The Point of Divergence

by EliadS

Sasuke died during the battle in the Land of the Waves and the Narutoverse is changed forever. But how radically will one divergence in fate effect the entire Shinobi world? Read and find out. AU, Slight NaruIno, Spoilers from the advanced mangaverse.

9. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or gain or will gain any profit from using the franchise's characters, they belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

---

Italics – Thoughts
Italics underline – second personalities talking/thinking
Bold Italics - Demons/monsters talking
Bold Italics underline – demon/monsters thinking
Bold - Demon influenced/curse-sealed person talking

---

Japanese words Glossary:
Jutsu -technique

Boufuudoki - Nature Wrath
Akahebi - Bloody Serpent
Densetsu no Sannin - The Legendary Three Ninja
Goken - Iron-fist
Jyuuken - Gentle fist
Taijutsu Martial arts style/hand to hand style
Ninjutsu – name for the offensive ninja techniques
Genjutsu – name for illusionary ninja techniques
Youki - Evil Energy/Demonic Chakra
Takigakure – Hidden Waterfall
Konohagakure - Hidden Leaf
Jinchuuriki - "Power of Human Sacrifice" - The nickname/title given to the containers of the Tailed Beasts.

---

(Two weeks later, Two Months before the Chuunin exams)

"Troublesome woman…" Shikamaru murmured wearily as he watched his blonde teammate struggling with the concept of water walking. It would've been rather amusing to watch the Yamanaka kunoichi keep on falling into the freezing cold river water while cursing in a most unladylike display if it weren't for the fact she had saddled him with the exercise as well and he was just about as successful as she was.

The shadow ninja had taken off his jacket and net shirt, shivering in the cool breeze but it was better than having to deal with his mother's hassle about his attire shrinking or getting filthy again. He pushed some loose strands of his hair aside and then smirked faintly as he watched Naruto, their unofficial 'sensei' for this exercise running through martial art stances and moves while gluing his feet on the rushing stream water as if it were as stable as stone. "Show off..."

Shikamaru could not help but marvel at Naruto's growth as it was simply astounding; the Uzumaki was the same blonde teen that could barely summon a proper clone only several months ago. Now his taijutsu was rather crisp and far graceful than one would expect. Furthermore, his physical work had evidently paid off, which was probably the main reason Ino had kept on failing the exercise – the distraction the male blonde's body supplied.

The blue eyed genin was clad only in his hakama pants and his seal covered arm guards and belt; a wet, blue undershirt hugging his body like a second skin. Additionally, his headband and bandanna were lying in a pile along with his net shirt and sapphire colored jacket - leaving him in a state of partial undress that was quite easy on Ino's eyes.

Naruto was not aware of the effect the resistance seals and constant taijutsu training had upon his physique, his previous wiry and somewhat scrawny body now filled up with muscle tone from both the change in nutrition and constant physical effort applied upon his body. His skin was pulled tightly by the muscles pushing against it, his body no longer skinny and malnourished by far, rather it was athletic and chiseled, his body weight fitting his height perfectly it would seem.

Normal people would take months and at times years to build up that amount of muscle tone, but the Jinchuuriki was anything but normal, his metabolism and cellular regeneration were constantly fueled by the Youki filtering through his chakra pathways and were thus accelerated considerably - his natural growth and his physical changes far swifter than those of normal human beings. These changes were yet another clue Shikamaru noted down to himself regarding the mystery surrounding the blonde genin, one the genius shadow user would unearth soon enough.

Under the copy ninja and his various teachers' eyes the pace of his physical growth was rapidly reaching the upper limits of what his body could reach in its prepubescent state. As gradual and balanced as they tried to keep his general growth rate with their attempts to stunt and slow down the blonde he made up for their deterrents with his diligent drive to make up for all his past blunders and mistakes and thus their efforts were in vain in the end.

Besides growing physically he was getting sharper and more astute in his observations and strategies as he studied with unparalleled fervor with Iruka and constantly pestered the scarred chuunin until he understood the subjects intimately. The new study ethic went against his previous hyperactive nature but it mattered not as he willed to change himself due to the fact that he had developed a deep sense of self-loathing and hatred to his mental weakness and fractured abilities as a shinobi. He had managed to cover almost three quarters of the academy curriculum already and was only slowing down due to the amount of missions and training sessions that kept being thrust upon him.

Another obstacle he found was his disability to control his chakra properly so he worked particularly hard on chakra control exercises, having mastered water walking several days ago and already his mind teemed with ideas on how to improve those exercises by trying to have his clones walk up waterfalls, sticking objects to his body - mainly leaves and even channeling elemental chakra while performing said techniques - though he would have to run his ideas by Kakashi-sensei first so he didn't hurt himself needlessly with his enthusiastic ideas.

Some of his sensei told him it was useless for someone with such high chakra levels to learn chakra control but Kakashi-sensei thought otherwise. He reckoned that chakra control meant better grasping the mechanics of his life-force and thus he could more easily learn stronger, more complex techniques in the future.

Along with trying to rein his prodigal chakra reserves he actively kept on pushing the limits with his elemental manipulation techniques. He had read every sliver of information his mother had left him in his scrolls and whatever tips Asuma-sensei had for him. The chain-smoking Jounin had to admit the kid's natural knack for wind chakra was unnatural, his mother's prediction about his blood and abilities with the element had hit right on the money.

None the less Naruto had yet to master the his wind affinity and still struggled to perform the water cutting exercise, not to mention combining the wind element with spatial manipulation without hand seals that was simply far beyond his ability at the moment besides the very basic of attempts like the 'Kaze no Yaiba' that he had already mastered earlier that week.

He constantly worked on the secret 'Rending Wind' manipulation technique his family had added to the normal wind manipulation and had recently mastered the simpler 'Crushing Winds' elemental art. Even though he was quite a way ahead of anyone in his age group he kept on actively pushing himself against his limits to refine the speed of his wind manipulation as every second counted in life and death situation. More importantly he tried to learn how to create the 'Hurricane Claws' so he could start studying the higher tiers of his family's taijutsu style.

Kakashi had promised the blonde to begin teaching him offensive wind techniques in the next couple of days as he felt his mastery over the air element was sufficient by now for the low and mid-level attacks he knew.

The next step they decided on was working on manipulation techniques for his secondary element. His family's blade, Boufuudoki's pommel held a gem called the 'Dragon Tear'. Legends depicted the great rain dragon Zennyo Ryou crying a single tear over his lover's body when she died of old age that crystallized. The gemstone was a purified chunk of chakra conductive mineral that rivaled the First Hokage's necklace in rarity and worth.

The stone was a far more potent elemental chakra detector than any chakra paper could ever hope to be. It's use was a very simple process, the Uzumaki wielder had to run his chakra through the blade while letting the tip of the blade touch the element in question, if it changed color accordingly then the user was attuned to the said element while the glow emitted by the gem determining the strength of the element.

Apparently Naruto's second element was water, an element Kakashi was quite versed in jutsu-wise and so they would begin the elemental control exercises very soon. But that would come later on and he would have to check his mother's scroll to see if she had any more useful tips to impart upon him as she did before.

However, at the moment he was going through the kata known as 'Tiger riding on the clouds' which was an intermediate set of kicks, palm thrusts and acrobatic moves in his family's taijutsu style. The blonde had stopped using his clones in all training sessions and missions a week ago and he was forbidden to use them for another week unless Kakashi permitted it or unless it was a life or death situation.

This precautionary step was decided upon after Kakashi checked his chakra levels and concluded the balance between body and spirit was getting dangerously off-key and determined to stay on the safe side regarding the Kyuubi's influence and the seal's integrity they should avoid taking chances and cut back on his shadow clone usage.

Naruto understood and accepted his sensei's concern and put those thoughts to rest as he kept on working on his hand to hand skills which were very satisfactory to the blonde in comparison to the travesty he dared call taijutsu when he had graduated. He was working on his stances now as he had been constantly drilled by Kakashi-sensei that his footwork needed work and so he kept on going through the stances over and over but it took time, especially when he had to work on it solo for hours and hours.

His formerly clumsy body was still not quite on the take for grace and speed and with the pace his body developed muscle tone and his chakra levels rose it was hard to find balance when he kept on struggling to readjust himself to his own body's new limits.

Furthermore the timing of his kicks and blows was still a little off and the elite Jounin kept on reminding him that he still projected his intent and attacks way too early and thus left his vitals exposed for counterattacks and made things easy for his opponents in terms of dodging and avoiding him.

Naruto didn't even want to think about his abysmal attempts at kenjutsu and how Kakashi had verbally broken him down so at the moment that particular art was a touchy subject and obstacle he'd have to tackle once he was confident in his hand to hand skills. The last loyal sharingan wielder had agreed that he should focus on one field at a time and so boufuudoki would have to wait a while longer before being reintroduced into battle.

Kakashi had seemed a bit worried and reluctant when Naruto asked him to arrange for a spar with someone versed in taijutsu of his age group. While Naruto enjoyed sparring with his silver-haired teacher the gap between them was so immense it was discouraging and the blonde yearned to test his mettle against someone more near his own level and so the sharingan-user had told him to meet him in training field eighty early that evening so they could meet his sparring partner.

While Naruto continued his work, Shikamaru grimaced as he slipped once more. His bottom was already sore from slipping onto the gravel and small stones strewn across the riverbank over and over again and he wondered where his blonde companion pulled all that endless energy and enthusiasm from so he could lend some of it right about then. The shadow user decided to take a break, panting heavily as his body shifted into a more comfortable position within the cool confines of flowing liquid and he shifted his attention to a much more amusing sight than chakra control exercises.

"You know, Ino" Chouji called out from his place beside a nearby tree, his eyes narrowing with slight mischief, lips twitching with barely contained laughter "If you spent half as much time working on your chakra control as you do checking Naruto out you might have managed to master the exercise by now," The Akimichi commented teasingly and grinned as his childhood friend's body tensed.

The blonde femme's eyes flashed angrily and she grit her teeth, her feet half sinking into the water once more and almost slipping as her balance was broken by her loss of concentration. She struggled to push more of her life force to the soles of her feet; fighting against the pull of gravity and the water's innate motion with sheer will and determination as she quickly steadied herself by spreading her arms and shifting her hips and upper body.

"Shut up, Chouji! Stop teasing me! At least I'm not such a lazy ass like you that would rather eat chips than train!" the silvery blue eyed teen snarled, her lips twisting into an impatient snarl as she shakily stood over the water top, partially gluing her feet to the slippery surface.

When they were in the academy Ino's chakra control was considered top level and she was amongst the top three kunoichi after Hinata, the Hyuuga obviously gifted beyond her peers and Sakura whom had the tenacity, determination and guts to push her mind and spirit to excellence.

The bandage clad femme had long since felt the embers of her determination of the past melt into ashes with the way her team operated. It was an uphill struggle between Ino and the three lazy men on her team and it was about time she took a stand of her own as she willingly admitted her mettle as kunoichi was questionable at best.

Asuma-sensei was a great sensei and Ino knew that as a unit team ten's teamwork and cohesive abilities were only closely trailing behind Kurenai's team eight. The main reason the chain-smoking Sarutobi fell behind the illusion mistress was that he lacked a certain charisma and enthusiasm to push them higher, to make them want to grow stronger.

Shikamaru had lightning fast reflexes, rare cunning and was a genius in tactics and strategy but his taijutsu and ninjutsu abilities had only one venue, ensnaring the foe; while it worked well with Chouji's powerful if slow taijutsu style and Ino's espionage and mental abilities if they ever fought a battle oriented team specializing in speed, ninjutsu or genjutsu they would be most likely crushed very easily.

Just when the blonde had thought she would never feel the hunger of motivation again Uzumaki Naruto entered her life with the maelstrom of energy of his namesake. The blonde's non-containable enthusiasm and sunny disposition was infectious to everybody, even Asuma-sensei and Shikamaru and she had never seen someone with quite a work ethic quite like his own.

Naruto turned nearly anything into a training exercise and tried to get the whole team involved. Like that time last week when they were delegated to paint houses during a D-Rank mission where he convinced them to study the chakra scaling technique or 'tree walking' technique while they painted.

That had been quite the experience, the best laid plans of mice and men often went awry and so did that particular D-Rank mission as all four of them had ended up covered in blue paint, laughing as they haphazardly painted the house before engaging in a impromptu battle in which Ino and Naruto won easily with how acrobatic and fast the blonde had become and Ino's tenacious approach to the 'battle'.

"Not to mention he was becoming quite delicious. Damn it! who knew Naruto was so hot under his goofy exterior" The Yamanaka thought wryly as she did exactly what her chubby teammate insinuated and unashamedly ogled her on and off teammate, eyes caressing the contours of his tan skin hungrily.

The Uzumaki heir on the other hand was deliberately oblivious to his fellow blonde's promiscuous behavior as even a brief glance at Ino's soaking wet body was never good for his concentration. Naruto prided himself as being an anti-pervert, but there were some things the blonde as a growing teenager could not ignore fully without a light blush or uncomfortable shift in the tightness of his pants, mainly his blonde teammate.

The purple clad femme was skimpily clad as it was, but when the water made her clothes cling to her body, water drizzling tantalizingly down her exposed skin, tight clothing and sun-kissed hair she was the embodiment of lust inducing thoughts. He had to keep his eyes off her as she was also dangerously perceptive and made it her business to bash the perversion out of him, though he could've sworn her frowns and growls seemed forced or light hearted - as if she was doing it for protocol but he could be mistaken as his knowledge with the female psyche and behavior was quite abysmal.

Beyond being physically attracted to the budding young woman he was drawn to her like moth to flame. She was just as bit of outspoken, loud and energetic as he was and that was something he had only rarely experienced. The blondes argued, chitchatted and teased one another mercilessly much to their teammates amusement; she was just too fun to be around and he eagerly awaited every one of his days with team ten because of her and Shikamaru that despite his lazy disposition was quite kind and patient with him and always subtly helped him out when he needed it.

There were some exceptions to the rule of anticipating his time with team ten, like those occasion Ino smacked, punched and verbally tore into him for being a pervert or idiot. In his defense Naruto hadn't meant to do anything 'perverted', he had just caught Ino several times when she slipped during the chakra control exercises and she accused him of 'coping a feel'. Another time had been during one of their light contact spars where he supposedly groped her. Damn it! It wasn't his fault his palm strikes touched the young girl's breasts, his taijutsu style was built primarily on open handed strikes!

So he and Ino continued to flirt around the boundaries of teammates, friends and whatnot, none eager to take the first step it would seem. He didn't have such problems with Hinata-chan, though that was because he wasn't as physically attracted to the petite Hyuuga; though her slight fuller form, respectable bust, flexible and nimble body and porcelain coloring were a knockout combo for any woman.

But all these didn't change the fact they didn't seem to share the same animal magnetism and irresistible draw that he and Ino did, at least Naruto didn't - he could never be sure with Hinata as she would often get faraway looks and still blushed heavily in the rare occasions he was partially undressed, though that could also be credited to her very traditional upbringing and isolated life in the Hyuuga compound.

That didn't bother Naruto as he didn't need to be attracted to her to be one of his precious people and spend time with her and it was probably better that way; without the awkwardness between them. Nonetheless, He cared deeply about her and enjoyed making her laugh and smile some more than her often silent and introvert disposition. He was also very protective of her and from what he could gather he felt towards her like one would feel towards a younger sister when he asked Iruka about it a couple of days ago.

With her he could be calmer, less exuberant and trying to match her educated, aristocratic behavior was good practice for how to deal with nobility and so they made a deal: she helped him implement his etiquette and manner lessons and he supplied her with as a sparring partner to apply her Jyuuken style on; with his regenerative abilities and high chakra levels he was able to keep up longer than others and after overcoming her initial fear of hurting him the spars had started to really help the younger girl. "There's nothing gentle about that style, that's for sure…" Naruto thought wryly.

The main turnoff that prevented him from pursuing Hinata besides his milder form of attraction to the young Hyuuga was that their personalities were too different for Naruto. Naruto was down to earth, enjoying the simpler and more basic things in life while Hinata was more of a scholastic, upscale lady with more refined and finer hobbies and likes than him – they could talk but not as much as he and Ino could, nor was it as natural and flowing. So for now he determined not to rock the boat with a debacle of a romantic venture that would likely end in tears and keep her as a close friend, he had a scant few of those and he wasn't willing to lose Hinata over romantic experimentation.

He sighed softly and heard Ino berate Chouji for being lazy and Shikamaru for resting when he should be working and a smirk played on his lips. The genin's lips stretched into a grin as noticed in her tantrum the blonde had barely noticed how long she was maintaining her grip upon the water, standing upon it as it were a solid surface and laughed lightly at his fellow blonde. "Yo, Ino-chan! You finally did it, I told you always did your best when your testy" he exclaimed cheekily.

The blonde bombshell growled and pointed at him "Stay out of…" she shouted, pointing at him angrily before looking down and wiggling her toes, noticing the lack of icy liquid and leaping into the air excitedly, forgoing all reserve as the most annoying and difficult exercise was finally beaten.

Naruto recognized the symptoms he often underwent himself on the girl's face and body. The tremulous shivers through her legs, the pale shade of her face and slightly droopy shape of her eyes and raced towards the other blonde, gliding across the clear liquid and catching her in his arms as her chakra exhausted itself. The seemingly unconscious girl moaned weakly in her sleep and the Uzumaki heir smiled in a bit of a goofy manner as he carried her ashore and blushed faintly at Shikamaru's smirk and Chouji's knowing glance as he sighed in slight relief.

He didn't notice Ino's lips stretch just a bit and her eye pop open stealthily as she cuddled in his arms "Hehehe…It's a bit underhanded but I don't mind…" Naruto placed the 'unconscious' girl next to her teammate and rubbing the back of his neck, warding off his teasing friends with a not so convincing slur and blush as he made his way back to his gear while Shikamaru lied down next to her.

"That was kind of cute, seeing you so shy and sneaky. But you know, Ino. If you would just ask him I'm sure he'd willingly romance and kiss you for real. And you didn't deny checking him out when Chouji commented on it earlier, so what are you waiting for?" the shadow user asked her childhood friend with a chuckle that soon turned to a groan as he was forced to dodge a dangerous blow to the face. "Troublesome violent woman, she can't take an honest remark without resorting to murder!"

Naruto blinked as he picked up his stuff, looking back to see Shikamaru running off with Ino hot in his tracks, cursing under her breath, her face blushing red as Chouji laughed at their antics. He smirked and silently slipped off "You guys are so lucky, I wish I had teammates like that…" he lamented as got dressed as he walked, making his way towards Ichiraku for lunch.

---

Anko bit her lower lip faintly as she fidgeted uncomfortably from leg to leg, waiting patiently for the elite and elder shinobi of the 'Council of Flame' to converge. The Snake Jounin was growing increasingly nervous as council member by council member sat down and eyed her attire with narrowed eyes, flickering with indiscernible scrutiny and emotion though even a toddler could read the dissatisfaction veiled behind their irises at the resemblance to her old sensei's Jounin attire.

She would've much preferred this matter remain between her and the Third but the old man was adamant that any issue concerning the snake arts garnered the gathering of the council, it had been that way in the past and would remain that way in the future – the mercurial and lethal nature of the snake summoning clan demanded no less.

Dark brown eyes narrowed faintly as the scarred and limbless form of Danzou slipped into the room and took his place around the rectangular table. The war hawk briefly locked his eye with Anko's and then shut it as it saying – 'Remember your place' and despite herself the former apprentice of the snake sannin snorted and rolled her eyes "Meddlesome old man, If I didn't HAVE to deal with you, I'd have blew you off a long time ago..."

Sarutobi took his place at the head of the table, his advisers and fellow teammates at his side and slowly took his time to eye each of Konoha's finest and most prestigious that were gathered about for yet another monumental and potentially disastrous meeting regarding the snake contract.

The last time he had attended such a meeting it was the fateful gathering that brought about his appointment as Orochimaru's sensei and guardian when the future betrayer was but an innocent child of five at the time. His sensei and predecessor the Second Hokage had known of the dangers and the equal potential of the snake clan; being a less idealistic and more battle hardened than his brother Hashirama he saw a potential weapon and ally in the yellow eyed boy that they had procured by force from the hands of his birth mother, the infamous snake summoner, Akahebi no Akako.

Thus the younger Senju brother had put the responsibility for bringing out the snake clan's powers in Sarutobi's hands and so he became the second accomplice in a series of underhanded actions, backhanded decisions and borderline inhumane steps taken by the founders of the Konoha conglomerate to procure power for the fledgling nation in form of the snake clan's mysterious powers.

It was one step Konoha rued in retrospect when his genius disciple transformed into one of the most dangerous and diabolical ninjas to walk the continent which was one reason Sarutobi was quite confident this meeting would not go well. This was going to be a very difficult session and it would grate on his already frayed nerves even more "Just great..." he lamented as he folded his hands together.

"We've gathered here today to discuss the request of one Mitarashi Anko to delve in the more advanced and powerful arts of the snake clan. As that particular summoning contract holds much power and danger I felt it was a decision which required a discuss with all of you; less the backlash cause unnecessary discord" Sarutobi explained and watched as everyone one of the gathered members turned solemn and serious, except the ever calm and calculating Danzou.

Danzou's eye flickered with curiosity as he eyed the snake mistress "So the snake's unbalanced little apprentice is finally ready, just as I anticipated…the Second Hokage shared my faith in the snake clan's usefulness and I will revive my old quest regarding that manner even if the dangers are great " he concluded before he eyed Homura adjust his glasses; the way the elder shinobi's skin tightened around his eyes belied his inner emotions, he was angry - he would be a difficult obstacle.

Koharu wasn't much better, she adjusted the position of her hands, hiding the way she clenched them masterfully; her own distress and uncomfortable memories only visible to those who knew her for as long as the war hawk and Sarutobi did. "Sarutobi…It seems we must join forces once more," Danzou thought and inwardly smirked at the irony of the situation as he was once more on Sarutobi's side regarding the snake mistress as he had been when they decided to spare her execution once they recovered her from the Sea Country over a decade ago.

"State your request so that council will be aware of the situation" the Hokage instructed and inclined his head, giving Anko the stage. The violet haired snake charmer coughed into her hand and inhaled and exhaled several times, trying to calm down as the weight of the elder ninjas' suspicious, disapproving and scrutinizing glares was suffocating and oppressive; making it hard to concentrate fully.

"Before Manda was crowned the king of the snake clan, his mother was queen. Her name is Dokuekiouhi and she is the original matriarch of the serpent clan. The snakes have due to Manda's betrayal split in two factions. One that believes in the rule of the wild 'The strong are born to devour the weak' and follows Manda's sacrifice-demanding policy and his alliance with Orochimaru while the other faction is currently unaligned with any party and follows the old ways of the summoning world: Await a powerful summoner to garner the respect they deserve and pass on their arts and powers to those worthy. Though I was warned by Orochimaru that they are still serpents and therefore they're very prideful, violent and battle hungry but at the same time they aren't nearly as eccentric and petty as Manda's breed," Anko revealed some of the unknown history of the summon world.

"The queen holds the original written contract that I signed over a decade ago whereas Orochimaru now holds a binding tattoo he was given by Manda himself once his coup was completed. I wish to bring back the written contract and the original snake clan to our village's fold and bind myself to the snake queen as her new summoner…" Anko wasn't completely finished when Shibi interjected calmly, cutting to the chase.

"What exactly would this binding ritual entail? Also, what are the prerequisites and consequences of said spiritual bonding with the snake clan, Anko-san" his monotone inquires were delivered in quick succession right on the crux of the argument.

Aburame Shibi had no qualms with Anko on a personal level, but his analysis of her risk to benefit quote were depressingly abysmal and if the purple haired Jounin could not convince him there was an additional merit to her request but self redemption and personal improvement he would fight the decision with all he was. The woman was too emotional and dangerous as she was, he could not trust in her until he had tangible truth she had change but he would not flirt with the line of suicidal leniency just to give her that chance.

Hiashi's silver eyes flickered with curiosity and thoughtfulness as he had as a young chuunin and Jounin been gifted with the opportunity to see the Densetsu no Sannin operate as a single unit. It was a crimson-coated symphony of death and destruction and the snake sannin's abilities were always the hardest to predict and often the most deadly and efficient of the three's abilities, his serpentine nature fueling his style and personality - striving for maximum results with minimal waste of resources and effort.

The Hyuuga leader knew the snake special Jounin had great potential as she was the chosen crop of the genius traitor back when he was still part of the leaf and he had seen her snake style taijutsu in action and knew it was fearsome. Add to that that her chakra reserves were large enough to allow both ninjutsu and genjutsu abilities and she was left with much in the way of the potential expansion of her skills; if only her personality wasn't so jaded and unstable by the snake sannin she might have become a truly fearsome kunoichi.

The potential power was great, but he wasn't sure if he trusted her shaky psyche to manage with the violent and scornful backlash the news of her decision would have around the village and so he was skeptical. Nobody wanted another snake defector to be born within the village's confines and the violet haired woman was known to be considerably loose in her violent and reckless behavior patterns – a matter that would be weighed heavily before the Hyuuga passed judgment for sure.

Anko was about to reply to Shibi when Tsume snarled, teeth bared in a feral manner as her eyes flickered with burning intensity "It doesn't matter! Snakes can't be trusted! This is stupid!' the Inuzuka matriarch barked in a baleful manner "They are cold, listless predators with no loyalty or code of conduct; to bring them back would be to set up another disaster like Orochimaru!" she vocalized her accusation and conclusion passionately, her voice trembling with emotion.

She pointed at Anko with her right index finger while slamming her left fist on the table "No offense, Anko but you're a liability as a kunoichi, you're violent, impatient, reckless and blood thirsty. With the full power of the snakes in your blood you would become a walking time bomb!" her words stirred old fears of Orochimaru and his defection amongst the council and the emotions buried by of passing of times since gone started resurfacing once more.

"Tsume-san is correct," Koharu backed the Inuzuka's words icily. "The snake contract is bathed in blood, treachery and death. It should die with Orochimaru and you, Anko." She declared decisively, her ancient eyes flickering with intense distaste and her tone reflecting much of the same as she eyed the young special Jounin.

"How troublesome…you can say the same about all our techniques" Shikaku pointed out logically, dismissing the argument swiftly. The Shadow user had always been the voice of logic and astute observation alongside Aburame Shibi and this would be no exception. He shook his head "Trying to paint ourselves in bright colors of altruism is not appropriate and hypocrisy. We are shinobi whom descended from those monsters of men of the wild days; none of our inherited abilities are untouched by blood, pain and death. Besides, Anko-san hasn't explained herself yet fully and it would be stupid to dismiss the idea before we hear her out."

"Shikaku-san is correct, let us not let our emotions cloud our judgment until the discussion is complete, proceed…" Danzou pushed the discussion onwards once Sarutobi nodded in his direction, the silent signal to allow him to lead the interrogative discussion granted.

Anko's shoulders were tense, fists tightly gripped in knuckle-whitening strength as she briefly eyed the Inuzuka clan head, her brown eyes flickering with suppressed homicide before she bowed her head, teeth grit tight. "I would have to drink some of the queen's venom and blood and from what Orochimaru told me the process would screw up my body and change it to a more serpentine physiology – probably something to do with my eyes and skin tone changing…"

Chouza was not the brightest ninja on the council but he was most attuned to the human side of the ninjas and thus he was considered the voice of morality and humanity on many occasions. He crossed his massive arms and scrunched his nose "But that would solidify the taint of the snake sannin in your veins in the eyes of many in the village. Breaking bonds with many of the Jounin was one mistake you've committed in the last decade; compact it with this and you might be isolated completely or worst…why would you want to willing do this to yourself? And more importantly why now?" the Akimichi asked simply, his good-natured and humane outlook was always a refreshing change to the mostly cool and collected council.

Anko's rage extinguished and a dull hollow of icy pain and remorse replaced it "I know have fucked up badly over the years. I let Orochimaru's shadow haunt me, ruin my life for so long I can't look back without hating how fucking stupid I was!" Anko's voice came out tightly, her eyes shutting and fists shaking. "I hate what I've become and I want to change. More importantly I want to protect my home, no matter the personal cost. I've been a crazy bitch ever since he left but one thing has never changed; I've always been loyal and I've always bled and fought for Konoha and that'll never change! Even if I'm hated, disrespected and mistrusted I will do all I can to protect my home!" Anko nearly shouted, her eyes blazing passionately as she looked at the council, her voice trembling with emotion.

"A very noble concept, but completely unfounded and dangerous," Homura said sharply, her attitude and words not touching him the slightest as he shook his head. "The way to hell is paved by good intentions, I for one refuse to trust the snake clan a second time. Determined or not, Anko-san, your track record does not inspire me to trust your word or trust in you" he bluntly laid out his opinion and watched the color fade from the kunoichi's cheeks as he literally dismissed Anko as a person and kunoichi as one without pause or hesitation.

Danzou smirked faintly, knowing there was one argument that the council would not be able to refute and since that troublesome Jiraiya was not around, it would only strengthen his claim in their eyes. "I for one think that since losing Orochimaru to his madness and blood lust, Jiraiya to his guilt and perverse nature and Tsunade-hime to her sorrow, gambling disorders and guilt we require a powerful summoner to protect Konohagakure." His eyes shifted to Sarutobi that was surprisingly docile and silent all along.

The said elder ninja seemed preoccupied and his breathing was slightly heavy, his eyes bleary as he seemed somewhat ill and weary. The Hokage coughed into his hand several times and licked his inner cheek "Danzou is correct. With my pupils scattered in the four winds, Konoha lacks large-sized summoning creatures. It will be nearly impossible to stop an invasion attempt should one of the Great Four use their various contracts to attack us."

Hyuuga Hiashi eyed the conflicted special Jounin briefly, "I believe that Hokage-sama and Danzou-san have astutely found a key weakness in our defenses. It is a risk, but we are shinobi and we walk the line of death and danger daily. Hyuuga will support Anko-san's request as the village as whole compounds the fears of the single but I respectively offer a compromise that may sweeten the bitter pill to many of you"

The council seemed intrigued though the advisers and Tsume seemed unconvinced and ready to argue their point further when the silver eyed noble plowed forth "I believe that if we temporarily place a seal similar to the caged-bird seal on Anko's person we will be able to ascertain if she is dangerous to our village and if her loyalty has faltered and when the council is satisfied with her we shall have it removed. Of course the only people with access to its activation should be the Hokage and anyone he entrusts with such power…"

Sarutobi eyed the proceeding and was pleased Anko was being granted a second chance at is was obvious the gross majority of the council was convinced in the benefits of the decision the moment Hiashi offered his quite intriguing concept along with Anko's speech that showed her earnest will to change and make up for her past mistakes. With Sarutobi, Danzou, Hiashi and the Ino-Shika-Chou trio on her side – the decision had already been decided, but protocol was protocol.

"All in favor, lift their hands and say aye" Sarutobi instructed and all but Tsume, Koharu and Homura obeyed the command. The third nodded "Anko-san, you will report to my office so I may administer a seal upon you and then we shall negotiate how and when this ritual will be performed…" Sarutobi commanded and dismissed the violet haired special Jounin.

Homura and Koharu seemed displeased and eyed Danzou darkly. The war hawk didn't shift or move a muscle, undaunted by their disappointment. He was the silent shadow sentinel of Konohagakure and he wasn't going to weaken the already peace-loving village any further for the sake of caution and fear - as the village needed more power and so he would support any effort the old peace-loving Sarutobi offered on the rare occasions he actually made a logical warlike decision.

The one-eyed elder realized these new parameters would also become a liability to his efforts in training and molding Haruno Sakura into one of his agents. Anko would most likely be monitored by the meddlesome Hyuuga elder or even ANBU as a precautionary action and Danzou could not let his covert operations be exposed. He would have to work out a new location that was less compromising to his efforts for the snake Jounin to train Sakura in and most likely cut back the amount of hours they shared together.

"It is unexpectedly pleasant and beneficial surprise. Now that Anko is on the path of mastering the snake clan's esoteric abilities I can and will force her into the corner with my influence on the council…she will divulge Orochimaru's secrets to me and I will be able bolster the abilities of my operatives, I trust no others in their zeal to protect our home and such a boost would greatly increase their efficiency…" Danzou concluded and smirked faintly and waited for Sarutobi to dismiss them.

"Now, before I dismiss you I have two very unsettling announcements and I would ask you all to remain silent until I am finished" the monkey-summoner informed his comrades, no request hiding behind his words as much as his blatant command.

"Firstly, the true, hidden grave of Senju Hashirama, our beloved First Hokage has been desecrated by an unknown party. The perpetrator is still at large and as you know there are only a handful of people whom know his true burial location. As of now I highly suspect Orochimaru's involvement but I am not willing to dismiss other parties that are possibly involved;" Sarutobi declared and his eye shifted briefly to Danzou, the silent insinuation quite obvious to all.

"All ANBU are actively seeking the felon and I would appreciate if Aburame, Hyuuga and Inuzuka could spearhead the hunt alongside our special forces…" Sarutobi levelled with them gravely and a shocked silence settled in the room and then an undertone of great outrage as there was no contest or question whether they would agree or not – it was a given.

Danzou remained silent despite the insulting insinuation on his involvement, there was a time for everything and any argument on his part now would only paint him with suspicion so he held his tongue but Sarutobi would pay for this sooner or later, Danzou would settle the score at the nearest date in this very room.

"Secondly, ANBU have found the body of one of our medical kunoichi, Akita Suzume, on the outskirts of Konoha. Her neck was snapped cleanly and there are no forensic traces to begin tracking the assailant which leads me to believe she was caught by surprise by an elite assassin or spy. I can only conclude that there are foreign agents actively operating in our midst." The former professor narrated neutrally and coughed several times into his hand, shutting his eyes briefly as he let his words sink and rearranged his breath.

"This is another reason I allowed Anko's request to pass, I fear that dangerous times are approaching and we will need all the power and ammunition we can get. Please, I urge you not to be lax and increase the security around your compounds and keep your senses peeled." Sarutobi 'suggested' and watched the solemn understanding cross their eyes.

The council of flame dispersed quickly after the grave news had been given and new paths had been taken. The tides of conflict and danger were rising and the only question was when, not what was approaching for Jiraiya's reports on Orochimaru were clear – his pupil would soon make his first move in over a decade and Sarutobi could only wonder what exactly the snake sannin was planning and how much of the damage he could curb before his pupil's diabolical plans would meet their end.

---

"Where are we going to, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked in a bored manner, they had been walking for the better part of the last fifteen minutes in complete silence as the copy-ninja seemed preoccupied by something, his normally aloof and droopy eye sharp and narrowed in concentration.

The copy-ninja glanced at his pupil briefly and gazed upwards thoughtfully "We're looking for one of my colleagues, my self-appointed 'eternal rival' and I'm keeping my senses peeled, you'll find out why soon enough…" the silver haired Jounin murmured in a somewhat weary manner, hints of exasperation bleeding from his words.

Naruto blinked owlishly and scratched his head before shrugging off his sensei's bizarre behavior. His curiosity was appeased a moment later as Kakashi pushed him aside and leaped backwards while lifting his forearm protectively across his body, blocking a blurry sidekick accompanied by a loud and obnoxious sounding cry of 'Dynamic entry!'

The blonde genin stopped his trajectory by rolling quickly to a crouching position and turned towards their assailant; his glacier blue eyes narrowed for only a moment before they shattered into a gaping wide hollow of confusion, trepidation and just a bit of disbelief as a loud and boisterous laughter filled the forest.

"Hahaha! You're still as sharp as ever, my eternal rival!" The elite taijutsu master extraordinare exclaimed as he slipped into his 'nice guy' pose and pointed in an overly dramatic display at Kakashi "The score is tied at fifty three, have you come to issue your challenge, Kakashi?"

The Fourth's surviving pupil sighed miserably as his eye caught his blonde apprentice holding back a snicker at the man's choice of attire and haircut. "This is going to be a long day…" the dog-summoner surmised; the Uzumaki heir would drill him about this endlessly when they shared dinner at Ichiraku's later that evening. "No no, that's ok, Gai!" Kakashi reassured his fellow Jounin sheepishly.

Before the spandex-clad man could inquire further an annoyed female complaint filtered through his ears "Gai-sensei! Why did you rush off like that? I was just about to show you…" Realization quickly filtered through Tenten's mind as she recognized the silver haired Jounin and her shoulders slumped, a miserable moan escaping her lips as she sat down on the branch she stood upon. She gave up trying out her new shuriken throwing technique in front of her sensei as it was a well known fact that whenever Gai and Kakashi met in anywhere but missions or briefing sessions that Maito Gai blocked out all other things in favor of challenging his 'eternal rival'.

"So this is where he went…Kakashi again?" the aloof and detached tone of Hyuuga Neji interjected from her left as he crossed his arms, leaning against the tree with his shoulder and bowing his head wearily "And here I was hoping Gai would teach us something useful for a change…" the genius intoned through a sigh.

"Shame on you, Neji-kun! It is impolite to complain about Gai-sensei's teaching methods! He is our sensei and you should respect him and his decisions besides referring to him according to his title!" The overly polite and loud voice of one Rock Lee, Gai's younger copycat interjected disapprovingly from Tenten's right, the whole of team Gai converged in the small clearing.

The Hyuuga hmphed dismissively and ignored his outspoken teammate; it wasn't worth the argument that wouldn't filter through the thick headed, bowl cut genin's head anyway. Instead his sharp eyes flickered over to the copy-ninja's companion and mixed emotions filtered through the brunette prodigy's mind "Uzumaki Naruto? A person destined to failure and mediocrity if there ever was one. Fate's hand was clear back then in the academy. So why do you keep on combating your destiny of inadequacy and how did you graduate in the first place with your abysmal skills?"

Naruto's sapphire eyes glanced upwards as he recognized his older colleagues from his second year in the academy, though Lee was quite different from back then. Tenten was a wild card in his eyes, they never communicated but she wasn't cruel or abusive towards him back in the day so he was completely unsure how to approach her - so he reserved judgment regarding the weapon junkie kunioichi for now.

Neji was someone Naruto had mixed feelings over, on one hand Hinata had often told him how much she cared for the older Hyuuga and yet also recently confided in him on how stubborn and jaded he was. Naruto personally held no hard feelings towards the Hyuuga from their academy days, unlike Sasuke – Neji took no joy in taunting or belittling Naruto whenever the blonde made mistakes or confronted him.

The Hyuuga simply ignored him and made it his business to not get entangled with the younger Uzumaki. While it upset Naruto back then, the blonde now knew that despite his dismissal it was better than having the sharp tongue of the aristocratic teen aimed at him. Unlike Sasuke whom used derisive nicknames and pointedly descended to Naruto's level at times Hyuuga Neji knew how to break you down with words far more viciously than he did with his Jyuuken; Naruto had witnessed him verbally castrate several of their peers before and he wasn't eager to have his all-seeing eyes analyzing him with such vicious scrutiny any time soon.

"Well…my young apprentice here is in need for a taijutsu sparring partner and I was wondering if he could test himself against one of your students" The copy ninja revealed before his old comrade and ticked off the seconds in his head before the eruption and as expected Gai crowed out happily and pointed at Lee.

"But of course, Kakashi! Lee would be happy to help fan the flames of youth in your young protégé!" He grinned widely and motioned his thumb up, giving his 'nice guy' pose as Naruto could've sworn the light pinged off the man's teeth but knew it had to be a trick of the light as he rubbed his eyes to alleviate the sting.

"Lee! Prepare yourself! Inspire your former classmate's spirit with your flames of youth!" Gai declared dramatically and pointed towards his green clad pupil that saluted and shook his fists, crying an affirmative. He then called out his sensei's name as he leaped off the branch and landed beside him; starting to perform several stretching exercises with great vigor and enthusiasm.

Naruto jabbed his sensei's ribs lightly with his elbow "Are they always like this…Kakashi-sensei?" he awkwardly murmured as he watched in bewilderment as Lee suddenly took out a notebook and wrote down some cliché' and ridiculous sounding instructions from his sensei before the disturbing tear-induced hug they shared elicited a cringe from the blonde "This is sensei's…eternal rival?"

Neji smirked faintly and sat next to Tenten whom cradled her cheek in her hand as she watched Naruto share some words with Kakashi and look increasingly confused and upset, the two argued heatedly in soft undertones, but the Hyuuga could see Naruto seemed incensed and angry as he unstrapped the blade from his belt and handed it to Kakashi.

"What a waste of time, there's no way Naruto can challenge Lee and then we'll have to deal with Gai-sensei's excited compliments towards Lee and his excitement over beating Kakashi all week…" the chocolate eyed genin complained impatiently.

"Don't be so quick to judge, Tenten. This should be amusing at the very least. Lee was quite pathetic when we just became genin and he's now acceptably skilled, perhaps Uzumaki whom is the only person in the academy that was less talented than Lee could rise above hopelessness to mediocrity and actually win" The branch family member commented thoughtfully. "Besides, Hinata-sama has been improving steadily ever since they became partial teammates, so perhaps the loser will offer Lee some workout after all…"

"I don't get it, Kakashi-sensei! I can understand why wind chakra is too dangerous for a friendly spar, but no techniques or chakra enhancement is like tying my arms behind my back! You're stripping me with most of my fighting ability!". Naruto's fiery response was uttered in honest outrage, confusion and slight suspicion as something wasn't right about his sensei's tone, look and the request itself.

Kakashi pinched the bridge of his nose "This is going to be bad…" The silver haired Jounin realized and decided that perhaps this wasn't such a good idea after all. But now that Gai was so pumped up this and that they were already there he had to go through with his initial idea despite his realization he had overlooked a vital piece of information that was likely to hurt and enrage his student greatly.

After a brief inner conflict the copy-nin decided that lying would be counter-productive so he leveled with his student and told him the truth. "And It seemed like such a good day when I woke up and visited Obito too…" he lamented inwardly. "Rock Lee has a rare genetic defect, his chakra coils are underdeveloped and he is unable to properly channel his chakra to use even the simplest ninjutsu or genjutsu techniques. Thus to even the field it is only fair you limit yourself as well…" Kakashi explained and watched as his apprentice's eyes widened before narrowing into twin embers of molten fury as the glaring fact Lee graduated without being able to use jutsu filtered through his mind quite clearly now that he had been taught forcefully to listen to every tidbit of information spoken to him.

"What the fuck?! How come he passed while I failed the academy three times and got humiliated and laughed about by everyone in my class because I couldn't properly perform a fucking Bushin no jutsu! That's not fair, Kakashi-sensei! How come he gets special treatment? And why the hell would the gramps agree in the first place?" Naruto's voice trembled with emotion and his eyes flickered back and forth several times between azure and ruby while his pupils alternated between slits and ovals rapidly; heightened emotions once more invoking the demon's fox's noxious life force as well as shattering all forms of manners and etiquette the blonde had recently acquired.

Kakashi's killer intent flashed briefly and brought Naruto's tantrum to an abrupt halt as the Jounin grabbed his shoulder painfully "Naruto, I am not going to suffer these tantrums. You are a shinobi now so act the part. A crucial element of this spar will act as a lesson to you: it's imperative that you finally learn to contain your anger and use it wisely or you will die and take your teammates with you...again." the copy ninja rebuked in a cold, authoritative manner, unwilling for Naruto to know the agony and failure he had in his youth or repeat the Wave Country episode with Sasuke.

Naruto bit his lower lip and bowed his head, his indignation still searing through his veins as he listened to his sensei and tried to the best of his ability to not just hear the words but to listen. "Most of the Jounin population is very displeased with the decision just as much as you are, understandably so. But try to understand that Hokage-sama took pity on the young boy as he did on you when you were young. The only difference between you and Lee is that unlike you there was no Kyuubi within him to amass too much of a resistance when Gai pleaded his case before the Hokage and his advisers. He never told me what he gave the old men and woman to make it happen, but I do know Lee is destined to never become Jounin, he will forever remain stuck in genin or chuunin rank due to him being a liability on the field and Gai has paid dearly for his outrageous request…"

The Uzumaki heir nodded slowly before he glanced at Gai out of the corner of his eye and his heart twitched with conflicting emotions. He felt intense anger and indignation towards the green clad man on one hand for breaking the unwritten rules and once more immortalizing the injustice of Naruto's life. On the other hand his heart swellwed with great appreciation and remorse for the fact the man had sacrificed so much for an orphan boy he owed nothing.

In the end he knew the man was no villain and he put his hatred and anger to rest but it didn't wash away the newfound disrespect and contempt Naruto felt towards the elite Jounin. Lee's situation was completely unheard of, insulting and unfair towards all the other Konoha genin that worked hard throughout the academy. Furthermore, it reflected poorly on the man as a Jounin and the village as whole as it reeked with hhe stench of favoritism that Konoha supposedly lacked in comparison to her sister villages.

It only proved to Naruto yet again what his mother had written in her scroll and what Iruka had kept on drilling into his mind - politics were a hassle that often bred injustice and heartache and that Hokage was often the most respected and at the same time disrespected man in the village. "When I'm Hokage I won't let anyone feel like I am now, you can bet on that!" he determined fiercely.

"I think I understand how it happened and why, but It will be a long time before I can respect or forgive Gai's actions, accept Lee's competence as a ninja or those forgive those old geezers after learning of this and I'm quite sure anyone else in my age group that finds out will feel the same way." He spat out in contempt and Kakashi sighed as he shrugged, it was better than nothing at the moment he reasoned and he shrugged. He would have to share words with Naruto in private and sort him out, but now was not the time - it would serve no purpose to make Naruto resent him over public humilation and then close off in his position. He and Gai leapt away; taking out his Icha Icha paradise booklet as he leaned against a nearby tree.

Naruto was not cruel or vindictive, he would not circulate this knowledge onward as tempting as it was. He constantly remembered the coldness and loneliness of his youth and wished not to make anyone feel that isolation, that crushing loneliness that tore at one's soul. The burden of knowledge truly was no relief and hence it received its name in the first place. He was angry at the injustice at the moment but it would blow over, he knew deep down that Lee was not to blame for the situation, he wasn't the one that took action to bypass the academy system - Gai was.

With that cemented he slipped into the White Wind Tiger stance and waited for the battle to begin, eyebrow twitching lightly when he saw Kakashi giggle pervertedly at his porn. "Damn it, Sensei! Will you let it rest for once and watch me fight!"

"Go!" Gai cried out and before Naruto could rein his warring emotions he was already forced to repel Lee's offensive. The spandex wearing genin exploded forth at neck breaking speed, kicking off the ground and launching himself at the Jinchuuruki. Naruto's forearm whipped upwards and slapped painfully against Lee's shin, a perfect spinning roundhouse kick deflected, bone meeting bone painfully.

Naruto was used to fighting with Kakashi, one of most skilled and dangerous Jounin in Konoha. It was this said genius that had 'innocently' dubbed their heavy contact spars, spars that always ended with Naruto aching, bruised and bleeding; as mere 'conditioning'.So when Lee's blurry right fist slipped through the blonde's defense and slammed into his cheek it wasn't as painful as he expected and he was ready to strike back without pause.

The blonde's head whipped to the left but much to Lee's surprise the smaller genin brushed it off nearly immediately and retaliated. The bowl cut taijutsu genin's eyes narrowed "I was holding back…but even so that should've at least pushed him back a step or two if he were genin level. Alright! I suppose that means I can pick this up a notch!" he thought excitably. The bushy browed teen easily read Naruto's intended attacks and stepped away from Naruto's attacks – sidestepping away from a side kick, ducking under a backhand strike and finally stepping out of the range of a double palm strike.

Lee capitalized on Naruto's loose stance that followed his double palm thrust and the moment the soles of his feet touched the ground he plowed forward once more; this time bringing the heel of his foot slamming into Naruto's chin with the full brunt of his physical strength. The blow knocked the dazed genin into a backwards stumble and Naruto toyed with his now aching jaw to lessen the pain. His soothing gesture last no longer than a scant second as his body was forced to bent over, lungs heaved a pained grunt as Lee's knuckles drilled into his abdomen with fearsome strength.

"If I could use Kage Bushin no jutsu I would've overwhelmed him...what did mom's scroll say about pure taijutsu fights again…?" Naruto tried to remember but Lee's leaping scythe kick cut his thoughts in their bud when it crashed into his temple. The kick sent the younger genin in a spiral, his body knocked off the ground briefly before it crashing hard against the ground, the Uzumaki coughing spittle and saliva through harsh exhales.

"Che, as expected – a loser will remain a loser…" Neji declared dismissively as he watched the blonde rise to his knees heavily. He was about to avert his eyes from the fight when His noticed the inferno of emotions swirling in those twin blue orbs and something stirred within the Hyuuga genius when he caught the slight twitch of the blonde's lips. "Wait a minute...the look in his eyes is different; something is about to change…"

"Naruto-san, while the flames of youth burning within you are admirable and are only outshined by your determination and desire to continue; perhaps it would be preferable if you yield." Lee hesitated as he watched the blonde wipe the blood from his lips with the back of his hand. Lee continued while Naruto's tongue licked off the crimson staining his teeth "While your taijutsu style is interesting you do not possess the speed or precognitive ability to counter my Goken-fu style."

The blonde's teeth grit angrily but he swallowed down his biting reply and wordlessly motioned Lee to continue. The spandex-clad genin complied a bit reluctantly, a mistake he would sorrowfully regret as Naruto's open left palm latched around his shin as soon as his foot sank against the blonde's side. Naruto exhaled painfully but ignored the flash of pain as his fingers clenched tightly around the ensnared leg, keeping his opponent immobile while sending his right palm shoothing forth with all his might.

"The leopard is always faster than the tiger. So the only way for the tiger to win is to absorb the blow on its own term and then latch onto the smaller beast with its claws, tearing into the immobile beast with unmatched anger." Naruto finally remembered the concept his mother had introduced in her scrolls on how to use their taijutsu style to combat faster opponents and immediately worked on unleashing his own vindication on Lee.

Lee head snapped back as Naruto's palm slammed into his face. The bushy browed teen tried to move away and enact some form of retaliation but to his dismay failed miserably as Naruto's fingers held onto him tightly. The Goken style required space, speed and acrobatics and in a grappling situation such as the one Naruto forced upon him he was forced to admit he was at a disadvantage as his speed was useless.

Naruto's fingers then fisted his hair and pulled his forced his head down, forehead first, just in time to meet a skull rattling rising palm. The blonde's skin tingled from the slapping blow and that signaled the genin to press onwards and while keeping his hand gripping the green genin's hair he pulled him forth once more. This time he pulled Lee forth while simultaneously slamming his free palm into the older genin's ribcage with bruising might.

The Uzumaki could have finished the original combination and struck his vitals but didn't want to kil the boy and so he let go and accepted the compromise of punching Lee's temple with a sweeping right hook that sent the boy's footing loose. That blow opened the green clad boy for the final move blow in the combination that was a spinning roundhouse kick that exploded into Lee's cheek and sent him flying away, crashing hard onto his side several feet away. "Don't underestimate me!" Naruto hissed balefully.

Neji's eyes narrowed thoughtfully "Interesting tactics, Uzumaki. You knew Lee was underestimating you and that you could absorb his blows so you put your body in the path of Lee's kick and then entrapped him in a range where speed means nothing…" Neji concluded and smirked confidently. The Hyuuga knew that while the tactic was perfect against Lee it would be suicidal against the Jyuuken. However he brushed off any concern as had already known beforehand that he was superior to the blonde genin in his ability, having being born into the Byakugan by the hands of fate – though he admitted that the Uzumaki had indeed improved considerably.

The spandex-clad genin recovered quickly and flipped back to his feet, eying his opponent a bit more cautiously and seriously. He had fought Neji's flowing Jyuuken and Gai sensei's overwhelming Goken in the past but he had yet to encounter a grappling style. He realized his style was ill suited against such combat and that it was a serious weakness he would have to find a way around. Therefore he already felt grateful for fighting the Uzumaki despite the pain in his face and body from the blonde's surprisingly powerful blows.

"Stop spouting that youthful nonsense of yours and fight me seriously, Lee," Naruto's voice interjected as he slipped back into his stance. "Don't pity me or coddle me, I don't want it or need it – I came here to test my limits and my strength so come with me with all you've got because if you don't...you'll regret it!" Naruto cautioned and watched Lee's eyes narrow, flames of determination and competitiveness welling within the taijutsu user's dark eyes.

"I can accept your will to improve and be treated seriously, Naruto-san. But I will not allow you to belittle Gai-sensei's words and outlook of life," he threatened and turned to Gai. "Gai-sensei! Please, let me show Naruto-san and Kakashi-sensei the true power of youth!" Lee requested humbly, though he eyed his sensei with pleading eyes, teeming with enthusiasm and the selfish desire to prove his superiority over the blonde.

"What do you say, Kakashi?" Gai consulted in his old friend in a solemn and serious tone, his dark eyes surprisingly calculating as he watched Lee get lulled into overconfidence and pay for it dearly. The elite Jounin was hesitant to allow the spar to go to the next level as he feared for Naruto's health and shied from Kakashi's ire should Lee go overboard and injure his protoge. However, if the battle proceeded as it was now it would become a battle of will and stamina and Lee would lose. Naruto was fueled by the endless chakra battery that was the Kyuubi and his body's regenerative abilities gave him the advantage that Lee would not, could not scale no matter how determined he was. And that was without mentioning the fact that Naruto was just as much if not more enthusiastic and willful than his beloved student.

"Naruto, no wind chakra or lethal blows and techniques" Kakashi affirmed and Naruto smirked, his eyes flickering with anticipation as he lifted a thumbs up; acknowledging his teacher's limitation this time as he felt that could truly test himself by using a wider scope of his abilities in this emulated combat situation.

Lee hopped on the balls of his feet as he awaited Gai's acquiescence and the bushy browed man finally nodded and wore a wide; blinding grin."Very well, Lee! Go and explode with the flames of youth!" Gai shouted and flames seemed to dance in his eyes. "Kakashi, the sensei whose student wins will be considered the victor of this match between us!" Gai exclaimed and Kakashi took his time and seemed to ignore him as he watched Lee bend over and remove the clasps of his leg weights.

"Oh? Did you say something, Gai?" Kakashi spoke up suddenly before screening out Gai's loud exclaims and complaints about his 'hip' attitude as he felt Naruto's chakra spike and begin pulsing through his muscles. "This is going to be interesting…" he thought as Lee's weights hit the ground and sent tremors through the forest. The copy ninja was quite skilled in multi-tasking between reading the celestial beauty of Jiraiya-sama's work and observing the world around him and so he analyzed the battle critically though he knew that things were about to change drastically. "Show me your power, Naruto..."

Naruto's fingers crossed and his life force shifted in his desired intent, three shadow clones popping into existence. They moved quickly and formed a protective triangle formation around the original just time for Lee's spandex clad form to crackle forth like lightning. The taijutsu prodigy struck with blinding speed and lethal precision, his foot smashing into one of the clone's face; shattering its chakra construct violently.

Naruto's eyes flickered with pain for a brief moment as sensation of the kick and additional sensory information speared through his consciousness. The blonde ninja frowned thoughtfully as he stepped back and created an supplementary shadow clone to replace the cloud of white smoke. He then patiently watched as his other clones desperately attempted attacking the green clad mass of blurry violence with zero success - calculating his own odds with every simulated tactics one of his clone employed.

The original Naruto dared not remain stationary and he kept on rushing around his assailant in cricles while calling up doppelganger after doppelganger to intercept him. The Uzumaki was gradually propelling himself faster and faster with chakra enhanced thrusts every time his feet touched the ground. Soon enough his clones shared his growing velocity and Lee's efforts were becoming quickly turning less one sided as the blonde's speed evened the odds somewhat.

Naruto's eyes narrowed and his lower lip was constantly bit upon by his upper teeth as his head started hurting from the constant spikes of knowledge and sensations of agony his clones kept transmitting. Fortunately enough the pace of their summoning and dispersing was not rapid enough to become a real hindrance and he was confident that he had finally grasped the rough outline of Lee's preferred attacks patterns and reactions to Naruto's own taijutsu style.

"Is this truly Naruto? The same orange-clad goofball that was always running his mouth while failing in all the subjects during the academy," Tenten murmured to her noble bred teammate. She eyed the fight with bewilderment and slight fear and whispered somewhat fearfully "He's exchanging punch for punch with Lee and doesn't seem to be slowing down or in pain; what the hell is he?"

The Hyuuga's eyes narrowed as he felt the blonde's life force spike and swirl within and curiosity filled him. He called upon his own chakra, sending it towards his eyes; a shockwave of rapture shooting through him briefly before the world melted into a pseudo image painted in varying shades of silver. He had to see what the blonde was doing and how he was getting so fast and so he turned to the ultimate solution that would never fail him - his 'all-seeing eyes'.

"Interesting use of chakra…" Neji pondered thoughtfully as he watched the burning flames constantly pulse through the Uzumaki's feet, legs, arms and palms. The Uzumaki was weaving through a quite unique set of lightning fast motions, each blow and step linking with it's successor, adding its own chakra enhanced equilibrium and speed to the blonde's motion. "I believe Hinata-sama called him 'a walking Maelstrom' that cannot be denied. I digress with my cousin: to me Uzumaki Naruto is simply the lesser failure amongst the two. Though even I must admit his growth since the academy is impressive. Truly Hatake Kakashi is a miracle maker."

Naruto's strategy of summoning shadow clones in succession and using them to confuse and divert Lee's attention was interesting. The spandex clad teen seemed oblivious to the fact that Naruto was very quickly approaching his own speed with each and one of his chakra propelling techniques. However, it was yet to be seen howhow the blonde planned on actually striking the far superior Lee whom could easily dodge and avoid any physical blow.

Tenten watched in awe through the screen of smoke created by dispersed shadow clones as Lee and Naruto both blurred about the field. Though Lee's gross speed was considerably greater, Naruto's chakra sensitive style and training had honed his ability to sense attacks and thus allowed him a greater amount of precognition. The moment the blonde reached the limit of his speed he was at the point where he managed to correctly predict Lee's next attack and dodge or deflect the blow nine out of each ten times.

The blonde ninja knew he had the advantage with his ability to use ninjutsu and so he decided to prove once and for all that he deserved the graduation he had earned through his hard work. He would school Lee about the price of underestimating him and that he should know better than to attack a ninjutsu user head on so recklessly. "When I'm mobile he'll direct me towards the trees by using a rushing attack of quick punches and kicks to force me back on the defensive. When I'm stationary he'll prefer to reach for the air and use safer and more damaging aerial attacks to minimize his chances of being hit…" Naruto concluded and his eyes flickered with mischief as he turned to glimpse at Kakashi's neutral and calculating gaze "Watch me, Kakashi-sensei!"

The Uzumaki heir then ducked under a rushing side kick and called upon five more shadow clones and sent them after the unnaturally fast genin. He then stoped his own sprinting speed and locking his body tightly while keeping his senses sharp. The Uzumaki then started molding his chakra, ignoring the popping sounds of his clones being terminated by their bushy browed assassin.

Naruto's hands ran through some quick hand seals and the compacted a mass of chakra shifted within his lungs; spinning and molding into a whirlpool like rotation in accordance with his clan's 'Crushing Wind' manipulation style. The speed of his elemental manipulation was already impressive due to his constant efforts and with the additional help of the hand seals he bent it to his will in blink eye speed.

His intent was to use one of the techniques his mother had imparted him in her scroll. He had been secretly studying several of these low level wind jutsu in his free time on those days Kakashi was running missions, though he had mastered only a couple of them.

Kakashi's single eye widened briefly as he recognized several of the key seals in the sequence "Wind jutsu? I haven't taught him any...Kushina, just what did you leave him in that scroll?" The copy ninja watched his apprentice with a small smirk beneath his mask. "I said no wind chakra manipulation, not wind based techniques as I didn't believe you knew any; very conniving and clever of you, Naruto."

The blonde willed the air around him, a supersonic gale swirling around his arms and hands in a silvery green mass of elemental fury. Then the Uzumaki heir clapped his hands together and the harsh winds compacting tightly before he pushed his right hand forth; the wind exploding outwards in a concentrated gust of oppressive force "Fuuton: Reppushou"

Lee was nimble, agile and flexible for a male ninja, being a taijutsu master he was adept at dodging attacks. However, no matter how fast he was nobody could outrun the wind. Therefore when Naruto aimed his wind technique in his assumed trajectory the attack connected head on successfully with devistating results. Without resorting to Kinjutsu or self-sacrificing techniques it was obvious that a more balanced ninja would've used a replication technique or counter-jutsu but with Lee's gaping inability to use chakra he was left vulnerable and helpless against the ninjutsu and so an explosion of super charge wind ensued when gale hit flesh. The massive force of nature collided with the spandex-clad genin with excruciating force and knocked him backwards, straight into a tree with concussive might.

Lee coughed harshly and before he could recover the blurry form of Naruto materialized inches from him and slammed a chakra enforced palm into his solar plexus. The Goken practitioner grunted in pain and collapsed to his knees, panting harshly as he could barely breathe. He grasped his aching body and as his eyes were only just barely open he didn't see Naruto's victory until the glint of steel filtered through his perpetual vision.

A Kunai blade was placed dangerously near his jugular, the cool metal chilling his skin. "I…lost?" the taijutsu genius realized, humbled and shocked that the younger, less experienced genin could've improved so quickly and capitalize on his greatest weakness. Lee sighed inwardly and consoled himself with the fact that he could've ended this battle in a heartbeat had he resorted to opening the celestial chakra gates. But when he thought about it that would only serve to reveal his trump card to Neji, enrage Hatake Kakashi and most likely critically injure Naruto if not kill him – not to mention the own damage it would incur on Lee's own body.

Naruto grinned and put back his Kunai, looking back to see Tenten gape at him in shock and awe and Neji's eyes flickering with unreadable emotion. Tt was obvious that Naruto's actions had given the Hyuuga food for thought by the way he pointedly looked away and crossed his arms tensely. The prodigal Hyuuga teen turned his eyes towards the skies, looking at a flock of birds that flew above thoughtfully.

"Perhaps that prick will finally pull that stick out of his ass if he sees that people can change…people can grow and break the shackles of 'their unchangeable fate'…"Naruto pondered as Kakashi grinned under his mask, proud of his student.

Gai cried 'tears' of disappointment while Kakashi pocketed his Icha Icha paradise volume and ignored his 'eternal rival's' tantrum as he walked towards his charge. "Very nice Naruto, I wasn't aware you knew any offensive ninjutsu techniques…" his voice was deceptively calm and friendly but the inquisitive quality was not lost to the blonde and he knew Kakashi was probably displeased that Naruto was keeping secrets from him.

Naruto had the decency to look down and smiled shakily. "I wanted to surprise you, so you would be proud of my progress…" the blonde murmured apologetically. He then looked up cautiously, waiting to hear the copy nin berate him about the teacher-student rule of confidence and non confidentiality but only saw the copy ninja reading his little yellow smut booklet that had mysteriously reappeared in his hand.

Naruto's eyebrow twitched slightly at the Jounin's aloof dismissal before the Jounin caught his attention as he shrugged his shoulders. "It's Alright, Naruto. I understand, just make sure there isn't a next time. I cannot teach you properly if I am not aware of the full scope of your abilities and we both don't enjoy wasting each other's time, do we?" Kakashi pointed out in a tone that allowed no place for argument.

The blonde winced at the very brief glare the silver hair Jounin gave him and gulped through a small nod. "Anyway, you performed well and I am proud of how you tricked Lee into a trap. When I set up this little spar I imagined you would but I wanted you to learn another valuable lesson, Naruto. You often complain about things that don't seem important or useful to you but now you should realize the true value of being a mostly balanced ninja – adaptability. The more abilities, elements and strategies you have, the easier it will be for you to defeat your opponents. Imagine if you had known offensive genjutsu or were allowed to use high level ninjutsu you would've won even more decisively," the copy ninja lectured through an eye-smile.

Naruto blinked briefly and smiled back at him, realizing how thoroughly the lessons Kakashi imparted on him were and wondered why the aloof Jounin didn't try this hard when they were still a whole genin cell. He then sighed as he remembered how uncooperative Sakura and Sasuke were; not to mention his own stubborn pigheadedness at the time and felt some pride on how much he had changed from those days; even though he missed them to some extent.

He then turned to the shell-shocked and dejected looking Lee and offered his hand to help him to his feet. "It was a good fight, just don't underestimate me next time and we'll be cool from now on, Lee" he offered in an amicable tone. Despite his slight irritation with Lee's situation Naruto was never one to burn bridges, bear grudges if he could avoid it or willingly alienate people if he could help it.

Therefore he decided to take it step by step, he was too emotional and upset now and so he decided he would approach conversations with Lee cautiously and patiently. While he didn't personally hate the boy, it would take some time for the boy to overcome his own bitterness at the situation, but he would - eventually. Naruto realized if he did alienate Lee for things beyond his control he would be just like the villagers. Therefore he cemented his decision to he give Lee a chance to prove his worth as a person and mettle as a ninja by himself - step by step.

The bowl cut genin hesitated but took his hand "Thank you, Naruto-san. You've given me much food for thought and are indeed a very worthy rival! I appreciate it and eagerly await our next duel! If I can't get better by then, I will punish myself by running around Konoha on my hands twenty times!" The spandex wearing genin exclaimed audibly with his usual exuberance.

Naruto's smile remained brittle as he eyed him incredulously, eyes wide and mouth slightly gaping. "Is this guy for real? Twenty times?! What the hell is that super bushy browed bastard thinking, teaching Lee crazy ideals like that? No wonder Kakashi-sensei was so reluctant to introduce me to Gai…he's completely insane; though not in a homicidal and self destructive way like some people I know..."

Naruto knew however that if Lee did prove himself arrogant, complacent or overreaching over Naruto, the blonde would not stomach it and would see the taijutsu master perform D-ranks for the rest of his career the moment he became the Fifth or Sixth Hokage. Oh and he was outlawing that spandex suit the moment he made his path to the tower - no sane people should suffer needlessly under his rule.

---

The shadows shifted, parting to allow the passage of several blurry figures as they cut their path through the gloom. Three figures were leaping through the treetops in a triangular formation, followed closely by another diamond formed group of ninja. The area they traversed was covered by tall trees, lush grass and rich wild life; the terrain a perfect landscape for ninjas to operate in as it was covered in shadows and coated by conflicting scents that helped conceal one's location – it made their infiltration mission all that easier.

"How much further till we reach the cave entrance, Kimimaro?" the sniveling, impatient tone of Sakon hissed out inaudibly as he led his other three comrades. A hint of hesitation was hidden behind his bravado as the silver haired Kaguya has always gave him the creeps. His murderous impassivity and obsessive devotion to Orochimaru were simply inhuman. The blue haired ninja's fists clenched when the Kaguya blatantly ignored his inquiry and kept on moving "Damn you, Kimimaro..."

"Yeah, I'm getting tired of carrying this crazy ass scroll, it weighs like a motherfucker?!" The harsh, coarse agreeing complaint belonged to the blood haired illusionist Tayuya. The messy looking femme was currently tasked with carrying the scroll Orochimaru had given them in a black protective cylinder. It cumbersome weight made it difficult to move but it was her turn as it rotated between the 'Sound Four' for the last couple of days on the sound-nins' way from the Rice Field country to The Waterfall country.

"Will you idiots shut the hell up!?" A different, equally impatient female tone snapped in response to their complaints and inquires. The voice belonged to yet another red haired Sound nin whose patience was dangerously reaching its end. Karin's bespectacled eyes flickered with murderous displeasure as she pondered what chemicals they should ingest as part of her 'experiments' when they get back to Hidden Sound. She cackled inwardly at all the possibilities of paying them back for grating her nerves with hours of bitching and whining.

"He already told you we're close!" She chided balefully before her eyes warily shifted to glance towards the third member of the pivot team; the walking scion of insanity that was Juugo. The blonde haired, scrawny giant was seemingly docile as they traversed the woodlands. His eyes constantly flickered with cautious uncertainty as his 'copy' Kimimaro led them deeper and deeper into the midst of the Waterfall country.

"Karin, use your ability, we should be very close." The leader of the renewed 'Sound Five' intoned in his bland and emotionless tone. He then turned his icy eyes towards his younger comrades and watched them fidget and shift uncomfortably under the weight of his glance; his message was clear 'we're here, stop complaining or you'll pay'.

Kidoumaru's lips twisted into a tight sneer as his eyes flickered with burning emotion. He glared at the backs of the three ninjas ahead of his team and bitterly spat out disrespectfully. It wasn't fair, just when the 'Sound Four' were finally given their chance to prove their worth to Orochimaru-sama that pale, freaky bastard had to make a comeback from the brink of death and prove how insignificant they were in comparison.

"How did that half dead freak get out of his hospital anyway!? Kabuto said he was dying..." Tayuya hissed to the six-armed nin that was daydreaming about how he wrought inhumane bodily harm on that arrogant red-haired bitch and that silver haired emo-bastard. Tayuya asked Kidoumaru in the first place as the spidery sound-nin always had a way of gleaning interesting gossip with his spider summons that had the ability to sneak into the most secret of crevices.

Kidoumaru cautiously glanced ahead at Karin who made a tiger seal and spread her mental awareness outwardly with her 'Kagura Shingan' ability. Once he was equally satisfied that both Kimimaro and Juugo that were out of ear shot he spoke in a hushed tone. "I don't know much, but I do know that Orochimaru-sama tasked Karin in healing Kimimaro's illness several months ago and she apparently succeeded as you can see."

Before he could continue Karin's eyes snapped open and she lifted her hand, revealing three fingers. She and Kimimaro shared some silent words which elicited a thoughtful nod from the silver haired ninja before his icy green eyes turned towards Juugo. He whispered something inaudible and the source of the curse-seal's eyes widened as he seemed to panic, prepare to either scream audibly or make a run for it when the Kaguya's killer intent spiked dangerously, halting his 'source's' paranoid fit.

"Do as I say, Juugo. If we're successful, perhaps with your worth finally proved we can convince Orochimaru-sama to work on a cure for your condition. But if you prove yourseulf untrustworthy and a failure you know what will happen…" The leader of the expeditionary force let the threat hang unspoken.

Juugo's eyes seemed to glaze over momentarily before he nodded tensely and burst into a much faster pace, disappearing in the foliage ahead of them. "Juugo is 'taking care' of the guards, the mission begins now. Do not fail Orochimaru-sama…" he exclaimed in a deceptively mild tone, though the hidden warning was ever present and was quite clear 'Fail me and I'll kill you'.

The sound four knew just how capable the Kaguya was in fulfilling his intent should he choose to do so after he single-handedly humiliated them all in the past. "Fucking bastard…" Tayuya hissed once the silver haired nin was out of ear shot, grunting in effort as they started descending to ground level.

Jiroubou shook his head and relieved her of her burden once they reached the ground. "Enough, Tayuya. You shouldn't swear like that as a principle and now to preserve your life…" he chided patiently.

Tayuya's lips twisted into a snarling line of discontent as she hmphed. She then nonchalantly flipped him the finger before storming after the leading group. "Bite me, Fatass!" she added in a heated hiss before her face shifted abruptly. Her lips pursed before twisting in revulsion, her face paling as she forced down a gag as the cacophony of agonized screams, tearing flesh and spilled liquid pierced the silent forest.

Insane laughter filled the night as Juugo's murderous, alter ego made its present known in all its bloody glory. Juugo's body was partially transformed, burning red symbols covering his skin; his hands stained in sickening amounts of hot, moist crimson. He turned his glance towards the sound four, his right eye half transforming into a glowing yellow orb of sickly, murderous insanity.

He licked his lips hungrily as he pulled his fist back and the grotesque sight of the flesh morphing into a sharp spear-like construct sickened and petrified the four ninjas to the core. The monstrosity snarled and swiped his hand offensively only to have it deflected by Kimimaro whom materialized in front of the walking embodiment of senseless murder.

"Enough, Juugo," He commanded calmly. His first warning was blatantly ignored so the Kaguya gracefully dodged one of Juugo's mad swipes and proceeded to slam the back fist into the maniac's cheek with impossible force. The strike sent the bloody giant sprawling onto his side. "I know you hate killing and can barely hold back your murderous urges, but we've got work to do so get a hold of yourself or I will" he cautioned. Juugo eyes flickered with recognition as he shakily reverted to his solemn and conflicted self, nodding meekly.

"I've had enough of this shit, Kimimaro!" the elder twin, Ukon, hissed angrily in his deep and gravely tone as he pointed at the formally ill ninja accusingly. "Why the hell did you bring that crazy monster along? What the hell is the mission? And why the fuck are we even approaching a hidden village with this crazy ass huge scroll?" The former leader of the Sound unit demanded and Karin was about to reply explosively when Kimimaro lifted his hand in a silencing gesture.

"Our mission is simple, Ukon: the complete purification and annihilation of Hidden Waterfall. Juugo and I will deal with the village's counter attack and buy Karin and you four the time you need to activate the summoning scroll. Once you finish the ritual all will become clear," He exclaimed with an air of finality and then turned to melt into the darkness of the caverns leading towards the waterfall village.

"W-What?!" Ukon thought and his eyes widened, heartbeat racing and palms shaking with the heavy emotion that suffocated him – fear. That snake sannin had either finally lost the last slivers of his sanity by sending them on a suicide mission or he had a plan that was likely so dangerous and ingenious that it boggled the mind. Sakon inwardly murmured to his twin that it probably didn't matter, either way they were royally fucked.

Soon enough the sound four joined their three 'leaders' and entered the cave once they heard the sound of steel clashing with steel. When they entered the cave they were just in time to witness Kimimaro enact the first steps of 'Tsubaki no Mai' his body moving with deadly grace.

At the same time Juugo was literally tearing his foe apart. Another couple of bodies were strewn at his feet in varying degrees of bloody disarray, though their exact number was hard to enumerate as their gory state was quite extreme and difficult on the eye.

Karin stuck to the shadows and avoided the battle, watching the pair of monsters operate from the shadows. She now understood why Orochimaru was so adamant about her healing the silver haired Kaguya. The combination of his perfected killing arts and his unequaled grace and precision coupled with Juugo's unstoppable fury and juggernaut-like ferocity made the pair a match made in hell; or Orochimaru's twisted mind in this case.

The Kaguya swerved perfectly under a horizontal kunai slash while spinning his body, swiping his left hand diagonally. Within the confines of his fingers was a long white bone sword formed from a replica of his shoulder bone, the byproduct of his clan's bloodline. With blurry speed the Kaguya drew his weapon neatly across his attacker's body, slicing the man open in a quite unsettling manner.

The Kaguya impassively gathered chakra through his right hand as he detected another enemy ninja run through a hand seal sequence. He spread his fingers and in a manner of moments five bone endings protruded from his fingertips before he thrust his right hand forth. The genius ninja unleashed a hail of five of his phalanges in a modified version of his 'Teshi Sendan' technique. The deadly projectiles drilled through man's flesh and embedding themselves in the stone behind the man.

"It's over…" a soft, feminine voice suddenly whispered in Kimimaro's right ear, harsh exhales hitting the pale skinned man's neck. The Taki-kunoichi materialized from a puddle of water behind him, her outraged tone murmuring inaudibly through grit teeth. Her eyes flickered with hatred as the kunai in her hand pressed against his skin, shifting in preperation for his death.

The silver haired ninja's face remained expressionless as he nodded in acquiescence to the remark, his bloodline invoked once more. The skin over his right shoulder parted to make way for a long sharp bone and the sickening sound of bone and flesh being torn signaled the woman's death; the Kaguya's shoulder blade exploded upwards and tore its way through from chin and beyond. The sharp blade protruded through the the tip of his attacker's head before it sank back into Kimimaro's body, the Kaguya shrugging the lifeless corpse off of his body.

"This is too easy…" Kidoumaru commented suspiciously as he watched Karin and Juugo approach the water bank; the red haired kunoichi examining an old looking piece of animal skin carefully. "So that's how they know the way; they have a map…but how did they get one? Hidden Waterfall is notoriously secretive about its location..." he thought and saw his comrades all shared his concern and confusion.

"Today is the eve of the Waterfall's annual 'Hero Day', A memorial and festivity to commemorate those of them that sacrificed their lives to protect their village with the mythical 'hero water'." Kimimaro explained.

With their questions alleviated his eyes briefly flicked towards Karin that once more concentrated her chakra to locate potential assailants. "Orochimaru-sama has been to this village on multiple occasions when he was still part of Konoha, that is one of his old maps. Since it is a day of celebration the whole population of Hidden Waterfall is located within the confines of the hidden village. Orochimaru-sama stated he would not be satisfied with anything less than the utter destruction of Waterfall to the very last individual, be it adult, child or elder." The bone wielder informed in an apathetic tone.

"Why are we even bothering with the destruction of this little shit hole? it isn't a threat to Orochimaru-sama or of any consequence as a political power in the ninja world with its recent losses!" Tayuya drilled her squad leader before gulping fearfully as his dead eyes narrowed onto her dangerously, this time a flicker of impatience and rage dancing in his chilling green irises.

"Orochimaru-sama said he would rendezvous with us at the border with the Fire country in two days time as he has something he has to deal with personally. I do not question his orders and neither should you; we will fulfill them to the letter. But if you insist on questioning his motives, why don't you ask the master yourself when we meet up with him..." He offered blandly before he approached the water bank.

Tayuya's fists clenched in a mixture of bitter indignation and intense fear from the paralyzing apathy and indifference radiating off the man. She cursed his cold arrogance, everyone knew that questioning Orochimaru was the equivalent of begging the Shinigami to come take your soul and a hundred times more frightening and painful.

Karin watched the silver haired man approach and smiled faintly before her eyes widened and mouth gaped as he paused. Kimimaro's eyes widened as his hand reached to his mouth, pain exploding in his lungs as he trembled violently, choking briefly before he heaved and coughed blood. He fell to his knees and the genetic specialist quickly rushed towards him and knelt by his side, preventing his collapse.

"I told you to take your medication regularly, Kimimaro-kun. If you stop taking the pills and keep on abusing your abilities like that, you will die…" she cautioned inaudibly through a soft sigh full of concern. The truth was that Kimimaro's terminal illness was somehow linked to his bloodline limit as Kabuto had so astutely stated. Unfortunately for Karin, she had yet to find a way to make his white blood cells to stop rejecting and attacking the antibodies she had engineered to terminate his disease.

So even though she had managed to create a synthesized cure with his his body constantly rejecting the foreign DNA the Kaguya kept on relapsing every day or so. Karin had thus created small black pills that were a patch-up cure that allowed Kimimaro to operate and prolong his life span. The antibodies contained the disease temporarily and as long as he regularly ingested the medicine his body would not suffer further damage.

It wasn't perfect but it would do for now until she could further research his genetic structure and overcome the hurdle of its xenophobic reaction to all foreign substances. She reached into her pocket and fingered a small black pill and popped it into the silver haired man's mouth and watched as he broke it with his teeth and with great difficulty swallowed it. "I know, Karin. But I did not want to hazard their chakra consuming qualities weakening me…" he explained as he stood up a bit shakily.

Juugo felt panic and uncertainty well within him, if something happened to Kimimaro while he wasn't locked up he would be helpless to stop the torrent of bloodlust and the urge to kill everything around him! He was about to make his move to escape when Kimimaro stood up and wiped his mouth. "Juugo, we're moving" he informed, his tone once more firm and steady as he seemed to rapidly regain his color, strength and authoritative posture; inspiring a tremulous hope in the blonde haired berserker.

The seven agents of Orochimaru then proceeded to swim through the long encompassing tunnels, following Karin that had both memorized the maps and could sense the chakra signatures of the nearby people. They emerged on the naked, rocky bank of an underground cavern and witnessed the hidden beauty of the ninja village. Before them was a quaint looking village split in two by a small bridge, the cave water was crystal clear and reflected the village in a crisp and sharp manner.

Before Karin could even blink Kimimaro and Juugo erupted from her sides and charged towards the Waterfall ninjas that were emerging from the windows and rooftops of the nearby buildings. Kimimaro paused before he passed by her just enough to shove her to the ground; saving her from being impaled by a hail of kunai that whistled over her head that forced the sound four behind her to dodge precariously.

"Karin, you know what must be done." Kimimaro reminded her seriously as he concentrated his life force through his body, gritting his teeth as he forced his bloodline to push two long arm bones through his palms. He initiated the 'Yanagi no Mai' stance and his muscles tense through a low crouch before he burst forward to engage the defenders of hidden waterfall.

In mid run He turned his eyes towards Juugo "Now is the time. Prove to Orochimaru-sama that you are worthy of his interest…" he intoned quietly and watched the fervor of the waterfall ninjas falter as Juugo roared insanely. The berserker's body exploded into eerie red light as the curse marks shifting his skin into a rugged, leather crimson. Now in full curse seal mode he crowed insanely as he shifting and changed his limbs in a most nauseating manner, sharp limbs of various shapes of nightmarish variety bursting from his flesh as he charged forth, Kimimaro close in tow.

"Change to your level two curse seal state while I prepare the ritual" Karin commanded and quickly moved to take out the scroll from the black cylinder on Jiroubou's back. She then walked back, preparing herself mentally once she was satisfied she had enough room to spread open the scroll. She then knelt down to her knees and gathered her chakra.

She entered a brief trance, calming her nerves as she screened out the sounds of the younger ninja writhing in pain and their harsh, labored breathes. So powerful was her mental stasis that the taint of the putrid violet chakra spewing forcefully out of their bodies was about as distracted as a soft summer breeze.

She exhaled shakily and snapped her eyes open, ready to perform the ritual as she spread the scroll before her. She carefully took out a vial of blood from her medical pouch and uncorked it with a gulp. "Orochimaru-sama…" she uttered reverently as she spilled its contents into a circle of seals in the center of the scroll and watched as the ink symbols burned to life; a pale, sickly aurora of black, violet and red light bouncing off her glasses.

"Each of you kneel at one corner of the seal and place your right hand within the circular seal constructs" Karin commanded hurriedly. Her eyes glanced sideways and she noticed that Kimimaro and Juugo were not having too much trouble eliminating the initial wave of defenders; an increasing pile of bleeding and broken corpses piling around them. However, Karin knew that if the full force of Hidden Waterfall amassed against them with their hero-water-consuming suicide jounin charging with zeal, things might become far more difficult and Orochimaru's plan might fail. There was no way she would allow that – their lives depended on its success.

The mutated and curse-formed sound four obeyed wordlessly and watched as Karin went through a very short and precise seal formation and bit her lower lip "Kuchiyose no jutsu: Hebi Kokuou Manda-sama!" she shouted and slammed her right hand against the snake sannin's blood. The moment her palm smeared the crimson liquid the scroll's seal construct exploded into a violent purplish glow and fiery chakra erupted all around the five sound nin.

A vortex of swirling life force rotating around them briefly before a massive shock wave rocked the area. All five sound-nin were launched backwards, their chakra nearly depleted as their weary bodies crashed into the ground painfully. A massive cloud of smoke arose from the scroll, choking the cavern in a screen of white; preceding the appearance of an oppressive, titanic life force.

A loud and impatient hiss exploded throughout the cavern, originating from within the veil of white. "OROCHIMARU! Where the hell are you, you stingy bastard? How dare you summon me and then hide from me like this? You know it isn't going to help you! You still owe me sacrifices from the last time!"

Meanwhile the leader of Hidden Waterfall, the young Shibuki, tried to calm down the panicking human mass of hysteric civilians that were running about madly in all directions. The chaotic herd desperately sought shelter and cover from the danger approaching their home. "What the hell is this? An invasion, a sneak attack? It doesn't make sense! That's impossible, only Konohagakure and Kusagakure know the way to our village and they'd never betray us like this…"

Though he was barely chuunin level himself and very few Jounin survived their recent losses he had sent every able shinobi in his garrison to prepare for combat once they lost contact with Saito, Daichi and Hana several minutes ago. Now they were on full war alert but he knew the situation was dire as he could not reach their hero water with those ninjas blocking the entrance and he had in his stupidity neglected to carry it with him due to the festivities; a horrible lapse of judgment that would cost his village dearly.

He had also tried to send an expedition force to call for help and if fortunate enough retrieve the hero water but had lost contact with them as well. The fact there was only one entrance to the village had always been a double edged sword – it helped funnel their defense in one direction but also left them no escape venue in cases like this. He prayed to Kami-sama that he could protect his people and survive that day but as he looked up and his hope became bleak and delusional at best. "Orochimaru..."

The massive violet serpent rose to its full height, enraged slit eyes shifting around, seeking its elusive summoner. The snake king and Orochimaru had been partners and allies for almost three decades now and the snake sannin was perhaps the only creature in existence that Manda respected truly despite its derisive and disrespectful dialect towards the human.

It never denied its summoner's power and skill and it knew with certainty that if Orochimaru really wanted to, he could kill Manda. The summoner's power was a proved fact as the snake king had witnessed him perform a similar 'impossible' feat when Orochimaru singlehandedly defeated his mother, the former queen of snakes, when the snake summoner assisted Manda to usurp the snake throne.

None the less, Orochimaru didn't have to know that, if the yellow eyed human knew about Manda's caution and awe he wouldn't supply him with nearly as much of those delicious and gracious sacrifices Manda loved so much. However, the fact remained that the snake summoner still owed him twenty fresh humans. "Where are you…Orochimaru ?" The massive summon wondered inwardly before finally looking down at the insolent little female that was shakily calling his name for the umpteenth time.

"M-Manda-Sama!" Karin shouted fearfully and watched with disdain as the sound four edged away from her, leaving her to fend for herself against the mercurial creature. Much to the woman's displeasure and horror the snake king lowered its massive head; locking giant yellow eyes with her own, it's killer intent suffocating the red haired woman.

"Where the hell is Orochimaru? Don't tell me you were the one that summoned me? You don't smell like that purple haired brat he allowed to sign the contract all those years ago…" Manda hissed blandly and tilted its head curiously at the young female. However all sound ninja were taught one irrefutable truth - the snake's curiosity was not playful, it was merely a brief respite before it struck and it always ended with the victim's death.

The snake king wanted answers and it wanted them now. "O-Orochimaru-sama could not come in p-p-person" Karin stammered fearfully and shut her eyes as the snake king hissed angrily. Luckily before it could devour her it paused when she continued her panicked scream while lifted her arms over her head protectively, praying for her life. "He-he said he owes you sacrifices s-so he offers you all those people over there!" she fearfully intoned and pointed towards hidden waterfall general direction.

"Is this some kind of joke? I have to fight to eat all those people! That isn't a sacrifice! I won't be swindled by that bastard again?!" Manda exploded angrily and its killer intent washed all across the area, causing the defenders to falter in their counter-attack as all eyes turned to lock upon the massive cobra's temper tantrum.

"O-Orochimaru thought you'd say that…so he s-said he owes you twenty sacrifices…and there are over eight hundred people over there…s-so it should suffice" Karin pleaded with the massive snake king and hoped he would agree to the terms dictated by Orochimaru. For a brief moment she thought she had outlived her welcome in the land of the living as the snake summon opened its mouth.

Audible, rolling laughter exploded from the king cobra's mouth and it shut its eyes. It then turned its head towards the village without warning in a seemingly impossible feat of agility for a creature of its size. When its massive yellow eyes snapped open they were burning with blood lust and hunger that signaled that it was feeding time.

"That bastard always knew how to butter me up to his little lies and tricks; I must be getting old and soft for agreeing to this. Oh well, tell that bastard I'll accept this insult of standing me up just this once but next time he pulls something like this, I'll eat him!" Manda boasted in what both he and Orochimaru would always know was but a hollow statement to assert Manda's 'authority'.

Kimimaro and Juugo disengaged and pulled back, knowing that the snake boss cared not who was friend and foe when it fed itself. It would kill anything in its path and so the pair quickly joined the other five sound ninja. The seven agents of the snake sannin retreated to cover of the water and assumed a defensive formation, guarding the entrance and blocking any escape attempts. They would be the only witnesses to what would be known from that day on as 'The Day of the Crimson Waterfall' to commemorate the complete and utter destruction of hidden waterfall and all of its inhabitants – ninjas and civilians alike.

The second part of their mission would commence shortly and all they had to do was patiently wait for the massive snake to finish unleashing its hungry wrath upon its victims. Another move in the snake sannin's plan was now complete and the seven sound nin wondered just how much more blood would be spilled in order for the snake sannin's bloody vengeance to be realized? And would they survive to see its fruition?

---

A/N: This is where the first Act ("Death and Crimson Butterflies") of "Divergence Side Stories: Origins of Madness" is fitted into this AU universe. Read it if you endeavor to delve into the past of Orochimaru and his descent into bloody madness if you will it, if not - read onwards on your leisure :)

---

Jutsu list:

Kaze no Yaiba - Wind Sword/Blade - A wind elemental technique that has the user create a blade of supersonic wind with extreme cutting power.
Kage Bushin no Jutsu - Shadow clone technique - enough said.
Fuuton: Reppushou - Wind Release: Gale Wind Palm - A low level wind technique that sends a strong gust of wind towards one's target. When acting in conjunction with another thrown weapon, the wind can increase its power and deadliness.
Kagura Shingan - Kagura's mind eye - Karin's unique ninjutsu technique that uses her innate chakra sensory abilities to locate nearby chakra signatures, asses their strength as well as detect incoming chakra based attacks.
Tsubaki no Mai - Dance of the Camilla - A unique taijutsu style invented by Kimimaro that revolves around his usage of his shoulder bone sword.
Teshi Sendan - Ten finger drilling bullets - A unique Kaguya technique where the user shoot his condensed, steel strong fingertip bones at the foe as projectiles.
Yanagi no Mai - Dance of the Willows - A unique taijutsu style invented by Kimimaro that revolves around his usage of his forearm bones that protude in form of blades as well as the usage of long blade like bones from his knees, shoulders and elbows.
Kuchiyose no jutsu: Hebi Kokuou Manda-sama - Summoning technique: Snake King Lord Manda - A specialized summoning technique that requires insane amounts of chakra. the summoner will key onto the chakra of the snake boss manda and summon him into the world. The summoning is keyed to the summoner's blood so it is a mandatory element in the process along with said amount of chakra.