The aged Hokage grimaced as Naruto, in his ever gruesome display walked right up to his desk and placed a pale arm onto it. He raised a single eyebrow towards the blond haired junchuriki. "What is this?" He asked
"The arm of your former student." He replied blandly.
Sarutobi lit his pipe and took a puff before putting on a glove and grabbing the arm, twisting it around so he could see the snake summoning tattoo. He put the severed limb back down on his desk before turning to the blond. "You fought him?" He asked, taking another puff.
Naruto nodded.
"Since you did not bring me the corpse, I assume he escaped."
"Affirmative" He replied.
Sarutobi stood and walked to the balcony. "Were you able to discover what, or who he was after?"
"He followed my team throughout the entire second portion of the exam, it is safe to assume that he was after either the Uchiha, or the Hyuuga."
Sarutobi 'hmmed' This was somewhat disturbing, but still, from that alone it was easy to decipher who he was after, Orochimaru's lifelong goal was to learn and master every jutsu in order to become a 'Living God' a foolish ambition, no doubt. He was most likely after the Sharingan in order to aid him in that goal.
He would have to increase the guards around Sasuke. Perhaps grant the boy his personal Anbu detail. He was after all, the last person who could breed another Sharingan user in Konoha a useful eye that brought in many clients and a lot of clout.
If only for his bloodline they must keep him out of Orochimaru's hands.
He turned to Naruto. "Very well, you may leave."
"Hokage-sama." Naruto spoke, catching the old mans attention.
"Yes?" He asked curiously, usually when he dismissed the blond he would leave without a second thought.
Naruto gestured to the hand. "During the battle, Orochimaru used this tattoo to summon large snakes. The terrain suited me, the large trees allowed me to maintain even ground with the summon, however, should he have summoned Manda, or any other summon that was taller than the trees by a large margin then I may have been defeated easily. Therefore, I would like to get my own summon."
Sarutobi looked astonished for a moment before he looked contemplative. Most likely, the only reason Orochimaru didn't summon the snake boss was because he wished to remain hidden, when he was discovered he wouldn't care about going all out, so yes, if Naruto was to face him, he would need a summon. However, the only summons that Konoha possessed that could rival Manda were the toads and the slug, Enma was only good for personal hand to hand combat.
But…perhaps.
The snake summon itself, cared only for strength, if word spread among the snake clan that Naruto had defeated the infamous missing nin and now held his contract…Orochimaru would never be able to again fight on even ground with either Jiraiya or Tsunade, even less so with Naruto, as none of the snake summons would assist him should they be facing Manda.
But first he had to ask the blond himself. "So you are asking for a summon? Only Jiraiya and Tsunade hold the contracts for their summons and they are the only ones Konoha possesses that can go toe to toe with the snakes."
Naruto then looked to the severed arm on the desk. "Then the logical choice would be the contract we have available."
Sarutobi's lips settled into a thin line, it might be the best choice, and no doubt returning the snake contract to Konoha would bring back much needed prestige and power to the leaf village. However, should Naruto become the head summoner of the snake contract that would only increase his value as a human weapon in the eyes of the council.
"Naruto…" He began slowly, as if weighing his words. "Are you willing to take the snake contract?" He asked carefully.
Naruto looked to the old Hokage, raising a single eyebrow. "It is the most logical choice and quite frankly, the only one available to us. It is in the interest of the village."
Sarutobi took off his hat, revealing his thinning gray hair and sighed tiredly. He looked at Naruto's eyes almost pleadingly. He seemed so much older then, that Naruto felt his eyes widen just a bit. "It may be for the sake of the village Naruto but…what do you want? Should you choose to take it some people may be angry, since it is such a reminder of our greatest traitor. You would orchestrate yourself. It is not your duty or your responsibility to take it should you not want to." He emphasized hoping that some of the message reached him.
Naruto stared at the aged Hokage like he was alien. Without his Anbu mask the Hokage could clearly see the confusion in his eyes. Naruto simply couldn't understand...
Sarutobi was telling him that he could choose weather or not to take the snake summoning? But why? Wasn't the safety of the village and the strength of the village supposed to be his top priority?
Then…what reason did he have for this? Why would he place his choice, his want above the safety of the village? A shinobi should always protect their village so why would he even give him a choice and not command him to do so?
He was snapped out of his reverie as the Hokage's voice reached him. "Naruto." He prodded.
Blue eyes, sharp and cold as ever met the Hokage's slightly saddened ones. But beneath the coldness, beneath the razors edge, beneath the empty nothingness a sliver of doubt had wormed its way in. "I will take the summonig contract.
Sarutobi sighed and handed him an empty ink glass. "Place some blood inside please. He said as he took out an old brush.
Naruto cut his palm and let the red life liquid flow freely out of him and into the glass vial.
Soon, the wound closed, leaving perfectly unmarked skin.
Sarutobi looked over the seal Orochimaru had on his now detached arm and analyzed it for a few moments. He pushed a small amount of chakra into it and sensed what needed to be done. In all honesty, Jiraiya was better suited for this but he could arrive some time from next week onto next month. Sarutobi couldn't wait that long to make the contract, Orochimaru was no doubt trying to find a way to either get his arm back, or form a new summoning tattoo on his other arm.
Still, he knew what needed to be done, it was basically, imbuing the tattoo with every seal needed for the summoning.
Relatively four-hundred and ninety.
These, four-hundred and ninety seals were usually placed in scrolls that the people signed, thus the summoning contract. When the scroll was signed with blood it also carried a minute amount of chakra, which was then recognized by animal clan as their new summoner, allowing them to bypass the four-hundred and ninety seals and allowing them to merely use the last seals.
Those last ten seals is what allowed the clans to distinguish themselves, each clan had a distinct combination for themselves.
Being the 'Profesor' master of all of Konoha's forbidden jutsu he knew the combination of seals to all five of Konoha's summons therefore, all he had to do was create the first four-hundred and ninety seals and then show Naruto the last ten so he could successfully summon the snakes.
The reason he had not done this earlier is because, no Konoha shinobi had the strength to match the snake sannin, therefore the snakes would never serve the user should Orochimaru, the head summoner command it. Anko herself was only allowed to summon lesser snakes to use with the shadow snake hands. But that was about it.
Sarutobi took the vial and dipped his brush in it with a soft sigh. "Give me your arm please."
Naruto nodded and rolled up his sleeve, extending his forearm.
Sarutobi began painting the symbol, about a half an hour later he was done, he then began the long process of forming the four-hundred and ninety seals necessary to make it an actual summoning tattoo and not just some skin decoration.
About an hour and a half later his hand glowed with green fames.
"Kuchiyose Fuin Sho no Jutsu!"He cried before slamming the glowing green flames onto the newly made seal. It glowed green then purple for a moment, glowing golden Kanji hovered above the now blackened symbol before burning into the skin forever merging themselves with the boys arm.
It looked painful, It most likely was Sarutobi knew. But the boy's face remained neutral throughout the ordeal.
Finally, the glowing died down, leaving a simple black snake tattoo around his arm. Sarutobi nodded to himself. Naruto examined his arm for a moment before turning back to Sarutobi.
He then stood and showed the boy the necessary handseals.
"Is that all Naruto?" He asked.
The blond nodded and bowed once before leaving. The aged Hokage sighed and sat down on his chair.
Naruto stood at the roof of the tower in the forest of death. He silently formed the designated handseals and used a little bit of chakra, in a plume of smoke a regular sized snake appeared on the roof. It looked at him and hissed.
"Who are yousssssss. I never heardsssss of youssssss with the sssssnake contractssssss" the creature hissed.
Naruto dropped Orochimaru's severed arm infront of the creature. "I defeated Orochimaru, return to Manda, and tell him that you have a new summoner.
The creature hissed and licked Orochimaru's arm, tasting it. "Yessssssss, thisssss issss Orochimaru-ssssssssamassssss arm. I will inform the great Manda."
It vanished in a small plume of smoke.
Naruto looked at the spot the snake had occupied before turning and walking down the stairs.
The Genin had all assembled in the middle of the tower, which was obviously used as a fighting arena. They noticed that all of the important people of the village were here. Anko was the first to address them.
"Hokage-Sama will now explain the rules for the third exam, so listen up!"
The Hokage stepped forward. He took a long draw from his pipe before expelling the smoke.
"Before I explain the rules of the third exam, I want to tell you the true meaning for this exam."
"This exam, is merely just a replacement of war." He explained, his voice ringing loud and authoritative even in his old age.
He watched as confusion filtered through most of their faces.
"Go back 50 or so years, and you'll find that all the currently 'allied' countries were enemies fighting for the right to rule. Eventually, they realized that there was a much less costly way of dealing with the power struggle, and so the Chunin Selection Exams were born. During the main matches, you will be watched by some of the most powerful and influential people on the face of the planet. Each shinobi in the exams is expected to put his life on the line to uphold their village's power and prestige."
"But why the hell do we have to risk our lives to entertain people!"
Sarutobi answered without missing a beat.
"The strength of a country is decided by the strength of it's village. The strength of the village is decided by the strength of the shinobi. If the strength of a shinobi, and therefore it's village and country is clear, the influential and powerful people in the stands will favor that village, and they will receive more clients. However, if the inverse is true, and a shinobi is seen as weak, his or her country will receive less clients. If a village's 'power' deteriorates to a certain level, it is giving the message to the other villages that 'we are weak.' This will signal any country that is even a slight enemy that they are prime for invasion. Therefore we are expected to perform our best and bring power and prestige to our village in order to avoid any potential threats of invasion."
Sarutobi took a puff of his pipe before continuing.
"They only time a shinobi's true strength comes to the surface is during life or death situations. I will now begin explaining the third test's rules-"
" *Cough* Actually, Hokage-Sama, as the referee, will you allow me to explain the rules?"
"Very well."
The Chunin coughed again and turned around to face the group of Genins.
"Greetings... I am Hayate. There's something that must be done before the third test begins, namely, a preliminary."
"What? Why?"
"It may have been that the first and second tests were too easy this year, or it may be that you are all exceptional Genins. Whatever the reason is, there are far too many people left to simply put you all into the next test."
"But why is that?"
"As Hokage-Sama said, there will be powerful people watching the third test. Their time is valuable, and we cannot afford to waste it... Therefore, according to the Chunin selection exam rules, we are required to hold a preliminary."
People, muttered amongst themselves, thinking, worrying, but in the end they would accept it regardless.
"One final thing, would anyone like to give up now?"
A gennin with silver hair, one that Naruto immediately recognized as Yakushi Kabuto raised his hand. The blond ignored it for now.
When no one else spoke up Hayate spoke. He coughed to get everyone's attention. "Very well since no one else is going to quit then I will announce the first match. If you would all please divert your attention to the board."
Everyone turned and found a board that was flashing through several names very quickly.
The names landed on Sasuke and one of Kabuto's teammates. The others all walked up to the stands, leaving the two fighters.
Sasuke's fight with Kabuto's teammate was quick. He merely used a few fire jutsus and some standard Taijutsu and the gennin was defeated handily.
Hayate didn't waste time and called the next match. It was an Oto nin, Zaku versus Aburame Shino. The fight was short with Zaku's arms being blown off as Shino destroyed them.
The next fight was the Suna shinobi Kankuro versus another of Kabuto's teammates.
After Kankuro used a trick with his puppet Karasu he won the fight and Naruto turned back to the billboard. The names kept flashing through until it stopped again, it was Gaara, against Rock Lee.
The two gennins fought impressively, but in the end, Gaara won, wrapping lee up entirely in his sand coffin threatening to crush him if he didn't surrender. Lee did so, with great reluctance.
It then settled on two Kunoichi, one with pink hair and one with blond hair the pink haired girl won, no doubt due to the genjutsu training she had received from her sensei, Kurenai.
The board then settled on, himself and the Inuzuka, the fight was over, quickly…very quickly.
Then it went to a Suna kunoichi and a weapon mistress. The fight went to the Suna kunoichi.
Then, finally, the board settled a very interesting set of names.
Hyuuga Hinata and Hyuuga Neji.
He heard and saw Hinata clench her fists. "Damnit." She cursed under her breath.
He also saw, from the corner of his eye, the faint twitch of the Hyuuga boy's lips, indicating he was smirking, or resisting the urge to do so.
The blood feud between the main and branch house, would be seen today.
As the two stood in the arena, the tension between them was palpable, Neji was practically oozing killing intent.
"Hinata-sama, give up now, you cannot change your fate. You are destined to lose to me." The Hyuuga prodigy stated blandly.
Hinata's eyes suddenly flared to life, the Byakuugan fully active. "I wont lose to you Neji. Simply because…there is no such thing as fate.
Neji narrowed his eyes at the girl, glaring at her for all he was worth. Hinata met his gaze unflinchingly. They settled themselves into their fighting stances.
Hayate shifted his view from one to the other. He raised his hand and let it fall. "BEGIN!"
They charged at each other and began pumping chakra through their hands to damage each others opponent's chakra coils.
They traded turns attacking and evading, before they eventually both switched to a more offensive style of the Juuken.
Hinata swerved to avoid a strike aimed at her left shoulder and aimed a hit at Neji's ribs with her right arm, Neji grabbed her arm and yanked her forward, all the way around in a 180 turn and delivered a solid palm strike to the girl's stomach Hinata stiffened for a moment before coughing up blood. She, growled and then did something that few people in the arena expected she grabbed Neji's wrist, leaned back, making him bend forward as she pulled his wrist along with her and then delivered a solid, hard kick to Neji's ribs, no fancy Juukken no Hyuuga taijutsu, just a solid straight up kick that hurt, A lot. Neji could testify to that as he felt the air leave his lungs.
He coughed, and the metallic coppery taste of his own blood filtered into his mouth. 'What on earth? There's no way she managed to hit me that hard?' He thought to himself for a moment.
He then realized what she did, she had combined the Juuken with that hard kick, it usually wasn't possible, since rapid muscle movement deteriorated the chakra control necessary for the fighting style to actually have an effect and not just be wasted chakra but Hinata had managed to do it to some degree, it didn't have the complete power of a precise Jukken but it was strong enough.
He grit his teeth, Hinata had always been weaker than he was, he refused to admit defeat infront of her. Fate would not allow it. He was the prodigal Hyuuga, the one who had been granted the greatest Byakuugan abilities in the Hyuuga clan in over a century he refused to admit defeat.
He rushed forward again, and the two continued to trade blows with the Jukken Neji's raw skill was better than Hinata's but Hinata's lithe and flexible form allowed her to even the playing field.
What Neji did next however, caught her completely off guard.
"Kaiten!" He yelled, she was standing barely three feet from him and therefore received the hit full force. She was launched to the far wall where she hit the cold stone with a sickening crack of her skull striking stone..
She struggled, standing on shaky limbs, shaking the cobwebs out of her mind. She then looked as Neji took a stance that she had seen many times. "You are now in my field of divination." The Hyuuga prodigy spoke coldly.
Hinata didn't have any time to respond before he rushed her. She wouldn't survive it, damage had been delivered to her stomach, her diaphram and her liver one wasn't too much of a problem, but all of them combined along with Neji's next attack, she could very likely die from the stress placed on her body..
Hinata's hands moved by instinct, reflex and survival were all that moved her. She'd seen this technique, knew it top to botom, because she'd faced it before, knew where he would strike, what he would do.
Her hands moved.
She blocked Neji's first strike, then his second, third, fourth, fifth-
Neji, felt his eyes go wide, this was completely unheard of…a technique that could defend from the Hyuuga's most devastating attack?
He grit his teeth, as his attack ended. He leapt back, and saw Hinata, fall to one knee as she gasped for breath. A few of his attacks had gotten through, one of the last one's striking the shoulder, which left her arm completely useless.
He rushed forward again, in his anger, and in his underestimation of her strength in her current state he left himself open.
Hinata however caught it, in his next strike, all she had to do was divert the attack, and she would then be able to strike him in the chest, no doubt giving her the victory but also, it could kill Neji.
Naruto noticed this as well.
Time seemed to slow down as Neji approached her. She heard his footsteps, saw his the chakra in his palm as he approached her. In the end…she couldn't do it.
She lowered her hand and closed her eyes, before Neji's attack, hit her, just above her heart.
She fell back, and hit the floor with a dull thud.
Unmoving.
Everyone stayed there, stunned at the turn of events.
But none more so than Naruto. He had seen the opening, he had seen her see the opening…
Why didn't she take it?
Why did she…let him win?
"Announce my victory proctor." Neji stated coldly, spitting out some blood that had collected in his mouth. "She wont be getting up."
Naruto's hand, which had been gripping the railing tightly, dented the metal bars by the force of his grip. He could not explain this…emotion?
He was angry?
But why?
Was it because…he was confused? Or because…he had failed his mission? Or…
Because the Hyuuga…Hinata…was now dead?
Impossible…such attachments were not meant for a Shinobi, he would not allow himself such a foolish emotion over…a mission.
He released his grip and calmly exhaled.
But he felt himself take a sharp intake of breath, as the girl's eyes weakly opened, and she began to struggle in order to stand again.
Neji, who had been making, his way up the stairs, turned at the sound of coughing, and the splattering of blood on the cold stone.
"Why do you stand? You'll really die if you push yourself anymore." He drawled, hiding his surprise that she was still standing. "Your fate decrees that you will lose to me."
Hinata took a deep breath before she spoke, her voice was strained, painful even. "There…there is…no such thing as fate…so…stop hiding…behind it…coward."
Her words, though spoken softly were heard through the entire room, that now seemed so much colder than before.
Neji's eyes, lit up with fury and he rushed at the girl, fully intending on ending her life.
In a simple blur of red and black, Naruto appeared between the Hyuuga, prodigy and Hinata, catching his strike easily, half an instant before Gai had his arm around the boy's throat in a headlock
Naruto shoved the boy's hand away away and turned just in time to catch Hinata as she fell forward. Her legs not having the strength to keep her standing.
Naruto felt detached from his body as he stared at the girl. Why had she taken the hit? Why did she allow herself to fall to such a state? She could have won. Preserved herself.
He didn't understand, and even as the medics took her, his eyes, hidden by shadow shined with the silent question.
'Why?'