A/N: Once again, greetings to you all again and I hope that you have all been well.
The answer to the trivia question of the re-modified quote was Halo 2, specifically, the level "Oracle," where the Arbiter and the Covenant Elite forces first encounter the Flood in an abandoned Forerunner structure to take down the Heretic leader.
It was said during the preceding cinema (entitled Juggernaut) from one of the leading officers, Rtas 'Vadumee, aptly nicknamed from the Halo fan-base as "Half-Jaw," due to the missing mandibles on the left side of his face. The scene occurs when the Grunts and Elites file into the structure.
Half-Jaw: (pauses and sniffs)
Arbiter: What is it?
Half-Jaw: That stench…I've smelled it before…
To those who don't know what I'm talking about, I apologize, but it is a pretty cool first-person shooter game, and you should definitely check it out, along with the rest of the Halo series…that is, if you have an X-Box or PC, of course.
To those that have answered correctly the quote:
Naruto 21, taintedlegacy, Wildfire60, Dragonlord-ex, Power of Insanity
PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU BEGIN: Like I had mentioned prior to this chapter, it is best that if you would leave suggestions or advice by private messaging or e-mail. Be sure to leave reviews for comments and concerns on the review slot, unless if you're willing to contact me personally. That is all…unless you would like to send me a PM personally regarding everything, then that too is fine by me.
Reviews: Once again, let me reiterate. Some of the reviews are getting a bit too short. Please expound upon your review besides "good work," "update soon," or anything that falls under those categories. I will give my undivided attention to those that have reviewed with more than just "update soon" and short comments like that. So far, I have hit the 50,000-hit mark, and I'm amazed that some would actually glance at the story before moving onto the next one.
Well, let's kick off this chapter…
Saishuukai… (Last time…)
(Main Gate, 2:30 pm)
"All right, you maggots!" yelled Anko. "Start your engines, because the second part of the Chuunin Exam is under way!"
Chapter Eleven: Slither and Scurry: Bite of Indigestion
(Chuunin Exam, Opening Day)
All forty-four gates to the forest labyrinth flew open as all of the competitors dashed in haste, prowling for their soon-to-be victims. It was the beginning of the end for some, but the shining hope of new beginnings for others. That much was certain in the Shin no Mori…
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(Squad Eight)
Hinata, Kiba and Shino decided to set up a temporary campsite to catch clueless passers-by with their strategic arsenal of elementary traps. As they were setting up, their thoughts were everywhere and elsewhere, but their collective thoughts were focused on one particular individual…
Kiba could not help but having a mental tug-of-war with the green-eyed monster that was jealousy toward the ever-changing blond wonder. He had thought that Kitsune-kun was dense, goofy and did not have a clue about Hinata's feelings for him. He guessed that the "dead-last" was not so dumb after all, but that would not mean that the blond-haired kid would not be on the receiving end of a punch if he treated her wrongly. That much was certain, since even though he had partial, one-sided feelings for the shy Hyuuga heiress, he tried his best to be an elder-brother figure to her.
The dog-user, as well as Akamaru, had also picked up a slight scent of fox coming from Kitsune-kun, coupled with the fact that the blue-eyed boy had now looked like his vulpine companion. He was undoubtedly an odd fellow, and he would have to keep an eye on him. Who knew what he was packing? The info card from Kabuto-san mentioned that his ninjutsu skills have greatly improved. Unfortunately, that much was uncertain. But in any case, the dog-boy resolved that the "dead-last" was going down if or when he faced off against him, he and his little kit included. To Kiba, that almost felt like a guarantee.
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Shino was rather surprised by Naruto's…forwardness with his female teammate before the exam began, along with the apparent changes that he had undergone in the past two months. His muscle mass and height had greatly increased, along with acquiring pointed ears, enlarged fangs, profound whisker-marks, slit pupils, claw-like hands and shaggier hair. Adding those enhanced features to the "somewhat reserved" demeanor and the new black jumpsuit with the orange racing stripes and orange-clothed hitai-ate, one would think that he was an entirely different person altogether.
However, from the mind of Aburame Shino, only one individual in the entire village had neon-blond hair and irises that resembled the deep oceans of torment and woe…as well as a taste for the color of "kill-me" orange. Shino had found it rather puzzling and illogical for someone—especially a genin—to undergo drastic, physical changes in such a brief time period. That much was certain to the one who based his explanations on premises and rationale.
The symbiotic kikai-host surmised that the blue-eyed wonder was the focal point of a well-kept secret, on account of two possible reasons: 1) the way the adults who were around eighteen years or older looked upon his former classmate with inherent scorn and refused to explain the reason regarding the issue; and 2) the seemingly "classified" matter regarding the A-class mission that Naruto had completed prior to earning his genin rank. The fox cub was an outlier to the plausible equation, but it could weave into the well-guarded, enigmatic person that was Uzumaki Naruto. That much was uncertain for the moment.
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Hinata was on Cloud Nine, humming to herself as she was setting up traps without flaw. She had enjoyed her time training with both Lee-san and Naruto-kun, and she felt as if she was already metamorphosing into something…different from the rest. She wondered if her path was altering for the betterment of her strength to lead the Hyuuga to a new revolution of sorts. Only time would tell. That much was uncertain to the Hyuuga heiress.
While she was being taught by both her crush and the chibi-Green Beast, she had come to the painful realization that the Juuken was not the so-called "perfect, be-all-end-all" solutions to combat. Every form of taijutsu, ninjutsu and genjutsu had a flaw, and when it was found, it would be very easy to exploit.
She had found out the hard way as Lee dangerously picked apart her stance while testing her in a taijutsu bout, along with discovering the infamous "Hyuuga blind spot." Lee suffered a few closed pressure points along the chakra network, but that did not hinder his abilities whatsoever.
Her crush, on the other hand, demonstrated to her on the most glaring weakness: long-ranged offense. She was either blown sky-high before she was caught by a clone or nearly drowned since she did not know how to perform the Hakkeshou Kaiten. That much was certain.
Instead of being chewed out and berated like she normally would while at home, Lee-san and Naruto-kun had recommended for her to create a style that was suitable for her lithe form and personality. With a bit of secret research from her family archives and the library, she had developed a synthesis between Tai Chi and an archaic form of Ba Gua-style Juuken to balance with the Suiton ninjutsu that she had learned. She would be able to glide and dance along her "circle of harmony" with serene grace while delivering crippling blows with bursts of chakra from her palms, elbows and lower limbs, or, while having a somewhat large canteen tucked by her side, striking the target with a lash of water when least expected or block an opponent's incoming blows if she had not the time to defend.
In short, it was one of her trump cards; a beautiful, deadly dance that she had yet to name, aside from her arsenal of Suiton ninjutsu. That much was certain. With her doujutsu, the Byakugan, as a beneficial asset, her style of choice was close to impeccable. Even her crush and his shadow clones never withstood a chance at the unnamed form in a test-run, hitting the former with an accidental Juuken blow to his chest. She was practically crying rivers when she had struck the real one, but he miraculously recovered at a phenomenal pace and told her not to worry. He told her that he would always bounce back. That much was certain. The Hyuuga heiress greatly wondered about that, since no one would be immediately on his or her feet after a chakra-enhanced palm to the pulmonary region. That was etched into uncertainty.
Their thoughts were cut short when they sensed three hostile chakra signatures and Akamaru yipped, alerting the team of nearby intruders.
"Well, what'd ya know? It looks like we got company," Kiba coolly remarked. It was evident that they were going to get their hands on a scroll identical to theirs.
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Perched on the canopy above were three ninja with scuba-like respirator masks and tan jumpsuits. The four vertical lines on their abnormal headgear indicated that they were Rain-nin from Amegakure. Without a spoken word, they had leapt down to challenge the white-eyed girl, the puppy boy and the creepy kid with sunglasses.
Suddenly, they were pegged with a few kunai into their backs while a net enclosed around them and hoisted them up thirteen feet in the air. From the pain and shock of the surprise tactics, they screamed in horror, leaving Squad Eight to pick up a spare Chi scroll and dash off to find more targets…and potential barterers.
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(Squad Ten)
Squad Ten felt that it was rather wasteful of their energy to go all out in the first few days, so they had decided to kick back for a brief moment while Chouji was stuffing his gullet with heart-clogging barbecue potato chips.
"We haven't been out here almost five minutes and you want to eat now!?" screeched the bossy female of the group. She had already been complaining about the five-day survival exercise, stating that a girl has to look her very best. Unfortunately, Yamanaka Ino was more interested in fashion trends, superficial good looks and chasing after boys instead of the ninja life, even though she knew a few of her clan techniques.
"I need to eat to keep up my strength, Ino," Chouji answered between munches. He was…just that hungry. If one happened to look "underneath the underneath," then one would know that Akimichi Chouji stored extra reserves of energy potential for any incoming scuffles. He, however, was more so of a cuisine connoisseur and kindred spirit than a fighter, but when the time came, Chouji would not hold any mercy when it came to harming his friends or eating the last morsel of food.
Lounging at the edge of the forested area (as well as tuning out Ino and Chouji's antics), Shikamaru was calculating possible scenarios at light-speed, but most of the conjectures were based on matters of uncertainty. While his brain meandered through possible circumstances, his thought paused on a certain blond-haired shinobi, former classmate and friend.
Naruto had surprisingly changed, both physically and…somewhat emotionally. He had a fox-hound, and he looked just like his little fox cub. That much was certain. From Kabuto's cards, it was pure speculation that Naruto's ninjutsu skills increased, but the lazy shinobi could easily confirm it when Naruto approached Asuma-sensei for lessons in wind-element training. From pure analysis of Naruto's skills, he possessed three elemental affinities, but he had only seen two firsthand—wind and earth manipulation. The third element had yet to be seen by the public eye. Shikamaru assumed that if a ninja could combine two elemental affinities, then he or she would develop a new type of manipulation, thus gaining a special kekkei genkai. He wondered if Naruto could be able to combine wind and earth to make a type of sand or dust material. The calculations would be difficult if the blond wonder were to create something along the lines of sand or dust manipulation.
That was the least of his worries. What was troubling to the mind of the lazy genius were the odd and hate-filled looks that all of the adults gave him when they were walking to the Forest of Death. His thought capacity was a bit broader than the stoic Shino, so he attempted to mesh together the mystery. Unfortunately, he came up with inconclusive results as well.
'Something just isn't adding up. I need more clues,' Shikamaru thought as he sighed. 'Why does Naruto have to be such a strange guy…?'
He would have to pause that ten-second thought when he felt foreign signatures approaching.
"Everyone, hide," Shikamaru said, pulling his bewildered friend and Ino into the bushes.
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(Squad Seven)
Squad Seven had been testing their borrowed radio transmitters when they heard the panic-filled screams in the distance. The fun had just begun.
'Well, someone just got nailed,' Sasuke thought as he adjusted the frequency setting.
Sakura was slightly mortified by the sound. "This is starting to give me the creeps…" The green-eyed kunoichi paused when she thought she heard the pitter-patter of many legs coming from the tree behind her. She slowly turned around to spot a five-foot millipede-like insect. The pink-haired bookworm screamed in horror before Naruto pegged the large bug with a kunai into the thorax region.
"All right…grub!" Naruto yelled with mirthful delight. He passed by Sakura and walked over to the tree to retrieve his knife and the insect carcass. Examining the body, he concluded with satisfaction. "This thing is packing loads of protein." With a couple of handseals, Naruto whispered, "Hyouton: Hyouketsu no Jutsu," and blew on the bug with an icy breath to preserve it. He whipped out an empty storage scroll to stash it away into a vacant slot.
"Naruto," Sakura said with a lace of disgust in her voice. "I am not eating that."
"It'll taste better than our protein ration bars. Trust me, Sakura," Naruto remarked. "Besides, once you roast this thing over a fire, you would think that you're having a crunchy steak." Doshaburi nodded while licking his tongue across his muzzle. They were going to eat bountifully for the next few days in the wilderness.
On the contrary, Sakura's face took on a green hue while Sasuke pegged two slightly large snakes in a bush with a couple of kunai. They were not going to eat a bug, even though it was about the same size as them.
"Freeze 'em and stuff 'em, dobe," Sasuke said. "We'll get some fish when we get to the creeks." 'And besides,' he added mentally, 'I'd rather eat a snake than to eat that thing…'
Feeling a bit of pressure in his bladder, Naruto stood up. "All right, but first I have to…handle some business…" The fox-boy cheekily grinned. He was about to turn to relieve himself on a nearby tree when his green-eyed teammate rushed and bopped him on the head, leaving a lump of decent proportions.
"Naruto, what are you trying to do in front of a lady!? Go and find a bush or something! I don't want to see that…" 'Well, maybe Sasuke-kun's…' she thought as she took a fleeting glance at the dark-haired avenger with a small blush on her visage. She had then shaken out the perverted thoughts from her head.
"Okay, but watch out for Dosha-chan, will ya?" Naruto asked while rubbing his scalp. The pinkette nodded while stroking the little cloudburst's coat.
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As Naruto relieved himself, his nose caught a whiff of unknown individuals rapidly approaching. He slowly pushed down on the transmitter to alert his teammates.
"Guys," he whispered quietly into his obscured headset. "We got two blind mice with one going astray to your area."
"Copy that, dobe. Engage," Sasuke said over the receiver. "Be sure to keep quiet and try not to humiliate them too easily."
The blue-eyed wonder had a smirk lining his face. "Roger that, captain." The 'captain' part was added sarcastically.
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Another team from the Hidden Rain appeared from the roof of the forest and attempted to jump the blond-haired kid by surprise.
One of the members stabbed "Naruto" with a kunai. The blue-eyed wonder started to fall as he changed into a heavy log. Said heavy nodule of wood landed on a trigger-trap, which caught the two Ame-nin off their guard. Both had been hung in the air by their ankles in nooses.
Once they were securely caught, the second trap activated. A barrage of kunai came from out of nowhere and grazed the cloth of their jumpsuits, which led to two occurrences: 1) their underwear was exposed; and 2) one of the knives had been fortunate to slice through one of the Rain-nin's pouches that contained an extra Heaven scroll.
Naruto appeared from behind a tree and picked up the unnecessary scroll from its landing spot. Even though he and his squad did not need it, he decided to stash it in his pouch for safekeeping. The more scrolls they could find, the lesser the competition, he concluded.
"Thanks for the scroll, guys," Naruto said as he turned to walk away from the breathless, stupefied ninja. "Live life to the fullest and hang by the moment." He threw a nonchalant hand-wave without looking back. "Later."
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Sasuke and Sakura were in the midst of engagement with the third member of the wayward Rain-nin squad. Due to Sasuke's scrutinizing eye, his disguise was a very poor Henge of the dobe. The teki-nin was a southpaw, indicative of the shuriken holster on his left leg, whereas the blond wonder was right-handed. The pupils were not slit and the whisker-marks were poorly misshapen. Had the dobe not awakened his "bloodline," the raven-haired avenger would have compared the Rain-nin's transformation skills to the "former" blond idiot (even though he had his moments).
The enemy Ame-nin "melted" into the ground and disappeared. It was unfortunate for him that the Uchiha could see the chakra that he was emanating from underground and the pink-haired girl was a sensitive chakra-reader. They were not fooled in the slightest bit in his next attack.
As he emerged from the earth, Sasuke finished with his handseals for a weak fire attack. He yelled, "Katon: Hinotama no Jutsu!" and blew the dwarfed fireball toward the Rain-nin's scalp. The target's hair caught fire and ran around frantically to put out the growing flame in his hair. With a few handseals he created some water and doused his hair.
He turned to the pompous kid and the little girl with narrowed eyes. "You're going to pay for that! Now give me your scroll!" The elder ninja pulled out a kunai and sprinted toward the two. Sasuke was about to unleash a volley of electricity when something else stopped the enraged Rain-ninja.
"Doton: Daichi Kobu no Jutsu!" A large slab of rock, in the form of a fist, collided into the enemy's stomach, which let the wind out of his sails. The Ame-nin flew back from the inertia and crashed into a tree, rendering him unconscious.
Naruto jumped down from one of the trees and appeared before his team. "Sorry that it took too long," he said with a foxy grin. "I kind of got held up." His teammates halted his movement by holding up a kunai to warn him that if he were an imposter, then they would be ready to dispose of him at any moment. The little cloudburst decided to smell the possible intruder.
"Let's see," the little fox-hound started. "Dirt…ramen…and fox…He is indeed the genuine Naruto-shishou."
"We could've just used communion, Dosha-chan," Naruto said as he sighed. He wondered why his teammates had become so edgy when they knew good and well that he was taking care of the rest of the Rain-nin squad.
"Well, I could've handled him before you showed up, dobe," remarked the raven-haired genius as he brushed off the dirt from his shirt. "Just because you have power doesn't mean that you can flaunt it willy-nilly."
"Well, isn't that the pot calling the kettle black, Sasuke?" retorted the blond-haired genin as he narrowed his eyes to the dark-haired avenger. "I guess that the same should apply to you, too."
"No, I'm just stating what you told me before," answered the dark-eyed Uchiha while he shrugged boastfully. "Besides, you shouldn't hog all the glory…and using everything now will just spoil the fun, is all."
"Now you're sounding hypocritical, teme!" Naruto shot back. He was slightly chagrined that Sasuke out of all people was telling him not to "bask in the limelight." He was dead-last in just about every subject matter with the exception to stealth. Sasuke held the highest in just about everything else. Maybe it was his time to shine for once, instead of the "glory-hogging" Uchiha. "I figured that we should knock him out instead of frying him!"
Sasuke glared at the dobe. He knew that it was an exercise, but he wanted to finish off the Rain-nin post-haste on account of what the future might bring. He also did not want to be upstaged by someone lower to him. "I thought that it would be for the best, dobe," he said.
Naruto was about to open his mouth when the pink-haired Haruno held out a hand to impede Naruto's approach to the dark-eyed Uchiha.
Sakura felt that the bickering had to stop, so she decided to run interference and nip the situation in the bud. "Naruto, Sasuke-kun, knock it off. We are a team and that means we do everything as one. Teamwork is essential to get this part of the exam accomplished, and from this moment on, let's just try to keep our heads." She turned to where they could see her face darken to a ghastly expression, which slightly bothered the two boys. "Don't make me unleash my Inner Will and some of her Kage Gen'ei upon you…"
Naruto and Sasuke nervously gulped while Doshaburi was cowering in dread and decided to call it a truce to keep the in-fighting to a bare minimum. They neither did not know nor wanted to find out about her bloodline capabilities. Inner-Sakura was scary, but she mentioned that she had henchmen to boot…They shook their heads to try and not fathom what type of hell would be unleashed upon the land. However, little did they know that Sakura was calling a bluff to get everyone to settle down. She never had the chance to finish reading on how to draw out Shadow Phantoms from the Shadow Universe.
"This is a lesson to be learned," Sasuke said. "All in all, we can't trust our eyes…"
"But we can trust our noses," Naruto interrupted, which made Sasuke and Sakura turn to him. "Sigh…I would've thought that Kakashi-sensei could teach us how to channel chakra into your ears and nose, so I guess now would be as good a time as ever. Here's what we have to do…"
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(Squad Eight, several hours later)
The members of Squad Eight looked on, at a reasonable distance, in silent horror and nausea when a team of Rain-nin was crushed by a red-haired kid that could manipulate sand. Blood and gore spewed forth from the sandy encasings. The power that he exuded was unreal for any genin of their age group. Shino crouched quietly while bugs were moving about his body in disarray and Akamaru was hiding away in Kiba's jacket. Hinata carefully examined the boy's inner chakra coils and noticed…a tan-hued chakra intermingling with his normal blue energy. She pondered if the presence of red chakra in Naruto-kun's system had any connection to the red-haired Suna-nin.
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(Day Two)
In the past day, a select handful of teams arrived prior to the end time. Gaara, Temari and Kankuro arrived in a record-breaking four hours. Eight hours later, Squad Eight managed to get into the tower.
Much to everyone's dismay, someone had to ruin all the fun…as well as the exam…
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"Pardon the interruption ma'am, but there's a problem," said one of the proctors as he appeared evanescently in one large poof.
Mitarashi Anko was eating dango and slurping down red bean soup when she looked at the proctor with the glasses. "What is it this time? Don't you see that I'm enjoying my dango?" Mealtime with her dumplings on a stick was most precious to her, and she did not want it to be ruined.
"There are corpses, Anko-san. Three of them…" The tone in his voice held a grim overtone, which made Anko realize that it was, in fact, serious. "Something strange has happened to them, so you should see for yourself."
After a brisk walk to the murder site, the head examiner was appalled by the disfigured Kusa team. One woman in particular had her face completely removed. It was then that Anko quickly surmised that what had happened to those three ninja had been the work of her former sensei, defected affiliate of Konoha, Orochimaru. 'Why the hell would he be here at the Chuunin Exam…?' she thought grimly. 'We've got no time to lose! We have to stop that madman!'
She quickly turned to face the three proctors that were standing before her: the one from before with glasses, one with shaggy dark hair and a bandage across his face named Hagane Kotetsu, and one wearing a bandana with a dark-haired bang hanging on the right side of his face known as Kamizuki Izumo.
"We've got big trouble!" shouted the Serpent Lady. The three examiners had a questioning glance directed toward her. "Well, what are you waiting for!? Get moving. Tell Hokage-sama exactly what's happened here. Also alert the ANBU to get some more backup while I go in after these guys. Now go!"
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(Shin no Mori, location unknown)
The wolf-masked ANBU, Tenzou, received a message from one of his Moku Bunshin regarding the situation at hand. He turned to his partner, who was sharpening her katana on a whetstone.
"Yuugao-san, there's…a bit of a problem," the wood-user mentioned with a serious undercurrent in his voice. "Someone has sabotaged the exam and we need to find the violators. Let's go."
"Hai," she replied before they vanished into thin air.
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(Squad Seven)
In the brief tutoring session for the last several hours, Sasuke and Sakura had only gained a slight control over their enhanced smell and hearing, but it would have to make due for the time being.
They were traveling deeper into the woods when they heard multiple branches snapping at roughly the same time. A shot of wind sliced into the side of Naruto's right cheek as he turned around before a large wind tunnel carried him away, along with his little cloudburst.
"Waaah! Help meee…" His shouts were fading away into the forest canopy. His radio lost connection on account of going beyond the radius of frequency. 'Kuso…caught by my own jutsu…Daitoppa…'
"Naruto!" both Sakura and Sasuke yelled as they paused on the ground to face the direction of the possible teki-nin.
Emerging from the dark wood was a creepy, female ninja from the Hidden Grass Village…or so she appeared to be.
"So," began the effeminate Grass-nin. "You want to get your hands on our Earth scroll, am I right?" "She" pulled out the scroll from a hidden pouch. "Since you three do have a Heaven scroll in your possession…"
Sakura and Sasuke looked on in disbelief and disgust when the ninja's mandible snapped open and an elongated tongue wrapped around the scroll. The ninja proceeded to swallow the parchment whole.
After consuming the scroll, the ninja calmly said while looking down, "Now, let's begin the fight for the scrolls. In the end, only one of us will have both scrolls…" The ninja looked up to expose "her" snake-like eyes. "And the other will die…"
The palpable ki made Sasuke and Sakura's death flash before their eyes. The focused killer intent caused both Leaf-nin to vomit their stomach contents and shake in fear. They could only watch helplessly by the image of death before their eyes.
'What the hell is this person?' thought the raven-haired Uchiha. He knew for a fact that they had to get away or they were going to succumb to their demise.
'I…can't…move…We have to run!' Sakura screamed in her mind. Unfortunately, her body and mind were in conflict with one another.
'This shit is intense…We've got to get away from this Kami-forsaken creep! Snap out of it, pinky…Shannaro!' her Inner Will roared.
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"How was it that we were blind-sighted, Dosha-chan?" the elf-eared genin asked to his dust-colored fox as he gathered his bearings and stood up. "I didn't detect a thing!"
"I have not the slightest idea, Naruto-shishou," Doshaburi replied as he was shaking off the pain. "The enemy was far off my radar as well."
'Gaki, you need to pay more attention from now on,' the Demon Lord huffed in partial disgust to his host. 'Carelessness could cost you your life, you know.'
'Oh…so now you want to speak up after all this time…' Naruto retorted to his formerly unwanted guest.
'I thought you were doing fine before…and nice prank on the Rain-nin by the way. Very clever,' Kyuubi said, grinning like a Cheshire cat. 'But it was still second-rate!'
While Naruto and his spiritual occupant were chatting away, a dark shadow loomed over them.
Doshaburi's eyes bugged out of its sockets. "Sh-Shishou, l-look out!"
Snapping out of his trance, Naruto turned to take in the view of a sixty-foot-long python. His eyes mimicked those of his ocher-hued buddy.
"That is one…big…snake…." Naruto was beyond belief at what he had seen.
The behemoth serpent lashed out at the two with its fangs as they barely dodged by the skin of their teeth. Milliseconds afterward, a giant tail came from out of nowhere and wrapped around the blue-eyed wonder.
He struggled to break free from its coils but it was useless. Even with his enhanced strength, he still could not get out of its clutches.
'Don't tell me that this is the end…' he thought to himself as he was engulfed by the maw of the giant reptile. The scaly beast slithered away to parts unknown while his fox-companion was stricken with shock. It could not be happening. Was his owner really gone?
"Naruto-shishou…" Doshaburi was taken over by sadness, and that woe turned to rage. He was going to enjoy this large meal as his body began to glow white.
"I shall avenge my friend…Tama Senkou!" The sanctified aura engulfed around the dust-hued fox before it began to take on a reddish tint. Pulling a bit more of the blessed youki given to him by the fox-lord, his irises changed from cold-gray to blood-crimson and his killer intent flooded the area.
"Tama Tosshin!" The little fox tore into the ground as he began to chase after the large serpent.
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The effeminate Grass-nin was gazing at the two pools of blood near a branch with two kunai lodged into it. The ninja was amazed by their determination to run for their lives. Who would have thought that they conquered fear with pain?
'And so the chase begins…Sasuke-kun…' the estranged shinobi thought as "she" followed the paths of blood. This ninja loved to pursue wary prey.
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Sakura and her crush were holding one another, out of breath, as they were examining the surrounding area with their newly acquired enhanced smell and hearing from behind one of the many trees. When the adrenaline settled, both gathered their bearings and quickly pulled away, albeit Sakura was reluctant to stop clutching. They had then winced from the pain on account of the kunai embedded into their thighs.
"It…was crazy…but it worked…" Sakura whispered between breaths as she pulled out the knife and flinched from the slight throbbing. Luckily her gash was not as deep as the one that her crush had made into his upper leg.
"Sasuke-kun, you're hurt…" Her crush's hand reached for her mouth to shut it for the time being. He looked into her eyes with his Sharingan ablaze and made a silencing motion with his free hand.
He quickly looked about to find anything suspicious when both of their fear alarms screamed for a dire emergency. Sasuke and Sakura, who still had her mouth covered, turned around to stare faces-to-face with a gargantuan snake.
'This can't get any worse!' they thought as they jumped to safety before the snake snapped off the branch where they were perched.
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It was only a few minutes inside the belly of the beast, and Naruto came to the realization that if he were to stay in here, then he would be quickly digested by acidic fluids.
'Kuso,' Naruto cursed to himself as he tried to puncture the serpent's interior with one of his kunai. 'I'm not supposed to be snake chow. I'm going to be Hokage one day and I'm getting out here whether slither-puss likes it or not!'
Naruto decided to calm himself down for a bit to analyze the possible strategies to get out. He could either mass-produce himself to give the walking leather boot a fit of indigestion or give it an ulcer with his Phantom Flame. He failed to think of a third possibility…
"No one hurts Naruto-shishou and gets away with it! Tama Tosshin!"
A yell came from the outside before a rumbling was felt by Naruto soon afterward. It was his companion, his little fox kit Doshaburi, ready to tango with a snake that could crush him in one fell tail swipe. He needed to get out of the snake's gut as soon as feasibly possible before his little cloudburst became as flat as a pancake. The elf-eared wonder put his hands together into the all-too-familiar cross-shaped handseal.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto roared. A total of fifteen clones were needed to rupture the serpent from the inside out, killing it instantly.
Naruto and his duplicates landed in one large dog-pile in front of a relieved Doshaburi.
"Okay, guys now get off me," said the original, which had been unluckily at the bottom of the pile. "Or just dispel yourselves. Either one is fine by me. Take all day, why don't ya?"
XXXXXXXXXX
After launching a volley of shuriken into the carapace of the snake, it tumbled forward, dead.
Sasuke and Sakura had tried to their best ability to ward off and kill the snake. Much to their dismay, that was only the beginning…
The effeminate ninja slowly burst forth from the snake hide, leaving a bewildered Sakura and a stunned Sasuke.
While the shinobi was appearing forth in serpent gunk, "she" spoke. "You can never let down your guard for a single moment…"
The shinobi stood atop the snake carcass, looked on at Sasuke and continued in a slithery tone. "Prey need to strain their minds all the time, and run around…in the presence of its predator…" The freakishly long tongue slithered around "her" mouth region before the Kusa-nin snaked around the tree to get to the Uchiha.
Fortuitously, a few shuriken and a kunai halted "her" progress.
The effeminate Grass ninja, along with Sasuke and Sakura, turned to see the newest members of the soon-to-be fray.
"Naruto, you made it just in time! Thank goodness!" Sakura shouted. She breathed a sigh of relief. They might just pull through. Sasuke, however, was shaking in his ninja sandals.
'What the hell is the dobe doing here?' he thought. 'He's no match for this…person…or thing…or whatever it is…'
"It looks like you managed to fight off that big snake, Naruto-kun," said the Grass-nin in a smooth, nonchalant manner. "Her" fists were balled and "her" chin was resting on them. 'It looks like I underestimated the boy…and he could be a potential hazard in my plans…'
'So that was a summoned snake, huh?' Naruto could taste the rage and bloodlust from his restricted tenant. He felt that familiar emotion from before and that could only mean one thing…
"You know," the blue-eyed wonder began, who was perched beside his foxy companion. "Someone that I know would like a word with you, snake-teme. But before I do…" He pulled out a snake's head and tossed it at the coiled Kusa-nin. "Apparently, your summon bit off more than he could chew. He had a bit of an indigestion problem…"
"Naruto, don't try to be the hero and show off!" Sasuke shouted, interrupting the dobe. "He's way out of our league! Run away!"
Naruto looked at his disheveled teammate and scoffed at him. "Since when have I seen you run away? And yes, I know he's out of our league. In fact…" He turned his gaze to the effeminate Kusa-nin. "Why don't you show us your true form…Orochimaru…?"
The one identified as Orochimaru hummed. "It looks like you know more than what you let on, Naruto-kun…kukuku…I'm impressed." He ripped off the face of the Grass-nin to reveal his pale face and snake-like eyes, which gave everyone goose-bumps on the back of their necks. The killer intent surged around the forest, amplifying his terrifying look. "Now that you know who I am, I cannot let you leave here…alive…"
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A/N: This is another chapter down, and I hope that some of you enjoyed the length and detail. I decided to add a little spice to the notes guide. I hope that you like it. For the bottom notes on the Martial Arts Guide, I suggest that you read it. And I apologize for the tardiness of this chapter. I've been trying to get this written when I had time away from work and familial responsibilities. For my lateness, I will bestow upon you an omake at the end of the Author's Note.
Orochimaru of the Sannin has arrived. What on earth is he planning? What does he have in store for Squad Seven?
Jikai… (Next time…) on Birth of a Legend: The Fox Druid…
The Snake that Bares Its Fangs…
Martial Arts Guide:
Tai Chi, tai chi chuan (Romanized) or tàijíquán (太极拳): This roughly translates into "supreme ultimate fist" or "boundless fist." It is an internal Chinese martial art that is used to aid in soft martial techniques or used to increase longevity, just to name a couple of usages. There are two forms of core training: solo form and pushing hands. Solo form focuses on maintaining one's center of gravity. The ability of pushing hands makes it almost similar to Juuken, but the palm strikes deal with how to move off the other opponent's center of gravity.
The ability to use Tai Chi as a form of self-defense in combat is said to be the most effective proof of a student's understanding of the art's principles. The study of Tai Chi martially is the study of appropriate change in response to outside forces; the study of yielding and blending with outside force rather than attempting to meet it with opposing force.
Here, I find this martial art style meaningful to Hinata, seeing that Tai Chi is representative of the belief of her finding inner peace and appropriate balance, along with symbolic change and adaptation. I also believe that Juuken and Tai Chi could be blended together, since the Gentle Fist style is based on Bāguàzhǎng, or Eight Trigrams Palm (another internal Chinese martial art). In essence, it would be Hinata "circle walking" from Ba Gua while adapting to the oncoming force of her opponents with open chakra-enhanced palm strikes (along with elbows, lower leg strikes, etc.) from Tai Chi. It would be a bit too long to discuss it here, so my best bet to you would be to see Wikipedia for more details.
Romaji Guide:
Shin no Mori: Forest of Death
Kikai: type of destructive insects used by the Aburame clan
Hakkeshou Kaiten (Eight Trigrams Palm Rotation, also known as Eight Trigrams Divination Spin): unknown rank of defensive Hyuuga-clan taijutsu; user expels chakra from all tenketsu, with the recoil force allowing the user to spin gracefully while blocking any incoming attacks; mainly blocks attacks at angles or directed at the "equator" of the rotation (Narutopedia)
Byakugan: literally translates to "white eye"; allows for the user to see with near 360º vision, meaning that they can literally see everything around them, save for one blind spot, which differs from user to user. They also have the ability to see through solid objects, and can use a degree of telescopic sight to see things from a great distance (Narutopedia).
Amegakure (no Sato): Hidden Rain Village
Hyouton: Hyouketsu no Jutsu (Ice Release: Freezing Technique): D-rank supplementary hijutsu; user freezes water to form ice; basic supplementary technique for all Hyouton-class ninjutsu and hijutsu (created)
Henge (no Jutsu): Transformation Technique
Teki-nin: enemy ninja
Katon: Hinotama no Jutsu (Fire Release: Fireball Technique): C-rank offensive short-range ninjutsu; user fires a small bullet of fire in the direction of the target; dwarfed version of Goukakyakuu no Jutsu (created)
Doton: Daichi Kobu no Jutsu (Earth Release: Dry Land Prominence Technique): Low C-rank offensive/defensive close- to mid-range ninjutsu; with the aid of earth-based chakra, the user can "move" the earth at will to simply block or strike (created)
Kage Gen'ei: Shadow Phantoms
Moku Bunshin: wood clone or wood replication
Tama Senkou: Spirit Flash (see Chapter Six for information regarding this hijutsu if you already forgot)
Tama Tosshin: Spirit Rush or Bullet Charge (see Chapter Nine for more information if you already forgot)
Omake: Hinata's Training
(Training Day Two)
"Okay, Hinata-san," Haku chimed in her pleasantly sweet voice. "Now that you have soaked the cloth, it is time to proceed to the next step…" The ice-using kunoichi could not add to her explanation, for a boisterous blond dashed to meet them for rudimentary Suiton training.
"Oi, Hinata-chan!" Naruto yelled as he ran up with his panting, fuzzy comrade. "You were fantastic the other day! That was awesome! Sorry I forgot to mention it earlier."
'The way he runs…it is…in-inhuman,' thought the dusty-hued kit in between pants. Doshaburi wondered how Naruto managed to become such a stamina beast. The pointy-eared genin did not even look the slightest bit winded. The poor dirt-hued kit collapsed in an undignified heap. He would need a good half-hour to recuperate.
"N-Naruto-kun," the Hyuuga heiress mumbled while finding the ground particularly interesting. 'He's recognizing me…What do I say…?'
The ice-user smiled and formed an icicle behind her back. She walked behind the blushing Hinata and rested the ice spike on the small of her back. The chilling sensation and the sharp point made Hinata stand fully erect and look into the eyes of her crush.
"A-ano…" Hinata started with a reddish tint to her cheeks. "A-Arigatou, N-Naruto-kun…"
"Listen Hinata-chan, for a job well done the other day, how about I take you to some place nice?" he asked while scratching the back of his head. It was one of his nervous ticks, just like Hinata's "poking fingers." "Well, after training for today…that is, if you don't have anything else to do…"
'Oh Kami-sama, tell me this isn't real…Is N-Naruto-kun asking me out on a…a…a date?' Her thoughts were running circle-marathons while she was mumbling and stuttering.
Haku decided to intervene temporarily. "Excuse us for a minute, Naruto-kun," she said with one of her patented "warm smiles." Only Kami-sama knew what she was planning behind that smirk.
She took the hand of the Hyuuga heiress and walked out of super-sensitive earshot of the blond wonder.
"Tell me, Hinata-san," Haku began, "why is it that you stutter so much?"
"I-I don't stutter…I mean…I t-typically don't stutter…unless…" She began to poke together her forefingers.
Haku decided to try a little…positive reinforcement. "Hinata-san, I'll be willing to give you an incentive to stop stuttering…or fainting around Naruto-kun. Do as I say, because the consequences will be quite severe if you break them…"
"Q-Quite…s-severe…?" asked the mumbling Hyuuga heiress.
"Yes, Hinata-san," answered the smiling, ice-using kunoichi. "If you stutter or mumble once, you'll be subjected to one of these along the nerve network of your body." She held out one of her icy senbon needles. That made Hinata's pale instantly. She could end up as a frozen porcupine when all was said and done. "And if you faint in front of me, you'll be subjected to one of my personal favorites…" The icy senbon collected more ice to form a smooth rod. "A very cold awakening. Get the idea?"
"I-I don't qu-quite f-follow, H-Haku-neesan," Hinata said as she stumbled backward. Much to her discomfort, a clone of the ice-user was right behind her with an icicle prodded in her backside. The Hyuuga heiress jumped a few feet into the air and onto her sore bottom.
The elder kunoichi pointed the frigid rod down at Hinata. She smiled that innocent grin. "You will if you faint." She pointed the miniature pole lower, around Hinata's pelvic region. "Let's say that it will send chills up your spine."
Hinata looked to where the rod was pointed. The Hyuuga heiress' eyes grew to considerable proportions. She had no idea that Haku-neesan was a tortuous pervert.
"Do you understand now, Hinata-san?"
The poor, innocent kunoichi could only nod in agreement, with her visage still fixed in horror and disbelief…
Owari (The End)
I hope that you like this mini-short.