~Scroll 20~

"Ino-Shika-Cho Boar-Deer-Butterfly Formation!" Ino shouted as she motioned for Choji to charge forward.

"Baika-no-justsu! Art of Expansion!" Choji chanted as his body expanded to the size of a proverbial blimp.

The Art of Expansion was a secret art passed down to the members of the Akimichi Clan. This unique technique allowed a ninja to temporarily enlarge part or all of one's body; however, this particular technique required an enormous amount of calorie energy. Hence, this family's unique… largeness.

"Nikudan Sensha - Human Juggernaut!" The Akimichi teen muttered as his head and limps disappeared into his large body.

Suddenly Choji barreled toward Zaku.

"What kind of freakin' art is that?!" The Oto-nin gasped, "Zankuha! Slicing the Air!"

The air current did nothing to stop the juggernaut. Instead it sent the Konoha shinobi flying into the air.

"Flying?!" Zaku yelped, "How is that possible?!"

With that kind of rotation… The Oto brunette thought as he watched the oncoming human weapon, so much for air pressure! If that thing hits me, I'll be pulverized.

Dosu tried to help but immediately realized that his body could not move. His visible eye frantically looked around, trying to find the source of his paralysis and quickly noticed a strange elongated shadow, connecting him to the lanky Konoha brunette.

"What the…?!" Dosu exclaimed when his arms moved on their own, making him do ridiculous gestures as if he was a puppet.

"Wh-what are you doing at a time like this?! Dosu!" Kin screamed as she watched her teammate make a fool of himself.

"Ino! The woman is the only one left." Shikamaru bellowed as he continued to employ his distinctive Kagemane-no-Jutsu: the Art of Me-and-My-Shadow.

This exceptional technique allowed Shikamaru to join and attach his own shadow to that of his opponent, forcing his enemy to mimic every move he make. However, he can only do this briefly at any given time.

"You got it, Shikamaru!" Ino chirped, "Take care of my body while I'm gone! Shintenshin-no-Jutsu! Art-of-the-Valentine…"

This rare technique allowed Ino to take temporary control of her opponent's body, heart and soul. It was the same technique she had used against Sakura during the first portion of the Chuunin Exams.

"Whoa." The Nara teen gasped as he caught the blonde before she collapsed to the ground.

"Urp…" Choji covered his mouth with his hand as he came out of his juggernaut mode, "Man, that makes my head spin!"

"You're finished!" Kin shouted as she held her own kunai to her throat. It was obvious to everyone that while it was Kin, who was speaking, it was not truly the Oto kunoichi.

"If either of you make a move, your teammate Kin is good as dead! Both of you, leave your scrolls here, and go finish the exam without them. When I can no longer sense either of your chakras, I'll release Kin!"

Ino suddenly felt a cold ominous chill crawl down her spine when Dosu and Zaku started laughing.

"No!" Sakura screamed, "They're going to - !"

Her warning came too late.

Zaku lifted his left hand and attacked his own teammate.

Kin's body slammed against a tree.

"INO…!" Shikamaru cried as he watched blood drip from his teammate's lips.

A dangerous draw-back of Ino's abilities was that if anything should happen to the host body then the injuries would also show on the blonde's body.

"Wh-what unbelievable lowlifes…" Ino-within-Kin gasped in pain, "… to wound your own comrade!"

"You underestimated us… bad mistake." Zaku jeered.

"Our objective is not some stupid scroll…" Dosu stated, "nor have we any interest in passing your infantile exam."

This caused the Konoha ninja to look nervously at their enemy. If they were not there for the Exams, then what were they there for?

"We're after Sasuke!"

Blast… The Nara teen mentally cursed when he sensed that he was close to his limit. He pulled back his shadow, freeing Dosu.

"So…" The hunched shinobi crowed, "Your little trick can only work for five minutes at a time?

"And as for the art that girl is using…" Shikamaru did not like what the Oto nin was about to say. "From the look of things, if we inflict any harm on her host, her real body suffers as well! Heh heh… we can kill her by killing Kin ourselves!"

"You're despicable!" A cold voice sneered throughout the clearing.

"What?!" Dosu snarled at another intrusion of his fun.

Standing above them all were two more Konoha Genin.

"You bucolic nonentities think you're all that just because your sonic powers…" Neji stated in an empty monotone voice, "were strong enough to whump these novices!"

Shikamaru sighed in relief at the presence of more ninja from Konoha. Granted, Team Gai may be more concerned about their teammate than them. But either way, the Oto ninja were out numbered.

"Again, the vermin come crawling from the woodwork!" Zaku snapped.

"Looks like you blew it, huh?" Neji sighed when he spotted his unconscious teammate. The long-haired brunette then stated to the Oto, "The kid with the Moe Howard hairdo belongs to us.

"You hurt him, so now you have to answer to us!" The Hyuga teen growled while his eyes subconsciously became paler.

Shikamaru was stunned as he tried to ignore a strange shiver down his spine. He had never expected the other brunette to be so protective of his teammate.

"Stop while you still can…" The teen continued, "or we'll give you everything we've got!"

Suddenly the teen stilled as he sensed the trickling of a familiar chakra; however, there was something poisonous and tainted about the chakra. It made him uneasy, but unfortunately he did not have the time to worry about it now since the owner of said chakra was getting stronger, meaning he was waking up.

"… why don't you stop posturing and start doing something about it?!" Dosu's voice broke through Neji's thoughts.

"Well…" The teen cautiously remarked, "from the looks of it… we don't have to."

Suddenly the clearing became engulfed in a thick miasma of a dark chakra.

Sakura turned around when she heard movement from behind.

"Sasuke!" She exclaimed, "You're awake!"

But quickly her joy melted away to horror when she sensed her teammate's chakra. While she could still sense the Uchiha's familiar energies, she could also sense the all-too-familiar taint of Orochimaru's chakra.

The Uchiha stood. His eyes were a deep bloody, cold crimson - nightmare personified - and his entire left side tattooed with sickly tar-black markings that seemed to squirm like a nest of newborn asps.

This was not the Uchiha Sasuke that the pinkette knew.

This was someone else, and she was terrified.