Konoha no Mai

by Slavok

This is the sequel to Dance of the Hidden Leaves. As a Leaf shinobi, Kimimaro continues his journey of self discovery and in turn comes to terms with his own mortality. Up to the end of the Chunin exam. Slight Naruhina.

5. Two Roads

Konoha no Mai

Chapter Five

a/n I own nothing

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

The Road Not Taken-Robert Frost

Kunai? About twenty, check. Rope? Check. Explosive tags? Hahaha, definitely check. Naruto remembered that demonstration very well.

"Hey? I'd like to buy these," Naruto said to the store clerk.

The woman in charge of the store was a middle aged brunette with her hair in twin buns who looked…vaguely familiar, but Naruto couldn't quite place it. "It comes to 12,000 ryo."

"12,000? That…that's…" Kunai were a dime a dozen, and rope was pretty cheap too, but tags… "How can you justify charging so much for little pieces of paper…that explode on demand…and…well, I guess I could go with just the rope and kunai, but…"

"I'll pay for it."

Naruto turned around. "Kabuto-sensei! Thanks! I really need the—wait a second. You're loaning me money. You never loan money. To anyone!" He eyed his sensei suspiciously. "What's going on that I don't know about?"

"You just helped me make some money just now, so I figured, why not?" he said as he paid the clerk. "Also, isn't there an exam you need to attend?"

"I'm getting supplies," Naruto explained as they walked out the door. "We don't have to be at Gate Thirteen of the Forest of Death until noon, and if that's not lucky, I don't know what is."

"Clearly."

"Also, how did I help you make money? You didn't publish any of my secret jutsu, did you? Because if you did—"

"No, I just bet on you. Well, mostly you. You were the clause that got me ten to one odds. Evidently you were no one's favorite to pass the first exam."

"The first exam? Hah! I mopped the floor with that exam!"

"Yeah, sure you did." He glanced around, but no one was listening. "Also, I wanted to ask you about your bloodline."

(I still don't know if this really fits. Naruto knows about the Kyubii. Kabuto ought to know about the Kyubii as well. It might make more sense to have a brief exposition on the kyubii, and have the pills do something that would otherwise be fatal without the healing factor. Just a thought.)

"My bloodline?" On one of their earlier missions, the one when they met Haku, Naruto…lost control. He lost it badly. He thought that Hinata had died, and then, well, he wasn't really sure what had happened after that. Kimimaro had said that his eyes had turned red so they figured that he had some bloodline that no one knew about. It made sense, in a way. Kimimaro had a bloodline and Hinata had one too, so it was only fair. "I haven't been able to activate it since, you know, the first time."

"Well, I think I may have something to help you with that." Kabuto handed him three small pills.

"Soldier pills?" Naruto asked, sniffing them. "I've used soldier pills before, and they didn't activate my bloodline at all."

"These aren't soldier pills. For a soldier pill to work, it has to throw your metabolism into overdrive, flood your body with enzymes to break down body fat and stored energy, and process that into chakra faster than you can breathe in enough oxygen to normally sustain the reaction. It leaves a load of unwanted chemical waste in your system that your body needs to get rid of afterwards, but still it can be useful in an emergency. These are soldier pills done wrong. The beneficial enzymes don't break down correctly, and when inside your cells it merely—" Kabuto stopped suddenly. "I can tell by that blank look in your eyes that you're following me. Basically, these may force your, uh, bloodline, to activate."

Naruto's jaw dropped. "Really?" Having a bloodline was pretty cool—if it was a bloodline. The only alternative was, well, Naruto would rather leave that skeleton in the closet. But the only thing better than having a bloodline would be having one that he could actually use.

"They are, however, toxic," Kabuto continued. "On delicate spying missions, shinobi sometimes use these as—and I say this seriously, Naruto—suicide pills."

"Suicide pills?" Naruto yelped. "You're giving me suicide pills? What kind of sensei are you?"

"Do you want to be quiet for a moment and let me explain?" Kabuto said. "Also, not so loud. You have a naturally superior healing rate, and if I'm right and your bloodline is an enhancement of your natural abilities, as bloodlines usually are to some degree, then—"

"Wait, what about my healing rate?"

"Oh, yeah, I studied a tissue sample, and—"

"What? When did you get a tissue sample?"

"That's not important. Anyway—"

"But—"

"Not important. Anyway, bloodlines tend to develop as a defense mechanism, so if you take one of these pills, they may force your bloodline to activate to save your life. On the other hand, it may just kill you."

Naruto swallowed. "I'm not sure I like the sound of that."

"You know what? That's great, because you're not supposed to," Kabuto said. "This is a last resort, and only a last resort. If you can surrender or run away, go for it. On the third exam, there will be someone to end the fight before someone gets killed, but during the survival exam, well, sometimes you have to take desperate risks."

Naruto took the pills and put them in his pocket. "Hey, Kabuto-sensei? You're not going away or anything, are you?"

Kabuto smiled. "Go away? Now why would you think something like that?"

"Well, I know that if I were going to leave town, I'd light a building on fire or T.P. the Hokage Tower before I left, and I wouldn't be able to get in trouble for it, and what you're doing sounds a lot like the same thing."

Kabuto laughed. "Don't light any buildings on fire, especially if you can't lay the blame on someone else. I'll see you after the second exam, assuming you live. And Naruto? I really hope you live. I might even bet on you again."

WWW

Kabuto found Hinata buying medical supplies and a week's supply of food pills. "You're looking at a pretty bleak camping trip, Hinata."

"Kabuto-sensei!" she said with a smile. "Food pills are lighter than real food, and we can forage in the forest."

Kabuto hesitated. He had wanted to give his team some advice before they started the next portion of the exam, but what could he give to the person that he had already given some of his best jutsu, all the information he could cram into her head, and the equivalent of a medical degree? "Hinata? During this exam, don't take unnecessary risks. If your teammates get hurt, you can heal them, but if you get hurt, no one can help you."

Hinata frowned. "Kabuto-sensei, I…that sounds cowardly," she said. "I didn't become a mednin so I could hide behind my friends, and I can't stand back and let my team risk their lives when I know I can make a difference."

Kabuto laughed. "I haven't met a single mednin who didn't say exactly that same thing at least once, but if you're on a team, you have to think like one. If you sacrificed Naruto's life on a mission, you wouldn't be proud of it. There is no difference to your team if you sacrifice your own life, and there is no more honor in it."

Hinata didn't answer.

"Let me put it in another way. Do you know why I spent so much time teaching you medical ninjutsu? It's not because you needed the most help, it's because you're the only one who could learn. Sure, the others can understand basic first aid, but I have seen people study medicine for years and not be able to do half of what you can. If you want to, you have the aptitude to be the greatest mednin ever, so let the frontline soldiers take the front. You just focus on keeping them alive."

Hinata frowned, but she nodded. The girl had the poker face of a window, and Kabuto could tell she was having doubts. "I understand," she said finally. Kabuto hoped she wasn't lying.

WWW

Kabuto found Kimimaro at Gate Thirteen of the Forest of Death. Kimimaro followed orders unquestioningly, was loyal, disciplined. He was a perfect soldier through and through. He seemed to be thinking of something, but Kabuto couldn't tell what.

"So I found Hinata and Naruto buying supplies," Kabuto said, "but you're just waiting here. Why is that?"

"I have everything I need already," He said. He didn't even seem surprised at Kabuto's presence, like he was already aware of him before he spoke. "Also, the instructor said that the exam would start at noon, but we have no reason to suspect that she wouldn't change her mind."

"Well, let's say she did. Hinata could find everyone with her eyes, and Naruto could send out shadow clone scouts, but what could you do?"

"I…I would think of something."

Kabuto blew out an exasperated sigh. What was so hard about teamwork that…oh well. "I'm going to suppose that you're looking at this exam like a mission."

"Of course," Kimimaro replied. "There's danger, the team, and an objective. How else would I look at it?"

"I'm not objecting to anything. Though if this is a mission, what's your objective?"

"To bring both scrolls to the central tower within five days."

"Sorry, I meant your primary objective."

"I…that was my primary objective, Kabuto-sensei."

"Then let me enlighten you. If you manage to pass this exam, the only thing that would happen is that you'd get a lot of fame and prestige that will haunt you for the rest of your life. Even if you get the chance to win, I wouldn't advise it. On the other hand, if you fail this exam, there's always next year. The only bad thing that could happen, is if one of you dies. That's why your primary objective, Kimimaro, is to make sure no one dies."

He nodded. "Understood, Kabuto-sensei."

"Now, wandering around in the wilderness, surrounded by enemies, this should be right up your ally, right? What with everything before you came to Konoha."

"That is correct, sensei."

"Then that means that you're in charge. Despite everything, Naruto and Hinata don't have your experience in this sort of thing."

"Understood," Kimimaro said. "In the event that we engage fellow Konoha shinobi, what should we do?"

"Don't kill them if you can avoid it, but if you can't, then remember that anyone you can defeat is worth less to the village then you are. Konoha needs people who can protect more than it needs people to protect, and you won't help you village by sacrificing yourself out of mercy, because Konoha's true enemies certainly won't," Kabuto said. "Though, as team leader, the people you're fighting are again your second priority."

Kimimaro nodded. "I will not allow my team to die."

"There's a lot more to it than that, Kimimaro. As a team, you'll have to watch each other's backs, but as team leader, you have to understand your teammates, something that you've never bothered to do because, honestly, you've never cared to. You think that you're the center of your own story, and Naruto thinks that it's all about him, and even Hinata sees things mostly from her own perspective. You know what your teammates can do, but you don't know what their loves, fears, their aspirations, and as team leader, you must overcome that."

Kimimaro looked down in shame for a moment, then nodded. "I will not disappoint you again, sensei."

Kabuto felt he should say something else, but he had no idea what. These were his students. He trained them, they knew how to handle themselves. And as for what the Otokage was planning, well, if he didn't want Kabuto's students to interfere, he should have told him what was going on.

"I guess that's all," Kabuto said finally. "I'll see you in a few days.

WWW

Haku stood before the forest, waiting for his team's turn to get a scroll. Of course the exam would favor those more familiar with the local flora and fauna, but Konoha didn't have a neutral ground to have the survival exam on. If they were taking the exams in Suna, Haku's ninjutsu would be practically useless, but here, all they would have to worry about would be eating something toxic.

"Hey, can I borrow a senbon?" Hano asked suddenly.

"What do you need a senbon for?"

"To sign the waiver form. I can't take the exam without signing the waiver."

"You don't need to sign it in blood," Haku explained. "That's for summoning scrolls. For legal documents you just need a pen."

"Oh. I don't have one of those either. Can I have one anyway?"

"You can have a pen."

"Huh. Well, thanks anyway, Haku."

Nearby, Sasuke perked his head up. "Haku?" he asked. "I thought you seemed familiar. You look a lot different without the mask."

Haku figured that Kakashi's team would recognize him eventually, but he hadn't been looking forward to it. "Yes, I get that a lot," he said. "You look well, Sasuke."

"I must say I'm surprised to see you here. I know it's none of my business, but weren't you a missing nin a few months back? Did you just decide to quit one morning or what?"

"Wait a second," Kaya interrupted. "This guy knew you from when you were missing too?"

"He was part of the first Konoha team I encountered."

"Oh, that one?" Hano asked. "Odd. He doesn't smell like a vampire. If I had to say, I'd say he smells like…"

"I don't play games, Haku," Sasuke said. "What are you really here for? And don't say it's just to make it to chunin."

"Bark. Or is that the forest?"

"Let me ask you a question," Haku said. "If there was someone important to you, and some people killed him in front of you and made you watch, what would you do?"

"Salt! Yeah, that's it."

"I'd hunt him down and destroy him," Sasuke replied.

"It seems that you still do not understand true strength, Sasuke. And that is why we may never see eye to eye."

WWW

Kimimaro stared into the thousand shadows cast by the endless trees. "We need a plan," he said.

"We need a lot of things," Naruto replied. "But we're in a place we've never been before surrounded by people we've never met before who can do things that we've never seen before. If you can plan for that, great, but I say we just wander around until we find someone, beat them up and swipe their shoes, and keep it up until we get the right scroll."

"I'm not going to ask you why you want to take their shoes, Naruto, but—"

"So they can't chase after us."

Kimimaro gave him a cold stare. "I'm not going to ask you why, but it's possible that we could fight half the teams here and not get a heaven scroll."

Naruto laughed. "If that did happen, we'd have all the earth scrolls, and do you know how many people would pass the exam then? And we'd all get new shoes. I know I need some. And thirdly—or…fourthly?—last of all, we might get lucky and get a heaven scroll on the first try."

"Luck runs out," Kimimaro said darkly. "I'll not risk the exam on her fickle favors. There is a way we can find someone who certainly has the right scroll; we just find a team that has both. Eventually, everyone with both scrolls will go to the tower. If we catch them before they finish the exam, we can end this in one precise fight."

It was a good plan, Hinata decided. Bold and dangerous, but good, assuming that they could handle a team that had already defeated another. If anyone asked her for ideas, she would have suggested that they wait in one place and set up traps. They were rookies, inexperienced and presumed weak. Plenty of teams would come to them looking for an easy mark, so they wouldn't have to wait long. But no one asked her, and she kept her mouth shut.

WWW

Team Seven stood at the outskirts of the forest as they decided on their plan.

"I know that look," Shikamaru said. "That's the look you have when you're thinking about doing everything the hard way, just to cause trouble."

"That so?"

"Yes, Sasuke, yes. In this entire deathtrap of an exam, there is one person who has nearly killed both of us, and I can tell that you want to hunt down his team. Well, there are plenty of teams here, so why don't we look for one that might actually be weaker than us?"

"We could," Sasuke admitted. "Although…Haku has every reason to come after us. He did say that he wouldn't go out of his way to kill us, but I'd trust him a lot more if he were dead."

"I would too," Shikamaru admitted, "but just think about it for ten seconds. We won last time because we could gang up on him. Now he has a team, so we can fight him one on one, or wait until after the survival portion and you could fight him one on one. Frankly, our teamwork sucks, so I suggest you wait for later, and that's not just because he scares me."

"What do you mean our teamwork sucks?" Sakura demanded.

"He's not referring to you, he's referring to me," Sasuke said. "Which is odd because last time we fought someone together, he sacrificed me, not the other way around."

"You were already dead, Sasuke!" Shikamaru argued. "We both were. Besides, what does it matter now?"

"You're right. I'm not usually the kind of guy to hold a grudge. I don't know what's wrong with me," Sasuke said ironically. "But you have a point. And even if I wanted to face him now, we don't have a good chance of finding him within the week."

"Yeah, we should focus on getting a scroll and passing the exam," Sakura agreed. She glanced at Shikamaru. "Any ideas?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I've been thinking about this, and I think we should do nothing for a few days."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "And just when I thought you couldn't get any lazier."

"I'm being serious," he said. "Every day, the weakest teams fail, and the strongest move on. If we face a team slightly stronger than us, we can run, but if they're a lot stronger, they might kill us. In a few days, the strongest will be gone."

Sakura frowned, and then conceded. She had a good head on her shoulders, but it was mostly in the past, memorizing facts and remembering details. Sasuke could see a few steps ahead, but he focused on the present. The team left the planning to him.

"A few traps won't go amiss, then," Sasuke decided.

"Yeah, you do that," Shikamaru said as he lied down to look at the clouds. "Let me know if you need me to move."

Sakura gave him a dirty look, but never complained too much about a chance to get rid of the "third wheel," as she called him. He didn't care. He had more important things to think about, like what Haku was doing here. He was a missing nin last time they met, or at least was working with one. Legitimizing his position wouldn't be easy, but Shikamaru knew too little about the Hidden Mist to know how hard. Shikamaru was sure Haku was already chunin level, so why didn't he just test out of the exam? Could they do that in the Hidden Mist?

Part of him thought that Haku might have lied about his abilities just to take the exam…somehow knowing that team Seven would be taking it…at the same time…just to get back at them. That was pretty far-fetched, actually.

Shikamaru closed his eyes and remembered the day they fought, trapped between his frozen mirrors, how he killed Sasuke, how he had Haku caught in his shadow, how they watched that missing nin with the big sword—what was his name, Zabuza?—how they watched him die. No matter how hard he tried, Shikamaru couldn't forget his scream. That was not the sound of a man breaking. That was the sound of a man being shattered. A few minutes later, Shikamaru's friend came back to life, but Haku's friend…didn't.

It was pretty far-fetched for Haku to come all the way back to get revenge on them, Shikamaru decided, but not impossible.

WWW

The forest was old, older than the village itself. Yakumo didn't know how many times exams were held in this forest…

"Well, we're not going to catch a scroll standing around here," Idate said.

…or how many have died in this place, but it must have…

"Hey, Idate," Ino replied. "I have an idea. Why don't we try not to do anything stupid until after we leave a place that has the word death in its name? I'd rather not get killed here, if it's all the same to you."

…been a countless number. And as the shinobi spilt their blood among the branches, it fell…

"Well, dying was on my to-do list, but if you're going to be all uptight about it, I'll just cross it off then," Idate said.

…onto the ground. No…into the ground. And into the roots.

"But if we just wait around here, we're bound to run into somebody that we don't want to," he went on.

And into the trees.

"On the other hand, if we go, we might walk into another team's trap," Idate continued. "Wait a second, I remember that there's a term for this. Catch twenty-two, is it? Oh crap! We're in a catch twenty-two! We're all doomed!"

Trees of blood. The Forest of Death.

"Wow," Ino scoffed. "We haven't been here fifteen minutes and already you're turning into a spineless puddle of unmanly ooze. We're not doomed, we just have to be careful. In fact, this should be right up your alley, because mortal peril actually is around every corner."

That was the mood that permeated these woods.

"But first things first, we should find a place that isn't so open, right Yakumo? Yakumo?"

These were not trees. They were—Ino snapped her fingers in front of her face. Yakumo glared at her and she stepped back.

"You know I hate it when you do that," she said.

"Sorry. But we have to go."

Yakumo nodded and climbed onto Idate's back. It didn't matter where they went, as long as they ended up somewhere where they definitely weren't. From branch to branch they darted, but it wasn't a forest of trees they dove through. They were tombstones, and the knife marks that marred the bark a thousand epitaphs. Konoha sealed the history of this forest with a chain linked fence, and here it remained. She could use that history in her artwork, because when the whole world can run like the wind and you can barely walk, no advantage can be forsaken.

WWW

Neji looked out into the forest with pale, dispassionate eyes. "We only have five days to do this," he said. "Let's make every minute count."

"Right! With so many worthy foes, this exam will be a challenge to remember!" Lee spoke with unbridled enthusiasm, but Lee could watch paint dry with unbridled enthusiasm.

"We'll do surveillance for the first twenty hours, and meet up here at eight o' clock tomorrow morning," Neji said without facing them. "Lee, head northwest, I'll go north, and Tenten, you may stop imitating me behind my back and go northeast."

Tenten stopped mimicking him and grinned. She would stop when it stopped bothering him, and not before. "Sure thing, fearless leader. And if we run into another team?"

"Observe, but do not engage. Any team you can defeat outnumbered three to one doesn't have a scroll we want, and that goes for all of the rookie teams that have wandered in here as well. If you have to, run. I don't expect much of a challenge, but that's no reason to be sloppy."

He didn't say what they should do if they ran into anyone faster than them. But after what Gai-sensei put them through, anyone faster than them deserved to catch them.

Lee took a deep breath, as though breathing in the future. "If we are not the first team to complete the exam, I will hop two hundred laps around Konoha on one foot!" he declared.

If Neji heard him, he gave no sign. "Let's go."

WWW

The smell of damp trees and mold was nearly overwhelming. Kiba wrinkled his nose. He glanced at Akamaru, but the dog was focusing eagerly on a bird's nest and wagging his tail. He'd been like that ever since the team learned that tree climbing technique. Not even Kiba telling him that he was acting like a cat could get him to stop chasing birds out of the trees.

Chouji looked apprehensively into the forest. That guy just didn't get camping. They could travel out to a place that people might never have been before in the history of the world, and then Chouji would grumble something about being out of chips.

And then there was Shino. Kiba couldn't tell whether he liked camping; he claimed indifference. But then again, Shino could probably stick his hand in a blender and say the same thing with a straight face.

"So, are we going or are we going already?" Kiba called out.

"Any unplanned action will only hinder us," Shino said. "I have placed an insect on a member of each of the opposing teams. As long as they stay together, we will not be caught off guard."

"You have?" Kiba asked. "Actually, that's a pretty good idea. So what team's the weakest?"

"I'm sorry?"

"You know, the weakest. I mean, we have to beat up some team for their scroll, and I don't want to attack someone and realize that I've just assaulted team Cthulhu."

Shino shook his head. "I have already explained the nature of the Kikaichu. They do not discriminate. I know the locations of the teams, but the location of no specific team. And even if I did, I lack the necessary information to accurately judge the capabilities of our opponents."

"Huh."

"Also, while the Kikaichu are ectotherms and do not require much nourishment, I do not feed them to excess, and they will soon hunger. Shortly afterwards, they will be noticed."

"Oh. So how much time do we have?"

"A day at least. Two at most," Shino answered. "It depends on the awareness of the host."

"Two days?" Kiba asked. "That's plenty of time! We'll be in the tower before your last bug even gets hungry!" He looked at where the fence disappeared into the trees on both sides of them. "Right now, the teams are probably still near their gates, like us. Hey, Chouji!"

"Yeah?" Until then, Chouji had been munching away, content to let Shino and Kiba plan.

"Left or right?"

"What?"

"Left or right? Do you want to attack the closest team that-a-way, or that-a-way?"

"Uh—uh—right! No, left!"

"Right it is!" Kiba looked up at the trees. "Hey, Akamaru! It's time to go! And if you don't leave that bird alone, we're leaving without you!"

WWW

"ECHO!" Hano shouted into the trees. The trees didn't echo back. "Man, the acoustics in this place are terrible. No wonder this place is called the Forest of Death. The sound dies here like nothing else."

"And all this time I thought it had something to do with people dying," Kaya replied. "Also, keep your voice down. We don't want everyone to know that we're here."

Hano frowned. "Uh, I hate to break it to you, but I think they already know, because either we're here, or we've dropped out of the exam, and that wouldn't be any fun at all."

"No, not here, the forest, but right here, here."

Hano looked around. "Here is the forest. I don't know if anyone's ever told you this, but sometimes you say things that make no sense at all."

Kaya shook her head and looked up at the tree Haku had climbed to look around. It was weird how he did it. He just put his feet on the bark and walked upward like gravity had shifted for him. It was a basic chakra molding technique, he had explained. Some people, especially in the Leaf, learned it before they could even walk on water.

Kaya frowned. In the Hidden Mist, she'd rather be able to walk on water than climb trees, but here, in the middle of the forest without a lake in sight, everyone else would be fighting in three dimensions, and they would still—

"BORING!" Hano called out. "Still nothing."

"For the last time, would you cut that out!" she snapped.

"Out…out…out…wow, Kaya, that was pretty good."

Kaya forced her eyes shut to calm herself. "Look, even if you don't care about getting killed, would you at least—"

"Haku's back."

"What?"

Haku landed on the ground beside her with as much sound as a rain drop.

"Did you find anything?" Kaya asked.

"I think I found a stream some twenty minutes to the west. We may be able to follow it all the way to the tower."

"Let's get going then," Kaya said. "I'd hate to run into an opposing team and realize that none of my water jutsu work."

Haku nodded. "Also, I doubt that many teams have brought five days of water. When they get thirsty, they'll have to come to us."

"Excellent! We're going to get to be crocodiles!" Hano exclaimed.

Kaya frowned. "Why don't they just take water from the air? It's not like we're in a desert or anything."

"You'd be surprised how few people bother to learn that jutsu," Haku answered. "They'd rather carry a canteen around with them all day and hope it lasts, it seems."

Kaya thought about that and shook her head. "I'm never going to understand these people."

WWW

The one who called himself his brother looked at him, as if to speak, then glanced at the one who called herself his sister.

"So, uh, Gaara…" Temari began.

Kill them! Kill them both! That was all it took. As though the one who called herself his sister could read his mind, she fell silent.

The desert Garra wore on his back sometimes seemed heavier than the earth itself, but right now it felt like the desert was carrying him. "We're wasting"—kill them now!—"time here," Garra said. "Let's go."

WWW

He followed, as he always did. Hoshui followed, and Orochimaru led. Orochimaru made the Sound a village to be respected and feared, and Hoshui watched the world tremble. He would continue to follow through the little tests and twisted games. He had won them all so far, and he was still alive.

Oto came first, no matter the cost. And if that meant slaughtering a few unskilled strangers, then the price was truly cheap.

"Whoa, we got company," one of the grass nin said. He was masked.

"These guys are fast," a second shinobi said. "I didn't expect to even fight another team for a few more hours." He grinned wolfishly. "I feel a record about to be broken."

Hoshui looked at him indifferently. "Normally I would reprimand you for showing Orochimaru-sama such disrespect," he said, "but at this point there would be little point. This will be over quickly."

The grass kunoichi—black hair, tall, the leader Hoshui guessed—mouthed the word Orochimaru and paled, but her teammates didn't recognize the name and charged like fools.

It was over in an instant, as Hoshui had promised. The young fool probably didn't have time to realize he was dead in the instant Hoshui drove his fingers into the masked one's chest, directing the blow up under the genin's ribs and into his heart. He flipped the body into the face of the second. The genin never saw the blow that crushed his throat. Hoshui turned to find Orochimaru had tripped up the kunochi as she tried to run. More accurately, he cut off her legs.

"Did you see that?" Orochimaru chuckled. "She didn't even call a retreat, she just bolted, hoping that her teammates could stall us. Ah, sweet teamwork. Reminds me of myself when I was a genin." He casually swatted away a kunai she threw at him. "It always amazes me how long someone will struggle in a hopeless situation. You have no legs, child, what good will it do? I remember doing this with butterflies as a child. Have you, Hoshui-kun?"

Hoshui watched the grass nin as she tried to crawl away. He reminded himself, forcefully, that Orochimaru-sama was on the verge of conquering death itself—that he dedicated time, effort, and not inconsiderable skill to the glory of a small hidden village in an insignificant country. His…indulgences…were not so great.

Hoshui knelt and broke the second genin's throat, ending his thrashing for breath. "No, I cannot say I have. I seldom had the time or the patience, and never both at once," he answered.

"They would struggle until they died, but they never gave up. It was fascinating. But you have a point; I really don't have the time." He drove his sword into her heart. Her body trembled and stilled.

Hoshui wiped off his fingers on mask's shirt and picked out the team's earth scroll. "Best of luck pretending to be a genin," he said, tossing Orochimaru the scroll.

"I was never good at pretending to be a genin," he snorted. "Even when I was one." Orochimau knelt beside the woman's body, gathering a brief burst of chakra. An ignorant observer might confuse what happened next with a healing jutsu for its surgical precision. That could not be further from the truth. Orochimaru pressed his fingers over the jawline, the forehead, eyelids, then simply pulled back the woman's face before he moved on to the next. Exposed bone remained behind, bloodless as a manikin.

What was left in Orochimaru's hands was, for all intents and purposes, a fully functional face. The kinjutsu left nerves and minor muscles intact within the finished product. A particularly subtle seal allowed it to flex and feel almost as well as the real thing, once keyed to a host chakra, and would last nearly sixty hours.

Hoshui turned to leave, then hesitated. "Orochimaru-sama, it has occurred to me that on the verge of the invasion, our…inside man is rapidly becoming…expendable."

"You don't like him?" the snake sounded very amused.

"I don't trust him. If he wanted to, he could go to his withered relic of a Hokage right now and tell him everything he knows, and he could pretend to be nothing more than a double agent," Hoshui said. "If he hasn't already."

"Now why would dear Kabuto-kun want to do a thing like that?" Orochimaru had started working on the last face.

"Konoha is his home," Hoshui said. "He may have conflicting loyalties, friends, he even has students here. There is a…biological advantage for an organism to sacrifice itself for its offspring. This is more apparent for semelparous organisms, but it is true for humans as well, and it doesn't take much to adapt that instinct to sensei to student."

"Only if you're sentimental," Orochimaru said derisively.

"My point stands, Orochimaru-sama," he said. "As long as he has a way out, he cannot be trusted."

"If you dislike him so much, then kill him," Orochimaru said with a shrug. "If he's stupid enough to get himself killed, then he really is expendable, and I'll find someone else to pick up the slack. But know this, Hoshui. Kabuto doesn't have a way out." Orochimaru smiled and added softly, "No one does."

"I understand, Orochimaru-sama."

"Oh, and one more thing, before you go."

"Yes?"

"We passed a lovely shrine on the way here that I'd like you to desecrate. Leave the bodies there, and be sure to get some blood on the Buddha."

"That seems…audacious," Hoshui said with a frown.

"Perhaps, but I haven't seen my dear student in years," Orochimaru replied with theatric melancholy. "I must be getting…sentimental."

WWW

a/n Sweet! I'm done! Do you ever have those days when you're half way done with a chapter, and then your flash drive disappears? No? Oh, well never mind. Thanks for all the people who are still reading this.