Hey everyone. Sorry for the delay.
Brazerancor: You may be right about the threat... oh well.
JintoLin: Well, I can see why. I mean, Sakura kinda got shafted: she didn't really contribute much until Sasori, and then not much after. Not to mention how she treated Naruto. And her feelings toward Sasuke can come across as shallow since she doesn't seem to have had a reason to fall for him. Hell, while as I said I disregard Boruto, I do at least mostly acknowledge the Gaiden episode, and it's shown there that despite marrying Sasuke, Sakura still barely knows him. As for Hinata, she admired Naruto for being able to keep getting back up after everything he went through. This means that she knew how lonely he was and didn't do anything to help him because she was so shy. I mean, as I said, he barely knows she exists at this point. And yeah, her clan probably wouldn't have let them interact outside of class, but she could have been there for him in class and during lunch and such. And she just left him in his loneliness. And she loves him... yeah, while I like her overall and as I said, NaruHina was the ship I supported in canon, I can see why people would be mad at her.
Avidnarutofan: He still has room to grow.
dai sennin kurosaki d Naruto: It's not so much going light as going with what was said in canon. Thinking on it, I agree that that is way too low, but that's what was said in the manga... Yes, there will be other Uzumaki, but that's all I'm saying on that here. You'll have to wait and see.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura leaped across the massive root systems that covered the ground.
"Ready, Naruto?" Sasuke asked from behind him.
Glancing back at his teammate out of the corner of his eye, Naruto replied, "Way ahead of you!" As he made a cross-shaped hand seal.
In an instant, a burst of smoke erupted around him. Twelve clones of Naruto emerged from the smoke alongside the blond. The clones quickly ran through three more hand seals themselves.
They were once more enveloped in smog, and when it cleared, twelve unassuming birds flapped their wings and flew up into the trees above.
Basic jutsu like that were really underrated.
As their newly made scouts vanished, Team Seven came to a rest on the forest floor. "So, what now? We wait?" Sakura asked.
Just then, screams echoed throughout the forest, and the three turned to the direction the sound came from. They'd known that there'd be death at this stage. Anko made sure of that. But still, to hear those screams was more than a bit disturbing.
"Looks like someone's already made a move," Sasuke observed.
There was a pause as the three contemplated what that meant. Then Naruto began to walk off toward the trees.
"Be right back," The blond called over his shoulder.
"Where are you going?" Sakura asked.
"Bathroom." He answered as he walked into the mass of tree roots.
Once he felt he was far enough from his teammates, he walked over to a nearby root when suddenly a shadow descended upon him from above. The assailant slammed the back end of a kunai into his head.
The attacker's moment of triumph was shattered when Naruto burst into a cloud of smoke at the moment of impact.
"What?" He had just enough time to exclaim before Naruto appeared in the air behind him, delivering a roundhouse kick to his head and sending him flying into one of the roots. He hit the wood with enough force to fracture the bark. A loud crack rang out at the impact before he fell to the ground and didn't move.
Naruto scowled at the unconscious Ame genin. "Jackass..." He snarled as he walked towards the downed boy, reaching into his pouch and pulling out wire strings.
Naruto went back to the clearing after restraining the enemy and taking care of his business. The blond was still scowling as he rejoined his team, and Sakura took notice and frowned. "Something wrong?"
"Some Ame genin tried to ambush me when I was answering the call of nature," Naruto ground out as he looked back where he came from. "I mean, I get the whole 'attack when you're least expected' thing, but man, that's low."
"What happened to him? Did he have his scroll on him?" Sasuke asked.
"Nah, we're not that lucky. I just left the jerk tied up back there." Naruto pointed back where he came with his thumb. "Since no one came out to save him, I guess he was alone."
"Maybe it'd be a good idea for us to split up too." Sasuke considered, drawing his teammate's attention. "Not like we'd actually be alone, with your watchers looking out for us."
Naruto nodded and then jerked his head and gazed into the forest as memories hit him. One of his clones had dispersed to warn him. Something was headed their way.
Both his teammates tensed at the blond's reaction. "What is it? Did your scouts run into some trouble?" Sakura asked.
"Something like that," Naruto replied. The enemy was making a beeline for them. "I think we should get going."
The three genin of Team Seven blurred through the giant tree roots, leaping from tree to tree as they sped through the forest while a bird sat on one of the massive tree roots and watched them pass. It sat there, chirping as it made little hops, its eyes darting this way and that, briefly meeting a similar bird farther up in the trees. In the wake of the trio, the Kusa kunoichi phased out of the ground, followed by her teammates. She smirked, her long tongue slipping out of her mouth and licking her lips as she eyed her prey.
"Ku, ku, ku, ku... on the move, are we?" She asked the empty forest around her. "I wonder, what has you in a hurry all of a sudden? Could it be that you're aware... that you're being stalked by a predator?"
Her teammates rose out of the ground behind her, standing on either side of the tall woman. Together, they stared in the direction the genin disappeared in.
"Or perhaps... my prey means to lure me into a trap?" She mused aloud, and immediately the bird's eyes focused on her. "Oh, how amusing. This will be more entertaining than I thought."
Had she caught already? He was right; that creepy lady was bad-news.
"It seems our prey wants to lead us on a pointless chase. Clever, but not quite good enough." The Kusa kunoichi said. "You two go and play somewhere else. I'll take care of them myself."
Oh boy. Well, if the kunoichi wasn't going to fall for it, it might be a good idea to go for broke and spring what's left of the trap right about...
"Now, let's see..." The Kusa kunoichi said, bringing a hand to her face. "Two above and eight searching elsewhere."
The bird froze, and the Kusa Kunoichi turned her head to look at it. Absently, it noted her eyes were silted, like a snake's.
Before the bird could process anything else, it burst into smoke.
"I don't like this. That Kusa kunoichi seems like trouble." Sasuke thought aloud. "And why's she coming right for us?"
Naruto frowned and crossed his arms. "How should I know? Somehow, I doubt it had anything to do with that thing with the kunai."
"You don't think she wants to test herself against an Uchiha like Lee did, do you?" Sakura asked, looking at Sasuke.
Sasuke's narrowed eyes were the only indication of how he felt about that. "Who knows? But if she saw through that ambush, we should probably stay out of her way.
Naruto was about to voice his agreement, but his head suddenly jerked and looked off into the distance. His teammates turned to him, waiting for an explanation. He turned back to them opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, he jerked his head again. Then in another direction, and then again in yet another, his face draining of color.
Sasuke and Sakura tensed at the blonde's shocked expression. "What?" Sakura asked. "What is it? What happened?"
Naruto shook his head slowly, astonishment and disbelief dancing across his features. "I... I don't believe it. She destroyed them..."
"Which ones?" Sasuke asked, immediately catching on. "Your scouts? The ambush?"
"All of them," Naruto said, the memories of his clones' demise playing back in his head one after another. "She got all of them…"
Sakura's face turned to concern while Sasuke's became grim. "What? That's impossible! You sent them out in all different directions! There's no way!"
Naruto shook his head again. "No. It was her. I'm sure of it."
"But how?" Sakura asked.
"It doesn't matter how," Sasuke said, snapping the two out of it. "What matters is that she did it. And we're next. We've got to-" a wave of killing intent washed over them. The sheer bloodlust was so potent it chilled their blood. It set every fiber of their being alight with terror, screaming: 'you are going to die' at them. For an instant, they saw themselves being torn apart, blood flowing from countless wounds as their bodies were riddled with kunai.
And just as in their visions, they fell to their knees. Their bodies trembled and refused to respond. Sakura was frozen completely, her eyes dull and unseeing. Sasuke bent forward and threw up, and the fear twisted Naruto's stomach so bad he almost joined him. He weathered it a bit better since he'd endured it second hand before. But it was so much worse in person. 'W- What the hell is this? I can barely move... S- She makes Zabuza look like a kitten!'
A quiet slithering sound caught their attention moments before an enormous snake, large enough to swallow a man whole, crawled up the tree. It twisted around the branch toward them before rearing up and lunging at the genin.
'Come on... move... move!' Naruto managed to snap out of it, just in time, and a glance showed him his teammates had too. They all jumped away, Sasuke launching six shuriken at the serpent that pierced its head as they landed on three separate branches. The snake let out a loud hiss before it fell over and lay still.
Any hopes that it was over were dashed as the snake's scales shifted as the Kusa kunoichi emerged, uncaring that she was covered in the snake's body fluids. "My, aren't you the clever ones. And it seems you were preparing to run, what good instincts. Unfortunately, it seems you've been cornered."
Sasuke grimaced as he tightly gripped a kunai, his eyes shifting to crimson. "I take it you're not after our scroll."
"Ku, ku, ku... how right you are..." The Kusa kunoichi answered, clearly amused at the genin's dread.
Naruto glanced at his teammates. Sasuke seemed to have recovered. Sakura was trembling but stopped after taking a deep breath.
At that moment, the Kusa kunoichi burst from the serpent, snaking up the tree like a serpent herself, quick as a blur. She slithered along the branches until she reached Sasuke's tree and closed in on him.
Naruto immediately formed a cross-shaped seal as he moved into action. Four clones appeared around him as he leaped across the gap. All five threw a volley of kunai as Sasuke kicked back to the base of the branch he was on, putting some distance between him and his foe as he added his own kunai into the mix.
The serpentine kunoichi merely weaved around them as she continued on her way. She rose up when she reached him, like a snake preparing to strike, and slammed into the branch with enough force to kick up a cloud of dirt and debris.
"Sasuke!" He and Sakura yelled as the blond landed on the branch, only for the dust to clear to reveal a broken log, covered in explosive tags.
The Kusa kunoichi vanished in the explosion, but past experience with her told Naruto no way had that gotten her. His clones rushed the cloud as sure enough, she emerged, unscathed. She casually weaved around his clones attempts to strike at him, dispelling each with a well-placed counter. A knee to the stomach, and elbow to the back, his clones were destroyed one by one until five seconds later, they were nothing but smoke.
She turned to him, but it was at that time Sasuke landed beside Naruto and both readied jutsu.
'Wind Style: Gale Palm!' Naruto clapped his hands and unleashed a blast of wind. Sasuke used his signature Fireball Jutsu, the attacks combined into a massive wall of fire that completely consumed the branch.
The two genin stared at the conflagration as it began to fade, to reveal... nothing, just a ruined tree. The branch the pair stood on was just barely hanging on.
The two tensed as they felt a presence behind them. Naruto didn't have enough time to turn before a leg slammed into him and sent him flying, crashing into another branch with a cry of pain, sending fissures through the bark.
Sasuke jumped back and threw shuriken that were effortlessly avoided as Naruto got back up and made another cross-shaped hand seal. Four clones burst into existence and charged at the serpentine kunoichi, who easily dodged their strikes and took them out one by one.
Sasuke had another jutsu ready by the time half of the clones were defeated. Naruto recognized it as Fire Style: Running Fire. The Uchiha breathed out a stream of flame that formed a circle around Orochimaru and the remaining clones, cutting them off from sight. Naruto jumped into the air and saw their foe had vanished from the ring already.
The Kusa kunoichi rose out of the branch behind Sakura. The pink-haired girl had until then been too freaked out to move, but the imminent threat snapped her out of it, and she immediately leaped away, her eyes wide with terror. Sasuke appeared in the air in front of the tall kunoichi in a blur of motion. He aimed a roundhouse kick at her head, only for her to catch it with her forearm. The Uchiha twisted his body and made to punch her in the face, only for the kunoichi to block it. She rotated her arms to spin him in the air before kicking him in the chest, sending him sailing through the air where Sakura caught him.
Naruto jumped into action, shooting off from his place and over the Kusa kunoichi, throwing down four kunai that she easily dodged as he landed in front of Sakura and Sasuke.
"Wind Style: Divine Wind!" Naruto called out as he made the ram seal, unleashing a wave of wind that formed several small tornadoes. The Kusa kunoichi smirked, casually walking through them, but it was then that her attention was drawn to the ground. To the kunai, Naruto had thrown, and the seals wrapped around them.
The seals that contained Sasuke's Fireball Jutsu.
They erupted into balls of fire that combined with the gusts of wind to create a massive tornado of flame as the three genin leaped away.
"Do you think we can get away?" Sakura asked as they looked back.
"With how she caught us before? Not a chance." Naruto replied through grit teeth.
The Kusa kunoichi was once more moving in serpentine form, snaking her way across the tree limbs as she chased after them. They only caught a brief glimpse of her slithering form as it blurred past them and vanished into the foliage.
Even with the Sharingan, Sasuke couldn't follow the movements of the strange kunoichi hunting them. Despite that, he had a good idea of where she would appear next. At the next branch, he leaped higher than his team and ran through hand seals.
Just as he expected, she emerged from beneath the branch ahead of them as he molded chakra in his chest.
'Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!' He peppered their foe with small fireballs as his teammates landed and bolted in opposite directions. Both drew shuriken and threw them at the tall kunoichi, but she dodged all the attacks with small steps or casual tilts of her body.
She watched as Sasuke sailed over her head and landed, immediately spinning on his heel and running at the Kusa kunoichi. He channeled chakra to his legs, blurring as he moved as fast as he could to try and bridge the gap between them.
All for nothing. A jab aimed at the tall kunoichi's torso was brushed aside. The momentum was turned into a sweeping kick that was easily avoided by bending backward. Sasuke launched himself at her, kunai poised to plunge into her chest, only for her to catch it and strike the Uchiha heir in his solar plexus.
As he reeled back, Naruto came at her with a flying kick that was ducked under. He charged at her.
"Naruto!" Sakura yelled. Knowing what she had in mind, the blond leaped into the air as she let loose a volley of senbon from behind him, having used his body to cover her movements.
Their assailant bent backward almost unnaturally and watched as they sailed over her head. "Hmm... dripping with poison... my what a promising bunch you are." She said as she righted herself and prepared to meet Naruto as he came down.
But her eyes widened when four yellow chains grew from his back, twisting in the air and shooting towards her. She leaped back as they slammed into the branch with enough force to kick up a cloud of dirt before carving a path through the wood toward her, closing the gap in an instant. They rose up and entangled her as Sasuke righted himself and threw a series of kunai at her chest, hitting home.
For a moment, he felt a brief moment of hope before it was dashed as she melted away into mud.
"My, my... it's been a long time since I last laid eyes on those chains..." They heard her speak as she emerged from the base of the branch. "How nostalgic... but I guess I shouldn't be surprised. You are her son..."
What? This kunoichi knew Naruto's mother? How? The hairs stood up on the back of Sasuke's neck as he gave Naruto a brief glance, noting his shocked look, and then looked back to their foe.
"Who are you?" Sasuke asked lowly as his eyes narrowed his whole body tense and ready to spring into action at any moment. "You're no genin. You're probably not even from Kusa."
"Ku, ku, ku... well, if you want to know so badly, entertain me. I might deign to tell you." The kunoichi replied.
No surprise, all things considered. The unknown kunoichi's skill. The familiarity with Naruto's mother. The way she was targeting them. But why was she...
... The Uchiha's power. It had to be. She was after him. It was because of him that Naruto and Sakura were in this mess.
He grit his teeth as that thought hit him, anger and frustration building at the realization. It was blatantly apparent they had little chance against their opponent. She was probably on Zabuza or Kakashi's level, if not higher.
He clenched his eyes shut. He couldn't do anything. Just like he was powerless to save his family all those years ago.
'No!' His eyes shot open, and the world changed. At first, he couldn't quite place what was different. Then, as he charged toward their foe, he got his answer.
'This is...' Before the 'Kusa' kunoichi could even move, he saw a shadow of her form blur into motion, and she followed seconds after. He threw a punch, and he saw her block and how she would counter. When she brought her knee up, he tilted back to dodge. He used the momentum to spin and lash out with his arm. He saw her block and timed a kick. She evaded it, but not by the same margin.
'I can see!' He kicked back and threw kunai, only for her to dodge, but before she could follow up, Naruto jumped high and came down in an ax kick. She blocked, but the chains erupted and moved to impale her, forcing her to throw the blond back and jump backward.
Sasuke shot forward, seeing Sakura join him as a single chain burst from Naruto's back, spearing the branch behind them and reeling him away. As they met their foe, the chains shot ahead from either side, covering them as they closed the distance.
He couldn't see it, but his eyes now each sported three tomoe.
Sakura's eyes widened as Sasuke shot forward. She could tell instantly; his movements had changed. He was reading and dodging their opponent's moves far better before.
Naruto was next to join the fray, summoning five clones to his side and charging.
An image of that fateful battle on the bridge flashed into her mind as she watched them fight. Seeing Naruto and Sasuke within the dome of ice mirrors before the fog became too thick. Unable to do anything even if she wasn't guarding Tazuna.
Just like then, her teammates were fighting with everything they had. And here she was, too afraid to do more than throw the occasional senbon. Just watching them fight; again.
Deadweight; again.
... No. Not again. Never.
She forced down the fear in her heart and steeled herself before leaping into the air, jumping to a nearby tree before launching herself at the enemy. She channeled chakra into her leg; building and maintaining it as best she could as she flipped and raised her leg high.
She unleashed all the power she could muster as the serpentine kunoichi blocked her attack with her forearm. The tall woman's eyes widened as the force of the blow sent out a shockwave, the bark splintering beneath her feet.
But her gaze soon shifted to amusement. "My, that's some chakra control you have." She said as she swept her leg to the side. Before she could retaliate, however, a chain wrapped around Sakura's waist and pulled her back.
The kunoichi took a step forward before looking down and noticing Sakura had dropped some poison bombs during her attack. She was soon engulfed in a purple cloud.
"Think that did anything?" Sakura asked.
"I doubt it. Nothing's worked so far." Sasuke said grimly.
"I'm not sure we can take her," Naruto admitted, smiling humorlessly. "But it's not like we have a choice. Besides, running's not my style anyway."
Sakura took a deep breath and drew senbon needles between her fingers. "Whatever happens, I'm with you! I'm not going to sit back and watch you two fight again."
The blond looked at her and smiled genuinely. "Yeah, we're in this together!" He said, getting a nod from a smirking Sasuke.
"How touching." The snake user said as she rose from the ground behind them. "Very well. If you've managed to gather your wits together, show me what you can really do."
"You asked for it!" And with that Team Seven charged. Sasuke took the front, supported by Naruto's clones. The Uchiha took advantage of his newfound abilities, avoiding their foes' attacks and trying to keep her attention. Sakura came at her with heavy blows fueled by her precise control of chakra. The real Naruto ducked in and out of battle, attacking from every direction with the chains.
As Sasuke ducked and weaved around all of the snake user's attacks, Sakura jumped back when the snake user lashed out with a kick. Naruto leaped into the air and came at their foe with a roundhouse kick as two of his clones vanished in clouds of smoke. The chains burst from his back as the snake user crouched down and let it sail over her head, forcing her back as they slammed into the bark where she stood.
Sakura took advantage of the debris cloud and threw a volley of poison-covered senbon from behind it. The long-haired woman simply brushed them aside with her arm. As she prepared another volley, Naruto unleashed his chains and Sasuke jumped high and unleashed another phoenix flower jutsu. They assailed the woman with a combination of fireballs, poison needles, and stabbing and sweeping chains.
Once more, she took on a more serpentine form and snaked through the assault, closing the distance between them in an instant and rearing up to attack. The pair leaped back to dodge, and she saw Naruto make a hand seal as they flew.
The snake user bent backward as a hail of kunai erupted from the ground, flying straight up into the air. Ah, Naruto had placed one of his seals there.
Sasuke reappeared behind her. He aimed a sweeping kick at her waist, but she shot into the air, flipping over his head. She vanished in a burst of speed the moment she landed.
The genin gathered together, standing back to back as they heard her traveling through the foliage, leaves raining down to the forest below.
Sasuke's eyes followed her every move as he ran through hand signs. He turned and unleashed a stream of fire at the exact moment their foe turned to face them.
Naruto took that opportunity to send his chains into the bark beneath them. She could see fissures spreading as they tore their way towards the wall of fire before them.
A similar fissure cleared the wall of flame. It seemed that tall kunoichi had avoided the fire by diving beneath the wood too. Lucky them.
Sasuke readied shuriken as they all knew what would come next. Sure enough, the woman burst from the ground to avoid the sharp tips of the chains. Sasuke threw his shuriken the moment she appeared. They sailed past the woman, but the way her eyes followed their trail showed she realized the danger.
Too late. Sasuke pulled on the nearly invisible wires, ensnaring the woman. Sakura had started her charge the moment the shuriken flew. She slammed her fist into the serpentine kunoichi's chest and sending her flying, fracturing bark when she slammed into the base of the tree with a grunt.
Perfectly placed for when Naruto's chains burst from the ground, impaling her through her torso.
For a few moments, all was quiet. The genin watched, waiting, hopeful that it was over.
Their hopes were dashed as she once again melted into mud.
"Well, that was quite entertaining," A familiar voice rang out above them. "But I think I've seen enough."
They looked up and briefly saw the woman before she launched herself at them. They leaped in different directions as she crashed into the branch where they'd stood, making a dust cloud. Naruto's chains burst from his back, but the curtain of dirt and debris was cleared by a massive burst of wind; one that sent Sakura and Sasuke flying when it wasn't even aimed at them.
Naruto, who it was aimed at, was driven clear through four of the massive branches. He crashed into the fifth one, coughed up blood, and began to fall through the air.
With a sadistic grin, the woman ran a blood-covered finger over a tattoo on her arm. A massive snake, several times thicker than the roots of the trees that dominated this forest, shot out of the cloud with a speed that belied its size. It grasped Naruto in its mouth and vanishing from sight in just a few seconds.
"Naruto!" Sakura and Sasuke cried out.
"Oh, don't worry. I'm sure that one will manage to survive." Their assailant replied, raising a hand to her forehead protector. "I can't have you fail this stage of the exam, but I think my subordinates would have trouble if he were here when they arrive, and I can't have that." She said, her voice changing. An oily male voice had replaced the feminine one from moments before.
She took her hand away from her forehead protector to reveal a musical note.
'Oto? And she... he said subordinates? Is he a jonin of their village?' Sakura thought as she and Sasuke prepared to attack.
"Now, now, enough of that." He said before making a one-handed seal.
And instantly, all the strength left her body. Her arms and legs felt like lead weights as she fell to her knees, struggling to even keep her head up. As much as she tried, her body refused to respond. A glance at Sasuke revealed he was in a similar state and, quickly, her mind made the connection.
Paralysis Jutsu. He'd taken them down with a D-rank technique.
The disguised man turned to Sasuke, eyeing him like a snake inspects a fat and corned mouse. "I can sense a great deal of potential in you. Truly, you are his brother."
Brother? Sasuke had a brother? Any further thought was cut off as that seemed to touch a nerve on Sasuke. "Who the hell are you!?"
"Ku, ku, ku..." The man chuckled before he reached for his face, his fingers digging into the skin just beneath his forehead protector. And then he peeled it off, ripping what appeared to be flesh from his face like it was just a mask to reveal chalk-white skin.
The man had strange purple markings around golden eyes, with the same slit pupils they'd occasionally seen through his disguise. He had pronounced cheekbones, and when his mouth opened, it revealed fang-like teeth.
But far more concerning than his sinister appearance was what he said. "My name is Orochimaru."
And instantly, all the fear Sakura had forced down came flooding back. 'Orochimaru!? We've been fighting OROCHIMARU!?'
"If you want to see me again, then you'll have to defeat my men and pass this stage." He continued, raising his hand to reveal... their heaven scroll!? When did he!?
And then it burst into purple flame before their eyes.
Orochimaru gave a wicked grinned as he made a hand seal. His head shot forward, his neck stretching out as he reached for Sasuke and sunk his fangs into the Uchiha just above the shoulder.
And suddenly, the force holding them was released. Sakura rushed over to Sasuke as quickly as she could as the Uchiha fell to his knees, grasping at the bite mark. As she tried to support him, she saw a seal of some kind form on his neck; one that resembled the tomoe marks in his eyes.
"My gift should give you a taste of power. Seek me out if you want more." She looked back and found the snake summoner was gone. Leaving her alone with Sasuke, who was almost screaming from whatever pain, was coursing through him.
"Sasuke! Sasuke, talk to me!" Sakura cried desperately.
"This... this pain!" The Uchiha managed to gasp as he grabbed onto Sakura, his fingers digging into her skin painfully, but she paid it no mind.
She looked at the struggling boy and then to the trail of destruction left by the snake. 'Naruto... I have to help him! But I can't leave Sasuke like this! What do I do!?'
Naruto slowly began to regain his senses. Everything had been a blur in the wake of that last wind attack. He was only barely aware of his surroundings. Slowly, however, things began to come into focus and...
His eyes shot open as he realized what happened.
Chains burst from the snake's underbelly. It reared its head up and let out a roar as it reared up before it fell onto its side and lay still, draped over the massive branches. Naruto shot out of the hole in its gut and landed on his feet, covered in fluids.
"Ugh, sick! Did she try to feed me to one of her snakes!?" He yelled as he looked at his arms. It was then that he noticed: he was in an entirely different area of the forest! He hadn't even been out for a minute! How fast had that thing been moving!?
'Sakura! Sasuke!' He turned back in the direction the snake had come from. The trail of torn branches before him seemed to have no end in sight. He gritted his teeth, and with thoughts of his teammates dominating his mind, he took off.
He didn't get far before a massive shape burst from the canopy beside him. He had just enough time to jump as another enormous snake shot towards him. "Another one!?"
His face twisting in anger, his back began to glow as his chains prepared to burst forth while the serpent turned around and lunged once again.
It was then that another hissing roar reached his ears. He looked down to see another one rising to meet him, its maw opened wide to swallow him and the branch he landed on.
He leaped towards the closest branch a moment before the snake tore through where he once stood while the other snake reared up and prepared to come down on him.
It never had the chance.
At that moment, a blur came down from above with a cry of, "Takigakure Hurricane!"
It smashed into the serpent's head, driving it down below the branch before it reared up with a pained cry.
With that one preoccupied, Naruto turned to the remaining snake as it came at him once again. Reaching into his punch and channeling chakra into a seal in its lining, he drew a Fuma Shuriken in a puff of smoke and threw it at the snake before clapping his hands together. 'Wind Style: Gale Palm!'
The resulting wall of wind propelled the large shuriken forward, tearing right through the snake's head. It let out a cry before it fell limp. He turned his head to the other snake as a cry of exhilaration reached it. The snake was thrashing, trying to dislodge its attacker before it slammed its head into a branch.
This was a mistake, as the figure leaped off at the last second before darting back down and slamming back into the snake's head. This time, the creature hissed before falling limp, a trail of blood revealing that the newcomer had driven a kunai into its head.
Its head crashed down a nearby branch. Naruto got a good look at the newcomer for the first time as she stood.
She was a petite girl who stood slightly shorter than he was. She had tanned skin and choppy, layered mint green hair that stopped just past her shoulders. She wore her forehead protector like an armband. It was marked with a downward arrow symbol: the sign of Takigakure. She seemed to love white as much as he did orange, as she wore a short white skirt, a white sleeveless shirt, and bandages around her upper thighs, and her chest that left her midriff bare. Even her sandals were white. And, oh, hey, speaking of orange, her eyes were pupiless orange orbs that matched a hair clip she had on her right side.
Naruto kinda wished his eyes were orange.
The girl immediately began to spin and do a victory dance, only for it to be cut short when the snake burst into smoke. Huh. Why didn't the others do that? Maybe it was still alive?
She landed on her feet and tensed, her eyes searching their surroundings. Oh, she must not have realized it was a summon.
She relaxed when it became clear they weren't about to come under attack and looked to him with a bright smile before running towards him.
"Hi, there!" She said with a wave before stopping a foot away from him, her hands on her hips.
"I thought you could use a hand with those snakes. The more, the merrier, right?" The green-haired girl said, and then she recognized the boy she'd helped and gasped. "Wait, aren't you Naruto Uzumaki?"
"And who are you?" Naruto snapped back, tense. Ready for a fight.
Oh boy. Well, the blond had just gotten out of a fight, if those snake summons meant anything. "Sorry." She held up her hands in a placating gesture. "I'm Fuu, and I was hoping I'd run into you."
"You were looking for me?" He asked.
She nodded. "I wanted to talk. I was hoping we could be friends." Fuu answered, and he seemed to calm a bit. "I've wanted to meet you ever since you called everyone out back when we were waiting for the first test to start. I wanted to do that! Well, I wanted to see if any of them would be my friends, but still. Anyway, my team held me back; they said that my village chief wouldn't be happy if I caused a scene." She said, her voice gaining confidence. "And then during the tenth question. I was so scared I'd have to go back to our chief and tell him I'd be an eternal genin. I mean, I wasn't goingtoletthatstopmebutstill. Butthenyoushoutedoutthatyouweren'tscaredand-"
"Whoa, whoa whoa..." Naruto stopped her before rubbing the back of his head. "Look, I'm sorry. I'm just a little on edge, you know? I mean, can you blame me? The last two women I met threw pointy stuff at me and tried to feed me to a snake." He said with a slight chuckle.
Ah, that's why he was covered in snake slime. Nasty. Still, they shared a laugh at that.
"So, friends?" Fuu asked hopefully, holding her hand out.
Naruto smiled and took it. "Yeah, you seem like a lot of fun."
He said yes. He actually said yes! He was the first person ever to say yes!
Fuu's expression became ecstatic. She jumped into the air, raising a fist in triumph as she cheered.
The day had started off on a sour note when her team kept her from announcing herself before the test started.
Playing the Shibuki card... that was low.
But it had just gotten better and better since her team split up. First, she had a few hours to explore this creepy-awesome forest to her heart's content. Then she managed to get the scroll her team needed to pass. And now she'd met the boy who seemed to like to make noise as much as she did. And he even agreed to be friends!
"Listen, it was nice meeting you, Fuu, but I need to get back to my team," Naruto told her.
Fuu was a bit disappointed, but she understood. Night would fall before long, and even she knew being out here by yourself at night was a bad idea. She nodded with a smile. "Yeah, I get you. I'm supposed to meet up with my team, too. Guess I'll see you at the tower, then?"
Naruto grinned. "You can count on it." And then he turned and leaped through the trees.
She waved after him with a bright smile. "Goodbye! Good luck! Don't let any more snakes get you!"
"See you later!" She heard him call back as he vanished into the foliage.
She was left smiling, her hands balled into eager fists in front of her chest as she stared after the blond.
She'd been here two days, and she'd already almost doubled the number of friends she had! She was well on her way to a hundred!
Sakura looked up at the night sky. A few hours had passed since their disastrous fight with one of the greatest traitors in the history of Konoha. She had to suppress a shiver when she remembered that they'd been fighting one of the legendary students of the Third Hokage.
She sighed as she looked out at the seemingly empty clearing. She'd just finished setting up the last trap. She may have gone overboard, but given the situation, she'd rather be safe than sorry.
Satisfied with her handiwork, she walked over to the cluster of roots. There, at the core, lay Sasuke. He had thankfully lost consciousness after a few minutes of what seemed to be agony. It wasn't even close to a peaceful rest, though. His face was twisted in a grimace. He was burning up and shuddered every once in a while before calming down.
She looked out to the forest, worried about Naruto, but she couldn't leave Sasuke like this. He'd be easy prey for predators, not to mention the other teams and the subordinates Orochimaru mentioned, and she couldn't exactly take him with her.
All she could do was hope he improved.
Originally I'd planned on Fuu having a larger role in this part of the arc. She would have accompanied Naruto and helped out with the Sound genin, but that was before I refreshed my memory and remembered the Sound genin attack the following morning. I don't think she'd voluntarily stay out in this forest by herself at night, at least not with the exams going on, so she had planned a rendezvous with her team.
As for her helping Naruto, well, look at how Lee and Team Ten found Sakura in canon. In this massive forest, 20km in diameter that they all entered in random points, Lee just happened to be goofing off at the right place, at the right time, to spy a squirrel that had been stuck with an explosive tag that Sakura had chased off and backtracked to find her. That's better than Team Ten, who literally just wandered into visual distance of the battle. Seriously, Ino and Shikamaru were arguing and Choji glanced over, pointed, and said 'Ah, Sakura's fighting and Sasuke's unconscious over there'.
Before I reread the arc, I could have sworn how that all went down was more solid than that, and a friend agreed.
I find the idea of Fuu deciding to investigate the noise these giant snakes make when tearing through the forest at top speed, where most would probably go in the opposite direction, more plausible than any of that.
Also, I should probably mention; Shibuki is based off how he's characterized in the anime-only chunin exams arc too. Because I can't see someone who would cower at the sound of a flock of birds like he did in the OVA being a leader.
Anyway, please review.