A/N: Now we can proceed! And this update has come rather soon don't you think? I apologize for the Curse-Mark scene by the way, but I plan on making a twist in this story from the original canon when time comes for Valley of the End. Do read and review would you kindly?

…

[Teams Seven and Eleven…]

Sakura had been keeping watch for the past half hour or so, with not even a stir from any of her charges, all of whom were laid side-by-side. In the meantime, she set up traps around the area, to make sure that nobody would get any closer. Being a part of Mistress Tsukiko's pranks had given her just a bit of experience in such things. True, she was not on the level of that whisker-faced loser (that she was barely starting to like), but she was good enough.

She also knew that the Kyūbi had asked for clothes after waking up. Looking through her inventory, she had a large shirt to cover her modesty, stretchy shorts, an extra pair of sandals, and a two-piece spaghetti-string bikini she had stored away in the event that she was going to take a dip (or attempt to seduce her mistresses). As she studied the red-skinned demon woman, Sakura could not help but find herself envious: the long and powerful legs of a goddess, powerfully-built, and well-toned abdominal muscles that seemed to be chiseled out of some iron-rich rock. Lithe and muscular arms that hid a great deal of power and large, firm breasts that could mesmerize men quite easily and were tailored specifically to her highly athletic build. Long hair the color of snow, pointed ears like those elves for a more streamlined and vulpine appearance, and the regal face of a savage and beautiful queen that scared and bewitched men with the fire carried those ruby eyes of hers. She was quite possibly (in Sakura's opinion) the perfect woman.

The sound of a throat being cleared brought Sakura's attention back to those ruby eyes that ensorcelled her to speechlessness. "If you're done satisfying your curiosity, would you please get me those clothes?"

Sakura obediently scrambled to pick up the clothes she had found for the red-skinned Amazon she had been examining. "Are you kidding me?" asked the woman in disbelief, gingerly picking up the large shirt and inspecting the bikini, "That's all you can get me? And what's with the bikini? Are the Uchiha still continuing their practice of slavery?"

"H-h-how did you know I serve the Uchiha?" asked Sakura, slightly scandalized.

The demoness snorted. "Oh please, I can practically smell the submission wafting off of you. It's a wonder I haven't decided to take you in such a manner that what the twins do to you would be nothing!" she said playfully, slipping on the bikini, "I still recognize the cedar-cinnamon mix that all Uchiha have coming off of you—it's not your native scent, so it was easy to tell that you are their slave. Eh, but what can you do when this is the slave's selection? I suppose I can steal what I need later..."

Sakura could not believe what she was hearing. Before she could open her mouth, Kurama finished getting dressed and put up hand to silence her. "It seems some guests have arrived."

"So you managed to pick up on us," said a voice from above, "You must be very good if you're able to do that."

Sakura looked up to see three forms standing above them in the trees. One was a boy swathed in bandages, wearing a long-sleeved shirt with a fur cape on his back. The second was a girl with long black hair (even longer than Sakura's own) with a bow at the end and a beige vest. The last was a boy with spiked up hair who wore a black long-sleeved shirt under a long-tailed yellow shirt with the kanji for 'death' written four times on it. All three of them wore scarves and pants in urban camouflage, in addition to hitai-ate on their heads with musical notes engraved upon them. Those are the Genin from that new village…Otogakure was it?

"If your leader is who I think it is, then I'd recommend leaving right about now," said the demonic woman noncommittally as she stretched, satisfying cracks punctuating the air with every twist as she let out moans of pleasure, not even bothering to face the team, "In fact, I'd disregard any order you have from him involving these five, and tell him to shove it up his cock-hungry ass the next time you see him."

"Listen to me, you bitch!" said the boy in the yellow shirt, shaking off the blush that was forming on his face from the moans, "Orochimaru-sama gave us explicit orders to kill the girls and the guy you're watching over! Now either step aside so that we can do our jobs or you can take your slutty a-"

The boy never finished his sentence. A knee to his stomach delivered by Kurama immediately shut him up as he doubled over in pain, much to the shock of his teammates. From their point of view, the woman didn't move an inch. "I'm sorry," she said insincerely, with a dangerous grin on her face, "But anyone who calls me a whore, bitch, slut, etc. that is not close to my heart or is not someone I am sleeping with will be severely punished. Is there an understanding between us?"

"You can't order me around, you whore! I'm not-"

Once again Kurama acted, spinning around and landing a straight kick to his chest. With a crack, he was sent flying flying into a nearby tree at high speeds. The demon woman relaxed and put her foot down gently. "Oh dear me, it looks like we have a repeat offender here! Didn't his mother ever teach him how to treat a lady?" Her face hardened. "Seriously though, I'm going to warn all of you one more time: if you don't leave right now, there's a good chance that you are all going to die a most violent death, and you will have that asshole you call a leader to blame."

The genin wrapped in bandages looked scandalized for a second, but quickly regained his composure. "I appreciate the warning, but I'm pretty sure we can handle our jobs. Besides, I wouldn't want a beautiful woman such as you getting hurt or risk breaking her nails to kill us."

"Actually, it's not me you should be worrying about," chuckled Kurama, still with her confident grin, "But at least three of your targets will kill you if you don't leave before they wake. If that happens, I promise you it will be an extremely painful experience."

The girl on the Oto team was furious. This woman was obviously wasting their time! With rage clouding her thoughts, she spoke her mind, though she took care to avoid calling her anything vulgar. "Be that as it may, we have some work to do! This does not concern you lady, so why don't you just butt out and leave us be?"

Kurama merely sighed. "I don't think you have much a choice. In fact, you won't have a choice at all in about…now."

As if on cue, Rock Lee made his dynamic entry with a flying kick. The yellow-shirted Genin who had since recovered, received the attack fully to the face. "How un-youthful, attacking an opponent while they are down! Have you no dignity?"

"Look who's talking! The boy who's wearing the homo-jumpsuit!" sneered the bandaged one, "Besides, there's nothing dishonorable about attacking an opponent that's down. That's the reality of the shinobi life! We live for dishonor!"

"I will not have you dishonor the way of the shinobi any longer!" Lee yelled. However, before he could do anything more, the bandaged boy jumped aside. A blast of air roared past him, shearing a tree in half with its force.

"Who gives a fuck about honor or dishonor?" asked the boy in yellow, pointing his arms forward, "What matters is that we are going to kill your freaky ass! Isn't that right, Dosu?"

The bandaged one pulled back his sleeve, revealing a large gauntlet with large holes. Lee charged forward, only to be hit by a right hook from the gauntlet, which made him cough up blood. "I couldn't agree more with you Zaku," said the boy named Dosu, "As I said, we practically live for dishonor! And if it shows these leaf-headed pricks their true place on the food chain, then so be it! Now let's do our job and get the hell out of here!"

Now they could cut to the chase. But before the Oto kunoichi could say a word, her bandaged colleague raised his arm to stop and looked in another direction. "So, the homo busybody came with help," he said, "Don't tell me you're here to stop us too!"

The people nearby stepped from out of the trees. Much to Kurama's amusement, the new guests were Hyūga Neji and Higurashi Tenten, the former with the same condescending, holier-than-thou expression he always had. Tenten on the other hand looked apprehensive. "Actually," said Neji, not taking his eyes off of the bandaged boy, "It would appear that this is out of our hands."

Three screams of pain pierced the air of the clearing, and the Oto-nin looked around, shocked. Both the green-haired girl with the crossbows and the one with tonfa had gotten to their feet, standing guard over the twins and Naruto. The last three writhed and cried with pain as their skin reddened, their teeth and nails sharpened, and as their eyes flared open, they were shown to have turned an angry, glowing scarlet, with black sclera. They stood up clumsily, hunched over still and panting bestially.

Suddenly, Naruto threw back his head and roared, with Tsukiko and Satsuki joining in with their own shrieks of either pain or fury (it was uncertain as to which). The sheer, inhuman force of the sound reverberated throughout the forest.

…

[Team Gaia, at the moment]

Gaia stared dully at the corpses of her latest victims. It was not enough; she needed more. More! More blood! On her command, the sand began creeping towards the bushes to kill the eavesdropping rats when all of a sudden a deep, monstrous roar reached their ears. Gaia flinched, her sand automatically wrapping about her.

Kankuro gulped. "What was that?"

"I've heard roars before," began Temari slowly, "but that was not something I can identify. Whatever it was, I have a bad feeling about it-"

"...away..."

Temari looked at her younger sister and felt the blood drain out of her face. Gaia was shivering, her ringed eyes wide in fear as her sand gathered in a cocoon. "M-mother says we should run away," she stuttered, seemingly shrinking inside her sand, "S-s-she says that it is dangerous…it will kill us m-mercilessly if we run into it…s-she is…she is afraid!"

A sense of dread came over both Kankuro and Temari. Neither of them had ever seen Gaia break her poker face, nor had they ever heard of Shukaku becoming afraid. Sadly, this was not the time to celebrate their sister's new showing of emotion. She was right; whatever monster was out there was dangerous, especially if she was scared of it. Fortunately, they had just found the scroll they needed, so if they had to run, they might as well do so in the direction of the tower. Surely they'd be safer there?

Unbeknownst to them, the genin of Team 8 crouched in the bushes. "Thank Kami!" said Kiba, finally relaxing a bit, "I thought that psycho-bitch from Suna was going to kill us for a second."

"I don't think we're out of trouble yet, Kiba," replied Shino, his voice still level despite his obvious fear, "I believe that their idea is the logical one. Whatever it is that has the power to let out a roar this loud is likely to come after us next. I pray to Kami for the soul that runs into them, because my Kikaichu are also afraid."

Akamaru could only agree silently. They needed to get out of here, and fast! Hinata was frozen with fear as she looked in the direction the roar had come from. For some reason, it did more than terrify her; it gave her the feeling that something terrible had just happened. Even as she shook off her fear, she ran with her teammates in the direction of the tower. Yet she could not shake off the feeling that something horrible had just happened to Naruto…

…

[Team Hoki…]

"There's no mistake about it Larva," said the Nanabi no Kabutomushi, "That is the sound of someone who had recently awakened the Curse of Kazan."

His Jinchūriki, a girl with a light tan, green hair, and orange eyes, frowned internally. How can you be certain of that Chōmei? she asked, How do you know it's not some beast that was injured?

Chōmei settled down slightly, but the nervousness did not entirely dissipate. "No injury could produce a sound like that, Fū, and you are not ready to face victims of such a horrible curse. We need to run, before we encounter the ones capable of such power."

"Screw this! These exams are not worth it anymore!" shrieked one of her teammates, obviously shaken by the roar earlier, "Hoki, I beg of you, you gotta get us out! I have a feeling that whatever it was that made that sound is bad news!"

"Well, we can't exactly leave now, Shinzo!" snapped back Hoki, "In case you've forgotten, there's a lot of other teams out there willing to kill us. Since we've got both scrolls, we should just get to the tower and hope that we don't run into whatever is out there that made that sound."

"Fuck that! I'm running!" Shinzo turned and ran off, only to almost immediately snap a tripwire, triggering a trap that perforated his body with kunai and shuriken.

Fū and Hoki were instantly on guard, watching as a number of Amegakure ninja emerged from the undergrowth. All grinned at the misfortunate Taki-nin. Hoki cursed. "Shinzo, you stupid coward! I hope you rot in every level of Hell by the time I get to you!"

"Worry about that chicken-shit asshole later, Hoki," replied Fū, tightening the grip on her spear, while creating a small orb of chakra, "Right now we've got bigger fish to fry!"

…

[Team Seven and Eleven]

The roars died down, finally, and were replaced with heavy pants as the three red-skinned Curse Mark victims started marking their targets. The boy in the bandages finally managed to stop shaking long enough to get a good look at the targets he and his team were supposed to kill: two of them had been given the Curse Mark! Impossible! Why would Orochimaru-sama waste his power to brand the five of them with his special mark? This was bad... They needed to get out of there. With a silent command, the bandaged genin nodded to his team to make a break for it when they were intercepted by a large blue dragon apparently made of chakra looping around in front of them. Within seconds, the three of them felt something penetrate them from the back of their knees and then emerge from their kneecaps, causing all three of them to kneel with a cry of pain.

"Did you think we were going to let you leave alive?" asked Kikyo with a savage grin, "What about the blood that needs to be spread?"

"You're not going anywhere," barked Meilan, a golden aura flaring around her. She actually felt a little remorseful as to what would happen next. She petted the chakra dragon affectionately before it dissipated, "At least, not until the master and mistresses are satisfied with your blood!"

The victims of the Curse of Kazan leaped into the fray; the twins rushed Zaku before the boy lifted his arms quickly and fired an extremely large blast of air from his hands shouting "Zankukyokuha!" as he decimated a line of trees in one shot. However, even as the dust settled, Zaku felt each of his arms get pulled back to the back by a pair of arms, and a foot on each side of his shoulder blades. He screamed in pain as the twins pulled harder and harder, before his arms dislocated from the shoulder with a loud 'pop' and a dull 'crack.' Then there was the gruesome sound of flesh and cloth being torn apart. Zaku slumped forward, suddenly without his arms. Dismemberment complete, Satsuki turned the arm around to smack Zaku in the face with his own hand, such that he was knocked onto his back before she proceeded to beat him to death with his own arm, with Tsukiko following suit.

The Oto kunoichi could only watch in horror as Zaku was pounded to a pulp with his own arms. She had to avert her eyes from the violent scene, hoping that Dosu would survive and save them both. Unfortunately, she watched as Naruto stabbed himself with his own nails enough to draw blood. The crimson fluid took on the shape of a handle, which he pulled, the blood flowing out into a jagged blade. He dodged punch after punch that the Oto genin could throw at him until he instinctively found an opening. With a grunt, he ducked under a jab and stabbed his sword through his opponent's chest. After that, he formed another sword, this time from the bandaged Genin's blood, and stabbed him with that. Over and over Naruto formed a new sword, usually out of Dosu's blood, but sometimes out of his own, but always stabbing it brutally into the Oto-nin's torso. Finally, the blood-swords exploded, taking Dosu's upper half with them, leaving his legs to finally collapse.

For as long as she could remember Tenten had loved weapons. She loved the tender loving care that went into forging them and the intimacy involved in maintaining them. What she had just seen Naruto do to that bandaged genin had left her in a state of both awe and horror; to think that there were jutsu that could make such finely-crafted weapons out of blood. Surely only a monster could do that! But as she looked on at Naruto's face, she could not help but feel that there was a pain in those monstrous features that had previously been the boy she loved. The Curse would have to be subdued in order to spare him from more pain, and she had just the solution…she needed to find the right opportunity to pull this off, or else she'd suffer the same fate as that boy over there.

Neji on the other hand was frozen in terror and disgust by what he had just seen. The sheer brutality of the attacks was not lost on him, and so even he was afraid. So the dead last and the Uchiha twins were monsters! He'd find a way to put that beast out of his misery…him and his Uchiha devils. But right now, he needed to run before his team became next on the chopping block. Come to think of it, if all played out as he thought, then he would have poems sung about him—about how he vanquished the savage beast and the Uchiha demons. And then he could rub it in to his pathetic cousin's face that the boy she was enamored with was in fact a monster. A smirk graced his normally stoic face. Yes...that would be quite the treat.

Having finished with their victims, the Uchiha twins and Naruto turned their sights towards Sakura, the Oto kunoichi, and Team Nine. Their snarling most definitely put everyone else on edge as the kill seemed to rejuvenate the three of them. Naruto summoned forth all the spilt blood in the area, causing it to coalesce in his hand before solidifying into a black two-handed sword that seemed to burst at the seams with crimson blood. The twins did the same, except that the both of them only summoned enough blood to form a pair of shorter blades in each of their hands. With one final roar, all three of them split off, with the twins dashing in after the targets in front of them, and Naruto running away deeper into the forest. Just as the twins were about to strike, they were both attacked with a single chop to the neck that knocked them both out. As the collapsed, their skin faded back to its usual color, while their hair darkened, and the swords fell back into puddles of blood. "Didn't I tell you that you would die a most violent death?" asked Kurama, with her attention on the Oto kunoichi, "You have nobody but that stupid pedophile you call a boss to blame. He just had to give the Curse Mark to the wrong people."

The Oto kunoichi's eyes widened. This was Orochimaru-sama's fault? He gave these nobodies the Curse Mark? If so, then why send her team to kill them? Before she could think any further on the subject, Kurama cleared her throat. Kikyo and Meilan moved to flank the Genin, with the former aiming a crossbow between her eyes, and the latter looking ready to start beating her nonstop. "Now, before I go on, may I please have a name?" asked Kurama in a sickly sweet tone.

She cowered. "K-K-Kin…m-m-my name is Tsuchi Kin…"

"Mmhm, well then Kin, here's how this is going to work: you are going to give me your scroll. After you do, I will tell you exactly why your leader sent your team here and I can take you away for some treatment. Deal?"

There was no other option. Her team was already dead, meaning the scroll was meaningless. On top of that, it seemed Orochimaru had intended for them to die from the beginning. This thought process was exactly what Kurama was counting on. The demoness glanced at another female in the group. "You there, Mouse-girl!" she barked, getting Tenten's attention, "What the hell are you waiting for? If you love Naruto-kun as much as I think you do, then you'd better run after him!"

Tenten was curious. Just who was this woman? And how did she know Naruto-kun? No, now was not the time for questions. She realized that the woman was right; she needed to get to Naruto before he hurt anyone else! Ignoring the protests of Neji, Tenten sealed away both Mizu-hime and the short sword she sold Naruto in one of her weapon scrolls, and ran into the forest.

…

[Moments later, with Anko…]

As she ran through the trees of the forest, Anko had a gut feeling something bad was going to happen. She first noted it when she felt her Curse Mark burning, which meant only one thing: that bastard Orochimaru was here and she would be remiss if she didn't charge into the forest looking for him and the sweet taste of vengeance gained by finally killing him.

Midway through her pursuit, a loud roar resounded through the forest which chilled her to the bone; a sound that she attributed to the roar of some kind of beast being in pain. Whatever it was that made that sound, she needed to do this quick before she got mauled by it!

"Kukukuku…well, well, well. If it isn't Anko-chan! It has been a while, hasn't it?"

She knew that voice all too well. The voice that haunted her dreams and caused her nothing but pain. Her time for revenge was at hand. "Not long enough, Orochimaru-sensei!" she said, spitting out the honorific hatefully. Anko turned to see the very evil that took everything away from her, "What the hell are you doing here?"

Orochimaru had not changed a day since she last saw him, save for the injuries that adorned his person, which was all the better in her opinion. That meant her chance to be free of her past would be an easier job now.

"Oh dear, it seems there is bad blood between us," mocked the Snake Sannin, "Don't you remember the good times we used to have Anko-chan? How I made you stronger than the standard genin when I gave you my Mark?"

"When you gave me the Mark, all I got was pain from you, bastard!" yelled Anko, "Now what are you planning?"

"Oh just the usual," taunted Orochimaru, "My quest to learn every jutsu in the world. I found myself with quite an easy solution…the Sharingan!"

Anko's snarl could not have expressed her anger any clearer. "What are you planning to do with Uchiha Sasuke and Tsukiko?"

"Planning? Me?" he asked with mock-innocence. Then his expression turned bestial, "It's already done. Those two have been marked! Not only that, I also gave the Mark to the last Baihe, Shimura-chan, and your precious Naruto-kun as well!"

As the Hebi Sannin laughed maniacally, Anko's rage suddenly ebbed to be replaced by an icy fear. No, this couldn't be! She refused to believe it! "Kukukuku…what's the matter, Anko-chan? Afraid that you'll be replaced in my heart?"

...And just like that, the rage was back. "You can keep that space in your black heart!" she screeched "And I'll make sure Naruto-kun stays away from it as well!"

For the first time in a while, her former sensei's expression actually changed. There was genuine astonishment, before it stretched back into scorn. "So you love the gaki? Strange...from what I understand, you haven't spent much time with him…or have you, Hebi? But going back to the heart of the matter, the other three members of the 'Five Elements', like the Uchiha twins, showed me that they too have massive potential; as you can see, I had to be on the business end of said potential to find that out, and it wasn't easy to tire all five of them out before giving them my mark."

"You're not laying a hand on any of them!" barked Anko, "Not if I have anything to say about it!"

"Kukukuku…your reactions have been refreshing thus far! The anger…the fury! But I'm leaving now, with a message for Sarutobi-sensei: 'if you cancel the exams for any reason, I'll kill everyone taking it!'" As he sank into the earth, Orochimaru laughed darkly.

However, his laughter (along with his escape) was interrupted by a tackle from behind. As he stumbled, an immensely strong hand seized him by the back of the head and hurled him away. Orochimaru landed heavily and rolled to the side as a massive blade slammed down on the branch next to him. Rather than being bisected by the attack, he only received a gash on his arm that bled profusely.

Quickly, he drew his Kusanagi no Tsurugi. However, he had no opportunity to attack with it and was forced to dodge the vicious swipes from the large sword. Finally Orochimaru gained a foothold from a block and began striking back with his own sword. There was a moment where their blades locked and the Sannin was surprised to see that his assailant was Uzumaki Naruto. The boy had gone berserk, his skin a bright red. As startling and ferocious that attack was, Orochimaru found himself impressed despite himself. The blond (Or white-haired, now) Jinchūriki was quite skilled; he had already advanced his Curse Mark, somehow without the processes he himself had created to stimulate and accelerate it. Naruto's attacks were all much faster and stronger, and seemed to grow more so over time. In fact, the strength and speed increase seemed to grow in proportion to the blood that left his wounds. Naruto's recoveries were also a bother; every hit Orochimaru landed was quickly paid back with interest.

While the battle raged on between Orochimaru and Naruto, Anko watched in disbelief. Her former sensei was being practically dominated by a boy with a sword far larger than the infamous Kusanagi no Tsurugi. To think that this was the Naruto-kun she had watched grow up…the one she'd spent time with once in a while during her stint in the ANBU, when she was called Hebi. And she could tell that this was Naruto because of the whisker-marks on his cheeks (hard as they were to see), the hitai-ate being used as a blindfold, and the heavy shackles on his left arm, but it was as if he had become a monster that lived only for bloodshed; something that would have turned her on to no end were it not for the fact that this was not the Naruto that she loved. Every swing of the blade, every moment he recovered to counterattack, it was as though he were moving solely on instinct, such that Orochimaru could not avoid as easily anymore.

Before long, Orochimaru found a way to level the playing field so he could escape! He watched as Naruto charged in with that massive sword of his, and waited for the perfect moment. As soon as the blind genin swung his blade in an attempt to disembowel him, the Hebi Sannin flipped into the air over it and with all the strength he could muster, sliced the zanbatō in half. He smiled as he saw the cut off half fell to the floor and turned to blood. His satisfaction turned to dismay as Naruto merely roared and jab himself in the chest with his sharp claws. Once more his blood flowed and solidified into the form of a handle, then the blade, and finally the tip before the wound closed up. Then Naruto jabbed the half of the first zanbatō into the pool of blood and instantly repaired it. Now Orochimaru had to deal with two massive swords as the blind genin charged in, and his strikes even faster now that he wielded two blades.

Orochimaru could not believe his eyes. This student of GSD was similar to Kimimaro, in that he could form weapons from blood, as well as regenerate from any damage taken! Oh, the possibilities...if only he could temper that apparently constant state of rage Naruto-kun was stuck in and claim his body, then not only could he learn his master's techniques and kenjutsu style, but he would also have control over blood! Not to mention the irony of fighting GSD with his own student's jutsu. Oh, he'd have many opportunities to claim the body. Just not now, right now he needed to escape. However, before he could plan ahead, one of Naruto's Blood-Swords made it past one of Orochimaru's evasive maneuvers and sliced into his stomach. Naruto grinned predatorily and channeled mana through the blade, detonating the weapon. Orochimaru exploded with great force, only for his body parts to turn to mud almost immediately. The blind Genin roared angrily as his opponent vanished, but paused. He turned his attention to Anko and sniffed the air, as if deciding whether or not to make her his next target.

"Draw!"

Naruto leaped to the side, avoiding a set of shimmering black swords, which slammed into the branch before fading away. "Now what's an angry fellow like you doing with a sword that size?" drawled Len Ferro, emerging from the leaves, "You're not just using that to compensate for something, are you?" Naruto roared back. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

"Be careful Len," said Ayakasia warningly, "You do remember what Minet said about untrained Berserkers don't you?"

Len smiled as he pulled out a scroll from his sleeve. "Aye, but relax 'kasia. I can handle myself well. And as long as we stay calm, these babies won't target us and I'll be able to settle this quickly...I hope."

Both François and Ayakasia knew that when Len chose to actually rely on his weapons, things tended to go their way. Nevertheless, François drew her combat knives and took a stance. For once, she thought more of survival than her fashion as she remembered their sensei's teachings. Minet was far older than she looked, old enough to remember the days when the Slayer population was greater and the Curse of Kazan was infectious. She told them that if they should ever encounter a Slayer who had gone berserk, they should expect damn near anything from them. She most harshly warned them to never enter battle with them while bleeding. The blood would set off the Berserker and give them a dangerous advantage, for they could forge weapons out of blood and increase their strength.

Naruto gave out a loud bark and used his free hand to jab himself in the chest, creating another large sword from his blood. "Geez, you're really making this harder on yourself," sighed Len. He pulled out a small scroll and unrolled it, releasing a pair of swords that he grabbed instantly. Both were identical in shape, slightly resembling scimitars but more jagged and dangerous. One sword was black, the other white, and both had three eyes on each side. They quivered in Len's hands, actually causing his arms to shake as they seemed to strain in the air, the eyes rolling and darting madly. "I'm serious," Len hissed at his teammates, gritting his teeth, "Don't make any offensive movements. The Twins only know the difference between 'attack' and 'don't attack,' nothing about allies or enemies." He crouched, his lips pulling back in a snarl almost as vicious as Naruto's, but...

"Wait!" called out a voice. The elves looked around to see Higurashi Tenten, huffing and puffing as she stopped, "Don't…I beg you…don't kill him…"

Ayakasia noted that she was carrying a small briefcase in her arms. "Girl, this is none of your business. We've got to stop that kid before he goes out to kill everyone in the exams!"

"I…I know about the Curse of Kazan," said Tenten, still panting from running all the way as she opened the briefcase to show its contents to the elves, "my dad just made a set of limiters for N-Naruto. I just need you to pin him down so that I can get them on his right arm."

Ayakasia briefly looked to her colleagues inquiringly. The question was quite clear between the three of them. "I'm not sure if we can," Len said shakily, still gripping his swords tightly, "The Feral Twins...won't go back into s-storage willingly...not until the 'challenge' is over. These weapons are for killing, n-not subduing. I don't think I can..."

"And what about Roxy?" asked François, appalled at Len's momentary thoughtlessness, "Don't you remember what happened then? Well, I do. I believe if there's a chance to save a victim from going uncontrollably berserk, I say we take it and save ourselves the unnecessary bloodshed. I don't want another person to suffer the same fate as her."

Len let out a grunt of effort and his arm actually jerked towards his teammate, the black sword letting out an audible snarl. "Right...here's a new rule: no guilt-trips while these things are out!" He took a deep breath to suppress the feral bloodlust of his weapon and looked at Ayakasia. "I'm only...giving you my opinion on how this'll end, but...seeing as you're our unofficial leader, it's your call."

"Unfortunately for you Len, you're beaten two to one. We're pinning the sucker down," said Ayakasia, before she turned her attention to Tenten, "You get ready. But remember, if we do this, you owe us big."

Tenten nodded, her resolve unshaken.

The three elves ran straight toward Naruto. Len took charge, unleashing a howl of fury that matched Naruto's, swinging his Feral Twins to meet both of Naruto's Blood-swords. All three found themselves in a brutal storm of deadly metal and blood. Even with their agility, the heavy slashes were barely ducked under and the savage thrusts were only barely sidestepped. Minet had mentioned before that Berserkers could be fast, but not this fast! That only applied to the Dark Elves of the team, though. While Len was only marginally less agile than his teammates, dodging was the absolute last thing on his mind. As long as he held his blades, there was room for only one thought: Attack! The High Elf roared with as much fury as Naruto, his black and white blades a blur as he slashed and hacked repeatedly, blocking the black and red blood-swords without a worry as he tried his very best to tear into the Berserker's flesh. Each time sword met sword, the edge of the Feral Twins bit deeply into the edge and body of Naruto's swords, damaging them far more heavily than a normal sword would.

Finally, Len's head cleared enough to allow him to jump back, joining his teammates as they retreated momentarily. All of them bore small scratches; however, unlike Ayakasia and François's normal crimson blood their third teammate bled the bright, viscous silver of Mercury. Grimacing at his own wounds, he quickly pulled out his scroll and sealed the Twins away again. Then he immediately pointed at Naruto. "Bind!" Instantly black chains materialized and bound Naruto to his tree. The Jinchūriki roared, whether with anger or pain, it was unclear with the jagged wounds Len had inflicted on him. Even as they watched, they steamed and began to heal over. "Oh, that's not fair!" the large elf complained, "Why can't I heal like that?" He sighed and glanced at Ayakasia and Françoise. "I don't think he can use mine, but since he's drawn your blood, we should probably finish up, yeah? I'm tired from using those two, so the chain'll probably hold for another minute or so."

"Since your blood can't be used to make weapons for him," said Ayakasia, "It's probably better that you do this yourself."

"Such faith in me," Len sighed, "Alright, I'll see what I can do." He pulled out Pendolo and shrugged off his trench coat. He spun the watch on its chain for a second before performing some strange maneuver with it. The chain lengthened greatly and whirled, twining neatly up his right arm, then down again with the watch itself coming to rest on the back of his hand. "Pendolo: Egida," he announced.

He jumped to Naruto's branch and, with a gesture, dispelled the chain. Instantly the Berserker charged, throwing one sword high in the air and swinging at Len with brutal speed. The blood-sword struck the watch with a clang and bounced off. The elves noticed as the chain pulsed at the impact. Roaring with anger, Naruto swung the sword furiously, only for Len to deflect it again with his right arm. Another pulse in the chain. Quickly growing frustrated, Naruto began swinging his sword viciously, trying to cut into the large young man before him. Unlike before, Len did not retaliate in the slightest; he only kept blocking with his right hand, and the sword did not even leave a scratch on the metal surface. All the while, the chain on his arm began glowing brighter and brighter as it absorbed the force behind the blows. However, Len was being forced to back up; his opponent's attacks were so frequent and fast that he had no opportunity to strike back. The force building up in his chain could be released for a devastating attack, but would leave him unable to defend while he did so. He needed to find an opportunity...it wasn't long until his back hit something hard and sharp and he cursed. The sword Naruto had thrown earlier had come down behind him, trapping him with the Berserker. Shit...let's see, do I keep building up power and get a sword up my ass? Or do I get skewered? What to do... Then he had an idea. It wasn't a particularly good one, but he could definitely pull it off.

Naruto thrust his sword forward, and this time Len actually moved into its path. The black and red blade stabbed harshly into the flesh of his abdomen and he gasped, silvery blood oozing from the wound. Naruto made a small noise of confusion when the blood did not flow to become a new weapon. He gripped the sword and tugged, trying to retrieve it to attack again. However, the sword would not budge an inch. "That hurt," growled Len, as the light began to flow down the chain's length into the watch, making his fist glow incandescently, "here, why don't you just sit down?!" Before Naruto could back away, Len punched him hard in the stomach. The force of over a dozen Berserker-strength sword strikes, driven by an iron-and-lead fist, slammed into his gut, breaking a couple of ribs and forcibly removing the air from Naruto's lungs. The blind Jinchūriki experienced a moment of rapid backwards motion, followed by an even greater impact as he smashed into the tree behind him hard enough to punch a large hole in it. Len grimaced as he felt the sword in his gut liquefy back into blood. "Hōden Kaeshi," he muttered, "Alright, do it!" he yelled at Tenten.

The bun-haired girl immediately ran to Naruto with both limiters ready. She clamped one on his left wrist and the other on his bicep. Naruto flinched unconsciously before his hair returned to its usual sun-kissed blond and the redness receded from his skin, until only both arms were red. Len's teammates ran over to him to see if he was alright. He just waved them off and drank some weird, metallic liquid, which stopped the bleeding. "Least he didn't hit any vitals," Len told them under his breath.

With a nod, the elves turned to leave; they had other things to do after all. But Ayakasia turned to face Tenten, who was now bandaging her charge. "Don't forget, you owe us. It may not be today, it may not be tomorrow, but we'll come to collect on that favor." With that said, the elf team left Tenten with Naruto's head on her lap running her fingers through his hair in a consoling manner.

"What...the hell?" asked Anko. Tenten yelped in surprise and looked around, having not even noticed her before.

…

A/N: We're getting the Preliminaries at a good speed aren't we?

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Dungeon Fighter Class Introduction:

Battle Mage—a mage that specializes in close-quarters fighting graduates to become a Battle Mage…they tend to favor the spear or the pole, and are best played with leather armor. Battle Mages enjoy making use of energy spheres called 'chasers' to buff themselves and to attack the enemy. Eventually, they will learn "Teana Transformation" which will further buff them and change their attacks. Fū is considered as a Battle Mage, while it is uncertain as to whether or not Moegi will be one.

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Dungeon Fighter Techniques Used:

Frenzy—the Berserker's super-mode; as long as it is active, health is drained at a steady rate but all attacks and recoveries for counterattacks are faster, become double-hit attacks, and have a chance to cause bleeding. Enemies that have been killed while bleeding heal the Berserker.

Mountainous Wheel—the Berserker leaps into the air for a heavy downwards slash, has a chance to cause bleeding.

Diehard—the Berserker's active healing skill, which gives them the nickname "Cockroach" among Korean gamers. The technique only works as long as the Berserker is low on health, and is one of the skills that uses mana instead of health.

Blood Sword—the Berserker summons blood into his/her hand to create a sword and stabs it into the opponent, causing it to explode.

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Songs Used:

"Asura Unleashed" by Chiyako Fukuda from "Asura's Wrath"—the slaughter of the Oto team

"Bad Situation" by Toshiro Masuda from "Naruto"—Naruto vs. Orochimaru

"Blood Pain" by Daisuke Ishiwatari from "Blazblue"—Naruto vs. Team Minet

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Vocabulary/Culture Notes:

Hōden Kaeshi—Len's jutsu, translates to "Discharge Return"