T-TT-TT-TT-TT-TT-TT-TT-TT-TT-TT-TT-TT-TT-TT-TT-TT-TT-TT-TT-TT-T Sasuke and Sakura were able to move now and they did, as fast as they could, to Naruto. They found him passed out on the ground in an unnatural position. Sakura checked him over. She saw a black seal on his neck then it dissapeared. "What was that?"
"What was what?"
Sakura frowned "He had a black mark on his neck."
Sasuke said "It's probably a bruise. We can get that figured out when we make it out of here."
Sakura said, quietly, while looking at Naruto and then Sasuke "Was that really Naruto back there?"
Sasuke had been wondering the same thing. Since when had the dobe been so powerful and what was that red chakra? He picked him up and put him on his back in a fireman carry. He said "Let's just hurry up and find the other scroll."
Sakura noticed something right behind Sasuke. "Sasuke, there's one. Just laying there."
Sasuke turned and looked at it in surprise. Then he activated his sharignan and stared at it. "It's a real one. It must have fallen out of the dobe's jacket."
"How did he get it?"
"I don't know, but be glad he did. We can leave this place."
Sakura nodded and shivered as she remembered the man they had fought and the waves of killer intent. Then she was confused "Why did he leave, Sasuke? If Naruto had his scroll, why did he walk away?"
Sasuke frowned. Put that way it didn't make any sense to him either. "I don't know, but let's hurry anyway." Sasuke activated his sharingan again to look out for traps and people. They made it to the lookout an exhausting four hours later without mishap. They had had to stop and hide several times from the other teams.
It looked like they were the first ones there. The scroll on the wall as they walked in caught both Sasuke and Sakura's attention. She read it. "It must be talking about the scrolls." Sasuke nodded.
"Let's open them." They did and were stumped when nothing but heaven and earth were written on them...suddenly Sasuke realized "Drop them! It's a summoning!" They dropped them and a form appeared in a cloud of smoke. As it cleared...
Sakura asked "Iruka sensei?"
Iruka was amazed as he checked his watch. It was night now, but they had made it on the first day. That had far exceeded his expectations. He then saw that Naruto was passed out. He frowned and said "When did that happen?"
Sasuke said "After we got both scrolls."
Iruka sighed. He said "You pass, but you'll need to tell me what happened."
Sasuke nodded.
Iruka said "Have you tried waking him up?"
Sakura said "No. I think he could be suffering from chakra depletion. There was a big fight..."
Iruka said "We can talk on the inside. It will be a couple of days before most of the rest of the genin make it here." They went inside and up to balcony and sat. The Hokage hadn't even gotten here yet. He wouldn't be here until the morning. He said "Now, tell me what happened and how you got here so fast."
Sakura said "Naruto walked off..."
"Why?"
Sasuke said "He had to go."
Iruka caught Sasuke's meaning "Oh..." He sweatdropped.
Sakura continued. "When he came back, it wasn't really him. It was an impersonator ."
Sasuke said "He said his name was Oorochimaru."
Alarm bells were going off in Iruka's head, but he didn't want to alarm the genin. He asked "Then what happened?" Both genin looked embarassed then.
Sasuke looked away "He let off such a huge amount of killer intent..."
Sakura finished "We couldn't move. He summoned a snake. Before it could get us..."
Sasuke continued "Naruto appeared out of nowhere. We were...still affected...he and Oorochimaru fought...a genjutsu must have been placed on us."
Iruka frowned "Explain."
Sakura said, with a shiver "We snapped out of it to find what we thought was naruto change into a log and we heard Naruto..."
This time Naruto interrupted them with a groan, which made all of them snap their attention on him. Sasuke had let him down to be leaning against the wall. He gritted his teeth. "I'm fine and I'm continuing the exam."
Iruka said "Naruto..."
Naruto looked at him with such intensity that it almost made him step back, even though Naruto himself wasn't standing. He said "I'm fine."
Sakura and Sasuke looked at their team mate, wondering how he had recovered so fast. Had he really recovered?
Naruto was trying to suppress the pain he was going through. He recalled the time he had spent with the kyuubi...
After he had passed out, he had woken up in a sewer like place across from a cage. He hadn't been here before, but he had a good idea where he was. "Kyuubi."
A beast walked closer, to just inside of the cage. "Brat." He snarled.
The Kyuubi was pissed. It was going to take a lot of energy to keep his container from dying because of that curse seal...he thought it over, the effects of the curse seal, not whether he should save his host. That was a given. He had no intention of dying. The effects of that seal would be to weaken the mind of the target. Perhaps Kyuubi could use that to his advantage. He couldn't let the seal get to level two, though. That would shorten the lifespan and cause permanent effects. He wanted this body. If he combined with the curse seal could break the boy, he could take over. Then he would remove it, until then he would let it chip away at the boy's spirit and mind. After that, he would kill that snake bastard. Now, how to restrain it without taking it off? He also needed to make it dissapear so the meddling ningens wouldn't discover it. One of them had sealed him into this boy. He wouldn't be surprised if one of them knew how to remove the seal. He said "Brat. Listen to me."
"Why?"
"I can't heal the pain." Well actually he could cut off the pain, but he wasn't going to let the brat know that. He planned on using the pain to break him. "But that seal that that snake put on you will take control of you if you don't restrain it."
"So what are you telling me to do?"
"Step closer."
"No way."
"I'm going to put another seal on you to restrain it, but you have to get closer. I'm not going to kill you. I need you alive remember?" It seemed like the boy was thinking this over. He said "Also, anyone who asks, you tell them it's a bruise. If you let them know it's a curse seal they'll throw you out, so don't tell them. You know they're looking for a reason to get rid of you."
"Because of you!"
"Just get over here!" Naruto walked over hesitatingly and the Kyuubi reached out of the cage and swiped him on the side of the neck. "That'll fix it." Naruto passed out from that world in pain and didn't wake up again until they were inside with Iruka-sensei standing over him.
Sakura said "There was a mark on his shoulder..."
Naruto said "The snake smashed me into a boulder. It left a bruise, but it's gone now. I had some other ones too." He put his head behind his head and said, with a faked laugh "I heal kinda fast, I guess." He pulled down the cloth and showed them a bare shoulder. He found with relief that the bite marks were gone and so was the seal. All that remained was a 3 inch by 1 inch scar.
Iruka asked "Where did that come from?"
Naruto hated lying to his favorite sensei, but he had to. The fox was right. Iruka and the Hokage and maybe Kakashi couldn't stand against all of Konoha that wanted him banished or dead. He said, with another faked, embarassed laugh "Kunai...it was pretty deep, so it's only mostly healed. The scar'll be gone tomorrow."
Iruka said "You're lucky to have escaped without more injury." Naruto nodded.
Iruka asked "Does it hurt?"
"What?" Naruto's heart jumped. Had he found out?
"The kunai injury."
Naruto relaxed. "Only a little." He smiled. "I could really go for some ramen."
Iruka thought it over. They did have a free couple of days. No one had counted on any of the genin getting here this early. He sweatdropped "No one thought anyone would be finished this early. I'll have to talk to Hokage-sama so he can give you guys something to let you go and come back."
Sakura asked "How will we get back without having to go through it all again?"
Iruka said "I can take you with me, but you guys will need proof you completed so it won't be seen as cheating. I'll go talk to the Hokage. Will you be ok here for an hour or so?" They nodded. Iruka left.
He appeared at the Hokage's. "Hokage-sama..." He was surprised to find the Hokage in his office.
"Iruka?"
Iruka said "Team 7 had an encounter with Oorochimaru."
The sandaime stood up. "Are you sure?"
"Both Sasuke and Sakura said they met a shinobi that called himself Oorochimaru and summoned giant snakes."
The sandaime frowned. "Are they alright?"
Iruka said "Yes. They seemed to have beaten the snakes then Oorochimaru left. Perhaps he's just testing the strength of the leaf village."
"Perhaps." He was glad that Naruto and the others were alright, but he would get Anko and a couple of teams of anbu to comb the forest of death to find that traitor if he was still there. "Anything else, Iruka?"
Iruka said "Naruto's team finished days before the exam is over...I was wondering if you could give them something to show that they passed so they can go home or at least go to town and get something to eat."
Sarutobi nodded. He said "Bring them back the afternoon of the third day. Most will have come by then."
"Hai, Hokage-sama."
Sarutobi wrote in three small scrolls and sealed them with his seal. They could be read by anyone chunnin level or higher and they said that each of them had passed, giving their name and day they had passed and they were allowed reentry into the lookout without repeating the course. He gave them to Iruka.
"Arigato."
"Tell Naruto congratulations for me."
"Hai. Oyasumi, Hokage-sama."
"Oyasumi." Iruka left. The Hokage called in the anbu and Anko.
Iruika went back to the lookout tower. He handed them their scrolls and said "Keep these on you." They nodded. Iruka smiled. "Congratulations on passing the second part of the chunnin exam!"
Iruka sweatdropped as Sasuke asked "Can we go now?"
"Yes, but all of you have to hold on to me." They did and Iruka transported them back into town.
T-TT-TT-TT-TT-TT-TT-TT-TT-TT-TT-TT-TT-TT-TT-TT-TT-TT-TT-TT-TT-T So, what do you guys think? What should happen next? R and R to let me know your opinion. Ja ne.