Chapter 27 - The Hokage's Legacy
Gamahiro squatted outside the gates of the Hidden Leaf Village Hospital. Amber rays of sunlight bathed the courtyard where a crowd was forming around the summoning animal. Atop his head was the prone body of the infamous Jiraiya. He was sweating and uttering short, shallow breaths that grew weaker by the second. Medics burst through the flocks of curious villagers with a stretcher and waited while Gamahiro leaned sideways to slide his passenger off. Tsunade stomped from the hospital entrance toward the obedient toad, her features pale and eyes wide with fear.
"Jiraiya?" she almost screamed, pushing past those in her way. She bent to get a look at him on the stretcher, observing his chest's subtle rise and fall. "Jiraiya, can you hear me?" When he gave no response, the blonde wheeled on his giant toad summon with her brow clenched. "Start talking! What happened to him?"
"Hey, hey!" he said in a scratchy, high pitched voice. "Don't shoot the messenger, Miss Tsunade."
She bit her lip and took a deep breath. "Sorry, Gamahiro. But time is of the essence!"
A couple of the surrounding medics turned the sage onto his side to allow easier access to his burns. Directing chakra to her finger, Tsunade refined its concentration until it was sharp enough to make a clean slice through the fabric of his top. She hovered a hand above Jiraiya's exposed skin, moving from his upper to lower body. She repeated the process on his back, taking a moment to heal the worst of what she was relieved to discover was only minor burn damage. Pausing, Tsunade turned to Gamahiro again. "Has he been poisoned?"
"Sounded like it," the toad said. "Jiraiya was in a really bad way after taking on a few of those Akatsuki, so I got worried. He told me not to worry about him falling off while I swam. Wasn't long before he passed out. Had to transfer him to my head for the rest of the trip."
Onlookers murmured amongst themselves, a string of gossip stirred by the word 'poisoned.' Their conversation became even more frantic at the mention of the Akatsuki. The remaining medics left with nothing to do waited in awkward silence while the woman who far outclassed them in every aspect of the field conducted her impromptu examination. Clicking her tongue in annoyance, Tsunade barked at the civilians to step back. She addressed the rest of the medics once their unwelcome audience had moved a comfortable distance away.
"Let's get him inside so I can start working on an antidote. Prep an IV drip and put salve on his burns while you wait for me." The dutiful staff scrambled to carry out her orders, leaving her alone with Gamahiro. Tsunade called out one last order over her shoulder. "And one of you fetch Shizune. Hurry!"
She hid her hands within the folds of her haori. A deep sense of unease settled in the pit of her stomach. Sure, she may have staved off her trembling episodes this time around, but could she keep it up long enough to pull Jiraiya back from the brink of death? One thing was for sure: she would hold out as long as possible.
Shizune slipped her stethoscope over her head and laid it on a rollaway table. Smiling down at her patient, she said, "Things are looking a lot better, Shin."
"Really?" The ashen haired boy returned her smile with tired, reddened eyes. "Oh. That's good."
"We'll wait until you've recovered some before administering the next treatment, okay?"
"Alright. How soon can I go home?"
"It won't be long now," Shizune promised. "I just need to pass along my notes and a log of today's vitals. Then I'll speak with Lady Tsunade to have you discharged."
A commotion from outside interrupted their discussion. Their gazes were pulled toward the window. Shin struggled to sit up straighter and see what was going on, but cried out in pain and fell back.
"Don't hurt yourself!" Shizune cautioned, holding out a hand to catch him and lessen the impact. She set him down on the pillow with care. Nestled into a cushioned seat by the wall, Tonton let out a distressed oink as if to underscore her caretaker's warning.
Shin eyed the disgruntled pig and tilted his head in contrition. "Sorry, Tonton. I didn't mean to wake you."
"You're kind to a fault, you know," Shizune said. "Apologizing for waking someone else while on mandated bedrest. Don't be so hard on yourself, Shin."
She tiptoed around the bed to see what was happening outside. Tonton wasn't far behind. The spunky pig bounced off of its commandeered cushion and hurried over to Shizune, nudging the aide's leg to garner attention. She bent to pick Tonton up, holding her close to her chest. The two of them looked outside and were shocked by a startling sight.
Hearing Shizune's involuntary gasp, Shin raised his head in concern. "What is it, Miss Shizune? Is something wrong?"
"Um, don't worry about it, Shin," she stammered, heading for the door. "It's just, well, I have to go. I'll send another nurse to stay with you." This last sentence barely made its way out of her mouth before she was flinging the door open and shutting it behind her. Shin sat there in sheer bewilderment.
Hiruzen sat alone in a room within Hokage Tower, treating himself to his first uninterrupted lunch break in ages. A spread of various foods, a hot cup of tea, and an incense burner were laid out across a large wooden table. He took a puff from his handcrafted pipe, thoughts drifting to the woman who'd hewn it for him herself from the bark of a rare tree. The Third missed her more and more every day, but comforted himself with the fact that at his age, he was already nearing the day he could see his beloved wife again.
Biwako had been a stern, shrewd woman. Her love was firm, tempered by a keen amount of wisdom and insight that bordered on clairvoyance. In areas where Hiruzen tended to be more laid back, she remained steadfast. Whenever he overlooked small details during his tenure as Hokage, she was right behind her husband whipping him into shape. Biwako would often chew him out in front of his subordinates or the other Elders if he fell too far out of line, so it was no secret who was the true brains behind the Hokage title. Often, they'd lay in bed at night laughing at the sheer hilarity of their union. Hiruzeen's bottomless empathy clashed with her acute sense for the true intentions of others. However, in her own words, that was the very quality she'd loved about him. He was a noble man whom Biwako swore to always stand by no matter what. She had proven these words true from the day of their marriage until her dying breath.
What destroyed The Third Hokage most of all was the knowledge that she died without him by her side. According to Minato, Biwako's passing happened in an instant, so at least she went without pain. Fugaku's dying words, relayed to him by Minato, and by Itachi before him, rang just as true for Hiruzen and Biwako's situation as they had for the late clan head and his wife Mikoto.
"Compared to your pain, ours will be over in an instant."
Tears mixed with the cloud of smoke billowing from his pipe. Hiruzen's lip quivered. He pushed away from the table. Any appetite he had when he sat down to eat was long gone, and it was all he could do not to break down.
"Sir!" called a shaky voice from the hallway. "Lord Third, are you in here?"
Sucking back tears and dripping snot, he composed himself seconds before a man in an Anbu mask and uniform marched around the corner. The lower ranking ninja knelt in the doorway, balancing himself with a fist.
Hiruzen waved the shinobi forward. "Enter, and take off that mask, young man."
The ninja complied and stared at him with a wooden gaze, arms flat at his sides.
The retired Kage took a drawn out hit from his pipe and set it down on the table. He needed a few seconds to get into the right mindset, and this was the least obvious way to give himself that time. "What news, Yamato?"
"Sir!" Yamato bowed. He hesitated, shifting his weight before finding it in himself to speak. "Just now, Lord Jiraiya returned to the village from his infiltration mission."
"Oh?" Hiruzen sat up straighter. "But that's good news, isn't it? Why do you look so pale?"
Yamato gulped. "He was badly injured."
Stunned by the news about his student, Hiruzen stood up with such speed that he bumped into the table, causing his teacup to fall over. "Injured how?!"
"He's been burned, poisoned, and was unconscious upon arrival. Lady Tsunade and her team are doing everything they can to treat him, and I've been sent to notify you of the situation. My Wood Clone is delivering the news to Lord Namikaze as we speak."
The dutiful Anbu agent's words echoed and grew more and more muddled until they were a jumbled soup of information. Hiruzen's head swam with worst case scenarios and a litany of questions he wanted to ask Yamato. Instead, all he could do was fight to control his rapid breaths as he stumbled out from behind the table. A growing pool of the spilled tea crept toward the edge of the table. Wooden growths sprang from the tabletop and guided the splashed liquid back into the cup, which had returned to its upright position while the Sarutobi Clan member was zoned out. He blinked and looked up at Yamato. The young man's hands were forming a sign. Hiruzen realized the boy was using Wood Style to animate the table and clean up his mess.
"Thank you," he said. "My apologies. I'm not at my best right now."
"It's alright, Sir. What would you like me to do?"
Pinching his nose bridge, Hiruzen took another drag from his pipe. In some small way it was like Biwako was still with him, acting as the literal air in his lungs and giving him strength to press on. He had already lost one student, albeit more figurative than literal. He would not sit idly by again while another's fate hung in the balance.
"Yamato, take me to Jiraiya."
The Chunin Exam Observatory exploded with activity at such a pace that Minato almost couldn't follow everything. Kurenai's and Kakashi's teams, like a few others before them, chose to pair up in an effort to ensure success by curbing the odds against their victory. Treating this like a numbers game, though it might seem too straightforward and perhaps even risky, was a strategy Minato found clever. He was not at all surprised to learn Naruto opted for this method. There was a wily strategist underneath that boisterous and silly exterior, after all. The young man was equal parts his father and mother.
An unfortunate lack of trust between a few of the partnered teams led to sabotage through intentional betrayals, poor team synergy, or careless mistakes that caused their supposed impenetrable defenses to fall apart at the seams. Minato watched with intrigue. A certain Grass Ninja group was one of the perpetrators of said sabotage. He may have just been imagining it, but those three seemed a lot more capable than they let on. Making a mental note to keep a close eye on them, Minato turned to check out some of the other backlit crystal balls.
Baki of the Sand had taken leave, using the window of time granted by the sudden arrival of his indisposed Kage to enjoy a well deserved break. In his place stood Rasa and another Jonin assistant named Yura. Both men were reserved and communicated in short sentences. Awkward social interactions aside, Minato was happy to see the Kazekage not shirking on his responsibility to show up. Saying he wasn't worried after an entire phase went by without any sign of Rasa would be a lie. Months of planning had gone into this event. The eyes of many key figures were on him, waiting to see if he would sink or swim. Twelve years of leadership under his belt were still not enough to convince Minato's greatest skeptics that he was not only a talented shinobi, but also a capable leader. He wanted to prove to the world and himself that he could pull off hosting a competition of such scale. The Kazekage was no small part of his strategy for success. Two Kage publicly demonstrating a genuine willingness to cooperate would have a positive impact on the somewhat strained relationship between their villages, and on the exams as a whole.
The crystal ball nearest to Rasa and Yura displayed a couple of impulsive Genin who chose to open a scroll early, sealing their own fates. Minato shook his head and chuckled as their screams of terror reverberated off of the walls. This part of the test had been Lord Hiruzen's idea. His successor decided to allow it, as it gave idle Chunin waiting for work something to do from time to time. The two curious souls were left lying unconscious in the aftermath of their scroll's activation. Per the rules, their scroll was confiscated and they were spirited away from the exam grounds as punishment.
Part of Minato feared Naruto would consider trying something this bold, but then he remembered that Sakura and Sasuke were at his side. He would be fine. On top of that, recent reports confirmed that the young Uzumaki handled Gaara's loosening seal himself. This was further proof that for all of his antics, Minato and Kushina's son had a good head on his shoulders.
Looks like we did alright, Kushina.
Audience members were abuzz in another section of the room. Minato and Rasa raised their heads to look, then exchanged sidelong glances. Gaara was on-screen entering the tower. He turned to glare up at the camera transmitting the live feed to the crystal ball. His siblings joined him, their casual smirks exuding confidence. Minato shuddered, feeling as if the emotionless boy was staring right at him rather than the camera. What was life like for this kid back home? The Hokage couldn't help but wonder just how severe Gaara's father's treatment was to create a child so cold.
The Sand trio passed under a doorway and out of view. Two scrolls were tucked within the cloth band that secured Gaara's gourd to his back. Everyone in the room vocalized their disbelief concerning the record-breaking time in which these three just cleared the Forest of Death challenge. They shattered the previous record held by Itachi, who had in turn dethroned Minato at an unprecedented age. There was no doubt in Minato's mind that Gaara was going to give his sons a run for their money.
"Well done, Gaara," said the Kazekage with a faint smile. Yura whispered something into his ear.
Just when Minato was about to go congratulate the man on his son's accomplishment, he sensed a new presence. An ominous chill fell over him. The Fourth snapped his fingers to get Genma's attention and assigned him to keep an eye on things before stepping away to investigate. Wading through the crowd, he met Yamato at the door, who flinched in surprise.
"L-Lord Fourth?" the agent stammered, bowing in deference.
"Hey. I felt you nearby. Last I checked, I hadn't called for an Anbu envoy, so something tells me you don't have good news?"
The young man grimaced. No stretch of the imagination was needed to picture the facial expression behind Yamato's mask.
"Speak," Minato encouraged, gesturing to coax the words out of him.
"It's Lord Jiraiya, Sir."
Flaring his eyes, Minato abandoned all thoughts of staying in the observatory for this conversation and guided Yamato out into the hallway. "Jiraiya-sensei? Is he okay? Did the Akatsuki-" Swallowing to calm himself, he continued, "...capture him?"
"No. He's been seriously wounded, and is in critical condition. I've been sent to escort you ba-"
"Don't bother." Minato cupped a hand around one of his Anbu subordinate's arms. Without warning, he teleported both of them to his master's seal marking.
Tipping his hat to a gaggle of awestruck shinobi, Rasa breathed a contented sigh. Performative though it was, giving the impression he still required oxygen was essential. Yura stood by in dutiful silence. The poor oaf was none the wiser.
The Kazekage's remote operator fought off the temptation to laugh at the absurdity of it all. A ghost of a chuckle died in the master manipulator's throat. A simple Transformation Jutsu that hid the former Kage's true appearance was all it took to sneak into the heart of the world's most powerful Hidden Village?
Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous.
Crouched by dim candlelight in a secluded cavern, Kabuto Yakushi chuckled with wicked delight. He pressed his palms against the cool stone floor, where a complex jutsu formula was drawn. A paper sealing tag at its center served as the focal point for a constant stream of chakra from the double agent's hands.
"Everything is going perfectly, Lord Orochimaru."
A Waterfall Village Genin dangled by the foot from a rope. A scroll peeked from the edge of his pocket, sliding loose thanks to gravity. He was distracted by the more immediate competing threats of blood rushing to his head and possibly plummeting headfirst o the forest floor. He unraveled his taut bandana and let it fall away. That would buy him time in the head rush department, at least. The strung up kid's grunts of discomfort mingled with the myriad chirps, growls, and hisses of the local wildlife. Naruto watched from behind a fallen log as Sasuke perched on a branch and lined up a shot. He let an arrow fly, snatching the scroll from the captured ninja's pocket and pinning it to a tree. The victim shouted in protest, but Naruto ignored this and dashed from his hiding place to retrieve the scroll.
"Great setup, Sakura," he said. He turned to smile at his crush, who was sitting on one of the highest branches and humming a tune.
"Thanks, Naruto!" she said, staunching a blush. "Let's regroup with the others."
Sakura pushed off of the branch and adhered to the side of another tree, descending to ground level. Naruto hopped down to join her. Sasuke Body Flickered to their location, having already sent his bow and quiver away.
The Uchiha paused to consider something, then spun and tossed a single kunai. It clipped the edge of the taut rope overhead. "Come on, you guys. We're losing daylight."
Team 7 departed as one. In the background, the fraying rope stretched to its limits. The dangling ninja watched in stunned silence, unsure why they would lure him into a trap and then help him get down seconds later.
"Freakin' weirdos," he muttered, crying out as the rope snapped and dropped him like a sack of potatoes. There was no doubt in his mind he'd be feeling that in the morning.
A Grass Ninja with flowing black hair glided along in a winding motion, twigs and leaves crackling underfoot. Moving with care and precision, they covered an impressive distance in the blink of an eye before settling under a cluster of bushes. A rustling nearby drew their attention to a scuttling white creature with a sleek, slender body. The small snake slithered up the ninja's arm and into one of the sleeves of their almond brown robe.
"Ah," said the textured voice of a man that contrasted sharply with the ninja's polished facial features and lithe figure. "I see." He chuckled, sculpted cheekbones rising as his passenger's glossy coat of skin caught a shaft of waning sunlight. "Then that must mean now is my best chance. Eh, Kabuto?"
"Done," Shino said. He strode into the clearing where Teams 7 and 8 agreed to meet. Hinata and Kiba emerged from the treeline to join him.
"Already?" Sakura said in disbelief. "Wow."
"Shino and Kiba used the environment to trick another team into attacking us and getting targeted by leeches," Hinata explained.
"Leeches?!" Naruto said, gagging and stepping back. "Disgusting!"
Shino pushed up his shades. "Not just any leeches."
Kiba smirked. "Leaf Village Jumping Leeches are native to this forest. Takes all of five minutes for'em to bleed you dry."
Naruto raised an eyebrow. "And how exactly do you know that?"
"My big sis is a veterinary medic, so I pick up all kinds of things from her!"
"Oh. Cool, I guess." The frown on Naruto's face made the fact he was no less weirded out than before quite transparent.
"We got the scroll and then r-removed the leeches," Hinata reassured, noting Sakura's sickened look in her peripheral vision. "So t-they'll be alright."
"Okay," Sasuke said a tad louder than necessary, eager to cut the chit-chat. "Let's head for the tower before it gets too dark out."
Naruto shook with excitement. "Woohoo! Finally."
Akamaru fell onto his side, letting out a throaty whimper.
"Huh?" Kiba was crouched on the grass next to him in the blink of an eye. "Akamaru, what's wrong?! Akamaru!" He turned to the others. "I think he might be siii…" Kiba's speech slurred and he fell into a motionless slump beside his animal companion.
Hinata and Shino were out just as quickly, but Naruto and Sasuke stumbled in defiance, remaining upright through pure strength of will. Meanwhile, Sakura threw up a hand sign.
"Someone's casting a Genjutsu," she said while her eyes dissected the landscape. Her legs had taken on an irritating tremble she couldn't shake. Her voice contracted as she asked, "Sasuke, can you see anyone?"
"No," he whispered, trying to ignore the prickling sensation crawling across his body. "But this is more than just a Genjutsu."
"What is it, then?" Naruto asked. He held a wide stance with one of his special kunai drawn for protection.
The trio instinctively turned away from one another to reduce blind spots.
Sasuke said, "Killing Intent."
A tall, slender person sporting a Grass Village headband and straw-woven hat pranced into the clearing. Now that they were closer, Naruto got a good look at the person's discordant facial features. They possessed marked masculine and feminine qualities, but a rising, gravely chuckle from the stranger confirmed Naruto was looking at a man. Glossy olive skin formed high, defined cheekbones, a distractingly long nose and a pair of thin, puckered lips. Dusky, deep-set eyes held a softness that ran counter to his fear inducing aura. This Grass Ninja's entire presence screamed a dissonance of identity. Like a body warring with itself.
Naruto shriveled in the oppressive density of the adversary's chakra. He wanted to stand tall, but the energy was heavy, by its very nature forcing him to buckle under its weight. He knew a lot about jutsu for his age. Not as much as Sakura, but a lot. The different types and subtypes, which elements were weak against which, and even a little about kekkei genkai, in no small part because of Sasuke. He'd suppressed a Jinchuuriki's rampage earlier, for goodness sake! All the same, his heart dropped into his stomach at a debilitating realization. Even with all of his training and finely honed practical skills, he had no counter for this man's overwhelming abilities.
"Just as talented as I was hoping for," the stranger's slimy-sounding voice said. He continued his slow walk through the forest. Naruto and Sasuke stole sideways glances at one another. "Perhaps even more so than your brother."
A gasp caught in Naruto's throat. His movements were painful and stiff, but he managed to turn and see Sasuke grunting, Sharingan flaring while his eyebrows knitted together in contempt.
"And you…" the man went on, giving Sakura a wide-eyed once over. "No one at your level should have been able to withstand that. You shrugged my Genjutsu off like it was a mere spiderweb caught on your sleeve. Hm, a pity. If you had any other talent to speak of, then you might have proven special enough to hold my interest."
Giving Sakura an apathetic scoff, he made a hand sign with two fingers. Something invisible struck her. She croaked out a weak breath like the air had been knocked from her lungs, then collapsed.
"Sakura, no!" Naruto called out. He turned back to their attacker and clenched both fists, determined to shake off whatever this freaky Killing Intent technique was doing to his body. "You bastard," he seethed.
The Grass Ninja only smirked, eyeing Naruto with a predatory stare. Disregarding him for the moment, the lanky figure strode over to Sasuke and breathed down his nose at the fledgling Uchiha. "Let's see how well you can entertain me."
An assured smile melted from the man's narrow face when a fist drove into it from the side. A powerful gust carried Naruto forward at impressive speed. He smashed their unknown foe into the dirt, splintering the earth beneath them and exposing a tree root in the process. Sasuke stared in disbelief, finding he could move now. He hurried over to see what became of the downed foe.
Naruto was standing beside the fractured piece of land. He panted, glaring into a cloud of dust wrought by the collision. The air cleared to reveal a body flattened into the messy tread that Naruto gouged in the earth. The Grass Ninja's lower jaw was offset by a couple of inches, and his limbs were bent in unnatural ways. Fighting the urge to give in to revulsion, Sasuke stood next to his brother and kept both eyes trained on the enemy. He couldn't tell what he was sensing, but he knew the fight was far from over.
The crumpled body turned a muddy brown and lost its shape. Deforming into an unidentifiable gooey mess, the enemy revealed himself to have been a clone.
"What?" Naruto said through heavy breaths.
"Well done," commended an echo of their assailant's voice.
The boys searched high and low, finding no trace of him. Wind whistling through the foliage and distant calls of the local wildlife built up an even more unsettling atmosphere.
"What the hell do you want?" Sasuke demanded. "You're not with a squad, and you're way too strong to be a Genin. So what's your game?"
The man tittered, sending anxious tingles up Sasuke's spine.
"Very sharp, young Sasuke," the disembodied voice rang out from a million directions. "I look forward to seeing how far you've advanced."
Naruto gave a silent signal to Sasuke, who nodded. They built up chakra and braced to put their unspoken strategy in motion. A dark blur dashed past before they could react. Naruto felt around his waist and grew pale in the face.
"Our scroll!" he said in a voice just above a whisper.
"Looking for this?" teased the foe, who was standing atop a felled log. He made sure to stay just within range so both boys could see him, but not too close.
"Why you little…!" Naruto broke into a run, raising his kunai.
"Naruto, no! He's baiting us!" Sasuke said, holding out a hand in a futile gesture.
The blond hadn't made it more than a couple paces before a snake the size of his backpack materialized from beneath the underbrush, tangling around his leg. He stumbled and fell flat on his face. Sasuke moved to intervene, but paused as he noticed the man was standing behind him. The Uchiha spun and backfisted the air, wondering when the elusive creep had gotten close. More importantly, how did his movements escape the Sharingan's detection?
"So close, yet so far," the man cooed into his ear, backflipping to evade a follow up attack and disappearing into a thicket. "You still haven't shaken your fear, and it's making you sloppy."
Sasuke ignored the taunt and prioritized helping Naruto without a second thought. A shuriken between the eyes of the coiling snake freed him from its clutches. The snake seemed to have had a singular focus on restricting his hand and leg movements. Sasuke turned his focus back to the source of their troubles. Tapping into all of the training Itachi and Kushina instilled in him, he stopped relying on his eyes alone. Every sensory detail; sights, sounds, smells, chakra signatures, and even the direction the breeze blew, were valuable details that aided in pinpointing the man's most likely position. Choosing to cover the widest area possible and increase his chances of making contact, Sasuke strung together the signs for a suitable Fire Style technique. Naruto beheaded a second snake that emerged from the dead one's mouth and turned back just as a bright flash consumed the forest.
Wisps of flame shot forth in a constant volley, peppering the landscape with a chain of explosive impacts. It was like watching a hundred flares set off all at once.
"Sasuke, is that really you?" Naruto whispered. He stood transfixed by the amazing display.
Naruto created one clone for each of their fainted comrades and commanded his copies to take them to The Tower to recover. Then he rushed in to provide Sasuke with backup. A wave of heat bombarded him as the beginnings of a forest fire blazed.
The underbrush crackled with rising flames. There was no sign of the snake summoner. Naruto stood shoulder to shoulder with Sasuke, who was fishing around in his ninja tool pouch with one hand.
"I got them all to safety," he announced with a wide grin. "We can cut loose now!"
"Good." Sasuke tossed three kunai in succession. "Here goes!" The kunai clanged against one another in midair and shot in different directions.
One embedded itself in a tree next to the camouflaged face of their pursuer. He was fused to the tall trunk at the neck, much like how the Rain Ninja group from earlier used Earth Style to travel underground. The man's eyes lazily followed the projectile. However, his nonchalance turned to surprise when a tag stuck to the kunai handle began to sizzle. He separated from the tree and slinked away as it was blasted to smithereens, leaving him surrounded by fragments of the tree's tall trunk, sprinklings of ash, and singed leaves. The man jumped clear of the low visibility area with his mouth covered to avoid smoke inhalation.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Sasuke glided through the air like a falcon swooping in for the kill. His back arched as he lined up a bow shot. The last remnants of afternoon sunlight outlined him in a warm glow. His intended target looked up just in time to realize he was in the line of fire; too late to dodge.
A concentrated current of elemental energy ran from Sasuke's body into the shaft of the nocked arrow. The strain of holding it in place made veins in his drawing arm tingle. The beginnings of muscle cramps danced from his wrist down to his fingertips. He released the bowstring and it sprang forward with a ferocious snap, sending the supercharged arrow hurtling toward the snake tamer.
The latter's arms were crossed into an x, which caused his forearms to become unwitting dartboards for the white-hot arrowhead. Traces of lightning and fire style chakra emanated from the shaft buried deep in his skin. The worst of the impact came when vivid streaks of color rippled across his arms. Skin melted away from the edges of the fresh wounds in near-slow motion, and with a sudden rush of heat, he was blasted downward like a flying comet. The thunderous impact tore a chunk of the forest floor asunder with the ease of ripping a sheet of paper. Sasuke landed next to the resulting fissure. Steam and ribbons of smoke rose from the impact site, surely getting the attention of other teams. Naruto appeared beside him, echoing this concern.
"They definitely all know something's going down over here after that," he muttered. "Damn it. My clones might not be enough to guard the others if more teams show up."
Sasuke grimaced; this snake obsessed guy was too dangerous to worry about anyone else right now. The Uchiha responded with a fervent shake of his head. "We need to focus on the battle in front of us. If we can injure him enough, maybe we'll be able to get away."
"You mean THAT didn't take him out?!" Naruto's eyes bulged and he peered down into the narrow crater. Cinders wafted through the air like scattered dandelion bristles, making it more difficult to discern what reamined. When the smoke cleared enough for him to get a good look, Naruto gasped. A charred—but still twitching—body lay at the bottom of the crevice.
"It would seem I've been underestimated." A voice from behind caught the boys by surprise and they spun to face their foe. "Not taking me seriously must run in your family, spawn of The Yellow Flash." His mouth shifted into something that no one in their right mind would call a smile. "I must commend you for resisting my Killing Intent, but there's still quite a gulf between us."
"Who are you?!" Naruto shouted. "And what would my dad want with a freak like you?"
The man chuckled. Both boys stood petrified as his roasted skin sloughed off, forming a moat of discolored meat slabs around his feet. Soft light cutting through the trees illuminated his second layer of much paler skin. The man's eyes glinted a striking yellow. Purple eyeshadow accented his deathly white complexion.
"Wait," Naruto said as the image before him clicked. He'd seen this person in academy textbooks and old photos of Pervy Sage and Granny Tsunade! "You're…"
"Orochimaru," Sasuke finished. His mouth went dry at the mere mention of the infamous ninja. Instead of cowering, the proud Uchiha struck a combative pose. "You're that psycho who's after the Sharingan—one of the Legendary Sannin!"
Naruto gulped. Well, this explained why nothing they threw at the guy had any effect so far. He couldn't help but wonder what two Genin, even with their above average skills, could really do to stop someone so strong. Putting it out of his mind, Naruto reminded himself that this person had come to hurt Sasuke. At least, that's what it seemed like. There was no way he was going to let that happen. Baring his teeth, he molded chakra and started kicking around a strategy in his head.
A smoke bomb went off before he could make a move. Sasuke tugged at his sleeve, urging him to follow as he leapt to higher ground. Naruto Body Flickered to a nearby tree and fell into step with him. They hopped from branch to branch at a brisk pace. No matter how many times Naruto asked, Sasuke wouldn't explain why he chose to flee or why he wouldn't slow down. A minute or so later, he stopped and turned around with a grim expression. "We're in over our heads here, Naruto. I need you to take the others and go. It's me he wants."
"No way," Naruto said with a stubborn frown. "Why would I abandon you?"
"You wouldn't be. You'd be saving everyone else. When you locate the tower, contact Minato. If you can't reach him, then grab the most elite shinobi you can find to come and help." He sighed and looked back the way they came. "This Orochimaru guy's a monster. I put everything I had into that attack and it didn't even leave a scratch."
"Oh yeah! That reminds me. What the hell were those new moves, Sasuke?"
"I don't have them perfected yet, but this situation calls for everything at our disposal." He looked down at Naruto's reddened knuckles. "And it looks like I'm not the only one hiding abilities."
Raising his hands defensively, the blond said, "I don't even know what that was. I just got so angry when I saw him talking to you like that and, and-"
Allowing himself a sobering smile, Sasuke pulled Naruto in for their signature handshake, careful not to grab his injured hand. "I know. Thank you. But seriously, you've gotta move or we're going to lose our window."
"I'm stayin' put, believe it!" Naruto crossed his arms like a petulant toddler.
"Don't be stupid!" Sasuke said, shoving him. Naruto shoved back. During the ensuing grapple, the Uchiha's voice cracked. "Just go. Hurry."
"How touching," said the familiar sly voice of their pursuer. "But time's up, I'm afraid."
A subtle exchange of chakra passed from Sasuke to Naruto, whose reluctant whining gave way to a more level-headed defiance. The blond turned, directing all of his fury at Orochimaru. "You come here and try to hurt my friends, harass my brother, badmouth my dad…" Chakra pulsated out of Naruto in waves. Leaves bent under the force of his enormous energy output. "I'll make you pay for that!"
The man's reptilian smirk deepened. "I'll admit I'm somewhat intrigued. Using Wind Style to augment your punch earlier was crude, but effective. And now this little show? Fine. I guess I'll play with you a bit before I complete my objective."
"Objective?" the boys said in unison.
Resigned to Naruto's decision to help, Sasuke drew another arrow and aimed straight ahead. His bow had acquired dark discolorations from burns along its polished wooden frame. One more reckless elemental attack like he used earlier could render it completely useless. He needed to be careful and opt for attacks that didn't demand too much from the compromised weapon.
"Naruto," Sasuke said, "you're up."
"Yeah, I got it."
Naruto charged at Orochimaru, creating a couple of clones as he went. The clones split off from him and vanished within the trees while he closed the distance, putting his full weight behind a lunging punch. Orochimaru sidestepped the blow with one hand behind his back. The withdrawn hand held their pilfered Heaven Scroll tantalizingly close, no doubt to get a rise out of Naruto. Though red in the face, Naruto stayed on task. He unleashed a swift combination of jabs and kicks.
Orochimaru's lifetime of skill became evident to Naruto in seconds. Their gap in overall strength was one thing. In the speed category, though, they weren't exactly worlds apart. A kick to the temple made contact, but Orochimaru's neck snapped sideways and reset its position like nothing happened. He cackled, retaliating with two gut checks before axe kicking Naruto down through the branch they were standing on. Warm blood soaked through a patch of the boy's hair as he plummeted into the shadowy depths below.
Up above, Orochimaru stood unscathed on the splintered stump that remained of the broken branch. An arrow blinked into view, headed right for his face. He raised two fingers and caught it between them with a smug smile. The tip of the arrowhead would have drawn blood if he'd been even a fraction of a second slower. Snapping the arrow in two, he discarded its halves and let them fall. Another arrow flew at him from behind a tree, drawing a genuine gasp out of the man and trimming a single hair as it whistled past his ear.
Sasuke's chest swelled with pride at the glimmer of surprise on Orochimaru's face. It may have only lasted for an instant, but Sasuke still saw it as a win. Achieving a feat of this level against someone so far beyond them in every way had to mean they really were getting stronger. Now all they had to do was bring the last leg of their strategy home.
The arrow disappeared with a flash of light that flooded the section of forest behind Orochimaru. His eyes widened as the reality of what they'd just done settled in. In a flurry of movement, two windmill shuriken sailed through the air from behind, attacking Orochimaru from different angles. An effortless acrobatic spin threaded his body through the narrow safe zone between the projectiles. However, no sooner did Orochimaru touch down than the windmill shuriken transformed. The couple of Naruto clones from earlier burst from the resulting smokescreen and closed in on either side, each wielding a sizable Rasengan.
The tall tree creaked as two massive impacts blew gaping holes in its sturdy frame. Chips of wood sprayed like confetti. Orochimaru's legs melded into a misshapen blob that elongated to an unnatural length. He slithered in a helical motion down the tree, managing to evade obliteration before sinking into the shaded shrubbery below. The top half of the tree leaned to one side, hanging on by thin sinews of wood. Sasuke jumped onto a lower branch to look for Naruto. The latter's clones dove after Orochimaru with their kunai drawn.
Sasuke kept his eyes trained on the forest floor. In no time, the Sharingan picked Naruto out of the various chakra signatures moving around below. His life force scurried along at an impressive pace, winding up a shallow incline toward a space with a higher concentration of greenery. There was a serene body of springwater a few yards further ahead. Assuming Naruto was following the plan, then he was heading for that spring.
Good move, Naruto. We'll finish things there!
A violent quake from below made Sasuke redirect his attention. He glued himself to the branch with an unconscious redistribution of chakra. Smoke swallowed a large portion of the forest. Countless trees were felled, crashing into each other like giant dominoes. Sasuke dismissed his bow and quiver and kicked off of the tree in Naruto's direction. He spun to get a look at the cause of the destruction.
A wide, massive figure rose from below, pushing more trees aside like they weighed nothing. Its coffee-brown scales were the size of small buildings, and the creature as a whole struck him with an overwhelming desire to be anywhere else but here. The being's long, forked tongue emerged from between a set of impossibly large fangs. A snake as big as one of Jiraiya's toads was about to swallow him whole!
In a desperate move, Sasuke spewed a scalding fireball to dissuade the serpent's advance. This succeeded, though it cost him far more chakra than a controlled release would have.
"Damn it," he muttered, turning and jumping to another branch. He gained momentum with every leap. Sasuke willed himself to press forward despite the urge to look back. All that would do is slow him down; maybe even get him killed.
He entered the grove of trees surrounding the spring at a speed so fast, everything became a blur. Rolling into a smooth landing with aid from a bit of chakra in his hands and knees, Sasuke called his bow back to him and scanned for signs of company. He wheeled on someone whose foot crunched over a fallen leaf. Sighing when he saw it was Naruto, he eased back into scouting mode.
"Did he find you?" Sasuke said without looking at him. His bow was at full draw and panning across the treeline. Twin red pupils blazed like small flames in a valiant effort to spot the approaching rogue ninja and his gargantuan summoning animal.
"No, not yet." Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Do you think the proctors will show up?"
"We can't count on outside help. If anyone caught wind of him being out here, the dome would have already come down."
"Ah, good point. Dad would be here in a snap." Naruto stood back to back with Sasuke, rotating along with him to keep them from getting surprise attacked.
"It's up to us for now. You remember the plan, right?"
"Of course I do, believe it!"
Another tremor reached them, causing their teeth to chatter and almost knocking the boys off their feet.
"What the hell is that?" Naruto said, death gripping a marked kunai.
"A giant snake."
"A what now?!"
"Yeah, you heard right. It's like Lord Jiraiya's toads."
The quakes resumed, gaining intensity as their pursuer drew closer and closer.
"Get ready," Sasuke whispered, his bow drawn so tightly it began to tremble. A bead of sweat ran down the side of his face and made it itch. He didn't dare stop watching the trees to wipe it away.
The frontmost trees wobbled and leaned to either side, half uprooted by the oncoming threat. Then nothing. Moths and other flying insects whizzed by, water lapped against rocks around the freshwater spring, and the soothing quiet of nature reigned supreme. The otherwise pleasant scenery was fast turning into set pieces for one of those scary stories Kushina used to tell them when they were little. A flock of black birds broke up the monotony by scattering across the sky in a noisy jumble of feathers and beaks.
"Why'd it stop?" Naruto asked. He touched a finger to the ground and closed his eyes.
"I don't know, but-"
The blond popped to his feet."It's beneath us! Move!"
The ground blasted open just beyond the treeline, revealing the snake's abyss of a mouth already stretched to half capacity. A pair of dead eyes sat like shiny marbles inside its head, somehow even more intimidating than its sharp fangs. Orochimaru clung to the top of the snake's head with a demented grin as it closed in on the boys. Sasuke reflexively flinched and fired a poorly aimed shot. The arrow bounced off of a hardened scale with no effect. Rather than flee, he chose to face the beast head on. Naruto called out to stop him, but to no avail.
Itachi's training had prepared his little brother for challenges just like this one. Sasuke trusted his muscle memory and smacked a hand against the dirt. A red, translucent chakra barrier extended to several stories high and stabilized. The snake closed its mouth and braced for a collision. Orochimaru somehow went even paler than he was by default at the sight of this jutsu. He abandoned his seat atop the snake just in time.
A loud smash rang out when the two powerful forces clashed. The snake's body buckled, still only halfway out of a hole in the ground due to its inability to pierce the barrier. Wild flames crawled over its scales at a steady pace, melting the organic layer of armor while the creature writhed and hissed. The fire fanned out across its skin like a splayed hand trying to grab hold of slippery prey. The flames raged on, consuming everything they touched.
Sasuke knelt to recover from the demanding chakra usage. Naruto was at his side in the blink of an eye, placing a caring hand on his shoulder. They turned to behold the snake's smoldering carcass. It had managed to slither the rest of itself out of the ground before succumbing to its injuries. All that remained was an ashen husk sending ribbons of smoke into the darkening sky.
Both boys jolted upright, sensing an impending attack. Yet another hole in the earth appeared from their blind spot. Sasuke turned, his eyes wide in disbelief.
ANOTHER giant snake?!
He and his brother stared into the snake's open mouth, both shaken and unable to mount a quick enough response. Ice filled Sasuke's veins. Naruto seemed like he was in the middle of doing something, but it was pointless. The Sharingan was able to track the speed of both his and the snake's movements, so Sasuke was beyond convinced that even if Naruto cut corners on chakra control, he'd be halfway down this creature's slimy gullet before his jutsu activated. They were about to become snake food. Sasuke tried to take matters into his own hands and cursed; his fatigued body wouldn't move. Not fast enough to make a difference, anyway.
A blast of blue light cratered the side of the second large snake's head, thrusting it sideways with incredible force. Its wide, flat snout dunked into the springwater with so much power, it sent a spray over the edge of the spring that drove off the few remaining animals in the area. The long, ropy predator was dead before it hit the surface of the water. Naruto's clones high fived, smiling at their original and Sasuke.
"We did it!" one of the clones exclaimed, hands on his hips.
"Good job, guys," the real Naruto said.
Sasuke looked up at him, mouth agape.
"Hm?" Naruto returned his gaze and smiled. "What's up?"
"Nothing." The Uchiha pushed up into a standing position and smirked. "You just never cease to amaze me." He sensed an incoming attack and alerted Naruto.
Orochimaru flickered into existence atop the fallen snake. His eyes were bloodshot and shone with a hint of excitement. He spat an impossibly long blade that arced toward the clones, beheading them before swinging like a pendulum of death toward their conjurer. The boys jumped to avoid being chopped in half. They felt a gentle breeze from the sheer speed of the sharp object as it tore through the air. With unspoken understanding, Naruto and Sasuke pushed off of one another's feet and landed on opposite sides of the field.
"Over here!" Naruto taunted, sticking out his tongue.
Sasuke was more blunt and opted for a middle finger.
Both responses were met with an insouciant chuckle. Orochimaru held out his hands. One snake slithered free from each sleeve and lunged with fangs bared. Naruto and Sasuke sliced the predators in two and rushed in for a counterattack. They triggered smoke bombs that burst and hid the boys from sight. Orochimaru chuckled within the cloud of smoke, unfazed.
"A snake has no trouble finding prey in the dark." He rushed the presences he sensed with feral glee.
When the smoke cleared, he stood triumphant over two eviscerated logs. Naruto and Sasuke Body Flickered toward him from either side and were grabbed by the throat. They grunted and clutched at his wrists, but could not break free.
"I knew you'd try more petty tricks like this," Orochimaru snarled. "Enough. I'm finished playing with you children now." The boys stopped struggling and smiled. Their bodies turned to smoke, earning a gasp from the pale man. "What?"
The real Naruto and Sasuke dropped down from above, kicking off of a tree branch in unison. They held a fearsome accumulation of chakra in their hands.
Having just escaped the snake enthusiast and heard Sasuke's plan to volunteer himself as bait, Naruto was angry, shocked, and confused all at the same time. He looked into his adoptive brother's eyes during their brief wrestling match. The scarlet stare of Sasuke's immature pair of Sharingan conveyed his staunch determination. It was as if the eyes were acting of their own volition, pleading with Naruto to see reason. If this was supposed to pass for reason, he'd gladly remain a fool. There was no way he was going to abandon Sasuke to fight someone so powerful alone, believe it! The two of them would survive, or perish, together.
Naruto blinked and found himself floating in a void. Across from him stood Sasuke. The latter was also floating, and his clothes looked fresh out of the wash. None of his recent injuries were present, either. Their attempt to find respite from Orochimaru had failed, but were they dead? Had he killed them just like that?
No. This was something else. Somewhere else.
"Naruto," the echo of Sasuke's voice said. "Listen. We don't have much time."
"Sasuke!" he said, doing a 180. "Where are we?"
"We're inside my tactile Genjutsu. I'm not the best at performing one that isn't stored in my eyes, so it won't last long. Since neither one of us wants to back down, let's meet halfway."
"Whadda ya mean?"
"Listen carefully."
When Sasuke was done, he looked at Naruto with an expectant lilt of the eyelids.
"So then I nail'em with a Rasengan? That's all you had to say!"
Shaking his head, the Uchiha held up a finger. "There's more to it than that. We'll need to move in perfect coordination. Remember what Minato said to us before the written exam?"
"Hmm…" Naruto paused to think back on that moment. Dad had pulled them aside to have a private chat away from Sakura and Kakashi-sensei.
Minato stood in a quiet corner out of the way of Genin teams who might pass through. Sasuke and Naruto followed, ears perked in anticipation of what he had to say.
"Sup, Dad?" Naruto flashed a casual grin. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah, yeah," the Hokage stammered, pausing to find his words. "I want to say a few things to you two before the exams start. It may be against the rules for me to give you hints about the challenges, but there's no rule that says I can't do this."
Sasuke directed a curious brow at his adoptive parent. Moisture gathered in Minato's eyes. The proud father smiled and pulled his sons in for a hug.
"I need you both to know something," he said as they parted. "I love you so much. Don't worry about being the best out there or making me and the village look good. Even though I know how much potential you have, I don't even want you to think about my wishes for you. Just have fun and do your best. You don't have to become Chunin on your first attempt to make me proud. I already couldn't be prouder."
Naruto sniffled, almost moved to tears himself. Sasuke, however, rolled his eyes and turned to peek at the door, hoping they weren't going to miss the check-in window. Minato cupped their wrists to ensure they were paying attention before he continued.
"Take care of each other," he said. "Sakura, too. But I need you to really hear me on this. The dangers you'll face are very real. Treat these challenges with the seriousness of a legitimate field mission or you could get hurt—even die. And I…" Breaking off to suck in more tears, Minato drew in a breath. "I don't want either of you to get hurt. You're why my Will of Fire burns so strongly. You boys are…"
Naruto stayed in sync with Sasuke as they descended from the treetops. His clones had set everything up perfectly, and now it was their time to strike. Creating a Rasengan in one hand, the determined blond held his orb-wielding hand out to Sasuke. The Uchiha set to work transferring his own chakra into it while they advanced. When he did, the Rasengan exploded with sparks of lightning, upping its rotational speed to a point where the light it gave off reached near-blinding levels. The dense amalgamation of chakra shot a sharp tingling sensation through both boys' arms, but they pressed forward.
"You're why my Will of Fire burns so strongly."
Naruto withstood the strain on his body with a grimace, thinking back on the heartfelt motivational speech. He couldn't bring shame to those words, no matter how much Dad didn't want him to think that way. The encouragement his father imparted ironically made Naruto even more committed to living up to the mantle of the Hokage's son. His brother's subtle smirk gave him confidence that he wasn't alone in this mindset.
"You boys are…"
Sasuke stabilized the lightning chakra and used The Sharingan's visual acuity to steer their path, serving as a guiding force for Naruto's weaponized rage.
"Y-You are…"
Orochimaru pushed off of the ground into a backdash, trying to create distance. Naruto and Sasuke were too fast, though. The former drew upon Wind Style to reduce drag due to air resistance, amplifying their speed by leaps and bounds. In a manner truly reminiscent of The Yellow Flash's skills, the two blitzed across the forest in a fraction of a second.
"…my legacy!"
Shouting in coordinated fury, Naruto and Sasuke drove the ball of potent destructive power into Orochimaru's chest. He spasmed and doubled over before being blasted through multiple wide tree trunks. The explosive display etched a gruesome trail of deforestation into the landscape.
Both boys rested their hands on their knees. They caught their breaths while looking to the obliterated scenery their combo attack created. Exposed tree roots, demolished rocks, a faint burning smell in the air, and a persistent static charge that made their hair stand on end left an indelible mark. Sasuke was the first to notice something was amiss. A shadowy figure approached from behind thick streams of smoke.
A crippling jolt of chakra forced Naruto and Sasuke to their knees. Orochimaru sauntered out of the wreckage like he was on a peaceful stroll, then brought his hands together to mold chakra. "You," he said, his head rotating ever so slightly to regard Naruto, "Minato and Kushina's boy. Watch carefully."
"Huh?" Naruto's eyes turned to slits in his confusion. He and Sasuke shared a look of unease.
"This is what true Wind Style jutsu looks like!"
The next moment, it was like they'd stepped into a raging tornado. Wind howled all around them, kicking up leaves, twigs, and other debris. Sharp ripples disturbed the water's surface. Naruto and Sasuke rooted themselves in place with chakra and nodded a silent affirmation between one another. Orochimaru pulled his hands apart and directed one at each of his prey. Cyclonic projectiles of condensed air shot toward them, slicing wedges out of the ground as they came.
The attack mutilated the grass and even split a tree down the middle. When it ended, neither boy was anywhere in sight. Orochimaru's half-lidded stare conveyed a mixture of intrigue and annoyance.