Secret Meeting

Team 7 stood in front of the door they were supposed to enter at the tower. Naruto had already taken Karin and her teammates to another doo for them to enter into safely. Both of Naruto's teammates seemed back to their old selves once they woke up which slightly annoyed him that they hadn't change a bit after that incident.

Naruto pushed open the dual doors. The team entered inside and looked around the large room to see that no one was around. The doors behind them closed. They each took a glance back then faced forward.

Sakura pointed up at the wall. "Look at that." She read the writing on the wall, skipping two words as they were missing.

Naruto looked at it suspicious. "What does that mean?"

Sakura turned around to face her teammates. "I think we're supposed to open the scrolls now."

Naruto and Sasuke opened up the scrolls of Heaven and Earth. Smoke came out of the individual characters that were in the middle of them. The two boys dropped the scrolls on the ground, letting them crisscross. All three young shinobi backed away.

Iruka came out of the smoke, standing before the group.

"Iraku sensei, what are you doing here?" Naruto questioned.

The young chunin teacher smiled at the group. "Congratulations, you've past the second exam." Iruka quickly went into an explanation about the point of the test and talked about the missing characters and their meaning.

"So, Iruka sensei what would you have done if we opened the scrolls before we got to the tower?" Sasuke questioned.

Iruka picked up the scroll, looking at it. "As usual, Sasuke you're as sharp as ever. If you were to open a scroll without having both scrolls or before you got to the tower I would have had to knock you out and you wouldn't wake up until way after the test was over."

"So can we go into the tower and rest now?" Naruto asked.

Sakura's eyes went white. She balled up her fist and glared over at Naruto, trembling in anger. "Naruto, would you wait a minute and let Iruka sensei finish."

Naruto looked over at the kunochi. "But we understand the meaning of the test already and you and Sasuke only just woke up after the incident back in the forest."

Iruka looked at the team. "Uh, Naruto's right. You all worked hard and deserve some rest after what you've been through so far. The third test will be even more trying."

Karin walked around in the tower. A hand reached out from the darkness and grabbed her arm, pulling her into a darken hallway. Before the girl could let out a scream a second hand covered her mouth to muffle her.

Karin was turned around to face the person who grabbed her. Naruto pulled her down on her knees with him at the same level. He took his hands off of her and raised a finger to his mouth. "Shh, I'm sorry if I scared you, but I just wanted to talk to you." He dropped his hand on his knee.

The girl from the grass village nodded her hand. "I understand, so what did you want to talk to me about?"

"First things, first how are your teammates doing are they going to be alright?" he asked.

Karin shook her head. "They'll live, but they're in the medical wing and it looks like they won't be able to continue on with the rest of the exam."

Naruto wrapped his hand around his chin, lowering his head. "I see, well at least they're alive that's wants most important." Naruto looked back at Karin. "And how are you doing?"

Karin placed her hand on her chest. "I'm fine, thanks for your help back there." She leaned in closer to Naruto. "I can hardly believe that you're Uzumaki too."

Naruto ruffled his own hair. "Is because of my hair? Because only my mother was actually an Uzumaki?"

"Who was your mother?"

Naruto putted his hand down on the ground. "Kushina, Kushina Uzumaki. She was the host of the nine tails and a powerful kunochi in her own right."

"Really?" Karin stared at him amazed. "What about your father?"

"Uh, I don't know," Naruto answered. "I never actually met either of my parents they died after I was born." Naruto looked away. "My teacher told me about my mother, but he said he wouldn't tell me about my father unless I became a chunin."

"I see, so that's why you entered the chunin exams," Karin said.

"No, not completely anyway," Naruto responded. He focused back on Karin. "I really do want to become a chunin so I can get a step closer to becoming Hokage, but yes I do want to know who my father is too."

Karin smiled at Naruto. "I understand that. My parents died when I was young too, but I at least got to know them before that happened."

"So you're parents went to the Hidden Grass village," Naruto said, pointing to her headband. "I heard our clan scattered after their villages was attacked."

Karin stood still for a moment. She was about to give a slow nod when she suddenly grabbed Naruto's shoulders in a panic. "Listen Naruto, you need to know something. I'm actually a spy for Orochimaru. Every since my village was attacked in my parents were killed."

Naruto got up on one foot, taken aback by this outburst. "Hold on a second, what are you talking about? Who's Orochimaru?"

"Haven't you ever heard of the snake sannin of the Leaf?" Karin questioned.

Naruto quickly remembered what Jiraya had told him about his former teammate sometime ago along with remembering his battle with the strange snake woman back in the forest of death that had frightened Sasuke cold and defeated him. He easily putted two and two together. His eyes opened wide in realization.

He grabbed Karin's shoulders. "Yeah, I think I met him in the forest of death. But why would you be working for a guy like that?"

"He took me in," Karin responded. "The reason he came here is to continue his experiments by taking the last survivor of the Uchiha clan Sasuke."

She placed her fists on her chest. "He wants to get his hands on the sharingan and destroy the Leaf village all in one attack. Ever since he took me in I've been experimented on and done experiments for him as he tries to unlock immorality and create new jutsu."

Naruto appeared sick to his stomach at the new information. He clenched his teeth. "I won't let Orochimaru get away with this." He stared intensely into the girl's eyes. "I won't allow him to use you anyway his whims choose."

Naruto slammed his fist over his chest. "I'll help you anyway I can. I'll even see about talking to old man third and my teacher. They know Orochimaru better than anyone."

"Are you serious?" Joy radiated in the girl's face as she grabbed Naruto's hand in both of hers. "Thank you, Naruto."

"N-Naruto."

Naruto looked behind him with Karin looking over his shoulder. Hinata stood in the middle of the hall. The two Uzumaki ninjas stood up. "What are you doing here, Hinata?"

Hinata spotted their hands together. She blushed and with her eyes shimmering her surprise. Her fist slightly rose to the side of her mouth as if to protect herself. "Naruto, why are you…." she trailed off.

Naruto looked back at his hand in both of Karin's. He slipped his hand out from hers. "We were just talking."

Hinata turned around with her hands down in front of her. Her head lowered so neither of the other ninja could make out how she was feeling. "No, I understand. I'm sorry I interrupted your conversation." A burning anger filled the young Hyuga's eyes. She ran down the hall with the two Uzumaki watching her until she disappeared from sight.

"I wonder what she wanted?" Naruto said out loud.

In a few more days the second test would official come to an end.