Chapter 11 revised and edited. Review or PM me on what you think about this chapter now.
Disclaimer – I don't own anything from the Naruto anime/manga all I own are my original characters and plot twists.
'Talking'
"Thinking"
'Heavily demonic voice'
'Fox talking'
"Fox thinking"
*expression*
Jutsu
Flashback
Chapter 11 – Chunin Exams – Part 2
'You're early, again.' Said Ibiki.
Anko blushed in embarrassment at his blunt statement. She then looked around the room, her expression morphing into one of disappointed confusion.
'How many are there? Ibiki, you let all these guys pass? Your test was too easy, you must be getting soft.' Commented Anko.
'Or it could be a stronger group of candidates this year.' Replied Ibiki.
'Trust me when I'm through with them, more than half will be eliminated.' She said with a sadistic smirk.
'More than half?' Asked Sakura fearfully.
'This is going to be fun. You maggots have had it easy so far, but things are going to be different now. Go home now and I'll tell your squad leaders where and when to meet me for the second exam, dismissed.' Said Anko.
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The Next Day
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The Genin were standing in front of a forest surrounded by metal gates three metres high with heaps of locks and warning signs.
'Whoa nice place. What is it?' Said Naruto.
'This is the location for the second stage of the exam the Forty Fourth battle training zone, but we call it, the Forest of Death.' Said Anko.
'Wow this place creeps me out.' Said Sakura.
'Well we call it the Forest of Death for a reason and soon enough you're going to find out why.' Said Anko grinning.
Naruto huffed before changing his tone.
'They call it the Forest of Death for a reason and soon enough you're going to find out why. Who do you think you're trying to intimidate, do your worst?' Mocked Naruto.
'So looks like we've got a tough guy.' Said Anko smiling, before throwing a kunai at Naruto.
Mere centimetres before it cut his face Naruto grabbed it. Anko disappeared behind him, but Naruto was ready and had pulled out his katana, holding it centimetres from Anko's neck.
'Now, now Anko I asked you who you think you're intimidating but obviously you don't know. I am Naruto Uzumaki, and it would do you well to not underestimate me.' Said Naruto flashing his eyes red for a moment so Anko could see.
Anko was surprised for a moment before calming herself down.
'I guess you're not all bark after all.' Said Anko smiling, unperturbed by the sword on her neck.
Naruto grinned and handed her back her kunai but sliced it across his finger first. Anko was excited at the sight of blood and Naruto noticed this. While he handed her back the kunai, he whispered one more thing to her.
'Oh Anko, do try and control yourself, it's not fitting to the image of a Jounin and an examiner.' Said Naruto with a small smirk.
Anko had to be the one to get the last word in though, so she quickly grabbed his finger and sucked on it deeply while moaning, causing Naruto to shiver.
'Your blood tastes delicious.' Whispered Anko, before she went back to the front.
'Now, before we begin this test, I have something you all need to sign and agree to. It is a standard consent form which shows that if you die, the Leaf and I are in no way accountable, otherwise if you die in there, I would be held responsible.' Said Anko, who then started laughing.
'This test is a survival test. Your goal is to get through the battle zone. You will each enter through one of the forty-four entrances and need to make your way to the centre, to a locked tower. To pass, all you need to do is get a set of these two scrolls, one heaven and the other earth, and arrive at the tower with all of your teammates.' Finished Anko.
'Both scrolls?' Asked Sasuke.
'Yes, so half will be going after the heaven scroll while the other half will be going after the earth scroll. Anything goes but there is only one rule, you must never open either scroll.' Said Anko seriously.
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The Genin signed the forms and were about to hand them in.
'Hey Haku, can you use your ice mirrors to see things even if you aren't in them?' Asked Naruto.
'Yes, I can. Why?' Asked Haku.
'Make a mirror in the tent so we can see which scroll the other teams have so we know who we should go after, but make sure no one sees it.' Said Naruto.
Haku made a mirror and when they handed in their forms and received a heaven scroll, Haku told Naruto all the teams were given an earth scroll. Naruto looked at all the teams and decided one of the teams from the Sand village would be the easiest.
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All the Genin arrived at a gate and waited until the signal was given at three in the afternoon. Time passed until there were ten seconds to go.
'Alright maggots, the second test begins in three, two, one, now!' Announced Anko.
The gates opened, and all the teams rushed in. Only five minutes in and the sounds of a team screaming were heard outside of the forest.
'Looks like the fun has begun.' Said Anko.
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With Team Seven
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'Ok, I'm going to go ambush one of the Sand teams. The rest of you head to the tower.' Said Naruto.
'Just why should we listen to you, loser?' Asked Sasuke.
'Yeah, what can you do on your own?' Asked Sakura.
Naruto entered his tailless fox form, causing a shiver to run down everyone's spine upon spotting his gaze.
'I can get the scroll. Keep in mind that I am stronger than all three of you when it comes to pure power. Also, I don't go back on my word, so trust me, I'll get the scroll.' Declared Naruto confidently.
Sasuke grumbled, but he knew than Naruto was right and that he was capable the best suited for this task.
'Fine, but if you die loser, I'll bring you back and kill you again for making us fail.' Said Sasuke while smirking.
'Same goes for you, Uchiha. After all, you won't be able to avenge anyone if you're dead.' Replied Naruto arrogantly.
Sasuke huffed and he along with Sakura left hopped up to the tree line.
'Be careful.' Said Haku, before following the pair.
"I will." Thought Naruto.
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With Naruto
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Naruto was tracking down the Sand team due to his enhanced sense of smell and Kyuubi's chakra.
He tracked them down and saw that they were setting up traps. One had wire which he was looping around the trees and certain branches, while the other was placing paper bombs in the spots furthest away from any ninja wire, to trap those who escaped the wire, while the last kept watch. Seeing his chance, Naruto knocked out the one on watch and caught his body so he wouldn't make a sound. The remaining Sand ninja were oblivious to Naruto's infiltration. Naruto then threw a three-pronged kunai in between both, but a fair distance away from them, flashed halfway to it in a blaze of orange, which caused him to appear directly in between them, and proceeded to use Wind Release: Vacuum Sword on the first, sending him flying into a tree and out cold, before he quickly used Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu on the other. The Sand ninja dodged, but Naruto appeared behind him and gave him a quick hit with the handle of his sword, knocking him out cold. Naruto searched him and found the earth scroll they needed, pocketed it, and quickly left to rejoin his team.
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With Sasuke, Sakura and Haku
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Sasuke, Sakura and Haku were hopping along the trees and were about halfway to the tower when Sasuke felt that they were being followed.
Sasuke put his hand out and mouthed the word "followed" to the group, receiving two nods of acknowledgement in return.
They set up a few wire traps which would launch kunai if tripped, but other than that kept going as fast as they could to the tower. When they were only about five hundred metres away, a kunai with an explosive tag attached to it landed near them. They all jumped away before it exploded and looked in the direction it came from. A Grass ninja with a straw hat was there and looked at Sasuke before speaking.
'I think your trap making skills need some work, although maybe you were in a rush, after all, the prey must never let down its guard in the face of its predator.' Said the ninja, levelling a glare on them, which made them all see their deaths playing out in a brutal fashion.
Sasuke and Sakura were greatly affected, but Haku dealt with it easily.
'Oho, it seems that you aren't as helpless as I thought.' Commented the ninja, after seeing Haku pull out some of his senbon.
He charged forward and Haku threw his senbon around his feet, effectively stopping him in place for a moment, before he then created five ice mirrors and used them to retreat, while grabbing Sasuke and Sakura.
"It would seem that the boy possesses a rare ice bloodline, interesting." Thought the ninja, before turning into mud.
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Haku shook Sasuke and Sakura until they came to their senses which took a while.
'W-what was t-that th-thing?' Asked Sakura, who was still rather shaken.
'His eyes, I saw my own death. How come you weren't affected, Haku?' Asked Sasuke who was breathing heavily.
'It's simple, when I was with Zabuza my life was always in danger, so I learnt to not fear my death, as it has to happen sometime.' Said Haku smiling sadly.
'In the meantime, we should rest up, because he might come back. I'll take first watch.' Haku announced, leaving the others to get a grip on their sanity again, before they would need to head out.
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With Naruto
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Naruto was halfway to his team when he felt a dark presence near him. He turned in time to parry a sword strike with his own sword, however the unusual thing about the sword that had attacked him was that this sword was being held by a tongue.
Naruto jumped back to avoid the second slash aimed at his head and to survey his opponent.
It was a Grass ninja wearing a straw hat and had an abnormally long tongue.
'Well it seems that you and your team aren't as helpless as I thought it would seem.' Said the ninja while swallowing his sword, much to Naruto's quiet disgust.
The ninja then proceeded to release some of his killer intent, but Naruto released twice as much.
'What did you do to my team? Also why do you reek of snake?' Asked Naruto.
'Interesting, to think you can stand up and return my killing intent. As for your first question, I gave your friend, Haku, I believe his name was, a reason to not be foolish and attack me again and I also gave Sasuke a little mark which will give him the power he seeks.' Said the ninja.
'Lastly, I reek of snake as you put it, because I am Orochimaru, the Snake Sannin, try to remember that as you will have to, if you wish to be prepared for what is coming. Also, I suggest you get back to your team before my Sound ninja, take care of them.' Orochimaru laughed, while turning into mud leaving Naruto alone in the forest again.
'I have to get back to the others.' Said Naruto nervously and with that he was off, blasting through the treetops.
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Naruto arrived onto a scene he didn't wish to see again. Haku, Sasuke, and Lee were unconscious, Sakura was badly beaten and bleeding, Choji looked beaten up but was on his feet, Ino was passed out and being held by Shikamaru, who looked relatively unharmed. The area they were in was torn up and all the trees around the clearing were missing branches from heavy hits.
'What happened here?' Asked Naruto from the branch he was standing on.
'Oh great, more Leaf ninja. You guys are like cockroaches, slam one down and two more crawl out.' Said the bandaged sound ninja.
'You will pay for hurting my friends!' Growled Naruto, transforming into his tailless form.
Naruto threw out eight, three-pronged kunai and flashed around laying kicks to the Sound ninja. In no time at all, the three enemy ninja was exhausted and badly beaten.
While this was going on almost all Genin conscious were thinking "Is this Naruto?"
Naruto was about to punch the mummified ninja in the gut but stopped a hair away from doing so as he felt a spike of chakra behind him. Sasuke rose up from the ground, a swirl of purple chakra wrapping around his form, with strange marks covering half of his body.
'Sakura, who did this to you?' He asked in a calm voice.
'We did, and you're going to experience the same thing they did!' Boasted one of the Sound ninja.
'Zaku no, wait!' Cried the ninja Naruto was next to.
'Slicing Sound Wave!' Yelled Zaku, while blasting air out of his palms at Sasuke, Haku, Sakura and Lee. When the dust cleared, nothing was there.
'See Dosu, nothing to worry about.' Said Zaku, before Sasuke appeared behind him and struck him with his forearm, sending him into Naruto, who stabbed both his arms with a pair of kunai, with a set of quick jabs, before kicking him away.
Sasuke then appeared behind the loudmouth Sound Genin's form and grabbed his arms at the wrist, while placing his right foot on his back.
'You seem very proud of these arms, very, attached to them.' Said Sasuke, while pulling his arms.
'W-what are you doing?' Asked Zaku frightfully, before crying out in pain, due to having his arms brutally dislocated.
'Looks like you're the only one left.' Stated Sasuke, before walking to Dosu.
'No, stop!' Yelled Sakura, before clamping onto Sasuke from behind. 'Please stop.' She whimpered.
Sasuke turned and looked at her for a moment, before the marks begun to recede, however, there was nothing holding Naruto back, who was still enraged and charged at Dosu. Naruto plunged his arm into Dosu's shoulder, who then cried out in pain. Naruto raised his sword and was about to decapitate him, before someone screamed 'Naruto, stop!'
Naruto looked up and saw Tenten was the one who had screamed, with Neji next to her on a high tree branch. He then turned back to Dosu who was trying not to show fear but failing, due to having a sword only centimetres from his neck. When Naruto took a proper look at his eyes though, he saw something that reminded him of himself and Sasuke. In his eyes, he saw pain and loneliness. He released Kyuubi's chakra and ripped his arm out of Dosu's shoulder, before blasting it with chakra, crudely stopping the wound from bleeding any further. Naruto then ignored the onlookers, not meeting anyone's gaze as he walked to Haku's form and observed it. The best guess Naruto could make was that Haku had some type of poison in his body, judging by the even paler than usual hue of his skin.
'You two are strong, in fact, too strong for us.' Said Dosu in pain.
'We will make a trade; we will give you our scrolls if you spare us.' Said Dosu.
'Keep it.' Said Naruto, who pulled out their heaven scroll, as well as the earth scroll, which he had successfully taken from the Sand team.
'But when you see Orochimaru, tell him I'm going to take his head for what he has done.' Said Naruto coldly, releasing a massive amount of killer intent.
'Very well. Next time though, we won't run from you. We will fight.' Said Dosu, while picking up his teammates and then leaving as fast as he could.
After he left, there was an uncomfortable silence before Naruto spoke up.
'Hey Choji, you got any chips, I'm starving?' Asked Naruto, giving a cheerful laugh, while everyone blinked and stared at him in disbelief, wondering how his personality could change from serious to childish in moments.
'What, I'm hungry I ran across half the forest to get here?' He said, noticing everyone's looks.
Choji threw him a packet of chips which he devoured in seconds, offering Choji the last chip which he happily accepted.
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Ino went over to Sakura and Tenten shook Lee awake.
'Sakura, what's the deal with Naruto.' Asked Ino.
'He has changed a lot since the academy. That part we remember from the academy is still there somewhere, but sometimes he becomes a totally different person and acts serious, almost scary even... but he is still nothing compared to Sasuke.' She replied.
Ino stored that bit of information away, before getting on Sakura's case for hugging Sasuke, to which she responded in kind, teasing her about how she is jealous.
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Shikamaru and Choji were sitting with Naruto, both boys giving the blond furtive curious glances until he spoke up.
'What?' Asked Naruto somewhat irritably.
They looked at him uncertainly, before Choji asked, 'What was that all about?'
'What was what about?' He replied, feigning stupidity.
'When did you get so serious?' Supplied Shikamaru, who was also intrigued about Naruto's change in personality.
'Oh. That. I don't like anyone who hurts people who are precious to me.' Naruto replied seriously.
Choji accepted this, while Shikamaru was wondering when Naruto changed.
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Neji was the most suspicious of the bystanders, as his Byakugan had been activated when he arrived and saw traces of purple chakra on the Uchiha, and red on the Uzumaki. The strangest thing was that both of their chakras appeared corrupted.
"Interesting." Thought Neji, before jumping down to Lee and Tenten.
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After a while, the Leaf ninja left three at a time until it was Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto left, with Haku, who was still passed out.
'We need to get to the tower, Haku needs medical attention now.' Stated Naruto, while picking him up, slinging his arm over his shoulders.
Sasuke nodded as Sakura helped him up, with the group then setting off, heading to the tower while Sakura told Naruto what happened, detailing about how Orochimaru ambushed them twice, how Haku got stabbed with that blade he wielded with his tongue, how Sasuke had gotten bitten and lastly, how she tried fighting of the Sound ninja until Lee and Team Ten arrived.
'Sakura, know this, if you don't train, you are only a burden to this team.' Said Naruto flatly.
Sakura was going to retort, but Naruto's glare silenced her, causing her to give a meek nod instead.
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They arrived at the tower with no trouble and entered to find a scroll with writing on it hanging from the wall, which Sakura started reading.
'If qualities of heaven are your desire, acquire wisdom to take your mind higher. If earthly qualities are what you lack, train your body and prepare to attack. When heaven and earth are open together, the perilous path will be righteous forever. This something is the secret way the guides us from this place today.' She finished.
'Something?' Questioned Sasuke.
'It looks like there is a word missing or something.' Replied Sakura. 'I think it means we should open the scrolls now.'
Naruto and Sakura opened one each when Sakura said, 'It's a person?'
Sasuke and Naruto realised it was a summoning and both told Sakura to throw her scroll, as Naruto had already thrown his and placed Haku behind him, drawing his sword in case it was an enemy. The scrolls exploded into smoke and in the smoke, there was a man. They waited for the smoke to clear until the person was visible.
'It's you.' Said Sasuke.
While Naruto sheathed his sword and was grinning like a fox.
'Hey guys, long time no see.' Said Iruka smiling.