Chapter 8: Commencement of an Era
Enjoy the fic
Naruto was seated afar from his teammates, apparently members of a team were scattered across the examination hall. Sasuke was three desk back from his left, while Sakura was four desk back from his right.
Hinata Hyuga seated beside him came as a surprise, what were the chances of one of his friends sitting right beside him. He smiled at her and redirected his attention toward the proctor.
Soon as he rounded out the hall with his eyes, the proctor ordered for the papers to be distributed. Ibiki's rough and deep voice echoed throughout the room.
"Welcome all participants. This marks the beginning of the first phase of the Chunnin exams, a written test consisting of ten questions. You have 45 minutes to answer them, there are nine questions on your paper, and the last one will be verbally announced at the end of this exam. If you're caught cheating more than five-times, disqualification and end of yours and your team's exam is definite" threatened Ibiki.
Naruto inspected the questions on his paper, he was surprised to find most of the questions above the capacity of an average genin. Trigonometry, Quadric equation of high level, theory behind the elemental releases and more. Something was fishy with this test.
His eyes roamed around the room to observe other genins, and expectedly only a few remained calm and composed. He focused on those particular individuals, instantly he could see the almost unnoticeable shadow of a half vest on the clothes of a few, Chunins. Those singular individuals were writing their answers effortlessly, it was like they already knew the answers.
'Could it be? Why else? These are the Chunins with the answers, the proctor said we will only be disqualified after being caught five times. Why not on the first? He wants us to cheat.' contemplated Naruto with a frown..
Seemed like some of the teams also derived the same conclusion, particular genins were inclined toward accessing the information for themselves and their team by different methods.
For example, the Inuzuka scion had his pooch perched up on his head, barking answers he collected from the room. His Uchiha teammate had his Sharingan activated and was copying the hand movements of a Chunin infront. Hinata and Neji had their Byakugan activated, while Shikamaru and Sakura were smart enough to answer the questions on their own.
Naruto had to find a way to acquire the answers discreetly. His mind raced through several scenario and halted at one, a formidable plan. He sneaked out three smoke tags out of his seal and rolled them in a ball delicately, making sure he doesn't activates them. He threw it infront of his desk silently, it would surely create uproar around him and sure it did. In the midst of smoke and ruckus around him, he formed a T-shaped hand seal. A clone appeared beside him, he nodded toward the clone which executed the plan of his superior. The smoke dissipated out of the room as one of the proctor fired a mild wind jutsu across it.
Ibiki wasn't a fool he knew about the reputation of the blonde brat, in his academy years, even anbu weren't safe from the pranks of Naruto. Yet, the brat was seated pretending clueless. He knew, despite the brat's factitious look of innocence, this whole fiasco was surely plotted by the blonde. He looked around his desk to get a hint on his trick, but instead of a lizard on the roof nothing was Unusual.
Wait, a lizard!?
He rechecked and found the reptile missing, it wasn't an illusion surely. He was confused, no known lizard summoning contract was present as much he knew.
Apparently, Naruto had discovered a Chunnin a bench forth him. He formed a shadow clone and ordered it to transform into a lizard. The clone then scanned the paper of the Chunin thoroughly and smoked out to transfer his memory to the original.
In midst of this fiasco many teams had been disqualified, the proctors had caught many of the participants cheating more than permitted times.
Ibiki contemplated for an extended amount of time but couldn't devise a possible outcome, as not everyone knew about Naruto's use of shadow clones. He never truly displayed his true capabilities in public, each of his fights either with Mizuki or Haku weren't public. Only His Jiji and Ero-Oji knew what he was truly capable of, even Kakashi was clueless to many of his skills.
He sneaked a peak in Hinata's paper found it full with correct answers, her do-jutsu was just too facilitating in such circumstances. Two glances confirmed both his teammates were also content with answers, neither requiring his aid. Boredom latched his hyperactive mind and his hand touched the ninja pouch tied to his waist, the pipe inside it calling for him.
The pouch was a gift from Hinata in response to his help in improving her tanto-jutsu. The small leather container was handy, not only did it stored his spare kunai and shurikens it also worked as a easy means to reach to his new hobby. He gripped the handle of the tobacco-filled wooden tool and brought it to his lips.
The Hyuga beside him noticed it and was surprised by his sudden interest in the addictive grind. Katon chakra focused on his finger as it lit up to aid him in his guilty pleasure, but he was not allowed to follow through. A projectile headed straight for him but he picked it out of air without any effort. He sent a questioning glare toward the special jonin clad in black, the man responded with a grunt.
"Smoking isn't allowed in my exam" The head proctor declared unwavering from his glare.
"Huh? Smoking is prohibited in the country of fire? Such a drag" Naruto said impersonating Kakashi's expression and wordings as Shika.
In rare show of encouragement Shikamaru lips turned into smirk, the troublesome blonde did indeed made things interesting.
Ibiki sighed deeply, what did Sandaime thought putting the over-competent brat under Kakashi's? This wasn't unavoidable if the brat had been under tighter reigns, but who was he to say.
The time ticked on and Naruto took on prodding the chunins proctors by flinging the papers of the participants, the micro wave of winds were unnoticeable to non-sensory shinobis. The clock on the opposite finalised forty-five minutes with a chime and Ibiki stood up, already frustrated by the turn of events after his refusal to let the brat indulge in his smoke.
"Stop writing, your time is over" yelled Ibiki, Every genin stopped writing.
"Now, we'll move on toward the last question." The man begun. "However, before that...there are some terms you need to hear. First, whether you choose to take the exam or not" announced Ibiki, but before he could say forward he was interrupted.
"What nonsense! We'll of course choose to take it" said a brat from the back.
"We will see about that after I completely explain you the rules, and I suggest you to keep your mouth shut, I don't like unrecognisable brats interrupting me." The scarred jonin threatened bluntly. Many of the genins gulped by the glare Ibiki was directing across the room.
"As I was saying, If you choose to take the question and fail to answer it, you will have to relinquish your rights to participate in the Chunin exam ever again. If you choose to leave the question, you'll be disqualified but will be able to retake the Chunnin exam again" Ibiki smirked at the shocked expression on the face of almost every brats.
To his dismay, the blonde was still not attentive toward him.
The silence was broken by deafening uproar from the genins that had reoccupied their wits.
"This is not right..." yelled a brown haired kunoichi.
"The damned terms are impossible to get through, it's a plot to fail us by these fucking Tree huggers" shouted a redhead.
"You couldn't do this, it's violation of the rules of exams " declared another boy.
"Shut the hell up, You maggots!" Ibiki silenced the room with his single yell.
"Enough, this isn't your fucking mother's house. Keep your traps shut if you value your promotion." The man brought forward without any emotions.
"The Chunin exams are cooperative events, a single village could make a demand of banning participants from entering again. So, Let's begin this again, those who don't want to take the last question, raise your hands" Demanded Ibiki slightly forcefully. In reality, it was a blasphemy, no village could demand such a thing but who was daring enough to argue with the man.
Ibiki was known for his psychological method of torture, many prisoners had forfeited their will infront his torture methods, these brats had no significance infront of them. The man was simply above their pay grade, as such none of the participants looked as cheerful as they exhibited in beginning spare a few.
As Ibiki's eyes gazed across the room he caught the look on the face of a few participants, those calm faces weren't of a genin class shinobi. The redhead from Suna, The blond Kunoichi from Kumo, A Grass Genin, Shikaku's brat, The Uchiha, The Hyuga princess, Gai's brats and Kakashi's Blonde- These individuals were just too calm for Ibiki's comfort.
Nonetheless, Ibiki's magic worked and soon many hands went up in the air one after another, it only took fifteen minutes for half of the teams in the room to forfeit.
For Ibiki it seemed the undeserving genins were flushed out of the room. A Chunin needs to make some risky decisions, the exam will give a second chance, real missions won't.
"All those who remains in this room, you pass" announced Ibiki.
"What?"-"How?"-"What do you mean?"-"Where's the last question?" Voices reverberated around the room.
"QUITE!" yelled Ibiki, the room went as silent as possible.
"There was no last question" stated Ibiki calmly.
"Then, What was all this about?" asked a redhead with glasses.
"Chunins have to make crucial decision, these decisions weight on the lives and fate of their teammate and village. If you're unable to take such lowly risks, the you're undeserving of the higher title" explained Ibiki signalling for the chunins to collect the answer sheets of the participants.
"Now, for the nex-" Ibiki began to speak, but was interrupted.
Out of nowhere a purple blur flew inside the room through the window, two kunais embed on the opposite wall and a banner reading "Proctor of the second phase: Sexy Mitarashi Anko" was infront of the room.
Anko stood on Ibiki's desk with a smirk reaching her ears. Naruto just facepalmed, His sister was really unpredictable and brash. He knew that it was only the due his sister, who he had spent most of his childhood with that he had a goofy side. He had stopped his pranks after the graduation, but Anko didn't had such restraint.
"What's with the numbers, Scar-face?" Anko whined, a tick mark appearing on the Torture expert's forehead. "You have cut them half, You're such a party popper. You always ruin my fun. Less teams means less violence, and less violence means less fun" Anko said glaring toward Ibiki.
"Yeah...Yeah.. Whatever" Ibiki waved her off casually.
Anko glared at him for moment, but turn around eventually mumbling curses at her colleague.
"What's up, brats? I am the Sexy Mitarashi Anko, proctor of the second phase of Chunin exams." Anko introduced herself with a grin. Naruto sighed lightly, couldn't his sister tone down her antics for a day.
"Now, Move your asses. I want all of present in training ground 44 in next 10 minutes" declared Anko as she disappeared in a shunshin.
The genins started to move out of the room slowly, but before they all could completely empty the room Anko reappeared.
"I said, MOVE YOUR FUCKING ASSESS TO THE GROUND" shouted Anko.
The genins startled by Anko's sudden appearance and yelling, scrambled out of the room in hurry, while a countable few chose to vanish with shunshin. Yet, Two teams refused to do either, Team 7 and 8 were already familiar with the eccentricity of the purple haired jonin.
"You shouldn't scare the participants like that, nee-chan. And must you dress as such if you're being a proctor" asked Naruto irritably.
"Yeah, It's my style, Ototo. And, Don't you think you are allowed to be lax just because I somewhat endure your presence" Teased Anko.
"Turn up at my second home in 20 seconds or I will disqualify you, brat" She threatened with a smirk knowing this would annoy him too much.
Naruto just huffed and walked out of the room muttering to himself. As they walked out of the room Sasuke offered Naruto to hold his hand, Naruto glared at him and hit his hand off.
"What the hell, teme? I'll not hold your hands, I don't swing that way" affirmed Naruto.
"Shut up, idiot. I am just offering to take you two to the ground with a shunshin. Don't get stupid ideas in your head, I am not that type either" gritted Sasuke through his teeth, getting tick mark on his head.
Naruto nodded his head and grabbed his forearm, while Sakura too held his hand. Sasuke shunshined them out of the hall to the ground.
(_-_-_X_-_-_)
Naruto didn't liked shunshin, that was his conclusion. The technique was nauseating, it was only his experience with substitution jutsu that held his food inside.
Training ground forty-four, the area was less of a training ground and more of a forest. It was also called as Forest of Death, and the name did justice to the area. The field was covered in deep and vast forest entirely, one of the most dangerous areas of the village and an undesirable one too.
There were many legends relating to the forest, one of them was that Hashirama Senju was angry with his brother and to release his rage and frustration, he used one of his Mokuton technique 'Deep forest emergence' on the field. The result was this vast and deep Forest, but as he was enraged it mutated his chakra. The chakra took a malicious pattern ensuing in birth of larger and more aggressive life forms. Animals that ate the plants became larger and aggressive too, as a result several different noises could be heard from inside the forest.
Only a few shinobis were daring enough to use the ground as training field, and Mitarashi Anko was on the top of that list. She had made the forest her home away from home, her Snake summons also enjoyed the opportunity to roam freely across the forest avoiding any unwanted human interaction.
Anko gathered all the qualified participants in a group. "Listen up brats, this is the Forest of Death, the second phase of Chunin exams will be held here" announced Anko.
"Like as if we would be scared by its name, huh..." bragged one of the Ame-nin smugly.
"Oh...you'll be scared, brat. I can bet you on that." Anko scoffed not lightly, and it was evident on the face of the chunin assembled that she wasn't lying.
"This Darling here, is even avoided by Anbu and Jonins, not only due to the size of animal residing inside it but also their untamed bloodlust" warned Anko smirking freely.
"Now for the test" stated Anko revealed two different scrolls.
"Each team will be given one of this scrolls and you're task is to acquire the other one. You've got to grab the two scrolls and reach the tower in middle of the forest under five days time" warned Anko.
"Five days? What about food?" asked Choji from behind.
"There are several edible plants and animals inside the forest, just beware of poisonous and man eating plants." Anko said licking her lips. Naruto rolled his eyes in response, really how was her sister so calm around him. She wasn't hiding her bloodlust anyhow, he could feel it even if there was adequate distance between them.
"It is also required of me to inform you that this forest houses Tigers, Wolves, Bears, Crocodiles and Several species of poisonous frogs and Venomous snakes" The grin on her faced clearly advocated how much satisfactory it was for her to play with these little maggots.
"Wolves and crocodiles? What animals doesn't reside in this fucking forest for god sake?" asked another Kusa nin.
"Whatever, now one member from each team will go and collect a scroll for their team. However, before you could move on to that, sign these agreement forms. Submit them to the stalls, they will give you a scroll in return" She distributed the consent forms across the group.
"What are these papers for?" asked Kiba attentively taking one of the forms.
"These? These are consent forms. It reads that the village hosting the exam isn't liable or doesn't hold any liability for the injuries and death from this phase onwards. All of you participants have accepted the risk of their free will, no-one is forcing you to continue this exam" Anko informed hoisting one of the forms.
'Deaths?' thought many of the contestants nervously, it wasn't a huge secret that these exams saw many participants lose their life throughout it phases. And with the growing animosity among the five nations it wasn't surprising, still no one wanted their legacy to fall short due to a god damn exam.
"Oh I see...You have understood now, Haven't you?" Anko teased the teams with a raised eyebrows.
"For the dimwitted who still are clueless of their fate, as you know you have to acquire both the scrolls. Conversely, the other teams won't surrender their scroll without a fight, thus deaths are pretty common in these exams" stated Anko offhandedly.
The genins began signing their respective forms and one of their teammate cashed them to acquire scrolls for their team.
Past Twenty-minutes each team had acquired a scroll, additionally the chunins handing them scrolls also gave them the gate number from which they would start their exams.
The teams assembled on their gates and started waiting for the signal, the anticipation and adrenaline making them impatient.
Such wasn't the condition of Team 7, Naruto was taking lead of the team as planned. He wasn't unfamiliar with the forest like other teams, his sister would sometime make him track her in the forest for training. Still, he wasn't all familiar with it either, there were some parts that Naruto wasn't keen on venturing.
"3...2...1... Begin" shouted Anko from her vantage point.
The gates opened and the teams rushed in the forest of death, what awaited them inside weren't t pleasant memories, atleast.
(_-_-_X_-_-_)
Sasuke followed his blonde teammate for first five minutes of the exam, he led them to a clearing surrounded by high lines of wood and leaves. They had to strategize a plan to acquire the required scroll while eliminating any and all opposition in their way.
"What say, Sasuke? You've been leading us on missions recently, as such you also enjoying leading under struggling situations" Naruto asked while signalling Sakura to take a position on the tree.
"Dobe, We first need to have a secure place for rest. We can acquire lead even if we pass through this phase under three days" Sasuke replied.
Naruto nodded in agreement. "You're correct, fortunately, I am a little familiar with this place knows a place that would provide us both food, shelter and drinking water for a day or two" He signalled Sakura to return who was then briefed by Sasuke.
"So, what are we waiting for? Let's go" Sakura said and signalled to Sasuke 'no trail, all clear'. Sasuke smirked at her sloppy handwork, she was still novice in shinobi sign language but was progressing at a speed.
"Yeah, this way." Naruto said before signalling, 'Be attentive'.
The three Tasmanian devils weaved through the arches and vines, Naruto taking the lead and Sasuke protecting from back. It took him nearly an hour to correctly navigate through the woods to reach the big tree with the hollow he had seen once, the tree was humongous in size and as such it's bark was wide enough for their temporary shelter.
The clearing was near a stream of fresh water, the bush around the clearing lush green and lively due to small animals settled around it. It was evident that they might have to compete for the point, every team would want this hollow
"This is the perfect location for us to hold" Sakura exclaimed.
"Yeah, but we need to acquire another scroll now. Additionally, it's an opportunity to eliminate out all the weak teams." Naruto agreed with the Uchiha, they needed to eliminate as much competition as they can.
"We will adopt an aggressive approach, it will reflect bad on all of our senseis' that we are being defensive" Naruto declared confidently.
"That works fine with me, What about you Sakura?" Sasuke asked with a shrug.
"I don't have a problem with that either, it is indeed a great idea" Sakura agreed nodding toward the black haired boy.
"Let us go, then!" Naruto exclaimed as he sprinted forward and took to the tree lines, his teammates following him keenly.
Team 7 ventured deeper and deeper in the forest, their search for the scroll wouldn't be short. After a few hours Naruto sensed a shadow sprinting beneath them at the same speed . He signalled to Sasuke 'a trail'.
Fortunately, even with her novice skills in sign language Sakura was able to intercept his signal, however before she can follow it up she was pulled down in flurry of movements. The pink kunoichi replaced herself with a wooden log which was shredded to pieces in mere moments.
Naruto dropped down gracefully followed by Sasuke and Sakura, it seemed that the forest had a few surprises of its own creation for the participating teams.
Crouched infront of them was a leopard, much bigger than an average spotted feline. The spotted predator didn't waste a single moment pouncing at them, and a ten-feet long leopard wasn't the guest Team 7 was awaiting for.
(_-_-_X_-_-_)
Meanwhile, Hinata and her team were not enjoying their stay in the forest. Their gate had landed them in the eastern side of the training ground, though they weren't empty handed. Between Shino's larger than average web weaving Beetles and Kiba's heightened sense of smell the team had trapped a team from Suna. Sadly, the team didn't had the scroll they wanted. They tied the three genins, took the scroll to minimize the competition and moved on to search for the right one.
Currently, they were travelling toward the center of the forest. That would provide them with the opportunity to capture more teams, as the other team would surely cross this part to reach to the tower. Suddenly, Kiba halted in his steps. He signalled his teammates to keep quiet and motioned them to follow. Hinata could hear some faint voices, sound of people taking. They followed the voices and arrived at a clearing, sensing something wasn't right they hid behind the bushes. Their suspicion proved right when suddenly Akamaru began to whimpering and hid inside Kiba's jacket.
"What's up, boy? What's the problem?" asked Kiba worriedly, he has only saw his mutt react like this in presence of his mother's wolves.
Akamaru whined slowly in response.
"Are you sure? Do you really smell blood around here?" asked Kiba alarmed at his companion's declaration.
"Whoever it is, my Kikachu are also unnerved by their presence" Shino admitted solemnly.
They opted to keep their mouth shut as they peeked from the bush. A Redhead was standing in the clearing facing three slightly order Ame shinobis, from his headband it was clear the boy was from the wind country. From far, it seemed even his own teammates were unnerved by his position and the reason became clear next moment, the boy lifted his palm and sand creaked out of the strange gourd on his back.
Tendrils of sand crawled toward the Ame genins, their attempt to dissuade the sand from it's path was met with failure. It encased them into a coffin like structure in mere seconds, the boy smirked maliciously and closed his palm into fist. A shower of red liquid was the only hint that three people were infront of the boy previously, who opted to use the umbrella of the enemies to cover himself from the shower.
"Gaara, You didn't need to do that. They had surrendered their scroll to us" exclaimed the blond teammate of the redhead.
"Yeah, You are just eager to kill anybody you lay your eyes on" The boy with makeup on his face added, sweat trickling down his face.
No matter how many times Kankuro see his brother do this, it always unnerved him.
It didn't helped that he felt somewhat guilty, maybe it was his and Temari's inability to save their younger brother from their father that had turned him into a monster.
Gaara wasn't always like this, in spite of their stranded relation the three siblings were pretty close earlier in their life. It was his father's decision to let Gaara live with Yashamaru that changed it, and slowly but steadily the Redhead lost his spark. He became distant and lonely as years passed on, and one day they found that he has killed their uncle.
The monster that emerged that night howled loudly than ever, Gaara was never the same. They eventually found about their father's attempts on his life, it was hard to believe but they can't deny the physical proof infront.
Yet, this wasn't the moment to reflect upon that. Gaara had to stop, they didn't want to uncover their mask this early in the game.
"Shut up! I will kill you too if you interfere" threatened Gaara his eye wide open.
Kiba signalled his team to back off, they wouldn't be able to fight such a monster with their current level of skills. He tried to as silent as he can but his foot landed on a branch.
~Cruunch~
Gaara's mind already filled with bloodlust caught up to the sound faster than ever, he directed his gaze toward the bushes Team-Eight was hiding behind. The three rookies froze in their tracks, the killer intent Redhead was leaking was suffocating for the Konoha genins. He lifted his palm in their direction and the crimson coloured sand started to creep toward them.
"Stop it, Gaara. We have found what we need, we should head toward the tower now" begged the boy with makeup.
"I said, Shut up" Overruled the Sand jinchurikki without even looking toward his brother.
"He is right, Gaara. Stop this nonsense, I am your sister please listen to me." requested Temari worriedly.
Gaara glanced behind his shoulder, his eyes met with Temari and he saw spark of something which shouldn't be reserved for him. Nonetheless, he returned to his siblings, his sand trailing behind him. It receded to his gourd and he took the lead toward the opposite side, his siblings quickly followed him.
Hinata, Kiba and Shino breathed out. They now knew what the Suna genin was capable of, they had escaped death by a few seconds. They stayed in the clearing for extended amount of time to calm their nerves, the exam was no joke and if asked, Kiba would accept that he was wrong about Kabuto.
(_-_-_X_-_-_)
Big cats were a pain in the ass, Team seven concluded after a gruelling session of running and trying to shake the spotted feline off their tails. They had tried to outrun the leopard but it didn't even bulged, naturally the forest was for wild animals and they had evolved to thrive in that. Eventually, tired of all running and avoiding Naruto has distracted the leopard and Sasuke finished the job for him. They could have chosen to use jutsu to kill the big feline, but that would surely gather unwanted attention.
"I will procure it's canine for knives, Do any of you want one?" Sasuke asked revealing his extraction set out of a scroll.
Sakura nodded negatively, she was seldom to use a knife and it wouldn't reflect good on her medical background.
"Yeah, It will generous of you, only if you're carving a spare" Naruto accepted surveying the cut on the leopard's body.
Sasuke busied himself in the task of cutting the longer-than-average canines of the beast.
"I think, Sakura and I should do a recon around the perimeter for any teams nearby. You carry on with your extraction" Naruto said to Sasuke and took off with Sakura.
Naruto and Sakura didn't had to wait long, as they soon encountered a duo of Kusa genins a few kilometres ahead.
"Ah, two Konoha brats have lost way to their third teammate in this forest, sully you" One of the duo mocked them bluntly.
"Don't fret little tree huggers, we will soon find your teammate and send him to you in the heaven" The other one added with a chuckle.
Naruto brought his tanto forward without saying a single word, a smirk appearing on his face. Sakura followed his lead and unsheathed her sword.
Sasuke grinned widely as screams echoed in the clearing, his teammates had found their prey after all.
(_-_-_X_-_-_)
Uzumaki Karin was lost in this terrifying forest, she had separated from her team some time ago. It was her first step toward freedom, she didn't like Kusagakure. The damned place had separated her from her mother, and eventually her mother died due to overuse of her healing properties. As she died, Karin had to replace her but she didn't wanted to do it, why should she sacrifices her life healing those worthless scums?
She had devised a plan, by convincing the head of her village to let her join in upcoming Chunin exams. That was her chance to cross the borders of the village, she had deserted her team soon as they entered the forest in guise of relieving her bladder. After that her freedom was eminent, she wouldn't die like her mother. Yet, it was not to be, she had found the forest near impossible to navigate through.
But now, a huge bear was on her tail, the bear was chasing after her for sometimes now. She was trained in medical science, not in combat, moreover Kusagakure didn't had much of strong shinobis to train it's genin profusely.
She was backed up to a tree, the bear infront of her roared viciously, She took out a kunai with trembling hands, it being her last privilege. The bear roared and lunged forth on her, she closed her eyes and screamed loud as she can.
~Sklech~
~Thud~
The attack never came , instead, a warm liquid was sprayed on her right arm. She opened her eyes slowly, the bear's face was infront of her morphed into painful expression. On top of his head stood a boy with black hairs and red eyes with three tomoes in each, a pair of Katana lodged into the skull of the hairy beast from both side. The boy eyed her warily before pulling out his swords, he obtained a black cloth from inside his Haori and wiped the blades off the blood.
The swords were again sheathed and the boy dropped down infront her.
"What're you doing out here? This is Chunin exam not a test for wimpy kids like you, Surrender your scroll or you will rest here with this beast" Threatened Sasuke with a tilt of his head.
"I-I don't h-have it. I just wanted to leave this forest, you can search me I haven't got the scroll" blurted out Karin mustering her courage.
Sasuke sighed deeply before glancing back toward the bear, his work with the leopard was complete and this beast did had some parts useful to him.
With a wave of his hand toward the scared girl Sasuke focused his attention toward the corpse of the big beast. As he forced open it's mouth in search of canines, he was disappointed to find them broken and unusable.
Suddenly, his mind filtered back to the appearance of the girl that he had ignored before. Subsequently, In quest of information regarding his teammate the two remaining members of the teammate had searched through the archives.
Surprisingly, they had found that Uzumaki clan was an old clan dating back to Warring era. The clan of redheads was a renowned clan famous for their mastery over the sealing arts, one thing that stood out was that Naruto was probably one of last Uzumaki alive. The girl hairs and eye matched the colours described as of an Uzumaki.
"What's your name? Why are you all alone, where are your teammates?" questioned looking over his shoulder.
"Uzumaki Karin" declared Karin proudly, ignoring the second question. Apparently, she did knew the value of Uzumaki name, or not, the name itself was a treasure. Pure Uzumaki were rare to find, more so after their treatment at the hand of shinobis from other village. The women were mostly for breeding children upon children, men not fairing better, used as chakra batteries.
In the past, Uzumaki and Senju clan were two partners of once feared Senju-maki alliance. When they got separated during clan wars they wholeheartedly supported eachother. The Senju clan resided in Konoha while Uzumaki clan moved to an island, that later came to be known as Uzushio, the land of whirlpools.
'An Uzumaki? I thought Naruto was the last one of them' thought Sasuke.
"Are you sure, you're an Uzumaki?" asked Sasuke.
"Are you blind? Can't you see I have red hairs and eyes like an true Uzumaki" Answered Karin boastfully.
'Naruto doesn't have red hairs or eyes, in contrast he has blond hair and blue eyes, rather a distinctive combination' Contemplated Sasuke silently as he climbed the dead bear.
He unsheathed one of his katanas and aimed it at the neck of the beast, with decisive force he plunged it deep inside. Blood trickled down from the wound, Ignoring it, Sasuke pushed the katana and drove it through the back of the beast. A last slash, and he revealed the spine from inside the hairy back of the brown bear. He rotated the Katana around the tailbone of the beast, the process didn't looked that smooth to Karin.
With a grunt he did the same on the opposite side, the column of spines were what he was aiming for. He pulled the sword out of beast and cleaned the blood with the black cloth as previously.
Karin was still shocked and disgusted by the mutilation of the bear corpse, what was this shinobi was trying to do? It didn't seemed he was preparing it for dinner to the redhead.
In mere moments Sasuke had gloves on, a small but reflectively sharp Tanto ready in his hand. He crouched down and freed the spines from the skull with a swift strike, and began pulling the ribs while standing up.
"Wh-What are you doing?" Karin asked rather curiously.
"Trying something new, but obscure" He replied honestly.
The tiring part of the process was over now, he unfurled a sealing scroll on the floor and laid the vertebral column of the beast on it.
"Suiton: Water stream technique" Sasuke muttered spitting a jet of water to cleanse the bones of blood and unwanted flesh.
"W-What are you gonna do with that?" Karin questioned hesitantly.
"A pet project" Sasuke said sealing the bones into the scroll and took off his gloves, he glanced over his shoulder while rubbing the tanto with a black cloth.
"You're not truly trained as a Shinobi, are you?" Sasuke asked confidently.
The girl shook her head negatively, clearly this boy wasn't keen on hurting her or else he would have done that untill now.
"Thought so, By the way, Do you want to meet one of your clanmate?" offered Sasuke.
"One of my clan?" The girl asked excitedly, yet a frown appeared on her face the next moment.
"But..Mother said there were only a few left of us, and why should I trust an enemy shinobi?" asked Karin glaring the ebony-haired boy.
"Which village do you serve?" asked Sasuke.
"Kusagakure" replied Karin a bit angrily.
"Come with me, I will meet you with someone of your Clan" replied Sasuke and took off toward his teammates without waiting for an answer.
(_-_-_X_-_-_)
"Hey! How can you be an Uzumaki, you don't even have red hair" questioned Karin suspiciously.
"Yes, I don't since I am only half-Uzumaki. Atleast, that's what Baa-chan has told me" Naruto answered sheepishly.
"Why should I trust your words?" huffed Karin crossing her arms over her chest.
"Well, atleast now I know that all Uzumaki aren't idiot like you" commented Sasuke from the branch of tree he was perched on.
"Shut up, Teme" Naruto muttered with gritted teeth.
"Alright, Your logic is sane, Karin." Naruto conceded with a sigh.
"But...Since you're an Uzumaki, you know that our clan possessed special chakra, potent than most." Karin confirmed his statement with a nod.
"Then the potency of our chakra shouldn't be unalike, even if I am a half-Uzumaki. No other clan, except The Senju, could compete against us" Stated Naruto and began going through a chain of hand signs.
Karin copied his hand signs and started to focus on the warmth in her belly, chakra swirled out of their body in a constant pattern. Sakura and Sasuke were surprised to see visible chakra surrounding the two Uzumaki.
Naruto dropped his hand sign and Karin followed his led, the blond smiled at her relative rubbing the tip of his nose.
"You're really an Uzumaki, Aren't you?" Karin confirmed and soon Naruto found himself engulfed into a hug.
Tears freely streamed out of the redhead's eyes, she wasn't alone now. She held on to the blond for a few minutes, Naruto meanwhile was both confused and warmed by this gesture.
As she extracted herself from him, Karin smiled for the first time in long time. She didn't remember when did she felt such comfort before, it was probably infront of her mother. Naruto mirrored her and smiled his best, yet there were several hurdles they had to overcome before he could claim her as a family.
She was foreign ninja, thus they wouldn't let an asset leave the village so easily, moreover a weak village like Kusagakure.
"My squad has left me in search of scrolls and my sensei is also acting strange" admitted Karin.
Sakura laughed humourlessly before pulling a vine, with a resounding thud two figures dropped down from the trees. One was slit into half diagonally, while the other was lacerated mercilessly by what looked like a sword.
"Do you know them?" Sakura asked with a dead laugh.
Sasuke facepalmed while Naruto joined Sakura in her humourless laugh.
"Y-You k-killed them?" Karin asked, both surprised and horrified at the scene infront of her. She wasn't bothered that they had been killed, in reality her teammates weren't more than a hindrance for her.
"Well...They attacked us first" Sakura decided firmly.
"Were they dear to you?" Naruto asked a bit seriously
"No, but that doesn't mean I wanted them dead" Karin accepted apologetically.
"This the risk an individual accepts if they follow the path of a shinobi" Sasuke said dropping down, 'No Dangers nearby' He signalled to Naruto.
"We're sorry about your teammates, Karin. But..now you need to reach to the tower and search for Tsunade Senju" Naruto instructed her and formed a hand seal, an another Naruto rose up from the ground.
"Follow him, he'll lead you out of the forest safely" Naruto instructed her.
Karin trusting the blonde's word followed the clone toward the tower.
Team-seven soon followed Karin's example and took off toward the other side, the Kusa team had the same scroll as them so the witch hunt was still on. However, they didn't made it far. They had only covered a minimal distance when suddenly the peace around them was distorted, Naruto was hurled back by an unanticipated Wind jutsu, while Sasuke jumped aside with Sakura as to avoid it.
Naruto stood up shaking off the subsequent wave of dizziness, the first priority on his mind were his teammates as this strong ninjutsu technique couldn't be doing of a mere genins or even chunins.
He was about to rush to his teammates when he had to jump back, hissing dangerously infront of him was a thirty-feet snake. With a final hiss the reptile descended upon him, he dived sideways leading it to hit the ground. He had to handle this as early as he can, he had to support his teammates, somehow this whole situation exude a feeling of doom inside him.
With a plan already in motion he retrieved a kunai with a paper wrapped around it's handle, the paper had several seals etched onto it. He pitched the kunai aiming at the head of the cold blooded creature, the enormous reptile tilted his head to avoid the kunai. Naruto smirked before vanishing from his position in a blur, instead the kunai with seals replaced him. The creature wasn't fast enough to avoid the spiky rod dropped on his head.
~Skuulch~
Dead on the dusty forest ground was the thirty-feet long snake, it's head impaled by the spiky end of Naruto's Bo, who was perched up on his weapon using his weight to stab the snake deeper. Naruto dropped down from his rod and the snake disappeared into a huge puff of smoke.
'A snaked summon, there are only two snake summoners in entire Elemental nation, Nee-chan and...' As Naruto contemplated this, his eyes widened, he quickly dashed in the direction of his team.
Naruto was frantically running in the direction of his teammates, he knew who was the only other summoner of the Snake contract.
He arrived in the clearing to see Sasuke struggling under the gaze of a strange Kusa-nin, as the strange individual was radiating a malicious but powerful aura, The aura wasn't dissimilar to that of Jiraiya's, Yet Jiraiya's didn't had the malice but goofiness, albeit it was powerful.
His attention shifted to the only other member of his team, the mop of pink was kneeled, sweat running down her forehead without pause. Presence of a certain type of fear present in her eyes. Her body not responding to any of her mental orders, it was like her brain was unable to control it now.
"Ku..ku..ku, Sasuke kun. I adore the fear in your eyes, prey should always be scared of a predator" cachinnated Orochimaru wickedly.
His voice shuddering the hell out of the blonde, he was assured now that this man was as villainous as one can be.
As for Sasuke, he couldn't move a single muscle in his body at the moment, the Killer Intent of this shinobi was familiar with Shisui's. The 'Shunshin God' had trained his student to withstand killer intent and Sasuke could proudly say he wasn't the one to freeze under them, but this, this was something unreal in the most evil of the way. Still, He couldn't dishonour his master, with this thought he took out a kunai and stabbed his leg. Blood oozed out of the wound accompanied by the pain, the arduous stunt did its job.
"Uzumaki, You're welcome to join usss" The Sannin hissed with a grin adorning his face.
Sakura looked around and found him emerging from behind one of the trees, her expression changed into a hopeful one. Her blonde teammate was the most skilled of the three, Naruto's face was void of any expression as he look fixedly upon their opponent.
"Orochimaru of the Sannin, You're a traitor to this village" Naruto said in monotone.
"Ku...Ku...Ku, I am glad to know that I don't have to introduce myself to you" Orochimaru broke up. "Otherwise, it would seem Sensei hasn't taught you well" He added with a grin.
"Sakura help Sasuke with his wound, we need to be on our full power to even defend our self against him" Naruto ordered his teammate without even looking.
"You think very highly of yourself if you assume you could even stand infront of me, Naruto-chan" Orochimaru replied cracking his knuckles.
"We'll see about that, Snake bastard" Naruto said deactivating his resistance seal with a hand seal.
With swift movement Naruto threw four of his special kunai around the snake-Sanin, Orochimaru scrutinized the metal tools to find seals etched on their handles. Before he could ponder upon it Naruto appeared at the place of one of them and launched a kick on him, he ducked down to avoid it. The blonde was moving at a remarkable speed, he returned with a punch which was avoided by the snake Sannin by a mere tilt of head.
However, he wasn't anticipating a kick from behind by the Uchiha. He was hurled toward Naruto who delivered a roundhouse kick to his face, lastly Sakura met him with a chakra-enhanced punch. But, her punch contacted the rough surface of a log instead of flesh, splinters flew around as result.
"It seems Hatake has trained you well in what he lacked." Orochimaru said as he dropped on Naruto.
The whiskered jinchurikki substituted with one of his kunai hastily, and fired a Wind Bullet toward his offender. Orochimaru backhanded the bullet and appeared right infront of Naruto, a right hook and Naruto was sent flying in the nearest line of trees.
"Come again, brats" Orochimaru proposed dodging a set of shurikens hurled toward him by Sasuke.
"Katon: Fireball Technique" Sasuke boomed and spat a ball of fire.
"Fuuton: Bursting Air Pockets" Naruto added to the flames.
"Doton: Mud Wall" Sakura erected a wall behind Orochimaru to restrict him.
Orochimaru's face split into a malicious smirk, these brats were surely put together to compliment eachother. He was about to jump up when a pair of arms clutched his legs from beneath, the smouldering fireball impacted with his chest and exploded.
"What does he wants from us? We're just a bunch of genins" Complained Sakura as she stood beside Sasuke breathing heavily.
"From you? Nothing, I don't even care who you are, Girl" A voice whispered behind her ears. Sakura didn't knew the head and tail of it but she was outplaced by Naruto in mere seconds.
"Fuuton: Gale palm" Naruto shrieked and fired a booming wind blast on the face of Snake bastard.
"Slippery bastard" He muttered as he saw the pale man crossing the tree lines.
Sasuke looked behind to see charred remain of a body at the previous position of Orochimaru. Clearly, He and his female teammate were out of their depth, if not for his blond teammate they wouldn't have able to avoid the onslaught of the Sannin.
"You're as much of powerhouse as Sensei. If not for the conditions attached with you, I would choose you above Sasuke-kun, Uzumaki Naruto" Orochimaru accepted wiping the blood from his lips.
The previous brown outfit of his were replaced by a White and Purple battle Kimono. His skin as pale as a ghost, it was as if he had shed his skin not unlike a snake. Orochimaru's most conspicuous characteristic was his snake-like appearance, Golden eyes with black slits running through them, purple markings covering the white skin around his eyes. He smirked, revealing a set of razor sharp fangs.
"Ewww, You look gross" Sakura voiced without thinking.
The Snake Sannin narrowed his eyes at the pinkette before focusing his attention on the two male genins.
"You both will be great treats, I look forward to it" He licked his lips in anticipation.
"Ero-Oji was right, You're a Pedophile. And, I don't swing that way" Naruto said with a decisive nod.
"It seems that you've contacted the vile humour of my idiot teammate, Fret not, I will beat it out of you" Orochimaru declared as he sped toward the trio.
He avoided Naruto's punch by jumping above him, grabbing a handful of blonde locks he punched the Jinchurikki creating a crater in the ground. Another jump and split of his legs took care of the other two, a double kick wasn't something new for him.
Naruto groaned as he sat up, that punch was impactful, if nothing else. He shook the cobwebs from his mind and glanced toward the Snake Sannin who was working on Sasuke, his Uchiha teammate wasn't easy to takedown after all. Orochimaru tilted his head to avoid Sakura's punch, a swift scorpion kick and the girl was sent flying. Naruto hurled a Kunai toward his teammate and replaced it to save her from colliding with a tree. In the same position he directed a kunai toward the Sannin who caught it in the air as a reflex, frowning as a Kick threw him back the next second.
The blond was stubborn and resilient, he had to accept that with fleeting respect. He had to nullify the brat's advantage so that he can work on Sasuke without any distraction. Sasuke sensed the distraction and threw an another set of shurikens toward Orochimaru, a series of hand seals later the Shurikens were inflamed. Orochimaru's back was lacerated by the shurikens burning them in the process, but to no avail, it appeared as if he didn't even felt them. Sasuke cursed under his breath.
However, instead of facing Sasuke, Orochimaru used the opportunity to jab Naruto with his fingers. Inky patterns leaked from his fingers and latched onto Naruto paralyzing the whiskered boy's left side body.
"That will hold him down for sometime, this Blonde teammate of yours is definitely a up and coming Legend, Sasuke-kun" Orochimaru purred in his ear and followed with a kick.
He unhinged his jaw with a crack and his tongue took hold of the Uchiha, he was about pull Sasuke toward himself when a tree was hurled toward him. Implying that pinkette had decided to assist his teammate, though he wasn't left unsurprised to see the girl use Tsunade's technique. Not holding on that surprise, Orochimaru dived the other side but didn't loose his grasp on Sasuke. The fight wasn't advancing in the favour of team 7, Orochimaru wasn't even using half of power still they weren't more than nuisance for him.
Meanwhile, Naruto was able to draw quick-fix seals over Orochimaru's. Another tree was heading for the pale man, he was about to jump away when he noticed Naruto descending on him with a tanto drawn. Truly surprised by the speedy recovery of the blonde, Orochimaru receded his tongue avoiding the swing of Naruto's narrowly.
Naruto roared as orange chakra began encasing him like a cloak, two fox-like ears made of the chakra grew above his head. Completing the process with a tail of the same chakra sprouting behind him, Naruto pounced upon the Sanin rearing his claws and revealing his canines, which were slightly elongated from before.
Orochimaru sighed almost remorsefully, this new development will desolate his fun now. He will have to handle the blonde delicately and more carefully. He breathed out and begun forming hand signs quickly, he will have to mark the Uchiha as early as he can.
"Summoning Jutsu" He bellowed placing his palms on the ground, an enormous Snake cropped up beneath Naruto and swallowed him whole.
Sakura gasped, already unnerved by the sudden change of appearance of her teammate. On the other hand, Sasuke was trying to place all the pieces of the puzzle that the Blonde was.
(_-_-_X_-_-_)
Meanwhile, Anko was scampering through the forest in pursuit of her former master. An hour from the initiation of the second phase, She had been pursued by some chunins regarding a case. They had shown her the bodies of three Kusa genins, the terrifying aspect of the dead bodies were their faces or lack of it, and Anko knew who could do this.
She ordered the chunins to inform the Hokage about the situation immediately, which they followed noticing the distressed expression of their superior. Meanwhile, she gathered the Jonins in charge of the second phase and advanced toward the forest, she ordered them to scatter around to increase the range and efficiency of the search.
'He can't be here, What does he wants now? He dares not to go after Naruto, I will skin him alive otherwise' Anko vowed as she rushed forth searching her master.
(_-_-_X_-_-_)
"That'll take care of him for sometime, Stubborn brat" Orochimaru grumbled to himself.
He glanced behind to find the other two members missing, it seemed that this feral form of the blonde was a distraction. Extending his sensory range he recognized the fleeting chakra signature of his prey, with a lick of lips he followed the trail.
Orochimaru was sure that the little stunt of the blonde has garnered attention, confirmed by the chakra signature following him at a distance. He didn't had the respite of time on him, speeding forward he was able to make out two shadows in distance.
It didn't took him long to catch up, the undesirable girl was supporting a limping Uchiha. The snake Sannin reached behind her and backhanded her aside, she collided with a tree and fell on the ground unconscious. Sasuke dropped down with a grunt, he couldn't let the Snake harm his teammate.
Orochimaru descended upon the black-haired boy, at the last minute Sasuke revealed a Tanto and plunged it deep into his offender's gut. Orochimaru smirked at the desired boy instead of flinching, he wasn't the Uzumaki but Orochimaru had to manage with him.
"You fucking basta..." before he could complete his sentence a stinging sensation coursed through his body, the focus being on his neck. His eyes rolled back as darkness took hold of his vision.
"That would do it, failure couldn't be tolerated at such crucial time" Orochimaru recalled, sinking in the ground with a chuckle.
Naruto had decimated the snakes into bits in his rage like state, it wasn't that he had lost control, but his senses and emotions were all over the place. Sprinting pass the foliage he reached the clearing to see the last of Orochimaru sinking in the ground. That wasn't a good signal, It was clear through his sensei and sister's recollection that Orochimaru doesn't stop, not untill he gets what he desires.
His eyes caught up to the prone form of his teammates, both unconscious, that much clear by their breathing pattern. His priority was the Uchiha, it was he whom Orochimaru desired, god knows for what. He kneeled beside Sasuke to check on his physical health, except of a distinctive seal mark on his neck he was fine. The wound on his leg was bandaged meticulously, his breathing slow but unsteady. He tried to wake up the Uchiha to no response, with a sigh he walked toward hi female teammate. They had to leave the forest as early as they can.
"Sakura..Sakura, Wake-up, Sakura" Naruto shook her multiple times to no avail, he opened the cap of his bottle of water and undid it on her face.
Sakura woke up with a start and lashed out on with punch, he blocked it cross-armed.
"Oye! Wake up, Damnit. It's me, Naruto" the blonde defended shaking the numbness in his arms.
Sakura stopped as she recognised the owner of the voice.
"Huh? What happened to me?" she asked a little dazedly.
"That's what I want to ask you" stated Naruto expectantly.
Sakura shook her head in response, she remembered Naruto signalling them to flee. "I don't know, we were heading toward the tower but someone attacked me from behi..Wait...WHERE'S SASUKE?" asked Sakura frantically.
"He is lying unconscious there, and that something was probably Orochimaru. The last of him was sinking in the ground when I reached the clearing." Naruto informed her signalling 'Medical assistance' toward the down u
Uchiha.
"Why are the two of you keen on using Sign language, even amongst ourselves?" Sakura asked pulling Naruto's offered arm to stand.
"Even walls have ears sometime, it isn't warranted that open spaces doesn't" Naruto voiced cryptically.
Sakura kneeled beside him, her fingers trailed over his pulse. His heart was beating unevenly. Unnerved, she checked his temperature. A rise in that too. Something was amiss with the physical state of their teammate.
"We should head toward the tower this instant, we have to tell Hokage-sama about all this" proposed Sakura standing up.
"We can't." Naruto declined with a sigh and shake of his head. "We are one man down and I am too tired to carry him, you alone couldn't fend off the obstacles that surely awaits us forward." Naruto stated plopping down on a rock.
As the adrenaline of the fight recessed, exhaustion took its place. Naruto wasn't easy to tire. The vast amount of chakra in his reserve looked to it, yet the fight with one of the Sannin desired so. Alas, he has used more than the average amount of chakra in his Jutsu to fend off the bastard.
"I can't even travel for too long, my body is physically tired" He added tiredly.
His chakra reserves were nearly empty, the fox could lend him some but his access was limited. Additionally, Kyubi's chakra was full of hatred and rage. It may have adverse effect on Naruto's mental health if the connection is prolonged. With a sigh he decided to avoid using it, it was reserved for desperate times.
"We will return back to our base for the night, the dawn would see us advancing toward the tower" ordered Naruto standing up.
Sakura nodded and lifted Sasuke on her shoulder, with a jump they took the trees to reach their temporary base. They had to secure the area surrounding them, in their weakened state they were prey to all.
Naruto reached into his storage seal and handed several seal tags to the pinkette.
"Stick them around the tree and hide a few of them under a layer of soil, and don't forget where you've laid them." Naruto instructed her dropping on the group, taking the support of the tree he adjusted to his comfort.
Summoning was out of the picture with his low chakra levels, he could only rest through the night to relieve himself of exhaustion.
(_-_-_X_-_-_)
Meanwhile, Hiruzen's assumptions were proving to be sane, his student was making his move in the froest of death. He was pacing back and forth in the surveillance room of the Hokage tower, he couldn't enter the forest as it would imply that he's interfering in the exams. This simple instance could provoke the other villages to take formidable steps, Chunin exams weren't simply exams for promotion of genins but a replacement for War.
Villages displayed the level of strength their villages had nurtured through these exams, the performance of the genins could either boast the number of clients for a village or decrease it. Already, The relation between villages were rather fragile after the last war, and even the false news of Konoha interfering in the exams could provide the reasons for others to declare another war.
Hiruzen had no other choice but to trust Anko and the other jonins in charge, they were allowed to interfere if something runs amiss.
He had already sent summons to Tsunade, Shishui, Kakashi, Danzo and Shikaku. He had to make sure that the village was safe and secured, he couldn't let Orochimaru do what he craves.
(_-_-_X_-_-_)
Anko couldn't not say she was unknown to the sneakiness of her master, yet the Snake sannin has disappeared from their range all of a sudden. Not only that but even her brother's chakra signature had vanished abruptly, the sensor with her was unable to track the blonde all at once. It wasn't possible that they'd just disappeared somewhere, she's sure they're present in the forest.
She's on move when her curse mark pulsated, that wasn't unanticipated, she knew master couldn't ignore the chance to goad her. Expectedly, the snake Sannin revealed himself with smirk adorning his face.
"Anko, my old student. It's a pleasure to see you again, Ku...Ku...Ku." He cackled, with a swift movement he took the life of Anko's aide.
"You fucking bastard, you didn't need to do that.." She bristled, looking helpless as her comrade fell down on the ground unmoving.
"I wouldn't want our conversation be public, Anko-chan" He drawled walking toward her.
"What the fuck do you want now?" Anko gritted, attempting to free herself from her paralyzing state.
"Oh, I was just here to give a gift to Itachi's brother. He will be quite an asset in the near future" chuckled Orochimaru.
"He's Naruto teammate" She blurted out in the heat of the moment, before she could hold her tongue.
"Ku..Ku..Ku, You're familiar with Naruto-kun, aren't you?" He licked his lips in glee, this meeting wasn't a full waste then.
"If you dare to harm him, I will erase your shitty existence" She vowed through her gritted teeth.
"For what it's worth, He is a capable Shinobi. One that could become a formidable opponent like his father if he sorts his priority right" He praised the boy without hesitation.
"You attacked him" Anko exclaimed fiercely.
Sensing that Anko's company was closing in, he decided to knock the girl out with a chop to her neck.
"We'll surely meet again, My dear student" Orochimaru hissed submerging into the tree beside.
(_-_-_X_-_-_)
Naruto had fell asleep the moment he closed his eyes, fatigue was an alien feeling for him. After all, he never dropped down from exhaustion even after the intense workout sessions with his sensei. This fight gave him the insight that perhaps Hiruzen never exerted himself even mildly, else Naruto would've been crushed in mere moments.
His eyes fluttered open with a start, the dizziness clouding his mind was clearing slowly but steadily. The exhaustion from the previous day was all but vanished, sound of battle could be heard from outside. It seems his teammates weren't that demotivated after the conflict with Orochimaru.
That thought vanished soon as his eyes fell upon the Black-haired boy laying Infront him, their hideout has been attacked and Sakura was defending them both alone. He stood up hurriedly shaking off a wave of dizziness and ran out of the tree to aid her.
Sakura was annoyed for the part, these genins weren't formidable enough to challenge her. She deflected the sound wave with her huge sword, the bandaged guy was the sneakiest of the three. They were the same team that had tried to attack Kabuto and Naruto before the initiation of the first phase in the academy. They weren't scary then, nor now.
The Barrier has held quite admirably, Naruto's work with seal was exceptionary for a beginner. The Bandaged genin has lost one of his arm in the pursuit of deactivating it, she smirked inside her mind proudly.
Two hand signs later Sakura petals begun falling around the enemy team, the only girl of the team formed a hand sign and yelled "Kai". Her attempts were in vain, This wasn't a genjutsu.
"Sakura exploding rain technique" She introduced her personal jutsu.
Sakura threw a kunai toward her offenders, a exploding tag attached to it.
"Boom!" She muttered under her breath.
The explosion rocked the trees around the clearing, it was credit to the Wind affinity of the third member of sound team that they had survived the explosion at all. Sadly, their clothes weren't that fortunate.
"You treehugger!" The girl yelled covering half her exposed breast.
"Nice show there, Sakura" Naruto complimented his teammate, his eyes trained on the uncovered part of Kin's boobs.
A trail of red flowed down his nose, he wiped it unattentively.
"Oh.. And this one is a fucking Pervert" Kin gritted her teeth un-womanly.
Sakura glanced toward her teammate and facepalmed at his obvious expressions.
"Ahem.." He coughed in his hand as his attention drifted back to the fight. "..I mean good fight. Yeah..Good fight, Sakura"
"You're awake" Sakura realised with a sigh.
"Yup, I am alright. I see my seals have done their job perfectly" He gestured toward the half naked genins.
"You know, You're a sadist. I never knew seals could electroduct or amputate an individual, You're the one to teach me" She stated not bad-naturedly.
"Ero-Oji san helped me with those, honestly I never knew he was so talented" Naruto accepted with a nod and a smile.
They both took their respective stances to continue their assault when suddenly someone 'green' dropped down from the trees infront of them. Standing tall infront of them was no other than, Rock Lee.
"Don't be afraid, Sakura-chan. I will save you" declared Rock Lee taking his good Guy pose.
Sakura sweatdropped at his antics while Naruto just chuckled, Lee had such perfect timing.
"Thanks for your offer, but we don't need your help, Lee-kun. We could handle them on our own" Naruto declined with a shake of his head.
"But I want to protect Sakura-chan, besides...three on three would be better" argued Rock-lee adamant on protecting the pinkette.
"Whatever, I will fight the girl. You two should handle the other two" Naruto said with a smirk.
The girl huffed irritably, still the glint in her eyes told that she look forward to use her body for advantage.
"No, You won't. I will deal with her, I don want you...distracted" Sakura decided rushing toward the girl at her full speed.
"Pity" Naruto grumbled before advancing toward the last member of the team.
Rock Lee also decided the moment to be on offense, and jumped toward the amputee intending for 'Dynamic Entry'.
Lee's speed was truly praiseworthy, a direct kick to his opponent's chin send Dosu back flying in the air. Lee appeared behind the boy as though teleporting and punched him down. The genin fell down toward the ground, Lee sped toward him and halted with a kick that led the boy to collide with tree.
The amputee stood up with shaky legs and aimed his remaining arm toward the green-clad boy, he fired a burst of sound chakra that was barely avoided by Lee as he dived aside.
There wasn't anyone who would save the boy now, his head collided with the ground with an impact, it would have caused a lot of damage to the boy. Lee used the moment to throw that destroyed the tool tied on Dosu's arm. The moment of shock was all that Lee needed, a knee to his opponent's jaw shattered it and dragged the boy out of consciousness.
"DOSU" shouted the girl from his team. She was unable to bypass the Pinkette's guard to help her teammate, the loss of one of his arm has decreased the efficiency of her teammate. She wasn't conscious for long as the moment of distraction gave Sakura the leeway to connect a punch with her temple.
The other boy didn't got a chance to say a word, his own moment of distraction was all that Naruto needed to place a seal on his neck. The seal paralyzed the boy, the unconsciousness came as an additional advantage.
The three Sound genins were tied and left under the authority of the forest.
A pair of eyes had monitored the ordeal with keen attention, and the owner didn't found the outcome appealing. His master wanted to see the Uchiha fight, that was the entire motive of assigning these genins to fight track this particular team. Leave fighting, the Uchiha didn't even moved during the whole fiasco, but this fight did shed lights on the Uzumaki boy and the Haruno girl.
Uzumaki Naruto wasn't an average Genin as suggested in his academic records. Haruno Sakura wasn't inefficient as shown in her academic records, and while Rock-lee was said to be dead last, he wasn't one. They were leaps and bounds ahead of what they were perceived as.
Naruto Uzumaki shown great skill in hand to hand combat and fuinjutsu, Rock Lee was too skilled in taijutsu, his skills exceeded that of a genin. Lastly, Sakura Haruno was also proficient in Taijutsu, not as efficient as Lee or Naruto, but still strong enough to defend herself, additionally she could easily cast non-elemental jutsu.
(_-_-_X_-_-_)
"You should rejoin your teammates, Lee" suggested Naruto.
"Yeah, thank you so much, Lee-kun. I am truly grateful that you came to help me" Sakura said, truly touched by Lee's attempts to protect her.
"Anything for you, Sakura-chan. Now, I must take your leave to go and meet my teammates" declared Rock Lee as he jumped off to disappear in the forest.
"He's truly an interesting fellow, I thought his crush for you was nominal but he's true to his words" expressed Naruto.
Sakura shook her head, if only Lee's fashion sense was unnoticeable.
"We should head up toward the tower, he's injured and you're tired" said Naruto.
Sakura accepted with a nod of her head.
(_-_-_X_-_-_)
Meanwhile, Sasuke's mindscape was in turmoil.
Sasuke has been deposited here after he has lost consciousness fighting eachother, and it seemed someone was already waiting for him. The individual, either an imaginary body or a collection of all his supressed emotion as it suggested bluntly, was a mirror to him. Its pupil were red with black sclera was the only distinction between the two.
They were fighting for sometimes now, none getting the upperhand.
"How long will you resist me? I am your part; I am the anger, the frustration, the grief that you hid from others for so long" stated his mirror.
"What you want isn't something I do support. I wouldn't leave this village, it's my home, my parents' home" declared Sasuke ducking a punch, and returned with a swift kick to the ribs of opponent.
"Parents'? or specifically your mother's and brother's." His offender returned. "You can't hide your dislike for your father from me, Sasuke." He added with a chuckled that didn't sound friendly.
"It's my village, I still have family in this village. I wouldn't leave it for strength, I've acquired skill and knowledge from my sensei, and will remain to do so in future" Sasuke argued through gritted teeth. He grunted a right jab connected with his face, but returned with a elbow.
"Your village? These people hate you, they will always judge you for Itachi's deed. You can acquire power from Orochimaru-sama and then he wouldn't stand a chance against our power" the edo-Sasuke tried to convince him.
In reality, this wasn't entirely his anger or frustration, it was the curse seal. The malicious chakra of the curse seal was using his anger and frustration as a shield, it was using his fears to convince him that these were his hidden motives and not someone else's.
"They do hate me, but I have friends and family in this very village. Till they live, I will never betray this village" declared Sasuke. As he said this, visage of Naruto, Shishui, Kakashi, Sakura and Hiruzen flashed in his mind.
Hiruzen had helped him a lot after the massacre, he was always welcomed in the Hokage office. However, unlike his blonde teammate, who was always roaming around in the Hokage tower, he didn't visited the old man often.
"I am sorry Sasuke, but I have to take appropriate measures so that you can see the truth, and follow the right path." Stated the shadow extended his arm to grab Sasuke's. Black markings started to spread across Sasuke body, soon he lost his unconsciousness in his mindscape also.
(_-_-_X_-_-_)
Sasuke begun to stir in the real world, Naruto looked behind to see Sasuke trying to sit up. He instructed the Toad they were riding upon toward the tower to halt.
Sasuke sat up rubbing his eyes, Naruto instructed the toad to remain stationary.
"Are you ok, Sasuke?" asked Naruto worriedly.
"May I ask, who's this Sasuke" asked Sasuke in an un-recognisable tone as black markings started to appear on his right arm.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto; All rights are reserved to Kishimoto.
A/N:- Thanks, Wolfy1000, for reminding me that I must let you know what I've changed into the chapters, Well I do it from this Chapter onwards.
Firstly, I have changed the exchange of words and fights between Orochimaru and Team 7.
Secondly, Wordings and events surrounding the first phase of Chunin exams are changed, also Anko and Ibiki's character are modified lightly.
Third, The entire events leading to Sasuke getting Curse mark is changed.
Fourth, Garra's small rampage in the forest is also more detailed.
And Lastly, Grammatical mistakes are amended throughout the chapter as much as I can do at my current level of knowledge.