Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Naruto

XxX

Waiting in the Jonin lounge for the results of the first test Kakashi read his Icha Icha book. Across from him Kurenai Yuhi, the Jonin sensei of team 8 and Asuma Sarutobi the Jonin sensei of team 9 were sitting quietly but sneaking glances at each other when they thought he wasn't looking.

"Kakashi," The door to the lounge opened drawing the attention of all three Jonin. Walking into the room Ibiki held up an almost blank sheet of paper for the gathered Jonin to see. "You've got one gutsy kid for a student."

Looking up from his book Kakashi smiled reading the name written on the sheet. "Did Naruto surprise you, Ibiki?"

"Naruto?" Kurenai Yuhi spoke up from her seat beside Asuma. "Wasn't he the dead last of this years graduating class?"

"Ma, Kurenai-San, that's my student you're talking about," Kakashi said in his usual bored tone but the lowering of his book and sharpening of his eye betrayed his disinterested tone.

Sitting up straighter Kurenai glared at the copy ninja. "I don't insult kids, Hatake. It's just a fact that Naruto placed last in his class."

Who did Kakashi think she was? She had never even met Naruto Uzumaki, there was no reason for her to dislike the boy yet Kakashi was taking her words as an attack on the kid.

"I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it, Kurenai. With Naruto's circumstances, it's not surprising Kakashi is protective."

"That's not it, Asuma." Kakashi denied shaking his head. "Naruto is far more adept than most think. In fact other than Sasuke and Gai's team I'm not sure there is a Genin in the leaf that can beat him."

Asuma nearly choked on his cigarette in laughter and Kurenai giggled but Kakashi didn't mind. If they wanted to underestimate his most unpredictable student then it would be their students that suffered the price.

XxX

(Forest of Death)

"Okay, we should be far enough now," Naruto said landing on a branch and crouching down. "Sasuke, Sakura. We should head straight for the tower."

Landing on the same branch Naruto stopped on Sakura eyes burned with anger. "Who put you in charge idiot? Sasuke-Kun already has a plan. Find another team and take their scroll. Weren't you listening to the examiner? We need both scrolls to pass."

"Cha, he is such an idiot!"

"And we have both," Naruto said confusing Sakura.

Sasuke, however, understood what he was getting at and smirked. "I was wondering why you were acting so weird back there. Shoving us to the front of the line and wanting to get away from everyone. You stole an 'Earth' scroll, didn't you?"

"Heh," Standing up straight Naruto swiped his thumb across his nose. "Yeah, I did. And now Team 7 is going to be the first team to pass the second test."

"You idiot!" Jumping up Sakura slammed her fist down on Naruto's head knocking him off the branch. "That moron is going to get us disqualified. He cheated and now we're cheaters too."

"Cha, if he ruined Sasuke-Kun's chance to become Chunin, I'll crush him!"

Standing up Sasuke brushed his white shorts off. "Calm down, Sakura. Naruto stole the scroll after we turned in our forms. The proctor was very clear that once the forms were turned in the test had started and we couldn't back out."

"What?"

Rolling his eyes Sasuke had to wonder how she was the number one Kunoichi in class. "She tried to use it as a scare tactic by saying how once the test started we couldn't quit. Naruto took advantage of that and used the rule in our favor. He didn't cheat and we won't be disqualified."

"Oh." Sakura blinked looking down into the bushes where Naruto had disappeared into. She felt a little bad for hitting him but he was still an idiot for not telling them what he was up to.

"Ah, Sakura, why'd you have to go and do that?" Naruto jumped back onto the branch surprising Sakura who jumped but Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"Naruto, about you steal-"

"Sakura, shut up!" Sasuke snapped drawing a kunai and throwing it at Naruto who dodged it diving back into the bushes.

Grabbing Sakura who was still frozen Sasuke jumped down after his 'teammate'.

"What the heck was that for?" 'Naruto' asked the other two members of team 7 as they landed on the forest floor.

"Where is the real, Naruto?" Sasuke pulled another kunai from his holster flipping it into a reverse hold. "I'll give it to you, this was a good plan but it would have worked better if you did the Transformation Jutsu right."

'Naruto' pulled his own kunai out and looked at Sakura. "You better get away from him, Sakura. I think he's gone crazy."

"Heh, still sticking with it?" Sasuke shook his head. "Just give it up. You're even worse than the real Naruto at the Transformation Jutsu. Your kunai holster is on your left side, Naruto is right-handed. And you don't even have the scratch the examiner put on his cheek earlier."

"He's right." Sakura eyes widened. "This isn't the real Naruto."

"I'm only gonna ask one more time." Sasuke held his kunai up. "Where is, Naruto?"

"Right here!" Exploding out of the bushed behind the Rain ninja Naruto kicked his impostor in the face sending him at Sasuke who spun knocking the flying loser away with a roundhouse kick.

Hitting a tree 'Naruto' was covered in a cloud of smoke as the Transformation Jutsu ended revealing an unconscious Rain ninja bleeding from the head.

"This looks cool." Naruto ran over to the Rain Genin and took the re-breather off the guys face. Stuffing it into his pouch he smirked. "Kiba's poison smoke bombs won't work on me now."

"Naruto, that is disgusting." Sakura scrunched her nose up. There was no telling where that thing had been and Naruto was just going to take it. "You're not going to use it are you?"

Naruto shrugged. "Depends. If we fight someone who uses poison then yeah, I'll end up using it. This guy was alone though so I can't get one for you two."

"I don't want one!"

Listening to his two teammates bicker about the usefulness of the stolen item Sasuke frowned. Naruto had been acting different since Wave and this stunt just proved how different he was. The plan to steal an extra scroll at the start of the test was smart, hell, he was even a little upset that he hadn't been the one who had thought of it.

Naruto did though. The same lose who always charge in first and asked questions later had come up with a plan within the short amount of time that it took that Anko woman to explain the test. Then executed it without being caught.

"We should get moving." He spoke up silencing the bickering. Sakura clamped up immediately and Naruto without anyone to talk to shut up as well. "Thanks to Naruto we have both scrolls so let's head straight to the tower."

"Great plan Sasuke-Kun."

"That was my plan," Naruto muttered as Sakura followed after Sasuke like a dog. She really needed to start acting like a Kunoichi and soon. He didn't know how much longer he could deal with her attitude. When they were kids it was fine, he didn't know any better but now that he was older and seen what actually Kunoichi was capable of watching Sakura was pissing him off. She was supposed to be the best in their year and she was making a mockery of all Kunoichi acting like she was.

Waiting for Sasuke, her white knight to save her and carry her off into the sunset.

"What a joke." Naruto thought and didn't even feel bad for thinking it. Sure he knew that his teammate would become strong in the future but right now she was a joke of a ninja.

XxX

After an hour of traveling through the trees, Sakura was sweating heavily and beginning to tire. Her legs burned from jumping so much and her chest was heaving as her lungs tried to get more air than they could. "I need a break."

"Alright, this is as good a spot as any," Sasuke said and signaled for his teammates to follow him as he dropped down landing underneath a canopy of branches. "Listen, before this test is over we might be separated again. If it happens even if it is one of us, don't trust them. The other teams might try using the same plan that Rain ninja did."

"Then what should we do, Sasuke-Kun?"

Sasuke pushed the annoyance he felt at his teammate down as best he could but it must have shown on his face because Sakura's face fell. That wasn't his problem and he didn't care about hurting her feelings. They were in the middle of a test to become Chunin and she chose now to try and flirt.

"Naruto is annoying too but at least he is taking this seriously." With his plan to get them a scroll with minimum effort and now he was listening instead of picking a fight to be in charge. Sasuke never thought he would say it but he was wishing he had two Naruto's on his team instead of Sakura.

"We'll make a code-word just in case." He said getting back to why he stopped in the first place. "If they get the code-word wrong, assume they are the enemy no matter what they look like. Now the code-word, listen carefully, I'll only say it once. The Nin song 'Nin machine'. When this is asked answer with, A large number of loud enemies is the friend of the Shinobi, hide and remain silent. A Shinobi must understand the proper time, when the enemy is tired and ill-prepared."

"Smart plan, Sasuke-Kun." Sakura praised with a smile and Naruto nodded but he could see the side glances his teammates were sending him. They thought he wouldn't be able to remember the whole thing. Well, he'd show them. He wasn't the snot-nosed twelve year old that had taken the Chunin exams the first time around.

"Let's get moving." Sasuke moved to jump back into the trees.

XxX

"Kukuku. Sasuke's the leader. As expected." Slithering through the trees above his prey Orochimaru licked his lips at the sight of the young Uchiha. How fortunate was he that Itachi had left a survivor.

"Orochimaru-Sama, do we attack now?"

"No," the snake Sannin hissed. "You two go play around somewhere else. I'll take care of these three."

As his pawns fled further into the forest in search of playthings for themselves Orochimaru sped forward in a burst of speed weaving hand signs as he went. Turning around when he was in front of his prey he smirked. "Let's see if Sasuke-Kun is as good as they say."

"Wind Style: Devastation!"

XxX

"Get down!" Summoning three Shadow Clones in front of him and his team Naruto grabbed Sasuke and Sakura by their collars pulling them with as he dove behind a thick tree.

His clones taking the brunt of the Wind Jutsu dispersed in second.

"What is this?" Sakura cried as entire branches flew past them caught in the gale force winds that had come out of nowhere. "What is with this forest!"

"It's not the Forest," Sasuke said recognizing the winds for what they really were. "What kind of person can use Jutsu on this kind of scale?"

"Kukuku, you dodged my attack. How surprising." Orochimaru giggled looking down at his prey. He had expected Sasuke to dodge the attack. The blonde boy creating shadow clones was a surprise. For a Genin to be able to summon one was a sign of potential but three solid clones. "Was Kabuto's report wrong?"

His spy had been clear that Naruto Uzumaki was nothing special. The dead last. "What kind of dead last can use the Shadow Clone Jutsu?"

"Orochimaru." Naruto hissed staring at the brown eyes of the Grass ninja. He knew the truth of what lay behind those eyes. The snake waiting to shed his skin.

"Sasuke, Sakura." He whispered. "We need to run."

As much as he wanted to give the snake bastard what for he knew it was suicide. Orochimaru could take down a squad of Jonin, three Genin weren't going to make him sweat.

Their first battle so many years ago proved that. "We're not even gnats to this guy."

And that's what pissed Naruto off the most. For all his anger he was powerless against the Sannin.

"You're not trying to run are you?"

Naruto body stopped moving as a blanket of fear covered him. Seeping through his skin, flowing through his veins, burrowing into his bones. "I...I can't move."

Barely able to turn his head he twitched just enough to look to his side. Sasuke and Sakura were like mirror images. Wide-eyed and frozen in place.

"Is this what they felt last time?" He had never felt anything like it. The only thing that came close was his first encounter with Zabuza. Except this was a hundred times more terrifying.

"I need to move." But he couldn't. All he could do was tremble in place his legs quivering like a newborn fawn.

Beside him, Sasuke was in a similar position, the terror he felt freezing him in place as a kunai pierced his head killing him.

"Is this a Genjutus?" The last Uchiha in the Leaf asked himself. "No, this is just fear."

The killing intent in the Grass ninjas eye was causing him to see images of his death. "Who is this guy?"

"Sakura...Naruto is right. We need to run." Sakura stared forward like she didn't hear him rivers of tears cascading down her cheeks. "Or we are going to die!"

"Hehe, none of you can move." Orochimaru moved faster than any of the three Genin could see. One second his hand was empty hanging at his side and the next a trio of kunai was slicing through the air.

"Move!" Forcing his body into action Sasuke drew his own knife stabbing it into his thigh. Before he could even process what was happening next he was grabbing Sakura and jumping away.

Lowering his hand Orochimaru's tongue slithered out of his mouth and across his lips that had curled up into a satisfied grin. "To injure his own body to erase the feeling of fear with pain. Hehe...It is as I thought. He is no ordinary prey."

Pressing his back to the tree he had chosen to hide behind Sasuke chest rose and fell at an accelerated rate. They had almost died. And Naruto. Closing his eyes he cursed himself for forgetting the blonde. But he had to save Sakura. "Naruto will be fine. If I escaped so did he."

"Sasuke-Kun, are you-"

Slapping his hand over his teammate's mouth he silenced her before she could say another word. "We need to run again before we're found."

"But how? How can we run from this?"

Sakura stared at her crush keeping her wits about her for the first time when in skin to skin contact with him. "For Sasuke-Kun to panic this much. I've never seen him like this."

"Sasuke." Sakura jumped in place and let out a muffled scream in fright as Naruto appeared next to them stabbing the cow-sized snake slithering down towards them.

"Naruto, we-" Sasuke tried to say but Naruto nodded interrupting him,

"Run, yeah, I know. Whoever this guy is, he's no Genin. Did you feel that Wind Jutsu? It was insanely strong. He can even use the Shadow Clone Jutsu and it a forbidden Jutsu. " He said nodding to the bleeding snake that went up in a cloud of smoke. It was clear to him the snake was a summon but Sakura was had probably read every book in the academy and he didn't want to give her so much as a hint as to who they were really fighting.

Sasuke nodded, half glad Naruto for once wasn't going to try and be the hero and half because he was actually relieved to see the blonde ninja.

Crossing his fingers Naruto molded the chakra he needed for his signature Jutsu. "I'll have my clones Transform to look like you two and run the opposite to us. It won't last long but it's the only thing I can think of."

"Do it."

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto whispered and summoned three clones splitting the chakra in them unevenly giving most of it to the one who wouldn't transform. "Alright, you guys know the plan."

Fifth chapter of my Time Travel Naruto fanfic. Let me know what you think so far.

For now, the story will stay T-rated but that will change in later chapters. So leave your choice for which girl or girls you want to see Naruto with.

Thanks for reading and See you next time!