Chapter: 13

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

"Go!"

At that, the teams immediately rushed into Area 44, known as The Forest of Death. The squads rushed in knowing their destination and what they had to do in order to pass and move on to the next round of the Exams.

Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke each made their way up to the treetops heading into the deeper part of the woods and gradually they began losing sight of the other teams. They quickly made their way across the branches and limbs of the giant trees.

"Should we set up camp now?" Sakura asked a half hour later to Sasuke.

"No," Naruto answered before he could. "It's too early to do that. We should travel by day and only rest at night and in places we can set up traps for any unwanted visitors. Resting now means we'll just get rid of any momentum and energy we have at the moment. We should keep moving, odds are if we're lucky we'll find a team that'll do what you suggested and we can catch them off guard and knock them out and get their scroll."

"Naruto's right." Sasuke mentioned. "Resting now we'll just make us a target for any passing team, including Lee's Team and the one Gaara's on. We keep moving and get a better survey of the Forest before we make any decisions as to what to do." He said and went on ahead.

"Okay, I guess we could do that." Sakura said and ran a hand through her long pink hair.

As they had stopped Naruto thought back to what had happened before it began, Those three ninjas from Sound had attacked, injuring Kabuto Yakushi and it could just as easily been him or someone else they had attacked.

(Those three, why am I getting the feeling we'll be seeing more of them before we get out of here?) He thought to himself as he felt that something was up. He could understand them boasting of their and the Sound Village's abilities but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to happen.

He was about to go and join up with the others when he saw a pair of birds quickly fly away.

Ambush!

Leaping to another branch he narrowly avoided a razor chain which was swung at him. He turned and saw three Taki Ninja. One was wielding a pair of sickles, one carried a naginata, and the last one carried the chain.

"Get him." The sickle wielding one said and they charged him. Naruto got ready as they come and secretly pulled out two bone daggers they didn't see him get.

Sasuke sensing it turned around and quickly headed back confusing Sakura as they went to head back.

Naruto dodged and parried the attacks as they circled him like a pinwheel each aiming their attacks at him. The Naginata wielder spun his weapon and slashed at his head and Naruto caught it just seconds before it came into contact with his head. The Chain wielder threw his weapon and Naruto got it entangled with the Naginata rendering them both useless. Not stopping there he grabbed the handle of the weapon and using it as a bar began to spun on it like a gymnast. The sickle user slashed at him but missed and Naruto doing a spin smashed his two legs right into his face knocking him off and sending him down into the forest below.

Naruto still spinning and reaching the highest point let go and somersaulted onto a weak looking branch. He smirked when he saw them finally untangle their weapons.

"I wouldn't get on here if I was you guys." He said to them and the two scoffed and leapt onto the branch thinking it would hold them.

CRACK! Their eyes widened in realization when they realized it was unable to support all three of them and began to break loose.

"Told ya." Naruto said and leapt off onto another sturdier branch before it fell off and watched as they plummeted into the ground below

Naruto putting the daggers away turned to join up with the others and saw them standing there having seen what happened.

"Did you check to see if they had a scroll?" Sasuke said to him.

"…No, odds are they didn't have the one we needed. They where too reckless in their attacks anyway."

"Hmph, well you'll risk us not managing to pass if you keep on getting rid of them that way." Sasuke said and left going on ahead.

Naruto shook his head and went to join up with them.

A few hours later Gaara and his siblings stood across from three ninjas from Amegakure.

"I'll give you one chance, hand over your scroll now." The leader of the group said to them. "Or else I can't promise you'll leave here alive." He said to him.

Gaara stared at him his arms across his chest not moving a muscle.

"This guy doesn't know he's barking up the wrong tree." Kankuro muttered to his sister.

"Yeah, and Gaara seems to be in one of his moods as well." Temari said and reached towards the fan she had, not to defend herself from them, but in case Gaara snapped.

"Tch…I gave you a chance now die!" The man shouted and leapt up into the air. "Needle Rain!" He shouted and launched several dozen large needles down onto him.

Gaara watched on unconcern on his face as they descended upon him. "Looks like Rain, it appears I shall have to make some Rain of blood of my own." He said as they went down upon him which would've skewered any ordinary man.

Any ordinary man that is…

Sand appeared around Gaara and deflected the attacks, stopping them cold. Not one needle pierced his skin, not one even got close to hitting him.

"W-What! I-Impossible!" The Rain Ninja shouted in disbelief as his attack had never been blocked before.

"Now it's my turn…" Gaara said and sand formed around him. "Desert Coffin!" He shouted and sand grabbed the ninja and lifted him up in the air immobilizing him as his comrades looked on in horror. Gaara then brought his hand up. "Desert Funeral!" He said and clutched it into a fist and crushed him with his sand and dropped the corpse.

The deceased man's teammates begged for their lives but their pleas fell on deaf ears as Sand formed around them as well.

In seconds they had joined him in the afterlife.

Kankuro grimaced having seen it countless times before but never getting used to his brother's power walked forward and examined one of the crushed bodies and discovered a Heaven Scroll.

"It's what we need." He said to his siblings

"Let's go…" Gaara ordered already leaving and the Three Suna Nins went to find the tower.

Unknown to all, even to the proctors who patrolled the Forest another figure was silently making his way across the forest. Across his forehead he wore a hitai-ate with a Grass symbol upon it but despite his appearance he was not of the Village. He was not here to compete in the exams he had a different motive one that involved the last Uchiha.

"KuKuKu…once I've inflicted Sasuke with the Gift I shall give him, nothing shall stop me! I will obtain the Ultimate body and achieve Immortality!" He said and laughed insanely as he headed deeper into the forest ready to put his plan into place.

The first day passed and Team 7 found themselves with little luck in finding the scroll they needed. As Night came by they took shelter in a small cave they found and covered up to block the campfire as it started to rain in the Forest outside.

Finishing skinning a pair of rabbits Naruto had found and caught and setting them as provisions for later the group prepared to rest up as it continued to rain.

Sasuke stared into the Fire and soon drifted off into sleep on his side of the Cave.

Sakura watched him and was about to go asleep herself when Naruto spoke up.

"Your focus shouldn't be on him all the time." He said as he was keeping watch. She turned her head to look at him. "Keep staring at him like that and you'll find an enemy has slit your throat." Sakura frowned and huffed and turned away her back to him. "This isn't a field trip. If those Taki ninja had ambushed you instead you'd be dead by now."

"I know that." She said to him.

"Well you gotta stand on your own two feet for a change." Naruto said to her. "Stop relying on Sasuke cause he's not going to protect you, he's not your Knight in Shining Armor."

"And you are?"

Naruto smirked. "Sorry, but I don't see you as a potential girlfriend Sakura." He said and an angry blush appeared on her face. "You have to work on your own strength instead of worrying about your appearances and how you look for the boys."

"I've been working to improve myself." She said in defense.

"Maybe, but you still have a lot of work to do. You may have good chakra control but that doesn't mean a whole lot now, for starters you need to get rid of that long hair as its only a target for a person to grab the way it is. And to focus your chakra on your attacks as well." He said to her.

Sakura looked at him and back at the fire. Sure they had gotten along better as of late when she had first thought of him as nothing more than a nuisance but she didn't consider him a friend. For now she wondered where he was getting this stuff as he had improved a great deal from when she first saw him.

"Get some sleep, I'll keep watch through the night." Naruto said to her and slowly she laid down in her corner and closed her eyes his words and past sayings in her head.

The next morning they exited the cave and came across a stream of rather dark water. Walking towards it Sasuke dipped a hand into it and filled it and brought it to his lips and taking a sip spat it out.

"Poison, we can't drink this water." He said rinsing his hand off. "The water and the food here we find could be poisonous if we don't check it." He said to them and reached out and grabbed something and closed his fist.

"What'd you get Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked him and he opened his hand and revealed a tiny insect. The bug skittered across his palm and then flew away heading East.

Looking out that way Naruto briefly could make out the figure of one Shino Aburame nearly eighty feet away. The silent boy nodded his head almost if in approval of him detecting him and slinked away into the forest.

"We're being watched." He said to the others. "Let's go, before he comes back with the others." He said as the insect Sasuke caught seemed to come from him and the three left the stream.

"They have the same scroll we do." Shino said to Kiba and Hinata some distance away. "Fighting them would be a pointless waste of time." He mentioned as he held the insect Sasuke had caught.

"Well that stinks, I'd like a shot at the Uchiha though." Kiba said with his dog Akamaru.

"W-We shouldn't r-risk unnecessary c-conflict." Hinata said to him.

"Tch, Yeah, Yeah…" Kiba said in response as Team 8 left the area.

Meanwhile, Anko Mitarashi the proctor was patrolling the Forest looking for any dead or wounded as it was part of her job to locate those who had fallen.

"Ugh, a Jonin and having sworn loyalty to the Leaf and I'm still little more than a Janitor." She mumbled as she looked around the area. So far she hadn't found any dead bodies but odds are she'd find plenty before it was over.

She looked around when she out of the corner of her eye saw a body on the ground.

"There's the first road kill." She muttered and leapt down to the Forest ground. The body was on his stomach and his face was in the ground. Couldn't have been there for more than a day.

"I take it your dead if you're not moving." She said walking towards him. "At least you didn't make a mess like some do. My job is to get you out of here and give you a decent burial." She said and turned him over. "Let's see what village you are-Holy?" She shouted and backed away horror in her eyes from what she just saw.

His face…the man had no face. It was gone, as if it had been removed from his head. The sight unnerved the usually brave Kunoichi as the sight stunned her.

"Who…Who could have done such a thing?" She asked herself looking on at the faceless body. "As if, as if someone literally wiped his face off." She said as she looked down on it. "But how? Not one of the contestants could do such a thing. That's at least an upper A Class Jutsu to be able to do that. Far beyond anything a Genin or even a high leveled Jonin could ever dream of doing."

Although she didn't voice it, Anko had memories coming back of the only man she knew who could do such a thing.

"No, it couldn't be." She said reaching towards her neck which was covered by her hair. "He can't be here."

She felt a throb of pain course through her neck as haunting memories came back.

Meanwhile, The Sound Trio where heading through the trees on the lookout for their target.

"Any sign of them?" Zaku Abumi asked the leader Dosu Kinuta.

"No, I doubt they are in this area of the Forest." Dosu responded his one good eye closed. "But they can't avoid us forever." He said as they where after Sasuke.

"Let's just set a fire to the forest." Zaku suggested.

"We don't have the means to do that and we'd risk killing ourselves with that." Kin Tsuchi responded. "Besides that would draw attention, best we do him in silently without anyone knowing."

"Whatever you say," Zaku replied.

"Once we compete this task, we shall be greatly rewarded." Dosu said. "We shall achieve our true power that we deserve." He said as each shared a similar background.

The three where orphans, having lost or been abandoned by their parents and family. Having to live in the slums and bowels of the world and looked down upon by everyone else. Dosu in particular because of the scars he had hidden. None of the three remembered what it was like to be held in their mother's arms or to have someone to care about. Growing up in a harsh world with nothing to live for and willing to take any opportunity to escape their fate.

Just the type of recruits their master was looking for.

Suddenly as they prepared to move out, Three ninjas from Iwagakure appeared before them looking for a fight.

"You fools thought you could showoff by attacking before the exams?" The leader of the group said to them. "It's time that weaklings from a pitiful country such as Rice like yourselves learn to know your place before that of Ninjas from The Land of Earth."

Dosu smirked under his bandages and reached towards his sleeve and revealed the metal gauntlet he had on his left arm. Kin revealed a pair of senbon and Zaku opened his fists revealing a pair of holes drilled into the palm of his hands.

"Attack!" The man shouted and the three Earth Nins charged them.

The battle was over in seconds…

Elsewhere, Team 7 was looking around still searching for a team to fight. So far their attempts had been unsuccessful and despite having trapped a team earlier found out they didn't have the scroll they needed.

"This place stretches on for miles." Sakura muttered as they where on a pair of giant trees. "We haven't even seen the tower either, who knows where it's at." She said to her teammates.

"No point in looking for it without both scrolls." Naruto called out to her walking up the tallest tree and scanning around and seeing nothing but foliage. Leaping down he joined up with her and Sasuke. "But we still have three days left, we're making good time."

"We should have found a team by now though." Sasuke said to him. "The last thing we want is to discover that there is none left because we failed to find them."

"I doubt all of the scrolls are gone, There was hundreds who participated here." Naruto said dryly.

As they continued to talk all three where unaware that from afar they was being watched from the solo Grass Ninja some distance away. Scanning them and Sasuke's image reflecting off of his eyes.

"KuKuKu…soon I shall have what I desired for so long. The Sharingan eyes." He said his voice a whisper. "If the dream vessel wasn't sick and I had obtained the First's Wood bloodline before I had to flee Konoha I'd create the ultimate warrior with those three Kekkai Genkai. But The Sharingan will do as I've desired it for so long and Sasuke shall be my next body as well." He said looking on his eyes gleaming with wicked intentions. "Immortality shall soon be at hand." He said and looked at the boy's teammates.

They shouldn't be a problem. The girl was weak and The Kyuubi vessel should be no more than a nuisance to deal with.

"Rejoice, you shall achieve your dream of avenging your clan Sasuke. But only as the vessel of the Ruler of the Shinobi World." He said and cackled as he prepared to make his move.

"Slow and Steady wins the Race guys." Naruto said as they continued discussing how to go about it. "We go charging ahead and we'll find ourselves the ones being ambushed."

"Naruto's got a point." Sakura said one of the few times she sided with him.

"If we don't hurry, we'll find ourselves-" Sasuke started to say when he suddenly stopped and tensed up all of a sudden.

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked him and noticed Naruto had stopped talking as well.

"Something's near." Sasuke mentioned and went on guard looking around.

Naruto also on guard turned his back to them scanning around the area. Sakura looked around as well not seeing anything.

The air felt chilly now, and it had an ominous touch to it as well as the forest seemed to grow darker and darker as well.

"Someone's doing this." Naruto muttered on full guard. "We're not alone."

The three looked around as the area started to become more ominous and dark with each passing second.

"KuKuKu…" A cruel voice laughed from somewhere but they where unable to find it, the laughter was loud and mocking to the three ninjas.

"Show yourself!" Sasuke shouted looking for the source of it.

Suddenly as quickly as it began the laughter stopped and the area started to turn back to normal.

Out of nowhere, several multiple hands shot up through the branch they was standing on and went to grab them as Sakura screamed in terror.

"The hell?" Naruto shouted as he evaded their attempts to grab him. Sasuke dodged them as well and leaping up threw several Shuriken and Kunai at them which impaled a few of the hands but still attempted to grab Team 7.

Sakura trying to evade them was grabbed by the ankle by one and losing her footing screamed as she fell off the branch down below. Naruto in the nick of time leapt and caught her saving her from a several hundred foot fall as he landed on another branch.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Sasuke shouted doing his Jutsu which burned the hands which retreated sinking back into the branch.

"Kage Bushin No Jutsu!" Naruto shouted forming several dozen clones and used them to try and keep the hands at bay as more and more popped out and reached and tried to grab them.

"Where are these things coming from?" Naruto said stabbing one with a kunai. "There's no end to them!"

Sasuke dodged them and doing more hand symbols fired several small fireballs into them burning them but still they kept coming.

Sakura watching on from a safe place yelled as she felt something grab her by the hair. A hand sprouting out of the tree she was on had grabbed her from behind by her long hair.

"Sasuke! Naruto! Help!" She shouted scared for her life as it held her there. She looked and realized that they couldn't get to her as they where surrounded on all sides and fighting just to save themselves.

She then remembered Naruto and Kakashi's words about how she always did nothing and relied on others.

(They can't save me, I've…I've got to do something myself for a change!) She said and grabbing a kunai reached back and sliced off part of her hair, cutting it off at the neck. She then turned and stabbed the hand with it dealing damage to it and it retreated.

She saw more hands reaching towards her and quickly did a Kawarami jutsu to disappear and appeared in the air and threw shuriken at them cutting them and retreating as she went on the offensive.

"Fire Style: Grand Fireball!" Sasuke shouted and inhaling fired a large fireball which incinerated many of the hands as slowly they began to disappear and retreated.

"Finally…" Naruto muttered as they vanished and dispelled his clones. "You okay Sakura?" He called out to her and she joined up with them and he looked a bit surprised what she had done.

"I'm fine, are you and Sasuke alright?" She asked as her long pink hair had been shortened.

"Where did they come from?" Sasuke said voicing the question they all where thinking. "That's far beyond a Genin Jutsu."

Naruto was about to say something when he thought he heard something from above. Looking up his eyes widened at what he saw.

The largest snake he had even seen was above him and it dropped down onto him swallowing him with one snap of its mouth and crashing the part of the branch he was on going down below.

Sasuke and Sakura looked on in stunned horror at what they had just witnessed when that familiar laughing sound was heard. Turning around Sasuke saw a Grass Ninja standing there a cruel smile on his face.

"You did this?" Sasuke asked him and he smirked. "You're mine!" He shouted and rushed him.

(That's it Sasuke, take the bait like a good mouse.)

Sasuke delivered a series of combos and attacks at him who dodged and blocked his punches and kicks.

Sasuke threw Shuriken at him and using wires to control them threw them at him repeatedly from different angles but the man dodged them.

"Striking Shadow Snake!" He shouted and out of his sleeve appeared a Snake which bit at Sasuke who avoided it. He activated his Sharingan and charged him trying to get a pattern out of the man's movements.

His attacks had no effect on him though despite his attempts and the man was almost playing with him it seemed like.

Sasuke rushing him disappeared and reappeared above him Kunai in hand to stab him. The man reached out and blocked his attack stunning Sasuke who was in mid air with his moves as the two stared face to face.

"Your eyes, they are just like Itachi's." He said and that surprised Sasuke at what he just said. The man then threw him and he hit a tree and landed on a branch. Sasuke getting up rushed him but the man disappeared and reappeared near Sakura.

The girl panicked and reached towards a Kunai and he grinned at her.

"Don't worry little one, I have no interest in you. Sasuke-kun is my target." He said to her and his body went around a tree and slithered up it like a snake.

Sasuke continued to fight him but he could not land any blows onto his mysterious attacker who knew his brother.

Watching on, The Giant Snake looked on ready to come to its master aid should he need it.

Suddenly a great pain erupted throughout its stomach as a bone sprouted right out of it and it hissed loudly in agony as another bone cut through it.

"I…am…nobody's Lunch!" Naruto shouted cutting his way through its stomach from inside with a pair of bone swords having used them to escape. Covered in saliva and snake guts and smelling awful he got out of it. The snake hissed at him and lunged at him and Naruto leapt out of the way and revealed a pair of bone javelins he had made. He threw one and hit it directly in the eye blinding it and then leaping threw with great strength the other ones right into its throat going through it and up to the snakes' mouth and into its brain.

The snake dissipated and Naruto looked up and saw Sasuke fighting a mysterious man.

Sasuke continued his fight but found himself being overwhelmed by the ninja who seemed to be toying with him.

"Take this!" A voice shouted and he saw to his surprise Naruto behind him in midair.

The ninja saw him out of the corner of his eye and snarled at his interference. "Wretched brat, Five Element Seal!" He shouted and his fingers became covered in flames and he went to slam his hand into his stomach. However Naruto was ready and avoided the attack surprising him and kicked him in the jaw.

Naruto leapt over him and landed beside Sasuke who was along with Sakura surprised to see him alive.

The grass ninja reached up towards his jaw as a bruise had been left there and he grinned. "It's been a while since someone dared to leave a lasting wound." He said and turned and saw Naruto ready. "To think you survived being eaten like that, you are just full of surprises aren't you?"

Naruto smirked. "Here's another. Drilling Bullets!" He shouted and raising his hands fired ten bones from his fingers at him.

(What?) The man thought in rare surprise as he dodged it as only one person he knew could pull that off, if he had not recovered quickly he would've been hit by that.

Naruto then pulled out two swords from his shoulders surprising him even further as Naruto charged him slashing at him with them.

(It can't be. It must be the fox's power. No, that's not it. It's Shikotsumyaku!) The ninja thought dodging them one of the few times he was ever caught off guard as Naruto attacked him.

Shikotsumyaku, the one bloodline that he had desired as much as the Sharingan and that was within his grasp if not for a sickness. How, how could this boy possess it?

"Dead Bone Pulse, Shikotsumyaku…" He muttered glaring at Naruto. "The bloodline passed down from the Kaguya clan." He mentioned to himself.

"What's Shikotsumyaku?" Sakura asked Sasuke not understanding. "How's he doing that?"

"That's his Kekkai Genkai." Sasuke said to her remembering back at Wave. "That's Naruto's bloodline." He said surprising her