Author Note

First of all, I know what you're all thinking.

Why post a new story, when I have now six others in progress with other two, waiting for a sequel (yes, people I plan to write the sequels of both Tired and Lone Wolf, though it will be a totally different time line from the actual cannon)?

The thing is I'm addicted. Not so much about the anime, but the world of fan fiction, better yet Naruto fan fiction. I've read stories that blew my mind more than the actual Shippuuden series.

With that thought aside, it's time for the new story called "The Accursed Brothers". Surely, the idea would sound repetitive at first. It begins at the Second phase of the Chunnin Exams when Naruto and Sasuke engage in battle against Orochimaru (I wouldn't say the team did, because as usual, Sakura was useless the entire time). The difference in my story is that instead of only Sasuke, Orochimaru branded Naruto also with the cursed seal. A different cursed seal (like Kimimaro's) but a cursed seal nonetheless. A few writers already used this idea, but mine will be quite different.

Just check it out!

Summary: What if, instead of only Sasuke, Naruto also received Orochimaru's cursed seal that day. Would the story be any different? Would Naruto and Sasuke's paths be reversed? Or they would find in each other the brotherly sentiment that both always missed.

Pairing: Not revealing it right now! Apart from the other stories, Naruto's pairing will only be revealed at a later date.

Now with the story!

Chapter 1 – Branding the demon

Beta: Kyuubi123

At the beginning of the second phase of the chunnin exams, Team 7 was actually quite confident that they would pass the exam with no problem. Sasuke was considered a genius amongst the genins and he already awakened his Sharingan. Naruto was cocky in his own right, but he had his fair share of useful skills to be used in a crowded place like the Training Ground number 44, better known as The Forest of Death. Sakura, for the likes of her, couldn't stop trembling as she looked around the darkness that loomed over these parts, wondering if they would encounter some wild beast, like a gigantic tarantula or man eating tigers.

Not to mention meeting the actual opposition.

As only a support to her team, Sakura often relied on either Naruto or Sasuke to help her whenever she was in trouble. Sure, she was branded as a genius scholar with high grades and rumored to have skills in both chakra control and genjutsu techniques. But several factors ruined the girl's unstoppable potential, one of the reasons being herself, obviously. Ever since the academy, she fawned over her Uchiha teammate and it only got worse when she was selected as a member of Team Seven. Much to her sensei's irritation, instead of training to get stronger, Sakura ended up either fawning on Sasuke or asking said genin for a date. Of course, if Hatake Kakashi, the man known as the Sharingan no Kakashi, who copied more than one thousand techniques, easily disrupted the girl's fan girlish tendencies, by actually training his team, than the story would be different. However, due to certain occurrences in the past, all he ever thinks about is building them into a team that never should have got together in the first place.

Now, though, they would spend five days inside this god forsaken forest, facing wild beasts and shinobi from other lands, both of them with full intent to kill Team Seven, in order to get the scroll they possessed.

Her heart even skipped a beat when the team encountered another team from Amegakure. It didn't take too long seeing as Sasuke launched a fireball technique at the three without warning, catching one of them easily. The other two were dealt with by Naruto's kage bunshins. None of the three were killed, except that the one that received the fire technique was unconscious with third degree burns all over his body. Naruto screamed to the heavens at his team's awesomeness, before searching for the team's scroll. Sasuke and Sakura were actually anxious to see if this team had the earth scroll, meaning they only needed to go to the tower and be done with the exam.

"Ahhh I found it, dattebayo! Eh, shit is the heaven scroll…" The blond screamed at the top of his lungs, before the team vanished once more.

The first fight served a purpose, though.

They now were more confident than before and in no time, they would battle a team with the Earth Scroll. However, such confidence was shattered when they landed on top a thick tree only for a strong blast of wind to send them flying, Naruto to one direction and Sasuke/Sakura to another. When Naruto landed, he caressed his bottom a few times in order to stop the pain, before looking around for his teammates. The only things before his eyes were gigantic trees, before a gigantic snake appeared out of nowhere. The blond screamed frightened, before his determined resolve was in control. However, he only had time to grab one kunai from his holder, before the snake lunged at him and opened its jaws, swallowing him whole.

===With Sasuke===

As soon as Sasuke landed on the ground, he began to look for his teammates. Sakura appeared first, before she gave the password that Sasuke invented in case they split up. After being assured that Sakura was indeed Sakura, he began to look for Naruto, while wondering about that fuuton technique. That wind blast was much too powerful to be used by a mere genin. After looking around for a bit, Naruto's voice alerted them to his position before they saw Naruto resting his right hand on a tree while the other he used to hold his apparently injured stomach.

"Hey, are you guys okay?" Naruto asked, before Sasuke raised the kunai in a threatening manner.

"The password, what's the password? When a ninja is supposed to strike?" The blond looked at his teammate in question, before he showed an ear to ear grin.

"Ah yes, I know that…ah…It is a good chance when a large number of enemies are making a scene. There are no hideouts even in a quiet place. It is important for a ninja to know the right time. The time is when the enemy is tired and his guard is down" As soon as Naruto finished the password, Sakura took a long breath in relief. Sasuke for his part smiled, before suddenly throwing the kunai straight at Naruto's face. So surprised he was that the blond threw himself to the ground in order to dodge the kunai. Both him and Sakura demanded questions for his actions, but Sasuke remained with the arrogant smirk on his face.

"Don't play ignorant with me. Our Naruto, the real Naruto, would never memorize such a long password. I admit that you're better at the Henge and even skilled to dodge the kunai from such a close distance, but still you failed in mirroring Naruto's mannerisms"

No sooner that Sasuke explained his actions, Naruto, or rather someone transformed as him, started laughing like a hyena, before licking his lips as if he was staring at a most tasty dish. The fake Naruto got up and immediately dispelled the illusion, before a great torrent of smoke filled the area, revealing the enemy. It was a woman by the looks of things, carrying the insignia from Kusagakure. She was rather tall to be just a genin. Her black hair was long and every time she looked at Sasuke, she would lick her lips in anticipation. It was if Sasuke was the meal of the day.

Activating his Sharingan, Sasuke didn't wait for the attack and charged the woman in taijutsu. He started with a series of punches and kicks, but no one got across her fluid defensive maneuvers. The Kusa genin even smiled, before grabbing Sasuke's arms and throwing him against a tree. The Uchiha back flipped, using the tree as leverage for chagrining her once again. This time he grabbed a kunai and attacked his opponent. It was useless, however, as she was clearly toying with him the entire time. Sasuke had enough of this fight, before he gained some distance and initiated the hand seals sequence.

Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)

The blazing inferno charged at the Kusa genin, who for her part only smiled as the technique approached its intended target. She made no effort to move out of the way, giving Sasuke the idea that he had defeated his opponent. However, as soon as the smoke settled, the enemy just stood behind a tree still carrying the wicked smile on her face. Sasuke, by this time, was getting nervous and charged. This time, the Kusa genin just took the fight to higher grounds, while Sasuke was in hot pursuit. He eventually reached her, but he hadn't managed to land even one blow. The woman tried aiming a straight kick to his chest, which sent him flying a couple trees away. He managed to use chakra to stand on the tree, before he ran to a clear path, where he grabbed a couple of mid-sized shuriken, laced with invisible wire.

He didn't throw the shurikens directly at his opponent, but around her.

At first, the woman thought that Sasuke's aim needed improvement and she even taunted him in said manner, only for a smirk to appear on his face as he pulled the invisible wire of the shurikens, turning their trajectory, surprising the Ame genin. The invisible wire ended up tying her to a thick tree and she found out she couldn't move. The wire constricted her movements. Sasuke, afterward, gathered all the wire and hold them in place with his mouth, before going through a long series of hand seals for his strongest fire technique ever attempted on the battlefield.

Katon Ryuuka no Jutsu (Fire Release: Flame Dragon Technique)

Sasuke started burning, before he directed the gathering fire through the wires that were holding his enemy. Upon impact, she screamed as the pain from the attack was too much for even her to handle.

The technique even went on the other side of the tree, like it was an unstoppable force. After that, Sasuke breathed in relief. He had never faced this type of enemy before. No matter what he did, she was always one or two steps ahead of him. Images of his uselessness against his brother the night of his clan genocide flashed through his eyes. However, to his shock and utter fear, the woman appeared in front of him like she wasn't even fazed by his strongest technique, just as Sakura appeared next to him. They could see however, that her face appeared to be melting.

"Kukuku, good Sasuke-kun. Very good, you are indeed very talented for someone your age. Now, why don't you say we increase the level of our fight" Was the next thing they heard, before both Sasuke and Sakura were bombarded with images of their death.

===With Naruto===

The snake was having its fun digesting Naruto, while the blond was busy screaming some obscenities that would make even Anko proud. However, even he was smart enough to realize that he didn't have much time left. His body was already covered with enough gastric juice that his clothes were being digested by the minute. Pretty soon his skin would as well, unless he did something. It was such a grotesque sight inside the snake's stomach. He couldn't see much, but he could see the rests of the snake's quite peculiar diet. He saw enough to realize that he wasn't the first human to be in there.

No matter how much he thought, though, he couldn't figure out how to escape, until an idea hit him.

It was more like a desperate move, than anything. Any movement was being restricted by the snake's organs, but he managed enough strength to at least join his hands to form his most familiar hand seal. It's all or nothing. Take this you damn snake…

Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Multiple Shadow Clone Technique)

One by one, Naruto used his technique without concern of saving chakra. In no time, the snake's stomach ended up inflating like a balloon, before the deadly creature was ripped apart. Naruto, still covered with gastric acid, coughed multiple times, while imagining the consequences of not escaping. The thought of death wasn't alien to him. When his team faced the Demon Brothers, Naruto was frightened. At the time, he froze and if it wasn't for Sasuke's help, he doubted that he would still be amongst the living. Now, that old feeling returned. Ok, it shouldn't be a routine situation. It's not every day that you become snake's food, but as a shinobi, he needed to be prepared to face odds such as this.

Shaking his head in denial, Naruto started looking around for either Sasuke or Sakura. He began looking around the vicinity, before Sakura's scream reached his ear.

"Sakura-chan is in trouble, I must go immediately"

===With Sasuke and Sakura===

After Orochimaru used that strange technique, he just settled for two kunais and threw them at the still frightened genins. Sasuke saw the kunais, but could do nothing. He, then, grabbed a kunai of his own and pierced his own thigh, in order to somehow wake him up from the trance Orochimaru placed them in. Quickly, he grabbed Sakura, saving her from the kunai. Still, Orochimaru pressed on his taunting attack, forcing Sasuke on the defensive. The raven haired genin was beginning to cower in fear upon seeing a snake appear behind him. Sasuke screamed at his opponent, more like begging him to leave him alone, before throwing various shurikens at the snake, killing it. However, once more Orochimaru appeared from within the snake, licking his lips while doing so.

"You can't let your guard down Sasuke-kun. A prey needs to strain their minds all the time and run around in the presence of the predator" Orochimaru said, before extending his body like a snake and charging at Sasuke.

However, before he could reach the already cowering Sasuke, a few kunais and shurikens appeared in front of him, stopping his path just as Naruto shouted.

"Oi, sorry I was late Sasuke. I had to deal with something on the way here"

Naruto shouted as Orochimaru looked at the blond, wondering what happened to the snake he sent to deal with the annoying brat. Still, Naruto's presence did little to alleviate Sasuke's feeling of insecurity. So far, every time Naruto appeared, he ended up screwing things up. Thing was that right now, Kakashi wasn't here to fix the dobe's mistakes. He was at a loss of what to do, before a cowering idea appeared inside his mind. It was beneath his pride as an Uchiha to even think in such a thing, but this foe, whoever he or she was, is way above their level and could easily kill them.

"Wait a minute…" Sasuke called, before reaching for the scroll inside his holster. "In exchange for letting us go, we surrender our scroll to you. There, take it…" Sasuke said, much to Sakura and Naruto's shock and confusion.

Orochimaru just smirked at the brat's cleverness.

"Smart kid…in order to save yourself, you give the predator something more precious in return. However, it seems that the Uchiha Clan's pride is non-existent if the heir acts all cowardly like this" The obvious jab was meaningless when compared to Sasuke's survival at this point.

"Just take it and leave…" He threw the scroll towards Orochimaru who smirked as he watched the artifact approaching his position slowly. When the snake was about to get it, though, the scroll suddenly vanished as Naruto appeared on the tree next to them holding the scroll. Sasuke was beyond pissed at the blond for his stupidity, as he shouted for the blond to give the scroll to the enemy immediately. Naruto took a moment to look at Sasuke like he grew a second head and sneered at his cowardice. This wasn't the Sasuke he knew and the one that was a part of team 7.

"Oi teme, are you crazy? Giving up the scroll would be like saying we didn't pass, dammit! I want to pass and I know you want to as well…" Naruto knew that talking would be ineffective, thus he needed to get his point across. However, the fact that Sasuke so easily gave up, made his blood boil. This wasn't the Sasuke he knew, nor the one he kept challenging all the time. He was just a scared little rabbit. Gathering as much strength as he could muster, Naruto landed a fierce punch on Sasuke's face, sending him flying. No one could see his eyes at the time of the hit.

"What's the matter with you dammit? Quit trying to become the hero!" Shouted Sasuke, before something inside of him urged him to stop breathing.

This feeling of dread, it was similar to the time he faced Zabuza. He looked at Naruto, only to gasp as the blond's eyes was changed. They were red silted eyes that promised anything but death.

"You're definitely now the Sasuke I know. You're just some scared cat trying to save its own ass. I'm dealing with this enemy and we are going to pass this exam!" Naruto said, before he grabbed a kunai and charged the still smirking enemy. Orochimaru just summoned one of his snakes one more time and ordered it to pound Naruto. The problem, though, was that now Naruto was, even if unconsciously, using the fox's chakra, alerting Orochimaru instantly. He saw Naruto punching the snake hard and he felt instantly the same feeling from twelve years ago when the very Kyuubi no Yoko appeared in Konoha.

So, this is the Kyuubi brat…such remarkable power…maybe branding him as well isn't such a bad idea. He could prove useful in the future.

Just as Naruto managed to break the snake's jaw, he saw the snake disappearing and licked his lips once more. Meanwhile, Sasuke and Sakura were wondering when Naruto had ever shown such power. Naruto, then, charged the snake sannin in disguise, only for the man's tongue to envelope Naruto's body. The blond tried fighting with all his might to free himself from Orochimaru's grasp. However, the man had enough chakra focused on his tongue to hold Naruto at bay, even if he was subconsciously using the fox's chakra. Such strength only managed to further Orochimaru's interest in using Naruto against the very village that raised him.

Without further a due, he lowered Naruto's body until the blond was in front of him. Orochimaru sunk his teeth in Naruto's neck with much strength that the blond screamed in agony.

The poison instantly ran through his veins and before Naruto knew, he was unconscious as a strange looking seal appeared behind his neck. Naruto-kun's strength will be better channeled by the same seal that Kimimaro-kun has. Now, for Sasuke's, I'll give him the same one I gave little Anko. This is more refined, increasing more his chakra than his strength. It will be perfect for his techniques in the future. Now, let's brand Sasuke. As soon as he turned towards the still stunned Sasuke, he threw Naruto towards the ground hard. Sasuke tried moving, but Orochimaru still had his genjutsu activated, meaning Sasuke couldn't move. Sakura even tried to help by throwing a kunai, but Orochimaru just used two fingers to stop as he extended his neck towards the Uchiha, before biting him as well. Sasuke screamed in agony, as the poison ran through his veins as the cursed seal appeared behind his neck as well. Orochimaru started laughing silently as he pondered on how much his odds improved.

Sasuke-kun's strength and mastery of the Sharingan is terrific. He'll prove to be a better host than anyone, plus I finally will take possession of the Sharingan. Furthermore, I can use the fox's chakra in Naruto. No one will stop me from my goal.

"You monster, who are you and what did you do to Sasuke and Naruto?" Sakura had tears in her eyes and she was trembling, which further increased Orochimaru's mood as he laughed at Sakura.

"My name is Orochimaru and I only gave the two of them a nice little present. In time, both of them will seek me for power and I'll be waiting. Till we meet again, ku ku ku" While laughing, Orochimaru sunk below the tree, using a doton evasion technique, leaving poor little Sakura to help both her teammates.

Author Note

There! A small prologue. I don't recall much of the fight between Orochimaru and Sasuke, but that's irrelevant. Also, it wasn't my intention to fully copy Kishimoto's work regarding the fight description.

What is relevant is the cursed seal that was placed on both Naruto and Sasuke. So, Naruto is now branded with a different Cursed Seal, the same one that Kimimaro possesses. What will be the ramifications of this change?

Please tell me what you think and for those that didn't appreciate me adding another story, well I can't do anything about it. When an interesting idea presents itself, it's tough not to exploit it.

I trust that some of you will understand.

See you all next chapter.