Word from the author:

I guess official part comes first. I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters.

As for the new story, thought I'd write a bit about it. My first story and it's sequel were something like an experiment for me. I made mistakes, some say I eventually improved. Basically that is the reason I decided to make a new story.

I decided to stick with the idea of adding my own OC, that part worked out for me last time. But this will be a totally new character, the story will have a new plot, not related to my old story in any way. I will try to make characters more balanced, watch grammar and such.

Hope you will enjoy and as always criticism is welcomed as long as it is constructive.

There are questions that must never be answered.

Chapter 1

This was not what Sakura expected from the chunin exams. Sure she considered that they would be hard, that she and her team might not make it to the end, but what was happening right now was beyond her worst fears, for she never thought she would have to face such mortal danger.

The forest of death was literal hell. Apart from dangerous animals, dangerous and poisonous plants, there were opposing ninja teams. Even at best possible odds, no more than half of the teams would make it to the end, the rules were made that way. Each team had a scroll, but two were required for the set that would grant entry to the tower in the centre of the forest. But it so happened that the scroll was the least of her worries now.

Her body was paralyzed by fear, she couldn't move, just stare at the grass kunoichi in front of them. And she didn't know what scared her more, the enemy ninja, or the fact that Sasuke was in the same state as her. To make matters worse Naruto disappeared.

Her mind was trying to find a way out, a way to make her body move, but fear held her in place like iron chains. She could barely force air into her lungs and images of her own brutal death were flashing before her eyes. She was never this scared before.

"Move!" Sasuke suddenly grabbed her, after throwing a bloodied kunai at the opposing ninja, who just tilted her head to the side, watching with a smirk how her prey disappeared for a moment.

"Very creative, Sasuke-kun. Replace fear with pain, very interesting strategy. Reckless, but effective." She smirked, somewhat impressed when Sasuke stabbed himself in the leg to snap himself out of the trance, to overcome fear. Pain was a primal feeling, sharp, powerful, just like fear and once could be used to forget about the other. It was in the blood of every human being, basic, almost animalistic and thus always present. Even the best ninjas could only suppress those feelings, never truly get rid of them.

"Huh?" the kunoichi looked to the side, but saw nothing. She just felt something, like a hunch, intuition, instinct. A ninja had to trust his intuition, but not rely on it completely. It could save life, but also make one paranoid, a careful balance was needed. But the kunoichi wasn't really worried. Right now there was nobody around to who would actually be able to oppose her.

...

"Sasuke, you are bleeding." Sakura who more or less regained her senses. Her teammate injured himself to help them get away. The wound wasn't all that serious, but it was necessary to stop the bleeding, or else it could end badly.

"Listen, Sakura, you need to get away."

"What?"

"Just listen. That ninja we faced, we are outmatched. I'll slow her down while you try to get away. Got it?"

"But I can't just leave you."

"Yes you can, I can't also worry about protecting you!"

"But, but ... " Sakura was shaking her head not wanting to accept the idea of running away and leaving Sasuke. But the raven haired boy pushed her away and moved forward, with his wound already showing a bloody stain through the simple bandage Sakura managed to apply.

"Just do as I say, Sakura, I don't want you to die." His tone held no warmth, it accepted not objection and with tears Sakura moved back, but couldn't force herself to run away, instead hiding to try and help, or at least see what would occur. She still couldn't regain her breath, but her fast irregular breathing all but stopped when she once more saw the grass kunoichi appear to face Sasuke who was standing on a thick tree branch.

"So, you actually decided to fight, huh?"

Sasuke once more felt how his body became unable to move. Her voice, her aura, her presence alone was so intimidating that it paralyzed him. The grass kunoichi looked at Sasuke for a bit, her face showing mild curiosity and then strangely disappointment. She pulled out a kunai, her long tongue appearing for a moment as she licked her lips as if anticipating tasting blood. She took a step forward, but then pulled her leg back when a shuriken struck just inches away from her big toe.

"Hm?" she looked to the side and saw a short blonde haired boy dressed in an orange jumpsuit of all things. His face had strange whisker like marks on his face and he was grinning, while his hands were crossed on his chest.

"Oh, it is you. I thought my snake disposed of you."

"So, you are the bastard who sent that thing! That blasted snake ate me!" Naruto yelled in outrage pointing at the grass kunoichi accusingly, but that only seemed to amuse her. If anyting Naruto served as some mild entertainment for her, though him escaping the summoned snake did give him some credit. Perhaps there was more to this runt than met the eye.

"Here, you want this, don't you? Just take it and leave us." Sasuke pulled out their scroll, trying to buy their way out of fighting a superior enemy.

"Ahh, offering the predator an alternative meal. That could be a wise strategy." The grass kunoichi licked her face again, stepping closer and reaching out for the scroll. But before she could grab it, an orange blur dashed between them.

"What the hell are you doing Sasuke?" Naruto held up the scroll before hiding it in his own pouch.

"What am I doing? I am trying to save our lives. What are you doing?"

"What? You think that weirdo will just walk away if you give her the scroll? Hell no! But what really creeps me out, is that you are scared, Sasuke. I can see that in your eyes. So now tell me, who the hell you are, because the Sasuke I know is not a coward."

"Stop speaking nonsense, Naruto. This is not some game!"

"God damn it isn't. Since when are you a coward, Sasuke?"

"A sad, but correct statement." The grass kunoichi said with a shrug. I would never walk away from a thrill of a hunt after all. I don't care about the scroll actually, so as surprising as it is, the blonde brat is right.

Sasuke found nothing to say to that. He just glared at the enemy ninja and at Naruto.

"Oh well, this is amusing, but lets end it." The grass kunoichi dashed forward towards Sasuke, but was intercepted by Naruto. With a single quick punch she sent the blonde flying away, but in mid air he turned into a puff of smoke.

"A shadow clone? How interesting." She turned to Naruto who was already flanked by two of his replicas that attack with kunai in hand, followed by three more clones Naruto created. It was very one sided though as it only took the grass kunoichi about ten seconds to dispose of the clones. She then jumped towards Naruto, who moved back avoiding a spin kick, but he never expected a long tongue to lash out, wrap around his torso and toss him into the tree trunk with enough force to crack it. To her surprise Naruto stood up.

"Oh, stubborn, aren't you." She pulled up her sleeve and bit her thumb, drawing blood. With a practiced motion she applied the blood to the tattoo on her arm and them slammed her palm against the tree branch. In an instant a giant snake appeared, supporting itself by wrapping most of the tail around the tree branch and the thick trunk of the tree.

"Wha ... !" Naruto barely managed to jump out of the way when the snake struck. But the long tail then slammed him in the chest, sending him flying into another tree with a great force.

"Now where were we." The kunoichi turned to Sasuke who still was unable to move and only watched Naruto's futile attempts to protect them. Now he could only watch as the giant snake lunged towards him, deadly fangs bared, a low hiss escaping it's mouth. But just as it was about to deliver the deadly strike an orange blur appeared once more, smashing into the snake's head with enough force to actually send it crashing into the trunk of the massive tree.

"Naruto?" Sakura gasped. Naruto looked almost feral when he struck the snake and the amount of power he mustered was unreal.

"How?" Sasuke shook his head in disbelief when he saw Naruto continue his wild, but still quite effective assault, each strike earning an angry pained hiss from the snake. The grass kunoichi atop of it for the first time looked really surprised. It didn't take long for her to regain focus and command the snake to move to the side. She knew what was the main weakness of the blonde kid and once more commanded the summon to attack Sasuke, who closed his eyes awaiting death.

"Aghh!" the branch shook from the impact, but the pain never came. Sasuke opened his eyes and saw Naruto in front of him, his small frame actually holding the massive snake head away.

"You look terrified, scaredy cat." Naruto mocked Sasuke in an all too familiar way, making Sasuke take a step back. But before he could reply a long tongue wrapped around Naruto, yanking him up.

"Lets see now. Ahh, of course." The grass kunoichi pulled Naruto closer and pulled up his shirt. With a cruel smirk she slammed five fingers into his stomach and Naruto screamed out in pain before passing out. She then reached into his pouch, but it was empty.

"Hmm, strange, but no matter. That is of no significance." After that she just tossed him away.

"No!" Sakura jumped out from her hiding spot. "Sasuke, snap out of it!

"Shut it Sakura!"

"I won't! Look what happened. Naruto protected us, you. He might be a pest for most of the time, he might not get things right and often make stupid mistakes. But one thing he is not, is a coward. Look at yourself right now!" Sakura couldn't force herlsef to watch Naruto fall down to the ground and thus never saw a white arrow fly through the air, pinning Naruto to the tree by his clothes moments before he hit the ground.

Surprisingly Sakura's words snapped something in Sasuke's mind. His own brother had accused him of fear, of being a coward. And to be prove him right, here, now, no, that was the worst thing that could happen. Even death was better than proving Itachi right. He couldn't be right, it was impossible.

Sasuke felt strange sensation, almost sharp burning in his eyes. He acted on pure reflex when the grass kunoichi dismissed her summon and jumped at him aiming a punch to his face. With a quick move he blocked the strike, dodged another one and then lashed out with his own, that for a moment startled his opponent. Sasuke used the moment to gain some space between him and his opponent.

"Yes, the blood of the Uchiha boils." The grass kunoichi smiled. Sasuke didn't pay any attention though, he instead threw several kunai at his opponent who dodged effortlessly, but Sasuke already jumped to the side, using chakra to stick to the tree trunk. He released another badge of kunai and then added several shuriken, all aimed at the vital areas of his foe. Despite his efforts the grass kunoichi still dodged without much effort. Her every move was like a mockery as she avoided attacks with ease, but arrogance was exactly what Sasuke was aiming for. He charged, aiming a jump kick for the head of his opponent, but she ducked and grabbed his leg, throwing Sasuke away. In mid air the Uchiha suddenly flipped throwing a large shuriken at his enemy, only it to miss once more.

"A string!" Sakura saw a thin barely visible string that was connected to the shuriken. With a quick motion Sasuke used it to send the shuriken flying back at the grass kunoichi who looked back in shock. For a second it seemed like she was struck. Sakura even stood up, hoping that perhaps Sasuke actually managed to injure their enemy, but her hopes were crushed when the grass kunoichi turned back to them, revealing that she had caught the shuriken in her mouth.

"Gotcha. Fire ball jutsu!" Sasuke flashed through seals and released a stream of fire that went along the metal string one end of which he still held in his mouth. The sudden fire attack had hit the grass kunoichi straight in the face. She stumbled back, her face unseen behind a large fireball. The flames died soon enough and for some time there was only silence.

"Heh, not bad, quite impressive, Sasuke-kun." The genin never expected the enemy to speak in a laughing tone. They expected her to scream from pain, fall off the tree branch, anything, but not this. When she looked up they saw something that shocked them even further. Her face, it looked like the skin was burned off, but underneath it, was another face, as if the person present was wearing some sort of a mask.

"Who are you?" Sasuke muttered.

"My name is Orochimaru and after that little demonstration you just gave me, I have made up my mind, it is you who I want."

"What is that supposed to mean."

"In due time, Sasuke-kun, all in due time. As for now ... " the neck of the strange shinobi that called himself Orochimaru extended and before Sasuke could even blink Orochimaru bit him in the neck.

"Sasuke!" Sakura could no longer stay hidden and jumped out from her hiding space, as Sasuke collapsed to his knees. "What did you do?" Sakura asked the mysterious ninja.

"I just left Sasuke a little parting gift. He will find good use for it. And then he will come to me, seeking power." Orochimaru began sinking into the surface of the tree as if it was water and then there was nothing. He left, just like that.

"Sasuke, what is wrong, where does it hurt?" Sakura looked over the boy who couldn't even speak as pain surged through his whole body. She saw the spot where Sasuke was bitten and wondered if he was poisoned when she noticed some strange mark forming on his shoulder. She had no idea what it was, but clearly it was connected with what happened to Sasuke. Before Sakura could do anything else, Sasuke collapsed, loosing consciousness, perhaps for the best as the pain was becoming unbearable.

"Sasuke, we need to get down." Sakura spoke, mostly to herself as she understood that the boy was unable to hear her or answer right now. She pulled his hand around her shoulder and pulled him up, frowning from his weight. After all she wasn't the most physically fit member of the team. Still she managed to get Sasuke down and lower him onto the soft grass, between the large roots of the tree. Hardly a safe spot, but it would have to do for now.

"Now for Naruto." Sakura stood up. She hoped that her teammate survived the fall after all Naruto proved incredibly hard to pin down, it is if his whole being refused to admit defeat and stay down.

...

Naruro just hung there, several meters above the ground, his sturdy jumpsuit pinned to the tree trunk by a long white arrow. He naturally was unable to witness what occurred once he was tossed away, but he was quite alive, if steady deep breaths were of any indication.

Once Orochimaru disappeared another figure appeared, carefully moving across the vertical surface of the tree trunk towards Naruto. It was someone dressed in a dark grey, loose fitting garb with a black belt around the waist. The face was hidden by a cloth mask, but dark brown hair still could be seen and if one would look closer he could see that the tips of several strands of hair were of a very strange white colour. The figure had a long curved bow strapped to his back, but strangely no quiver with arrows, though it seemed that the arrow that saved Naruto was made from the same material as the bow. What was strange was that he had no forehead protector or any other mark or symbol that would tell if he was from one of the ninja villages.

The figure carefully crawled over to Naruto, inspecting the boy from the distance at first. He then moved closer and grabbed Naruto's blonde hair, pulling the head up roughly to see the face. It was unclear what the strange ninja understood from watching him, but after some time he seemed to decide on something. Without a single word he pulled out the arrow, allowing Naruto to fall down, but didn't do anything else. He just watched the prone form of the genin before retreating, disappearing in the many shadows of the forest.

Soon Sakura appeared looking for Naruto and easily spotted the orange jumpsuit. She hurried over to her teammate and was relieved that he was alive. More than that, he didn't seem to have any serious injuries, which seemed impossible considering that he fell from incredible height and there was nothing here that would significantly soften the impact. Still he was breathing regularly, didn't cringe in pain or show any discomfort when she pulled him up. If anything, he looked asleep.

She had to admit that the way Naruto acted surprised her. He somehow was able to hold off that giant snake, showing power he never showed before. For a moment he scared her, she felt strange, unexplainable terror, similar to that she felt on the bridge back in the wave country. But he was protecting them, he was willing to risk his life to save them and he never even hesitated about that. Perhaps Naruto was a clumsy idiot, but he was a good friend.

…

Sakura found a secluded spot nearby. The roots of another giant of a tree created sort of a small cave between them. Such shelter was perhaps the best thing she could find on such short notice. It took her some time to get both Sasuke and Naruto there and then lay some traps for at least some measure of security. Naruto was simply asleep, but Sasuke quickly developed a serious fever. His face often revealed that he was in serious pain and Sakura was unable to do anything to help him, except putting wet cloth on his forehead and sitting next to him, hoping that he would somehow pull through.

With all those worries it was not surprising that she never noticed that their small shelter was carefully observed by someone carefully hiding in the branches of a nearby tree. The figure with the bow seemed to be waiting for something, patiently. He was the first to see the three sound genin appear, cutting off any retreat for the pink haired konoha nin and her injured teammates. Still he made no move to try and help her when she was forced to engage the new arrived enemies.

The strange ninja tilted his head slightly, somewhat surprised that the girl actually managed to pin down and injure one of the sound genin, despite not showing any kind of special ability. It was actually more attributed to the arrogance of her opponent who was just playing with her. She was so clearly outmatched, that the outcome was painfully obvious. If anything she was going to buy herself and her teammates another couple of minutes of life. But surprisingly she was saved by the arrival of another Konoha genin team. By that time the pink haired girl was already in no shape to even stand, having numerous cuts, bruises and having lost a good portion of her long hair.

Strangely enough the sound trio were opposed by only one konoha genin, who was sometimes speaking utter nonsense, not to mention that his clothes were bizarre to say the least. His teammates silently observed the engagement from another tree, but even without their help the konoha genin demonstrated an amazing skill in taijutsu. The style was relatively straightforward, an onslaught of strikes, aimed at joints, vital areas, anything that could potentially cripple or even kill the opponent. But even that would've been useless of it was not for the arrival of another konoha genin team, this one taking a more careful approach, by capturing one of the sound nins and using her as a hostage.

The area was quickly becoming a bit crowded. The Konoha ninjas were known for looking out for each other, but this was getting ridiculous. The sound genin were soon in a very tight spot, being outnumbered, but they were not about to give up. If anything they were willing to sacrifice their teammate in order to accomplish their mission. They already revealed that they were after Uchiha Sasuke and it was all too ironic that their target was actually the one to finally end the engagement.

When Sasuke appeared his aura alone made everyone turn in his direction. The left part of his body was covered in some sort of black markings and those around him shivered from the menacing vibe he was giving off. He radiated power, but that power was foul, cold, twisted, unnatural.

"Sakura, who did this to you?" Sasuke spoke not turning to his teammate who was unable to answer. She just stared at Sasuke, who waited for answer.

"I did, so what?" Zaku smirked. He actually welcomed this turn of events. He wanted to kill Sasuke and now instead of having to fight all of these would be ninjas he had his target right in front of him. Unfortunately for him, Sasuke also welcomed a chance to test out the new power and now he had a perfect reason and a perfect target. It was over in about a minute with Sasuke holding Zaku in pain lock, threatening to break his arms. As it turned out, he was more than willing to do it, as a moment later Zaku screamed out in pain when Sasuke pulled his wrists back, breaking his arms.

"So be it." The figure in the tree nodded. The skin on his wrist parted as something white pierced it. Without a sound he pulled out another white arrow out of his own hand as if it was the most natural thing to do and readied his bow. He took a careful aim, pulling back the bow string with his index and middle finger.

"Stop, just please, stop!" Sakura embraced Sasuke from behind, desperately trying to stop him. The way he acted, the cruelty he showed, it was not him, it couldn't be him.

The mysterious archer hesitated for a moment, but his arrow had more than enough power to deliver a mortal blow even with an obstacle in it's way such as another person. He caught the moment between his heart beating and released the arrow.