Chapter 18: Be Prepared

Disclaimer: Prepare yourselves! I am… NOT the owner of Naruto. Super shocking, I know.

Who is he and what is his connection to Tobi – a man claiming to be Madara of all people? Sasuke asked for the umpteenth time that hour. Why did he go into my mind that night? What did they want?

Sasuke frowned, absently picking at the grass.

Why was that proctor with him of all people? And for the umpteenth time that hour, no answers were revealed.

"...un. Sasuke-kun."

I should have demanded more, Sasuke thought. Before being sent back to the main room, before answering the final question…

"Hellooo?"

I should have grabbed him by the neck and demanded answers.

"Earth to he-who-is-stone-faced-and-promised-he-would-do-better-at-responding?"

I should have—

"Sasuke-kun!"

Sasuke leapt to his feet, chokutō drawn. Blinking, Sasuke noted that there were no enemies, and he was now being stared at by both of his teammates and random genin from another village.

"Teme, you look stupid." Naruto snickered. "Put away the sword, why don't ya?"

Sasuke shot the dobe a glare before sheathing his sword and sitting back down.

"Where were you?" Sakura asked, tilting her head.

"Yeah, that was pretty bad – even for you, you know!" Naruto declared.

Sasuke stared at his teammates. Do I risk Sakura's wrath and say it's nothing? One look at Sakura, and he knew such a thing would be unwise.

"I… don't want to talk about it." He admitted at last.

Sakura furrowed her eyebrows, and then opened her mouth. Then, seemingly thinking better of it, she closed her mouth and shook her head. Naruto just rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

"Fine: then tell us about your interrogator. We finally have time to exchange notes! So, spill." Naruto said, leaning forward.

"Yeah, he kept on trying to make me believe you two failed, and then when that didn't work, tested my loyalty to you." Sakura said, turning slightly to Naruto.

"Yup, yup. Same here." Naruto nodded. "She kept on insisting that you two left me high and dry and that I couldn't trust you guys. So, what about you, duck-butt? What did your proctor do?"

Although Sasuke was certain his facial expression hadn't changed, both of his teammates' eyes went wide with concern and scooched closer to Sasuke. He leaned slightly away from them on instinct, and furrowed his eyebrows.

"What happened." Sakura didn't ask – she demanded.

"Who do I need to beat up?" Naruto asked at the same time, his eyes flashing dangerously.

"He… went into my mind." Sasuke said with some difficulty, suppressing the shudder that threatened to overtake him.

Naruto shuddered for Sasuke, and Sakura opened her mouth to speak.

"It's time to exchange for the scrolls!" A chūnin called out from behind a curtain.

Right, Sasuke thought as he looked around at other teams. I'm still in the middle of a test.

Each team started to get up with their signed waivers, and he glanced at his teammates. Sakura looked irritated – like she wanted to say something – and Naruto looked…

Serious?

Sasuke once again returned his attention to the other teams, and caught Anko's eye. She grinned sadistically at him; it reminded Sasuke of Orochimaru. If Orochimaru was a puppy rather than an overgrown snake. Orochimaru…

Orochimaru!

Whipping his head back and forth between the other twenty-three teams, Sasuke searched for a body that belonged to Orochimaru. He knew Orochimaru's type all too well – but where is he? Not a single person around suited Orochimaru's taste.

How could I have forgotten the biggest predator around? Sasuke frowned; Kabuto isn't here, either. Why? Where—

"Teme, you're doing it again." Naruto said, lightly kicking Sasuke's shoulder. "Let's go get our scroll."

Sasuke looked up at Naruto to shoot him a half-hearted glare, and rose to his feet. He followed his teammates, but kept his eyes peeled for the old and psychotic snake.

I was so focused on that proctor that I totally forgot about Orochimaru. Orochimaru's absence doesn't mean he won't show up – if anything, it just makes his appearance that much more unpredictable. And more dangerous.

The trio entered the tent, received their scroll and their gate number, and were promptly escorted out for the next group of genin to enter.

Sasuke once again made a sweep with his eyes – and once again, he didn't see a hint of Orochimaru or a potential henchman. No Oto ninja, no Kabuto, no suspicious Kusa ninja…

Shaking his head, Sasuke followed his teammates to wait with the other teams.

When everyone finally had a scroll, Anko instructed each team to follow an instructor to their gate.

As the chūnin led Team Seven to Gate Eighteen, Sasuke couldn't help but wonder: Where is that snake hiding? There is no way he's changed goals, but I haven't seen any hint of him.

Sasuke glanced at the Forest of Death to his right – nothing but a wire fence stood in between them and the horrors that lay beyond. Of course, Sasuke endured worse horrors than what the Forest of Death could possibly offer. Horrors by Orochimaru's hand, and also by his brother's that night. And then that proctor—

No. I can't think about that now. I need to focus on my goal. I need to pass this phase and get stronger so I can find Itachi and perhaps destroy… Sasuke glanced at his teammates, who walked a little ahead of him. They looked determined, like they were taking it seriously – even Naruto's mouth had turned into a grim line.

And they have every right to be cautious, even if they don't know what I know. But if I don't know where Orochimaru is, I don't know how I can avoid him. I know perfectly well there's no way I'll be able to defeat him the way I am now, and my teammates are only going to get hurt if we do encounter him. Sasuke pressed his lips together.

Maybe participating in the Chūnin Exams was a bad idea, after all.

Sakura lightly caught Sasuke's wrist and, startled, Sasuke looked at her.

Are you okay? She asked with her eyes.

I'm fine. He assured her.

Sakura raised her eyebrow, and shook her head; This isn't over.

A quiet snort escaped from Sasuke's nose and he continued to follow the instructor in silence. Naruto walked a few paces ahead of them, his hands resting behind the back of his head. He glanced back at them and gave an obnoxious grin.

"You coming, scaredy-cat?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke scowled at him and walked faster.

At last, they reached their gate and their guide looked at a pocket watch.

"You guys will be able to enter in about twenty minutes." He told them. "You may use this time to plan, to rest, and to snack. Remember, you'll be on your own from here on out so don't expect any help."

The trio nodded and set to work. Naruto pulled out snacks for them to munch on while Sakura slowly reached into her bag.

"So… I may or may not have… stolen something." Sakura admitted quietly, shooting a furtive glance at their instructor.

Naruto paused mid-bite, and Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

Briefly looking back at the chūnin on standby – who was purposefully looking away and admiring a plant – Sakura turned back to the boys with a piece of paper in her hands.

It was a map.

"Is that…" Naruto started in awe, food falling from his fingers.

"The Forest of Death." Sasuke finished, impressed.

Sakura nodded with a big smile, her face bright red.

"Good job, Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed, clapping her on her shoulder. "This is exactly what we need!"

With the map in between them, the trio started up a plan.

By the time their twenty minutes were up, they had a rough idea of the best course of action. When the chūnin finally unlocked the gate, Sasuke felt prepared.

"Ok!" Naruto exclaimed, raising his fist. "Let's go!"

And with that, they were off.

"Just admit it." Sakura sighed, and looked up at the trees.

"Don't say it." Naruto growled, tilting his head as he held the map out in front of him.

"Naruto, we're lost."

"No!" Naruto exclaimed, and glared at her. "We are not lost. The river is somewhere near here. I can feel it."

"That's great and all, Naruto, but can you see it? Or hear it? I know you have ears like a fox sometimes, but even you have to admit that the river is nowhere near here." Sakura said, sounding exasperated.

"No, I'm sure we're nearby… We even passed by that creepy looking boulder. Maybe we're stuck in a genjutsu."

"We are not in a genjutsu, Naruto." Sakura deadpanned.

"How about you—"

"Enough." Sasuke groaned at last. "Both of you. And Naruto, give Sakura the map. We all know she's the best one with directions, and you have proven yet again that you can't read a map to save your life."

"But—" Naruto protested as Sakura snatched the piece of paper out of his hands.

"If you hadn't insisted on being the navigator, we probably would be halfway to the center by now!" Sakura said, looking at the map. "And you were taking us in the opposite direction!"

Naruto screwed his face up in confusion. "How so?"

Sakura shot Naruto with a sharp glare.

"We were going north. We are supposed to be going south! Honestly Naruto, how did you graduate?" Sakura exclaimed, shaking her head.

Naruto glared at her, and made the bird hand sign he would use for Wind Release jutsu.

"Very mature, Naruto." Sakura rolled her eyes, and casually tapped the back of the map with her finger.

"Will both of you please be quiet, already?" Sasuke asked, tightening his grip on the hidden wire.

Sakura and Naruto whirled towards Sasuke, their mouths open in protest, Sakura put her hand on her hip—

And a boy with spiky brown hair appeared behind her, snatching the map from her hands. Sakura gasped before rounding on him, but he already jumped out of the way.

"Yes, please shut up already." He murmured. "Word of advice: maybe don't make yourselves such easy targets?"

Another boy with startling yellow eyes appeared behind Naruto. "We'll be taking your map, and your scroll, thank you very much."

Naruto tried punching the boy, but the Takigakure ninja caught his fist, punched the blonde in the gut, and then put him in a choke-hold.

Sasuke stepped forward, when suddenly a kunai was set against his throat.

"You Konoha genin really are not much to write home about," the newcomer said into Sasuke's ear. "But hey, at least that means less injury for us!"

Naruto's eyes went comically wide, and Sakura reached for her weapon – only for it to be knocked out of her hand by the spiky-haired ninja.

"Give us the scroll, or this one dies!" The person behind Sasuke declared, drawing a little bit of Sasuke's blood as he did so.

Naruto struggled against the yellow-eyed boy, but the Taki ninja tightened his grip. Naruto looked at Sasuke with a questioning brow.

"You heard him." Sasuke told Naruto. "Give him the scroll."

Nodding, Naruto reached into his pocket…

And Team Seven vanished, leaving only piles of leaves in their wake.

"What—" the spiky-haired ninja exclaimed, before the map he held exploded in his face.

His teammates started running towards him, but immediately flung into the air – caught in a wire net. Growling, the yellow-eyed boy pulled out a kunai.

"Oh, I wouldn't do that if I were you!" Sakura called from her tree branch, smiling. "Your kunai is only going to create a spark, and well…"

"Unless you want to burn to death, you'd best be putting that back." Naruto finished, crouching directly above the duo.

The boy tried to move his head to glare at Naruto, but he had to turn in an awkward way that resulted in him kicking the other boy in the face.

"Dammit Takeo!" the boy growled, his red eyes flashing.

"Sorry, nii-chan!" the yellow-eyed boy apologized.

Meanwhile, Sasuke had knocked the spiky-haired boy onto his stomach, his arm twisted painfully behind his back. Sasuke reached into the older boy's pouch – the one with the scroll in it.

Pathetic; at his age I was defeating Kage-level shinobi, Sasuke scoffed.

"Hey, what do you think – augh! Do you think you're doing?" the genin demanded.

"Obviously," Sasuke started as he grabbed the Heaven Scroll. "I'm taking what's mine."

The boy opened his mouth to protest, but with a single punch Sasuke effectively knocked him out. The two boys in the wire net protested loudly, and Sakura and Naruto both jumped down.

Sakura looked up at the captured ninja. "Word of advice: if you see someone making themselves an easy target… assume it's a trap."

"Yeah!" Naruto laughed loudly. "You totally fell for it!"

Sasuke shook his head, a fond smile just visible on his face as he secured the scroll inside a storage scroll.

"Enough gloating." Sasuke told Naruto.

Naruto gave the raven-haired youth a half-hearted glare, but he turned to go.

"You won't get away with this, Konoha!" the red-eyed boy declared from the net.

"Yeah, yeah." Naruto said, waving his hand dismissively, not bothering to look back at them.

The trio disappeared, running away at top speed towards the safe zone.

"Well… that was easy." Sakura commented when they were some distance away.

"Hehe, that's what happens when we follow my brilliant plans!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Sure," Sakura laughed. "Let's go with that."

Sasuke snorted in response. She has a point though. It's only been four hours and we've already secured both scrolls… This has gone well in our favor. A little too well.

Sasuke scowled at the trees in front of him. Where is he? Surely that snake should have shown up by now…

Suddenly Naruto stopped, and held up his hand. Sakura and Sasuke immediately stopped, and looked at the blonde.

Is it…?

"Trouble up ahead; three of my clones just died from a couple of Ame ninja." He told them. "Based on the final memory, my clones exploding didn't seem to do much damage to the Ame ninja.

No. It isn't.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "We already have what we need, so let's change direction. Sasuke-kun?"

Double checking that no ninja were nearby, Sasuke pulled out the map. The trio quickly gazed at it before deciding to go a little further east.

"It'll take longer but it's better than needlessly fighting." Sasuke said.

His teammates both nodded in agreement, and changed direction. Although their scrolls were blood-bound in the storage scroll, none of them relaxed. They sped forward as if Kakashi and his pack were hot on their tails.

But where is he? There's no way he… Unless he isn't? Sasuke shook his head. No; don't be ridiculous. I know that man too well, and there is no way he would let go of his quarry.

And yet as they progressed ever closer to their destination, he didn't even hear so much as a hiss. He has to be coming, Sasuke thought to himself as he jumped over a branch. He has to. Unless…

Did he find a new target? Perhaps he doesn't want me anymore – but if that were true… Sasuke shook his head. Impossible. There's no way he defeated Itachi.

Right?

Sasuke sighed. Well, I guess the only thing to do is wait. Snakes are patient, and he won't—

Before Sasuke even knew what he was doing, he activated his Sharingan and backflipped off the branch he just landed on, and started performing the hand signals.

"Lightning Release: Lightning Ball!"Sasuke declared, aiming the three orbs of purple lightning at a tree.

Orochimaru!? Sasuke wondered, his heart beating wildly.

The trio got into formation with weapons drawn. A dozen Naruto clones surrounded them in a protective circle while six more shot off in every direction around them. They all stood in silence for a moment, waiting, listening.

Sasuke breathed slightly unevenly, clamoring for a plan to escape Orochimaru. Naruto's clones can act as a distraction and I just need to watch for anything out of place…!

Suddenly a barrage of needles dripping in poison rained down on the trio. With his sharingan seeing each needle, Sasuke was able to take out half of the needles with his sword while Naruto's clones knocked away or blocked the remaining half.

Sakura meanwhile used her Earth Release: Shaking Stone jutsu. All the surrounding trees around the ones the trio was in shook violently, forcing three shadows to flee from their hiding spots.

Sasuke's Sharingan caught everything, and leapt towards one of the shadows, his sword aiming for where the head should be.

The hiss of metal against metal met Sasuke's ears, and he stared into the eyes of…

Not Orochimaru. Sasuke realized as the Suna ninja jumped back. Just one of the four Suna teams that passed the last exam.

The young man glared at Sasuke and a new barrage of needles pelted forward – Sasuke smirked. These needles were nothing compared to Haku's. In a flash, Sasuke blocked all 214 senbon and set the ninja on fire.

The young man gave a quick shout of surprise, but Sasuke didn't back down. Before the enemy ninja could react or defend, Sasuke pressed against the ninja with his sword. Clothes still on fire, the Suna ninja was forced to block Sasuke's attack with one hand, and with the other tried to stab Sasuke with a poison-tipped kunai.

Sasuke jumped back, and the Suna ninja put out the flames – revealing second degree burns on his arms and face. The enemy ninja flung three kunai towards Sasuke, controlling each with chakra wire.

His Sharingan predicted each one, and effortlessly dodged as he jumped from one branch to another. The weapons followed him and, with lightning pulsing through his chokutō, Sasuke severed the chakra ties that connected the kunai.

Using the body-flicker technique, Sasuke disappeared and reappeared behind the Suna ninja. He stabbed the young man in the back—

And the young man was replaced with a tree trunk.

A dull pain erupted from Sasuke's side, and he blocked the next attack with his chokutō. The Suna ninja glared at Sasuke and a vicious grin erupted from Sasuke's lips.

Got you.

The genjutsu was simple. Using his Sharingan, Sasuke would capture his opponent – tricking them into thinking they were frozen. Once the paralysis takes over, that's when the real fun begins.

Sasuke watched as the Suna ninja froze, and his eyes widened in pure terror. He opened his mouth to scream, but nothing came out. Why? Because the Suna ninja believed the air had been sucked out of him.

He couldn't breathe.

The Suna ninja tried to cling onto the tree trunk, but took a step backwards and fell. Thank you, father, Sasuke thought as the ninja crashed into the ground. It had been the first of the three genjutsu that Sasuke had learned the past month or so, and it proved most effective.

With one enemy out of the way, Sasuke started to search the trees for the other two.

Suddenly something attacked him on his right, and Sasuke blocked. What the hell? Sasuke thought as he jumped away from the gargoyle made of stone and dirt. It stared at Sasuke with hollow eyes and charged forward.

Sasuke remained where he stood.

Electricity sparked around Sasuke and his chokutō, and he braced himself as the monstrosity raced forward at surprising speed. Moving at the last possible second, Sasuke leapt up into the air and slammed his sword down into its neck where the dirt was at its weakest.

The creature exploded, bits of dirt and crushed rock spraying around Sasuke.

Jumping away, Sasuke watched as the thing reassembled itself – bigger and more monstrous than before. I thought so, Sasuke thought grimly as he pierced the ground beneath him. Before the creature could fully reassemble, lightning struck the surrounding ground. The creature exploded once more, and once more it reassembled.

Time to find its owner!

Sasuke fled to the trees, looking for signs of an earth user. The gargoyle attacked from behind, and Sasuke escaped to the left, rock just barely missing his head.

A sharp pain exploded in Sasuke's shoulder, and he bit his tongue to prevent the scream that tried to surface. Suddenly claws made of stone appeared around Sasuke, trying to wrap him into its grip.

His eyes went wide and, eying a broken branch, substituted himself just in time to prevent being crushed. The moment Sasuke's feet landed on the ground where the broken branch used to lay, the ground cracked.

Using chakra in his feet, Sasuke jumped back up to a tree a meter away, and looked to see a ten-foot mole emerge from the ground.

The gargoyle leapt over the mole; its large fist aimed for Sasuke. Sasuke dodged, and the tree he was in splintered beneath the gargoyle's fist. Suddenly the mole disappeared into the ground, and Sasuke once again fled to find its owner as well.

He jumped onto another tree, which immediately collapsed beneath him. Cursing loudly, and profusely, he grabbed the large trunk to prevent himself from falling thirty feet below. Clumsily jumping away, Sasuke found himself standing two inches away from the gargoyle.

"For the love of—" Sasuke muttered as he dodged yet again.

Rock ripped against the back of his right leg, and he screamed as it momentarily gave out on him. Sasuke pressed his back against the large rock behind him – with curved almost protectively around him on all sides. It practically cradled him.

Caged him.

They backed me into a corner, Sasuke realized as the gargoyle charged towards Sasuke. The ground beneath him shook violently.

I can't move.

Sasuke's heart beat wildly, and his limbs trembled with exertion and adrenaline.

I can't dodge.

His eyes caught sight of death as the gargoyle's fist inched towards Sasuke's face and—

Kami, I have never felt so alive!

The ground erupted beneath Sasuke, and rather than escaping, Sasuke welcomed the pit. Using chakra to protect his skin, he fell into the mouth of the mole.

Razor sharp teeth closed around him even as the space where he was exploded beneath the gargoyle's punch. Although his nose and eyes burned from the smell of whatever the mole's last meal was, Sasuke ignored it and lit his chokutō up with lightning.

Sasuke's head spun and buzzed vehemently from the heat, but he didn't lessen his attack as the lightning coursed through the mole's body.

Finally, Sasuke found himself spat out and lying flat on his back. Everything hurt, but the gargoyle gave him no chance to rest.

Immediately rolling away from the gargoyle's kick, he used his sword to help him get to his feet. The dead mole lay twelve feet away, and Sasuke had an idea. He ran towards the rubble in zig-zag motions, dodging the rather slow attacks from the gargoyle.

Has he always been so slow? Sasuke wondered as he tossed a kunai into a tree some distance away. The gargoyle threw a boulder at Sasuke, and he skidded down and into a hole to avoid it. Sasuke breathed heavily as he waited in the dark hole.

The ground above him shook and rumbled, and Sasuke feared he would get sick from the dizzying sensation, but he remained where he stood – preparing the spot. That's it. Come closer. Follow me into the hole.

Twice Sasuke's body twitched, self-preservation demanding that he get himself out of this situation. Both times, Sasuke stilled himself. Mastered his fear as the gargoyle dove into the hole.

It's time.

Performing the jutsu, Sasuke substituted himself with the kunai he had thrown earlier.

Immediately, Sasuke found himself hanging onto a branch and watched as the hole the gargoyle leapt into exploded. A little bit of blood dripped down from Sasuke's nose, but he was expecting this and took out a handkerchief. And this is why we use the substitution jutsu sparingly, Sasuke thought as he wiped away the blood. Too much chakra gets used.

He immediately turned to flee before the gargoyle reassembled itself and realized Sasuke was still alive.

He raced in a direction that felt right, his Sharingan spinning wildly. Everything looked sharper than before. He could see a drop of blood shining on a leaf two meters away, a bug buzzing lazily in the tree some distance away, and a flash of pink hair—

Pink hair!

Sasuke immediately started towards his teammate. As he neared, he saw a smaller gargoyle attack Sakura. She touched the gargoyle's chest and it crumbled into dust. The Suna ninja she was fighting cursed loudly, and his hands started moving once more.

Sasuke shot a kunai, piercing the ninja's hand. The Suna ninja's eyes widened and turned to Sasuke, but Sakura didn't so much as twitch. She took advantage of his surprise and raced forward.

Sasuke saw the moment her genjutsu took place.

His eyes glazed over, and the man started screaming. Sakura swiftly knocked him out and turned to Sasuke. She was sweating, bruised, and very, very dirty.

Her eyes had never shown brighter.

"Let's find Naruto." She panted.

With a nod, they were off.

Suddenly, a tree exploded to their left, and they just barely got out of the way as a ginormous teenager blew away a long line of trees with just a clap of his palms. About thirty Naruto clones, all of whom were cursing in creative ways, charged at the teenager and exploded around the ninja.

When the smoke cleared, it revealed a very large mole curled around the ninja, its black eyes alit with rage. Its eyes turned to Sasuke, and it snarled.

"You! You killed my prized student!" He roared, raising a paw. "I will destroy you, child!"

The Suna ninja shook his head. "Forgive me, Burakkuhōru. I cannot risk your death today."

The mole opened his mouth, but he immediately disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Unsure and uncaring if the Suna ninja was about to surrender, flames erupted from Sasuke's mouth. Just as Sasuke predicted, Naruto sent forth a Gale Palm to enhance Sasuke's fire jutsu. Sasuke could just barely make out the barrage of weapons that Naruto had thrown into the mix.

The Suna ninja started to move, but stone hands erupted from the ground, and dragged the ninja down into place. Sasuke glanced at Sakura, who had her palms firmly placed on the earth.

By the time the flames dissipated, the ninja had long passed out and was badly burnt. The trio stood, panting, to ensure the enemy wouldn't get up.

He didn't.

"Dang." Naruto panted at last, slumping down onto the ground. "We… we really kick butt when the three of us work together."

Sakura collapsed next to Naruto, and laughed. "Yeah. We should have done that from the get-go."

Looking around to ensure no more enemies were about to appear, Sasuke finally released a breath and his chakra. Protecting his skin with chakra was good and all, but draining.

"Good job, you two." Sasuke found himself saying, his heart slowing down to a more normal pace.

His legs shook, so he allowed himself the luxury of sitting next to his teammates.

"Hey, Sakura-chan." Naruto murmured tiredly. "The world's ending."

Sakura laughed. "I think you may be right, Naruto. Sasuke-kun, did you—" She cut herself off, and bolted upright. "Uchiha Sasuke what did you do?"

"What—" Sasuke started, but Sakura was already leaning towards him with glowing hands.

"The doctor said you need to be careful with your leg! Just because you are healed, that does not give you the right to go and injure it at this level again!"

He looked down to see his leg, his right one, was bleeding. Well, was being the operative word; cool chakra already began knitting the muscles and tissue back together. The pain Sasuke didn't even realize was there subsided, and soon all that was left of the attack was dried blood caked with dirt.

"And your shoulder…" Sakura muttered darkly. "I swear half of my job is repairing both of you. What were you thinking?"

"Hey, it's not my fault!" Sasuke protested.

"You fight so recklessly. It probably was." Sakura said as she finished healing his shoulder.

Naruto started cackling, but immediately stopped when she glowered at him. The blonde didn't look that much better. Although already healed, his forehead was matted with blood from a head injury, and there were more holes than not in his clothing.

"Naruto, where's your shoe?" Sakura suddenly asked.

He looked down to reveal one bare and scratched up foot. "Huh. That is a really good question."

Sakura groaned into her hands. "What am I going to do with you two?"

Naruto grinned, and threw his arms around Sakura and Sasuke's shoulders. "Awe, but you love us."

Sakura groaned again which made Naruto bellow with laughter. Sakura tried to glare at him, but couldn't keep a straight face and started laughing, too. Sasuke rolled his eyes, and allowed a chuckle to escape – which somehow only made the other two laugh harder. It quickly evolved into a louder, slightly maniacal, burst of laughter that lasted for several minutes.

Finally, with their ribs hurting and slightly dizzy from lack of oxygen, the laughter died down and they found themselves in a circle, with their foreheads all touching.

"We almost died." Naruto said, wiping a tear as he leaned back a bit. "Shoot, we seriously almost died."

Sakura nodded, leaning heavily on both Naruto and Sasuke. "I think I could sleep for like, a hundred years. I don't think I've ever used this much chakra before."

"Well, there was that one time. With Kakashi-sensei." Naruto pointed out.

"Oh, yeah." Sakura nodded.

The three of them grimaced; that was not a very fun week. Sakura and Naruto erupted into giggles once more, and even Sasuke couldn't contain the smile that appeared. This is—

"My, my, my."

Sasuke's blood froze.

"What a heartwarming scene."

The trio slowly raised their heads to look at the speaker, who looked down on them with a grin. He titled his head in an amused manner, and his eyes shone brightly with deep interest and sickening joy.

Orochimaru.