... Well, I suppose some of you are wondering what took me so long. I have several excuses.

By very horrible coincidence when I finished my chapter and was uploading it, my computer crashed and with it took down my unsaved Word doc. I really need to get a new compy. DX

Just recently I have had exams, which I feel that I've failed already. However, the holidays are almost starting, and I will be active! My personal goal is to finish a chapter or two before christmas!

Also, there's the fact that I'm a lazy bugger who procrastinates as a hobby. And is addicted to something worse than crack: Maplestory. That game is a drug, I swear.

Reviewer's Corner!

keight: Regarding your question about how often Kyuubi turns chibi-mode: very often. Besides, it's fun to write about. :D

DBasty: Correct! I got the idea from Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. That is one of the only shows I enjoy that's not an anime. :3

Dragon Noir: Well, in the anime, Naruto had made a passing remark to Kiba when he wondered why Akamaru didn't talk. He mentioned that Kakashi hand-raised his dog summons, so I assumed that he taught them how to talk. Besides, Orochimaru has too much free time on his hands if he spends it observing his "Target". He needs more constructive things to do. Also, that part with Mako is merely a filler. As we are all aware, fillers do not affect the main characters (ie. kill them off, etc.).

Link Fangirl01: Katamari Damacy: one of the most addicting games I have ever played. Rolling over things is fun. XD

To all of you people wondering what will happen to Naruto, read on!

Disclaimer: For the LAST TIME, I am NOT interested in your damn cooki- Oh.. You ain't girl scouts? Well, in any case, I don't own Naruto. And no, I am not interested in your girl scout cookies. So shoo. Go on, get.

Chapter 17

Orochimaru was pissed beyond all reason. He did not expect the blond idiot to recieve his present intended for his Sasuke-kun. His biggest concern was the fact that the brat had Kyuubi in him. With the nine-tailed fox's powers, who knew how it would affect his curse seal?

Focusing on his task ahead, he instructed his Sound team to test Sasuke's skills. Watching them leave he instructed Kabuto to watch over the Team 7, only to make his presence known to them if either his genin team were winning or after the battle.

Still cursing slightly, Orochimaru left the Forest of Death and transformed into the Jounin sensei disguise he had used to enter the village.

It seemed that everything seemed to turn against him today.

Naruto groaned as he opened his eyes. 'Ugh... I feel like I've been bitten in the shoulder or something... Wait a minute. Why aren't I saying this out loud? Or, rather, why am I in my mind?' Looking around for the first time, he noticed a couple of things that seemed very wrong in his realm of thought.

One. Remembering that this is the first time in a long time that he truly checked himself while in his mind, he noticed that he looked like an adult.

Two. His normally annoying "Kyuubi-sensei" was not pestering him for once. Instead he was growling at something.

Three. Upon closer inspection he realised that 'Something' was a certain creepy snake pedophile intent on possessing his mind.

"Kukukuku... Is this it?" chuckled 'Orochimaru'. "All I have to do here is just defeat you and then I can take control of this pitiful mind. The only thing I wonder... Your current form should reflect how old you truly are. You are only twelve, are you not? Then why are you an adult?"

'Uh...'

"Well, no matter. Once I defeat you, I will be able to tell my true self through your own lips. Then you shall become a servant for me, Kyuubi brat." Cackling, the imitation transformed into a large snake. With a sadistic grin the serpent charged at the unusually calm looking Naruto.

'There are a few flaws in your plan to take over my mind. One of them include that you forget my tenant.'

"Kukukuku... You seemed to have forgotten the fact that the demon is inside the cage. You are MINE!"

'Oh? Then who's that behind you?'

Orochimaru, deciding to humour the brat, looked behind him. He saw the Kyuubi in its cage.

"What about it? He's still trapped in the cage."

Grinning, Naruto merely snapped his fingers. In an instant the cage disappeared and in its wake was the Kyuubi in all its glory. With a feral grin the fox raised a paw at the now surprised and terrified snake.

"Yo."

"Hinata, we'll stop here for the night," said Sasuke, as he unceremoniously dumped Naruto against a tree. "Can you use your Byakugan to see if there are anyone near?"

Nodding, Hinata activated her bloodline limit. "It appears that the genin team from Oto is heading this way, and I'm certain that they're not coming for some friendly banter. Also, I see Team Eight and Team Ten in the area."

"... I'll go set traps."

"For who? The Sound team or Ino and Sakura?"

Sasuke ignored her uncharacteristic remark as he began to prepare traps. He would much rather fight thousands of enemies than face the constant bickering of Ino and Sakura. Why is it that no one had ever asked him out instead of foaming at the mouth, screaming, or fainting? Besides, he already had his sights on someone anyway...

Hinata returned to her duties as the medic-nin by examining the strange mark on Naruto's shoulder.

"This seal... It looks like Sasuke-san's Sharingan..." she muttered worriedly. Then, she noticed that Naruto's expression, once contorted with pain had changed.

"He's... smiling?"

'Kyuubi-sensei, at times like this I wonder how old you truly are,' thought Naruto as he watched his tenant happily chewing on his prey like a puppy.

"... What? This is actually quite fun. You should try it sometime."

'I'll pass.'

The dead serpent then abruptly poofed out of Kyuubi's mouth, leaving a sulking fox and a small yet alive snake.

'... You've got to be shitting me.'

'Well, congratulations for killing my former master.' The snake bowed. 'My name is Hikaru (1) and the reason why I'm here is to basically take control of your heart and kill you, your furry friend there, and myself instantly. I am able to, thanks to the curse seal.'

'So, to put it bluntly, I'm gonna die, right?'

'Not exactly. You see, I am what you would call a defect. To tell you the truth, I am a summon animal. When I "die", I'll just end up back where I started, which is in the summoning realm. However, the snake clan is in chaos, thanks to the recent assassination of my father, Orochi (2) and now the current reign of Manda.'

Kyuubi gaped at the snake.

"WHAT?! Orochi, dead? He was one of the most powerful boss summons, second in power to none but myself! How did it happen?"

Hikaru sighed. 'My father's love of sake had become his downfall, I suppose. Manda had made a pact with Orochimaru, promising him techniques guarded by the snake clan in exchange for Manda being in power. One night Orochimaru summoned my father and provided him large jars full of sake. When he was asleep the bastard summoned Manda and both killed my father. Incidentally, inside my father's corpse Orochimaru found the Kusanagi (3) and has since continued to wield it.'

After this Hikaru cheered up slightly. 'But this is where you come in. I need more time to be able to avenge my father, so I'll stay here and train until either you manage to kill Orochimaru or by some reason manage to kill yourself. Do we have a deal?'

'Well, an enemy of that freak is a friend of mine. If he wants to, Kyuubi-sensei can help train you as well.' Naruto grinned. 'I'd shake hands with you, but.. You don't really have any arms.'

"I agree with the blond idiot. I'll help train you."

'Thanks, Kyu- OI!'

"Now that this is over and done with, I suggest you regain consciousness. Your team mates are probably worried about you."

'Hmph. Fine, I'll go... for now. I shall have my revenge soon enough.'

With that statement, Naruto left his mind and found himself back in the real world.

Naruto groaned as he began to rouse from his sleep.

"Sasuke-san! Naruto-kun's awake!" said Hinata.

"Ugh.. What happened?" he muttered. Suddenly, remembering what happened he groaned again. "That pedophile gave me a hickey, didn't he?"

"Yep. But we've got more pressing matters to attend to," said Sasuke.

"What could be more pressing than the disturbing fact that the pedophile gave me a-"

"The team from Oto are heading towards us, and Team Eight and Team Ten are near the area. I've set traps-"

"For who?" asked Naruto, "The Team from Oto or for-"

"Hinata beat you to that remark, Naruto."

"What?" Flabbergasted, Naruto stared at Hinata. "You mean... She's actually said..."

Sasuke nodded. Naruto grinned.

"Congratulations, Hinata-chan! You've finally managed to back-talk someone! I knew that I could horribly influence you one day!" With tears in his eyes Naruto glomped the now blushing Hinata.

"Na... Naru... to..." stammered Hinata. In her mind she was in cloud nine and on the verge of fainting, when-

Sasuke coughed. "Sorry to interrupt you lovebirds," At this Naruto quickly let go, "But we've still got people heading towards us. Naruto, check the traps I've set up. Hinata, use your Byakugan again to check how close they are."

"Fine, fine..." grumbled Naruto, "Though even I don't taunt you about your crush on-"

"GO," said Sasuke menacingly.

"Alright, alright... Sheesh, I was just going to tell Hinata-chan a little secret you told me years ag-"

"Naruto..." growled Sasuke. "One more word, and in a week, no one will be able to find your cremated body."

Hastily, Naruto retreated to check on the traps.

Close to Team Seven's location, three figures stealthily headed towards their targets undetected (A/N: Or so they thought).

"Kin, are we there yet?" one whined quietly.

"We'll get there when we get there," whispered the one called Kin. "Now do us all a favour and shut up."

"Zaku, Kin, stop bickering. You two are both giving me a headache," said the third figure. The silence gave the leader time to think. The fact that Orohimaru-sama instructed them to specifically kill the Uchiha was suspicious. Why was it so important to kill him? If it was so important, then why didn't his master simply kill the target when he had a chance?

No sooner had he made that thought did Kinuta Dosu realise what their purpose was.

They were nothing more than a simple training exercise in Orochimaru's eyes. They were being used for the sole purpose of testing the Uchiha's strength. In Orochimaru's eyes they were nothing but mere pawns.

Dosu had a choice to make here. Should his team go and follow the instructions given? Or should they ignore their orders for the fact that they were treated like sacrifices?

He made his decision.

"Kin, Zaku, get into position. We'll assassinate the Uchiha before he knows it."

"What about his team mates? What do we do with them?" asked Kin.

"Whaddya mean, 'what do we do with them?' We kill 'em, of course," replied Zaku.

Though no one could see through his bandages, Dosu smiled. He would prove that he was not some kind of guinea pig. His team mates, maybe, but not him.

Coming to a halt, the team observed their targets.

"Sleeping like little angels," muttered Zaku. "I can't wait to wake 'em up and see the look on their faces when I slice 'em with my Zankuuha (4)."

Prentending to sleep and hearing every word, Naruto pretended to roll over and mouthed back, "... And I can't wait to kick your ass and make you literally want to eat your words."
"That girl's hair..." mumbled Kin. "It's shinier than mine. I'll bet that she's the weakest in the pathetic hovel they call home. Probably cares more about her looks than about her training."
Hearing this, Hinata thought, 'The fact that she judges people based on their looks shows that she's the weakest of the lot. I wonder what Naruto-kun thinks about my hair, though...'
Dosu said nothing.
Neither did Sasuke.
Finally, Dosu spoke. "Let's kill them. Zaku, take the blond idiot. Kin, take the girl. I'll deal with the Uchiha." The two silently cheered.

This was going to be easy.

While they weren't being watched, Sasuke mouthed, "Let's kick their asses. Looks like we've got our respective opponents." His team mates silently cheered.

This was going to be easy.

Pausing quickly, Dosu scanned the area for traps. Though he was not what you would call an expert, he was decent when it came to traps.

"All clear. These Leaf genin truly are pathetic for not even keeping watch or setting traps. They shall learn their lesson."

With that the three charged into the camp without warning.

They were surprised to see a large log hurtling towards them. With ease the three dodged it to fall into another trap. Zaku groaned.

"Oh... Shi-"

Dozens of weaponry headed towards them at an alarming speed. As cocky as ever, Zaku indicated that he would blast them away. He smirked and held out his palms.

"Zankuuha!" the result was a supersonic blast of air which easily knocked the weapons away. Zaku laughed.

"I never knew those weaklings were this bad! And to think that I thought that this would be challen- OOF!"

His triumph was cut short by yet another log which decided to acquaint itself with his solar plexus.

"For the last time Zaku, get cocky when you've actually done your job or at a real advantage," said Dosu wearily. It seemed that another headache was coming up soon.

"I thought that the Oto-nin were supposed to be tough, Naruto. Looks like you've overestimated them." With a smirk Sasuke sat up and stared at them with disdain. "I never realised scum who serve slimes like Orochimaru were so arrogant and weak."

Kin stared at him with surprise and feigned innocence. "Orochimaru? What does he have to do with the Sound Village? I thought he died years ago."

A figure next to the Uchiha snorted. The kunoichi turned her attention to Naruto, who grinned and pointed to his ears. "I have here very good bullshit detectors and even without it I can tell you're lying. When we kick your asses tell that freak that I'm not ready for a relationship and that the hickey was disgusting." Without warning Team Seven struck, each attacking their respective opponents.

Hinata surprised her opponent using her speed and knocked her out with ease using the Jyuuken. "That was too easy," she muttered as she watched her opponent crumple into an ungraceful heap unconscious.

Zaku, still slightly winded at the blow from the log, eyed the blond warily. His opponent seemed relatively fresh. He, however had scratches in different places, a bruise beginning to form on his solar plexus and was still catching his breath from the constant running he had to do to reach the 'target'.

Screw the fatigue. The idiot was described by the spy as a hopeless dead-last with a small amount of expertise in traps and, oddly enough, marksmanship. Zaku reasoned to himself that he would be able to finish his foe with one well-placed attack.

"This is where you're gonna die. Zankuuha!"

Zaku smirked at the destruction he had created. His attack was strong enough to cleave stone. The blond didn't even stand a chance.

"If that's the only technique you've got, you need to learn more," whispered a voice behind him. His eyes widened. "Wha... When did you..."

Naruto tapped a pressure point lightly, causing Zaku to collapse, unconscious. "Most basic ninja technique - the Kawarimi. Tch. You should've listened to the weirdo in bandages. Cocky bastard."

Dosu cursed as his opponent narrowly dodged his sound-based attacks. He cursed even more as he noticed his team mates collapse. 'Damn... How much power does this guy have?' he thought angrily.

Sasuke, noticing that his opponent's movements became more sluggish, decided to end it quickly. He stood back and brought his hands into a seal. "Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" Clones seemed to pop out of nowhere and charged the bandaged ninja. Dosu used his Kyoumeisen (5) in response and managed to dispatch all. He noticed then that the original was nowhere to be seen.

'Let's see...' he thought'He's not above me, or around me... which means he's... Under!' No sooner did he realise this that Dosu found himself neckdeep in the ground.

Sasuke revealed himself, pressing a kunai to his opponent's neck and smirked. "Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu (6), success. You should give up. I haven't even started showing my full power yet. You're tired, plus your team mates have been disposed of as well. I'm feeling particularly generous, and letting you go on the condition of giving us your scroll and leaving us alone. Fail to comply, and I won't hesitate to kill you."

The sound-nin sighed. "Very well. I comply to your terms. The female, Kin, has the scroll. But heed my words, Uchiha Sasuke. You will regret showing mercy, for we will pass the second test and we will kill you."

"Oh, for fuc- Shut up!" shouted Naruto exasperatedly. "Do you Oto-nin ever stop talking? If that dude with the holes in his palms gets any more cockier, I will personally rip his arms out and stuff it in his mouth! That girl won't shut up about hair, and you! You're at the mercy at your enemies, and yet you have the balls to threaten us? Heck, even I know when to shut up, and I'm known as the loudest ninja in Konoha!"

Dosu did as he was told and shut up. The blond looked as if he was going to murder something, or him in particular.

Hinata completed scanning the unconscious Kin's body. "Sasuke-san, Naruto-kun, the Oto-nin was telling the truth. I've found an Earth Scroll."

"Good," said Sasuke. "Take the scroll. Since we've got the Heaven Scroll and the Earth Scroll (7), we can head towards the tower. Let's go."

"But don't you want to wait for your girlfriend?" teased Naruto, emphasising on the last word.

"Naruto..." Growled Sasuke warningly.

"Alright, alright..."

The Konoha-nin left the two unconscious plus one-stuck-in-the-ground-and-not-so-unconscious Oto-nin, Naruto raising his hand in a mock salute before leaving.

Kiba triumphantly held his prize he acquired from a 'generous' team from Mist. "Sweet! We've got the scroll, so now we can start heading towards the tower!"

Sakura nodded. "That was surprisingly easy. All I had to do was use Genjutsu and you two easily finished them off."

Shino said nothing, but silently agreed.

"Apart from those weird techniques the Kumo-nins used, that was surprisingly easy," said Chouji thoughtfully as Team 10 swiftly headed towards the tower.

"Shikamaru, I never noticed what a good tactician you were," remarked Ino, "The only thing I saw you were good at was Shogi, and that's a game for old people."

Shikamaru sighed. "We've been through this already. Shogi isn't a game for old people. It's too troublesome to explain myself again."

"Still, I can't wait until we get to the tower. Then I can see Sasuke-kun again!"

"I thought you said years ago that you only pretended to like Sasuke because Sakura did?" replied Shikamaru, dodging an incoming branch to the face.

'Ino didn't deny it,' noted Shikamaru as he saw a smirk on her face.

OMAKE!

Ever since she was reinstated as a Konoha ninja, Rin had done nothing but missions non-stop. Today she was given the day off. She sighed.

"There's nothing to do..." she said to herself sadly. She sighed again. "I miss Karin-chan..."

No sooner had she said this did she recieve a package by the Courier ninja. "Rin-san, right? This was addressed to you."

"Ah... Thank you," she said, accepting the package. She was slightly bewildered. Why was she given a present and what was inside it?

She considered the possibility of Kakashi, but she dismissed it quickly. "He'd have given me a copy of that perverted novel of his..." she muttered. "I swear, when I meet that bastard who wrote that book, I'm going to kill him."

Jiraiya sneezed as he observed his... 'Data'. 'Someone must be talking about me...' he thought. 'Yet also I feel as if I should be fearing for my life as well as my private parts.' He shrugged it off. 'Must be that weird Onigiri I ate for lunch.'

Back to our brown-haired heroine, Rin decided that the package wasn't a trap and proceeded to open it. Inside she found a card.

"Dear Rin-san," she read aloud, "For now, please keep these. Your other present will arrive after the second examination. -Naruto."

She looked inside. There was a handmade samurai outfit which could fit a small animal. "It's even got a cute little katana!" remarked Rin. There was also a book entitled 'Making small, animal-sized clothes for dummies, morons, and the mentally challenged.'

Rin cackled evilly. She was aware of what the 'Other' present was, and she knew she was going to love this. For now, she found a new hobby. She was going to enjoy playing with Karin-chan and dressing it up in a wardrobe of different outfits.

Notes:

(1) Hikaru - Means 'Shining', which has absolutely no reference whatsoever to his personality and whatnot. That's about it, really.

(2) Orochi - This is a reference in Japanese Mythology. Orochi is supposed to be a huge snake with eight heads and eight tails.

(3) Kusanagi - Orochimaru's trademark sword, meaning grasscutter. The hero Susanoo found the Kusanagi inside Orochi in the myth.

(4) Zankuuha - Decapitating Air Wave. Using the air tubes implanted in his arms, Zaku can control air pressure, creating supersonic blasts of air. These blasts are powerful enough to destroy stone. (Taken from Wikipedia)

(5) Kyoumeisen - Vibrating Sound Drill. By damaging the victim's inner ear, the victim is rendered off-balance and nauseous. It is a technique unique only to Dosu.

(6) Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu - Earth Release: Inner Decapitation Technique. The user, emerging from the ground below the target area, pulls down (or possibly swaps places with) the opponent so that only their head is above ground. (Wikipedia)

(7) ... Yes, I know that in the manga/anime Orochimaru ate the scroll. This one, he didn't.

Whew... This is the longest chapter I've written so far. Sorry it took so long!

By the way, should "Karin-chan" be a boy or a girl? I'm not sure what gender I'm making it.

Now, since it is midnight, I am going to go sleep n-