Chapter 005

"Exactly a week from now, the Chuunin exams will commence. I'm assuming that all of you will take it?" Kakashi asked them.

"No way I'm gonna miss the Chuunin exams! I'll beat everyone to the top! Right, guys?!" Naruto exclaimed, pumped at the thought of winning the whole thing.

"In your dreams, whisker face. I'll be the one to crush everyone." Sasuke smirked.

"Haaaa? You're on, duck butt!"

Akito chuckled as the two bickered back and forth.

"I guess we'll all go then, Kakashi-sensei." He answered.

"Hmmmm. Well, it's up to you. There's no pressure if you don't want to participate. But if you do, you just have to sign this and give it to the proctor. Also, this week will be yours to prepare for the exams. Train. Don't train. Do whatever. Well, that's all from me." The silver-haired Jounin gave them the participation slip and then disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

"So, what are you guys going to do? I think I'll just see the sights this week. The chuunin exams are like a grand festival, did you know? People from all around the Elemental Nations will come to Konoha to see the finals, even important nobles and the Feudal Lords." Akito shared.

"Really? Yeah, I've been noticing a lot of presences lately. Maybe they're the visitors you're talking of." Naruto nodded in thought.

"Hmp. While you two enjoy the sights, I'll be training. Who cares about nobles from other nations, anyway?" Sasuke rolled his eyes, ever the drama queen.

"Well, you both know where to find me if you need anything. Bye!"

With that Akito left his teammates and went his own way. He was excited to see all the different nobles as he hadn't seen one before.

——

After Akito left, Sasuke also went back home to train. He needed to perfect his new move if wanted to beat everyone, including his talented teammates. He admitted that Naruto and Akito were prodigies in their own right. Naruto with his knack for fuinjutsu and Akito with his penchant for creating new moves and his ability to spam frightening lightning attacks. He needed something that would make him stand out as well.

Sasuke stood at the end of a small wooden pier. He was at the large pond…or is it a small lake?…behind the mansion where he used to practice his Great Fireball when he was smaller. Sasuke reminisced for a bit about the good times of the past. He remembered how proud Itachi was when he showed him his Great Fireball jutsu and his older brother poked his forehead as a gesture of endearment. Sasuke shook his head. That was a long time ago. Now, he was better. Stronger.

Sasuke steadied his breath and concentrated. Raising both his hands he performed several hand seals, both his hands were a blur. But these were not just ordinary hand seals. Both hands formed different signs from one another. That's right. He had finally perfected one-handed seals some time ago.

Sasuke panted from the sudden large drain on his reserves but watched in awe his jutsu. He smirked. Yeah, he was definitely awesome.

——

"Big bro, I'm done." Naruto breathed a sigh of relief as he finished the last stroke of the most complicated and complex fuuinjutsu he had made to date. It looked like a swirl with several kanji and esoteric symbols written around it that only he knew the meaning of. He had spent countless nights these past few months to perfect this, numerous failures and calculations, and liberal use of his Shadow Clones. Frankly it had been tiring because he had nothing to base it on and many times he had been tempted to just quit. But! Quitting is not in his vocabulary, believe it! With the support of his big bro and some pointers from Kakashi-sensei, who was also somewhat proficient in the Sealing Arts, he had finally done it. One could say that it was Naruto's own unique sealing array.

The blonde genin carefully handed the large parchment to Akito who had been waiting patiently for him to finish. His big bro waited a few moments for the ink the dry and carefully laid the parchment on his exposed lower back. Once the parchment was firmly in place, Akito told him it was time.

"You've practiced this countless times, Naruto. I know you can do it." Naruto thanked him and he breathed deeply. He made a series of long hand seals carefully making sure each one was correct and then he suffused the seal on his back with huge amounts of his chakra.

"Seal!"

Immediately, the ink on the parchment glowed and transferred onto his skin, permanently marking him. Naruto couldn't yet create fuuinjutsu with just his chakra alone so he had to resort to chakra ink. It was a few seconds of the markings glowing but it eventually calmed and contracted into a small compact design, reminiscent of the Uzumaki crest of a swirl.

"You did it!" Akito hugged him and he laughed, hugging his brother back. It's finally done! Immediately both boys stood up and separated and Naruto stood in the center of his living room where there was space.

"Alright, here goes."

He made a Ram sign to help him concentrate his chakra and sent it to the new seal on his back. Akito who was watching saw it glow briefly and immediately both boys heard clinking sounds. Two separate glowing chains burst out of Naruto's back, both had extremely sharp curved tips like a scorpion's stinger or maybe a curved dagger, either way they looked deadly and menacing. The length of the chains also had sharp protrusions for extra grip and anyone who gets entangled in them would definitely suffer. Also the steel made of chakra is not just ordinary metal, the chains are indestructible, capable of restraining even a rampaging bijuu and seal his opponent's chakra. All in all Naruto was proud of his new appendages. To achieve this Naruto had to figure out how to infuse the concepts of 'indestructibility', 'chakra suppression', 'chains', 'sharpness', and 'flexibility' into the seal. Unlike the Eight Trigrams Seal, the one on his stomach, which he had already figured out its function, there weren't any records of the Uzumaki Adamantine Chains just that it was a secret Fuuinjutsu unique to the Uzumaki Clan. Naruto had to figure it out from scratch which was a pain.

Akito inspected the chains and nodded approvingly at him. He took out a kunai and infused it with Armament Haki and tried to sliceone of the chains. The two metals clashed and made a loud ringing noise but the chain remained undamaged.

"Amazing, Naruto. Even Haki can't damage it. Try infusing it with your own Haki." Naruto nodded and concentrated. It took a few seconds because it felt like the chains were literally new limbs but eventually the originally yellowish glow of the metal gained a reddish black tint, both glinted menacingly.

When the two tentacle-like appendages retreated back into the seal, Naruto and Akito both looked at each other and smirked deviously. They were going to conquer the Chuunin Exams! Believe it!

——-

It's the day before the chuunin exams and Team 7, sans Kakashi, met to see the sights and the merchants who had been steadily filling up the Konoha Market. It was a veritable crowd as excited civilians and shinobi alike enjoyed the festive atmosphere. Naruto also wanted to introduce his apprentice to his friends.

"Hey, Konohamaru. Come here and meet my friends. These are Uchiha Sasuke and Inazuma Akito, my teammates." Naruto pulled the academy student closer to the group.

"So they are the teammates you were talking about, Big Boss? I don't know but…why do they look like girls?" Konohamaru scratched his head confusedly not seeing the alarmed face of Naruto.

"What did you say, little brat?" Sasuke's eyes morphed into menacing red orbs as his Sharingan activated unconsciously.

"Oh? This is your cute little student, Naruto? Let me get a closer look at him. Come here Konohamaru." Akito smiled sweetly but the sudden crackle of lightning and the scary red eyes of the other one alarmed the Hokage's grandson and made a dash for it.

"No! I'm sorry! Big Boss, help!"

Naruto sighed in exasperation as he followed his teammates and his little student.

"Guys, go easy on him!" His calls were ignored and he grunted and followed the little Sarutobi closely. Around a corner he saw the little boy bump into someone.

"Look out!"

"Oof! Ow. That hurt." The boy with the long scarf rubbed his rear when he fell and looked up at the person he bumped into. It was a boy older than him but wore a weird outfit. It was like a onesie with cat ears and he also carried something on his back wrapped in several bandages. The most disturbing thing however was the guy wore make-up.

"Are you a pansy?" Konohmaru asked curiously.

Naruto slapped his forehead. Is this kid suicidal?

"Who you calling pansy, you little shit!" Konohamaru widened his eyes as the pajama-wearing weirdo grabbed his shirt and hauled him up.

"Ehehehe. Did I say that out loud? Sorry!" Konohamaru nervously apologised. The guy looked pissed.

"Who do you think you are, huh? Bumping into me and calling me names. Maybe I should teach you a lesson, huh?!"

"I said I was sorry what more do you want? Now let me go, jerk!" Konohmaru struggled in the firm grip but the weirdo held him tightly.

"What did you say, brat?!"

"Kankuro, let him go. He's just a little kid." A girl about the same age as the guy approached them. She had dirty-blonde hair tied up into four short pigtails. The girl wore a mesh outfit that showed a lot of skin and carried with her a huge battle fan.

"Temari. But this kid needs to be taught a lesson!" Kankuro shook the kid and Temari looked on in boredom.

"Suit yourself. I'm not getting involved if you get in trouble." Temari shrugged indifferently and walked to the side. Kankuro smiled menacingly at the little kid who cowed and poised his arm as if to throw a punch.

Having heard and seen enough, Naruto was about to interfere but he smiled as his teammates took care of it.

Kankuro cried out in pain as the arm he was using to hold the kid got kicked and was forced to let go. He gasped as a punch made contact with his abdomen making him curl into himself in pain. Both of his arms were yanked back harshly by thin wires and his legs were kicked under him making him kneel on the ground.

Shing!

Akito appeared behind the kunoichi, his metal bracer morphed into a sharp blade and pointed at her jugular which made her gulp. He saw Sasuke meanwhile inserted his kunai between the bandages wrapped around the huge thing the pajama-wearing boy was carrying.

"Oh? What's this. Your real body is in this wrapped thing on your back. You Sand Shinobi sure are interesting. Don't move or…accidents may happen." The fake-Kankuro didn't make a twitch as his real body was threatened at kunai point.

Suddenly terrible bloodlust suffused the surroundings making the onlookers flee in fright.

"Kankuro, Temari. Both of you are an embarrassment to our village." The bloodlust came from a rather short, blood red-haired, and pale-looking boy who had suddenly appeared in a swirl of sand. The pale, emotionless boy wore a black shinobi ensemble with a white sash going across his torso that held the large gourd on his back. His most prominent feature was his eyebrowless forehead where the red character for 'love' was seemingly branded on it. Even though the boy had a serene countenance, the bloodlust coming from him made Kankuro and Temari cringe in fear.

"Gaara! It's not what you think." Akito and Sasuke released their hostages and joined him in protecting Konohamaru, who was shaking like a leaf and clutching his clothes tightly. He tucked the little boy firmly in assurance and glared at the newcomer.

He saw Akito frown and he felt his bro's own even more monstrous presence and Gaara widened his eyes in astonishment while Kankuro and Temari suddenly knelt paling drastically and gasping for air. Naruto almost felt pity for them. He had felt how terrifying Akito could be before and he didn't even know the full extent of it. He had never witnessed his big bro get truly angry before and he didn't ever want to find out. The pressure increased and Gaara was finally affected as his breathing quickened and took a small step back. Temari and Kankuro were nearly face to face with the ground, the whites of their eyes becoming more apparent.

"If you don't want me to increase the pressure, you will cease yours at once." Akito said indifferently, his form seemingly bored.

Gaara nodded slightly and reigned in his bloodlust. Akito did the same. Kankuro and Temari heaved and gasped for air in big gulps but remained on the ground trembling. Interestingly, they looked fearful at their own teammate just as they looked warily at Akito.

"Who the hell are you?" Naruto demanded not affected at all but was more concerned for Konohamaru who was clinging to him.

"I am Gaara of the Sand Waterfall and these are my siblings, Kankuro and Temari. What are your names?" His siblings were shocked at his polite tone but Gaara ignored them, more interested in the people in front of him.

"Sand Waterfall? Hmmm. I've heard of you. You are the Kazekage's children. Did you know the little kid you were about to punch is the Hokage's grandchild?" Kankuro paled and Temari slapped him on the back of his head.

"I told you earlier to let the kid go but you didn't listen." Temari reprimanded him but Gaara narrowed his eyes at both of them and they shut up.

"Forgive them. They are just nuisances. You have not yet introduced yourselves."

"Uchiha Sasuke." Sasuke drawled.

"Inazuma Akito."

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, remember it!"

"I see. We are participating in the Chuunin Exams. I hope to see all three of you there. Come Kankuro, Temari. We are leaving."

Naruto and his group watched the Sand siblings walk away. Konohamaru breathed a sigh of relief.

"Are you alright, Konohamaru?" He crouched and patted his student on the shoulder.

"Yeah. Thanks for the save, you guys. That was scary especially that red-haired weirdo." Konohamaru still shivering from the terrifying ordeal.

Akito smiled and patted the little kid's shoulder. He looked to the right and an ANBU promptly appeared in a swirl of leaves nodding his head.

"Konohamaru-sama, I will bring you back to the Sarutobi compound. Genin Inazuma, Uzumaki, Uchiha. The Hokage wants to see you immediately."

After Konohamaru said his goodbyes, the little boy and the Anbu left and the trio also made their way to the Hokage Tower.

——

It was time. After reporting to the Hokage of the events that transpired with the Sand genin, the old man thanked them and sent them on their way.

The three young ninjas stood in front of the Konoha Academy gates. Their excitement was palpable and their trust in each other iron-clad.

"Are you guys ready?"

"Yeah! Let's show 'em who's boss!"

"Nn."

"Then, let's go."

Akito, Naruto, and Sasuke walked through the school gates where the first part of the Chuunin Exams were to be held. Akito was interested in the genin from other villges. As they walked through the school hallways he noticed that the three of them were really among some of the youngest participating. Other genin were definitely older, some even in their late teens who glared at them in contempt and ridicule. Akito shrugged. It wasn't his business.

Climbing a set of stairs they saw people crowding in front of one of the rooms, labelled Room 302, on the second floor. That in itself was suspicious enough. One of those people was Rock Lee who was arguing with the guards standing in front of the door.

"Beat it, loser. If you can't get past us then you should just scram and go back to your mommy!" One of the guards attempted to punch Lee but Akito smirked as he saw the spandex-wearing boy easily catch the fist.

"It is unyouthful to bar the examinees to the exam site. Aren't you also participants? Then let us pass."

He saw the guards ignore Lee's proclamation and sneer. He sighed. He didn't want to interfere but Lee had become one of his close friends. He saw Tenten try to pull her teammate away but the bowlcut-haired genin wouldn't budge. Neji was also to the side just observing and looking bored.

He made eye contact with Naruto and the blonde boy gave him a thumbs up and sauntered towards their friend. He observed as Naruto tapped Lee and Tenten on their shoulders and whispered something. Both genin looked surprised but played along, even Neji.

"Come on, guys. Let's leave these jerks and find another entrance." Naruto pulled his eyelid down and gave the two a raspberry.

As Teams 7 lead Team 11 to the upper floor, Akito explained that the sign on the door was just a genjutsu. He also asked Neji why he didn't tell his teammates as his eyes should have seen through the illusion easily. The long-haired boy just shrugged uncaringly.

"It's not my job to point out their inadequacies."

"Neji! What a cold thing to say!" Tenten pouted.

"Neji-san, you shouldn't say that! It's unyouthful!" Lee frowned.

"You guys, we're here."

Akito motioned in front of them and they saw two figures standing just outside the correct room this time.

"Kakashi-sensei! Bushier Brow-sensei! What are you two doing here?" Naruto and Lee enthusiastically bounded over to greet the Jounins. Kakashi gave them an eye-smile while Guy flashed his gleaming white teeth. After Team 11 went in ahead inside, the silver-haired man addressed them.

"Good. You're all here. You would have been disqualified if even one of you didn't come." Kakashi said.

"What?! You couldn't have told us that earlier?" Naruto crossed his arms and glared at the unrepentant sensei. Sasuke narrowed his eyes and Akito just sighed.

"Anyway. You're all here so no harm done. The exam is about to start so you better get inside. Goodluck." With that Kakashi used shunshin, scattering leaves on the wooden floor.

"That jerk. When I get my hands on him…" Naruto huffed in annoyance.

"Sigh. Let's just get in."

Akito was the one who stepped in first and the first thing he noticed was all the hostile stares he was getting from the other occupants in the room. He raised his brow unimpressed and exchanged amused glances with Naruto and Sasuke. Looking toward his audience Akito let out a sliver of his Haki. A sudden hush suffocated the room and those who had been glaring menacingly a second ago immediately started sweating buckets. Some even panted heavily, their knees shaking in fright.

They walked over to where they saw Shikamaru and the other Rookie Genin had a wide-eyed and pale look on their faces. Noticing this Akito cut off his menacing aura.

"Hey, guys! Haven't seen you in ages." The black-haired boy smiled genially as if nothing happened.

"What the hell was that?!" Kiba harshly whispered clutching the whimpering Akamaru, who appeared as a quivering bundle inside the Inuzuka's jacket.

"Tha…that was scary." Hinata hugged herself still a bit pale and her teammate, Shino, offered comfort by standing near her. The bug-user also commented that his bugs were a little agitated.

"That was killing intent. I've only felt it once before from my dad when we encountered bandits on the way back to Konoha from a camping trip. It wasn't pleasant. Although yours, Akito, was definitely worse." Choji, the chubby boy said with fear and a bit of awe but still munched on his potato chips.

"Sorry, everyone. I tried to tone it down for you guys but I guess you still felt that, huh." Akito scratched his head in embarrassment. He really did try to avoid putting the ones he knew under his haki but even a trace amount could still have an effect. He also didn't correct Choji as he didn't want anyone else to know about Haki. He had made Naruto and Sasuke promise to teach Haki only to those they trust with their life as it is a terrible power if used in the wrong hands.

"I was so scared, Sasuke-kun!" A blonde blur impacted Sasuke and clung to him like a parasite. It was Ino who was acting like a damsel. Sasuke glared at Naruto who snickered at him.

"Get away from him, Ino you pig!" Next was a pink blur who also clung to Sasuke like a limpet. Sakura and Ino traded barbs and insults while Sasuke suffered in the middle.

"So troublesome." Shikamaru commented.

"Sakura! I haven't seen you in while. Are they your teammates?" Akito smiled pleasantly at the pink-haired girl who stopped mid-rant and paled at the sight of the dark-haired boy. She positioned her body behind Sasuke as if expecting an attack.

"Oh, hehe. Hi Akito-kun. Gulp. Ye…yes. Everyone, please meet Akemi-chan and Megumi-chan. They're twins who I met at the hospital while I was training to be a medic. They agreed to make a team so we can participate in the chuunin exams. Akemi-chan, Megumi-chan. These are my classmates." Sakura introduced the two girls to the others and everyone was amazed at their appearance. Both girls wore short brown pigtails, had the same green camouflage shinobi outfit, and even had the same mole on the right side of their mouths.

"Hello! Nice to meet you!" Both girls said in unison.

"So, Sakura, Akemi, and Megumi. All three of you are medics-in-training?" Akito tilted his head curiously.

"Yeah! But don't underestimate us! We've been taught by Anko Mitarashi-sensei. Well, she's not really our official sensei…we just bribed her with dango and she agreed to teach us a few stuff. Hehehe." Akemi smugly said.

"That's great, Sakura, Akemi-san, Megumi-san. We need more healers and capable kunoichi like you." All three girls coughed in embarrassment and blushed at Akito's praise. Akemi and Megumi also had starstruck looks when the he gave them a proud smile.

"You shouldn't be too loud, you know? The other participants are getting angry and they just might target you later on." A gray-haired and bespectacled teen approached them with a genial smile. The guy was right. Most of room's occupants were glaring at them but some of them gave Akito nervous looks instead.

"Oh, yeah? Who's asking?" Naruto said out loud.

Akito didn't like this guy. He could practically taste the negative emotions under the kind facade. He could also sense that this person was stronger than he looked, probably as strong as a Jounin with his great chakra reserves despite him trying to hide it. He subtly looked at Sasuke and Naruto and both boys nodded unnoticed.

"Oh, sorry. Let me introduce myself. I'm Yakushi Kabuto, a Konoha genin just like all of you. You should take my advice. This is not my first time at the chuunin exams. Some of these genin also have taken it several times. The chuunin selection is tough, you know." Kabuto explained and some of them appeared nervous at that, their facing a bit disbelieving.

"So this is your second time taking it?" Shikamaru asked.

"No. It's my seventh." Kabuto looked embarrassed and scratched his head and the others looked shocked as well.

"What?! You're not so hot after all. Heh." Kiba said condescendingly.

"Ahem. Well. Anyway, that's why I have these cards! I may not be the most talented shinobi out there but I've been compiling a lot of info about the participants all this time. Tell me a name or even just a description and I most likely have their information." The bespectacled teen presented them a set of blank cards that looked ordinary but when he picked one from the deck the card transformed and a picture and some description appeared, impressing his audience.

"And you're giving away valuable information just like that?" Shikamaru asked skeptically.

"Well, we're all from the same village right? I figured I could help out a fellow Konoha genin." He smiled innocently.

"Cool! Then do you have info about Gaara of the Sand Waterfall?" Naruto asked his sunny smile blaring for all to see.

"That's easy. You already have his name so I can find his card quickly. Here it is." Kabuto pulled out a second card and pushed some chakra into it.

"Gaara of the Sand Waterfall. He is a genin of the Sand Village and is also a son of the current Kazekage. He is teamed with his siblings, Temari and Kankuro. Whoah, it says here he had completed 5 C-Ranks, 20 B-Ranks, 12 A-Ranks, and an S-Rank. This guy is insane! Rumours say that he's never been injured from any mission he's taken and sometimes solos his missions."

Everyone who was listening were shocked at what they heard. In the corner of the room, Gaara just stared unemotionally and unerringly at Akito, who raised his brow in question. Seeing as the other boy didn't even react, he shrugged.

"An S-Rank?! Holy shit!" Kiba exclaimed.

"What can you tell us about the other genin from other villages?" Shikamaru once again asked.

"There's a lot of diversity this year. Other than Leaf and Sand, there's Hidden Grass, Rain, River, Stone, Frost, Valley, other minor villages and also the newly founded Hidden Sound Village. I haven't heard if there's any notable shinobi there so I wouldn't get my hopes up. They're still a new village after all so their genin are mostly fodder."

Suddenly a kunai flew through the air aimed at Kabuto from behind. The glasses-wearing teen tilted his head to the side to avoid the sharp metal. He was about to confront the thrower when someone appeared at his blindspot and punched tried to punch him in the face. He avoided it just barely and leaped back a few feet.

"What are you…urk!" Kabuto wanted to address his attacker but his glasses cracked and his vision swam violently, making him kneel and puke on the floor.

"How? I…avoided your punch." Kabuto weakly said after heaving his stomach.

"You dare underestimate our Sound Village, punk?"

Akito saw the attacker lean over Kabuto's form. He had bandages all over his body, leaving a single eye exposed. His teammates also came over and sneered down at the vulnerable leaf genin. He didn't interfere as he sensed several presences making their way rapidly to their location.

BAM!

"Alright, you maggots! Form a line and get your number. You! No fighting allowed. Do you want to get disqualified?!" A bandana-wearing Shinobi slammed the door open and glared at the Sound Ninja.

"We're not fighting. Just having a discussion." He said calmly responding and filed into a line with the others.

"Well, take your discussion elsewhere. The chuunin exams are starting! Move it, maggots! I don't got all fucking day!"

Once all of them were seated according to their numbers which separated people from their teammates, the man stepped up to the front desk and addressed them.

"I'm Morino Ibiki, your proctor for this first part of the Chuunin Selection Exams. On top of your desk is a test paper designed to gauge your knowledge. Each question is worth ten points and there are nine questions for a total of 90 points. A final question will be asked after 45 minutes. If caught cheating, 10 points would be deducted from your overall score. If the checkers catch you cheating 3 times, you and your teammates will be kicked out of the exams entirely. If even one of your teammates gets a zero, your team will also be disqualified. Simple right? Now, begin!"

The genin participants didn't even get a second to digest all the information and instructions dumped on them when the timer began.

Akito ignored all this and concentrated on his paper. Raising his eyebrows he noticed that the questions were incredibly hard. As in, if you weren't at least a Jounin, you wouldn't even be able to answer at least one of these questions. However, even though Akito was a genin, his experience as a shinobi was nothing to scoff at and he was able to answer most of the questions. Glancing around the room, he smiled as Naruto and Sasuke were at least writing something down. All that gruelling study sessions were now coming in handy. He subtly observed the other participant and it seems that everyone was trying to cheat in their own way. As the minutes progressed some got careless and were booted out of the room and so their number dwindled as the clock on the wall ticked loudly. Even Gaara was using a weird eye sand jutsu and Sasuke had his Sharingan turned on. He also noticed Tenten cleverly utilising mirrors to reflect the answers to her and Neji using his own magic eyes.

Fwip! Thwack!

A genin cried out in alarm as a kunai pierced his test paper imbedding it onto the the wooden table.

"Three strikes and you're out. Get your teammates and leave." A chuunin proctor indifferently said as the genin protested to no avail. His teammates sent him death glares as they walked out of the room. Poor guy.

"Get back to your tests!" Ibiki slammed his hand on the table and glared which prompted the examinees to bow their heads. The minutes ticked away and finally the 45 minutes were over.

"Time is up, maggots! Anyone I see writing anything more on their paper will be kicked out." Ibiki grinned maliciously at the nervous brats.

Akito raised his eyebrow at this and promptly ignored everything else the Jounin was saying. It was something about a choice or something and about the tenth question. The black-haired boy was already bored to death and he only cared that his teammates didn't seem too bothered. He sighed and closed his eyes waiting for the written exams to be over.

It was a few minutes later that he opened his eyes as he sensed someone quickly approaching the building. In fact the figure was directly heading towards one of the windows seemingly intending to crash into it. Annnd…yep.

CRASH!

The glass shattered and a skimpily dressed woman appeared with a banner saying 'THE UBER SEXY AND VERY SINGLE MITARASHI ANKO'. It seems the second part of the exams was starting.

—-

Akito, Naruto, and Sasuke walked past the gates as it opened to a humungous forest. As busty proctor explained earlier, for them to pass the second part they had to steal the other half of their scroll, which was a Heaven Scroll, so they had to get an Earth Scroll.

"Did you notice that woman with the long tongue?" Naruto asked frowning just as the gates behind them clanked shut.

"Yeah. She gives me the creeps. If there ever was a more disturbing bloodthirsty psychopath, she would be it." Akito agreed.

"What's our strategy?" Sasuke asked.

"How about this? One round of Rock-Paper-Scissors. Whoever wins will be the one to lead the team. No Sharingan or Haki." Akito said.

"What?! Ugh, fine. I'll still beat you, duck butt!"

"In your dreams, whisker-face."

Both boys glared at each other and formed a fist in front of them and chanted together.

"Saishowaguu! (First is Rock!)"

"Janken…pon!"

At the last word both boys showed their hands and Naruto crowed in jubiltion as his Paper defeated Sasuke's Rock.

"Nn. You got lucky." The Uchiha turned up his nose.

"Aren't I always?" Naruto smirked smugly crossing his arms.

"Better luck next time, Sasuke. Naruto, you're the leader now. You get to decide how we proceed from here on." Akito patted his blonde friend on his shoulder and nodded at Sasuke in apology.

"Hehe. Alright, here's what we're gonna do. You remember the Solid Henge Technique I taught you where you add a Ram and Snake hand sign at the end? Yeah, here's the plan…"

——

"This forest stinks! Giant bugs and leeches everywhere! I tell you, these leaf ninjas are crazy!"

"Shut it, Kota! Do you think you're the only one suffering here?! Instead of yapping your trap why don't you focus your pathetic sensing abilities so we can get our scroll already and leave this place, huh?!"

"What did you say, Sachi, you bastard?! If you have another teammate who has a better sensing ability than mine then be my guest and ask for their help!"

"Both of you shut up!" The third member of this band of Rain genin, who was called Ken, hissed sharply and hushed his arguing teammates.

"Do you two hear that? It's coming from over…there." Ken pointed at the direction where muffled giggling and splashes could be heard from a shallow stream up ahead.

"I could sense two…no, three people up ahead. It seems like they're…bathing?" Kota scratched his head as he sensed some faint chakra signatures where the stream was supposed to be. Upon hearing that his teammates were confused as well. Who would be stupid enough to bathe in a stream probably infested with bloodthirsty piranhas and other nasty creatures?

"Let's check it out." The three agreed with a nod and carefully made their way to the stream making sure their bodies were hidden and the sounds of their footsteps muffled.

The three of them arrived near the trees' boundary line and crouched behind a huge bush. As they approached the sounds of giggling and splashing intensified. Sachi, their leader, parted a handful of leaves obscuring the view enough for all three of them to take a peak. What they saw shocked them and for blood to rush to their groins.

Beyond the tree line and wading knee deep in the crystal clear waters were three scantily clad women. Nay! GODDESSES! The three lads who were peaking gulped in nervousness and anticipation as they watched the heavenly scene before them.

SPLASH!

"Kyaahh! Naruko-chan! Stop it, it's getting in my eyes!" A black-haired beauty with incredibly smooth glistening fair skin, a plump rump and two respectable-sized breasts, exclaimed. Her black two-piece swimsuit barely holding together and hugged everything sinfully. She pouted and giggled and retaliated by splashing water at her companion.

Her other companion was the literal definition of a blonde bombshell, with slight tan complexion, her two big jugs, twin blonde pigtails, crystalline blue eyes, an ass that could stop wars, the three boys couldn't stop staring as Naruko's blue swimsuit, which didn't leave much to the boy's hormone addled imaginations, hugged every curve delectably. The blonde frowned cutely, highlighting her odd but cute whisker marks, and launched herself at the black-haired goddess.

"You're on Aki-chan!"

Naruko-chan in a surprising display of strength hugged Aki-chan, who shrieked in laughter, and twirled her making more splashes. The three boys gulped as two pairs of bountiful breasts collided and pressed against each other. Their skin glistened like precious pearls as water slid off their bodies.

"Will you two cut it out? You're getting water on me." Kato, Sachi, and Ken swivelled their heads towards the elegant voice just now and they saw another rare beauty lounging on a blanket near the shore. This one though had an air of haughtiness to her, like when a noble disdains mingling with the masses or maybe a particularly graceful feline - prickly and dangerous. When paired with her pale skin and black-hair, it added an aura of mystery and elegance to her. An unapproachable princess! Although, the skimpy red swimsuit told everyone that she wasn't shy in letting others feel inferior compared to her natural borne beauty.

"Oh, come on, Sasu-chan! The water's great!" Naruko-chan crossed her arms and frowned, further hiking up her already ample bosom.

"I'm trying to get a tan!" Sasu-chan sniffed and crossed her long legs gracefully.

"Aw, you're no fun! We'll be going back to the Fire Capitol tomorrow, you know. Who knows when we'll get another chance like this again." Aki-chan commented.

"If you don't wanna come here…then we'll come to you instead!" Sasu-chan shrieked in horror as two wet bodies collided with her on her beach towel, three pairs of smooth long legs getting entangled, and hands groping at inappropriate places. It created a mass of youthful female flesh that was frankly…obscene. Even workers at the Red Light District would either call it too much or definitely approve!

"Kyaahh! Not there, that spot's sensitive! Mmmm!" Accompanied by their giggling, now indecent moaning ensued.

The three peeping toms…ahem…casual observers stared agog at what they're seeing, not able to take their eyes away. Never in their young minds would they have expected to chance upon a scene like this. Unable to handle the amount of blood their frantic little hearts were pumping, their nose spurted red and promptly lost consciousness.

——

Central Tower, Training Ground 44

For the purposes of the Chuunin Exams, cameras had been installed ubiquitously throughout the forest. One of these cameras just happens to be placed right above Naruko, Sasu, and Aki, the three mischievous girls bathing in a stream located in a highly dangerous forest.

Currently, the Jounins and Chuunins in charge of monitoring the camera feeds crowded on the that specific screen.

"Holy shit! Look at them!"

"Hot damn. That's freaking solid henge! I've never heard of such a thing before. If I didn't know any better I'd think those tits were real."

"Kakashi-senpai! No, Kakashi-sama! Whatever you're teaching your students, you're doing a great job!"

One of the male Jounins gave Kakashi a thumbs up. The silver-haired, ex-ANBU captain nodded in appreciation at the generous proportions on the three girls. 'All that honey pot training was not for nothing'. He hummed in satisfaction.

"Hatake Kakashi! How dare you! What the hell are you teaching your students, huh?! That's completely inappropriate!" Yuuhi Kurenai was incensed. No, she was beyond fuming! How dare this…this lazy bastard teach innocent genin such lewd things! The bastard even had the nerve to give her an eye-smile which further stoked her ire.

"Oh, calm down Kurenai. It's nothing harmful. Besides, I think it's impressive for boys their age to be completely at ease with their sexuality. That's a trait I definitely approve. And more importantly, look at those prootions! Man, they have me beat." Mitarashi Anko snickered. She didn't lie. That Henge sure was impressive. She couldn't tell that it was a henge at all!

"Anko!" Kurenai glared at her friend. Is everyone here bloody idiots?!

——

The Hokage Tower, Hokage's Office

Sarutobi Hiruzen, God of Shinobi, the Professor, the Third Hokage, spit his smoking pipe across the room and pressed at his bleeding nose as he watched the scene playing on his crystal ball.

"Hokage-sama, are you alright?!" One of the ANBU appeared from his hidden spot and asked worriedly.

"Ahem. I'm fine, Otter. You may go back to your post."

The Anbu reluctantly nodded and returned to his vigil.

'I'll make those three, Chuunin! Tokubetsu Jounin! No, I'll promote them directly to Jounin!Hehehe!'

The Hokage's ANBU guards shared looks at the Hokage's weird giggling.

——-

Konoha Hot Springs

A huge man with a wild mane of white hair sneezed suddenly. He widened his eyes and ducked behind the bushes as the women on the other side of the partition narrowed their vigilant eyes where the sneeze was heard. Thankfully he was able to duck in time. Phew, that was close! He didn't really want angry kunoichi chasing him all over town…again.

The white-haired man resumed his peaking…ahem…research after a few minutes.

'Hehehe! It's good to be back in the village! But why do I have the sudden urge to go to the training grounds? Hmmmm.'

He shrugged and giggled weirdly as he resumed looking at pale smooth skin.

'I'll figure it out later.'

——

"Did you get their scroll?"

"Yeah. It's a Heaven Scroll, though. Should I keep it?" Naruto asked.

"Damn. At least, that's one less competition. Keep it for now." Sasuke said.

Naruto and Sasuke looked down at the unconscious genin on the dirt floor. After the perverts fainted with their noses bleeding copiously they easily took their scroll and stored the confiscated weapons inside a spare scroll.

"Hmp. Pathetic." Sasuke sneered down at the Rain shinobi and proceeded to tie them up deftly with sturdy ninja wire and dumped them roughly in the bushes.

"That was fun! Where to next?" Akito approached with a big smile on his face.

"Hmmm. Well, since we didn't get the right scroll we should find our next targets. My Observation Haki says there's a group to the North, North-East of us about a kilometer away and another West of here about the same distance. What do you think?" Naruto asked.

"Up to you, little bro. You're the leader." Akito shrugged.

"Alright. Let's go west first then back track towards the other team in the north."

Agreeing to plan, the trio left the scene.

——

It was a few hours later that Team 7 finally got an Earth scroll with three spare Heaven Scrolls. The trio decided to rest for a bit before heading towards the Tower. It was high noon although the sun's rays were still obscured by the thick canopy of the forest, making the air cool and the lighting scant. They were up in the trees and have just finished eating their dried provisions for lunch, their utensils already stored in their scrolls when Akito whipped his head to his right and narrowed his eyes.

"Naruto, Sasuke. Hostile with massive chakra incoming in fast! We have 30 seconds. Formation Delta!" Akito barked, his expression calm but serious. Naruto and Sasuke nodded and immediately formed a triangular formation on the large branch they were resting on with Akito in the front.

At exactly thirty seconds, a gigantic green snake, as thick as a tree flew out of the foliage. The snake's fangs were bared at them dripping corrosive venom and aiming to swallow all three of them whole. The three boys dodged to a higher branch making the reptile miss.

"I'll take care of it!" Naruto narrowed his eyes and unsheathed his sword from his back, the blade an ominous black color.

The enormous snake wrapped its body on the tree they were on and climbed up with a speed belying its huge size. It quickly reached their level and reared up preparing to strike but before it could do anything, an ominous rattling of metal sounded out. Chains sprung out from the tree trunk seemingly out of nowhere and coiled tightly on the snake immobilising it, even wrapping around its head and snapping the jaws firmly close. Naruto didn't remain idle and launched himself in the air preparing to cut off the reptiles head. As he was in the air, a huge gale of wind suddenly appeared out of nowhere heading for him. Naruto ignored it and continued on his course.

Sensing the attack Sasuke jumped up and kicked the air towards the blast of wind, his strong legs creating an invisible crescent of sharp wind. His own attack successfully dispersed the wind jutsu from touching his teammate.

SCHLINK!

Blood spurted from the severed body of the snake while the head crashed below them on the forest floor. Suddenly the head and torso of the dead snake poofed out of existence and Naruto retrieved his chains then went back in formation.

"Come out…or I'll make you." Akito crossed his arms and looked at a certain direction.

"Kukuku. Impressive. All three of you, in fact." A woman dressed in brown clothes melded out of a tree trunk across from them. She wore a Grass headband and a thick purple rope was tied around her waist but something was not quite right with her. For one, she was too pale and her smile too wide. Two, when she took off her straw hat her eyes glinted in hunger and maliciousness. Akito could practically smell the emotions coming of off her and it made him almost grimace. He remembered she was the woman with the disgustingly long tongue from earlier.

"I would like to congratulate you on defeating my pet so easily and with marvellous efficiency." The creepy kunoichi chuckled.

"What do you want? You're no mere genin, are you." Akito sounded bored but inside his mind conjured different scenarios that flashed by quickly filing and storing away all the sensory input he's receiving. He made a conclusion but he needed more confirmation.

"Kukuku. How intuitive. Inazuma Akito, your prodigal senses have also reached my ears, you know? Kuku. I noticed that you weren't surprised at all by my attack. And Uzumaki Naruto. My, my. Were those the legendary Uzumaki Adamantine Sealing Chains? You truly are the last scion of the Uzumaki Clan. As for you, Uchiha Sasuke, so young yet you've already mastered the Sharingan to such a degree. All three of you are of…interest to me." The woman licked her lips with her long tongue which creeped out even Sasuke.

"We already have the required scrolls to pass. If you want to take it from us, you have to fight for it. Don't think it will be that easy."

"Kekeke. You misunderstand, Akito-kun. I don't want anything from you. Although, I do have a gift. I hope you like it!" Suddenly, a massive amount of Killing Intent permeated everything. It was so bad that a chuunin would have pissed himself already or even suffered a heart attack. However the only indication that it was affecting the boys was Sasuke's eyebrows lifting a fraction and Naruto frowning. Akito remained looking bored out of his mind.

The Grass woman frowned at this. She didn't expect these brats to not be affected at all. She was about to make a move but what happened next disoriented her as a truly massive presence bore down on her being. In fact, everyone inside the forest, including the ninjas manning the central tower, felt faint and gasped in effort from Akito's monstrous Haki. Up above, dark ominous clouds roiled and rumbled.

The tree that the boys had been standing on splintered and broke in half from the pressure alone creating a loud crash. That didn't deter them as Akito remained floating in place and Naruto and Sasuke pumped their legs in the air towards the tree the woman was standing on. The Grass woman was pathetically grunting in pain on the tree branch but she still saw Naruto and Sasuke finish making some hand signs. She tried to get up but it was useless as Akito increased the pressure boring down on her more.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball!"

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"

Pumping greater amounts of chakra than normal into their justus, Fire and wind combined to form a massive ball of fire that headed towards the woman.

BOOM!

A great conflagration erupted consuming the woman and the tree she was on. The three boys watched intently as they landed on the forest floor, not letting their guards down as they still felt her presence. When the ash and smoke dispersed they saw her standing on the ground although her face was half melted. The deranged woman seemed to not mind and even laughed.

"Kukuku. Kekekeke! Marvelous! This is more than I expected." As the woman talked she slowly peeled her melting face off revealing someone else underneath. Her voice also deepened and gained a raspy hissing quality like a snake suddenly gained the ability to talk. It was a disturbing scene.

"I wonder, Akito-kun, what kind of technique you used to restrain me. It felt nothing like I have ever felt before." The now distinctly male voice said. He had reptilian green eyes and long straight hair that hung down his shoulders. Two purple eyeshadows marked his eyes extending sharply down his nose. His gaunt face and pale sickly-looking skin made his prominent cheekbones look sharper. Akito narrowed his eyes.

"Naruto, Sasuke. Be careful. I recognise him now. He is Orochimaru of the Legendary Sannin and one of the Third Hokage's former students. He's also an S-Class missing nin and one of Konoha's most wanted traitors. We can't afford to play around. Naruto, use 'that' if necessary and both of you protect your skin at all times. He is known to use poisons. Understood?" Akito never let his eyes stray from Orochimaru's who looked amused.

"You recognise me? Not many do. Konoha would rather bury anything that would tarnish their precious reputation." The wanted criminal made some hand signs and pulled up his left sleeve revealing a snake tattoo that wound up his arm. Biting his finger, he smeared some blood on the markings.

"Summoning Technique!"

Poof!

As the smoke cleared, Orochimaru now stood on the head of another huge snake, bigger than the first one, and smirked.

"Let's play a game, shall we?"

——-

Sasuke activated his Sharingan and watched in anticipation. He was nervous yet excited! This was an opportunity for him to let loose and gauge his progress. He had been becoming bored lately with only Akito, Naruto, and sometimes Kakashi for a sparring partner. Admittedly, his team was strong but this Orochimaru character is supposedly an S-Rank!

Sasuke coated his entire body in Haki and his whole body gained a faint layer of purplish black sheen. Out of three of them Sasuke was the most advanced when it comes to Armamanent which he was most smug about, with Naruto and Akito only able to coat parts of their bodies at a time and not fully. He extended the purple-black coating to his sword, a rare chakra blade that his mother used when she had been an active kunoichi. From the purple-black expanse of skin, his Sharingan rotated menacingly, making him look like a demon fresh out of hell.

"Show off."

Sasuke smirked at Naruto's off-hand comment.

"Focus on the snake then once you've dealt with it, help me with the snake bastard." Akito flashed away with a crackle and tackled Orochimaru off his summon. Now alone, Sasuke jumped high in the air and aimed to slice his sword on the huge reptile's neck. Naruto's chains sprung up from the ground and just like earlier it wrapped around tightly on the summon's long body. Sasuke didn't waste the opportunity and his sword cut through the thick hide of the thrashing snake, bisecting its head from its body. With a poof of smoke it was gone. Sasuke tsked as they easily subdued it.

"Man, these snakes are stupid. Let's go, Sasuke. Can't let Akito hog all the fun!"

"Nn."

They arrived at a scene of destruction. Trees were uprooted and the ground was pockmarked with little craters. In the middle of it all Akito was battling it out with Orochimaru, the boy for once was serious. Sasuke observed that his friend had transformed his bracers into a trident, which he rarely saw Akito bring out. It was to a rare sight he saw his friend masterfully twirl and thrust his weapon with deadly precision. Orochimaru though was also quite impressive, his body contorted at impossible angles to avoid the spear strike while also slashed with his kunai. Suddenly the older man slashed at Akito's head downwards which the boy easily blocked but it didn't stop there. Dozens of snakes erupted from his sleeves and some attempted to bite Akito while others wrapped around his body restraining him. At the same time Orochimaru also opened his mouth wide and a snake head came out with a sword in its mouth. The thin blade suddenly elongated out of it and continued directly for Naruto who was directly in the line of fire.

Swoosh!

"It's poisoned!" Akito shouted as the sword's sharp tip reached Naruto in less than a second.

Sasuke attempted to intercept but he needn't have bothered as Naruto coated his hand in reddish black Haki. The blonde tilted his body sideways gracefully and let the sword pass him. He then gripped the blade firmly, sparks flying and a sharp screech, like metal grinding against metal, sounded out as the sword was stopped in its advance. The snake summoner couldn't even turn his head with how the sword was being gripped so tightly. Looking down, he saw his snakes futilely biting at the Akito's bluish black patches of skin. The boy grinned at him nastily.

Akito opened his mouth as well. As if in mockery of Orochimaru's sword trick, blue light emitted from within. Unable to move, Orochimaru widened his eyes in surprise as sparks of lightning erupted from Akito's mouth coming directly for his face. The Snake Sannin could only grunt in annoyance and let go of his precious sword or risk being blasted by potent lightning. He Shunshinned away and watched as his sword, the Kusanagi, return to its original length, now being held by a blonde brat! Said blonde brat grinned and waved the sword tauntingly.

"It's mine now! Haha….hey!" Naruto stopped laughing as the sword in his hand violently wiggled out of his hand. He lost his grip and the sword flew back to its original owner. Akito flashed towards his teammates and ordered them to remain focused.

——

Orochimaru grabbed the sword midair and swallowed it back in his gullet. The snake charmer looked at the three genin seriously. What the fuck was that technique? An Earth Style skin hardening jutsu perhaps? His legendary sword, the Kusanagi, couldn't even nick Akito's spear and now it couldn't even pierce flesh, the sword known to cut anything in its path reduced to a common unsharpened blade! It was infuriating. What were they teaching these children?! He hadn't experienced such humiliation in such a long time, and by green genin brats no less. Nonetheless, he smirked feeling excitement in his veins.

"Such talent. And that skin hardening jutsu that all three of you seem to be proficient in. You three truly are the best of your generation. However, is this really what you want Sasuke-kun? With your talent you can definitely go up the ranks as a respectable shinobi. In a few years you might even make it to Jounin. But then…do you think that will be enough to get what you really want? Kukuku." Orochimaru smirked as Sasuke glared at him and felt chakra insidiously entering his system. His smirk became wider as it took him a moment but he was able to overpower the genjutsu. Such powerful eyes on someone so young, he couldn't help but lick his lips.

"You can't even cast a genjutsu properly. Itachi would have already ensnared me in his illusion with just a look." Orochimaru mocked.

"Shut up! I don't want to hear that from a traitor like you!" Sasuke barked.

"Sasuke! He's taunting you. Calm down."

That seemed to calm the Uchiha down and he nodded his thanks. Orochimaru pouted but laughed delightedly.

"Kukuku. Such trust in your comrades. I wonder what would happen if one of them…dies."

The snake summoner opened his mouth impossibly wide and spat out an uncountable number of snakes.

'Formation of Ten Thousand Snakes!'

The swarm of little snakes opened their mouths and a copy of Kusanagi appeared. Now ten thousand poisoned blades aimed to cut them down.

"Scatter!"

——

Sasuke jumped high and coated his entire skin again in his Haki. Just in time too as the buggers were deceptively fast and leaped up at him, the pointed swords uselessly clinking against his skin. He pumped his feet harder to get more elevation and made some two-handed signs ending in Tiger.

'Fire Style: Dragon Flame Bomb!'

He blew a condensed stream of fire and it separated into three draconic heads that proceeded to corral and decimate its targets from the left, right, front side simultaneously. The Dragon Flame Bomb is a B-Rank jutsu and he still needed both hands to control it but the effect spoke for itself as the three fire dragons turned most of the snakes to ashes, so hot were their flames.

His other hand took out his sword and pumped lightning-nature chakra into it. His form blurred and only streaks of blue could be seen as he landed and cut down the remaining stragglers with each stroke.

Sasuke landed and breathed out and looked over his teammates.

——

"Shit!"

Naruto quickly made multiple Shadow Clones to stall the incoming horde of snakes. His half-dozen chakra chains manifested around him, numerous paper bombs stuck on each chain. The long metallic limbs lashed out indiscriminately and decimated the little snakes. Every time a chain struck the paper bombs stuck to it exploded violently. His Shadow Clones were also special clones that exploded if severely injured, which they did, further adding to the chaos. Man, he's becoming a certified pyromaniac!

The real Naruto grinned as he dodged masterfully, not letting the little blades the snakes had to even touch a hair on him. His Observation Haki was better than both his teammates. Even though he couldn't beat Akito's abnormal sensing range that could reach miles away, his senses were sharper. He could even hear conversations from a few kilometers away! Admittedly Akito could also do the same but sometimes he even knows what would happen seconds before it would but that ability wasn't as reliable yet. Sasuke always had a constipated look on his face whenever they sparred because the Uchiha couldn't catch him unawares. Combine that with his naturally keen sense of smell and hearing, he was one of the best trackers in Konoha, no less than the canine senses of an Inuzuka's.

Dodging and killing the last of the snakes, he dismissed his clones and chains and turned towards Sasuke, who he saw has also just finished slicing a snake in half.

Naruto nodded to his teammate and both of them dashed towards where they sensed Akito battling it out with Orochimaru.

——-

A few moments before.

Akito tackled the snake summoner, his limbs filled with thunder and in turn paralysing the Sannin. Both of them flew a several paces away, leaving his two teammates. He trusted Naruto and Sasuke to handle themselves so he focused his attention on own battle.

In a clearing, their figures crashed and Akito quickly jumped back avoiding a swipe from a kunai. Landing gently on the ground, he watched his opponent to compose himself while is trident reformed in his hand. It was perhaps arrogant of him to do so seeing as he was facing a formidable opponent but he couldn't help himself as he thirsted for battle.

Orochimaru stood up none the worse for wear and dusted himself off, his ever present smirk still in place. The two locked eyes, each assessing and gauging. It was Akito who finally cut the tension.

"Did you know that a normal human body can normally only handle an average of 170 Volts of electricity?" He said nonchalantly like he was talking about the weather.

"Oh? Kuku. Interesting." The snake summoner chuckled.

"It's true. Shinobi, of course, could handle more but not by much. Probably a couple hundred volts maximum before all bodily functions fail. Let's see how much an S-Rank shinobi like you could handle. 30 Million Volt White Crash!"

Akito pointed his spear and a thick beam of blue lanced off of it impacting Orochimaru in less than a blink of an eye. The older man only had time to widen his eyes a fraction before he was incinerated where he stood. Trees fell and the earth turned to slag at the devastating attack leaving behind a trail of molten lava in a straight path in the direction of the attack. Orochimaru was nowhere to be found.

Akito raised his brow and jumped dodging the long snake-like tongue that came whipping from his left side. While mid-air he grabbed the pink appendage and mightily pulled. Orochimaru's body which had fused with a tree trunk was pulled out and flew towards him. He swung his trident aiming to decapitate him but the older man directed his arms towards him and put came a dozen huge snake heads from the voluminous sleeves.

Akito let go of the tongue and dodged upward. He saw the huge snakes impacted his previous position, creating a large crater. While in the air he twisted his body and spun like a top making his form blur. Quickly gaining momentum, his body was engulfed in a small tornado and picket up dust and debris from the surroundings.

'Tempest Kick Storm!'

Down below Orochimaru widened his eyes as crescent shaped wind sickles came out of the spinning vortex that headed directly for him. Akito couldn't see as he spun at dizzying speeds but his haki more than made up for it as the wind blades unerringly sought out their target.

Orochimaru dodged a couple of the wind blades and made quick hand seals slamming his hands onto the ground.

Suddenly a great amount of earth liquified turning into mud and surged up solidifying into a thick wall, effectively stopping the wind blades from causing harm. Sensing this, Akito tsked to himself and stopped spinning, dispersing the tornado.

He pointed his spear down and once more lightning erupted from it and hit the thick wall of hardened mud. The earth shook and rumbled as huge boulders crashed onto the ground. When the dust finally settled, Orochimaru was nowhere to be seen.

Whipping his head to his right, Akito was alarmed of a fast movement directly headed towards his teammates.

"Tsk."

The dark-haired boy quickly flashed away, leaving sounds of lightning crackles in his wake.

——

A month of no new chapters?! Why won't author-san just go die already! No, seriously guys. I've been busy with…stuff. Like watching Netflix and looking at pictures of puppies. You know. Important stuff. So yeah. Hope you enjoy this chapter. Bye!