Chapter 9
The Infinite Reincarnator
The three individuals that comprised of Team Seven sped stealthily into the forest. They made the barest of sounds as their feet lightly touched the ground like a feather.
It was only moments ago that the second stage of the exams had started. As soon as the whistles were blown they blurred from the gate catching their gatekeeper off guard from the sheer speed they showed off.
The objective for this part of the exams was simple enough. Each team were given a scroll that was half of a set that was needed to complete the course. If a team were given a scroll that was designated as heaven then they needed an earth one to complete the set. The parameters being that the team couldn't open the scrolls until they reached the tower in the middle of the forest.
Quite simply, it was a battle royale to thin the herd.
"We should lay low near one of the major rivers. It leads straight to the tower so there should be a high point of contention with the other teams," spoke up Sasuke. "If we get there fast enough we can lay an ambush on another team and hope they have an earth scroll for our heaven."
"Fine by me. Hopefully it'll be Kiba's team or some shit. That stupid mutt is gonna regret talking shit to me."
Sakura frowned in distaste, but kept her mouth shut. This wasn't the time nor the place to incite an argument with her rambunctious teammate so she settled with a nod to Sasuke.
As one they followed Sasuke's lead to one of the major rivers to lay a trap for an unsuspecting team.
In here it was every man for themselves.
No team was safe unless they had made alliances with other teams prior to the start of the exam and even then they were possibly tenuous at best as everyone was seeking the vaunted promotion along with the glory. Some teams went into it with the slimmest of margins for survivability. Others were placed in for sure dominance.
Team Seven were going to prove they were the latter of the two.
"Oi! Shigure! A team straight ahead. Looks like they're bickering out in the open!"
"Heh – what a bunch of morons. Let's close in and get a better look shall we Midare? Baiu?"
Team 21 formally representing Amegakure no Sato for the Chunin Exams silently crept along the tree line to encroach upon their targets. They were a veteran genin team with about a year of experience under their belt that specialized in traditional Ame-shinobi combat. Each of them wore the standard get up typical of a shinobi that represented the rain village sans the rebreather.
"I'M TELLING YOU, YOU STUPID BITCH THAT WE SHOULD KEEP GOING!" yelled a dark haired teen to his teammate.
"No!" the pink haired girl crossed her arms defiantly. "We stick with the plan here and wait! There's no need for us to move when it's a guarantee that a team will come across this area!"
Their third teammate was rubbing her eyebrows in an annoyed fashion. "Ugh – please can we not argue here of all places? Daisuke-kun please! Just for once can you-"
The three Ame shinobi ducked back down in cover to convene. "Holy shit this Konoha team is dumb. It'll be easy pickings here boys," said Shigure.
"He-heh yeah… those two girls look pretty hot. I wouldn't mind getting to know them after we… beat them." Midare said lecherously while constantly glancing at the team that was exposed in the opening.
"That pink haired girl is my type alright. She's got a set of lungs on her, I can just tell she's a screamer. What's the plan Shigure?"
Shigure, their team leader, thought it over. "They don't look too tough. Besides its two girls and a guy against three of us. We'll overpower them easily and maybe after we acquire their scrolls we can enjoy the spoils of war a little eh boys?" A cocky smirk showed on his face followed by his the other two.
"Let's do it boss!"
He nodded. "No need for tactics. Let's meet them straight on! An honorable fight to prove our superiority against these trash!"
All together they leapt from their positions and appeared before the bickering Konoha team.
"Well, well, well what do we have here? A couple of green, wet-behind-the-ears genin team yelling in the middle of the forest."
On cue they all shared a menacing chuckle.
"You guys look like you're out of your depths. So here's how it's going to go: we're going to kill you first," he pointed at Daisuke, "and then we're going to have a little bit of fun with the girls before we go our merry way. No one's going to notice you scream in this forest."
For a moment a standoff had been made between the two teams that stood what looked like twenty meters apart.
The Konoha team at first appeared frightened at the Ame team. They even took a step back which caused the Ame shinobis to grin at their apparent easy victory.
They believed they had already won.
At that moment they assumed that they had it in the bag.
They were wrong.
The black haired girl's face morphed into a smirk.
"Now."
A soft hissing noise was heard.
Shigure's face contorted from confused to shock in a matter of moments. "What the-"
He couldn't even finish his sentence before an explosion erupted between the two teams. A wall of smoke quickly obscured his vision of the other team.
"IT'S A TRAP!" one of his teammates yelled.
He hesitated. For a split second he hesitated his next course of action.
Just as he made his mind up. Something pierced through the smoke. His mouth opened to shout a command to his teammates.
Too bad he never got a word out as a sword pierced straight into his mouth with such force that it decapitated his head. The body stood stock still as it twitched ever so slightly from the still active nerves before it finally collapsed backwards. All the while spurting blood from the neck like a water fountain.
The spray of blood from their former lead shocked the other two at how brutal the kill was.
"W-WHAT THE FUCK!?" exclaimed Midare. "BAIU! WE NEED TO RUN!"
Baiu to the left of him simply looked on in a catatonic state.
"FUCK THIS!" He made a desperate attempt to perform a jutsu. Midare was only able to make the ram seal before someone clamped their hand onto his and crushing them.
"AAGGGHHHHH!" It was followed up by the person smashing their fists straight into the sternum. The punch was so strong it ruptured the heart and lungs simultaneously turning them into a pulp. His body was sent flying back into the trunk of a tree.
It was a quick and morbid death.
The final Ame shinobi was helpless as his two teammates were quickly dispatched. All the bravado that he and his team shared was gone in the blink of an eye.
Where had it all gone so wrong?
A sound was made from behind him. It was the sound of someone stepping in behind him.
His breathing hitched as hot tears streamed down his face.
He was going to die.
Baiu, genin of Amegakure no Sato, was going to die in the second stage of the exams.
"I'm sorry." The person said. It didn't sound sincere at all. "It's either you or me."
He sobbed once more.
A gentle tap to the back of his neck severed his spinal cord from the head.
"Well that went better than expected," Sasuke noted.
"Yeah… and fast too. I didn't expect a team to show up that fast as well." Sakura added in.
"Pfft – these guys were a bunch of fucking idiots." He spat on one of the bodies. "Fuckin' thinking they're better than us and shit. Stupid fucks. Find their scroll already. I wanna get out of this shitty forest."
Sasuke was already on it as she retrieved her sword. "Lucky us. We got our earth scroll."
"Great! That means all we have to do now is head to the tower and we'll be done!" happily chirped Sakura.
The Uchiha girl nodded as she wiped off the blood that was on the blade. A satisfied grin was on her face. The plan went perfectly well. Almost too perfectly.
It was a simple plan of baiting a team by feigning incompetence and weakness and blasting it out as loud as possible. A stupid plan really if one were to ask anyone, but it worked somehow.
Sasuke pursed her lips together as she ran it all over again in her head. The plan should not have worked out so smoothly like that. The chances of everything going so perfectly to the T was abysmally small. It was starting to make her feel weary about it all.
"Something the matter Sasuke?" asked Sakura.
She looked up and shook her head. "No… just… well I didn't really expect it to work."
Her pink haired teammate shrugged. "It's just like what Naruto-kun said. Keep your plans plain and simple. You'll be surprised by the results they can bring."
"True… but I didn't expect it to work that well."
"Hindsight is 20/20 after all. They took our bickering at face value and didn't stop to think if it was all a ruse."
"Well I mean… I guess so," Sasuke faltered at the end. To her it felt as if everything was fabricated. That someone was pulling the strings behind the scene for the desired result.
"Yo – can we like... not fucking stand here? I fucking hate hearing that guy's name. If you like him so much Sakura why don't you go suck his dick already? You're already practically riding it," Daisuke rolled his eyes.
This time Sasuke rubbed her forehead for real instead of acting it out. "Let's not start out here please! Sakura don't!" she held the other person back. "And Daisuke-kun please!" she pleaded to him. Silently begging him to not start an actual commotion between them.
He clicked his tongue. "Whatever. Let's get the fuck out of here then before more scabs start poking their heads in to see what's up. Pretty sure everyone heard that explosion we set off."
And just like that he hopped up to the branches to make his way to the tower.
Sakura huffed out a breath of frustration. "That man I swear is completely deplorable. I don't know why you're still going out with him Sasuke…" she grumbled out the last part before moving out of Sasuke's vision.
Sasuke gripped the scroll in her hand hard and bit her lower lip. That last sentence that Sakura said twisted the proverbial dagger in her heart.
It stung.
It stung quite a lot.
"I don't know myself…"
The girl heaved a sighed before moving on to catch up with her teammates. She'd figure this out later when she wasn't in the middle of a forest.
A chill went down her spine as she looked at her surroundings. There was just something so wrong about everything that she couldn't put finger on it. Her gut was telling her something was up.
Shaking her head she pushed it to the back of her mind, simply chalking it up to nerves getting the best of her.
The moment Sasuke left the area a white snake slithered out of a bush. It's forked tongue brushing the air in the direction of where she was heading to.
"Kukuku… simply splendid Sasuke-chan!" A man had been observing everything from the get go. The man clapped his hands softly and smirked in anticipation at the coming confrontation. "Now let's see how well you dance shall we?"
At that the stranger blurred out of existence to head them off.
"So what do you think our time is gonna be? New record probably don't you think? Man I can't wait to see that stupid mutt's face when I see him."
Haruno Sakura rolled her eyes for the umpteenth time at hearing Daisuke brag. "Sasuke. How far away are we from the tower?"
"Shouldn't be too far I think. Maybe a couple minutes at most before we get there."
"Well the faster we get there the better. For some reason this forest is starting to become more unsettling than when we first entered."
"What? Got a bad feeling or something? Sakura, there's no other team in this exam that is remotely even close to us," Sasuke said with assuredness. "We already encountered a couple more teams along the way and eliminated them with ease."
"N-No… it's just that I felt like we're being watched."
Before Sasuke could reply, Daisuke rudely cut in. "Bah you're being a pussy Sakura. We've smashed through like four teams already and burned their scrolls. Dumbasses weren't even paying attention to us when we were coming in. Who the fuck would be able to match us?"
"Me."
At the sound of another person's voice they all stopped atop a fairly massive tree branch to look around for the person that spoke.
"Grrr," growled Daisuke, "Where the fuck are you coward? Show your face!"
"Right… HERE!"
A powerful gust of wind that was indicative of a wind jutsu blew all three of them off the branch down to the forest floor. They landed roughly on top of each other and scrambled to right themselves to fight against their unknown opponent.
Standing in the middle of the clearing was a rather effeminate looking male with long black hair and black eyes. He wore the standard garb of a shinobi hailing from Kusagakure. A devious smirk played at his lips as he watched them struggle.
"My-my, what a messy bunch you are. I expected better of you all, especially you… Sasuke-chan." The man drawled out lazily to Team Seven.
"Who the fuck are you?"
The stranger merely licked his lips with an abnormally long tongue. "What an absolutely foul mouth you have boy… you should learn how to speak to your betters with some respect."
An enormous wave of what seemed like chakra was released from his form causing everyone to drop to their hands and knees. All three of them began to pant and sweat as they desperately tried to regain their motor functions.
"Aww… it seems like you're not even able to handle just a smidgen of my paralysis. A shame really… I expected better of Itachi-kun's little sister."
A name drop.
Sasuke's eyes widened as she heard the man casually say his name.
His name.
Her older brother who massacred everyone that night.
'Who was this man?' she thought.
No longer did she feel the unending waves of the man's intent of submission. It was immediately replaced by an unending hatred and desire to kill her brother. The man before her had knowingly flipped a switch inside her mind.
Sasuke looked up and stared at him straight on with her sharingan activated eyes. She glared at him with a burning fury.
"Beautiful. Absolutely gorgeous Sasuke-chan… and in pristine condition! Absolutely wonderful!" he was complimenting her eyes. "I can already tell they can surpass Itachi's own eyes!"
Her body was no longer shaking at that moment. It had long stilled at the mention of his name. "I don't know who you are… or what connection you have with him," she spat, "but I'm feeling awfully graceful right now. If you tell me what you know about him then I'll cut you down swiftly and painlessly."
The man only seemed amused. "And if I don't?"
Sasuke slowly stood back up. "Then I'll just beat the information out of you!"
"My-my! Bold words for a weak little girl who's still nothing but a mere genin!"
"What the fuck are you doing?! We need to leave now!" Daisuke whispered furiously to Sasuke. "Did you not just experience what happened a couple of seconds ago!? Don't be fucking stupid! WE need to retreat!"
Daisuke's whispers were anything but that. They were clearly audible as the man in front of them merely tilted his head in even more amusement. He had even chuckled at the cowardice of it.
"Retreat? Daisuke! If you haven't noticed he's going to be following us nonetheless! We need to stand and fight!" Sakura responded back. "We'll die running like cowards with our backs to him!"
"Like I give a fuck! Do you not see how much stronger this guy is? Are you fucking blind you dumb bitch?!"
"You're absolutely incorrigible Daisuke! You're a coward at heart aren't you?"
"I'm not a fucking coward you bitch! I know when to fucking fight and when not to! Apparently you fucking don't!"
Sakura and Daisuke driveled on endlessly arguing whether to fight or to retreat.
It suddenly became all mute for Sasuke as she stood up straighter while looking upwards to the canopy of the forest.
"You foolish little sister… if you have any hope of killing me then you should run… run… and hang on to that miserable thing called life."
"No…"
Uchiha Sasuke would refuse to run from this man. She would fight this man and overcome him. The enemy before her was merely a stepping stone on her path to kill her brother and avenge her family.
"I refuse to run like a coward!" she roared to the heavens above.
Unsheathing her sword, Sasuke blasted off towards her foe with an ungodlike speed. Her enemy's eyes widened at the ferocity of the impact as her blade was blade by a kunai.
"Yes! YES! Just as I would expect of the Uchiha clan! Show me more Sasuke-chan! Show me your true power!" The man spoke to her in an almost delirious like state.
"GRRAAGGHHH!" Sasuke yelled with all her might as her blade sliced through the flimsy kunai that her opponent was using.
The man flipped backwards to create some distance between the two while simultaneously spawning over a dozen earth clones to distract Daisuke and Sakura.
'Sakura and Daisuke can handle the clones by themselves! This fight is between me and him!'
Shoving as much chakra as she could down to her legs, she rocketed towards him to catch up. Just like she was taught from Naruto, she had entered into his guard and stabbed forward with the point of her blade backed up with her two hands. The blow barely nicked her opponent's neck as he dodged to the side.
She breathed in. She would let her eyes do the work and allow her body to follow suit.
A silhouette of Emiya Naruto was standing before her facing away. The man in her vision was set in his usual stern, if not apathetic, expression.
He looked back at her.
"Can you keep up with me?"
As if to scorn her, as if to believe in her.
Her vision fires up.
Uchiha Sasuke will catch up… and when she did.
"You got it wrong! It's 'You keep up with me'!"
Her sword slashed to the left causing the Kusagakure ninja to duck underneath. She stepped forward and snapped a sharp kick. The man vaulted over her head to flank.
She stabbed backwards to deter him away before pivoting on the left foot to turn around. They had a glimpse of each other before the man blurred out of existence.
It was a game of speed.
But her eyes. Her eyes could see it all.
'I can see!'
The man moved so fast he was kicking up a trail of dirt all around her.
'I can see him!'
It was all so clear for her at the moment.
Every movement.
Every action.
Uchiha Sasuke could see everything her opponent was doing!
The black haired man lunged out at her with a fist that she easily dodged before answering back with an angled upward slash. His body twisted at an inhumane like way at just the right moment from the blade as it kicked up rocks and pebbles that littered a tree trunk with holes.
Following through the strike, she struck back downwards vertically at his midsection. It was a chakra enhanced slash which her opponent had not expected.
He had no idea she'd follow through on her strikes.
"Tch – irritating," noted Sasuke as the man substituted himself with a mud clone.
Her opponent sped off again circling around her like a vulture with its prey.
"Katon: Hosenka!"
Sasuke spat out a fireball just ahead of her enemy forcing him to stop. Another volley of fireballs were shot out of her mouth, peppering his location.
"Katon: Gokakyu!"
A massive grand fireball the size of a truck was bellowed out, engulfing his location and consequently obliterating the trunk of an enormous tree.
As the raging inferno swirled, her eyes stared on into the flames looking for any signs of life. Just as the fire reached its apex into the air, it was dispelled by a gust of wind from within. A black figure burst forth from the center like a bullet.
The lone shinobi tried swiping at her ankles, but it was futile as she saw it coming a mile away and jumped backwards.
"Haah…" she evened out her breathing and assumed her standard posture.
Sasuke could see the grass shinobi narrow his eyes. He was contemplating something in his mind. She needed to be ready.
Standing up from his position he raised his hands up into the air before bringing them down violently. A massive vortex seemed to have been cannoned out as he finished causing Sasuke to jump to the tree branches above to evade it.
'No it wasn't a wind cannon! It was a wind blade!'
It brutally bit into the base of the tree before slicing all the way through causing it to tilt and fall.
"Shit!"
Once more, Sasuke leapt from the branch and pulled out her sword to stab it into another nearby tree to slow her descent. Gently landing on another large tree branch, she began to hurriedly scan for her opponent.
A series of footsteps clunked against the massive branch.
Turning around, her face was met with a fist causing her to stumble backwards. Another strike came from her left. She tried blocking it, but was instead struck from her left again. The grip on her sword slackened a bit.
A knee to the stomach.
It was becoming difficult to hold on.
An uppercut to her chin staggered her.
Her grip weakened some more.
Finally a snap kick to her celiac plexus sent her sprawling to the ground.
Her hand let go of the sword, leaving it to clatter against the ground.
"My-my… you seem to be quite attached to that sword." He walked up to her prone body. "That was too easy Sasuke-chan. The Uchiha clan must be rolling in their graves to know that their only survivor is nothing but a weakling." He breathed in before shrugging. "Oh well, I'm just going to slowly beat you and when I'm done playing. I'll kill you."
Slowly, her eyes opened. She wasn't staring at him. No, she was staring at something else. His words would not get beneath her skin.
"Just like a bug Sasuke-chan."
He raised his foot to stomp her chest. For a moment he allowed it to hang over her. The shinobi was relishing the moment.
A terrible mistake to make.
With a resurgence of strength, she pulled on something invisible as hard as she could.
"What the?!"
The blade that was behind him was tied to a thin ninja wire that was controlled by Sasuke's hand. It perfectly slid across the ground and sliced into the Achilles' tendon of the ankle.
A look of shock was displayed on his face at the action.
Although Sasuke wasted little time in flipping away and launching her sword at her now vulnerable opponent. The sword hit its mark in the chest which blew him back into a tree with the blade sinking deeply into the trunk.
There was a decent distance between the pinned grass shinobi and Sasuke.
"Katon: Goryuka!"
Sasuke compressed a large amount of chakra and released it into the form of a mighty dragon head-shaped fireball. The temperature of the fire was so hot, Sasuke likened it to when Naruto had summoned the flaming sword all those months ago.
In her mind, she had hoped that if he saw her in action now that he would be proud.
"AAAAAGGGGHHHHHHHWWAAAAHHH!"
The screams of the shinobi burning alive from her technique was terrifying. It was the sound of someone being cooked alive while being helplessly pinned.
Sakura and Daisuke had finally caught up to their teammate after finishing off the clones.
"Sasuke! Are you alright?" asked Sakura. She knelt down beside her teammate for an immediate once over.
"Y-Yeah," she coughed. "A little bruised, but nothing permanent."
The screams had stopped by now. There was only the sound of the dying flames and charred wood cracking that could be heard.
"Man… you sure fucked him up good. Damn annoying bastard. All talk and no show huh?"
Sasuke tiredly huffed a breath of annoyance. "No… he was good. I was just… better… I guess." Her eyes glanced away not wanting to look at Daisuke. "Let's just get going alright? Before anything else happens."
"Alright, alright!" Daisuke threw up hands in surrender. "No need to bite Sasuke-chan! I was only complimenting you geez."
"How bothersome."
Team Seven froze at the voice.
All three of them looked at where the supposedly dead shinobi was pinned. The man gripped the handle of the blade and slowly pulled it out of his chest.
"No more games."
He inspected the sword, turning it this way and that before snapping the sword into pieces with his hands and tossing it away.
Before they could respond, he clapped his hands together and released another wave of chakra paralyzing the whole team.
They struggled.
They struggled as much as they could, but it was all for naught.
"I was mistaken. You truly do live up to the name of Uchiha." His face was horrifically burnt off. If they looked closely there was another pale face that lied beneath the cream colored skin. With his right hand, he wiped off his forehead protector revealing another symbol.
Instead of a headband representing Kusagakure, it was one of Otogakure.
"I do want you, after all."
Out of all of Team Seven, Sasuke was the one who struggled the hardest against the invisible pressure that be felled her.
"Hmph. With how much you're struggling, you are definitely his little sister. Those eyes of yours hold even greater potential than Itachi's."
Once again, his name froze her body.
"W-Who… WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!"
The smile on the person was hideous.
"My name is Orochimaru."
His hands formed an irregular seal.
"And I hold the power to defeat your brother."
His neck elongated and crossed the distance in the blink of an eye.
His mouth opened revealing a pair of fangs. He hovered above Sasuke's exposed before biting in deeply.
"SASUKE!"
"W-WHAT THE FUCK?!"
Sasuke gurgled. Pain began to fill her body. A gasp escaped her mouth before she released a bloodcurdling scream to the high heavens above. Her hands reached up to where he bit her and began writhing on the ground uncontrollably.
"Sasuke-chan… seek me out if you desire power beyond your wildest dreams."
"Y-YOU FUCKIN' SICK BASTARD! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?!"
Orochimaru merely smirked, but before he could say anything.
A red arrow smashed into his face.
A gruesome sight met my eyes when I had caught up to Anko and the other shinobi at the crime scene.
Four bodies were strewn about, three of them being participants from Kusagakure and one instructor. Limbs were torn about, some bodies had fist-sized holes punctured through them, and all of them had their heads ripped off.
This wasn't pleasant.
"How long have they been dead?" I asked out loud.
Anko shrugged. "From a rough estimate… maybe since the start of the exam?"
An eyebrow went up. "Almost two hours and no one noticed?"
She shot me an irritated look. "Yeah and someone's ass is going to be on the chopping block. Usually we have people making rounds to check on everything, but apparently someone neglected to tell us about Gate 15."
Expanding my senses, I reached out into the world with my Od to perceive anything that they couldn't. Through my nose I smelt something faint. It was there, but only of the smallest amounts.
A bounded field.
It was a meager field set up by someone to keep any curious bystanders from peering on. After a while it simply began to deteriorate and disappear.
A Magi was here then not too long ago.
"Ma'am. You should take a look at this one over here," called one of the instructors to Anko.
It was a head, except this one didn't have a face at all. As if someone erased their identity altogether. The sight of it made my stomach do a flop.
Anko muttered something that I didn't quite catch on.
"Uh… ma'am? What… did you say again?"
"Him… he's here, that traitor Orochimaru."
My heart almost skipped a beat.
"Anko." I stepped forward. "Are you serious? This was Orochimaru's work?"
"Yes. I'm a hundred percent positive that he did this. It has his signature all over it without a doubt."
That wasn't good.
This was beyond bad.
My head swiveled to the gate that was still open.
If Orochimaru was here impersonating a contestant and was in the forest then that meant… the thought trailed off. I connected two and two together to draw the picture.
Team Seven was in trouble.
"Oh no…"
Anko stood up and dusted her hands. "Call in the ANBU immediately. Lock down all the gates. No one comes in or out until everything is cleared."
The three shinobi saluted her before disappearing to follow her orders.
"Alright. Naruto we need to-"
I was already through the gate by the time she said my name.
Speed.
Speed was the main factor here that determined whether Team Seven lives or dies.
I was blasting through the forest, trees and all in my quest to catch up to Team Seven. It was fairly easy to tell where 'Orochimaru' had headed from. He didn't bother covering up his tracks very well.
Hopefully this allowed me to catch up quickly.
Breathing in to steady myself, I traced Archer's bow into existence along with donning the Red Plain Mystic Code. My eyes were scanning all around taking in everything.
I could see where the foot prints had disturbed the ground. There was only so much one could do to cover up their tracks, but a person would always leave a trail no matter what.
So far I was on the right path.
Everything around me was a blur as I bull rushed my way through the area.
"!"
"AAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHH!"
A horrendous scream pierced through the forest that was quickly followed up by a massive burst of chakra.
It felt sinister and sickening all at once as well.
I was too late.
Shoving that thought aside I immediately homed in on the location easily and tripled my speed. There wasn't any time to waste. Any monolithic tree that was in my way were felled by a reinforced arrow.
I was going to cut a direct path to them.
A thousand meters out.
There was a bounded field similar to the one Caster had set up on Fuyuki Bridge. One could liken it to inverting the world upon itself akin to a Reality Marble. It kept everything out without anyone being none the wiser of having passed through the area.
Cancelling out the field the traditional way would take too long.
I'll just have to take a page out of Archer's handbook.
Brute force my way from the top where it was at its weakest.
Just as I reached the outer edges of the dome, I bent my knees and launched up towards the canopy of the forest. Flipping once in the air, gravity began brought me down as I pulled all the way back on my bow.
The metal was audibly groaning at how taut it was.
It was starting to vibrate.
I wasted no time and released over a dozen arrows at once.
The sound of glass shattering graced my ears. I was happy that it worked the first time. It made me wonder if Archer was taking his sweet time trying to rescue me, Tohsaka, and Saber when we were trapped in Caster's field.
I wouldn't put it past him.
With a morbid satisfaction I looked on as an arrow smacked Orochimaru right in the face as I landed in front of Team Seven. I made note that Sasuke was still screaming her head off behind me.
"N-Naruto-kun?!"
"What the hell are you doing here?!"
I didn't bother responding to them. All of my focus was on the pale skinned man in front of me.
An arrow was knocked into position.
He merely looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "And who might you be to crash in on my fun?"
Here goes nothing.
"How'd you like me to refer you to as? Orochimaru or…"
A pause.
His yellow snake-like eyes narrows at me.
"Michael Roa Valdamjong?"
He frowns in displeasure. Bingo.
"How?" he simply asks.
The gig was up, then and there. He wasn't even bothering to try to refute the statement.
I scoffed at him," Are you so arrogant in thinking that the Church wouldn't attempt to keep an eye on you? Or the others?"
This man before me was known to the Shinobi world as Orochimaru, the treacherous rogue shinobi of Konohagakure. A man who was once under the tutelage of the legendary Sandaime Hokage and former member of the Densetsu no Sannin. What they didn't know was that this was a reincarnation of a man who once went by the name of Michael Roa Valdamjong.
Michael was the founder of the Burial Agency. A group of special Inquisitors gathered by the Church with the sole purpose of eliminating demons and Dead Apostles. Some millennia ago after its founding, he deserted it with the intent on becoming a vampire to reach the Root.
In time with experimentation through magecraft he was able to achieve his goal to where he was not only unending through age, but also in death as well through reincarnation. Although he is a Dead Apostle, Solomon had told me that he was considered an outsider and therefore not a part of the hierarchy of the Twenty-Seven.
The gist of it was that he apparently stole the forces of all the other Ancestors and tried conquering his way up to the top ten without courting the right individuals first in the aristocracy. As punishment for being an upstart they casted him away and do not officially recognize him as part of the clandestine organization.
But just because he wasn't part of the Twenty-Seven didn't mean he was weak at all.
'Orochimaru' clicks his tongue in annoyance. An ugly scowl adorned his hideous looking face.
"You seem to be quite knowledgeable boy. Humor me. Who told you? Was it that crazed bloodthirsty whore Narbareck? Or was it that moon-worshipping idiot treasure hunter Merem?"
His true voice came out. I refused to respond. Saying anything further would only be ammunition for him to use against me.
"Tch – what an annoying brat. I'll just take a wild guess and say it was both." He shrugged. "Oh well. How careless of me to be had by the jailer of the Kyu-"
I released the arrow which he blocked effortlessly.
…Shit.
"Touchy subject I see? Don't think you can fool me with that Holy Shroud you have on your right arm. Which one is it hmm? St. Peters? Clement? Or…" A nasty grin was flashed to me. "Martin's?"
He was messing with me now. It was my turn to be surprised now. It was all he needed.
"Of course it would be Martin's Shroud. Only it would have the potency to keep that power locked up. How's that arm of yours boy? Not going to be keeling over and dying in the next ten years will you? After all… you're only human."
How did he know so much?!
Was this the gap between me and a Dead Apostle Ancestor when I didn't have Saber with me? I was letting him monologue for too long. Enough was enough.
"Tell me boy, are you-"
Another arrow was shot to him.
That was blocked as well.
I followed it up this time with a stream of arrows that honed in on his position like a pack of wolves. He was countering my magecraft with his, but I made up for it by overwhelming him completely with an ungodlike amount of arrows.
Archer was able to unleash hundreds of arrows per minute casually. In-fact I think if he was ever serious he could've gone faster than even some machine guns.
The amount I could do was only a far cry to his performance, but it was enough to be able to deter Michael away from me. Each arrow was packed with enough punch to level a house down to its foundations.
"HAHAHAHA! WHAT A THRILL TO FIGHT A MAGE ONCE MORE! IMAGINE MY SURPRISE WHEN HE USES A PROJECTED BOW AND ARROW TO FIGHT ME HAHAHA!"
What an annoying prick.
"TOO BAD YOUR MAGECRAFT PALES IN COMPARISION TO MY OWN BOY!"
What an arrogant annoying prick.
I inhaled calmly and kicked it up a notch.
My face winces as a searing pain shot down my right arm. It was starting to act up again. Luckily my aim doesn't suffer as I keep on mark.
The regular arrows weren't doing anything. I needed something that packed a hell of a lot more punch than prana-infused arrows.
"Trace On."
With my right hand, the palm facing upwards, I traced a Noble Phantasm into existence from Unlimited Blade Works.
It was Caladbolg II: The Fake Spiral Sword.
I fired enough arrows earlier to keep the vampire busy for a few precious seconds. It was all I need either way.
My feet quickly settled into a modified Kyudo stance and knocked the blade. As I pulled back on the string, the sword transformed into a more aerodynamic shape of an arrow. My body groans along with the bow. It took tremendous strength just to fire arrows let alone a Noble Phantasm of this caliber.
The hands holding it all together jammed as much magical energy as it could into the weapon just before it reached critical mass. Arcs of energy danced around me as I steadied my aim.
"My core is twisted in madness."
The vampire made the mistake of being in mid-air. Easy target.
"Caladbolg."
The back blast was so strong I heard a pair of voices scream as they struggled to stay on.
The Broken Phantasm flew true on its path to the reincarnated vampire. Just as I expected he would do, he twisted his body in an unhuman like way. It wouldn't matter. The sword that was once wielded by Fergus mac Roich had the ability to create a twisting distortion in space when fired. So even if he had evaded the projectile itself, the space that was distorted did its damage.
In a fraction of a second the world lit up in flames as the ground shook. The arrow exploded, razing a significant part of the forest to the ground and engulfing it in flames.
The epicenter of the explosion had turned the earth into molten rock. All the trees that were unaffected by the fireball were set ablaze if they were close enough with others being flattened by the blast.
My eyes that were reinforced scanned the area for any sign of the vampire.
It was too easy of a fight and if being in the Holy Grail War taught me anything, was that if it was too easy. Then you had most likely failed in your objective.
"My-my boy. I would have never expected such firepower from a magi like you."
And there's the snake popping out. He looked in pristine condition as if he wasn't grazed by Caladbolg at all.
"As much as I would enjoy killing and experimenting on your corpse. I'll have to take my leave here. But don't worry… you'll see me sooner than you would expect. Ta~ta now!" The vampire receded into the ground to disappear. His scent quickly disappeared in a matter of seconds. He was fast to scurry off and hide.
Well… Merem was right. This guy was a huge annoying conceited prick.
I took a moment to survey the damage that was afflicted upon the forest during our fight.
A fourth of the forest was nothing but a smoldering crater now. The area that was once packed tight with towering trees that reached hundreds of feet into the sky had disappeared along with the explosion. It probably took hundreds of years, maybe even thousands, for it to have grown before a quarter of it met its demise.
"I… am going to be in so… much… trouble."
The sudden realization dawned upon me before I casually shrugged it off.
Whatever.
I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.
"Hey. Are you guys ok?"
Daisuke twitched. "O-Ok?" he started off. "O-fucking-K? I don't know if you got shit in your eyes dumbass, but I think we're far from fucking OK. What the actual FUCK was that?!"
I rolled my eyes, and ignored him to turn my attention towards Sasuke and Sakura.
Well… Sasuke was still writhing and twitching ever so often with Sakura trying to help heal her teammate.
"What happened to her Sakura? There was an enormous wave of chakra that was released not too long ago." I crouched down to inspect Sasuke.
"He… he bit her and now there's a seal on her neck," answered Sakura.
I moved Sasuke's collar out of the way to get a better look at it. The girl in Sakura's arm groaned in pain as I touched the area around it. Tender still I suppose.
Daisuke shoved me away from her when I tried to get a better understanding of it.
"The fuck do you think you're doing touching my girlfriend like that?"
I clench my fist.
I can't stop myself.
I punch Daisuke square in the face.
I honestly couldn't hold myself back anymore. This guy kept pushing his luck every single time. So now he was on his ass holding a broken and bleeding nose.
"I'm just going to make this short." I towered over him. "Shut up and stay out of the way you stupid idiot."
Of all the times for him to be a true and through moron. He chose now when Sasuke could be dying for all I know.
I truly resent the person that was on the ground before me.
My eyes glared into his. It was a cold glare that made him look away.
He was subdued… for now.
I turned back to Sakura. "Do you think we'll be able to transport her to the tower or no?"
"Uh… I-uh yes!" The pink haired girl fumbled momentarily. "Yes. It'll be best if we move quickly to get her medical help fast. We also have the uh… needed scrolls to pass the second trial too. We were just on our way to the tower before got ambushed."
I didn't really care about the exam. I was more concerned about their wellbeing.
Well… two of them at least.
"Alright. Tsubasa, carry your girlfriend. I'll take point. Sakura, make sure you keep an eye on Sasuke."
I turned my head to make sure the other male complied.
He did so without complaint.
Good.
He gingerly picked up Sasuke in a bridal style. At least he was being careful with her.
"Stay close. Let's move out."
The trek to the tower was traveled in relative silence. Aside from the occasional whimpering and groan from Sasuke, not a word was spoken among the group as they followed Naruto.
Tsubasa Daisuke had resolved to glare at the back of the man who saved him.
There was enmity between the two males. Bad blood that will not be washed away so easily as they both held each other in the lowest common denominator.
'Look at that stupid fucking getup he's wearing.' Angrily thought Daisuke. 'Who the fuck does he think he is wearing some prissy ass red clothing. Fucking touching up my girlfriend and shit. I'm gonna get him back for punching me in the face. Just you wait you bastard.'
As if the man had sensed that he was being watched, Emiya Naruto turned around for the briefest of moments to glance at Daisuke.
The man in front of him gave him a bored and disinterested look before quickly turning around.
Daisuke tisked and looked away to take a peek at the girl he was dating.
Uchiha Sasuke was beautiful in his eyes, but had some major baggage that tagged along with her.
'I suppose it's worth it if I can get to keep you as mine.'
She shifted in his arms and he repositioned them to get a better hold.
"Naruto…kun."
His heart stopped.
The black haired teen's breath hitched.
'W-What… the fuck did she just say?'
The hands holding her gripped tighter. His teeth started to grind and gnash against each other.
Sasuke's breathing started to get heavier. She was starting to sweat.
"She's getting worse. Naruto-kun, we need to pick up the pace!"
Naruto looked back at them and nodded. He doubled his speed as well as tracing his bow to clear a more direct path to the tower.
Daisuke felt his body tremble in anger.
Hate.
Jealousy.
That was what his heart and mind was feeling.
'Emiya Naruto… I hate you more than anyone else. One way or another… I'll make you suffer for what you've done.'
The status quo of Daisuke's life had changed with the introduction of Naruto and from here on out he was going to push back.
Author's Note: First off, apologies for the incredibly long wait. A couple of factors played into the delay such as loss of interest, writers block, and the decision to take a break until I got my muse back to continue the story on again. Honestly this whole making a story stuff is a lot harder than it actually seems. How naïve of me right? Well I'm glad I was able to type this up in under five days.
Anyways the focus for this chapter was being able to see Team Seven take over for a better part of the story along with Sasuke being the main protagonist for it. At the midway point is when Naruto's perspective takes back the story again. The whole Orochimaru thing is finally revealed and this is the point where the story picks up even more.
I know a decent amount of you addressed the lack of focus on perspective and well I'm still learning as it goes on how to do with first person and third person to flesh out characters. I'll probably look back on this and comment how much an idiot I was when I get better at well… story crafting, but I hope I've made enough of a distinction between the perspectives.
I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter! Please leave a review of your thoughts on the story and chapter! Feel free to message me at any time, I'm usually quick to respond! As always thank you for stopping by and reading my story!
Word count before A/N: 7733