The Forrest of Death groaned as the critters inside could be heard from inside as the Genin arrived at the entrance of it, being led by Yuguo. "Welcome to the Forest of Death," Yugao said as she stopped, everyone, doing the same.

A stack of papers appeared in her hands and began handing them out to everyone. "These are weavers. You must sign it and it will make so that if you are harmed or killed, Konohakure shall not be held responsible."

The papers eventually made their way to Team 7 and Naruto smirked at it, signing his name and handed it forward. Others did the same and were eventually collected by Yuguo.

"Good. Now as stated previously, this is the Forest of Death. For the next 5 days, you shall be going towards the tower in the center. Each team will either have a Scroll of Heaven or a Scroll of Earth. You must acquire the counterpart to it to progress. You can figure out how to other on you're own."

Aka take it from some sod. Naruto thought as a few people asked questions. Various scrolls were eventually tossed around, Team Seven getting a Scroll of Heaven and stood at Gate 12. The gates were eventually unlocked and everyone rushed into the forest.

Naruto and the rest of Team 7 stopped near the entrance. "So what's the plan with the scroll?" Naruto asked as he tossed it up and caught it a few times. "Cause I can just seal somewhere."

"That would work best. They probably would just expect us to have it in the open." Sasuke agreed, earning a reluctant Sakura. Naruto moved his sleeve up and showed off his seal before he sealed it away.

"Now where do we find a team?"

"We should try to make our way to the tower and Ambush someone," Sasuke suggested, Naruto agreeing with him.

"Let's get going. Odds are people are already tracking us."

"Well, aren't you clever?" They tensed as they heard a voice from somewhere. A female if Naruto guessed correctly. "Oh don't worry. I'm right here." The voice became clearer as Naruto looked up to see a woman with a straw hat. "I believe I have something for you." She held a Scroll of Earth before her mouth was enlarged and it was stuffed down her throat.

"Looks like we don't need to wait then," Naruto said as he grabbed his sword and preparing a stance. "You guys ready?"

"No," Sasuke muttered, eyes shrunken to the back of his head in unusual fear. "We can't beat her."

"Fine, then you guys move. I'll take them down and finish this quick." Sasuke nodded before attempting to move, but his legs wouldn't obey him.

"Damn it move!" He yelled to himself as the woman laughed at his attempt.

"Oh don't worry Sasuke. You wouldn't be able to outrun me. So just sit back and watch." The woman dashed forward, focusing on Sasuke himself. Naruto quickly moved and blocked her attempted, slashing at her and stopping her in her tracks, barely missing his slice.

"So the little boy likes playing with swords? You should be doing that at your age." Her words came while she effortlessly dodged all of his strikes. "But if you like doing that, I'll humor you. But not here."

She flipped back as she rolled up her sleeve and revealed a tattoo and bite her finger, letting blood flow off it onto the tattoo. It created a puff of smoke that had a hissing of a beast which soon dashed out of it, showing a giant snake and it got a stunned Naruto.

Of all the damn people it could be! The thoughts came through as the snake swatted him away before following him. The woman formed a clone out of the ground before the original followed Naruto and the snake, the clone keeping Sasuke and Sakura busy.

Naruto was flailing through the air, hitting a branch with his feet. He unleashed a storm of chains which hooked into everything around him, suspending him in the air. He sighed in relief as he heard the moving of a giant beast and saw the snake from earlier in the air and maw open.

"I was looking for a new pair of snakeskin boots!" Naruto shouted as the chains disappeared and grabbed his sword and held it in front of him and he was swallowed by it. He forced his blade upward and started to cut through it, eventually cutting his way back through as it disappeared with a cloud of smoke.

"Alright then. Get your ass out here Orochimaru!" Naruto's demand caused a clapping as the woman appeared before him.

"I'm surprised that you managed to guess my true identity. Than this disguise isn't useful anymore." Orochimaru reached for his face and ripped it off, revealing a pallor face with marking under his golden eyes. The hat was tossed off and showed inky black hair. "So how did you know it was me?"

"Only one person I know summons snakes and I'm dating her. So the only one would be her teacher." Naruto explained as he tensed and felt his stomach churn.

"Ah, little Anko-chan. I wondered how she has been. But I'm not interested in her. Only Sasuke. But you've caught my attention." He began gagging up a snake with a sword handle sticking out of it. He gripped it and displayed a slender katana with a circular guard. "So shall we how good you are at Kenjutsu?"

"Don't have a whole lot of choices. You'll just track me down." His knuckles turned bone-white as Orochimaru dashed towards Naruto with Kusanagi poised straight at Naruto. He quickly dodged and attempted to slice Orochimaru and was successful, but the slice barely hit his arm. Naruto growled as he sent a chain from his other hand to pierce Orochimaru's stomach.

The blade of Kusanagi cut through the chains like butter and slashed his palm and nearly a few fingers. Naruto sprung several chains and they pulled him back. "Oh, Naruto I thought you wanted to fight with swords? Don't tell me that you're giving up." Orochimaru taunted.

"Let's see if this power is any different," Naruto muttered to himself as he closed his eyes and narrowed them slightly. His markings deepened and became pronounced. His eyes opened to reveal red eyes. "And no voicing screaming for doom, death, and destruction. So that's good."

"Ah, so you're using the Kyuubi? How interesting." Orochimaru prepared Kusanagi and Naruto did the same with his sword and both ran towards one another. Orochimaru swung first, but Naruto ducked and sliced his torso, creating a diagonal cut. He continually sliced at Orochimaru, not letting him move. He finished with a slam from the pommel that sent him back slightly.

He looked at his efforts as Orochimaru just turned to mud and fell to the ground. He growled as he turned and slashed in front of him, blocking a swing from Orochimaru's Kusanagi. But it came with the cost of Naruto's blade breaking near the hilt, making a stubby weapon out of it.

"It seems like you are out of options little boy." Orochimaru came closer as Naruto slammed his foot down and caused several chains to pop out of the ground and wrapping around him. "You think this will stop me?"

"Seems like it is," Naruto commented as he breathed lightly. Orochimaru cackled at him as Kusanagi pointed towards Naruto and extend, piercing his shoulder and pushing him against a tree. The pain from the sword caused the chains to fault and loosened and Orochimaru walked closer to Naruto.

"You're an interesting boy Naruto. If I wasn't interested in Sasuke, I would be interested in you. But you're a pain in my side. Best take care of you right now."

Orochimaru came closer as Naruto as he struggled to get free, eventually doing so by forcing his weight down, tearing his arm through the blade, but getting free. He didn't manage to act as Orochimaru came closer with his fingers being lit ablaze with purple fire before slamming it onto Naruto's seal which appeared on his abdomen.

Naruto felt the Kyuubi's chakra leave him and his chakra felt like sand, slipping through his fingers. "Damn snakeface!"

"Oh don't be like that Naruto-kun." Orochimaru gripped Kusanagi's grip and retracted the blade, blood glistening off the blade. He contorted into a malicious grin as he plunged it into his other shoulder, going through the tree and pinning him. "I'll leave this as a present!"

"Oh, I'm going to enjoy killing you with Anko," Naruto growled weakly as he felt his consciousness slightly fade.

"Oh I'm sure you will, but now I must deal with Sasuke-kun! Goodbye Naruto-kun." Orochimaru left the weakening Naruto.

"Damn. Hope I stay conscious enough to get this out." He grunted as he used his beads. "Anko. Orochimaru is here. I'm kinda-" His words slipped as his mind did the same before he grasped tighter on his conscious. "I'm in a bad spot. Try to find me please." Those words slurred out of his mouth as he finally passed out from the seal Orochimaru placed.

A scream from somewhere awoke Naruto. He attempted to get up, but he hissed from the Kusanagi still in his shoulder. "So he left the damn thing here?" He asked out loud as he shakily gripped the grip and pulled it out, gritting his teeth as he did so. It eventually clattered against the ground, the blade being disproportionately large. He looked at both shoulders and saw they weren't healed.

"Whatever that seal did screw with both of our chakra." Naruto attempted to use his chakra but felt most of it fall through, only holding a small trickle. He slowly got up and ripped off the remnant of his shirts and jacket, effectively making them a short sleeve and a vest and showed the sets of seals on his forearms and wrists, front and back. He wrapped the scraps over his wounds and got up, grabbing the Kusanagi, it turned into a white snake before hissing, taking off. He looked at its retreating form before his hand went for his pant leg, pulling out a knife, the blade curving and being jagged near the base. He flipped it once and gripped it, blade facing the ground.

"Now where the hell did that scream come from?" He heard a scream once again and guessed it was Sakura. "How convenient. Guess I have to save their asses." He quickly made his way over, gritting as his wounds burned. He eventually found someone who wasn't Sakura. It was a redhead with glasses, huddled as a bear came closer. Naruto prepped his knife and jumped.

Sword pointed down, Naruto rammed it into the bear's head, killing it in front of the girl. "Hey. You okay?" Naruto panted out, fatigue setting in quicker than before.

"I'm all right." The girl stammered out as Naruto got off the bear and staggered, falling on his knees. "Are you alright?"

"Not really. But that's not what you should be concerned with. Where's your team?"

"They're dead. I can't pass anymore." She noticed the shoulders of Naruto and widened her crimson eyes. "Hold still!"

"Hmm? What are you-" The words were stuck in his throat as the girl's arm was forced into it and was pierced by his teeth. He found himself being engulfed by a green aura and could feel both wounds heal.

She removed her arm and Naruto rubbed his mouth. "The hell did you do?"

"It's an ability I have. I am Karin Uzumaki." Naruto narrowed his eyes at her name.

"Talk about a small world. Naruto Uzumaki. Guess were part of the same clan."

"What? You're family?"

Naruto gave a light shrug, feeling no pain from it. "Guess you are. Now come on-" He was caught off guard by Karin hugging him.

"I'm not alone." She whispered as she clenched Naruto closer, who awkwardly patted her back.

"I would recommend we stop this. We should probably get going." Karin removed herself from Naruto and nodded. Both got up and Karin tensed for some reason.

"There's a chakra source coming nearby!" Naruto quickly tensed as he heard someone move, but relaxed when the person dropped to show it was Anko, looking serious.

"Where's the bastard Naruto!?" She asked.

"Don't know. He's after Sasuke though." His answer made Anko growl in frustration. "Know what's he's planning on doing?"

The gripping of Anko's curse mark gave a good indication to Naruto. "A pretty damn good one. You going to be alright?"

"Snake bastard did something to me, but I'll manage. She's also tagging along." Anko gained a sly smirk as she looked at Karin.

"Geez is two girlfriends not enough for you?" Karin shuddered at her suggestion.

"No, I'm part of the same clan as Naruto!"

"Well ain't that interesting. Guess you're tagging along. Just don't slow us down." With a nod from Karin, they started to move. "I'm only getting you to the rest of the team then I'm going to find Orochimaru."

"Stay safe then. Wish I could do more, but my chakra is barely even usable. I'll be dead weight."

"And we can't stop to check it. Damn."

"Whatever. I'll manage. Let's just get going." They started walking, gradually moving in a direction that Karin pointed out. They jumped onto a branch and saw Sakura standing over a passed out Sasuke, panting and looking flustered.

"That's your stop Naruto. I'm heading after snakeface." Anko said before dashing away.

Naruto gave a slight look at Karin. "Just keep quiet. Sakura will probably yell like hell. Not to mention we still need a Scroll of Earth."

"I have that." Karin mention, pulling out said scroll and passing it. "I can't pass anyway. So you have more use for it."

"Huh, thanks." He placed the scroll with its counterpart in the same seal before he jumped down, Karin in tow.

Sakura jumped when she noticed Naruto and Karin land. "Where have you been baka!? And who's she?"

"Chill. I got knocked around by that asshole from earlier. Helped my cousin aka the girl behind me. Now we've got both scrolls to pass. Now let's move it."

"Sasuke-kun is injured. Whoever that was did something to him!" Naruto came closer and knelt, looking over Sasuke. He noted small blood splatters on his neck and noticed a mark of three commas in the same area.

That is not good. Not good at all! Teeth gritting, Naruto stood up. "We need to move now!"

"But Sasuke can't move!"

Naruto simply picked him up and tossed him over his shoulder. "Then we're moving him with us. Now come on. Let's hope we can make before dark." He left without another word, Karin moving after him.

Sakura bolted to her feet and chased after them.

Time went by as the sun began to scrap the hills, with Naruto and everyone reaching the tower, it being within sight.

"Bout' time the damn thing is in view. Let's keep going." Naruto remarked as he shifted Sasuke on his shoulder. He was still moaning slightly and unconscious, making Naruto kinda nervous. He isn't dead yet. But it'll be better than the alternative…

"Naruto, a few chakra signatures are coming close," Karin said as she tensed. Naruto did the same as he clutched his knife in his grasp, other arm holding Sasuke steady. "They're coming in...Now!"

Naruto heard a whistling sound before jumping back. He gazed down at the ground to see a few needle-thin senbon struck the ground. He looked up to see a girl with senbon between her knuckles.

"What's wrong? Scared?" She asked as two others appeared aside her, one wrapped in bandages and one with a headband with cloth covering the sides of his face. "Wake up Sasuke! We want to fight him."

"Sorry. He's not here. But I'll entertain you. Now, who's first? Mummy, Death Boy, or Ms. Acupuncture?" The trio soon descended onto Naruto. A few senbon were launched at a jumping Naruto. Mummy rolled towards him and swung his armored right arm. Naruto countered with a swing with his knife, nearly hitting the gauntlet.

A ringing came to Naruto's ear, overwhelming him as his vision blurred. He swung repeatedly at the blurred clones of the Mummy.

"Oh, what's wrong? Can't see straight?" He asked as Naruto felt his teeth grind each other, feeling blood leak from his ear. "That's my little number right here. You can't beat me in hand-to-hand if you're disoriented!" Naruto gripped the knife tighter before his feet began running towards him. The blade began to swing wildly, cutting up Mummy's gauntlet along with part of his arm.

Mummy gripped his bleeding arm as he was kicked away by Naruto. Death Boy came behind Naruto as his hand flexed open, showing the opening of a tube. An air blast came out and knocked Naruto back, sending Sasuke down to the floor like a weight.

Naruto recovered quickly to see Karin holding her own against Ms. Acupuncture attempted to stab her with the senbon in her gasp, but Karin's kunai stood against them.

"Better pay attention!" Death Boy remarked as more concussive blasts came out, Naruto rolling out of the way out of all but one, which knocked him against a tree. "Or else you're dead!"

"You yap all the time and it's annoying-" Naruto said as he quickly got up. "-not to mention it's pissin' me off!" Naruto began sprinting towards him before pulling out a few shuriken and tossing them. He kept up the attack with hacking at Death Boy, cutting him several times before grabbing his shirt and slamming him on the ground, kicking him away.

His body contorted to dodge Mummy's fist before grabbing it and pointing the deadly point of his knife at his throat. "Give up." Was growled out as Naruto's foot was planted on his chest. The position was short-lived, however, as Death Boy blasted Naruto away.

From his position on the ground, back against another tree, Naruto looked at the situation. From the corner of his eye, he saw Sasuke, who was possibly still unconscious, being closed in by Mummy. His eyes were shown through slits, but Naruto swore he could see the red of the Sharingan.

Great. Ain't in the best condition. But I've got to do this. He got up on his feet and could feel fatigue clawing at his muscles, tempting them. But I can't go long against two of em'. And I don't have any backup.

His prayers must have been answered as a missile came in, crashing into the Mummy and knocking him away. The missile known as Lee stared at Mummy and Death Boy, massive brows pointed downward. "I am Konoha's Beautiful Green Wild Beast! Otherwise called Rock Lee and you shall not harm my friend!"

"Nice to see you too Lee," Naruto grunted as he went to Lee's side. "How about we see who's better?"

"Yes, Naruto! Let us see who is better!" Lee prepared a stance before dashing forward as Naruto ran alongside him. Lee launched himself in the air, his foot being placed into Mummy's face and launched him, Naruto sliding under as it happened. He quickly rolled back into a sprint as he gut-punched Death Boy. Mummy got launched into him, knocking them back.

"Damn. You have gotten tougher." Naruto smirked as the two moved closer to them. Mummy slowly got up before he swung his arm, sound coming out and forced them onto their knees. "I hate that damn gauntlet."

"You got lucky, but it seems like the shoe is on the other foot. Huh!" Death Boy stood in front of them, palms at the ready. "Time for you two to be blasted away!" A blur appeared behind him. In a brief moment, his arms were being pulled by Sasuke, an ebony flame pattern covering the left of his body, and rapidly covering the rest of him.

"You seem awfully attached to these. It would be a shame if-" With a pull from Sasuke, the arms began to strain. And with a scream from their owner, the arms were ripped out of their sockets. "-They got damaged."

Naruto slowly got up as he looked at Sasuke, Sharingan glinting with madness. "Damn it Sasuke! You better knock that shit off now!"

"And what are you going to do Naruto? How about we see how strong you are compared to me?"

"And prove that you can beat me while I'm at a handicap? Or better yet, that you're so shit, that you have to rely on Orochimaru to beat me, instead of yourself?" Naruto began to chuckle at him. "I've got one word. Pathetic. Pathetic that you're letting yourself be controlled."

Sasuke stopped at his words, Jaw clenching and unclenching. "Get out." He whispered as he shook slightly, letting go of Death Boy as he did so. His hand clenched his neck around the curse mark. "I don't need you!" The marking reacted, retreating to its origin.

"We'll be retreating. Here is our scroll." Mummy tossed a Scroll of Earth out and landed on the ground. He grabbed Death Boy and a beaten Ms. Acupuncture. "If we meet you again. We will kill you."

"Blow it out your ass." Naruto insulted the back of the retreating team before turning to a panting Sasuke. "You alright Sasuke?"

"I'm fine," Sasuke muttered as he stood up, but he nearly collapsed if Naruto didn't grab him.

"And that's the consequence of using that damn thing. Now let's get going." His focus turned to Lee. "If you need an Earth one, go ahead and grab it. We got both."

"I see." Lee nodded. "I hope you have no more encounters, my friend. I shall be off!" He dashed away in a blur, the scroll being grabbed as he did so.

"Alright then. Sakura and Karin, we're movin' now." They nodded and they began to move, Sasuke eventually detached himself from Naruto halfway, picking up their pace. By the time the sun began to change hands with the moon, they reached the tower, entering it to see a sign with a cryptic message.

"Now to figure this thing out." Naruto murmured as he unsealed both scrolls and unfurling them. The markings began to smoke and were immediately tossed them, pulling out his knife. "They're summoning something!"

Everyone tensed as something appeared out of the smoke, a humanoid looking figure. The smoke cleared to see a smiling Iruka. "Well done guys!" He noticed the ragtag group and raised his eyebrow. "What have you been through?"

"Giant snakes and sound assholes." Naruto put his knife away. "Not fun. Now can we get some rest?"

"Oh! Go ahead." Iruka rubbed the back of his head. "But what's the deal with the redhead?"

"You got a problem with it scarface?!" Karin yelled as she started to walk towards Iruka before Naruto stopped her.

"Chill why don't you?" She huffed but stopped. "She's my cousin. And she's..."

"I want to stay here with my family." She latched onto Naruto's arm.

And now we need to adjust our plans. But...It could be nice to have more family. "So that's what she's doing. So where can we rest?"

"It's just up the stairs."

"Good. I'm crashing there." Naruto left with Karin still grabbing Naruto. "You guys coming?"

"Yeah," Sasuke said as he and Sakura began following him, leaving Iruka in the entrance.

Days passed as the 2nd Stage ended. Everyone was gathered in the arena. Naruto found himself in between Sasuke and Sakura. Sasuke gave him a raised eyebrow.

"What's with the new get up?" He asked as Naruto fiddled with a red face mask around his neck.

The new outfit was eye-catching. Anko brought him a new one after his old one got shredded. It had a black long sleeve under a red and dark grey vest with a hood. The sleeves reached red wrapping along his forearm and black gauntlets with angular blades, with his hands covered with black gloves. The pants were of a dark shade with two thin strips of red running down the sides. They descended into combat boots which reached his lower knees, the three straps shown.

Naruto ran his hand through his hair. It was recently cut short, reaching the nape of his neck. His bangs were center-parted.

"Decided on a change." He stopped fiddling with his mask. "After that damn snake happened, needed a change of clothes. Remember?"

"Oh yeah. Tch!" Sasuke gripped his neck as he felt a repeated pulse. "This damn thing."

"Don't let that thing overtake you." Naruto leaned closer. "Or I'm putting you out of your misery."

"Don't threaten me dobe."

"I'm not. I'm warning you. That thing could brainwash you to going to Orochimaru. You'll be his puppet." He gripped Sasuke's shoulder tightly, feeling like a vice. "So what I'm offering is better."

"Tch, fine." He felt Naruto remove his grip.

They turned their attention to the Hokage. He went on a tangent on how the Exams were an alternative to war before handing it off to a sickly looking guy with a bandana wrapped atop his head named Hayate. He explained that there would be a preliminary round. The screen lit up and chose two names: Sasuke Uchiha and Yoroi Akado.

"Good luck in your match." Naruto patted Sasuke on his shoulder before he and everyone removed themselves from the arena, taking their places on the overlook.

Naruto paid vague attention to it as Sasuke struggled at first due to the curse mark before he forced it into dormancy and proceeded to win the match. He spaced out for the other matches until he heard his name and Kiba's.

"Oh, boy Akamaru! Looks like we got the weakling for this one." Kiba smirked as he and his dog jumped down. Naruto remained quiet as he did the same, landing in a roll.

"I would recommend not taking me lightly." Naruto shifted the cords lacing his chest in a fashion. On his back were mounted two weapons; A short, curved sword around the size of his forearm from the base to the tip of the blade. The other was a kama, with a curved blade attached to an extra-long shaft.

"Oh please! You're so weak, I don't even have to use Akamaru! Stay here boy, I'll finish this quick."

Naruto remained quiet as he stared him down. Kiba made the first move as he placed his hands on the ground. "Shikyaku no Jutsu!" He yelled, giving into his feral side. His nails sharpened and lengthened, his canines sharpened too. His eyes gained a slit pupil.

He started slow, before picking up speed and jumping in the air. "Tsūga!" He began spinning and transformed into a miniature tornado and tore his way towards Naruto.

Naruto rolled out of the way, Kiba missing him by a hair and crashed into a wall. He grabbed the recovering Kiba and smashed him in the face and pushed him into the ground. He delivered a brutal kick to his side before Kiba jumped away.

"Looks like you ain't that weak. Akamaru!" Akamaru barked before he followed Kiba's lead. Naruto kept his guard high as Kiba threw two pellets at him, filling the surrounding area around him.

Damn! Gotta get out of here. He gripped the shaft of the kama before swinging it towards the ceiling. The shaft split in have as the blade went towards it, attached by a thin cable. It stabbed into the ceiling before it started to retract Naruto.

He looked down to see a surprised Kiba. "How you like that?" He smirked as grabbed a handful of shuriken and began raining them down, each one had a small tag attached. Kiba ran from the downpour of metal, Akamaru following him.

When the shuriken hit the ground, the tags glowed before detonating, leaving small craters sprinkled throughout the arena. Naruto dropped to the ground with a heavy thud, keeping an eye on Kiba and Akamaru. "Looks like your little scheme fell through. Shameful really."

"Let's see how much your mouth runs with this!" Kiba grabbed a small pill before tossing it to Akamaru. He began to growl as his fur turned red. "Jūjin Bunshin!" Akamaru got caught in a cloud of smoke, which dissipated to show a clone of Kiba.

"Twice the ugly then? And the dog was so cute." Naruto launched his kama at them as they both dodged and ran at Naruto.

"Gatsūga!" Kiba and Akamaru turned into miniature drills as Kiba shouted the words and came barreling towards Naruto. They struck him at once as Naruto felt his teeth strike one another. He struggled to force his hand to reach into a pocket and pull out two tags. They got forced upon Kiba and Akamaru as Naruto covered his face.

They glowed for a brief moment before going off, engulfing all three within an explosion. All three were launched as Naruto was forced into the wall. He forced his weight on his palm as he looked at Akamaru and Kiba. They weren't doing all too well; Kiba had his hoodie burnt in patches and most of the hood removed, showing some singed hair and burn marks on his face. Akamaru has some of his fur matted with soot and burnt off. His whines could be heard as he laid on his side.

"That was a real stupid move," Naruto told himself as he got up, feeling some damage on his body. "But I think I win. What do you think Kiba?"

"Tch, I've got no choice. Not with Akamaru hurt." Kiba said as he forced himself up and got close to Akamaru. "Don't worry bud. It's gonna be alright."

"Naruto Uzumaki wins the match!" Hayate declared as medics came in.

"Oh boy." Naruto got up on his feet as the world below warped. He nearly fell before Anko caught him.

"Good job Naruto-kun," Anko commented as he leaned against her. "But let's get you rested up. Yeah?"

"You're not hearing any complaints from me." He took a step before nearly falling if not for Anko. "How bout' you take the lead?"

"That's the idea." They got out of the arena and into the stands as Naruto got laid on the bench. "You should be fine, but you may have a concussion."

"Perfect for going into a fight. Just tell me when this stuff ends. I'm spacing out."

"And here I thought you wanted to talk to your darling girlfriend. Shameful." Anko smirked deviously. "Oh well."

"And I've got a ringing in my ears. Not fun for conversations."

"And here I thought guys couldn't get periods. Just relax and space out. I'll tell you when it's time.

"Thanks, Anko." Naruto started to let his mind wander as the world began to phase out. It went on for a little while before Anko's shaking jolted him into focus.

"Come on . It's nearly time for them to chose." Anko explained as Naruto sat up, feeling slightly better. "You still out of it?"

"I'll be fine." Naruto got on his legs and stood steady mostly. He looked over the railing before leaping down, joining everyone else in the line consisting of Shino, Kankurō, Temari, Shikamaru, Neji, Gaara, Dosu, and now Naruto himself.

They all drew a scrap of paper from a box. Naruto flipped his open to show a "1" written on it. So I'm going against that Temari chick? Interesting. Uses some sort of fan for Futon jutsus. Should probably use fire to counter.

"The finals will be in a month! Be sure to come here on time." Hayate explained. "You can all go now."

Naruto nodded as he met up with Anko. "Let's get training."

Anko couldn't help but feel her face gain a smirk filled with sadism. "You're going to wish you didn't live. But we need to figure out what to do with your damn seal."

"Guess we have to figure it out on the way. Let's grab Karin and get started." They began to walk out of the arena, intent on training.