Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke walked into the building. They were nervous but excited. They were Genins for such a short time, and now they were about to try for Chunin rank. Sasuke hoped that his team mates wouldn't hold him back. Sakura hoped that she would at least be able to push Sasuke forwards. And Naruto was desperately hoping he would win it all.
As they approached the door that said '301', they noticed a crowd. Kids were pushing and fighting, and arguments were going on. Sasuke glanced through the crowd, trying to find someone to prove his genius to. He started to push through the crowd, trying to get to the front.
He felt someone's hand wrap around his arm, and he tried to jerk away. The hand grew tighter and he let himself be pulled back once he saw it was Sakura.
"What is it?" he hissed at her.
Not backing down, she whispered, "This isn't the room. I'll explain once we get there."
Naruto was already halfway up the stairs, watching them curiously. He looked excited, and Sasuke almost smiled. Nodding, he followed her quietly. Once they touched the next level, Sasuke saw what had happened. Those two were the first proctors, and they had wanted to shut out as many people as possible.
This was the true third floor, and the door looked foreboding. The halls were eerily empty.
"Thanks, Sakura" he said, keeping his head up.
She blushed and nodded.
"Naruto figured it out, actually."
Sasuke blinked but opened the door, sliding it to the right slowly. They walked in and were surprised to see everyone turn in their seats. They almost backed out again due to the tremendous amounts of killer intent, but managed to keep their cool.
There were many older kids, probably taking this test for a second or third time. Or maybe just a late start. They were relieved to see the rest of rookie nine, and Ino, Shika, and Choji made their way over to them.
Shikamaru was about to say something when Ino burst out, "Sakura, what are you wearing?!?"
Sakura didn't blush, she just shrugged and smiled like she had heard the question a million times. She had actually gotten a lot of the same questions, and she had plenty of time to practice her explanation.
Before Sakura could say something, though, Sasuke took the time to speak up. "I made it for her."
He didn't want Sakura to go fangirl, but he didn't want the two to fight. Not yet, at least. If he could save himself from a fangirl or two while keeping his team mates' talents hidden, then so be it.
Ino's mouth opened wide and she closed it, only to have it fall back down. While she couldn't talk, Shikamaru replaced her loud tone.
"I have to say, it's actually pretty efficient" he drawled. He thought it was a little revealing as well, but he knew that that was part of the trick. The opponent would be slightly distracted, while her skills could take them out. He made a note to watch over those three. They looked nervous, but they radiated confidence.
Sakura nodded, herself a little speechless from Sasuke's comment. She grinned and twirled, making her coat flair out. Ino suddenly grinned as well, and she started critiquing the color scheme and pattern. Or rather, lack of.
Relieved that the crisis was solved, he looked around the room again. Some silver haired man was coming over to them, holding something in his hands. He wore a pair of glasses, and the smirk on his face made Sasuke want to punch his lights out.
The ninja introduced himself as Kabuto. Sasuke distrusted this man, and he asked what he was holding.
"Oh, these? They're my Ninja Info Cards. Their chakra encoated so only I can make the info on them appear."
He gestured to the cards and Sasuke narrowed his eyes. The man seemed to be showing off.
"Who do you want information on?" Kabuto asked, still wearing a smile.
"You" Sasuke immediately said, voice demanding that he do so now. Kabuto's grin slipped a bit, but he shuffled through them and pulled one out to be on top. He seemed to push chakra into them, as words slowly formed on the surface.
As he read it aloud, Sasuke's mind churned through the information. Even though his information and friendly demeanor said he was loyal, he couldn't help but feel that this person was not so. He felt a more focused, uptight evil in this….. Impostor. He closed his eyes for a moment to think.
Then the Kyuubi cut in, explaining why he felt this way. The fox did, and it went through Sasuke's mind so that he knew what to look out for. Sasuke thanked the demon and opened his eyes again, watching as Kabuto located another card.
Naruto waited anxiously for Kabuto to reveal the information. He had met the sand-nin a little while back, and he seemed to be sure of his abilities. He scared his siblings just by showing up, and he went unnoticed by everyone even though he was leaking killer intent. Naruto somehow knew that Gaara was like his team; he contained a demon.
The Kyuubi had mentioned the name of Gaara's demon, but he couldn't remember. All he knew was that it only had one tail, but it gave Gaara the power to control sand. It would be formidable in battle.
"Ah, yes. Gaara. It says he is from the sand village, with below average ninjutsu, below average genjutsu, and below average taijutsu. It also mentions that he has been on several B-rank and A-ranking missions." Kabuto's eyes flickered over to the red-head sitting with his siblings in the far back corner. "It also says that he always comes back from missions without a scratch."
Naruto's mind processed this and deducted that Gaara must have healing abilities as well. The Kyuubi cut in and told him otherwise. Idiot. His sand protects him from any harm. Oh.
Sakura's eyes went wide and she looked over to the small group of sand-nins. She told herself that they would steer clear of the emotionless ninja. Then her eyes cleared of all her fear and she brightly asked Kabuto for information on Tenten. Kabuto gladly switched cards and read off her stats.
"Tenten. She is currently on team Gai, which consists of Tenten, Neji, and Lee. Maito Gai is their jonin sensei. She is average in genjutsu, average in ninjutsu, and average in taijutsu. Her specialty is weapons, ranging from kunai to senbon to swords. She uses a multitude of weapons, too many to list. When tested on her accuracy, Tenten managed to score a perfect 100 out of 100 hits with most of her weapons."
Sakura's respect for the girl went up. She nodded her thanks and turned back to her team. She had enough of this man. She had gotten the information she needed and she wanted to talk with her team.
Naruto's gaze wandered around the room, and he noticed two other teams walking towards them. He waved and a shy girl that wore mostly purple gave a small wave back, a red blush forming on her face. He grinned when Tenten waved as well. Soon they were in a group, and he nodded politely to the others.
"Hi, I'm Naruto" he put out, waiting for their introductions.
"Hello, Naruto! You seem most youthful! I am Rock Lee!" the green clad boy nearly shouted, giving Naruto a thumbs up.
Naruto vuagly wondered if that's what he was like, only in orange.
H-hello, Nar-Naruto-kun" stammered the purple girl. "I-I'm Hinata"
Naruto thought her stutter was cute. She seemed shy, and her face was constantly red. He wondered why he never noticed her.
"Hi, Hinata-chan!" her blush got darker and he wondered if she was sick. The two boys on either side of her grabbed her hands as she almost fell backwards.
"Shino" the glasses wearing boy said, not struggling at all to hold Hinata's limp body up. He nodded to Naruto as he walked away with Kiba, trying to revive the poor girl.
Naruto looked confused, but Tenten just shrugged. "She'll be okay."
The blond nodded and they continued.
"I am Neji" another boy said. Naruto blinked and took a double take. Neji's hair was so well groomed, he had looked like a girl at first!
"I'm Hinata's cousin" he added. Naruto just nodded and suddenly looked to the front of the room.
Ibiki was standing there, waiting for a few seconds before yelling out.
"Everyone in their seats! If you aren't all sitting in the next three seconds, you're out!"
No one talked as he continued, pacing the front.
"I am Ibiki, the first proctor. My test is a written exam, ten questions. Rules! If you are caught cheating three times, you are out! If you leave, your team does as well."
By now the tests were handed out, and some people looked confused at the last question.
"Now, as you can see, the tenth question is blank. You will have one hour to complete this test, and at the end of forty-five minutes, I will give you the last question."
Nods surrounded the room. The chunins leaning on the walls just sighed, bored already. They were there to monitor the tests, and they were allowed to kick anyone out. They would also bring ninjas to the bathroom if they were needed to.
"Right. You may begin!"
--
Hinata praised Kami. Fate had brought Naruto-kun sitting next to her. She bent her head down over her paper, letting her hair fall around her face. She pretended to be working really hard, when in fact she wasn't. She quickly wrote down the answers, sitting up when she finished and turning off her bloodline limit eyes.
She glanced over to Naruto, trying to make it look like she wasn't cheating. He looked miserable, and he hadn't written anything down yet. She looked at the clock at the front of the room. It had only been twenty minutes, but he should have had something down. She slowly slid her paper closer to his, writing a note to him.
Naruto looked at it, reading it casually. He made it look like he was looking at the clock. Here. Let me help you.
Hinata was surprised when he shook his head the tiniest that he could. He had a new smile on his face, though. She wanted to scream to the heavens that she had made her crush smile, but she kept silent. He flipped his paper over and scribbled something on the back. Hinata looked at it and shrugged a little.
I'm waiting for the last question. I know that I can get that one, and that's all I need. Thanks anyways.
Then Hinata wrote something else. Are you sure?
Naruto just grinned, writing something else down on his paper. She ducked her head in embarrassment, trying not to show her blush. You're eyes are beautiful, Hinata-chan.
Naruto knew he got something, and he finally caught on. Hinata liked him. He didn't know how long, but since all the other people just blew off her fainting and blushing, he assumed for a while. He cursed everyone else for not telling him before and tried to think of him loving someone other than Sakura.
Hinata erased everything she had written to him so far and wrote something new. Thank you, Naruto-kun. I like your new outfit.
Naruto knew that if she had spoken it aloud, she would have stuttered the entire way through. He would have to work with her on that, even if he never loved her. She was already added to his list of precious people, simply because she loved him. He could tell that she was entirely in love with him, but he didn't know if he would ever tell her about what was inside of him. It might scare the shy girl away. He never had someone to love him so much, and it was an odd feeling. He knew that he loved her too, but he didn't know if it was just because he desperately wanted someone to love, or because it was an actual feeling.
He nodded to her, smiling one of his rare smiles. It was a real one, not just a fake smile reserved for most of the day. He felt that she deserved something from waiting so long.
--
Sakura was having no problem with the questions. To her, these were basic things. She knew the purpose of the test was actually just to cheat and not get caught, but why bother when she knew the answers? She scribbled the last one and then flipped her paper over. She wasn't going to let someone else cheat off of her. The less competition, the better.
--
Sasuke used his eyes to copy the movement of Sakura's pencil. He casually activated it, casting a small and undetectable genjutsu over his eyes to make it look like his eyes were normal and cast downwards. He had learned it just for this kind of situation, and he was glad that he did. It was worth the ten hours of instruction and help from Sakura.
--
Many teams were tossed out, caught and scorned. Ibiki noticed a few other things, but felt that they could be improved on. He especially noticed Sasuke's trick. The genius hadn't alerted any of the Chunin around the room, which was impressive to say the least. He had his eyes activated, with a very odd Genjutsu over them. He figured that if he could barely tell, who would?
--
By the end of the test, more than half the people were gone. There had been over a hundred, though, so they still had many people left. Finally Ibiki started on his explanation of the tenth question. Do or die. He hoped to trick most of the kids in here, so Anko wouldn't start bitching.
Again, team after team left, and soon there were only a handful left. Even so, there were plenty sitting calmly.
"Everyone still in the room….. you pass."
He explained why, and a few chuckled went around before he showed them his head. There were a few gasps, but other than that, there was silence. And that was when Anko showed up.
--
A blur shot through the window, shattering the glass so that it flew everywhere. Two kunai hit the ceiling, spread out, and a banner unfurled itself. She stood proudly on the desk, grinning like a mad woman. Which, technically, she was.
"Alright, maggots. Listen up. I'm Anko, and I'm the second round proctor. And I- wait, Ibiki, you left 26 teams?" her brows furrowed as she turned around to see him shrug. She scowled and faced the small crowd again. "Well, meet me at training ground 44. Otherwise known as….The Forest of Death."
--
Anko was waiting for them all to show up. She wanted to scare them so bad, including that brat Naruto. He had stolen her dango in an attempt to get her to train him, even a little. She certainly taught him after that. She chased him all over the village, cursing him and throwing weapons with deadly accuracy. The further along he got, the better he got at dodging her weapons.
She only caught him because he started eating her dango stick, and she got extremely pissed. She flipped out and used a Jutsu on him, not wanting to play anymore. He had finally stopped frozen in the middle of a roof, but only because her Jutsu paralyzed him for a bit. She took the dango and ate it in front of him, then told him how long it took for the Jutsu to wear off.
She had laughed when he glared at her, but she just tipped him over, leaving him stranded on a roof. Since then, they had played numerous pranks on each other, with no end in sight. And now she had her chance to embarrass him in front of his peers.
"Listen up, gaki! I need you all to sign these release forms! Then and only then can we begin the next part of the exams!"
She didn't have to wait long for her chance.
"Aw, why? You can't wait for my autograph?" Naruto asked, grinning and smiling his foxy grin at her.
She narrowed her eyes at him, glancing around at the people who were nervously laughing. She used her accuracy to throw a kunai at his face. He dodged, but it still hit his face, drawing a little bit of blood. She grinned. "Oops."
For a moment, all was silent. Then,
"Oops? OOPS?! Crazy bitch! You could have killed me!" Naruto screeched at her, holding his cheek. Most everyone gaped at them, and no one spoke or laughed for fear or dying.
Anko shrugged. "I could have. Be lucky I wasn't trying to."
"Oh, like last week? After I stole your precious dango? Again?" he snapped back, pouting.
"You little brat! If you make it out of there alive, I'm going to personally kill you myself!"
"I'd like to see you try! Oh wait, I have! Silly me!"
By now, everyone there was confused. No one else knew that they played pranks on each other, or that Naruto ran for his life on a weekly basis. It was purely between the two of them.
"Gaki…."
"Who are you talking to? Yourself?"
Sakura looked shocked, and she finally hit Naruto over the head.
"Naruto, would you stop it?" she hissed at him.
He glanced at his team mate and grumbled an unintelligible answer. She looked satisfied, and she waited for him to apologize to the scary lady. But he just shrugged, rubbing his head with one hand while keeping his hand over his cut.
Anko snorted and sneered. "Serves you right, getting stopped by a girl."
Naruto was trying to get at Anko with all his might. She just poked his forehead, using one finger to keep him back. She tried to keep from laughing her head off. It was so easy to get him riled up.
Before Sakura and Sasuke could drag him away, he muttered a "I'll get you later". She actually hoped he wouldn't, because it was a pain trying to avoid his pranks. They were well thought out for a gaki, and she sometimes had trouble avoiding them.
Suddenly she noticed the looks Naruto was getting. She knew that he contained the fox, but she didn't hold it against him. He was keeping it from destroying the village, right? She wasn't one to judge, either. She was raised by a sadistic pervert who wanted to take over the world. So who could blame him?
She felt slightly guilty about making him feel even less like a great ninja, and she vowed to make up for it. She thought of a funny way in seconds. She was instantly in front of him, using incredible speed to get there quickly.
"Hey, gaki. I forgot to tell you something."
He was startled to see her right in front of him, but he cursed himself inside his head. He should have seen it coming, since she did that every so often. He wasn't in the mood anymore for pranks and jokes, though. He felt like crap.
"What?" he growled.
"I forgot to warn you, that kunai had poisons on it…"
His face turned white and he clutched his wound a little harder. "What?!?"
She nodded and leaned in close, whispering in his ear, "Gotcha. Good luck, brat."
She stood back up and backed away, waiting for him to catch on. He did instantly, and he made a face at her before moaning about it. "You're going to get pressed with murder" he said.
"Eh. I doubt it. It's one of those long, agonizingly slow ones to work. I love it because it draws out the pain…"
In reality, she actually didn't know if the kunai had anything on it. It was confusing, as she sometimes mixed the weapons up. She could have poisoned him, she might not have. If it was dripping with stuff, then it was probably a quicker one, so it should be taking effect in ten more minutes. It would be instant pain, once the time limit was up. She hoped he would be okay.
Then she scoffed. He had gotten hit by many of her dipped-in-poisoned kunai's before, multiple at a time, in fact. He had always been perfectly fine, other than a few seconds of writhing on the ground or standing stark still.
Finally, with a few people fretting over the kid, she started on the rules.
--
"Okay, who gets the scroll?" Naruto whispered.
Sasuke nodded to him and he blinked, pointing at himself curiously. Sasuke nodded quickly, and Naruto hid it in his inner pockets. He grinned and when they exited the tent, made a big deal of giving Sasuke a 'heaven scroll'. It was a kage bushin, and their scroll was actually an earth.
Many teams looked at them oddly, but they went to their assigned gate without any problems. Until, that is, Anko showed up. She looked nervous, if that made Naruto feel any better.
She leaned down to whisper to him, trying not to look suspicious.
"Hey, brat. I, uh…want to apologize in advance if you feel like shit later. I didn't mean it, and I hope the…uhm. You internal system can filter it out quickly. If nothing's wrong, then sorry for worrying you. I just didn't want you to die in the middle of scouting. Time limit is five minutes."
The blond looked at her funny, then understood what she was talking about. He glared but nodded, leaning in to whisper back his message.
"Thanks, Nii-chan. Uhm, why are you telling me this?"
"That girl over there has great style. I thought maybe you deserve a little something."
"No, really. Also, thank you… Uh, you might not want to go home right away….or at least go in your back door or a window…"
Anko stared at him in confusion. Then,
"I don't even want to know, do I. No. Anyways, I have to go before people start to notice I'm helping you. See you, Gaki."
She placed a single kiss on his cheek, grinning as she left with the same speed as before. She hoped he wouldn't take it the wrong way. He was cute and all, but he was like the brother she never had. She only wanted to wish him luck. She thought he was cuter with that Sakura chick. She watched from further away as Naruto looked around, dumbfounded, before racing into the forest, his team's gate finally open. She smiled.
--
Sasuke scouted the area by pushing his chakra out, examining the life around them using chakra pulses. He didn't find any people, so they settled down after awhile to make a plan.
"Okay, so what should we do now?"
"I have an idea" Naruto drawled.
They both looked at him funny.
"…Seriously?"
"Yeah." Naruto sighed.
"Look. I'll explain it-"he was cut off by a sudden pain. His body went stiff, and his face turned a light purple-ish color. He made a 'hold on' sign and turned around, barfing into some nearby bushes.
Sasuke and Sakura both looked away, disgusted.
Once he was finished emptying his stomach, he looked a little better. The color was returning to his face.
"As I was saying" he started again.
"We should team up."
Both team members stared blankly at him.
"Uh, that's why we're here as a team. Duh."
He shook his head, grinning.
"No, I meant with other teams."
"….Dobe."
"Wait wait, why?"
Sakura actually wanted to hear why Naruto wanted to do this. Couldn't they do this on their own?
Naruto grinned happily at Sakura, continuing with renewed enthusiasm.
"Okay. Well, if the rookie nine, plus Tenten's team, joined together, shouldn't we be able to take out most other competition? Then, we can all become Chunin, and Konaha can have more able ninjas!"
Sasuke gave it some thought.
"It could work. Shall we get started?"
--
Naruto sent out hundreds of clones to lure out teams. Right now they were looking for places to camp, and their finally found a rather large area to stay. They had five days, and if they could stay here as long as possible and root out the other competition, they might have better chances of winning.
There was a nice area where they could set up a fake tent or two, and then there was a large tree. One part of it looked stable, and then the other side there was a hole. It was covered by a rock, and they wouldn't have found it if Naruto hadn't pointed it out.
After he explained, quietly, how he knew where it was (Anko) they explored it with a few clones before going in themselves. It seemed small at first, but then there was a huge space. Sasuke created the smallest fire, keeping it in the middle. There seemed to be a firepit of some sort, and they eventually felt the need to figure out where the smoke went.
To their surprise, it was coming out in a nearby tree, not the one they were hidden in. It was strange, but they decided to accept it. Afterall, they couldn't be found here.
--
"Give me a sign that shows me you're really Shikamaru."
Shika groaned and rolled his eyes. "Troublesome, really." He had been the first to see the wisdom in team seven's plan, and his team listened to him and they followed the clone back to a large clearing. They looked around, and then the clone turned around and asked for proof that they were who they said they were.
It made Shika wonder how many people posed as them, but he finally shrugged and made a handsign, ensnaring the clone with his shadow. "Clan technique" he mentioned before releasing the jutsu.
Ino shrugged and went next. She grinned and made a few quick handsigns, making a circle in front of her face aimed at Naruto before her body slumped down and the Naruto clone looked around oddly.
"Huh. Doesn't look much different."
She released the jutsu and five minutes later, she was awake again. Naruto somehow remembered what she said while inside his mind, and the clone looked to Choji.
"I don't have much chakra left" he mentioned. "So please make it quick."
"Okay. I only talked about this with Choji. So only the real Choji will know this answer."
The Naru-clone leaned in and whispered his question. Choji's eyes went wide and he had a big grin on his face. He whispered back an answer, and Naruto nodded. He leaned back and gestured towards the tree. "You may enter. Be warned, though, no one else should see."
--
Inside, Naruto prepared Choji's favorite bag of chips. He had figured it out when they had a discussion about ramen, which somehow got to favorite chips. He had asked the chubby boy what that flavor was, and he answered easily, and Naruto told him that when he got inside, he had a spare bag ready.
--
"Give me a sign that you're really Neji."
"Bayakugan!"
--
"Give me a sign that you're really Tenten"
She withdrew a scroll, grinning and opening it. She pressed a bit of blood to it, and out popped a sword. It was the one that she had used to battle him with before.
"Later, rematch" she told him before entering the tree.
--
"Give me a sign that you're really Lee."
Suddenly another figure entered the clearing, and Lee's eyes sparkled.
"Gai-sensei!"
"Lee!"
"Gai-sensei!"
Naruto didn't feel like waiting for the sunset to appear. He made the clone disappear, making Lee cry real tears. He blinked and sent him in, rather awkwardly.
--
Finally everyone that they knew was inside, and they actually had plenty of space. They were sitting in a giant circle around the fire, and Naruto was talking now.
"Okay. Here's the plan. This is base, and we are going to get as many scrolls as we can from the other teams. Even if we don't need them, if they don't have them, they can't move on. Then we might have a better chance of all of us passing."
"Right."
"Okay, so. Here are your assignments. Team Gai, you have section one." Naruto had drawn a map on the floor earlier. He had actually been in here a few times, trying to escape from Anko. It had never worked before.
They nodded and took two Naruto clones disguised as scrolls just in case. Naruto nodded to them on their way out before continuing.
"Team Hinata-chan, you guys get section two. Good luck and be safe."
"Team Shadow, you get section three."
"Team Seven, we have this section. Section four."
"If anyone is hurt, or in need of help, dispel a clone after getting as much info as you can. Help will be sent out."
--
Sasuke had to admit. While not a usual method of doing things, it was going pretty well. Naruto had rallied everyone together, and they had a great system. Sasuke and Sakura were patrolling the area, on the lookout for other teams. The Naruto next to them was a clone, and they also had two Naruto scrolls with them.
The real Naruto was still back at the tree, and he was meditating. If any of his clones dispelled, he would immediately send ten more, and if the other scroll was dispelled, he himself would show up to help. So far he had to send ten clones to help Hinata-chan's team, but it was only because they were up against odd people. They used wind, and Kiba and Akamaru's ears couldn't take the frequency. Shino's bugs were useless, and Hinata wasn't confident in herself. So her sent clones, and now they were on their way back with two new scrolls. He warned them to be careful.
--
Before all the teams were back, disaster struck. They had all been fine, except team Seven of course. Then, suddenly, all three clones exploded. He whipped open his eyes and jumped up.
"High level threat, high level threat! I need Tenten, Neji, Kiba, and Shino! The rest, stay here and defend the fort is necessary!"
The ninja's scrambled around, taking care to keep well away from the fire as well as their fellow ninjas. Finally, after one long minute, they were out and running quickly. Neji had his eyes activated, and Shino was conversing with his bugs. Eventually Neji spotted them at the same time as Shino's bugs informed them they were close.
Kiba wrinkled his nose. "And boy, whoever they're fighting smells weird."
Shino stopped, waving them on. His bugs were going crazy, and he started to head back.
A minute later, much closer, Kiba and Akamuru backed out.
"Sorry, man, but we can't stand the smell!"
Neji and Naruto sped up, and Naruto got himself ready for a big fight. When they got there, though, there wasn't much left.
A giant crater was all that was left, and Sakura was trying her best to stand over Sasuke's body. A grass-nin was smirking at Sakura, and her head snapped towards the two that just entered. Naruto took one glance at Sasuke and Sakura and turned to Neji.
"Get out while you can" he murmured.
"Excuse me?"
"Look. I know my teammates. And if they are beaten, then we're all doomed. Let me handle this."
Neji looked at him condescendingly before nodding. Naruto made a hundred shadow clones that sent themselves attacking the ninja while Neji ran. He hated to turn his back, but he didn't want to get caught in the crossfire. He henged into Naruto to make it look like he was just another clone.
--
Naruto panted hard, trying to look tough. This ninja wasn't a Genin. They certainly weren't a Jonin. They had to be….Naruto clicked the pieces together in his mind. Shariangan…..Three Sanin….Traitor….. Ambush…..Orochimaru!
He made two more clones, sending them off in different directions. He didn't know which way Anko was, but he had to find her or someone else strong, and now.
Orochimaru made a move to follow, but Naruto blocked his way. He narrowed his eyes.
"Your fight is with me"
"Oh is it, now?" the snake hissed.
Naruto nodded and felt the red chakra take over his body. He hoped it would be enough.
Suddenly Orochimaru was right in front of him, and a fist was sent careening into his face. Naruto ducked and sent a kick back, missing by an inch. Naruto kept swinging, using his new speed and power to keep Orochimaru busy.
While most of his mind was focused on the damn snake, a small part was conversing with the fox.
Hey, hey, fox. Can you wake the others? With like a sound in their minds? I need their help, and they have your power, too. I cannot. I can, however, emit a high frequency howl that will alert any foxes in the area. If your friends do not wake up, other foxes will come to your aid. Thank you, Kyuu!
Orochimaru got his blade out, aiming it for Naruto's chest. He didn't seem to be moving, so he just kept up his speed. He watched, partly interested, as Naruto's body convulsed. Then he was back, and Orochimaru tilted his head. Something had happened, that was for sure. And right before he hit, Naruto had a sword out and in front of him.
The snake could almost laugh. This was the sword that went through anything. Nothing could stop it. And then he was proved wrong when the black long sword stopped the one in Oro's mouth.
Orochimaru looked up, eyes narrowed. His tongue extended and wrapped around Naruto's leg. Naruto either didn't notice, or didn't care. When Oro tried to tighten it, he got burned. He withdrew and tried with the sword, harder this time. Again, Naruto parried the attack.
For a moment, the snake sanin didn't know how the brat was doing this. And then he felt a chakra spike, and he was forced back. So, the Kyuubi's chakra can stop my blade. Very well then. I'll have to resort to more… extreme measures.
The spike wasn't just Naruto. It was Sasuke and Sakura, newly awakened by the howl. Their power was granted and they glared at Orochimaru. Sasuke could feel Oro's fear sent, and it make him growl with pleasure.
--
Anko showed up with three ANBU to see three blurs of red duking it out with another person. She had been mildly annoyed when the clones showed up, breathlessly asking for her help. She was eating dango, but when they mentioned a certain snake bastard, she threw it down and started running. She gathered random ANBU members as she went, calling them with animal calls.
And now she showed up to see three chakra encoated.. animals trying to fry a jumpy sanin. She grimaced and wondered how long they had been holding out.
"That man is Orochimaru" she told her force. "No questions asked, kill him if able. Don't bother taking him in alive. Got it?"
They nodded and went into action. This is what they trained for.
--
Sasuke felt the wonderful power course through him. It was actually his, all his! He just had to fure out a way to get Sakura's and Naruto's. But that could be dealt with later. Right now, this annoying pest of a snake needed to be shown who was boss.
Sasuke made a few handsigns and exhaled a large amount of fire, only to cut it short and whip around, kicking out at a descending shape. Naruto approached from behind Oro, who was flying at Sasuke. He kicked out as well, and he vaugly noticed Sakura entering the fray again. She had been working on a somewhat large jutsu, but now she was all good.
And that's when it all fell into place. Orochimaru staggered a few steps, looking at the ground and then to his left. Naruto landed a few punches before charging up his Twin Razor Wind attack. He hit the snake bastard head on before the man snapped out of it. His body was in shambles, but he just took a second and emerged from his skin, shedding it like a snake.
Growling, he preformed the same handsigns again, combining it with Sasuke's fire one. Together they hit the snake, who was still in a few different Genjutsus. Sakura finally had enough chakra to put together a thick mass of tough to beat Genjutsus, and they knew they would work. They had to work fast, though, because it looked like Oro had broken a few of them aleady.
Sasuke activated his red eyes and copied the seals that Naruto was making. He smirked and copied them quickly with his hands, forcing a bunch of chakra into the attack. Naruto was more of a wind type, but Sasuke could still use them. They just required more chakra.
The attack was a ball of wind that spiraled in both directions. He thought about Kakashi's teaching so far and came up with an elemental attack made for him. When they were both charged, they rushed Orochimaru and hit him in the chest.
Oro went flying backwards, and he seemed to be extremely disoriented. Three ANBU jumped down and tried to retain him, but he just shed his skin again and fled. They chased him, throwing attacks at him while they did so. Anko wanted to join the chase, but she knew she couldn't.
"Are you three okay?" she asked, landing beside them. She winced as Sasuke turned towards her, still covered in his chakra cloak.
He advanced on her, snarling, but Naruto ended up darting in front of Sasuke. He growled and made several hand gestures. Sasuke seemed to snap out of it and his cloak fell, leaving him tired and vulnerable. Sakura's was already gone, and Naruto turned to Anko.
"Thank you. Please transport us to the fort. We need to rest."
That was all Naruto had time to say before passing out, releasing his cloak a little after thanking her. She caught him and glanced at the other two. Oh hell no.
--
Anko had taken all three back to the fort. She smirked in satisfaction when all of the ninja inside jumped and got into defensive positions right when she crawled in, dragging the brats behind her. She shrugged at someone near her and waited for them to recognize her. The day's light was already dimming, and it took longer than she thought. Then,
"Anko?!?"
She nodded and gestured to the others. A blind looking girl rushed up to them, already looking worried. She recognized the girl vaguely at Huuyga Hinata.
"A-are they o-okay?" she asked, pressing her fingers together.
Anko nodded, glancing briefly at the blond.
"Yeah. They just need to rest. Check them out for yourself."
Hinata nodded and active her bloodline limit She gazed at the three shortly, looking at Naruto the longest. Anko thought about telling the gaki about this girls crush on him, but she decided to let him figure it out on his own.
Then Anko left, not wanting to interfere with them too much longer. It might seem like cheating, and she didn't want them to get disqualified. She knew that they would have to stick together, and she was glad they were already getting to work together. She also knew that their comradely-ship was a double edged sword.
--
Naruto woke up slowly, wondering where he was. And then the memories flooded back, and he groaned and tried to hold his head. He found one of his hands encased in two warm ones, and he tilted his head slightly to see Hinata holding his hand in her own, placing her other one on top of his.
A smile flitted around on his face before he used the other one to touch his aching head. Once figuring out he wasn't bleeding or burning, he focused his attention to the girl on his left. She was snoozing, sleeping while leaning against the tree, sitting up and watching over him. Well, before she fell asleep, that is.
Naruto laid there a little longer, content to just stay here, watched over by a cute girl. He was actually pretty comfortable. He was laying on something soft, like grass or something. He used his right hand to touch the material. It was a blanket, and the fabric felt so soft under his touch. He wondered who it belonged to.
When he shifted his free hand back onto his stomach, Hinata suddenly woke up. She looked around her, faintly confused as well. He grinned softly as she realized what she was doing, and she jerked her hands away from him.
"O-oh, good mor-morning, Nar-Naruto-kun."
"Morning, Hinata-chan! Did you watch over me when I had….chakra exhaustion?" he came up with the best excuse he could. After all, it might have been. He always felt so drained after using the fox's power.
She blushed and nodded slowly, marking this as the tenth time he had called her 'Hinata-chan'. She tried to come up with some excuse for why she was holding his hand when he continued.
"Thanks for keeping me warm" he supplied, holding up his hand. "I woke up to feel warm and comfortable."
She smiled shyly and nodded. "Yo-you're welcome N-Naruto-kun. I ho-hope that the bla-blanket under you w-was soft as- as well?"
He had looked confident until now. He looked surprised. "This is yours?"
She nodded and he looked a little upset.
"I'm sorry! You should have used it, you shouldn't be sleeping without one!" he said, trying to keep quiet. Others might be around. He couldn't tell just yet.
She shrugged, poking her fingers together again. He thought it was cute.
"I-I don't m-mind. Be-besides, yo-you needed it m-more."
He slowly sat up, stretching his arms and putting them in a cross behind his head.
"Well, thanks anyways. Tonight, you should use your blanket."
He looked around, finding mostly everyone gone. Only Hinata, Tenten, Sakura, Sasuke, Kiba, and Shikamaru were left. Shika looked to be sleeping, Sakura was being watched over by Sakura, and Sasuke was sitting in a corner somehow, eating a plate of food. Kiba was playing with his puppy, Akamaru.
Hinata saw him look around and blushed.
"Oh" she murmured, startled at herself for forgetting. "I-I made break-breakfast for ev-everyone" she stuttered, tripping over her words as she offered him a plate.
Naruto smiled a foxy grin at her and accepted it, thanking her and digging in. His eyes went wide and he swallowed his mouthful.
"This is amazing!" he exclaimed, forgetting about being quiet. Kiba and Akamuru glanced over, but then went back to what they were doing. Shikamaru didn't move a muscle, and Sasuke didn't look up. Tenten looked up and smiled at him before dropping her gaze back to Sakura.
Hinata blushed harder and tried to retreat into her jacket. "R-really?"
He nodded vigorously. "Yeah yeah! Thanks, Hinata-chan!"
--
(at the fort, with either Tenten or Sasuke. Tenten with Sakura or Sasuke talking to the demon first.)
Next up, Chunin exams!
In which Naruto meets up with Anko, Sasuke and Lee duke it out, Sakura and Ino talk, and Kabuto appears.
Naruto is pleased to see Anko again, and she greets him like a sibling. They share a much deeper history than anyone knows, and he thinks about that while he is in the forest.
Tenten shows interest in Neji and Sakura, and Sakura doesn't get the casual advances. Until, at least, Tenten kisses her.
More things happen, but that is basic chapter plot. More fight scenes later.