Welp, now that the first part of the exam is under way, how will team 7 handle the Forest even trained shinobi avoid with caution?
Kakashi: I'lll wager a weeks wages that they pull out of it alive thanks to good teamwork.
Kyugan: I'll wager you'll be shot in the ass again before the tape starts.
Kakashi: Wha- (BANG!) ARRRGH!
Kyugan: (Holds up remote) Whiner, I shot the good cheek., (Points remote at Television as Kakashi hops around holding his ass) Roll tape.
The forest of Death; the cursed seal!
Two hours into the second exam and most of the teams were already half-way up shit-creek without a boat. Team 8 managed to snag their second scroll early by taking advantage of the terrain and their own tracking skills.
Ino attempted tpo seduce Neji in an attempt to swipe the scroll, only for the Stoic prodigy to mock her and drive the all to eager team 10 to make for the hills.
And as for Team 7...well, let's just say their day had been...uneventful of late.
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"I fucking hate these woods." Domon growled as he slapped another flying leech out of the way, wiping the slime on his pants, "Whose bright idea was it to take the straight path to the tower?"
"Sorry," Recca grunted, hurling a shuriken and deflecting yet another leech, "but this place is unfamiliar, even for us." He eyed the tower, still a ways off in the distance, "We gotta put as much distance with the other teams and stake out the tower."
"I say we ambush another team, then move on the tower." Sasuke growled, earning a snort in reply, causing him to look up in annoyance.
"Yeah well, those who think themselves above janken can't make decisions." Recca shot back cheekily, earning another growl from the Uchiha, "But if you're so dead set on it, go right ahead." The teen realized his mistake as Sasuke smirked and disappeared into the undergrowth. "SHIT! I was kidding TEME!" Recca yelled, whilst Naruto groaned, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Nice going bro," the blonde muttered, leaping into the woods, "now we gotta track him down."
Domon groaned again, and covered his face wearily. 'What did we do to deserve this?' he wondered, before wincing, following his annoyed teammates into the dense brush, 'Oh right…the pranks.'
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"Word of advice," Sasuke sneered, gazing at the crippled rain Nin he'd cornered without his team; the idiot even had the stupidity to have his team's scroll with him, "Shinobi work in teams for a reason." he finished smugly, before three pairs of feet landed behind him, causing him to frown in annoyance. 'Whether we like it or not.'
"Teme! I wasn't being serious!" Recca yelled, stamping up to the Uchiha and getting in his face, "Argh! Now we're lost in this shithole and it's all your fault!"
The rain Nin, noting the attention was on the annoyed Uchiha, tried to crawl away toward the bushes, only for Domon to kick him in the head, rendering him blissfully unconscious.
"No luck here," the giant muttered after rummaging through the Nin's possessions, pocketing the contents of the nin's wallet and extra weapons, "just another heaven scroll."
"Terrific! Not only are we lost, but we got nothing out of it!" Recca yelled, grabbing his head and spiking in his ire, "Dammit Sasuke, you really are a curse!"
At that moment, a massive gust of wind sent all four genin flying. Domon and Naruto used Kawarimi to switch places with some logs and grabbed onto the trees, Sasuke used his kunai to get a grip on the trunk, whilst Recca used the tree climbing exercise to stick to the part of the tree free of the wind.
"I WASN'T BEING LITERAL!" the enjutsu-shi swore as he glared heavenward, only for the wind to die down, an evil cackle sounding over the settling woods.
"Not bad," a raspy voice called out, "not bad at all." The dust cleared somewhat, revealing the androgynous kusa-nin from before, looking mildly impressed, arms crossed over his chest.
"I had expected you all to be separated." The Nin admitted, smiling as he held up an earth scroll mockingly, "I suppose you'd like to take this from me…ne?"
To the horror of the genin, the freak wrapped his tongue around the scroll and swallowed it, the neck bulging disgustingly as the scroll passed down his gullet, before he reached a hand to his eye.
"Well then…shall we?!"
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Sasuke froze as the image of him being ripped apart like a wet paper bag jarred through his brain, amidst high pitched screams that sounded suspiciously like his own, before the image of a kunai lodging in his skull shattered the illusion. The avenger fell to his knees, puking his guts out as he tried to drag air into his tortured lungs.
'This…this killing intent!' he shivered, recalling THAT night with alarming clarity, 'we have to retreat! We have to-!'
"OOMPH!" the grass Nin yelled as Domon's fist slammed into his jaw, sending him flying backwards into a tree trunk, snapping Sasuke out of his daze long enough to look at his giant teammate.
"Cheap-ass illusions won't work on me." Domon grunted, a bruise on his face showing where he'd punched himself. He cracked his knuckles as the grass Nin stood up, before spitting on the ground. "And you call that killing intent?" he asked mockingly, "I've felt worse from kittens!"
The Nin growled and made to slither towards the boy when he was forced to avoid a Housenka from Recca; the fireballs contained shuriken however and he was forced to continue to dodge before his back shivered, alerting him to the approach of Konoha's no.1 troublemaker. 'They're much better than I anticapated.' he hissed appreciatively, 'but then again, I doubt they'd stick an Uchiha with a pack of rejects.'
Naruto cursed as his sword missed the freak's neck, flipping over and landing beside the other two as they regrouped, Sasuke slowly getting to his feet beside them.
Running an eye over the assembled genin, the kusa-nin noticed the blade in the blonde's hand, raising a delicate eyebrow and smiling creepily. "An impressive sword you have there boy," he complimented, his cheeks bulging as a snake left his mouth, before spitting out a sword. "However, my Kusanagi no Tsurugi has no equal."
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Domon looked green, as he backed away slightly, pointing at the enemy with a trembling finger. "Did that snake just come out of his freaking mouth?!" he yelled, eyeing the other two for answers. Recca nodded and moved to make the seals for a Karyuu Endan when Naruto stepped forward, holding out a hand.
"Aniki, Domon," the blonde stated, stepping forwards with a look in his eyes, "this one's mine."
"Are you crazy squirt?! We need to gang up on this guy!" Domon began until he saw the look on the blonde's face, the same look he'd worn while facing down Zabuza prior to being recognised by the Karyuu.
"Normally I'd agree," Naruto admitted, scowling at their freakish opponent, "but he insulted Tou-san's sword." The scowl became a grim smirk, "Gotta see if he can back up those words."
Domon looked ready to argue, but spotting the understanding on Recca's face grunted and stood down. "Just don't get yourself killed squirt." He grumbled, watching the blonde step forwards.
"Kukukuku," The grass Nin chuckled, licking his lips, "a kenjutsu battle?" He placed the flat of the blade against his palm, "Very well, I will comply."
Both swordsmen got into a stance and eyed each other, moving in a circle eyeing each other warily.
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Sasuke twitched from his position behind the other two members of his team, irritated at being left out. "What's…the dobe…doing?" he grunted, still woozy from the nin's jutsu, "He's wide open, he should-!"
"Mai…" Recca muttered, catching the Uchiha's attention, "It's what Mikagami refers to as Mai, the reach of the sword." Catching the look of confusion on Domon's face he elaborated, "Naruto's standing outside what he suspects is the limit of the freak's range."
The Enjutsu-shi smirked as he remembered the Hyomon-ken master's words.
"Against a master, or unknown opponent, their range can be used as a barrier," Mikagami instructed, "always make sure you asses them from outside their mai...baka-saru."
'Even in my head he's an ass.' Recca muttered, resisting the urge to pummel something as the Hyomon-ken master's voice trailed off.
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Naruto frowned, irritation wafting off him in waves as he ran his eyes over the Kusa-nin. 'No good, this guy's defense with that sword is tighter than a rock." The frown deepened, as he moved into a tighter stance, 'No choice...'
To the shock of all those watching, the blonde sheathed his sword, earning an understanding chuckle from the grass Nin.
"Surrendering so soon?" the freak taunted, a mirthless smile on his sickening features. Naruto snorted and moved into a drawing stance, causing the Nin to quirk an eyebrow. "Iai stance…a drawing match then?" His cheeks bulged again and the snake spat out a sheath for the blade, with a snake's head at the top.
"Tell you what," the Nin boasted, sheathing his sword with his eyes half shut, "I'll let you make the first-Hn!" The Nin jumped back, a cut on his cheek sending blood flying through the air.
"Nice," Recca whistled, tilting his head to the side, "the thing you used on the bridge?" he speculated.
"Hien Ken, the flying swallow cut." Naruto replied, scowling slightly at his opponent, "He's good though, I only landed one, and it was a scrape."
'Thirteen blows,' Sasuke growled, sharingan deactivating as he eyed the two combatants, 'and only one barely landed," he bared his teeth in anger, 'and without these eyes I'd have missed them all!'
The Kusa-nin rubbed his cheek, looking at the blood spilled, before smirking. "Well now…isn't this interesting?" he drawled. He rolled up his sleeve and rubbed the blood on a strange tattoo, a second later there was a massive explosion of smoke, and when it cleared he was standing on the head of the largest snake the leaf genin had ever seen.
"Eat them up, but don't touch the Uchiha." He hissed at the serpent, as it lunged at the others with a hungry gleam in its eyes.
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"WHY DOES EVERY FREAK WE BUMP INTO HAVE A THING FOR SNAKES?!?!" Domon shrieked as he leapt back, grabbing Sasuke as an afterthought, earning a starlted squawk from the Uchiha. "I MEAN SERIOUSLY, WAS THERE A SALE ON SNAKE SUMMONS?!?!"
Recca growled and considered summoning Setsuna but held back; for starters, he didn't want to show the dragons too soon into the game, and second, he didn't need the forest burnt to a crisp.
(Naruto, Domon,) he signed to his brother and rival, (Operation: Rope-a-dope!)
Domon smirked and hurled the Uchiha into the branches of a tree. "You stay there princess," he mocked, "let the real men handle this!"
Sasuke would have replied to this, but was currently hanging onto the branch for dear life, too startled to think of using chakra.
'Why are they leaving me out of the loop?' the Uchiha demanded, having not noticed the looks between the trio prior to his, undignified rescue, 'Why are they keeping me from fighting?!'
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'Where are they hiding?' the Kusa-nin muttered, eyes narrowed in irritation, as he pushed aside a branch that was in his way, 'Curse this forest, so many hiding places…'
"Oi! Freak-face!" Recca called out, a shit-eating grin on his face as the nin turned to look at him, "You naturally this ugly or d'ya take pills for that?!"
The massive snake lunged towards the teen, only for its head to tilt downwards as Domon slammed a fist into its skull in a haymaker. The momentum, enhanced by gravity, of the blow causing a massive dent to form in the serpent's cranium. "EAT SNOT YA REPTILE BASTARD!" the giant roared, rolling with his own momentum to disappear from view before the familiar had the chance to recover.
The grass Nin stumbled, trying to catch his footing on his mount, just as a blade stabbed him through the stomach from behind.
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"Game over." Naruto muttered, twisting the blade spitefully, only for his eyes to widen as the figure before him disappeared in a puff of smoke. 'Shit! Kage bunshin!' he thought, before the freak's tongue wrapped around his arms and chest, lifting him into the air.
"Well now" a sinister voice chuckled "so the Kyuubi-no-gaki still lives."
The skin around one of the grass Nin's eyes had peeled off, revealing a sinister golden orb surrounded by purple eye tattoos. Naruto felt something inside him twinge at the sight, before he felt his shirt being rolled up.
"You're a nuisance to me running around like this," the Kusa-nin muttered, rearing back a palm full of purple chakra, "so I'll have you sleep for now…Gogyofuuin!"
Naruto screamed as the grass Nin rammed his fingers into his stomach, before passing out from the pain, the last thing the blonde remembered hearing were the voices of Recca, Domon and, surprisingly, Sasuke, calling out his name.
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"NARUTO!!!" Recca roared as he leapt at the freak, eyes blazing as he prepared to summon Setsuna and flash-fry the bastard, forest fire or not. The Nin tossed the blonde off the snake, luckily from where Domon had been approaching, thus enabling the giant to catch his friend before he hit the forest floor.
"I'LL KILL YOU ASSFACE!!!" Recca shrieked as he tried to slug the man, only for him to suddenly dispel the summoning and use the smoke to disappear. "Where are you?!" Recca yelled, only to look up at Sasuke's cry of pain.
The Kusa-nin retracted his neck and smiled at the distraught team as the Uchiha howled and gripped his shoulder. "I am Orochimaru," he rasped out, "the giant snake." He leered at the scattered team 7 predatorily, an unholy light in those golden orbs. "If you wish to kill me," he goaded, "then pass this exam as quickly as you can!"
And with that said, the traitorous sennin walked backwards into a tree, and disappeared from their senses.
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Domon shivered as he felt Orochimaru's presence vanish, both glad and shaken at how easily they had gotten off.
"Dammit," the giant cursed, "he wasn't so creepy when I first saw him." He scowled and stared at his fist as it trembled at his side, "But now…" Noticing the look on his rival's face Domon shook his head quickly. "I ain't scared of him," he countered, "he just gives me the willies."
Recca snorted and landed beside a shrieking Sasuke, putting a hand on the Uchiha's shoulder. "Suck it up you pussy!" he chided, "One little bite and you…" he blinked in surprise, staring at the back of Sasuke's neck in confusion. "When did you get a tattoo?" Recca muttered dully, staring at the weird symbol on the avengers neck in confusion.
Sasuke couldn't answer on account of being unconscious, the kunai he'd attempted to hurl at the snake sennin falling from his limp fingers to the forest floor below.
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Naruto moaned and looked up in confusion, he was apparently inside his mindscape again, but there was something wrong. For starters, the trees in the forest looked withered and dying, the leaves blackened, and there was a strange, sickening energy in the air, which smelled faintly of snake oil and fouled meat.
"Tou-san!" he called out, wincing as his stomach heaved at the smell of decay. "Where are you?!"
"Naruto…" came the reply, "Are you harmed?"
Naruto spun round and sighed in relief at his father's unhurt appearance, the Youkai merely looking annoyed at the pollution of his dwelling space. "Tou-san…who WAS that guy?" the blonde muttered, referring to the grass nin, before shivering as a look of pure, unrefined loathing crossed his father's face, his fangs bared and tail ruffled in agitation.
"I'll never forget those eyes" the Youkai snarled, looking more animalistic by the minute, "the face may be different but those eyes are definitely his!" Kyuubi finally noticed the concern on his son's features and calmed himself, barely. "That man is known as one of the densetzu no sannin, the three legendary ninja's of Konoha; Hebi sennin Orochimaru." The centuries old demon snarled again, his fiery tail lashing out like a whip. "He's the bastard that took Noriko from me!"
Naruto's eyes widened, feeling the bottom fall out of his stomach. "He…killed kaa-san?" he whispered.
The fox-lord growled and lashed his tail again, causing a crack to form in the earth. "You should never have fought with him," he chastised, "you were nowhere near ready to face one of the sannin." He frowned at the blonde, silencing him in mid-outburst before elaborating. "They were Sarutobi's students, each capable of taking on a small army if they saw fit." The demon sighed and shook his head, almost wearily. "And Orochimaru was also Sarutobi's favorite."
Naruto flinched; caught off guard by that statement, unable to see the sennin's cruelty coming from the village elder. "But…Sarutobi-Oyaji…" he began, recalling everything he knew of the old man.
Kyuubi snorted, interrupting the blonde in mid-argument. "Sarutobi is many things, including a pervert," he smirked at this, "but he was a terrible judge of character, prior to Orochimaru's betrayal." The demon lord scowled, shaking his head bitterly. "He could have killed him years ago, but he let foolish sentiment get in the way."
Naruto nodded, understanding the sandaime's predicament all too well. 'I couldn't lift my sword to one of my own…not easily anyway.' He flinched as he remembered reading the names on the memorial stone. 'And Oyaji's already lost so much…'
"Enough reminiscing," Kyuubi cut in, "if you can't face him now, then we'll put the time he's unwittingly given us to good use." He held out a hand, summoning a nodachi from thin air before moving into a drawing stance.
Naruto nodded and moved into a similar drawing stance, eyeing his father and shishou cautiously.
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"We're off to a bad start Hanabishi." Domon grunted as he carried the two unconscious genin on his shoulders, "You sure we're gonna be alright like this?"
Recca scowled and leapt through the trees, Naruto's sword across his back as he took the point. "Dunno," he admitted, "we'll carry on with our original plan and set up camp near the tower."
Domon nodded, before he noticed the sky was darkening through the canopy, "We better find a place to camp;" he called out, shifting the weight on his shoulders slightly, "these two are starting to get heavy."
Recca grunted in acknowledgment and gestured to a specific tree not too far off. Two hours later they had secured the area around the roots of the tree, and were trying to catch their breath while waiting for their teammates to recover.
Domon winced as he rubbed his sore knuckles; the snake's scales had felt more like sandpaper than what he was used to from the reptiles, and he'd scraped all the skin off his knuckles by punching it. Recca was placing a wet towel over both Sasuke and Naruto's heads, playing the medic whilst Domon stood guard.
'This definitely ain't good' the giant rumbled, scouting the surrounding woodland like a cornered wolf, 'we're sitting ducks out here.' He flinched as something triggered his senses slightly, getting to his feet with a growl.
"Hanabishi," he called out warningly, "we got guests."
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Recca scowled as the sound genin team slithered out of the woodwork, looking far too smug for his liking.
"Heh…been standing guard all night?" Dosu asked, body tilted awkwardly, "Consider yourself off duty. Just wake up Sasuke-kun for us, we want to take him on."
"Whatever," Domon grunted "you want him, go right ahead." He stepped aside, pointing at the Uchiha invitingly, "Ain't no skin off our backs if the bastard croaks."
The sound team blinked and looked at the two rivals cautiously, looking for any sign of a trap. "Do you take us for fools?" Dosu muttered, "You've set traps up haven't you?"
"Maybe," Recca snorted, "but we really don't care about Okama-chan here," hje smirked at the shocked looks on their faces, "so wait until we're outta ear shot before the gang-banging starts, 'kay?"
The sound genin either blushed, (Kin) or looked disgusted, (Dosu and Zaku) at the flame user's words. "URUSEI!" Zaku yelled, pointing at him lividly, "I ain't into that!"
Dosu raised a hand, halting his teammates outburst with that single motion. "Calm down, we'll just kill all of them to be sure." he smirked at his teammate, "In their condition they don't stand a chance."
The three sound genin lunged forwards, only for a massive log to swing towards them. 'I thought so!' Dosu smirked, slamming his palm into the log and using his melody arm to shatter it. Unfortunately, he hadn't been expecting the hail of Kunai headed towards him. The bandaged genin used Kawarimi to switch with a piece of log and landed in front of the sleeping invalids.
"SHIT!" Recca yelled, turning only to dodge senbon from Kin, whilst Domon tried to flatten Zaku, shattering tree stumps as the smaller teen dodged his exhausted strikes.
Dosu was about to land a deathblow to the unconscious Uchiha when there was a flash of green and a foot collided with his jaw with the force of a wrecking ball.
"Konoha Senpuu!"
The bandaged Nin flew back into his teammates, who steadied him, all the while glaring at the new arrival. "Who the hell are you?!" Zaku yelled as Dosu tried to clear his head, before blinking in confusion at what he saw.
In front of the still shaken oto-nin stood a bizarre looking creature. It was dressed in a skintight green bodysuit with orange legwarmers, hair swept into a bizarre bowl-cut, and what appeared to be a pair of large bushy caterpillars on its face.
"I am Konoha's beautiful green beast!" the apparition exclaimed loudly, "Rock Lee!"
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Domon sweatdropped at the teen's comment, 'I'm grateful and all,' he muttered, shivering at the mere sight of the genin's leotard, 'but there's nothing beautiful about THAT.'
"Hanabishi-san," Lee called out, not taking his eyes off the sound team, "I know I promised to return the favour in the finals, however I believe it would be better to offer you my aid here." The green-clad genin stated, earning a smirk from the flame user.
"We COULD use a hand." Recca admitted, cracking his knuckles, "Sure, after this we call it even."
Domon grunted and cracked his knuckles in anticipation, "I'll take the ugly one." He began, grinning at his teammate expectantly.
Recca smirked, knowing this game and taking his queue. "No, I'LL take the ugly one!" the enjutsu-shi countered, causing Lee to blink in confusion.
"Which one's the ugly one?" the Gai-clone asked, unwittingly playing along with the rivals' little joke.
The sound team sweatdropped at their enemies' antics, irritated as hell. Kin was mumbling to herself at being included in the leaf nins' taunt, feeling uncharacteristically self-conscious whilst her two teammates fumed.
'They're mocking us.' Zaku growled between clenched teeth, before blinking as Dosu leapt forward, only to be sent skyward by a kick to the jaw. 'What the-?!'
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Recca blinked, shocked at their ally's incredible speed and agility, as he watched Dosu soar upwards. 'He's fast!' the enjutsu-shi thought appraisingly, 'I never saw that kick!'
'That's gotta hurt…'Domon muttered, wincing as he heard the sound genin's jaws clack together. He briefly wondered if the genin had swallowed a tooth due to the bandages covering his face.
Nobody noticed a pair of red eyes glaring at them from behind, hidden in the shade of the tree roots, twin tomoes spinning sinisterly.
"Omote Renge!"
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Lee's attack buried Dosu into the ground, only to be cushioned by a layer of soft soil conjured by Zaku's supersonic attack. "What a terrifying technique," the shaken oto-nin muttered in appreciation, "even landing on this soil pillow almost took me out!"
'Bandage's pal sent some sort of tremor though the earth, I felt it.' Domon muttered, eyeing their male opponents carefully, 'these guy's are the power houses on this team.'
Recca was sharing similar thoughts, staring at Zaku's palms warily. 'Lee's last attack would've shattered the freaks skull and spine,' he noted, 'these guys are good.'
"However," Dosu chastised, readying his melody arm, "relying on brute force is useless, not against ninjutsu specialists of our caliber."
"Yeah," Zaku agreed with a smirk, "we're gonna carve that Uchiha up like a turkey after we're done with ya!" he boasted.
"That a fact?"
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Recca and Domon spun round, blinking as Sasuke stood up, emitting a dark purple energy that made them feel like retching. "You losers having some trouble?" the Uchiha smirked, weird black lines all over his body, like flame tattoos. "These guys must be strong."
Zaku sneered, "Damn right we are, ya pansy!" holding his arms out in front of him in preparation for his Zankuha.
"Matte, Zaku!" Dosu yelled, recognizing the tattoos far too late. "Don't you realize what's going on?!"
"Zankuha!"
Domon grunted and leapt in front of Naruto and Lee, blocking the majority of the wind with his body, wincing at the cuts that landed. 'Nothing compared to Fuko training with Fuujin' he admitted, wincing as his ears twinged at the noise, 'but damn if it don't hurt my ears!'
Recca had taken cover as well, blinking at the apparent lack of the resident Avenger. 'Where's Uchiha?' he muttered, before a feeling of dread washed over him. He got his answer when Zaku was sent flying with a backhand to the jaw. The sound Nin then used his jutsu to counter a rapidly performed Housenka courtesy of the Uchiha, only to be cut by the hidden Shuriken. 'Hmmph…copycat.' Recca muttered, 'Must've been watching the fight with Orochimaru.'
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Sasuke grinned as he held Zaku's arms behind his back, looking eerily like the snake sennin as he tightened his grip, placing a foot on the struggling nin's spine. "Heh, you take so much pride in these arms of yours." He drawled, a sadistic grin on his face, "Better bid them farewell."
Dosu struggled futilely, cursing at his captor to let him go; only to collapse screaming in agony as the Uchiha dislocated his arms at the joints. Domon and Lee blinked in shock, before looking up from the stricken teen as Sasuke approached the other two sound nin.
"One down," The avenger muttered sinisterly, a disgusting leer across his face which caused Kin to back away in fear, only to collide with a tree trunk, "two to go."
"Snap the fuck out of it Uchiha!" Recca yelled, not liking the look on the teen's face, "We out number them! And we have wounded too!"
Sasuke snorted dismissively, clearly uninterested in what Recca had to say. "Like I care about the dobe," He scoffed, looking up at the remaining oto-nin, eyes full of bloodlust, "And like you could stop me!" He lunged towards Kin like a bat out of hell, causing the kunoichi to shriek and hurl Senbon, which he easily deflected.
'Too fast!' Recca muttered, preparing to summon Homura just as Sasuke stopped dead in his tracks, though not by choice.
Kin blinked, staring up in awe at the blonde that, until a few moments ago, had been unconscious. He was now standing in front of her and Dosu, his fist deeply embedded in the Uchiha's gut.
"Shut the fuck up..." Naruto growled, his bloodshot eyes streaked with veins, "You're giving me a headache with all this friggin' machismo…"
Sasuke gagged, spitting out drool and a little blood, before collapsing onto the blonde's shoulder out cold, the curse markings receding.
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Dosu scowled and looked around, trying to assess the situation to see if there was any way to salvage it. 'The giant is injured,' he noted, 'and the freak still looks unsteady after my last assault.' The leader of the sound genin eyed Recca and Naruto with a calculating expression.
'The brat with the tekko is an oddity, but the blonde looks as bad as the Uchiha' he nodded confidently and moved next to his remaining teammate, 'Kin and I should be able to…'
"You're despicable."
The assorted combatants looked up to reveal a longhaired youth with pale eyes and a cute girl with her hair in two buns and a pink Chinese shirt.
"The guy with the Moe Howard hairdo belongs to us." The male declared, veins showing around his eyes, "You hurt him, so you have to answer to us!"
'Dammit.' Dosu scowled, irritated at the untimely arrival of reinforcements. 'We have no choice…' Pulling out their scroll he tossed it to Recca, who raised an eyebrow.
"Obviously, in our current state we're no match for you all" the sound Nin muttered, "accept this as a token of admiration…and as reparation for your trouble." He scooped up the fainted Zaku and eyed them all warily.
"Allow us to depart," he asked, "it may be a lot to ask" he scowled at the memory of the Uchiha's curse seal, "but something bigger is afoot that merits better understanding." He looked at the collective leaf genin somberly, "Allow us to leave, and the next time we fight, it will be until a victor is decided."
Naruto nodded, making the decision before Neji could get a word in edgeways. "Get that guy's arms looked at." he muttered, "He'll be a sitting duck otherwise." Looking at the nervous form of Kin, the blonde nodded and waved at her. "Here, catch."
The kunoichi blinked and caught the sticks he tossed at her, looking up at him in confusion.
"Use 'em as splints." Naruto explained, eyeing the sound team as they scuttled off before clearing his throat. "One last question." he asked as an afterthought, "You're leader…is he called Orochimaru?"
Dosu and Kin froze and eyed the injured genin, who nodded, laughing sarcastically.
"Thought so," Naruto muttered, "next time you see him, I want you to give him this message:"
He glared at them, and the two shivered at the killing intent in his eyes alone as he half drew his katana.
"Tell him his freakish ass is mine."
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As the sound team left, their tails between their legs, Domon knelt over Lee, looking concerned. "You okay?" he muttered, shaking the teen's shoulder gently. Lee was still loopy after the last attack, and Domon considered pulling out some smelling salts from the medical kit he was lugging around until Tenten showed up, shaking her teammate like a rag doll until he awoke, much to the giant's shock.
"Honestly!" the weapons mistress chided as the Taijutsu specialist sat down. "What were you thinking, taking them on alone?"
"I was returning the favour to Hanabishi-san," Lee exclaimed defensively, "it was my duty as a man!"
Tenten moaned, exasperated with her teammates antics. 'Lee, that honour code of yours is going to get you killed one day!' she thought, shaking her head at her friend's actions.
"You two want some privacy?" Domon muttered, miffed at being ignored, causing Lee to blink in confusion and Tenten to flush scarlet and refute anything between the two other than being friends and teammates.
While this was going on, Neji analyzed the Uchiha's team from the sidelines, his pale eyes impassive, yet calculating.
'The one with the tekko hasn't displayed any special abilities, the giant is unusually sturdy…' He let his gaze run over the no. 2 Rookie and the unconscious Sasuke, the memory of their brief scuffle still in his mind. 'Uzumaki knocked the Uchiha out with one blow, moving quite fast for someone who just woke up.' He scowled at the unconscious Uchiha, his hackles on edge. 'Also…that chakra…'
"Oi! Freaky eyes!"
Neji blinked, caught off guard for a moment, before scowling at the blonde in irritation, miffed at the slur on his clan's Kekkei Genkai. "What?"
Naruto stuck a hand into his pouch, a tired frown on his face. "What type of scroll do you guy's need?" he asked, causing the Hyuuga to raise an eyebrow, a little intrigued at the question.
"Heaven," Neji admitted, "why do you ask?"
Naruto pulled out the heaven scroll they swiped from the rain Nin, offering it to the Hyuuga. "Both our teams have taken casualties," he explained, "and with the earth scroll there's no need for us to wait around in these woods."
Neji frowned, seeing what the blonde was getting at and accepting the simple logic. "I see," he muttered delicately, "a truce, in return for the scroll?"
Naruto grinned, a merry glint in his exhausted blue orbs. "You read my mind." he chuckled weakly, holding out the scroll.
The Hyuuga snorted delicately, before turning on his heel. "Try not to slow us down." he muttered, earning an annoyed grunt rom the blonde as he handed the scroll to Tenten.
'Something about this guy bugs me.' Naruto muttered, as he allowed Domon to carry him piggyback style, 'My Asshole-Detector hasn't been this sensitive since I first met Sasuke.' He shrugged it off and tried to catch some sleep, that little stunt he'd pulled earlier having drained his reserves.
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Well now, it would appear that Kakashi will be owing a certain someone money after all.
Kakashi: EH? but they came through it alive!
Kyugan: True, but you bet the whole team would get through it on teamwork, Sasuke wouldn't listen and said he didn't care about his teammates.
Kakashi: (Grumbles.) At least I don't have to pay YOU anything...who do I owe money to then. (Turns tround as Kyugan points behind him) Oh hell no.
Gai: YOSH! KAKASHI! MY YOUTHFULL STUDENTS HAVE SAVED YOURS! (Laughs loudly and annoyingly) BUT FEAR NOT, I SHALL PUT YOUR MONEY TO GOOD USE!
Kyugan: Yo, Gai? Those new green bodysuits are ready.
Kakashi: (Begins to twitch as Gai hands the money over in exchange for the abominable suits) ...a good use huh?
Gai: Of course! Look, my old one's getting a little snug, it's like I'm wearing nothing at all!
Kakashi: (Closes eyes tightly and shudders as Gai's last statement echoes in his skull.) ARRRRRGGGHHH!!!!!
Kyugan: Ah, I love my job.