Hello FanFiction! This is pain17ification continuing "Kouma Shōkan".
Please note: pain17ification doesn't own anything except for the story idea
"Speech"
'Thoughts'
"Bijuu/Techniques"
'Higher Being Thoughts'
(Translations and Notes)
[Scene Shift]
Chapter 3: Examination Pt 2 (Forest of Death)
Team 7 leaped through the trees of the infamous Forest of Death as soon as the Second Exam started. Unknown to two of its members, a certain pegasus was right behind them keeping an eye on her blonde summoner.
Rainbow Dash could easily feel the hostility between the members of the team. Naruto couldn't tolerate them because they belittled him all of the time and they couldn't tolerate Naruto for being 'weaker' than they were. The pegasus shook her head with pity for her summoner. Clearly he got the short end of the stick in terms of teammates.
'And all because he's a Jinchuriki and hated by his fellow villagers… It's not fair,' she mentally fumed. She couldn't understand why he didn't seem to care about the hatred towards him. If she was in his shoes, she'd have most likely lashed out and gave into her frustration a long time ago. 'But then again, that wouldn't be the best way to go about it,' she thought with a sigh.
Truly, her summoner had a will of iron to have held out for so long.
"We need to stop," Naruto called out suddenly.
"Why dobe?" asked Sasuke in annoyance. He didn't like having Naruto try and tell him what to do, especially when the blonde was just a no name loser.
"I have some business to take care of," was the blonde's answer.
"Business? We're in a forest, you baka! What kind of business could you possibly need to 'take care of'?"
The Uzumaki rolled his eyes in annoyance and answered in a tone that would seem like he was speaking to a naïve child. "I need to take a leak, Sakura. What other business could I be talking about?"
Sakura blushed at his answer before she growled at him in anger. "Gross! You don't just say that to a lady, you disgusting pig!"
Dash really didn't like how Sakura was talking the blonde. Even she could tell what he meant and the pinkette was seriously overreacting. 'How does Naruto put up with her?'
"Just hurry up, dobe," Sasuke ordered as they dropped to the forest floor and the blonde walked into the foliage. As soon as he was gone, Sasuke leaped back into the trees with Sakura quickly following him.
Dash glared at them from her position and muttered, "Jerks…" before she followed after her summoner. She didn't have to go far and found him seated near a small pond, watching the small fish swimming in the water. "They just ditched you, Blondie," she informed him.
"I know… I knew they would, which is why I made up that excuse to leave them," he replied while patting the ground next to him. Dash knew what he meant and sat down next to him. "So, care to tell me about yourself?"
"Where did that come from?" asked the pegasus in amusement.
He shrugged and replied, "I just thought that we could get to know one another since you and the others are my new partners. If you don't want to talk, that's fine too."
"Nah, I don't mind Blondie. So, how did you want to do this?"
"Just tell me your name, likes, dislikes, and dream for the future."
She nodded at that and began. "The name's Rainbow Dash. I like flying, fixing the weather in Ponyville, my friends, and doing stuff that's cool. I dislike boring things, jerks, those who abuse their power, and those who mistreat others. My goal is to meet somepony special and start a family."
"That's a nice dream, Dash. I'm sure you'll meet somebody who means a lot to you," the Uzumaki said sincerely, earning a grateful look from the pegasus.
"Thanks Blondie… Your turn now."
"Okay, my name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like to read, study fuinjutsu, the rare few people who care about me, and finally you and the others for helping me. I dislike those who see me as the fox, those who hurt my precious people, being unable to stand up for myself, rapists, and perverts. My dream for the future…" He stopped, making Dash look to him in concern. "It was to be Hokage, but I know it won't ever happen. Now, my dream is just to find a place where people accept me and I can live in peace."
Dash looked to him sadly and was about to speak before they bother felt the ground rumble and heard a loud hiss. They looked across the pond and their eyes widened in shock as a giant brown snake slithered from the foliage, easily towering over them.
"Not good…" muttered Naruto as he pulled out a kunai and quickly wrapped a seal tag on it. "Dash, I need you to help me get to its head!"
"On it, Naruto!" she replied as she grabbed the back of his coat with her teeth and tossed him onto her back. In a blur of speed, she shot up into the air before she dive bombed toward the giant snake. Naruto had her roll forward until her back was facing the snake's head, and he kicked off with the kunai in his hand glowing a bright blue.
Unfortunately, the snake had quick reflexes and suddenly lunged its head upward with its jaws wide open. Naruto stared into the snakes open maw and scowled at the obvious outcome. "Shit…" he mumbled as the snake clamped its jaw shut and swallowed him whole.
"Naruto!" cried out Dash in worry as she rapidly flew at the snake and kicked its body repeatedly with her hooves. "Let…him…go!" she shouted between kicks.
Inside the snake, Naruto hissed at the burning feeling of the digestive fluids and stabbed his kunai into the skin. The seal tag on the knife lit up before a burst of electricity surged through the snake's body, making it convulse in pain. He then formed a cross seal and yelled out, "Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Mass Shadow Clones)!"
From Dash's point of view, she saw the belly of the convulsing snake slowly expand further and further to the point that it looked like it would pop from the pressure. Unable to take the pain from being over stretched, the snake disappeared in a plume of smoke, leaving nearly one hundred Naruto clones to fall to the ground with their clothes covered in fluids.
[Ponyville (Rarity's Boutique)]
A certain white-coated unicorn suddenly stiffened and narrowed her eyes. "Somepony has ruined the clothes I have made for them! When I get my hooves on them...!" she left the threat hanging while she shook her right front hoof threateningly.
[With Naruto and Rainvow Dash]
As he dispelled his clones and Dash landed next to him, Naruto pulled at his clothes and sighed. "Dash?"
"Yea?"
"Rarity's gonna kill me, isn't she?" he deadpanned.
The pegasus' answer was a sheepish look as she rubbed her head with one of her front hooves.
[Ten Minutes Later]
"Okay, I think that's the best I can do," Naruto muttered as he was now standing in the clearing with his clothes soaked from the water used to clean up the digestive fluids.
"Hold still, Blondie; I'll dry you up," Dash stated as she began to fly around him at high speed, forming a small funnel of rainbow colored wind. When the funnel died down, Naruto was dry while his naturally spiky hair grew even wilder.
He shook his head to fix his hair and said, "Thanks Dash. Now, let's go find my 'teammates'."
"Right," murmured Dash with a small frown, still remembering that they ditched Naruto who could've died by that snake.
The Jinchuriki and pegasus blurred through the trees in search of Sasuke and Sakura, the blonde somehow knowing where to go due to a feeling in the back of his head. He sensed a dark and cruel energy source and couldn't help but think that his teammates were near it.
They finally stopped when they were around thirty feet away and peered through a bushy tree branch. They saw Sasuke and Sakura standing on another tree branch across from a woman with a Kusa headband on her forehead. Naruto couldn't stop the bead of sweat that formed and rolled down his cheek as he felt that the source of the cruel energy was from the woman.
"W-Who are you?" Sasuke asked in fear, surprising Naruto greatly. "What do you want with us?"
The woman chuckled, sending chills down the backs of the three Genin and one pegasus. "Ah, such good questions from you…Sasuke," commented the woman with a distinct hiss when she said the Uchiha's name. "You look so much like your brother, Itachi."
Naruto frowned at that. How did this woman know of the infamous killer of the Uchiha Clan?
"You know of Itachi?!" asked Sasuke, his fear replaced by rage. "Where is he?! Tell me right now!"
"Now now, Sasuke… I still need to answer your earlier questions," chastised the woman with a cruel smirk.
"N-Naruto," shivered Dash. "This chick is creepy…"
"Yea…" agreed the blonde as he kept his attention on the conversation.
"As for your first question; my name is Orochimaru," said the woman in a much more masculine voice.
Naruto froze and started to pale in fear at the name. His mind worked into overdrive as he thought over his options and any kind of strategy for him and his teammates to get out alive. However, one thing came to his mind first.
"Dash," he began, getting her attention. "I want you to dispel yourself right now."
"What?" she asked in shock. "Why would you have me-?"
"This guy is dangerous, Dash; really dangerous. That snake we dealt with earlier was one of his summon creatures. I want you to get out of here right now."
"I'm not leaving you, Naruto," she adamantly refused. "I won't do that to you; I won't be like your so-called teammates."
He smiled sadly at her loyalty, easily seeing that she really was in touch with her Harmonic Element. He then surprised her by hugging her, and she slowly returned it unaware of him holding up a half ram seal.
"I'm sorry, Dash," he whispered, making her eyes grow wide.
"Naruto don't-!" she tried to yell, but it was halted by her disappearing in a plume of smoke.
"I hope that, if I live through this, you can forgive me Dash…" muttered Naruto as he readied another kunai with a seal tag and made his way closer. He saw that Orochimaru was finishing his explanation as to why he wanted Sasuke – something about needing his eyes – and mentally prepped himself to strike. 'Everyone… If I don't make it out alive…I just wanted to say thank you,' he mentally prayed as he envisioned the people close to him. Visions of the Sandaime, the Ichiraku Chefs, and the Ponies filled his mind followed by shadowed silhouettes of two figures meant to represent his parents. 'Thank you for seeing me as Uzumaki Naruto and treating me like a normal person. This might be my last battle, so I will go down fighting to protect you all.'
Wiping away the stray tear that threatened to spill, Naruto set his face into a determined frown and leaped out of the tree he was in, gaining the attention of the three below him. Orochimaru narrowed his eyes slightly at the sight of him. 'The Kyuubi brat… Probably got lucky and escaped my snake. He shouldn't be much of a bother,' thought the disguised Sannin before he saw Naruto throw down a kunai and fly through handseals.
"Kunai Kage Bunshin (Kunai Shadow Clones)!" cried the blonde as the single kunai multiplied into twenty and he held up his hands in a ram seal. "Fuinjutsu: Raihara (Sealing Arts: Lightning Field)!"
The seals on the kunai all lit up and lines of electricity linked between them all, making a literal web of lightning that was quickly descending down toward Orochimaru.
Said snake man frowned at the technique before he disappeared in a swirl of leaves, letting the lightning web cleanly slice through the tree branch he was on, letting the scorched pieces fall to the forest floor. He reappeared on another branch away from the damage with an impressed look on his face. 'Not bad… However, I thought he was supposed to be incompetent?'
Naruto landed on the tree branch his teammates were on and readied a kunai with a different seal tag on it. "Sasuke, Sakura, I need your help if we want to get out of here alive. Alright?" he asked and was met with silence. He froze in shock before he slowly turned his head to look over his shoulder and saw that they were gone. 'T-They left me…AGAIN!' he mentally raged while Orochimaru cruelly laughed at him.
"Isn't that something?" asked the man between laughs. "You risk your life to help them and they leave you to die; like a pack of wolves leaving the weakest link."
Naruto didn't respond, too angry at how foolish he was. 'I can't believe I actually thought they'd stick around to help me… I'm such a dumb ass! Why the hell would they care about me?!'
"Well, I suppose I should commend you on your impressive display earlier, Naruto."
The blonde broke out of his thoughts as he heard his name. "How do you know me?"
The Sannin chuckled as he removed the face of the woman he was impersonating, revealing pure white skin and yellow, snake-like eyes. "I know quite a bit about you, my boy; more than you even know." He chuckled again as the blonde tensed and readied his kunai. "Haven't you ever wondered who your parents were, Naruto?"
"Of course I have," retorted the Uzumaki. "What orphan wouldn't?"
"True… But what if I told you that I know exactly who they are?"
"I already know who they are!" Naruto yelled back, half lying since he only knew of his mother.
"You're not a very good liar, Naruto," retorted the snake before he looked thoughtful. "Well, that's not entirely true. You seem to only be partially lying to me… So tell me, which parent do you know? If I had to guess, I would assume that it's your mother…Kushina."
Naruto tensed again and threw his kunai frantically at the snake, but it was easily avoided with a lazy lean of the head.
"I see I hit the nail right on the head. So, you still don't know your father… Sarutobi-sensei must really not have a lot of faith in you if he kept that from you."
"Shut up! You don't know anything!" screamed the blonde in anger while his arms began to burn for some reason. 'W-What's this feeling? It feels like something wants to burst out of my arms!'
"Oh, but I do know Naruto… I know the truth about who your father is. He's the Leaf's 'Greatest Hero'; the one who turned the tides in the 3rd Great War," he mockingly stated.
Naruto couldn't think of who the snake was referring to since the pain in his arms was intensifying dramatically.
"Your father…was Namikaze Minato; the Yondaime Hokage," declared the snake with a cruel smirk, making Naruto freeze in place.
"N-No… No, he couldn't be… Not him…" muttered the blonde in denial, but his rational side kicked in again and laid out the facts. If the Yondaime was his father, then using his son to hold the Kyuubi made much more sense. Plus, they looked alike in almost every way save for Naruto's whisker markings.
"Do you see it now, Naruto?" questioned the snake as he pulled out a kunai. "Your village hates you while they worship Minato for making you the scapegoat they despise every waking moment. Sarutobi-sensei knew; how could he not? Oh, but don't worry… You won't have to deal with the hate anymore," stated the Sannin in a mock caring tone, "because I'll end your suffering right now!"
Naruto's arms screamed in agony while his instincts had him swing against the incoming threat. The result was Naruto swinging an open hand at Orochimaru while the man was at least ten feet away. However, it wasn't a wasted swing since golden chains erupted from his skin and flew at the snake who narrowly dodged with a shocked expression.
'Chakra Chains?! But that's impossible! Kushina didn't get them until she was a Jonin!' mentally raged the man as he considered his options.
Naruto fell to his knees as the chains retracted back into his skin, his arms numb from the sudden release of the burning pain he was feeling earlier. As soon as the chains were full reabsorbed into his skin, his arm fell like dead weight while he gasped for air.
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes in thought over the new outcome. Killing the Uzumaki would be an easy feat to do now; child's play since the blonde was wide open. But a part of his intelligent mind told him to let the boy live. It even told him to give the teen the scroll his team needed to pass. 'Maybe this could work to my advantage… My original self has already given Sasuke the Curse Mark and knocked out the Kyuubi brat's teammates. Maybe Sasuke's inevitable jealousy of Naruto will help fuel the Curse Mark… Yes… Yes, I believe this will work out just fine.'
He stepped up to the defenseless blonde who didn't even acknowledge his presence. Orochimaru couldn't help but see himself in the Uzumaki; alone, orphaned, yet still able to surprise his opponents and show incredible feats of skill and power. It was obvious that the teen was much more than he let on; being able to deceive even Kabuto was a testament to that.
He pulled out the Heaven Scroll that Team 7 needed and tossed it in front of the Uzumaki. "Your teammates are about half a mile north of here. Consider that scroll a gift for your…interesting display and bravery. Not many people would choose to stand their ground in my presence. I'll be sure to keep a close eye on your future progress, Naruto, so do try and stay alive for me."
With his piece said, the snake dispersed into mud, showing that he was nothing more than a Tsuchi Bunshin (Mud Clone). Naruto's hand numbly moved and grasped the scroll before he pocketed it and stood shakily. His mind was still reeling at the facts given to him and the pain his apparent new skill caused him. His body moved on autopilot as he began to head to where Orochimaru said his team was.
When he arrived, he saw the two of them slumped against a tree trunk out cold. He wordlessly made two clones and had them carry his teammates and follow him as he made his way to the Central Tower. It took the rest of the day to get there, and Naruto was finally starting to regain his mental control from the shocking revelations he had received. He curiously looked to his surroundings and saw that he was inside the tower with a plaque in front of him that had a hidden lesson.
The blonde scoffed at the simplicity of the answer which was focusing on the skills you need improvement on; the body (Earth) or the mind (Heaven). He then opened both scrolls and tossed them to the floor, causing them to erupt into plumes of smoke that revealed Umino Iruka, the Chunin who worked at the Academy as an instructor.
"Naruto, glad to see you made it as early as you did. The first day, too! Not bad at all," he praised, only receiving a nod in thanks from the blonde before his clones presented his unconscious teammates.
"We ran into Orochimaru in the forest and they were knocked out. Be sure to tell the old man, Iruka-sensei. I need to be alone for a bit," informed the Uzumaki as he handed off his teammates to the stunned Chunin and made his way to one of the dorm rooms in the tower.
Once inside, Naruto sighed and performed the seals needed to summon Dash before she appeared in a plume of smoke. Her eyes were wide in worry when she saw that they weren't in the forest, but they quickly softened when she saw that Naruto was alive.
Anger soon took over and she used her tail to slap his face; the equivalent of a human woman using her hand. Naruto didn't seem fazed by it and merely let her strike him with a dead look in his eyes.
Dash didn't seem to notice due to her anger. "Damn it, Naruto! I told you that I wasn't going to leave you; and what do you do?! You send me back and leave me worried sick! Then, you don't even summon me back until you apparently finished your test! What the hell is wrong with you, huh?!"
He didn't respond and merely stood there with the same expression. Her eyes softened as she walked up to him and leaned down to look his downward gaze in the eye.
"Naruto…?" she asked in worry before she was suddenly pulled into a hug by a now tearful blonde.
"I'm so sorry, Dash…" he whispered as his tears fell on her coat.
Her anger was immediately extinguished by his sincere and regretful tone and she hugged him back with her wing. "It's okay, Blondie… I forgive you…" she whispered back.
Their moment was interrupted by a sudden knock on the door. "Naruto? It's Kakashi; I need to talk to you."
Naruto looked to Dash who gave him a smile before her eyes glowed and she was surrounded by a swirl of color. When the swirl died down, she was transformed into a necklace with the pendant designed in the exact likeliness of her Cutie Mark.
Naruto quickly put it on and tucked it into his vest before he opened his door. "Sensei, what did you want to talk about?"
Kakashi gave his blonde student a worried frown and he asked, "Naruto is it true what Iruka just told me? Did you and the others run into Orochimaru?" The blonde looked down and nodded, making the Jonin sigh. "What happened back there Naruto?"
Naruto suddenly scowled and looked his sensei with betrayal in his eyes. "I listened to you, that's what." Kakashi's eyes widened in surprise at the angered tone. "I placed my trust in my teammates and they ditched me in that forest, not once, but twice! Once when I left to relieve myself and the next when I stopped Orochimaru from killing them back there! I placed my faith in them and hoped that they would back me up, but they left me to die! I'm still surprised that Orochimaru let me live back there!"
Kakashi's eyes grew wider with horror at every statement. He knew that their teamwork wasn't exactly 'good', but he never thought that they would just abandon their teammate and leave him to the wolves so to speak. "Naruto, I-"
"Save it!" interrupted the rightfully angered blonde. "I listened to you, even though I knew – I knew – that they would never be there for me, and I was left alone to die while they ran to save themselves! They didn't even care that they needed me to pass the test and just hightailed it out of their like cowards!" The blonde's anger was slowly calling on a small amount of the Kyuubi's chakra, making him release killing intent. "I've had it, Kakashi! I will never trust those two again and as soon as I can, I'm removing myself from this team!"
Kakashi tried to calm down the Uzumaki. "Naruto, don't do anything rash. I'll talk to Hokage-sama and-"
"No! I'm done, Kakashi so don't try to stop me! I won't blame you for their actions, but I sure as hell will not have you try and save a team that obviously does not function as one!"
The Jonin sighed dejectedly at his student, knowing that he was absolutely right. "I'm so sorry, Naruto… I never imagined that they'd have done that to you… Can you forgive me?"
"Like I said earlier; I don't blame you, sensei…" Naruto muttered. "There's no need to forgive you for something you didn't do or have any control of. But, I will never forgive Sasuke or Sakura for what they did."
"I understand, and thank you for not blaming me…" replied the Jonin. "I still want to make it up for you since I know I could have taught you more than I did. So, if you ever need someone to train you, just come to me. Okay?"
Naruto gave his teacher a grateful smile and bowed. "Thank you, sensei…"
Kakashi gave him an eye smile and rubbed his head in a brotherly way. "Don't mention it. Now, you should take the remaining four days to rest and prepare for the next test. You'll need it."
"I will, sensei," replied the blonde as he reentered his room and closed the door.
Dash transformed back into her real form and gave him a reassuring smile. "At least your teacher wants to try and make it up to you."
"Yea… Hey Dash, can you have the others reverse summon me again?"
"What for?"
"Something tells me that I'm gonna need some more tricks up my sleeve for the next test… Plus, I want to know if Celestia or Luna know what these are," he explained as he struggled to summon the chains he created earlier. Dash looked at the chains in wonder before she nodded and disappeared in a burst of smoke. Not even five minutes later, Naruto did the same.
[Central Tower Indoor Arena (Four Days Later)]
Naruto stood next to the remaining Genin as they waited for Anko to finish the Second Test. Teams 7-10 and Kabuto's Team had passed for Konoha, Gaara's Team had passed for Suna, and the Oto Team for their village.
The blonde rubbed his arms as he remembered the training Celestia gave him for his Chakra Chains. The alicorn knew exactly what they were and helped him figure out how to summon and utilize them more fluently. Luna helped as well by firing many blasts of Meiton (Dark Element) chakra at him to have him ignore outside distractions and focus.
After Naruto had informed the ponies of what happened in the Forest of Death, they were disappointed with his teammates and Applejack was a few seconds short of having Naruto summon her so that she could mule kick them into next year. Luckily, depending on who you asked, Naruto was able to calm her down and tell the mares what he planned to do after the test. They were quick to support his decision; Rarity though did so after lecturing him about taking better care of his clothing.
Another thing he did during his four days rest was enjoy a Congratulatory Party that was thrown for him by Pinkie; something he thanked her for with a grateful hug since he had never had anyone throw him any kind of celebration before. He was able to enjoy himself and have fun for the first time in a long time, and it made the pink mare happy to help him do so.
Dash had stuck to Naruto like glue after their little episode in the forest. She had grown incredibly fond of the teen and was able to easily call him a friend. She even followed him out of the Summon Realm and disguised herself as her necklace form so that she could stay close to him.
The blonde was able to place seals on each of the ponies as well during his stay. The seals were connected to one he had on the back of his neck, which allowed them to communicate with one another mentally. However, it couldn't work across realms, but it was still incredibly useful.
He was brought out of his reminiscing by Anko announcing, "Well brats, you have passed the Second Exam! So, we'll immediately move on to the next test…or at least the event that will weed out the weaker links."
"What are you talking about?" asked Ino with a frown. "Some of us just got here and are barely standing!"
"Not our problem!" retorted the Tokubetsu Jonin. "You knew what you were getting into when you signed up for these Exams! Now, we will be having what is known as Preliminary Bouts to cut down the numbers some more. Too many of you have passed, so we need to weed out some more of you." She then looked at the twenty-one Genin with a scrutinizing gaze, looking for anyone that seemed to be at risk due to their injuries. "However, from here on out you no longer have to worry about how your actions affect your team's future. It's every Genin for his or herself. So, if there are any of you who think they can't continue, speak up and tell us now or else shut up and stay put."
Only one 'Genin' raised his hand; Kabuto. Naruto narrowed his eyes as he felt a negative aura from him. The silver haired teen was allowed to leave, which meant that there were a total of twenty Genin remaining.
"Twenty, huh? That means that we'll be having a total of ten matches and ten maximum Genin for the Finals," Anko murmured to herself as a part of the wall behind her moved aside to show a screen. She spoke louder as she explained, "This device will be what decides your fate! The first two Genin who will have their preliminary match will be…"
Two rows of names randomly shuffled on the screen with a large "VS." in between them both, the Genin, their Jonin sensei, and the Sandaime who was there to watch the prelims stood and looked intently at the screen as the first two names revealed themselves. The result left many of them in shock.
On the screen, it read, "Uchiha Sasuke vs. Hyuuga Neji."
(End)
And that was chapter three! I hope that you all are enjoying it so far! Please read, review, and ask any questions! I'll be sure to answer all that I can! ^_^
Next Time: The Preliminary Matches have begun! Who will fight?! Who will win?! Stay Tuned!
-pain17ification