"Naruto, combination attack! Now!" I called out the moment Orochimaru revealed himself, hoping to catch him off-guard with a wide-area attack. Naruto shouted his acknowledgement and we both quickly ran through our hand seals. "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

"Fuuton: Daitoppa!" The large fireball I produced was caught and fanned by Naruto's wind blast, creating an enormous plume of fire that engulfed the forest before us. When the smoke cleared to reveal blackened and burning branches, Orochimaru was nowhere to be seen. "Did we get her?" I didn't need to answer Naruto's question, as our foe's mocking laughter rang out from behind us. The disguised sannin was standing on another branch, completely unscathed.

"That wasn't too bad for prey. Now it's my turn!" With a single seal, he unleashed his own Daitoppa, which we barely dodged by scattering to different branches just before the high-pressure wind tore through the already-damaged forest behind us, stripping the bark from large branches and completely shattering smaller ones. We regrouped again, my teammates not needing me to tell them that sticking together was our only chance.

"Hold on, why are you attacking us? You don't even know which scroll we have!" Sakura shouted desperately.

"I'm not interested in your scroll," the sannin dismissed. He reached into his robe and withdrew a scroll of his own, a white one. Beside me, Naruto and Sakura stiffened just a little. "But if you need some motivation, this heaven scroll would pair so nicely with that earth scroll of yours, don't you think? If you can impress me, I might just let you have it."

"Impress you? We'll beat you into the ground and take it, dattebayo! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Predictably, Naruto rushed in with his clones before I could do anything to stop him. Orochimaru effortlessly dodged and weaved around the incoming blows, casually dispelling clones with swift blows, controlling the engagement completely, his limbs bending in inhuman ways to evade any strike. I used the time Naruto was buying us to pull out a scroll.

"Sakura," I spoke under my breath, barely loud enough for her to hear. "I'm gonna make it rain. Be ready." She nodded her understanding, so I opened the scroll and held it above my head. With just a tiny application of chakra, a massive torrent of water was released from the paper and launched skyward in a great stream that quickly began raining down around us.

"Suiton: Mizu Shuriken no Jutsu!" At Sakura's declaration, Naruto disengaged just in time to avoid the razor-sharp liquid stars that formed from the rain. A dozen shuriken launched into Orochimaru at once, from too many angles for him to easily dodge, in a scene that reminded me of Haku's water needles. Then he vanished in a puff of smoke, revealing a torn up log in his place. There was a rustling behind us, and I grabbed Sakura and Body Flickered to another branch, barely escaping the snakes that bit the air where she had just been standing. The reptiles retracted into their master's sleeve.

"Impressive," Orochimaru complemented. "Not many genin are skilled enough to use the Shunshin."

"Eh, I just stole it from an Anbu who showed up at my house one morning." The sannin got a hungry look in his eyes on hearing that.

"Ah yes, those Sharingan eyes of yours. With but a glance, you can master almost any technique you wish. A shame they are not in the hands of someone who can use them to their fullest potential."

"Is that what you think?" I began rapidly forming seals. "Then I'll show you just how well I can wield them! Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu!" The thin mist that hung in the air, the water coating the branches and dripping from the leaves, the liquid that had soaked our hair and clothes from the artificial rain – all of it came together to from a serpentine beast that, while significantly smaller than the ones Kakashi and Zabuza had made using the lake in Wave, was still an impressive sight. Unfortunately, looking impressive was not good enough, as it was easily blown apart by another Daitoppa from Orochimaru.

The spray from the impact, however, was at least enough to conceal a Naruto clone's movements, and the serpentine shinobi was taken by surprise by a haymaker that rocked him back, though it did no noticeable damage and was quickly responded to with a kick that dispelled his blonde assailant.

"It seems this prey can bite back," Orochimaru commented idly before his expression hardened into a glare. "But in the end, even the most resilient of prey cannot overcome its predator." In an instant, I was filled with the certainty that I would die here, at this man's hands. I felt panic rise in my chest, my heart racing in terror.

Killing intent! I realised quickly. His desire to slay us was so thick it was practically tangible, his bloodlust dwarfing what I had felt from Zabuza. Focus! I worked to clear my mind, to breathe deeply. Shaking hard and losing feeling in my extremities, I barely managed to glance to my sides, seeing Naruto and Sakura completely frozen. In that moment, I did not see trained ninja ready to do battle, but a pair of terrified children in need of protection. And I saw Orochimaru drawing knives to end their lives.

That did it. As he threw his kunai, I managed to quickly draw and throw my own, intercepting his attack thanks to the visual prowess granted by my Sharingan. He looked surprised that I had managed to throw off his killing intent, and I capitalised on the chance to strike in close quarters.

"Konoha Senpuu!" The kick I had blatantly stolen from Rock Lee pushed Orochimaru back a few paces even through his hasty block. "Naruto, Sakura, snap out of it!" was all I had a chance to shout before my concentration was entirely taken up by a high-speed, high-intensity taijutsu battle. Orochimaru was absurdly fast, even holding back as he undoubtedly was. If it weren't for the Sharingan's predictive powers and the intense adrenaline rush I was experiencing, I would have had no hope of standing against him. Yet I was holding, my body moving on instinct, my mind empty of anything beyond our fight. Punches brushed past my hair, kicks were dodged and jumped, I was moving faster and with more precision than I had ever managed before.

It wasn't enough. Eventually, I was just a fraction of a second too slow, and took a kick to the gut that launched me backwards into a tree, dispelling my Transformation and leaving me winded and stunned as my foe walked towards me, a look of intrigue on his face. He opened his mouth to speak when a shout cut him off.

"Suiton: Teppoudama!" He leaped back barely half a second before a barrage of small, fast-moving spheres of water passed through the space his head had occupied, blasting divots in the branch behind. Looking at the source, I was pleasantly surprised to see Sakura standing tall. She was shaking and breathing heavily, but her eyes were hard, determined to keep fighting.

"Sen'ei Jashu (Hidden Shadow Snake Hands)." From Orochimaru's sleeve, a cluster of snakes shot out at the pinkette, whose eyes widened as she was apparently still too shook up to dodge.

"Fuuton: Shinkuudan!" The snakes' heads were blasted apart in a bloody mess by projectiles that, while visible to me thanks to the glowing chakra that shaped them, would have been completely unseeable to the others. Naruto dropped down beside me and offered a hand up, while Orochimaru shook lifeless snake corpses from his sleeves with a frown. "Got any ideas?" Naruto's voice was just a little shaky, not that I would ever mention that aloud.

"One. Can you make more Shadow Clones?"

"Always." A puff of smoke, and more than twenty Narutos were swarming Orochimaru, with more being produced every time one fell.

I leaped over to my other teammate, who was still looking shaky.

"Sakura," I spoke softly, "I need you to keep it together just a little longer, okay?" She nodded, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. When she opened them, there was no hesitation.

"Right."

"Good. Can you keep using Teppoudama?" She nodded. "Do it. Keep her distracted, I've got to get into position." With that, I slipped behind another tree, out of Orochimaru's line of sight, and began moving into his blind spot.

Once I reached a good position where Orochimaru couldn't see me, I watched and waited for my opportunity. It came when he stepped back to open some distance from Naruto's clones while, at the same time, having to dodge some of Sakura's projectiles. In that moment, he was stood in the perfect position for my attack and looking in the complete opposite direction from me.

Perfect. A few quick hand seals later, I launched my attack. "Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!" Orochimaru's reaction speed was impressive, but not quite enough to dodge.

"Toppa (Breakthrough)!" A single hand seal, and a gust of wind extinguished the flames and blew the shuriken off course so that they flew around him, missing.

Exactly as intended.

I yanked on the wires in my hands, and the shuriken flew around the tree just behind him, binding him in wire just as Sasuke had done in canon. Unlike canon, however, I wouldn't be hitting him with something he could tank. Monkey, dragon, rat, bird, ox, snake, dog, tiger, monkey. With practice, I would eventually be able to reduce the number of seals and even forgo them entirely, but right now I still needed all nine to conjure the chirping instrument of death that shone with its reassuring blue light.

"Chidori!" Orochimaru's eyes widened, and I knew that if I hit him in the right spot, even he wouldn't survive this. I took aim for his head, planning to vaporise the fucker's brain, and charged. The world slowed down. Orochimaru's muscles strained against his bonds. His right hand flashed through a series of one-handed seals at his side, and everything went black.

Orochimaru was sweating as he watched the young… Boy? Girl? Whatever, he was sweating as he watched the young Uchiha's jutsu fizzle out inches from his face. He let out a breath he wasn't aware he had been holding as their hand dropped to their side, their eyes wide, their Sharingan darting around yet not seeing the world around them. He had been holding back too much, and had almost paid the price. Kabuto hadn't told him the brat could use that technique, though he supposed he should have expected it considering who their sensei was. He chuckled quietly as he broke the wires that bound him. This one was definitely a worthy candidate to be his next host. He had to be quick with the seal though – his genjutsu had been a hasty one, and if this brat was anything like their brother, they would be free in short order.

"Makoto-chan!" The coarse, almost growling shout caught him off-guard nearly as much as the brutal right hook that launched him into another tree several tens of metres away. He blinked. What was- oh, that chakra was familiar. So the blonde was the Kyuubi jinchuriki, was he? How interesting.

Despite the Kyuubi brat's power, the fight was a brief one. The boy was tapping only a tiny fraction of the demon's chakra, and he fought with absolutely no skill or finesse whatsoever, more like a feral beast than a shinobi. Still, the brat could end up being a threat later if he was allowed to continue siphoning the Kyuubi's chakra. So he restrained the boy with his tongue and lifted his jacket, examining the seal that kept the monster imprisoned. It was marvelous work, he had to admit. Little Minato's final creation was truly a work of genius. But still, all seals had their weaknesses, and fortunately for him, he could see exactly how this one might be disrupted. A simple Five Elements Seal placed over it would keep the boy from using the Kyuubi's power, and possibly even interfere with his ability to use his own chakra as well. He was just about to strike when a blood-curling scream erupted from where the Uchiha had been left.

"Aww, they're out of blueberry again!" I smiled at my girlfriend's pouting reaction to the lack of her favourite muffins.

"It is nearly midnight," I pointed out. "You can't expect them to still have all the good flavours left."

"I know, but I'm craving blueberry right now!"
"You always do when we smoke," I told her as I grabbed an ice coffee from the fridge. "Next time we should pick some up in the morning first." When I turned back, she was holding an apple muffin, grumbling irritably under her breath. Her expression was so adorable, I couldn't resist giving her a peck on the lips, which never failed to make her blush.

"H-hey, people might see…"

"So what? If people don't like it, fuck 'em! Now come on, I wanna get back home and under the blanket again." We turned back and rounded the corner to the counter only to see a man in a black hoodie pointing a handgun at the cashier. "Oh, fuck!" Apparently my shocked shout startled the man, because he span around and fired his gun, seemingly on instinct. Time almost seemed to stand still for me as I watched my partner, the love of my life, fall to the floor, her chest stained crimson. "No!" I dropped to my knees, cradling my dearest's head as she struggled to breathe. "Stay with me, please, you're gonna be okay." She coughed up blood as she tried to speak. Her lips tried to form words, but no sound emerged. In moments, she was gone. She was gone, and it was my fault.

"Shit, shit, fuck! Stupid bitch scared me!" The shooter was panicking, his gun wavering. "Shit, shoulda just given me the money!" he shouted in the cashier's face. "This is your fucking fault!" He turned and pointed his gun at me again. "Stay right fucking there!" I didn't move as he backed towards the door. On the way there, he backed into a display and twitched. There was a bang, and I felt pain blossom in my own chest. I looked down. There was blood. I fell to the ground, lying beside my love, and felt my eyes burning as everything faded away.

At first, I didn't realise the scream came from me. I didn't know where I was, or why I was here. My mind's eye was filled with the sight of my dear Katie, lying motionless on the floor of a service station, because I couldn't keep my fucking mouth shut. My eyes felt like they were on fire as the tears flowed. In that moment, I wanted nothing more than to burn down the world that had taken her from me.

"Makoto-chan!" The voice snapped me back to the present.

A genjutsu. It was an illusion, but… There was no way anyone here could know about what my world looked like. What I had seen was no fantasy, it was a memory. A repressed memory of the day I got here.

The day I died.

I swallowed hard and wiped my eyes.

Later. Looking up, I saw Orochimaru with his tongue wrapped around Naruto's throat, holding him up. The blonde's chakra was tinged orange-red, his eyes red and slitted. Dense, dark chakra encompassed Orochimaru's fingertips, and I immediately recognised the scene. No. Instinctively, chakra began flowing towards my left eye, and a moment later, Orochimaru's body erupted into black flames. I clutched my eye, which burned horribly as tears flowed from it, but it was done. The sannin screeched, dropping Naruto and flailing about before his mouth opened wide, and a new, unscathed Orochimaru was spat out, this one sans his disguise, his pale face and reptilian eyes on full display. He quickly jumped to another branch, then bit into his thumb and pulled up his sleeve, wiping blood onto his tattooed wrist and slamming his palm into the bark. An enormous cloud of smoke appeared then dispersed, revealing a gigantic snake, the summoner nowhere to be seen, though his voice echoed all around us.

"That was very impressive. To think one could awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan by experiencing a genjutsu… I wonder what my little technique showed you? I'll be keeping a close eye on you, Uchiha-chan. For now, why don't you keep my pet company?" The snake reared, ready to strike, and I let go of my eye and stood tall, glaring at it. The reptile pounced, its jaw open wide to swallow us whole. My response was again instinctive, chakra rushing to both eyes simultaneously, and a spectral purple ribcage appeared around me, one skeletal arm reaching out. The arm wrapped around the serpent's throat and squeezed, crushing it in an explosion of gore, the beast's head and body falling to the forest floor below. The ribcage faded out of existence, and I immediately collapsed, body wracked by horrific pain.

"Makoto!"

"Makoto-chan!" Naruto and Sakura rushed to my side. Groaning, I pushed myself to my feet.

"I'm alright, but we need to go after him and finish him off."

"No way! We barely got out of that alive, and you're practically dead on your feet! And your eye is bleeding!" I cringed at Sakura's wording. She had no idea that I was, quite literally, a dead woman walking.

"He needs to die here!" I insisted. "He can't be allowed to live!" I took a step forward, but Sakura grabbed my shoulder. "Let go! I need to kill him!"

"Makoto, look at me." I turned back to see her hands clasped in a seal. "Sleep." My legs buckled, and the world went black.