A/N: Things are getting more interesting. Sorry for the delay, we wanted to make sure this chapter came out right. Thank the collaboration between me, Trixbella, and NorthSouthGorem for this chapter, and for the chapters to come. Do read and review would you kindly?

…

[Team Eight…]

"What scroll have we got?" asked Kiba as he looked around for anyone who might attack, as well as potential meals.

Shino pulled out the rolled-up scroll from his pouch for the rest of his team to see. "We have the Heaven scroll," he said in his usual deadpan voice, "we simply have to be lucky to find someone with an Earth scroll that we can take, assuming they do not overpower us."

Kiba simply grinned. "That should be easy. With our tracking capabilities, we should be able to find another team pretty quickly. And if they have the same scroll we do, we have more of a bargaining chip!"

Shino simply pushed up his sunglasses and looked back at the Inuzuka. "I would not count on that Kiba. One can only hope that we don't run into the Suna team…something about that red-headed girl bothers me, and my friends." By 'friends', Shino meant the swarms of Kikaichu that lived within his body as with all Aburame members.

Hinata, thus far, was the only one who remained silent. With a faint sigh, she thought back on how things had changed since a certain apple of her eye had returned from his training trip. For many years prior, she had always admired Naruto from afar, because of the way he simply shrugged off failure and kept trying. It inspired her to do better and find confidence in herself by following his example. Her admiration-turned-love was hidden (hopefully) from the eyes of the elders; those deluded old coots only cared about trying turn the entire clan into an army for them to eventually rule over all of Konoha and thought that the spa and the clinic was both a waste of time and a disgrace to the prestigious clan. Ha! They just didn't want to get up off of their fat asses and do some actual work during peacetime. Come to think of it, it wouldn't kill them to spend just a few minutes performing at least a proper diagnostic on a patient…or at the very least be grateful for the healing cream she'd developed! Hell, even her father approved of it, and he spent no less than 18 hours a week on diagnostics due to his position as clan head, not to mention that the treatments he administered brought more of an income to the family, as more patients and clients came by the hundreds to either have their ailments cured and their stresses alleviated.

Another secret she'd managed to hide for quite some time was Hanabi's shared interest in music when she caught her playing the piano very fluently…and that was while Naruto-kun was away on that training trip of his. After that, the two of them secretly performed duets on their mother's piano until they happened across a store carrying an instrument that caught their eye: the DJ table. It was not long until both sisters had learned to play better in sync, which filled the compound with a hauntingly beautiful sound in the morning when the sisters played on the piano (much to the disgust of the Hyūga elders, who stated that it was 'undignified and impractical' for any Hyūga to play any sort of instrument).

After having enough practice to get proper operation of a DJ table down pat, Hinata took up the identity of Risu and Hanabi Kago. Once they had confirmed their secret identities, the two of them went to Chōza-sama's bar and tried out for playing the DJ table after the younger of the two had gotten out of class and Hinata was found with free time. It would've been redundant at the auditions to say that the two of them were a shoe-in for the part, especially after someone failed the judges' expectations so miserably that it wasn't funny. It was easy when they both took their sides of the DJ table and played a song that made the judges want to dance; much to her surprise, Hinata was so caught up in the playing that she actually sang! And it was thanks to this that she and Hanabi were approached by Chōji to become the DJ's in the band he was forming up. She later learned, much to her joy, he was going to recruit Naruto-kun as the lead guitarist with Meilan-chan as the lead female singer!

"Hey, Hinata-chan," said Kiba, catching her attention as he leered at her lustfully, "You think after we're done with these exams we can go out for a date?"

Hinata turned red. It was not the cute, embarrassed flush that she emitted so often in Naruto's presence, but an angry coloration that showed danger for its target. Even in present company, she tried to keep a civil tone, but only wound up spitting out her words bitingly. "No thank you, Kiba. Now if you'll be so kind, we have an exam to focus on."

As if to stress the point, a cold aura filled the air; Akamaru shivered most visibly. Even Shino felt the freezing waves emanating from his friend, despite the fact that he outwardly showed no reaction; as a matter of fact, even his Kikaichu felt a great deal of fear. The only person who was not aware of this cold aura was Kiba, as he merely looked on at Hinata with that stupid-looking grin on his face, as if nothing happened. "Oh come on! Can't you even consider it?"

"No, Kiba," snapped the Hyūga, her impatience clear in her voice. Without warning, she chucked a kunai, accurately impaling the head of a big snake in an attempt to take her anger out on something else, "I've said it to you time and time again, and I don't feel like saying it to you once more. Now stop treating me like a broken record-player and leave me alone!"

Just as she reached over to retrieve the knife, Kiba grabbed her wrist. Not even waiting to hear what he had to say, she slugged him across the face, knocking him on his ass.

As if she'd not stopped, she pulled the blade out of the snake's head before swiftly decapitating the poor reptile for dinner.

Nursing his cheek, Kiba turned to face Hinata's back to let his rage and impatience be known with a shout. "WELL AT LEAST TELL ME WHY THE FUCK NOT!"

Not even Shino bothered trying to stay stoic as Hinata's cold rage intensified; Akamaru knew, seeing her flinch and bringing the blade down that that was quite the wrong thing to say! For the first time since he'd first started badgering the Hyūga heiress for a date, the foolish Inuzuka heir felt the full intensity of her anger. He staggered back, too scared to even care that the dog he had been paired with was pissing in his jacket from fear of Hinata's glare. To be honest, the quiet (but clearly angry and venomous) tone of voice she used made him start to piss himself, as he could feel the anger trying to penetrate his rib cage and impale his heart. "Why not? You've been prancing around in front of me not even taking notice of me for some time now, and now you ask me why I won't go out on a date with you? Don't tell me you've forgotten about what you did to a particular Hyūga member almost a year ago?! How you said something along the lines that my younger sister was not as pretty as me but that she was the only girl who was not taken by 'Sasu-gay' and that 'blind fuck'? How about when you slapped that little girl and told her that she belongs to you?! Or how about the reason you were being punished with a relatively light sentence by your mother? That, Inuzuka Kiba, is why the FUCK not!"

If Kiba's bladder was emptied out at this point, it would've been shriveled dry by now, and for a wonder he knew he should have kept his mouth shut, especially as soon as he saw that Hinata's grip on the snake had tenderized it on that area as she squeezed harder and harder. Why could the ground not swallow you up at opportune times? "Face it Kiba, you fucked up big time, and were it not for the fact that you are on the same team as me, I would've asked Naruto-kun to come over long ago and then allowed him to behead you for almost raping my sister and making her afraid of all Inuzuka members she runs into! Now if you ask me for a date one more time, consider your footing on that paper-thin sheet of ice you are currently standing on lost, and then I will personally guarantee that your manhood will be removed with the rustiest and dirtiest spoon I can get my hands on!"

His imitation of a fish gulping for air was pretty much perfectly done as, for once, Kiba was at a loss for what to say now, and the fact that foul language had left sweet little Hinata's mouth—come to think of it, he'd never seen her this angry before. And then it finally sank in: he'd almost raped and traumatized her little sister? You could see the light-bulb light up as he realized how far up Shit Creek he was, especially given the fact that she was still practically raw about what he did. "You and Akamaru had better head for that river nearby and clean yourselves up," she barked, cutting him off from even uttering a word of apology, "I refuse to eat here now that you're both covered in piss!"

As Kiba watched her butcher and skin the snake, no doubt pretending it was his penis that she was cutting up with that kunai if the anger behind her strokes were any indication, he gratefully took this as a cue to leave. Simply put, he scampered.

Almost as soon as he was out of earshot, Hinata stopped her butchering and looked at Shino, suddenly only mildly annoyed. "Do you think he got the message?" she asked Shino.

She received only a nod in return. That was alright by her as she resumed the preparations for dinner.

…

[Team 9]

The members of Team Nine all settled down to rest. Today was not a very lucky day for them. True, they robbed a team from Taki of their Earth scroll, but the problem was that they also had an Earth scroll. Not a bad start though, as it lessened the competition they would have in the future…by a little, at least. Not to mention that they would have a bargaining chip. "A shame we weren't able to hunt anything," said Lee, biting into a granola bar, "It would have been youthful to have a hot dinner for once."

"I don't care so much about the food as I do the tactical advantage," Neji replied, facing his colleague, "With the campfire cooking some meat, we could've used it as bait to draw in some foolish Genin team that is fated to lose by my hand."

Lee gained a competitive look in his wide eye. "Yosh! If that happens, then the next competition is on! I will get the scroll first, or I shall run a thousand laps around the village in shame for losing to you!"

Tenten on the other hand remained silent as she tuned out her teammates' conversation. Pensively, she looked down at a set of shackles that her father had hastily made. As rough a condition as they were in, they were still finely-made. When she asked him about why she had to make sure they went to Naruto, she did not expect the response she would get…

…

[Flashback: Higurashi Arsenal, one day ago…]

A sizzling hiss of hot metal being quenched filled the air, followed by an exhale of relief as Hiten wiped the sweat off his brow. Six straight hours of quick, hard labor tended to do that to a person, and Tenten was concerned for her father. "Dad, what's going on? Normally you don't do a rush job like this, and why did you ask for the seals that our ancestor made?"

Turning to look his daughter in the eye, he immediately saw her fear swelling up. With a sigh, Hiten put down the shackles he had just finished quenching and carefully placed them all in a box as he beckoned Tenten to follow him to the Sealing Chamber. Hiten was done making all three sets, so all he needed to do now was to write down the seals needed for them to work. He may as well fill his daughter in on it now. As he reached for the seal designs and the ink brush, he asked, "Tenten, have you heard of the Curse of Kazan?"

She was confused and said nothing for a moment as she watched her father add water to the grinder. He rubbed the ink bar on the abrasive surface before spreading out the scroll before him to be used as a diagram. Tenten knew that he was not watching, but that did not stop her shrugging in a manner that said 'sort of.' "Just a few campfire stories during my survival training," she began slowly, "about some kind of sickness that turns people's skin red, driving them crazy, making them kill-"

"They're not stories." Her fear increased, not from being cut off so suddenly, but by the words her father had stated so calmly and matter-of-factly. The so-called 'Curse' was real? As she watched her father finish writing the seal down on the first set of chains, she began to wonder why her father would bring up such a horrible thing—and confirming its existence no less. "I'm pretty sure you noticed when you first met him again, that Naruto now has a red arm," added Hiten as he calmed down, "and it was shackled with a set of heavy chains like what I'm making now. The reason he has to wear those chains is because it acts as a limiter, preventing the curse from spreading throughout his body. Thanks to the Rikudō Sennin, the curse is no longer infectious, but it is inherited."

Tenten could not help but look on, concerned. "What happens if the chains are removed?"

Hiten's attention had not left the writing of the seal on the shackles, and his large size and frame belied a dexterity one would expect of a pianist due to the neatness of his penmanship. "I've not seen it for myself, but I know from my lessons that if it were to happen under normal circumstances, the poor soul would first suffer incredible amounts of pain from the physical transformation and then go through a stint of dementia before finally winding up in a murderous rampage and killing indiscriminately. Naruto's case however, is different…and don't ask why, it's not my secret to share."

Once he was done writing the seals down on the last chain, Hiten gave the ink a moment to dry as he made a move towards the jar of lacquer he had nearby. Turning to face his daughter while opening the lid, he painted the lacquer over the ink. After adding the last coat onto the shackles, he waited for them to dry before handing one set to his daughter. The look of urgency on his face had made it clear how dire the situation was to her. "Tenten, if you love Naruto as much as you think you do – no don't argue, this is serious – then you will make sure that this limiter gets to him. I don't know why he'll need it, but something tells me he will. The other two are for the Uchiha twins, so you need only take this set; I'll give them to Mikoto-sama myself."

…

[Present]

Tenten opened the box and looked at its contents—it was just yesterday that her father had made her promise that the shackles would go to Naruto, but due to the chaos of the day's events, she never had a chance to get it to him. Especially given how many people had pushed her away from him and drowned her voice out from calling him. She could only hope that she finds him before what her father feared would come to pass.

"If you're so confident that you'll win, then why don't you do the youthful thing and make a bet with me?" whined Lee, desperate to get Neji to participate.

"Because it is a no-brainer," snapped the Hyūga prodigy in irritation, "They are fated to die by my hand…just as it is my fate to beat you at your little bet!"

"Then why not prove it, if you're so confident that you'll win?"

"Fine, since you put it that way, if I find that scroll first as fate so clearly decreed, you will have to treat me, Tenten, and Gai-sensei to whatever we want to buy for three years…weapons, clothes, whatever we want, you're paying."

Tenten glanced up at the mention of her name when Rock Lee flinched briefly before the fire returned to his eyes as he punched the air. "Yosh! I can handle three years of paying for the three of you!"

"There's more," continued Neji with a devious grin on his face, "If at any point you say anything about the 'flames of youth', you will add another month of paying for us!"

Now this was interesting! Tenten could only wonder as to what her colleague's response would be…what came out of Lee's mouth was not what she expected: "Very well, I'll just have to work extra hard to find that scroll first! However, should I win this bet, Neji, not only will you have to pay me, Tenten, and Gai for all our things for three years, but if you say a word about fate in that time, then you will have to run around the village in your underwear saying 'I submit to the flames of youth' in addition to paying for an extra month!"

The look of horror on Neji's face was clear! But it soon became a look of determination. No way in hell was he going to lose! Returning to his normal regal (read 'conceited') expression, the Hyūga prodigy raised his hand for Rock Lee to shake, and the moment their hands gripped together it became official that the bet was on. For the moment, Tenten forgot about the extra mission she had chosen to take up…there will be time for her to run into Naruto again. She could only hope that she found him before something bad happened to him, and before she could even get the chance to apologize to him for what her uncle did to him.

…

[Team Minet]

The team from New Lorien strolled through the so-called "Forest of Death" at a leisurely pace. They'd just received a Heaven Scroll, and so all that was required was for them to get their hands on an Earth Scroll. Unfortunately, they had not run into another team yet, but there was no need to worry; what Minet had taught them was sufficient enough for them to survive. "Ugh! This is just great!" said François, having stepped in a pool of blood coming from an unfortunate genin's corpse, "And I just got this armor back from the leather shop! Can this day get any worse?"

Ayakasia rolled her eyes, and let out a sigh of frustration. François was usually like this mainly due to her love for fashion. "If you're so opposed to wearing your favorite leather armor out shortly after it's been cleaned and repaired, then why wear it to these exams at all?"

At that, François threw her arms up in exasperation. "Because my scale armor is still being repaired at Sir Kargon's shop! This suit is mainly intended for when I have to do some intelligence-gathering or assassination, but I want some survivability when I do something like this!"

Len rolled his eyes but remained silent. You don't see me complaining about crummy armor, do you? he grumbled to himself.

Before Ayakasia could even open his mouth in retort, her ears had picked up a sound coming from nearby. At this point, Len and François had already picked up that sound, and all three grinned in amusement with the former breaking the silence. "We have company!"

"Well, well, well! Look what we've got here!" taunted a voice coming out from behind the New Lorien team, "It's that upstart team of pointy-eared freaks from that new place. What's it called again? New-something?"

The three elves turned around, and had a look at their new victims. It was a Genin team of two boys and a girl from Iwa, judging by their hitai-ate. One of the boys was bald and wore black monk robes over a white t-shirt, a pair of round green-polarized goggles, and beige shorts with his hitai-ate around his right bicep while he shouldered a long trident—obviously the leader if his posture were any indication. The other boy wore no top showcasing a well-built and battle-scarred torso, his pants were tied at his ankles with a tiger skin fauld over it, wearing his hitai-ate around his neck and a pair of gauntlets around his wrists as his shoulder-length hazel-colored hair extended in all directions while looking at the team from New Lorien with a self-assured look in his chestnut-colored eyes. The Kunoichi of the team had wine-colored eyes and hair the color of midnight, wearing nothing but a wide-sleeved light jacket with a high collar that went down to her thighs and bandages going up to her calves—she did not appear to be carrying any weapons due to the fact that her sleeves were concealing her hands.

"I think this gonna be easy," chuckled the brutish Genin, leering lustfully at the two elf girls, "This team looks too pretty…maybe they're weak as they look!"

"Such a shame," said the kunoichi, "Because it's a perfect waste to pair beauty with weakness."

At this, François looked at Len. "Did you hear a word they just said?"

"I think they're trying to insult us," Ayakasia murmured, smirking.

"Are you sure about that? Because I'm pretty sure the brute and the girl called us 'pretty'."

Len gave a bark of laughter. "Girl, in human terms we are pretty much the pinnacle of beauty! That and I'm pretty sure they're incompetent anyway, so let's pay 'em no mind."

This irritated the Iwa leader to no end. "Hey! Don't ignore us!"

Still ignoring them, Len and François continued their exchange. "Well what about that 'weak' comment about us?" asked François, feigning curiosity, "Surely they can't be serious about that?"

"Feh! Who knows? They can be as serious as they like, but I'll be the one to take the scroll."

Normally, François was a bit laid-back, whenever gambling of any sort was involved her competitive streak came out. "Interesting…and what will happen if I lose that bet?"

With a wide and devious grin, Len chuckled. "Hm…I wonder. Let me get back to ye after I win." A slight accent tinged his voice, hinting at the excitement beneath his calm exterior

She was taken aback by that wager, but François answered with her own devious grin. "Fine; but if you lose, then you must pay for every article of clothing I buy for the next two centuries with your own paycheck! Judging by the look of them though, I estimate that if we don't hold back, we'll do to them in mere moments what it took the Kīroi Senkō a couple of hours to do in the Third Shinobi War."

The taller elf's accent strengthened. "Eiya, yer an evil woman, Franky! But nothin' ventured nothin' gained, so I'll take ya up on that!"

Ayakasia sighed at the bickering duo beside her, but was amused at the brief look of horror on Len's face before it melted back into confidence. This was because whenever she was not training hard or on missions, François was what one would call a 'fashion fanatic' in her free time—often spending a good-sized amount of money on the latest fashions back home. To pay for her new dresses and kimono for the next two centuries would be devastating on one's paycheck at the rate she spends! Annoyed as she was with their antics, she also knew it was just ruse to get the enemy team to lower their guard.

"What'd you say!?" Those three shouted words had broken out of her musing, the raven-haired elf looked at the team leader of the Iwa-nin. "Say that again you prick-eared freak!" he shouted at Len.

"You heard her!" Len drawled out, accent gone, "She said that New Lorien can do better than the Kīroi Senkō in the Third Shinobi War when it comes to dealing with Iwa!" By now the team leader looked like a lobster, though the other two looked exasperated at their leader for actually getting provoked. "Oho, what's this? Have I struck a nerve with ya, cueball?" He thumped his chest with a fist. "Come on then, try an' stick me with that little pitchfork ya got there!"

Seeing as the conversation was definitely over, the elven team prepared themselves and spread out.

(Ayakasia)

Ayakasia kept a neutral gaze as she leapt from tree to tree, scanning her surroundings for any possible ambushes from other teams. The quaking of the ground immediately warned her of a threat and she jumped away from the tree she was on. Looking behind her, she saw that said tree was pulverized by the brutish Iwa shinobi.

"I commend you for sensing this one coming…" The Shinobi stated. The elven princess just stared at him with half-lidded eyes as if saying 'Is this actually happening?' He coughed slightly, "Well…despite what Taichō feels about all this, Yūsuke hopes you give him a good fight!" And with a couple of hand seals, rocks from the ground formed gauntlets on his hands and greaves on his feet.

Ayakasia jumped back, avoiding a literal earth-shattering blow from her opponent, and retaliated by throwing a handful of kunai at him. The shinobi blocked it with ease with his makeshift gauntlets and continued his charge by performing a body flicker behind her and aimed a kick to her head.

The elf ducked and had to roll away as Yūsuke followed up with an axe kick. Her eyes widened as a pillar of earth jutted out below her and hit her square in the stomach, lifting her body into the air. Flipping to get herself centered, she landed on a tree branch and looked around. She narrowed her eyes at her opponent being nowhere in sight and immediately widened them, yet again jumping away as the tree behind her ruptured and the Iwa-nin leaped out with an uppercut aimed at her.

Tired of being in the defensive, her eyes glowed silver and she shot off like an arrow. As she moved her body became outlined with blue and purple streaks. The hit connected and she quickly fired off a multitude of mana-powered kicks to the body before finishing with an axe kick to the face. The kick sent Yūsuke to the ground, but before she could continue her assault he managed to get a gauntlet and blocked her punch. Ayakasia cursed, and quickly substituted herself with a Bunshin just in time to witness her clone explode from a haymaker.

The blast sent the two flying in opposite directions and both slammed into a tree. Ayakasia grit her teeth in annoyance as she watched Yūsuke shake off her blows with ease. The Shinobi noticed this and rolled his eyes. "If you think that this one is going to explain how he is shrugging off everything you're throwing him like some run-of-the-mill Shinobi, then you've got another thing coming," he stated as he charged again.

"Hmph. A smart decision, but not one that will help you." The elf's eyes shone brighter and brighter, leaving white streaks as she moved, more mana circulating throughout her body. She charged as well to meet him as well, with her hands tensed and straightened, and with a burst of magical energy she sped up her body, her body a blur while her hands met their target. She reappeared behind him and was satisfied to hear the sound of flesh being cut open.

Like they always say; if it's not working, then you're not trying hard enough.

Confident of the fact that all she had to do was be more serious to injure the guy, she faced him and had to shift her body to avoid a punch, then a kick, then many more strikes aimed at her. She watched his face grow from serious to downright ticked-off as she effortlessly dodged his blows. What was funny was that she was forcing the Iwa Shinobi to just use his martial arts instead of complementing them with his earth techniques.

Her amusement was suddenly cut off as his frown turned into a grin, "Just kidding!" he put up the Ram seal. Ayakasia quickly sidestepped away, so fast that it left afterimages of her, and frowned as she realized that she never even noticed him faking it. She heard a 'tsk' and looked at him, "Yet again you've managed to impress this one," he admitted, frowning, "To avoid this one's rock prison technique is very commendable, as few have escaped it," he explained.

Yūsuke was answered with a flat look and the drawing of the elf's Kukris, "Ara, finally being serious against this one? Very well, Yūsuke will also bring it on!"

What happened next was quite baffling, albeit welcomed, to the Iwa shinobi. Next thing he knew, he was on the floor, quite hurt all over with a blood dripping down his nose and a goofy grin on his face. Then he blacked out.

-Three seconds before blacking out-

Ayakasia charged her body with mana, her eyes glowing like the moon and she disappeared from view. She then reappeared in front of the shinobi and did the unexpected.

She mounted his face.

Ayakasia had to stifle a groan as Yuusuke's hot breath did many unpleasant things to her nose, and she quickly twisted her position so that she could flip her opponent over on his back…quite hard.

-Real time-

Her face in a light flush, she adjusted her dress (as well as everything else) and walked over to the unconscious shinobi. She tied him up with extra strong wire and salvaged anything of value on his person before leaving him to the forest.

Let it be known that the elven princess was not afraid to use her own body to win.

(Len Ferro)

This cue-ball was most definitely going down! And as Len pulled out what appeared to be a long-chained pocket watch, he did not shift from his relaxed stance, much to his opponent's fury. The baldy started turning red as he tightened the grip on his trident. "You're going down, pretty-boy, or my name isn't Ankokuji Ekei!"

"If I go down, it won't be on you, ugly! I don't swing that way!"

A momentarily confused look crossed the Iwa-nin's face before it turned red with rage. The young man, now known as Ankokuji Ekei, charged and began to attack with reckless abandon, thrusting his trident wildly in an attempt to impale his opponent with the three tines of his spear.

Every attack was met with the same result: Len simply and effortlessly dodging his attacks as he tightened his grip on the chain of the watch; ducking, swinging, weaving, and back-pedaling away from every strike aimed at him by the crazy bald kid. "Oi…you're not very good with this thing, are you?" he muttered.

Frustrated with his lack of results, Ekei reeled back and had swung his trident in a single sweep to try and trip up his opponent only for Len to slide in quickly and twist his body in such a manner as to grab the trident. Using the moment of shock, Len yanked it out of Ekei's hand, spun it expertly, and smashed the butt end of it into its owner's face before throwing the three-tined spear away. Once the trident was a good distance away, Len pulsed chakra through the watch's chain and lashed out. The broad, round watch streaked forward, smashing through the haft of the trident.

"W-what? That's…" Ekei gasped, stunned.

"Hey, what's the matter? Was that your only offensive advantage?" Len turned to face his opponent, his face spreading in a sharp, predatory grin as swung his pocket watch in circles next to him. "Such a shame, too! Just when Idecided to get dangerous." With that said, he grabbed the slender chain with both hands and snapped it taught. An aura of black tentacles roared up around him, staining everything within a darker color; Len's skin turned gray, his eyes and hair white, and his clothes turned black and green. "Tch. Be grateful I'm even showing you Pendolo, let alone this." Ekei tried to ready himself in a taijutsu stance, but was stunned with a side kick and took an uppercut under his chin With a lash, the watch's chain wrapped neatly around his neck. There was a small *snick* and two sets of three curved spinning extended from the edge. With one last derisive laugh, Len pulled back savagely, decapitating the unfortunate Ekei.

"And then there was none!"

(François)

As she stared down her opponent with obvious disdain, François found that her opponent was amateur at best just by sizing her up. She sighed and she shook her head in disappointment. No, she was not amused at all! "It's bad enough that I have to fight the girl with no fashion sense, but the fact that she is also weak is a bit of an insult."

The scandalized look on the Iwa kunoichi's face was there for a moment, and then gone with the next as it was replaced with a predatory grin from finding a worthy adversary. As soon as she slipped into her pose, she pulled out a pair of long-bladed kunai from her sleeves. "Well aren't you cheeky? Nobody's been able to insult me as much as you and your team, and lived to tell the tale! Since that's the case, I suppose you can call me Shiragane Kotoko."

"I'm sorry, you say something? Because I was thinking of the fashions back home that I could try out…who knows, I may even be able to enthrall all of the men in your village and leave you a virgin in it!"

That did it. Kotoko charged in with her long-bladed kunai at the ready, slashing at the air. François ducked and wove under the swing. Another horizontal slash, and the elf back-flipped over it, ducked down low enough under the next one to perform a backwards sweep kick, and caused Kotoko to lose her balance before the sweep flowed into straight kick that sent her flying backwards into a tree. As she came to, she saw that her opponent was twirling one of her combat knives by the ring guard with a taunting smile on her face. "Since you're trying so hard to even scratch me, I'll humor you for a bit. Judging by how weak you are, I think only one knife will do."

With renewed fervor, Kotoko moved in performing a sort of ballet with her kunai; every swing she made was meant to go after a vital kill-zone. In her mind, as slim a profile as they have, these 'elves' still have a humanoid body type, and as such the kill zones that apply to a human should apply to them. While she had the right idea, and the fact that her dance had increased her speed somewhat, she still found herself frustrated as the elf dodged every swing. A graceful horizontal slash to the neck ducked under, a quick thrust to the subclavian artery in the shoulder sidestepped, and a bladed uppercut back-flipped away from. Upon landing on her feet, François inspected herself out of habit. She was surprised and infuriated to find a scratch on her shoulder. "Oh, you so did not do what I think you just did!"

"Grow up! Like a professional kunoichi has time to think about such things!"

François' eyes started to glow. "You're going to regret saying something like that…and you're going to pay for damaging my leather armor!"

François disappeared from Kotoko's sight. Before she could wonder where the elf had gone, she felt the blade of a knife penetrate her back before she was stabbed in her left triceps, and then her right. The next thing she saw was François dance around in front of her before driving her foot onto her chest to knock her back. The Iwa Kunoichi was forced to watch the demise of her teammates upon standing up: Yūsuke was knocked out when the other elf in the party threw him and then tied him down, while Ekei had his head cut off with that odd weapon…and now she was the last one standing. She could only think of one way out; pathetic as it was. "Wait, please! I-i-if you spare me, I'll put in a good word for you with the Tsuchikage!" she stuttered, maintaining every effort to keep control of her bodily functions and keep a steady hand on her kunai through her fear and pain, "He m-might enjoy the prospect of b-being allies with your people, if y-you're all that powerful."

"Really? And how much longer does he have to live until your people decide to betray and commit genocide on us, like the Mizukage Yagura with his own people?" asked Ayakasia derisively, as she walked closer with Len, "We elves have a longer lifespan than humans that can go on for hundreds of years. Do not think for a second that we were out of the loop when our nation was being formed; our spy network equals, if not surpasses, that of the great Gama Sennin Jiraiya himself, making us privy to things that would make your people white with fear…such as the fact that your dreaded enemy, the Kīroi Senkō, survived his encounter with the Kyūbi no Yokō by a son!"

Kotoko's eyes had widened upon hearing that. She could not believe it; the Kīroi Senkō had a son? This bit of information would be useful to Iwa if she should escape her encounter with those prick-eared freaks alive. She had barely taken a step backward when she saw François disappear in a 'whoosh.' Then she felt someone smash her knees forward, forcing her to kneel, and looking up, the last thing the Iwa Kunoichi saw was her opponent moving in front of her. Françoise twirled her knife at a high speeds before swinging the spinning blade up one of Kotoko's shoulders, then down the other, before bringing it across and through her neck. Kotoko's last sight ended with that of her headless body as François brought the spinning knife back down to catch it by the handle and shake off the blood in one motion.

"Rendez-vous en enfer, salope!" said François, watching as the headless and armless corpse slumped forward and collapsed, blood pooling beneath it.

Len shook his head, looking slightly aggrieved at the mess that was made. "A bit excessive to do the arms as well, don't you think? Why not just lop off the head an' be done with it? Or better yet, just knock her out like that guy over there?" He indicated Yūsuke.

François shrugged. "We may as well search the corpses, and see who won," she said, ignoring the question.

"Don't bother," interrupted Ayakasia, "It's not even the scroll we're looking for."

Both Len and François face-palmed. It was a draw…but the game was still afoot. Glancing at each other, they nodded in silent affirmation. Next time, the winner would be decided!

As they exited the clearing however, Len suddenly stopped, turned around, and walked back towards the Kunoichi.

"Oh come on, really? Now?" asked François in exasperation, "She doesn't need it, let's go!"

Not heeding her, Len kneeled on the ground and picked up Kotoko's severed head and turned it over, so he was looking at her shocked face and glassy eyes. "Don't mind her," he said, jerking his thumb at the Kunoichi's killer, "She's just pissy 'cause you laid a scratch on her armor." He closed her eyelids gently with one hand and set the head next to the stump of her neck. "Rest in peace," he said simply. Then he stood up, brushed off his pants, and walked back to his teammates. "What?" he asked harshly at their exasperated looks, "In times like these, one must respect the dead."

…

[Team 7]

Thus far, the all-girl team was having a relatively easy time in the Forest of Death. No luck in finding anyone with a Heaven Scroll just yet, but given time and luck, they might be able to find some idiots who would be easy pickings. Suddenly, a loud 'poof' was heard, followed by a loud rustling sound approaching quickly. Tsukiko pushed Sakura away and Satsuki tackled her sister, just in time to see a giant snake charge straight past them with its mouth open. By the time the tail of the snake had passed by, the three girls started to catch their breaths. "Is everybody okay?" asked Satsuki, in between pants.

"I'm fine," answered Tsukiko, "a bit shaken, but fine."

Sakura was about to respond when she heard a chuckle come from out of nowhere. "So it's true," hissed the voice, "the 'last loyal Uchiha' in this village are not fraternal, but identical twins! Imagine the looks on the faces of those inbred fools when they learn that their precious Uchiha are both girls!"

The three of them recognized the speaker…it was the woman who had looked at Naruto like a piece of meat and held a kunai using a long prehensile tongue. What could she possibly want from them? "I imagine that you didn't come here to chit-chat with the both of us," growled Satsuki, suspicion lacing her tone as she tensed and got into a ready position with her katana.

"…Tell us what you want before we decide to kill you!" added Tsukiko, with both of her short blades brandished and ready to stab her enemy to death.

The woman from Kusagakure laughed; there was no sign of fear in her voice. It was as though she knew the outcome beforehand. "If you insist, then here is my proposition…" the Genin of Team 7 widened their eyes in surprise as their enemy pulled out a scroll with the kanji for 'Heaven' on it, "I trust you are looking for this? Well then, it's yours!"

A look of surprise crossed the face of both twins and Sakura before melting back into suspicion. This was way too easy! "Well isn't that generous?" asked Satsuki sarcastically, "Here you are, offering your scroll to us—seemingly out of the kindness of your heart, by the way."

"But we're not stupid," continued Tsukiko, glaring holes into her opponent, "I am very sure that you wouldn't be showing your hand this early in the game and alone no less…"

"…Unless there was a catch!" finished both twins at the same time.

The Kunoichi looked shocked. "Amazing," she said, in faux astonishment, "I'd always thought that arrogance was in the Uchiha blood, but you two seem to have proven me wrong! Very well then, since the two of you have endeared me somewhat with your brilliance, I will cut straight to the chase: this scroll is yours…" the woman tossed the scroll into the air before wrapping her long tongue around it, and swallowing it, "…if you can cut it out of my dead body!"

Momentarily forgetting their disgust, the twins charged in with their blades at the ready. Tsukiko, being the faster twin, got to the woman first and began the fight with swinging both of her sword arms at the Kusa-nin in an x-shaped pattern only for the woman to step back and back-flip away from Satsuki who vaulted over her sister to try and deliver an overhead swing at the target and miss. Said enemy took another step back only to be kicked from behind by Tsukiko and into Satsuki's sword thrust. This would have been a killing blow, as the woman fell neck-first onto the katana blade, but unfortunately, she vanished in a puff of smoke, having replaced herself with a Log. She reappeared behind the twins with a wide, sinister grin. "Such exemplary teamwork," she hissed delightedly, "But I'd heard that all Uchiha were strong! Were the rumors just that?"

"What did you expect?" asked Tsukiko, taunting back.

"We're sisters!" continued Satsuki.

"Our bonds and teamwork is strength!" finished both. Tsukiko dashed around the enemy while Satsuki charged in with her katana at the ready and began to attack the Kusa Kunoichi with strong and deliberate double-handed sword blows. Her opponent took out a pair of kunai and dodged the swings, successfully parrying some of the blows at the expense of the kunai, which were quickly broken. At the same time, she found herself parrying many of Tsukiko's lightning-fast sword strikes while dancing over some of them. After a while, the Kusa kunoichi dropped the destroyed kunai, grabbed Satsuki with a great deal of effort, and used her other kunai to catch Tsukiko's twin blades in such a manner that she could not finish her scissors cut before she deflected both sisters' attacks away and kicking them both in the face.

When the twins got back up, they noted that their opponent was not even winded. It was as though she were toying with them. "Is this the power of your teamwork?" asked the Kunoichi in a mocking tone of voice, "Perhaps your bond is not as strong as you thought!"

The two of them were getting tired of this. They had to end this fight somehow, or else they would be easy pickings for the creepy evil bitch. "Screw this! I'm out of here!" screamed Tsukiko. She sheathed her swords and ran deep into the forest, masking her chakra signature.

"What the hell? Get back here you disgraceful excuse for a sister, and stop shaming our ancestors!" called out Satsuki after her apparently cowardly sister.

"Well, so much for sisterhood," taunted the Kunoichi, "But you did however, manage to impress me somewhat. I've never felt such brute force behind blows such as yours, and add to the fact that you can take more of a beating than your sister, it makes me wonder as to how much more you can take…" She darted in and began striking at lightning speed with her remaining kunai at Satsuki, who simply parried many of the attacks and back-pedaled away from the attacks before pushing back and countering with fast and heavy slashes, much to the surprise of the Kunoichi, who expected this twin to be slower. It seemed that while Tsukiko was significantly faster than her older sister, Satsuki was no slouch in the area of speed herself; and in addition to that, the elder of the Uchiha twins was patient enough to catch the patterns in the Kunoichi's attacks and counterattack accordingly such that she was unable to get back on the offensive.

Before she could think any further as to the tactics of the elder Uchiha twin, the Kusa-nin saw shuriken curving around in front of her and immediately found her body bound by tripwires, Sastsuki having hopped backwards a good distance away, just in time for the wires to wrap around their target and throw wire-entangled shuriken of her own at the kunoichi. As soon as she landed on her feet, and assured that her quarry was not going anywhere, the person who had been in hiding had revealed herself to be Tsukiko, with a bundle of straightened wires in her hands and a devious grin on her face to match that of her sister's. "The old coward trick," said Tsukiko mockingly, "Always an effective tactic to use when you know the opponent is cocky enough to not chase you."

"Hopefully, what we have in store for you will put you down for good," added Satsuki, making it obvious that she too was in on the plan, "I only hope that we can get our hands on your scroll when we do." With that said, both sisters bit onto the wire they each held and flew through the seals quickly, knowing that their opponent could escape at any time. By the time the last seal was finished, both twins concentrated their chakra on the wires they had in their mouths and let the Jutsu loose at the same time. "Katon: Ryūka no Jutsu!"

The flames traveled along the path set by the wire, setting the tree trunk ablaze and raising an unearthly shriek from their trapped opponent. As they watched the enemy set alight with victorious grins on their faces, Satsuki and Tsukiko patted each other on the back as Sakura looked on in amazement—yep, that was her mistresses alright! The cool and sexy mistresses that she was proud to be a slave of. "That's a classic trap on your end, sis," said Satsuki, congratulating her sister, "I can only pray that these scrolls are indestructible."

Tsukiko was ensorcelled by the beauty of the flames dancing before her. She blinked and glanced at the older twin. "Sorry, what?" she asked dazedly.

Satsuki rolled her eyes. "Come on."

The two of them moved closer to investigate the corpse when they heard quiet, disturbing laughter coming from the corpse of the Kusa Kunoichi. Looking closely at the remains of their enemy, they noted that the skin was peeling off like a suit, revealing a yellow catlike eye with purple eye shadow underneath. "Kukukuku…a good attempt, but ultimately futile," mocked the figure, this time in a cold, deeper, and most definitely male voice, "although I will admit, I was wrong about the two of you being over-dependent on teamwork; alone, you are already powerful enough…but together, you were able to hold your own against me. I see so much potential that it's dizzying!" He threw back his head and laughed.

The twins tensed and drew their weapons. They were tired, but they would be damned if they would allow this son of a bitch to kill them on the spot. "Who the hell are you?!" demanded Satsuki, with her katana at the ready.

"The fact that you survived our combined Jutsu tells me that you're no ordinary Shinobi," added Tsukiko, clenching her short swords tighter, "if that's the case, then what the hell are you doing in these exams?"

The person shrugged noncommittally. "If you must know, I am one of the Densetsu no Sannin…my venom will soon spread throughout the Elemental Nations, as I conquer it and the curse of death!" declared the Kusa Shinobi. She, or he, reached up to the peeling skin and tore the rest of it away, revealing a pale and gaunt androgynous face resembling that of a snake, with long black hair going down to the shoulder blades and a sinister grin putting all three Kunoichi on edge, "I am the Hebi Sannin Orochimaru, and your bodies shall be mine!"

A chilly sensation of terror had shot up the spines of Team Seven. This was Orochimaru? The worst traitor in the history of Konoha? This had to be some kind of sick joke! There was no way that Orochimaru, could sneak into the village, was there? Then again, it was possible considering that all of the Sannin were Konoha-born and raised. So frozen were they in their fear that they did not notice the Sannin move in for the kill with a Shunshin and his mouth open, When all of a sudden there was loud *clang.* Both Satsuki and Tsukiko looked behind them to see something they would not have expected, under the circumstances.

"I knew something smelled wrong about you," growled Naruto. He held his newly-bought short sword in his normal hand in a reverse grip, with Orochimaru biting down on the blade and looking at the blind genin in surprise, "I just couldn't place my finger on why a woman would give off the scent of a rotting corpse, as well as the scent of a man. When I sensed that you made a beeline for Team Seven after killing the people I assume were your teammates, I had a suspicion that you were up to no good."

With an extra amount of force, Naruto pushed the Orochimaru away with one hand, causing the Hebi Sannin to re-evaluate his situation as he slid back: not only was the Uzumaki here, but he'd also brought the last Baihe and Shimura Danzo's granddaughter as he had to dodge a super-powered overhead strike by the former and bolts fired from handheld crossbows in rapid succession by the latter. "You two all right?" asked Meilan as she recovered from her attack.

"W-we're fine," started Satsuki, finally snapping out of it.

"…just tired from fighting that asshole is all," added Tsukiko.

"I'll have to admit," continued Satsuki, "your timing was perfect."

"How did you get here so fast?" asked Tsukiko.

"Yes, I'm curious as well," interrupted Orochimaru, genuinely interested in the answer, "How was I tracked, and by a blind boy no less?"

With a smirk, Naruto formed a glyph over his head. "Aside from following your literally stinking trail, it was very easy. I learned long ago that when a sensor-type ninja is looking for someone's chakra signature, it is normally done by picking up the traces of that signature emitted by the subject. However, since I lost my sight, I am able to pick up chakra signatures even when they are masked, because masking your chakra signature requires you to pull in all traces of it back into your body and concentrating it, making you light up in my chakra senses like the full moon on a clear night sky."

This boy was the Dead-Last of the year? Ha! Mizuki and the other teachers of that pathetic Ninja Academy certainly were blinded by their hatred of the boy if this was how brilliant he really was! In fact, Orochimaru grinned hungrily at the prospects of taking Naruto's body. Yes, the potential was there as much as the power; and while he was at it, he might as well study more on that curious red arm of his…what was so significant about it that his teacher also had this arm?

Before he could think any more on the subject, Orochimaru watched as Naruto sheathed his short sword and brought out that Masamune he was reported to have. "This bastard is going down today, girls," he declared, "We need to work together like we did at Nami no Kuni in order to beat him. Remember this: alone, each of us is strong, but together we are even stronger. So…"

Meilan regulated her breathing before gripping her tonfa tighter. Kikyo reloaded her crossbows and made sure her drums of special bolts were ready in addition to her explosives. Even the Uchiha twins felt rejuvenated by the morale boost and readied their blades the anticipation of the next words.

"…LET'S DANCE!"

Meilan charged in for the first attack with a shoulder tackle to push Orochimaru back slightly, before he took an elbow strike to the abdomen, and then a back-handed punch to the face right into Naruto, who brought his sword into an upwards slash to stun the Hebi Sannin and then back down, Where an enormous wheel of energy erupted around the man's midsection. Fortunately for Orochimaru, the chakra he had pumped out of his body had saved him from being cut into pieces, but that did not last long as he was forced to dodge kunai being aimed at him from above by the twins and crossbow bolts being fired at him by Kikyo. Then he had to jump aside to avoid a large crescent-shaped wave of chakra flying towards him and cutting through multiple trees in one pass. Then he was hit from behind by a gigantic ball of lightning chakra. The next thing he had to deal with was bolts aimed at his head by Kikyo, laced with sealed Katon chakra if the fact that the trees hit ignited was an indication. He managed to dodge them in midair before he accidentally landed on a patch of ground and became engulfed in a pillar of lightning chakra.

It was a good thing he managed to substitute himself with a log…Orochimaru almost died from that! But his relief was short-lived as he saw eight Naruto's surrounding him, with four glyphs each over their heads. All had their blades prepared for a heavy downward swing with large amounts of chakra being charged into those katanas. His fears were realized when all eight of the Kage Bunshin, swung downward and fired enormous waves of chakra at him. Sparing not even a second, the Hebi Sannin leaped into the air to perform his Sen'ei Jashū to dispel all the clones, only to be intercepted mid-air by crossbow bolts, a ball of fire, a hail of kunai, and an aerial axe kick by Meilan to send him crashing into the ground, where Naruto was waiting for him. He had five glyphs circling his head.

By the time Orochimaru had gotten close, Naruto shot an arm into the air as all the glyphs shot into five equidistant positions to become gigantic chakra spheres that began to hit the Hebi Sannin rapidly and increasing in speed. He could feel the concussive force of each sphere as they crashed into his body at exponentially high speeds. Finally, the attack finished with a literal bang as all five spheres exploded, sending Orochimaru's now-limp body flying away. Naruto panted after the technique was finished; it was always tiring whenever he performed the Agni Pentacle. "Is everyone okay?" he asked, readying his katana.

"I'm fine," said Meilan, moving in, "I just hope we finally ended him."

"I don't blame you," replied Satsuki in between pants, "that man was just plain creepy."

"Somehow, I don't think this is the last we've seen of him," interjected Tsukiko, "it seems too easy."

Naruto was about to say something when he heard something that had just interrupted his train of thought. "Kukukuku…impressive," laughed the voice of Orochimaru from all directions, "I now see why you are all known as 'The Five Elements' in Nami no Kuni! You all have massive potential, even beyond the power I see in each of you! So much power and grace in fact, that just one of you is able to give me trouble, and together you may even have the power to kill me yet!"

This was bad…they were all tired, and Orochimaru being alive was not making things any easier. "Since the five of you have impressed me so much, I think I have a gift for each of you!" A scream of pain alerted the five of them. They looked around and saw a seriously wounded Orochimaru biting into Kikyo's neck. The suddenness of the attack threw the rest of them off, giving him enough time to release her and extend his neck at lightning fast speeds to bite Tsukiko on the left shoulder.

At that point, the shock from seeing the traitorous snake biting Kikyo in the neck wore off, but it was too late for Satsuki to save her sister. She ran at him, trying to ward him off with a short series of slashes. However, without even looking he blocked with his own sword, and much as she strained to break through, his arm did not so much as waver. She backed off and slashed again, only to stop as Orochimaru threw Tsukiko at her; she dropped her sword in panic, trying to catch her sister. She felt a pair of fangs pierce her shoulder, then pain.

Naruto did not know what was going on…one moment, the area was clear, and the next thing he knew, a thick fog of pure chakra had obstructed his chakra senses followed by Kikyo's scream. And as he felt the Uchiha twins getting incapacitated, he had only one conclusion: the Snake Bastard dispersed his chakra signature into the air, and effectively jamming his senses with static. "Meilan," he whispered urgently, getting the girl's attention, "I'm going to attack him, and I want you to run away. I know it's not the Baihe way, but this is important!"

"I'm not going to leave you Naruto," she snapped lightly, determination lacing her voice, "We're in this together, through-"

"Listen up!" interrupted Naruto, surprising Meilan at the fact that he raised his voice to her again, "This is serious! I know we're in this together, but this is not an opponent we can take on alone. When he lets go of Satsuki, I'll try to buy you some time, but you need to run as fast as you can and get help. I am counting on you!"

The look of shock melted away from Meilan's face before being replaced with conviction. As much as she would try to deny it, she knew Naruto was right. She simply stood at the ready, waiting…watching…timing the moment for her escape just right. A simple error would increase the chances of her suffering the same fate as the other girls, and Naruto in a moment.

Once he was assured that his task was complete with both twins Orochimaru set his sights on Meilan, who was not too far away from Naruto when she started running. The Hebi Sannin ignored his blind opponent, and went for the last Baihe only to be stopped by Naruto jumping in. He attacked with a downward slash from his katana while brandishing his short sword in the other hand. "You're going to have to get past me first, you disgusting bastard!" he barked.

He opened with a lightning-fast series of slashes at the head and neck, in an attempt to buy the girl more time to flee. However, the problem was that the Hebi Sannin had already wised up; instead of drawing in every trace of his chakra signature, Orochimaru dispersed it into the air. Now Naruto had to rely on his ultrasonic hearing in order to fight—which would be easier if the body in front of him had a pulse.

With every swing he dodged, Orochimaru's grin of amusement widened even further. "Since you've volunteered yourself so willingly, I think I'll humor you for a bit!"

In response, Naruto charged Hyōton chakra into his katana and swung upwards, releasing a wave of ice spikes upon impact. They travelled across the ground at the charging Orochimaru, only to have the Hebi Sannin leap over the wave and bite Naruto on his normal arm. The boy winced in pain and dropped his katana as unconsciousness claimed him. All the while, that abomination injected something in the wound.

…

[Elsewhere, far from the victims]

She'd been running for a while now, but Meilan found an opportunity to rest and catch her breath at the base of a tree. With the surge of adrenaline having run out, she silently cried to herself as to the likely scenarios that would befall her friends and lover…what that evil abomination of a man would do to them…what horrors that they would become. However, all thoughts of the worst-case scenario were banished from her mind as she remembered her mission. Naruto-kun's sacrifice could not, would not be in vain! She'd get help if she had to shout her lungs out with every ounce of Nen energy she had.

Her hopes were been dashed upon hearing laughter she seriously did not want to hear. "Kukukuku. That was a smart move, your boyfriend buying you time to flee and get help. In reality, even the dead could see that he just wanted you to get to safety while he attempted to hold me off…it's touching, really. A worthy attempt, but utterly futile!"

There was no escape. His attempt to save her was a failure, but at the very least she could go down fighting…at the very least she would see him at the other side if he died. Meilan strengthened her resolve, gripped the handles of her tonfa tighter and slipped into a fighting stance. As she did, Orochimaru's laughter filled the area. She was all alone…and she'd never felt as hopeless as she did now. But there was no time for that now.

Sensing the presence behind her, Meilan turned to land a heavy punch with her tonfa only to smash the tree behind her. Shit! She felt it. Orochimaru sank his fangs into her neck and caused her eyes to widen both in pain and shock, then the agony of something being pumped into the wound, and finally the blackness of unconsciousness claiming her…

…

[Team Seven and Eleven's current location, almost fifteen minutes later…]

Sakura still stood there, frozen with terror. Within a good ten minutes, her mistresses, Kikyo, and Naruto fell to the fangs of the evil Sannin. Due to her civilian upbringing, she had never learned how to weather such sights as what she had witnessed before her. Was she a burden? Could she do anything right at all?

The sound of something heavy being dragged across the dirt sounded. The Hebi Sannin came into view, grinning at his handiwork as he dragged the unconscious body of Meilan by the collar of her dress. As he released the last Baihe near Naruto's body, with smug satisfaction at the fact that the 'Five Elements of Nami no Kuni' were all marked. The Haruno girl looked ready to piss herself. "Now things have been set in motion, and the five of them will come to me for power," he taunted, grinning in victory, "This is but a small sample of the wonders I have in store for them. Perhaps they will be wise enough to take that potential to a whole new level! But as for young Naruto…I think I'll…" Orochimaru never got to finish his sentence. Naruto started squirming in pain and clutching his chest while the Uchiha twins grabbed each other's arms in an attempt to dull the pain, as all three of them moaned in agony. The traitorous Sannin could only watch in curiosity.

…

[Naruto's Mindscape]

Kurama felt it. The bite on that arm would not have any effect on her, but she knew its significance. That fool of a Sannin obviously did not realize what he had done. He did not understand the ramifications of injecting what he had just injected into Naruto-kun and the Uchiha twins. That idiot! And now she had to-

Her train of thought was interrupted as she turned around and saw someone she definitely did not want to see. A slimy black hand closed around her neck and raised her above his head, a sinister and sharp-toothed smile on his face. His dark laughter had told her that she was too late…he was already here.

"The curse has been strengthened in him," growled the black monster. He brought his blank face to hers, forcing Kurama to smell his disgusting breath, "That means that this house is now mine! Consider this your eviction notice, daughter!"

The Jūbi reeled back and threw the woman out through the roof of the mansion. He laughed evilly and in triumph. This mansion was now his!

…

[Real World]

The tormented screams still sounded off as the twins gripped their arms, and Naruto his chest. Obvious changes were taking place that Orochimaru had not foreseen; in the twins, their arms resounded with massive amounts of pain from the part where they were each bitten. They watched in horror as the skin of their arms had turned blood red, and their fingernails lengthened, ending in sharp-tipped claws before unconsciousness had claimed them both.

Naruto on the other hand, was suffering from more than just his right arm mutating: as he clutched his chest in agony, ten sharp-tipped protrusions sprouted from his back, before that patch of skin had started turning red and a pair of claw-tipped effeminate arms grew from his back and started pushing the rest of the body out and tearing his vest apart. The features started becoming more and more definite; a screaming head of a woman started to emerge from the flesh, and then snow-colored hair was sprouting from the bald patches. Finally the woman fell out of Naruto's body entirely, her red skin stained further with blood. The savage woman glared up at Orochimaru with hatred in her blood-red eyes.

"If you touch a hair on their heads, then I will kill you," growled the naked and well-muscled woman, "and if I see you again, you ignorant, power-hungry bastard of a snake, then I will kill you in a most painful fashion! Nobody messes with my future mate, and gets away with it! Now leave before I change my mind!"

He did not need to be told twice. Orochimaru was at least Kage-level, but he was no match for the power of a Bijū, least of all their apparent queen and in his current condition no less! With that thought on mind, he ran away. Content that the fool was gone, Kurama started to sway as she caught sight of the Haruno girl. "If you would be so kind as to get me some clothes for when I wake up, then that would be good."

Without waiting for an answer, Kurama collapsed, landing on Naruto in such a way as to press her large, firm breasts into his face.

…

A/N: The musical style of Hinata and Hanabi when they're at the DJ table is something along the lines of Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. As to eating snake, I've heard it tastes rather good…like a cross between fish and chicken.

Edit: Since I've received a complaint or two about how I went about the curse mark, I've attempted to try and rectify that mistake. Hopefully, it's more believable.

…

Dungeon Fighter Techniques Used:

Kunai – Throws a kunai or multiples of kunai that deal neutral physical damage to enemies

Diving Arrow – Dives from the sky, performing quick kicks and a finish attack that creates a shockwave

Transformation: Molting – Drops a doppelganger in your place and warps you away. The doppelganger will taunt enemies and if enough damage is done to the doppelganger, it will explode dealing neutral magic damage

Shining Cut – Slides forwards at high speeds to slash enemies

Eraser (Variation) – Grabs and slashes an enemy, dealing neutral physical damage. Attacking from behind deals additional damage.

Tiger Chain Strike (Female Fighter) – The fighter charges in and performs a shoulder tackle, followed by an elbow strike, and then following through with a backhand punch.

Asura Spirit Crescent – The swordsman holds his/her weapon ready for a downward swing, charges in all their chakra into the blade before letting it all out in the form of a cutting wave in that swing.

Nen Cannon – An even more powerful version of "Nen Shot", as it fires an even bigger ball of lightning chakra.

Agni Pentacle – The swordsman sends all glyphs created from "Wave Manifestation Brand" in up to five equidistant positions to create the appropriate number of large balls to smash the opponent at exponentially increasing speed; the technique ends in an explosion.

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Songs Used:

"The Dark Colossus Destroys All" by Okabe Keiichi from "Nier"—Angry Hinata

"Momentary Life" by Daisuke Ishiwatari from "Guilty Gear X"—Ayakasia vs. Yūsuke

"Nine Thou (Superstars Remix)" by Styles from Beyond from "Real Steel"—François vs. Kunai genin

"Orochimaru Battle" by Toshiro Masuda from "Naruto"—Satsuki and Tsukiko vs. Orochimaru

"The Game is Over when the Dragon Swims" from "Gundam Wing"—Team Seven and Eleven vs. Orochimaru

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Vocabulary/Culture Notes:

Leather Armor—contrary to what most people believe, leather armor has existed for a while now; in fact, it is an early form of armor before bronze came into the picture.

Ankokuji Ekei—the Iwa team leader that attacked the elves was named after a Buddhist priest that was alive around the Sengoku Basara where legends such as Sarutobi Sasuke, Kotaro Fūma, and Hattori Hanzō made names for themselves. Ekei was a diplomat for the Mori samurai clan, and eventually sided with Toyotomi Hideyoshi in his attack on Korea—unfortunately, he would go on to fight Ieyasu Tokugawa in Sekigahara and literally lose his head along with other supporters of Hideyoshi.

"Rendez-vous en enfer, salope!"—this is in French, and it roughly translates to "See you in hell, bitch!"