Chapter Text
The proctor, Anko Mitarashi, was explaining the rules of the second stage. The second stage takes place in the Forest of Death. Three-man teams are given either a Heaven Scroll or an Earth Scroll before entering the forest.
They have five days to reach the building in the centre of the forest with one of each scroll in their possession, and the team must be whole when they enter.
If even one member is missing, the team fails.
How they acquire the other scroll is up to them.
Still with the sense of rivalry, but the loyalty of wanting to go up together, Konoha 12 decided they would stay close to each other.
The shinobis from the sound village attacked Team 7, but with the other close by, it’s easier to call for back-ups.
Kiba took points, Akamaru already growling low.
Shino’s kikaichū spread thin across the trees, mapping movement and distracting enemies.
Naruto darted in and out, loud on purpose, drawing attention while Sasuke flanked them.
Neji’s Byakugan stayed active, calling angles.
Ino and Shikamaru stayed back, voices sharp, fast.
“Left!” Neji snapped.
Kiba grinned, twisting mid-air. “Got it!”
The enemy fell fast. A blur of coordinated strikes, Jōnin-level opponents overwhelmed by sheer numbers and confidence.
Lee landed beside Tenten, thumbs up. “Excellent teamwork!”
Tenten huffed with a smile. “Don’t get cocky.”
Kiba laughed. “See? We won!”
The ground moved. It breathed and exploded.
The sands flying around were blinding them all.
Neji’s eyes widened. “Everyone, BACK!”
A pale face with a wide smile was revealed as the sands settled down.
“Well,” Orochimaru said pleasantly, brushing dirt from his sleeves, “this is unexpected.”
Everything stopped.
Naruto’s grin vanished. “Who the hell are you?”
Murderous chakra pressed down on them, not crushing, just present. Like a predator deciding whether they’re worth playing or not.
Shikamaru swallowed. “…This is bad.”
“W-why is this bad?” Ino stammered.
“Twelve,” the snake licked his lip. “How charming.”
No one moved.
Then Orochimaru smiled wider.
And disappeared.
“SCATTER!” Shikamaru shouted.
They ran like mouses in front of a predator.
—
They regrouped silently on a predetermined spot, hidden among roots and leaves, breaths sharp and uneven.
Naruto clenched his fists. “That guy- that guy wasn’t a genin!”
“Clearly,” Sasuke and Sakura snapped.
“That’s Orochimaru, one of the three legendary sannin, student of the Third-Hokage,” Sakura informed.
“Who?” Naruto asked.
“Points is, he’s strong. Stronger than those sound shinobis.”
“If we engage like before,” he said, “death becomes entirely possible,” Neji muttered. “His chakras were massive and deathly. And I’m sure he’s still hiding most of his cards.”
“Couldn’t we just hide and run?” Tenten stammered.
“He could easily catch up to us. I’m also one hundred percent sure he knows where we are now and is only playing the long game,” Shikamaru bites his nail.
“The adults!” Hinata chimed, “Wouldn’t they already be on their way here?”
“Hardly. We didn’t know if the adults were already aware of his existence here, which I vouch they weren’t. Considering they still went up and continue with the exams.” Sakura Replied
Everyone went silent.
“So…” Choji breaks the silence, hesitant. “What now?”
Naruto shuts his eyes, focusing.
“We create explosions or some kind of signals,” Kiba chimed, “so that the adults will check on us!”
“Wouldn’t they just think we’re just fighting another genin?” Hinata questioned.
“Not if we make it big enough.”
“No, the Forest of Death has too many variables and unpredictability. The proctors are just gonna assume it’s one of them.” Shikamaru pinched the bridge of his nose.
Ino cried, “Are we gonna die?”
“Oi! Don’t say it like that!” Kiba shouted.
“What if we blast him off?” Naruto suddenly looks serious.
“What?”
“There’s no way we’re strong enough for that.”
“No, Ma-chan can do it!” He exclaimed loudly.
“Ma-chan…” Ino whispers incredulously.
Sakura sighed, “he means the kyuubi.”
“What are you playing at, Dobe?” Sasuke crossed his hands.
“So I just talked with ma-chan, right?” Naruto explains animatedly, “And he said as long as we stall enough time for me to control and mold the chakra, I could make some kind of canon ball!”
Everyone looks at him incredulously.
“How much?” Shimakaru already guessed the answer.
“Umm, I still haven't learned the technique yet, so…” Naruto scratches his head, “a few hours?”
“We’re dead.”
“I can help with that.” Sakura looks at them with trust and determined eyes.
—
“We need to stall times,” Shikamaru's voice echoed.
“But this is risky, and Konoha's political standing is still wobbling from the kyuubi attack.” Small hands trembling as they hold a scroll tightly. The sound of bandages being removed comforts them.
“So we need to do this right,” A low growl was heard from behind another bush,
“and smart.” Almost white pupils tracked the snake from above.
“I fully understand if any of you want to back down and run right now.” black eyes swirl into red in seconds
“And that’s okay.” The softer white pupils look around to make sure everyone is in their position.
“You can run now and live another day,” small insects stretch their wings,
“Maybe.” Bags of chips are put on the ground.
“Or fight now,” light blue eyes prepare her clan's hand movement, “die with us.”
Three pairs of eyes watch from unknown darkness, “And live another day.”
“Initiate plan, Expendable Ring!”
—
Lee stepped forward first, rolling his shoulders like it was training.
“Tenten,” he said brightly, “let us delay the enemy with our youth!”
She huffed, already unrolling a scroll. “You’re not supposed to come out now.”
Orochimaru tilted his head as the two genin appeared in his path.
“Oh?” he hummed. “Volunteers?”
Lee grinned, dropping into stance. “You shall not pass!”
“How polite.”
Tenten moved first, steel singing as weapons burst from her scrolls in a storm. Lee followed instantly, footwork sharp, speed explosive. They were good.
Only for a moment.
Lee felt it before he saw it, pressure, wrong and heavy. His kick met nothing. The ground twisted beneath him.
“Tenten-!”
She didn’t have time to answer. Orochimaru’s fingers brushing her shoulder like a sick lover’s touch.
The impact snapped her through the trees. Puncturing her lungs.
Lee screamed and moved without thinking, opening gates on instinct, forcing his body faster, harder, brighter.
Orochimaru caught him.
“Ah, ah,” he said gently. “Too early for that.”
The sound that followed was… final.
Orochimaru straightened, bored. “How fragile,” he sighed.
Kiba strikes out from the bushes, anger written all on his face.
“Oh,” he said lightly. “Different ones.” When Orochimaru simply dodges his advances, another lunges at him. A blue one.
“Fighting in pairs now, do we?” he throw rains of kunai at Neji, some grazes him.
“Back off!” Kiba lunged first, Fang Over Fang ripping through the clearing, Akamaru a blur of white at his side.
Orochimaru laughed. “You bark loudly for prey.” The ground erupted.
A snake burst upward, slamming Kiba aside. Akamaru yelped, skidding into the dirt.
“You!” Neji snapped.
Orochimaru appeared behind him. Neji’s ready for another gentle fist, yet suddenly his chakra flow becomes haywire.
“Runs out of chakra?” Orochimaru's voice grazes his ears.
The strike was too fast.
Before the pain even registered, Neji's body hit the tree in front of him and slid down, vision dimming.
“Neji!” Kiba shouted.
Orochimaru didn’t even look at him when he finished it.
Orochimaru crouched beside Neji, inspecting them like specimens, “Such valuable eyes to observe,” his pale hands stretched to take them.
Another glowing palm targeted his tenketsu with textbook perfection.
“I won’t let you touch him!” Hinata exclaimed, hands glowing with soft blue chakra.
The ground erupted again, snakes from every angle. Hinata is deflecting, countering, and pushing herself past what her previous self should be able to do.
“Eyes like yours,” he murmured, appearing inches from Hinata, “should not be wasted.”
A burst of flames aimed at him. He dodged and landed on a tree.
“Aah, the little Uchiha has come,” he licked his lips.
“Tch, shut up!” Orochimaru laughed softly, flicking his hand.
The snake twisted, slamming into Sasuke’s side. He grunted, rolling free, eyes blazing with irritation. “Now!”
Hinata gathered her strength, summoning a Gentle Fist barrage. Her fists moved in a blur, precise, targeting joints, pressure points.
Orochimaru dodged with impossible fluidity, barely flinching. One fist grazed his arm; a drop of blood appeared, then vanished as if absorbed by the shadows.
“You’re precise,” he said with a smooth voice.
“But you lack… depth.” He struck the ground, and a dozen snakes erupted from beneath, snapping, coiling, fanning outward.
Sasuke’s Sharingan tracked each movement. “He’s predicting our patterns!” he ducked.
One snake wrapped around his arm, its fangs glinting. He yelped, twisting violently.
Hinata rushed to intercept, but they moved against each other’s momentum.
Her kick missed its mark, striking the ground instead. Orochimaru struck, aiming for the girl.
Her body hit the forest floor with a sickening thud, her byakugan turned off instantly.
Orochimaru seems keen on keeping Sasuke alive and well so far.
As the snake sannin got closer, swarms of flies engulfed Sasuke. In his place stood Shino.
Choji charged, fists enlarged with chakra, swinging at Orochimaru from above.
Ino hides low, performing a mind-body technique, her fingers weaving a jutsu to bind Orochimaru, but he vanished into the ground before her formation even completed.
“Three now, hmm?” Orochimaru’s laugh. “I love enthusiasm… even when it’s foolish.”
Orochimaru’s serpents lunged, breaking Choji’s guard.
Slamming him until he’s one with the ground.
A coiling snake struck his chest. He collapsed with a grunt, wind knocked out, vision blurring.
Shino reacted, swarming a mass of insects around the snake.
In the chaos, another serpent lunged, striking him in the shoulder.
He staggered, one arm numb, insects spilling from him like sand slipping through fingers.
Ino tried again, chanting, focusing her chakra into a mind-binding jutsu. But his mental prowess bounced her off and struck her off.
Orochimaru’s hand shot out. About to end this game right now,
“Alright!” The booming sound piques his interest.
“Another one?” he hummed.
“You dare hurt my friends, you slimy snake?!” Naruto roared. Behind him was Shikamaru. Out of their hiding.
“Two? Aren’t you missing another one?” Orochimaru put on signature smile, “Now why don’t you just give that Uchiha boy? And you will not end like your friends here.”
“You… killed them,” Naruto growled, his chakra becoming darker. “I’ll make you regret it!”
Orochimaru’s grin widened. “Regret? Such a childish concept.”
He thrust his hands forward, gathering chakra. The world seemed to shrink violently as a hand-sized black sphere formed before him.
A sphere so concentrated and raw.
“RAAAAAGH!” Naruto’s scream shattered the silence. The sphere shot forward like a comet, a living force of fury and loss.
Orochimaru’s eyes widened as the bijūdama collided with him.
The explosion rocked the clearing, sending trees tumbling, earth erupting in a fiery storm of debris and dust.
The impact threw Orochimaru backward, his form disintegrating in the searing force.
Naruto collapsed to one knee, trembling, sweat and blood streaking his face.
“Good job, Naruto,” Shikamaru rubbed his back.
“Sakura?” He manages to croak.
“Collecting everyone as we speak,” Shikamaru eyes Sakura and a healed Sasuke, lining their friends' bodies.
Naruto forces himself to stand, despite losing so much chakra from the fight, and walk slowly.
Shikamaru follows.
They see six of their friends lying lifeless.
Ino, Choji, and Shino are alive but gravely injured.
“So…” Naruto muttered, “what now?”
Sakura dropped to her knees, hands flat against the cracked.
She closed her eyes, focusing, letting nature speak to her.
The ground beneath her trembled.
Grass bent, leaves shivered, and roots snaked toward her palms as if drawn by an invisible force.
Nature answered her call.
Her hands merged with the earth. Stone, soil, and roots twisted into a luminous lattice, wrapping around her fingers, climbing her arms.
Every strand hummed with life, resonating with her chakra, bending to her will.
A faint, green-gold glow spread from the point of contact, crawling along the forest floor toward her fallen friends.
One by one, the children inhaled, their bodies whole again, broken limbs restored, wounds sealed, the echo of death fading from the forest.
The earth around them was rotting, roots torn, leaves shattered, bark splintered, but flesh was mended.
Slowly, each one breathed again. Souls come back to their bodies.
They started moving themself, muscle memory.
“They’re moving!” Naruto cheered.
“Not all,” Shikamaru eyes Lee and Tenten's still bodies.
“Why not?” Ino, who’s also receiving healings, asked.
“Remember what Sakura told us? Her abilities are time-bound. The longer the body died-”
“The less probability of them coming back,” Shino finishes, his hands are back again.
“I thought youve become crippled!” Ino exclaimed.
Finally, FINALLY. Lee moved his head around.
Sakura's veins were protruding from exertion.
As she gave it her all,
Tenten stayed silent.
They waited with bated breath, “no” wet whispers.
Sakura collapsed with tears in her eyes.
Sasuke catches her before her head touches the ground.
She wanted to try again, but her body had become really, really heavy.
Ino and Naruto run to her, albeit slower from their remaining injury.
“It’s okay, you did your best.” Then everything went dark.
Most of them cried.
Ino got closer to Tenten, holding her hands.
Then she feels it, the gentle nudging.
“She’s alive!” she cheered.
Wet, sad tears becomes laugh of happiness.
They DID make it out alive after all. All of them
—
Inside a cave behind a waterfall, the remaining team brought their unconscious friends. Waiting for them to finally wake up while they dress their wounds.
“YOUR chakra is depleted, and SAKURA'S passed out. WHAT DO YOU MEAN we should continue hunting scrolls?” Sasuke screamed his ears off at Naruto.
He laughs dryly, “But it's what Sakura would've wanted!"
“Imagine! Sakura woke up and, Boom! Next stages! Then we all can become chuunin together!"
“Impossible," Shikamaru chimed, "she just turned back time for six people. The highest hope we have is that she wakes up next month.”
Choji sat near the waterfall, drawing mental images on the stone ground, "Guys…do we tell the adults?"
The bantering stops.
“No."
“Never."
“Nuh-uh"
“Sure, let's tell them! I'm sure Roots will be thrilled to have her!" Sasuke snapped.
“No need to be mean, Sasuke."
"If asked, nothing happens.” Ino changes the cloth on Sakura's forehead, “As much as it's important to mention that Orochimaru had infiltrated the village, Sakura's safety comes first."
Many nodded.
“Why don't some of us hunt for scrolls while the others wait here?" Naruto tried again with a grin.
“And what if the snakes came back, huh? Wanna waste Sakura's sacrifice?" Naruto shuts up instantly.
“That plan was fire." Naruto balances a kunai on one finger, “the one we made while we were six."
“Yeah…” Ino muttered.
"It's a pretty fucked plan if we didn't have Sakura,” Shikamaru looked at the cave ceilings.
"Yeah…" Choji muttered.
“Let's not do this again," Shino declared, and everyone was on board with him.