Snakebite

Chapter 26: Snakebite

"Your boys are something alright," Ibiki announced as he entered the viewing room again, once Anko left with the remaining genin. "Naruto especially, rallied the other genin pretty quickly."

I smirked a bit at him in response. "Not surprised," I said, shrugging. "He has a natural charisma to him that draws people in."

Ibiki chuckled in amusement as the cameras switched to a feed of the Forest of Death as Anko began her explanation for the second stage.

"How is the betting pool doing?" I asked, quirking my eyebrow at the T&I specialist, it was pretty much an open secret, that every year those who were chunin and above, participated in a betting pool surrounding the Chunin Exams, everything from who would make it to the very end, to who got promoted, and one persistent guy who kept betting on an invasion happening.

Considering how the odds kept getting more and more skewed every time an invasion didn't happen, the guy was going to seriously rake in the cash if he survived the Oto-Suna War.

I let out a small sigh as I saw the genin line up at their gates, waiting for the signal to start. "So, how many do you think will pass this round?" I questioned with a small smirk.

"Considering that it's Anko we're talking about, combined with the Forest of Death?" Ibiki smirked.

I chuckled a bit in response. The Forest of Death truly did earn its name, if anything, the anime undersold how dangerous the place was with the number of animals, plants and unidentified… things that filled it. The only reason that they hadn't flooded out of the training ground was due to the numerous seals that lined the forest and were maintained on a weekly basis.

"I think a good number will make it through," I commented with a shrug. "Enough that we need to have some prelims beforehand."

That made the joint-head of T&I raise his eyebrows. Contrary to most expectations, usually the First and Second Rounds cleared enough of the candidates that there was no need for a Preliminary Round before the Third Round.

"I know where to put my money then." he replied simply. Evidently my words was good enough for him.

I let out a chuckle as the genin took off running into the forest. "If you'll excuse me," I said in amusement. "I would like to be at the tower for the first team of genin arrive."

Ibiki blinked again as he turned to look at me in shock. "Damn," I could hear him mutter under his breath. "Guess this year is going to be a chaotic one…"

My own trip to the center of the forest of death was a quick one, unhindered by not needing the scrolls the genin did, knowing where I was going, and finally, the fact that any animal that I did come across in the forest quickly turned tail and ran from me.

"Welcome, Yuriko-sama!" one of the chunin called out in greeting as I landed on the roof of the tower.

"Hello, Teguchi-san," I greeted politely in response. "Have any genin made it here yet?"

"A couple of teams made it to the tower, and are setting up to ambush others approaching," Teguchi replied with a shrug. "No one has entered yet, however."

According to the frustratingly dim memories I had, the Sand Siblings had made it to the tower a mere three hours after the exam began. Would that be a good point to try and rein Gaara-kun in?

Letting out a sigh, I shook my head of that thought. That could be easily misconstrued as attempting to sabotage a foreign team. Looks like I would have to wait to see if he tried to kill someone during the third stage or the prelims.

I blinked as a wave of killing intent washed over us, the two chunin guarding the roof shuddering in an instinctual fear as I turned to face the origin point of it.

Narrowing my eyes, I checked the seals I had placed on my clan members, Naruto-kun's and Sakura-chan's, and found that the seals on team seven were going crazy in response to something. "Send an alert to Hiruzen-sama," I instructed one of the chunin. "Inform him that the snake seems to have struck early."

I didn't wait for the chunin to reply as I leapt off the roof and made a beeline for where the killing intent was originating.

It didn't take me long to arrive, my sharingan already active as I quickly took in the scene before me, spotting Orochimaru with his disguise melting off his body as he leered at the three genin as they tried to keep themselves upright in the face of his killing intent.

I didn't even say a word as I struck out with my kodachi, the sannin reacting to my attack by blocking it with his Kusanagi. "My, my, it has been a while, hasn't it, Yuriko-chan," Orochimaru said in greeting as he tried to push me off balance.

"Orochimaru," I replied calmly, a veil of politeness in my voice as we broke away from each other. "One chance, out of respect, will you surrender?"

Orochimaru blinked before letting out that creepy chuckle of his as he pulled off the remains of his disguise. "Oh? What's this? Little Yuriko-chan thinks she can take on one of the sannin does she? All grown up now that she's the leader of the clan, hmm?"

I let out a sigh as I shook my head. "Mm, maybe you will eventually defeat me, should we fight," I admitted easily, a quick look at his stats showed him sitting at level 89, nine levels higher than my own. "But, can you do so without cost to yourself? And before all of Konohagakure's ANBU forces arrive on scene with Hiruzen-sama?"

Orochimaru's eyes narrowed in response as he weighed his options, his eyes darting from me, to the genin behind me, and back to me. "Very clever. Very clever indeed, Yuriko-chan." he admitted in a less condescending voice. "I was going to give Sasuke-kun a little gift, but that can wait… for now. As the price for interfering, however…"

I tensed as I narrowed my eyes at him carefully, my eyes morphing into their evolved state as I wrapped my [Susano'o] around myself and the genin behind me. "Oh? And what would that be?" I questioned with a raised eyebrow.

Orochimaru smirk as he raised his hand, that had been holding Kusanagi.

My eyes widened second before the sword he subtly threw behind me before my [Susano'o] cut into the side of my stomach, injecting its poison into my body as a shout of pain escaped from my lips.

"Fare well for now, Yuriko-chan, Sasuke-kun," he chuckled out as he began to sink into the branch he was standing on as I collapsed to my knee.

"Nee-san!" Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun called out in concern.

"I'm… fine…" I ground out. I had been inflicted with the [Heavy Venom (Unique)] Debuff. It was eating away at my health and chakra like crazy and I was getting a numb sensation spreading throughout my midriff. I had to heal, quickly. Only Tsunade had ever healed the poison of the Kusanagi before in the previous timeline, so this would be quite the challenge.

"Get… going…" I told the trio sternly, giving them a quick smile. "I'll meet you… at the tower. I… promise."

Something I had tried to do was to never break my promises, so this made my three sort-of-students relax slightly.

"Okay…" Naruto-kun murmured worriedly, taking a step back with a worried look in my direction before the three of them reluctantly leapt off into the forest.

I took in a deep, shuddering breath as they left, leaning against the tree so I didn't fall down. That done, I placed a hand over my wound and began channeling my healing chakra into it, closing my eyes to focus properly on it.

The poison Orochimaru had inflicted upon me was an insidious one, it seems, focusing on my cellular structure rather than any of my organs like most poisons. Not only does it make the damage it inflicts upon me more dangerous, but made it harder to heal me and purge it from my body.

It wasn't chakra resistant, but it spread itself so fast that most average Med-nins couldn't keep up with it. Not only that, it seemed to be aiming for the innermost parts of my body, in addition to my cell structure. Without actually having my hand inside my body, that made healing myself almost insanely difficult.

I gritted my teeth as I pulled a small amount out from the wound as sweat dripped from my forehead, dropping myself deeper into my focus.

I had lost track of time as I worked on myself, first, quarantining the poison as I began to extract it bit, by bit. If I had access to herbs and the like, I could have extracted the poison far quicker, but I had to work with what I had available.

I let out a gasp as the last of the poison was torn from my body, sweat dripping from my every pore as I began to work on sealing the wound and repairing the damage I had taken. Glancing up at the sun, I figured that about four or five hours had passed while I had focussed on purging myself of the poison.

The tapping sound of somebody landing nearby, brought my attention up to Anko who was staring at me wide-eyed. "What the hell happened to you?" she questioned in shock.

"Snake… bastard." I rasped. "T-Tried to… bite… Sasuke-kun. Cut me with… Kusanagi."

Anko growled as she looked around. "Where is he?" she growled out, tensing to leap after him.

"No," I said, filling the single word with as much venom as I could, the woman flinching as she looked back at me nervously. "He wants you… to do that. Don't… give him the… satisfaction."

Anko shifted around a bit, looking torn before finally nodding her acceptance and moved to let me lean on her shoulder as I got back to my feet. "Will you be alright?" she asked in concern.

"I'll be fine," I grunted out with greeted teeth. "Call for Saya-taicho when we're back at the tower, she'll fix up anything I missed. If nothing else… I've patched myself up enough to survive that long."

Anko nodded her understanding as she guided the two of us back to the tower, avoiding any of the genin that may be in the area. "Anything else?" she asked for confirmation.

"Unsure," I admitted with pants as my eyes grew heavier. "But… I will be out for the night… at least."

I felt, more than saw, Anko nod in understanding. "I'll let Hokage-sama know," was the last thing I heard before I fell unconscious.

Quest Success

You have driven off Orochimaru and prevented him from Marking Sasuke Uchiha with the Cursed Seal of Heaven

+80,000 EXP

Bonus Quest

You cured yourself of Kusanagi's poison without the aid of any antivenin plants or support from any other medic-nin

Master Med-Nin Perk Awarded

[Master Med-Nin] Level N/A - +100% Effectiveness to all Iryojutsu, +20% additional effectiveness when used on self.

"I am sorry to disturb you, but it is time for you to be awake, Yuriko-chan." an amused and familiar voice said as I reluctantly clawed my way back to the land of the living. Cracking an eye open blearily, I saw Hiruzen-sama sitting next to my bed, with Anko leaning against the wall and a couple of ANBU hanging around next to the door of the room.

"Owwwwwww." I deadpanned in a slurred voice. "Water?"

"Here," he chuckled as he held a cup to my lips, helping drink the liquid, my throat working greedily as I drank deeply. "How are you feeling?"

"Like shit," I admitted, blinking a bit, my voice recovering slightly. "How long was I out?"

"Eight hours," he assured me, smirking a bit. "Saya-chan was most irked that you got yourself into trouble again. Her words, not mine."

"Better me than Sasuke-kun, Naruto-kun or Sakura-chan." I stated. "That bastard was crushing them with his KI when I arrived. Had they not been trained to deal with that kind of thing, they would have been knocked out and helpless long before I arrived. As it was, they could barely stand."

Hiruzen-sama nodded his understanding of the situation. "I understand, the three arrived not long after you did with Anko-chan, they were debriefed and let us know what happened," he assured me. "They're fine, worried, but fine."

I nodded, letting out a sigh of relief. "Let me guess, 12 hours of bedrest at a minimum?" I questioned in good humor.

Hiruzen-sama chuckled in amusement, smiling at me. "Saya-chan figured you'd say that, otherwise she'd order 24 hours," he informed me.

I rolled my eyes in response. "And she's just a worrywort," I replied, smiling a bit. "I will be fine, Hiruzen-sama," I assured the leader. "I won't move from this point for 12 hours unless it is an emergency."

"Good. Now, kindly tell me exactly what happened between you and my wayward student." Hiruzen-sama said seriously.

"Not much." I admitted. "I arrived and warned him off, he retreated after using his link with the Kusanagi to sneak his sword inside of the protective area of my [Susano'o] before I activated it and levitate it into cutting my side. I let my guard down with that, I'm afraid."

"That's one of his favourite tricks with the Kusanagi no Tsurugi." the Hokage chuckled sadly. "It seems he has not lost any of his cunning since he left, or his craftiness."

Anko snarled something under her breath before flinching, one hand going to where the Proto-Cursed Seal of Heaven was located. Hoo boy. She was not going to like what I said next, then.

I let out a sigh as I slumped back. "He was trying to place a cursed seal on Sasuke-kun." I admitted, making Anko curse loudly and imaginatively. "He called it a 'little gift'. I don't think he's going to stop trying, Hiruzen-sama."

"Why would he purposefully choose Sasuke-kun?" Hiruzen-sama mused.

"Aside from revenge against Itachi for fighting him off?" I smiled bitterly. Jiraiya-sama's network had brought the news of Orochimaru's falling out with Akatsuki and a partial reason why. "Sasuke-kun is of the Uchiha Main branch, although the differences between Main Family and Branch are very slight, unlike with the Hyuuga. Sasuke has the potential to awaken the same kind of Mangekyo Sharingan as Itachi; one that has [Amaterasu] and [Tsukuyomi]. That is likely the main reason."

"And, if he gets ahold of Itachi's eyes… then he could get the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan," Hiruzen-sama commented with a frown. "I'll have ANBU discreetly watch Sasuke-kun from here on out, we won't let Orochimaru get a chance to place the Cursed Seal onto him."

I nodded thankfully to the Hokage. "Thank you, Hiruzen-sama," I said gratefully. "So, who else aside from Team 7 has arrived?"

"The Sunagakure team has arrived as well, along with Squad Nine and a team from Kirigakure," Hiruzen-sama informed me, a smile on his face. "It seems that there is a wonderful generation of shinobi approaching quickly."

I chuckled a bit in response, relaxing as Hiruzen-sama and I relaxed into an easy conversation.

Like I had thought, I was up and moving in 12 hours, although with the time of the second exam, I had more than plenty of time to recover more from Orochimaru's 'gift'. Because of my position, however, I wasn't able to really visit Naruto-kun or Sasuke-kun to reassure them that I was fine, although I did have a chunin pass a message off to them for me.

Soon enough I was standing beside Hiruzen-sama and the other proctors in front of a large statue making a hand seal as the genin that managed to get through the Second Exam were arrayed in front of us in rows.

I had to fight to suppress my grin as I accepted the ten ryo Ibiki owed me behind our backs as Hiruzen-sama spoke to the arrayed genin. Congratulating them on arriving here before turning to me.

"Hello, everyone," I called out with a polite cheerfulness that seemed to set a number of the genin at ease. "My name is Yuriko Uchiha, I will be the proctor for your third exam, which will be done in the style of a one-on-one tournament, but we currently have too many of you in here at the moment for such a thing, so… we will be having preliminary matches, starting now."

The genin began to murmur as they looked at one another in a panic before I spotted a hand being raised. "Yes, you with the white hair and glasses," I called out to the spy.

"I'd like to drop out, please," Kabuto said, looking rather apologetic and holding his side in an exaggerated manner. "We just arrived, and I don't think I have the energy to be able to fight someone right away."

I narrowed my eyes at the traitor for a moment. "Genin… Yakushi, correct?" I questioned with a raised eyebrow. "Very well, if that is what you wish to do, I won't stop you."

Kabuto smiled fakely at me before heading out of the exam hall, completely unaware of the fact that he was being followed by a squad of ANBU every step of the way.

"Anyone else wish to leave?" I called out with a smile. "If you don't speak up now, you won't be able to leave until you're up for the prelims."

I waited for several moments for anyone to speak before nodding. "Very well there, here are the rules," I announced as a wall parted to show a screen. "This screen here will announce the matches, selecting names out randomly, as for the matches themselves, really the only rule is, when I call the match, it is over."

These genin were looking rather relaxed, can't have that now, can I?

I flooded the room with power as I closed my eyes with a wide smile, my Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan activating as I formed my [Susano'o] around me. "So when I tell you to stop fighting, stop fighting, or I will be your opponent," I finished in a cold tone, reopening my eyes to see a petrified group of genin.

Letting my words hang for a bit I let up my power and allowed my [Susano'o] to fade from existence. "So glad you understand," I said, kindness refilling my voice. "So, please move up to the rafters as the first names are selected."

Choji Akimichi

Vs

Sakura Haruno

I blinked at the pairing that came up as everyone began to file up to the observation area, leaving the two genin behind. Oh, this should be an interesting match, especially considering how serious Sakura-chan took her training.

I looked back down to the two genin as they stared at each other, several paces away from one another, Sakura-chan had arrived here on her first day, giving her plenty of time to relax and recover from her time in the forest, meanwhile Choji-kun had only arrived a few hours before the end of the exam.

"Very well!" I called out in a loud voice. "Are the participants ready?"

The two of them nodded, not breaking eye contact from one another as they got into their respective stances, Sakura-chan crouching down as she pulled out a kodachi to hold in a ready position.

"BEGIN!"

On my mark, the two blurred into action the two of them, surprisingly leaping away from one another, rather than the charging in I expected from Choji-kun at least.

"Come on Sakura-chan, you can do it!" I could hear Naruto-kun shout in encouragement from where he and the rest of team seven were situated.

"Choji! If you don't beat Forehead I'll kick your ass!" Ino-chan shouted from her own position.

I rolled my eyes at their shouts before focusing in on the battle happening as Choji began to form a series of seals. "[Ninja Art: Multi-Size Technique]!" he shouted out as his body began to inflate with chakra, turning him into a ball shape before he pulled his limbs and head in. "[Ninja Art: Human Boulder]!"

I bit back a groan at the simple tactic he was employing as he began to roll towards Sakura-chan at high speeds. While the technique itself wasn't bad, and I have seen it used to devastating effect throughout the Third War, it was best used when the enemy didn't see you setting it up, the [Ninja Art: Partial Multi-Size Technique] would have been a much better choice for a one-on-one situation like this.

My point was proven rather well as she began to dodge out of the way of his attempts of squashing her underneath his mass.

She began to guide her opponent towards a specific spot where he would be trapped by the corner of two walls, leaving him trapped and unable to properly turn without stopping completely, something that he fell for without a second thought as he charged in as soon as she stopped moving.

With a rather impressive leap, Sakura-chan threw herself right over Choji-kun, leaving him to slam into the wall with an explosive impact and leaving him struggling to move out of it afterwards, leaving plenty of time for Sakura-chan to run through a hand seal sequence.

"[Water Release: Water Trumpet]!" Sakura-chan shouted out as she sprayed out a blast of water into Choji-kun's back, driving him deeper into the wall as he shouted in pain.

Unfortunately for the trapped boy she was already forming a second set of seals as he began to reduce his size to free himself from the walls. "[Lighting Release: Spark Storm]!" my student declared with a tone of finality as sparks of electricity began to surround the Akimichi heir before connecting with his water soaked body electrocuting him harshly for several moments.

"It's over!" I shouted out as Choji-kun fell, face first, onto the arena floor. "Winner! Sakura Haruno!"

Her team cheered for her as the remaining genin and arrayed jonin clapped in approval. "Mm, a good tactic she used," Hiruzen-sama said approvingly next to me. "She made good use of the environment."

I chuckled with a proud smile on my face. "No doubt," I agreed warmly. "I think she'll have a lot more to show us, next month."

Hiruzen-sama chuckled in amusement. "Indeed, something I look forward to."

The screen flashed for a moment before displaying the next two names.

Dosu Kinuta

Vs

Hinata Hyuuga

"Oho, it seems like we finally get to see the skills of the new village," Hiruzen-sama said kindly, making me repress a snigger as the two named made their way down.

From our intelligence reports, every single one of the Otogakure shinobi, the ones who weren't originally missing-nins, are all one trick ponies.

Hinata-chan on the other hand…

Well, let's just say without her self-confidence issue, she was a splendid kunoichi.

I looked between the two of them, Hinata-chan was taking several calming breaths, no doubt from the nerves of having to fight in front of so many people, while Dosu leered at her in what he must have thought to be an intimidating manner.

It honestly looked like a glare from a kitten to me, so cute.

"You know the rules," I told them calmly. "Are you both prepared?"

"Hai!" Hinata-chan called out in a firm voice as she took a slightly modified [Gentle Fist] stance.

"Let's just get this over with already," Dosu groused as he brought his melody gauntlet up. "I want to get to the real fights already."

"Very well then… BEGIN!" I shouted out.

Unlike Sakura-chan and Choji-kun, Hinata-chan and Dosu both leapt towards each other to begin attacking one another, Hinata-chan not even needing to form the seals to activate her [Byakugan] as the veins bulged around her eyes as she stuck out with fingers.

Dosu let out a curse as he managed to keep himself from being hit by the fingers, Orochimaru having obviously warned him about the Hyuuga's fighting style.

A grin worked its way onto my face as I saw him move out of the way of Hinata-chan's attacks. As it stood, the girl was entirely incompatible with the standard Hyuuga taijutsu, but that didn't mean that the Hyuuga didn't have their own offshoots of it.

I couldn't stop the chuckle that escaped my lips as Hinata-chan slid across the ground, suddenly closing the small gap between the two genin as both of her palms came to a rest on his chest, Dosu unable to react at the sudden, unexpected movement that had happened right while she was in the middle of her attack. "[Sudden Drop]!" Hinata-chan shouted out as one of the hands on his chest moved to the waist as she suddenly shifted his center of balance completely off while pushing him to the ground. "Please surrender," Hinata-chan requested. "I do not wish to harm you any more than this if possible."

Dosu growled in anger as he reached up with his gauntlet covered arm. "Stupid bitch," he cussed out as he began to try to activate [Resonating Sound Drill] only for no chakra to even reach his arm.

"I have already seal the tenketsu in your shoulders that allow chakra passage into your arms," Hinata-chan informed as one of her hands wrapped around his throat, a slight glow around them showing that she was pumping chakra into them. "Surrender."

"I… I give up!" Dosu shouted out desperately, shuddering as the hand left his throat.

"Winner! Hinata Hyuuga!" I announced to the rather shocked crowd.

I was pretty sure that the villagers in Konoha could hear Naruto-kun's shout of excitement at Hinata-chan's victory as the shy girl began to make her way up to the observation area, occasionally glancing back at Dosu who was being assisted to the recovery ward by a pair of medics.

I turned my eyes back to the board as it began to sort through the names once again.

Kurotsuchi

Vs

Misumi Tsurugi

My eyebrow rose at the pairing as I spotted the two moving into the arena, looked like Kurotsuchi-san had grown up the last time I had saw he while I was in Iwa for the treaty signing.

I smiled at the two of them kindly as they arrived, sizing each other up, honestly, I was rather curious on how the matchup would work as well, given Kurotsuchi-san's [Lava Release] and Misumi's flexible and stretching body, the match would be interesting, if already one-sided.

"Are you ready?" I questioned, looking between the two of them who simply opted to nod their readiness. "Then, BEGIN!"

Misumi launching himself forward, looking to quickly close the distance between the two of them as Kurotsuchi-san began to quickly form seals. "[Lava Release: Quicklime Congealing]!" she shouted out as she spat out several globs of a white sludge-like substance, covering the ground before her, right before Misumi stepped in it.

"Gah!" the spy cried out in surprise and pain as his foot refused to budge from where it was stuck. "What the hell is this shit!?" he shouted out angrily as he began to try and yank himself free.

Time that Kurotsuchi was planning on allowing him if those seals she was forming were any indication. "[Earth Release: Fist Rock]!" she shouted out as she drew the ground around her to her fist, covering it in a large rock in the shape of a fist before leaping at Misumi with her hand reared back for a punch.

Misumi looked up, his eyes widening as he spotted the Iwa kunoichi flying towards him with a large fist of rock, seconds before it slammed into him with a sickening crack as he flew back, his foot obviously broken as he was torn free from his sandal before landing on the ground, unmoving.

"This match it over!" I shouted out. "Winner! Kurotsuchi!"

"Yes!" the genin shouted to herself in excitement as she did a fist pump while skipping over to the stairs leading up to the viewing area.

"She's very much like her grandfather and the First." Hiruzen smiled with a shake of his head.

"The First Tsuchikage?" I blinked.

"Yes. Although he was usually calm and composed outside of battle, during and immediately afterwards, he could be both savage and excitable." Hiruzen-sama explained to me. "Onoki is unlike him in that regard, but apparently she is like her ancestor more than her grandfather. How interesting…"

I hummed in response, I didn't really know that much about the other village founders, and learning anything about them was a rather interesting experience.

But that was neither here nor there as the board caught my attention with the next contenders.

Naruto Uzumaki

Vs

Kankuro

Oho… now this will be interesting.

Naruto was all smiles and energy as he moved into the ring with his characteristic energy, waving to me as I smile at him before focusing himself on his opponent. Kankuro sneered slightly at the sight of my younger brother, but then put a serious face on when Naruto stared him in the eyes.

"Are the both of you prepared?" I asked, looking between them.

"Oh yeah!" Naruto said, grinning widely as he met Kankuro's gaze.

"Yeah, yeah," Kankuro said in a rather dismissive tone.

"Begin," I told the two of them with a smirk.

Naruto moved into action as he surged forward, making Kankuro blink in surprise at the sudden action as Naruto's grin melted from his face as his tanto appeared in his hand.

Kankuro managed to pull himself back as the edge of the tanto nearly cut though his chest before trying to punch my little brother who simply spun himself out of the way as he channeled wind chakra into his tanto before slashing this time, extending the end of the blade.

'Kankuro' staggered back as the henge around him dispelled to show the wooden construct that was his puppet as Kankuro himself was revealed to have been in the wrapped package he was carrying. "Tch, to think I'd have to show Karasu so early," he grunted out in complaint. "Nasty trick with your tanto there…"

Naruto-kun smirked a bit as he held his tanto at the ready. "Pretty smart trick yourself, must've taken a lot of practice to control your puppet from inside of the package like that."

Kankuro blinked in surprise, obviously not expecting that response from Naruto-kun. "Heh, yeah it did," he said with a grin as he began to manipulate his puppet. "Let me show you some more tricks I've got!"

Kankuro waved his hands out as his puppet rattled for a moment before suddenly exploding into pieces that began to levitate into the air, surrounding Naruto-kun.

My little brother blinked in surprise as he looked at them before reacting as he dodge a few that looked to hit him off balance before being caught off guard as an oncoming arm grabbed the head that he dodged and slammed it into his head, seconds before a pair of hands grabbed onto him and began to drag him to the main body.

I saw Naruto-kun smirk as they threw him in, his hands forming a familiar cross shaped seal before the body closed in on him. "[Black Secret Technique: Iron Maiden!]" Kankuro shouted as the numerous parts of his puppet extended their blades before slamming into the puppet, no doubt intending to skewer my little brother. Cries from the gallery, including Sakura, Hinata and, surprisingly, Ino, washed over me.

"Heh, might as well call it, Miss Proctor!" Kankuro shouted out as I look at him with an emotionless gaze. "This match it over."

He blinked as I smirked at him before Naruto-kun appeared behind him. "Yeah! It is!" he shouted eagerly as he slammed his fist into the back of Kankuro's skull, sending the older genin toppling over before climbing on top of him and placing his tanto at his throat.

"I give up!" Kankuro called out quickly, and smartly too.

"Winner! Naruto Uzumaki!" I shouted out loudly over the shouts from the watching crowd.

"YEAH!" Naruto shouted happily as he leapt to his feet, pumping his hands into the air. "Who's awesome, I am!"

"Man…" Kankuro grumbled, standing up and retrieving his puppet before turning to nod to Naruto-kun. "Good match."

"You too." Naruto-kun smirked and shook Kankuro's hand. "You almost had me there."

I smirked as I watched Naruto-kun make yet another friend as he was so good at doing as the randomizer began to activate again. "He's growing up so quickly," I murmured quietly to Hiruzen-sama who nodded in agreement.

"He takes after his parents quite well," he murmured, before turning to me with a significant look. "All three of them."

I blushed at the implication. "I'm not his mother." I whispered.

"You raised him as well as you could, even if your mother helped." Hiruzen-sama disagreed softly. "Be proud, Yuriko; Naruto-kun is becoming a man and a ninja to be proud of."

I smiled a bit in response as I looked back to Naruto-kun who was talking animatedly with Kankuro who was just as animated. "Yeah, he really is," I murmured back before looking up at the sign as it declared the next match.

Tenten

Vs

Amane Dorogata

I blinked at the unfamiliar name as Tenten walked down to the arena a wide grin on her face as her opponent did the same, an Iwa nin with dusky skin and dark brown hair and eyes.

"Are the two of you ready?" I questioned the two of them, getting nods in response. "Then, Begin!"

Tenten came out of the gate swinging it seems as she hurled a brace of kunai at her opponent who threw himself forward into a roll, showing impressive concentration as he formed hand seals, declaring his jutsu as he came up out of it. "[Earth Release: Rock Bullets]!"

From his mouth, he spat several pieces of rock that grew to the size of small melons. Tenten had to dodge all of them, but did so with ease. I suppose it made sense; compared to the fists of Gai, Lee and Neji, the rocks were slow as hell.

The match quickly fell into a ranged shooting gallery of a sorts, with each of the contenders doing their best to hit the other while dodging projectiles at the same time, Tenten, because this is what she excelled at, and Amane because he couldn't close the gap enough with Tenten to force into a close quarters match.

Tenten grinned as she hit him with another kunai in the thigh, slowing him down even further as she continued to dance around, slowing the Iwa-nin further.

"I think it's time to end this!" Tenten shouted out as she began to run forward, grabbing a scroll at her waist as Amane put himself into a defensive position only for Tenten to stop short. "Here we go!" she called out as she unsealed a massive weighted chain, a manriki-gusari I think it was, and flicked it in just the right way to wrap around Amane who wasn't able to leap out of the way in time with the kunai in his thigh, entraping him as she leapt up with her scroll wide open. "[Manipulated Tools: Binding Meteor]!"

A large number of weapons came flying out of the scroll as the genin could only look up in resignation before calling out. "I surrender!"

I moved instantly, appearing next to the genin with the ribcage of my [Susano'o] surrounding us, right before the weapons slammed into my chakra construct, bouncing off relatively harmlessly. "By way of surrender, we have a winner," I announced calmly to the crowd once the barrage was over. "Tenten."

I looked over the Iwa genin who was still looking up with a pale face. "Medic!" I called out, summoning one of the medical ninja who quickly escorted the shocked genin out of the arena to tend to his wounds.

"I'm sorry! Yuriko-sama!" Tenten apologised quickly. "I didn't mean-"

"It's quite alright," I assured her with a smile, patting her on the shoulder. "It was a splendid technique, but I would work on a way to control it after launching it, if I were you anyways."

"R-right!" Tenten shouted, her eyes glimmering in excitement as she went about gathering her assorted weapons.

I smiled at her before stepping back and taking my place beside Hokage-sama, well, even without Orochimaru, the rest of this exam should be an interesting event.

I looked up at the board and blinked in surprise.

Gaara

Vs

Rock Lee

Yup, definitely interesting.

END CHAPTER!

Yuriko's Stats

Name: Yuriko

Level: 81

EXP: 39,047/70,000

Age: 23

Gender: Female

Title: Uchiha Clan head (+50% to all reputation gains, command of the Uchiha Clan)

Secondary Title: Equal to the Clan Killer (+50% to all stats, +200 HP & CP per level, Reputation with Konohagakure and Uchiha Clan is set to [Exalted])

STATS - Current

HP - 12,000

CP - 38,500

STR - 100 (175)

INT - 140 (210)

DEX - 160 (280)

VIT - 100 (175)

WIS -140 (210)

LUK - 45 (65)

Ryo - 39,115,254

Stat Points: 10

New Perk

[Master Med-Nin] Level N/A - +100% Effectiveness to all Iryojutsu, +20% additional effectiveness when used on self.