The Central Tower

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Tenjho Tenge

AUTHORS NOTE:

Here is chapter 45. Enjoy!

[ ] signifies hand signs

Last time:

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 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.

…

Chapter 45

Fire Country, the Village of Konoha, ANBU Headquarters

Day Three

Gazeru and Sloth were on duty at ANBU Headquarters at the outer entrance to the security levels where the prisoners were held. Sloth liked this duty because you just got to sit and not do much but Hikari hated it because she was bored to tears. The night warden came off duty and exchanged keys with the day warden; ANBU Ram at 8AM. That had been it this morning. Hikari thought to herself, 'I wonder how Naruto-kun is doing in the Forest of Death. I haven't seen him, Maya-chan or Hinata-chan since before the first round of the Chunin Exams.'

Sloth nudged his partner out of her mental wanderings when ANBU Boar arrived with food for the prisoners around 9AM. He was young and inexperienced and had a thing for the purple haired young woman. "Good morning Gazeru!" he chirped merrily. "How are you this lovely day?"

Hikari rolled her green eyes behind her mask and said, "I'm fine Boar. Let Sloth and I inspect your food cart."

After a routine inspection, Sloth said in his usual lazy manner, "You are good to go Boar. Go ahead and pass."

Another hour later Sloth went to take his routine break and Gazeru was left alone. 'Maybe I should practice my calligraphy instead of sitting here ruminating.' thought Hikari. 'Naruto-kun practices his daily and I want to do something productive.'

About that time ANBU Ram came up the stairs hauling what appeared to be an unconscious Boar over his shoulder. Ram said in his usual flat manner, "Boar got really dizzy and collapsed. I'm taking him to the infirmary."

Ram went to move on and Hikari said, "Wait Ram; you need to follow the protocols here and let me check you and Boar's identification."

The quiet ANBU turned back to Hikari and said, "Sorry, I was just in a hurry." Ram suddenly blurred so he was face to face with Gazeru. She locked eyes with him through their masks and saw a flash of red. Ram simply said, "Sleep."

Gazeru felt herself falling under a genjutsu and passing out. She tried to disrupt her chakra to break it but it was too late. Her last thoughts were, '…Oh, damn it…' before she blacked out.

…

Training Ground 44, Central Forest

Naruto watched over Hinata and Maya overnight and with some rest both girls recovered enough to travel again. The Team was battered but alive. Naruto got rid of the Five Elements Seal in short order using fuinjutsu the night before and between a chakra pill and some sleep Maya was exhausted but (barely) able to fight. As for Hinata she was able to heal herself somewhat with the mystic palm technique but knew she needed a qualified medic nin to deal with her internal bruising from Orochimaru's brutal kick to her abdomen. The byakugan princess was moving slow and was in no condition to fight but at least she didn't need to be carried…

The three ANBU Brats of Team 11 were having a quiet breakfast that Naruto caught that morning and were discussing their situation. "At this point it's best that we avoid fighting and head to the tower." said Maya. "We took out two Oto teams and faced off with a Sanin. I think we've done enough."

Hinata nodded. "I agree Maya-chan. Besides, the tower isn't that far away. It will be easy travel if we don't get into combat again."

The blonde sighed. He hated seeing his two hime all beat up like this. "Alright; once we've finished eating, we'll check our gear one last time and move out."

…

Nearby was Kinuta Dosu and the rest of Team Gimei. Kinuta's teammates Abumi Zaku and Tsuchi Kin were eager to strike but Dosu had a bad feeling about the situation. His team had been assigned to kill Natsume Maya specifically. They'd also been assigned to kill Kaguya Kimamaro but hadn't been able to find him at all (luckily for them). Zaku whispered, "Natsume is on her last leg from the looks of it. Let's just kill the three weaklings and take their scroll."

Kin smiled cruelly at the condition of Team 11. "They look like they've already been beaten bloody. It will be easy to take them out."

Dosu frowned and his visible eye widened when he saw Hinata looking right at him with her byakugan. "Did you really think we didn't know you were there Oto scum?" called the byakugan princess. "I've been watching you since you arrived."

Kin gasped. "They've been having their real conversation with hand signs all along!"

Maya grinned and said as she stood up, "So you figured it out. Just leave your scroll and run if you value your lives."

"We'll kill you Konoha trash!" roared Zaku angrily. He raised his arms revealing the air tube exits in his hands and yelled, "Decapitating airwaves!" as he unleashed a shockwave directly at Maya. Zaku's eyes widened in surprise as the attack struck a four sided barrier seal around Team 11 and dissipated harmlessly. "What?!" asked the spiky haired Oto ninja.

Zaku was even more shocked when Naruto drew Shippuuhime and said, "Wind Cutter!" The jutsu travelled outwards through the barrier and just above Zaku's head giving him a lopsided box haircut.

"Hah! You missed!" crowed Zaku as his hair started showering down around him. Then he felt the top of his head in shock. "What the hell?! MY HAIR! Do you know how much varnish I have to put in it to make it stand straight up like that?! ARRRGH!"

Team 11 exploded into laughter at the humiliated Zaku along with Dosu and Kin. "So that's your weakness!" chortled Kin. "I always wondered how it defied gravity that way!" That's when the Oto ninjas noticed an exploding tag above them that detonated and blew them and the tree they were in to Hades…

"…Idiots." said Maya. "Let's get out of here before they recover. We're in no shape for close combat."

HInata kept an eye trained on the fried Oto group as Team 11 made their escape towards the Central Tower…

…

ANBU Headquarters, Infirmary

Gazeru woke up with a start. She looked around rapidly with panic in her eyes and got ready to defend herself. Then she saw Sloth and the medic Oyone. Sloth held up his hands in surrender and said, "Gazeru, you've been under a genjutsu; calm down."

Hikari exhaled and asked, "How long was I out? Where's Ram? That bastard-"

"Ram's dead. We found him at his house." said Sloth. Hikari's green eyes widened. "The guy that came this morning wearing Ram's mask was an imposter."

"…And Boar?" asked the beautiful blonde.

Sloth sighed. "He's dead too. We found him under the sheets in Uchiha Sasuke's cell. Monkey was put in a genjutsu like you were when the fake Ram went out through the front. He hasn't awakened yet."

"So, the imposter broke Uchiha Sasuke out and left Boar's body in his place." pondered Hikari. "I guess the Uchiha and Boar were about the same size and hair color so making the switch would be simple enough. Who was the imposter?"

"We don't know yet." replied Sloth. "We were hoping you or Monkey might have seen the imposter's face."

Hikari shook her head. "All I can tell you is he had red eyes and cast a genjutsu on me through our masks by making eye contact. It took a split second."

Oyone said in a haunted tone, "Sharingan. That confirms it was most likely Uchiha Itachi. He was a master of genjutsu. A split second of eye contact would have been enough."

Sloth scratched his chin. "Though Itachi was a prime suspect; you have to wonder why he broke his brother out now after months of imprisonment. I mean, Fox sealed Uchiha Sasuke to the point he can't ever be a ninja again."

"But I was under the impression Itachi was a complete madman that snapped one night and killed his clan…" said Hikari.

…

ANBU Monkey woke up thirty minutes later. "I can confirm that it was Uchiha Itachi." said Monkey. "He and I were on the same team when he was ANBU Weasel and the pattern of Itachi's sharingan was the same as ANBU Ram's imposter. There's no doubt about it. On top of that, Itachi of the sharingan is the only Uchiha I've ever met with the skill to take someone down with genjutsu through an ANBU mask."

Hikari grit her teeth behind her mask. "I can't believe he got the drop on both of us."

Monkey patted her shoulder. "He could have killed either one of us easily." said the older ANBU. "Let's count our blessings. Before you ask; Uchiha Itachi really is that powerful."

…

Training Ground 44, Central Tower

The first team to make it to the Central Tower was Team Baki. They broke every record by making it in 97 minutes. As for the various ANBU Brat Teams they were much slower because they had an additional mission in the forest. The Teams that made it inside the time limit through the afternoon of day three were:

Team Baki: Day one, 97 minutes

Team 7: 2 days, 14 hours (traveling with Uzumaki Karin)

Team Kabuto: 3 days, 1 hour

Two hours later; Naruto, Maya and Hinata were outside the Central Tower with their scrolls in hand. They made in 3 days, 3 hours. Team 11 soon concluded that opening a heaven and an earth scroll was the only option they had left. The entrance was sealed and Maya and Hinata were in bad shape to say the least. Upon opening them, the scrolls started smoking and the ANBU Brats tossed them away. That's when their sensei Yūgao appeared and said, "Well done kids! You've passed the second round." The purple haired jonin beamed at her team for a moment before explaining the meaning of the 'heaven and earth' proverb that was written on the wall of the tower…

"That's great and all sensei but Hinata-chan and Maya-chan need to go to the infirmary!" said Naruto. "We fought three Sound Teams and Orochimaru is loose in the Forest of Death."

Yūgao's eyes got wide. "You saw Orochimaru?"

"We fought Orochimaru." croaked out the exhausted Maya.

Hinata nodded and added in a pained voice, "…We barely made it out alive."

The purple haired sword Mistress whisked her three genins away to the tower infirmary seconds later for medical treatment…

…

Hokage Tower, Hokage's Office

Meanwhile Tsunade was sitting down with her advisors discussing Itachi's erratic actions. Hanako and Tsunade were both dismayed when Hiruzen revealed the truth about Itachi…

"So, Itachi was acting under orders?" asked Tsunade in shock. Hanako raised an eyebrow as well. "Can you explain the situation sensei?"

Hiruzen nodded and sighed. "The Uchiha Clan was planning a coup d'état under the leadership of Itachi's Father Fugaku. The whole reason we knew was because of Uchiha Itachi. Fugaku set things up so Itachi could infiltrate the ANBU as Weasel but young Itachi was loyal to Konoha first; not the Uchiha Clan. Weasel informed me of the coup d'état and I knew we had to act fast to prevent it from happening.

Koharu, Homura, Danzo and I concluded that a precise; surgical strike was necessary. There were twenty-four Uchihas directly involved in the coup d'état and we gave Itachi the orders to execute the traitors undercover and return to ANBU Headquarters. Though he volunteered; it was too much for the boy to handle mentally. After he executed his parents something broke inside him and Itachi went stark, staring mad and slaughtered his entire clan except for two members."

"I thought only young Uchiha Sasuke was spared." said Hanako.

Sarutobi shook his head. "That was covered up as well. A young Uchiha woman named Uchiha Izumi*① was spared as well. She was Itachi's significant other and she just vanished. We don't know if Itachi kidnapped her or she went with him willingly but she hasn't been seen since the night of the Uchiha massacre. Given the situation it's possible they ran away together to start a new life elsewhere."

Tsunade closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "That's a lot to take in sensei. I had no idea."

"It makes you wonder why Itachi would come back for his younger brother after all these years." said Hanako. "He mentally traumatized Uchiha Sasuke and told the boy to hate him if he wanted revenge."

"There's no telling what twisted logic is behind Uchiha Itachi's reasoning." said Hiruzen sadly. "As far as we know he's completely insane…"

…

Training Ground 44, Central Tower

Uzuki Yūgao and Morino Ibiki were listening to Team 11 as they presented their after-action reports about their encounter with Orochimaru in the Forest of Death. "So, the White Snake basically attacked you three out of nowhere. What was he trying to accomplish?" asked the bandana wearing interrogator. "It seems like a waste of time for someone of his caliber to attack mere genin."

"…We don't know what the Snake was doing but he was solely interested in facing off with Maya-chan." explained Hinata. "We all fought him as a team but he knocked us back easily and then said he was giving Maya-chan his gift."

Ibiki nodded as he took down the verbal reports. "So what was this so-called gift? Did he indicate what it was?"

"He tried to bite me like a real snake!" growled Maya angrily. "The freak's neck must have extended five meters just so he could sink his fangs into me."

Yūgao cringed at the idea and asked, "What do you think his purpose in biting you would have been Maya-chan?"

Naruto interjected, "That's the way he gave Anko nee-chan the Cursed Seal of Heaven Yūgao-sensei. As gross as it is; it's an efficient way to inject someone with corrupted senjutsu chakra without hand seals. I really need to talk to Jiraiya-sama about sage chakra and see what the purpose behind injecting the stuff and sealing it into another person's body is."

"Whatever the reason is it can't be good." said Ibiki. "Are there any other ideas or actions he took that indicated what exactly he was doing?"

Hinata nodded. "Orochimaru said we reacted differently to the 'other team he visited' so we weren't the first ones he attacked. Whatever he is doing; Maya-chan wasn't his only target."

"After this round of the Chunin Exams is over we'll see what we can find out team." promised Yūgao. "We can't let this slide. Orochimaru is simply too dangerous to be running loose in the forest."

The ANBU are looking for him as we speak." said Ibiki. "He hasn't been seen since yesterday anyway so he may have withdrawn from the area."

The purple haired swordswoman sighed. "The most important thing to me is you three are safe here in the tower. Get some rest and heal up. In two days you'll report to the tower arena and receive further instructions."

"Hai sensei." replied the exhausted Team 11…

…

By early evening, Team 10 and Team Zabuza arrived at the Central Tower looking much worse for wear after the trials of the Forest of Death. They came to the same conclusions about the heaven and earth scrolls and summoned their own sensei. Both Momichi Zabuza and Mitarashi Anko were very concerned for their teams and rushed them to the infirmary where Maya and Hinata where already being taken care of.

"This is beyond troublesome." griped the resident Nara as the medics took him in to clean him up and treat his many wounds. He felt dreadful and despite Team 10's best efforts at cleaning his many injuries Shikamaru was suffering from the beginnings of an infection. Ino was in similar shape. It was nothing life threatening now that they were at a medical facility but both genins nevertheless felt absolutely awful.

Isuzu Emi was treated for her scratches and bruises fairly easily thus it fell upon her to make the Team 10 report to Ibiki and Anko. The redhead was tired but explained their dreadful state in one sentence: "We were just fine until Kaguya Kimamaro-san attacked us under the influence of one of Orochimaru's Cursed Seals."

Anko's jaw dropped and Ibiki dropped his pencil. The Snake Princess asked, "Are you positive it was a Cursed Seal Emi-chan?"

The redhead nodded. "I spoke to Haku-chan at length. Orochimaru attacked Team Zabuza with the intention of testing Kimamaro-san. After the snake toyed with them, he bit Kimamaro-san on the base of his throat and left a mark similar to the one you had on you sensei. Kaguya was out for hours but when he woke up, he was delirious and attacked Team 10 by mistake. His body was covered with strange lines and his wound was leaking purple chakra. If we hadn't had one of Naruto-kun's restraining seals, then we wouldn't have been able to stop him."

…

In the meantime, Team Zabuza was laid up in the infirmary and was giving their report to their sensei Momichi Zabuza. Kimamaro described the one-sided fight he and Haku had against the Snake Sannin and how Orochimaru ended the battle by biting him and leaving the Cursed Seal. Kimamaro was a bit hazy on the details and Haku filled in where she could. The bone user finally said, "Orochimaru told me to 'come to him when I needed more power' sensei. I have no idea what he meant."

Zabuza didn't want to think about what it meant. However, Haku had a small bit of good news. "Zabuza-sama, Team Ten said Mitarashi Anko-sensei had a Cursed Seal like Kimamaro-kun and that it was removed by a friend of theirs who is a fuinjutsu specialist."

Momichi sighed and said, "Good job Haku-chan. I'll talk to Mitarashi and see if we can make arrangements. Don't worry Kimamaro; sensei is on the job."

Zabuza was soon talking to Anko and Ibiki about the situation and set up an information exchange with Konoha's ANBU. The Swordsman said, "My genins will tell you everything about their run in with Orochimaru. In exchange I want that damned Cursed Seal removed from my student yesterday." He and Ibiki shook hands on it and Anko went to find her 'little brother' to get him on the job of removing Kimamaro's seal.

….

Uzumaki Naruto was asleep. He was sitting in the room reserved for Team 11 by himself practicing his calligraphy when he dozed off from fatigue. Anko knocked on the door and let herself in. She smiled at the sleeping blonde and said, "Wake up Naruto-kun, there's seal work to do."

Naruto yawned, raised an eyebrow and asked, "What's up Anko nee-chan?"

"Orochimaru gave a Cursed Seal to a genin from Kiri." explained the snake mistress. "He survived the ordeal in spite of the odds but we want to remove it and free him from my old sensei's taint. Can you do that for me?"

The blonde nodded. "Let's have a look at it nee-chan. I figure it would be a good idea to teach Jiraiya-sama the Evil Releasing Method as well."

"I'll put in a request immediately." said the Snake Princess.

…

Hokage Tower, Hokage's Office

As the sun set the ANBU delivered the ANBU Brat's report's report along with Team Zabuza's and their own investigations to the Hokage's Office. Tsunade, Hiruzen and Hanako were reading the information and Hanako was furious. "These reports indicate that Orochimaru is attacking genins with the intention of giving them Cursed Seals like young Anko had." said the former ANBU Commander wringing her hands. "I wonder how many others have been attacked. Genin Kaguya from Kiri is undergoing treatment and was lucky to have survived. Maya-chan was incredibly fortunate to have avoided that as it is 90% fatal!"

Hiruzen said, "We still have ANBU Teams prowling the Forest of Death but no contact has been made since Tawara Bunshichi and Mitarashi Anko fought him last night. Their reports indicate he probably withdrew from Training Ground 44 after the battle they had…You need to calm down Hanako."

The Hyūga matriarch took a deep breath and said, "I am calm Hiruzen…or I am now. I just worry for my grandchildren. I never imagined that the Snake would sink so low as to attack genin. He must have a reason he's applying those seals."

Tsunade pondered for a moment and said, "Anko told us that the Cursed Seal tempted her with power but she never used it through sheer force of will. Naruto-kun indicated it was corrupted Sage chakra that was in the seal…Just what is Orochimaru's purpose for those seals? Once we puzzle that out it should become evident as to what he's doing. I just hate waiting for him to make another move… I'm sending Jiraiya to the Central Tower in Training Ground per ANBU Fox's request. If he can teach Jiraiya-kun to remove those damned seals, then so much the better."

…

Training Ground 44, Central Tower

Jiraiya arrived at the Central Tower about an hour later along with ANBU Sloth and ANBU Gazeru that were sent to retrieve the Toad Sanin…In reality they all wanted to learn the Evil Releasing Method. When they arrived, they found Morino Ibiki waiting for them. "Welcome Jiraiya-sama, ANBU Fox has set up a sealing room upstairs and is waiting for you…Hard to believe that brat is so professional once he puts that mask on."

The Toad Sage chuckled. "ANBU Fox is surprising Ibiki. Lead the way."

When the small group got up to the room that ANBU Fox requisitioned for sealing purposes, they found that Kimamaro was there talking with Fox, Anko and Zabuza. "Ah, you've arrived." said Fox. "Good; let's get to work, shall we?" Fox turned to Kimamaro and said, "Alright Kaguya-san; I need you to strip from the waist up and lay on your back. I'm going to paint a suppressor seal over the Cursed Seal on your throat to stop the pain. Then I'm going to paint a sealing circle around you and we'll examine the seal so we can remove it. Understand?"

Kimamaro nodded and said, "I understand; thank you Fox-san."

Anko and Zabuza watched as Naruto deftly painted a suppressor seal on the bone user's Cursed Seal to begin the process and taught his students and Jiraiya the advanced suppressor seal in the process. Finally, Fox said, "Fuin." and Kimamaro's body went from ridged with pain to completely relaxed.

The Kaguya said, "Thank the kami; the pain is gone."

ANBU Fox nodded and said, "Excellent. That's step one. It's going to take some time so just relax Kimamaro-san." The blonde quickly painted a perfect sealing circle around the bone user and said, "Sloth and Gazeru, I want you on either side of Kimamaro-san watching and learning. Jiraiya-sama; you can watch from any position you like in the circle while I work." Fox then turned to Zabuza and Anko. "When I activate this sealing circle it will light up. Do not step inside it."

Zabuza asked, "Why not?"

Fox smiled behind his mask and said, "I am a surgeon and this is my operating table. If you interfere, I will remove you Momichi Zabuza."

The swordsman blanched a bit. "I see…"

"Let's get to work!" said Naruto as he channeled chakra into the seal on the floor bringing it to life. "Fuin!" said the seal master as all of the lines lit up.

Naruto was soon examining the Cursed Seal of Earth that was on Kimamaro. "Though it's of a different type from the one that was on Anko; the matrix of the seal is 90% the same." said the blonde as he studied the Cursed Seal. "Just as importantly the Evil Releasing Method should work on either seal successfully." Fox took some notes and said, "This seal isn't fully stabilized yet and Kimamaro-san is still under the side effects of its application. That leaves us with two options. We can remove it now with a slight possibility of shock or we can let the seal finish stabilizing and remove the seal under more controlled conditions later." Naruto asked Kimamaro, "Which would you rather do Kimamaro-san? There is a slight risk of trauma either way. Your life won't be in danger but your chakra system would be in disarray for a few days once it's removed."

Zabuza asked, "Will it prevent him from continuing in the Chunin Exams? I don't want him to miss this opportunity."

ANBU Fox nodded. "Either way Kagaya-san will be out of the running. It's a choice between a temporarily messed up chakra system or trying to fight with an unstable seal threatening to control his actions. As we saw with Team 10 the situation isn't pretty if Kimamaro loses control of himself."

The bone user looked over at Zabuza and said, "Sensei, with your permission I would like to have it removed now. I don't want to endanger my friends again."

The Demon of the Hidden Mist sighed and nodded. "It's for the best Kimamaro. Go ahead and remove the seal Fox-san."

The blonde said, "Very well. I'll create a counter seal and you'll soon be rid of it Kaguya-san." Naruto spent about fifteen minutes showing his students and Jiraiya how to create the counterseal that would remove the Cursed Seal. He then placed the seal on top of the Cursed Seal of Earth and said, "Evil Releasing Method!" The Cursed Seal was drawn out of Kimamaro's chakra system leaving the bone user with a case of chakra exhaustion but otherwise there were no ill side effects. Naruto nodded to himself and said to Kimamaro, "The Cursed Seal is gone. It looks like your chakra system is very drained though. Take it easy a few days and you should be right as rain."

Kimamaro nodded in relief and said, "I can tell the taint is gone. It kept whispering to me to draw on its power. Thank you Fox-san."

Naruto nodded. "My pleasure Kaguya-san. Let's get you back to the infirmary where you can rest."

After Kimamaro was taken back to the infirmary; Naruto sat down with Jiraiya, Sloth and Gazeru. He simply asked, "Questions?"

Gazeru asked, "Fox-sensei, why did you put the counter seal on a scroll? It seems to me that you could have painted the counter seal on Kimamaro-san directly without there being any issues with the Evil Releasing Method."

The seal master beamed behind his mask and said, "Very good Gazeru. That's an excellent question. There's no reason the Evil Releasing Method wouldn't work without the scroll but corrupted senjutsu chakra is a bit unstable. Using a counter seal on a separate scroll assures that when the senjutsu is drawn out that it has a place to go instead of dispersing into the air where it might affect others."

After discussing the counter for the Cursed Seals for a while, Naruto turned to Jiraiya and said, "Now I have a question. What is the purpose in sealing corrupted senjtsu in a person to begin with? Obviously, it acts as a chakra battery of sorts but it's so chaotic by nature that it's impossible to control from what we've seen. There doesn't seem to be much point in it."

Jiraiya was in deep thought for a moment and said, "Orochimaru told Kimamaro to come to him for more power. I can only surmise that the snake knows of a way to control the seal. If he were to grant someone that ability in exchange for their loyalty, then it would be a good deal for Orochimaru. Given he was picking only exceptional genins as targets I presume he's trying to recruit them."

"…And senjutsu powered jutsus would be much more effective than normal ones." said Sloth. "It sounds like Orochimaru is trying to create an army of super soldiers. What a troublesome situation."

"At least we can counter it now thanks to Fox." said Jiraiya. "I think we have a good theory on what the snake is up to. Now we just need to stop him."

…

Fire Country, the Village of Konoha, Front Gates

Meanwhile, Izumo and Kotetetsu saw a very familiar looking teenage girl with long black hair and onyx eyes stumbling towards them at the front gates. She would have been rather beautiful if she hadn't been in such disarray. Her clothing was torn and filthy. It looked like something a prisoner would wear. The young woman looked like she'd been travelling for days without food or water. She collapsed in front of the two gate guards and said, "I…I made it to Konoha…at last…" Then the girl passed out from exhaustion.

"What the hell?!" asked Kotetsu as he checked the girl's vitals. "She's out like a light. Call a medic!"

After checking the girl over quickly for any signs of weaponry or identification and finding none; the young woman was taken to the hospital…

…

Northern Fire Country

Late that night; Itachi was sitting by a campfire eating while watching over a gagged and tied up Sasuke. He muttered to himself, "…Worm…you got yourself sealed up with fuinjutsu! You are even more pathetic than I thought. You aren't fit to lick my shoes. Did you really think I came to rescue you foolish little brother? You are too weak to do anything but crawl on your belly. I have no idea why Orochimaru wants you…"

Sasuke was terrified. Itachi had been mumbling insults and taunts incoherently the whole way to this place…wherever it was. Worse still, Sasuke was weak as a newborn without chakra and he couldn't fight back!

The elder brother went on mumbling late into the night about what a mistake it had been to let Sasuke live. It was hell for the younger sibling. Sasuke wondered if he'd survive the night as he fell asleep…

…

The next morning Sasuke was rudely awakened by a kick to the ribs from Itachi that made him gasp in pain. "…Get up worm." said Itachi angrily. "We have visitors."

Sasuke regained his breath and saw a pretty purple haired woman come marching up with a young brown haired woman in tow. The young woman was blindfolded but appeared to have no other bindings on her.

Itachi said, "Guren of the Crystal release. I see you're on time. Release Izumi and I will give you Sasuke."

Guren looked at the beaten Sasuke and raised an eyebrow. "What happened to him?" she asked.

Itachi shrugged, "A few months in jail will do that to you. I really don't care." He looked at Izumi and motioned to Guren. "Take that ridiculous blindfold off of her."

Guren nodded and removed the blindfold. Izumi smiled revealing what a beautiful woman she'd grown into. "Hello Itachi-kun." she said happily.

"Are you hurt in any way Izumi-chan?" asked Itachi.

Izumi shook her head. "I'm fine Itachi-kun."

Itachi picked up Sasuke a tossed him at Guren's feet. "As promised…" said the elder Uchiha brother.

Guren nudged Izumi forward and said, "You're free to go."

The young Uchiha woman went over to Itachi and the two embraced and kissed one another. They then activated their sharingans in synch and smiled as they looked into one another's eyes. Guren saw the young pair's happiness and was chilled to the bone. Their smiles reeked of total madness and they were reveling in their mutual insanity. Guren was brave but Itachi and Izumi struck her as the most criminally insane creatures she'd seen in her life. She was terrified.

Sasuke was horrified as well. Both his brother and the (as he remembered her) kind Izumi were grinning in depravity as they vanished together in a body flicker. Izumi's voice echoed on the wind. "…Bye little Sasuke-chan; have fun…"

Both Guren and Sasuke both shivered. "I think you are better off with Orochimaru-sama than your family kid."

Sasuke could only nod dumbly in reply…

…

POST SCRIPT:

*①: Uchiha Izumi was a young Uchiha Clan member that had a crush on Itachi when they were children. By the time of the Uchiha Massacre she was deeply in love with him. See the Narutopedia Wiki for a picture of her appearance and further information about her.

So, Itachi has arrived. In this story Itachi is as he was initially depicted in the manga and anime. He's insane (and possibly evil). His motivations and reasons behind his actions are still a bit of a mystery. The whole "Itachi loyal to the Leaf" business has been officially thrown out the window. He also doesn't seem to like Sasuke much either. See you next time. Blue out. 8/1/23