A/N: Once again, I'm sorry about the delay of this chapter. In here we have some fighting in the forest of death to show off some of the Oto groups skills and abilities. I don't want everyone to thing that the Stitching arts is all Naruto has after all. I'm also working on re-writing the first four chapters so be sure to check those out from time to time.

Chapter 5: Forest of Death

"Welcome, fresh meat, to Training Ground 44! Or as we oh-so affectionately call it here in Konoha, The Forest of Death!" The second proctor stated as she made a grand motion to the fenced off forest behind her. "And let me tell you, it deserves every little bit of it's name. In here is where the second test will take place, and let me tell you, It's guaranteed that the amount of teams will be cut in half."

"OOH OOH! OVER HERE PROCTOR-SAN!" Shinji yelled excitedly as he waved his hand frantically in the air "I HAVE A QUESTION! PICK ME, PICK ME!" The other genin gave him an incredulous look. He looked like a little kid in a kindergarten class!

"Yeah, what is it gaki?" Anko replied

"Will we be able to literally cut people in half?" Shinji asked with a serious face, unnerving some of the other chunin hopefuls "Please tell me we will. After that boring ass written exam, I need to hit something sooooooo bad. Like, REALLY, REALLY bad."

Naruto sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Sorry about him proctor-san, he get's a little overexcited if he sits still for too long and-" they blonde boy started to explain when he suddenly heard a kunai whiz past his head. A small cut opened up on his cheek, which started bleeding and he felt two soft mounds being pushed against his back

"Oh, I don't mind" Anko said as she leaned forward and began to lick the blood off of Naruto's cheek. "Mmmmm, Your blood is really sweet gaki." Anko suddenly stopped when she felt a tongue against her cheek as well. "Yours isnt so bad either... proctor-san."

Anko pulled back and touched her face to see a opened cut on her cheek. And to top it all off, he had licked the blood from it as well. 'What the hell? I didn't even see the kid move, let alone feel him cut my cheek. Heh, he's an interesting one.' she thought to herself. She glanced around to see that the other Oto genin were looking bored, except for Chojuro who was blushing and Fu and Haku who looked slightly off put by the exchange. The genin from Konoha and other villages still had the incredulous looks of their faces, save for a few of the more stoic ones.

"Well you're a cheeky one aren't you? I can't wait to see you splattered all over the forest floor."

Naruto smirked and chuckled. "Heh, I try. Now I believe you were explaining the rules to the second exam?" Anko nodded and went into the rules, saying that they were to be given one type of scroll and to gather the opposite one by stealing it from the other teams. After getting their scrolls and signing waivers saying that Konoha wouldn't be held responsible for any deaths, the Otogakure teams gathered together to make a strategy before the test began.

"Anyone have any ideas on how to go about this?" Naruto asked.

"I believe I have an idea Naruto-sama." Arno said, drawing everyone's attention. "Our starting gates aren't too far apart, only about an hour away if both teams move at top speed. I believe it would be easier to meet up near the gate after the test starts and overwhelm any teams we come across. Since we both have Earth scrolls, we will need two Heaven scrolls, but I feel that if we run into any teams even after we have our two scrolls, we should dispose of them. Thinning down the competition should help."

Naruto nodded, it was a solid enough plan. "Good idea Arno-kun. I want you to be the leader of your team until we meet up."

"Hai, Naruto-sama." Arno replied

"Chojuro, I need you to be in the middle of your formation. With Hiramekarei, you're the teams heavy hitter."

"H-hai, taichou" Chojuro stuttered out. "I-i'll do my best."

"You'll do fine, so don't worry. Anyway, Fu-chan will cover the rear, your dragonflies will be able to watch your backs. We'll set up a new formation once we all meet up." Fu nodded and Naruto turned to his own team as she, Arno, and Chojuro went to their own gate. "Our formation will be similar. Haku-chan up front, if you sense any immediate threats warn us. I'll be in the middle to react to them, and Shinji can watch our backs since he can sense body heat. You guys okay with that?"

"Yeah, yeah. Leave the rear to me leader-san." Shinji replied.

"I'll make sure to watch our front Naruto-kun." Haku said with determination.

As soon as they gathered in fron of their gate, Anko's voice could be heard over the intercom. "ALRIGHT FRESH MEAT, THE SECOND EXAM HAS BEGUN! TRY NOT TO DIE SO QUICKLY NOW~!"

All of the teams rushed in, as the exam was underway.

After about an hour and fifteen minutes of tree hopping, the Oto teams met up. Naruto's team got there without incident, while Arno's team mey up with and quickly dispatched a team from Kusagakure (Village Hidden in the Grass) and secured the first Heaven scroll they needed. After meeting up, they got into a new formation with Shinji in front to keep track of heat signatures, Haku behind him, Arno in the middle, since as the strategist he needed to be guarded so he could react better, Naruto and Chojuro on wither side as the heavy hitters, and Fu in the back to keep a lookout with her dragonflies. After travelling for a few hours without running into any other teams, they decided to take a break.

"Alright, it's pretty dark, so we should camp here." Naruto said as they landed in a clearing. "Since there are six of us I think we should go scroll hunting after dark."

"What do you mean?" Fu asked

"It's about Eight right now, so we should separate into three teams of two." Naruto stated. "One team will be out searching while the two sleep. We'll keep going until morning or we have at least 3 Heaven and 3 Earth scrolls. Just in case we need extra." The others nodded "Since it's dark, the opposing teams should only have one lookout at a time. If you're quiet enough you can take out at least one member, be it the lookout or one of the ones resting before alerting them. That should even the odds a bit if you get into a conflict. Each team will have a tracker who will find opposing teams and a heavy hitter who will do the initial strike. Arno and Chojuro will be first team out. I know you're not exactly a tracking specialist Arno, but I'm sure you'll be fine."

"You can count on me Naruto-sama." Arno replied

"Right. Head as far as you can to the North and return in three hours at 11pm. Sweep any teams you find, and be careful out there." They both nodded and left. "Next up will be Shinji as the tracker and Haku-chan as the heavy hitter. I know Shinji is stronger, but Haku-chan has the speed advantage, so she may be able to take out more than one of the opponents. Besides, you're too flashy and would alert any nearby teams as well as your target."

Shinji pouted as Haku and Fu giggled at him

"When Arno and Chojuro get back, you two will head Southeast. Same orders, go as far as you can, take out anyone you find, come back at 2am. Fu and I will take the last shift and will head Southwest. We'll be back by 5am and then we'll all head out by 6. Any questions?" When no one said anything he continued. "Let's all eat and get some sleep. I'll make some Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clones) to set up traps and keep watch."

Three hours later the first group returned with an Earth scroll, while the second got ready and headed out. When they returned, they had the Heaven and an Earth scroll. Naruto and Fu decided to just keep a lookout for the rest of the night.

The next day, the group was making their way towards the tower when both Naruto and Shinji stopped suddenly, causing everyone else to stop as well.

"Oi, Leader-san. You feel that?" Shinji said in a serious tone while looking to the west.

"Yeah... I'd know this feeling anywhere. That vile chakra signature is something I wish I could forget." Naruto said in an equally serious tone,

"You can say that again. From the fluctuations, it seems he is in a fight with someone. No doubt toying with them." Shinji stated while shuddering slightly, causing everyone else to cock an eyebrow or look at the two quizzically. Whatever made the fearless Naruto and the ever confident Shinji stop and be serious for more than 10 seconds must be pretty big.

"U-um... Who a-are you two talking about?" Chojuro asked.

Shinji spared him a glance before looking back in the direction the chakra signature was coming from. "... Orochimaru." This caused the other four in the group to falter slightly before Fu spoke up.

"Hold up... Orochimaru? As in Orochimaru of the Sannin? One of the biggest and most dangerous traitors in Konoha history? That Orochimaru?"

"Yeah." Naruto replied.

"What would he be doing here? And how can you two even tell it's him?"" Haku asked

"No idea what he's after, but whatever it is, it's not good." Shinji said. "As for your other question, we'll have to save it for another time. We need to help whoever he's attacking. If someone here has Orochimaru's attention then he no doubt something big planned for these exams."

"W-wait!" Chojuro exlaimed. "H-how are we going to take on one of the Sannin?! We're only genin!"

"That may be so Chojuro-kun" Naruto said looking back at him "But you forget just who the hell is in this group of ours." He started to grin confidently "I'm sure two jinchuuriki, a member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, and a human blowtorch can handle the job. Not to mention Haku-chan and Arno-kun are no slouches either. It'll be even easier for us since he will be underestimating us too."

"Are you sure about this Naruto-sama?" Arno asked

"It's not like we'll be going in to fight him to the death. We go in, get his attention, distract him long enough for the people he's attacking to get away, then make our own escape as well." Naruto replied. Now let's get going, we've wasted enough time."

"Hai, Taichou!" everyone yelled out as they made their way towards the battle site.

Orochimaru was having a good week. He had finalized his invasion plans for his hidden village, Amegakure, to invade konoha, killed the Kazekage in Sunagakure while fooling the village into joining him, taken a nice long dip in a natural hot spring he accidentally came across, and now here he was, about to deliver his curse mark to one Uchiha Sasuke, the boy he would use as his next vessel so he could finally acquire the Sharingan and be one step closer to his dream of mastering all jutsu in the world.

It was relatively easy to get here too. Sneak into konoha during the second stage of the chunin exams, separate him from his white-as-a-sheet teammate, knock out his pet howler monkey (although not without wondering how it ever got it's fur to be that pink. I mean seriously, how is that even possible?), insult his clan a few times, and bing bang boom, everything falls into place. Ah yes. Life was good.

Just as he was about to stretch his neck and plant his curse mark on the unconscious Sasuke's body, he was forced to jump away as a blast of fire engulfed the spot he had been standing seconds before. He snarled and looked up, expecting it to be Sasuke's creepy looking teammate, only to find a familiar face standing on a branch before jumping down and landing between him and his prize, along with five other figures landing next to the first.

"Ku ku ku. Well look who we have here, Shinji-kun! Have you come back to be expiramented on again? My scientists have missed you." Orochimaru taunted before continuing "I would love to chat more, but I need to place my curse mark on little Sasuke-kun over there." looking at the rest of the group, the snake Sannin made some slight observations. A platnum blonde with a stoic expression? Boring. A girl with mint colored hair? What is it with kunoichi and bright colors these days? A blue haired boy with a huge bandaged sword? Obviously overcompensating for something. Raven haired girl with senbon? Meh. Then he saw someone else that caught his eye.

"Oh! Naruto-kun, how have you been? Have you reconsidered my offer to join me?" The snake faced man asked Naruto, who had a scowl on his face, which soon turned into a smirk.

"Sorry Orochi-chan" Naruto said with an amused tone "My parents always told me not to go off and play with pedophiles, so I'll have to decline." this caused the others to stifle their laughter despite the fact they were about to face off with a legendary ninja.

"I am not a pedophile!" Orochimaru yelled in anger.

"Really now? Well let's see..." Naruto in a thoughtful tone before entering a thinking position.

"You're out here, in the woods."

"Yes." Orochimaru replied

"Alone with a 12 year old boy." Naruto coninued

"Yes." Orochimaru answered

"Who is unconscious, and currently vulnerable."

"Yes."

"And you want to plant a curse mark on him."

"Yes."

"It'll most likely cause him to betray Konoha and join up with you."

"Yes, it will."

"And how do you plant those curse marks of yours again?"

"I bite the recipient in the neck." Orochimaru stated.

"And you no doubt want him for your next vessel."

"Correct. I'm mildly impressed you figured that one out so quickly."

"And to take a vessel you must push your soul into his body to take over, correct?"

"Indeed, although I don't know how you came across that little tidbit of information."

"Hmmmm..." Naruto said before snapping his fingers in a 'eureka' pose. "So to summarize, you're in the woods alone with an unconscious little boy so you can give him a hickey which will brainwash him to come to you so you can go inside of his body and push your essence into him?" Naruto concluded.

"That's right, I-" Orochimaru started before he stopped and caught on to what the blonde boy was suggesting. He then snarled looked angrily at the group who was trying, and failing miserably to contain their laughter.

"OKAY, THAT'S IT! I WAS GOING TO TOY WITH YOU AND LEAVE WITH YOUR LIFE, BUT NOW I'M GOING TO KILL YOU ALL!" the snake man shouted angrily.

"Well then" Naruto said tensing his body to prepare for an attack. "Let's get started shall we?" He then turned to his comrades. "I'll go in first and distract him. Arno, Fu, Chojuro, I want you to use Tri-Combination 3 on my signal." The three nodded before Naruto looked to his other side. "Haku, Shinji, I want you ready for Dual-Combination 7. I'll fire off my own attack after the first group's combo, and you two will move in directly afterwards. I want a 6 second interval between our attacks at the most. Give him no time to recover. Remember everyone, our objective is to recover Konoha team 7 and escape alive, not to fight this guy to the death. Lethal force is authorized, but go for detainment if anything. MOVE OUT!" Naruto finished as he rushed towards Orochimaru to engage him in taijutsu.

Naruto threw a punch to Orochimaru's side, which the snake Sannin blocked before dodging out of the way of an uppercut and jumping over the leg sweep Naruto threw as a follow-up.

"Ku ku ku, it seems you've gotten better Naruto-kun" The Sannin stated as he blocked more punches with relative ease before bending backwards an an impossible angle to avoid a kick to the chest. "Not to mention the fact that you sounded like a real leader back there. I wonder what those combinations you were talking about are?" He asked in a smug voice. He obviously didn't see them as a threat.

Naruto smirked as a Kage Bunshin materialized behind the Sannin and tried to heel-kick him in the back of the head. The Sannin lazily ducked the attack, making it miss by inches before the Original Naruto jumped back.

"ARNO, NOW!" He shouted before the platnum blonde boy from earlier was suddenly in front of him in the blink of an eye.

"Josho kuresshendo (Rising Crescendo)!" the boy shouted before channeling lightning chakra into his arm, but instead of sparks coming out like the Sannin expected, it started to vibrate heavily. The Snake summoner was then uppercutted multiple times in the span of a few seconds, each punch leaving the sound of a music note being played on a piano, before one final punch sent him flying into the air.

'That speed! That should be impossible for someone his age! Just what is that boy?' Oroshimaru thought. Before he could think more into it, he was interrupted by another voice.

"Hiramekarei: UNLEASH!" the blue haired boy from earlier appeared above him and he was slammed back into the ground as the Chojuro's sword transformed into a hammer. The impact caused a decent sized crater to appear when The sannin landed. Orochimaru was about to move when he felt a fist as hard as steel bury itself into his midsection, causing the crater to grow even more. Fu had used the Nanabi's youkai to harden the skin on her arm to form an 'exoskeleton' of sorts, causing it to turn black and several small spikes protruding out of her elbow and part of her forearm. Needless to say, it hurt like hell.

Fu jumped back as an explosive tag she left on the Sannin's stomach exploded. "How do you like that Snakey?" She taunted. "Tri-Combination 3, between Arno, Chojuro, and I. We like to call it Triple Tech: Kiwamete Jūyōna Mono (Earthshaker)." She stated.

"Good Job you three! Now grab Team 7 and start for the tower!" Naruto shouted, knowing it was far from over. The three nodded before picking up the unconscious members of team 7 and leaving. As he predicted, Orochimaru was in the middle of shedding his skin loke a snake, with a filly healed version of himself crawling out.

"Now that was devastating. It seems I underestimated you. But nothing will get in the way of my plans for Sasuke-kun" Orochimaru said.

Just as he was about to pull his legs out of his 'dead' body's mouth, Naruto appeared in front of him with his gauntlets out. He quickly wrapped Orochimaru in wire, trapping him, before cutting the ends of the wire off his gauntlets and resealing them. Orochimaru wasn't concerned in the slightest, seeing as how he had a smirk on his face, but it was replaced with a look of confusion as Naruto pointed both of his index fingers in the snake sannins face.

Now usually getting pointed at isn't that big of a deal, but when the skin starts to peel off the persons fingers and said skin starts to be replaced by a swirling crimson chakra? That's when things get weird.

"Yo Orochi-chan, How's it going?" Naruto said as his fingers started shooting out black and white balls of pure youki which started to converge into two spheres the size of baseballs at the tips of both of his extended fingers. Said spheres then started to compress to the size of specks that were just barely visible which then shot towards the bound Orochimaru at surprising speed.

"Ko-Bijudama: Ougi (Mini Tailed Beast Ball: Secret Technique)" Naruto started. Both spheres then exploded outwards at an incredible page, engulfing almost the entire clearing in black energy "Futago no Shinsei! (Twin Nova)!" He stated while jumping back and landing next to Shinji and Haku. "Get ready. once you guys trap him we're getting out of here and high tailing it to the tower as fast as we can." Naruto said while his teammates grunted in affirmative.

When the blast died down, the two went into position, Shinji extended both of his hands towards the crater and they both caught fire. Haku was behind him with both of her hands on his back, channeling Hyouton chakra into Shinji's body. The result was the fire on his arms going from a bright orange to a soft light blue. Shinji smiled manically "FINALLY I CAN BURN SOMETHING! SAY BYE BYE OROCHI-PEDO!"The light blue fire on his arms then shot out, completely covering the crater and some of the trees on the other side of the clearing, burning everything to ash before the flames solidified into ice.

"Dual-Combination 7" Shinji said panting slightly. "Using Haku's hyouton chakra as fuel for my fire. The result? Dual Tech: Kōri-ō no Gōka (Dual Tech: Ice King's Hellfire). An inferno so cold it burns everything to ashes." He turned to Naruto, who was carrying Haku who had passed out from chakra exhaustion. 'We really need to figure out how to do that without me burning through all of her reserves...' he thought.

"Come on." Naruto stated "We should catch up with the others. I know for a fact that won't hold him for long. We're lucky he was underestimating us or we'd all be dead right now." Shinji nodded and they jumped off towards the tower.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed the chapter. I know It May not seem like much lengthwise, but I hope the action and slight comedy could make up for it a bit. Before you start saying the Oto group is overpowered, remember this: OROCHIMARU ENJOYS PLAYING AROUND BEFORE HE KILLS PEOPLE. I had them take advantage of this by going all out from the start.

I know you must be wondering how Shinji and Naruto know of Orochimaru already, well I hinted at Shinji being a test subject. It'll be explained next chapter, along with how the two met and since it'll be the preliminaries, I'll go more in depth to Shinji, Fu, Naruto, and Arno's abilities and finally give them a formal explanation.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and sorry for the wait! See you next time!