Naruto grit his teeth as he looked up at the sky. Night had fallen, and he still wasn't even close to where his team had battled the mysterious kunoichi. Even he had to admit traveling through this forest at night was a bad idea. The risk that he could get ambushed was high, and all sorts of predators would come out. Not to mention Sasuke and Sakura would be in hiding; if they got away. Any signs of where they went, or what happened to them, would be harder to see.
It didn't help that the snake hadn't gone in a straight line. It looked like Naruto's luck hadn't held out; he'd lost the trail not too long ago. The darkness wouldn't help there either. His disguised clones hadn't sent back anything yet, either.
Using his chakra to silence his footfalls as best he could, he continued searching. If he didn't find anything soon, he'd have to camp out alone for the night. He didn't want to, but wasting all his strength and getting himself lost wouldn't help.
'I hope you guys are ok out there...'
Anko struggled as she walked along the forest floor. She grit her teeth, hand reaching for her neck; the spot where that damned seal her former sensei had branded her with had reappeared.
Pain pulsed through her entire body, spreading out from that mark. And it brought back bad memories as she tried to make her way back to the village.
She remembered the kind man her sensei had once been. Or pretended to be, she wasn't sure. All she knew was the burning hatred she felt for him ever since they found out how far he'd sunk; since he'd betrayed Konoha and her.
It had taken years to restore the villager's faith in her. She'd been damned in the eyes of most of the village by association. Many still suspected her of being a spy.
And now he was here again, after that Uchiha kid. And who knew what else.
Well, whatever he had in mind, his threat was clear: halt the exams or capture those three genin from the village he made, and he'd destroy Konoha.
From Orochimaru, that was no idle threat.
She didn't know what he was planning. He had to have something in mind besides seducing the Uchiha heir to his side. One thing that was clear: if they did anything overt like declaring martial law, it would be trouble. She needed to warn Lord Hokage, but the pain was making getting through this forest a struggle.
Good thing she'd spent so much time here. She just had to keep moving.
Sakura replaced the wet towel on Sasuke's head and sat back, sighing as she looked out. She couldn't see the sky from here, but it was clear that night had fallen. Sasuke still showed no signs of recovery. His fever hadn't lessened in the slightest, and his face twisted in pain.
It had been hours since their encounter with Orochimaru, and she was beginning to feel tired, but sleep wasn't an option; Sasuke's condition would change while she was sleeping. On top of that, there was what Orochimaru had said about his subordinates. They could attack at any moment, so she had no choice but to maintain her vigil.
'Please be ok, both of you...' She wanted to go and find Naruto, but Sasuke depended on her right now.
Minutes turned to more hours, and nothing changed. Sakura dutifully changed the wet towel on Sasuke's head whenever it got warm and looked out for any signs of attack, but there was never anything but darkness and the sounds of insects in the forest.
Sakura could feel her eyelids growing heavy. She had no idea how much time had passed, but she guessed she'd been up for somewhere around 20 hours at this point. She felt her stomach grumble. They hadn't even had time to gather supplies. Still, she shook her head and forced herself to remain awake.
She had no idea how long it had been, but eventually, she looked up and saw the rays of the sun shining through the forest canopy. It was morning. She had now been up for a full day. Still, she hoped that with the light of the sun, Naruto would find them soon. She had to believe in him.
It was then that a rustle reached her ears. She jerked her head to look at the sound and found... a squirrel?
She sighed in relief. It was just a woodland critter, and a normal one too. "Geez, I'm out of it. I almost let a squirrel of all things..." Then she heard it start to scurry towards her and looked back at it. Her eyes hardened. She threw a shuriken at the critter and tossed it at the small animal. It had no time to avoid it; the weapon raked across its back, drawing a small amount of blood.
But it was better off now. It wouldn't have to worry about that explosive seal on its back.
As the wounded critter scurried off, Sakura tensed and scanned her surroundings. The enemy was here, somewhere.
"Well, well. You noticed." A vaguely familiar voice rang out. Three figured leaped out of a tree at the edge of the clearing. It was the Oto genin. Orochimaru's goons. "Pretty sharp... but you seem a bit tired. Up all night?" The bandaged one asked. "And I don't see that blond anywhere... a shame, I was hoping for some payback."
"Not like it matters. We've got a job to do." The one with spiky hair said. "Looks like Sasuke's down for the count. Wake him up; we want to fight him." He then chuckled. "Or don't. It won't make a difference in the end anyway."
Sakura growled as she drew a kunai. What did the Snake Sannin want? 'This doesn't make any sense. If he wanted to kill us, he had us dead to rights last night. Why send these clowns to finish the job? And that seal...'
She didn't have enough information. And she doubted Orochimaru would share his plans with genin. Either way, it didn't change the task in front of her.
"If you want Sasuke, you'll have to walk over my dead body!" She ground out, glaring at the trio.
"Heh, fine by me." The black-haired one said as he started to rise.
"Wait, Zaku." The bandaged one stopped him.
"Huh? Why?" The now-named boy asked.
"You're not very good at this, are you?" The one-eyed genin asked as he kneeled and placed a hand on the ground. "A recently overturned stone. Differently colored dirt. And grass shouldn't grow here." With that, he overturned a patch of false grass. "Traps are only effective if they go unnoticed."
The pink-haired girl grit her teeth, glaring at them.
"Idiot," Zaku scoffed.
"If you'd stood aside, we might have let you walk away. But if you want to try to stop us with such lackluster skills, then so be it." He tilted his head. "Kill her."
And with that, the sound genin burst into motion, leaping into the air and above her traps.
And Sakura smirked. "You're the idiots." She cut a hidden wire with her kunai. She guessed no one ever warned them that if you see an obvious trap, then it was a safe bet that it was covering up a better one.
The three Oto genin looked up as a massive log swung down at them. "Oh, no!" The bandaged one shouted. "Just kidding."
He put his gauntleted hand on it and made a hand seal. Immediately the log burst apart, splinters flying everywhere.
Then she saw his eye widen as he noticed the explosive seals on the back of the log. "Shit!" He had just enough time to brace himself before the three were blown away by the blast as the tags detonated.
She cut another wire as she watched them crash into the ground. Kunai rained down on them from above, and the trio jumped back to dodge, only to find they weren't the real threat. A series of paper bombs fell from above, bursting into purple smoke.
"Poison! Zaku!" Dosu yelled from within the cloud.
"Slicing Sound Wave!" The spiky-haired boy unleashed a wave of wind from his palms that blew away the cloud. "Dosu! Kin! Are you alright?"
"I held my breath." The girl replied.
"Same." Dosu responded. It was then that they noticed the rock wall that now stood before the mass of roots.
"Is she trying to hide?" Zaku asked.
"Wait." Dosu said, holding up a hand to his teammate. He closed his eye for a moment before it, and those of his teammates widened.
They all jumped back just before Sakura burst from the ground beneath Dosu. She threw a volley of senbon his way, only for him to block them with his gantlet. She clicked her teeth in frustration. She saw Zaku raise his arm, revealing holes in his palm, but she dived back underground before he could attack.
She sensed them land above her and took a moment to think; they'd reacted faster than she expected. Deciding to test things out, she made to attack them again. Upon sensing them moving above, she dove further underground and slipped away.
'So they can sense me, even underground. How?... No, that doesn't matter. What matters is; I can't ambush them. And I don't know what kind of jutsu they use besides that wind attack...' She frowned as she remembered the holes she spied in the boy's palms. 'He let someone drill holes through his arms so he can use what's basically a wind jutsu, and he calls me an idiot?'
She took a moment to think about all she knew about these three before settling on a plan.
She burst from the ground in front of them and found Zaku's palms pointed at her, just as she expected.
"Nice trick, but not good enough. Slicing Sound Wave!" The air distorted as airwaves burst from the boy's palms, speeding towards her. It struck her head-on, but she burst into smoke on impact, revealing a log.
"Substitution?" Zaku didn't sound the least bit impressed as he turned to her.
Sakura dropped down, running through hand seals as she saw Kin charge toward her. 'Earth Style: Earth Flow Spears!'
Stone spikes erupted from the ground. They began to fill the battlefield, moving ever closer to the Oto genin. The three jumped into the air to avoid being skewered, just as Sakura had hoped as she made another hand sign.
Two seal tags Naruto had drawn up for her became visible on the tree behind them. Just a few of those she'd laid down. Immediately, dozens of kunai and shuriken shot from the seals and flew down towards the genin.
Zaku turned his arms toward the weapons and blasted them away, but that left him open.
Channeling chakra to her legs, Sakura launched herself at the boy as she drew two kunai. He noticed her coming at the last second but didn't have enough time to use that jutsu and brought his arms down to defend. He blocked his chest and protected his vitals, but Sakura managed to nail one of her secondary targets: the boy cried out as the kunai stabbed into his left arm and right shoulder.
"Zaku!" Dosu yelled as Sakura kicked him in the chest and sent him flying to the tree, slamming into the bark and splintering it as she threw poisoned senbon his way. Dosu appeared in front of him and blocked the weapon with his gauntlet as Zaku landed on the ground, his right arm hanging limp at his side, the tendons severed.
"You're not very good at this, are you?" Sakura threw back at them as Zaku grit his teeth and glared at her. She wasn't sure what that gauntlet did, but it probably had something to do with the force that destroyed that log. Dosu fought at close range, Zaku covered distance, but she didn't know what Kin's part was. Still. "Next time, don't show off your trump cards at the start of a fight!"
She ducked down as she sensed something flying towards her, two senbon flying over her head. She turned to look at their source, the black-haired kunoichi, and made to move before a ringing reached her ears. She turned to see bells on the senbon.
The distraction was just long enough for Zaku to fire off an air pressure attack with his left arm. It slammed into her and sent her flying, crashing into a root and coughing up blood. When she started to rise, her body suddenly locked up. All of the muscles in her arms and legs tensed and refused to obey.
"Heh." Kin said, and Sakura looked at her, her face being about the only thing still somewhat under her control. "Who said we showed off all out trump cards?"
'Genjutsu... a sound-based one.' Sakura guessed. Not good; those were the worst kind short of kekkei genkai related ones. She turned to see Dosu charge at her. She bit her lip hard enough to draw blood, the pain shattering the illusion and allowing her to move. She kicked back to dodge, but a moment later, the world twisted. Once again her body refused to obey. She fell and slid across the dirt, crashing into the base of one of her spikes. As she tried to rise, it felt to her like everything was shifting. As if she was on a ship at sea in a storm. Her stomach began to turn, nausea rolling through her.
'This is... my equilibrium's shot. How...?' She felt something warm trickle down from her ears. Looking beneath her, she found drops of red staining the dirt. 'Blood?'
"Pretty good girlie. It looks like we underestimated you, but it's over now."
"This is... another sound attack?" She asked.
"That's right." The bandaged genin held up his gauntlet. "Thanks to this gauntlet of mine, I can manipulate sound waves. I attacked the membranes of your inner ear. I'm afraid you won't be able to move as you like for a while."
Damn it. Sakura had thought that if she could take Zaku out and keep her distance from the other two, she could handle this. 'No. I can't let them down like this...'
'That's Sakura? When did she...?' Ino had wondered as she stared into the clearing with wide eyes.
"We should get out of here! Those three are out of our league!" Choji said beside her, fear almost palpable.
On her other side, Shikamaru turned to her. "Ino, what are you going to do?"
"Huh?" The blonde turned to him, her eyes still wide with shock.
"You guys used to be friends, right? Are you just going to sit here and watch?" Shikamaru asked. As lazy as he usually was, he was surprisingly dependable when the chips were down.
She bit her lip as she stared back into the clearing. How had things turned out like this? After getting nothing on the first day, she'd had the, in her humble opinion, brilliant idea of scouting out the area by using her Mind Transfer Jutsu on a bird. It worked swimmingly. If only all the teams she found didn't look tougher than them.
Not that that was saying much. None of Ino's team would deny that.
And then she spied Sakura, caring for Sasuke, who didn't look well. No sign of Naruto.
'How did that even happen? Sakura and Naruto, sure, but Sasuke!?' She'd thought. Anyway, it was low, but Shikamaru thought they were their best bet.
And this was what they'd stumbled into when they got here.
"Tch, you gave us a lot more trouble than I thought." They heard the Oto kunoichi say as she walked over to Sakura, who was fighting to stand up. "Let's make this hurt. Dosu, go and get Sasuke. Let's kill him in front of her."
Ino's expression shifted to horror at that.
"Good idea," Dosu said as she began to walk towards the stone barrier Sakura had made while their spiky-haired teammate smirked while holding his wounded shoulder.
Sakura immediately launched herself at the Oto kunoichi with her fist cocked back for a punch before she gritted her teeth and stumbled. Her opponent easily side-stepped her attack and kneed her in the stomach, sending her to the ground.
Shakily, she still tried to stand back up. "I... won't let you."
'When did Sakura get that strong?' Ino wondered as she stared into the clearing with wide eyes.
Not just in terms of fighting ability, though that was obvious. Ino remembered back when they first met. Sakura had been curled up in a ball, crying her eyes out after being teased by other kids. She remembered how shy she was when she introduced her to her other friends. The Sakura she knew would be frozen, trembling. Tearing up as she could do nothing but watch.
Just like her now.
Ino watched Sakura run for Dosu, only for the girl to jump in her way. She tried to throw a punch at her, but she was slow and off-balance. The Oto kunoichi moved into her guard and struck the pink-haired girl in the face, sending her back to the ground.
Ino's hands balled into fists, shaking at her side.
She remembered the day Sakura ended their friendship. The day she asked Ino if she liked Sasuke too, before telling her they were rivals from now on.
And that day a few weeks ago.
(flashback)
Ino sat at the counter of her family's flower shop, sighing as she looked up at the clock and then turned her gaze to the ceiling.
She enjoyed tending her clan's shop, but it was a slow day, and her other duties had already been complete. Nothing left to do but hope someone showed up and wait out the clock. Still, it's not like there were worst places for it: surrounded by beautiful and fragrant flowers. She smiled as she thought this was one job Shikamaru might enjoy, lazy stick in the mud that he was.
Then she heard the door open. She looked over, and her eyes widened before they narrowed. It was Sakura. She hadn't set foot in this shop for years.
"Well, look what the cat dragged in," Ino said, resting her head on her hand. "What brings you here, billboard brow."
Sakura twitched at that, briefly glaring at her before taking a deep breath. "I'm here to order some flowers, of course," Sakura said, though her words didn't have the same bite they usually did when they talked. "And this is probably the only place in the village I could get them." She said as she walked over to the desk and handed her a list.
Ino wasn't about to turn down a customer, even her rival. Her father would chew her out. She raised a brow as she looked at the list. Every one of these was poisonous. 'Well, it's pretty obvious what she wants with these...' And she was right; they were the only flower shop in Konoha who'd have access to all of these.
"Yeah, yeah, I'll handle it. We should have the order ready for you in a week." Ino said while she opened a drawer and slipped the paper inside. She closed her eyes and made a shooing motion. "If that's all, then you can take that oversized forehead and leave."
She expected fire from her rival, as usual, but instead, there was only silence. When Ino opened her eyes and looked, she found Sakura seemed uncertain.
"Well... that was one reason I came here." The pink-haired girl said, averting her gaze for a moment before steeling herself and meeting Ino's eyes. "Besides that... I wanted to say I'm sorry."
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"For starting... this," Sakura said with a sweeping gesture between them. "I'm sorry for what I did that day. For walking away and making us rivals."
Ino closed her eyes and turned her head. "Tch, where'd this come from all of a sudden? Think you can get me to drop my guard that easily?"
"No, no! I just-"
"Just what? Like you said, you're the one who walked away, and now you suddenly come in here and say 'I'm sorry' after we've been at each other's throats for years? Why should I believe you?" Ino then smirked. "Then again, this is just the kind of ploy I'd expect from you, forehead. You're head might be inflated with all that knowledge that got you through the academy, but you don't have an ounce of wisdom to go with it."
That got Sakura growling, and she brought up a shaking fist. "Yeah, well, at least I have a brain, you porker! You've got nothing but beauty tips in that empty head of yours!"
"Well, at least my efforts pay off, ugly!"
"So, you admit you're a dumb blonde?" They glared, sparks shooting between their eyes. Then Sakura shook her head. "Damn it. I didn't come here for this." She said under her breath before she walked out.
"That's right, get lost," Ino said as she set her head back down in her hand.
"Ino." Sakura got her attention as she stood at the door. "For what it's worth, I did mean it when I said I was sorry." She walked out before the blonde could reply.
(flashback end)
Ino's face twisted as she watched Sakura try to get back up.
"Ino!" Shikamaru said quietly but harshly. She needed to make a decision.
"We need to go!" Choji almost pleaded with his teammates.
Ino trembled as she fought with herself, trying to decide what to do as she clenched her jaw. Then, it all became clear.
She couldn't let Sakura or Sasuke die. And she couldn't let her rival show her up.
"Shikamaru," Ino began. "I'm going to use my Mind Transfer Jutsu on that girl. Her genjutsu could take us all out if we give her the chance to use it."
Choji looked panicked, but Shikamaru nodded. "Got it. That guy with the gauntlet's mine then."
"You guys can't be serious!"
"Hey, it's not so bad. That leaves the wounded guy for you. He's already an arm down; you got the easy bit." Shikamaru reassured Choji, who shook his head. Ino was already forming a circle with her hands, looking through them at the brunette. 'Mind Transfer Jutsu!'
She blacked out, and for a few moments, she knew nothing. Then, she opened the Oto Kunoichi's eyes, her eyes for the moment, and looked down at Sakura, who was on her side, fighting to stand. She smirked as she reached into Kin's pouch, feeling around and plucking out senbon. "Looks like you bit off more than you could chew... forehead."
Sakura's eyes widened.
Ino threw the senbon at Dosu, who immediately noticed and blocked them.
"What the hell, Kin?" Zaku asked.
"What do you think you're- ugh!" Dosu's body suddenly seized.
"Dosu?" Zaku turned to his bandaged teammate.
"My body... it's moving on its own. What is this?" Dosu said as he stood and took on an odd stance with his hands over his head, fingers pointed to his scalp. "What? My shadow?" He looked down and noticed a shadow connected to his own, leading to the treeline. He then made a pushing motion, mirroring Shikamaru as he forced Choji out of the bushes and into the clearing.
"Ugh, what kind of weird jutsu are these? And who the hell is that fatass?" Zaku growled.
Choji jerked at those words as Ino grinned. "Ooh, that was a mistake."
Choji stood up and glared at the Oto genin. "Fatass? Did I hear that right?" He asked in a deadly calm. Then he looked at the spiky-haired boy in rage. "I'm not fat! I'm just big-boned!" He growled before throwing his arms into the air. "Chubby's rule!"
"What?" Zaku asked, looking torn between confusion and frustration.
Choji then used one of his clan's signature jutsu; his body suddenly expanded into a massive sphere. His head and extremities pulled in like a turtle's before he began to roll at Zaku. "Human Boulder!"
"Tch." Zaku pointed his left arm at him and unleashed a wave of compressed air, but it only slowed Choji down.
"Ino?" Sakura asked from her place on the ground.
"Took you long enough," Ino answered back.
"How?"
"It's one of my clan's special jutsu." She then smirked at Sakura. "Hope you don't mind. I couldn't let you be the only one to look good in front of Sasuke." Sakura smiled back.
Choji and Zaku's techniques struggled with each other for a bit before the air pressure slipped under Choji and sent him flying into the air, crashing down on where Zaku stood.
Seeing this, Sakura tried to stand. "Sakura, that's enough." She said, drawing her attention. "Let us handle this."
"Ino," Sakura said, struggling with gritted teeth. "Listen. These guys; they aren't here to take these exams; they're here to kill Sasuke!"
Ino's eyes widened at that before she glared at the one remaining genin. "Over my dead body!" Choji had returned to normal, dazed by his short trip through the air. "If this is a mission, I take it they're not going to leave if I threaten this girl?"
"Considering who gave them the order, I doubt they'd even care," Sakura answered, drawing a brief look of confusion from Ino before she focused on her enemies.
Not good. Holding this girl hostage was her trump card. Shikamaru could only maintain control over someone for a short amount of time. It wouldn't be long before his jutsu broke, and she doubted he'd fall for that twice. Her jutsu wouldn't last that long either, for that matter. Maybe she should have practiced it more.
Ok then, the only option she had was to take out Dosu before Shikamaru's jutsu ran out. At least then, they'd only have two enemies to fight.
She drew more senbon and ran at Dosu, only for Zaku to point his palm at her, unleashing a wave of wind that slammed into her and sent her into a tree.
"Ino!" She heard Sakura, Shikamaru and Choji cry.
'Ugh, bastards... They didn't even hesitate...' Ino thought as she fought against the pain and rose to her feet.
"Now, for you," Zaku said, pointing at where the shadow was coming from. Crap! Shikamaru! And her body! "You should have just stayed out of-"
Before he could finish, a familiar orange blur appeared and kicked him in the head, sending him and crashing into the ground. Standing there, glaring down at him was-
"Naruto!" Sakura yelled, sounding happy and relieved to see her teammate.
Naruto looked at her. His eyes widened when he saw how bloodied she was before he glared at Zaku. "Looks like you've had a hard time. Sorry I didn't get back sooner." He looked from one Oto genin to another. "Don't worry; I'll take care of these guys in five seconds."
It was at that moment that Ino's Mind Transfer Jutsu ended. There was a rush, and in a moment, she found herself back in her own body. Her eyes flew open as her she went on full alert, peering over the bushes.
"Oh yeah? Big talk, let's see you back it up!" Zaku said as he pointed his palm at Naruto. Shikamaru's Shadow Possession broke at that moment too. Dosu immediately noticed his body was free and shot at Naruto.
'Oh, no!' She thought as Sakura yelled, "Naruto! Don't-!"
Naruto dodged Dosu's attack and immediately grimaced. Dosu's bandages shifted, showing he was grinning. "Too bad, it's already-" And then Naruto burst into smoke. "What!?" He had just enough time to exclaim his shock before another Naruto appeared in front of him and slammed a fist into his gut.
Was that a clone technique? A solid one? Since when could Naruto use any clone jutsu?
Zaku gritted his teeth, preparing to attack when suddenly the wind shifted and formed tornados that came barreling down on him. He raised his palm and blew them away with an intense windblast, but three more Naruto's were on him in that instant, and with one arm down, he was wide open.
The first clone clocked him in the face. The second and uppercut into the solar plexus, causing him to double over. The third kicked him square in the jaw, driving him into the air. Two more kicks sent him higher before one grabbed his ankles. It spun around to build momentum before slamming him into the ground with enough force to crack the ground, kicking up a dust cloud.
While the three doppelgangers were pounding on Zaku, the Naruto fighting Dosu reached into his pouch and took out two necklaces of prayer beads. He tossed them at the bandaged genin and made a hand sign. The objects seemed to take on a life of their own. They wrapped around his arms like snakes. "Sealing Jutsu: Weighted Seal!"
Dosu fell with a cry of shock, crashing into the ground and creating a crater.
When the dust cleared, Zaku was knocked-out cold while both of Dosu's arms were half-buried in the ground. They could hear him struggle as he tried and failed to lift them.
Kin roused herself and drew senbon, only for another Naruto to put a kunai to her throat. "Don't even think about it."
What?
What!?
What!?
"Sakura! Are you ok?" Naruto, the real one she assumed, ran over to Sakura and kneeled in front of her.
Sakura nodded, smiling with relief. "Yeah, that bandaged guy just hit me with that technique of his. My equilibrium's screwed up. What about you? I was so worried about you."
"I'm fine, Sakura. You know it would take more than that to keep me down." He looked at the fallen Oto genin, stopping on the wounds on Zaku. "Did you hold all three of them off by yourself until these guys showed?"
"Yeah," Sakura seemed a bit down. "Sorry. I couldn't take them alone."
"What are you talking about? It was three on one, and you almost took that guy out by yourself. Hell, I only had such an easy time because my clone let me know what was going on, so I came ready to blindside them." Naruto said, putting a hand on her shoulder, and she smiled again.
Ino could only gape at what had just happened. Choji and Shikamaru looked as incredulous as her. "You did great, Sakura."
Ok, what? Sakura's strength had shocked her, but what was that? Since when did Naruto, the class clown, the dead last, the kid whose only claims to fame were pranks and almost knocking out their sensei with a perverted jutsu kick ass like that? And since when did these two get along? Sure, Sakura didn't hit him back when the genin gathered for the first test, but that was in front of all their rivals. The last time she saw them, Sakura would yell at Naruto every chance she got, if he was lucky, hit him if he wasn't.
What happened to this team!?
"You saw all that too, right?" Shikamaru asked beside her.
Ino's face twisted into a furious glare. She was about to explode with questions when Naruto's next words stopped her short. "What happened to Sasuke? Is he alright?"
It was a good thing he'd thought of that trick with his clones and the transformation jutsu. One of them had found Sakura around the time the Oto genin revealed themselves. Knowing it wouldn't make much of a difference since it couldn't take a hit, it dispersed to let him know she was in trouble. Thanks to that, he'd come in ready to blitz those three. After his first clone took a dive and caught them off guard, he'd made sure to take them down before they could regain their balance. He'd gone a bit overkill; there were still a few clones waiting in the wings in case things went wrong.
That was one of Kakashi's lessons. A good shinobi tries to end a battle before it begins whenever they have the chance. Or get as close to it as they can with their opening move.
"Sasuke's over there," Sakura answered, looking over at the stone barricade. "He's been out for hours. He looks like he's in pain." She then turned to him and looked afraid. "Naruto, that kunoichi we were fighting? It was Orochimaru!"
Wait, what did she say!? "What!?" He heard his reaction echoed from Ino's team. The two conscious members of the Oto team looked shocked at that.
"Wait, wait, wait! What are you saying!? Orochimaru!? Here!? What's going on!?" Ino burst out of the bushes as Shikamaru followed warily now that he knew how deep in it they were. He couldn't lie; he was feeling about the same, knowing who they'd been fighting last night.
"Yesterday, after the exam started, we got off to a good start. Naruto had his clones scout out the area when suddenly they all got destroyed at once after one of them saw that creepy Kusa kunoichi with the long tongue." Sakura began to explain. "We knew she was bad news, so we ran. But it didn't take her long to catch us."
"We threw everything we had at her, and nothing worked. Damn, no wonder we couldn't touch her." Naruto said, cursing under his breath. "Sh- he nailed me with a wind jutsu and then summoned a snake and had it drag me away from the fight. The damned thing was fast. By the time I snapped out of it, I was in a different part of the forest. I couldn't find my way back before nightfall, so I had to camp out in a tree by myself."
"He told Sasuke and me who he was after that. He said he wanted us to pass this stage, and then he put some weird seal on Sasuke." She then glared at the Oto genin. "And he said he was going to send these three bozos after us. They said Orochimaru ordered them to kill Sasuke."
Naruto's eyes narrowed. "That doesn't make any sense. And what's this about a seal?"
"Well-"
"Sakura." A familiar voice interrupted them from the barricade.
They all looked up. "Sas-" Sakura began, only to stop cold. Everyone in the clearing stared, eyes wide with shock or fear.
Something was very wrong with their teammate.
It was clear what seal she was talking about now; black flame-like markings covered the left half of Sasuke's face and his arm. A tornado of purple-colored chakra swirled around him. His eyes had already shifted into the crimson of the Sharingan. There was a coldness in those eyes that they'd never seen before.
Those eyes scanned the clearing, stopping on each of the Oto genin. He scoffed. "I see. I was going to ask who hurt you, but it looks like Naruto's already handled things. And I'd been hoping to try out this power."
"S- Sasuke. That seal." Sakura said.
"Hm?" Sasuke looked down at his arm, covered in the seal markings. "Oh, this? Don't worry about it. I feel great. In fact, I'm overflowing with power right now." He clenched his fist. Then he looked to Naruto and smirked. "Say, Naruto. Since you've already taken care of these chumps, want to spar? You've always been trying to prove you're better than me, right? Want to press your luck?"
Yep, this wasn't Sasuke. While he and Sasuke might like to compete, he'd never pick an actual fight on a mission or in a situation like this. Not to mention that from that look and his tone, he wasn't planning on stopping until one of them couldn't get up if their life depended on it.
The blond then plastered a smile on his face and placed his hands behind his head. "Eh, you know me, I'm always ready to throw down."
"Good-"
"But!" Naruto interrupted, becoming serious again. "Not while you're letting that thing control you." He glared. "Wake up, Sasuke. I don't care if that thing came from Orochimaru; you're stronger than that!"
Sasuke seemed unmoved. The curse mark spread further, now covering his whole face. "This is strength."
"Sasuke, listen to him!" Sakura yelled, struggling to her feet. Naruto reached out to support her, seeing how unsteady she was. "This isn't you!"
"You think so? I told you, I'm an avenger. I-" Sasuke began, then he frowned and looked down at his hand. Suddenly, he let out a cry of pain and grasped his head as he stumbled back. The mark glowed an angry crimson and then receded to the back of his neck as the Uchiha heir fell to his knees.
"Sasuke!" His teammates' yelled as they ran to him, kneeling in front of him.
Sasuke looked up, his eyes returning to their usual coal color. "What... what happened?"
Naruto and Sakura looked at each other. "You... don't remember?" The pink-haired girl asked.
"The last thing I remember is... Orochimaru!" He grasped the spot on his neck where the seal was.
"Naruto, could you take a look at it?" Sakura asked. "You're the only one of us who knows anything about sealing jutsu."
Naruto blinked. "I can look, but I mean, I've only been at it for a little over a month. If this thing came from Orochimaru, it's probably way beyond my level." He took a spot beside Sasuke and gazed intensely at the mark on the Uchiha's next. He frowned deeply. This was... "I can't make heads or tails of this thing. It's not like any of the seals I've studied, I can say that much, but that's about it."
Sakura sighed. "Well, let's look at what it did then. It gave Sasuke a power boost. Why?"
"Power boost?" Sasuke asked. Well, that proved he didn't remember what just happened.
"Yeah, and from the looks of it, it gave you a real mean streak too," Naruto said before cupping his chin. "Maybe that's the point? It gives you power while twisting you into someone like Orochimaru? In that case, it's probably addictive too. It's gotta make sure you keep coming back for more once you realize it's bad news, right?"
"Oh, I get it now," Sakura said, looking like she had had an epiphany before turning to the Oto genin. "That's what these guys were sent here for." All eyes turned to her. "Orochimaru said we'd have to defeat his men, these guys-" She looked at the Oto genin. "-and they said they'd been sent here for Sasuke. That didn't make sense. If Orochimaru wanted us dead, why didn't he kill us himself? Why put that mark on Sasuke? But if it gives him power, if it's supposed to get him addicted and change him..."
"In other words, these losers weren't supposed to kill me; they were supposed to get their asses kicked by me, but you guys beat me to the punch." Sasuke finished.
"... That's about what I thought when I saw that mark," Dosu admitted begrudgingly.
"Dosu!" Kin yelled, scandalized.
"Kin, look at me honestly. Tell me you can think of any other scenario. Why else Lord Orochimaru would send us here with orders to kill Sasuke, but then go ahead of us and place one of his Curse Marks on him." Dosu shot back. Kin looked surprised and seemed to think for a moment. Then a look of realization came over her. She looked away and to the ground.
"Chances are, that's why he sent Naruto away too." Sakura pointed out, cupping her chin. "He said he wanted us to pass this stage. He was probably afraid you and I could take them together but couldn't risk crippling you and making us fail."
"Wait for a second! You think these exams are still going to go on!? Orochimaru is in the village!" Ino yelled.
Dosu chuckled. "You think they don't already know?" They all looked at him, most glaring. "Think about it. Lord O-... no, Orochimaru killed some genin to infiltrate this forest. Do you think they haven't already found out? And yet, here we still are. My guess is Orochimaru has some leverage to force them to keep going."
"I hate to say it, but he's probably right," Shikamaru spoke up, cupping his chin. "If it's Orochimaru we're talking about and he does have some leverage on them, they'll probably play along. Prepare for the worst while hoping this is all he had planned."
"Speaking of," Dosu spoke up again. "Let us go, and I'll give you our scroll."
"What!? After everything you pulled, you think we'll just let you leave!?" Ino yelled.
Dosu tilted his head from his place on the ground. "What else are you going to do, kill us? You got the stomach for that?" He asked, and Ino wilted. "Besides, we know the truth now. We aren't assassins; we were sacrificial lambs. And your partners were enough to beat us, Sasuke. Even if we could beat the three of you at once, you could always draw upon that Curse Mark's power; then there'd be no hope for us."
There was silence as they contemplated their enemy's words. He had a few points.
Naruto glared. "What else do you know about this Curse Mark?"
"Nothing." Dosu replied. "Surprised? We're genin, and we were completely in the dark about Orochimaru's true intentions. I know of the Curse Mark; everyone in Oto does, but the specifics are above my rank. All I can tell you is that he places them on most of his experiments and anyone who catches his eye. That and that Sasuke must be one tough customer because most of the people he puts them on die from the strain."
Naruto glared for a moment, though he had to admit he felt a bit sorry for these guys. From the look on Kin's face, they'd been loyal to Orochimaru. And this was how he repaid them.
If he was right before, then taking them in would probably just piss off Orochimaru, and they probably wouldn't get any intel. As he said, they were just genin. If not, the jonin would probably pick them up later.
And Naruto didn't want to kill them. They'd just learned their leader had betrayed them and that they'd come after them on a lie. And they'd already beaten them pretty hard once. They didn't have a reason to attack them again besides payback.
"All right. No funny business." He made a hand sign, releasing his jutsu and causing the prayer beads to loosen, allowing Dosu to slip them off. He rubbed his arms for a moment, then reached into his raincoat and pulled out an Earth Scroll. He walked over to Zaku and picked him up, at which point Naruto took the kunai away from Kin's neck. She quickly rejoined her teammate. The two left without another word.
Ino was kind of numb from everything that had hit her over the last few minutes. She stood there and watched as the clone that had held Kin at knifepoint picked up the scroll.
"So, guess that means we've got both scrolls," Naruto said, breaking the silence.
"Afraid not, Orochimaru burned ours," Sasuke informed him.
"What? Oh, well, that's just great! On top of everything else..." Naruto growled and crossed his arms. He then looked to her team and smiled. "Thanks for the help, by the way. We owe you one."
"Well, it's not like we could just stand by and watch Sakura and Sasuke get killed," Shikamaru replied.
It struck her how much they'd changed in just a few months. Sakura had gotten so much stronger. And she knew that before, she hadn't been much braver than Ino herself. Yet, she hadn't shown an ounce of fear when the Oto genin had attacked; even outnumbered, she'd been nothing but determined to protect her team.
Naruto was still the same in a lot of ways. Still a loudmouth, craving for attention. But now, he could actually back up his boasts, and he didn't seem to be the idiot he was back in the academy. He knew what he was talking about now. He could be serious when he needed to, and she couldn't deny that he had made an entrance.
And Sasuke used to brush off Sakura, and he and Naruto used to be at each other's throats. Not to mention how Sakura used to act towards the other blond. When she found out that Sasuke, the cool loner, was on a team with his loudmouth wannabe rival and a girl weaker than her who had a massive crush on him, she'd thought it was going to go down in flames.
Instead, they'd all flourished and bonded. Well, Ino hadn't seen Sasuke in action, but she assumed he had improved just as much. After all, it was Sasuke.
What had happened to these three?
And freaking OROCHIMARU!? In the village!? In their chunin exams!? He'd been there when they gathered for the first exam. And before they entered the forest. She'd been standing a few yards away from the worst traitor to Konoha since Madara Uchiha! And he was targetting Sasuke!?
Then there was that mark. Its evil chakra and what it did Sasuke.
"Ino," Sakura said, drawing her out of her thoughts. "Can I talk to you? In private?"
Still in a bit of a daze, Ino replied, "Uh... sure." She watched as Sakura stood, still unsteady on her feet. The blonde stood beside her old friend and let her lean on her. They walked out of the clearing and stopped once they felt they were out of hearing distance. Sakura leaned against a tree and slid down to the forest floor. "Alright, talk."
"..." Sakura was silent for a moment before she said, "I'm not sure where to start."
Ino sighed and crossed her arms. "What happened to you three? You and Naruto are so different from when we graduated."
"... Well, I guess it all began with a mission to the Land of Waves." Sakura began. From there, Sakura described just what had happened. The state of Wave and the actions of Gato, much to Ino's disgust. Their first encounter with enemy ninja and learning the full scope of what they were facing. The battle with a jonin as strong as their sensei and how Naruto and Sasuke had saved the day. How bad things were in Wave and how it ended. Sakura had told her about what the masked boy had done to Sasuke in advance. But, Ino's blood still ran cold when Sakura described finding him motionless.
She noticed Sakura left some things out, like just how the masked boy died, but she got most of the story. And she could see how all that would change them.
"And I... I didn't do anything. I couldn't. Sure, I guarded Tazuna, but any one of those guys would have torn through me in about five seconds." Sakura said, looking down at the ground. "I did a lot of thinking after that... and I realized how stupid I'd been." She paused for a moment before she smiled ruefully. "Honestly, I hated myself."
"Sakura..." Ino wasn't sure how to respond. But more and more, she understood that Sakura had been completely honest that day in the shop.
"For putting in so little effort in training and getting stronger when I'd have people relying on me. For treating Naruto like I did without realizing he acted that way because he was alone in the world. And for how I ended things with you." She looked up at Ino with a sad and honest expression. "You did so much for me. You saved me from bullies, helped me find confidence, introduced me to people when I'd been alone, gave me something to strive towards, and I just cast you aside as soon as I found out we liked the same guy." She gave another rueful smile. "I used to call Naruto an idiot, but he'd never turn his back on a friend like I did." She looked at Ino with determination. "So I'm sorry. I understand if you don't forgive me, but I'll keep saying it as many times as it takes."
What was she supposed to say to that? All the memories from their friendship passed through her mind. Her pep talks, tending to flowers together, hanging out with her other friends at school. All those good times that ended when Sakura decided they were love rivals.
Her vision blurred a bit as she stared at her friend turned rival. At once, she knew how she felt and how to respond.
She kneeled to Sakura's level and wrapped her arms around her.
"Ino?"
"Geez, Sakura. You're making it hard to stay mad at you." Ino said, and she felt Sakura's arms wrap around her. They held that for a moment before she pulled back. "But don't think this means I'm going to let you take Sasuke, forehead."
"Wouldn't dream of it, miss piggy."
There was no fire in their words, and both wore smiles on their faces.
Kin sighed before looking to Dosu, who stood with his back to her. They'd left Zaku in a clearing not too far away but far enough that he wouldn't hear anything if he regained consciousness. They wanted to include him, but both agreed he was a bit too loyal to their leader.
Everything had gone so wrong. Kin's team had come here thinking Orochimaru had trusted them with an important task. They believed that he valued them. They'd thought that they were the best of the best, barring the likes of Orochimaru's Sound Four.
And now they knew it was all a lie. Orochimaru had sent them to get slaughtered. The pink-haired girl and the blond probably would have taken all three of them if they'd been together. And suddenly, they realized just where they truly stood.
"What are we going to do?" Kin asked. The confidence, no arrogance, she once had was gone.
Dosu looked off into the distance for a moment. "I'm going to keep going. I'm going to make it to the next round and fight Sasuke. And kill him."
"What? Why?" Kin asked, perplexed by her teammate's words. The mission was a lie; why bother going on with it?
"To teach Orochimaru that I'm nobody's pawn." Dosu answered. "He wanted us to fall to Sasuke, so I'm going to take his newest chosen pawn from him. I'll show him I'm not some weakling he can cast aside."
"Dosu, that's stupid," Kin argued, and he half-turned to face her with his one eye. "Even if you could win, I can only think of one reason Orochimaru would go through all this trouble for one guy: he must want his bloodline." She frowned. "What's he going to do to you if you knowingly take that from him?"
She could tell from how the bandages shifted Dosu was grimacing before he shook his head. "You're right. I let my desire for vengeance cloud my judgment. Survival should be our main priority."
Kin nodded in agreement. "Our first option is to keep working for Orochimaru." She then scoffed. "Working for someone who already tried to throw us away? That's a death sentence if I ever heard one."
Dosu hummed an affirmative and nodded. After a few moments of thought, the bandaged genin said, "We could go to the Third Hokage and plead our case. The shinobi here are soft, and that means he might be too. Of course, being genin, we have nothing to offer him nor any way to convince him of our sincerity." He then held up three fingers. "Option three is the same, but we spy on Orochimaru's forces until we have something to give him."
"Hell no." Spying on Orochimaru? That could only end with a one-way ticket to one of his labs. She sighed. "So, what else is there? Run away and hope that his forces don't find us before we find another village to join? If we can find another village willing to let us?"
"Seems like it." Dosu replied.
There was a moment of silence as both contemplated their options before Kin broke it. "We're fucked, aren't we."
"Very much so."