Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, but I do own my OC's, and other made up stuff... I think. This plagiarism stuff is annoying.

Orochimaru felt it before he even sensed it. A testament to how truly unexpected it was, how impossible such a thing even was for someone as skilled as himself to comprehend before it was too late. An explosion of power so potent that it more than likely acted as a beacon to half of the entire country. Before the Sannin could so much as identify the chakra, he had collided with it… or rather it had collided with him. This collision ended with Orochimaru coming off second best and being propelled several hundred metres at bone bending speeds through whatever parts of the forest happened to be in the way of his trajectory.

Pain was not a word that shinobi used often. Not with their job in mind at least. If given the time and the right guidance, any shinobi who developed their skills to a certain level transcended the concept of pain. By the time anyone reached a specific level of skill or renown, pain was already something they were intimately accustomed to. Whatever could be used against such an individual generally surpassed 'pain', delving into the realms of agony and suffering. Hence, normal pain was more of a formality for most adept shinobi and not something many bothered to pay attention to.

Orochimaru, the legendary Sannin, a world-renowned genius, and S-class missing-nin, had spent most of his life inflicting agony onto many others, along with himself, all for the goal of never feeling such weakness again. Yet as he lied motionlessly on the forest floor, every bone in his body having been reduced to nothing but splinters, Orochimaru experienced the true meaning of pain. The physical side of it anyway. He knew there were many who would argue that emotional pain was worse, but he was having a hard time believing it.

Making a failed attempt at grunting, the Sannin once again opened his mouth unusually wide and allowed a new, unharmed version of himself to emerge, albeit much slower this time. The healed Orochimaru crawled to the nearest tree and pulled himself to his feet, breathing heavily and twitching every now and again. Whilst his jutsu did heal the physical wounds, he still had to bear with the memory of the pain such injuries caused. All things considered, he felt entitled to a few moment of mental recuperation.

Unfortunately, said recuperation was cut terribly short. Orochimaru was immediately on edge, getting into a defensive stance and turning to face the absurdly strong chakra he was sensing. He was less than surprised when a blur of red chakra landed on the ground some distance away from him. The real surprise came when the resulting dust cloud cleared, to show a very pissed off Naruto Uzumaki shrouded in a perfect and clean-cut Bijuu cloak, a single tail of chakra swaying irritably behind him. The boys blood red eyes glared at him furiously as his lips peeled back into a sharp-toothed snarl.

The Sannin almost smirked in relief… almost. He would have, had he not been keenly aware that at least half of the chakra the boy was pumping out was actually his own, which was an inhuman amount for such a young age. It easily compared to the amount of chakra Izo possessed, someone who Orochimaru had personally altered to have the largest chakra reserves possible for his age. Then again, he figured it was pointless to expect anything 'normal' from an Uzumaki. The entire clan consisted of unnaturally exceptional shinobi. That knowledge still didn't ease Orochimaru's concerns though.

If the jinchuuriki was using this much chakra with such ease, then it stood to reason that he could go further. Orochimaru had already pushed the limits of his limitations when it came to concealing his chakra. If he were forced to fight a trained and angry jinchuuriki, then it was more than likely that his cover would be blown. Not a terribly inconvenient outcome, but definitely time consuming and annoying. It was just lucky that he had already concluded his intentions with Sasuke. This particular interruption would have completely ruined his plans had it occurred any earlier. He supposed he had Izo to thank for that.

"Where's Fū?" Naruto demanded, flexing his hands threateningly as his nails extended into claws.

Orochimaru actually did smirk this time. It appeared that the boy was only after the other jinchuuriki, which gave him an easy out of this predicament.

"Fū? Is that the name of that jinchuuriki girl?" the Sannin asked mockingly. Just because he had an easy out didn't mean he wasn't willing to play with the situation. After all, a raging jinchuuriki would help keep any attention off of him.

"Don't even try to play stupid!" the blond yelled. "Tell me where she is!"

"A little bit angry, aren't we? And here I thought a good jinchuuriki didn't let their emotions get the better of them. I guess you're a little slow with that learning curve"

Naruto growled. He knew that Orochimaru was just trying to rile him up, but in this state, he also knew that the snake had a high chance of success. Even being able to think clearly wasn't enough to counteract the effects of the Kyuubi's chakra. As he stood there, trying to calm himself down, he was getting closer and closer to exploding with rage. Still, Naruto was determined to at least find out if Fū was all right before he lost control. After that, well, he didn't really care too much what happened. Even if the Kyuubi took some form of minor control over his body, it wouldn't last, and it would be a good way to test the beast's intentions regarding potential cooperation between the two.

"Just tell me where she is!"

Orochimaru hummed thoughtfully. "I think not. Much more interesting to see you react once you find her. After all, such a task shouldn't be too difficult for someone like you"

Naruto's eye twitched as his perfectly clean Bijuu cloak began to bulge in several places until the entire thing became a bubbling mess, the single swaying tail splitting into two. The now much more powerful Bijuu cloak was quickly brought under control as Naruto's second chakra gate opened in retaliation to the Kyuubi's chakra, once again forcing the chakra cloak to take a cleaner and less agitated form.

The blond took a deep breath and smirked. "Thank you for reminding me of that"

The snake Sannin sneered before leaping up into the trees, the Bijuu enhanced jinchuuriki hot on his heels as he was forced to rapidly dodge the sudden onslaught that tore through the forest after him. Orochimaru was truly impressed. He was irritated and extremely pressed for chakra, but he was impressed. The Uzumaki boy was showing unbelievable skill in keeping up with him, even while he was holding back. The boy's speed and strength were astounding, and his ability to stay so level headed while under the effects of Bijuu chakra was amazing.

'This must be his inheritance. Such immense natural willpower and chakra potent enough to rival even a Bijuu. What a shame it is that the Uzumaki clan has dwindled down to nothing' Orochimaru thought to himself. It would have been truly worth his while to have collected many more samples of Uzumaki DNA while he could. Unfortunately, the clan was wiped out, and Kushina was more than capable of putting him six feet under had he attempted anything towards her. But now, with the woman's son being so accessible to him, as well as being a direct second-generation jinchuuriki, the opportunity was practically throwing itself at the Sannin.

Orochimaru grinned, twisting himself unnaturally to avoid the slashing motion of one of the two chakra-cloak tails, the chakra appendage extending itself to impressive lengths and tearing through several trees effortlessly. The Sannin continued to dodge and weave his way around every single one of Naruto's attacks, taking his time to observe the teen for any and all flaws in his methods, any opening to take advantage of. It took several seconds, along with a few uncomfortably close calls, but eventually Orochimaru did notice something.

'So, he becomes motionless for a brief moment when utilising his tails. A talented jinchuuriki he may be, but still only human' the Sannin thought to himself. In truth, he had to praise the boy on being so good at controlling the extra appendages with such little time to truly focus and control them. No doubt the actions were alien and abnormal for his mind to process. The fact that he was able to control them at all with such accuracy was enough to question whether the Kyuubi itself was in some sort of control over him. That train of thought, however, only worried Orochimaru. He did not need to be on the receiving end of a Bijuu's anger. Not today anyway.

"Not to be rude, but I really need to be going now. Your skills show me that you are worth keeping an eye on in the near future. Be a good boy and don't disappoint me like your brother did so long ago" the Sannin said.

Orochimaru swayed slightly to avoid a sudden kunai aimed at his head. In an explosion of red chakra, Naruto appeared gripping the kunai before slashing at the snake summoner with his clawed hand. The Sannin was quick to retaliate with a strong kick, sending the blond crashing into a tree as he clutched at his now wounded face. Orochimaru kept his hand over one half of his face as he stared at Naruto in shock.

Naruto smiled cockily and held up another kunai, making sure to display the sealing tag around its hilt. "What's the matter? Seen a ghost?" he asked, twirling the kunai around playfully.

"How? How could you possibly know that technique, let alone have mastered it to such a degree?" Orochimaru demanded angrily.

The jinchuuriki sneered. "Why can't anyone just accept that I learnt it? Everyone always jumps some stupid assumption when I show this off, and no one ever seems to think that I could have learnt it. Well guess what? I spent most of my entire training as a shinobi dedicated to learning this technique, and as my father's son, I feel I earned the right to it. Is that good enough for you?!"

Orochimaru narrowed his one visible eye. "I suppose I should have assumed that a child born from such prodigious shinobi would inherent some natural genius. Still, I never did expect you to crack the famed Hiraishin, a technique that even I couldn't manage. Truly, you are a wonder to behold, a true genius of your generation. And an annoyance oh so similar to the Yondaime" he hissed. "Although, you still have a long ways to go" he added, lowering his hand from his face to reveal the shredded skin handing off, only for another unharmed face to be staring at the blond from underneath.

Naruto grit his teeth in annoyance.

"You almost got me with that little trick," the Sannin said from behind him.

The blond spun around and ripped through Orochimaru with his tails, only for the snake to collapse into mud.

"But you're still too slow" Orochimaru mocked, delivering a precise punch to the back of the boys ribs, breaking several of them.

Within moments, Naruto found himself on the defensive as he was forced to deal with a small army of regenerating mud clones. Unfortunately, despite being slightly more powerful in the current situation, numbers were still the deciding factor. Several of the clones slipped passed his defence to deliver precise and bone breaking attacks. Clone after clone left its mark, until eventually Naruto snapped.

The Bijuu cloak once again bulged and bubbled as a third tail formed before Naruto's respective chakra gate opened, forcing the cloak into submission. The now three chakra tails lashed out violently in a spiral, brutally ripping apart each and every clone in their path. Naruto collapsed to his knees and took several deep breaths. He could feel the Kyuubi's chakra burning through his body, healing all of his injuries at a rapid pace. Sometimes he wondered if the extra pain was even worth the faster healing.

Orochimaru chuckled as he emerged from a nearby tree branch. "I have to say, I am very impressed, Naruto-Kun. You have far surpassed what even I thought a jinchuuriki of your age could manage. To think you have the strength to control three tails of the Kyuubi's power to such an extent. You truly are the son of the Yondaime, no doubt about it," he said appraisingly. "However, it saddens me to say that I cannot allow someone of your potential to simply go against me. You will have to be dealt with. Unfortunately, I do not think there is any chance of manipulating you accurately, so it seems more drastic measures are required"

Naruto leaped back as his tails whipped around and attempted to hit the Sannin. Taking this opportunity, the blond began weaving through several hand seals, focusing his chakra for the jutsu to come. Orochimaru was able to effortlessly slither his way around every single one of the tails as he charged straight for Naruto, his own hand seals being chained together as he went. Naruto finally finished his seals and immediately forced his gathered chakra to condense into a sphere between his hands. Orochimaru chose that moment to finally reach the blond. Grabbing the boy's wrists, he wretched his hands apart, causing the chakra sphere to explode violently, sending both flying, and shaking a large area of forest.

Naruto groaned in pain as he stumbled to his feet. He could barely feel anything anymore. The Bijuu's chakra had burnt its way through his entire body in an attempt to heal him and had left him more or less numb at this point. Despite this, Naruto couldn't help but feel lightheaded, foggy even. He couldn't possibly be exhausted just yet, no way, so it had to be something else. Along with the fogginess, he could also sense his anger becoming more pronounced, more directed even, not that it needed help on that aspect. That left only one real possibility for what was happening.

'Kyuubi! What do you think you're trying to do?'

'Helping, of course' the fox replied calmly. 'You need only surrender your body to me for a few minutes and I shall deal with this pest. It will be easy'

'No! Absolutely not! I need to find Fū, and you destroying the forest won't help me do that!'

'I could find the girl'

Naruto paused. 'Explain'

The Kyuubi smirked. 'The girl is a jinchuuriki. We Bijuu are surprisingly adept at finding each other. While usually not as simple when we are sealed away, the Nanabi's presence has recently become unusually strong in the past few hours,' it explained. 'Finding the girl at this point should be easy enough'

'And why didn't you think to tell me about that earlier?! We could have completely avoided Orochimaru entirely and gone straight after Fū!' Naruto exclaimed.

'And pass up such an opportunity? As if I would allow that' the Bijuu spat. 'You, boy, are far too untrusting of me. Granted, it's one of the smarter decision you've ever made, but still a hindrance to my desires. Neither of us will get anywhere without working together, and you are too stubborn to give in to such a fact until it is far too late'

'Because you haven't given me any reason to trust you any more than I already do! Even now, you're trying to take control of my body. How am I supposed to trust that?'

The Kyuubi went silent. The boy had made a good point, surprisingly. 'Very well then' the fox growled. 'Have it your way. But should we die due to your stupidity, be assured that I will torment you for eternity in the afterlife'

Naruto grunted as he felt the fogginess in his mind fade away. Regaining his composure, he looked around curiously for any sign of Orochimaru. He couldn't see anything, and the forest was eerily quiet. After several seconds of uneasy stillness, something finally moved. A giant snake charged at the blond, only to be torn apart by his tails. Naruto didn't get time to react after that as he felt something collide with his stomach. He looked down to see Orochimaru's hand digging into where his seal was, each of the Sannin's fingers burning with purple fire. The snake summoner continued with his attack, lifting the boy off his feet and slamming him into the nearest tree trunk.

The Bijuu cloaked lost all stability and collapsed around the blond. Naruto could feel his chakra gates closing themselves, as well as the connection to the Kyuubi being almost completely cut off. His strength was all but disappearing and what chakra he had left was being unusually unresponsive. He let out a breath of relief as Orochimaru pulled his hand back from his seal, only to gasp as the Sannin drove his hand back into his stomach with enough force to skewer him with his arm. Naruto coughed up a mouthful of blood, clutching at Orochimaru's now blood covered arm.

The Sannin smirked. "Sorry, Naruto-Kun. But I can't have someone like you running around and ruining my plans"

Pulling his arm out of the blond's midsection, Orochimaru delivered a jab to his throat, crushing his windpipe before kneeing him in the ribs and re-breaking all of them on one side. With his smirk still in place, Orochimaru went to finish the teen off, pulling a kunai out of his pouch and moving to stab it into Naruto's heart. The kunai made contact, with the satisfying squelch following suit as the blade sliced into the boy. Naruto's body went limp as Orochimaru carelessly threw it off of the tree. Digging into his pouch, he pulled out a small glass vial. Dangling his blood covered hand above the opening, he let some of Naruto's blood flow into the container before sealing it shut and storing it back in his pouch.

"A real shame to waste such a specimen. Who knows, Naruto-Kun, perhaps you'll still be of some use to me yet" Orochimaru said to himself. "I guess I'll just have to use that girl as the distraction now. Hopefully she won't be quite so difficult to hand-UGH!" Orochimaru was cut off and sent crashing into another tree by a powerful punch. Hissing in pain, he glared back at where a still alive Naruto was casually pulling a kunai from his chest.

"You know, the boy almost let himself die because of you," the blond said offhandedly. "Far too prideful for his own good if you ask me. A shame that I respect him so much for it. Reminds me of me in a way. Not that I would ever tell him that. Still, you almost killed him, and me too in the process" his blood red eyes focused dangerously on the Sannin. "That is something I cannot allow to slide"

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes on the boy. 'Split personality?' he thought curiously. 'No, it can't be. That isn't enough to allow him to simply walk off such wounds. Anyone should be dead after what he just went through, even a jinchuuriki. But that only leaves one other possibility'

"The Kyuubi, I assume," he said in interest.

The Bijuu sneered. "I wouldn't exactly go that far" he spat. "In this form, I am more of a shadow. An echo of my true power controlling this idiotic boy's body"

"Not very confident are we? Rather peculiar considering you just shrugged off fatal injuries"

"Yes, well, that is never too hard to accomplish. Simple chakra-to-matter conversion and some patience. And I wouldn't say I shrugged them off. I'm simply borrowing this body, so the nerves aren't actually attached to me. Still, the brat is going to feel all of it and more once he wakes up again. Especially after I'm done dealing with you"

Orochimaru chuckled softly. "And how do you propose you will accomplish that? If you hadn't already noticed, the boy's chakra is next to useless. My five elements seal will make even the most basic of chakra control worthless to him," he boasted.

The Kyuubi grinned wickedly. "Exactly" he said, gaining Orochimaru's immediate attention. "It makes it all the easier for me to do this"

Naruto's body was instantly engulfed in flaming red chakra, the massive cloak bubbling out of him in excess. The teens skin was splitting with each new pulse of chakra that spewed out of him before it began burning and peeling off completely. Within seconds, the form of Naruto was gone, replaced instead with the hunched over form of an almost demonic creature, five long tails of pure chakra thrashing around behind it. Any traces of human were all but gone, engulfed by the demon that continued to stare at Orochimaru with a wicked grin on its inhuman face.

"This is the part where you run away," it growled in amusement.

"I'll be damned!" Ōnoki exclaimed. "Just what kind of kid is this brat, Hiruzen?"

"Lord Tsuchikage, perhaps now is not the best time to make such statements," Mei said softly. "However, it is obvious that Naruto is in some kind of distress. I haven't felt this much Bijuu chakra being focussed in one place since Yagura went all out in the war"

Hiruzen frowned. "Yes, the situation has most definitely gotten out of hand now. No doubt my old student has done something… rash," he said.

"That's the understatement of the century" Ōnoki muttered. "Now how about we finally get off our old asses and do something about this mess"

The old man froze suddenly as Mei appeared next to him, smiling at him all too sweetly. "Did you just call me old, Ōnoki-San?" she asked softly.

Ōnoki spluttered and backed away from the woman. "Of course not. I was referring to me and Hiruzen. A beautiful woman such as yourself is not as expendable as us old fools," he said quickly, trying futilely to save his own hide.

Mei's smile stretched a little wider as her head tilted ever so slightly. "Are you saying I shouldn't be allowed to fight alongside men?" she asked, her sweet tone a little more strained.

"Hiruzen, for the love of Kami, help me out here"

Hiruzen sighed. "Mei, stop pestering Ōnoki," he said sternly. "I need you to go and meet up with Anko as quickly as possible and work together as a search and rescue team. You are to find Izo and ensure his safe transport to the tower. This is not to be seen or noticed by any of the genin participating in the exam. I want to keep this from completely falling apart if possible"

The Mizukage nodded. "Very well then, it shall be done. But might I ask what you intend to do with Naruto? In his current state, I doubt there is much chance in reasoning with him"

"I'll do what I must. Hopefully I won't have to take any drastic measures," he said. "But you should focus more on Izo for now. I'd truly hate to have to deal with Anko should that boy die. Besides, it might be best for an all-female squad to track Izo. As stupid as it sounds, the boy has a soft spot for women and would more likely to cooperate no matter what mental state he is in"

Ōnoki snorted in amusement. "Everything I learn about this kid makes me even keener to stick my granddaughter with him. Sounds a bit like me when I was younger. Should offer a good amount of entertainment before I die"

Mei deadpanned. "That is a terrible idea. You should know better than to force the youth into marriage. And to do so to your own granddaughter"

"Oh pipe down. It's either that or she get locked up for the rest of her life" Ōnoki grumbled. "Despite her actions, I have no intention of watching a family member rot away in a dark cell. If marrying a crazy kid like the Uzumaki is all it takes to make her politically untouchable, then she will damn well do it"

"Are you seriously arguing over a political marriage when there's a potential jinchuuriki rampage about to happen?" a female voice asked disappointedly.

Hiruzen let a sigh of relief. "Kana, thank Kami. Do you know what going on?" he asked.

Kana nodded. "Orochimaru's being an asshole again and now Naruto's lost it. Izo's is probably half-dead somewhere in the forest, most likely still trying to kill someone or something. And I assume that we're all going to go in there and disable the situation before we lose everything. Did I miss anything?"

Mei shrugged. "Not really. That sums it all up rather nicely. Although I am most curious as to where you have been. Shouldn't you be here cheering on your sons?"

"I have other obligations to take care of and those two don't need me doting on them any more than necessary," Kana said. "Besides, someone needs to keep an eye on the problems outside the village while you lot maintain the chaos here. Not that it looks like you're doing a good job of it"

"Well, if you think you can do it any better, then by all means, go right ahead girly" Ōnoki said. "Just remember not to disrupt the exam, don't kill any of the genin, stop a rampaging jinchuuriki, possibly fight off Orochimaru, and save a couple of lives while you're at it. If you manage it, I'll gladly name you my successor"

Kana stared blankly at the short man from behind her ANBU mask. Had her identity as Mikoto not been killed off, she would gladly accept the challenge. Unfortunately, she was stuck with being Kana for the moment, which meant she could only do the next best thing.

"While I wouldn't mind taking control of your village when you die, I'd rather not have to deal with politics any more than I already have to. However, I might advise you to not make such bold statements often. You never know who might actually accomplish the task" she replied calmly.

"Could we please focus here?" Hiruzen drawled.

"Calm down, Hiruzen" Ōnoki said flippantly. "Nothing really bad has happened…"

The Tsuchikage was interrupted as a powerful shockwave exploded out of the forest. A bright blinding light lit up the sky for a moment before disappearing as the sound of trees being torn to shreds echoed throughout what was left of training ground forty-four.

"..yet" Ōnoki finished half-heartedly.

"Lord Hokage, perhaps we are a little too late to this party" Mei said unsurely. "If that was what I think it was, then Naruto might be truly beyond any reasoning. Entering the forest is probably not the best idea right now, especially if the Kyuubi is in control"

Hiruzen frowned. 'Once again I am too late to action' he thought, chastising himself for his own stupidity. 'I'm returning to the same foolish mindset that allowed Naruto to be ostracised by this village'

"Kana. Deal with this problem as quickly and efficiently as possible" he said sternly. "Use any means you deam necessary, just contain the situation"

Mikoto smiled behind her mask and bowed. "Right away, lord Hokage" she said, vanishing in a Shunshin.

"Mei, as Mizukage you have the right to refuse my request, but I must still ask you to join Anko in the search for Izo" the Hokage said.

Mei laughed. "No need to fret. I always intended to search for Izo. He is still carrying one of my village's prized possession after all. Now where do I find Anko?" she asked.

"She's already in there," Hiruzen stated.

"Well then, I'd better get going. Do me a favour boys and don't do anything too foolish while I'm gone," Mei said sweetly before leaping off into the forest.

Ōnoki's twitched. "And what exactly do you intend to have us do? Stand here like idiots and twiddle our thumbs?"

"We will be doing what we should have done as soon as we learned that Orochimaru was in the exam," Hiruzen said sternly. With a snap of his fingers, the two Kage were immediately surrounded by a group of ANBU. "We will be ending the exam"

"Hold on a second. You aren't allowed to do that. The chunin exams are not to be interrupted under any circumstances without the full agreement of each Kage that has shinobi within the exam" Ōnoki said.

Hiruzen stared at the short man questioningly. "Are you saying that you don't think it would be wise to interrupt the exam?"

Ōnoki put his hands up. "That's not what I'm saying at all. But we have shinobi from Suna here, and the Kazekage has yet to arrive. Without his agreement, any interfering could lead to some serious problems. Not exactly something we want to deal with when it comes to the chunin exams. It's one of the few things still holding the major villages back from fighting each other openly, and it also keeps the smaller villages from overstepping their boundaries" he explained.

The Tsuchikage let out a deep sigh as he noticed that the Sarutobi was staring blankly at him. "You're going to do it anyway, aren't you?"

"It's the right thing to do"

"It's the stupid thing to do, that's for sure" Ōnoki grumbled. "But I'll be damned if I let you do it alone. No way am I going to let that mist girl do more than me"

"Could you at least try to sound as if you are doing this out of honour and kindness towards Konoha, instead of merely trying to outdo a newly instated Kage?" Danzō said irritably as he walked up to the two Kage.

"Ah, Danzō. I was hoping you would show up" Hiruzen said in relief. "I trust you already understand the situation?"

Danzō nodded stiffly. "Not exactly something we weren't prepared for. Still, this is a rather unfortunate turn of events. Who knew the jinchuuriki would lose control like this"

Ōnoki deadpanned. "Didn't look much into the jinchuuriki of the past did you?" he drawled.

"Naruto is our top priority. Disable him by any means necessary and relocate him to the tower at the centre of the forest. Danzō, have a team of ANBU head their ahead of time to establish a secure room to keep Naruto until we can confirm his stability. Izo is a secondary priority. If you find him before Anko and Mei, keep your distance and discern his mental state. Take him to the tower if at all possible. If not, just leave him be. He'll fix himself up quick enough" the Hokage said.

"And what of Orochimaru?" Danzō inquired.

"If he survived that, I think he deserves the escape," Ōnoki said.

"Orochimaru is not of concern as of this moment. Send in ANBU to secure any and all genin you can find. This stage of the exam is over. Relocate all of them to the tower for processing. I want to make sure that none of Orochimaru's loyal pets get a chance to mess with the exam," Hiruzen said.

A second tremor rocked the forest. Unlike the first, there was more of an impact-based shockwave opposed to one caused through a simple energy surge, and there was also a notable lack of a blinding flash that had accompanied the first. Hiruzen, while not completely sure, would gamble a guess that the first had been some sort of low powered Bijuu-bomb, a technique he had seen the ramifications of. The second felt more akin to a fire jutsu, and a powerful one at that.

For Naruto to be in a position that resulted in him using such tactics, or the potential possession by the Kyuubi, it was the kind of thought that made Hiruzen truly worry.

'Please be okay, Naruto'

Izo hissed in pain as he sat up against a tree. Being conscious was difficult enough, let alone trying to actually move in his condition. What wisdom he had, dictated that he stay put for a while to at least give himself a chance to heal something. Not that it was likely to help. Half his body was broken and his entire chakra network was pretty much at the point of shredding itself apart if he tried to use a jutsu. At the rate he could heal himself, while focusing solely on the healing alone, he would need a good four days before he was even capable of fighting at a decent level.

"Your injuries are bad," Satetsu said, observing his summoner keenly.

The Uzumaki managed to hold back a likely agonising chuckle. Leave it to the dragon to make obvious statements. "Don't worry. None are fatal… for me anyway. It got close though. If I had of hit the ground from that height, I'd probably be looking at a hospital bed for a few weeks. I guess I have to thank you for that one"

Satetsu didn't respond as he went about observing the surroundings. "There is a jinchuuriki using an incredible amount of Bijuu chakra. It is almost impossible to tell that it is even a jinchuuriki. This amount of chakra should have killed any human by now"

"Shit. That means Naruto probably found Orochimaru. And the fact that I can't even sense it just goes to show how badly that fucker fucked me up. And now I'm even calling him a fucker. I have to have some time away from Anko and Tayuya, I swear. Those two are corrupting me," Izo mumbled.

"Your sibling is fighting an enemy that nearly killed you. Should you not be more concerned?" the dragon asked curiously.

"Naruto will be fine. Orochimaru has used up too much of his chakra to do anything substantial, and even if he does lose, the brat can regenerate from almost anything. Besides, if he can kick my ass in an all-out fight, then there is no reason why he can't live through one with an S-rank shinobi," Izo said confidently.

A massive shockwave shook the trees and knocked Izo back onto the ground.

"However… I'm not exactly known for being right about most things," he muttered into the ground.

Satetsu shook his head in disappointment. "You shame me as a summoner"

"Hey, if you have an issue, take it up with the butterflies"

"I shall pretend I didn't hear that" the summons mumbled. "So, would you like me to stick around for a while? Perhaps it would be beneficial for you to utilise my chakra in your healing opposed to your own"

Izo would have shaken his head if he could. "I'll be fine. With everything that's happening, I'm pretty sure Anko is already tracking me down for a major ass kicking. I think I'd rather lay here and pretend to be actually dead for when she finds me, and you sticking around would ruin the scene"

"Your humour sickens me. None the less, I shall respect your wish. Do try not to succumb to your injuries in my leave. Adequate summoners are rare to find" with that said, Satetsu gracefully faded from existence.

"You fucking asshole. You could have at least sat me back up before you left," Izo grumbled. "Don't worry though; I'm sure that half dead blind kid will be fine. I'm just completely defenceless and stuck in possibly the most dangerous forest in the elemental nations. And now I'm even talking to myself. Oh how the tables have turned!"

"Um, Izo?"

"Dude, you look like a corpse"

Izo felt a small part of him shrivel up and kill itself. "How the fuck did you two, of all people, find me? And why aren't you helping me sit back up?"

Tayuya kicked him. "How about you show some fucking gratitude, you prick. We could have easily just let you die here alone. But we chose to track you down and help you out of the goodness of our hearts"

"You ran into Naruto, didn't you?"

The redhead paled ever so slightly. "Shut up. We're here to help you, and that's all that matters"

"Did you complete your other task first?"

"Uh, no. Your brother kinda forced us into this before we could go off and kill the Oto team," Kidōmaru explained. "Kid has some scary killing intent, I'll give him that"

Izo sighed. "Sit me up against the tree"

Tayuya, being the closest, roughly pulled Izo back into a sitting position against the tree. The Uzumaki gave no indication of feeling pain during the movement but Tayuya could tell just by touching him that he was in a world of agony. With his chakra network as messed up as it was, she couldn't even inject chakra into him for a Genjutsu. Not to say that she could before, it was just actually impossible now. The pain he was experiencing would stop almost any Genjutsu in its tracks. That alone was enough to impress her. The fact that he was able to act as if nothing was wrong put him up a few places in her list of crazy people she knew.

"Thank you. Now, since you're here, I might as well make use of you. Kidōmaru, I think it would be wise if we just set up camp for the night. Go collect some stuff and kill something for food if you get a chance"

"Hey! Why the hell does he get to go hunting? What if I want to go kill something?" Tayuya exclaimed.

"Because, Tayuya, Kidōmaru is the one of you I can actually spare right now. You, on the other hand, I need to stay with me for a more delicate job," Izo explained.

Kidōmaru snickered. "Should I time myself for this job? Maybe twenty minutes at minimum?" he asked in amusement, a sly grin on his face.

Tayuya blushed brightly. "You aren't fucking serious… are you?" she asked, her voice betraying her nervousness.

"Kidōmaru now would be a good time to remove yourself from the area," Izo said, his tone remaining dull, not hinting at anything.

The six-armed teen chuckled as he leapt off to his duties. Tayuya almost wanted run off after him, no matter what repercussions it entailed. Calming herself, she figured that she and Kidōmaru had simply misunderstood Izo's words. There was no way that he was keeping her behind to do anything of a sexual nature, not in his current condition anyway.

"Okay, Tayuya, I need you to do me a favour and not freak out"

The redhead rolled her eyes. As if she was going to freak out. "Whatever"

"Alright, now take off your shirt"

"…"

"Tayuya?"

"…"

"I can hear you breathing"

Whack!

"Son of a bitch!" Izo yelled.

"Are you fucking retarded?!" Tayuya screamed angrily. "You're half dead and you choose now of all times to take advantage of me!"

Izo growled. "Get over yourself! If I wanted one final fuck before I died, I would find a way to summon Anko here. And it's not like I'm asking you to strip completely. Keep your breast bindings on if you want, but just take your shirt off. I need to get to that seal on your stomach"

Tayuya paused. "The seal? You mean the one that made me practically orgasm for three days straight. Yeah fucking right! As if I'm going to let you touch that again!"

"If you would just shut up for a second, I could explain myself," Izo said.

"Fine then. Go ahead and explain. But if I don't like your answer, I'm going to string you up and leave you for dead while you're all useless and defenceless" she said.

"That seal just so happens to contain a generous amount of my chakra in it. If you're curious as to why, then I guess I should let you know that I was fully prepared to ramp up your sensitivity to a point where you really did become a mindless sex slave. Could have used you as an effective spy or infiltrator for the people I couldn't simply torture," Izo said offhandedly, either ignoring or being unaware of Tayuya's disgusted and horrified expression. "Since my chakra reserves have dwindled down to nothing, I am going to need to take that chakra back"

Tayuya gulped. "Keeping what you just said in mind, how can I even trust that you won't just turn the seal back on once you've taken the chakra you need?" she asked. She had made a point to avoid ever suffering such humiliation again.

Izo went silent. "This could be a problem"

"What?"

"Well, I'm sort of, you know, fucked up right now. I can't actually take the chakra from you. You need to give it to me," he explained.

Tayuya narrowed her eyes. "And how exactly am I supposed to do that?"

"First you have to take off your shirt. Then… you have to activate the seal"

"Fuck no!"

"We have time, you idiot. There's no need to turn it up too much unless you have an issue with sitting around without a shirt for long periods of time. Have it set low enough that it doesn't bother you. After that though, you are going to need to have actual physical contact with me. The more skin contact the better, but your hands should be enough. I can handle the rest from there," Izo explained calmly. "Although, if you are really that opposed to it, then I guess we can choose not to worry about it. I'll be relatively healed in like a week anyway, so there is no real reason for it other than speeding up my recovery"

"Do I get anything if I do it?" Tayuya asked.

"Hmm, I suppose I could do you a favour. Nothing outlandish of course, but I'll do my best to make it worth it. Feel free to take your time on choosing what you want though"

Tayuya remained silent as she contemplated her options. On the one hand, she could simply avoid helping Izo altogether. It would most likely result in three days of guard duty, but it would ensure she didn't have to have anything more to do with being embarrassed or humiliated in front of Izo. However, the prospect of getting a favour of some kind from Izo made the idea tempting. She could potentially ask for anything, so long as it didn't involve her freedom or something that would put Izo in a difficult situation, assumingly. There was of course the issue of her not knowing what she wanted since she was no better than a slave now and nothing would really fix that, but Izo said she could take her time with that. Overall, the outcome could potentially be worth the embarrassment. It was just a matter of gambling on it.

With an annoyed groan, Tayuya went about removing her shirt and ANBU armour. Taking Izo's suggestion, she left her breast binding on before staring questioningly at the teen. "What do I do now?"

"Okay, this part is really important, so listen carefully. You need to inject some chakra into the seal, but it need to be absolutely precise. If you put even a drop more than necessary, then you'll most likely end up… well, you'll be in the same position as you were in when I was breaking you"

The girl shuddered at the memory. "How much am I supposed to use?"

"It varies based on your mood. I'd suggest you start with the smallest amount of chakra you can control, then just work it up until you feel the seal activate, which should be very obvious. After that, you'll need to just put your hands on my chest and push a little bit of chakra into me"

"You realise that your chakra network is fucked, right? I'm not even sure I can push chakra into you"

"It'll be fine. A little painful, but fine"

It took a few moments for Tayuya to activate the seal to a point where she wasn't a drooling mess and start pushing chakra into Izo. As it turned out, Izo's body was naturally absorbing the chakra as she fed it into him, making the process much easier. Tayuya could even feel the chakra from the seal being drawn out specifically. It was actually kinda cool. But there was just one thing she didn't understand.

"So, uh, why did I have to take my shirt off for this?" she asked curiously.

Izo smirked. "I needed something nice to look at while this went on. While you might not be the most well-endowed girl I know, I can't deny that you have a nice figure"

Tayuya blushed, embarrassed from being so easily tricked into complying with such a ludicrous request, and a little from the praise. "I'm going to kill you for this once we're finished, you know that right?" she droned.

"Yeah, but it'll be worth it. Besides, I'm the only one who can turn that seal off, so I'm pretty sure you won't actually kill me. Unless you actually want to spend the rest of your life a mere caress away from euphoria all the time," Izo said with a cocky grin.

"… I hate you. I hope Anko kills you when she see you next"

Izo exhaled heavily. "Don't worry… she will"

The Kyuubi was rather, for a lack of better words, annoyed. The boy's human body was flimsy and strange. Far less conditioned for truly destructive techniques as his own was. But it was to be expected in a way. There was no way for one so young to properly utilise the Bijuu's full power in all its glory. It just wasn't feasible. Yet despite this, the fox was able to channel five whole tails of chakra through the boy's body without too much direct harm to Naruto's chakra network. Quite impressive to say the least.

The usefulness of his jinchuuriki's body aside, the Kyuubi was even more frustrated by the opponent he had been facing. More accurately, he was frustrated with the creature's ability to dodge or escape nearly every attack the beast threw at it. The fox wasn't fooled. While the creature took a human form, it was most definitely not human anymore. Even its chakra was more reminiscent of a twisted and vile abomination. The snake summons that it continued to bring in for support or meat shields also weren't helping the Kyuubi's mood.

Despite this, the Kyuubi was slightly satisfied. It had thrown a miniature Bijuu bomb at the Sannin and was now standing rather calmly amidst the burning embers of what had once been a sizeable chunk of the forest, courtesy of an overpowered fire jutsu. The destruction was quite relaxing, and while he knew he hadn't killed the snake, he had most definitely harmed him in some way. It had been some time now since Orochimaru had shown himself, so the fox assumed that he had forced him into a retreat. No doubt his jinchuuriki would disapprove of his methods though, which made his next step all the more vital to his plans.

Still in possession of Naruto's body, the Kyuubi allowed it's chakra to recede back into the seal, the monstrous chakra cloaked form fading back to that of a relatively normal Naruto with only three tails swaying behind him. Using the tails, he slowly propped the air, sensing for any chakra that he could identify as being from Chōmei. Instead, the first thing it sensed made the fox angrier than anything else could at the time.

"So, Shukaku was given an unstable vessel" he muttered thoughtfully, making a note to block out the crazy tanuki's blood lust at some point.

Scanning the forest and most of the village while he was at it, the Kyuubi eventually pinpointed the location of the Nanabi's jinchuuriki. She wasn't too far away, but the chakra signal he was picking up didn't exactly feel normal, even by jinchuuriki standards. He decided to take it cautiously, if only to ensure that Naruto didn't blame him for the girl's death or whatever crippling injury that she may obtain if it truly was a trap.

Taking off towards where the girl was, the Kyuubi was not unaware of the reappearance of the snake he had been trying to kill. Orochimaru watched as the cloak enshrouded jinchuuriki left the scene of destruction. His breath was haggard and he couldn't help but wince every so often at the pain flashing through his body. The amount of flesh that last jutsu had managed to scorch was surprising, even with his miraculous escape. The Bijuu bomb was also unexpected, although thankfully underpowered. The Sannin knew enough about the Bijuu to know that the true technique would have obliterated him and over half the forest.

Orochimaru was now painfully aware of just how much of a disadvantage he was at now. With Izo still most likely alive, the Kyuubi jinchuuriki being this powerful, and with the possibility of the Nanabi jinchuuriki being a part of the equation, it was all becoming pear shaped. There was no doubt that he had already been discovered to a certain extent. His old sensei was foolish at times, but never blind or stupid enough to overlook a threat that had caused such destruction.

'The Uzumaki is becoming a far more prominent problem than I had anticipated. I'm sure that my sensei has had a hand in that as well' he thought to himself. 'Too many things have already gone wrong. It would be unwise to attempt anything in my condition. Kabuto should be more than capable of handling the rest of this exam stage. If not… then I suppose he will have finally run out his usefulness'

Orochimaru smirked. He would admit defeat this time. But, with so many new specimens showing such promise, it only seemed logical that he take the time to plan ahead for the most optimal outcome. The possibilities were nearly endless, and all he needed was for Sasuke to play into his hands like a good little puppet.

He winced again, his remaining strength fading rapidly. 'I've put too much strain on this body already. I'll have to find a new host soon, too soon even. It seems that my plans for Sasuke-Kun will have to wait a while. But no matter…'

He continued to stare in the direction that Naruto had run off in, a greedy and excited gleam in his eyes.

"… as they say.. all good things to those who wait"

Izo maintained his impressive poker face. A six-month torture and interrogation resistance course had all but made him immune to things like intimidation. That being said, he was having a really difficult time keeping his cool in the current situation.

"Anko, Mei, I swear I can explain"

Anko narrowed her eyes dangerously at the sight of a shirtless Tayuya kneeling in front of Izo with her hands on his chest. The whole scene seemed, to put it bluntly, too good to be true. Normally, had Izo not been involved, Anko would have killed both of them. Luckily for Izo, she knew that he was prone to getting into strange situations that always looked worse than they actually were.

"Go on then" Anko said casually, crossing her arms and looking at him with curiosity.

"Okay, I got my ass kicked by Orochimaru, Tayuya found me half dead, and now I'm making her give me back some of the chakra I had stored in a seal I put on her when I captured her" he explained hurriedly.

"And why, might I ask, is the girl without her shirt?" Mei asked.

Izo smirked. "Well, I needed something nice to look at while I waited to heal a little"

Tayuya went red with a combination of anger and humiliation. She had really not expected to be found in this compromising position, nor had she expected Izo to maintain the same lame excuse when explaining it all to his girlfriend. It was almost as if he was trying to get them skinned alive by Anko.

"Go fuck yourself!" Tayuya yelled angrily, pulling her hands back from Izo and cutting off the chakra connection. "Heal your own stupid ass!"

Before she could stand up and stomp away, Tayuya was grabbed by the hair and forced to stay on her knees. "Tayuya, right? Do me a favour and keep healing my stupid boyfriend so I can kick his ass once you're done. Do it fast enough and I might even let you off for calling me a crazy bitch earlier"

Tayuya paled. "You heard that?"

Anko scoffed. "We have a majority of this forest under surveillance. Your little comment was just a coincidental catch. Although I am pleased that I was the one who heard it. Now, if you don't mind, please get back to, err, whatever it is you were doing"

"Can I at least put my shirt back on?" the girl asked.

"Hmm, tempting, very tempting. Sorry, but I'm gunna have to say no" Anko said flippantly. "Now stop wasting time. The sooner we can get Izo moving again, the sooner we can all get out of this forest and move on to the next stage of the exam"

Tayuya was quick to comply, opting not to possibly piss the woman off any more than she already had. Anko, however, wasn't paying much attention to the redhead. Her ire was directly focussed on Izo, her eyes burning a hole into the teens head.

Izo sighed. "Yes, Anko, I know. It was a stupid thing to do. I'm still not sorry though"

Anko calmly bashed him over the head with her fist. "You don't even get the right to be sorry, even if you don't intend to be. This is a mutual relationship, you ass. That means you can't be this selfish without expecting me to get angry. When the very man that made both our lives a living hell makes himself available for us to attack, you do not go and keep the moment to yourself! You should have summoned me so we could both try to kill him together"

"Wow. You two are fucking perfect for each other. Both too crazy for your own good" Tayuya muttered.

"Compliments will get you nowhere, Tayuya," Anko said, earning a disturbed expression from the girl.

"I'm not dragging you into danger Anko. You run into it enough on your own" Izo said. "Now, if you would just wait a few minutes, I'm sure my gift to you will be arriving soon enough"

That was enough to peak Anko's interest. "Gift? What kind of gift?" she asked sceptically. "If it's like the last time where you replaced my wardrobe with skin tight jumpsuits, then I think I'll pass on it. They're sexy now with the adjustments I made, but I'm not sure I want to have to put so much effort into something stupid again"

"Just wait a little bit. My summons will be here soon… I hope" Izo said unsurely. "There is the chance that they dispelled themselves when I got fucked over earlier. Guess we will just have to find out. But if they aren't around, then I'm going to be stuck with one fucked up scavenger hunt"

Mei took this time to make her presence known. The mildest of killing intent flowed from the woman as she smiled sweetly in Izo's direction. "Izo, where is Kyōkimeiryō?" she asked.

Izo gulped. "It's… on its way" he answered nervously.

"You lost it?"

"No… I dropped it. Losing it implies that I don't know where I dropped it"

"So you dropped a legendary blade of my village that my predecessor gifted to you?"

"Could you perhaps not twist my words around to make it sound so bad?"

"You carelessly left a priceless weapon of untold destructive potential in a forest full of half trained children?"

"Anko, please help me out of this one"

"Nah, I'm enjoying this," Anko said offhandedly, her attention being more focussed on Tayuya, much to the girl's annoyance.

"Why must I only ever find myself stuck with the violent portion of women? Can't I just once have a girl be completely kind to me without having some ulterior motive?" Izo whined. "Even Fū tried to kill me when we first met, and that girl is as innocent as they come"

"Can you stop fucking complaining! It's hard enough to concentrate with your crazy fucking girlfriend eyeing me like a new toy; I don't need you bitching about not getting your dick sucked without paying for it!" Tayuya yelled.

"…"

"…"

"… Is that all?" Izo asked curiously.

Tayuya snarled and looked down to avoid the boys blindfolded gaze. "Is that all, what?"

"Is that all you needed to get off your chest?" he asked. "If there's more, then you may as well do away with it now"

"Just shut up so I can get this over with. The sooner I can get away from you the better"

Anko chuckled. "Do you really think you'll be better off that way?" she asked ominously. "After all, the only thing stopping me from getting you for that 'crazy girlfriend' comment is Izo. If I were you, I'd stick with him for as long as you can. Or maybe not. The longer you stay out of my grasp, the longer I have to plan out exactly what I'm gunna do with you"

Tayuya found herself stuck between a rock and a hard place, or in this case, a sadistic psychopath and a blind perverted fuck. She honestly wasn't sure which of the two she wanted to deal with. Anko would be similar to Orochimaru in a way so it would be a familiar torture and perhaps easier to cope with. She didn't know what Izo would do, but past incidences dictated that she would be better off not finding out.

"I think I'll just go with you," she told Anko with a blank expression.

Anko gawked at the girl slightly before glaring disappointedly at Izo. "What the fuck did you do to this girl to make her think I was the better option?" she asked.

"If you're asking if I did anything sexual, then no. But I did put a seal on her that made her sit on the brink of orgasm for three days until she pledged obedience to me, so there's that. Otherwise, I haven't actually done much too her" Izo replied casually.

Whatever Anko's response may have been was left unsaid as Kidōmaru returned to the area, small stacks of wood under each of his arms and the suspiciously calculating glares of both Mei and Anko focussed especially on him. Had the situation not included Izo, Kidōmaru would actually consider himself lucky to have stumbled onto a group of women, even if Tayuya barely classified as one in his books.

"Did I miss something?"

"Fireworks, some food, a little Sake, and a lot of bitching" Izo listed off. "But I wouldn't worry about it. I'm sure you can still have some fun with what's left over here"

Anko glared at Izo. "You keep your mouth shut. If and when I feel that you have the right to speak again, I will let you"-she rounded on Kidōmaru-"As for you, drop the wood kid, we aren't going to be staying here. Old man Hokage has ordered us to pull you guys out of the forest. This entire section of the exam has been cancelled as far as we are concerned," she explained.

"Wait, cancelled?! What about the other genin in here?" Izo asked.

"Not our problem. We were told to get you out, no one else is of our concern," Anko said sternly.

Izo snarled. "And what about Naruto?"

Anko point in the direction that the most chaos had been emanating from. "He's burning down half my forest. I don't think he is any real trouble right now. Even if he was, we can't get close to him. That would have been your job had you not gotten your ass handed to you by a god damn senior citizen!"

"I am not leaving this shit hole of a training ground without Naruto!" Izo yelled; what chakra he had reclaimed from Tayuya flaring angrily as he seemingly glared at Anko.

"The Hokage is dealing with Naruto," Anko said with finality. "You are not in any position to do anything other than what you are told to do"

"We are wasting time with this arguing" Mei stated. "Disable him. We can bother with details after we have assured his safety"

Izo recoiled at that. "What?! Fuck no! You are not knocking me out!"

Anko rolled her eyes. "Tayuya, do us a favour and deal with that part of the problem"

The redhead didn't hesitate before pulling her hands off of Izo's chest, gripping his head tightly, and slamming it back into the tree he was leaning up against.

"Argh! What the fuck!"

Whack!

She did it again.

"Stop it!"

Whack!

Izo sputtered out something half-intelligible as his grip on consciousness became foggy. "Bitch"

Whack!

…everything went black.

The Kyuubi was, for a lack of better words, dumbfounded.

"Chōmei?" he asked disbelievingly. "Like… really?"

The body of Fū glared at the Bijuu possessed body of Naruto. "For the third time, yes. Now stop gawking. You look like a fool trying to pull expressions in a human body"

It was needless to say that the Nanabi was annoyed. It was one thing for its jinchuuriki to have been captured, another for both of their minds to seemingly switch places and both be trapped in uncomfortable and awkward situations, but it was an entirely different story when the whole situation involved being saved by the Kyuubi of all things. Thankfully, the fox had already removed the sealing tags that bound Fū's body and chakra.

The fox shook his head. "What happened? Why are you possessing the girl's body? How are you doing it?" he demanded impatiently.

Chōmei crossed her arms. "If I knew, I wouldn't still be here," she growled. "This is not what I would call a beneficial situation for me. My container is trapped within the seal and I am stuck in the body of a pubescent female. The bodily urges that are present with such a form are extremely irritating"

"Oh, so that is what I have been feeling. Strange indeed. Mine seem to be easily redirected. Try killing something," the fox said.

"I will not lower myself to such a level in your presence" Chōmei spat. "Besides, Fū would never forgive me should I give her form a bad reputation"

"Yes, and my jinchuuriki will be completely understanding once I relinquish control back, only for him to find that his desired mate has been possessed by her own Bijuu," the Kyuubi grumbled sarcastically. "No doubt I will be forced to suffer another bout of his complaining"

"Don't you dare try to make your predicament sound any more insufferable than mine!" Chōmei exclaimed.

He grunted in annoyance. "What exactly can I do here?" he asked rhetorically. "Nothing. So stop whining and start moving. I promised the boy that I would find the girl and get her somewhere safe. Even though the methods of gaining control were less than honourable, I will not be accused of not keeping my word. You can be the one to explain your own condition to him"

"You're going to just leave me to the boy's mercy?" the Nanabi asked accusingly, her eyes narrowing on her fellow Bijuu.

The fox shrugged. "I wouldn't put it in such a sinister tone, but yes, that is my intention. Besides, he is more merciful than is healthy for one in his profession. It is almost infuriating," he groaned. "What I wouldn't give for him to just listen to me again"

Chōmei laughed. "If I didn't know any better, I would say you were developing a soft spot, Kurama"

Kurama snarled at her. "Don't dare to assume anything about me, Chōmei. The boy's survival is tantamount to my own. There is no secondary motive to my actions"

"Sure there isn't," she said. "Anyway, now would be a good time to return to your seal. The boy will only get more irritated the longer you hold control. I believe I can explain things to him well enough"

Kurama growled. He didn't argue with his fellow Bijuu and allowed his conscience to slip back into the seal. Naruto's eyes returned to their natural blue colour as a look of confusion made its way onto his face. As his vision focussed, his eyes immediately zoned in on the image of Fū standing in front of him, eliciting an expression of relief from him.

"Fū…"

Naruto's eyes glazed over and rolled into the back of his head as he collapsed limply to the ground. It seemed the strain of the day had finally decided to catch up to him. Unfortunately, that also left Chōmei stuck with a sack of meat that she couldn't use as a shield. She hadn't exactly thought about what to do in such a situation, having assumed that Naruto would simply take over the metaphorical reigns. So in other terms, Chōmei was now left with absolutely no idea of what to do, and no real way of protecting herself or Naruto due to a lack of experience with a human form.

She was lucky to be as useful as the average child was at this point, which the Nanabi guessed was a fitting thing considering Fū's age. Still, it wasn't all that useful, and with Naruto now rendered all but useless, the Bijuu had very little in regards to methods of survival. With that in mind, she decided that finding a place to rest would be the best option right now. Walking over to the blond, she picked him up with ease, marvelling slightly at the strength that her containers body possessed. Hefting Naruto onto her shoulder, the Bijuu began running through the forest, searching for a place to hide out, or better yet, someone to help.

Anko let out a deep sigh as she sauntered through the halls of the tower. She and Mei had managed to get Izo and the other two to safety rather swiftly after knocking the idiot out. Not that it was a smart move. Izo would definitely raise a shitstorm once he woke up, and there was very little doubt that it was going to be enough to rival the incident in the forest itself.

From the reports gathered by the ROOT agents sent in, it had been estimated that just over an eighth of the forest was mostly destroyed. There was no estimate yet as to how many genin were lost in the chaos, but it wasn't as if such things were against the rules. Technically speaking, the destruction was the result of a genin's technique, despite that genin being Naruto, who was still listed as an S-rank shinobi in the bingo books.

Many genin had been brought to the tower already, the forces of ROOT working to collect them all and bring them in for processing. The Hokage had ordered a complete suspension of the exams progress until he was certain that Orochimaru, or any of his subordinates, were still hidden amongst the examinees. The Tsuchikage was aiding the processing as well, albeit in a less than caring way. Turned out that threatening people with complete disintegration was a very effective method of getting the truth out of them.

Anko herself was stuck with keeping an eye on Izo, who as of now was labelled a potential threat to, well, everyone apparently. The only reason she wasn't in the prison/hospital room with him right now was because she had been collecting some food. That alone was almost enough to make her angrier at her situation, with the discovery that the tower had run out of its dango supply. There had been some yelling, some snivelling, a little crying, and of course a lot of denial. In the end though, the snake summoner succumbed to the facts of reality and left with the regular boring food that was being served to everyone.

Making her way back to the room where Izo was being held, which was isolated from any other room of importance, she entered and was met with the sight of a rightfully nervous looking Tayuya. The redhead had been left in charge of Izo in her stead, despite having argued against it quite enthusiastically. Kidōmaru would have been around to assist, but he was stuck with Mei. Apparently, the Mizukage took great offense to a boy possessing six arms and yet not having the knowledge to give a proper massage. Anko fully expected the kid to wind up a broken mess by the end of the day.

"Are you still worrying yourself?" she asked disappointedly.

Tayuya sneered. "Shut up! You aren't the one who knocked out the dude that will most likely skin me alive once he wakes up!"

Anko snorted. "Get a grip girl. Izo is going to have bigger things to worry about than you knocking him out. My foot up his ass should be his one and only concern after the stunts he's pulled. Little bastard owes me big time for not knocking him out myself"

Dropping the food on a nearby table, Anko sat herself down and glanced over to the unconscious Izo. He still hadn't moved, or shown signs of waking up, which was apparently odd considering he was usually able to heal from things much faster than most people were. There was, however, the odd addition of two swords laying on his bed that caught Anko's interest.

"Where'd the swords come from?" she asked curiously, leering at the blades scrutinisingly.

"A dingo came into the room… somehow," Tayuya answered. "It just kind walked over and put the swords on the bed before dispelling. I think Izo summoned it early on in the exam"

Anko furrowed her brow. "I can't be the only person who's annoyed by the fact that I've never heard of a dingo before meeting Izo"

"I thought that he made it up, but then he summoned one and, well, yeah… it was weird. The puppies are cute though," the redhead said.

Anko nodded in agreement before turning her attention back to the swords. One of them was definitely Izo's sword, which meant she was not going to be touching it any time soon. The other one though, seemed slightly familiar, and not for a good reasons. The answer was on the tip of her tongue, but she just couldn't place it.

"Do you know where that other sword came from? Izo only had the one when he went into the forest," Anko asked, looking curiously towards Tayuya.

The girl gave Anko a stupid look. "That's Orochimaru's sword. Izo made him drop it during their fight. Why he had it brought back to him, I have no fucking idea, and I don't want to know. The moron can mess with that thing when I'm not around"

"Do you regularly refer to Izo like that?"

"What? With the name-calling? Yeah, mostly. Dickhead doesn't have the right to think he has my respect. Then, if he ever does earn my respect, he'll know without me having to do something dumb or derogatory to myself"

Anko smirked. "You know what? I think you and I are going to get along after all"

Tayuya shrugged. "Whatever. I spend my days following Izo's orders now, so I'll go along with anyone who can get me out of the chore work for a while. Just don't expect me to be all 'buddy-buddy' with you"

"Eh, I can work with that" Anko said. "But, that aside, I do have one question for you"

The redhead got a sudden sense of foreboding combined with a feeling of… excitement? 'I'll have to get my psyche checked at some point. No way am I going to let myself go insane like Izo' she thought to herself.

"And that question would be?"

Anko's smirk was almost sinister in nature. The mere vibe that Anko was emanating made Tayuya almost regret asking in the first place. "How far would you go to help me prank Izo when he wakes up?"

Tayuya could feel it. That tiny urge in the back of her mind that always let her know when something was a terrible idea. It was stronger than it had ever been, even stronger than when Orochimaru had first found her and offered to look after her. Despite her better judgement and experience with the urge, Tayuya just couldn't find the strength to listen to it. The opportunity that Anko presented to her was just too good to pass up.

"… go on"

Anko cackled madly. "Oh this is gunna be good"

A/N: Long as fuck Authors Notes! Feel free to ignore.

So, this chapter took a while to finally finish, and I apologize yet again for that, but by now it should be expected. Updates from here on are questionable since a lot of my time will be devoted to studying for my electrical technology course, so that is a heads up if I'm absent for longer than usual. If anyone that reads this story also reads my other fanfic, you'll know that I finished it, as well as my original intention to possibly start a new fanfic focused at Tokyo Ghoul. While such a fic is still in the playing cards, I am leaning more towards bringing another of my Naruto fanfic idea's to this site. If anyone is interested and likes my writing so far, please be on the lookout for my new story. Not sure when I'll be posting the first chapter though.

As everyone can no doubt see, I am finally wrapping up the survival part of the chunin exams, and it's about bloody time too. Next will be the oh so overused preliminary stage, where shit really hits the fan in almost every fanfic that contains the scene. Kinda weird how easy it is to use though. That being said, I hope to do it in an interesting and new way, but I will apologize in advance for my mediocre skills in battle scene writing. Seriously, I cannot figure out how to write those scenes in any way that doesn't just sound like a really shitty description of movements and whatnot.

In other news, after sampling the long list that this site (and others) possess, I have determined that there are way too many people willing to write shitty lemon stories. Like really, fucking wow!

Reviews are greatly appreciated, and questions will be answered to the best of my ability if asked. Please don't forget to leave your thoughts.

P.S. this story has finally reached over 100K views, which has shocked me a little. Hopefully I continue to keep you all interested enough to stick around.

Till next time guys.

Soul out!