23 Chapter Twenty: Inner Darkness

As Tsunade continued to play, she suddenly hit the casino jackpot where hundreds of coins started to spill out of the machine.

When Tsunade saw this she suddenly started to worry, as when it came to gambling she had the worst luck in the world and would always lose. That is unless something bad was going to happen, where Tsunade would win and the bigger the prize the worst the situation. Hence after winning the Casino big jackpot on just the slot machine, Tsunade knew something bad was going to happen or was happening now.

This fear of the worst only grew when she suddenly felt a pain in her chest, as if someone had stabbed her in the heart.

Tsunade only felt this pain once before in her life, which was during the incident of Oni no Kuni (Demon Country) when Naruto and Shion where being attacked by the Kusa Shinobi.

After this pain appeared, Tsunade immediately knew something had happen to Naruto, whether it was mother's maternal instincts or something else. She didn't know or care, all she knew was something had happened to her son and he needed her.

At the same time, Shizune and Tonton became concern at their mistress actions, as like Tsunade they knew what would happen whenever Tsunade won at gambling. Their concerns only grew further when they saw Tsunade place her hand over her heart knowing that something was wrong.

"Tsunade-sensei, are you alright? Is something wrong?" asked the worried Shizune.

"No I'm not alright, something has happened to Naru-chan" replied the worried Tsunade.

"Naruto…but how?" asked Shizune as she didn't understand how Tsunade knew such a thing.

"I don't know how, I just know that something has happened to him, I can feel it my heart" answered Tsunade, as she suddenly got up and told Shizune that they were leaving. After which, the two Kunoichi, start to race toward Konoha at top speed and get to Naruto as soon as possible.

-With Anko later that Night-

As Anko travelled that night through the large forest looking for the intruder, she sensed a familiar Chakra signature nearby and instantly realized who it was and headed straight for it.

"I feel him…" thought the purpled haired Tokubetsu Jōnin, as she closed in on her target.

Soon enough she landed on a large tree branch and found her target, the former Snake Sannin and S rank Missing Ninja, Orochimaru, who was partially merged with the trunk of the tree that she was standing on.

When Orochimaru saw her, he smiled in amusement at seeing his former apprentice, "It's been a long time…Anko-chan."

"You can cut the pleasantries Orochimaru, as you're a wanted S class criminal and I' am going to kill you, even if it cost me my life", spoke Anko with the utmost seriousness, where four senbon needles appeared out of her right hand coat sleeve and into her hand.

"It's my duty after all, given how I was once your student and I learned everything I know from you" continued Anko, where she then prepared to throw her senbon needles at the former Sannin.

Orochimaru of course just smiled at this, where he then spat out his tongue, which stretched to an impossible length and headed straight for Anko. Who quickly jumped up into the air to avoid it and landed on the trunk of another tree opposite the one that Orochimaru had merged with, where she channelled her Chakra to her feet to keep from falling off the tree.

Sadly though, Orochimaru's tongue followed after her, where it then wrapped itself around Anko right arm and pulled her back onto the tree branch she was previously on.

Anko although quickly countered by holding out her left hand and the cried out "Sen'eijashun (Hidden Shadow Snake Hands)!" after which several snakes erupted from the sleeves of her arms and flew towards the Snake Sannin and pulled him out of the tree trunk.

"There's not a chance in hell that I going to let you escape!" cried Anko as she pulled Orochimaru towards her and slammed him into the tree behind her and retracted her Snakes.

Once she had retracted her snakes back into her sleeves, Anko then pinned Orochimaru to the tree by piercing both their left hands together with a Kunai. While at the same time she took hold of his other hand with her right and formed a seal with them.

"I have you now" said Anko with a smile, as she saw the realization dawn on Orochimaru when he recognised the seal.

"That's right, you and I are going to die together here", said Anko, as she prepared her Jutsu and thought "Sōjasōsai no Jutsu (Twin Snakes Mutual Death Technique)!" But before she could finish the Jutsu, she suddenly heard Orochimaru speak from behind her.

"I'm afraid you will die alone here Anko-chan…"

Surprised at this, Anko quickly turned around, where at the same time, the night moon came out of from behind the clouds, showing Orochimaru standing directly behind her.

Seeing the confused look on his former apprentices face, Orochimaru decided to explain, "…I'm afraid all you have there is a replacement."

Hearing this, Anko quickly turned around and saw that the Orochimaru that she had caught was indeed a clone, where when she turned it immediately reverted into mud, revealing it as a Doton: Kage Bunshin (Earth Style: Shadow Clone).

"You shouldn't use the forbidden technique that I taught you Anko-chan, since you're one of Konoha's Tokubetsu Jōnin now" said Orochimaru with a smile as he slowly walked to Anko.

Angered by how she had been tricked by the former Sannin, Anko quickly pulled the Kunai she had stabbed herself with and threw it at Orochimaru.

But before it could hit the Sannin in the head, he caught it with ease between his two front fingers.

"It's useless Anko-chan, you don't have the power nor the skill to defeat me" said Orochimaru, where he then did a single one handed hand seal and activated Anko's curse seal, causing the young woman to fall to her knees in pain.

After Anko fell to her knees, Orochimaru slowly walked up to her and lifted her head up slightly so that he could look her directly in the face.

"Why did you come…?" asked Anko as she tried to fight the pain.

"I must say, I'm disappointed Anko-chan, we haven't seen each other in years, but you have treated me so coldly" taunted Orochimaru.

"Have you come here to kill the Hokage?" asked Anko, as she held her left shoulder.

"Oh no, as sadly I don't have enough followers to attempt that" replied Orochimaru with a smile. "I actually came her to observe and test two young Genin here, both of whom show much promise, where I then placed my curse seal on them", said Orochimaru

"You haven't changed a bit…they die before they ever serve you!" stated Anko.

"That is indeed very possible, as their odds are one in ten against them, but I'm certain they will both survive, like you did", replied Orochimaru.

"Hmph! sounds like you want them both badly" sneered Anko.

"Ahh Jealous?" asked Orochimaru as he cupped Anko's face, "You just can't forgive me for using and tossing you aside…can you?"

At hearing this Anko glared angrily at her former Sensei, as she remembered how he used her.

"In many ways, both boys show ever more potential than you did" explained Orochimaru. "For you see one of them has inherited unique abilities of the Uchiha Clan, while the other had inherited several unique abilities from his family, such as the Shodaime Hokage's Mokuton bloodline and both their physical conditions are excellent."

At hearing this Anko eyes widened in surprise, as she quickly realized who the other person Orochimaru was talking about.

"You mean the Senju kid?"

"Oh yes, Naruto-kun especially shows a great deal of potential, even more so that Sasuke-kun, as I don't think I've ever seen so much raw potential and power in one person before. Either he or Sasuke-kun could become the very heir that I' am looking for", answered Orochimaru.

"Getting a little greedy aren't we? Going after two Genin at once" taunted Anko.

"Perhaps, but it would be such a waste not to…" replied Orochimaru with a smile, after which he then stood up and started to walk away from Anko. "…Should either one or both of them survive, things will become very interesting very soon."

As Orochimaru walked away, he then suddenly turned around, "Also whatever happens, don't cancel the exam…Three of my followers are in this exam and I look forward to see how they fair. Should you cancel the exam, then Konoha's fate is sealed, and I will destroy it."

Once Orochumaru had said this, he then turned away from Anko and disappeared in a whirl of purple flames, leaving Anko alone.

-At dawn with the Kiri Team-

Currently jumping through the tree-tops, Haku and her team where making their way to the tower in the centre of the forest, after finally getting the scroll they needed.

As they made their way to the tower, they notice the signs of a fierce battle, where some of the large trees around them were damage as well as large holes down in the ground. When they dropped to the ground to investigate further, they saw that four massive trees had fallen on top of each other, showing signs that their bottoms had been blown up.

They even saw several large dry patches in the grass where the moisture seemed to have been drawn out of the grass and plants.

Not only that, but they saw that the earth had been turned up or destroyed in several places and large amounts of water in others areas of the ground, along with wooden spikes, tentacles and a destroyed wooden dome.

"What the hell happened here?" asked Chōjūrō as he looked around the area.

"By the looks of things a fierce battle was fought here", answered Saito, as he looked around the area with the others.

"Could it have been the battle you sensed earlier, Saito?" asked Haku, as she turned to her team-mate. Who was a senor type Shinobi, although his skill was limited, where when he sense a powerful battle going on, he couldn't tell who it was between or who was winning, he could only tell what direction it was happening in and that it was a distance from them.

"More than likely" replied Saito simply.

"But if the battle was over who was it between and who won it?" asked Chōjūrō.

"I do not know, but let us be thankful, that it is over and they are gone, as given the state of this area, the people who fought here were very powerful and highly skilled" said Saito.

"But still Chōjūrō has a point, if the battle is over then where is the losing side, where are their bodies?" asked Haku.

"Perhaps the beast here ate their bodies after the battle ended" suggested Saito.

"I don't believe so, as I seen no blood or animal tracks" stated Haku.

"Does it really matter Haku-san?" stated Saito. "The battle is over and whoever fought here is gone, I suggest we continue on to the tower, before a rival team shows up and attacks us for our scrolls."

At this Haku nodded, as she knew Saito was correct, where she then turned to Chōjūrō, who had broken from them to look at something. Before either she or Saito could call him back to tell him that they were leaving, the blue haired boy called them over to him to look at something.

When they came up to him, they saw him looking a large deep slash mark on the large tree.

"Look at this! What short of technique can make a deep slash mark like that on a tree like this?" asked the boy. Since as a swordsman in training, he knew that it would take some serious skill for a swordsman to make a slash mark like that on a tree like this with a sword. As given the angle and shape of the slash, it was clearly from a sword or at least a technique involving a sword.

"As interesting as that is Chōjūrō, I believe we should leave this place before…" spoke Saito only to be interrupted by Haku.

"We're not leave or at least not yet" stated the young Ice user.

"What?" asked Saito, as he turned to his female team-mate in surprise and confusion.

"I said we aren't leaving, and we are going to search the entire area."

"But why?" asked Chōjūrō, not understanding why the young Hyoton user wanted to stay here and search the area.

"It doesn't matter just, search the area!" stated Haku forcefully, with concern in her voice and a worried look, as she recognised the slash marks on the trees, and could only think of one technique that could do that. Hence why she was searching the area and was hoping she could find proof that she was wrong or at the very least find out what exactly happened here.

Not really understanding what was up with their team-mate, both boys decided not to argue and do what they were told, as they knew that when Haku acted like this, there was no talking her out of it.

"And what exactly do you want us to look for?" asked Saito with a slightly annoyed and sceptical look on his face.

"You know it when you see it" replied Haku, not really answering her team-mate's question, where she then went off to look.

Frowning at this, Saito just shook his head with annoyance, before he started looking, for whatever Haku wanted them to find. Chōjūrō also decided to simply obey where he shrugged his shoulders and sighed before he went in another direction to look for this mysterious thing.

After a few minutes Haku suddenly heard Saito's voice from her short range radio.

"Haku! I think I found what you had us looking for, over" spoke Saito over his radio.

"Received, I will arrive at you location momentarily, over" replied Haku, as she head to Saito's location.

After a minute or two, Haku arrived and came up to Saito, who was standing over a person that lay face first on the ground.

"I believe this is who you had us looking for" stated Saito, as Haku knelt down and turned the person over, revealing it to be Naruto, the very person she had hoped it not to be.

"Naruto-kun" spoke Haku with concern when she saw her injured friend.

"How did you know he was here?" asked Saito.

"I wasn't sure, but I recognised the slash mark on the tree, as I know of only one technique that can make a slash mark like that", replied Haku, where Saito just nodded.

"Haku what are you doing?" cried Saito in surprise when he saw his team-mate taking out her medical equipment and started to treat Naruto injuries.

"I'm healing him" replied Haku without even looking at Saito.

"I can see that, but why are you doing it? He is our enemy!"

"To you perhaps, but not to me, as he is a dear friend" answered the female ice users.

"Haku stop this!" stated Saito forcefully.

"No I will not" replied Haku, as she continued to treat Naruto injuries.

"Haku, you will stop this n…" said Saito, where he then went to grab Haku's hand, but before he could even touch her, he found a set of senbon needles pointed at his jugular. For when he tried to grab hold of Haku's hand, the young Hyoton user turned around and before her team-mate knew what happened next, a set of needles appeared in Haku's hands, where she brought the needles to her team-mate's neck. After which Haku then stared directly into Saito's eyes with a cold, angry look in her eyes, one that Saito had never seen before in the normally kind, and friendly ice user.

When Saito saw this look in his team-mate, a cold chill ran down his spin, showing that his team-mate was indeed a true student of the famed Kirigakure no Kaijin (Demon of the Hidden Mist), and wasn't the strongest member of their team for nothing.

"B-But Haku…why?" asked the slightly nervous Saito.

"Because both Zabuza-sama and I owe Naruto-kun our lives, for if it were not for him, both us would've been killed at Nami no Kuni (Wave Country). It did not matter to him that were where his enemies, all that matter to him was that he didn't believe that we deserve to die. It was also because of him that we were able to return to Kiri, so I will not allow any harm to come to him and will help him no matter the cost, for I know in my heart that he would do the same for me" stated Haku. After which she lowered her senbon needles and returned to treating Naruto's injuries.

Upon Haku removing her senbon needles from his neck, Saito quickly took a step back from his team-mate and began to rub his neck. After which he turned and saw his other team-mate Chōjūrō standing not far from him and Haku, holding Naruto's Katana in his hand, (which he found when he was looking around the area).

"Eh is there something wrong?" asked Chōjūrō with a worried look, after seeing Haku threatening Saito with her senbon needles.

"Ahem…No there isn't" replied Saito, not wanting to get on Haku bad side any more than he already had.

"Well, I thought you guys should know that I found this Katana, a bit away from here and thought this might be what you were looking for. But I'm guessing you already found what you were really looking for" said Chōjūrō, as he held the Katana up, after which he looked at the injured Naruto.

"Is that…?"

"Yes…" replied Saito "…that is Senju Naruto."

"What happened to him?"

"Obviously he was involved in the battle that was fought here and he clearly lost", answered Saito.

"But who could've done this to him? I thought he was one of the strongest Genin in the exam?" asked Chōjūrō.

"Well he clearly fought with someone who was much stronger than him" stated Saito in a monotone like tone, as he looked down at unconscious Naruto.

"But who could've been strong enough to beat him this badly, could it have been that Gaara guy from Suna or that Yugito girl from Kumo. Since according to those info cards that Kabuto guy showed us, they could be strong enough to take on and beat Senju."

"That is indeed possible, although it's just as likely that he was defeated by another equally powerful Genin, who wasn't mentioned by that Kabuto person" replied Saito. "But what concerns me, is that the person or group that defeated Senju did not kill him, since given his condition, it would've been easy."

Chōjūrō could not dispute, since it was true, although as he thought about it, he suddenly remembered something. "Wait! What about the rest of his team, where are they, shouldn't they be around her somewhere?"

"I have not seen any sign of them anywhere, it is highly possible that they abandoned him, when they realized that they were going to lose" said Saito.

"I do not believe that to be true" spoke Haku without looking at her team-mates, as she continued to heal Naruto's injuries.

"Why's that?" asked Chōjūrō, not understanding what Haku meant.

"Sasuke-san and the others are not the type of people who would run away from a fight even when they were losing, nor would they abandon a team-mate. I know this to be true, as when Zabuza-sama first fought Hatake Kakashi and his team and captured him, Kakashi-san ordered them to run away, but they refused, stating they wouldn't abandon him. After which they worked together to free Kakashi-san."

"So what do you think happened to them?" asked Chōjūrō.

"I believe they were forced to retreat, once they realized that they couldn't beat whoever they were fighting. Naruto-kun most likely stayed behind to hold their enemy off and give Sasuke and the others time to escape. Since he was the strongest of their group and had the best chance of holding the enemy back and surviving", explained Haku.

"And how would you know this?" asked Saito, for although Haku's theory was not impossible, he still found it hard to believe that Haku could know all this.

"Because I know how Naruto-kun would react when faced with his comrades being in danger, as at our fight on the bridge in Nami no Kuni, he put himself in harm's way to save his comrades", answered Haku.

At this Saito just nodded, for although he wasn't entirely convinced, he accepted the theory none the less, at least until after Naruto woke up and told them what happened.

"So how is he?" asked Chōjūrō.

"Well he has a few bruised ribs and several other cuts and bruises, but other than that nothing life threating. But still we should find a safe place to stay, until he wakes up", stated Haku, where her team-mates just nodded. Even though Saito still had his reservations about helping Naruto, he wasn't going to argue with Haku again, given what happened earlier between the two of them. Chōjūrō was also of equal mind of this, since he had seen what happened, and had no wish to get on Haku bad side.

Once both Saito and Chōjūrō had lifted the unconscious Naruto up, the two of them followed Haku. Who led the way to a large cave they had passed by not too long ago, when they were heading to the tower.

-Hidden in one of the large trees-

As Haku and her team, carried the injured Naruto away, the three hooded cloaked Ame Genin hide in the one of the trees looking down at the group.

"Damnit, just when we had him, why the hell did these guys have to show up?" cursed one of the Ame Genin.

"Better yet why are they even helping him? I thought this was battle royale between all the teams. Not to mention, it's not like Kiri and Konoha are allies, if they were Suna Genin or another Konoha team I might understand, but not this", said the other Ame Genin.

"Obviously, this group is different, as I remember them talking to Senju and some of the other Konoha Genin and they seemed rather friendly with one another" stated the other Ame Genin, who was clearly the leader of the group.

"So why don't we attack? We can take them", spoke one of the Ame Genin.

"No not yet! Let's follow them to where they are taking him and plan what we should do from there. Since right now, they would be on guard and if we attack them it could result in a full out battle and we know nothing of their abilities or skills, hence we could find ourselves at a disadvantage" explained the leader of the group. "The best thing we can do right, now is follow them to their hideout and plan out an attack from there."

At this the two other Ame Genin just nodded, where together with their other team-mate they stealth-fully followed Haku and her team from a safe distance.

-At the Forest of Death Tower-

"How is the curse seal Anko? Dose it still hurt?" asked the Sandaime Hokage, after he had finished treating Anko.

"No it's gotten better, thanks to you Hokage-sama" replied Anko as she covered from the curse seal, although it still hurt a small bit.

"So tell me what exactly happened and what did Orochimaru tell you?" asked the Sandaime, with a serious tone.

For the next twenty minutes Sarutobi listened to what Anko had to say, where once she finished, a large frown appeared on the old Hokage's face.

"I still can't believe that Orochimaru came here of all place" spoke Izumo with surprise and worry in his voice.

"But still why would he come here? It doesn't making any sense" said Kotetsu.

At hearing this Anko then suddenly remembered what Orochimaru said to her in the forest, "He wants…"

"He wants Uchiha Sasuke and Senju Naruto, am I corrected?" interrupted the Sandaime before Anko could finish, where Anko just nodded, confirming the Hokage's worst fears.

Upon hearing this, the Sandaime frown grew even deeper, where he then told Izumo and Kotetsu to leave the room, as he wanted to speak to Anko alone.

Both Chunin nodded and left the room, after which Sarutobi turned to the nearby window and looked out at the forest before him, where he let out a deep sigh, before he spoke to Anko again.

"Tell me Anko did Orochimaru tell you anything else about Naruto? As I am sure you can guess why he wants Sasuke" asked the Sandaime without look at the young woman.

At this Anko nodded, as she already guessed that her former Sensei wanted Sasuke, because of his Bloodline. Since he had always been obsessed with learning all the Jutsu in the world, and the unique abilities of the Sharingan would be an invaluable asset to him in achieving his goal.

"He mentioned that Senju Naruto had inherited several abilities from his ancestors, including the Shodaime Hokage's Mokuton powers."

At hearing this, Sarutobi let out another tired sigh, before he turned to Anko. "What I am about to tell you Anko has been declared a S class secret, known by only a select few Shinobi and the members of the Konoha Council. Should you tell anyone that has not been cleared, before it has been officially announced, you'll be severely punished."

"I understand Hokage-sama"

"Good, what Orochimaru said is true; Naruto has indeed inherited the Mokuton Bloodline of his ancestor the Shodaime Hokage, although he is able to use it in a way that the Shodaime could not. Since Naruto is able to manipulate and control plants with his Bloodline as well. Not only that, but he has also inherited his mother's precise Chakra control and is able to use her super human strength to a remarkable degree. He also seemly has a high affinity to Water much like the Nidaime Hokage, and is able to create large amounts of Water without a large reserve of Water nearby. Although he is not yet at the same level as the Nidaime, since he must use the moisture from not only the air, but also the surrounding plants, when using powerful Water Jutsu that require a large amount of Water. But given time, I'm certain that he will overcome that inability. Also according to Kakashi, Jiraiya and Kureani, Naruto has seemly developed a unique talent for Genjutsu not unlike his ancestor Senju Tōka. But the most remarkable thing about Naruto is that he has four Nature affinities, naturally"

When the Hokage had finished explaining Naruto's abilities, to say Anko was surprise, would have been a severe understatement.

"No wonder Orochimaru, wants the kid so badly! If he is this talented and strong already, there's no telling how strong he'll become later on" thought Anko.

"What affinities does he have?" asked Anko.

"He has affinities to Earth, Water, Lightning and Wind" answered the Sandaime before he continued. "Given what I've told you, I'm certain you can understand why this has been declared an S class secret. Since given his heritage alone, many of our enemies and rivals will come after Naruto, and their drive to either capture or kill him will only grow once they eventually learn what Naruto can do."

Anko just nodded at this, after which she decided to ask the Hokage something that concerned her.

"But Hokage-sama, if it is indeed true that only a select few people knew of Senju Naruto's abilities. How is it that Orochimaru learned about it?"

"I believe he originally only came to test both Sasuke and Naruto to see if they might prove useful to him. So when Naruto and his team fought him, Naruto must have been forced to reveal his abilities to Orochimaru", answered Sarutobi, where he could not fault Naruto for doing so, given who he was up against.

Anko of course nodded after hearing the Hokage's explanation as it made sense, but then spoke up again about something else she had been wondering.

"Excuse me Hokage-sama, but what are we to do about the exam, should we cancel it or should we continue on with it?"

"We'll continue on with it for now, while at the same time try and find out what Orochimaru is up to" answered Sarutobi, where Anko just nodded again.

"What about the two boys?"

"I will send a team of ANBU out into the forest to serach for any signs of Naruto and Sasuke or of their team-mates" replied the old Hokage

Once they finished speaking Anko left the room and went to get some rest, leaving the Hokage alone in the room with his thoughts.

As he looked out the window again towards the forest, the Sandaime could not help but silently curse himself, for not stopping Orochimaru when he had the chance all those years ago.

"I was a fool not to have stopped you when I had the chance and now because of it, Sasuke and Naruto have paid the price for my weakness" thought Sarutobi angrily; where he could only pray that Naruto was alive and safe.

-The Next day with Haku and her team-

Following their finding of the injured Naruto, Haku and her team brought him to a nearby cave, so that he would have a safe place until he woke up.

When they arrived at the cave, Haku had told them that they could go to the tower without her and wait for her there, stating that she would stay with Naruto until he had fully recovered.

Both boys of course refused and stated that they would stay with her, since neither of them liked the idea of leaving their team-mate alone, with the possibility of being attacked by a rival team with no-one to help her. There was also the fact that their sensei Zabuza would be less than pleased with them, if he learned they left Haku and Naruto alone and undefeated in the forest, where he would no doubt show them why exactly he was called Kirigakure no Kijin. Not to mention give them a first-hand experience as to why his sword was called Kubikiribōchō (Decapitating Carving Knife).

When night eventually came and Naruto had still not woken up, Haku and her team agreed to take turns in guarding, while the others got some sleep. Haku of volunteered to take the first watch, while Saito and Chōjūrō slept for the first few hours.

As the night grew, Haku looked up into the night sky and saw that moon shining brightly and was at its zenith, as the moonlight shined down around the surrounding forestry. Haku suddenly sensed something, where she then noticed a glimmer of light coming from one of the bushes.

Acting quickly Haku immediately used her Hyoton ability and created an ice shield right in front of her and the entrance or the cave, protecting both her, her team-mates and Naruto from the barrage of Kunai and Shuriken sent at them.

As soon as Haku had erected her Ice shield, both Saito and Chōjūrō and immediately woke up and grabbed hold of their swords and stood next to Haku, as they quickly realized that they were under attack.

Seeing that their sneak attack had failed, the three cloaked Ame Genin jumped out from the bushes that they were hiding behind, after which one of the Genin walked forward and spoke.

"If you value your lives in any way, you'll handover Senju Naruto to us, as our business is with him, not you."

"Why do you what Naruto-kun? What do you intend to do with him?" asked Haku, with a frown, as she already had an idea.

"That is of no concern to you, hand him over and you'll live, if not then you'll die here" replied another one of the Ame Genin.

"No!" retorted Haku forcefully, as she drew out a set of Senbon needles, as she prepared to fight, where her team-mates followed suit, as they readied their own weapons.

"So be it, you had your chance" replied the last of the Ame Genin, where the three of them charged straight at the Kiri Genin.

When the two sides clashed, the six Genin spilt up to face against their opponents, Haku faced against the leader of the Ame Genin, while her team-mates faced off against the other Ame Genin.

As Haku faced the leader of the Ame Genin, she quickly fired several Senbon needles at the Ame team leader, who skilfully deflected the needles with a Kunai. After which the Ame leader launch several Shuriken at the Haku, who in turn skilfully avoid the Shuriken. Although when she did, she suddenly saw the Kunai that the Ame team leader had been holding a moment ago, flying towards her at high speed.

Acting quickly, Haku, spun around to her left to avoid the Kunai aimed at her, where she then caught the Kunai when it flew past her. After which she spun around to face the Ame leader again, where she then threw it straight back at the Ame Genin. Who avoided the Kunai, by quickly stepping to the right, where the Kunai flew by and stabbed itself right into the tree directly behind the Ame leader.

After seeing this, the Ame team leader was of course both surprised and impressed at Haku's skill.

"Impressive…it seems I can't afford to underestimate you" commented the Ame leader.

"You should not, for if you do, it'll be your last" replied Haku with a calm voice, as she took out another set of Senbon needles and raced straight at the Ame-nin.

Seeing this, the Ame team leader acted quickly took out another Kuani and blocked Haku's attack with it. After which a battle for dominance began between the two team leaders, each trying to push the other back.

Sadly though for the Ame Genin, this was all according to Haku's plan, since now both team leaders were standing directly in front of one another and only had one hand free. This was of course all that Haku needed, where she then did a few quick on handed hand-seals and simply said "Hijutsu: Sensatsu Suishō (Secret Technique: Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death)!" After which she gathered some water from around the surrounding area, where one thousand long water needles started to form all around them.

Upon which Haku then had all her Water needles fly straight at her opponent from all angles, just when she jumped away from the Ame Genin, leaving no chance for escape.

But when the attack ended and Haku land back on the ground a few feet away from the Ame-nin. The enemy ninja reverted into water, revealing that Haku had been fighting a Mizu Bunshin (Water Clone).

Seeing that she had been tricked, Haku quickly turned around and saw the Ame Genin she thought she had been fighting, standing over the still unconscious and defenceless Naruto.

When the female Ice user saw this, she knew that she wouldn't be able to make it in time to save Naruto if she ran, since they were too far away. She also knew that neither of her team-mates could reach Naruto in time either, since both were busy fighting with the other two Ame Genin.

Realizing this, Haku knew of only one way that she could reach Naruto in time and save him, where she did a several one handed hand seal and disappeared in a whirl of ice.

-With the Ame Team leader-

As Haku battled with the Ame-nin's water clone, the real team leader snuck around the battle, while the water clone and the rest of the Ame-nin's team kept Haku and her team busy and away from the defenceless Naruto.

After sneaking into the cave, the Ame leader stood over the unconscious Naruto and smiled.

"All too easy" thought the Genin, but before the Ame-nin could deliver the fatal blow. The cave suddenly began to get very cold and a mirror made out of ice appeared right between the Ame-nin and Naruto. After which, Haku emerged out of it and punched the Ame-nin hard, right in the face, sending the young Genin flying out of the cave.

Recovering quickly, the Ame team leader glared at Haku coldly, as she walked out of the cave to face the real Ame-nin, since if Haku hadn't interfered Naruto would be dead now.

"Damnit, it's bad enough she is a Hyoton Bloodline user, but she incredibly fast, especially with that technique she just used", thought the Ame team leader.

"Why are you fighting so hard to defend him?" asked the annoyed Ame Genin.

"Because he is my friend" replied Haku, as she readied herself, as she wasn't going to let her opponent get the better of her this time.

"Friend!" repeated the Ame team leader, with confusion. "That's ridiculous!... you're both from rival villages, besides in this exam, everyone that isn't on your team is your enemy."

"That is where you're wrong… even though Naruto-kun and I are from different villages, it does not mean we cannot become friends and regardless of this exam, I would gladly help him. For I know he would do the same for me if I were in trouble, furthermore I owe Naruto-kun my life, and I will do whatever it takes to repay that debt."

"Hmph, nice speech, but if you're indeed so intent to dying to protect him, then I'll be more than happy to leave your corpses next to one another" stated that Ame team leader. After which two small hand sized fans with spikes appeared out of the Ame-nin's sleeves and right into the Genin's hands.

"I hadn't intended to get this serious in the exam, but you've left me no other choice" spoke the Ame-nin, after which the Genin swung the fans and created a powerful wind current and sent it straight at Haku.

Realizing what would happen if that attack hit her, Haku immediately created a large ice wall in front of her and protected herself from the deadly wind attack.

When the attack ended, Haku saw the dozen or so deep gashes and slash marks on her wall of ice, which barely withstood the attack.

Seeing this, Haku knew that she would have to be carefully with the Ame team leader, as it was oblivious, that the young Ame-nin was no ordinary Genin and had been well trained and was highly skilled.

For the next few minutes the battle raged between the two Genin teams, but unbenounced to both sides, a dark aura started to form around Naruto.

As the fight dragged on Saito and Chōjūrō were able to push the other two Ame Genin well back, forcing them to keep their distance from the two Kiri Genin.

But even with the fact that they were being pushed back, the Ame Genin weren't finished yet and found a way to bypass their opponents, where the first Ame Genin threw a Kunai at Saito, whom he had been fighting against. Saito had of course sidestepped the Kunai, where it just stabbed the ground. But what the young Kiri-nin didn't notice until the Kunai stabbed the ground, was that tied to the end of the Kunai, was an exploding note.

Seeing this, Saito had immediately jumped up into the air and barely avoided the explosion, where parts of his clothes had been slightly singed. But even still it gave the Ame-nin the opening he needed to bypass Saito, where he ran straight for Naruto.

At the same time, the second Ame-nin who had been fight Chōjūrō, used a smoke bomb, temporarily blinded the young swordsman in training, allowing the Ame-nin to bypass him and head straight towards Naruto as well.

Both Chōjūrō and Saito quickly recovered from the Ame-nins diversionary tactics and proceeded to chase after the two Ame-nins. Sadly though, the two Ame Genin had too much of a head start, where both boys realized that it was unlikely that they would catch up to them until it was too late.

At the same time Haku and the Ame team leader proved to be evenly matched, as both Genin, were at a deadlock with one another. As the fight dragged on, Haku turned around slightly and notice the two Ame Genin heading towards Naruto from opposite sides.

Seeing that Naruto was in trouble, Haku prepared to use her ice mirrors again to transport herself to Naruto. But before she could, the Ame team leader cried out, "Oh no you don't!" and created a large gust of wind and sent Haku flying to the side.

Seeing that they had a clear shot at Naruto, the two Ame Genin threw several Kunai with exploding notes tied to them, at the cave that Naruto lay in. As soon as the Kunai hit the inside of the cave, the notes tied to them exploded, causing the cave to collaspe.

"Naruto-kun!" cried Haku with horror, as she feared the worst when the collasped.

"Hmph! Mission accomplished" commented the Ame team leader with a slight smirk of satisfaction.

Haku of course was about to race over to the now collapsed cave in an attempt to search for Naruto, but before she could, she was stopped by Saito who appeared next to her and held his arm out to stop her.

"Haku it's too late he's dead, even if he somehow survived the explosion, there's no way he could survive the cave falling on top of him."

At this Haku closed her eyes in sorrow, as she knew Saito was correct, Naruto was dead and it was her fault, she had failed to protect him.

Soon enough though, Haku sorrow turned to anger, as she opened her eyes, and glared with vengeful rage at the cloaked Ame leader, since they were the ones who had killed her friend.

Seeing this, the Ame team leader just smirked with amusement, unafraid of Haku vengeful stare.

"Oh are you angry that I kill your little boyfriend" mocked the Ame leader. "Well if you like I'll be more than happy to send you to join him in the afterlife."

At this Haku became even angrier and drew out another set of Senbon needles and prepared to attack the Ame Genin.

"Haku don't!" warned Saito, but it was to no avail, as Haku was fixed on the Ame-nin, where she pushed Saito's arm away.

"Well are you coming or not? Since the sooner we start the sooner, I can send you to your boyfriend in the next life" taunted the Ame leader after taking a fighting stance.

"I don't think that'll be necessary", spoke a familiar voice out of nowhere, causing both teams to start looking around.

Quickly enough Chōjūrō, who had joined Haku and Saito a moment ago shouted out "Look!" and pointed to up to the top of a large tree near the cave. When everyone turned to look, they saw none other than Naruto standing proudly on a large thick tree branch without so much as a mark on him, (with the exception of his clothes being a little ruffled up by the explosion).

"Naruto-kun your alive" cried Haku with clear relief in both her voice and on her face.

Naruto of course just smirked in return of this statement, but when he did, Haku finally notice that something was off about Naruto. Since the smirk that Naruto gave her, was not the same kind and friendly smirk that he would often give her and other people. This smirk, seemed dark and almost sinister like, and was only highlighted by the dark aura that surrounded him and the strange lines in a rip like pattern that covered his body. (1)

"Impossible! How can you still be alive!" cried the Ame Leader.

"Hmph! As if I would die so easily…you seriously underestimated me" retorted Naruto with a smirk.

"Well then let see if you can dodge us!" cried one of the two Ame-nins as he and his partner appeared in mid-air behind Naruto, where they attempted to stab Naruto with their Kunai. But before their attacks could hit, Naruto disappeared in a blink of an eye.

"What the hell!" cried on of the Ame Genin, as he and his partner landed on the tree branch that Naruto was on a moment ago.

"He disappeared, but how?" spoke the other Ame Genin in confusion, as he and his partner looked around for any sign of Naruto.

"Looking for me!" cried Naruto, where he appeared right above the two Ame Genin and delivered a powerful falling elbow strike down on top of the head of one of the Ame Genin. Sending him face first, right through the tree branch and speeding down into the ground, creating a small crater.

After taking care of one of the Ame-nins, Naruto who was now standing on another tree branch faced the remaining Ame-nin, who had jumped off the branch that Naruto destroyed when he hit his team-mate.

"It's your turn now?" asked Naruto with the same dark smirk on his face.

Angered by what Naruto said, the Ame-nin took out a set of Kunai and threw them at Naruto, who easily side stepped them. But what Naruto didn't know was that tied to the Kunai was nearly invisible wire, which he used to control his Kunai, where he had the Kunai turn around and stab Naruto from the behind. But once again Naruto disappeared in the blink of an eye and reappeared right in front of the Ame-nin, where he delivered a powerful knee to the chin, that sent the Ame-nin up into the air. After which Naruto then reappeared over the Ame Genin and cried out "Tsūtenkyaku (Painful Sky Leg)!" as he delivered a powerful falling axe kick on the Ame Genin's back, sending him crashing to the ground much like his partner.

After dealing with the two Genin, Naruto landed on another nearby branch and brought his hand up and began to open and close it with the same dark smirk still plastered on his face, as he looked at it. He marveled at how powerful he was feeling, since he couldn't believe how much stronger he had become, as he taken down the two Ame Genin with ease and was able to deal all that damage to them without having to use his superhuman strength.

"So this is the power that Orochimaru was talking about, it's incredible I've never felt so strong before, it's as if all my abilities have doubled" thought Naruto.

At the same time the Ame team leader grew concerned at how easily Naruto had defeated the others, not to mention the powerful dark Chakra that was surrounding him. But despite this, the Ame leader was not about to fail and sent a powerful blast of wind at Naruto, where it destroyed a portion of the tree.

Seeing this, the Ame team leader thought for certain Naruto was dead, only to be surprised when Naruto reappeared again few feet away from the Ame-nin, with his Katana in his hand and pointed forward as he charged at the Genin.

Reacting quickly the Ame team leader caught Naruto's stabbing attack, with the hand sized fans that the Genin was carrying and twisted the sword out of Naruto's hand with the two fans skewered to it. (2)

Naruto then quickly then countered with a sharp kick to the abdomen, and sent the Genin leader flying backwards a bit, before recovering.

But before the fight could continue any further, Haku and her team appeared where they surrounded the Ame Genin.

Knowing when a battle was lost, the Ame team leader quickly smashed several large smoke pellets into the ground, causing a large cloud of smoke to appear around Naruto, Haku and the others.

When the smoke dissipated, they saw the Ame team leader holding the other two Ame Genin.

"We'll leave this battle for now Senju, but mark my words, we'll met again and next time, you won't have your friends there to help you" spoke the Ame Genin before disappearing in a puff of smoke with the other Ame Genin.

"As if I'm going to give you that opportunity" stated Naruto, as he picked up his Katana and removed the two fans that were stuck to it and then started to walk away from Haku and her team.

"Naruto-kun, where are you going?" asked Haku with concern.

"What does it look like I doing, I'm going after them and when I find them I going to kill them" replied Naruto with a sadistic smirk, that worried Haku, as this was not like him.

"Naruto there's no need for that, they've run away, they're not a threat to us", said Haku with concern at the way Naruto was acting.

"They came to kill me Haku-chan, that's more than enough reason for me to kill them. Besides I haven't even warmed up yet and I want to see what else I can do with this new power", answered Naruto as he smiled darkly.

At hearing this, Haku knew that there was something wrong with Naruto, since Naruto hated killing much like her and tried to avoid it as much as possible. It was then that she realized that the markings on his body where not only increasing his strength, speed and power, but were also affecting his mind.

"Naruto stop this! This isn't you!" pleaded Haku as she grabbed hold of her friend only to be pushed away.

"No your right…" replied Naruto as he lowered his head.

Seeing this Haku smiled, thinking that she had gotten through to her friend, but that quickly changed when Naruto turned around with a evil looking smile.

"…I'm better than who I was, as with this power, I will finnaly acknowledge me and not because of my mother."

At this Haku became scared, as the dark power that was surrounding Naruto grew.

"No Naruto I won't let you go and turn into some kind of cold hearted murder, I'll stop you", replied Haku, as she readied herself, as she hoped that when faced with the concept of fighting her, Naruto would return to normal.

Sadly though, this did not work, for upon hearing this, Naruto just smiled.

"Really, well then go right ahead and try and stop me, let's see if you have become any stronger Haku-chan", replied Naruto, as he readied himself.

"Naruto-kun what happened to you", thought Haku, where she and her team-mate prepared to fight Naruto.

"Something is seriously wrong with this guy; it's as if he's a completely different person from the written exam. It must have something to do with those markings on his body and that foul Chakra that is surrounding him" thought Saito, as he and Chōjūrō readied themselves for battle.

As the three Kiri-nin readied themselves to fight Naruto, the dark foul Chakra that surrounded him began to grow, as if it was gaining strength from Naruto's thirst for battle, where a large vortex of dark Chakra surrounded and rose from the young Senju heir.

"Shit this is getting out of hand, his Chakra level is too big, too powerful, we can't beat that!" thought Chōjūrō with fear. For like the others, he could see the foul Chakra emanating from Naruto's body and knew that spell serious trouble for them. Since he remembered from his lessons with his sensei Zabuza, that Chakra could only be seen when a person was releasing a particular large and strong amount of Chakra all at once. Hence given what he was seeing, Naruto was emanating a large and very potent amount of Chakra right now.

Knowing what they were facing and hoping to finish the battle quickly, Saito quickly put his Katana away and did three quick hand-seals and brought his hands up to his mouth and cried out "Suiton: Mizurappa (Water Style: Violent Water Wave)!" where he then gushed out a large amount of water from his mouth, not unlike a waterfall.

The large wave of water quickly enveloped Naruto and flooded a small portion of the area in front of them.

"Got him!" said Saito with a smile, which quickly disappeared, when he heard Naruto's voice speak from behind him.

"Afraid not"

Hearing this, Haku and Chōjūrō turned around and saw Naruto standing directly behind Saito, with his back facing Saito's, who then tried to turn around. But before he could even try, Naruto delivered a sharp elbow to the back of the head, where thanks to Naruto's enhance strength from the Earth curse mark. The elbow strike was strong enough to send Saito flying forward and skidding across the flooded ground, before finally landing in a small crumpled heap, face first in water.

Reacting immediately, Haku used her own high speed to appear behind Naruto and attempted to hit the blonde Genin in the neck with her senbon needles, hoping to disable him.

Sadly though Naruto sensed her approach and spun around and caught her wrist before she could hit him.

"Nice try Haku-chan, but not good enough" stated Naruto with a dark smirk, before swinging her around slightly and sending her flying into some nearby bushes.

It was then at this point that Chōjūrō made his move, where he then had Hiramekarei (Twin sword) take the shape of a giant hammer and slammed it down on Naruto, where a large cloud of dust erupted.

After hitting Naruto, Chōjūrō smiled in victory, thinking he had defeated the young Senju, even his team-mate Saito, who was picking himself up from Naruto's attack smiled.

"Nice going Chōjūrō" thought Saito.

But when the dust finally settled, both boys' eyes widened in disbelief, when they saw Naruto blocking Hiramekarei's hammer form with both his hands, (as he dropped his Katana to catch Hiramekarei), standing in a small crater that was caused by Chōjūrō slamming Hiramekarei down on him.

"Impossible" thought both boys at the same time.

"Pretty good…that actually made my arms go slightly numb" said Naruto, before he grabbed hold of the hammer head and in a feet of incredible strength, threw both Hiramekarei and its wielder over him, sending them both flying into a tree, and making a massive impact dent in the large tree, knocking Chōjūrō out.

"Such strength, and yet if what Haku and Zabuza-sensei said is true, he is much stronger than this!" thought Saito with disbelief.

After Naruto had taken care of Chōjūrō, he suddenly found himself surrounded by thousands of Water needles.

Seeing them, Naruto quickly realized that Haku had returned and saw her standing not far from his left hand a few meters away from him.

It was then at this point that Haku activated her attack, and had all the water needles that surrounded Naruto converge on him. But within an instant, Naruto disappeared, before the water needles could hit him and then reappeared to the left hand side of Haku, where he attempted slash at her.

Fortunately though, Haku was able to move away and avoid the slash in time, thanks to the many years of training she went through as Zabuza's student.

At the same time Satio watch with disbelief, as Naruto had not only avoided Haku's Sensatsu Suishō. But also had snuck up on Haku and nearly cut her in two with his Katana, which he had picked up, and did it all within a blink of an eye.

"What tremendous speed! He might very well be as fast as Haku, if not faster" thought Saito, since he knew that out of all the members of his team Haku was the fastest.

After dodging Naruto's attack, Haku, immediately took out a set of senbon needles and used them to block another strike from Naruto with his Katana. As the two began to struggle for dominance, Haku quickly found herself being pushed back. But before Naruto could push her back fully, he suddenly heard Saito cry out "Suiton: Teppōdama (Water Style: Gunshot)!" and a large ball of water shooting forward him a great speed.

Knowing that he couldn't avoid the attack in time, Naruto immediately pulled himself back, catching the Hyoton (Ice Release) user off balance, where he thenkicked her away. After which he then channelled a large amount of his Wind Chakra into his Katana and cried out "Surasshu-fū (Wind Slash)!" Upon which a large crescent shape blade of Wind erupted from his Katana and spilt the large ball of water in two, causing it to fall apart. Naruto's wind attack although continued to move forward at immense speed, where it nearly split Saito in two. Who barely avoided the attack, due to his shock at the technique Naruto used.

"That was too close…" thought Saito after he barely avoided the attack and held his left arm as it bled from the light cut he received from Naruto's attack. "…that must be the Surasshu-fū attack that Haku mentioned earlier"

Seeing that her team-mate had avoided Naruto's deadly wind attack, Haku quickly attempted to take advantage of Naruto's distraction and disable him.

Unfortunately though for Haku, Naruto saw Haku coming at him from the corner of his eyes and spun around and blocked Haku's needles with his Katana. After which the two of them engaged in a fierce close quarter battle.

As the fight continued Haku was soon joined by Saito, where he engaged Naruto with his own sword, for the next few minutes the three Shinobi fought with one another, where despite having the enhance power of Orochimaru's Earth mark. Naruto found himself being push backed, as Haku and Saito worked together to stand up to Naruto, where Haku used her own speed to keep Naruto at bay, while Saito supported Haku, with attacks from the side and behind, keeping Naruto off balance.

Eventually though Naruto was pushed back into the area that was flooded with water from Saito's earlier attack. The fight of course continued on without halt, where after avoiding another of Naruto's slashes, Haku and Saito attempted to attack Naruto from two sides in the hope of creating an opening for the other to exploit.

Seeing them, Naruto quickly turned his Katana around and held it backwards and started to spin around at high speed, drawing the water around him to create a swirling waterspout. While at the same time crying out "Senkai no Mizu (Swirling Water)!" (3).

As the waterspout rose up, both Saito and Haku were forced to jump back to avoid the large mass of swirling water.

But as soon as it rose up, the waterspout died down, although when it did Haku and Saito found that Naruto was no-where to be found.

As the two Kiri-nins looked around for any sign of Naruto, Haku saw a slight blur at the corner of her eye, heading straight for Saito.

"Saito watch out!" Haku cried, as she tried to warn her team-mate, but it was too late, as before Saito could do anything. Naruto appeared right below him and hit him straight in the stomach, with the bottom hilt of his Katana, causing the young Kiri-nin to keel over in pain. After which Naruto followed with a backwards spinning kick to the face, which sent Saito flying backwards and skidding across the flooded ground, landing in a small heap, with his face looking to the sky.

It was then, at this point that Naruto appeared and stood over Saito with an evil looking smirk and his Katana in hand, ready to stab Saito through the heart with it. But before he could, Haku appeared to his left side and delivered a powerful flying double kick to the side of Naruto's head, sending the young Senju flying several meters away.

Haku of course attempted, to keep her advantage, where she unleashed a small barrage of Senbon needles on Naruto, who quickly recovered from her strike and used his Katana to skilfully deflect the needles.

Once Naruto had deflected all her needles, Haku stood directly in front of Naruto, with only a few meters separating them.

"Not too shabby Haku-chan…" commented Naruto with a dark smile, as he held the left side of his face, which was red from Haku's flying double kick. "…that move actually hurt, you certainly have improved since we last fought."

Haku of course did not reply to Naruto's comment, where she began to do hand-seals at impressive speed.

Seeing this, Naruto prepared to defend himself, as he was certain that Haku was preparing some kind of Ice justu, especially since they were surrounded by water that was up to the feet.

Within second, Haku finished her hand-seals and cried out "Hyoton: Hyōrō no Jutsu (Ice Release: Ice Prison Technique)!" After which the water around Naruto began to shoot up and envelope him, where it then froze, sealing him in a large block of Ice.

Once Naruto was sealed in the ice, Haku lowered her shoulders and let out a sigh of relief at the battle finally being over.

"I'm sorry Naruto-kun but you left me no other choice" said Haku, as she looked at her friend trapped behind inside the block of Ice, where she hoped he could forgive her once they figured out what was wrong with him.

But as Haku turned her back to Naruto and prepared to go help Saito, who was fairly bruised up from his fight with Naruto, she suddenly felt Naruto's dark Chakra growing again.

"No…It's not possible!" thought Haku with shock, as she turned around and saw the dark Chakra emanate from the ice prison around Naruto.

Before Haku could even attempt to try and contain Naruto, the ice prison began to crack, where it then shattered into pieces.

Seeing this, Haku quickly raised her arms up to protect her face from the small shockwave that erupted from Naruto, as he broke free of the Ice Prison. As well as protect her face from the pieces of ice and the water that was sent flying through the air when Naruto broke free.

Once the shockwave died down, Haku lowered her arms and saw Naruto slowly walking over to her, emanating an even stronger amount of dark Chakra around him than did before.

It took a moment or two for Haku to get over her shock and the slight fear caused by what just happen, but she quickly steadied herself to continue the fight. But before the female ice user could even make any kind of attack or put up any kind of defence. Naruto suddenly disappeared within the blink of an eye and reappeared right underneath her, where he then delivered a power kick to Haku's chin. Sending her flying right up into the air, not unlike what Lee did when he fought Sasuke before the Chunin exam started.

After launching Haku into the air, Naruto once again disappeared and then reappeared right over Haku, (who was still stunned and unable to move after what just happed). Upon which he then brought his right heel down on to Haku with immense force, sending her hurtling to the ground and making a small dent in it.

"Haku-chan!" cried Saito, as he tried to get up, but held his stomach in pain from Naruto's hit earlier.

Naruto then landed back on the ground and slowly walked towards Haku and picked the young girl up, and held her by the throat with a vice like grip, nearly choking her. After which Naruto the held up his Katana ready to stab her right between her eyes.

"Well it's been fun Haku-chan, you put up an interesting fight, but as the old saying goes, all good things must come to an end."

"Naruto-kun, please don't do this, this is not you, you're not like this, you're a good and kind person…" croaked Haku, as Naruto kept his vice like grip on her throat. "…Please Naruto-kun remember what you said to me at Nami no Kuni…you and I are friends."

At hearing Haku mention Nami no Kuni and them being friends, Naruto started to have flashbacks of the events on the bridge of Nami no Kuni.

-Flashback-

As Naruto held his Katana over Haku's face, the young ice user spoke, "Why do you hesitate kill me…I've lost my purpose in living…I've failed Zabuza-sama…I' am no longer fit to be his weapon".

"What kind of fucked up crap are you talking about? You're not a weapon, you're a human being, you have your own life and your own free will, why the hell would you want to die, simply because I defeated you?" asked Naruto, since what Haku was saying didn't make any sense.

For the next few minutes Haku went on to explain her life in Mizu no kuni (Water country) and how when Haku's father discovered that she and her mother were bloodline holders. He gathered a mob and killed Haku's mother and then tried to kill her, but were killed themselves when Haku accidently used her bloodline to kill them.

After the incident, Haku roamed the cold streets of Kiri during the dead of winter until she was found by Zabuza and he made Haku his weapon, thereby giving Haku a purpose in living again.

When Naruto heard this, several different thoughts ran through his head, as he was unsure what to say or think at what Haku had told him.

"I can understand why you feel that you owe Zabuza after he took you in, but that still doesn't make it right that he views you and treats you like some kind of weapon" spoke Naruto.

"But that is what I am, I am his tool to use in whatever way he wishes", spoke Haku

"STOP BEING SUCH A BAKA HAKU!" cried Naruto angrily, which surprised the young ice user. "You're a human being, just like me, you're not a tool, you feel pain, you feel joy, you feel sorrow and you have your own dreams just like me or anyone else. The only person that has a right to decide how you live your life is yourself, as it's your life not his!"

As Haku heard this, the young ice user understood what Naruto was saying, but even still Haku was too loyal to Zabuza. "If you say that I can choose how I live my life Naruto-san, then I choose to serve Zabuza-sama as his weapon. As that is my purpose and my dream is to help him to achieve his dream, for he is my precious person and I would gladly give my life up for him…so kill me now and be done with it".

"AAAgggghhhh!" cried Naruto in frustration "Damnit Haku I won't kill you, simply because you think you should die!"

At this Haku couldn't help but smile kindly, despite the situation she was in, since the young ice user could tell that Naruto was a kind individually and that the two of them were a lot a like many ways.

But as Haku and Naruto were talking to one another, the two Shinobi's heard a cry of pain, after which the mist slowly began to die down, where they then saw Zabuza and pack of dogs on top of Zabuza, biting deeply into his arms and legs, preventing him from moving. Also at the same time they heard a large chirping noise, where when they looked, they saw Kakashi holding his right hand, which was now covered in Lightning.

"Shit's that Kakashi-sensei Raikiri (Lightning Cutter)!" thought Naruto in surprise at seeing the Jutsu's with his own eyes for the first time. As he had heard about it from his Godfather, as it was one of Kakashi's strongest moves and was the advance form of his only originally Jutsu the Chidori (One thousands birds). He had also heard from his Godfather that Kakashi had given the technique this name after he cut a bolt of Lightning with it.

Upon seeing that Zabuza was in trouble, as well as seeing that Naruto was monetarily distracted, (since he was looking towards Kakashi). Haku quickly took advantage of Naruto's distraction and spun around, kicking Naruto off his feet and making him fall onto his back, after which Haku then quickly got back onto her feet. But before she raced of towards Zabuza, Haku turned to look at Naruto sadly (who was still on the ground), I'm sorry Naruto-san, if we had met at another time and in another place, I believe we could've been friends.

"But we're friends Haku!" spoke Naruto.

-End Flashback-

It was then after remembering this, Naruto realized what he was doing and let go of Haku, dropping the girl onto the flooded ground along with his Katana. After which, he fell to his knees and held the side of his neck, where the curse seal was and screamed out in pain.

"NO! I won't let you control me and make me hurt my friends!" screamed Naruto in pain, as he started forced the curse markings back by sear willpower.

Soon enough, the curse markings retreated back into the seal, after which Naruto started to phant heavily, since forcing the curse markings back had taken a lot out of him.

"Naruto-kun are you alright?" asked Haku as she went over to Naruto and helped him up.

"Yea I think so" replied Naruto, before he looked up at Haku.

"Haku-chan... I'm sorry for attacking you and your team, especially after you all risked your lives to protect me from those Ame-nins. It was just... when the curse seal activated I couldn't…" apologised Naruto, but before he could finish, Haku placed her index finger on Naruto lips to stop him.

"It is alright Naruto-kun, I understand, you were not yourself, this curse seal you mention was affecting you and turning you into something you're not", replied Haku, after she lowered her finger from Naruto's lips.

"But I nearly killed you and your team!" stated Naruto, as he couldn't believe Haku was being so forgiving of him after what he nearly did.

"But you didn't, you fought the seal and proved that you were stronger than it", answered Haku.

"Only because you helped me come to my senses and for that I owe you, as well as for saving my life" Naruto said.

"Consider us even, since you saved my life and changed it for the better" replied Haku with a smile, which Naruto returned. After which the two of them went over to Saito and helped him up and treated his injuries and did the same for Chōjūrō.

At dawn when the sun began to rise up into the sky, Naruto finished treating Haku's, Chōjūrō and Saito's injuries, during which, Naruto thanked both boys for protecting him from the Ame-nins when he was unconscious and at the same time apologised profoundly for attacking them.

Chōjūrō of course accepted both Naruto's thanks and apology; Saito on the other hand was not as forgiving as his team-mates were, although it was more out of hurt pride than anything else. Since other than when training with Haku or his Sensei Zabuza, Saito had never been so utterly and hopeless outmatched and overpowered in his life.

Once the two of them were finished being treated, Saito decided to get some answers from Naruto. Since after everything he put them through, he believed that they at least earned the right to know what happened to the young Senju heir and why he went berserk on them earlier on.

Naruto had of course not surprised by these questions, since he expected them to ask and normally, Naruto would've refused to answer. Since this was technically an internal matter to his village, given how it involved Orochimaru and he was after both him and Sasuke.

But after risking their lives to protect him and how he nearly killed them in return, Naruto believed they had earned the right to know the truth. After which he then began to explain what happen after he was separated from his team.

After about an hour or so, Naruto told them what had happened to him and his team, where once he had finish, all three Kiri Genin were left utterly stunned.

"So you're telling us that you took on one of the Densetsu no Sannin (Legendary three Ninja's) by yourself and survived" spoke Chōjūrō with awe and disbelief.

"Yea, but to be honest he was just toying with me and could've killed me whenever he wanted, where once he was finished he let me go" answered Naruto.

"And that mark he gave you, why exactly did he give you it?" asked Saito, as he was curious as to why a Rogue Shinobi like Orochimaru would give Naruro something like the curse seal to Naruto, especially since it gives him such an incredible boast in power.

"I don't really know myself, but I'm guessing he's hoping that by using this seal, he can corrupt me or turn me into some kind of puppet follower for him" replied Naruto. Since after what happened with Haku and the others, he figured that the seal not only gave him a boast in power but also affected his mind, turning him into someone like Orochimaru.

As Naruto thought about the seal, it suddenly started to throb, as if it was burning him, making Naruto cringe and cover the seal with his hand.

"Naruto-kun are you alright?" asked Hau worriedly.

"Yea, I'm fine, just the mark starting to hurt again" replied Naruto, as the pain slowly started to fade away.

Haku of course frowned at this, and became even more concern, as she wished she could do something to help Naruto. But unfortunately she knew very little about sealing and even if she did, she doubted she could do anything to help her blonde haired friend. Since Naruto had some skill in Fūinjutsu and even he didn't know anything about the seal or what to do about it.

"So what do you plan to do now?" asked Chōjūrō.

"Find my team and link up with them as quickly as possible, since Orochimaru placed the same kind of seal on Sasuke and it's possible that the others may be endanger. Since there's a good chance that Sasuke may go berserk like me and attack Sakura and Sai", explained Naruto.

"And how do you intend to find them?" asked Saito.

"I'll head back to where I fought Orochimaru and then use a technique I created a while back, where hopefully if they're not too far out of range I can find them" answered Naruto.

When Saito heard this, he raised his eyebrow with interest, as he was intrigued with this technique Naruto mentioned and was curious to see it.

"If it's alright with you Naruto-kun, we would like to accompany you until you rendezvous with you team."

"Although I appreciate the offer Haku-chan, I can't ask you to do that" said Naruto.

"You do not need to worry Naruto-kun, because you do not need to ask, besides you're still recovering from the effects of the seal and forcing it back, as well as the injuries you recieved earlier on, hence you aren't at full strength", replied Haku with a smile.

Naruto of course only sighed at this, as he knew he could not argue with Haku, since when it came to certain things she was as stubborn as a mule, where she wouldn't take no for an answer, plus he was in no frame of mind to argue with Haku. Not to mention he had to admit he could do with some help, should Sasuke get out of hand with the curse seal.

"Well since you're back to normal now, I think we should give you this" spoke Saito, as he handed Naruto the Earth scroll that Orochimaru left to Naruto after he had marked him.

"But don't you guys need it?" asked Naruto, where Saito shook his head.

"We have the other scroll needed, besides you need it more than we do, since you have to get three more scrolls" said Saito, where Naruto just nodded his thanks.

After a few minutes, Naruto, Haku, Saito and Chōjūrō decided to move out, and start looking for the members of team-seven.