Disclaimer: I claim full ownership... of the plot and original characters that I painstakingly created for your amusement. (You thought I was going to claim ownership of Naruto, didn't you? Yeah, me neither!)

Author's Notes: Just a day away from being a year since I last updated and now I'm back. (Sigh) I don't have an excuse other than the fact that I'm incredibly lazy and that, instead of writing it, I began to get sucked into reading fanfiction, in the process I became disillusioned by it, mostly because the ones that I read were poorly written and/or poorly thought out. The biggest one that led to me quitting for awhile was that no one ever updates. That's when I figured out, 'Yo, Risen, you're just doing the same annoying thing everyone else does!'... and sat on my ass some more.

Anyway, enough of my whining. This chapter here took this whole fucking year to write, and that was just for maybe half of it. Once I got inspired enough (mostly through boredom and listening to too much Heavy Metal [There's no such thing as 'too much Heavy Metal'!]), I got off my lazy ass and wrote the rest of it. This is the result.

Now, you all know the drill. Read, review, and enjoy. I'll rant a rant that isn't a rant at the end of this.

The Devil's Blade
An Epic reimagining of The Demon's Blade

By RisenInfection

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A blonde boy wearing the traditional garb of an apprentice samurai with a slightly longer than normal katana strapped to his back walked through a random alley in the random town he now found himself in, his youthful, though scarred, face set into a frown, his amethyst eyes slowly looking around, scanning the fog entrenched cement and cinder for anything remarkable... there wasn't. He and his team had been dispatched by Akira-sensei personally to the town as a part-time patrol. The boy knew this not to be the truth, as samurai, especially an apprentice such as himself, were not sent to patrol towns unless specifically requested, more so the truth when the town was within shinobi territory. Just what was Akira-sensei up-!

The boy narrowed his eyes as an almost inaudible whimper followed by unkind laughter breached his senses. Looking to the left, the boy found a connecting alley. Believing he had nothing better to do, the blonde decided to investigate.

Stepping into the alleyway, the boy knew he didn't like what he saw: three teenage boys were picking on a girl who couldn't have been any older than eight or nine. While the boys remained unremarkable to the blonde, the girl stood out like a light in the shadows. She had light blue hair pulled back into a ponytail that spiked out and dark eyes that held fear and a hint of suppressed determination. Her clothes were ripped and torn and seemed too big for the girl.

But none of this truly mattered to the blonde.

No, what mattered to him, was what he saw in the girls hand: a crude gemstone, most likely an amethyst, that, if his senses weren't deceiving him, pulsed with the same energy he could feel circulating within the girl, like it was an extension of her own power given a physical form.

"Ha, what are you going to with that rock, freak?"

The blonde boy looked up as his musings were interrupted by the tallest boy, most likely the leader of the group. The apprentice samurai watched as the girl whimpered again, bringing her knees to her chest, as if to protect herself from the insults. The three bullies just laughed.

"Hey, girl, are you okay?"

All four occupants of the alley looked over to where the new voice had come, all sets of eyes taking in the sight of the blonde.

The leader of the bullies smirked at the new arrival, his mouth a mile ahead of his brain. "Looky here guys! A kid playing samurai has come to save the princess of the freaks. How touching."

Ignoring the ignorant fool, the blonde asked again, "Are you alright girl?"

"Oi, did you hear Daisuke or are ya deaf, ya little retard?" One of the other bullies yelled, this one a little more rotund than his friends.

Finally, common sense awoke from its coma as the third bully spoke up. "Um, guys? I-I think his sword may be real. I saw him with a bunch of other samurai who cut up this thug."

'Daisuke' sneered at the third bully. "Yeah right, Sousuke, like I'm going to believe anything you say, not after what happened a week ago." The boy looked back to the blonde, his sneer becoming cruel. "Oi, retard, you want to save the freak, right? You'll have to get by-ugh!"

Everyone present had varying reactions, but they were all shocked, as, in a single heartbeat, the blonde boy who was standing at the mouth of the alley was now in front of Daisuke, his blade poised to cut through the teenager's throat. "You should learn to tame your mouth, 'retard'. It might keep your head attached to your shoulders."

"W-What the hell are you?" The boy cried.

"Pissed," the blonde answered before lowering his katana. "If you three want to live to breathe another breath, I suggest you run as fast as you can and never let me see your hides again, or next time," he gave a death glare to Daisuke, "I will not stop myself from sending you to Shinigami-sama, minus your head." Seeing that the bullies weren't moving, he decided to motivate them by slicing his sword through the air, the edge grinding against the brick wall, sparks flying from its path, and pointed to the alley's mouth with the weapon. "Go! Now!"

Seizing the chance, the bullies ran as fast as their legs would carry them, their metaphorical tails hidden between their legs.

The blonde smirked, taking pleasure that his authority had been recognized by the cowards. Frowning again, the boy turned back to the girl, who stared at him with fright and... Was that awe? Shaking his head, the blonde kneeled down so he was leveled with the girl and looked to the stone that was clenched in the girl's fist. "Did you make that?"

As soon as the words escaped him, the girl's eyes narrowed and she turned away from her savior, who, to her at least, became a tormentor. "Y-You're like the rest, aren't you? You probably hate me because of this, right?"

"How can I hate you, when I don't even know your name?" The boy asked with a raised eyebrow.

The girl's eyes widened slightly as a light pink blush spread across her cheeks in her embarrassment. "Guren," she whispered, "my name is Guren."

"'Guren', huh?" The blonde repeated before bowing slightly at the waist. "It is nice to meet you Guren-san. My name is Uzumaki Naruto, but you can just call me Naruto if you wish."

"Y-You're actually talking to me? Aren't you going to call me a freak or something?" Guren asked, her eyes wide.

Naruto's eyebrow stayed raised. "Why would I call you such a thing?"

The girl's air suddenly turned from surprised to sad, something that Naruto narrowed his eyes at. "Because of this." She held up the crystal in her hand, giving Naruto a better view of the stone.

"It's crude and unrefined, but with some work and control, I bet you could even make a blade," the blonde idly commented.

Guren's eyes widened once again in shock. "How did you know that I could make them?"

Naruto just shrugged his shoulders. "It isn't very hard to figure out, plus, from what I sensed, your crystal has the same energy running through it as you do. I think it's pretty cool that you can form crystal from nothing."

"R-Really?" The girl asked timidly.

The blonde gave her a small, genuine smile. "Really."

Guren looked around for a moment, her eyes showing caution and anxiety, making Naruto frown slightly. Finally she looked at him, her eyes downcast though filled with hope. "W-Would you like to be friends? You'd be my first friend, but I'd understand if you didn't."

"Your first friend?" The boy asked before bowing. "It would be an honor."

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Act I
The Devil Swordsman
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Chapter 10
Sidewinder
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Training Area Number Forty-Four, dubbed the 'Forest of Death' by most jounin of Konohagakure no Sato, was a place where the most dangerous of creatures dwelled and where hundreds of lost souls haunted, rightfully earning it's name. It was a forbidden place where only the most battle-hardened or psychotic of shinobi could survive and nothing was as it seemed. And, on this day, was the testing field for the Second Test of the Chuunin Exams.

The dark and foreboding forest loomed over the Chuunin hopefuls as dark grey clouds seemed to spiral around the tower set in the center of the woods, the flashes of lightning and claps of thunder making more than a few of the genin lose control of their emotions... and their bladders, if the wet spots were any indication.

And all this did was feed Anko's growing good mood, a sign of bad things to come, especially if one were to judge by the grin she wore, one of an absolute predator.

"Oi, maggots! Listen up! This," she gestured to Area 44, "is the Second Exam." From a pocket within her coat, the woman pulled out a scroll that, once unrolled, contained a map, and pointed to the middle of it. "Your goal is to get to the tower in the center of the forest within five days. The teams who are able to reach the tower and pass this exam, move on to the next Test."

Before Anko could continue, the Akimichi scion made his protest known. "'Five days'? Are you kidding me? There's no way we have enough food for five days!" Some of the other genin agreed with the rotund boy, others didn't care.

The purple haired woman frowned at the impudent interruption of her grand ploy to scare all the little idiots. "This test isn't one to show how quickly you can traverse this forest, but how well you are at surviving, the forest... and each other."

"What the hell do you mean 'each other'?" The Inuzuka kid spoke up, his ninken yipping in agreement from under his master's hood as the boy voiced everyone's thoughts.

"Did I stutter, maggot?" Anko was almost overly enjoying herself, as was evident by, once again, her predatory grin. Pulling two scrolls from another pocket, one white and one brown, making many wonder just how many pockets the coat had, the Tokubetsu Jounin continued. "Each team will be given one of these here scrolls, either a Heaven scroll," she held up the white scroll for the genin to see, "or an Earth scroll," the brown scroll was held up. "Your mission is to retrieve the opposite scroll that you are given from one of the opposing teams. Only teams that possess both scrolls may enter the Tower and move on to the next phase of the Chuunin Exams.

"Oh, and before I forget," she snapped her fingers, surprising a few genin as a chuunin wearing his hitai-ate as a bandanna landed next to the woman, holding a moderate sized stack of papers. Taking the top one from the pile, Anko held it up for the examinees to see. "You all will need to sign this waiver of your legal rights, so the Leaf Village cannot be held responsible in the case of your... death." She grinned as the implications of her words set in. Unfortunately, to her at least, the tense mood was spoiled rather quickly.

"Ha!" The Uzumaki girl, Natsuko, if Anko wasn't mistaken, exclaimed with her arms crossed. "I'm not going to die until I'm the greatest kunoichi in the world, so you can keep your damn waiver." The girl wore a broad grin, thinking her shouts of glory victorious... Until a tongue lapped up the blood from her bleeding... cheek...

Wait...

What?

"I can see the resemblance between you and him," Anko whispered into the girl's ear from behind her, making the girl tense as she stressed the word 'him', guessing Natsuko would know to who she referred. "I'm only going to give you a warning this time, but do something like that again, I'll cut more than just a cheek, daddy be damned. Clear?"

The blonde haired kunoichi gulped her fear and found her confidence, no matter how damaged it was. "C-Crystal, ma'am!"

"Good!" Anko exclaimed, clapping her hands. She was about to flicker back to her previous spot, when the kunai she'd thrown was handed back to her... by an extremely long tongue.

"It almost hit me, but I thought I'd return it anyway," the genin the tongue belonged inside of said, a Grass shinobi with a straw hat.

"Aw, that's sweet, thanks," Anko replied as she took the knife from the long, slimy, prehensile extremity that, to more than a few, belonged inside the mouth of the ninja.

Returning to her spot in front of the group, Anko spoke once more. "Alright you little bastards, grab a waiver, sign it, and, with your team, exchanged the waivers for your scroll. Oh, and hurry it up, the Second Exam begins in half an hour."

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Gate 37
Twenty-Two Minutes Later
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Team Seven stood at their assigned gate anxiously awaiting the beginning of the Exam. The chuunin who was supposed to let them in looked bored, though paid the genin no attention.

"So, what's our plan once we're in?" Sakura asked looking to her teammates – no – friends.

Sasuke let out an amused snort. "One that doesn't involve dying would be preferable, no?"

The pink haired girl nodded as Natsuko began to think. "Why don't we just rush in and wing it as we go through?"

"I said one that does not involve any of us dying," the Uchiha replied. At Natsuko's pout, he sighed and decided to explain. "We're not like sensei, or him," he hissed, and though the girls interpreted the stressed word as someone else, the boy was thinking of two people. "We're not so powerful as to go charging in blind and headfirst. If we did, we'd die for sure."

Natsuko lowered her head with a defeated sigh. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Maybe we should make a plan once we're in the forest?" Sakura suggested.

"You'll have to now. It's time to go in," the chuunin spoke for the first time, and just as he finished saying it, klaxons began to blare as the red light above their gate turned green. The chuunin unlocked the barrier and let Team Seven trough. "Good luck... you'll need it." The last part came out as a whisper as the three genin, like all the chuunin hopefuls, dashed into the shadows of the Forest of Death.

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An hour into the exam found Team Seven taking a break in a small clearing. As it was, the squad had not run into any other team, not even one from Konoha. However, the three hadn't given up hope yet, as the exam had only just begun, and there was no way anyone else could have completed the trial.

"All right," Sasuke spoke up after a few moments of silence, letting the girls catch their breath. "It's more than obvious that we're either going to get split up or infiltrated while we're in this forest. We need a codeword or password, so we know it's the real us. Do you guys have any ideas what we could use?"

The blonde and pinkette looked contemplative for a several seconds before Sakura had an idea. "How about the 'Ninja Song', you know, like the one they taught us in the academy?"

Sasuke shook his head in the negative. "No, that's too long, we need something short that only we would know the answer to. It doesn't have to be just one word, but it needs to be something easily remembered."

The squad fell silent at the statement, their minds racing. Suddenly, like a bulb switching on over her head, Natsuko's eyes shone with an idea. "How about my brother's title? No one but us, sensei, those jounin, and Zabuza and his minion know it. It's perfect."

"What was it again?" Sasuke asked, actually liking the idea. It wasn't that he didn't know the alias, as he'd never forget it, or the man himself, but wanted to make sure Natsuko and Sakura knew it as well. He listened carefully as the blonde whispered it in his ear.

"Well, what is it?" Sakura questioned, rather impatiently, slightly upset that her crush had taken Natsuko's idea over her own. A mild blush stretched across her cheeks as said crush whispered the password in her own ear. "Right, De-mmph!"

"Shh, don't say it aloud, you never know if someone's watching us or not," the Uchiha told her, his hand covering her mouth. Sakura nodded her understanding and he removed his hand, revealing the girl's deepened blush, either from the intimate contact, embarrassment, or a combination of the two.

"So," Natsuko began, breaking the awkward silence that followed the two's exchange, "what are we supposed to do now?"

Sasuke was about to speak, when someone else did so for him. "Now, you are supposed to die!"

Team Seven looked to the origination of the hissing voice and found the ninja from grass who had returned the crazy proctor lady's kunai standing before them, a disturbingly wide grin on his face. Before any of the genin could react, the shinobi reached his hand up to the right side of his face and shot the three a raspberry, revealing an amber eye with an ovular pupil. "Shi no Kanran no Jutsu!"

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Somewhere in Konoha
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Naruto stood outside an apartment, Yuugao's apartment to be exact, and his back against a wall with his eyes closed, though no one could tell as his mask covered his face. His 'handler' had expressed a desire to change from her ANBU uniform and, having no real choice, he had acquiesced. Besides, it had given him a chance to look through the scroll his father had given him.

The woman had invited him in, but he declined with a promise to stay put outside. Outside... it brought a strange thought to him: How long would there be an outside, for him at least? An end was coming. The blonde could feel it in his gut, in his bones. But, what was that end? What was it that His Highness wanted? What was worth sacrificing so many lives, so many innocent's lead astray by a false god, or gods? What was it all for?

The blonde held no illusions as to what the Highness wanted, as it had been the same thing he had wanted when he was younger, the thing he wanted even now.

'Power,' Naruto thought somberly. 'In some fashion, we all seek power. But, in all honesty, are we... am I, truly prepared to pay the ultimate cost for something as fleeting and destructive as ultimate power?'

Are any of us? The Kyuubi asked, her voice awakening Naruto from his reverie.

'I would say no, but seeing these Akuryou, I'm not so sure anymore,' he answered within his head.

The real question, though, would be if you are ready to pay the toll for power.

Naruto was quiet for a moment. The fox could hear the thoughts as they raced through her container's head, watching as the blonde considered his answers. 'In my mind, I know that taking Amaterasu from my master's dead hands, that I already paid in full. Her Sakki hurts sometimes, but it is nothing more than my own.' He opened his eyes and looked into the sky, his crimson orbs looking for something that the Heaven's held no answer to. 'But I know within my heart, my soul that I've yet to truly know what it is to pay the ultimate cost.'

Silence reigned as both beast and devil thought over what was said. Naruto, sick of the foreboding thoughts of utter gloom, decided to extend his senses, to see how his little sister's – he was still trying to get used to that – team was doing. He didn't want to admit it, but he was concerned for the girl and her friend's, even the Uchiha.

Taking a deep breath, the blonde ronin/shinobi closed his eyes and extended his senses to cover the whole of the Land of Fire, no small feat, a grandiose one, in and of itself, but easily done by one such as the blonde. Taking another breath, Naruto focused on how his sister's energy – chakra – felt, warm and blazing with life, like a bonfire of happiness and excitement.

There it was, in a forest northeast of the village, most likely Training Area 44, he felt Team Seven's circulating energy, and it was... dimming? His closed eyes shutting tighter, Naruto narrowed his senses to that forest, right on the genin squad and all the energies of their opponents. There was only one. It felt... slimy and cold, like...

Naruto's eyes flew open as he realized who was attacking his sister's team. "Damn it, not now! I'm going to kill you... Orochimaru!"

And with the threat left hanging in the wind, the blonde swordsmen used Sokudo to disappear in a blur of black.

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Forest of Death
Team Seven
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Sasuke panted as he skidded to a stop on a rather large tree branch. His Sharingan, which had two tomoe in each red iris, was slowly spinning, almost incredulously memorizing the monster before him as it calmly walked out of a towering cyclone of fire.

The Uchiha couldn't believe it! His whole fucking body was on fire, he was slowly running dangerously low on chakra, and he had used some of his best techniques on the bastard, who decided, like it was a calm Sunday afternoon in the park, to stroll leisurely out of the blaze.

'What the fuck is he?' Images of two other men, one with raven hair and evil eyes, the other blonde and exuding an aura of murderous intent, flashed through his head. 'Is this... true power?'

"It has been so nice to play with you, Sasuke-kun," the grass ninja, who identified himself as Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Three Ninja of the Leaf Village and a known traitor of the same village, spoke, his voice like a snake's hiss. He reached up to his face, which seemed to be... melting? And peeled it off, revealing another face underneath the fleshy mask, this one paper white with purple eyelids, like some type of fucked up geisha, most likely all make-up. No one could get that white, could they? "But, I believe it is time I end this."

Sasuke gulped down a lump in his throat and brought a pair of kunai up as he took a defensive stance, trying futilely to defend himself as the snake man began to flash through numerous hand seals. He was surprised that his Sharingan was unable to copy the technique. It couldn't even copy the hand seals, not that it would've done much good if he didn't know how to mould the chakra for the jutsu. His shock became even more apparent as he watched Orochimaru's neck stretch out, his head, like a snake launching at its prey, suddenly shooting at him.

Terrified, the Uchiha couldn't find the will to move as he watched Orochimaru's mouth open, fangs that hadn't been there before glistening with what looked like venom. Closing his eyes, Sasuke waited for the snake to bite. It never did.

Opening his eyes, the raven haired genin was shocked to see a mass of black, red, and gold blocking his vision. Finally able to move as his fear abated, the teenager stepped to the side and found Naruto, of all people, blocking Orochimaru, whose fangs were tightly clamped down upon the former's black blade.

"Uchiha," the blonde spoke, his voice still like gravel, though not as much as the first time they met, as he threw Orochimaru's head back, the snake-like neck pulling the cranium back to its place upon the man's shoulders. "Go check on your teammates, make sure they're all right. I'm going to deal with this snake."

As the blonde man began to walk towards Orochimaru, who was wearing a sick smile as he seemed to recognize the taller man, Sasuke tried to protest, but in the end, it was fruitless. "But... if you go, we'll-!"

"Sasuke," Naruto said with a sharp edge to his voice. "Protect your friends, no matter what happens." The statement was final, that much the Uchiha could tell himself.

"R-Right," he turned and dashed towards his fallen comrades as fast as humanly possible as he was sure that wherever a Walking Natural Disaster went, mass destruction was sure to follow.

"Kukukuku... Trying to save another child, Majin-kun?" Orochimaru asked as he watched his prize run off. "It didn't work last time, what makes you think it'll work now?"

Naruto only stared at the man, gauging the snake. "This time is different Orochimaru-san. You're endangering people I'd rather much protect."

"Oh, is that so?" The older man questioned, an eyebrow raised. The blonde stood his ground, the mask he wore blocking any expression he might have worn. This elicited a dark chuckle from Orochimaru, who found something amusing. "Kukuku... You have changed, Majin-kun. Where is the man who killed a whole nation in a night? Where is the assumedly unstoppable Sen Nin no Satsugai? Where is the Devil I should be facing now?"

"He's standing in front of you," the Thousand Man Slayer spoke, his voice level.

The Snake Sannin chuckled, as if Naruto's words were a joke. "Is that so? I do not see him. All I see is a boy thinking he's something he's not."

"Then..." Naruto began before suddenly blurring into nothingness, "you are blind."

Orochimaru quickly turned and leapt back as the blonde's sword sliced through the branch he'd been standing on. "You'll have to do better than that, Naruto-kun."

"As you wish," the samurai said as he stabbed the man from behind, his blade tearing through flesh, muscle, and bone.

The older man's eyes widened as the pain ripped through him. Looking up, he watched as the blonde that had initially attacked him melt away into nothingness, revealing it to be a clone. Then he began to chuckle. "Again, Naruto-kun, you'll have to do so much better than that to kill me."

Naruto's eyes widened behind his mask as he watched the Orochimaru on Amaterasu melt into mud. In a fit of rage, he swiped the blade, slinging away the liquefied earth. Regaining his composure, the ronin took in his surroundings, searching for the snake's hiding spot. Noticing something out of place with the forest, the blonde narrowed his eyes at the spot. Not a second later, Naruto quickly shimmied to his left as glowing steel shot out from behind him.

Rapidly, the swordsman turned, unsurprised that the sword that had tried to impale him was beyond ten meters long, the metal glowing with an eerie blue sheen. Naruto's narrowed eyes landed on the blade's wielder, Orochimaru's grin growing dangerously close to psychotic.

Before the Sannin had a chance to speak, though, Naruto blurred towards him. Acting fast, the older man reduced the length of his blade to that of a normal katana and instinctively brought it up in a middle guard, the blonde murderer's steel impacting his, sending sparks flying as the two swordsmen's blades locked. The deadlock soon ended, though, as Naruto, trumping Orochimaru in raw strength, shoved the man back and quickly followed up with a spinning slice aimed at the pale man's midsection. His blow was blocked, but the force of the hit sent the snake flying back.

Trying to press his advantage before Orochimaru could regain his bearings, the blonde samurai sped toward the man, who had now landed on another tree branch, but suddenly leaped up and back, nearly avoiding being cut in half by the Sannin's now extended blade. Landing, Naruto brought Amaterasu to bear, going on the defensive as he rapidly began to parry strikes from Orochimaru's elongated sword, which the snake-like man wielded with a proficiency no man could ever have with a blade so long.

Knocking another strike to the left, Naruto retaliated with a long distance strike of his own as he collected reiatsu around his blade and slashed the air, sending a blade of black energy towards Orochimaru. The blonde's eyes widened as the man smirked and disappeared in a blur of white and black, dodging the attack as it sliced through the tree that had been behind him. Naruto's eyes widened a fraction more as he hastily spun around and brought his sword up, successfully blocking the Snake Sannin's strike, but, was thrown back several meters by the blow.

"Kukuku... You are severely disappointing me, Majin-kun," Orochimaru spoke, his face twisted into a mockery of a grin. "It would seem that you have truly changed from that cute, little murderer who would go out of his way to utterly crush his opponent, into something more reminiscent of a tiny, insignificant ant who would go out his way just to protect his little home. What a shame."

Naruto was wholly unfazed by the man's attempt to taunt him as he stood from his kneeling position and looked straight into Orochimaru's eyes. After a moment, he spoke. "You've changed as well, Orochimaru. Eleven years ago, I could only feel chakra flowing through you. Now, there's something else, something that feels too much like reiryoku."

Orochimaru's grin grew at the statement and suddenly, he began to laugh, a full blown hysteric laugh completely void of mirth. As his guffaws died down, his face settled into a grin as he stared at the blonde across from him, his eyes faintly glowing with an amber energy. "I was wondering when you would figure it out, little devil. It saddens me that it took you so long."

"I'm sure," Naruto quipped sardonically. "What are you here for Orochimaru? Last time we met, it had been to destroy that town. Is that what you're after, to destroy the Leaf?"

"Kukukukukukuku," the Sannin chuckled, amused by the samurai's words. "That is part of it, yes, but then, it would only be a step into getting what I want."

The blonde swordsman's eyes narrowed. "And just what is it that you want?"

Orochimaru's grin became a satisfied smirk. "I want the Last Loyal Uchiha."

Naruto took a step back. "You want Sasuke, why?"

"Well," the pale man began, "he wouldn't be for me, of course, though I wouldn't mind experimenting upon him to unlock the secrets of the Sharingan, but my Queen would disapprove of those actions."

"I'm surprised, taking the Uchiha for yourself seems like your kind of thing, Orochimaru," the blonde said, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

The Snake Sannin shook his head in the negative. "No, no, I would never do that, well, maybe, years prior to now, but, my Queen and his Highness have already given me the means to achieve my dreams, and achieve them I have, kukukuku."

Though unseen thanks to his mask, Naruto snarled at the mention of 'his Highness'. "So, that's it, you really are working for that bastard. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I don't really care why you want the Uchiha, it doesn't matter, I'll protect him anyways, but what I want to know, is just who your Queen is."

"Kukuku... telling you would take all the fun out of it, Majin-kun," Orochimaru spoke as he raised his Kusanagi sword. "I'd much rather you spin for awhile, it is most... entertaining!" As soon as the word left his mouth, both he and Naruto blurred into nothingness, their battle waging on.

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Outside the Forest of Death
:::::::::

"Yum! Nothing's better than dango and juice!" Anko cheered happily as she ate the last dumpling from the stick and washed it down with a cup of juice. "Ahh, hmm, better get to the tower soon," she spoke to herself as she haphazardly threw her dango stick into a tree, where there were numerous others. With the last skewer, Anko had made a perfect leaf ninja symbol.

Her plans were interrupted however, as a chuunin kneeled before her, the ninja smoke of a Shunshin dissipating around him. "Anko-san, there's been a murder, and it... is... well, weird, for lack of a better term. Y-You need to see it for yourself."

The purple haired Special Jounin rolled her eyes. "Fine, let's go."

A few moments later, Anko and the chuunin arrived at the murder scene, where two other chuunin were checking the bodies.

"What do we know?" The woman questioned, glancing at each of the corpses.

"Nothing really," one of the other chuunin said. "I believe that they're one of the two Kusagakure teams to pass, and, as you can see, they are all missing their faces."

Anko's eyes widened at that last statement, before narrowing in contemplation. 'Missing faces? That's one of his ninjutsu! It has to be him!'

"Anko-san, their identification cards," the other chuunin said, handing her the IDs.

Rifling through them, the jounin's eyes widened once more as she stared at one of the pictures, one that looked like the genin that had handed her kunai back to her with his tongue. 'He's this one! But, I don't understand, why the hell is he here!'

Turning, Anko began barking orders to the three. "You three alert Hokage-sama of these murders and get as many ANBU Captains here as quickly as possible. I'm going into the forest to find the murderer and stall until-!"

Anko's orders were interrupted as the sound of thousands of hummingbirds was heard from Area Forty-Four. Looking towards the forest, the four ninja were stupefied as they watched a number of the large, ominous trees crash into the forest itself, sending large quakes through the area that were felt even by the four outside of the wooded battle area.

"W-What the fuck!" One of the chuunin's stuttered out. "Those trees are least two meters thick! Nothing should be able to cut through them! What the fuck could do that!"

The three shinobi couldn't see it, but the smirk Anko now wore was dangerously close to becoming a sadistic grin. "One of the only men I know that has the most probable chance of killing that bastard for good."

The Chuunin shared an awkward glance, all thinking the same thing, when Anko turned around, her face serious. "You three have your orders. Report everything you've seen here to Hokage-sama and alert those ANBU Captains... now!"

The three saluted hastily before leaping and blurring away. Turning towards the forest once more, Anko grinned and did the same as the chuunin, hoping that she might find a dead snake hung out to dry.

:::::::::
The Forest of Death
:::::::::

Naruto skidded to a stop in midair, dust actually kicking up ahead of him. The specter of Amaterasu floated idly behind him and his blade glowed a brilliant silver from the overcharged Hachidori he had tried to use against Orochimaru, the technique only being successful in permanently cutting down the forest, for every time he cut through the Sannin either snakes would shoot out of his body to the severed part and reconnect it, or the man would spit out a completely new and unharmed body, like a snake shedding its skin.

Across from the blonde, Orochimaru stood, unharmed and smirking in sadistic glee, as if he knew his toying with the samurai was angering him further. And the man knew that it was. "Kukukukuku..." the snake chuckled, "I never would have thought that I'd be witness to your release, it is an honor, no matter how weak it is."

The masked swordsman's eyes narrowed at the insult as Amaterasu's ire rose as well. "You shouldn't insult Amaterasu and I, you've only seen a fraction of what we can truly do in this form."

Orochimaru only chuckled at the feeble, at least to him, attempt to scare him. "No matter what you do, it'd never work, Majin-kun. Do you not remember, I told you that I have achieved my ultimate dream?"

"Sorry," Naruto spoke slowly, the apology insincere. "I wasn't aware that it mattered at the time."

"Well, it does matter now, little devil," Orochimaru grinned as he moved his sword to his right and dashed towards the blonde, his Kusanagi aimed to stab the samurai in the chest. Timing it just right, Naruto parried the mythical blade to his right and leapt back. As soon as his foot touched down, he gathered Amaterasu's flames around his blade and blasted off the tree branch he was on and past Orochimaru, the burning blade passing through the man like a hot knife through butter, splitting him in half horizontally.

As he came to a stop, Naruto turned to face his opponent, swiping his blade to the side as he did so, the flames running its length dissipating with the action. He was hoping that the fire from the attack would cauterize the wounds and keep the snakes from connecting the man back together. But, just as he had expected, snakes shot from Orochimaru's upper-half and into his lower-half, breaking through burnt tissue and gore, before pulling the man back together, all the damage he had sustained healing rapidly before Naruto's eyes.

Orochimaru turned to the stunned swordsman and smirked in genuine amusement. "What I had dreamed, Majin-kun, is what I now am." His smirk became a grin. "I am... immortal!"

Naruto's eyes widened a fraction before narrowing. "There's no such thing as an immortal. The laws of the universe would never allow it."

The Snake Sannin shook his head in disappointment. "What a foolish little boy you are, Majin-kun. Have you ever truly questioned our world? Think about it. Our world allows for us to wield immense power unrivaled, it allows for the Tailed Beasts to exist, when all logic says they shouldn't. And our world allows for four ultimate beings to exist and call themselves our Gods, to call this world, such a fantastic world, their own."

The blonde only stared at the man like he was insane, but, he knew, deep down inside, he knew part of what Orochimaru spoke of was undeniable truth.

Orochimaru looked to his right and frowned as he began to feel more and more chakra signatures beginning to head his way. "Well, it would seem that I have played with you enough, Majin-kun. It also seems that I might have to come back for Sasuke, or not. The Queen never said I personally had to take him, I might let someone else do it." The Sannin turned and as he began to leave, he threw something over his head toward Naruto. "Oh, and before I forget, here's a little present. I hope you enjoy it, Majin-kun. Kukukukuku!"

Naruto watched as the snake-like man faded into nothing, taking a deep, calming breath when he realized he couldn't feel the man's energy circulation anywhere close to the forest or the Leaf Village for that matter. His moment of calm was abruptly shattered as a circulation of energy that felt like Orochimaru's invaded his senses. It was nowhere as powerful as the Sannin's, nor was it as finely honed and controlled, but it was primal and gaining power at an alarming rate, a very bad combination.

Looking down, the blonde found the source of the energy signature: an egg that was beginning to crack and leak pale yellow energy. Naruto was hit by another surge of power as a tail like that of a snake sprouted from the egg, the shell still continuing to crack. He watched as the tail began to grow in size and, as realization dawned on him, the blonde leaped backward into the air as the egg shattered, a massive head and body shooting from its encasing and into the sky.

"I guess that I should have expected this, but really, a giant, flying snake?" Naruto asked, his voice his own, as he stared up at the creature slithering around in the sky. "He couldn't make me fight something that was ground based and that didn't draw the attention of thousands of people?"

Amaterasu's specter looked contemplative for a moment. It would be quite hard to use a technique large enough to kill the beast without destroying this forest... and everyone in it.

"You know, being forbidden from causing massive property damage while in the village really puts a hamper on what I can do," Naruto remarked bitterly.

I know, Amaterasu comforted, but at the moment, you cannot dwell on the trivial, but the problem at hand.

Naruto's eyes and stance hardened as his demeanor turned serious. "Right, the best way to deal with this snake is to draw it further into the sky and obliterate it in one swift move. But to be able to do both, we're going to need to use that."

A-Are you sure? The beautiful specter asked.

"Yes," Naruto spoke, his eyes filled with unshakable resolve. "We're going to Release State: Level Two."

Amaterasu smiled serenely. As you wish.

Naruto closed his eyes as the phantom behind him did the same thing before she leaned forward, her arms encircling her wielder as her body exploded into a pair of giant, black wings that looked as if they were burning and a black and red tail of a wolf. The only thing that remained of Amaterasu's previous form was the loop of cloth and tassels that flowed behind Naruto like fire.

Opening his glowing eyes, Naruto smirked behind his mask. "Let's do this." And without another word, he leaped into the air and gave a mighty flap of his wings, shooting into the sky like a rocket, a trail of black reiatsu following his ascent.

Shooting past the roaring snake, the super-powered blonde tried to gain the monster's attention. "If you want me, come and get me!" Deciding the tactic worked, as the snake was now flying towards him, Naruto flew backwards and then shot up further into the sky, the monstrous serpent on his tail.

"This should be more than high enough," Naruto spoke to himself after a moment as he stopped his ascent. Turning, he found the snake closing in on him, but the blonde wasn't going to give the creature a chance to attack. "Now, prepare yourself, for this is the end of the line."

Bringing his sword into the initial hanging guard of his unique sword style and drawing in his spectral wings and tail, the samurai began to charge his attack, a sphere of black light enshrouding his form. "Tensho-ryuu! Amaterasu Oomikami: Myoujou!"

:::::::::
Forest of Death
Team Seven
:::::::::

Sasuke and Natsuko, who had awoken only a few moments after Naruto showed up, something the Uchiha had been inwardly thankful for, stopped suddenly the foliage surrounding them illuminating, the greenery turning white in the light. Looking to the sky, both were shocked as they found the source of the light: a black and white star that was acting as a second sun.

A sudden pained roar broke the duo from their stupor as they watched in morbid fascination as a giant flying serpent flew head-on into the growing starlight and began to burn away, the blackened energy obliterating even the ash the creatures flesh became. Soon, the humungous snake was gone, every molecule and atom that it was composed of disintegrated.

Neither teammate could believe the power displayed. The energy output was so great that even a non-sensor type ninja could feel it, hell, even a civilian would be able to feel the raw strength of the attack.

Breaking the deafening silence, Sasuke decided he would voice his thoughts. "Holy...!"

:::::::::
Forest of Death
Foreign Team
:::::::::

"... Shit!" A brown haired teenage boy with cyan eyes exclaimed as he watched the black and white star begin to die down, its light still as bright as the sun itself. "I'd fucking hate to have to fight whatever did that."

"Yeah, that's 'cause you'd get your ass handed to you in an instant, Tanken," another teenage boy pointed out as he swept his own brown hair back, though his pale violet eyes were narrowed on the dimming star as well.

Funshin Tanken frowned angrily at the insult as he turned towards his teammate. "Fuck you, Shoon! All you're good for is spewing poison."

Tsurukusa Shoon just shrugged at the words. "So I'm doing what I'm good at? I see no problem with that." Turning to their final teammate, the teen found the dark-green haired young woman staring into the sky like he and Tanken had been, her light green eyes focused intently on the slowly fading daystar, a small grin tugging at her dark-green painted lips. "What're you thinking, Kinezumi?"

The girl didn't answer as she watched the Morningstar fade... an act that had both Grass shinobi looking at each other with worried expressions.

:::::::::
Forest of Death
Team Gai
:::::::::

"Holy crap!" A girl with brown hair tied into a pair of buns, Tenten, voiced her amazement at the spectacle above her. "What on Earth could do that?"

"I do not know," a boy with long dark hair and cream-white eyes without pupils answered. Though he was tempted to use his Byakugan, Hyuuga Neji refrained. He was loath to admit that he was actually afraid of using his clan's famed Kekkei Genkai, thinking that if the star was bright now, he would be blinded if he was to use his Doujutsu. "I do know that if I were to face whoever can make a star from his energy alone, I know without a doubt that my destiny would come to an end. Whoever is doing this is immensely strong, possibly even more so than the Hokage."

Tenten frowned at the answer. Her usually stoic teammate seemed... scared. That couldn't be, Neji was of the strongest, if arrogant, people she knew, his arrogance usually being well earned. Looking back up she was surprised to see the light was now gone, the forest returning to its previous sullen state. "D-Do you think that it was that Walking Natural Disaster all the jounin had been talking about?"

Before Neji could answer, Rock Lee, their third teammate, spoke up for the first time since they had entered Training Area Forty-Four. "Whatever can form such a magnificent display of power such as we have witnessed, surely has Flames of Youth™ that burns almost as brightly as Gai-sensei's!" He raised a fist, his eyes burning with the Sacred Flames of Youth™. "I am now inspired, more than ever, to work harder to becoming a brilliant shinobi! And, one day, if I push myself hard enough, I will surpass whoever this star maker is!"

Dumbstruck by the bowl-cut boy's impassioned speech, Tenten and Neji just stared at Lee oddly.

:::::::::
Outside of the Leaf
:::::::::

Orochimaru clapped his hands slowly as he watched the display of power from start to finish. "Yes, Naruto-kun, that is the power I remember." He smiled, the expression twisted by sick glee, and turned to walk away. "You would do well to keep that power, if you are to survive the coming trials."

Just as he took a step, a shadowy figure stepped out in front of him, its glowing amber eyes staring into the Sannin's own. "The Queen has requested a private audience with you, Orochimaru-dono."

"Oh, and to what do I owe the honor?" The pale man asked, an eyebrow raised in genuine curiosity.

"Ukajin-sama did not say, Orochimaru-dono," the shadow figure answered truthfully. "All that I know is that she has recently met with the other Four Deities and that she is in a rather unpleasant mood as of late."

"Thank you, Daija-kun. I will leave to speak with the Queen at once," Orochimaru responded. Daija bowed slightly at the waist before vanishing back into thin air. The Snake Sannin frowned in thought as he brought a hand to his chin. "Just what could His Highness say that would put Ukajin-sama into a foul mood? I wonder... if this has anything to do with Majin-kun... or my invasion. I suppose only time will tell."

:::::::::
The Forest of Death
:::::::::

As soon as Naruto landed on the forest floor, Amaterasu resealed, he was greeted by four ninja-to swords, all poised to sever his head from his shoulders. Looking at the masked men and women, he couldn't help the amused smirk that appeared on his lips, fortunately hidden by his own mask. "Did I do something wrong?"

"We saw what you have done to this training area, one that has stood since the age of the Shodai, and that debacle you just pulled in the sky," one of the ANBU Captains spoke, his bird mask revealing none of the anger his voice did. "We have standing orders from Hokage-sama to put you under arrest if you cause any type of mayhem, son or not."

Naruto actually raised an eyebrow at the statement. "Oh, I didn't realize that defending one's self was a crime in the Leaf Village."

"'Defending'? From who?" One of the female Captains asked, her dog mask not showing her curiosity.

"Orochimaru," was the only answer that the ANBU needed.

The Captains removed their swords from Naruto's throat, allowing the blonde haired man rub the unfamiliar sensation from his neck.

"You're sure it was Orochimaru?" A second male Captain asked, this one wearing a monkey mask.

The ronin nodded. "Yes, I am. He looks the same as he did almost a decade ago."

"You've met him before?" The dog-masked Captain questioned.

"That's right," Naruto said with another nod. Behind his mask, his eyes took a nostalgic look. "Back then, I was only an Apprentice, patrolling a town he ended up destroying, only to prove his power."

A bear masked ANBU snorted, her mask hiding her morbid amusement. "Definitely sounds like that twisted bastard. Bet Mitarashi-san would just love to hear about this."

The bird masked Captain shook his head. "Your past with that traitor is irrelevant, all that matters is the here and now, and we still have orders to take you in."

"That won't be necessary," a voice spoke, turning all attention to Yuugao, who had just arrived in the small clearing via Body Flicker.

"But, Uzuki-tai-!" Bird started but was silenced by a wave of Yuugao's hand.

"He's in my custody, and as such, I will decide his punishment. This is an order Hokage-sama gave to me personally and I intend on following it," the purple haired Jounin told the Captain. She crossed her arms and gave the man a hard look. "Or would you like to explain to the Hokage how you kept me from accomplishing his Will?"

Bird stared at Yuugao for a heartbeat before relenting with a sigh. "No, ma'am. He's yours to do with as you wish."

"If I may ask," Naruto interjected, "why were you five out here to begin with?"

"We were alerted of a high-risk disturbance within this training area and dispatched by Hokage-sama. I guess we instinctively thought it was you," Bear answered sheepishly. "Sorry 'bout that."

Naruto bowed his head slightly, accepting the apology. He turned towards Bird, staring into man's mask eyeholes. "Orochimaru was the one you were alerted about, but trying to track him down now will be of no use. He has already left the borders of the village and has quite possibly escaped the country by now."

The Captain nodded his thanks. "We'll return to the Hokage and give him our report. You should do the same soon." With that said, the five captains disappeared, vanishing into thin air.

Naruto ignored their disappearance, opting to turn to his left, looking into the forest. "I am sorry that I was unable to kill Orochimaru for you, Anko-san."

Yuugao turned to where the blonde man was looking and watched as her fellow kunoichi dropped to the forest floor, having sensed someone as well. "So, that's who was spying on our little meaning."

"I couldn't help myself, I wanted to see what the hell was going on," Anko responded with a grin as she stood from her crouch. The woman raised an eyebrow at Yuugao, who was, instead of her ANBU uniform, wearing a dark gray hooded shirt with yellow stripes, the shirt cutting off five centimeters under her breasts, revealing not only her toned midriff, but also a generous amount of cleavage, and a light grey mini-skirt over a pair of tight black shorts. Black gloves and thigh-high ninja boots topped off the new look. "Damn, didn't know ANBU personnel knew anything about style."

Naruto had a similar reaction to the Jounin's new look, though it was hidden quite well. Masks tended to do that. Ignoring that thought, he turned to Anko, and gauged the woman for a moment. "I apologize, Anko-san, I was not able to kill Orochimaru as I had planned."

The Snake Mistress just waved off the rather sincere apology. "Ah, that's okay. I never really expected the bastard to die that easily anyway. I mean, you're one hell of a trump card, but that asshole has always been going on and on about his dream of becoming immortal and then learning every possible Jutsu ever thought up."

"Then it shouldn't come as a shock to you to learn that he has achieved immortality, or so he says," Naruto imparted. "It makes no difference to me though."

"Why not?" Yuugao questioned, slightly disheartened to learn that one of the Leaf's greatest traitors was now invincible. Next the swordsman was going to say that Uchiha Itachi had achieved some type of Deus Ex Machina with his eyes that made him impervious to all attacks and that Uchiha Madara was still alive looking to achieve Godhood. She couldn't help the shiver that ran down her spine at the thought.

Naruto turned to her and took off his mask, revealing amused eyes and a confident smirk. "Simple, anything and everything can die. One only needs to exert the right amount of power to make it a fact. If you really need assurance, the next time I face Orochimaru, I will not hold back."

"Wait," Anko interrupted, disbelief written over her features. "You call destroying a sizable chunk of this forest and that scene you pulled in the sky 'holding back'?"

The blonde man just gave her a look that said, 'are you stupid?' "If I had done anything differently, this forest, and everyone in it, including you, would've been obliterated by that attack."

"Oh," Anko let out sheepishly. She hadn't thought of that.

"Well, while this is all nice and good, we should all really report to Hokage-sama," Yuugao interjected with a frown as the tension from Naruto's revelation wore off. "I'm sure he'll want to know what happened here," she turned to Naruto, her frown deepening, "and just why you thought it was a good idea to use an attack that created a star more than half a village could see."

"Right," Naruto acquiesced as he put his mask back on. "Minato – Father – will want to hear about Orochimaru's plans, and most likely my past with him, as well."

Anko grinned. "What're we waiting for?"

:::::::::
The Tower
Four Days Later
:::::::::

Sakura shuffled her feet slightly as she and her teammates stood in lines with the other teams who had passed the second portion of the chuunin exams. While she was thankful that both Teams Eight and Ten had passed the test, meaning Team Seven wasn't the only rookie team there, she was more than nervous about all the other teams, especially the foreign ones, like the Sand Team, or even the Sound Team that Team Seven had defeated to pass.

The pink haired girl looked back up as the Hokage continued explaining the true purpose of the Chuunin Exams. It wasn't that she was trying to tune the man out or anything, as she knew that what he was talking about was very important, it was just that she already knew it, and it was a little bit boring to hear the lecture once again.

Just as the Hokage's speech reached the part about the third portion of the Exams, Sakura's boredom instantly became fear as the demon from her nightmares landed in front of the Hokage. The black-clad blob stood and turned, revealing itself to be a man that easily towered over every chuunin-hopeful, his glowing blood red eyes looking at each of them with murderous intent as his hand reached for the sword sheathed on his back.

Images of blood-like mist assaulted her mind, images that had the monster before her right in the center of the crimson haze. And for the life of her, Sakura couldn't help the scream that escaped her throat before collapsing under the weight of the intense fear that plagued her mind.

"Well... that's new."

Translation(s): Sakki - Thirst for blood (fitting, no?); Sen Nin no Satsugai - Thousand Man Slayer or Slayer of a Thosand Men (I guess)

:::::::::

Technique(s):

Name: Shi no Kanran no Jutsu! (Death Viewing Technique!)
Type: General Skill
User(s): Anyone
Description: This is just focused Killing Intent. This technique is sometimes confused as a genjutsu, but it is in fact not.

Name: Tensho-ryuu! Amaterasu Oomikami: Myoujou! (Piercing Heaven Style! Sun Goddess: Morningstar!)
Type: S-Rank, Offensive, All Ranges
User(s): Uzumaki Naruto (Known)
Description: This technique is used within the unique and ancient sword style Tensho-ryuu and in conjuntion with the ancient nodachi Amaterasu. To use this technique, the user must enter Release State: Level Two of Amaterasu. The user will create a sphere of energy around themselves and charge the attack. The longer the charge, the more energy is collected, meaning the attack will be that more destructive. When 'fired', the charged energy will pulse outwards into a star-like shape. This 'star' will burn and obliterate everything in its path, even simplistic atoms.

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Author's Note: Whew! Done! Thank goodness. So, did you like it? I'm a little iffy on it, and I'll be the first to say that it isn't my greatest piece, but, I'm just glad I was finally able to get it out. Like I said earlier, this chapter was a bitch to write and I don't even know why. Doesn't matter now. I'm planning on soon going back to the previous chapters and cleaning them up a bit, maybe even changing a couple of them, you know, like, how Sasuke gets the Mangekyou? Yeah, I don't think I thought that out too thoroughly. Either that, or I forgot what I wanted to do with it.

Anyway, I might tomorrow start working on Ch. 11, not sure really. I'm pretty sure of the direction this fic is going to go in, though my ideas are always changing, or coming up with new ones. Like just a week ago I had a pretty good idea for a Naruto/Fairy Tail xover and just the other day I had an idea that involved Fem!Sasuke and Fem!Itachi. Ah, whatever. I was also thinking of making a forum for this story, so you, the readers, and maybe I, could discuss possibilities and plot ideas. I'm not sure if I should do that though. What do you guys think? I think if I did that, having someone constantly screaming at me 'Update you Idiot!' would help, but maybe hamper me as well, I wouldn't know. Again, tell me what you think.

Also, again, I'm sorry this took a whole fucking year to get out. I'll try not to do that again, but I make no promises. After all, I do have a life to live. Now if you don't mind, this loser that has no life is going to go sit in a corner and cry (Sniffles).

Until next time, RisenInfection, out!