Sorry I haven't updated in a while. My grandma is really sick. Also, I have messed with the poll on my profile and added 3 new story ideas, so even if you've already voted, you can vote again if you like one of the other stories more. Now, Onward!

Chapter 8: Encounters!

Naruto was waiting for Arashi, Gaara, and Haku to finally show up at the hotel after the exam. They told him, well, Arashi told him, just what the exam had been like and just kept going on and on. Naruto made the team go to bed, before he went to sleep too.

When Naruto woke up, he stretched out a bit before waking up the genin team. He sent them to training ground 44, before disguising himself under a genjutsu. Thinking carefully, he realized that the best time to get into the 'Forest of Death' would be when the Konohamaru Corps. Decided to interview the contestants. Waiting carefully, he jumped over the gate and hid in the trees, watching the grass ninja. He knew full well that even though he had been training for this long, he had barely beaten Orochimaru and his army last time. Plus, it would look suspicious if the great Orochimaru turned up dead in a forest full of genins. Naruto knew it would be much better if, despite his old age, Sarutobi killed Orochimaru. Many less questions.

That meant that naruto had to figure out a way to weaken Orochimaru without him noticing. Luckily, he had a plan already. But he could only do it when Orochimaru was by himself. He'd need to start setting up the trap now though, if he wanted it to work.

Focusing his chakra, Naruto molded the dirt on the forest floor. All the while thinking to himself, he himself was old by some people's standards of ninja. After all, he was turning twenty-nine when he had first arrived. Twelve years since he had started building, damn, he was the same age as the Sannin!

Chuckling, Naruto listened carefully as the gates opened and Orochimaru released the genjutsu for his 'teammates'. Naruto decided that the best time to get him would be when he finished with team seven. He really didn't want Sasuke to get the curse seal though, but Sasuke not getting the curse seal might drastically change the future so that Naruto couldn't guess what would happen and he would become helpless. Thinking to himself, Naruto came to the conclusion that if there was no Orochimaru, then Sasuke would not betray the village and the curse seal would become a strength.

Smiling, Naruto went off to intercept Orochimaru. Watching from the trees carefully, Naruto waited until the rather short and hopeless fight against the sannin came to a conclusion. Throwing a kunai once they were far enough away from the genin team, It managed to clip Orochimaru's clothes.

Orochimaru turned and saw the Tokikage chasing him down. Cursing, Orochimaru knew that the guy had to be Tokikage for a reason, even if it was of a rather small village. Smiling a deceptive smile, Orochimaru calmly turned completely around and asked,

"What brings you here, Tokikage-kun?"

"I am here to stop your reign of terror, Orochimaru"

"Do you really think you will succeed, Tokikage-kun? If you join me, you will have an invaluable ally in the near future."

"I have no such intentions, Snake."

"Hm, very well then, I guess I shall dispose of you then! Seneijashu!" Several snakes burst from Orochimaru's sleeve at Naruto who Dodged them before calling out,

"Katon: Karyuu Enden!" A flaming dragon burst forth, only to be block by an earth wall, courtesy of Orochimaru. Naruto rushed forward, making several Shadow clones as they engaged Orochimaru in Taijutsu. Naruto had spent many years perfecting his own style of Taijutsu which consisted of speed and strong, efficient attacks. Small hits with a slightly different form of a punch provided as much accuracy as a Hyuuga, but much more strength. When punching, Naruto held two knuckles in front of the others which were reinforced by his thumb. While this would also make it easy to break his thumb, no one has done that yet so it hasn't become a problem.

Orochimaru dodged all the hits, which he kindly noticed were going for vital spots, while backing up to get some room and use ninjutsu. One shadow clone managed to land a punch which the Snake felt when he landed on the ground, but he was surprised to find himself uninjured. Naruto smiled, his plan had worked perfectly. The clones poofed and Naruto collapsed on the tree branch, breathing hard. He was pretending to be out of chakra, as he did his best to suppress his chakra. He looked at Orochimaru angrily, before turning around and running through the woods. He panted slightly to himself, it was much harder to plan all those hits vs. misses to get Orochimaru were he wanted to go.

Heh, the Snake was probably talking to Anko about now. Naruto smiled to himself gently as he looked around to get his bearings. Smiling softly, Naruto saw Ichiraku right across the street. He walked on in and saw his favorite seat. Naruto ordered a Miso ramen before going over his plan in his head, making sure there had not been a problem. Suddenly, he saw a stand against the wall of the little restaurant with a giant sign over it that said, 'New! Ichiraku's Ramen in an Easy to Carry Container!' He saw a pile of instant ramen beneath it. Naruto got an idea. Quickly paying for his ramen, he also bought one cup of the instant ramen.

Walking to the hotel, Naruto grabbed a scroll and a pen and began to write, before heading back to his hotel to wait out the next couple of days until the end of the 2nd exam.

Alright, Sorry this chapter is soooooo damn short. I am majorly hitting writer's block, so if anone has any ideas for what to do next, let me know. PLEASE!!