Chapter 45

Naruto frowned, pouting like a child. "Why not?"

The Daimyo nodded chuckling. "Yes. Why not Ryoutenbin. He seems to be a good enough boy."

The Kage looked like he was about to curse the man out when he bit his tongue. "We'll...make the arrangements for your stay. Give us one hour." Then he turned and marched away.

Orochimaru watched the small man leave before drawing his gaze down towards the top of Naruto's head.

He hadn't said anything.

But he knew the boy had just recognized the danger, and acted to manipulate with those words.

Very curious.

-0-

"Huh? That's it?"

"This was boring." Akatsuchi concluded, pulling himself back off the railing.

"What happened?" Kurotsuchi growled. "I didn't hear a thing!"

"Come on!" The bigger student insisted, plucking her off the railing. "Sensei's gonna come out and find us."

"No she's not she's just gonna-"

"Ahem."

Both children paused, turning slowly to see the, stern glare of their sensei.

"It was all Kuro-chan's idea!"

"It was not!" She bellowed.

-0-

Down below, marching through the gates Onoki spoke softly to his two aids.

"Call back Han and Roshi." He whispered to one, who nodded before gesturing towards the other.

"Get them set up in the fourth manse."

"That's right beside the tower sir." He said, somewhat alarmed. "We reserve that for when Michizu-sama arrives.

"Hmm...if they're staying here for a month I want to know how many times they breathe. Get them set up in the fourth manse. Michizu-sama will understand the inconvenience should he arrive for the spectator portion of the exams."

The aide nodded.

-0-

By the time they themselves were riding through the gates a few minutes later Koutou could be heard speaking to the pale sannin as well. "If he was truly looking for an excuse, that little stunt you pulled could have been it." He said.

"Its best they feel they should keep their eyes on me as opposed to others who will draw their attention." The sannin responded.

The man grunted, shifting in his saddle. "Just remember you're not invincible, or alone. And our show of force here is merely that. A show. If Onoki's pushed far enough he can take our heads. So don't antagonize too much." He ordered.

The sannin nodded smirking "I'll refrain from commenting on his height then."

"Hah!"

-0-

It was already approaching night by the time there was an opportunity for him to speak with enough privacy. When Naruto was marching back to his room a little later than the rest of his team. And the Daimyo and his guards were still settling into theirs with the greater luggage load.

"What was that back there Naruto?"

The blond stiffened in surprise and Orochimaru saw how he remained tense, on guard. The boy never did trust him. One couldn't stay in a constant state of tension for months on end but whenever he singled him out like he was doing now, this...thing would come back. Just like he was when he woke up in the hospital two years ago, looking at him as though for all intents and purposes he was getting ready to tear the boy's face off.

"What was what?" He asked, turning around to look at him.

"Don't play dumb." He said, the normal smirking visage was nowhere to be found. "Onoki. At the gates. You knew full well what you were doing."

"I wasn't doing anything. Just asked him if he wanted to be my friend." Naruto glared, as if daring him to keep pushing this.

The serpent's gaze bore right into him.

"Onoki leveled enough killing intent on you specifically to to have thrown a veteran ninja unconscious. Your teammates felt the fear rise in their stomachs...you didn't."

"Yeah well why did he do that anyway? What made him get so angry at me?" Naruto feigned his ignorance of the circumstances, hoping to throw the serpent off the conversation.

Orochimaru was having none of it though. As much as he'd changed with the incident that altered his memories two years ago he'd still known the boy since he was an infant. "More than that you weren't surprised, nor did you take a moment to collect yourself. After a man demonstrates that he actively desires your death, you proceeded to diffuse an escalating situation by distracting a Kage with a question no one in their right mind would ask at the time.

"Maybe I'm just not in my right mind." He laughed.

"What is going on?"

"Nothing is going on." The blond hissed. "You're just being paranoid."

He tilted his head. "Very well...Keep your secrets. But this conversation isn't over."

The gennin glared, turning around and marching towards his room before closing the door.

Orochimaru was left feeling like something of a hypocrite at being irritated at his student's lying.

-0-

It was nearly a week later when the three Konoha gennin stood within the building where the chuunin exams were to begin.

The building wasn't at all impressive. It was a single story, more a large, emptied out wearhouse than anything really. There weren't even chairs or seats. Naruto was getting the impression this was just the place every team was to meet up in order to march over to wherever the real test was going to begin.

"These are a lot of foreign gennin teams." Kyofu breathed looking around. The wearhouse was absolutely huge in terms of square feet and space but even so, if any more teams arrived they would be bumping shoulders with people they didn't know.

"Mostly Iwa nin's though...that kinda makes us the foreigners here." Ryoko said. "This is crazy." She said. Wether she was referring to the number of people or the fact that they were the only Konoha team with a sensei crazy or careless enough to bring them here was completely up in the air.

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