Origami - 折り紙

"Character Speaking"

Character Thinking

Chapter Four: Squadron 13

"We're not finished yet, kid. So don't get your panties in a loop until were done testing you out!" Said the insane snake masked woman. Naruto didn't know much about this new team he was pushed upon, but he did, however, know that this woman wasn't normal by any standards in the world. He admittedly didn't want to know what made her the way she was in fear of his own mental health that was declining in its own way. "That's right, Uzumaki. You've got one last test to go through - the ninnjutsu test. That means you'll be fighting one of us with strictly ninjutsu." Said Frog as ant stepped up and took the spot Bear had left from. Naruto had assumed that this test would be easier than the last but by the glint in his squadron leader's eye, he was very much wrong in his assumptions.

"You may begin when you're comfortable to do so." Said Ant with the same silky smooth voice he'd spoken with before. Naruto took his suggestion and transformed his arms to his ever developing technique. His arms became sheets of paper that he could forge to his will, and he took full advantage of this fact. "Origami: Senbon Barrage." He spoke, barely above a whisper. Just as he had done earlier in his fight with the root anbu, he shot 25 senbon from what used to be his palm. He watched his leader carefully, watching as he didn't even bother to move. At the last minute, the man went through 4 hand signs before a wall of mud appeared, trapping the senbon deep within it.

Before he could realize it, the mud wall became a mud slide rushing towards the mop of red hair. Naruto went through his options and eventually decided on one. He formed a boat from his ever present thin papery arms. It wasn't a big boat, simply big enough to fit Naruto in it as the mud easily carried him and the boat away. Ant had looked merely unfazed at the ineffectiveness of his technique. Naruto jumped out of boat and onto flat surface once more before waiting. What is it he was waiting for? It was simple. He wanted his leader to make a move, and he would wait for it. Aside from the brief explanation, Naruto had no idea as to what Ant was capable of, let alone if he was under or overrating said capabilities.

Luckily, or unluckily enough, the move he waited for came in a sweeping wave of water release. Naruto forged a wall of paper, willing it to protect him from the onslaught of harsh waves. His shield did as it was designed to do and protected him from his leader's jutsu, but it was clear to Naruto that he'd fallen into a trap. He was completely focused on the attack in front of him, his view was blocked and he had nothing to protect his flank. Naruto went through his options once more. He could let his makeshift shield fall, but then he'd be overpowered by a wave of water. He could wait the jutsu out, but his flank would be exposed. Then, an idea clicked. Taking one arm out of his shield, he turned sideways and created another one that covered his flank. Soon after doing so, he allowed for the square and ridged shield to bend to cover all 360 degrees of his body.

One may think this was unnecessary, however Naruto knew differently. Though his vision of the training ground turned battlefield was nonexistent, Naruto heard what seemed to be a poof of smoke. Two identical voices yelled out two different things. One had called out "Earth Style: Repeating Mud Bullets," and the other "Fire Style: Phoenix Flame Balls."

Naruto wasn't familiar with either of the jutsu and just as well didn't want to be. That being said, the combination jutsu met his shield with a ferocity he hadn't met before. Quickly, Naruto began sweating bullets, the heat of the jutsu becoming suffocating. Naruto thought once more of what to do. His shield was strong, but it wouldn't hold up much longer. There was only one possible way of escape. Up.

Naruto created a springboard of paper and with one big leap, exited out of the shield he himself had made. It was the only entrance and exit of the jutsu and he had used it to his full ability. Naruto, midair, observed his surroundings only to find a massive water dragon coming at him. He was, once again, outclassed; something Naruto knew yet didn't want to accept. Something he was forced to accept when he woke up to 5 figures surrounding him after his one-sided bout with his newly made squadron leader.

"You did well, kid. That was draining even on my chakra reserves, so good job for pushing me so far. We have a few things to discuss, so please come with us." Said Ant. Naruto didn't feel any better, or more importantly, stronger after the compliment Ant had given but followed the group all the same. The appeared upon a massive tree that had makeshift chairs and tables seemingly made with rock. "Have a seat."

Naruto did have a seat and listened to what their leader would have to say. "What we just took part in is a tradition that everyone in this squadron had taken part in. This is squadron 13. Squadron 13 is, you can say, special." Spoke Ant and Naruto immediately faced towards the snake masked anbu with as accusatory glance. She looked back at him and looked away in an innocent manner. Naruto sweat dropped. I don't know whether to be terrified or just concerned.

"Squadron 13," began Ant once more, "is a squadron that no one wanted to be assigned to. We are historically known as by the most brutal and efficient squadron of the anbu. Notable shinobi that have come from this squadron are Senju Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru of the Sanin. Also, Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Itachi, and even Lord Third himself have spent numerous years in this squadron. One does not simply join squadron 13. When someone becomes a squadron 13 member, they remain a squadron 13 member for the rest of their lives. Whether that be dead, alive, or outside of anbu."

Naruto stared in surprise at what he was now apart of. The names Ant mentioned weren't small names. In fact, just the utterance of such names in most of the shinobi villages would invoke indescribable fear in multiple shinobi and even some kage or previous kage. "I see." Is all he could think of to respond to Ant. "Yes. With that, you now get your special report..."

Naruto nodded, nervous at the report he'd get. It was quiet. Dead silence. He began sweating and biting at his lip. The snake masked anbu snickered at his expense and Ant simply looked at him with his piercing brown eyes. "You're horrible at taijutsu and ninjutsu. Quite frankly, I don't think you could beat a chunin worth their salt and wouldn't dream of touching a Jonin. With that being said, your defense skills are impeccable and nearly impenetrable. We will, however, fix all of these issues starting tomorrow. Until then, rest for the rest of the day. I'll request a 3 month break directly from the Hokage in order to prepare you for the missions we'll be taking part in. These three months will be hell. So enjoy your last day of rest. Welcome to Squadron 13, Uzumaki Naruto. We're glad to have you."

With that, the entire squad save for himself stood and bowed towards the boy. Naruto returned the gesture before once again straightening his posture. He looked at Ant with a determined gaze in his eye. He would do this. He would become a true member of squadron 13. He'd become truly strong.

Naruto knew that training with his squadron would be hard. Of course it would. He was in the anbu, after all. He was in squadron 13 and from his minimal understanding, squadron 13 was a team of bad ass shinobi. However, what Naruto didn't expect is to be woken up at 3 O'clock in the morning with a rough water ninjutsu that stung his body. "Arghhhh!" He called out as Ant removed his hands from the hand signs they'd been in. "Wake up, rookie. It's time to train." Naruto got hurriedly, his mask still resting peacefully on his face sporting the visage of a fox.

"Now that you're up, we'll start with physical training." Said Ant in an almost too calm tone of voice. "Now, run 150 laps around this training ground. You may stop for water after you've completed at least 100 laps. Now, go. And watch out for Hebi, she likes to play with fresh meat!"

Naruto looked at Hebi who'd been staring at him with a vicious glint in her eye. Naruto started running and kept a pace that wasn't too fast or slow, but enough to get his blood pumping. Considering the size of the field, Naruto assumed that 150 laps would be around 10 miles. Though he wasn't excited about having to run such a distance nor the time of day he had to do it, he was determined to do so all the same.

He ran his first 10 laps in peace before he caught a glimmer around his left flank. Jumping up, Naruto saw that to his left flank was a man sized snake coming for him. "What the hell!" He yelled out before he sped up dramatically. "Awww, c'mon foxy! Let's play!" Yelled out Hebi in response as she attached herself to the man sized snake. Naruto, being only 10 years old, was much smaller than the snake, and thus Ant was presented with the comical scene of Uzumaki Naruto being chased by a snake twice his size with a crazed anbu member riding atop it.

"It's ironic, isn't it, Bear. Though he looks so much like lady Kushina, he acts so much like his father."

Bear looked at Ant with amusement. "You're right. He acts just like Minato, huh? I often wonder who was stronger between those two. Minato was good, but Lady Kushina was just as good as he was and even better in some aspects. It makes you want to know which parent he'll take after. Minato, who was a speed demon, or Kushina, who was an army killer."

Ant stared at the red head running like his life depended on it, and to be fair, it did. "That definitely gives us something to think about. Make sure the kid doesn't die. If he does, Lady Kushina may very well haunt us from heaven."

Bear laughed a hardy laughed and Ant joined him.

"Sensei, it's been quite the long time, has it not?" Sarutobi Hiruzen stared at his long-time student that had entered his office through his window. If this had been any other man besides his favorite student, then he'd be dead the moment he entered. The anbu hidden among the walls and ceiling would make sure of such things. However, this was someone important. Jiraiya didn't come around much, and when he did, it was almost always to report his findings among the shinobi world.

"My boy, Jiraiya. How've you been?" Asked Hiruzen with a smile of his face. "I've been fine sensei. In fact, I've been great. My research has paid off greatly and I've become a very successful author!" Said Jiraiya with a perverted look on his visage. "I'm aware of your success, Jiraiya. However, I know you're not here for just any reason." Jiraiya's face turned serious within the matter of milliseconds as he straightened his posture. "You're right, sensei. I've got news and I'm not sure if it's good news. We'd better have a seat. I'm assuming you have sake?"

"I do in fact have sake. Now, what is that grants me your appearance?" Asked the aged Hokage before pulling a bottle of savory alcohol from his drawer.

"I'm sure that you're not ignorant of the civil war happening inside of water country?"

"You'd be correct in your assumption." Replied Hiruzen. "Well, we've seen movements around water country. Movements from the snake."

Hiruzen took a moment to absorb and process that thought. Another one of his great failures had been that of his other two students. Both Tsunade and Orochimaru had abandoned their very own village in favor of their own desires. "I see. And what could this mean, Jiraiya?"

"Well, the most reasonable idea I can conjure up is that Orochimaru intends to take advantage of the weakened state of the water country. If that was the case, nothing too important would happen for the next few years at least. Water country may be having a bloody war, but they are not so weak that they'd be so easily taken over."

Hiruzen frowned deeply in thought. "What reason could Orochimaru want to take Water country for? From what I know of, he has no relevant connections there."

Jiraiya matched his sensei's wrinkled face with a frown of his own, "To be honest, I'm not exactly sure. I do have a couple of theories, though. One is that Orochimaru is going to use the Water country as a natural form of protection. Water country is one of the hardest countries to invade let alone fight in a head on war against. If Orochimaru took control of Water country and somehow either became or controlled the position of Mizukage, he'd be practically untouchable. That's not considering that he's one of the strongest shinobi alive. The only ones that'd have a chance against him is the 5 kage, myself, and maybe Tsunade if she hasn't lost her edge over the years."

Hiruzen sighed, taking a sip of the sake that'd been sitting diligently on his desk in front of him for the mini meeting he held with Jiraiya. "And your other theory?"

"My other theory is that he could be attempting to take over the trade routes of Water country. In other words, he'd be more focused on conquering the daimyo and the land of Water rather than the shinobi village. That could only mean one thing. He'd attempt to make his own shinobi village to replace or rival that of the hidden Mist shinobi village. Seeing as the Mist is already extremely weakened, the lack of revenue from missions that'd go to the snake's village would be completely broken. At that point, it'd become a mere extension of the village Orochimaru already built."

"I'm assuming that either outcome is more than unsavory."

Jiraiya nodded and took a sip from his own cup that he had been holding. Orochimaru was a cunning bastard, one that outsmarted Jiraiya himself 9 times out of 10. Jiraiya knew this and was determined to stop Orochimaru's plans before they could happen.

"What can we do to stop him?" Asked the Hokage in a seriousness Jiraiya knew was that of a Kage. "There is. However, it'd take serious planning, time, and resources."

The 3rd Hokage gained a determined glint in his eye. "It's about time we put an end to my mistake, Jiraiya. Summon the elders."

"Congratulations, you've completed your 150 laps without dying, kid." Spoke Ant in the most nonchalant way possible whilst Bear snickered at the Uzumaki's misfortune. Naruto lie on the ground in a heaping mess, Hebi standing over him like a predator over her prey. Naruto threw the biggest glare he could muster at the sadistic kunoichi before looking at his leader once more. "You'll continue physical training with Bear in 15 minutes." Said Ant before walking away with both Bear and the now calmed down Hebi.

Naruto sat up in a crisscross position, attempting to catch his ever evasive breath he'd lost in his desperate endeavor to escape the guts of a massive python. Panting, Naruto looked up at the cat masked anbu who hadn't spoken much since his short time being there. She had long purple hair that ran down the length of her back and was tied in a neat ponytail.

"Are you adjusting well to Squadron 13?" The woman asked and Naruto snorted in a show of sarcasm, "Yeah, in fact, I love every minute, second, and millisecond that I spend here... on the floor... struggling to breathe." Cat sweat dropped at the response the young Uzumaki gave her and walked away with no more conversation. "It takes awhile getting used to this team. Just take your time and do your best."

This time, the voice was the same lazy voice he heard when he first appeared at the training ground he sat it. It was frog. "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind."

"Don't mention it. Just try not to lose your shit. It's easy to do, especially in this career field with this specific group of people. You've only got 10 minutes left, so rest up."

Naruto nodded at the Nara and rose to his unimpressive full height. He jogged towards the water fountain and drunk from it. He wondered about the future. What would the future bring, what is it the future held for his ever changing life. After drinking, Naruto returned to his spot on the training ground, sitting down once more. He grabbed multiple leaves that had fallen off the trees in the surrounding area and attached all of them to different parts of his body. Naruto thought that it was ironic. Just a mere two years ago, he struggled to do this very same exercise. He focused even more, spinning the leaves in different directions all at once, showing just how advanced his control had gotten compared to his much younger and immature self.

Orochimaru was a man of opportunity. Often times, people disagreed with his methods of taking advantage of said opportunities, but Orochimaru paid these people no mind. He had many goals. To know all methods of chakra. To own the entire world to himself. To be the master of all techniques. To be immortal. To be immortal means to gain greater knowledge of the mysteries that is chakra. He had a plan, a simple one in fact. He would create an empire. Orochimaru wasn't to go small. No. In fact, Orochimaru would only pursuit the biggest and most fabulous materialistic things the world had to offer. A shinobi village would be nice. To have a country would be amazing. But to have an empire. That was one of Orochimaru's goals.

It was simple. In order to fund his initial village, he'd completely control the trade routes going from Water country to the village known as the Land of Waves. The Land of Waves was just 100 miles East of Konoha, an easy commute for any capable shinobi. Eventually, Orochimaru knew that the Hidden Mist Village would fall, and fall hard after losing most of their resources. Orochimaru would turn Water country into an industrial powerhouse, take their shinobi, and train them to be his own soldiers. From there, it was quite a straight and narrow path. He'd go in one big line, targeting Konoha and the Land of Fire first and foremost. If he could conquer the Land of Fire, he'd have near unlimited resources and that's not considering the multitude of techniques Konoha held that would strength any shinobi army.

Next, he'd take the entirety of Wind Country for the simple reasoning of expansion. From there, each Shinobi village would bend to his will. He'd have hundreds of thousands of warriors at his disposal and an entire empire made after his image.

Nothing, however, was ever that easy. He'd have to worry about Konoha interfering before he could begin his plans. That wasn't even considering the Akatsuki who were still searching for him and the ring he'd stolen from them. This wouldn't be easy, but nothing ever came easy to Orochimaru and this wouldn't be an exception. In the search of the mysteries still veiled behind a curtain of uncertainty, Orochimaru would own everything, every technique, every shinobi art. Orochimaru for all intents and purposes wanted to be the next Sage of Six Paths, and would stop at nothing to obtain such a lofty goal.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat in a dark room lit by candles. He was joined by his student and 3 life long friends, the 3 esteemed elders that advised him on his every move. Homura, Koharu, and Danzo had joined him alongside Jiraiya to discuss the movements of his missing nin student - Orochimaru. "Shall we begin the discussions of your traitorous student, Hiruzen?" Said Danzo in a tone of voice that depicted little to no patience. "We shall..." Replied the Hokage, a stern looked plastered on his aged face.

A/N: Alright, so this is by far the shortest chapter I've created. The next one will be longer, but I need time to think about how I will further the plot along so please bare with me. In the meantime, I will be writing another story alongside this one. The first chapter to that will be released sometime either this week or the next, so stay tuned for that.

I hope you enjoyed the idea of Orochimaru being more... well, insane in this. I created the idea of Squadron 13 in thought of the U.S Marines. Once a Marine, always a Marine and I kind of took that idea and ran with it. Let me know how you guys feel about the story thus far whether that be good or bad. See ya, Jsbored - out.