Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
"Naruto" – Talking
'Naruto' – Thoughts
Naruto – Flashback
Naruto – Jutsu
Author's Note: Hello everyone. I read the reviews you left and saw a lot of variety, most were rather harsh. I understand that you expect a lot and you want to see the Hokage finally get a clue to what is going on in his family. I can't make any promises so please bear with me.
In this chapter, I am letting Naruto finally let go and show his full power against the Snake Sennin. Afterwards, the Hokage will try to find out the mistakes he made. You probably want the plot to thicken so I will do my best. But I can't make any promises at this point.
Cracking Gaps: Sins of a Family
The Fox and the Snake in the Forest of Death
Previously on Cracking Gaps: Sins of a Family,
And while Hinata was having negative thoughts, Anko counted the remaining Genin. "Seventy-two brats? That's twenty-four teams! You serious lost your touch old man!" Anko shouted in an attempt to humiliate her superior for laughing at her along with the other Genin and Chunin.
"I actually feel good about this Anko because look at those three." Ibiki directed everyone's attention to Team Seven. "Those brats had broken my atmosphere before you did and got everyone to stay and pass the final question. And they were trained by the Blonde Naruto." Ibiki had spoken and then showed an uncharacteristic look of pity and regret; almost like 'sorry to do this to you'.
"Ohhh~!" Anko coed worse than an overaffected mother at Team Seven. "They are Naru-kun's kids eh?" Anko chirped with a grin that threatened to peel her face off. "He did ask me about that favor I owe him. The Second Exam is going to be so much fun~!"
"Welcome brats, to the hell that is the Second Part of the Chunin Exams!" Anko Mitarashi announced in front of a large forest that was surrounded by thick and tall fences; all of them had signs such as 'DANGER' and 'STAY OUT'. It has been a couple of hours since the First Part of the Chunin Exams ended; the Hokage decreed that every Genin that passed the Written Part to have that amount of time to get their nerves together and double, triple check their gear.
"I present, Training Ground 44. AKA, the Forest of Death!" Anko grinned to see that the many groups of Genin were indeed intimidated by the sight of the Training Ground. "Normally we forbidden anyone under the rank of Jonin to enter but Hokage-sama has chosen this to be the Second Part of this year's Chunin Exams."
"What the hell are we supposed to do?" One of the remaining Genin asked rather rashly but Anko didn't budge from her spot and just grinned even more.
"Yeah, yeah. Listen up because I am not explaining this twice." Anko shrug it off and then came two of the Chunin, like Ibiki's own squad. They were carrying a large map which seemed to be one of the entire forest. It showed that the training ground was circular and with a radius of half a mile. Then there was the picture of a tower right in the center of the map. "See that? That is one of the Hokage's towers and that is your destination."
"We just walk over to the tower? That's it?" Another one of the Genin asked and Anko just shook her head, grinning just as badly.
No, getting to the tower is the easy part. But if you and your team arrive empty handed, then you will be disqualified from the rest of the Exams." Anko said and there were protests. "Shut up and listen!" Anko had to shout to get their attention. "Look here." Two more of the Chunin helping Anko out came. But this time, each one had their arms carrying a large pile of scrolls. "These are what you need to deliver to the tower in order to pass the Second Exam."
Taking one from each Chunin's arms, Anko showed that one of the scrolls had the Kanji for 'Earth' while the other had one for 'Heaven'. "This Earth Scroll and Heaven Scroll are the only things you and your team need to pass. I am giving one of these to each team so you will have to find the other scroll to complete the pair. Once you do, keep them and head over to the tower. You all have five days the most to do it."
"But what about our meals!? We will starve in there!" Choji just had to let his big mouth loose, this time.
"If you are then you fail right before you are allowed to go in." Anko retorted. "One last thing, you all need to fill out these." Anko motioned to more Chunin that were handing out forms of some kind to each Genin. "Once you do and show them to the gate keepers then you will be allowed to enter the forest in any fashion you so desire." Anko then moved her head around, as if something was missing. "Now where are the 'stars of the show', children of the Hokage? Even Naru-kun is late."
"And I apologize for holding you up." That voice had taken most of the crowd off guard when there was a flash of light. And then Team Seven in all their glory appeared. But they looked rather tense and displeased.
"Don't tell me you are taking after Hatake? I hate that in a man you know…" Anko was about to scold Team Seven until she saw Naruto hand over a scroll, completely different from the ones she just displayed. It was red compared to the white scrolls for the Exam and the Kanji on it said 'Fire Shadow'. "What's that?"
"Orders from the Hokage, urgent and at the last minute. Bad enough was that I had to drag out my team once ol' Scarface let them out." Naruto said and Anko took the scroll, reading it from an angle that prevented anyone from peeking over her shoulder. Once she was done, she sighed in disbelief.
"Fine Naru-kun. Go ahead and have fun." Anko said without even a single clue to what the Hokage wanted of her to do. But Team Seven knew what for sure, after all they were there like Naruto said before he vanished in the same flash as before.
Flashback Begins!
"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!?" Team Seven knew from the moment the hallway shook at the volume of that woman's shriek, behind that door they faced, that this was going to be torture of a session with the Hokage. Too bad that they entered when Kushina was going to go on, "Why did you sic Ibiki on them!? They are our children!"
"We did just fine, Kaa-san." The twins said in prefect unison, in an effort to make themselves and their team noticed. "And can we get this over with, we need to get to Training Ground 44 in an hour or we will get kicked out!"
Instead of an answer, Kushina turned to the already pale Minato once again. "And you are sending them into that fucking forest!? I think that you have lost your mind!" Naruto coughed to get the Hokage and his wife's attention.
"I can assure you both, that my team is more than ready for this part of the Exam. After how they passed the first, you should have more faith in my students." Naruto said and Minato laughed nervously.
"Yes Naruto-kun, I do and that is why I have made these choices on the Exams." Minato said and had to turn his eyes back on his wife, still staring at him with intent to maim. "But as Keiji and Mito are my blood children, imagine the scandal if even one of them is hurt as much as a bruise! That is why me and Kushina-chan wanted to see you under such short notice."
'That tone still is the same. Why can't you see that you have more children than just the twins?' Naruto thought to himself. "I understand the concern and that is why I think that this is a waste of time. You allowed me to 'harm' you children since it was necessary for Shinobi training. Why are you concerned this time? Is it because we have the children of the Kazekage in the exams?" The blonde queried which got their attention for sure.
"Yes Naruto-kun." Minato said after a moment that felt like a painful eternity. "After how Hiruzen's grandson, Konohamaru, nearly started a scandal on its own, the Kazekage demanded that I show a better example. And that means for me to see to it that the children of the Kage are unharmed and out of danger."
"So that is why you are getting a mouthful out of Kushina-sama, Hokage-sama?" Minato sighed to hear such casual talk from his children; this was what almost made him regret achieving his dream of succeeding Hiruzen as Hokage. His wife especially, it hurt to be called that by her own children; the ones that she personally gave birth to.
"…Yes and more than that." Minato replied and gave a familiar scroll with the Kanji of his title written on it to Naruto. "Just give it to Anko-san and do what it says once you read it." Naruto said nothing and just opened the scroll only once. Scanning the words within seconds, taking in what the Hokage wants him to, Naruto nodded and sealed the scroll back tight. "And can we have some time with the twins?"
"…" Naruto said nothing and neither did anyone else. "Five minutes. Then we need to get back to the Chunin Exams. You can't have this favoritism going on a second longer than you already have, Hokage-sama." Naruto then gently tugged at his student/girlfriend, leading Hinata out of the room to settle at the door.
"So, what the hell do you bastards to want to tell us? To go back to your stuffy compound and be the family you thought we were?" Keiji spoke disrespectfully and this time, Mito was silent; she was going to take any sides to this argument. Minato and Kushina looked at each other, no longer an angry wife staring down her timid husband; but they looked more like a pair of parents who were troubled about their children.
Flashback Ends!
"Sorry about the delay, brats. It is just that our brave, great leader has gotten intel to his ears about someone trying to infiltrate these exams." Anko announced and knocked Team Seven off of Memory Lane. "Now, according to the rules, we should cancel them right now. But Hokage-sama has his hands tied with the Kazekage demanding the exams to go on." This was getting the Genin worried; the only type of Shinobi brave, foolhardy or worse, able to sneak into one of the Great Five Villages undetected is one on par with the most powerful Jonins. The very thought was sending shivers down their spines.
"So, for the sake of maintain peace between Konohagakure and Sunagakure, we have dispatched your Jonin Instructors as well as most of the other Jonin into the forest. They will not interfere for the Second Part of the Exams. Instead they will be searching for this intruder in the best way they can. So, if you see one then don't bother asking one of them for advice. That is the latest rule, asking one of the Jonin for anything during the Second Part will get you and your team disqualified."
Now the Genin felt like they were in the same atmosphere as back in that room with the scarred man. So many rules, the threat of disqualification or death above their heads and the uncertainty of how to pass is back in one package. It took a few minutes for them to go over the rules and submitted the pieces of paper to the Chunin guards; now they will have to charge head first, looking for their own to steal from, in the Forest of Death.
XXXXX
"So what's the plan? It can't be the straightforward approach to the tower, we cannot count on the other teams trying that. Not even one." Keiji said as he and his team were jumping from branch to branch, trying to get a head start.
"Wait. Why is the wind…?" Mito pointed out and when she and her team looked back to the direction of the wind, they felt like a wall had hit them. This sent them off of the tree branches they were standing on and into the air. But despite the intense winds, Team Seven was able to hold on together and land on the ground without being separated.
"Ah. I had hoped that the Futon: Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough) would have sent you flying like bugs in the wind~!" Team Seven then heard the voice of a woman, but more like a seductiveness. Soon enough, out from the trees, came one of the creepier Genin from the start of the Second Part of the Exams; with a cloak over most of her features, a large straw hat and a voice like of a snake's. "Oh well, I get to help myself to the wonderfully soft flesh of your bodies and your delicious blood anyways."
Team Seven had gotten onto their stances but then felt something. It was like their hearts and souls were weighted down harshly. "Ah~! The little bugs are feeling brave today~? But no bug can defeat a snake before it eats them~! Remember that before you die~!" That 'Genin' gave out a disgusting aura around her entire body outline; it was green with fear, intimidation and bloodlust. Team Seven had felt the same thing a mouse must have before being eaten by a snake; they can't defeat this threat.
Meanwhile, Naruto was surveying his own portion of the forest. Of course, there were the giant animals and insects trying to eat him alive; but they only made his job a little more stressful and gave Naruto more delays than anyone will ever wish for in their lives. But what really ruined his day was when he had the feeling that someone was behind him…and ate him whole!
"Futon: Wangetsu Kazekiri (Wind Release; Crescent Wind Cutter)!" Naruto shouted out of reflex and saw, to his disgust, that this giant snake came and tried to eat him. Naruto was about to move on and tried to forget about living that down until the snake corpse burst into smoke. 'An animal summons? Who would let loose something like that in the Forest of Death, especially during the Second Part of the Chunin Exams?'
Naruto took the chance on a branch to think about it. He didn't have much since there were only two recorded summoners of the Snake Summons Clan. 'But Anko will never try something like that. That means…OH NO!' Naruto started to panic and sure enough, heard the sounds of his team attacked. Naruto hurried over to the source of the screams.
"Futon: Wangetsu Kazekiri!" Naruto shouted once he arrived where the signatures of his team were centered, in a clearing that they were visible from. He saw the same thing about the 'Genin' that his team did but acted more accordingly, attacking instead of surrendering. "You have a lot of nerve even coming to our land, Traitor to Konoha!"
Team Seven was relieved to see their instructor (and boyfriend in Hinata's case). They moved away from the 'Genin' and to the safe side of Naruto while the intruder just giggled in a sour way. "I could have sworn that my summoned had distracted you for much longer. But you are the Twisted Eye of Konoha, are you Naruto-kun?"
"So what, snake scum?! A sadist, gay, pedophile like you has no right to be cuddy with me!" Naruto was seriously freaking his disciples out. They didn't know just who this intruder is and their teacher is acting like they were mortal enemies.
"Hey, you like foxes as much as me so you must be fox scum." The woman said that made the entire Team Seven cell growl. "And you call me the pedophile when you date one of your students?"
"Because I don't harass them or treat them like lab rats. Let me guess, you are here because Kabuto's kunai finally got too blunt. I guess that you have finally lost you touch, shivered up prune!" Naruto was about to blow up until he came up with a good retort that got his disciples to laugh. But what made the snake-like woman to growl was Naruto's extra touch; she hears not only the Genin laughing but everyone in the whole forest.
"You may be the youngest Jonin in Shinobi History, you might be the one to train the children of the Hokage but you are still a sprout for me to eat up! And I might just have your girl for a side salad once I am done with you!" The woman shouted and extended her arm. "Sen'ei Jashu (Hidden Shadow Snake Hands)!"
"Futon: Hakiri Touken (Wind Release: Leaf Cutter Blades)!" From the sleeve of the enraged snake woman came about a dozen snakes with fangs ready to strike Naruto. The blonde, of course, came up with a counter-attack and sliced the snakes as if they were sushi. "Futon: Genmetsu Senbon (Wind Release: Disillusionment Needles)!" Naruto breathed in next and spit out a storm of nigh-invisible Senbon needles at the snake woman.
"Hebitate!" Using her other sleeve, she summoned another dozen snakes to swirl around the front of her body as a shield. And while the snakes took most of them, she felt nicks on her legs, arms and on one of her cheeks. "Doton: Dodai Taitoru Kishuu (Earth Release: Base Title Ambush)!"
Then, as if it was sheets of paper, the forest ground shot off and moved to strike Naruto, especially those at his feet. And yet, while the Genin had to move to dodge some, not one of the dirt titles even scratched the blonde. "You are losing that aim of yours. Told ya that you make an old crone!"
The woman ignored Naruto and checked the small cuts on her body. There, she saw that there lined with a venom that attacks the victim's aim, balance and concertation. That would explain why she is seeing double vision. She growled before doing what will give the Genin nightmares for days,
Under the shade of the trees she was hiding in, the woman made like a molting snake and shed her own skin! But what came out of her enlarged and dislocated mouth was not a woman. It was someone else entirely which got Team Seven scared out of their wits and Naruto to scowl before grinning maliciously. "So you have made some progress. Now you are less of a man and more a snake now. Aren't ya, Hokage Reject #1?"
That 'man', that creature, that monster, nearly roared like a provoked bear to a trespasser. "If you don't shut up now, you will see how much of a snake I can be." That voice was definitely not a woman but that of a tyrant's, a warlord's and a degraded serial killer; all as deep as a man's tone can be.
"Aww~!" Naruto still had the mocking grin and talked in the same tone that this man used on his team not a while ago. "Did I hit a soft spot? I didn't know that snakes are more tender than helpless newborn when I bring up the truth?"
"Shut up!" The man finally snapped but kept his cool, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique)!" The snake man, still unnamed, created some kind of grid on the ground that created a large puff of smoke. Out of it came more giant snakes, one of them was underneath the man's feet. And as such, it rose and lifted the snake man into the light in the clearing.
The man's most striking characteristic is his snake-like appearance: he has very pale skin, golden eyes with silted pupils, purple markings around his eyes and fang-like teeth. He also has pronounced cheekbones and straight waist-length black hair with some locks covering and framing his face or to his shoulders. He was wearing plain grey garbs with a black polo and pants underneath, a thick purple rope belt tied in a large knot behind his back, blue tomoe-shaped earrings, and shinobi sandals with bandages around his calves.
"Guys, run." Naruto then said to his team without even facing them. "I can only delay him for much longer but now you have to run." {NOW!} Team Seven knew that their teacher meant business and they moved when they felt something else; pure bloodlust, directed at each of them!
Team Seven then moved out of the way of the giant snakes that didn't even bother with Naruto. No doubt that they won't try to even get near their master's prey. And Naruto couldn't even lift a finger to stop the snakes that chased after his team. All the blonde could do now is to face the snake man, the Traitor to Konoha and the infamous Snake Sage.
Elsewhere in the forest, Team Seven had a place to hide from the snakes. But a hollow tree might be a good hiding place, it won't keep out snakes the size of houses for long. It was only a matter of time before the bark gives in and the snakes will finally dine in on their prey.
"Help." Keiji spoke while hugging his sister and Hinata together, as far from the fangs biting at the hollow tree. His team could feel his fear, it was exactly what they were feeling; they were surrounded, helpless and without their teacher to help them against such monsters.
'Help us…Kurama!' That was to be the thoughts of Keiji and Mito before they felt a surge of energy. It filled every inch of their bodies, almost like they were being covered from head to toe in power. It was also bright, repelling the giant snakes from the tree. But the twins kept their concentration through the pleasurable feeling and sent this energy high into the air like a large flare.
XXXXX
And while this was happening, Minato and Kushina were awaiting anxiously (in secret of course) for their children to arrive. They were hoping that it won't take too long. After all, they finally got the name of the intruder and it was the name of a man that they both hoped to never find their children.
Then all of a sudden, there was the feeling of fear. A feeling of tension and fear. A feeling that someone close was in grave danger. When Minato and Kushina reacted to the sensation, their honed senses had told them that it came from within the forest. They trusted their instincts since they developed them during their years of training in the Shinobi arts. They were even saved on many occasions by trusting their gut feelings.
"That chakra, Minato!" Kushina panicked. She was picking up a maelstrom of emotions and dark energy. And all of it came from that tornado of orange light that was shooting out of the forest.
"That's it's chakra but I don't feel rage from it but fear! Like it is calling for help!" Minato shouted. "This isn't it trying to escape but to trying to summon help to its containers! I never even dreamed of it doing such a thing!" Minato shouted like a genius proven wrong about something on all accounts. It was so shocking that the Hokage was holding his head in pain while scratching the back of his neck for a short time.
And, to add on this little mystery, Kushina was ignoring he husband's headache and scratched her neck in the back as well. But they both did this for only a few seconds and never noticed it. "Never mind that Minato-kun, we need to get there! Naruto-kun is strong but who knows long he can last against him. Against Orochimaru!"
There was no need for words anymore so they hurried towards that spot in the forest in blurs. They were moving so fast that trails of leaves from the tree branches tracing their movements. Every step left a burn mark on the tree bark, a branch was chipped off and the trees were slightly uprooted from the earth at their bases.
'You better not have stolen our children from us, Kyubi Demon!' Minato and Kushina thought as they approached closer and closer. To what they thought to be a traitor about to kill their children, while a 'demon' was making them sitting ducks. Instead, this will be when answers are given to those who deserve them; but there is always a twist to the truth, it is all on how they are going to take the truth that is going to shape their futures.
End of Chapter 13.
*Thanks for the support and criticism. I knew that you won't love that last chapter and I sure didn't. Not just because it was shorter than the average but because I felt like I was reusing plot points and haven't twinkled with them enough. Please tell me what you think about this one. A little CC (Constructive Criticism) will be nice to ask once in a while, please. *