Sorry I've been taking so long to write this chapter. I hope you like this one. PLEASE LEAVE REVIEWS!!!

"talking"

'thinking or speaking to Tailed Beast'

"Tailed Beast"

Chapter 7

A Snake's Fangs

"What happened?" said Naruto groggily.

"You had a really bad fever and passed out," said Yasuko, putting a wet towel on Naruto's forehead.

The two had finally made it to Crescent Moon Island. It was early in the morning when Naruto said, "Where'd you get those bruises?"

Yasuko said in a quaky voice, "Huh? Oh these," she said. "When I was picking herbs I fell and my neck hit the ground pretty hard."

"Really? They look like someone was trying to choke you." Naruto sat up and felt a sharp pain on his back. "Ouch!"

"Try not to move too much," said Yasuko while boiling some Feverfly roots, "or it'll get worse."

"How'd this happen?" asked Naruto.

Yasuko started, "When you fell off of Sanbi, you landed on your back in the water."

She brought some of the stew she was preparing to Naruto and said "Eat up. It will help you back to your old self again." She took out a spoon from her bag and gave it to Naruto.

Naruto took the spoon and drew some of the stew out of the bowl. When the stew touched his tongue he spat it out and yelled, "Yuck! That's disgusting!"

"You have to eat it or you won't get better." said Yasuko. She grabbed a canteen and said, 'I need to get some fresh water. Stay here, ok?"

"Ok," replied Naruto while reluctantly eating the stew.

Yasuko walked away from the camp she made and went to get more water. She wandered through the woods for about fifteen minutes before hearing the roar of a nearby river. She ran closer to see if it was safe to get some water from there. Once she saw how the slow the river was moving she deemed it safe to get water. Near the location she was in was a man. He had very pale skin and black hair. His eyes were yellow and he wore a large purple bow around his waist.

"Hello my child," said the man.

He had a serpentine hiss in his voice when he spoke.

"Hello," said Yasuko nervously. She took out her canteen and put it in the water. She waited until it was full to the brim. When she got up to leave, the strange man ran up to her and grabbed her arm.

"Now, now, don't be so quick to leave. I would like to talk to you for just a second." said the strange man.

"Let go of me!" screamed Yasuko.

"Yesss, I will in a second. I just need to talk to you," said the serpentine stranger.

"What do you want?!" said Yasuko aggressively.

"My name is Orochimaru. Have you heard of the Nine-Tailed Fox?" said Orochimaru.

"Why?" asked Yasuko, trying to break free of Orochimaru's grasp.

"I have my reasons," said Orochimaru.

"No, I haven't. Let me go!" exclaimed Yasuko.

Orochimaru let her go and the disappeared.

'I wonder why that guy was looking for Naruto,' thought Yasuko.

"That guy, Orochimaru, is really dangerous. You better hope you don't meet him again," said Nibi.

'What's with him?' asked Yasuko.

"He's an ex-Leaf ninja. He is also one of the three Sanin," said Nibi.

'He's a Sanin?! Wait…that means Naruto is in trouble!' exclaimed Yasuko.

She ran off toward the camp area she set up. When she saw Naruto, she was relieved.

"Yasuko, what's wrong?" asked Naruto.

Yasuko answered, "The guy, the Sanin, did you see him?"

"What Sanin?" asked Naruto.

"Orochimaru," said Yasuko, "was in the forest."

"Orochimaru, huh," said Kyuubi.

'Who's Orochimaru?' asked Naruto.

"Orochimaru is an ex-Leaf ninja and one of the Sanin. He is a very crooked man. When he was in Konoha, he would use many forbidden jutsu, even ones that involved human sacrifices. He was chased out of the village by the Third Hokage," explained Kyuubi.

"You saw him here on the island?" asked Naruto.

"Yeah, and he's looking for you," said Yasuko.

Naruto went cold. His face was expressionless. His skin had turned so white that he was almost transparent. His blue eyes started to widen. His lips were trembling. The thought of a Sanin looking for him was extremely terrifying. His breathing became harder until he couldn't breathe at all.

"Naruto, calm down!" yelled Yasuko. She patted him on the back to relieve him of his stress.

"A Sanin is looking for me! How am I supposed to stay calm?!" exclaimed Naruto.

"All we need to do is get some supplies and leave," said Yasuko.

She poured some water into the remaining stew. The stew started to heat up. The aroma of the disgusting stew filled the air around the camp.

"Yuck! That stuff smells worse than it tastes!" said Naruto.

"We need it. You never know when we're going to need it," said Yasuko.

She poured the stew in a bowl and covered it with a top. She then put it in her bag. She gathered all their belongings and disposed of all the remains of their camp.

Naruto took out his map and said, "The village on this island is close to here. We'll be able to reach it in a few hours."

They started walking along the shoreline around the island. The mild weather was pleasant and refreshing against their skin. The island was peaceful with not a sound to be heard except for the crashing of the waves on the beach. The soft sand sank in with every step that they took. Many birds could be seen flying overhead.

"This island is really peaceful," said Naruto.

"Do we really have to stay with this kid?" asked Nibi.

'Don't start, Nibi,' said Yasuko.

"Naruto, I want to ask you something," said Kyuubi.

'What?' asked Naruto.

"How many girls do you know that have the strength and tactical techniques that Yasuko has?" asked Kyuubi.

'I don't know,' said Naruto.

"I think that she's hiding something from us," said Kyuubi.

'Like what?' asked Naruto.

"Maybe a bloodline limit or something like that," said Kyuubi.

'Like the Uchiha's?' asked Naruto.

"Possibly stronger than the Uchiha clan," said Kyuubi.

'Maybe she has a Tailed Beast,' said Naruto.

"Hahaha, that's funny. She fought with Sanbi, too, you know. Don't you think she would've used the Tailed Beast's power by now?" said Kyuubi.

'True, but how do we know if she has used it already?' asked Naruto.

"Let's talk about this later," said Kyuubi, ending their conversation.

"Naruto, how far are we? We've been traveling for hours," complained Yasuko.

Naruto took out his map and said, "We are about an hour away."

"You're kidding…" groaned Yasuko.

They continued walking and Naruto asked, "Hey Yasuko, I've been wondering…is there something you've been hiding from me?"

"W-What are you talking about? I-I haven't been hiding anything from you," stuttered Yasuko.

"Then why are you stuttering?" asked Naruto.

"Because, there is something I need to tell you. I am the holder of the--" said Yasuko before being cut off.

"Hello again. I thought you said you didn't know the whereabouts of the Nine-Tailed Fox," said Orochimaru.

"What do you want with me?!" asked Naruto in a serious tone.

"I need a strong person to perform experiments on. I thought that the Nine-Tailed Fox would be a good guinea pig to test my curse mark experiment on." said Orochimaru.

"Curse mark experiment?" asked Naruto.

"Yes, it is a special mark I give to those whom I deem worthy. The mark appears somewhere on the target's body, and they subsequently lose consciousness. Sometime later, if their bodies can handle the power, they will awaken with the first level of the mark active and be enraged due to the mark's influence. The marks work by forcibly drawing chakra from the user's body, giving the user a chakra capacity beyond what they would normally be capable of, as well as increased physical performance as a result of the increased chakra capacity," explained Orochimaru.

"What happens to the people who can't handle the mark's power?" asked Yasuko.

"The people die," said Orochimaru flatly.

"You're horrible!" exclaimed Yasuko.

"Quiet child!" snapped Orochimaru.

"His experiments are quite extraordinary," said a person that appeared out of nowhere.

The person was young and had white hair. He had round glasses and a sharp scalpel in his hand.

"Ah, Kabuto, good of you to come," said Orochimaru.

"Has the curse mark been placed?" asked Kabuto.

"Not yet. If you put your Genjutsu on them the job will be completed faster," said Orochimaru.

"Understood," replied Kabuto.

After performing a couple of hand signs Kabuto exclaimed, "Feather Illusion Jutsu!"

"Ugh, why am I getting so sleepy…?" said Yasuko before she passed out.

Naruto, too, passed out.

"Now's my chance," said Orochimaru.

Orochimaru stretched out his neck as if he were a snake. When his teeth were inches away from Naruto's neck, Naruto's red chakra forced Orochimaru away.

"What's this?!" exclaimed Orochimaru.

Yasuko's metallic-blue chakra appeared, as well.

"Release!" exclaimed Nibi and Kyuubi.

Naruto and Yasuko were encased in the Tailed Beasts' chakra when they awoke.

"Arrrgh, Orochimaru!!!" exclaimed Naruto with an empowered voice.

"Your time of death draws near," said Yasuko in a clear, unshaken voice.

Both released an explosion of chakra on Orochimaru. Orochimaru almost evaded the attack until Yasuko released ten arms made of metallic-blue chakra to hold him in his place. Naruto sent twelve consecutive attacks on Kabuto. Kabuto was blown into the sky by the incredible power. Naruto and Yasuko stood back to back.

They both let out bursts of chakra around the beach area. Sand erupted out of the ground. Naruto punched Orochimaru into the water, sending waves crashing hard onto the beach. When Orochimaru got up, Naruto's extraordinary speed bested him in the final blow.

"K-Kabuto, let's get out of here!" yelled Orochimaru.

"You won't be so lucky next time!" exclaimed Kabuto.

Both preformed various hand signs and disappeared into thin air.

Naruto's and Yasuko's chakra faded into nothingness.

"Hey Yasuko, what were you going to tell me before?" asked Naruto.