The Snake's Right Hand

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Tenjho Tenge

AUTHORS NOTE:

This chapter things catch up with Kabuto. Here is chapter 46. Enjoy!

[ ] signifies hand signs

Last time:

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…

…

Chapter 46

Fire Country, the Village of Konoha, Training Ground 44, Central Tower

Day Four, Midnight

After overhearing Team Zabuza talking amongst themselves in the infirmary; Yakushi Kabuto knew that ANBU Fox was the one behind the removal of Kimamaro's Cursed Seal. He'd heard that Mitarashi Anko's Cursed Seal was gone too from his master Orochimaru-sama. The spy crept around that night and put two and two together that Uzumaki Naruto could well be ANBU Fox as unlikely as it seemed. The blonde had been seen with Jiraiya-sama after all and fit the general physical description of Fox. It was Kabuto's intention to sneak into Team 11's sleeping quarters in the Central Tower to look for proof and possibly to eliminate the seal master. 'If it's not Uzumaki-kun I can simply withdraw without anyone being the wiser…' thought the glasses wearing ninja.

The snake's apprentice slipped into Team 11's chambers in silence after confirming Hyūga Hinata and Natsume Maya were both still in the infirmary. Kabuto looked around and smiled seeing the blonde was indeed all alone. 'There's Uzumaki-kun sleeping like a baby safe in his Mother's arms…' Naruto rolled over in his sleep and mumbled something. Kabuto cast a sleeping genjutsu on the already sleeping teen to make sure the blonde remained asleep…That's when Naruto's eyes snapped open in the darkness and he smiled showing his elongated canines.

"Well, well; an interloper." said Naruto in the darkness. He looked directly at Kabuto as the latter tried to body flicker out of the room. The silver haired nin's eyes widened when he found he couldn't move at all. The blonde was still looking at him intently and hadn't moved. After a moment of silence Naruto said, "You aren't going anywhere…I don't know what you're doing here but I intend to find out. Let's start with your identity…Genin Yakushi Kabuto of Konoha isn't it…?"

Kabuto was sweating. He found he could talk but that was it. "Y-yes, I'm Yakushi Kabuto. I stepped into the wrong room I'm afraid. You're Uzumaki Naruto-kun aren't you? I'm terribly embarrassed that I lost my way." The snake's apprentice saw Naruto reach down and touch the floor by his bed and channel some chakra into it. The walls of the room suddenly lit up with various seals. Kabuto's eyes widened slightly as he thought, 'Uzumaki is ANBU Fox!'

The blonde sat up in bed and stretched. "Sneaking in here was dumb; using chakra in a low level jutsu was dumber. What were you doing, genjustsu?"

Sweating heavily, the glasses wearing ninja said, "I-I don't know what you're talking about Naruto-kun. I just lost my way. If you call a proctor I'm sure we can sort this out; we're both comrades from the Leaf aren't we?" Naruto's eyes lit up red for a second sending a chill down Kabuto's spine. The spy channeled chakra to summon an ANBU and said, "L-let's be reasonable Naruto-kun. I know you're tired and fatigued. You must be exhausted."

Naruto stood up and said, "The seals on the walls are advanced silencing/suppression seals. They won't let any noise out of this room no matter how loud you scream. They also suppress chakra so your signal you just sent to the ANBU never left these walls. It's just you and me Yakushi."

The snake's apprentice felt like a cornered rat in a trap. "We'll sort all this out Naruto-kun. Just call my sensei or my teammates." 'Even if he tortures me Orochimaru-sama taught me to resist pain and drugs.'

The blonde unsealed a brush and a bottle of chakra ink. He shook his head and muttered, "There is no rest for the wicked…I'll tell you what. You answer my questions truthfully and I'll set you free after you've sated my curiosity."

Kabuto smiled harmlessly and said, "Of course Naruto-kun. Ask away."

Naruto spun his brush once and painted a small seal on Kabuto's throat. Then the seal master said pleasantly, "Fuin. Now tell me where your true loyalties lie."

The glasses wearing nin said, "I'm a loyal ninja of the Leaf of course." Then he suddenly felt his throat constrict in a most painful way." Kabuto coughed and said, "I seem to have a slight tickle."

"The vibrations from vocal cords are subtly different when we lie." said the blonde. "That seal causes muscle spasms when you lie…You're very good at lying by the way. I couldn't tell myself though the seal could."

"I-I don't know what you're talking about Naruto-kun." Kabuto started having throat pain again and grimaced.

The seal master raised a blonde eyebrow and said, "Obviously you DO know. Let's try a different question; who is your true master?"

"Hokage-sama is who I- (COUGH! COUGH!)"

"That was a big lie there Kabuto-san." observed Naruto conversationally. "At this rate you're going to choke to death before you answer my questions honestly. Let's try this question. Are you a spy?"

Kabuto's eyes widened and he whispered "No…" He then had a terrible coughing fit and would have collapsed if he hadn't been frozen in place.

"Do you work for Orochimaru?" asked Naruto taking a long shot.

Kabuto calmed himself and said, "I'm not going to sit here and be tortured Naruto-kun; we are allies and- (COUGH! COUGH, COUGH)!"

"Yeah, not buying it." said the seal master. Naruto unsealed a small book and thumbed it for a minute. Kabuto started coughing uncontrollably again and the blonde's expression turned deadpan. "Hold that thought." said Naruto. "I'm going to get some professional assistance. Naruto body flickered out of the room leaving Kabuto frozen in place and very afraid…

…

Konoha Hospital

Kato Shizune was working the overnight shift at the hospital looking over the reports submitted by the hospital staff regarding the mystery girl. "Hmmm…" 'Approximate height, weight, etc…Obviously a kunoichi with a well-developed chakra system…Suffering from exhaustion, dehydration, electrolytes out of whack but not underweight or malnourished…Lacking in vitamin D but given how pale she is the girl probably hasn't been in the sunlight in months…Good muscle tone, no signs of abuse or physical injuries, a seal on her neck, possibly a memory blocker…' "Something doesn't add up here." Shizune turned to the staff nurse that brought in the reports and said, "Run a DNA analysis on her. I want to see if her clan is from Konoha…and get me Yamanaka Inoichi. I want him to see her to see if there is any mental trauma from that seal."

…Within the hour the dark-haired medic was down in the patient's room conducting a personal investigation. 'This young woman…who is she? She looks very familiar.' Shizune looked at the seal on the back of the girl's neck. 'I'm no fuinjutsu specialist but this looks kind of like the cursed seal that was on Mitarashi Anko.'

Yamanaka Inoichi came in about fifteen minutes later and said, "Sorry for the delay Shizune; I was stuck on an investigation. Now-" He gasped and said, "Who is this girl?! She's my daughter's age but-"

"But what Inoichi?" asked Shizune. "Do you recognize her?"

The blonde mind walker nodded. "She looks just like Uchiha Mikoto did when we were teens…."

Tsunade's apprentice's eyes widened. "You're right! She looks just like a young Mikoto-sama would at that age. No wonder she looked so familiar to me. I wonder if they are related…."

The young woman started to stir. "Mmmm…noise…so sleepy." Her dark eyes cracked open blearily and they focused on the blonde man. "Y-Yamanaka Inoichi? Is that you? You look…so old."

Inoichi sweat dropped. The Yamanaka Clan head asked, "More importantly; are you Uchiha Mikoto?"

The girl's eyebrows raised and she said, "Of course I'm Uchiha Mikoto…(gasp!) I need to see Hokage-sama right away! Orochimaru is-" The girl tried to get up but Shizune stopped her.

"Just calm down Mikoto-san." said Shizune. "How old are you? What is your rank?"

"I'm 15 years old and I'm a chunin…Why are you asking this stuff?" Mikoto's three tomoe sharingan blazed to life. "More importantly; I need to see Hokage-sama and tell him about Orochimaru's plans. I-I barely escaped his lair."

"What plans?" asked Inoichi. "Is it something to do with the Chunin Exams?"

Mikoto held her head in pain and grimaced. "I'm-I'm not sure I can tell you. I need to see Hokage-sama! He'll know what to do…"

The blonde interrogator said, "Relax Mikoto. We'll bring Hokage-sama here." Shizune looked perplexed and Inoichi said, "Just close your eyes and relax Mikoto." Seeing the girl close her tired, bloodshot eyes; Inoichi quickly went through some hand signs that sedated the young Uchiha woman. He motioned to Shizune to step outside the room.

When the two stepped outside Shizune asked, "What exactly are you doing Inoichi? We can't just drag Hokage-sama down here and assume-"

Inoichi held up his hand in a 'stop' motion. "I don't think this Mikoto knows anything. The girl is acting like she is living false memories. Trust me on this."

Shizune raised an eyebrow and said, "Understood. Do you want me to sedate her till morning? I want to run some tests and see if she's a genetic match for the original Uchiha Mikoto. She's obviously an Uchiha with a mature sharigan."

"That would be the prudent thing to do." said the blonde. "I need to do a mind walk. Even if she's innocent Mikoto could be a sleeper agent. Did you notice she referred to Hokage-sama as he? She's behind the times and Tsunade-sama has been in power for a while. That girl in there is obviously twenty some odd years too young to be Uchiha Mikoto."

"I'll keep her under sedation then." said Shizune. "When do you want to do that mind walk?"

Inoichi scratched his chin. "How about after we get that seal looked at by ANBU Fox? I have a bad feeling about it."

Tsunade's apprentice smirked, "I think Jiraiya-sama would be shocked at your lack of faith in him."

The interrogator chuckled. "I just would rather not interfere in Jiraiya-sama's busy schedule."

…

Training Ground 44, Central Tower

Kabuto had been alone for fifteen minutes trying to figure out a way to escape when he heard a cheerful voice. "I'm baaaack." said Naruto as he reappeared in his room where Kabuto was still standing. "Sorry about the delay, I had to retrieve some associates." Naruto was in his ANBU Fox gear now and the glasses wearing nin would have sworn it was smiling at him. A second later Morino Ibiki and Mitarashi Anko appeared in body flickers as well.

Ibiki looked at Kabuto a squinted at the spy's throat before he said to Naruto; "So this little seal on his throat is a lie detector?"

"Yes." said Fox. "It's just like I said before."

…

Flashback….

Anko and Ibiki were discussing the situation with Naruto. Ibiki had Yakushi Kabuto's file in his hand and Anko had already read it over. Fox said, "The seal I placed on his throat is basically a little lie detector. It senses the vibrations of the vocal cords and if someone lies then it causes their throat muscles to constrict and makes them choke and cough. There bigger the lie; the worse it affects them."

Anko got a manic smile on her face. "You're a genius little brother!"

"This could make our jobs a whole lot easier." said a smirking Ibiki. "What about the silent treatment?"

"If he clams up it won't make him talk." explained Fox. "There's another seal for that…"

Flashback end…

…

The blonde sat and watched as Anko and Ibiki took turns asking various questions and Kabuto was coughing up a fit. Ibiki smiled grimly and said, "ANBU Fox; our guest isn't being very cooperative and no Yamanakas are available. Tell me about the other seal you mentioned and explain what it does."

Fox nodded. "The seal is one of the Black Seals from Uzu. It's called Mind Burner and it induces pain to the degree that anyone will talk if asked a question. It feels like your brain is being boiled alive. Consider the Hyūga juinjutsu to protect the bykugan a really pale and cheap imitation."

"Any possible side effects from this Mind Burner?" asked Anko with a wild look in her brown eyes.

The blonde nodded, "Possible brain damage, being rendered a vegetable, death…They didn't call it a Black Seal for nothing."

'Oh dear…' thought Kabuto.

"This is your last chance to speak freely Yakushi." grunted Ibiki.

"You're…you're bluffing!" said Kabuto with more bravery than he felt.

Ibiki shrugged and turned to the seal master. "Put it on him Fox; I want to see what this Black Seal of yours can do."

Naruto got out his brush and said darkly, "As you wish." When ANBU Fox applied the Mind Burner seal to Kabuto's forehead the second he whispered, "Fuin." It began to smoke and Kabuto screamed as if he'd been hit with a red hot branding iron. It took a few seconds for the seal to stop causing the spy agonizing pain and finally the glasses wearing ninja was panting and sweating heavily as tears ran down his face…

Ibiki said, "That's some seal…Okay Yakushi; yes or no. Do you serve Orochimaru?"

Kabuto tried to resist with all his willpower but suddenly his head felt like it was the surface of the sun itself. "N-n-n-n-AAARRRGGGGHHH! YES! YES! I SERVE OROCHIMARU-SAMA BODY AND SOUL! STOP! MAKE IT STOP!"

The psychological sadist cracked his knuckles and said, "Oh, we're just getting started…

…

Three hours later Kabuto had answered all of the questions he was asked…He convulsed suddenly as he tried to speak and then his head drooped as if he'd fallen unconscious. The seal on his forehead faded away and Anko asked, "What's with the seal Fox?"

ANBU Fox watched as the Mind Burner vanished and said, "Yakushi's dead. He couldn't take it anymore. His brain and body shut down from resisting the seal. Black Seals vanish once there's no chakra to feed on. They leave no evidence behind."

Ibiki checked Kabuto's vitals and said, "No doubt about it." He took down a note and said "Genin Yakushi Kabuto dead as of 3:41AM." Then Morino closed his notebook and said, "Seal up the remains Fox. I'll take the body of Orochimaru's spy down to forensics. Gods only know how many body modifications the snake did to him…Before that he was with Danzo in ROOT. We might learn something."

The blonde quickly sealed Kabuto's remains in a scroll and handed them to the head of Torture and Interrogation. Ibiki accepted the scroll and said, "You did good work tonight Fox. Those seals of yours are something else. Make sure to submit an ANBU report to the Hokage. –And one last thing. Yakushi Kabuto was never here. We wait until his fellow traitors he calls teammates report him as missing. We'll observe them and nail them later." With that Morino body flickered out.

Fox sagged a bit and Anko patted his shoulder. "I know torture is not your thing Naruto-kun but remember; you captured a traitor and rendered valuable service to the Leaf Village. Do you want to talk about it for a little while?" Naruto took off his Fox mask and revealed the tears in his eyes before he hugged his big sister figure. After about an hour he was getting sleepy again and they bid each other goodnight…

…

Konoha Hospital

The next morning Shizune was reading the DNA results on the young woman named Uchiha Mikoto and found they were identical to the original Uchiha matriarch's DNA still on record. 'She's a clone. An unaltered clone of the original Mikoto-sama…' thought the dark-haired medic. Then she heard a knock on her office door. "Enter." said Tsunade's apprentice. It was ANBU Gazeru and the very tired ANBU Fox. Hikari had come to the Central Tower and retrieved Naruto right after breakfast. Shizune smiled at her two visitors and said, "That you for coming so quickly. We have a mystery girl that has something to do with Orochimaru. She has a seal on the back of her neck that we want you to look at ANBU Fox."

Fox nodded and said tiredly, "Understood; lead the way to the person Shizune-san and we will begin our investigation."

Shizune led them down and explained the situation to them on the way. Naruto was a bit stunned. "So she's a clone of Sasuke's Mother?! How exactly did this happen?"

"As far as we can tell; some of the blood samples from the original Uchiha Mikoto were taken from when she was a chunin." explained the dark-haired medic. We presume that Orochimaru cultivated the cells and cloned a copy from them. What is unclear is how she retains the original Mikoto's memories. We also have no idea about that seal but that's where you two come in."

Gazeru nodded and asked, "Is Mikoto-san awake?" Seeing Shizune nod the green-eyed ANBU asked, "Does she know about the seal?"

The dark-haired medic nodded again. "Mikoto-san was unaware of it and was very surprised when we told her. I explained a seal master was going to examine it and she has been very cooperative and compliant on the subject."

"That makes our job easier." said Naruto with a yawn. "If it's Orochimaru's actual work then we should be able to remove it."

"You sound doubtful Fox." said Gazeru.

"Let's just say the timing seems awfully suspicious to me with Itachi breaking Sasuke out and all." replied Fox. "Why would another, unknown Uchiha just appear from nowhere on the very same day?"

…

"This is ANBU Fox and ANBU Gazeru." said Shizune as she introduced them to Mikoto. "They are fuinjutsu specialists. Fox, Gazeru; this is Uchiha Mikoto-san who has an unknown seal on her neck."

Mikoto was finishing her breakfast and smiled in a friendly way. "Hello ANBU-san. I hope you can get this nasty seal off of me whatever it is."

'This is Sasuke's Mother? Hard to believe. She seems so kind.' "That's what we're here to do." said Fox. "Lie down on your stomach and lift your hair up so we can look at the seal on you."

Mikoto soon was resting on her front with her hair up and Gazeru said, "It's the same kind of seal Kimamaro-san had, a type of Cursed Seal."

Fox nodded and said, "Mikoto-san; did Orochimaru bite you to apply this seal?"

The young Uchiha woman's eyes grew wide. "Bite me? That's kind of gross Fox-san!" Seeing the two ANBU looking at her intently she said, "Ahem….no, I wasn't bitten by anyone."

"Have you ever used this seal before?" asked the seal master.

Mikoto cocked an eyebrow and explained, "I didn't even know it was there, so I haven't ever used it."

Naruto rubbed his chin and nodded. "I'm going to requisition a room for us to work in Gazeru. You get her ready." Hikari nodded and Fox went to talk to Shizune about getting a room to do so seal work in.

ANBU Gazeru explained, "Alright Mikoto-san; we'll need you to strip to your panties, so we have full access to your back."

The black-haired girl blushed and said, "In front of Fox-san? He's a guy!"

Hikari face palmed and said, "ANBU Fox is a professional." 'Besides, he's seen me naked plenty of times since he became an official ANBU! (giggle, giggle)'

While Gazeru was off in la-la-land, Mikoto was still blushing and said, "I-I guess it's okay then."

'She's nothing like Sasuke; that's for sure.' thought Hikari as her thoughts came back from her fantasy. 'Mikoto actually seems like a nice person.'

…

While Gazeru was getting Mikoto ready, ANBU Fox was talking to Inoichi in the room he requisitioned. "She could well have false memories or have memories erased Fox." said the mind walker. "As a matter of fact, I'd bet on it. I could have been done with mind jutsus, drugs, mental conditioning-"

"Or seals. Memory blockers are easy to apply for someone with moderate sealing skills." growled Fox.

"It wouldn't surprise me a bit then." agreed Inoichi.

Naruto nodded. "Alright, I'll examine her for other seals before I even touch that Cursed Seal. There could be other seals linked to it."

"I'll be on standby Fox. Summon me if you need me." said Inoichi as he vanished in a body flicker.

Ten minutes later Mikoto was lying on her stomach inside a sealing circle. She was noticeably uncomfortable on the cold tile and Naruto said reassuringly, "We'll try to get this done quickly."

"Okay." said the Uchiha girl.

Naruto painted as seal on Mikoto's back and said, "Fuinjutsu method: reveal." A small wave of lines travelled over Mikoto's body revealing three other seals along the young Uchiha woman's spine and Hikari gasped.

"They are all linked together Fox-sensei." said Gazeru.

Fox smiled at his girlfriend under his mask and said, "Correct Gazeru. Let's identify the different seal types together."

Hikari saw two at the base of Mikoto's spine and one behind her heart. "These are both memory type seals sensei." said the green eyed ANBU as she pointed at the two at the base of the spine. "The upper one looks like it has a trigger seal linked directly to the cursed seal. The lower one looks like a memory blocker type."

Naruto wanted to hug Hikari but said, "Well done Gazeru. The lower one suppresses memories and the upper activates memories. It's safe to say the upper probably will set off the Cursed Seal and activate it. What about the one behind Mikoto-san's heart?"

Gazeru studied the seal for a moment and said, "The other three seals are link to it in a way that removing them would set it off but I don't know what it does."

The seal master nodded and said, "You are right in the way it's set up. It's a suicide seal."

Mikoto nearly jumped in fright and screeched, "There's a suicide seal on my back?!"

"Stay calm and stop moving Mikoto-san." said Fox in a commanding tone. "I assure you we will remove it safely."

The black-haired girl nodded hesitantly and said, "Please get rid of it."

"We will Mikoto-san." assured Gazeru. "Just try to relax and let us work."

Mikoto did her best to calm down and said, "Okay."

Fox said, "We'll start by getting rid of this suicide seal since it's at the end of the chain and won't affect the others." Hikari smiled behind her mask as Naruto suppressed and then removed the seal in a few deft strokes of his brush. He said "Fuin." and the suicide seal was gone. "Now for the other three." said Fox brightly. "The suicide seal is gone Mikoto-san. You can relax a bit." The raven-haired girl deflated a bit and sighed in relief.

Naruto then had Hikari apply a suppressor seal to the memory activation seal and then had her do the same with the Cursed Seal. Gazeru said, "Both seals are completely suppressed Fox-sensei. We are ready for the Evil Releasing Method."

The seal Master smiled under his mask and said, "Then proceed Gazeru. You are doing well."

Hikari's eyes widened but then she thought to herself, 'I can do this!' "Yes sensei, I'll continue now." It took her about twenty minutes to carefully create an Evil Releasing Method scroll but when Hikari finished it; the counterseal was perfect.

ANBU Fox was beaming at his student and said, "Excellent work Gazeru. Now remove the Cursed Seal."

The green eyed ANBU nodded and placed the counterseal over the Cursed Seal. She took a deep breath and channeled chakra into the scroll. "Evil Releasing Method, fuin!"

Mikoto felt a rush of her chakra and then the sensation of a weight on her neck was gone. Naruto asked, "How do you feel Mikoto-san?"

The onyx eyed girl replied, "I feel light as a feather but tired. Is the seal on my neck gone?"

"Yes, Gazeru did an outstanding job." praised Fox. "There are two memory seals to go. I'm going to call in Yamanaka Inoichi to monitor these. The memory activation seal in particular has me suspicious."

…

Training Ground 44, Central Tower

ANBU Brat teams 8 and 9 arrived at the Central Tower in the mid-morning on the fourth day of the second round of the Chunin Exams. They'd linked up from the beginning to hunt down the Oto Teams and came out of the forest without a scratch. Every Oto Team was wiped out with the exception of Team Gimei who was still out in the Forest of Death somewhere.

Hyūga Neji was soon visiting his cousin Hinata who was laid up in the infirmary. The Branch House Prodigy said, "I can't believe you had a battle with Orochimaru of the Sanin Hinata-sama. It is a testament to the strength of Team 11 that you came out of it alive and intact. Where is Naruto? I'm surprised he isn't here."

Hinata smiled and said, "There are so many in the infirmary that they ran him out except for short visits." Then she hand signed, [Out on ANBU duty.]

Neji nodded and replied, [Must be something serious. They don't allow competitors to leave the Central Tower.] "I'm sure he's poking around somewhere."

…

The rest of the ANBU Brats were visiting their injured comrades as well. Sakura was talking to Ino. "It's a shame you won't be able to continue Ino." said the rosette. "I was looking forward to becoming chunins together." [What the hell happened to you Porker? You look like you are really sick.]

Ino signed, [I got shot full of bone spikes and the wounds got infected. I'm a wreck but I'll recover Forehead. Shikamaru's in the same shape.] "Yeah, I wanted that too. The Chunin Exams are rougher than I expected. [Did we eliminate all the Oto Teams? That was our real mission.]

Sakura nodded. [All but Team Gimei were wiped out to the last man. Team Gimei is still out there but Team 11 wrecked them according to Morino Ibiki. We'll get them yet.] "Well, I'll be back to check on you later Ino. Get some rest."

"Will do Sakura." answered Ino.

…

Konoha Hospital

Mikoto was a bit embarrassed to have her old classmate Inoichi seeing her topless but Gazeru assured her that Inoichi wasn't a pervert and to relax. Soon the Yamanaka Clan head was conversing with ANBU Fox about the seals and agreed to act as a mental buffer in case the memory activation seal was a set of compulsive orders. Naruto explained to Mikoto, "We suspect this seal was set up to react to certain stimuli which would in turn activate the Cursed Seal. With Inoichi here we can see what those orders were safely and then remove the seal entirely. You may see some disturbing memories that were sealed away but they cannot harm you so just relax your body and let us do the work. Are you ready?"

"I am prepared Fox-san." said the black-haired girl.

Naruto nodded and said, "We're all set." After painting a limiter and the memory seal he said; "Fuin!" and both Inoichi and Mikoto saw what the seal had in it…

…

Flashback…

Orochimaru was talking to a sitting Mikoto as she glared at him hatefully. The snake said, "I'm afraid your Cursed Seal of Earth is unstable and makes you a berserker Mikoto-chan. I can't use you for my vessel as a result. I can't use Uchiha Izumi either because of Uchiha Itachi; it's a shame. Nevertheless, I have Sasuke-kun on the way to replace you…I hate to get absolutely no results for my efforts so I'm going to have you use that Cursed Seal I placed on you to kill Sarutobi-sensei."

The onyx eyed girl growled, "Why would I ever raise a hand against Hokage-sama?! You are out of your mind Orochimaru!"

The snake chuckled. "Hmhmhm. You'll do it because you won't have a choice in the matter Mikoto-chan." Orochimaru got face to face with her. "There is a seal on your back that will compel you to obey. "You're going to escape my clutches and return to Konoha. Once you're there you will insist to see Sarutobi Sensei claiming you know of my plans. You can't tell anyone else what they are. When my old Master enters the room it will activate your berserker Cursed Seal of Earth and you will use all of your power to kill him at any cost. Assuming you survive then a suicide seal will activate and kill you as well. Never say I didn't put you to good use Mikoto-chan…

Flashback end…

"Damn." said Inoichi. "Remove the seal Fox. Any compulsion to eliminate the Third Hokage is gone. Orochimaru is a monster…"

Mikoto had tears in her eyes. "How could I not remember that? I could have put Hokage-sama in terrible danger."

"It's the nature of memory seals Mikoto-san." explained Naruto as he deftly removed the seal. "There, it's gone now. Let's move on to the last seal. It's a memory suppression type…"

…

…After the last seal was removed Mikoto had her full memories restored of her awful time she spent in Oto as one of Orochimaru's prisoners. She and Inoichi were both worn out by the massive influx of horrible memories she had…

"I'm a clone; a copy." said Mikoto sadly. "Most of what I remember is the original Mikoto's memories. All of my memories are a nightmare…"

Inoichi sighed. "You are my old friend Uchiha Mikoto in every way that counts. Obviously, it's going to take some counseling but we'll work through it. I can promise you that. Let's talk to Hokage-sama and see about you getting instated as a chunin kunoichi. We need all the help we can get against Orochimaru."

…And so, a young Uchiha Mikoto's new start began…

…

Training Ground 44, Central Tower

...

Day Five

Team Gimei made it into the Central Tower with their Scrolls looking extremely battered and were standing in line with the rest of the genin and their sensei. Hatake Kakashi was there along with Tsunade and Jiraiya. Jiraiya had an eye trained on the jonin sensei 'Gimei' of Oto. The Toad Sage knew it was Orochimaru in disguise from Yakushi Kabuto's interrogation. The only reason Jiraiya didn't go after his ex-teammate was it would endanger all of the genin there.

"You've done well to make it this far." said Kakashi. "The team part of the exams is over and anything you do from now on is entirely up to the individual and will not affect your teammates. Unfortunately, there are still too many of you to compete in the finals. As a result, there will be a preliminary round of fights to cut the numbers. If you do not feel you can continue in a one-on-one fight at this point you need to raise your hand and you will be dismissed. Please raise your hand now if you wish to drop out."

Ino and Shikamaru of Team 10 raised their hands.

Maya and Hinata of Team 11 raised their hands.

Kimamaro and Suigetsu of Team Zabuza raised their hands.

Kabuto was missing and that raised some eyebrows. Kakashi frowned and growled at Kabuto's teammates; "What do you mean Genin Yakushi Kabuto is missing? How long has he been absent?"

Akadō Yoroi and Tsurugi Misumi of Team Kabuto were taken aback at Kakashi's exasperated tone. Yoroi squeaked out; "Two days…"

"And why was this not reported to a proctor or your sensei?" asked the eye patch wearing Jonin.

"Ummm…We thought he'd turn up…?" said Tsurugi.

Kakashi turned to Tsunade and said, "This requires an investigation Hokage-sama. I propose we put ANBU on it."

Tsunade looked concerned for a moment and said, "Make it so Kakashi; if he's been missing for two days then a lot could have happened. That still leaves 20 genins. The remaining competitors will participate in the Preliminary Rounds."

….

The Competitors:

Team Baki

Team Gimei

Team Kabuto (Yoroi and Tsurugi only)

Team Zabuza (Haku only)

Team 7

Team 8

Team 9

Team 10 (Emi only)

Team 11 (Naruto only)

…

POSTSCRIPT:

A bit of a detour this chapter. Originally, I intended to start the preliminary rounds this chapter but I got sidetracked on Kabuto and Mikoto's side stories. I hope that people like the inclusion of a young Uchiha Mikoto. For those that wonder she does not have any knowledge past being 15 years old, so she has no emotional attachments to Itachi or Sasuke. See you next time. Blue out. 8/3/23