9 2/2

30 agonizing minutes later, the gate swung forward without warning. The three of us blitzed forward. Naruto made a dozen clones as planned and they all took off in random directions. We continued our straight flight through the ever gloomy forest. 10 minutes of running rewarded us with the sound of rushing water. We quickly found a stream running through the middle of the forest. We slowed down.

"Let's get set-up. We have less than 5 minutes. Move!" I barked out orders, quickly taking over.

Naruto unfurled the large scroll on his back and pressed a palm onto section of the scroll. When he withdrew his hand a smaller scroll was clutched in his fist. He stowed the large scroll and started withdrawing all types of tags and traps. Handing them to Ami and I, explaining what they did and how they worked. We quickly got to work, rigging everything within a 1000ft radius of a tall tree we decided as the lookout spot. Five minutes later, the 3 of us were 75ft off the ground.

Naruto stowed the smaller scroll back into the larger one and made the all too familiar hand seal. A cloud of smoke erupted and dozens of Naruto's raced off in every direction possible.

"Now, we sit and wait for our first victims." Naruto whooped.

I nodded in agreement. I sat down on the tree in the lotus position. Spreading my senses as far as they would go, I began my part in the ambush tactics. Sensing while meditating removed all the other distractions in everyday life, allowing my range to be expanded greatly. While up and aware and pushing my sensing to its limits, my max range was just shy of half a mile. While sensing in this method its range surpassed a mile. I know, I know. I'm a badass. Pushing all thoughts and distractions aside, I focused my mind and allow my senses to spread.

About an hour later I felt 3 signatures enter my range, making a beeline directly to our position. I opened my eyes just as I heard Naruto's whispered voice.

"Three little birdies are now trapped in the cage."

I smiled. "Let's have some fun team 11."

**************************************Big Fight****************************************

"Well that fucking disappointing!" Naruto whined to my left, staring down at the three dead genin at our feet.

"I'd have to agree" Ami said, nose crinkled in disgust. "They weren't all that great, were they? Didn't sense a single trap."

"To be fair, we did rig the hell out of this place." I put in my two cents.

"Yeah, but like, they hit the first wave and just died. Like who does that?!" Naruto supplied.

"Hey wait, aren't they those sound assholes who were boasting about becoming Chunin? That's kind of funny." Ami giggled.

I took a closer look and sure enough I recognized Mummy Boy.

'I mean, this was Naruto's work. We basically through everything at them, including the kitchen sink… wait a minute, what the fuck?'

"Naruto! Did you LITERALLY throw a kitchen sink at them?" I asked in disbelief.

"Oi! Don't you mock me, Kenta! You have some weird sayings. I thought it was funny, and when I saw this sink sitting in a dumpster I just grabbed it and seal it, ya know? I was going to use it for a prank. Must have grabbed that tag by mistake." Naruto laughed.

"Hey! It worked though didn't it? Take a look at spiky head!" Ami giggled.

It was then I noticed the blood on the corner of the porcelain sink and the giant gash on the teens head.

"Well I'll be a monkey's uncle. I think it did do the trick" I replied in disbelief.

Naruto was laughing up a storm. "I'll have to make that a signature technique. Death by sink! Hahahaha!"

The three of us all got a good laugh. I took a look around and noticed the destruction Naruto's traps had caused. Hundreds of kunai littered the floor. All three of the dead genin punctured with dozens of kunai themselves. Either they weren't that good, or Naruto was just THAT good. It also helped that the first trap they triggered was the one that sealed their fate.

The second month into my training Cpt Genma threw a scroll at me. Apparently he called in a favor one of his friends had owed him to get that technique just for me.

'Water Release: Syrup Trap' had quickly become one of my most versatile and favorite techniques to use. It released a torrent of viscous liquid that trapped anyone that got caught in it. Sealing it inside a scroll was actually quite easy. In a short amount of time, Naruto and I had created one of the most reliable and effective trapping traps in the shinobi world. That was the trap the sound genin activated first. And the release time of the seal was instant. When you're trapped in place, it's really hard to dodge 100s of kunai.

"Well, let's find that scroll and hope it's the one we need." I said after our laughter died down. We began the unpleasant work of digging through the pockets of corpses. A few minutes later Ami's excited voice pierced the silence.

"I found it! And it's an Earth Scroll!"

"Hell yeah! Let's get the hell outta this creepy forest!" Naruto Cheered. He then pulled out another scroll and upon activation, ever single weapon in the clearing was instantly sealed back into the scroll. Naruto's wizardry would continue to amaze me. He noticed our looks of amazement and smiled brightly. "All my kunai have storage seal link seals on them. As long as they're within 50ft of the anchor" He held up the larger scroll, "Then they all go back to the storage scroll they're linked with."

"That's amazing Naruto! You're really coming along with you sealing!" Ami excitedly replied.

We gathered up on straggler kunai and Naruto's sink and were on our way towards the tower. Three hours into the second exam and we already had our second scroll. Yeah, team 11 is damn amazing.

**************************************JK*********************************************

45 minutes of running later I felt it. I stumbled and lost my balance, crashing down to the forest flow below. I was gasping for air and couldn't breathe, quickly I shut my sensing down. My breathing quickly easing up. Naruto and Ami were beside me in an instant.

"Kenta! You OK, man?!" Naruto asked, concern lacing his voice.

I nodded. "Sorry about that. I just had my senses spread to the max and felt the most vile and disgusting chakra I've ever felt in my life. It just took me by surprise. Sorry to scare you."

Both my teammates breathed sighs of relief before Naruto's eyes widened. "Oh fuck. Team 7, they're in BIG trouble!"

"Where? What direction?" I asked Naruto. He pointed to his right, the exact direction the vile chakra had just come from.

"Well, fuck me"

*********************************Actual Big Fight***************************************

My team raced through the trees. Naruto tried to explain what happened but his clone was destroyed by a giant snake before he could get much information. I cautiously turned my senses back on and breathed a sigh of relief. I could still feel the vile chakra, but it wasn't as intense as before. We were close.

"We're close. Be prepared for everything. If I give the signal, we go with attack pattern Delta."

Naruto and Ami nodded. We burst through the canopy to a sight straight out of a horror film.

Sai was slumped against a tree, eerily reminiscent of team 7s last teammate. Blood was dripping down his forehead.

Sakura was on the ground, attempting to push herself up. She was covered in small cuts and bruises but otherwise looked fine.

Sasuke was still standing at least, but just barely. Every inch of exposed skin was bruised or bleeding. He was panting heavily.

The cause of all this destruction and pain? A lone shinobi stood across from Sasuke. Pale skin, and golden snakelike eyes pinning him in place. I knew those eyes. I'd dreamt of them. I knew what was going to happen. I wasn't going to let it. I threw a single kunai at the Snake. He blocked it effortlessly and his eyes snapped toward my team and me.

"Oh? More mice come to feed the snake? Very well, I will grant you the death you oh so desire" The Sannin purred.

Sasuke noticed us finally and he turned our way "Get out of here. He's too strong. This isn't a genin its-"

"Orochimaru. Konoha's biggest traitor. Why are you here?" I asked in a voice that I prayed wasn't shaking too bad. My teammates tensed further hearing who our opponent was.

"Why, I'm simply testing young Sasuke here. I've battled his brother, I wanted to see if that same potential ran in the family." Orochimaru replied simply.

"Looks like you've had your fun. Can you please leave now? I really want to see my 14th birthday if that's alright with you."

The snake laughed like I had just told the world's funniest joke. "Oh but I'm not done having my fun. And you 3 look absolutely delectable."

"Sorry, dude. I like girls" Naruto supplied oh so helpfully. However, his joke seemed to clear some of the tension that had been saturating the air since our arrival. I took the opening Naruto gave me. I signaled my teammates and our plan began. Naruto summoned dozens of clones and they all surrounded the snake. All at once, they all threw a dozen shuriken from every direction.

"Shadow Shuriken Technique!" Three dozen voices cried simultaneously. The couple hundred shuriken became a couple thousand and they were all aiming for the Snake Sannin. Just as his legs tensed to jump away from the path of destruction, I appeared behind him, hand seal sequence already finished.

"Water Release: Syrup Trap!" I unleashed a torrent of the thick liquid directly at the feet of the traitor, trapping him. A second later the area was absolutely destroyed by thousands of shuriken bombarding the branch. We jumped back and regrouped.

"Think we got him?" Naruto asked hopefully.

"I very highly doubt it. If we did, every single god in existence is smiling down on us" I replied. The dust settled and where there was once a Snake, there was a simple pile of mud.

"Kukukuku. Oh yes! Very well done, boys. What a devastating combination from two genin. You might entertain me after all. I still have some time." A sinister voice whispered right in my ear. I grabbed Naruto and instantly 'Body-Flickered' away just as hurricane force winds slammed into our previous position. The snake rose out of the branch, a crazed smile on his face. "Very well done indeed."

'I didn't sense him at all! This is bad. This is very, very bad. We need to get team 7 out of here. But we can't out run a Sannin. Fuck! What do I do? Think, Kenta, or all your friends are going to die!'

I took a calming breathe trying to figure out what to do, my planning interrupted by a feminine voice.

"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!" Ami appeared behind the Sannin and half a dozen snakes erupted from within the shadows of her kimono. They rushed the Sannin. A wicked smirk appearing on his face. He stood there and let the snakes bite into him in various places. He slowly turned towards our female teammate, a look of horror on her face.

"I see my little Anko has taken her own little protégé. I hope she doesn't hate me too bad after finding out her former master was the one who killed her student." He yanked, hard on the snakes as if they were rope. Ami flew towards the Sannin at an incredible rate. I moved without thinking. I slashed at the snakes connecting her to the Sannin and by a hairs breadth was able to flicker away. Orochimaru turned toward the three of us back together.

"So much promise in you three. The potential is a mile high! It's truly too bad you'll never reach it."

"Naruto! Plan Zeta!" I shouted. Naruto went wide eyed.

"You sure?"

"100%. Do it or we're dead!" Naruto nodded. He clapped his hands together and closed his eyes, focusing. A split second later his eyes snapped open. Gone were the blue eyes that I'd always been slightly jealous of, replaced by two blood-red crimson orbs. His whisker scars deepened. His teeth elongated. His whole countenance was more feral. Malicious, blood-red chakra erupted from him, two phantom tails waved menacingly. With a cry of defiance a wave of pure energy erupted from the blonde Jinchuriki, then another, and another. A dozen waves fired off in rapid succession. After the last one, the chakra faded and Naruto returned to his normal appearance.

Orochimaru's eyes narrowed dangerously. "What did you do, Kyubi brat?"

Naruto, being Naruto smiled cheekily at the dangerous S-Rank Criminal. "Ooooh you know? Broadcasted an emergency signal I designed with Old Man Third and Pervy Sage. Anyone in a twenty-mile radius just felt Kyubi's chakra. That pattern also basically said, HELP ME IM BONED!" Naruto finished with a shout and a stuck out tongue for the Sannin.

Part of me wanted to kill the idiot now, but another, the logical part of my mind wanted to buy him all the ramen he could eat. A pissed of opponent is one that will make mistakes. I only forgot to include one small, yet important detail into my plans; Orochimaru was one, a Sannin. Two, he had been toying with us this entire time. Before I could even finish a blink, Naruto was folded over the fist buried deep in his gut. The look of utter hatred that adorned the snake's face made cold sweat break out across my brow.

"I wasn't finished playing yet, and I haven't given Sasuke his gift, but it looks like play time is over." The Snake hissed. Grabbing Naruto by the throat, he tossed him aside like a ragdoll. His gaze snapped to me. "You're next." And he was in my face. Acting on instinct I attempted to flicker away, but the Snake was too fast. He back handed me sending me careening away. I was able to right myself only to look on in horror as he was barreling towards Ami.

"NO!" I shouted. But it was too late. I watched in slow motion as the Sannin's wind coated hand aimed straight for Ami's heart. I'm not a religious person, but right then I prayed. And they were answered. Beautiful, glorious Sasuke had recovered. Yanking his hands back, the ninja wire attached to the shuriken he had tossed wrapped around the Sannin. A quick sequence of hand seals proceeded the torrent of flames that rushed along the wire, incinerating the Sannin.

I flickered and caught Ami and brought her back out of harm's way before joining up with Sasuke.

"I'm not gay, and even though I've made the jokes I don't think you are. But I'm going to kiss you when we get out of this mess and you're going to enjoy it." I stated to the Uchiha. He snorted.

"A simple thank you is more than enough."

"Thanks, Sasuke. For real. You saved her. Anything you want from me, ask and I will give it to you."

"We'll talk about that once we make it out of here. Heads up, he's coming."

Once more the Snake rose from the ground, his shoulders were shaking. He looked up, golden eyes piercing the ever present gloom. Pure madness danced in those snakelike eyes.

"Very good, Sasuke! Very good! You will make the perfect vessel. Accept my gift now. It will give you the power to kill the one man you want above all others!"

And it happened. Just as I dreamt it. As unnatural as it sounds, Orochimaru's neck extended and shot towards Sasuke faster than I could react. I stared in wide eyed horror as Orochimaru's fangs glistened in the light. Inches from piercing his skin, there was a puff of smoke, and a flash of bubblegum pink. And Sakura's scream tore through her lips as the snake's fangs pierced her neck. Orochimaru's neck retracted, and Sakura collapsed. Silent as the dead.

"YOU STUPID LITTLE GIRL! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!" The Sannin screamed in utter rage. "I WILL KILL ALL OF YOU!"

'It's now or never, Kenta. You have one shot. Do it. Don't let anyone down, especially your clan and friends!"

BoarHareHorseTiger, chakra gathered in my legs, I moved. I appeared behind the Sannin. His snarling visage snapped around and his neck shot forward. From his mouth a sword appeared aiming right at me.

'Fuck this is going to hurt'

Chakra gathered once more in my legs and before my feet even touched down I flickered once more, the muscles in my legs protesting violently, but it was worth it. I reappeared in my original position, with the Sannin caught out of position due to his violent rage. I pointed my index finger, aiming right for the bastard's heart.

'Storm Release: Quick Shot Light Blitz!" I bellowed the name of my newly learned bloodline technique. In an instant a beam of pure energy erupted from my fingertip and charged towards the Sannin.

'Kill shot. Game over, bitch'

Or so I thought. The Sannin once again showed the chasm in skill difference between us. He twisted out of the way, contorting his body inhumanly. But it wasn't for nothing. Even a Sannin can only move so fast, and my technique ripped through his shoulder. He screamed in pain.

I collapsed to the ground, my legs no longer supporting me. The muscles in my legs were definitely torn and couldn't support my body weight anymore.

"Kukukukuku. My, how interesting" The Snake hissed, almost lovingly. "The Storm Release Bloodline. Oh you will make a great subject for me to learn from!" The Snake took a menacing step forward towards Sasuke and I, and then another. Suddenly his head snapped west towards the village. "But alas, playtime is over. I have plans that cannot be interrupted by that old monkey. You will receive my gift one day, Sasuke. I hope you enjoy it. I know your pink haired teammate will. If she survives that is. And you, Young Kenta. You interesssst me. I will be sure to keep close tabs on you. Farewell for now. Give all my love to Sarutobi and my little Anko! Oh, and one more thing to let my dear old teacher know. If they exams do not continue as normal, I will make the streets of Konoha run red with blood and burn it to the ground." And with those parting words, he sunk into the branch we were standing on, his presence vanishing entirely just as Lord Third, Lord Jiraiya, and two dozen ANBU all swarmed the area.

"Shit! The slippery bastard just got away. I can't feel him anywhere." Lord Jiraiya cursed.

"ANBU! Search the area! He can't have gotten too far! Find him if you're able! I need one with medical training to stay. MOVE!" Lord Third directed his elite forces and they scattered. He turned towards us and his face softened. "I am SO proud of you all. It troubles my soul that you were put in this position in the first place. From the bottom of my heart, please accept my sincerest apologies. I was a soft fool that could have eliminated one of the greatest threats to world years ago, but my fondness for an orphan I basically raised couldn't do it at the time. Please forgive me." And to my utter shock. Lord Third bowed to Sasuke and I.

"Lord Third please! You have nothing to be sorry for! Please don't bow to me, it's so uncomfortable." I hastily reassured our aged leader.

He straigtened up and chuckled slightly. "To go up against an S-Rank opponent and survive. That is something to be proud of." Sasuke and I blushed heavily at the praise. Lord Third looked around and sorrow once more painted his face seeing the state the everyone was in. "Please, tell me what happened."

So we did.

******************************************SH*****************************************

Over the next hour, Sasuke and I told Lord Hokage everything we could remember down to the tiniest of details. When I got to the part about Orochimaru trying to tag Sasuke, a flash of something showed in his eyes but was quickly gone. The medical ANBU by then had Naruto and Sai back on their feet. Ami was relatively unharmed just shaken up. Sakura was a different story.

"I'm sorry, kids, but there's nothing I can do until the seal anchors and stabilizes. Once that happens, then I can seal it away basically for good. She will be the same as she's always been." Lord Jiraiya explained to the group. We all breathed sighs of relief before something the snake said had me anxious again.

"But Lord Jiraiya, Orochimaru said something about IF she survives. He said it as if the thought was out of the realm of possibility!" I frantically explained. Lord Jiraiya let out a bark of laughter.

"Kid, Orochimaru is one for the dramatics. He loves toying with people. Poor little Anko was the first of his test subjects for that cursed mark of his. He gave that to her over a decade ago. He's had all that time to perfect it. If he wants Sasuke to be marked for whatever reason, do you think he'd risk even a small chance of him dying? No. She's going to be in pain, I won't sugarcoat it. But she WILL survive. Trust me."

I nodded feeling much more reassured. Lord Third cleared his throat.

"Jiraiya and I must return back to my office and discuss this latest development and call a council meeting. I trust you all to continue on in these exams and do your best. You heard Orochimaru's threat. For now we must play his game."

We all nodded. "Should we stay with team 7, Lord Third? Just in case…"

He laughed lowly. "I think team 7 will be alright. Aside from your team and Gai's kids, I don't forsee anyone that Sasuke and Sai couldn't handle until their female teammate wakes up. Plus, I have a team of ANBU should there be any more outside interference. Do what you must and complete the exam, Team 11!"

We all saluted our leader and watched as he and Lord Jiraiya quickly disappeared into the gloom. I turned towards Sasuke and Sai. "You two good? I know Lord Third said, but" Sasuke cut me off.

"We'll be fine, Yamanaka. Lord Third is right. We'll find a spot to safely hide Sakura, get our scroll and get to the tower once she's awake. Sai is weird, but he's strong. I'll admit it."

I nodded to the Uchiha and Sai "Take care then. See you in the next round."

With that our team took to the branches and made a beeline for the tower. Two hours later we arrived at the gates. We walked inside and looked around. There was no one to greet us, just a lame poem.

"Well, what now?" I asked my two teammates.

Ami spoke up first. "Open the scrolls."

"Huh?! You sure? That crazy lady said… Oh wait. She did say if we opened them BEFORE we got to the tower! Great job Ami!" Naruto cheered our female teammate on.

We opened the scrolls and they started to smoke, Naruto spoke quickly.

"Toss them on the ground. That's a summoning array!" We did as we were told and a plume of smoke erupted. Once it cleared, Mister Iruka stood before us, a wide smile splitting his face and pride dancing in his eyes.

"Day one? Are you kidding me, guys? You almost broke the record!"

"Does that mean we're first? Hell yeah, team 11 is the best!" Naruto whooped.

"Not quite, Naruto. The Suna team consisting of the Kazekage's kids actually arrived just over an hour ago. They actually did beat the record by three minutes. But you all should be so proud of yourselves. I am!"

We all smiled at our former teacher. We shot the shit with him for a few minutes, he explained the meaning of the poem, then gave us a quick tour. Cafeteria, rooms, baths, training areas, this place had it all! He then bid us farewell and left us to our own devices. Naruto was the first to speak up.

"Food, Bath, Bed? Or Bath, Food, Bed?"

Ami and I glanced at one another, giving each other a once over.

"Bath" We said simultaneously.

*****************************************KI******************************************

The next four days went by quickly. Especially since Fú and her teammates arrived the next day. She didn't have a scratch on her so my worry instantly vanished. Then again, the test wasn't exactly hard. We only looked like we'd been wrung and hung out to dry because we had a small clash with an S-Ranked opponent.

The days passed with light training, and Fú hangouts. Sometimes as a group, sometimes just her and I alone. Those were my favorite times. I learned so much about the petite mint haired girl and my feelings for her were rapidly increasing every minute I spent with her. The real world came crashing back at noon on the fifth day. Fú and I were relaxing in my room, playing a game of cat's cradle when a static riddled voice came over a dated loudspeaker.

"The second exam is now over. All contestants report to the main staging area. I repeat, the second exam is now over. All contestants report to the main staging area."

I looked over at Fú and smiled. "Well, princess. Ready to get this party started?"

She laughed loudly and clapped her hands together. "Princess? I could get used to you calling me that. But yes, I'm ready. Let's find our teams and get this party started!"

I jumped to my feet and offered her my hand to help her up. Her small hand fit perfectly in my larger one, and the softness I felt wasn't lost on me either. I hesitated letting her hand go but with reluctance I did. I opened the door and walked right into Naruto.

"Oi! Watch where you're going, stringbean!"

"Psh, that's the best you can do? Seriously Naruto?

Naruto laughed loudly. "Ready to go? Where's your team Fú?"

She shrugged. "Hopefully the fear of the mighty tailed beasts finally offed them. Utterly useless I tell you! They'll meet me in the main area. If not, not my problem."

The four of us made our way to the staging area. If my hand discreetly reached out and grabbed Fú's at one point, well she didn't pull away. Small victories. I grinned and we walked on.

*****************************************HH*****************************************

All in all, 8 teams out of the original 27 managed to pass. Anko wasn't kidding. Her test truly did weed out those that weren't ready. I stood in the center of my two teammates. 8 lines facing our old, but wise and still powerful leader. I may have puffed and preened a bit in pride, but dammit I deserved to! What was most surprising but completely welcomed was half, HALF the teams were the 4 rookie teams. Team 7 had limped their way through the door sometime during the night of the fourth day. Team 10 barely managed, rushing in 10 minutes before the gates locked permanently.

Lord Hokage bust into an old man speech about the true purpose of the Chunin exams, and that's about all I got. I zoned out about 2 minutes into his speech. I couldn't help it! I respected the hell out of the man, but damn was he a dry speaker! I tuned back in when a young man interrupted Lord Third. Rising from his crouched position in front of Lord Hokage he cleared his throat before addressing the 24 of us.

"Um. Congratulations to you all for completing the second exam. My name is Hayate Gekko and I will be proctoring your third and final exam. Normally you'd be released now and escorted out of the woods. However, to be blunt, there's still too many of you so we're going to do a preliminary round right now."

Well, Fuck Me again.

A/N - That's a wrap. Next Chapter will cover prelims, training month. We're rolling on ahead.

This was my first attempt at writing any type of fight scene. I hope I did ok! Please let me know either in a review or a PM on what you liked/didn't like/ideas/thoughts/etc

I appreciate each and every review. The good and the bad. Thanks once again for the support so far.