Thanks for the reviews! Only three more days until my promise is fully kept! I'm fired up! (fiery eyes)

NEW: I made a flash! (cheers) The link's in my profile, so go there if you'd like to view it! It's just to give you all an idea of what the three of us look like in the Narutoverse. Sure, its not all that AWESOME or anything, but it took me a while to make it and my friends thought I should put it up. XD

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Last time on Narutoverse no Jutsu...

Nami smirked. "Normally I wouldn't be the one to save Uchiha. But you offended me, so I had no choice."

Orochimaru smiled evilly. "My, you are a persistent one." In half a second, Orochimaru's tongue lashed out towards Nami.

Nami darted to the left just in time, leaving the disgusting tongue to snap at the ground where she had been standing seconds ago. Taking out some kunai and making a few basic hand signs, she threw the knives which then seemed to quadruple in number.

Orochimaru scoffed as he dodged the weapons. "A basic kunai bunshin? You're very stingy with your chakra use." Then his eyes widened slightly as he recognized the last hand sign she made. An activation?!

Orochimaru shot down from the branch onto a lower one as a fatal explosion detonated behind him. The heat of the explosion skimmed the back of his neck. He licked his lips hungrily.

Sasuke had escaped just in time as well, landing on a branch perpendicular to Orochimaru's. "Hey! Watch it!" he shouted angrily.

"Sorry!" Nami apologized, not feeling sorry at all. Looks like simple attacks won't work…guess I'll have to use them now then…

Biting her thumb, she made several hand signs. Then, pulling her arm across her neck in a diagonal line, she lashed her arm out, the familiar sai appearing out of her sleeve. The fire kanji gleamed in the little sunlight the dim forest had to offer.

"What's this? The little girl has a toy?" Orochimaru said mockingly.

"Yeah, wanna play?" Nami shot back. Sending chakra through the hilt of her sai to the blade, she started running. As she hopped branch from branch, getting closer to the imposter, the blade started to glow red with chakra. The kanjis on both sides of the blade lit up.

Sasuke watched in amazement. Since when does she have such a powerful weapon? That was definitely not made by any old blacksmith.

"Take this!" Nami started to swing her sai expertly at Orochimaru, single-minded to land a hit. The swift motions of the blade amazed even Nami herself, not recognizing the strength she now felt. Her eyes narrowed with determination, looking for an opening and keeping her eyes on the darting enemy. NOW! Her eyes widened as she stabbed the sai narrowly through the man's stomach.

Orochimaru's eyes were filled with surprise.

Nami was breathing hard as sweat ran down her cheek. Panting, she smiled triumphantly. "Heh…gotcha…" Then it was her turn to look with shock.

POOF.

"Kawarimi!" Nami shouted as a kunai come into view an inch before her neck.

"That's right," Orochimaru said silkily. "It was a good try though. However, your attempts were in vain."

Damn…Nami thought, clenching her teeth.

"Katon! Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

Fire burned the air as Orochimaru was sent backwards in an effort to escape being sautéed.

"Need help?" Sasuke called to Nami.

Nami quietly examined the Uchiha. It seemed that his chakra was pretty much drained, and she herself had taken an awful lot of chakra into that stab.

Sasuke dropped by next to her, staring straight at Orochimaru and panting. "Nami, the three of us have to escape, now. This person…is way out of our league. I'll create a diversion, then you and Sakura will run. I'll catch up later."

Nami looked at him incredulously. "Yeah right, Uchiha! You think I'm gonna just let you—"

"There's no point in arguing now!" Sasuke said, shooting a glare towards her. "Do you want to die?!"

Nami was about to retort when she heard Orochimaru laughing.

"Ah…this is so much fun!" Orochimaru laughed. "But, sadly, I must end this. I would've expected more of the great Uchiha Sasuke, but just like your little girlfriend Sasuke, you aren't a threat."

"WHAT?!" Nami hollered. Lifting her sai, she stared at him fiercely. "Okay, this guy is dead!" She charged at Orochimaru, ignoring Sasuke's call of her name.

Sasuke grimaced. That idiot! What does she think she's doing? "Don't go running off to your grave, idiot!"

"Shut up! I know what I'm doing!" Nami shot back. I hope…

Hard-headed idiot… Sasuke thought angrily as he followed after her. He caught up to the enraged girl and took out several kunai, four in each hand.

"What are you—?"

"Yeah, like I'm gonna let a girl defend me," was all Sasuke said.

Orochimaru just stood, smiling at the two with bloodlust in his eyes.

"Hiyah!" Nami roared as she slashed through Orochimaru who disintegrated into the air. Crap, another replication!

"Brute strength won't get you anywhere," Orochimaru stated as he knocked her forward from behind.

Sasuke tossed the weapons at the villain who hadn't forgotten about him.

Orochimaru grabbed one of the knives out of the air and threw the weapon back.

Sasuke pulled out another kunai and deflected the weapon. Touching the ground, he threw a punch at his enemy. When his attack was caught, he jumped shortly into the air and kicked.

Orochimaru's tongue snatched Sasuke's neck and tossed him forward, smacking him against the tree.

Nami came up from behind with a thrust of her leg.

The tongue jerked towards her now, sending her in the same direction as the Uchiha.

Sakura watched the two as they attempted to rise after their recent defeat anxiously. She felt useless, but she wasn't able to do anything to help the battle either. Grasping her hands, her terrified eyes saw Orochimaru slink towards the two ninja. "Sasuke-kun! Nami!" she screamed.

TOK! TOK! TOK!

A few shuriken stuck before Orochimaru who looked up, mildly surprised.

Sakura turned her attention to the orange-clad wonder standing just a few branches above from the battle. "Naruto!"

"Sorry, Sasuke!" Naruto called down to the avenger. "I forgot that stupid password!"

Nami looked up at Naruto and called, "Hey, it's about time!"

"Naruto…" Sasuke muttered. He turned to the blond fox vessel and shouted, "Naruto! Get out of here! This guy's way out of your league!"

BONK.

"What the heck was that for?!" Sasuke demanded Nami. He rubbed his head angrily.

Nami looked off into space innocently then stared at Sasuke, surprised. "Whatever do you mean?"

I don't have time for this, Sasuke thought, annoyed. Then, he heard the grass nin chuckling.

"Heheh…it seems as though you escaped my snake…Naruto-kun…" the grass nin cackled.

This guy's creepy, Nami thought. I have to end this quick so I can get to the tower first. She then noticed Sasuke peering around anxiously. She whispered, "Hey, Uchiha, what're you planning on doing?"

Sasuke deactivated his Sharingan and stood up straight, reaching his hand into his back pouch. He pulled out the Heaven Scroll.

Nami narrowed her eyes. "Hey—"

"I'll give you the scroll," Sasuke called to the enemy. "Take it and leave us in peace."

"WHAT?!" Naruto hollered. "What're you doin', Sasuke?! Why are you just handing over the scroll?!"

Sasuke scowled.

Orochimaru's mouth twisted into a deranged smile. "I see…trying to escape the predator by giving the predator a different target?"

"Take it!" Sasuke shouted, launching his arm back to throw.

WHACK.

"Hey!" Sasuke exclaimed, now extremely livid. "Will you stay out of this?!"

Nami just glared at the Uchiha boy. "What's wrong with you, huh?! Are you so much as a wuss to fight this guy?!"

Suddenly, Naruto flew down from the higher treetop, fist held high.

CRACK!

Sasuke flew back against another tree and landed flatly on the branch. Touching his cheek with his fist, Sasuke glared at Naruto intensely. "What was that?! Attacking me all of a sudden?!"

"What've you done with Sasuke?!"

Sasuke's eyes widened. "You idiot…I am Sasuke!"

"Liar!" Nami shouted.

Sasuke turned his attention to her. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

"The real Sasuke wouldn't be that lame! He's lamer!" Nami shouted, faking anger.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head, confused. "I was right? I mean—of course! I knew it!"

Sasuke sweat dropped. That idiot didn't even have the guarantee that I was a fake! He's wrecking everything!

"Besides, the real Sasuke wouldn't just hand over the scroll!" Naruto declared.

"Yeah!" Nami said. "Let's kill the imposter, Naruto!"

"Yeah!"

"WHAT?!" Sasuke shouted.

What's Nami doing?! Sakura thought anxiously. She glowered angrily at the girl. "HEY!"

Nami glanced down at Sakura. "What do you want?"

"That's the real Sasuke-kun, stupid! What're you doing?! Stop spreading lies!"

Inner Sakura punched the air furiously. If she lays a finger on my Sasuke-kun, I'll punch her face in!

"This is all very amusing, but…" came Orochimaru's voice. "I do not like to be forgotten. Now you all pay with your lives."

Now that got Naruto a bit miffed. "SHUT UP!" With that, he charged at the grass nin.

"Stupid! Run away!" Sasuke ordered.

Naruto ignored his teammate as he came closer to the grass nin.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Orochimaru shouted. Suddenly, a giant snake appeared underneath him.

"NARUTO!" Sasuke, Sakura, and Nami hollered.

Blood spewed out of Naruto's mouth instantly as the boy was thrown forward by the enormous reptile.

"Don't hesitate!" Orochimaru cried, licking his lips. "Eat up!"

"Eat this!" Naruto roared, slamming his fist against the scaly reptile's head.

"Yeah, Naru—" Nami suddenly gasped as she saw Orochimaru flying right at her. She jumped to the side, drawing her sword once more.

Orochimaru launched a powerful punch to her stomach, hitting his target. Before Nami could cry out, his hand lashed out and caught her neck promptly. "You are an annoyance. There is no reason for you to be here." Tightening his grasp around her neck, he smiled. "My only regret is that your death…will not sprout any fresh blood."

Nami's vision blurred as her neck tensed. She heard a faint call from Sakura, but nothing else. As she blacked out, she saw a body knocking against Orochimaru's and a shout. She couldn't tell who it was.

"DON'T TOUCH HER!"

---DAY TWO---

One day had passed and Midori stopped quietly on a branch. She looked around then sighed. Okay…it's official. I'm hopelessly lost. She plopped down on the branch cross-legged and propped her chin on her palm. "Okay…maybe I can't do this alone…" She shook her head furiously. "Argh! I'm not about to let Nami know she was right! I said I'd prove her wrong but…" Midori was completely torn. "Crap…talking to myself…I've been hanging around Kyoko for too long…"

Suddenly, a kunai flew straight passed her face, barely cutting the tip of her nose.

TOK.

"Eep!" Midori squeaked as she nearly fell off her high perch. Looking down, she noticed some movements. Curious, she hopped down a few branches and peered down. Her eyes widened.

The scene was a battle, three to one. But it wasn't just anyone. It was the famous Branch House genius, Hyuuga Neji. He was standing in a position that obviously confirmed that he had just used the Kaiten, Heavenly Spin.

Whoa…Neji's taking on three waterfall guys…Midori thought, noting the sign on Neji's enemies' hitai-ates. Her eyes followed back to Neji, who seemed to be a little out of breath. But even at this level, he can't take them all at once. And he hasn't perfected Kaiten yet. I've gotta help him.

One of the waterfall ninja smirked. "Hmph. Nice technique. It's a shame you can't maintain it for long." He threw several weapons at the Hyuuga genius, forcing the boy into the air to avoid the attacks.

A shorter of the three tossed more into the air while the tallest team member leapt up, ready to attack Neji.

Neji, having no way of dodging both attacks while in the air, spun around and clashed weapons with the assaulting waterfall ninja. Cutting the arm of the ninja, he braced himself for the flurry of weapons' impact.

Ching! Ching! Ching! Ching!

Neji touched the ground and lowered his sight to the now fallen kunai and shuriken. Glancing up slightly without turning around, he observed the person who deflected the weapons.

Midori turned her head and smiled.

That girl was from the first exam, Neji thought, eyes narrowing. She's from another team. Why help me?

Before he could ponder this any longer, the waterfall nins interfered. The ostensible leader of the group made a gesture with both his hands, pointing to opposite points of the forest area. His two teammates disappeared within the trees.

The remaining waterfall nin straightened up with a grin on his face. "I see this girl has a Konoha hitai-ate. Is she of your team?"

Neji didn't answer, his face showing no emotion.

"Well, teammate or not, she won't be enough to aid you in this battle!" The moment he finished his sentence he had already started charging at the two.

"Get out of here," Neji ordered Midori as he fell into the traditional Hyuuga stance.

"I can help," Midori insisted, her eyes darting around the treetops, trying to locate the other two.

"Fine, whatever," Neji said as he drove his open palm into the stomach of the waterfall ninja.

The boy was pushed back and coughed vaguely. He smirked. "Well aren't you a tough one?" He held his hand in the air, signaling to his teammates. "Yoichi! Mizu! Now!"

Neji's sight trailed upwards, veins appearing around his blank eyes. "Byakugan!"

Midori finally spotted the other two who seemed to be completing a chain of hand signs.

"Rise! Droplets of the Earth!" Mizu, the girl cried, raising her arms in the air.

Suddenly, the earth seemed to tremble slightly as water sprouted from the ground, filling the area in about five inches of water.

"Water Element: Water Control!" the other boy landed on the ground with a splash! Then, waving his arms around, the water started to move, rocking with the motions of his hands.

Midori slightly wobbled in the water and saw Neji stare solidly at the boy.

"He's controlling the water by running his chakra through it," Neji stated, mostly to himself. "I doubt he can sustain for long." Neji shot up and landed on the water. As he started running towards the Yoichi, he was countered by the other opponent.

Midori leapt up and onto the water as well. She felt the current strengthen and she struggled to get to the master of water. Midori held out her arms. Hikari Suishou! Aid me! As the crystal around her neck glowed, so did her left hand. "Take this!" Midori threw a punch at the boy.

Yoichi held his arm up, creating a large wave that enveloped Midori. He smirked. "You can't escape it. Mizu!" he called to his female teammate.

Mizu jumped down from her branch and while in the air threw what looked like a small black ball into the water Midori was trapped in.

Midori winced as the ball exploded in the watery cage. Purple liquid started to spread. Poison! She held her breath.

Neji glimpsed at Midori from a length away. He scowled as the enemy ninja slashed a kunai in his direction. Neji dodged at the last second but the ninja still managed to skim his right side. As the ninja sent a kick towards his stomach, Neji caught his leg and swung him towards the other waterfall nin.

The waterfall nin cried out in pain as he collided with Yoichi, breaking the jutsu. The ball of water collapsed and Midori fell face-down into the water, unconscious.

The girl, Mizu, looked terrifyingly at Neji and backed away a little, looking down at her two teammates. "Yoichi! Kyomaru!" she cried.

The two boys got up heavily, their drenched clothes weighing them down.

"We're fine," Kyomaru said, shaking his head for a second. He narrowed his eyes.

"What are we going to do now, Kyomaru?" Yoichi whispered. "We're low on chakra because of the jutsu."

"We fight, hand-to-hand. He can't take us all on!" Kyomaru yelled as he and his teammates charged towards Neji.

I've got one shot, Neji thought, getting into a position. As he started to rotate, he shouted, "Kaiten!"

All three were suddenly blown back by the force of Neji's chakra. Splashes were heard as the teammates landed in the newly made marsh. Neither of them moved.

Neji panted quietly as he looked for a scroll. He made a mental note to not use that move again until it was perfected. Surprisingly, he saw two, both a Heaven and Earth Scroll.

They must have wanted to decrease the competition. Fools.

He turned to leave, but noticed Midori in the water. His ninja instincts told him to leave her, this was a competition and he wouldn't make this any easier if he helped out an enemy. But…

The Hyuuga genius sighed and kneeled down.

Sigh...you guys have no idea how much I loved finally being able to bring Neji back into the story. Usually I proofread my chapters now to find mistakes and add more discription (because I wrote all these chapters quite some time ago and spellcheck doesn't get everything, that's for sure) but I didn't have time today, so if there's anything too noticeable, tell me please.

One more thing. Are the signs/seals for jutsu called hand 'sign' or hand 'seal'? I think I use them interchangeably. It's no big deal I guess, I'm just curious.

R&R please! Watch the vid. if you can!

-HM