A Different Scroll Chapter 9: Enter the Forest of Death!, a naruto fanfic

Opening - Haruka Kanata by Asian Kung-Fu Generation

Kiba took Akamaru off his head, nestling him instead in his half-zipped hoodie. He was grinning, looking up at the massive treetops of the Forest of Death. Fire Release is gonna be so overpowered in here, he noted with excitement.

"Kiba," Naruto addressed him seriously, "The Forest of Death is surrounded by a fence with forty-four gates in it. From the look of things, each Genin team is going through a different gate. They're a good distance apart, but I'm pretty sure they didn't randomize the sequence when they lined us up, since they handed out scrolls in a Heaven-Earth-Heaven pattern. If that's true, the Sand Genin are to our left, and Kusa's to our right. Both have Earth Scrolls, but only one has a Bijuu."

"So what's the plan? We know we wanna go after Kusa, right?" Kiba asked, and Naruto nodded. "Then I've got an idea. We'll head inward toward the tower, but slightly veer right toward the Kusa team's gate. Even if our paths aren't perfectly lined up to cross, it should bring us close enough. Me and Akamaru smelled snakeskin on one of their Genin. It was subtle, maybe he has a snakeskin wallet or something, but if we get close enough we can track it."

Naruto flashed a grin. "Nice one, Kiba. It still needs my guess about the patterns to be right, though, and if I'm wrong... what's our plan B?"

Hinata gently laid a hand on his shoulder, and said, "My Byakugan. If Kiba can't smell the Kusa Genin, I'll spend some chakra and look around for them."

"Perfect! We're gonna pull this off, believe it." The gate in front of them let off a loud buzzing noise, and popped open. Immediately, Kiba lunged into the Forest of Death with a wild grin, shortly followed by Naruto and Hinata. Fitting the typical training of shinobi, they chose to leap from tree limb to tree limb, in order to conceal themselves in the foliage. After roughly two minutes of moving at top speed, however, Naruto called, "Wait up," and came to a stop.

"Huh?" Kiba turned back and faced him, as did Hinata. "What's up?"

"I'm wearing bright orange on a mission where stealth is a huge factor," Naruto pointed out.

"And? What're you gonna do about it?" Kiba asked, confused. "Did you bring a change of clothes?"

Naruto wordlessly slung off his sword and sash, setting them against the trunk of the tree he was hidden in. Hinata's eyes widened, and she turned bright red when he unzipped his jacket with his back turned to them. Kiba snorted, and looked away, but Hinata merely stared and mumbled, "N-Naruto-k-kun what are y-you d-" she cut herself off when she saw he was wearing his black Ninken outfit beneath his orange jumpsuit. "Oh."

Naruto removed his pants as well, and produced a blank scroll from his weapons pouch. He opened it and began to trace a pattern on it with his finger. "Fuinjutsu: Open Seal. Ten pounds, seven cubic feet." An empty circle appeared in the middle of the new seal, and he stuffed his clothes into it. He rolled up the scroll, returned his cutlass to his back, and said, "Sorry for the wait, guys." He leapt to the branch Hinata and Kiba were standing on, and noticed Hinata's bright red face. "Hina-chan, are you okay?"

"Oh, um..." she started playing with her fingers. "I thought you were... um..." she gestured to the scroll in his hand. "Changing," she finished quietly, and her blush darkened.

Kiba choked back a laugh that might have alerted other Genin teams to their presence, but then his eyes narrowed, and he sniffed. Akamaru growled. "It's the Kusa Genin with the snakeskin scent, he's getting close. Now I can smell blood on him, too."

"He's already killed someone? But we've only been in here for maybe two minutes!" Naruto exclaimed. "And why's he coming in our direc-"

"Sh," Hinata whispered, and pointed. Approaching them on the ground was a sole Kusa Genin, smiling coldly and drenched in blood. His Earth Scroll was tied very visibly to his right sleeve, and although his straw hat shadowed the top half of his face, Team Eight recognized him. "What's the plan?"

"I don't get it," Kiba growled quietly. "He still smells way farther away than he is. This is creepy."

Naruto remained silent, thinking. He's killed someone, possibly multiple people judging by the amount of blood on him. And his two partners... I don't see them at all. Did he... did he kill his own team?

His chakra... Kurama mused, worriedly, it's very powerful, and dark. More sinister than my own, and twisted somehow.

Naruto sighed quietly with frustration. "I'll start with the Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu, then a Wind Scar from my sword. Kiba, use your fire armor thing, but only once Hina-chan and I give the signal. Otherwise, you'll light up, show him our position, and maybe burn us."

"None of that will be necessary," the Kusa Genin called, and removed his hat, dropping it at his side. "Naruto Uzumaki, Hinata Hyuuga, Kiba Inuzuka. Just come down here, and I'll make you a fair trade." he flashed a sadistic grin. "Your two Rinnegan eyes, for Hinata's and Kiba's lives respectively."

A wave of killing intent, a hundred times stronger than the Demon Brother's grief and fury at the loss of his twin, slammed into Team Eight. All three froze, unable to even breathe, and Naruto slumped weakly against the trunk of the tree they were in. I can't even move... I can't breathe... he began shuddering uncontrollably, his eyes locked helplessly on Orochimaru.

Then, his despair was shattered before it could do any permanent damage. WEAKLING! Kurama roared, shocking him into moving. I cannot give you my chakra, but all the same, you WILL NOT let us die here! Kill this snake, eviscerate him, slice him into a mound of dripping red flakes with all the power in your arms. DRAW YOUR SWORD!

"Shut up," Naruto croaked, and shook his remaining terror out of his head, standing. He ripped his cutlass from its sheath, and held it in a perfect one-handed kenjutsu stance. "I was already working on it."

"N-Naruto..." Hinata looked up at him with hope, but also confusion. She hadn't heard Kurama's half of the conversation, so Naruto's made no sense.

The killing intent radiating from Orochimaru vanished, and the Sannin looked up at the Genin with surprise and interest. "Hm? Talking to the Demon Fox, I assume..."

Hinata and Kiba gasped as the pressure was lifted, and shakily got to their feet. Naruto leapt down out of the tree, and landed nimbly to face the foe he still took to be a Genin. "Hinata," he began, "stay back and use the Rasengan as much as you can, maybe some Phoenix Flowers to keep him dodging and distracted. Kiba, use the fire armor thing. I don't know what it does, but I'm guessing it'll hurt this guy."

"Ah? So they defer to you as leader?"

Naruto began forming hand seals with only his left hand, doubling the length of the sequence to make up for his right hand holding his sword. "Wind Release: Air Bullet!"

Seeing Orochimaru dodging the blast, Kiba punched his left palm and declared, "Fire Release: Hellhound Flame Armor." He, along with a growling Akamaru in his hoodie, burst into crimson flame. His grin returned, a bit shaky but still there. The base level of this jutsu isn't gonna cut it, and if all goes well this should be our only fight in this forest. "Hellhound Mode: Level One, Baskerville."

Akamaru's tiny white form melted into Kiba's chest, and his arms grew longer. He hunched over, snarling, as his dog's pale fur sprouted over his whole body. His face transformed into a dog's, or perhaps a wolf's elongated muzzle, and his fingernails grew into pointed claws. He bared his teeth and barked angrily at the 'Kusa Genin,' then stepped forward, dropping out of the tree and landing next to Naruto.

"That jutsu looks rather interesting... Fire Release nintaijutsu, it seems, coupled with the Inuzuka Clan's jutsu to share a body with a ninja hound... rather impressive, for a Genin."

"You say it like you're not a Genin," Hinata observed, even as she shaped a Rasengan in each palm.

"Hm," was their foe's only response, until he opened his mouth wider than any human should have been able to. An emerald-green snake wormed out of his throat, and produced a Chinese jian broadsword which Orochimaru took in his right hand. "Kenjutsu, then," he replied, facing Naruto. "I'd heard you were a ninju-"

"Shinra Tensei!" Orochimaru's eyes widened as he was flung backwards into a tree, and he landed amidst its roots. "Shut up," Naruto commanded, and lunged toward Orochimaru. He came to a stop at a proper distance for kenjutsu, and blocked Orochimaru's first strike. He's strong, and fast, Naruto observed, then blocked Orochimaru's next strike as well, this one aimed for his head. He doesn't seem to be using any formal style, though. I'd guess he just picked that sword up and decided to start swinging it around instead of fists.

The older and far more powerful shinobi, however, began pressing Naruto back, grinning evilly. "Come on, boy, show me more ninjutsu," the Sannin prodded.

Naruto leapt into the air to dodge a swing that would have cut him in half, forming one-handed seals in midair. "Wind Release: Wind Scar!" he swung his sword to launch the simple wind-blade attack, one of few that could be fired from a sword, but Orochimaru sidestepped, and lunged. "Shinra Tensei!" Naruto countered, aiming his palms at the ground and throwing himself higher in the air.

Orochimaru merely laughed as he flew directly at Hinata, who paled and threw one of her two Rasengan. Orochimaru's eyes widened, and he quickly formed a few seals. "Wind Release: Wind Clone Jutsu!" an exact copy of the disguised Sannin appeared to his right, and promptly exploded into a gust of wind, knocking Orochimaru to the side in time to dodge the Rasengan. Kiba kicked off of the ground and intercepted Orochimaru in midair, but the Sannin planted his hand on Kiba's fiery chest, declaring "Summoning Jutsu!"

As Orochimaru pulled his burnt hand away, a ten-foot-long crimson snake appeared and wrapped itself around Kiba, apparently immune to the flames. Orochimaru landed as the Genin did, but jumped toward Hinata again. He grinned, and landed in front of Hinata, who aimed her second Rasengan. He leaned to the side and dislocated her wrist with a simple slap to her arm. She screamed in sudden pain, but fell silent as Orochimaru pressed his jian against her throat. "Settle down," he purred, "You'll never kill me, so don't bother trying."

"Hinata!" Naruto called, his voice dripping with fear. Orochimaru turned his smirk on the blond boy, still with his blade against Hinata's neck. "Stop," Naruto called, and reached for the two desperately. "You want my Rinnegan, there's no need to hurt her..."

The 'Kusa Genin' chuckled, and twitched his wrist, drawing a trickle of blood and a yelp from Hinata. "Come closer," he commanded, and Naruto began walking forward.

"I don't know who you are, how you know about me, or what you plan to use my eyes for," Naruto added, "but you can have them. Just let her go, I'll cut them out myself if that's what it takes... Banshou Tenin!"

Orochimaru snarled, and tried to drag his sword across Hinata's jugular, but it was already being pulled away from her. It accelerated, dragging his arm with it, and stopped with it pointed directly at Naruto. The boy's Rinnegan eyes were blazing with fury. Orochimaru pulled on his sword, but it wouldn't budge.

"Rasengan!" Hinata cried, and aimed a third swirling ball of chakra at his head.

"Substitution Jutsu," Orochimaru countered, and Hinata's attack smashed into a moss-covered log. He reappeared in a tree near Kiba, but before the flame-clad Genin could strike, Naruto rocketed through the air, roaring, and smashed his sword into Orochimaru's Kusanagi. "You bastard!" the younger ninja snarled, and Orochimaru, much to his shock and disgust, found himself retreating, leaping backward through the trees as Naruto pressed his assault. "I! WILL! KILL! YOU!" he roared, punctuating each word with another vicious strike, the last of which grazed Orochimaru's cheek, slicing through his mask of stolen flesh and revealing his pale grey skin beneath.

Yes! Kurama thundered in his head, ignored but still delighted. It feels good to simply pour your rage into a battle to the death, doesn't it? Obliterate him!

Orochimaru scowled, and dodged another sequence of furious attacks. Naruto seemed to have completely abandoned kenjutsu in favor of swinging his weapon like a barbarian, snarling at each miss. The Sannin saw his chance, and closed the distance between himself and Naruto. He sank his teeth into the Genin's neck, and Naruto screamed in agony. A swirling Cursed Seal formed on his shoulder, just below where Orochimaru had bitten him, and he leapt back into another tree, slightly further from the Sannin.

Hinata and Kiba heard Naruto's scream, and she whitened in horror. "Oh, no." she immediately began sprinting through the trees toward the battle, which by now was far away. "Byakugan!" her eyes revealed Naruto in the distance, clearly hurt but alive.

Kiba, behind her called, "Wait up, Hinata! You can't take that guy alone!"

"Then hurry up," she countered coldly, but added in an apologetic tone, "Naruto-kun is still fighting, but he's weak."

Kiba nodded behind her, which she saw with her Byakugan. "All right. We can't just let that bastard kill him." he picked up the pace and caught up to her. "What's happening now?"

"Naruto's staying away from the Kusa ninja... no, wait, he just attacked again... Oh!" she winced as his sword was snapped in two by the Kusanagi. "His sword just broke! He's retreating, toward us!" Naruto emerged through the foliage, groaning in pain. "Naruto-kun!"

"Hina... AH!" the black mark on his neck began glowing a fiery orange, and he collapsed, but Hinata caught him and landed on the ground. The Kusa Genin appeared, smirking, but suddenly vanished, and both Genin still conscious let out a breath they hadn't known they were holding. "Naruto-kun..." Hinata touched the glowing mark on his neck, and burnt her fingers. She yelped and pulled her hand back. "What... is this...?"

She gasped as her Byakugan caught sight of a blade flying toward Kiba's back. "Kiba, look out!" she screamed, and the flame-clad Genin leaned to the side, dodging Kusanagi's strike at the back of his head, but barely. Orochimaru leapt away again, and landed fifteen feet away, then reached up with his free left hand and peeled off his stolen face.

"Hm..." the revealed Sannin hummed, "I wonder. Should I bother killing you two, or allow Naruto-chan to develop those Rinnegan eyes before I harvest them? I suppose it would be little trouble for me to unlock the Paths that still elude him, but if he were to to do it himself... hm..."

Hinata's eyes narrowed, and she threw herself at Orochimaru, aiming a Gentle Fist strike at his heart. The Sannin caught her wrist, and sneered, "Oh, come now. Surely you know who I am by now?" He flicked out his tongue like a snake, and it brushed her cheek lightly. She flinched, but never took her Byakugan eyes off of Orochimaru. "Surely I'm no ordinary Kusa Genin. I am Orochimaru of the Sannin, the strongest of the three, in fact."

"What did you do to Naruto?" Hinata asked with a scowl.

"Oh, good question, if a little predictable. I injected him with a portion of my own chakra combined with natural energy harvested with senjutsu. Said energy has now coalesced into a juinjutsu on his neck, that will activate when he next feels rage or desperation. Now, he's not the sort to become addicted to my power, but I can use my Cursed Seal to break his will when I decide to come for his eyes."

Orochimaru gave an exaggerated sigh, and mused, "Oh, well. There are more pressing matters to deal with than this. Harvesting your friend's eyes can wait, while intercepting Sasuke Uchiha cannot, and I suppose I'd have enough time to kill you two, but why bother?" Hinata tried to pull away, but the snake's grip was too strong. "Perhaps I might even return to take your eyes at some point. Imagine, if I could find some way to implant all three Great Doujutsu into myself." he laughed.

Without warning, Orochimaru vanished, and Hinata fell forward. She scrambled back to her feet, and approached Naruto, who was still unconscious. With her active Byakugan, she could see his pale blue chakra network being flooded by deep purple, foreign chakra, along with a single tenketsu point, just above his navel, that glistened bright orange.

I just don't understand.

Gaara's emotionless mask cracked once again into a frown of utter confusion, and he was grateful his back was to Kankurou and Temari. His arms were folded over his chest, even as he led his team flying through the trees. A whip of his Sand Shield knocked aside a branch that might have scratched his cheek. What makes him do this? That boy with the silver hair was a complete stranger, but Uzumaki saved him, and then decided not to harm his attacker. The difference in power was obvious, all three of those Sound Genin would have been mincemeat. So why? Why not kill them, to prove his existence?

Gaara's head twitched to the side as he heard a familiar voice roaring, "I! WILL! KILL! YOU!" The clang of two blades smashing together echoed after each word.

"Ah. So you're not entirely without bloodlust, Naruto Uzumaki." Gaara stopped leaping through the trees. Mother, I want to see this... he turned, confusing his brother and sister, but they followed him to the battle between Naruto and a Kusa Genin wielding a jian. They crouched in a tree, out of sight.

"That Genin wasn't carrying a sword when we saw him in the first test," Kankurou observed.

"And Naruto wasn't wearing stealth gear," Temari countered. "Storage seals would be my first guess. The Uzumaki Clan were always good at fuinjutsu," she recalled.

Fuinjutsu... Gaara nodded thoughtfully. He glimpsed the fury in Naruto's eyes, and whispered, "His existence will not end here. He is strong enough to survive this."

The other two Sand Siblings turned to look at the eldest son of the Kazekage, their eyes wide with surprise. "Gaara?" Kankurou queried. Gaara's actually... praising this kid?

"Be quiet," Gaara growled, but without any real menace. His eyes and attention were locked on the battle. "I want to see this." The Genin bit Naruto's neck, and the blond shinobi retreated. Gaara leaned forward with interest. His hatred has wavered. But why was he so angry in the first place? Naruto aimed a few more strikes at the other Genin, but when his sword snapped in two, he turned and ran completely."Follow me," Gaara added, and jumped through the trees in pursuit of Naruto. He saw Orochimaru follow the faltering Uzumaki heir, and after a few moments, Naruto's teammates arrived, and the girl caught him as he passed out.

"Gaara," Temari began hesitantly, "Do you want to step in?" Again to her shock, Gaara didn't immediately answer no.

"...Not yet," he sighed. "I want to see how these two will handle this." Gaara watched as the black-haired girl with no pupils lunged at the Kusa Genin, who caught her strike. Temari winced as he licked Hinata's cheek.

Gaara leaned forward to listen. "...no ordinary Kusa Genin. I am Orochimaru of the Sannin, the strongest of the three, in fact." His eyes widened. Orochimaru... an S-rank missing-nin...

"What did you do to Naruto?" The black-haired girl growled.

Gaara blinked. Orochimaru seeks Uzumaki's Rinnegan?

Orochimaru sighed, and continued, "Oh, well. There are more pressing matters to deal with than this. Harvesting your friend's eyes can wait, while intercepting Sasuke Uchiha cannot, and I suppose I'd have enough time to kill you two, but why bother? Perhaps I might even return to take your eyes at some point. Imagine, if I could find some way to implant all three Great Doujutsu into myself."

Orochimaru's sadistic laugh echoed as it reached Gaara's ears. He wants the Rinnegan from Naruto Uzumaki, and the Sharingan as well, from Sasuke Uchiha... both of whom I have deemed worth killing. And this girl's white eyes, then, are the Byakugan, the third of the Great Doujutsu. Orochimaru disappeared, and Gaara's eyes widened. "What? He left... why? Why does no one choose to kill their opponents?" he asked, frustrated, but jumped down out of the tree. Kankurou and Temari followed, perplexed by Gaara's actions.

Hinata turned and saw Gaara approach, from where she knelt over Naruto's limp form. "G-Gaara?" she remembered his name from Naruto's first attempt to talk with him. "What are you doing here?"

"Can you heal Naruto Uzumaki?" Gaara demanded. "Can you remove the curse from his neck?"

Hinata shook her head. "From what Orochimaru said, it sounds like it won't hurt him unless they fight again, but... I don't know fuinjutsu, so I can't say for sure, and I doubt I can remove it."

"Try," he commanded. "he must not fail this test, he swore to battle me." After a moment's consideration, Gaara produced an Earth Scroll from his pocket, and tossed it at Hinata's feet. He turned to Kiba. "You. You're more powerful than most Genin in this forest. Still weak, but not as weak. Guard these two. I and my team will follow Orochimaru."

"We'll do what!?" Kankurou shouted in disbelief. Gaara turned and glared at him wordlessly. "...but why?" he asked desperately.

"Orochimaru created that juinjutsu," Gaara replied, and pointed to Naruto's neck. "He alone knows how to remove it."

"So you're telling me we're gonna capture an S-rank criminal alive, bring him back here, and force him to remove this seal?" Temari questioned. "Gaara, I'm sorry, but that's just crazy. We're Genin."

Gaara locked eyes with his sister, who flinched in expectation of his killing intent, but he didn't use it. "I'm the Jinchuuriki of the One-Tails. I have its power at my disposal, and Orochimaru is still an ordinary man. You two will merely serve as distractions to him."

Temari took a deep breath. "Gaara. Please, we can't beat Orochimaru. That would be like fighting our father."

"I fully intend to kill the Kazekage," Gaara said simply. "Now follow me, Temari, Kankurou. Orochimaru is getting away."

Kankurou gulped, but nodded, and Temari forced herself to do the same. Once they resumed flying through the trees, Kankurou whispered, "Gaara's finally lost it completely."

"I think you're right, but..." Temari shrugged, then ducked a branch that might have whipped her in the face. "If that's true, why does he seem less likely to kill us than he did this morning?"

Kankurou gave a nervous, quiet chuckle. "A miracle, I guess."

Gaara picked up his speed, and cut off the Sannin who was walking on the ground without concern. He appeared in Orochimaru's path, and his gourd dissolved into a mass of sand that writhed viciously at his feet. "And who are you?" Orochimaru asked, amused. "Oh, hold on, I recognize you. Gaara, the son of the Kazekage and Jinchuuriki of Shukaku, yes?"

Gaara made no response, but his sand floated forward, a bit closer to Orochimaru. "Remove the Cursed Seal from Naruto Uzumaki's neck," Gaara rasped, but if he was angry, it wasn't detectable at all.

"And if I don't?" Orochimaru sneered.

"I will kill you," Gaara echoed Naruto's threat. "That should be sufficient to destroy your juinjutsu, but I want to spare you, if only to find out why no one kills their opponents here. Is there some kind of gratification to be earned through mercy? Does it reinforce the value of my existence, more than simply killing? Or are they simply too weak to finish their victims? I want to know."

Kurama's nine tails lashed angrily at the floor and bars of his cage. The serene valley Naruto had created was gone, replaced by a barren cave of earth and stone, dimly light by torches that had appeared in random places throughout Naruto's corrupted subconscious. The walls dripped a purplish-black liquid that Kurama recognized as chakra.

Naruto appeared two feet above the floor of the cavern, and hit the ground hard enough to jolt him back into awareness. He looked around. "What...? What happened in here?"

"This is the work of that snake's senjutsu chakra," the mighty demon growled. "He has injected you... us, with a vast supply of natural energy carrying his consciousness and intent. Through that seal, he can supress your will and flood your chakra network with his own power, rendering us helpless. But we can fight it, in here."

"Natural energy..." Naruto repeated. "That must be what Hinata and I are seeing. The chakra of the world around us."

"Focus, Naruto," the Demon Fox commanded. "If we're to break the seal, we must eliminate all of this senjutsu chakra. His power should manifest in this world, in a form we can kill."

"And can it kill us too?"

Kurama paused. "...I don't know. I don't want to know."

The black liquid flowing down the walls began to surge and pour faster, and gathered in pools at the base of the walls. Tendrils of unwelcome chakra connected all of the pools into a single point in front of Naruto, where the liquid took a human shape and color scheme. Naruto's eyes widened as he recognized the Sannin.

"O-Orochimaru! What the hell are you doing, taking a Chuunin Exam in disguise?"

"Ah, so you've heard of me..." Orochimaru regurgitated his sword again, and took a defensive stance. "I'm here for your Rinnegan, and Sasuke Uchiha's Sharingan."

Naruto reached for his own sword, but the scabbard on his back was empty. He sighed, and lowered his right hand back to join his left in a hand seal. "How many limits do I have in the real world, that didn't follow me here?" he wondered aloud. Kurama whipped his tails at the bars of his cage, unable to reach the battle that was about to begin. Naruto glanced back over his shoulder, and promised the Nine-Tails, "If I can't take him alone, I'll open that cage for you." Kurama's eyes widened, and Naruto added, "I'll have to trust you not to step on my village and kill my friends once you get out."

Orochimaru grimaced at the thought of fighting the Nine-Tails Demon Fox alone, both in Naruto's subconscious, and in the real world once his senjutsu avatar was inevitably destroyed. He leapt at Naruto with Kusanagi aimed to impale his foe, but Naruto turned back in time to see him approach.

Kiba's fire aura flared brighter, an attempt to intimidate the six Genin surrounding him, Hinata, and an unconscious Naruto. "Back off," he growled through a partially transformed throat. Baskerville was only one of the levels to his Hellhound Mode, but he'd end up burning down the forest if he wasn't careful. Each transformation brought him closer to Akamaru's mind and further from his own, and if he wasn't careful, he'd end up forgetting the concept of a forest fire.

Three Genin wearing white jumpsuits, sashes over their faces with holes for their eyes, and metal masks which appeared to help their breathing, eyed the Earth Scroll at Hinata's feet.

The other three were dressed in green. Two wore green and white jumpsuits and straw hats, but the third, the apparent leader of the team, wore a dark green trenchcoat, a blue and white jumpsuit, and no hat. "Oboro, looks like this one's yours," the boy in the trenchcoat noted, pointing to the Earth Scroll at Hinata's feet. She stood, having been crouching over Naruto, but in a cruel twist of fate, the Heaven Scroll in her weapons pouch fell, joining the Earth Scroll at her feet. The boy in the trenchcoat leaned forward. "Ah... scratch that. Two on six." The one named Oboro nodded.

Hinata glanced down at the scroll; this was the first time in her life anything had fallen out of her pouch. "Kiba, maybe we should just give them the scrolls," she noted sadly.

"No freakin' way. We can get Naruto to that tower, and then they'll let us out if we have both scrolls. We can get him to a medic-nin." Kiba clasped his hands together in the Tiger hand seal.

Hinata's Byakugan activated silently, and she settled into a Gentle Fist stance. "You're right," she immediately agreed, then addressed the six Genin opposing them. "I'll try not to kill you, but Gentle Fist strikes tend to damage the organs, even if I strike you on a weaker tenketsu like one on your wrist. I won't hesitate, so please just turn and go."

The one in the trenchcoat laughed. "How old are you? Ten?"

"I'm twelve," Hinata replied, and almost smirked, but not quite. "And I don't like your tone. How old are you?" she countered. "Nineteen? So you either failed the Genin Exam, or this one, for seven straight years, maybe more. Which was it?"

Shigure flinched at how accurate her guesses had been. "I'm gonna kill you," he growled, "You little bitch."

Kiba's fire armor intensified, and he growled like the animal he was proud to be. Hinata didn't move, didn't breathe or blink, she simply maintained her taijutsu stance and prepared herself for the attack she knew was coming.

The other six Genin began making hand seals.

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