The Chunin exams were scheduled for July 1st, and since the beginning of the week, Konoha's streets were filled with shinobi from other villages. They looked exotically dangerous. She was long used to her own ninja: dark clothes, green shinobi vests, or just gray outfits. All uniform. The Leaf's Chunin and jonin had never scared Sarada. They were the people who would defend the village to the last drop of blood in a moment of danger. They were "our own." Only Anbu evoked anxiety—Sarada had long had a special, rather unpleasant relationship with people in masks.
As a child raised in a peaceful future, Sarada felt friendly toward shinobi from other countries. Shikadai's mother had been a Sand shinobi in the past, Chocho's mother a Hidden Cloud kunoichi. But this wasn't that time, and the thought hit Sarada almost immediately when she saw the first foreigners. They exuded something ominous. Strange clothes, forehead protectors with foreign symbols, and a frightening aura radiating bloodlust. Compared to these people, her parents' team and Naruto looked colorful, childish, and strikingly fragile.
Only Shisui's words calmed Sarada. He unhesitatingly let Sasuke go to the exam: was he confident in his strength, or ready to take the risk to temper his charge?
They'd been training nonstop with Sasuke for several hours already.
Sarada bent over, breathing heavily. A drop of sweat trickled down her temple, damp strands of hair stuck to her forehead, her heart pounded painfully in her chest, and heat radiated from her whole body. Sasuke stood opposite, looking no better.
"You..." Sarada gasped. "Are you sure it's worth going this hard... before the exam..."
She didn't finish—greedily gulping air. But Sasuke understood.
"Yes... The exam's no reason... to cancel training..."
He sat on the ground and tilted his head back. His breathing gradually steadied. Coming to herself, Sarada approached him and extended her hand. Sasuke gripped her palm firmly and stood up.
That morning, Sasuke had invited her to train himself. Shisui had gone on a mission, and Sarada assumed she'd pass the time until his return with a scroll of barrier techniques on the empty training ground in the grove near the abandoned Uchiha district.
But Sasuke had other plans.
When Sarada cautiously admitted she hadn't expected an invitation to train without Shisui, Sasuke snorted and replied:
"Not like I was dying to. But you're the only worthy opponent in my circle."
And that was the best thing Sarada had ever heard from her parent.
On the way back, right by the house, she suddenly spotted a familiar orange outfit. Naruto was wandering under the entrance, eyes fixed on the door. Sarada slowed her pace, and Sasuke noticed. He stopped and turned.
"What's up?"
"Naruto," Sarada replied reluctantly.
Sasuke got it and smirked.
"Sasuke, do something. Distract him, please," she begged.
Panic hit her at the sight of Naruto.
Boruto... Himawari... A-ah, damn it! Why wasn't I born in the past? Why can't I live like a normal person instead of constantly thinking about how my actions affect the future, shannarō!
"Sarada," Sasuke said coldly. "Without me."
Hands in pockets, he headed for the entrance.
"Six years have passed, and nothing's changed," Sarada thought grimly and sighed.
She formed seals.
Glamour.
Who would've thought Naruto would stand guard under her house? And who could've imagined she'd run from the Nanadaime Hokage using basic transformation technique!
Sasuke planned to stride proudly to the house, but no such luck.
"Hey, Sasuke!" Naruto called out loudly.
Sasuke sighed heavily and asked irritably:
"What do you want, usuratonkachi?"
"Have you seen Sarada-chan?"
Sarada, under Glamour, held her breath and slowed her step. Sasuke turned and gave her a meaningful look. Sarada pleaded with her eyes at her father and screamed mentally: "Don't tell him! I beg you!" Naruto didn't even notice their silent exchange. Sasuke sighed again, even more irritated than before.
"No."
He moved toward the house again, but Naruto blocked his path.
"If you see her, tell her to come out, dattebayo!"
"Idiot!" Sasuke snapped. "If you have time to chase Sarada, do something useful. We have the exam tomorrow!"
Naruto jumped back, and Sasuke entered the building. Sarada slipped in after him, holding her breath. Nanadaime glanced at her but suspected nothing.
So easy to fool him.
Sarada went up to the apartment, closed the door behind her, canceled the technique, and exhaled in relief. Sasuke took off his shoes and headed to the bathroom.
"Thanks," Sarada said shyly.
Even though her father had refused to help verbally, he hadn't given her away and had scolded Naruto to at least scare him off the house.
Sasuke didn't reply.
"As expected from my dad," Sarada thought, involuntarily recalling her late grandfather with sadness.
"So, about the choice... Suppose you've all become Chunin and get an assignment—to intercept a secret document. No info on the number, skills, or armament of the enemy shinobi. Plus, there might be plenty of traps along the way. Would you take such a mission? Just because your life and your teammates' lives are in danger, do you have the right to refuse? The correct answer... 'no'!" barked the scarred-faced examiner.
Stuffy room, smell of wooden desks and sweat.
Naruto was still shaking from fear. He'd never felt such tension in his life, not even on the Land of Waves mission. There, sure, he could've died, but now he was just taking a test. In battle, decisions were split-second, the situation changed every second. He acted, fought, influenced things, vented adrenaline...
Forty minutes of nonstop pressure. Doubts. Pangs of conscience.
"Can't let Sasuke and Sakura-chan down. But can't cheat either"—these thoughts circled endlessly.
Naruto cautiously glanced at Hinata's sheet several times, but each time a proctor's pencil scratched—he sat along the windows with a clipboard, watching the class closely. Naruto hurriedly looked away. Again and again, his gaze fell on the sheet with the crooked signature "Uzumaki Naruto" and the blank fields next to the problems. Naruto reread each problem's conditions twenty times, but had no ideas on how to solve them.
What was he thinking when he made the firm decision to take the last problem? That if there's even a slim chance the tenth is easier than these, he had to risk it. Naruto had dreamed of becoming Hokage since childhood, and Chunin rank was the next step toward that dream, but he couldn't let his friends down. He was already dragging them down. They always had to save him, and now, if they failed because of him...
I can already see Sasuke coming home and telling nēē-chan: "We failed the exam, and it's all because of Naruto."
"...in many missions, lives are at stake, but you can't refuse them. Show courage and protect your teammates, get out of a tough spot without losses... That's the kind of Chunin we want—a squad leader!"
The scarred examiner kept spouting some lofty speech, but Naruto wasn't listening. Words went in one ear and out the other.
"...those unable to challenge fate when the situation demands it. Those who give up despite the chance. Fools so unsure of themselves—they're unworthy of being called Chunin!" Ibiki roared.
Naruto already knew he'd passed. His choice was right. But he still couldn't believe it was over, that he wouldn't stay a genin forever.
And Sakura-chan won't beat me. And Sasuke won't lose face in front of nēē-chan... I passed, dattebayo? It's all over?
"The first stage of the Chunin selection exam is complete! Good luck in the next trials."
And when did this scary-faced uncle become so friendly? Just minutes ago, one look from him made him shake with fear, and now Naruto wanted to kiss the examiner.
"A-a-a! Awesome!" Naruto yelled, jumping up. "Say it again! Yay! I passed! Passed!"
Something crashed into the window with a bang. Glass shards scattered across the floor. Pinning a large cloth reading "Mitarashi Anko" to the ceiling with two kunai, a disheveled kunoichi in fishnet clothes and a long beige coat appeared before the class. Naruto choked on his shout.
"What's going on?!"
Shisui squatted down. Before him stretched a row of stone idols: small human figures with Konoha symbols on their bald foreheads; their ears were too big, fleshy lobes dangling to their shoulders. Perfectly symmetrical faces, hands frozen in a seal gesture, stone robes—all splattered with blood sprays.
Three unknown shinobi corpses lay in the grass.
"This is just what we needed," Kotetsu grumbled.
A forest bird screeched piercingly somewhere.
"The second stage examiner notified?" Shisui asked grimly.
"Sent for her. She'll be here soon."
"Damn... this... some kind of ninjutsu?" Izumo asked.
He didn't dare come closer. Kotetsu squatted next to Shisui, examining the dead closely.
"Horrific. Like their faces melted."
Shisui searched the bodies, pulled out documents, and read.
"Take a look," he handed the papers to Kotetsu. "Hidden Grass shinobi. Looks like they came for the Chunin exams. I don't like this."
Wind gusts swept the grove, rustling the trees. Such pleasant fresh air. And three corpses in the middle of the village out of nowhere.
"Damn. Where's Anko?"
"Here," came a displeased female voice.
A disheveled muscular girl in a long beige coat approached, grimaced, and looked at the bodies. Kotetsu briefly told her what they'd figured out. Anko tilted her head. Her relaxed fingers twitched nervously.
"No faces..."
"As you see."
"Skin like it melted."
Anko grimaced harder and reached her right hand to her left shoulder. Shisui narrowed his eyes. The second stage examiner seemed suspiciously pensive. She was trembling slightly, her face covered in sweat.
"Anko-san."
Anko glanced at him sideways.
"You seem to already know whose handiwork this is?"
She clicked her tongue.
"Hey, you. The passes should have photos."
The glasses-wearing Chunin nearby snapped to and handed her the documents. Anko took the papers and paled.
A new gust of wind. Leaves swirled over the deserted area.
"Anko-san," Shisui pressed. "What's going on?"
"This is serious..." She turned to the Chunin. "You three, notify Hokage-sama immediately and request at least two Anbu squads to the 44th training ground!"
She was panicking.
"Hai!"
The Chunin vanished.
"Shunshin, you're with me."
"Hai."
They dashed off. The grove was left behind. The Forest of Death was five minutes' run from here.
"Anko-san. Who is it?"
"Orochimaru. His signature."
"Sannin?"
Anko exhaled and cursed filthily. Shisui winced.
"I can't handle him," Anko admitted reluctantly. "If we find him before Anbu arrives..."
"What about together? There're two of us."
"Don't overestimate yourself, Uchiha. I trained under him. He's not that easy to take. Damn... And this forest. Let's split up. More chance to find him that way."
"Sure? But together..."
"Absolutely," Anko cut in. "Scatter."
They vaulted the 44th training ground fence and headed in different directions.
Damn, Anko. What's her plan? If she thinks even two of us can't take Orochimaru, splitting up is suicide. On the other hand, she's right about something. The forest is huge. No guarantee we'll find him even alone.
Shisui leaped from branch to branch, hands instantly smeared with damp rotten bark. The trees here were enormous. Beards of vines hung from branches. On his route, swamps stretched across the ground: at first glance, ordinary meadows covered in soft green moss. The 44th's special scent tickled his nose: rot, damp earth, and fermented berries trampled by animals. Poisonous insects and predatory beasts lived here. Heat-sensing swarms of ravenous tree leeches gathered. Bark-camouflaged giant snakes lounged on branches. Obstacles for the second stage genin. Shisui knew the Forest of Death like the back of his hand. He and Itachi had trained here as kids.
Shisui smirked mentally.
Daredevils... If Sasuke or Sarada tried sneaking here at that age, I'd wring their necks.
Regret squeezed his heart.
Itachi...
Memories came alive. The scroll, cool evening; Itachi thoughtful, focused—so small and serious at once. Sunset's orange glints on water, the merry babble of the current. Tracks and decoys. Decoys and tracks. Campfire warmth, smell of grilled fish and burning twigs. Flame light on his friend's childlike face. Right when Itachi awakened Sharingan. How could it all stay in the past? Their friendship... Shisui believed it wouldn't die even with one of them gone. He couldn't imagine a world with living Itachi and Shisui where their friendship crumbled to dust.
But now it was all in the past. The new generation differed from theirs, who lived through the last world war. Even if Itachi didn't fight, Shisui knew: Fugaku-san took him as a child to see battlefields, more than once. Today's youth didn't grasp what a "shinobi" was. Not until their first real missions, the Chunin exams. First wounds and losses.
He and Itachi were different. Reckless, fearless yet calculating: walking the blade's edge from early childhood, playing hide-and-seek with death. Maybe that's why, so young, they were among the strongest: he—Shisui of the Body Flicker, and his former friend—Uchiha Itachi, Konoha's bloody terror.
Sometimes Shisui felt his friend really had died. The little stubborn Itachi he knew perished that night with the clan, and Shisui simply couldn't make himself hate him. He mourned his friend like his late mother. As for the man wandering the world in a black cloak with red clouds—Shisui didn't know him at all, so that image stirred mixed feelings. Since their cliffside meeting, they hadn't seen each other, and only once had Uchiha Itachi let him know he was alive.
Years ago, Itachi sent a crow, and the message from his former friend surprised Shisui. Itachi wrote that Orochimaru had left Akatsuki after failing to take his body, hinting that sooner or later the Sannin would likely turn to Sasuke.
Now that moment had come. The renegade was here, on the 44th training ground, and he'd come for Sasuke, no doubt. Shisui felt stopping Orochimaru was his duty, but he wasn't at all sure he could. Beating one of the Leaf's Sannin was a pipe dream. Yet Orochimaru hadn't taken Itachi's body, and Shisui told himself he wouldn't yield to Itachi in any way.
The sun slowly descended toward the horizon. Orange light pierced the forest's usual gloom, igniting the evening mist haze and painting the giant tree trunks in bright colors. Anko somersaulted onto a wide branch. The hem of her long coat, lagging behind, flared with a loud flap.
No trace of the teacher.
A bit longer, and twilight would thicken. He'd have the advantage.
Anko squinted. She moved at great height, and the ground below was no longer visible—just thick darkness spreading there.
Alone in the Forest of Death, where over fifty genin fought for survival. And among them lurked her teacher, an S-class missing-nin. Anko knew she had no chance against him, but...
I'm the second stage proctor. I have to protect the examinees, even at the cost of my life. Devil knows why you sneaked into the village, but it's my duty to stop you, Orochimaru.
Just a couple hours ago, everything was fine. She'd been devouring dango and thinking how great it was to be a special jonin, not a scared genin facing five days surviving in this cursed forest. But now everything changed. Anko felt thrown back years, to when she'd taken this exam herself.
Jonin, examiner. These pathetic Chunin candidates paled before her, but she was nothing compared to Orochimaru. And Anko trembled at the thought that, driven by duty, she headed to her own death.
She didn't try to avoid it. She'd long known it would come like this, that sooner or later they'd meet again and she wouldn't spare her life to stop the teacher who'd betrayed and abandoned her. Better die defending the village and prove to all she's "one of us" than live in doubt as a traitor.
Her hand involuntarily went to her left shoulder. The Cursed Seal had awakened for the first time in years and burned. It would hinder fighting.
"Damn it..." Anko whispered.
She jumped to the next tree. The forest was deathly quiet, as if a predator hunted nearby and all life cowered in fear. After a kilometer, she spotted something glinting below in the fading sun rays. Anko descended to a small clearing.
Shinobi lay on the ground. Mangled bodies, guts spilled and mixed with earth... The nearest corpse's glazed eyes stared blankly into the dark bushes. A forehead protector with the Hidden Rain Village symbol—that's what gleamed in the twilight.
Him? Or just infighting? Not his style, but who knows...
Anko checked pulses just in case. Two had none. The last stiffened corpse lay half in bushes; nudging it, she realized no need to check—he'd lost his head.
Anko grimaced and leaped back into the tree.
I said half would drop out for sure. The weeding's started.
The sun set, and the training ground plunged into darkness. One hour passed, then another... Night life awakened in the Forest of Death.
I wonder if Shisui found him?
But then the mark burned anew. Anko stopped and dropped to her knees, clutching the Cursed Seal with her palm. It meant one thing: teacher was close. Enduring the searing pain surge, Anko stood and ran. The closer he was, the hotter the seal on her shoulder burned.
"See him and what do I do?" Anko thought feverishly. "What can I do? I'll die anyway. Then what technique could... Right. It..."
The Cursed Seal burned fiercer and fiercer.
Close. Very close. Faster, before he gets away!
Anko dropped into the forest darkness like a black bottomless well and landed on a wide fallen trunk. A few leaps separated her from the teacher.
...Orochimaru was embedded upside down in a tree. Half his body sank deep into the trunk; only chest and head showed. Long hair rooted into the bark. His face skin wrinkled, melted, sloughing off in patches, exposing white skin around a single eye with yellow iris and thin snakelike pupil.
"Long time no see... Anko," came a familiar voice.
Sensei.
"You're an S-class dangerous criminal. And I'll kill you, even if it costs my life," Anko declared, mustering all her resolve.
She was ready to die.
"It's my duty. I was with you, trained under you... Orochimaru!"
Senbon appeared between her fingers, and Anko swung, but the teacher suddenly bulged his eyes and shot his unnaturally long tongue straight at her. She barely dodged, leaped up, and braked, clinging to the mossy trunk with chakra in her feet. Something cold, wet, slimy wrapped her wrist. Needles slipped from numb fingers. Before Anko could react, the damn tongue yanked her down, ripping her from the trunk. She regrouped midair, landed on a branch, and unleashed four snakes from her free hand. They slammed into the trunk with a crash.
"You won't escape, bastard!"
Anko yanked her snake-wrapped arm hard and tore the teacher's body fully from the mighty tree. Orochimaru flew over her head, arms and legs splayed, and hit the opposite trunk back-first. Anko disgustingly eyed his melted face, slyly ecstatic and utterly mad. Was he enjoying this?
Not human at all...
The foul tongue finally released her wrist. Anko charged the motionless mentor before he recovered and, with a yell, pinned her palm and his to the tree with a kunai.
Sharp pain shot through her hand.
"Got you."
Cold sweat beaded on her skin.
There goes your life, Anko.
"Orochimaru... I'll take your left arm."
One foot was already mentally beyond, where none return. Abandoned girl, rejected by her own teacher. She was scared to die, but realizing they'd perish together gave her death lofty meaning. She feared him but secretly dreamed of this meeting her whole life. Wanted to see him again. Wanted to kill him herself, whatever the cost, because if she succeeded—both Anko's dreams would come true at once: protect the Leaf and defeat the teacher who'd deemed her weak; prove to Orochimaru she was worthy to be called his student by killing him when no one else could.
Anko pressed her fingers to Orochimaru's hand fingers, forming the "rooster" seal. The golden eye with snakelike pupil looked down.
"This seal..."
He understood.
"Yes. We'll die together."
Pre-death peace spread through her body.
Anko squeezed her eyes shut.
Now. The technique...
Something struck her arm hard. Small, like a stone... The bone throbbed with pulsing pain, and Anko jerked her hand back, clenching her teeth.
"Anko, no!" a familiar voice called from the distance. "It's a clone!"
She looked at her teacher in fright. His disfigured face stretched into a wide grin. Orochimaru burst into laughter. Her body swam. Her hand, nailed to the tree with a kunai, felt emptiness against her palm. Mud streamed between her fingers, mixing with blood. Anko gritted her teeth, nearly crying, yanked the kunai from her hand, and spun around.
Orochimaru stood behind her. With one motion, he tore off the stranger's skin from his face. Still as pale, handsome, young. Time hadn't touched him. Orochimaru smiled a bit wickedly and opened his mouth...
...but something whistled through the air, knocking him off the wide branch.
Uchiha Shisui.
He made it. He found both her and the teacher, interrupted the deadly technique by hurling a pebble precisely at the hand Anko was using to form seals.
The Sannin unleashed his long tongue in mid-air, trying to grab the invisible boy, but blood suddenly sprayed from the tight ribbon of tongue. The severed tongue fell away and plummeted downward. Orochimaru deftly reeled back the stump, from which tiny snakes crawled out: they sealed the wound and formed a new tongue tip in its place.
He landed on a branch one level below.
The moon emerged from behind the clouds, and cold light fell into the depths of the Forest of Death. The Cursed Seal suddenly came alive. Burning... wild pain... And a hissing snake whisper somewhere over her ear or in her head:
"Recently I rewarded someone else with the same Cursed Seal."
Even if it was over her ear, she couldn't move—her body was paralyzed.
"Whoever he is," Anko exhaled, "he'll die."
She'd gone mad. Talking to herself.
"It's true, only ten percent survive. But like you, he might live."
The fight one level below was picking up steam. Orochimaru predatorily scanned the surroundings, trying to spot Shisui in the moonlight, but the Uchiha had vanished. And in the next instant, Orochimaru collapsed to his knees, bleeding profusely. Deep wounds covered his body. His arms were falling off in chunks, as if they'd been diced. Blood gushed like a waterfall from his gutted stomach and chest cavity, entrails spilling out, matted with shreds of clothing. One more second—and in the teacher's place was just a pile of hacked bloody meat and scraps of kimono.
So that's what the Body Flicker Technique is. Damn, you can't see him at all. Not at all!
The bleeding pile of meat suddenly disintegrated into a writhing mass of snakes. Some snakes seeped into the branch's wood. Others slithered off and plummeted into the darkness below.
Substitution. He managed to swap himself out.
The scattered snakes began crawling back to the surface again, but not from one branch—from trees all over the forest. And there were far more of them than before. They kept coming and coming. Twisting together, spreading out. Hissing disgustingly. Shisui was hiding somewhere, probably searching for Orochimaru's real body amid the solid snake mass. In a few minutes, all the massive trunks and branches on the lower levels were covered in snakes and writhing like living things. Some of the reptiles were already crawling toward her, but Anko hurled senbon at them, pinning the snakes to the bark with needles: they writhed but couldn't budge.
"He'll become a magnificent shinobi, unlike you," Orochimaru's voice whispered in her head. "Uchiha blood flows in him. Such a beautiful young body. Sasuke-kun is perfect as my heir."
And in the next moment, Shisui appeared in the moonlight for a split second, and a fiery whirlwind erupted in the same spot. Anko recoiled and pressed against the trunk. Heat blasted her face. The scorching air shimmered. Flames swirled around the epicenter, spreading deeper into the forest, lower and lower... A huge flock of birds shot upward with a cry, fleeing the fire.
It became very bright. The hissing of snakes was drowned out by the crackling and roar of the blaze. Anko watched Shisui's fiery technique dance in fascination.
"Do whatever you want, but don't interrupt the exam. Take my toy, and the whole village will pay," the voice whispered finally.
A little later, the fire began to die down. Here and there, lone flames flickered out. The forest filled again with thick darkness.
No more snakes. Everything burned.
"That's Uchiha power. Unlike you," her own inner voice echoed, repeating the teacher's words.
Anko trembled finely. The Cursed Seal fevered her, and Orochimaru's voice sent chilling horror through her body.
What was that? What did I hear?
Several minutes passed with nothing happening. The fight below had stopped. Burning tree bark crackled. The Cursed Seal eased a bit.
Uchiha Shisui appeared on the wide branch in front of Anko.
"He slithered away!" he exclaimed in frustration.
Substitution and cowardly snake cover. Orochimaru had slipped away too hastily. Played around and bolted. He was good at escaping, sure. But Anko knew he liked to play longer and with relish. Orochimaru fled because he'd come to Training Ground 44 for another purpose. But Shisui... Just a couple years younger than her, and such power. Anko sensed that the full strength of the jonin they casually called "Shunshin" hadn't been shown in this fight: it ended too quickly. And with that speed, he had every chance to tag Orochimaru. The Sannin was strong, but every technique takes time. What's the use of techniques and experience if you can't do anything?
Shisui scanned the forest with Sharingan, gripping his tanto's hilt. Convinced Orochimaru was gone without a trace, he sheathed the blade behind his back and looked at Anko.
"You okay?"
Shisui was at her side in an instant, crouched, and pulled out a medkit. Anko's hands were still shaking.
Damn. Now he'll think whatever of me. And it's all the Cursed Seal's fault.
Shisui tightly bandaged her left arm, which she'd pierced herself with the kunai. The Uchiha's hot, damp fingers brushed her skin quickly. Anko studied his focused face: sharp features, thin brows like bird wings.
"...beautiful young body..." Orochimaru's words wouldn't let go.
He was talking about Sasuke, but Anko barely knew that kid. And now another Uchiha sat before her, and she involuntarily applied the teacher's words to Shisui. Heated from battle, strong, charming. His closeness awakened both woman and kunoichi in Anko. The woman wouldn't mind spending the night with him at all, but the kunoichi... hated it. Wounded shinobi pride boiled in her blood. Her own teacher hadn't acknowledged her, traded her for a kid who wouldn't be worth anything without his lineage.
Uchiha Clan. Why are some born with everything, while others sweat and can never catch up?
Anko yanked her arm from Shisui as soon as he finished bandaging and declared:
"We're heading to the tower."
"Need help walking?"
"What?"
"Do you need help?" Shisui repeated.
"No."
"Then go on your own. I'm not going to the tower."
"What are you talking about, Shunshin?"
"I'm staying in the forest to hunt him. The genin are in danger."
Anko grimaced.
Playing the hero. Damn... No, not playing. He really wants to help those idiots. Right, his Sasuke's there.
"I called in two Anbu squads. Anyway... Do whatever, but don't interfere with the exam."
"What?" Shisui said, stunned.
"The exam continues, Uchiha. I didn't stop it. And without Hokage-sama's order, I won't."
Shisui frowned but said nothing.