Killing Grounds

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Tenjho Tenge

AUTHORS NOTE: This chapter ran really long. We are starting Round 2 of the Chunin Exams. I've tried to include actual Teams from the manga but inevitably some are OCs; particularly from Rice Country. See note *① for details. Here is chapter 44. Enjoy!

[ ] signifies hand signs

Last time:

With Team Kabuto…

Yakushi Kabuto, Tsurugi Misumi and Akad ō Yoroi looked like they'd been through a meat grinder. Everything had gone wrong from the get-go. They'd retrieved a small lamp in Blue territory at Fuso's Meat Market but in the process were attacked by old man Fuso, his wife, Fuso's guard dogs, an enemy team and the ninjas stationed there to protect the lamp. Worse still they were harried for hours by the Blue Country ANBU that hunted them relentlessly. By the time Team Kabuto made it back to Green Country Base it was nearly 4 AM. Total elapsed time: 18 hours, 46 minutes. They were exhausted…

…

Chunin Exam Hall

Tsunade and her advisors looked at the results of the first round of Chunin Exams and said, "Well, that was a shock to the system. We've eliminated nearly two thirds of the entrants for the year before they even made it to the second round. Do you think the first round was a bit too extreme?"

Hiruzen sweat dropped and looked over a pile of papers that Uzuki Yūgao had thought up for her class as 'homework' but never used. "It was a tad cutthroat. Perhaps we should try something easier next time."

"Given we had so many teams involved this year it is a good thing." said Hanako. There are still 27 Teams remaining. That leaves 81 genins competing.

"81 genins in the Forest of Death." said Tsunade. "I wonder how many will make it out this time…"

…

Chapter 44

Fire Country, the Village of Konoha, Training Ground 44

The ANBU Brats were collectively sweat dropping as Hatake Kakashi gave the assembled 27 genin teams*① an eye smile while describing the magical wonders of Training Ground 44; the 'Forest of Death.' He may as well have broken into song about the horrors living in there. Naruto remembered Kakashi from their first trip into the Forest of Death because his team captured the eye patch wearing ninja. At any rate, Naruto, Hinata and Maya received a mission that morning so Kakashi's amped up antics didn't have the impact they would have otherwise…

…

Flashback…

The three members of Team 11 got up at 3 AM as usual and had a quiet breakfast together that Natsu got up to prepare. They were quietly discussing what the possibilities would be in the Forest of Death and decided a double load of weapons would be necessary when they heard knocking on the front door. Natsu said, "I wonder who it could be at this hour." The kunoichi/maid went to get the door and found Uzuki Yūgao there in her full ANBU combat gear.

Yūgao exchanged greetings with Natsu and the maid led Team 11's sensei into the kitchen and Yūgao said to her three apprentices, "I came to wish you the best of luck in the Forest of Death. You've done well so far and I'm proud of you all. I can't tell you about the next test but I will say remember your training and when you were there before." She got out a sealed scroll and said, "Hokage's orders for Team 11. Good luck." Then the purple haired sword mistress body flickered away.

After Naruto inspected the Hokage's seal he opened the scroll and the three began to read:

Team 11, you have been issued a B-ranked mission as follows:

We have intercepted orders from Rice Country that indicate Oto genin teams are under orders to kill Leaf genins whenever possible to prepare for upcoming hostilities. You and your fellow ANBU Brats are better equipped and trained to handle this than our regular genin teams. Your orders are to eliminate the eight Oto Genin Teams while in the Forest of Death. Further instructions may be issued by regular ANBU during your mission. Be ready for heavy combat.

-Senju Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage

The three ANBU Brats destroyed their orders per protocol and upped their weapons to a full war load. They spent the rest of the morning preparing for a total bloodbath…

Flashback end…

Maya, Hinata and Naruto had already confirmed through hand signs that the other ANBU Brats had the same orders. Their eyes hardened as they looked over the various Oto Teams that were there. Then Kakashi continued with his instructions. "Each Team will get a 'heaven' or 'earth' scroll. You are not to open these under any circumstances for the duration of the test. Your objective is to obtain a matching set of scrolls by any means necessary and bring them to the tower at the center of Training Ground 44 within the time limit of five days as a full team."

"Does that mean killing is allowed?" asked one of the Oto kunoichi eagerly.

The silver haired jonin sweat dropped and repeated, "…By any means necessary." Then he added with an eye smile, "Make sure you sign the release forms saying that you understand the dangers here and that Konoha is not to be held responsible for any deaths that may occur in the Second Round. After you've done that; turn in the three release forms in exchange for your team's 'heaven' or 'earth' scroll behind the curtain."

Lastly, Kakashi added, "…And here is the most important piece of advice: Don't forget to have fun!"

Every genin face faulted at that point…

…

Day One

Near Gate 34

Hinata, Maya and Naruto were at Gate 34 with their heaven scroll securely sealed in Maya's pouch. The second the gate was opened Team 11 pulled up their masks and disappeared like three blurs into the Forest of Death. Within the hour they found a defensible position hidden high in the forest canopy and started scouting around for prey…It wasn't long before Hinata was on point searching around for Oto Teams in the vicinity. Team 11 saw that some of the Sound nins entered Gate 32 which was nearby. They crossed over the trail of another Konoha team before spotting Team Genta from Oto. Genta (a large and muscular type) and his team were carefully traveling along the forest floor with blood on their minds. They were targeting the Konoha team that Team 11 passed over before. The problem was this particular team of Oto nins weren't the best of trackers and were following the wrong trail…

The Oto nins suddenly stopped in their tracks and started arguing amongst themselves as to why they'd lost their target after following the target (and being followed) for nearly an hour straight. "Damn it Genta, I don't know!" yelled a hunched over sound nin. "You're the leader though I don't know why!"

Genta smacked his hunched over associate and said, "I'm the leader because I'm the strongest asshole! If you want to say otherwise step right up!" Genta turned to the third member of the Oto team and growled, "Have you got anything stupid to say stupid? Let's move out." The hunched over nin struggled to his feet but the third nin didn't move a centimeter. Genta turned around and bellowed, "You got a problem man? Get moving!"

The hunched over nin's eyes widened when he saw their teammate was only standing because a carbon black kunai knife (courtesy of Hinata) had him pinned to a tree by his throat. "G-Genta…he's dead!"

"Fuckin' tree huggers!" yelled Genta. "Show yourselves and fight! I dare yo-" The Reiki took Genta's head off in one quick slice and the hunched over nin screamed in fear before he was silenced forever by the Shippuuhime from behind…

Maya said quietly, "What a noisy lot. You should be stealthy in the forest."

Landing from her perch in the trees, Hinata replied, "We'd best take their scroll and leave. All that screaming will attract predators and other teams…not to mention the scent of blood."

Naruto fished the bloodied scroll off Genta's headless corpse. The blonde shook his head and said, "It's another heaven scroll. We need an earth scroll."

"We may be able to use it in trade Naruto-kun." said Maya. "Hinata-chan is right. We need to get out of here…"

…

Near Gate 6

Gaara stared impassively at Team Shigure as the Rain Country genins threatened to kill them and if the Sand Siblings didn't surrender their scroll immediately, they would die. "…Are you serious?" asked the red haired jinchuriki as if totally puzzled.

"Of course, I'm serious!" said Shigure. "We're going to kill you if you don't give us your scroll!"

"Well, this is a pain." replied Gaara. "Hold on a minute."

Shigure turned to his Teammates Baiu and Midare. "Are they stupid or something? Are all the people from Suna total idiots?"

"Hey, we can hear you over here!" yelled Kankuro.

Gaara's teal eyes narrowed into a frown. "Agreed, you may not address Temari nee-chan and I as idiots."

"WHHAATT?!" asked Kankuro. "What about me? I'm not an idiot!"

Temari raised an eyebrow. "Actually, you act like an idiot at times Kankuro…"

"See?" asked the redhead. "Nee-chan agrees. Besides, you do wear makeup."

Kankuro turned red in the face. "IT'S WAR PAINT!" he roared.

As the Sand Siblings argued back and forth; Team Shigure got more and more confused at being totally ignored. Shigure finally exploded. "HELLO?! MAJOR THREAT OVER HERE! Oh to hell with it! We'll just take their scroll after we kill them! Baiu, Midare; on my mark! One, two, thr-"

Gaara raised a hand and said, "Be quiet. We are having a family meeting here."

Shigure was bug eyed, "WHAT THE FUCK?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN FAMILY MEETING?! THIS IS THE FOREST OF DEATH!"

The redhead got a tick mark on his brow. "Imperial Sand Wall!" he said as a massive wall of sand formed between the two teams. Gaara thought for a moment and said, "…Fall over."

The wall fell over and squashed Team Shigure with a massive whoopee cushion sound that echoed throughout the forest…

"…Fall over?" asked Kankuro. "That's what you named your jutsu?"

Gaara shrugged, "It's a defensive jutsu I just turned into an offensive one. It was all I could think of at the time. What name do you suggest?"

"I dunno. It just lacks oomph." replied Kankuro. "Let me think about it…"

Temari face palmed. "Let's just get their scroll and move on…"

…

Near Gate 25

Meanwhile, the Kusa genin Uzumaki Karin was out of luck. Her teammates were dead and she was running from three Oto ninja who were out to kill her and take the earth scroll she had in her possession. The redhead wanted to scream in terror but knew doing so would give away her position. As a result, she was hiding in the thick bushes at the base of a huge tree with her chakra suppressed. Using her abilities as a sensor Karin knew where the nearby Oto ninjas were and she also sensed three others above them in the forest canopy…

Team 7 made up of Sai, Sakura and Choji were watching the three Rice Country ninjas below them as the Sound team tore up the forest looking for someone or something. Sai was listening carefully with chakra enhancing his hearing as the Oto ninjas growled about looking for a kunoichi with a scroll. He signaled to the others, [Sakura, Choji; they are hunting a kunoichi and seem oblivious of our presence. What do you think?]

Sakura hand signed, [Oto is our enemy; we have specific orders to eliminate them. I say we take them down].

[I'm with Sakura on this one.] signed Choji.

Sai nodded. [We are all in agreement then. How shall we…?]

…

Down below Karin's luck was still holding when a flash bang tag landed in between the three Oto shinobi. She peered through the bushes and saw they were all crying out and blinded. Karin considered running at that point but sensed the other three from the trees were on the move. In the blink of an eye she saw one of the odd black clad genin teams from Konoha land and execute the three from Oto using silent killing techniques with kunai. The Rice Country genin were dead before they hit the ground. Karin's eyes widened as the pink haired kunoichi of the Konoha team said quietly, "They've got a heaven scroll like us. Damn."

The heavy-set ninja replied, "We should take it anyway. It might be something we could use as a bargaining chip later. What do you think Sai?"

Sai was looking around carefully. "I think we're being watched Choji."

Karin let out a tiny gasp but it was enough for the three members of Team 7 to detect her. Sai parted the bushes with the blade of his chokuto and saw Karin's red hair and glasses. Her forehead protector also was visible. Choji said, "You might as well come on out Kusa kunoichi; we aren't out to kill you. Did the Oto team kill your teammates?"

The redhead nodded and Sakura said, "The smell of blood is in the air. We should move away in case of predators. Come on."

…

An hour later Team 7 was having a meal (you guessed it: bear burgers) with Karin gratefully eating with them. Karin said, "I won't survive in this forest alone; will you take me with you? I know it's a lot to ask but…"

Sakura said, "I feel bad for you red but we still need to hunt down an earth scroll and you'll probably slow us down."

"We'll be happy to share some provisions but you're on your own Kusa kunoichi." said Choji. "I'm sorry."

Karin asked hopefully, "What if I trade you an earth scroll in exchange for letting me travel with you to the tower?"

Sai was a bit stunned. "You have an earth scroll?" Karin nodded and pulled the scroll out. "What is your name?" asked the pale boy.

She straightened her glasses, "I'm Uzumaki Karin." she said shyly. "I hope you'll help me." The redhead watched as Team 7 flew through ANBU hand signs too rapidly for her to follow.

Then Sakura said with a smile, "You're from the same clan as a friend of ours. I'm sure he'd be happy to meet you." She picked up the earth scroll and saw it was genuine. "We have an accord. In exchange for your earth scroll Team 7 will be your escorts through the Forest of Death."

Choji grinned and shook Karin's hand. "It's nice to meet you Karin. "I'm Akimichi Choji and these are my friends and teammates Haruno Sakura and Sai."

Karin smiled in relief. "It's nice to meet you all…"

…

Northwestern Forest

Team Zabuza made up of Yuki Haku, Kaguya Kimamaro and Hōzuki Suigetsu were traveling stealthily towards the Central Tower having captured a scroll from a Rain Country team. None of them were prepared when a Wind Style: Great Breakthrough sent them all flying. Haku and Kimamaro tumbled several feet into a clearing, but Suigetsu was completely airborne and flew off into the forest. A Kusa Team appeared and their leader Shiore laughed disturbingly "Hmhmhm…looks like I found you and your little team Kimamoro-kun. I'll give you a gift if you get through a little test for me."

"I'll pass." deadpanned Kimamaro as he fired a barrage of bone finger bullets at Shiore. Haku was back on her feet and nodded at Kimamaro that she was ready to fight.

Shiore smiled and said, "The Shikutsumyaku is a wonderful bloodline. It's simply amazing seeing how you can manipulate your bones so effortlessly. I will use that body of yours. Hmhmhmhm."

Haku grimaced and said, "This guy is seriously deranged Kimamaro-kun. Don't hold back." She was about to throw a barrage of ice senbon when Shiore suddenly brought both of them to their knees with sheer killing intent alone.

Shiore chuckled. "Hmhmhmhm…Let's not be too hasty little ice kunoichi. There is plenty of time to play." He motioned to one of the other two Kusa nins. "Go kill the Hōzuki clan member. He's useless to me." The ninja nodded and vanished in a body flicker.

The bone user struggled to his feet and asked Shiore, "What are you?!"

"Hmhmhmhm. You haven't figured it out Kimamaro-kun? I'm a predator and you are my prey. You'd better fight hard if you want to save your little teammates!" said Shiore with a cruel smile.

…

Suigetsu was fighting a Kusa ninja that appeared out of nowhere. 'First I get blown away and then this freak attacks me! What the hell?' thought the water user.

The Kusa nin smiled behind his mask and said, "Don't die too quickly, I'm having fun!"

Hōzuki growled and continued to play cat and mouse with the crazy Kusa ninja before he was struck with a lightning jutsu that made him scream in pain. The Kusa nin was delighted. "I knew your clan was vulnerable to lighting but I'm not even breaking a sweat." The Kusa ninja pounced on Suigetsu but the water user threw him off using taijutsu. Before he realized it the Kusa nin fell into a nearby pool of water. Suigetsu created several water clones with a vicious smile and they drowned the Kusa nin before he could get out of the water…

"Now to find the others…" thought Suigetsu aloud.

…

When Suigetsu got back to his team he found the others in a terrible state. Shiore was against a tree with multiple bone spikes pinning him there. Shockingly he was not only alive; he was laughing. The other Kusa nin was obviously dead as his head was frozen solid in a block of ice. Haku was beat up and knocked unconscious and Kimamaro was bloodied and on his hands and knees. The whole area of the forest was totally demolished with bone spikes everywhere.

Shiore peeled the bone spikes off of him and his face tore revealing another face below…The face of the Snake Sanin. Kimamaro's green eyes widened in shock and he said hollowly, "Y-you're not a Kusa ninja…You are Orochimaru!"

Suigetstu hid behind the tree and gasped as the White Snake peeled his disguise off and laughed. "Hmhmhm. It looks like the cat is out of the bag. You've done well to survive this long Kimamaro-kun. It was very entertaining. For that I'll give you that gift…" His neck extended and the Snake Sannin bit Kimamaro at the base of his throat.

The bone user convulsed and asked, "W-what did you do to me?"

"I gave you a gift. Come to me when you need more power Kimamaro-kun…" said Orochimaru as he slid into the ground using the Headhunter jutsu. It was the last thing Kimamaro saw before he blacked out.

Hōzuki came out from behind the tree and rolled the now unconscious Kimamaro over. He saw the mark where Orochimaru bit his friend and pulled the bone user over by Haku who was waking up. Suigetsu helped her up and the two Kiri nins sat down with Kimamaro's unmoving body. The Kaguya was burning up with a nightmarish fever. Then Suigetsu nearly collapsed himself from the lightning jutsu that hit him earlier.

Haku said, "Suigetsu-kun; you are injured!"

The water user said, "Keep an eye on Kimamaro; I'll be alright. I have a feeling that we have a long night ahead…"

…

Day Two

Southwestern Forest

Naruto was observing an Oto team whose leader had a unique weapon; she carried some sort of bolo cannon. It was very effective against wildlife. Her two subordinates were also kunochis. One carried dueling knives and the other was a bojutsu specialist. The three Oto kunoichis were eating some boar they'd caught in the forest. The Rice Country team was quietly discussing how they'd killed a Konoha Team and had three Leaf forehead protectors to prove it…They also had the headbands of an Oto team which didn't make much sense to the orange loving blonde.

Hinata and Maya arrived about twenty minutes later and the byakugan princess read the lips of the Oto kunoichis as they talked. She signed, [They murdered one of their own teams because of some bad blood from what they are saying…They also tortured and killed Tonbi's Team from Konoha.]

[I didn't know Tonbi or his teammates but they were allies.] signed Naruto sadly.

Maya grit her teeth in anger. [It's all the more reason to slay these bitches. Come on Naruto-kun, Hinata-chan; let's take them down!]

[Calm down Maya-chan!] signed Naruto. [I've been watching then for a while. They set up a good defense of wire traps before they sat down to eat. They are much more skilled than those idiots from before. We need to be careful.]

…

Two hours later the Oto kunoichi team cleaned up, concealed their campsite and took down their traps only to run into Team 11 that were standing there at ready. "Well, well, well…" said the bo staff wielding kunoichi. "You're one of those black teams of Konoha genins that we saw. You even have flat black forehead protectors." She smiled and started spinning her staff rapidly. "Those black ones will look good in our little collection." She planted the end of her staff in the ground and used its momentum to launch herself like a bullet into the ANBU Brats much to their shock. It was then Naruto activated two tags that paralyzed the flying kunoichi midair and set her afire as she tumbled through the air out of control and off course. She screamed unable to move and aflame as she hit the forest floor burning and crying for help…

The other two kunoichis called out to their friend before the one with dueling knives drew her weapons and charged in a rage. The leader with the bolo cannon fired at Team 11 to give her comrade some coverage. Hinata used a kaiten to block the incoming bolos and charged the blade wielding kunoichi with her hands blazing with chakra. The two kunoichis met at high speed and Hinata struck with Eight Trigrams: Vacuum Palm. The knife wielding Oto kunoichi had her organs crushed before she could even bring her blades into play. She coughed up a spray of blood and collapsed to the ground more dead than alive…

The leader of the Oto Team saw her two friends get mowed down and panicked. Naruto was in the distance out of range; Hinata was too near the knife carrying kunoichi to risk firing and Maya simply vanished. The lone kunoichi from Sound fired round after round of bolos in the direction of the Konoha ninjas just to keep them away. Maya appeared from behind the leader using a headhunter jutsu and kicked the bolo cannon out of the Oto kunoichi's hands. The Oto team leader spun around and took a grappling stance. The silver haired Konoha kunoichi struck viciously using her family's style to its maximum effectiveness. "Natsume Goushin-Ryu: Heavenly Iron Attack." growled Maya as she rained a pattern of precise bone crushing blows on her opponent. She then stomped the fallen girl's throat and finished her off. Maya looked down at the crushed Oto kunoichi and said, "You should never have messed with the ANBU Brats…."

Naruto acquired two earth scrolls and an additional heaven scroll from the bodies as well as the bolo cannon. "Let's move out Team 11." said the orange loving blonde. Team 11 left their dead opponents for the forest creatures to feed on after recovering Team Tonbi's forehead protectors for their families…

…

Outside the Konoha Front Gates

The Gate Guards Izumo and Kotetsu along with their comrade Mozuku from Torture and Interrogation found the bodies of the real Team Shiore hidden near Konoha just off the main path to the village. Their faces were removed by one of Orochimaru's signature jutsus, the Vanishing Facial Copy Technique. It allowed the Snake Sannin to assume the identity of a person more effectively than any henge. Mozuku went back to the village to find his immediate superior Mitarashi Anko to confirm the technique was indeed Orochimaru's doing.

Mitarashi Anko was with Tawara Bunshichi having lunch at the Dango Shop when Mozuku arrived and interrupted their date. After heading out to where the corpses were found; Anko did a close examination of the bodies and concluded that her former sensei Orochimaru had infiltrated the Chunin Exams personally. The purple haired snake mistress swore under her breath and then started giving out the orders to the others present as she was ranking officer. She turned to Kotetsu and said, "Inform Hokage-sama that Orochimaru is in the Forest of death disguised as a Kusa genin from Team Shiore. We don't know which one yet." Kotetsu nodded in affirmation.

"Mozuku, I want you to head back to ANBU Headquarters and inform them of the same thing." ordered Anko. "I want at least two full squads of ANBU prowling Training Ground 44 yesterday!" Mozuku saluted and took off. She ordered all others present to take care of the bodies and get them back to forensics. Then Anko took off like a bolt of lightning…

…Only to find Bunshichi was right behind her. "Where the hell are you going Anko-chan?" asked the white-and black-haired man.

Her brown eyes flashed in anger. "I'm going to kill my former sensei at Training Ground 44, that's what!"

Bunshichi frowned and said, "Not alone you're not. I'm coming too!"

…

Training Ground 44, Northwestern Forest

It was mid-morning and Kimamaro was being cared for by Haku and Suigetsu. They had no idea what had happened after Orochimaru bit Kimamaro but after a rough night the white-haired bone user's fever had subsided. Haku wasn't worried about passing the second round of the Chunin Exams any longer; she just wanted to get her Team to the safety of the Central Tower where they could get medical treatment. Aside of the fact Kimamaro was obviously in bad shape; Suigetsu was badly shocked and Haku was worn out from taking care of her teammates overnight. Team Zabuza had been badly mauled…

It was this sight that ANBU Brat Team 10 stumbled upon. Ino, Shikamaru and Emi had their scrolls and were hunting for an Oto Team per orders when they saw Team Zabuza. Ino saw them and asked in shock, "Haku-chan, what happened to your team?"

Haku jolted in alarm and then realized it was her friends. She said "We were attacked by a Team of Kusa genins yesterday and it turned out it was Orochimaru in disguise…" She shed a tear. "He bit Kimamaro-kun and left some sort of mark upon him. He's been very sick since. The only good thing that's happened is Kimamaro's fever has finally subsided."

"Can we really trust these guys?" asked Suigetsu warily.

"Of course, we can." said Haku frowning at her teammate.

"Troublesome." said Shikamaru. "Can we see the mark Orochimaru left? It sounds like one of those Cursed Seals that Anko-sensei used to have."

Emi gasped. "There's only a one in ten chance of surviving those atrocious things. We need to get it removed as quickly as possible."

Ino nodded. "If Kimamaro survived the night it's a good sign. We need to get him to the Central Tower as soon as possible. Naruto-kun can remove that seal."

Kimamaro's green eyes suddenly shot open and he stared at Team 10. He said in a delirious tone, "E-enemies…" and his body started emitting a purple miasma that frightened Haku. Half his body became covered in parallel lines and everyone took a step back in shock. The Kaguya clan member then launched himself at Team 10 with a brutal taijutsu assault. Ino and Shikamaru were sent flying from the impacts and Emi barely had time to roll out of the way. Haku screamed for Kimamaro to stop but the bone user had already fired a barrage of bone spikes at point blank range and peppered the team of ANBU Brats that cried out. Shikamaru and Ino were temporarily down but Emi was still standing having deflected the bone projectiles with her dueling kunai.

The Kaguya then drew a bone sword he generated from his back and lashed out at Emi. The redhead crossed her dueling blades and parried the attack but was being pushed back by Kimamaro's monstrous strength.

While the redhead was fighting the berserker Kimamaro; Ino hit him with a mind disruption jutsu that stunned the bone user. Then Shikamaru activated his Shadow imitation jutsu and captured Kimamaro for a few precious seconds. He yelled, "Slap a restraining tag on him Emi! I can't hold him for long!"

Emi pulled one of Naruto's restraining tags and placed it on Kimamaro's chest while channeling chakra. She yelled, "Seal!" and Kimamaro froze in place. Emi fell back on her rear and said, "Thank the gods. It worked."

Haku came over to the immobile Kimamaro and said, "Stop channeling chakra Kimamaro-kun! You need to calm down. Please! These are not our enemies."

The stunned Kimamaro came to his senses and the lines on his body receded into the Cursed Seal of Earth at the base of his throat. "W-what happened?" asked the confused bone user. "Why can't I move?"

Shikamaru pulled a bone spike out of his shoulder and said, "Ouch…you went crazy and attacked us Kimamaro-san. We had to slap a restraining tag on you to keep you from killing us."

Coming up to Kimamaro fearfully; Suigetsu asked, "Are you alright man? You went totally berserk!"

The bone user blinked. "I…I what happened to Orochimaru? I was fighting him and-"

"The Snake Sanin is long gone Kimamaro-kun." explained Haku. "He left us last night. You've been unconscious for hours. You woke up and attacked Team 10 mistaking them for our enemies."

Emi was helping to bandage Ino and Shikamaru who had multiple injuries from the bone spikes. She explained, "You need to stay calm and not use chakra until we can remove the Cursed Seal Orochimaru put on your throat. Otherwise, you'll lose control again."

Kimamaro was shocked at his actions and said, "I understand…I'm terribly sorry I attacked you…"

…

A few hours later Team 10 and Team Zabuza were patched up as well as they could and set out for the Central Tower together. They both had full sets of scrolls and simply wanted the awful test to be over…

…

Southwestern Forest

Walking through a clearing; Team 11 was hit from nowhere with the same mind crushing killing intent that froze Team Zabuza the day before. The difference was Hanako had pounded them with her own killing intent while training them and Naruto, Maya and Hinata weathered it much better than the Kiri team and didn't freeze up. Maya looked up and saw Orochimaru standing in the trees and immediately recognized him from the bingo books. "Orochimaru, the White Snake! What are you doing here?!" asked the silver haired girl as she drew the Reiki.

Orochimaru chuckled and said, "Hmhmhhm. You three are different from the other team I visited…hmhmhmhm. None of you even froze up."

Hinata took her modified juken stance and said, "Be careful Maya-chan; he's a Sanin!"

Glaring, Naruto drew the Shippuuhime and the Kurimuzo said, "I don't know why you're here but-"

"Hmhmhm; the Villige's jinchuriki and a Hyūga. You two don't interest me." said the White Snake. "But you Maya-chan; you interest me. I have a gift for you if you pass my little test." Orochimaru drew his tsurugi, the Kusanagi*②. "Come little girl; let's see just how good you are with that nodachi of yours."

Maya's blue eyes flashed as she exploded into action and crossed swords with the smiling Snake Sannin. Sparks flew as Orochimaru gradually pushed her back with a pleased look in his snake like eyes. He kicked her causing the girl to recoil in pain but Maya body flickered away and Naruto body flickered in to engage the White Snake. Orochimaru was surprised to see such flawless teamwork between mere genins. 'It reminds me of my old team.' thought the snake. Naruto parried the Kusunagi with Kurimuzo and lashed out with Shippuuhime. He released a wind blade that cut the Sannin's hair but otherwise did no damage.

Orochimaru said; "Five Elements Seal!" as he struck Naruto over his seal on his stomach and sent the orange loving blonde flying. "Impressive; but as I said you don't interest me." said the snake as Naruto tumbled away.

"Naruto-kun!" cried out Maya as she got back to her feet and reengaged the Snake Sannin while Hinata helped the injured Naruto to his feet.

The White Snake toyed with Maya until he knocked her back into the other two and clapped. "Hmhmhmhm. Very good Maya-chan! As I promised; your gift…." His neck extended in a flash and the snake's fangs extended towards Maya. In the blink of an eye the silver haired girl lashed out at Orochimaru's head with her nodachi but the Snake Sannin caught the Reiki between his teeth. He smiled as Maya growled.

The blue eyed girl saw the sannin's body running towards his garishly smiling, immobile head. Her eyes narrowed and she shot a massive surge of chakra through the Reiki causing it to hum and vibrate at incredible speed. Orochimaru recoiled as the blade he was biting caused his teeth and fangs to shatter and explode as Maya ripped the Reiki clear. Orochimaru was further stunned when the trees themselves attacked him and held him fast at the silver haired girl's hand motion. He thought with wide eyes, 'She has the mokuton…? But I thought she had the Ryugan…?' Apparently his intelligence gathering teams had been wrong…

The White Snake tried to cut his way loose from the still growing trees when two angry byakugan eyes body flickered in front of him and Hinata drew the Hakutsume blades. Her killing intent at seeing her best friend and lover injured was so intense that the Snake Sannin nearly made a fatal mistake. He froze for a split second in fear as he thought, 'RAVEN-SAMA!' Hinata pushed the stunned Sannin's Kusanagi to the side with one blade and slashed his belly open with the other. Orochimaru regained his sense from the pain and savagely kicked Hinata away from him sending her tumbling before she could do more damage. He growled to himself, "What the hell was I thinking? She's just a child."

Then Naruto jumped in front of the snake and lashed out with the now glowing Kurimuzo. He missed by a few inches and Orochimaru smiled at the reprieve when he suddenly realized the blonde wasn't aiming for him. Naruto was aiming for his spilled blood! The Kurimuzo blazed demonically as it rapidly absorbed a huge gout of Orochimaru's blood and was still hungering for more. The Snake Sannin felt himself weakening rapidly and quickly body switched with a nearby mud clone. He appeared high up in the trees as Naruto leapt to the side and Maya destroyed the mud clone with the still humming Reiki.

Orochimaru saw Maya basically collapse in exhaustion back into Naruto's arms. Hinata was still down holding her abdomen coughing. The Snake Sanin sighed through his shattered teeth and jaw. 'They are defeated but…I'm in too bad of shape to finish them. I've got no fangs to give the Cursed Seal of Heaven to Maya-chan and I've lost so much blood that…' He saw Naruto's blue eyes burning in anger and lock with his own. The stare down only lasted a few seconds but Orochimaru knew staying around was a very bad idea. He smiled down at the bloodied blonde and said through his shattered teeth, "Very good boy, your whole team is interesting. Until we meet again…"

The snake disappeared in a body flicker and Naruto pulled both Maya and Hinata out of the clearing in the forest and into a more defensible spot. The orange loving blonde thought, 'Hinata is in a lot of pain and Maya is unconscious…And I'm stuck with a Five Elements Seal on me messing up my chakra…' He pulled out a scroll and his fuinjutsu supplies. "I'll have this Five Elements Seal off in no time. Then I'll give Maya-chan a chakra pill and see what I can do for Hinata-chan."

With that plan in mind Naruto went to work…

…

Northwestern Forest

Shortly after nightfall Anko and Bunshichi located her former mentor. The Snake Princess saw red and attacked Orochimaru on sight dealing him several vicious blows before trying a suicide move; the Twin Snakes Mutual Death jutsu to finish him off. Then Orochimaru dissipated into smoke revealing he was a shadow clone. She saw the real Orochimaru standing there looking awfully battered and wondered what on earth he tangled with.

"Hmhmhmhm…Anko-chan; is this how you greet your old master?" asked Orochimaru silkily. "As long as you have my seal upon you; you are no threat to me." He reached out his hand and made a fist. Anko looked puzzled and raised an eyebrow. Orochimaru looked confused and then absolutely shocked. His face turned murderously angry and the Snake Sanin said, "Anko, where is the Cursed Seal of Heaven I gave you?"

Anko smiled meanly and said, "I got rid of that hickey a while back. I guess it isn't as amazing as you think it is…"

Orochimaru was trembling with rage and he lashed out at Anko with the Kusanagi. The snake mistress thought she was dead but found herself pulled out of the way by Bunshichi who said, "He's angry now Anko, let's fight him together."

Getting over her initial rage at her former sensei, Anko nodded and said, "…Together then."

Bunshichi gave a feral smile to his love interest and said, "Let's show him what we can do." Tawara channeled chakra into his arms to increase his muscle strength to the point that his sleeves shredded and were burned away. 'Kushina-sama showed me the Uzumaki style and I'm going to put it to the test.' The angry Orochimaru wasn't expecting an all-out whirlwind assault from the extinct Uzu style of taijutsu. It wasn't that the Snake Sannin didn't recognize the style; he remembered Uzumaki Kushina demolishing people with it. It was simply the matter that no one used it any longer, so Orochimaru never bothered with devising a counter.

Unfortunately for the White Snake his already battered face paid the price for this oversight when Bunshichi landed a colossal right hook to Orochimaru's jaw and sent the snake flying through three massive trees with a bone crushing impact. If it hadn't been for the extensive body modifications the Snake Sanin had done to himself then it would have been over then and there. 'Has this brat been taking lessons from Tsunade?' wondered the snake as he peeled himself off of the tree he was imbedded in. Reaching up and adjusting his bashed in head, Orochimaru said through his now totaled jaw, "I'm the strongest of the Sanin boy. You stand no chance against me."

That's when Anko appeared from nowhere and delivered a devastating rising snake kick to Orochimaru's groin sending him flying skywards. She growled derisively, "Your caved in face says otherwise sensei."

Tawara body flickered above the soaring Snake Sannin and landed a hammer punch that sent Orochimaru crashing to the ground hard enough to leave a crater on impact.

Orochimaru wasn't sure what hurt the most at this point and was considering leaving when he realized he'd lost the Kusanagi. Growling in anger he took the offensive and tried to kill Bunshichi with pure taijutsu. Unfortunately, the Uzu style was unpredictable and the White Snake was taking as much damage as he was receiving. Worse still, Anko kept zipping in with vicious pinpoint strikes that would have killed anyone else. The two jonin's tag team offensive was relentless and Orochimaru didn't have time to regenerate his body either.

Knocking Anko back into Bunshichi with a backhand, Orochimaru summoned a huge swarm of snakes to keep the wild pair occupied so he could find his sword. Anko unleashed a dragonfire jutsu to burn up the snakes attacking them but when the smoke cleared her former sensei was nowhere to be found. She grit her teeth and then saw a glint in the trees above. Her battered ex-mentor was up in the tree above picking up his sword. The mauled Snake Sanin recovered his Kusanagi and said, "Tell Tsunade if she cancels the Chunin Exams there will be…consequences." He then melted showing he'd body switched with a mud clone after retrieving his Tsurugi…

…

Anko and Bunshichi sat down together on a high tree branch to catch their breath. After a bit of recovering Bunshichi roared with laughter. "Bwahaha! Did you see how bad we beat him up?! We didn't win but we sure as hell didn't lose either!"

The Snake Princess had initially been despondent that they weren't able to kill her former sensei but Bunshichi's laughter was infectious and she was soon howling along with him. "Hmmm…I got dango and was able to kick my old sensei in the crotch. This wasn't a bad first date!" she declared.

…

POSTSCRIPT:

*①: There are 27 Teams as follows:

1 Kiri Team (Team Zabuza)

11 Konoha Teams (5 ANBU BRAT Teams, Team Kabuto, etc.)

2 Kusa Teams (Team Shiore, Team Karin)

1 Nadeshiko Team (Team Tokiwa)

8 Oto Teams (Team Gimei, etc)

2 Ame Teams (Team Oboro, Team Shigure)

2 Suna Teams (Team Baki, etc.)

*②: In the manga the Kusanagi is a katana but in the anime it's a tsurugi. I went with a tsurugi per the Susanoo legends.

So we've covered the first two days of Round 2 of the Chunin Exams. I hope everyone likes it so far. Next Chapter we'll be going to the Central Tower. I don't know if there will be an elimination round at this point. I've written a lot of battles so far and I don't want the one-on-ones to get too monotonous. See you next time. Blue out. 7/31/23