible speed, and before she knew it she was next to Sasuke. Taking a look around, she saw Naruto and Sasuke engaging one of the grass ninja in an incredibly high-speed Taijutsu match.

Impressed with the fighting, Sakura forgot about the kunai, only to be forcefully reminded when Naruto shouted, "SAKURA…the kunai," before taking a hit that sent him into a tree.

Sakura instantly began throwing the kunai, which the grass ninja dodged. Behind her, Naruto stood and leapt back in. The fighting continued with neither side doing much until the grass ninja suddenly stopped. Sasuke and Naruto stopped side-by-side, each with their arms poised for action.

The grass ninja laughed, "My…I'm surprised. The two of you are stronger than I originally gave you credit for. It's not an easy task to block my wind technique." The three Genin remained silent, while Orochimaru suddenly pulled out his earth scroll. "Feast your eyes n these…wouldn't they look nice with your heaven scroll?" Orochimaru suddenly wrapped his long tongue around it, swallowing it whole. "Eww," cried Sakura, inching backwards, "how creepy."

Sasuke drew a kunai, "Hey…take off the mask Orochimaru. Or do you want us to take it off ourselves. We already got a cheek piece." Sakura screamed when Sasuke held up a piece of flesh that was no longer on the grass ninja's skin. To make matters worse, there was also no blood in the hole, only an eye that seemed to hunger for blood.

Orochimaru remained silent, his gaze no longer smiling. When he peeled off his mask eerily, he almost looked angry, "Who are you? How did you know who I was?" Sakura sat down in fright, wondering what had happened. "It doesn't matter that we know," said Sasuke, "all that matters is your going to die."

Sasuke made to throw his kunai for a distraction, when Orochimaru smirked, "Ah, about that… too late. You should keep an eye on your surroundings." At that moment a snake appeared almost magically, devouring both Sasuke and Naruto whole. Sakura screamed and tears threatened to come down her face as she watched the snake move towards her. "Good bye," said Orochimaru sweetly.

As the snake lunged, Sakura closed her eyes. She waited for the inevitable, but it never came. Opening an eye, she found herself face to face with Naruto, who had used his own body as a shield to stop the snake's momentum, and Sasuke who had pulled out a sword to impale the snake's mouth. The two Genin jumped in front of Sakura, and eyed Orochimaru, who appeared to be deep in thought.

Orochimaru bared his teeth, "So, Kawarimi no Jutsu…(Replacement Technique), and under those circumstances too. How interesting." Orochimaru suddenly vanished appearing behind Sasuke and Naruto, "So tell me…how do you know who I am? It greatly interests me. The longer you talk, the longer you live."

Naruto suddenly threw a vicious back kick, which Orochimaru avoided, "I DON'T HAVE TO ANSWER YOU!" Orochimaru smiled as he landed on a branch, "aren't you the brave one? Well…then, can you brave this one out?" Orochimaru suddenly threw five kunai at them, and charged.

Sasuke blocked the kunai with two of his own, while Naruto drew his sword. He vanished behind Orochimaru using Shunshin, and then shouted, "Mikazuki no Mai!" Naruto split into three, surprising Orochimaru. 'Damn,' thought Orochimaru as the clones chopped his head off.

Sakura gasped wondering if they had won, before Naruto suddenly back flipped to avoid three kunai. Sasuke looked up to see Orochimaru standing on a branch. The snake Sannin smiled, "My, what power behind those idiotic smiles," said Orochimaru to Naruto, "you're quite the capable ninja."

"Naruto, I'm going to distract him," said Sasuke, not moving, "I'm going to let you do the honors." "Yeah…use your snake stuff to surprise him, I'll use hiding mist," responded Naruto, careful not to move his head. He couldn't let Orochimaru know they could communicate like this. Naruto suddenly formed a hand seal, "Kirigakure no Jutsu." Mist surrounded the area almost immediately, as Sasuke and Naruto simultaneously hid their chakra energies.

While Sakura stayed put, Orochimaru laughed, his echoes spreading through the clearing, "Ah, so you want to play? You can't seriously think this mist will stop me?" He was surprised as Sasuke appeared from his right, "Sen'eijashu! Hidden Shadow Snake Hand!" Orochimaru stared in surprise as long snakes wrapped around his body, biting deep into his flesh.

Behind him he heard Naruto shout, "TAKE THIS!" 'Damnit,' thought Orochimaru, as he did quick hand signs, "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu." Although he was trapped, the flame Orochimaru spewed was enough to stop Naruto's slash, and moment later he was able to use Kawarimi. Sasuke's snakes vanished into his arm, as Orochimaru gasped for air, "That jutsu…where did you learn it from?"

Sasuke grinned, "from you…Orochimaru." Orochimaru growled, "What do you mean? We have never met!" Sasuke smiled mysteriously, "well…that's the problem isn't it?" "So, you want to play games, hm, Sasuke," sneered Orochimaru.

Meanwhile, Sakura and Naruto landed nearby. "You can't beat us," said Naruto, "so why don't you just accept your death. It will be over quickly…I guarantee it." Orochimaru laughed in response, "Oh…I think your underestimating me. But if you want to play…we can certainly do that." Naruto shrugged, "Have it your way," he said before suddenly doing hand seals, "Kyuubi no Jutsu!" Naruto went into the Kyuubi form and began slashing with his claws.

The snake Sannin in response used Sen'eijashu to counterattack, and give Naruto something to attack, resulting in all his snakes ending up diced. Meanwhile Sasuke maneuvered above him, shouting, "Chidori!" Sakura watched dazzled, as lightning similar to Kakashi's formed in Sasuke's palm. Distracted, Orochimaru was knocked upwards by Naruto's Konoha Senpu.

As Orochimaru went upwards, Sasuke suddenly came down, with his Chidori thrust out. Naruto landed nearby, waiting to see if this would be the end. Orochimaru groaned as he shouted, "Ninpou: Kuchiyose no Jutsu." (Ninja Art: Summoning Jutsu). A large brown snake materialized out of air, and quickly knocked Orochimaru out of Sasuke's range. As a result, the snake took the blunt of the blow and vanished in a poof of smoke.

Sasuke hit the ground hard, and as he slowly tried to stand, he heard a rushing sound that made his blood turn to ice. Seeing Sasuke fall, Orochimaru quickly extended his neck, 'HA! What a powerful Uchiha. He may be stronger than Itachi…I must have him.' Meanwhile, both Sakura and Naruto were gazing in horror at the scene folding in front of them. 'What the hell…his neck,' thought Sakura. She suddenly saw Sasuke off guard, "SASUKE! WATCH OUT!"

Sasuke slowly turned to see Orochimaru's head coming towards him. He urged his body to move, even though he knew it was futile.

Naruto quickly placed his hands together and said, "Hiraishin no Jutsu!" He teleported right in front of Sasuke, shouting, "KONOHA DAISENPU!" Orochimaru took the two kicks to the side and was knocked back into a tree. The scene would have been funny to Sakura if the situation hadn't been so serious. First, Orochimaru's body had been kicked backwards, and since his neck was extended it hit the tree second. The snake Sannin retracted his head and glared evilly at Naruto, "you…know the fourth's technique?"

Naruto smiled proudly, "That's right! And my formula is connected to Sasuke so I can help him in a 'flash,' said Naruto emphasizing the last word.

Orochimaru grumbled and suddenly, without warning leapt to flee, 'Damnit…they cannot be Genin! Did I miscalculate their strength," thought Orochimaru. He suddenly stopped, seeing Sasuke grinning face in front of him. "But how…you're…oh no." Orochimaru gulped as realized what had happened. "So, Sasuke…you changed your appearance to look like Sakura just after you did that lightning jutsu. Then while the fox boy distracted me, you created Kage Bunshins around the clearing to trap me, while the others caught up. How did you know I would try to escape?"

Sasuke smirked, "Lucky guess I suppose. But really…you shouldn't be worrying about the particulars, because this time you're not going to get away." Orochimaru frowned and bared his tongue lashed out threateningly.

Behind him, Sakura and Naruto landed. Both were grinning, "Hey, Sasuke," said Sakura, "that was a great plan. It worked!" Orochimaru stared around him, realizing that between Sasuke and his Sharingan and the Kyuubi container he had no hope of his escape. He began to cook up ideas to get away.

"To think at your age, you have complete mastery over your Sharingan. To think you've even achieved the Mangekyo, something not many Uchiha get." Sasuke smiled, "You've certainly done your reading." Orochimaru suddenly grinned, realizing he could get an advantage by playing with Sasuke's mind, "Oh no! No research for me. I just know a certain brother of yours…you know the one who allegedly destroyed his clan save for his little brother."

Orochimaru smirked, thinking he had gotten to the Genin for he noticed a faint frown. His surprise was quadrupled when Sasuke shrugged, "I don't have a brother. Well I guess if you consider close friends as brothers…but then again Naruto didn't destroy my clan, and unless Sakura is a cross-dresser…and a good one at that…then I don't really see any brothers around here."

Orochimaru frowned, 'what? Did I make another miscalculation? When did Sasuke get so weak and softhearted? He has no ambition anymore…how could this be?' Sasuke seemed to know what Orochimaru thought for he added, "Orochimaru, there is no way I'm going to fall into your mind game. What are you trying to do anyway? Get me so angry at my brother, that I'll join you in search for power to defeat him? That's a load of crap…considering you can't even beat me now!"

Sasuke smirked suddenly, and for the second time did the hand seals for the Chidori, "I think that's enough talk. We already wasted half a day. Any more…and we might not make it. Oh…I forgot…you're not going to make it." Not wasting any time, Orochimaru suddenly went on his knees. The sudden cry for mercy startled the leaf Shinobi, including Sasuke, who stopped his hand signs.

"Please…don't kill me," begged Orochimaru. Sasuke's eyes narrowed, wondering if Orochimaru was serious or if he was trying to stall for time. He immediately searched the area for anything suspicious. Meanwhile, Naruto and Sakura had dropped their guards, unaware that Orochimaru had used a Kawarimi technique during his cry for mercy.

Sasuke suddenly detected movement behind Sakura and he saw the Sannin's head extend for her. Sasuke panicked, 'No way, he's going to put the seal on her? But she'll die…NOOO.' "Naruto…he's behind you…he's going to try and put the seal on Sakura."

"Better hurry, brat," warned Kyuubi. Naruto turned sharply, while Sakura jumped backward, with her hands raised. Naruto realized that Sakura could not survive against Orochimaru's cursed seal technique, and against all logic and reason, he leapt in front to prevent her from receiving it.

'PPSSSST.'

Blood splattered over Sakura's face, as she gazed horrifyingly at the scene in front of her. 'Oh no,' she whimpered. Sasuke felt as if time had slowed down as he tried to stop Naruto, though he could only watch helplessly as his friend took a bite to the neck. 'No…how could we have underestimated him? NOOOO!'

In a flash of fury, Sasuke ripped Orochimaru off Naruto and in an angry rush ripped off one of the Sannin's arms. "I'LL KILL YOU," shouted Sasuke, trying to use every Ninjutsu move he had. Fireballs pummeled the helpless snake ninja as Sasuke kept using the Hosenka no Jutsu. Orochimaru, between blood loss and fireballs crashed into a nearby tree, severely injured and paralyzed in the lower body.

Meanwhile, Sakura caught Naruto's limp body and noticed the faint mark on his neck. She suddenly noticed that Naruto suddenly violently cough and red chakra began to emit from his body. "W-what happening to me," moaned Naruto? The blonde boy began to throb and shake uncontrollable, before letting out an ear-splitting scream.

Sasuke stopped his onslaught in bewilderment, all anger forgotten and remembered Naruto needed treatment. He pinned Orochimaru to a tree with his shuriken and went to check on Naruto. He turned to see Sakura being thrown backwards by Kyuubi's chakra. "KYUUBI," shouted Sasuke, "What's going on? Why is Naruto's body emitting red chakra…your chakra?" Kyuubi's reply was bitter, "Sorry Sasuke, I didn't know it would happen. It seems the curse seal mark Orochimaru just put on Naruto has awakened the beast of me inside him. There's nothing I can do, but it seems my chakra has completely made that brat lose his mind? But partially it's my fault, I made him try and fight the seal, but since he was low on chakra he used my chakra to fight it. The two reacted and they seemed to have destroyed Naruto's reasoning and restraint. We have to knock him out and seal the curse."

Sasuke groaned, "Naruto…GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF!" When, no reply came, the Uchiha took a deep breath and muttered, "Damn, Kyuubi, you owe me."

Meanwhile, Orochimaru stared in horror at the scene unfolding, 'what power! These Genin…I must retreat, this is too much." Orochimaru, using all the rest of his strength summoned a snake to carry him away. He turned one last time as he lay injured and bleeding on the snake at Sasuke, who was trying to restrain a wild Naruto. 'Sasuke…you truly are your brother's brother. And you…Kyuubi are truly dangerous. I look forward to our next meeting. If you can defeat my three Otonin!' (Sound Ninja)

Back in the clearing Sakura noticed Orochimaru escaping, though she realized Naruto, and more importantly Sasuke, needed help. She joined Sasuke as he dodged a sudden snap of red chakra towards him. "Sasuke, what's going on? What happened?" Sasuke and Sakura ducked as a fireball almost hit them. "Sorry, Sakura, I'll explain later, right now, we need to get to Naruto. Here, I'll create a distraction; you get in there and knock him out. One punch should do it. No questions…just go!"

Sakura nodded as Sasuke leapt high. Naruto followed him and leapt high as well, shouting, "KILL…KILL!" Sasuke formed hand signs shouting, "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" Naruto easily dodged the attack and tackled Sasuke over. They hit the ground roughly, with Naruto on top. 'Damn…I don't have any chakra left,' thought Sasuke. The blonde Genin still yelled, "KILL…KILL!" As Sasuke noticed the curse seal marks covering Naruto's face, the blonde Genin opened his mouth and bit off a chunk of Sasuke's arm. Sasuke yelled in agony, and was about to lose his arm, when Naruto fell over on top of him, out cold. Sakura stood over the two of them, panting heavily with her arm extended. She had a huge gash over her stomach from one of Naruto's chakra slashes

"About time…" whispered Sasuke, before passing out from blood loss low chakra. Sakura continued panting as she kneeled over. She took in the surrounding area. From Naruto's chakra alone, the clearing had just extended about twenty feet in all directions. "Naruto…what happened to you," she thought, tears coming out.

From nearby, a red-haired sand Genin watched silently, while his clone trudged through the forest. "This is not good," whispered Gaara.

Lionheart: Okay, I hoped that made sense. I tried to make it so that it would still keep the general storyline intact. Sorry for all of you Orochimaru haters…he is still alive, though right now, he has no right arm. I guess that's something though.

Note: Orochimaru is also at kage level, so it's no surprise he fights evenly with Sasuke and Naruto. And even if it doesn't make sense…it's a story .;; oh well…hope youe enjoy. If not…trust me the next chapter will be better.

Sakura plays more of a fighting role in the next chapter.

In case the goal of this chapter was confusing, Naruto and Sasuke wanted to try and eliminate Orochimaru before he could cause trouble though it failed and now...(And you all VOTED) Naruto got the curse mark. I added a new twist in which if Naruto tries to use both Kyuub's power and curse at the same time, he will lose his mind. The problem is, both are linked to his emotions. So, theoretically, if Naruto gets too angry...well...you get it.

the next chapter will focus on Sakura mostly and how she develops more, now that both Sasuke and Naruto are injured.