Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto nor any of the characters, beside the main OC. All credit for creating this amazing series goes to Mr. Kishimoto

Author's note: Thanks to everyone for reading! Answers to the reviews are at the bottom.

So, I'm an idiot and I didn't understand how polls worked. But now there should be the one with Shino's elements on, so go answer if you want.

Once again, I am not completely happy with the title of the chapter. Well, it's like my curse. I hate giving titles... well, hope you don't mind too much. Please enjoy the chapter:

SKIRMISHES IN THE FOREST OF DEATH

"Wait a second." Shino said. "Someone is coming..."

They all tensed. Sakura looked a little scared, Kiba seemed almost eager. Naruto and Akimi dropped in a defensive stance, while Shino simply put his hands out of his pockets.

Naruto frowned "I thought you put a genjutsu around, 'mi-chan.".

"I was exhausted. And the illusion mainly hits the eye. Someone could have tracked us with smell or hearing." Akimi took out her Fūma Shuriken. "Unknown enemy. You know the drill."

"Hai." Naruto said. "Kiba, Sakura, please retreat and protect Sasuke. Shino, hide in the trees, I'm sure you can find and exploit any openings, eh?"

Shino smirked, disappearing. Sakura and a little reluctant Kiba did as told, because the determined look into the blonde's eyes didn't leave room for protests. Naruto was a natural charismatic leader when he really wanted. He had shown that ability during the First Exam as well.

Naruto and Akimi got closer, in a position that clearly had the benefit to protect each other back. The Shadow Clones Naruto had created stood in front of them, protectively.

Then, three genins appeared from nothingness. They glared at the Konoha's teams menacingly. The most noticeable thing about them was their curious headband, which carried the symbol of a musical note. The one in the middle had his face almost entirely covered by bandages and only his left eye could be seen. He wore a scarf whose pattern resembled a snake, as did his teammates, and a strange straw raincoat. He stepped forward, showing his shoulder were hunched down. "I'm surprised you felt us arrived."

"And I'm surprised you tracked us here." Naruto replied, smirking when he felt Akimi's message: they were the one spying on them when they first met Gaara's team. "So this time you decided to join the fight, instead to stay hidden and watch?"

The other genin tensed imperceptibly, while the other male of the team frowned. "How did you know we were there?"

"You know, you should learn to mask your chakra better if you wish to play little spies for whatever reason." Naruto taunted. "What do you want, losers?"

The insult obviously flustered the three Oto genins and the male on the right moved as if he wanted to attack them.

"Wait, Zaku." The leader managed to control himself. "We are not here for you. We want to fight Sasuke-kun... Can you wake him up?"

From her position, Sakura tensed. Kiba looked at her. "Don't worry. I doubt they can get past those two... and if they did they would still have to face us and Shino."

"As you said, Sasuke is sleeping. You can leave any message to us, right before we kick your asses into next week." Naruto said, cheerfully, while Akimi smirked and winked at them.

"We have no reason to fight you." the leader said. "We don't want your scroll, nor we wish to attack you. What we want is Sasuke-kun, so step aside and we shall not harm you."

"How were the words, 'mi-chan?" Naruto chuckled. "A dog who barks, is a dog who doesn't bite... and no offence to Akamaru."

The white puppy barked happily.

"Dosu, just let me... I will kill them... and Sasuke as well."

"Fine." Dosu, the leader, said. "Let's go."

Naruto simply nodded at his clones.

As the Sound trio leaped towards them, the Kage Bunshin moved to intercept them.

"This is pathetic!" Zaku said. "Do you really think Bunshins are enough to..." he stopped his ranting when one the clones punched him in the guts, using Fūton chakra to boost his strength, and knocking the air out of him. The boy was sent flying back.

"What about... yes?" Naruto smirked.

The girl immediately stopped her advance, taking out some senbon. Dosu moved his right arm, which was covered by a strange device full of small holes. Then, just like that, out of the clones popped out of existence. Only one remained, but froze because of the 'death' of the others and was taken out by flying senbon.

"What the fuck happened?" Naruto asked, surprised.

"Mmm." Akimi tilted her head. "Buy time for now."

Naruto crossed his fingers: "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" This time at least two dozen of clones appeared. "Go!"

Dosu smirked. "It's not going to work, brat!" and he moved his gauntleted arm again. Akimi focused on that moment. Nothing seemed to happen, but half of the clones were nevertheless dispelled.

'An invisible attack... wind perhaps?' The girl pondered, flicking her left hand ever so slightly she threw a dozen of shuriken at Dosu. "What is your clone feedback?" she casually asked.

"Dizziness, blurred vision maybe..." Naruto was confused. His puzzlement grew when the boy simply waved off the metal weapons as well. "Go quicker this time!" he shouted at the remaining clones.

"You bastard, I'm going to show you!" Zaku shouted in that moment, pushing forward his arms. "Zankūha [Decapitating Airwaves]!" The attack caused a powerful burst of air to travel very quickly towards the remaining clones, utterly destroying them.

"Remember, brats, you asked for this!" taunted Dosu, rushing forward. "You can't stop us!"

"Could it be so simple?" Akimi wondered. "Have you no imagination at all?"

"What do you mean?" Dosu frowned, glaring at the girl. "You have no talent, you really need to work harder."

"They are using sound." Akimi said to Naruto. "The hot-headed boy over there..." she indicated Zaku. "His attack looked really like a Fūton, but the effects were not cutting, but blasting, so I would guess air pressure? Mmm... and this other idiot in the front, he moves his arms, creating invisible attacks. Since his gauntlet is holed it's probably an amplifier, I reckon he uses sound. Ears are very sensible and fundamental for balance, so it harming them would indeed cause sickness. Of course I would have never have guessed had it been for their Hitai-ate."

The Sound trio gaped.

"Ah, yes. I'll need a couple of minutes, 'to-kun. Keep them busy and avoid close contact. Do you remember the first seal I ever showed you?"

Naruto chuckled. "Nice, your nerd tendencies come in handy." he said, making his tantō pop in his hand. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

"You can't keep going forever, blondie. Don't you get that it's hopeless?" Dosu taunted, preparing to use his Melody Arm. "You can't defend against Sound, even if the little whore figured us out."

All seven Narutos growled. From his place in the shade of the trees, Shino shook his head. 'Fool'

"Let's see what is quicker, fucker!" the real one snarled, flashing handseals. "Sound or wind – Fūton: Kaze no Ame [Wind Release: Rain of Wind]!" Thing was, also all the other clones did the same. Nothing seemed to happen.

Dosu almost chuckled, before hearing the hissing sound of the invisible needles. "Get back!" he shouted, moving his arm to create a shield.

The girl did so, but Zaku simply smirked. "Zankūha [Extreme Decapitating Airwaves]!" he shouted. The blast of pressurised air did deflect the air needles, but right towards Dosu.

"Shit!" he screamed, jumping to avoid the needles... and finishing right into a clone grip. Eyes widening, Dosu was attacked by other three Narutos, each one punching and slashing with their tantō. He screamed in pain.

"Damn it, Dosu!" the girl shouted, sending senbon at them. Her aim was very true, because she hit the clone who was holding her teammate and two of the attackers.

Dosu quickly took care of the third, landing on the ground. "Thanks, Kin." he panted, bleeding profusely from his wounds. He had a deep cut in his left shoulder and several smaller ones all around his body. "You are going to pay for this, blondie."

"And you should never, never insult Akimi-chan!" Naruto spat back. "Fūton: Daitoppa [Wind Release: Great Breakthrough]!" he and the others two shouted.

Dosu eyes widened again and he jumped back several yards, landing near Kin. "Zaku, go at it!"

"Zankūkyokuha [Extreme Decapitating Airwaves]!" the other boy shouted, this time creating a massive air burst. So massive, in fact, that it clashed right into the tree combined jutsu of Naruto, effectively stopping them. The blonde was actually impressed, and covered his eyes with an arm against the flashing explosion the collision caused. When the smoke cleared, Zaku was painting a little and both him and his teammates were now wary of the two genins.

"I'm still waiting for ya!" Naruto shouted. "Would you like a respite? Cause I may enjoy a little snack in the meantime."

"You... you bastard!" Dosu yelled back. "I'm going to fucking kill you!"

"Wait a sec, where is the girl?" Kin asked, with an unconscious shiver of fear.

"She probably ran away in fear." Zaku smirked.

Naruto smirked. "Maybe she was bored." he observed. "Don't worry, though, I'll keep you entertained..." Four clones popped out of existence, again, charging the Sound genins.

"How much stamina does the kid have, damn it?" Dosu shouted. "Kin, Zaku, you get these!"

'So he is a close ranged fighter.' Naruto though. 'The girl is probably a long ranged, and I'd say the other one is mid/close... Fair enough, if I distract them, 'mi-chan will have a clean shot.'

Zaku chuckled. "Don't bother, Kin, I can take care of this alone. "Zankūha [Decapitating Airwaves]!"

"Jump!" the true Naruto shouted.

The four clones did so, easily avoiding the blasts, that dispersed before reaching the original. Kin chose that moment to join the fight, firing a swarm of senbon at the blondes.

"Nice!" one said, creating a blast of wind with his tantō to deflect most of them. "And now, let's party!" the four clones attacked in tandem, using wind to lengthen their range.

Dosu cursed, waving his gauntlet around. But the clones were keeping their distance from him, focusing on Kin instead, while one was taunting Zaku and avoiding his hair blasts. Then, he heard something. He jumped just in time to avoid being hit by Akimi, who spurted out of the ground below him.

"Hello!" she greeted, her closed Fūma Shuriken in hand. She fluidly swept a slash at the bandaged boy, who smirked.

"Are you suicidal?" He easily blocked the hit with his right arm, at the same time emitting an amplified wave of sound.

"Well, I'm allowed to be." Akimi smirked and as she was hit, she melted away, revealing a Tsuchi Bunshin.

Dosu eyes widened. "What? Does none of you have the balls to attack us directly?"

"Why would we?" A Naruto clone shouted, managing to cut Kin with his wind chakra "That would be stupid."

"And I actually think it's granted I don't have balls." Akimi said, from above a tree behind the Oto genins. "I'm a lady, after all. Activate."

"What?" Dosu looked at her, surprised. "What did she do?"

"Probably nothing! She is only trying to confuse us!" Zaku said, after managing to land a blow on the clone who was bugging him. "Die, you bitch! Zankūha [Decapitating Airwaves]!"

"You have no originality." Akimi said, sighing. She easily avoid the blast, jumping down. She crossed her fingers. "Time to finish this. Katon: Goukakyuu! [Fire Release: Great Fireball]"

"Ahahaha, I'll blow that off! Zankūha!" Zaku did managed to cancel the flames, but what did not expect was the cloud of swarming black insects descending on him... just before his chakra started to be forcefully stolen. He gaped and Akimi rushed at him, hitting him right into the guts. Her blow was weaker than the blonde's, but still hurtful. And it stung. Zaku fell down, holding his burned stomach and feeling exhaust.

"Great timing, Shino!" Akimi shouted, deflecting a volley of senbon with her closed Fūma Shuriken, then she opened it with a flick of her wrist and she tossed it at the girl, while she lounged at Dosu. Naruto was also charging from his position. It would soon be finished.

"Are you going to try again, girlie?" he taunted. As she closed onto him, he waved his arm, smirking widely. Only... nothing happened.

"What?" Dosu's eyes bulged out, but he managed to regain his bearings in time to dodge Akimi's blow.

"Not so confident, now, are we?" Akimi mocked him, relentlessly attacking him.

Her Taijutsu was obviously superior. Dosu's pride prevented him to ask his teammates for help, but it would anyway serve no purpose. The true Naruto had reached Kin, easily knocking her out. Zaku was not getting up any time soon, courtesy of Shino's Kikaichū and so he joined Akimi.

The destructive duo was quick to soundly kick Dosu's ass. As Naruto jerked him away with a forceful blow at his crotch, Akimi leaped over him, holding a kunai to his throat. She almost looked like a tiger. "Is this hard enough for you, Dosu-san?" she asked, smiling widely.

The boy groaned and looked over, seeing Naruto smirking at him, his arm crossed.

"Have mercy." he stuttered, even if the words almost wounded him physically.

Akimi raised an eyebrow. "Why should we?"

"The scroll... I'll give you our scroll... we are beaten."

"Fair enough." Naruto said. "And why did you want to fight Sasuke, uh?"

"We... heard... he was the rookie of... the year and the... last Uchiha. We wanted to... try ourselves confronting him."

"Is that so?" Akimi tilted her head, looking intently at him. "In that case, you may want to know that I was the rookie of the year. Not that I care for the title, anyway. We'll let you go, now, but..."

"... cross us again and we won't think twice about killing you." Naruto darkly said. "And if I were you, I would not attack a Konoha team again. If you hurt our friends, we'll find you..."

"... and we'll kill you." Akimi concluded for him. "And remember, arrogance is right before the fall." She released the boy, holding out an hand.

Dosu shivered, giving her a Heaven Scroll. "Thank you." he stammered, before taking each of his teammates under an arm and leaping away, albeit shakily.

"That was fun." Naruto said, crossing his arms behind his head. "But he was lying." using ANBU signals.

"Send a clone after them." Akimi replied the same way. "Make sure he stays hidden and listens to them. We'll discover more now that they think we aren't suspicious of them."

Naruto nodded and crossed his fingers, nodding. "Let's hope that letting them go wasn't a stupid thing."

Akimi shrugged. "Why? I believe they are competent enough to pass to the next stage. If so, we know their abilities and can easily stop them again. We didn't show off all our skills, after all. And they will eliminate other two teams, which is good. It's a win-win."

Back to the shelter in the alcove...

Shino jumped down in front of Kiba and Sakura, his expression unreadable. "It went well." he said.

Kiba nodded. "You have really outclassed us, have you not?"

"They already did by graduation." Shino simply said. "I'm only starting to catch up."

By then, Akimi and Naruto were calmly making their way back to them.

Naruto waved at them, enthusiastically. "Guys, we are in luck, dattebayo!"

Akimi tossed the scroll to Kiba. "We only need to track down and defeat the Ame team and we can make way to the tower."

Shino moved and flanked Naruto's left side. Sakura and Kiba were staring with wide eyes at Team 7.

"Are you not tired?" Sakura asked. "And how did you stop the Sound nin, Akimi-san?"

"When my clone attacked him, it placed a seal tag on him. You see, besides the standard storage seal, the easiest seal to make is probably the privacy seal. As the name suggest, it prevents sound from leaving a place. I never thought I would ever need to use it in combat, but..." she shrugged.

"He could talk, though..." Sakura frowned.

"Ah, I limited the area to his gauntlet, lest he understood something was off."

"Sugoi." the other girl murmured.

Akimi smiled at her, before tensing without apparent reason. Shino did too and Naruto as well, albeit only in reaction to his teammates' worry. Akamaru whined as well. They were all staring at the alcove. Sakura gulped and turned as well... Sasuke was surrounded by an evil, purple chakra.

"What the hell?" Kiba asked.

"Get behind us!" Akimi intimated, as Team 7 got to the defensive. "Shino, is that chakra as harmful to your Kikaichū as Orochimaru's?"

"Think so..."

"Right, we'll try to reason with him. Just in case, I've got chakra suppression seals here..." she tossed them two scrolls. "But I'm not sure they are going to work. Be alert."

"Are we going to attack him?" Sakura asked, timidly. "He is our teammate."

"We are only supposing the worse." Akimi said. "Relax..."

"If things go badly, we promise we won't hurt him too much." Naruto cut her off, with a smirk. "Don't worry."

"Silence, baka!" Akimi swatted him. "Not everyone detests Uchiha-san as you do."

"As if you like him..."

"Don't banter!" Shino exclaimed. "He is waking."

In fact, Sasuke slowly raised up, as the purple chakra retracted into him and black seal lines covered his body.

"It's a seal." Naruto murmured. "Can you understand it, 'mi-chan?"

She was intently staring at the lines, so she didn't answer.

"What's going on?" Sasuke asked, his voice dark. The look in his Sharingan eyes was full of madness and murderous intent. "What are you doing here?" he spat to Akimi.

"Calm down." Akimi said. "You were hit by Orochimaru, remember?"

"Fight me!"

"No." Akimi replied, candidly. "You are not yourself, Uchiha-san, and I don't intend to fight you. We are not enemies."

"Shut up, you think you can best me? I'm a Uchiha!" Sasuke shouted, leaping towards her.

"Scatter!" Akimi shouted, drawing her Fūma Shuriken and parrying the boy's punch with ease. She was forced to retreat of a couple of step, though, because of his sheer strength. 'The bloody things has made him at least twice stronger and faster than he was.'

"Uchiha-san, there is no need of this. You are not yourself!" she repeated.

Sasuke snarled. "Shut up, do you feel this power? What do you know of me? This is the power I need. FIGHT ME!"

"I'm giving you a last chance to give this folly up, Uchiha-san!" Akimi said. "Afterwards, I'm going to retaliate."

"Bring it on, wench!" Sasuke swept a kick towards her, but she simply jumped back, before throwing her now open Shuriken at him.

The boy laughed. "Is this the best you can do?"

Akimi's eyes narrowed. "I really don't want to hurt you." she simply said, tugging her hand back.

Sasuke immediately jumped, avoiding the Fūma Shuriken, which was rotating back. However, he did not expect it to be surrounded by flames and as result, his clothes burned. Akimi caught her weapon with a fluid gesture, crouching down in a defensive position.

"See what I mean?" she softly asked. "Sasuke-san, you are not thinking clearly."

"I said, shut up!" the Uchiha yelled, flashing handseals. "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

Akimi simply held the tiger seal. "Goukakyuu." she said, showing that her mastery over fire was far superior than his.

The two colossal fireball clashed and Akimi's clearly overpowered Sasuke's, only the girl dispersed the attack before it reached the boy.

"It's not use, Uchiha-san."

"How dare you? Don't you know that my clan has mastered every Katon jutsu there is?"

"Whatever makes you feel better." Akimi couldn't help but smirk. "Now stop, please."

"I'll show you..."

Then, a voice spoke up, interrupting him. "Kirigakure no Jutsu. [Hidden in Mist Jutsu]"

A tick mist covered the place – it was not as dense as Zabuza's and Haku's had been, but it was enough. Akimi closed her eyes, focusing chakra on her ears. Sasuke had frozen on the spot, predictably. She silently leaped towards him.

Sasuke managed to duck, even though his Sharingan's prowess was limited by the mist. He smirked, punching her with all his might. Akimi parried the blow with her left hand, before grabbing him by his shirt.

"What are you...?" he stopped, feeling someone coming from behind. Shino and Naruto attacked him, each one placing a seal on him.

"Activate!" Naruto and Akimi shouted in tandem.

Sasuke's eyes widened and the lines on his body slowly retracted towards his neck, before he fell on his knee. He felt dizzy, but he stayed conscious. He held his shoulder in pain. However, not willing to take a chance, Naruto had pointed the tantō at his throat. The mist was clearing.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura shouted, running towards them.

"Stop." Akimi easily blocked her with a lazy flick of her arm. "Are you going to attack us again, Uchiha-san?"

"What happened to me...?" he huskily asked. "My head... it hurts. My neck!" he moaned.

Akimi nodded at Naruto, who quickly sheathed his tantō and stepped back. Then, she allowed Sakura to go ahead and hug the confused boy.

"Orochimaru placed a strange seal on you." Akimi explained. "Do you remember?"

Sasuke slowly raised, but he felt queasy. Honestly, he only managed to stay on his feet because of Sakura's support – but he was not going to admit it or thank her.

"Yes. Who the hell was him, anyway? And why were you there?"

"We were passing by, dattebayo." Naruto cheerfully answered. "Thought we would help some friends and all."

"Orochimaru of the Sannin, one of the three legendary apprentices of Sandaime-sama." Akimi explained, darkly. "Holds the summoning scroll of snakes and is a sick bastard who was exiled some years ago. We are lucky to have survived."

"Do you have an idea what that seal does, Akimi-san?" Sakura asked.

"Boosts strength and speed, but also increases aggression, anger and hostility. You went berserker, Uchiha-san." she stopped. "Also, the purple chakra really seemed similar to Orochimaru's, so I assume it was his. Which is also why you weren't knocked out by those chakra suppression seals. But you are quite tired, so I'd guess it somehow draws on your chakra as well."

"Hn."

"Right now, I would suggest you don't use jutsu, lest you reactivate the seal again. We need to hurry to the tower, so we can speak with Hokage-sama. Can you run?" Akimi concluded.

"Why are helping us?" Sasuke said, behind his teeth.

"You are friends and comrades." Naruto replied. "No matters how this exams go. Even if we all failed, we would still be Konoha's shinobi like us, that's worth something, don't you think?"

"Besides, if we have to fight again in the next exam I would rather face you." Akimi shrugged, talking in a way she knew the Uchiha would understand. "It would be easier than going against unknown enemies."

"Fair enough." Sasuke said. "We need two scrolls, though."

"One." Kiba happily waved the Heaven Scroll of Team Dosu. "Some little punks attacked us right before you woke up."

"And we know where to find an Earth Scroll." Shino said.

"So, would you like to eat or hunt first?" Naruto asked.

"Some food would be good. Then we hunt." Sasuke replied, with a small smirk.

Few hours later

"Genjutsu ahead." Shino said, from his place in the rear.

The six genins stopped.

"What does Kaera say?" Naruto asked. He and Kiba were the first in formation, followed by Sasuke and Akimi, then Sakura and Shino.

"She didn't recognise it, actually." she shook her head in disapproval. "I need to train her: it's unacceptable and...!"

"'mi-chan, your point?"

"Yes, Kaera ran ahead for hours, yet she is only few minutes ahead of us. So I believe that is the effect of the genjutsu."

"Kori Shinchū no Jutsu. [Sly Mind Technique]" Sakura said. "It changes the perception of direction in the victim. Kurenai-sensei mentioned it once. I watched it up in the library."

"Maybe you could really specialise in genjutsu, Sakura-san." Akimi said, whistling. "Right, so we need to expect genjutsu users. Probably weak at hand to hand combat since they tried to tire us out. More likely, they will try to trap us in another genjutsu... we should split. One of us plays bait, the other strikes."

"I'll play bait." Naruto said. "I've got the biggest stamina here."

"Me too." Sakura timidly pointed out. "I can recognise genjutsu and I'm not good at close combat."

"I'll go with you. I'll communicate with you through my Kikaichū."

"Yeah, leave a female with us." Akimi said. "But don't worry. Naruto-kun and I can speak with each other, remember?"

"Right your oh-so-mysterious seal." Shino smirked a little, behind his collar. "That's how you cheated in the last exam, Naruto?"

The blonde shrugged. "As long as you don't get caught." he replied. "Let's go."

Kiba was puzzled. "Did Shino just use sarcasm? You are corrupting him!"

Akimi smirked. "How else could he have survived all these months with us?"

"Fair enough." Kiba replied.

"Let's go as well." Sasuke said.

"I'll take rear." Akimi nodded. "Kiba-san, let's go round a little on the right, so we can surprise these Ame-nins."

Naruto, Sakura and Shino stopped in the clearing where the genjutsu started, pretending to be quite tired.

"We are in luck we managed to escape those Kusa nins." Naruto panted, holding his right shoulder as it was hurt. "Are you guys all right?"

Sakura was impressed by his acting abilities. "I'm completely exhausted." she whined.

"Let's rest then." Naruto dropped o the ground, as if he could not stand anymore. With his head bended and hidden he whispered. "The others are coming from our right."

Shino sat down as well. "This place seems covered enough." he curtly said. "We can stop a little."

They were not given much time to rest, though, because suddenly, with a creepy splashing-like sound, dozens of clones appeared around them. They raised from the ground, from the trees, from the rocks, completely surrounding them.

Naruto slowly raised, still pretending to be hurt, and placed himself between them and Sakura. Shino did the same. "Cover us." the blonde said.

The enemy nin all wore re-breather and tight black suits. Their eyes upper face was covered by bandages, with holes for the eyes. "Like a mouse in a trap." one said.

The three genin closed up together, covering each other backs. "What we do?" Sakura asked.

"Are they real clones?" Naruto wondered. "Or illusions?"

"One way to found out." Shino replied.

And he and Naruto tossed shurikens around, at the very same second.

'They have great teamwork' Sakura thought, awed.

The wounded clones started to melt in a black substance, similar to dense ink, before reforming and attacking them with kunai.

"Wait a second, if they are illusions why are they attacking?" Naruto shouted.

"Block them!" Shino replied, having a bad feeling about it.

Naruto flashed handseals. "Fūton: Kaze no Tate! [Wind Release: Shield of Wind] Tung. With a clang, at least three real kunai fell on the ground.

"So the real ones are hidden..." Sakura said. "And they are using illusions to confuse us. Can you find them, Shino-san?"

"They are not around... they would have been discovered." the sun glassed boy answered. "So..."

"They are underground." Akimi said, observing the fight from her spot on a tree a dozen of meters far from the fight. "Uchiha-san, remember, don't use jutsu – or your seal will activate."

"Hn." Sasuke scoffed. "How do we reach them if they are underground?" he asked, ignoring her order. He was not about to be ordered around by the likes of her.

"Prepare to hit." Akimi simply replied. "They are weak, hence they use this tactic. I'm going to smoke them out... as soon as our comrades jump away."

"Hai."

"'to-kun, scatter!"

Naruto finished deflecting another series of kunai, this time using his tantō and chakra flow. "Get on the trees. They are below!" he shouted.

As the three genins jumped away, Akimi landed on the clearing, holding the snake seal. That was what Sasuke had been waiting for. 'Sharingan!' he thought, with a smirk.

"Doton..." Akimi shouted in that moment. "Doryū Numa no jutsu! [Earth Release: Earth Flowing Lake]"

Sasuke felt a sharp pain on his neck. Damn it the girl had been right. He quickly grabbed the spot and grimaced. 'Blast it!' he watched in amazement as the earth behind Akimi's feet suddenly became a floating pond of mud, revealing three genins just below the surface. 'I could have copied it!' However, it was useless to think about it a about it, so he choose to attack.

Akimi had closed on one of the three stunned Ame nin immediately, knocking him out with a single kick. Yes, they were really weak. Kiba easily hit another, his sense of smell helping him to spot the real one.

Sasuke had keenly observed the last one and had no problem taking him out of the equation as well. He was not about to be outshined by some no-name. "That was easy..." he murmured, marvelling.

"They were overconfident in their tactics." Akimi shrugged. "You should get the scroll."

As Sasuke searched their bodies, the other regrouped in the middle of the clearing.

"Smooth, 'mi-chan." Naruto said, smiling.

"Here it is." Sasuke said, proudly.

Sakura bowed. "I guess we really owe you."

"Nay, no prob." Naruto said. "Do you need to rest or shall we approach the tower?"

Akimi rubbed her chin. "Theoretically, as we are already near it, we are now in a very dangerous zone. Many team could have hidden near the tower to ambush others."

"Logical." Shino nodded. "We should scout for a safe route." A swarm of his Kikaichū left him. Kaera leaped after them.

"We'll do so." Akimi said. "We can afford to stay here a little, catch our breath. Then we go."

Sasuke was outraged. Very outraged.

Not that one could say it, of course. He was a Uchiha, so he was above showing off emotion like that. Still, deep down he knew: he was beyond outraged. He was furious.

The last years of his life had been dark, that much could be said. And who would, who could blame him? His whole clan had been slaughtered. That... that man had killed them all, only because he wanted to test his strength! That's why he was an avenger. That was why he needed power.

And he couldn't help but feel he was held back. The years in Academy had been long and, frankly speaking, boring, but it had been all right... until that no-name arrived.

Katora Akimi.

While he somehow respected her, for she was very competent, she irked him a little. The girl didn't even acknowledge him! He was the last Uchiha. He was hailed as a genius, one of those geniuses that appeared only seldom times in hundreds of years... and she ignored him! It annoyed him. Not that he would ever admit it.

Sasuke accepted that Akimi was very talented as well. He had been a little irritated – and baffled - when she became the rookie of the year, but what did he matter after all? He was an avenger. He didn't care for petty things like those idiotic villagers did. He cared for... power. Which was why he was furious.

When the Kusa kunoichi – or was it Orochimaru? – was fighting him, he couldn't even hold his own. He, Uchiha Sasuke, a genius, could not. But the dobe could? What the hell? And when he woke up, when he finally felt like he had the power he needed, the dope and the annoying girl had stopped him. And then they pretended to be all noble and whatever, saying they were going to help him and everything.

How idiotic.

Of course, the strange mark on his neck did hurt. A lot. Not that he would admit it to anyone. Which was way he had been defeated, he reckoned. But how dared she order him around like that? She had basically prohibited him from using jutsu – and the Sharingan! That was preposterous.

And what was it with Team 7 taking charge? Who did they think they were? If it weren't enough his so called teammates seemed to follow Akimi and Naruto's lead without protesting. Kiba never listened to him, the last Uchiha, and yet he did as the dobe asked just like that. What the hell?

If only he could use his chakra properly he would have ditched them – and dragged Kiba with him, he had no doubts that Sakura would follow him blindly. As it was, thought, he knew he could not defeat Naruto, Akimi and Shino. Which was why he was following them, as they made way through the darkish forest. It was only a matter of waiting. He had learned that.

Sasuke would show that dobe and that no-name wench who he really was capable of. He was the last Uchiha, an avenger. 'Just you wait.' he thought, unconsciously nourishing the strange mark on his neck with his anger and hatred. 'Just you wait.'

April, 14th 214 – The tower, mild afternoon

Akimi sighed in relief when they landed near the tall, imposing frame of the central tower. 'Finally out from this bloody forest.' She thought. 'Although, hadn't it been for that snake it wouldn't have been so bad, I suppose.'

The doors of the tower were opened. The first in was Naruto – who rushed forward as he always did. They all followed him, arriving in a fairly big, airy and empty room.

"Now what?" asked Kiba.

"There, there is something!" Sakura exclaimed. She indicated a poster on the wall. "If qualities of haven are what you desire, acquire wisdom to take your mind higher. If earthly qualities you lack, train your body, prepare to attack. When heaven and earth are opened together, the perilous path will become righteous forever... what does it mean?"

They all looked at each other.

"Maybe we need to open the scrolls?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah, that would be logical." Shino said. "Akimi..."

"Kai." she said, making their two scrolls appear. "Here, boys, you do the work." and she tossed one each at them.

Kiba took out the Heaven Scroll, while Sakura took the Earth one from Sasuke.

"Let's do this together." Naruto shouted. "Here we go, dattebayo."

The four scrolls opened, revealing strange symbol on them.

"What? 'Person'?" asked Sakura. "What does it mean?"

"You may want to put that down." Akimi said, yawing.

"It's a summoning scroll!" Sasuke yelled.

The four genins quickly tossed the scrolls on the ground, where they crossed one above the other. Then, with a puff of smoke, two figures appeared from nothingness.

JUTSU NOTES

Zankūha [Decapitating Airwaves]: D rank, offensive/defensive, short range: using special tubes implanted in their arm, the user controls air pressure to send a devastating wave forward, powerful enough to destroy stone and soften the ground.

Zankūkyokuha [Extreme Decapitating Airwaves]: C rank, offensive/defensive, short-medium range: it's a more powerful and massive version of the Decapitating Airwaves, able to destroy everything in its path and level the area around.

Kyōmeisen: [Resonating Echo Drill], C rank, offensive, short range. Dosu uses the Melodic Arm, a holed gauntlet, to manipulate and amplify sound with arm movement. It causes dizziness, nausea, blurred eyes and temporary loss of balance in an opponent. It can also block shuriken and kunai.

Kori Shinchū no Jutsu [Sly Mind Technique] C rank, supplementary, medium-long range, this genjutsu affects one's perception of direction. It can be used to make the victim believe they are straight to their destination, while in reality they are going in circles.

Oboro Bunshin no Jutsu [Haze Clone Technique]: D rank, supplementary, it creates numerous illusionary clones to confound the enemy. If it, the clones fade into a ink-like substance, before reforming.

Doton: Doryū Numa no jutsu [Earth Release: Earth Flowing Lake] B rank, supplementary/offensive, short-medium range, the user transforms the ground around them in a slippery pond of mud, making their enemies lose balance. Mastery over earth allows to create a deeper pond, possibly making possible to entrap or partially drown an opponent.

REVIEW ANSWERS:

Naruakimilover39:well, I am using the show as a guideline and I'll definitely continue doing so. Of course there will be some major and a lot of minor changes eventually. For now I'm kind of going with the flow, although I've a general idea of what I am going to do. I also want to see how the war will end in canon – this if Kishi doesn't go on forever with it. And yes, Akimi will be in Shippūden! Thank you for reviewing.

CHAOSPRIMER: thank you for reviewing again! There are all good ideas, so I will definitely put them in the story (maybe I'll change a thing here and there.) Only, it will be a while until Shino masters his element so you'll have to wait. (But I am almost certain I'll give him lighting at this point...) I had already thought about Shino implementing some seals into his fighting style, at least as support – it is kind of obvious considering he is Akimi and Naruto's teammate.

Wizardmon0073: thank you very much for reviewing! I'm honestly not sure yet how or when exactly they will deal with those issues about Ninja darkness. I am still working on the details. But I think Danzo will pop and say hello very soon. About Sakura, I really enjoying writing about that kick. I've always felt someone should have done it in the show as well. Besides, I really need a medic for later on in the story. I completely agree with you on the genjutsu thing. Canon Kakashi really is a little illogical. My Sakura will use genjutsu, because I don't think being a medic/using ninjutsu are mutually exclusive – quite the contrary. About Kyūbi: I've something planned. I am not saying anymore so not to spoiler you. But it will be a slow development. Just have a little patience. It will come. About Katon manipulation: yeah I know it sounds strange. But after all they are ninja. They walk up trees and water etc. etc. so in the end I thought it was believable. I got inspiration from the fact that in many cultures fire symbolises purification. At least I think so...

About Gogyō Fūin: you are right, attempting an high rank technique like that was a little risky and reckless. It was basically a gamble: Akimi knew that if she didn't cancel the seal Naruto would be hindered and they would be more in danger, had they been attacked. If she did cancel the seal, he would instead recover in a few hours, making their situation much more safer. Hence, she did attempt the seal. Also, I figure is quite confident (maybe even overconfident) in her Fūinjutsu abilities, not to mention that Naruto has influenced her just as much as she influenced him. Lastly, she was in a situation of extreme emotional duress, making her a little less sensible than usual.

However, I don't believe that, had she failed, she would have unleashed Kyūbi. Let me explain: it is not really clear how Gogyō Fūin works in canon, anyway what I think is that it is simply put over the Yondaime's seal, without fusing with it or anything. Also, we have evidence that Yondaime's seal was very, very strong. Even Naruto, without the key, had to unleash eight tails of Kyūbi's chakra before risking to remove it. And the seals that held other Tailed Beasts, like Gaara's one or Yugito's one, were weaker than Naruto's, and yet Akatsuki had to spent days breaking them (although it was actually a unsealing/releasing process). For these reasons, I believe that if Akimi had failed, the only consequence would only have been that the Gogyō seal would have remained, not something catastrophic.

Neo Amon: thank you so much for reviewing! I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. I've always like to experiment with new POVs so I'm glad you found it interesting as well. Naruto will come to accept his 'special' powers, in time. It will be a slow process though. About Sakura's question, I think that she is a very observant and curios person, and yet very much clueless the next one. So that's why she asked it – if it makes sense. Your thoughts about the Loyalty Seal are very interesting. I'm not saying anything more because I don't want to spoiler... but you'll see.

dammyd: thank you for reviewing! I actually didn't realise the fic gave this impression. Naruto takes Fūinjutsu seriously and he knows how dangerous it can be. He is very close to Akimi's level in fact. He will be use seals as well in future, just not as much as her. He also knows a little about seal creation, but usually prefers to let Akimi work with it. He usually gives her ideas. The reason for this is mainly the fact that I didn't want Naruto to be too OOC, or better said I wanted him to keep some of his main canon traits. So he still is hyperactive, cheerful and charismatic and, like in canon, doesn't really like intellectual activities. He basically is a ninjutsu freak. Also, the Uzumaki scrolls he has are very complex so he can't really work with them yet. It will happen... eventually. But I have also another idea to make him honour his legacy (also there is the fact that technically only Akimi knows he knows about the Uzumaki legacy, so it would be suspicious if he suddenly used too much Fūinjutsu. If this makes sense)

CHAPTER NOTES:

About Sasuke: So I don't know if you have already realised it, but I really dislike Sasuke's character. While he had a lot of potential at the start, now he has really became illogical and, frankly said, stupid. I'm considering the fact that this time around he doesn't have Naruto's positive influence so he is already more bent on his path to revenge/obsession with power. I am not sure I've written his POV well, and I hope I didn't bash too much. Let me know what you think.

Last thing: I would like some ideas about some genjutsu to put into the story, they can be very general. Thinking about original genjutsu techniques, for some reasons, is very difficult for me. Well, I'll probably come up with something in the end, but I'm always open to suggestions.