Naruto 1. The Exam

Hello there! I have taken back to the writing of fanfiction stories! I realized that I just couldn't stay away from it! _Inuyasha's Sorrow_, my other story, is on hiatus for a while because I simply have lost interest in it. But don't worry! I'll still continue (I have almost all of it written down on paper). Well, here is my latest story: Intertwined Fates. I hope you enjoy it (it's a bit longer than my other story…)! .-

**NOTE:** Please alert me of any Japanese spelling errors. Thanks! Also, I am looking for a BETA to look over my work. If anyone is interested, please e-mail me.

Pairings: Sasuke/Sakura, (slight) Naruto/Hinata.

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the manga/anime: Naruto.

Summary: Two and a half years since Sasuke's sudden allegiance to the Hidden Sound village, Sakura has become a successful medic-nin, Chuunin, and an expert genjutsu artist, and Naruto a thriving hunter-nin and ANBU member. During the upcoming Jounin exams, Orochimaru, arriving with the whole of Sound, makes an unexpected appearance. What lies in store for the future of Konoha of the Leaf? Why are Itachi and the rest of the Akatsuki present at the same time as Orochimaru, and what have they got in store for Naruto? Why has Sasuke suddenly come back to Konoha? The fate of Konoha, and possibly all of shinobi, lies in one person's hands… But will they make the right choice? Or will something else get in their way?

Chapter One- The Exam 

A bright sun rose over Konoha's walls, reflecting off the smooth cement and onto the rooftops of the neighbouring houses. Birds twittered back and forth, welcoming the sun's appearance. As the shining ball of fire continued its climb into the air, it instantly heated up the homes of the large village. The view was splendid. Red, purple, orange and yellow were diverse in many shades in the suns rays.

In the Hokage's tower, lay a pink-haired girl with a petite frame covered with a multitude of thick quilts. As the light shone through the newly cleaned windows and onto the girl's abnormally large forehead, she woke with a start.

Clutched in her hand was a kunai knife, or shinobi's dagger. Wiping off the sweat of her brow, she climbed slowly out of bed. Imbedding the kunai into the wall, she nimbly stretched the muscles in her arms, neck and legs.

'Sasuke-kun…' she thought, staring wistfully out of the tower's windows. It's been two and a half years since Konoha's number one rookie went missing. Later information revealed that he had joined the Hidden Sound village and became Orochimaru's apprentice. A search party consisting of one Chuunin and four Genins, including Naruto, were sent to retrieve Sasuke on the night he went missing. Their mission was unsuccessful.

The petal-haired girl named Sakura sighed, and wrung her hands together in frustration. Glancing at the clock, she realized that she had to get ready. The Hokage was not a very impatient woman, and dealt out punishments when necessary.

Strapping on her black leg guards, and slipping on her shuriken holster and waist pack, she stepped out the door and continued to Training Area No. 3 to meet up with her sensei.

---

"Miso ramen! _Miso ramen_! **MISO RAMEN**!" a blonde screeched, making the man sitting next to him cover his ears in pain.

Naruto the village loudmouth and show-off punched his fist in the air, clearly showing his excitement for the simple dish that was placed in front of him. Inhaling the salty odour with deep satisfaction, the blonde eagerly dug in.

The man next to him frowned when bits of ramen flew all over the counter, himself, and Naruto. He rubbed his temples visibly expressing that a headache was coming on.

"Naruto, you know you don't have to be this messy when you eat. You're dinner's not going to disappear, you know." Iruka sighed.

Naruto grinned, displaying pieces of noodle wedged in between his teeth. Iruka grimaced at the sight.

"Anyways Naruto. I'd better be heading off. Sorry I couldn't stay longer and chat with you, but Kakashi is wanting to talk to me about something." He winked and tossed a few coins on the table as payment for Naruto's nine bowls of ramen, waved goodbye, and vanished in a puff of smoke.

Naruto uttered a small 'ja', and slurped up the remains of his dinner, ushering the owner of the ramen bar over, he motioned for another bowl.

---

Sakura gritted her teeth as her teacher sprung up from the ground underneath her, missing her nose by a couple of centimetres. Flipping back, she took out shuriken laden with explosive tags and flung them at her teacher, but cursed when all they hit was smoke.

"Not good enough!" came the cry of the Fifth, Tsunade.

Looking behind her, Sakura gasped in surprise. Something thin wrapped around her and quickly bound her to a tree. Glancing around her she came to a sudden realization that her sensei had used kunai and shuriken with wire tied to them. Manipulating them with amazing skill, she had managed to tie Sakura to a tree. Struggling with all her might, Sakura tried to reach behind her and grab a kunai to slice the threads, but to no avail.

Crouching in front of her student, Tsunade noticed how much Sakura had grown over the past two and a half years, not just in skill but in other ways as well. Smiling to herself, she remembered one day when a young shinobi asked, out of the blue, for Sakura to go out on a date with him. She declined politely.

"I think that's enough for today, Sakura." She said, and cut the stings that bound her student to the tree. "You are dismissed for today. Good job on that fire jutsu earlier. I never expected that." She commented Sakura, who blushed modestly.

Hugging her teacher, she bounded off to find Naruto, who by now had consumed at least twelve bowls of ramen. She chuckled at the thought.

Spotting the ramen-obsessive ninja walking out of the ramen stall, Sakura waved frantically to gain his attention.

Naruto whirled around and grinned broadly when he saw Sakura. "Hey Sakura-chan!" he yelled, earning stares from passer-by. Running up to his life-long friend he greeted her, giving her a hug in the process.

Sakura smiled at motioned for them to keep walking. "Hey Naruto, have you heard about the upcoming Jounin exams?" she asked quietly.

Naruto frowned, and then nodded rapidly in response, "Hai! Hai! I think Iruka-sensei told me that they are to start in a few weeks time. Why? You want to enter?" he said, shoving Sakura in the sides with his elbow lightly.

The kunoichi nodded timidly.

"Hey! Don't be discouraged! I think it's great that you've decided to join!" Naruto said, crossing his arms and looking very serious. Sakura mentally chuckled at the sight he made, but took his words to heart.

"Thanks. I needed that!" she said, hugging her surprised friend. Smiling once again, she waved and dashed off to the Hokage's tower.

---

"Is everything in place?"

"Hai, master. Everything is all in order. Are you sure you want to have…" the shinobi was cut off before he could finish. Gasping for air, he struggled and scratched at the hand holding him by the neck. 'Shit! I didn't even see him move!' he thought.

"Never question me about my motives. Ever." The man hissed, and squeezed the poor shinobi by the neck. Releasing him instantly, the man turned his back on the choking ninja. Striding away, he made a small motion with his hand. The two ninjas standing by the entrance nodded. No sound of surprise escaped the victim before he was instantly dead by four small puncture wounds on the side of his neck.

---

Pushing the large oak doors, Sakura walked into the Jounin office of the Hokage tower and submitted her entrance form. Sighing and running her hand through her hair, she looked at the time and realized that it was already late. 'Damn, and I have to get up early tomorrow, too!' she thought, and sprinted back home.

---

Three weeks later… The Jounin exam is about to commence…

---

Twisting her hands together in a fit of nerves, Sakura leaned on her chair. Passing the first test, the written test, was easy thanks to her large brain and studying. 'But, considering how many people there are here,' she glanced around the room which was surprisingly jam-packed with eligible Jounin contenders, most who looked quite strong, 'I don't know if I'll be able to pass the second.' She thought desperately, thinking that it was a major mistake that she even thought of entering the exam.

Ibiki strode into the room and coughed once. It was enough to gain the attention of all shinobi. "Congratulations on passing the first test. Now we will continue on with the second test, which will test your skills on stealth, leadership, strength, and basic shinobi know-how. You will be divided randomly into groups of three, where you all will participate as a team. This will represent in the future how well you cooperate with other shinobi, whether friend or someone you do not know. This is very important to becoming a Jounin, and basically a ninja. Failing to successfully cooperate with your team mates will, of course, issue you a failing mark. Now, here are your teams…" the captain of the ANBU interrogation squad said, and pointed to a blackboard showing the temporary Jounin teams.

Scanning the board, Sakura spotted her team and sighed in relief when she saw that both the ninjas that were paired up with her, she knew. 'Rock Lee and Shikamaru,' she thought, 'interesting combination.' Seeing the two lazily walk over to her, she greeted the tai-jutsu specialist, Lee, and the lazy ninja, Shikamaru. Sitting together, they awaited their instructions.

Ibiki explained that they were to go through a forest similar to the one in the Chuunin exam. "Except in this one, you're to find scrolls that are placed within the forest. They are extremely well hidden." He smirked, before continuing, "This test has a failure rate of over **77**, since there will be more wildlife, shinobi and less scrolls than there were in the Chuunin exams. Ah, and exactly how many scrolls there are and what kind, that's for you to find out. You will have ten days to complete this exam and reach the tower in the middle of the forest. Those who do not have both scrolls, is missing a team member, or has a team member that has been killed, will automatically fail. Failure to reach the tower before the time has expired will also fail." He laughed, motioning to Anko to continue about the consent forms.

When the explanation was done, and Anko had passed around the consent forms (all shinobi who remained, of course, signed it), Sakura sighed and waited for when they were to be lead to the training area.

Ibiki looked around the room and nodded to the contenders to follow him. He led them outside and told the teams to pick a gate, a total of twenty gates altogether, and enter upon his command. Sakura's team picked gate number 5.

Readying themselves, Lee, Shikamaru and Sakura sprinted full speed towards the entrance when the Jounin in front of them quickly stepped out of the way.

Five minutes into the exam, Shikamaru suddenly held out his had motioning for the team to stop. 'An enemy already...!' Sakura thought.

The genius frowned and walked to the area where Lee was going to step. Crouching down he noticed a thin wire stretching from one tree to another. Fingering it lightly, he smirked when he saw another string, dyed green, concealed behind the first one. "Looks like our enemies are pretty smart to do something like this. A double trap." He directed the other two to a different path.

Suddenly a large plume of fire exploded in front of the trio, blocking their path. "Make that a triple trap." Sakura mumbled.

The three jumped out of the way as the newly triggered trap set off a chain reaction. Peering around, Sakura groaned. All around them explosive tags were placed on trees and the ground, concealed for a short while with gen-jutsu. Shoving Lee out of the way just in time before a trap blew his leg off, Sakura winced as a nearby tree exploded from the force of the trap, sending bits of tree into her skin.

Jumping off the branch she was on, Sakura grabbed the one opposite to her and swung herself backwards, propelling herself into the air. Landing on the ground she immediately regretted doing so. Accidentally stepping on a clear wire, senbon (needles) flew at her head, almost impaling her in the eye if it wasn't for Lee who tackled her to the ground.

Shikamaru shouted over the noise for Lee and Sakura to follow him. Leading them into a safe zone away from the surprise traps, the group panted from exhaustion.

Sitting down, Shikamaru rubbed his head. 'This test is getting more troublesome than even the Chuunin exam…' he thought ruefully. Standing up he looked around, "I don't think we'll be attacked any time soon since other teams have probably heard the force of the explosions we've made. Most likely they won't stray to this area. We'd better set up traps and prepare for camp." He said.

---

Sakura awoke with a start as Lee shook her roughly. "Sakura-san! We must get out of here! Enemy shinobi are approaching!" he said quickly, dashing our of their 'cave' that they found earlier in the night under some tree roots.

The pink-haired ninja's grogginess disappeared is a flash, and was replaced by alertness. Taking out kunai, she wrapped the handle with an explosive note and crawled out of the cavern. Seeing Shikamaru and Lee already engaged in battle, Sakura saw a lone member of the enemy group carefully walking around and disabling their traps. Smirking, Sakura caught the shinobi unawares and fired the kunai at the boy. Hearing a satisfying 'sizzle' and the smell of burnt cloth, Sakura knew that she had at least knocked the poor boy out.

Lee delivered a chakra filled punch in the face of his opponent, and immediately felt the results of his attack when the nose of the enemy broke in four places. Leaping back, he took up a stance and placed his right hand in front of him. Smiling, he wagged it forward, egging the shinobi on.

His opponent snarled and sprinted to Lee in a headlong attack. Lee dodged it. Placing his hand on the back of the Grass ninja, he slapped it hard, sending him slamming into a tree. The force of the impact broke the tree in half.

"Sakura!" Shikamaru yelled over the chaos, and threw a kunai into the torso of the ninja that was about to stab Sakura from behind.

Ducking and covering her head, Sakura nodded thanks to Shikamaru before parrying a blow from the injured nin. "Not good enough!" she yelled, and fisted the ninja in the gut.

The shinobi landed a few hundred metres from Sakura and coughed. Blood dribbled down his chin before he fainted from the blow.

Seeing Lee and Shikamaru quickly deal with their opponents, Sakura frowned. Looking up, she saw birds scatter, and the forest around them became eerily silent. "Something's not right…" she said uncertainly, and backed up.

A giant snake burst through the ground right where she was standing.

Shaking from the sudden earthquake the snake made, Sakura looked up. On top of the purple snake were four Sound-nins. Two of which she recognized.

"Orochimaru…" Shikamaru voiced what they were all thinking, "And Kabuto." Sakura added.

The sannin smiled cynically, and waved to the three below in greeting. He nodded slightly to the three other ninjas on his head, which disappeared in speed so great that Sakura couldn't even tell where they were going. Even Lee had trouble spotting them.

"Well, it's been a long time, hasn't it Sakura-san?" Orochimaru said softly, his long tongue came out and licked his lips, "Someone has been dying to meet you since two and a half years ago… and I quite agree." He looked appreciatively up and down Sakura's body.

The kunoichi blushed and scowled at Orochimaru. "Just what the fuck are you doing back at Konoha? You don't deserve to show your face after you killed the Third!" she spat, tensing when Orochimaru shook his head.

"You still don't understand." The sannin chuckled, and snapped his fingers. Four other snakes appeared beside him. "You four. Go to each of Konoha's gates and wait for instructions there." He said, caressing the head of the one nearest to him. They slithered off with surprising speed.

"Now. Where were we? Ah yes." The Sound-nin's long tongue flicked over towards where Shikamaru was hiding under a bush and wrapped around the shadow manipulator.

Struggling only to have the tongue constrict tighter around him, Shikamaru looked wildly from side to side, hoping for a way to get out of the prison. As he came nearer and nearer to Orochimaru, he gasped when a flash of steel caught his eye and a moment later he was dropping from the sky. Flailing his arms in the air, he was caught by Kakashi before he hit the ground. Blinking as he was set down, he took cover with Lee and Sakura.

"Shikamaru, Lee, Sakura. Escape from this area and alert the ANBU squadrons located outside. Tell them to warn the Hokage that Orochimaru and Sound are attacking Konoha." The Copy-nin said as the three Chuunins sprinted out of the area. Keeping his eye on Orochimaru, he lifted up his hitai-ate and uncovered his sharingan. Kakashi prepared for Orochimaru's first move.

Orochimaru eyed the curious object imbedded within Kakashi's eye socket with deep interest. Grinning broadly, he stomped lightly on Manda's head. The giant snake hissed and slithered its way towards Kakashi with incredible agility.

Jumping backwards to avoid the snake's fangs, he whispered to himself, "And the fight for Konoha has started."

---

As the ANBU members teleported to the Hokage Tower, Sakura, Lee and Shikamaru ran towards the Academy.

"Iruka-sensei!" Sakura gasped as the three skidded into his classroom. The Chuunin looked up in alarm.

As they explained the situation, Iruka's facial features turned sour. "Alright. Here's what I want you three to do. Prepare yourselves as best you can- arm yourselves with any shinobi tool available and meet me at the Hokage Tower. As Chuunins and shinobi of the Leaf, it is our duty to protect the village."

The trio nodded in response before going their own separate ways.

Sakura ran across the rooftops of the buildings, panting. Jumping off she landed in front of the ramen bar. Running in she sighed when she saw that her friend was still there.

"Naruto! We are to prepare ourselves for war! Sound is attacking!"

The blonde spluttered and turned wildly around to face Sakura. "Are you serious! Sound! Sakura, I want you to promise me that you won't go into the front lines. Stay back and heal the wounded!" he said, gripping her shoulders, "Promise me!" He was frantic, and Sakura understood why. After Sasuke joined Sound, he knew that if Sakura was in the front lines her emotions would take the better of her, or because she was the last one of his Genin team still around, other than Kakashi, he didn't want to see one of the only people he knew who accepted him, die.

Sakura nodded weakly.

Naruto smiled and unhooked his fox ANBU mask from his belt. Slipping it on, he gave her thumbs up before teleporting to the Hokage Tower.

Running to her house, Sakura strapped on as many weapons she could find in her arsenal. Placing them in her waist pouch, she jumped out of her bedroom window and sprinted to the Hokage Tower.

---

Upon arrival, Sakura immediately sensed the seriousness of the situation. All around her, shinobi were tense. Most ninjas present were the ANBU, and the occasional Jounin.

Sliding into her spot beside Naruto (who she could identify by the fox mask), she awaited the Fifth's instructions.

"I see everyone is assembled. Good. Hyuuga, you'll take your squadron to the South gate and back up the ANBU stationed there. Uzumaki, you and your squad will control the situation at the North gate. Yamanaka and Nara, you'll take gates West and East. All right people, this is war. We are battling for the sake of our village's peace and for the sake of possibly all shinobi out there. Do not take any prisoners." Tsunade said, and slammed her hands on her desk. "Nara, Haruno, you two and your squad will be in charge of the tactics and battle planning. Dismissed." The ninja filed out of the Hokage's room until Shikamaru, the ANBU battle and tactics group, and Sakura were the only ones left.

"Sakura, I know how much you want to be on the front lines, but since we are dealing with Sound there will be a lot of casualties that you and your medic group need to solve. I'll leave you two to the planning then." Tsunade said, the tone of her voice telling Sakura not to argue with her, and teleported out of the office.

---

Heading out to the back line of the battle, Sakura and her team stopped and looked around them. Hundreds of the Leaf's ninjas were badly wounded while others had limbs, eyes, and other things missing. Sucking in a deep breath, Sakura nodded. "Well, we have a lot of work to do. Let's get to it!" she said.

Striding towards a patient who had lost four of his fingers, Sakura noticed that his teammates were smart enough to bring back his fingers along with the body. Closing her eyes, she picked up one of the fingers and concentrated a high amount of chakra into the digit. Placing it on the hand of the shinobi who was knocked out cold because of shock, she commanded the chakra to adhere to the hand's skin. Controlling the chakra, she managed to re-create the skin cells around the severed part, successfully attaching the finger to the hand. Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she repeated the process.

---

"Sir, are you sure you want to proceed?"

A smirk appeared. "Of course. Oh, and tell your men that if anyone should as lay a finger on what is mine, I will kill them. If they should spot her, keep her safe from harm and bring her to me. Use force if necessary."

The shinobi nodded and disappeared.

"Soon, my precious flower, soon I shall see you again…" it purred.

---

Sakura groaned as more and more injured leaf shinobi poured into the infirmary. She winced when large explosions sounded from the West and Northern gates. "Hinata-chan! Please take over my shift of patients for a bit. I'm going to check something out." The Hyuuga heiress nodded.

Sakura sprinted to the North gate, 'Naruto, please be okay!' she thought. Suddenly she stopped. Tilting her head to the side to avoid a kunai that whizzed by, she turned around and faced a Sound-nin. Smirking, she pulled out two kunai and prepared for the enemy's next move.

A 'pop' sounded next to her opponent. "Hey Mizu, you're supposed to be at the Southern gate! What the hell…" he was cut of when he spotted Sakura. Eyeing her pink hair, he smiled. "That's her. She's the one…" he said softly.

The shinobi named Mizu nodded slightly, his eyes glistening. "Sakura-sama. We wish you no harm. Please, come with us."

Sakura narrowed her eyes at him, "The hell! What was with that attack just a moment ago!" she spat.

The Sound shinobi placed his hands up in front of his chest in a sign of piece. "Please, we did not mean to do that. We were told to keep you safe until he arrives."

She rose an eyebrow, "And who exactly is 'he'?" she said, placing the kunai in front of her chest for protection if the nins should make a sudden move.

"I've missed you Sakura..." A husky voice sounded from behind her.

Whirling around, Sakura came face to face with the missing-nin, Uchiha Sasuke.

"Uchiha…" she spat, and disappeared from his view to appear behind Mizu. "Leave or I will slice his throat."

Sasuke chuckled, "My, my… getting a little vicious, are we?" his demeanour changed into a passive look as he glanced at the other Sound shinobi. "Leave us."

The pink-haired girl gasped when the two ninjas disappeared, leaving her alone with Sasuke. Looking up to Sasuke's forehead, she saw that he had indeed joined Sound.

"You betrayer!" she yelled, and fired the kunai at Sasuke.

The Uchiha grinned as he easily dodged the attack. "Sakura, I've missed you." He purred, "Come back with me to the Sound… We can do this either the easy way, or the hard way." He said softly, and shook his head when Sakura flung shuriken at him. "I guess it'll be the hard way then."

---

"Kakashi, you've gotten slow!" Orochimaru teased as the Copy-nin panted from exhaustion.

Kakashi analyzed the situation: here he was, low on stamina, sporting three wounds- one minor one on his shin, and two no-so-minor on his torso and arm. He grasped his side where a kunai with an explosive tag Orochimaru fired at him was set off.

Orochimaru clicked his tongue and two Sound-nins appeared on Manda's head. "Take care of him," he said, pointing to Kakashi, "I've got a date with the Hokage." The sannin hissed, and directed Manda towards Konoha's walls.

The two Sound shinobi glared at Kakashi with malice. "That's the son of the Konoha's White Fang. I think it's time to get revenge, don't you think so Gagi?" a female voice sounded from behind the masked ninja.

The one next to her nodded, "I quite agree with you San."

They both jumped off of Manda's head at once and landed in front of Kakashi. Pulling out kodachi strapped to their waists, they pointed the blades at Kakashi. "Let the fun begin…" the one named Gagi purred, and licked the edge of his sword.

---

Kunoichi Is that how you spell it? Oh well.

Author's Notes: And that's chapter one! All ten pages of it! . Well, I hope you found this chapter satisfactory. If you spot any Japanese grammatical errors (and English ones too!), please note them in your review! Oh, and don't forget! If you're interested in a 'job' at a BETAer, please e-mail me. The e-mail address is at the top of this page. Thank you for reading my story Intertwined Fates. Please review.

….ja


	2. It Begins

**Author's Notes** Sorry for the long update- my parents decided we were to take an unexpected trip down to the USA… Anyways, thanks so much for the reviews! The criticism was well thought of and I took all of your words to heart. On to the next chapter! WHOOP! (Note: This chapter contains a LOT of spoilers that may ruin the anime, as some techniques are only used in the manga so far. Happy reading!)

Also a note concerning how one scene in chapter one sort of matched one of the scenes the author **Blackbelt** wrote in one of her stories: Oh my. I didn't mean to do that! O.O' I revised chapter one and re-posted it so the whole scene is now different (plus, there's a _tiny bit more_ action in the fight scenes). Sorry for the…er, likeness and confusion.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any part of the manga/anime: Naruto.

Reviewers are listed at the bottom, as well as notes. Thanks for reviewing!

**Chapter Two- And It Begins…**

Sakura looked at her former teammate and inwardly groaned when she saw that he grew, if it were possible, ever more handsomer than the last time she was him. His face held a more angular shape, and even though his hair was kept the same, it seemed glossier than the last time she saw him.

No longer was the Uchiha fan on his back. Instead of his usual attire, he wore a black fishnet shirt, with a navy muscle shirt over top. His pants were cropped short, and like everything else, black. Silver leg guards protected his shins and covered the back of his black sandals.

Sasuke smirked as he saw Sakura's eyes travel down his body. "Like what you see?"

The kunoichi growled and sped towards Sasuke, aiming at his head.

Sasuke smirked and easily dodged her attack. 'Sliding' around her (Sakura gasped at his gracefulness), Sasuke grabbed the hand holding the kunai and twisted it around her back, holding it there. Placing his body sideways so she couldn't kick him, Sasuke nuzzled the side of her neck. "Mmm… you smell delicious." He whispered.

Sakura jerked her head to the side and growled. With her free hand, she elbowed Sasuke's ribs. Hearing a gratifying 'umph' from the man, Sakura took advantage of the distraction to rip free of his grasp and leap away.

Holding his sides, Sasuke clenched his jaw from the pain. Putting on his trademark smirk, he said softly, "Ah. So you've gotten stronger. Excellent…" Striding slowly towards Sakura, he noted, with some satisfaction, that she backed away in fear. 'Like a mouse trapped by a cat.' He thought.

Backing up into a tree, Sakura knew that she had nowhere to run. Gritting her teeth together with frustration, she took out three shuriken, placing them between her fingers. Making hand seals, she created two clones.

Smirking, she flung the shuriken at Sasuke and using the diversion to her advantage, quickly disappeared below ground.

Sasuke easily avoided the shuriken, but frowned when he noticed that his cherry blossom wasn't anywhere in sight. Concentrating hard, his frown deepened. 'Hn, concealed her chakra. Clever girl…' he thought.

Travelling underground, Sakura spotted Sasuke's chakra. Reaching up to grasp his leg, she gave it a hard yank. "**Doton Shinjuu Zanshuu no Jutsu!** Inner Decapitation Skill!"

Sasuke's eyes widened when he was suddenly submersed below ground with only his head visible. Grinning, he said, "Almost!" And disappeared into a log.

Clenching her fists together in frustration, Sakura sighed and calmed down. 'Perfect chakra control.' She thought, and placed her hands together in the **ram** seal. Concealing her chakra once more, Sakura tensed when she couldn't sense Sasuke anywhere.

"Above you!" Sasuke's voice called out, as he unleashed plumes of fire from his mouth.

Glaring, she placed her palm on the ground. "**Suiton: Suijinheki!** Water Element: Water Barrier Wall!" A great wall of water rose up from the ground and circled Sakura in a swirling motion. Sasuke's fire attacks instantly dissolved into steam as they were blocked.

Landing on both his feet, the Uchiha watched as the water dissipated, and the ground soaked it up. "Nice trick. But can you do it again?" he asked playfully. Sakura's eyes narrowed at the tone of his voice. He was right though. She was low on chakra after completing the previous jutsus, and before that, all the healing she did to help out the Leaf.

Her chest heaved when she realized that she might not be able to defend any further. 'I have to go for the offence. But how can I get close? I can tell by the high amount of chakra he has, there's a big gap in our skill level.' She thought, and glanced around her for any sign of an allied shinobi. Seeing none, she inwardly groaned.

"Ah, I see you've noticed that we're very much _alone_." He chuckled, his voice implying something more. Sakura shivered.

Sliding back into a stance similar to the Hyuuga's 'Jyuuken' style, Sakura ran full tilt towards Sasuke. Bringing back her fist, she concentrated chakra into the palm of her hand. Tapping Sasuke lightly on the shoulder, she released the concentrated chakra into his body. She may not have the Hyuuga's bloodline, but she could still do damage.

Sasuke grimaced in pain as she flipped away… before turning into smoke.

"Kage bunshin." She spat. Looking wildly around she froze. Tilting her head around she saw that the missing-nin had snuck up behind her.

"Surprise." He whispered, and with a flurry of hand seals, Sasuke grinned. Placing his index finger on her forehead, he lightly tapped his finger on her pale skin.

Almost instantly, Sakura was out like a light.

---

Ducking the twin blades that the two Sound-nins swung at him, Hatake Kakashi leapt away. 'Shit. All this strain I'm putting on my sharingan, I don't know how long my body can keep up,' he thought, 'I only have one shot at this. Better make it count…' Backing up a good distance away from the two, Kakashi made a series of complicated hand seals. Concentrating a high level of chakra into his hand, Kakashi looked up and smirked at Gagi and San.

Rushing towards them, leaving a large trench in his wake, the Copycat ninja shoved his arm into Gagi's body, using the sharingan to predict his movement. He was shocked when he managed to dodge it. 'What the…!' his thought was cut off as his back was slammed into the ground. As the chirping sound dissolved into thin air, Kakashi looked up and saw San standing on his back, sneering. "The activation of the body to concentrate a high amount of chakra into the arm, then focusing on speed and thrust. A useless attack against us." She stated. The kunoichi shook her head before jumping up slightly and kicking the Jounin hard in the kidneys, sending him back a good hundred feet away.

Clutching his sides Kakashi shakily stood up. Grasping his knees for support, he coughed up blood, spilling it on his clothes and onto the ground. 'Damn it! My time is running out. My body is too torn from using up too much chakra for my sharingan, I can't move.' He thought, and winced.

Gagi and San wore identical smirks as they pointed the tips of their swords at the jounin. 'This is it.' The Copy-nin thought.

The two Sound-nins smiled and ran full speed at Kakashi. San let out a battle cry. Suddenly, a green blur appeared in front of the two, and kicked the blades. Shards of metal fell off the swords and made a soft 'tinkle' when they hit the ground. Their eyes widened when their attack was intercepted by…

"The essence of **YOUTH!**" the green blob, er, man shouted, shocking San and Gagi. San eyed the green suit with disgust, "Surely this guy has better taste in fashion." She gagged.

In front of Kakashi stood Gai in his 'nice-guy' pose. His teeth sparkled in the sunlight that filtered through the canopy of trees; his bowl-shaped haircut glistened (Gagi wondered how much gel it took to make it that shiny) with the sun's reflection.

"My eternal rival, Kakashi-sempai! We meet yet again on the battlefield! May youth prevail!" he stated proudly, as he grinned. Kakashi rolled his eyes, and nodded slightly in greeting. The tai-jutsu expert grinned and settled in his battle stance. Wagging his hand forward, Gai's expression changed into one of seriousness. "Come." He taunted.

---

On top of the Hokage Mountain, stood two figures dressed in black cloaks, decorated with red clouds outlined in white.

Uchiha Itachi, one of the last surviving Uchiha, surveyed Konoha with impassive sharingan eyes, and observed the summoned snakes from Sound destroying the city, while Leaf ninjas valiantly fought back.

"Do you miss you old home?" the man beside him asked. Strapped on his back was a giant sword covered with bandages. His face looked like one of a shark's. His name was Kisame, Itachi's partner and a member of the shark clan from the Hidden Mist.

Itachi glanced at Kisame, "Iie." Turning around, he walked away leaving a slightly amused Kisame behind. Cloak billowing behind him, the Uchiha closed his eyes. He thought about their mission. 'Stage one: complete.'

---

Tsunade shouted out directions to the panicking shinobi and citizens below her. She sighed when one of Orochimaru's snakes burst through one of the Southern gates.

"Hokage-sama!" A shinobi with a sparrow mask shoved his way through the panicking citizens. Gasping, he handed her a piece of paper relaying the current damage done to Konoha.

Nodding to the ANBU, the Fifth glared "Leave." She snapped at the sparrow-masked ANBU. The sparrow-masked shinobi tilted his head to the side in confusion before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Sighing, the Hokage ran her fingers through her platinum blonde hair. "Good evening Orochimaru. And what, pray tell, did I do to deserve this _special_ visit?" she said sarcastically. Turning around she came face to face with her old teammate.

The snake sannin inclined his head with amusement. "My dear, _dear_ Tsunade-chan… It's been a long time, ne?"

Tsunade scowled, "It has, hasn't it? I see you've re-claimed the use of your arms. Tell me, why do you want Konoha? You've already got the Uchiha, why do you want the city?" she asked, and crossed her arms over her large chest.

"Ah yes. The Third's curse was a big problem a first, but nothing a new container couldn't handle," he chuckled, "Why I want Konoha? Well, it's a building block for the start of my new reign over all the countries."

Tsunade glared at her former teammate. "You're mad." She said simply, before she made a sweep in front of her with her hand. A blue chakra blade sprang from her hand and slashed across Orochimaru's chest.

The sannin hissed and made a bout of hand seals. A purple barrier appeared in front of him, successfully blocking Tsunade's attack.

The Fifth watched the barrier with slight interest. "New tricks? Excellent. More of a challenge!" she barked, and pounded the ground with her chakra-filled fist. A large crack appeared under the snake sannin. He looked up in alarm before the crevice filled itself up, covering him with a large amount of soil.

Tsunade huffed and observed the packed dirt. "Geez. That was a disappointment…"

"Wrong." Twitching, Tsunade felt a warm substance trailing down her neck.

Twirling around, sending her pigtails flying, Tsunade gritted her teeth. A perfect replica of the Orochimaru she just killed stepped out of the shadows of the Hokage Tower. "A new clone technique. Been developing it for quite some time now." He hissed and licked his lips, which were covered in a red liquid.

Grasping her neck, Tsunade examined her fingers. "Blood…" she said softly, her eyes widening to the size of saucers. Placing her hand to her forehead, she closed her eyes as a sudden feeling of dizziness washed over her.

The snake sannin watched her with mock concern. "Aw. Is poor little Tsunade-chan gonna faint because of a little blood?" he said. Walking towards her, he cupped her chin with his pallid hand. "Now, it's your turn to feel the pain that I felt all of these years." He stated coldly. Releasing her chin he stepped back, and observed her disinterestedly.

"I've always wanted you, Tsunade. Ever since we were Genins, you were mine. But then that all changed when _Dan_," he spat the name out with disgust, "took you away from me. So, I killed him. I comforted you, I supported you, and did you offer me your affection? No. So, my dear, it's your turn to _feel the pain_."

Tsunade looked up weakly at Orochimaru and glared, "You killed him? Why?"

The snake sannin scoffed, "He was worthless anyways; a weak ninja. He was never worth enough to be in your presence." Sliding his sword out of his mouth, Orochimaru pointed it at his former teammate. "Goodbye." He said sarcastically.

The Fifth gritted her teeth and braced herself for the blow… that never came.

"Don't touch her!" Ground out the person standing in front of her, holding back the sword with the kunai in his hands. The faint whisker lines on his face were more prominent than they were normally, and although his eyes were a deep azure in colour, they glowed a bright red, reflecting his rage.

Tsunade nearly cried when she saw that, yet again, Naruto had saved her life.

Orochimaru looked at the Kyuubi container with interest, "Ah yes, the Nine Tails container. Pity your body is too weak to possess." He stated.

Naruto snarled at the sannin and pushed the katana back with such force, that Orochimaru staggered a little.

Straightening up, he viewed the blonde. Clasping his hands together, he slammed them on the ground.

Clenching his teeth, Naruto twisted his body to the right as the shockwave of sound _(( **A/N:** Ha ha! Get it? Heh. My sad attempt at a joke…))_ blasted away the ground that he was previously standing on. Crossing his hands in a cross shape, he shouted, "**Kage Bunshin no jutsu! **Shadow Clone Technique!" Multitudes of Narutos surrounded the original. Smirking, the fox boy pointed at the sannin.

Orochimaru licked his lips and slashed at the first wave of clones, which disappeared in a large cloud of smoke. "You think you can defeat me with shadow replicas?" he inquired over the noise of the dissipating clones.

"No, but maybe with this, I can!"

Peering over the thick mist, Orochimaru's eyes widened slightly. Two Narutos stood at the side. One was holding a swirling mass of red chakra; another one was spinning it around in the hand of the holder.

Grinning like a fool, the two Narutos sped towards Orochimaru. Grunting, the real Naruto used the clone as leverage to pinpoint the place of his attack. Letting out a loud battle cry, Naruto shouted, "**Rasengan!**" and pushed the swirling ball of concentrated chakra into the torso of Orochimaru.

The sannin was sent flying off the railing of the Hokage Tower and onto the ground below.

Spitting out blood, Orochimaru wiped his mouth and glared at the boy standing on the railing of the tower, smirking. Clasping his hands together in the **snake** seal, Orochimaru hissed.

Stretching his head, his grunted as his neck expanded. The sannin's teeth enlarged to great proportions, dripping with what looked liked venom.

Naruto gulped and immediately tried to flee away from the attacking head. 'Damn it!' he thought, as he tripped on one of the steps of the staircase. Landing on his knee, Naruto quickly scrambled off the ground. 'If I concentrate all of my chakra to my feet, the most I can do is run away. I can't get on the offence without killing myself…' He grunted as Orochimaru dove at his ankles. Jumping off the ground, he arched his back and flipped upwards.

Landing on the red shingles of the Tower, he reached into his waist pouch and pulled out a blue scroll with the kanji for 'water' on it. Unrolling the battered parchment with care, Naruto bit his thumb hard enough to draw blood. 'You'd better answer this call, you guys.' He thought, and spread his thumb across the unrolled parchment. A white plume of smoke engulfed the area, and Naruto waved it away impatiently with his hand.

Orochimaru looked amused, "Hm, summoning?" he thought aloud, tapping his chin with his finger.

Five members of the ANBU appeared beside Naruto, each wearing a mask representing an animal. Turning towards the blonde, the one in the owl mask, his voice muffled by the mask, said, "Captain. You called us?" Naruto nodded.

"Hai. We've cornered Orochimaru. I want you to summon as many fellow ANBUs as you can to catch this son of a bitch. He murdered the Third, and tried to assassinate the Fifth. It's payback." He growled.

The sannin sighed, "You really think you can catch me? You're poorly mistaken." He hissed at the shinobi and made a one-handed seal. Thick drops of venom gushed from his mouth. Spitting it out, it landed on an ANBU with a weasel mask. The ninja immediately cried out in pain as it dissolved his skin and clothes. Orochimaru laughed.

The remaining ANBU members clenched their hands together, either in frustration, or in fear, and prepared their assault on the snake sannin. The one with the owl mask voiced his anger and sprinted head long towards the sannin, aiming to cut the muscle connecting the arm to the shoulder. He yelled out a string of curses when Orochimaru sidestepped so fluidly, that it appeared he was dancing.

"I'm genuinely surprised that the Leaf ANBU couldn't do any more than this."

The owl-masked shinobi growled at him and launched another attack. Whipping out four shuriken, he tossed them at Orochimaru, while making an array of hand seals. "**Shuriken Kage Bunshin no jutsu!** Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!" Multitudes of shuriken made their way towards the snake ninja- all of them _very_ real.

Smirking, Orochimaru used his katana and reflected the weapons back at the user.

The ANBU gasped slightly when his own tools were propelled back at him. Ducking slightly, he made the seals, **ram**, **tiger**,** ram**,** ox**,** horse**,and** dog**, and then slammed his palms on the ground. "**Fuuton: Fuusajin no jutsu!** Wind element: Dust Winds Technique!" A large gust of wind pelted towards Orochimaru in a wave of earth and wind.

The sannin narrowed his eyes as bits of dirt, sand, and grass covered him from head to toe. He barely had any warning as a quick punch made it's way towards his stomach. Grunting, he whirled around, bringing his leg up to kick the attacker. The owl-masked ANBU grunted when the kick made contact on his shins.

The remaining ANBU sprinted at the sannin, crying out, "**Taren Ken!** Match Punch!" An array of fast-moving punches came flying towards Orochimaru.

The snake sannin's eyes darted back and forth, trying to decipher where the main attack was coming from. 'Damn it!' he thought, as all three shinobi managed to hit him in the jaw.

Flying back and landing roughly on his knees, Orochimaru spat out three bloody teeth. Wiping his chin with the back of his hand, he smiled. Seeing a sudden flash of light in the distance, he glanced in the direction where the North gate was, and grinned cynically. "Well, sorry I couldn't stay longer! I have some very important business to take care of!" he cackled, and disappeared in a plume of purple smoke.

The rat-masked ANBU swore, and punched the evaporating smoke with her fist.

The four ANBU glanced at their teammate who looked like he had been brutally skinned and sliced up; they covered him with his jacket and removed his mask. Looking at each other, they nodded and sprinted off to help the rest of the Leaf defend against the Sound.

---

Landing beside the shocked Tsunade, he heaved one of her arms over his shoulder and used it to help her up. "Come on Tsunade baa-chan! You can't die now!" he huffed. Jumping onto the top floor of the Hokage Tower, he propelled himself off the roof and on to the house next door. Continuing the process, Naruto looked back to see if they were being followed. When he saw no one, he determined that it was safe to stop.

The Fifth looked at Naruto, "You saved me again…"

"Of course! What was I going to do? Leave you?" he laughed harshly. Dropping down to the ground, he set Tsunade down. "There. Neji's squad should be here shortly, until then, stay hidden." He smiled lightly at her, and then placed his fox mask back on his face. Waving slightly to the Hokage, Naruto sprinted off towards the West gate.

Tsunade sighed and leaned back on the building behind her. Placing a hand on her aching head and closing her eyes, she thought about how stupid she was for getting herself, almost, killed. 'But if it wasn't for Naruto, I would have.' She thought ruefully, 'He'll be a better Hokage than I am one day.'

Propping her hand on her chin, she fell into a light sleep. Snapping her eyes open, she tenses. A slight rustle of leaves could be heard in the forest just beyond the fenced gates that surrounded Konoha. Squinting her eyes, she gasped as she spotted a flash of black and red hidden in the trees. 'The Akatsuki!' she thought, and stood up. When she looked closer, they were gone.

---

"He's here. We should move out now…"

"Hai." Sharingan eyes viewed the fox boy with interest. 'We meet again, Naruto-kun.'

Moving swiftly and silently through the foliage, the two members of the Akatsuki easily caught up with the Kyuubi carrier.

Landing in front of the startled blonde, Kisame smirked. Unlatching the belt that held his sword in place, he swung it over his shoulder and pointed it at Naruto. Dragging it on the ground, the bandages covering the sword were instantly shredded to pieces, leaving the sword uncovered. "Say hello to my beauty, Samehada." He said, and patted the hilt of the sword affectionately. The blonde looked quizzically at the weapon.

Itachi nodded to Kisame. "Remember, do _not_ kill him. Bring him back in one piece." Standing back, he watched the battle ensue.

Kisame smirked, "Sure…" and propelled his sword at the ANBU.

Naruto gaped. He didn't even see the shark-man move his arm!

The Kyuubi-carrier grunted and sidestepped out of the way, watching as the sword missed him. "Ha! You missed!" he taunted, but realized his mistake when Kisame's sword flew back into his hand. "What the hell? Fu…" he ducked as the giant sword covered in many spikes grazed his shoulder. 'This sword's not meant for slicing, it's meant for shearing the opponent!' he thought. Coving his bleeding arm with his hand, he panted. 'What the hell! My chakra…'

Grinning like a maniac (not that he isn't one already), Kisame propped his sword in the ground and began making a flurry of hand seals. "**Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu!** Mist Shadow Clone Technique!" Two Kisames appeared beside the original. "Ah, so you've noticed. My sword just isn't for cutting, but this little beauty can suck up as much chakra as I want it to." He smirked.

"HA! You think you can beat me with that?" Naruto said, crossing his arms, confidence shining in his azure eyes. Mentally, he was panicking. 'Shit! He's a member of the Akatsuki, plus Itachi's here! Even with three Jounins fighting against them, they were no match. Fuck! I'm low on chakra after fighting all those Sound-nins, plus Oro-' He cried out as one of the bunshins somehow managed to sneak up behind him and cut the area behind his knees. Falling to the ground and landing on his face, he cursed.

The shark-man grinned, "Are you sure this is the right boy, Itachi? For someone who has the power of the Nine-Tails, he sure is weak!" he mocked.

The blonde coughed and shakily sat up. Glancing at his torn legs, he assessed the damage. 'Muscle tissue is torn at the knee… That bastard! I can't move!' he rolled out of the way as one of the clones tried to skin his arm.

Itachi closed his eyes, "Kisame. Enough. You've already damaged him more than we needed to. _He_ won't be pleased." Opening his eyes, he strode towards the Kyuubi carrier and squatted in front of him.

Looking him straight in the eye and glaring defiantly, the blonde watched as the three pinwheels in the Uchiha's eyes spun rapidly around in the center, before expanding into three points. 'This seems familiar…' he thought, but before he could decipher what it was, he blacked out.

Standing up and brushing his cloak, Itachi nodded to Kisame. "Contact the others. We're leaving." Bending his knees slightly, the Uchiha bounded off into the depths of the forest.

Kisame smirked and hoisted the limp container over his shoulder. Nodding to his bunshins to contact the rest of the Organization, he disappeared into the foliage after his partner. "Part Two of the Mission: Complete." He said softly.

---

"We've received information that Uchicha-san and Hoshigaki-san have found the Kyuubi. Contact Deidara- we're moving out." A raspy voice spoke out from the shadows and licked his lips. Pulling his cloak tighter around his deformed body, he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

The five other Akatsuki bowed slightly and vanished from Konoha's gates.

To be continued… 

**Author's Notes:** Hehe, and that's chapter two! For some reason, the fight with Orochimaru and Naruto/Tsunade wasn't satisfactory- in my mind. I dunno. Tell me what you think and review! .- Oh, and about Gai/Kakashi's fight: That'll be next chapter… . '

On to **Reviews**! (Signed reviews will be bolded, anonymous will be normal.)

**Shang: **Really? I believe there are a few more stories out there with Naruto as an ANBU member… Well, glad I could be your first? Lol! Thanks, I'll try to improve my fight scenes. I can see they really need work… -cringe- Thanks for the review! I hope this chapter is more improved than the last in fight scenes.

Tsuki Angel: Ahhhh! Sorry for the confusion! I revised chapter one and edited it ((psst: There's a _tiny bit more_ action in the fight scenes aswell…)) Thanks for noticing- I wouldn't want to steal other people's ideas.. ( Thanks for the review!

Des: Glad you like it! Thanks for the review! Stay tuned for Chapter 3! X3

Kimi: Ahhhhh! O.O I totally forgot that Lee has no chakra (do you know why?). Geez I have to pay attention to what I type. These fingers have a mind of their own. Glad you like the story! Thanks for the review.

**Gothbrat:** Hehe! I'm glad that my story interests you… I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks for the review.

**Susakuru:** Thanks! (I have fans! Rofl!) I really do hope this chapter was to your satisfaction… / Thanks for the review! Lol!

**Kurama-kawai: **Glad you're enjoying the story so far! .- Hope you enjoyed this instalment! Thanks for the review!

**RunRAMENrun: **OMG! I totally love your pen-name! Reminds me so much of our loveable Naruto! . 10/10! You really like my story that much? –gasp- I'm so honoured! –blushes- I'm glad that you like it! I hope yo enjoyed this chapter… Chapter 3 will (hopefully) be up soon! Thanks for the review!

**NOTE:** I'm still looking for a BETA to read over my work. If you are interested, please send me an e-mail or state so in a review (you MUST have an e-mail address so I can contact you.). Thanks again, you guys/gals! You ROCK!


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Naruto, Adventure, Romance