41 Chapter 33: Preliminary Trouble

Couple of things here, before we start. First off, to the anonymous 'Guest' reviewer who asked if I have ever thought about doing a Lord of the Rings: Shadow of Mordor crossover. I have not, largely because I have not played the game. I do have a Lord of the Rings crossover up if you'd like to read that, but Shadow of Mordor is not likely unless I play the game.

Also, as stated in my other chapters, HeliX Sol is looking for someone to draw fan art for their fanfics. So if you are interested, or know someone who might be interested, please contact them.

Now, without further ado, on with the chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Assassin's Creed. They are the property of Masashi Kishimoto and Ubisoft respectively. This is a nonprofit fanfic made purely for entertainment purposes. Please support the official releases.

Chapter 33

Preliminary Trouble

When morning came, Teams Seven and Eight, along with Karin, were quickly heading out, eager to leave the Forest of Death and move on with the Chuunin Exams. Ino and Karin both were sticking close to the members of Team Seven, while Hinata took point, occasionally using her Byakugan to scan for enemies. Naruto brought up the rear, while his clones secretly moved along the flanks, hidden and watching for any potential enemies that might try attacking the supposedly weak flanks of their formation.

Thankfully, they didn't seem to encounter any problems, as most of the teams were still busy elsewhere in the forest, or had already been dealt with, either dead at another team's hands, dead via some forest hazard, disqualified for losing their scroll, or having already finished.

Despite Team Seven being fully healed though, thanks to Karin, they still kept it slow to make sure they were fully recovered. In Sasuke's case, he was still feeling pain from the Curse Seal, both soreness in his body, as well as what felt like inflammation around the seal, and in it.

As noon drew near, they stopped briefly for a rest and a meal, with Naruto's shadow clones on guard duty. As they ate their rations, Karin approached Naruto, looking a bit hesitant. "Ummm…can we talk?" She asked.

Naruto blinked at her, before nodding. "Sure. What about?" He asked, taking a bite of his ration bar, and blanching. The ration bars were packed with the nutrients one needed, and was easy to carry and consume out in the field. But they were bland and unappetizing. He grimly finished it off, as his newly discovered clansmen got her thoughts together, before she finally spoke.

"I want to stay here, in Konoha. I don't want to go back to Kusa," she said, making Naruto sigh at that.

"Considering what you've said, I can't blame you. But that's something we have to take up with Hokage-sama. And there's no guarantee anything will come of it," he said.

Karin nodded in understand. "I know, but…please, if we can ask him, if they can work something out. Please?" She begged.

Naruto placed a hand on her shoulder. "Of course we'll talk to him. I'm just saying it'll be a bit difficult is all. But we'll talk to him and convince him to try," he said.

"Thank you," Karin said with a relieved smile. "I just…I don't want to end up like my mom. And…you're the only family I know of that I have left…even if we are barely even blood related," she said.

Naruto just chuckled softly. "Karin, if there's one thing I've learned growing up here in Konoha, it's that blood doesn't make us family. I have people who have no blood relationship to me, who are as close to me as any blood family member could be," he said.

Karin just smiled and nodded, before stiffening, her red eyes widening, and then narrowing, as she turned her head. "…there's a chakra signature that way," she said softly. "It's somewhat faint but drawing nearer, slowly."

Naruto gave a discreet nod before glancing over at Hinata. "Hey Hinata, can you come here?" He asked.

As the former Hyuuga joined him, he spoke quietly. "Can you do me a favor and discreetly look for incoming enemies?" He asked, glancing to Karin. "She's detected something coming in."

Karin quietly pointed in the direction she sensed the chakra, and Hinata quietly activated her bloodline, glancing in that direction with her three hundred and sixty degree vision, before frowning.

"Three chakra signatures. Close together. I'd say high genin to mid chuunin," she said, before her frown deepened. "They're drawing closer to us…they're from Ame," she finished reporting, having noticed their fore head protectors.

Naruto nodded at that. "They'll likely try an ambush, either taking someone hostage, or using genjutsu," he said to her and Karin. "Let's warn the others, but make sure they keep quiet."

The two kunoichi nodded, and the trio quietly made their way over to their comrades.

The trio of Ame genin, known as Team Oboro, soon crouched down, watching the two teams of genin in the clearing a couple dozen feet away from them. Each of them was clad in the same yellow jumpsuit, and each had a re-breather in their mouth, as well as forehead protectors of dark blue with cloth running under their chins with the four straight lines that was Ame's emblem. The only way to tell them apart was the white cloth they wore over their eyes. The leader, Oboro, had two eyeholes cut into the white cloth, as well as bandages around his left bicep. Kagari had the same white cloth over his eyes, only there were no eyeholes visible, though this did not seem to impair his eyesight. Like Oboro, he had spiky brown hair. The last member of the team was Mubi, who had the same white sash over his eyes, with only the left eye visible. However, his forehead protector covered the entirety of the top of his head.

Oboro smirked as he recognized one of the two genin teams. "Well, seems I'll be getting my revenge on those twerps for earlier," he said, remembering how he attempted to pose as Kiba, only to be detected and driven off. Now, with his team, he had a chance at revenge.

His teammate Mubi, however, frowned as he looked at the genin. "Oboro, they've got a Hyuuga with them. Our genjutsu won't work with her there," he said.

"Then I guess we just use the clone technique to overwhelm them," Oboro said with a grin. "And besides, once they're distracted with the clones, we'll throw up a couple genjutsu to affect the others, while we focus on taking the Hyuuga down. With her gone, they'll have no way to detect our genjutsu," he said. "Kagari, Mubi, you'll handle the Oboro bunshins (Haze clones) while I create the Mizu bunshins (Water clones). Now get ready," he said.

The trio all began to channel their chakras, preparing the handsigns for their jutsu. But right as they were about to start their jutsu, that's when the shadows from above descended on them, driving them all to the ground and quickly restraining them.

Team Seven and eight looked up as three of Naruto's Kage bunshin entered the clearing, the bound Ame genin being pushed in front of them. Kiba blinked, before growling. "That's the asshole who tried to ambush us when I was taking a leak!" he shouted, pointing to Oboro.

Naruto blinked at that, before shaking his head, not wanting to ask for the story. "Well, looks like they were going to try again," he said, before looking at the Ame genin. "The question is though, what do we do with them? We don't need their scroll, if they even have one."

Sasuke glared at the Ame shinobi, gently reaching up to clutch his shoulder where the curse mark was. "We could always kill them. They've proven to be a persistent threat," he growled out, his voice sounding a bit darker than normal.

Sakura frowned as she touched Sasuke's arm, making him shudder and shake his head, taking a deep breath. Despite not having activated the seal again since yesterday, it was evident it was still having an effect on him, given his dark suggestion.

"Let's just tie them up and leave them here," Ino said. "They'll probably escape on their own soon enough, and if they don't…I guess they best hope they're found by someone who will help them," she said.

Hinata nodded in agreement, as did Kiba and Karin. Sakura however looked a bit hesitant. "That's…a bit callous, isn't it?" She asked quietly.

"Considering they were about to attack us and probably try to kill us, I don't think so," Hinata replied. "We're giving them a far better chance than we could expect from them."

The Ame team just glared at their captors, remaining silent; though underneath their forehead protectors they could feel sweat forming as they heard the genin talk about what to do with them.

Naruto grinned at the three Ame genin, as he squatted in front of them. "Guess it's your lucky day then. We won't kill you, unless you come after us again. But we will be tying you up and leaving you here," he said, as the clones quickly moved and began removing the Ame genin's ninja tools, leaving them in a small clearing nearby. They then proceeded to tie them up more securely, while the rest of Team Seven and Eight packed up their things, and got ready to leave.

Naruto drew out his ninjato, and brought it to Oboro's neck. "Just remember that we chose to let you live, this time. If you try to come after us again, you won't be so lucky," he said, drawing his blade slightly so it not only cut the fabric of Oboro's jumpsuit, but also cut the skin of his neck, drawing a thin line of blood. "To help you remember," he said, before cleaning and sheathing his ninjato. With that, the Konoha teams left the trio of Ame genin, bound and helpless in the clearing. His clones that were in the clearing waited for a few minutes, then dispersed.

Sakura was still frowning though, glancing back as they quickly left. "This doesn't feel right. Just leaving them like that," she said.

"Don't worry. A couple of my clones stayed behind and are watching them from cover. If worse comes to worse, they'll save them," Naruto said, as the others blinked at him in surprise.

"O-oh. Well that's good," Sakura said, feeling somewhat better. She might have come to terms with the fact that being a shinobi meant she had to kill people, but she wasn't used to the idea of killing people in cold blood, or just leaving them to die. The idea of leaving those Ame genin to the mercy of the forest or other teams made her feel guilty, a feeling that was mostly relieved by Naruto saying he left clones behind to watch them.

The remaining journey to the tower proved to be uneventful, as they arrived around noon, and moved to enter a door they found at the base of the tower. Inside though, they found a large entry room with a massive plaque against one wall, and no visible way to leave said room.

Naruto frowned as he looked around. "Well…this is a bit anti-climatic," he said, as they saw no way to go further.

Sakura, who was reading the plaque, blinked. "I think this inscription tells us how to get out of here. It mentions the heaven and the earth. I think it's referring to mind and body, and how we need to have both in order to be strong shinobi or something like that," she said, a bit lost in the reading and not noticing everyone glancing at her. "Since they mentioned heaven and earth, and we've got those scrolls, maybe we need to…w-what?" She asked, turning to the others, only to grow shy when she realized they were all looking at her.

"No no, please go on," Ino said, grinning as she put a hand on her shoulder. "You think we need to use the scrolls?"

Sakura nodded, as she pointed to the inscription. "It mentions heaven and earth, and we've got heaven and earth scrolls. So…I think we should open them," she said, her voice a bit quieter now.

"But we were told not to by the proctor. Wouldn't we be disqualified?" Kiba asked, as Naruto glanced at his scrolls.

"Well what else would we do with them" He asked. "They gave us the scrolls, but don't give us anyone to drop them off or hand them off to here. And there's nowhere else we can go. So…I guess we open them, and either we're disqualified…or we advance," he said. "Does anyone else have any ideas?"

Everyone glanced at each other, before shaking their heads. At that, Naruto pulled out the scrolls his team had. "Alright…Team Seven, why don't you move against the wall there, and wait. Maybe, if things go wrong, it'll just be our team disqualified," he said, as Ino and Hinata joined him.

When Team Seven and Karin were against one of the walls, Naruto looked at his teammates, who both nodded. Handing Hinata the heaven scroll, he pulled out the earth one. And together, they both opened and unrolled them.

Almost immediately, Naruto saw the summoning seal, recognizing it from his personal studies into seals. "Drop them!" He shouted, dropping one scroll, and Hinata did the same. The two scrolls seemed to be drawn together, crossing each other, as smoke erupted from the center of the summoning seals, covering whatever was summoned.

Team Eight had shifted into combat stances, only to blink as the smoke cleared, and there stood Iruka. He blinked, his eyes widening as he saw both Team Seven and Eight. "You're both safe! Hokage-sama ordered us to watch out for your teams and to bring you to him at once. He's been waiting in the Tower since he received your summons and clones," he said, directing the last part to Naruto. "Please, follow me."

He performed a handsign, and some seals appeared on the walls, activating and causing the portion of the walls they were on to slide sideways, revealing passageways behind them. He immediately headed towards them, with Team Seven, Eight, and Karin following behind, looking worried or confused. As the last of them entered, the wall behind them sealed shut.

They followed Iruka down several passages and up several flights of stairs, soon arriving outside an office door where two jounin were standing guard. One of them raised a hand to halt them as the second entered the room. After a few moments, he returned, opening the door fully and beckoning them to enter.

Before they did, Iruka stopped team Eight. "I'm glad to see you're all alright. I'll be sure to let Yugito know you're okay as soon as possible," he said, giving them all a smile and a nod. They nodded in response, before quickly entering the room.

The office was similar to the Hokage's office in the main tower, except there were no windows. The Hokage sat behind a desk, quietly puffing on his pipe, while Anko, Kakashi, and the proctor from the first exam, Ibiki, stood on either side of the desk, waiting for them. When the door was shut behind them, Sarutobi pulled the pipe from his mouth and carefully emptied it into an ash tray, before speaking. "I'm glad to see you all arrived safe and sound," he said. "And I'm sorry for the trials you had to go through inside the Forest. While I would say they are perfect examples of what can happen out in the field, having to survive fighting a sannin is definitely not something I'd expect or want you all to go through," he said tiredly, slowly standing. "We wanted to debrief you all as quickly as possible regarding the events that both your teams went through, regarding Orochimaru, and the Kumo shinobi. I do feel the most pressing issue at the moment is Orochimaru, so we will start with that. I need you to tell us what happened, and in detail."

The members of Team Seven looked at each other, before Sasuke stepped forward to report on what happened. He reported how initially they were attacked by what they assumed was a Kusa kunoichi, who seemed a great deal more powerful than them. They had attempted to flee, as the kunoichi summoned snakes to herd them, until she confronted them again. Sasuke reached the part where he was about to surrender the scroll, then glanced at Naruto. "It was at that point that Uzumaki-san's clones found us," he said.

Naruto nodded at that. "One of my clones came across what was going on and decided to intervene. They managed to shoot and kill the kunoichi from behind, only for the kunoichi to disperse into a mud clone. The real kunoichi found me and attacked me with a jutsu that I've only ever seen my sensei use, the Sen'ei Jashu (Striking Snake Technique). Considering there is only one other person who utilizes that technique, my clone figured out it was Orochimaru who revealed himself after my clone joined Team Seven. My clone attempted to give them time to run, but was easily defeated, while a second clone that joined them intercepted and defeated one of his larger snake summons, though it had to sacrifice itself in the process," he reported.

Kiba flinched a bit at the mention of that, his emotions still warring inside of him. He glanced away slightly, as Sasuke took over from there.

"At that point, Orochimaru re-engaged us. I attempted to slow him down, to perhaps give us time to escape, but Orochimaru faked being injured, causing me to lower my guard. That's when he…bit me," he said, as he touched his shoulder, where the seal was.

Anko's eyes shot open, and she immediately moved forward. "Let me see where he bit you," she demanded, as the other adults and Naruto all tensed.

Sasuke blinked at her in confusion and trepidation. "W-what-?"

"Let me see!" Anko almost shouted, as Sasuke quickly pulled the shirt collar aside enough to reveal the curse seal near the base of his neck. Anko's eyes locked on it, and she felt her heart plummet. "…fucking damnit," she whispered, as she turned away, looking at the Hokage. "He didn't just give him a curse seal…he gave him the same one he gave me," she said.

Sakura's eyes widened. "Y-You have the same seal as Sasuke-kun?" She asked, as Anko just lightly touched her own shoulder.

"Yeah, I do…it was a parting gift from my sensei when he left me in one of his labs. A prototype he had developed," she said quietly, her eyes glazed slightly, as she looked off into nothingness. Sakura, Kiba, Sasuke, and Ino all stared at her in surprise, while Hinata and Naruto's faces darkened.

Sarutobi frowned at that, before signaling for Anko to move away. "Is there anything else?" He asked Team Seven, as Anko moved to the side, her shoulders slumped slightly.

Sakura at this point took up the narrative. "Y-Yes. After Orochimaru bit Sasuke, he claimed that he had given Sasuke power, and that in time, Sasuke would come to him for more. After that, he left us," she said. "H-However…I think Orochimaru is connected to that shinobi village, Otogakure," she added.

"What makes you say that?" Sarutobi asked her, as Ibiki listened more intently, since this could be valuable information.

"We were attacked by the genin from Oto. But they weren't interested in our scroll. They were solely interested in Sasuke, claiming they wanted to kill him. And the leader of the group, he seemed to react when I guessed they worked for Orochimaru," Sakura said. "I-I know it's not anything concrete, Hokage-sama, but-,"

Sarutobi raised up a hand. "No, it's quite alright child. We shinobi often work on hunches and gut instincts just as much as we do on reliable information. Ibiki-san, we will discuss this matter after the genin have been dismissed," Sarutobi stated, as Ibiki nodded. Sarutobi then turned back to Sasuke, looking at him intently. "Tell me, did the seal activate? Did it affect you in any way?" he asked, as Anko and Kakashi could both be seen tensing up.

Sasuke glanced away slightly. "…it did, Hokage-sama. When the Oto team was fighting my teammates and rock Lee from Team Nine, I started to awaken. I could feel…power, flowing through me. Unbelievable power. I…when I saw what had happened to my team, I was so angry, but I also…I think I was drunk on the power the seal was giving me. I attacked the one Oto genin, fully intent on crippling them, before killing them," he said. 'If it weren't for Sakura…I would have attacked Team Eight trying to get at the Oto genin," he said quietly.

Sarutobi let out a very troubled sigh, before tapping his pipe on the desk. The door opened and one of the jounin entered. "I want you to find Jiraiya and tell him to come here immediately. He should be near the hot springs," he said, rubbing his forehead both at the situation and the fact that his student most likely would be up to his usual antics.

The jounin nodded and disappeared in a shunshin, as Sarutobi turned back to Sasuke. "What you were feeling was the power of the seal. It was designed to act much like a drug, making you grow addicted to its power, so you want to use it more and more. It doesn't help that it also corrupts your personality as well, the more you use it," he stated. "Jiraiya of the sannin will place a restraining seal upon it to ensure you are not threatened by it."

Sasuke nodded quietly. "Thank you Hokage-sama," he said, bowing.

Sarutobi just gave a nod, pointing to Kakashi with his pipe. "Kakashi, take your team to the Tower Infirmary, and have them checked out. Then you can guide Kiba and Sakura to their team's quarters here in the Tower," he said.

"At once, Hokage-sama," Kakashi said, as he quickly moved to his team, and herded them out of the room. As the door closed, Sarutobi turned to Team eight, and their tagalong.

"Now, on to the next bit of business. We received the Kumo shinobi you sent to us, Naruto, along with the remains of his teammates. Ibiki-san did interrogate him, but there was little else to gather that wasn't already in the report your clones gave us," Sarutobi said.

Naruto nodded at that, only to blink as Sarutobi frowned. "Unfortunately though, there is little else we can do at this point. While this breach of the Chuunin Exams would normally allow us to bring diplomatic censure and reprimands on Kumo, we do not have any concrete evidence."

Ino gaped at that. "B-But Hokage-sama, the information I gathered-!" She started, only to be interrupted.

"Would not hold up as evidence. Kumo can easily claim that the information was falsely planted within his mind thanks to several of the bloodlines and unique clan jutsu our village has that are capable of manipulating or interacting with the mind and soul. Without verified evidence from a second source that can't be negated by claims of falsification, the most we can do presently is let Kumo know we are on to them. That being said, however, I will not take this offense lying down. Rest assured, this will not be a repeat of the incident ten years ago," he said, his eyes drifting to Hinata, who stiffened slightly.

Naruto and Ino both frowned, not liking that Kumo might not be punished for what happened, but were drawn from their thoughts, as was Hinata, by Sarutobi turning to Karin. "Now, may I ask who your acquaintance here is?" He asked.

Karin took a slight step forward, bowing. "Hokage-sama, I am Karin Uzumaki, a genin of Kusa," she said, her voice trembling slightly. This wasn't just a leader of one of the main five villages. He was the Shinobi no Kami, one of the most powerful and celebrated shinobi in history. And she was right here before him.

Sarutobi's eyes widened at her surname, as did Anko's eyes. Sarutobi glanced at Naruto, who nodded slightly, indicating he already knew. "Well, it is nice to meet you, but why are you here? Shouldn't you be with your team?" He asked her.

"My teammates are dead," Karin said, not sounding too upset about it. "They were killed by a wild bear. And it would have killed me, if not for the intervention of…my clansman and his team," she said, a hint of pride in her voice when she said 'clansman'. "I came here with them…because I seek to leave Kusa and join Konoha."

"I see," the Hokage said, frowning slightly. "Is there any specific reason you wish to leave Kusa? I'm afraid that depending on the situation, we will not easily be able to accommodate your wish."

Karin just nodded slightly, feeling both fear and hope in her heart as she spoke. "My mother and I both have…a unique ability regarding our chakra. Kusa exploited my mother for her ability, leading to her death from overuse and exhaustion. And the Kusa leadership has already shown signs of planning to exploit me for the same reason," she said. "They used up my mother, not giving a damn about her, and now they plan to do the same to me! Please Hokage-sama, I'm begging you! Please let me join your village!" she all but begged, her eyes watering slightly.

Sarutobi let out a tired sigh, as he sat down. "I see…that makes things more difficult, as most likely Kusa will not want to let you go," he said. "Can you please tell us what this…'ability' of yours is, so we'll know what we'll be negotiating for exactly, if it comes to that?"

Karin shifted a bit, feeling uncomfortable about exposing her unique ability. It had seemed easy to trust Naruto and his teammates, they were genin like her, and he was family. But this was different. The Sandaime Hokage was a very experienced shinobi, and would possibly be more interested in using an asset for the village then helping someone out. At least, from her experience, that's how shinobi acted. Glancing at Naruto, she saw him give her a slight nod of encouragement, which led to her deciding to trust him. She slowly rolled up one of her sleeves, revealing the bite marks. "When someone bites me, and drains my chakra, it heals them of their wounds," she said softly, not meeting him in the eye. "Sakura-san and Kiba-san from the other genin team both were healed by me using this method."

Sarutobi stared at the bite marks, taking them in, as well as Karin's statement about her mother. He saw the uncomfortable stance she had, and sensed the fear in her. Letting out a deep sigh, he finally nodded. "Karin Uzumaki, I will see what can be possibly done about getting Kusa to agree to allow you to join Konoha," he said. "I cannot guarantee more than that at the moment, but I will try."

Karin nodded quietly, part of her feeling elated, but another part worried he only said that because he learned of her worth. She rolled down her sleeve, as Sarutobi glanced to Anko. "Anko, please take your team and Karin to one of the empty rooms, where they can rest until the second exam is completed," he ordered.

"Yes Hokage-sama. What should I do if the Kusa sensei comes looking for Karin?" She asked.

"Tell him I wish to speak with him as soon as possible," Sarutobi said, as he began to light up his pipe, need a good smoke to calm down.

Anko gave a nod, and herded her team and Karin out, leaving Sarutobi and Ibiki behind. Sarutobi glanced at Ibiki as the door closed. "We will need to tread carefully when negotiating with Kusa," he said quietly.

"We have more than information to coerce them into agreeing, Hokage-sama," Ibiki said, only for the Hokage to shake his head.

"That won't do. It will leave them with a grudge against us. And Kusa is strategically placed on our western border between us and Iwa. If we antagonize them and give them reason, they'll turn against us and allow Iwa an advantage in any future conflicts," Sarutobi said, puffing on his pipe. "This is quite troublesome. However, I cannot deny that Karin would be a boon to the village. Her ability would be quite useful for our medical teams, but even more so if she were trained as a medical shinobi. And having another Uzumaki here would help us to potentially rebuild that clan in Konoha. This will definitely be something worth pursuing. But for now, we have something far more serious to worry about. Isn't that right, Jiraiya?" He asked out loud.

At that moment, a ceiling tile slid aside, and Jiraiya landed in the room. "You've still got it sensei," he said, before growing serious. "So my old teammate was here? And he infected another with his seal?"

"Yes and its worse this time. The seal is a complete and refined one. We'll need to move to seal it quickly," Sarutobi said.

"I'll have to study it first, but I'm pretty sure the seal I put on Anko Mitarashi should work. It'll leave him drained and groggy for a day or two, but he should be alright," Jiraiya said.

Sarutobi gave a quiet nod. "Good. Get right on it Jiraiya," he said, before letting out a tired sigh. "That's at least one problem easily dealt with."

Jiraiya frowned slightly. "This doesn't bode well though, sensei. Orochimaru obviously has something big planned, if he's coming out into the open like this. My spies have been hearing rumors of something big being planned, something that's drawn in quite a few missing nin. And I can't help but think Orochimaru's at the center of it."

Sarutobi just gave a quiet nod, sitting there and holding his pipe, staring at it. After a few moments of silence, he finally spoke. "I shall increase security inside the village. If Orochimaru is planning anything, we'll have to try and be a step ahead of him. I take it you'll be remaining inside the village?" He asked.

The Toad Sannin nodded at his words. "If Orochimaru has an interest inside of Konoha, this will be the best place to keep an ear out for him. And…I think it's about time I began training Naruto," he said, his voice growing more firm at the last part.

Sarutobi glanced up at him, eyes narrowed a bit. "Is that so? Any particular reason you choose now of all times?" He asked.

Jiraiya simply shrugged. "He is my godson, and if I'll be spending time in the village, what better time to start training him?" He asked.

Sarutobi just gave him a tired but hard stare. "And this of course wouldn't be part of a plan to try and pull Naruto away from the Assassins, would it?" He asked, as Jiraiya didn't react at all.

"I'm sure they would want Naruto to get the best training available. Our contact inside Akatsuki has reported they're starting to make their moves. Naruto will need all the training he can get if he's to survive them," Jiraiya reasoned.

The aged Hokage shook his head. "Be careful, Jiraiya. You risk alienating Naruto even more from yourself in your misguided attempt to 'protect' him," Sarutobi said, sitting back. "Go and take care of Sasuke's seal. We will talk more at a later time," he said quietly.

Jiraiya simply bowed. "As you command, Hokage-sama," he said, turning and leaving to take care of Sasuke's seal, as Sarutobi just sat there, still looking at his pipe. Ibiki, who had remained quiet throughout the entire exchange, looked at his leader.

"Do you have any orders for me, Hokage-sama?" He asked.

Sarutobi nodded, not looking at him. "Gather any ANBU that are available and have them start to tighten security in the village. And assign covert patrols to search for any infiltrators," he ordered.

Ibiki nodded and shunshin'ed away, leaving Sarutobi with his thoughts, as an already unusual exam was becoming more and more complicated, and dangerous. He slowly rubbed his eyes, slumping in his chair, and allowing himself a moment to relax, and drop the strong, powerful leader persona he had to maintain as Hokage, as he simply tried to absorb and handle the growing weight of problems on his aged shoulders.

Meanwhile, at the base of the Tower, the team of Karui, Samui, and Omoi had just arrived at the tower, and even now was opening their scrolls. A Konoha chuunin appeared from the summoning seals, and his eyes immediately narrowed slightly when he saw the Kumo forehead protectors. "Congratulations on passing the second portion of the Chuunin Exams," he stated. "The next part of the exam will not be announced until the end of this test, so you'll be allowed to rest here until then. However, I must inform you that due to an incident with your fellow Kumo…genin, your team will be monitored for the duration of your stay inside the tower," he said.

Karui immediately glared at the chuunin. "What is this bullshit?! What incident?!" She demanded.

Samui put a hand on Karui's shoulder, restraining her, as she met the Konoha chuunin with a clam gaze. "We understand, though I would like an explanation."

"I'm afraid that I do not have any more available information. Your sensei will be able to tell you more when he arrives at the end of this exam. Please follow me," he said, turning and unsealing the hidden passageways out of the entrance room.

Omoi glanced nervously at his two teammates as they followed their escort. "Do you think they know about the plan?" He whispered.

"They will if you don't shut up, moron." Karui shot back while smacking him in the head.

Samui just remained silent, her eyes locked on their escort's back, slightly narrowed and calculating. Something had happened, and she intended to get to the bottom of it.

Team Eight Quarters

Naruto gave a final check over his equipment, slowly running a whetstone over the edge of his ninjato, as Ino and Hinata did the same with their weapons and equipment. It had been two days since they arrived in the tower, and the last of the teams had arrived before the deadline ended. Now it was finally time to end the Second test of the Chuunin Exams.

Naruto was glad to finally be doing something, as the tower had not offered much for them to do. There were a few training rooms, though each was monitored by chuunin to ensure that no spying or foul play occurred between the various genin teams. There was also a mess hall where they were able to eat, but little else for them to do beyond eat, train, and socialize with their fellow genin. And sleep of course. Each quarters had three beds and a full bathroom attached to it. Due to Karin staying with team Eight, Naruto had elected to take the floor, and let the three girls take the bed. They had also rigged a blanket to act as a screen and offer privacy.

Karin watched them from nearby, looking a bit worried. She had spent the last two days getting to know her kinsman and his teammates, as well as some of their friends and acquaintances from the other teams. But now, with the test nearing an end, she'd soon likely be forced back into contact with her sensei, who would undoubtedly try to leave Konoha as soon as possible with her when he learned her teammates were dead. Obviously, she had no desire to leave, but there was little she could do unless the Hokage could convince him to let her stay while he negotiated with Kusa. She hoped he'd be able to.

As the trio finished, they stood as one, grinning. "Well, time to go," Naruto said, as the trio of girls nodded.

The quartet made their way out of their room, soon joining the full Team Seven. Naruto blinked as he saw Sasuke for the first time since they arrived at the tower.

From what Sakura had told them, Sasuke had been taken from the Infirmary to a special sealing room, where Jiraiya of the Sannin had applied a seal to contain Sasuke's Curse Mark. The pain of the sealing process and the drain on his chakra had knocked Sasuke out, but according to Kakashi, who had informed Kiba and Sakura about what was going on, the sealing process went a lot smoother then if he had attempted to put the seal in place. Sasuke was expected to recover in a couple of days.

And indeed, Sasuke did look somewhat better than he had, though he still seemed tired and just a slight tinge paler than normal. But he still stood tall and walked with confidence with his team, as they joined Team Eight and proceeded towards the main hall in the tower.

They soon entered the massive hall, which was mostly bare save for the wall opposite of them, where a massive pair of stone hands was sculpted in the position of holding the Ram handsign. There was a slight rise in the floor, like a mini stage, before the stone hands, while near the entranceway, a pair of stairs to either side led up to balconies running along either wall.

In the center of the room were several of the other genin teams who had passed, each team in a column and facing the back wall, where their sensei were currently standing, along with the Hokage, Ibiki, and the purple haired ANBU proctor.

Karin hung back near the door, while Teams Seven and Eight separated, moving to the open spaces in the formation, as they glanced around to take in their competition. Besides them, both Team Nine and Ten had arrived, as well as the genin from Suna, the other genin Team from Kumo, and the Oto genin team. The only other team was Kabuto with his two teammates, both of whom were dressed like him. However, both were wearing veils over their lower faces, and bandana style forehead protectors that covered the top of their head, much like Hinata wore. The taller of the two wore small round sunglasses, while the other had regular glasses.

Naruto blinked though as he noticed that the Kumo genin were all looking in his direction. The white haired boy looked slightly nervous, while the red haired kunoichi glared angrily at him. The blonde however had a blank look as she stared at him, before looking forward.

Shaking his head slightly, Naruto looked forward, where Anko stood, giving them a confident grin and nod, one which the trio returned. Their attention was brought to the center of the mini stage, where Sarutobi had stepped forward.

"Congratulations, all of you, for passing this portion of the Exams. You all have proven your strength and cunning, and brought honor to our villages by making it this far," he said.

"As you have progressed this far, I believe it is time for you to understand the true purpose of the Chuunin Exams. These are not merely a method for the various villages to promote genin to the rank of chuunin. They have a much greater meaning than that. Tell me, do any of you know the reason or reasons that villages, countries, or empires wage war against each other?" He asked them.

The genin were silent, before the red haired boy from Suna, Gaara, spoke out. "To kill your enemies and ensure your survival," he stated unemotionally, causing a few of the genin to shift worriedly as they heard that.

"That is something you do in war, but not why you start one…in most cases," Sarutobi said.

At that time, Neji spoke up. "To serve justice against those who have hurt or attacked you," he said, slightly glancing at the Kumo genin as he said that.

"That is a justification people will give for why they go to war, but rarely is it the actual reason," Sarutobi said.

Finally, Sakura spoke up. "F-For power and prestige?" She half said, half asked.

"Yes. Most of those who declare war, and go to war, do so for power, prestige, and resources," Sarutobi said. "They do so for land, natural resources, slaves and manpower. But they also do so for respect and fear. The more victories someone has, the greater the opponents you defeat, the more fame and power you hold. Countries that defeat other countries and lay claim to them are more likely to not be attacked, and other countries are more likely to want to stay on their good side, offering them good trade agreements or tribute. But what does this have to do with shinobi villages?"

"We do not take land; we do not lay claim to other country's resources. So what use do we have for war? For power and prestige. To show the potential of our villages, to gain more clients, to have greater power and money," he explained to them. "The shinobi wars that we have fought, and every minor skirmish in between, has been for that reason. To show our village is the strongest and to draw in clients."

"But what does that have to do with the Chuunin Exams?" Tenten asked him, as several of the genin nodded in agreement.

Sarutobi gently puffed on his pipe, before speaking. "The wars that our ancestors fought had one major problem. They often were almost as costly as the rewards that the victors would receive. Many innocent people, civilians, were killed simply because their village was in the crossfire. Entire generations were almost wiped out, or left crippled and scarred. And so, at a meeting of the five kage, an idea to create a proxy war was suggested. The shinobi villages, rather than going to war with each other, would instead hold a tournament, where the best and brightest of the shinobi villages would compete, and many clients from across the land would view the strength of the villages, to decide upon who they'd offer new jobs and missions to. This tournament became known as the Chuunin Exams, an attempt to end the costly wars and still reap the benefits from them. And that is why you are here today. You are the new generation who fights this proxy war, for your village's honor, respect, and future power."

The genin frowned as they listened, only to be distracted by the appearance of a shinobi next to the Hokage. He was dressed in the standard uniform of Konoha shinobi, with a bandana style forehead protector covering his brown hair. He also had sickly pale skin and bags under his eyes.

The shinobi, crouched with one knee on the ground, bowed his head. "Hokage-sama, I believe it is time for me to take over the proceedings," he said, before coughing into his fist. As the aged Hokage nodded and stepped back, the coughing shinobi stood up, looking at the genin. "I am Special Jounin Hayate Gekko, and I am the proctor of the next portion of the Chuunin Exams. Under normal circumstances, we would be discussing the Final test of the Exam at this point, but a problem has arisen. We were expecting this portion of the exam to eliminate more teams from the running. As such, we need to hold a preliminary round to cut your numbers down by half, at the very least."

Zaku, his arms in slings, growled angrily. "What kind of bullshit is that!? We passed your stupid test! We deserve to be in the Finals!" He shouted.

Hayate narrowed his eyes slightly at the impudent boy. "Well, besides me telling you that life is not ever fair, and doubly so for a shinobi, there's also the fact that if we allowed all of you into the Finals, they would not only take far too long, but that they would grow tedious over time. Would you wish to sit and watch over twenty matches, with the associated breaks required for the contestants to rest and prepare themselves for their next match? The final exam is not just a test for you, but also a show, an entertainment for the clients."

Zaku grumbled angrily, but remained silent, as Hayate continued. "I will be proctoring a preliminary round here, where you'll be randomly selected to face each other in one on one matches. You'll be allowed to use any and all of your abilities to seek victory over your opponent. Victory goes to whoever can force their opponent to yield, knock them unconscious, or kills their opponent. I would like to stress though that we much prefer you refrain from killing as much as possible. You will abide by my orders and rulings during this match. If I order you to stand down, you will do so immediately, is that understood?"

As they nodded their understanding, he turned to look back at the wall, nodding to some unseen person. Immediately, two panels slid upwards, revealing a pair of large screens. "The contestants in each fight will be randomly selected and displayed on the screen here. Everyone else is asked to join your sensei on the balconies until your name is selected. After your battle, you may either return to the balcony, or request to be taken to the infirmary to check you for injuries, if you're not already being taken there in the first place. Before we begin, does anyone wish to forfeit now, before we begin?"

Everyone was silent, with everyone glancing around to see if anyone bowed out. A few were looking nervous, especially Sakura, who was fidgeting slightly. But in the end, no one did so, as Hayate nodded. "Very well. Begin the selection process!" He shouted.

Immediately, on both screens, names began to randomly flash by, as the genin waited to see who would be the first two to fight. They didn't have to wait for too long, as soon enough, two names finally appeared: Sasuke Uchiha vs Kabuto Yakushi.

"Sasuke and Kabuto, remain here. Everyone else, to the balconies please," Hayate ordered. Quickly, all but the two genin quickly made their way towards the balconies, where they were joined by their sensei. The three rookie Konoha teams, with Team Nine, took the balcony on the right hand side from the doorway, where Karin joined Team Eight. Kabuto's team, along with the foreign teams, took the other balcony.

On the floor, the two genin now faced each other. Kabuto was adjusting his glasses, making sure they were snug and in place, while Sasuke rolled his shoulders, reaching up to rub his left shoulder, feeling some irritation there still.

Hayate looked at the two of them, before raising his hand. "And…fight!" He shouted.

Evil cliffhangers strike again! MUHAHAAHAHAHHA!

Felt like it was a good place to end, considering if I went any further, I'd be writing yet another massive chapter, which seems to becoming a bit of a norm recently for me. Though it takes far too long and too much concentration.

So, I hope you all enjoyed this, and next chapter will be the preliminary fights! Hope you'll enjoy them too.

Big thanks to my beta's Kyuubi123 and Bill Alain, for their work!

Till next chapter, my friends!