AN: Hey guys, you are not dreaming or hallucinating, this is an actual brand new chapter of Rokushiki no Naruto! Which means I'm back in the game after such a long period of time.

Published: 12.08.2015

Last edited: 12.13.2015

Chapter 11 - Wolves Among Sheep

'Someone up there must really hate me. Why do I always get dragged into crazy situations like this? If only I were allowed to quit I would be out of here in a heartbeat. I'm not suicidal, dammit!', pondered a thirteen-year-old girl with shoulder-length crimson hair and matching pupil-less eyes, who stood amidst a crowd of over one hundred and fifty foreign shinobi, all waiting for the Chūnin Selection Exams to finally commence.

Naturally, having so many ninja from different villages gather in one spot was bound to create an atmosphere of tension and mistrust. Many looked as if they were itching to lash out at their hated enemies and the silence that reigned inside the hall was extremely unnerving. Nonetheless, Karin managed to hide her anxiety behind a strong façade, hoping no one would see through the tough act.

She wore an unbuttoned short-sleeved beige jacket along with a short black skirt over a sleeveless fishnet mesh suit as well as brown glasses, black sandals, and a Kusagakure forehead protector that adorned her brow, which was mostly obscured by strands of her red hair. Furthermore, the girl was flanked by her two male teammates and another Kusa unit was nearby, however, this did little to boost her confidence.

While her physical strength and stamina were quite impressive for a girl her age Karin was no outstanding kunoichi, far below average in fact, since no one bothered to seriously train her in the shinobi arts. Unfortunately, all she knew were the absolute basics of combat, the bare minimum to pass the academy, therefore Karin was well aware that she would be completely useless in battle against one those trained ruthless assassins. The only purpose the redhead served was to essentially be used by her fellow Kusa-nin as a walking med-pack should one of them get critically injured for her chakra possesses miraculous healing properties.

But resorting to that wasn't without risk since the procedure drains Karin's chakra at an alarming rate, consequently risking death due to chakra exhaustion if performed too often a day. Moreover, the process itself was very painful as well because in order to heal themselves these savages bite her and suck her chakra out like vampires, leaving the poor girl with a permanent bite mark. It was beyond her why she wasn't allowed to study Iryō Ninjutsu (Medical techniques) so she could simply transfer her chakra into a patient instead, despite having requested this numerous times.

Regardless, even taking that neat ability and luck into consideration Karin had determined that the odds were overwhelmingly stacked against them. The redhead possessed yet another very helpful skill, which she had kept a secret, a sensing ability she was born with that puts even the world's finest sensory ninja to shame, Kagura Shingan (Mind's Eye of the Kagura). It made her realize just how hopelessly outmatched they really were. The single Kumogakure team for instance was mountains above them, hell, three individuals in the room were easily jōnin level from what she could tell and they felt extremely dangerous. Merely focusing too long on one of these signatures was enough to make her skin crawl!

The first was an inconspicuous purple-clad young adult with ash-grey hair wearing a Konoha headband over his forehead and glasses like herself. She had to admit this guy was doing a truly remarkable job at blending in as well as concealing his true strength. Karin was sure that even the most experienced sensors would dismiss him as a high level genin, bordering low chūnin. His chakra felt malicious and repulsive to her, the total opposite of his charming demeanor. A prime example of how looks can be deceiving.

The second was an Iwa shinobi about the same age, maybe a year or two older she guessed, and a little taller, whose chakra appeared to be tainted by hatred as if he became utterly consumed by it and had nothing else to live for. It was detestable, saturated with malice. His shaggy hair was brown in color. He had piercing black eyes, sharp facial features, fair skin, and an athletic toned build. His outfit consisted of a leather harness which protected his entire torso, grey pants, brown boots, metal arm guards engraved with Iwagakure's village symbol as well as a scarlet forehead protector around his waist as a belt that held two pouches on his back. All in all, this man conveyed the image of a cold-blooded killer.

And last but not least the most dangerous person in the hall by far, a short redhead from Sunagakure, who looked like was suffering from a severe case of insomnia. His own potent and oppressive chakra was overshadowed by a significantly larger second source of ominous golden-yellow chakra deep within him that threatened to swallow her if she got too close.

Suddenly, the sound of the door opening caught everyone's attention and Karin saw three youths in her age group enter the room. The girl adjusted her glasses as she tried to get a better look at the intruders from a considerable distance and scanned them with her Kagura Shingan, causing her jaw to drop in amazement at the awe-inspiring chakra she sensed. 'I-Incredible, I never felt anything like this before... Who is this guy?'

The indigo-haired girl with freaky lavender-white eyes and the attractive raven-haired boy to her left were indeed a force to be reckoned with, however, even their combined strength paled in comparison to their azure-eyed comrades' might. His powerful chakra was intriguing, bright yet cold at the same time. In addition, the blonde's gargantuan reserves nearly match the total amount of golden-yellow chakra inside that scary Suna-nin!

Unfazed by all the hostile looks directed at them, Kakashi's proud disciples stood their ground and a fierce staring contest ensued. As a consequence, the already thick atmosphere in the room grew even more tense!

Being honest with herself, Hinata was certain that if her squad had followed their sensei's command and abandoned Tazuna on the way to Nami no Kuni the current situation would have unsettled her greatly, but after everything the young Hyūga heiress has been through during that assignment, the horrific sight of Gatō and his henchmen falling victim to Yami no Seigi (Dark Justice) along with Haku's suicide as well as his master's gruesome demise still fresh in her memory, brushing off those sinister expressions was nothing. The standoff between Naruto and this Gaara person earlier today was much worse. Besides, her teammates were counting on her and she won't let them down!

'Sasuke-kun, Naruto-niisan, there's no turning back now, this is the moment of truth. I won't be a burden this time around, that's a promise and I never go back on my word!', Hinata thought confidently, determined to prove herself to the boys, and intensified her glare, meeting even her cousin's cold gaze for a moment, who was a little taken aback on the inside upon seeing the incredible resolve in the girl's lavender-white orbs strengthen even further.

'That look in her eyes... not a single trace of doubt, hesitation, or unwillingness to fight. Could it be that you have grown a backbone, princess?', Neji mused before closing his eyes and activating his Byakugan, resulting in the veins around his temples to bulge, and reopened them immediately afterwards to reveal all his pent-up hatred for the main branch of his clan in one terrifying glance '...Then I'm going to break it and put you back in your place! People cannot change, Hinata-sama, no matter how hard they try. From the moment we are born our fate is set in stone. You are foolish to oppose your destiny. Fate has determined that you are worthless and I'm going to prove this to you. A failure will always remain a failure!'

By the end of his inner monologue Neji had balled his hands into fists and clenched his teeth in anger. The fuming boy was struggling heavily to keep his emotions in check. His father, the second-born twin, was ordered by the main house to take his accursed uncle's place as a sacrifice in order to trick Kumogakure without even being given the chance to bid his only son farewell, thrown away like a disposable commodity. Something so miniscule as the order of their birth had decided this outcome. It wasn't fair! As if that tragedy alone wasn't punishment enough already the seal carved into his forehead on Hinata's third birthday condemned him to a life of slavery, forcing him to serve the same bastards who murdered his father... A cruel fate he cannot escape.

Standing behind him to his left Tenten gave the trembling Hyūga prodigy a worried look and quickly put a hand on his shoulder in an effort to calm her livid comrade. Leaning in closer she whispered harshly "Neji! Snap out of it! Remember, you promised us not to let that grudge of yours get the better of you!"

The girl's words appeared to show effect. His posture gradually relaxed and he exhaled deeply, whereupon she let go of him. Neji then canceled his dōjutsu and pondered 'Right, I have to stay level-headed. The exams will start in about five minutes. Hurry up, Lee! What is taking you so damn long?!' His green-clad teammate may be blind to the truth, but he would never show up late to such an important event in a ninja's career, especially after their teacher had granted them a year of additional training. Not that the Hyūga genius needed that extra time anyway due to his superior bloodline and great mastery over the jūken, regarded as one of the deadliest hand-to-hand combat styles in the entire world. For once fate was in his favor, he will definitely come out on top.

Meanwhile, Naruto was checking out the competition with his Kenbun-shoku no Haki (Observation Haki) in an attempt to isolate any promising opponents among the group aside from Gaara, neglecting his ability to sense emotions entirely for the time being in order to extend his sensory reach as much as possible.

He chose to ignore the pathetic amount of collective murderous intent aimed at him, though, the young Rokushiki master was tempted to teach these impudent weaklings some respect for their insolence by launching a horizontal Rankyaku (Storm Leg) at the gawking mass of ninja, the look of utter surprise and terror on their faces would be priceless, but assaulting someone without permission would only get his squad expelled and impressing a bunch of cretins pretending to be warriors just wasn't worth ruining this perfect opportunity to test himself in battle. Not to mention Sakura was slowly making her way towards him alongside her teammates. He would never risk putting her in harm's way.

It didn't take him long to complete the task. Once finished, Naruto folded his arms over his chest, a content smile forming on his face that aggravated the glowering crowd even more. 'What a pleasant surprise. Those exams should prove to be most entertaining, indeed.', he chuckled internally. The Uzumaki now had two more foes which he looked forward to facing in combat.

Sasuke put his right hand over the hilt of his tantō and narrowed his eyes at a dark-skinned Kumo kunoichi. She was sending him a challenging smirk and provoked him by slowly reaching for the wakizashi strapped on her back. The swordsman within him hoped to get a chance to fight the redhead and wipe that smug grin off her face! His musings were cut short though when he noticed a small group advancing towards his squad from the right.

"You guys are taking this troublesome exam too, huh? How annoying.", Shikamaru exclaimed calmly with his hands stuffed lazily inside his pockets as he came to halt next to Hinata, thinking 'Here I was hoping they wouldn't arrive on time. This will make things a lot more difficult for us. Knowing Sasuke he has most likely improved considerably since our graduation and I can tell this is definitely not the Hinata we used to know. Also, Naruto is a dangerous wild card in this game.'

The members of Team Seven switched their attention to the future generation of the world-famous Ino-Shika-Chō Trio on their right. Chōji was eating chips continuously at a moderate pace and Ino appeared to be lost in her own little world, ogling Sasuke and Naruto, which earned her scornful glares from a majority of kunoichi in the hall.

Sasuke and Hinata acknowledged their former classmates with a brief nod of their heads. Naruto on the other hand only greeted the Yamanaka with a small smile "Hello, Ino-san. Nice to see you again.", deliberately ignoring the Nara and Akimichi heirs.

At that moment, before anyone could comment on Naruto's rude behaviour, Kiba decided to announce his presence and take the spotlight, having stepped out of the crowd together with Sakura and Shino. His loyal partner, Akamaru, was resting comfortably inside his coat. "Well, well, well, this is going to be interesting, all nine rookies assembled and ready to partake in the Chūnin Exams..."

Meeting Sasuke's indifferent gaze the Inuzuka continued "Don't think the title Rookie of the Year means anything here, Sasuke-kun. Much time has passed since our graduation. I'm going to kick your pompous ass, and advance to the rank of chūnin!", which caused a tick mark appear on Ino's forehead.

The Uchiha scoffed in response "Hn Barking dogs seldom bite, Inuzuka. I hope you can put your money where your mouth is."

Kiba grinned widely at that, showing off his pronounced canine teeth "Trust me, you have no idea how strong I have become. You won't stand a chance against me."

"Big words, for such a small fry.", Naruto sneered, gaining looks of mild surprise from the other rookies.

"What was that, loser?! You want me to rearrange your whiskered face?", Kiba immediately inquired, raising a fist threateningly towards the blonde, and Akamaru followed with a loud bark.

Sakura quickly stepped between them and lifted her gloved hands in a peaceful manner "Guys, please, stop it. We shouldn't fight among ourselves.", giving her impulsive teammate a pleading look that made him comply and back down. Naruto also decided to cease any further taunting upon feeling his adopted sister's concern. That imbecile will have a rude awakening sooner or later.

All of a sudden, an unknown male voice came from behind Asuma's unit, lecturing them all "You rookies really are a noisy bunch. This isn't a field trip. Take the situation more seriously and quiet down a little, jeez."

The genin in question turned to look at its source. Those who were paying close attention to their surroundings, namely the ever vigilant members of Team Seven as well as Sakura and Shino had detected the person's approach a while ago, hence they weren't surprised by his sudden appearance.

"Who the hell are you?! And what does that mean?", Ino asked the stranger, feeling a bit startled.

"My name is Kabuto Yakushi, young lady, just take a look around and you will know what I mean. You guys have made quite an impression..."

Doing so the Yamanaka's face turned pale at being confronted with the overwhelming pressure of more than a hundred ninja glaring daggers at her. She gulped nervously and felt cold sweat running down the back of her neck. Chōji wasn't faring any better, almost dropping the bag of chips in his left hand. Shikamaru and Kiba were on the edge and Akamaru whimpered in the latter's jacket. Only Kakashi's disciples along with the remainder of Squad Eight looked unaffected.

"See? You got on everyone's bad side. Certainly not a favorable position to be in, especially for newbies, but don't worry, since the lot of you rookies remind me so much of my former self I'm willing to help you out by sharing my knowledge with you. This is my seventh time taking the exams.", Kabuto said, giving the youngsters a reassuring smile.

At the last part he received many unbelieving glances and silence followed.

'Seriously?! Wow, this guy must suck worse than Naruto, if that's even possible.', Kiba thought in utter disbelief.

'Are those exams really that difficult, even for somebody with that much experience? Sigh What a drag, if that's true we will need all the assistance we can get...', Shikamaru contemplated, thankful for this chance to obtain some intel beforehand. 'Still, this seems a bit too convenient. We shouldn't trust him blindly. He could be trying to deceive us.'

Naruto eyed the nineteen-year-old genin warily 'Bullshit, I already dealt with typical chūnin material. Someone of his strength level cannot possibly have failed so many times. If my hunch is correct he should be able to hold his own against Yūgao, maybe even Kakashi-sensei on a good day. Besides, that smile is fake. This guy is shady as hell.'

Sasuke was the first to break the silence and asked suspiciously "What do you hope gain? I find it hard to believe that you want to help us simply out of the kindness of your heart. Why aid your possible future adversaries?"

'Excellent, Sasuke-kun, you have the mindset of a true ninja, unlike most shinobi in this pathetic village.', Kabuto silently praised and replied in a sincere tone "True, you have no reason to trust me, but I can wholeheartedly assure you, as your comrade and senpai, that I only have the best interest of you all in mind. The Chūnin Exams have a high death toll, no matter what village is hosting them. My information might raise your chance of survival, thus it would be wise to at least hear me out, regardless of my motives, wouldn't you agree?"

"Point taken, go on.", the Uchiha answered curtly.

Having everyone's attention again Kabuto pulled out a huge deck of cards from a pouch on his back. "These special Ninja Info Cards contain all information I collected over the past four years on the exams, including the results of my investigation for this one...", he paused, knelt down, laid the pile on the ground, and demonstrated how the cards work by channelling his chakra into a seemingly blank one. The others were observing Kabuto intently, having formed a semi-circle around him.

Poof

The previously empty card now displayed a map of the elemental continent, showing the total number of participants and what village they hail from.

'Hm 161 contenders? That equals the number of ninja currently present in this room. Kabuto-san must have monitored the door and updated his statistics accordingly each time a squad entered.', Hinata noted to herself. Even if Kabuto had somehow acquired a list of all officially registered genin, it was unlikely that he could have predicted the correct number considering the measures taken by the organizers to prevent the examinees from reaching this place.

"Be warned, this year's competition will be extremely tough. As you can see, Konoha, Suna, Kumo, and Iwa, four of the five most powerful ninja villages decided to partake this time, which is quite unusual, as well as five minor ones, Ame, Kusa, Taki, Getsu(Moon), and the recently founded Otogakure.", Kabuto summarized.

"Nice card trick, but do you actually have some useful information? Like personal data for instance.", Sasuke questioned.

Pushing up his glasses Kabuto responded "Of course, I have information on pretty much everyone here. Just tell me what you know about the people who interest you and I will look them up."

"Tell me what you know about Sabaku no Gaara (Gaara of the Desert)...", Sasuke began. He then slowly drew his sword and pointed it at the single Kumogakure team "... and those three over there."

Karui and Omoi tensed, ready to intervene and cut the cards into pieces at Samui's command, who shook her head in disapproval.

After taking a glimpse at the Kumo-nin Kabuto searched his deck and quickly found the desired information "Alright, here we go, first, Gaara of the Desert, aka the Terror of Suna, youngest child of the Yondaime Kazekage. He's listed in the latest edition of the Bingo Book with a bounty of 10 million ryō on his head. According to that entry he recently completed a B-rank mission single-handedly without a scratch. He's also notorious for leaving none of his enemies alive as well as killing even his own people mercilessly and indiscriminately..."

When he paused to let that sink in the mood within the entire hall changed drastically. Most ninja in the crowd now looked stunned at the news.

Even Shino, who, like all Aburame, possessed a great degree of control over his emotions, was caught off guard 'U-Unbelievable, I thought Sakura-san was exaggerating when she warned us about this person. I never imagined we could encounter such an immense threat in these exams, his bounty is twice as high as Kurenai-sensei's! A direct confrontation should be avoided at all cost.'

Sakura averted her gaze from Kabuto to her spiky-haired friend, a predatory grin was etched on his face, her emerald orbs reflected concern 'Naruto-kun, what on earth possessed you to pick a fight with such a remorseless killing machine? And now, after hearing this, you appear even more eager to fight him. Why is this so important to you?'

The pinkette's eyes rested on him for a while longer until Kabuto continued his speech.

"Regarding the unit from Kumo. Their names are Samui, Karui, and Omoi. They have an outstanding track record for a genin team, 22 D-rank, 56 C-rank and three B-rank missions. All of them are extraordinarily skilled in kenjutsu as well as the students of...", the spy gasped for dramatic effect "... Kumogakure's hero, Kirābī."

The mere mention of that name caused nearly everyone's eyes to widen in shock!

Sasuke's grip on his tantō tightened, he was still pointing it at the Kumo-nin. Droplets of sweat formed on his brow, his heartbeat quickened, and his lips curled upwards as he re-established eye-contact with an arrogantly smirking Karui. 'How fortunate! To think I would receive an opportunity to measure myself against the disciples of the World's Greatest Swordsman!', he thought in anticipation. Though, as much as that prospect excited him the Uchiha would never put his team in jeopardy just to seek a confrontation.

Chōji, along with Kiba and the remainder of Squad Ten, had no clue why this was such a big deal to everyone else and voiced his confusion "I don't get it. What's so special about this Kirābī-guy?"

...

Kabuto, along with the majority of ninja in the room, resisted the urge to smack his forehead at such ignorance. For some reason, Konoha's Ninja Academy nowadays neglects teaching their students essential knowledge about the world outside these walls.

Letting out a sigh he continued to play the role assigned to him by his master and answered the Akimichi's stupid question "Kirābī aka Killer Bee is one of the world's most renowned shinobi with a bounty of 180 million ryō, and the current Raikage's adopted brother. Both used to clash multiple times with our Yondaime Hokage during the war and actually fought him to a standstill. He's famous for his unique kenjutsu, Nanatōryū (Seven Sword Style), not even Mangetsu Hōzuki, who at some point had mastered all seven legendary blades, could match his skill in swordsmanship, as well as being the world's only Perfect Jinchūriki."

The few who didn't know anything about Killer Bee or those with just superficial information were now gaping in astonishment.

In addition, the unfamiliar term at the end piqued especially Gaara and Naruto's interest. Perfect Jinchūriki?! What was that supposed to mean? And how could someone known as a vessel of a demon be called a hero instead of monster by the people of his village? This man has also been entrusted with his own squad, whose members seem proud to be trained by him. From their own experience this didn't make any sense. What was different about Kumogakure? The two young jinchūriki felt deep down the strong need to meet this man. Was he here, in Konoha?

Being too engrossed in thought they almost missed what happened next. Wholly unexpectedly, someone threw a smoke bomb with amazing force through an open window into the hall. Very few genin inside noticed this though.

Poof

"Attention, you worthless maggots!", a deep and stern voice announced from within the cloud of smoke.

As the smoke slowly dispersed it revealed a tall imposing man with two long scars running across his face. The pressure of his intense gaze alone demanded respect and obedience. He stood in front of two dozen chūnin, including the two gate guards which Naruto humiliated earlier today.

The members of Team Seven immediately recognized this man from Kakashi's Bingo Book as Ibiki Morino, tokubetsu jōnin, and commander of Konoha's Torture and Interrogation Force, making him a crucial part of the village's intelligence, which was reflected in his bounty. This man's head was worth 48 million ryō!

Extending his right arm the man pointed his index finger towards the entrance "You, if you don't want to be disqualified get your ass in here, now!"

Lee, who had just creaked the door open, instantly gave a salute "Yes, sir!", and ran past the rookies in a green blur to join his comrades.

Naruto smiled, his sapphire blue orbs gleaming with excitement, at long last the Chūnin Exams are about to start!

Hiruzen Sarutobi, dressed in his formal attire, stood on the roof of the Hokage Tower with his hands resting behind his lower back, a fresh breeze blew through his grey hair. The wise leader was gazing upwards at the faces of his predecessors carved into the Hokage Monument with a thoughtful expression. He could feel it in his bones, the end of this relatively peaceful era is approaching, slowly but surely. Who can preserve the order and harmony after his death and lead the village through the troubled times to come? Whom can he entrust Konoha's future? Other than Itachi Uchiha he couldn't think of anyone else under his command worthy of the title Hokage, and the one Hiruzen had built his hopes on had declared that he crushed that goal.

The God of Shinobi released a disappointed sigh 'Naruto, I honestly believed that you inherited Hashirama-sensei's will along with your father's, but instead you chose to walk down a path of revenge, what a shame.'

For a long time Hiruzen lived in denial about the darkness growing inside Orochimaru's heart and leaving his prized student unmonitored was perhaps the greatest mistake he ever made, resulting in the death of hundreds, maybe thousands of people. The Sandaime was determined not to let history repeat itself and decided to keep a close eye on Naruto again.

One evening, after being unable to observe the boy via his special crystal ball due to unknown countermeasures, he ordered Jiraiya to investigate. A wise decision as it turned out because most shinobi would have been unable to sense let alone sneak through the spherical detection barrier Naruto had set up around his secret training ground in the woods, designed to alert him of any movement occurring inside, but not a spymaster of Jiraiya's caliber. Capturing a squirrel the Toad Sage used advanced Yin chakra manipulation to merge with its shadow and temporarily take control over the animal, allowing him to infiltrate the location successfully and witness the true genius of Minato and Kushina's son when it comes to ninjutsu first-hand.

Not only did Naruto master the Rasengan, but he was already working like a man possessed on taking this destructive technique to an even higher level, similar to how Kakashi developed his Chidori into the Raikiri (Lightning Blade).

Hiruzen closed his eyes as he mulled over how to deal with the troublesome blonde 'Naruto is undeniably the most talented shinobi of his generation with the potential of surpassing even his father, whether he uses the beast's chakra or not. As Hokage, I must act in the village's best interest and try to regain his loyalty. We can't afford to lose such an invaluable future asset or have him turn against us. The seal alone can't keep him in line forever. I know he's never going to forgive me and no longer views Konoha as his home, but I sincerely hope Naruto can still be reasoned with and accepts the concessions I'm willing to offer. Otherwise...', the Hokage reopened his eyes again, his expression turned dead-serious '... I will be forced to transfer him to ROOT and let Danzō handle this matter.'

'Hurry up, already! How much more of my time are you going to waste?!', Naruto thought angrily as he listened to Ibiki's long-winded speech about the purpose of this first exam to the few dimwits who couldn't figure that out by themselves, growing more impatient by the second. He was sitting in the front row with his arms crossed, scowling at the proctor.

All in all, completing this written test was a piece of cake for Squad Seven. The young Rokushiki master by himself was able to solve four out of the nine given problems, decoding a cryptogram, sketching a seal, describing the trajectory needed to hit an enemy with a shuriken from atop a seven meter tall tree as well as predicting the maximum throwing range based on a diagram, and lastly, a question about pressure points that only a seasoned medic or proficient martial artists could answer. The other five however pretty much required a master's degree in theoretical astrophysics to solve.

Hinata easily acquired the answers to those with her Byakugan from an undercover chūnin with sample solutions, and after mimicking her pencil movements with his Sharingan Sasuke had used the genjutsu he copied from the two gate guards in the hallway to project them on Naruto's desk. Afterwards, they had to wait agonizingly boring twenty minutes for Ibiki to reveal the final tenth question. Needless to say Kakashi's students weren't fazed by the man's feeble attempt to break their resolve.

The interrogator then proceeded to give his speech during which he also exposed some his hideous torture markings, well-deserved in Naruto's opinion. That pitiful excuse of a warrior got captured because he was weak, that's all there is to it.

"... You have made it through the entrance. The first stage of the Chūnin Selection Exams is over, I wish you luck.", Ibiki finished, smiling warmly at the genin.

Just as a sense of relief began to spread across the hall someone wrapped in a black cloth smashed through the window! Still in midair, the intruder tossed two kunai at the ceiling with the ends of the fabric attached to them in order to secure the banner that read 'Second Chūnin Exam proctor, Anko Mitarashi, is here!' before gracefully touching the ground and being rewarded with numerous dumbfounded expressions.

"There's no time to celebrate, boys and girls, I'm the examiner of the second test, Anko Mitarashi...", the purple-haired woman first introduced herself, raised a fist, and continued enthusiastically "Let's move on to the next stage, follow me!"

...

A bright smile appeared on Naruto's face, the excitement he felt about an hour ago returning full force 'Wow! What a stupendous entrance! I couldn't have done that better myself! Things will surely get a lot more interesting now, dattebayo!'

This new proctor was much more to his liking.

Orochimaru's former disciple led the remaining 36 squads to a remote area on the farthest outskirts of Konoha. Nearly everyone was staring in awe at the humongous trees of the Shi no Mori (Forest of Death) in front of them that dwarfed even impressive eight meter tall fence surrounding the woodland, giving off a strange sense of foreboding. Naruto on the other hand could barely hold in the anticipation he felt, a big grin adorning his face as he wondered what kind of great adventures were lying ahead of him.

The blonde's smile faltered abruptly though when his instinct alerted him that something was out of place. Looking around for anything suspicious he noticed that a red-haired Kusa-kunoichi appeared to be scared to death of the other Kusagakure unit, particularly by the man with long black hair wearing a straw hat and plain grey garbs along with black pants and a thick purple rope belt around his waist. She was shaking like a leaf, her crimson orbs wide with horror!

If there was one jutsu Naruto could boast to have attained a greater mastery over than his sensei it was the Henge, thus he saw through the professionally created solid illusion of the other two figures standing closely behind the black-haired man. They were using a Konbi Henge (Combination Transformation), a technique enabling two individuals to fuse into one being, meaning that this team was composed of five ninja, not three, a very sneaky move he had to admit. 'But not enough to fool me.', the boy mused with a proud smirk. Still, why was this girl so terrified of her own comrades all of a sudden?

Closing his eyes the Uzumaki tried to gain more intel with his Kenbun-shoku no Haki (Observation Haki), furrowing his brow in concentration.

A couple of seconds later his eyes shot open in surprise!

'What the hell was that?!', he thought in shock, a nervous bead of sweat was running down the side of his face and his heartbeat spiked.

Just a moment ago, when focusing on the long-haired man, Naruto briefly saw what appeared to be a giant white-scaled serpent composed of many smaller snakes with long spiky black hair and golden eyes surrounded by dark markings pop up in his mind's eye. This hideous monstrosity had sent him a malicious glare which made the hair on the back of his neck stand up in alarm! 'This aura... so twisted and rotten, never have I sensed an evil of this magnitude before, Gatō was a saint compared to this, it didn't feel human. What is that thing?'

Sasuke's firm grip on his shoulder interrupted the Uzumaki's train of thought.

"Hey, Naruto, what's the matter?", the Uchiha inquired in a low voice, having picked up on the blonde's apprehension. Hinata was also looking at him worriedly.

In response the blonde turned to face his friends and swiftly performed multiple hand signs in order to quietly inform them about Kusagakure's trickery while keeping the disturbing vision he had to himself as well as asking Hinata to verify his suspicion with her dōjutsu later on, whereupon they both nodded seriously.

Taking a quick glance at her watch Anko decided it was time to proceed "Alright everyone, listen up! As you probably have already guessed the second test will take place in the woods behind me...", she paused and pointed at the forest behind her with the thumb of her right hand. Afterwards, the purple-haired kunoichi reached into her coat, took out a scroll, and unfurled it for everyone to see.

Right on cue, Sasuke briefly flashed his Sharingan to help him engrave every single detail of the terrain's layout into his memory.

"... Each squad will receive either a Ten no Sho (Scroll of Heaven) or a Chi no Sho (Scroll of Earth) and enter the forest through one of the 44 gates at he same time. As you can see, the area is divided by a river with a tower in the center exactly ten kilometers away from your starting point. The goal is simple, bring both scrolls to the tower. How you acquire a pair is entirely up to you, but you only have 120 hours to accomplish this task..."

"Wait a moment, what are we supposed to eat?!", Chōji questioned out of the blue, getting many incredulous looks from his peers.

'Each time on the rare occasion that fat-ass opens his mouth to speak instead of stuffing food into it he proves to be an idiot!', Naruto thought in outrage. How can this moron call himself a warrior?!

Storing the map away Anko answered him without a shred of sympathy "You are on your own, use your survival skills and prove that you are a competent shinobi...", before addressing everyone again "...During that time frame no squad is allowed to leave the area! To ensure this chūnin teams are going to patrol the perimeter and expel anyone setting a foot outside. Moreover, it's strictly forbidden to open the scrolls until you arrive at the tower. I assure you, if you attempt that you will fail. In addition, your team must reach the tower together in order to advance. If a squad loses a member the entire unit is automatically disqualified. These are the rules. Make no mistake, this exam involves the possibility of death, some of you are definitely going to die. If you don't have the guts to put your life on the line quit now. Anyone here who wishes to quit, raise your hand, this is your one and only chance."

Not a single hand went up.

"Excellent...", she exclaimed gleefully and continued "Now that the formalities are out of the way wait till your unit's name is called and take a scroll from an instructor in that booth over there. Once every squad has received one a chūnin will escort your team to a gate and give you a signal when to enter the forest, good luck."

The genin teams then separated a little to give each other some space. Whenever a squad entered the cabin Hinata activated her kekkei genkai to find out what type of scroll was being handed over to them, the black curtain proving absolutely no obstacle for her x-ray vision, and passed that information on to her comrades. Maito Gai's team was utilizing this strategy too.

Once all scrolls were distributed a chūnin guided each unit to an entrance. As soon as they were given permission to enter Team Seven began searching for a suitable location to set up a hidden camp near the river, moving carefully to avoid detection and old traps while also making sure to cover their tracks. The Uchiha decided that having a safe haven to rest at night as well as stocking up their supplies had the highest priority for now.

Three blurs were hopping from branch to branch at immense speed, much faster than the average genin could possibly comprehend. Having decided they had travelled far enough the leading figure changed its course and landed in an open area, the other two blurs touching down shortly afterwards a couple of meters behind it.

Raising his left hand to grasp the edge of the straw hat he was wearing the figure announced "Enough with this charade.", and tossed it aside nonchalantly.

Poof

Whereupon a large cloud of smoke filled the scenery behind him, indicating that his subordinates have dispelled their transformation technique. The man then undid the powerful jutsu, which he had used to disguise his pale face ever since they annihilated an unsuspecting squad from Kusagakure and got rid of their remains afterwards, by swiping his hand across his visage before turning around to face his loyal servants with a wicked grin, revealing his true identity.

It was none other than Orochimaru of the Sannin himself, wielder of the fabled Kusanagi no Tsurugi (Grass-Mowing Sword) and former student of the The Professor, Hiruzen Sarutobi. The enormous bounty of 144 million ryō on his head made him one of the most wanted shinobi in the entire world!

The mad scientist now focused his gaze on the kneeling members of the Sound Four before him, a young team of five cursed-seal empowered ninja who served him faithfully as a special force unit and bodyguards. All of them had their heads lowered in respect.

"What is our next assignment, Orochimaru-sama?", asked Kidōmaru, the unit's tactician as well as commanding officer in Kimimaro's absence. He was a crafty dark-skinned teen with black hair and two extra pairs of arms attached to him.

"From here on we are going to split up. Jirōbō-kun, ...", upon being mentioned said Oto-nin lifted his head to meet his master's golden eyes "... you will come with me. The rest of you will head to the evacuation zone and wait for my arrival. I want you to remain unnoticed, which means no stops to play games along the way, do I make myself clear?"

"Understood", the three addressed members of the Sound Four chorused obediently, albeit a bit reluctantly.

Most displeased about the last part, however, was Tayuya, a girl with long, untamed, dark pink hair that was partially obscured by a black hat, who was glaring at Jirōbō from the corner of her eye. 'Not fair! Why the fuck does fat-ass get all the fun for himself?!', she pondered in anger and disappointment, but dared not to utter a single word of protest.

Her musings were interrupted by her master biting his right thumb and placing the same hand on the ground, causing the pinkette to glance forward.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique)!"

Poof

Once the ensuing smoke had settled a building-sized brown snake towered over them, carrying its summoner on top of its head.

Taking the hint, the youngsters stood up and bid each other farewell.

Sakon and his twin brother, Ukon, with whom he shared a body, were the first to leave, both departing with a simultaneous "Take care."

Followed by Kidōmaru, who gave him a small grin and a three-handed wave "Good hunting, pal."

Meeting the teen's orange eyes Tayuya spoke after a brief pause "Don't die, fatso." in a much softer tone than usual before going after the others.

Rare moments of camaraderie like these made Jirōbō's lips curl up into a smile as he recalled all the fond memories he shared with his teammates, many of those taking place in taverns or around the campfire when they celebrated successfully completed missions, laughing and drinking together, and the incredibly gifted Tayuya would often play a fitting tune with her flute 'Don't worry about me, I may be the weakest out of us but Orochimaru-sama has blessed me with the same power. I will return safe and sound, and we will create more memories together.'

Before he was taken prisoner at the age of twelve and forced to fight for his life in a battle royal, where the five of them emerged victorious, the orange-haired boy had no one that cared about him. He was on his own, a miserable orphan among many others roaming the slums, whose death from starvation or thirst would have gone completely unnoticed, only trying to survive a day longer in this cruel world. At least now some people would actually mourn his death, if only for a short while before they would move on with lives. Orochimaru has given him a place he could call home, incomparable strength, a position of great respect and influence, and most importantly, a family. For all that Jirōbō was eternally grateful to the man, despite being fully aware that he was nothing more than a pawn in his eyes.

Not wanting to test to test his master's patience he quickly joined him with a leap onto the snake's head.

'Kukukuku Let's see if there's a small grain of truth to the rumors about your prodigious students, Hatake-kun...', Orochimaru thought in excitement as his summon began to slither deeper into the woods, letting his tongue slip out of his mouth to lick his lips, an insane look forming in his eyes '... I can't wait to find out!'

Timeskip: 3 hours

In the late afternoon three figures wearing Otogakure forehead protectors were marching through the sinister forest, heading straight towards the spot where they hid their original Earth Scroll, looking battle-worn.

"I can't believe these bastards pushed us so far.", Zaku commented, reflecting on their coincidental encounter with a team from Amegakure not long ago.

The only female member of their squad next to him nodded in agreement "I will never underestimate ninja from this village again. That Senbon Shower attack almost killed me, but it was worth the trouble. We now have a Heaven Scroll in our possession."

Dosu, who was taking the lead, spun around and narrowed his lone eye at them. Enemies nearby could be investigating the noise of their recent skirmish, they weren't out of danger just yet!

"Be quiet! Your chatter might attract..."

Thud

Before he could even finish the sentence a kunai with a flaming explosive tag attached to it lodged itself into the ground between them!

'Ambush!', the Sound-nin realized collectively and scattered to dodge the impending explosion.

Boom

Kin had jumped with all her might and landed safely on a thick branch where she could provide ranged support from above, holding three senbon needles tightly between the fingers of her left hand. Suddenly, the girl detected a tall boy with bushy brown hair and sunglasses approaching her at great speed from the right, attempting to throw a punch at her face!

Narrowly avoiding the blow she plunged the sharp projectiles deep into her foe's stomach.

The kunoichi chuckled darkly "Nice try...", but her black orbs widened in surprise when instead of blood she unexpectedly felt many small things crawling up her left hand. Moreover, the boy started to dissolve into... countless tiny bugs!

It was a Mushi Bunshin (Insect Clone).

In no time the hungry swarm of kikaichū was upon her, feeding on the girl's chakra! All she could do was flail around wildly and scream, causing her to lose balance and fall down about ten meters.

Her shriek caught Zaku's attention. Turning his head towards the direction it originated from he saw her body hit the ground and be completely engulfed by a swarm of insects immediately afterwards, but paid it no mind. She was obviously down for the count, subsequently assisting Dosu had precedence, whom a guy with sunglasses kept at a safe distance, thus not allowing him to take advantage of his main weapon, the Melody Arm.

However, before he could move from his position to create an opening for his squad leader two identical-looking guys in fur-lined coats came rushing at him on all fours, attacking him from two opposite directions!

Crossing his forearms in front of him Zaku readied himself to counter their simultaneous assault.

Both assailants started to rotate in mid-air fast enough to appear as miniature tornados to the untrained eye.

"Gatsūga (Fang Passing Fang)!"

Having gathered enough chakra Zaku exclaimed "Take that, you scum, Zankūha (Decapitating Airwaves)!", and stretched his arms out, expelling a massive amount of air from the tubes implanted into them through the palms of his hands.

Upon contact the sheer power of these blasts was enough to cancel the duo's technique and dispel the Jūjin Bunshin (Beast Human Clone). Kiba yelled out in pain while Akamaru released a pained whimper as they were being hurled backwards a good distance, skidding across ground.

Seeing a golden opportunity to kill the Inuzuka Zaku aimed both of his palms at him, not considering the small wounded dog a possible threat. Grinning maliciously, he declared "You're finished."

'N-No, this is the end!', Kiba mused in fear, knowing he wouldn't be able to pick himself up in time to move out of the way.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, through the use of the Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique) Sakura appeared in front of her downed comrade in a white and pink flash, her hands already forming a snake seal to execute another jutsu.

"Zankūkyokuha (Extreme Decapitating Airwaves)!", shouted the Oto-nin, unleashing an enormous gust of wind comparable to the destructive force of a hurricane!

Slamming her palms onto the ground Sakura called out "Doton: Dojouheki (Earth Release: Rock Shelter)!"

A chakra-infused earth barrier rose up from the soil in the nick of time to shield them, taking the brunt of Zaku's ultimate technique head on.

The reinforced construct was extremely sturdy, capable of withstanding multiple explosive tags with only minor damage, hence often used to provide cover for the troops on the frontlines, but the violent winds reduced it to dust in merely five seconds!

After maintaining that onslaught for a few more seconds Zaku was panting heavily from exertion. Witnessing the path of destruction before him brought a satisfied smirk to the boy's face and he began to snicker 'Two down, one to go.'

Confident of victory, the Oto-nin failed to notice a crack opening on the ground's surface behind him.

Only a moment later Sakura came bursting out of it! Acting quickly she stabbed the unprepared boy in the neck with a syringe, injecting a strong sedative into his body that made him lose consciousness and collapse to the floor. By utilizing the Moguragakure no Jutsu (Hiding Like a Mole Technique) the pinkette was able to conceal herself along with her teammate under the ground using the earth barrier as cover and get behind their unsuspecting enemy to launch a surprise attack.

The Inuzuka crawled out of the hole next.

"Kiba, go check on Akamaru, I will help Shino fight the other guy.", Sakura ordered, whereupon he nodded and immediately ran over to the puppy's beaten form.

To locate the bug-user as well as the one enemy left Sakura enhanced her senses with chakra 'Up there!'

Glancing at the tree crowns the pinkette saw a banged up Shino getting overwhelmed surprisingly easy by the remaining Oto-nin and knocked off the branch they were fighting on.

Wasting no time, Sakura leaped upwards and caught her falling teammate in mid-air. Once she landed on her feet the girl looked down at the Aburame in her arms. He appeared disoriented, groaned, and was bleeding from his left ear. His sunglasses were gone as well.

"Careful... his gauntlet... s-sound.", Shino stammered, hoping she would understand. In the course of the battle he tried to place a female kikaichū on his adversary like his father taught him to do against stronger opponents, though, this proven strategy backfired against this particular foe.

Mulling his words over the smart girl caught on, and gently placed him on the floor "Don't worry, Shino-kun, I will handle things from here."

Jumping down Dosu tilted his head in a curious manner "Is that so? What makes you think you will do any better against me than that bug-freak, pinky?"

At the insult of her comrade Sakura's green orbs turned hard as steel. When they established eye-contact Dosu felt chills running down his spine, but he quickly composed himself, having full trust in the superiority of his trump card.

Pulling out a couple of shuriken in the blink of an eye the kunoichi lunged straight at him.

'A direct assault? Foolish girl.', Dosu thought as he casually deflected the projectiles she tossed at his head with his gauntlet, making them bounce off harmlessly. However, that defensive maneuver had blocked his view for a brief moment.

An instant later Sakura was close enough to aim a punch at his head 'How predictable, these idiots lost to such trash?', Dosu wondered in disbelief, evaded her fist, and countered with a punch of his own, which the girl parried with her left forearm, causing him to smirk wickedly behind his bandages as he was about to activate his Melody Arm in order to end this farce 'All too easy.'

Poof

The girl unexpectedly exploded in a puff of smoke. In her place was now a log covered in already burning explosive tags, a clear sign that they were about to detonate!

His lone eye widened in surprise 'Oh Shit!'

Boom

Unable to dodge the Oto-nin got engulfed by the blast. He was sent sailing through the air and crashing into a tree trunk. Lastly, his smouldering body dropped face first to the ground, unmoving.

During the small window of opportunity when his view was obstructed Sakura had swiftly performed the single hand sign she needed for a Kawarimi (Body Replacement). Furthermore, thanks to her remarkable chakra control the pinkette was able to arm the explosives remotely at the same time, something even an experienced chūnin would struggle to accomplish.

Leaving a nearby bush Sakura walked up to Dosu's body, checking for a pulse and finding none. He was dead.

'Damn it!', she thought in frustration while biting her bottom lip, a habit Sakura picked up from her sensei.

This wasn't her first kill and neither will it be the last one. Sakura was well aware of that fact. The kunoichi was no longer as naive as she had been during her academy days. Her team's struggle for survival in Takigakure had opened her eyes to the harsh reality of being a ninja when she was forced to take two lives in order to protect her dear friends as well as their client. It was a truly horrible experience that made her loathe unnecessary violence and senseless killing. That's why she had used a sedative to incapacitate Zaku instead of poisoning him since this was merely a competition for the rank of chūnin, not war, there was already enough bad blood between the shinobi villages, so much pointless bloodshed, however, in this case the girl saw no other way but to use lethal force. This dangerous foe needed to be dealt with quickly or else he would have shown them no mercy.

Searching the corpse Sakura found the earlier mentioned Heaven Scroll and stored it away. Luckily it was still intact, only minor damage on the cover, which meant they now had a complete set.

The kunoichi's sensitive ears picked up the sound of footsteps approaching her from the left.

"Sakura, you okay?", Kiba asked softly in genuine concern for his teammate, holding Akamaru protectively in his arms. He knew how much taking a life still burdened the kind girl.

Picking herself up she exhaled deeply and answered after a moment of silence "I will manage, Kiba-kun.", before turning to the left and petting the puppy's head "What about Akamaru?"

"Nothing too serious from what I can tell, he should make a quick recovery, but just to be sure you should take a look as well."

Nodding in agreement the pinkette held out her gloved hands over the dog's torso and closed her eyes in concentration. A couple of seconds passed without anything happening, beads of sweat were forming on her forehead. Finally, after a few more uneventful moments her hands were surrounded by an enchanting green glow upon which Sakura's frown lessened a bit and she opened her eyes again, ready to perform a basic diagnostic jutsu to assess the damage dealt to the Inuzuka's partner. At this point in time, the kunoichi was limited to only such rudimentary medical jutsu due to being far too inexperienced in that field. Besides, any attempt to heal an animal let alone a human without professional supervision would actually do more harm than good at her current stage.

Completing her examination Sakura agreed with the Inuzuka's assessment, smiling warmly in relief "You are correct. Some rest along with a good meal and Akamaru will be back to peak condition no time."

Afterwards both looked over to Shino's last known position to discover that the tall boy was already back on his feet and had replaced his glasses. He was communicating with a special breed of ladybug resting on his outstretched index finger, which had returned to report, via a secret Aburame technique, viewing what it had recorded in his mind's eye.

Once he finished examining the insect's transmission Shino appeared to be on high alert.

Snapping his head towards his teammates he urged "We must hurry to the tower. Why, you ask? Because there are far more dangerous enemies lurking in these woods than the ones we just fought and we have accomplished our task already. Besides, our combat strength is severely hampered, I won't be able to fight well for a while due to the after-effect of that sound weapon and Kiba-san's jutsu aren't nearly as effective without Akamaru since he relies heavily on collaboration techniques."

The other two members of Squad Eight agreed with that logic and gave serious nod of their heads in response. Also, whatever information caused the Aburame to become so alarmed meant they could run into serious trouble if they don't depart immediately.

"You are right, let's go.", Sakura exclaimed and they vanished together into the tree crowns in a blur. As they were moving towards their destination the pinkette couldn't help but worry about the other six rookies. After all, Gaara was still on the loose somewhere in this forest and who knows what else 'All of you... please be safe.'

Earlier

'Wha... What happened?!', Masato wondered to himself in sheer horror the moment he regained consciousness and laid eyes upon the carnage before him, staring disbelievingly at the remains of his fellow Konoha genin scattered across the clearing.

Numerous kunai and shuriken littered the battlefield and blood was splattered all over the place. Two of his comrades got cleaved in half, most likely by the enormous blood-stained shuriken embedded into a massive tree trunk, nine more were shot through the head with arrows or died from having their limbs or heads cut off, including his crush since childhood, whose severed head was turned towards him, her violet orbs wide with terror, lips parted in a silent scream. It must have been a one-sided massacre!

Initial shock and sorrow quickly transformed into pure unadulterated rage at the ones responsible for this slaughter, however, the sixteen-year-old genin found himself unable to scream or vent out his anger due to being gagged and firmly bound to a post by ropes. He was a young man of average height and build with messy black hair, tan skin, and brown eyes, dressed in Konoha's standard long-sleeved navy blue shinobi outfit without a vest, and his blue forehead protector was tied around his forehead.

The last thing the former Rookie of the Year and charismatic leader remembered was instructing his teamates as well as the three Konoha units they had allied themselves with when a sharp pain in the back of his neck made him pass out. From one moment to the next his life has turned into a hellish nightmare!

'Dammit! How could things turn out this way? I swear, I will kill the bastards responsible for this and if it's the last thing I...', Masato's vengeful thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a complaining voice.

"Katsuo-taichō, how much more time must we waste for this prick to wake up? The corpses are already starting to stink for crying out loud!"

It successfully captured his full attention and Masato turned his head to the left in order to glare venomously at its source, a fairly short effeminate teenage boy having slicked back blond hair and pupil-less green eyes sitting on a log, who was twirling a kunai nonchalantly around his right index finger to pass the time. His outfit consisted of the customary red uniform worn under a brown flak jacket by the ninja of Iwagakure which had only one sleeve on the left side and a lapel over the right leg. Moreover, the blonde had his headband tied over his forehead.

Leaning against a tree behind the boy was a much taller and far more intimidating figure dressed in a similar attire. It was a very muscular bald man with broad shoulders, tan skin, and obsidian eyes. He wore his forehead protector around his right arm and carried a mastercrafted bow along with a quiver filled to the brim with different kinds of arrows strapped to his back. The man's most noticeable trait, however, was the large bullseye tattoo etched onto his forehead. He had a displeased expression plastered over his face and his arms were folded across his chest.

"Stop whining, Daisuke...", answered the Iwa shinobi with shaggy brown hair and a scarlet forehead protector around his waist standing near the two chūnin "...We will wait for as long as I see fit, you should follow Takeshi's example, he's not complaining. Besides, a dead enemy always smells good."

Daisuke only grumbled in response. Being the son of a Jōnin Hanchō (Jōnin Commander) the blonde was not used to someone talking down to him, but considering his temporary captain outranked even his father for belonging to an organization that takes its orders directly from the Tsuchikage made him bite back any retort. No to mention he saw this guy in action, literally tearing apart so many foes with little effort and not a single scratch on him. That was a dangerous man not to be trifled with.

Their squad leader then averted his eyes from Daisuke to the post where they had bound their prisoner and he met Masato's hateful gaze, which caused a sadistic smile to spread across his face upon seeing the teen's anguish and rage boiling in those brown orbs "Our guest of honor is finally awake, I see, splendid."

Walking up to him the commander stopped right in front of the fuming genin and ripped off the tape covering his mouth in one swift motion, making him hiss in discomfort.

"Enjoying the view?", Katsuo asked innocently.

That taunt immediately showed the desired effect. Masato squirmed violently and started ranting "You will pay for that, you swine! Good luck digging up the entire forest, because no matter what you do to me, I won't reveal the location of our scrolls to you whoresons!"

By the end of his angry outburst the genin was trying to catch his breath. His huffing was the only sound in the silence that followed until it was broken by the Iwa-nin snickering, which grew steadily in volume.

"What's so funny?!"

When his laughter died down Katsuo spoke "The scrolls, really? Are you that naive? You honestly believe this is about the stupid exams?", seeing the confusion written over Masato's face he decided to enlighten him, scratching his chin "... Well, I suppose I can let you know before you breathe your last breath. You see, officially, we were sent here to exterminate as many of you Konoha genin as possible, if given the chance, or at the very least kill priority targets by accident. Think about it, it's not that complicated, what better opportunity to get rid of the inexperienced heirs to the prestigious Yamanaka, Akimichi, Nara, Aburame, Inuzuka, Hyūga, and even the Uchiha clan than those exams, ideally in one swell swoop, crippling your pathetic village for years, not to mention the world-wide humiliation! Killing more of you filth incidentally is just a bonus. I'm surprised the fake documents listing us as average genin even passed your village's inspection. Konoha's security has gotten so lax over the years it's comical!"

Masato was gaping towards the end of the man's explanation. Clenching his teeth in anger he growled "You cowards, has Iwa sunken this low?!"

The Iwa-nin let out a mocking chuckle in response "Low? Not really, it's called seizing the right opportunity to deal a painful blow to your enemy. Regarding the unofficial part of this mission. Well it's more of a personal matter I wish to settle..."

Daisuke and Takeshi both raised an eyebrow in curiosity at the last part, watching the exchange with interest.

Wholly unexpectedly, Katsuo's cheerful demeanor vanished entirely, his mouth formed a thin line and everything grew deadly quiet around them. Taking out a kunai from his pouch into his right hand he leaned closer to the genin's ear, whispering "I'm also here to avenge my father..."

And without warning he plunged the sharp knife into Masato's ribcage, making him cough up a glob of blood that trickled down his chin.

"He died defending the Kannabi Bridge in Kusagakure fourteen years ago, most likely another victim of your beloved Yellow Flash...", he started to twist the knife after mentioning the deceased Hokage's moniker, resulting in the helpless genin to howl in pain "Since then I have dedicated my life solely to revenge against Konohagakure and this assignment was the opportunity I have been waiting for this whole time! I mean, what better way to get back at Konoha than butchering its future generation that your precious Yondaime had sacrificed himself to protected!"

Yanking out the blade while taking a step back the Iwa-nin inquired joyfully "It's poetic, don't you agree?!"

"You insane motherfucker!", screamed his wounded victim.

Releasing an evil chuckle Katsuo continued "I won't allow even one of you tree-huggers to leave this forest alive, I'm gonna bury you all under its roots! As for you, my friend...", he paused in order to cut the ropes binding his prisoner before jumping backwards.

As a consequence the confused genin fell forward, but managed to break his fall and clutched his injured side.

Thud

The bloodied projectile landed directly in front of him and the Iwa-nin resumed his speech, entering a battle stance, unarmed at that "...So long as you draw breath I will have you entertain me! Come, avenge your fallen comrades!"

Fighting through the pain, Masato took the knife and straightened himself. Eyes shining with determination the teen released a battle cry as he summoned every ounce of his strength and dashed at his opponent with as much speed as his body could muster, moving at impressive mid chūnin level speed.

Katsuo was skillfully weaving in and out of the quick slashes aimed at him, literally dancing around them, and handily doded the occasional kick or elbow strike the adept raven-haired genin would deliver every now and then. He evidently wasn't a former Rookie of the Year for nothing. Still, to him, this was child's play. His foe might as well be moving in slow-motion.

As part of DIAMOND since early childhood, a fanatic guild of elite assassins under the Tsuchikage's direct command, Ōnoki's answer to Konoha's ROOT program, he was granted access to only the best taijutsu teachers and sparring partners. All of its members were specialists in all forms of armed and unarmed combat, having undergone relentless mental and physical conditioning, possessing knowledge of the human body on par with that of a Hunter-nin from Kirigakure.

What gave them the edge over most enemies, however, wasn't simply their training or fanaticism alone, more so it was that in conjunction with the special drug they had to consume monthly, a medicine far superior to a common soldier pill, boosting their strength, speed, reflexes, healing factor, and endurance to new levels as well as increasing their resistance to poison. The only downside to it was a reduced lifespan, dependence, and sterility, a price Katsuo was gladly willing to pay in exchange for power.

Growing bored of his adversary's pathetic attempts to kill him, Katsuo triggered the mechanism in his right arm guard that extended the retractable blade hidden within it. After deflecting a couple of attacks he swung his right arm at Masato's head, which the raven-haired genin barely managed to parry in time by raising his kunai to intercept the slash. Taking advantage of that opening, the Iwa shinobi landed a powerful uppercut to the genin's chin using his free hand. The raw force behind that punch was enough to fracture Masato's jaw, lift him off the the ground, and cause blood to spew out of his mouth. While his enemy was still in mid-air, Katsuo delivered a devastating kick to the genin's stomach, whose eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets! The impact knocked all the wind out of Masato and sent him flying backwards a good distance, making him also let go of the only weapon on his body in the process.

The assassin then walked up to his defenseless enemy, who groaned in pain, scowling down at him "How disappointing, I was hoping you would put up a better struggle...", raising his foot he stomped hard onto the stab wound he had inflicted with the kunai, causing his downed enemy to yell in sheer agony "...Now then, want to pick which limb I take first or shall I surprise you?"

Whoosh

Masato's cries died down abruptly and silence reigned over the clearing again. The genin was killed by an arrow shot through his throat.

Following its trajectory Katsuo fixed the culprit in a cold stare, asking "What is the meaning of this, Takeshi-san?"

"Yeah, what the hell, Takeshi, it was just getting good!", Daisuke threw in, clearly upset.

The tattooed chūnin just shrugged and retorted "All that screaming was beginning to hurt my ears, taichō."

The bald man was lying, it was actually a gesture of mercy. He simply couldn't bare watching this lunatic torture the teen anymore. Their objective was clear, but this sadistic psychopath was taking things too far. Furthermore, if it wouldn't ruin his shinobi career he would have smacked the little blond shithead for that comment.

"Trying to be clever, eh? I strongly advise you don't get in the way of my revenge again, after all, it's easy to get lost in this forest."

Takeshi glowered right back at him "Is that a threat?"

"No, that's a fact. Anyhow, back to the matter at hand, since you spoiled my fun it's time to track down the next targets.", Katsuo ordered and the tension lessened a little. Moreover, he couldn't shake off the feeling that someone had been watching them.

Little did he know that the small ladybug flying off into the distance recorded all that happened here.

And that's it for now. In case someone didn't catch all the hints I threw in Katsuo is the son of Kakkō, the guy Kakashi and Obito teamed up against to rescue Rin during Kakashi Gaiden. Until next time!

Reviews/PM's:

Naruto with a Doriki of 510 and all the training he did is "merely" around Sasuke's level when he first appeared in Shippūden? That's weak. Wrong, everyone who thinks along those lines should watch/read that part again (episode 52/chapter 307-309), just look at the feats. Sasuke was easily capable of blitzing Naruto and Sakura, granted Naruto was fatigued, but still. Only Sai and Yamato, two seasoned Root/ANBU, saw him move and both were really impressed by his speed. Together they could barely fend Sasuke off. Taking all that into consideration this Naruto is pretty damn powerful for his age.

Can Armament Haki punch through a jinchuriki's chakra shroud? Well, from what we know I think not. Though, Haki would prevent the user from getting burned. That's a huge advantage along with the extra power behind the punch.

What are the Doriki levels of Naruto's targets, Hiruzen, Jiraiya, and Tsunade? What about Orochimaru and the Akatsuki? What are their Doriki levels? A Doriki number essentially just measures someone's physical power, not shinobi skill, hence giving them one is kind of pointless to assess their combat prowess. Take Sasori or Konan as an example, their number would be quite low even though they are really strong.

The World Government tends to use books, not scrolls. If Kuma was going to be carrying a list of techniques for the Rokushiki, it would be a book. A very good point, thanks for pointing that out. I never thought of that before, minor mistake on my part. Unfortunately, it's a little too late to correct that.

Will Kurama still be able to boost Naruto's progress in Rokushiki now that the seal has been closed? Nope, Naruto will simply have to train harder than ever before to achieve the same results.

"Rokushiki no Naruto's" response to "Naruto Uzumaki": I sense your apology is genuine. I too am sorry for my harsh words, brother.