Chapter 21: Let the Games Begin IV

It was just under 3 days since he first entered the forest and Naruto was finally in control of his Negative Emotions Sensing. He could now filter out the unnecessary findings as well as pinpoint emotions should he need to. It made it easier to find threats and spot dishonesty. Naruto was sure that there were very few people in this world that would be able to successfully lie to him.

[ Well done brat. I have to say I'm impressed. You mastered this ability far quicker than that uppity little skank, Uzumaki Mito. ] Congratulated the Kyuubi. Naruto was currently making his way through the forest towards his team.

"Eh? Uzumaki Mito also had this ability?" Naruto questioned.

[ She did. She often used it on that tree-hugging monkey husband of hers when he was up to mischief. As much as I hate that frigid bitch, she was quite talented in the sealing arts, far better than that useless sperm donor of yours or his worthless sensei.

She sealed me in such a way that I barely affected her at all, while she had full access to my chakra and abilities. Grrrr….just thinking about it pisses me off! ] Kyuubi ranted.

"Calm down Kyu-chan. She's dead, remember. Besides, while she's rotting in the ground, you get to accompany a sexy beast like me as we cause mayhem across the elemental nations. So in the end, you won!" Naruto commented happily, causing her to deadpan at him.

[ Yeah right. I can't help but feel that I got the short end of the stick. That bitch is probably laughing at my misery, wherever she is. ] The Kyuubi said with a pout on her face.

"Hahaha…You really know how to punch me in the heart Kyu-chan. But it's okay. I know you're a tsundere. So no matter what you say, I know you love me." Declared Naruto with a knowing smile on his face. He looked completely assured of his conclusion. I caused the Kyuubi to blush brightly in her cage.

[Hmph….You keep telling yourself that you impudent mortal.] She scoffed at him.

"The harder you try to deny it, the more believable you make it Kyu-chan." He teaded with a sly smile on his face.

[Grrr…You..! Stop insinuating these preposterous things. I'm not a tsundere! And for the last fucking time….STOP CALLING ME KYU-CHAN!] She roared petulantly.

"Fufufu…no can do Kyu-chan. Until you tell me your real name, that's what I'm going to call you." He reminded her, much to her chagrin.

He stopped suddenly, and fought the urge to be physically ill.

"Oh sweet sage! That is absolutely nasty!" He moaned, his face turning a little green.

What happened was that Naruto received the memory feedback of the clone disguised as the Scroll of Heaven he left with Sasuke. It seemed that they were intercepted by the crazy Kusa Genin with the long tongue and vile chakra.

His reinforced clone was separated from Sasuke and Sakura by a high powered Fuuton jutsu. She then blasted pinky and broody with some impressive killing intent. It seemed like Sasuke offered their scroll to appease the clearly OP Genin to allow them to pass.

That backfired as the creepy bitch actually swallowed it. If it was any other time, Naruto might have been impressed and even a little turned on by that ability, but his clone decided to give his team an advantage and used the Bunshin Daibakuha while in the stomach of the Kusa Genin.

That unfortunately meant that Naruto now has the intimate knowledge of what it's like to be swallowed whole. The plus side was that now, no matter how strong that crazy bitch was, she won't get away unscathed from that internal attack. He hopes that his reinforced clone get there in time to prevent them from….wait…

"Huh? Kyu-chan? How did that weirdo swallow my clone? The Henge is supposed to be an illusion. What she did shouldn't even be possible." He pointed out.

[ Pfft…after all these months you finally figured it out. How do you think you could fool those high level shinobi with your transformed clones for your spy network? Regular shinobi Henge is an illusion. However, like I told you before, even though I'm not a 'real' fox, I still have the characteristics of one.

Foxes are tricksters by nature. They excel at illusions and transformations. My chakra present in your body allowed you to unconsciously mutate your regular Henge to a solid transformation.

It's why that ridiculous Oiroke no Jutsu of yours is so potent. You are actually transforming into a woman. ] Kyuubi explained.

"Huh…would you look at that. I guess I've been doing it for so long that it became natural to me. I never thought to question it. Damn! The applications of this can be devastating.

I'll think on it a little later though." He said as he leisurely made his way through the forest.

[You don't seem to be in too much of a hurry to reach your team. They could be in danger you know.] She pointed out.

"As much as I dislike Sasuke and Sakura as people, I'm not cruel enough to wish for their deaths. My reinforced clone should be more than enough to pull them out of any situation. Besides, while that Kusa Genin was giving off major killing intent, it was mostly for intimidation purposes.

There was no actual desire to kill. She seemed far too fixated on Sasuke. It was a little creepy. She was giving off major yandere vibes. I think the worst that could happen is Sasuke being raped. I think we can live with that result. Besides, I'm going to see if I can gather the scroll necessary for us to pass." He commented offhandedly.

The Kyuubi just sweat dropped at his casual attitude to his teammates being in mortal danger. Oh well, if that little bastard from that accursed clan suffers a little, then it's a win in her book.

Naruto stopped suddenly as he heard a scream pierce the forest along with a healthy dose of fear. Never one to deny someone help when he could, he took off in the direction of the scream to see if he could offer his aid.

He kept moving at high speed until he came upon a wide clearing. He instantly spotted the dead bodies of two boys. It looked like they were mauled to death. All in all, it wasn't a pretty sight. The feeling of fear increased, and he looked to see a huge bear cornering a young girl.

She looked to be around his age, maybe a year older. The Kusagakure hitai-ate signified her allegiance to the Grass country. She wore a full body mesh suit that started just below her neck and went down to her ankles.

She had an olive shirt with an orange strip running through it horizontally on her upper body that was left opened, along with a black skirt and black shinobi sandals on her feet. She also had alluring red eyes with narrow framed spectacles. What caught his attention though, was the beautiful shade of red that her hair was.

He was man enough to admit that he had a bit of a mother complex, something that the Kyuubi never let him hear the end of. He also had a fetish for red hair. He wondered if Haku-chan would be upset of she learnt that.

She would probably freeze his balls. he needed to stop thinking like that. All in all, Naruto found the girl to be very attractive, and he knew she would grow up to be one hell of a beauty in the future. Finally snapping himself out of his ogling, he sprang into action as the bear got nearer.

The girl closed her eyes in resignation as the bear closed in on her. She knew she was going to die. However, as she waited to be killed, nothing happened. She waited a few more minutes, and still nothing happened.

She suddenly heard the sound of whimpering. She opened her eyes, and saw a sight that would be forever imprinted in her mind. A tall, handsome blonde with shaggy hair that reached his neck, dressed in a white yukata with blue snowflake designs on the bottom and sleeves along with a blue spiral on the back, held together by an azure obi.

He had a black shirt, with orange trimmings and black pants with knee-high black boots that were buckled at the top. She felt her cheeks heating up at the sight of him. He had a serious expression on his face, which she now noticed had three light whisker-like marks on either cheek as well as the brightest blue eyes she has ever seen.

He was staring the bear down with that serious expression on his face, and the monstrous bear was actually whimpering in submission at his very presence. She felt her nubile young body heat up at his show of dominance. What was even more intoxicating to her was the feel of his chakra. It was huge! The most chakra she has ever felt from a person.

It was also so full of warmth and love. Like it was giving her a reassuring hug. She felt the protectiveness and security that he gave off. It saturated her very being. She also felt the darker, more deadly undercurrent of his chakra, showing that he wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty to defend what's his.

As she watched the bear run off with it tail between its legs, she couldn't help but remember the romance novels that she loves reading. Where the dashing hero swoops in and saves the princess at the last minute. This was exactly that scene.

When she looked into his kind and compassionate eyes, she knew she was hooked. As a kunoichi, she was never one to believe in love at first sight and all that other mumbo jumbo civilian girls spoke of. That was all fantasy to her. But as she gazed upon her knight in shining armour, she knew she was hooked and there was no going back for her.

"Hello miss. Are you hurt?" He questioned gently. Even his voice was smooth and enthralling to her. She snapped out of her daydream when she was him looking at her with concern, she blushed even brighter.

"Y..Yes…I'm okay." She managed to get out. He smiled, reached out and gently took her soft dainty hand in his larger calloused one and helped her to her feet. She absolutely loved how her hand fit perfectly in his. She could feel the butterflies raging in her stomach.

"My name is Naruto. Would it be too much to ask for your name miss?" He asked her.

"Mmm…My name is Karin. Thank you for saving me. I thought I was going to die for a moment." She said to her saviour. He smiled gently in response to her.

"It's no problem Karin-chan. I'm never one to sit back when someone is in trouble. I'm thankful that I was able to make it in time to save someone as beautiful as you." He complimented, causing her to blush prettily.

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to make it in time to save your teammates." Karin scoffed at that, making him look at her in a bit of surprise.

"Don't be. Those idiots thought it would be a good idea to use me as bait for other teams. They were arrogant assholes who didn't even care for my wellbeing. I'm kind of upset that I won't be able to advance, but I won't mourn those idiots." She said.

Naruto just sweat-dropped at her blunt comments. This girl sure had quite the personality. He would be lying if he said he wasn't a little attracted.

"I…See. Well in that case, do you need assistance to the tower? I will have to leave to get my team soon, so I can make a clone to escort you to safety." He suggested. She lit up in happiness and sent him a grateful look.

"Thank you so much. I'm not much of a frontline fighter, so I'm not really confident in my fighting ability. Oh! Before I forget, here is my teams scroll, it's not much, but it's the least I can to for saving me, along with this as well." She said as she handed over her Scroll of Earth before getting on her tip-toes and planting a kiss on his cheek.

She pulled back and avoided his eyes while having an atomic blush on her face. He just smiled at her before making a shadow clone that he slapped a durability seal on. The clone scooped her up and carried her bridal style, causing her to let out a cute 'eep'.

"Fufufu….Thank you for the scroll, and the wonderful kiss, Karin-chan. I hope we can meet again in the future." He told her, and he genuinely meant it. Maybe when he is finally ready to move on from Haku-chan, he might give it a shot with her. She was totally his type after all.

His clone immediately took off in the direction of the tower. As he watched her go, he walked towards the location his team was currently in.

He walked for about 20 minutes before stopping. His could sense them not too far away, so he made a shadow clone and transformed it into a sparrow, and had it go to his reinforced clone to get him to come to him.

He had to wait for about 5 minutes before his clone showed up. After giving the signal, the clone dispelled itself. He was immediately hit with the events of the past 3 days from the clone's point of view.

From the Ame-nin that they ran into, the strong gust of wind that blew him away, the giant snake that swallowed him which he dispatched with ease, as well as the creepy Kusa yandere who turned out to be Orochimaru of the Sannin. An S-Ranked nuke-nin and one of the greatest traitors of Konoha.

It turned out that he had an unhealthy interest in Sasuke. He smacked Team 7 around a bit before extending his neck in an inhuman manner and sinking his fangs into Sasuke's neck, giving him some sort of brand. His joke about Sasuke being raped echoed in his mind and made him turn a little green.

There was no way Naruto could have ever stopped something like that. While he had confidence in his strength, he wasn't suicidal enough to directly take on one of the Sannin. The brand though, that was something that caught Naruto's interest. It appeared to be a Juinjutsu, a branch of Fūinjutsu that he was quite interested in. He made a note to make a copy of the seal on Sasuke to see if he could unravel it.