Chapter 18

Naruto sprang deftly from tree-branch to tree-branch. Rice Country was a very beautiful place; even as a 9 year old he could tell that the lush greenery and knee high grass were not to be found anywhere else. He loved dozing as the sun rose, casting its golden light over the world, flowers and trees that had lain silent and obscured in shadow, lighting up in the glow of a new day, gleaming and dripping with morning dew. It was a sight to behold, one that he had become enamoured with lately and he didn't hold any urge to leave Rice Country anytime soon.

He had been searching for this 'Orochimaru' in the few weeks since his arrival without any success. The Shinobi's name was taboo in the neighbouring villages and towns and the man himself was as elusive as a snake in winter. As he searched in the daytime, he occupied the hours of his fruitless endeavour by attempting to learn the wind Jutsu that he and Gaara had pilfered from the Jutsu library of Suna. Sadly, he was making little to no headway with them; for some reason he just couldn't pull off the Kaze no Yaiba, and in his frustration, he had tossed the scroll into a stream at the edge of a grassy plain that Rice was famous for.

Giving up on learning the wind Jutsu, he decided that to find this 'Orochimaru', he would have to get his attention in some way. And so in true typical Naruto fashion, he decided his latest large-scale prank was in order.

But what to do?

After wracking his brains for ideas, he had come up with a few pranks: He could let off another paint-bomb like he did in Iwa, but then again he wanted to keep his stunts fresh. His second idea was to let off a massive stink-bomb; something that would pervade the air for a few days was bound to catch the attention of the legendary Shinobi. He ended up throwing that idea out of the window too. For some reason, he was really into bombs these days...

So when he had caught wind of a 'Hidden Sound' Village, he took it upon himself to find out where this secret place actually was. But that led him to another dead-end and a wasted two weeks of searching for something that he had no clue as to its position.

Balancing on another branch, he crouched down like a tiger, inspecting his surroundings like a hawk searching for prey. If the village was indeed a ninja village, it would make sense that they would leave some tracks right?

CRACK!

Naruto's head whipped around as he turned to locate the snap that had assaulted his hearing. Someone was around, that was either a twig or something close to it, maybe he could ask for directions?

For a whole minute, the blond remained on his haunches, his entire body and upper faculties stretched to their limit. Why were they hiding?

And in that moment, he almost missed the subtle shift of Chakra to his right, the signal that a technique was being used.

Throwing himself forwards, the Konoha Jinchuuriki rolled before springing to his feet, a ball of fire already blossoming from his gaping mouth. The trees around him lit up in the fiery glow as the Goukakyu roared past, burning the grass and igniting the foliage wherever it touched. Naruto wasn't stupid enough to believe that his attacker had been caught by that; God knows he had made too many assumptions in fights before.

He would not make that same mistake again.

As the seconds ticked by in silence, the Kyuubi-host analysed the situation as quickly as he could. His opponent was skilled. That wind Jutsu that he had dodged had an incredibly small amount of Chakra augmenting it and yet, the destruction it wrought was nothing short of amazing. A clean slice had been knifed through the earth with the precision of a surgeon's scalpel. But that wasn't the only thing that startled the blond.

This Shinobi was good enough to get a drop on him. He was totally unaware of the attack until he had felt the release of Chakra associated with the wind Jutsu that had been used. Not only that, but even now, he couldn't detect the person at all.

In his adrenaline-enhanced state, the blond made another mistake that would come back to haunt him. But also, it would be the cause for an extraordinary growth. Naruto scanned the vicinity, his head turning in every direction, causing his hair to whirl around his head like a propeller. He didn't think to check the ground or the sky, and that was what made him vulnerable. Even with his senses stretched as far as out as possible, there were techniques that could be used outside of his senses, simple, yet deadly techniques.

Something cold and painfully strong took hold of the Jinchuuriki's ankles, a vice-like grip, threatening to pull him down to a dark and foreboding death.

But Naruto wasn't quite the green-horn he had once been. He recognised this technique; he had used it enough times himself. Channelling an enormous amount of Chakra to his feet, he smoothly slid one of his Wakizashi strapped to his back out of its sheathe, a torrent of wind revolving around the deadly steel of the blade, the sapphire eye of the dragon glinting dangerously in the sunlight.

Swinging downwards, Naruto pushed a large chunk of Chakra from the Tenketsu in his heels. The grip on his ankles immediately slackened, the hands disappearing before he could even catch a glimpse of the ghost-like appendages. As he flew towards the bark of a tree, Naruto had no time to comprehend his situation.

Something slammed into his arm, a loud crack resounding through the trees as the bone gave way. Naruto gasped at the pain, but there was no time to defend himself from the sudden onslaught that pummelled every inch of his body.

In a couple of seconds, he registered a myriad of blows striking his body, his momentum totally redirected. As he fell to the grassy floor, his blade held in his one whole arm, he spun, the metal edge flashing in the sunlight as it sliced into his attacker. His Wakizashi stopped on its path, having been caught in the same object it had attempted to cut, and in that moment as Naruto landed harshly on the ground, he caught sight of his attacker for the first time.

His TWO attackers.

They were identical; the same porcelain white skin, as if it had been bleached so thoroughly that even the whitish hue was dulled. The cheekbones of his opponent were high and sharp accentuating the serpentine, sickly-yellow orbs that stared cruelly at the young pre-teen. He could sense the malevolence in the Shinobi, long, black hair cascading over his shoulders, a purple fang of an ear-ring dangling from his right ear and a malicious smirk stretching the purple shadow of his upper eye-lids.

So this was Orochimaru, just typical that he would find Naruto before Naruto had a chance to find him.

"What, young Uzumaki, are you doing searching for me in my domain?"

Naruto's gut wrenched at the slithering drawl that escaped the ninja's mouth. If he needed any proof for why this man was called the 'Snake of the Sannin' then he need not look any further.

"H-How do you know my name?"

The man cocked his head to the side, the picture of a Cobra considering its latest meal.

"I was once a Konoha ninja. Every Shinobi in that cursed place knows who and what you are." The second body of the legendary Shinobi melted into mud, Naruto's Wakizashi slipped through the earth as it reached the ground hilt first. Naruto breathed out shakily.

It was a clone.

Clucking at the blond's lack of response, Orochimaru stepped forward lightly, his grace and elegance reminding the Jinchuuriki oddly of Mitarashi Anko.

"Well?"

Naruto clenched his teeth at the pain throbbing through his left arm. The bone was badly broken and the entire appendage felt like it was on fire. As he struggled to answer the Snake-Shinobi's question, he failed to notice the red glow that began to swirl around his wrist. Orochimaru, however, did not.

"I heard you knew loads of Jutsu, so I came to ask you for some."

Orochimaru froze in shock. His expression was perplexed. He, teaching Jutsu? What was he, some kind of Konoha Jounin Sensei?!

But then he laughed, the sound sickening the blond prank master to the core. There was just something so wrong about this whole situation. He was beaten and broken, lying at the feet of one of the most infamous missing-nin of all time and it was in that moment that Naruto truly recognised his childish folly.

Had he really thought that this...this remnant of a human criminal would teach him anything?! If normal Shinobi guarded their techniques with their lives, why then, did he ever think that Orochimaru of all people would ever teach him anything?

'Two of the same', he thought. Both he and the Snake of the Sannin were outcasts of their original societies, one shunned for reasons he hadn't even known and the other, expelled for reasons shrouded in mystery. The blond was badly mistaken. This man was thrown out of Konoha for a reason, it was obvious that the Sandaime was a capable leader, loathe as he was to admit it.

"You think that I would teach you, some of my Jutsu just because you came and asked for it?"

In an instant, all mirth disappeared from the Snake-Shinobi's eyes. Naruto found a fist buried into his gut sending him sprawling another couple of metres, his leg catching the stump of a tree as he fell.

"Loyalty must be earned, Uzumaki-kun. If you want to learn from me, prove to me that you are worth it. Prove to me that you have what it takes to learn what I could teach."

The calculating gleam that Orochimaru gazed at him with sent a shiver of fear down the Konoha civilian's spine. He really was a stupid, childish, immature little boy. And as he watched the Oto-leader turn and walk away from him, his body aching and battered, rage unlike he had ever felt before rose up inside him.

He had humiliated him, utterly and in the worst possible way for the young boy. His experiences had guided him down his torrid road, obstacles and craters lining his path at every direction. Death threats hanging over his head, the fear of his own demise strengthening every few days.

But there was hope.

Images flashed before his eyes, his form slumped in a patch of high-grass, his right leg awkwardly resting on the stump of the tree he had just hit.

Standing on the Yondaime Hokage's head, basking in the warmth of the setting sun, the light breeze ruffling his hair.

Speeding down the centre of a river, crystal drops of water showering down around him with two huge waves parting on either side.

Floating in the air, grinning down at the sprawling city of rock that would be the next victim of his bored mind.

But one image lingered longer than the rest; the picture of three Konoha Jounin laughing uproariously at the painted face of the Raikage.

Warmth swelled in Naruto's heart. He realised now, what Shisui had been trying to tell him as he showed him how to track, what he had set off to show him instead of explaining. Shisui had asked him to kill the deer not because he couldn't...well maybe he couldn't, but that wasn't the main reason.

A grin grew on the face of the blond; his mind completely forgetting the throbbing pain in his body.

He didn't live to fight, but he fought to live. He had to survive in the best way he could, and unconsciously, that was what he had wanted when he had first asked the Sandaime to teach him ninja techniques. If he killed, it was because he had to. Would he sit by and let himself be destroyed?

There was no way that he would ever let that happen.

And he owed it to Shisui that he would rise above his problems and show the world that he wasn't the Uzumaki Naruto they thought he was.

His grin turned vicious.

Orochimaru had still humiliated him. For that he would pay.

Standing shakily, the blond brushed himself down; wiping the small trail of spit and blood leaking from the corner of his mouth. His will assured and his determination set in stone, he didn't stop to contemplate why he could walk without feeling any pain in his body or his right arm.

He had a debt to repay.

A thousand fold.

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Konoha really was a beautiful place in the depths of summer. As the Village's name implied, the capital ninja village of Fire Country was a very green expanse, trees and grass in abundance everywhere you chose to look. But that wasn't the only reason that Konoha was called its name.

The Shodai Hokage, Senju Hashirama, was said to have planted and nurtured the greenery of Konoha himself. It was said that his skill over his bloodline was so great that he could repopulate barren forests all by himself.

Konoha Shinobi were a proud part of this bastion of Fire Country; protecting and helping wherever they could and over time, they had evolved into the single most capable military power on the continent.

This had made them complacent, dangerously so, and yet the lax attitude bred a number of extraordinary ninja from every walk of like. Clans that were previously unknown, simple families that had joined the ninja trade to make a living and protect themselves, began to form their own unique styles. There wasn't any rigidity in the Jutsu system and this liberty gave birth to a huge variety of techniques unique to Konoha alone. Every field of the Shinobi had progressed in ways that nobody could have foreseen in the early days.

One such Shinobi was Yuuhi Kurenai. Specialising in Genjutsu, she was the best choice for a support ninja on any team, be it a squad of Jounin or Chuunin, she could fit in easily and to deadly effect. She was one of the hotshot Chuunin rookies of her generation and she was being touted as a potential candidate for Jounin in the next six months. Her skills were too easily wasted as a Chuunin and the administration wanted to settle her into a leading position; either teaching the next generation her skills to spread her speciality, or by taking out the most feared opponents in the land.

But all that was far from her mind in her present situation. Kurenai had just returned to Konoha along with her two teammates Raidou and Genma. The three-man Chuunin squad had been sent to mediate with Cloud after the events a few weeks prior. They had not been a Genin squad in their youth, yet they were fast becoming one of the most effective teams on the Chuunin roster.

Shiranui Genma was a Ninjutsu specialist. He could be found perpetually chewing a senbon between his teeth, his eyes gazing lazily at those around him and a blue bandanna covering his head. Their second teammate, Namiashi Raidou, was a Taijutsu specialist. He was by no means as strong as say Maito Gai, and yet his skills were nothing to sneeze at. As his surname suggested, he was a slow moving, power-packing Shinobi and he and Genma worked in tandem to deadly effect.

Kurenai complimented their skills well. In a fight, she could fall back whilst layering illusions over their opponents leaving them vulnerable to attack from all directions. All but the strongest of ninja could shrug off her Genjutsu and she was making a name for herself in the world due to her unique skills.

Saluting smartly, the three Chuunin headed from the main gate towards the Hokage Tower. Their mission had been successful for the most part; at least, a war hadn't broken out.

"GOD! That huge Jounin is such an idiot!" Genma's senbon moved up and down as he calmly listened to Raidou's rant.

"I mean does he HAVE to rhyme in every sentence that freakin' comes out of his mouth?! It doesn't even make sense half of the time!"

Kurenai grimaced. The downside of being on a team with a whiny young Chuunin.

"Don't give me that look Kurenai! He was spouting all that crap about 'fainting whilst painting' and I was...ARGH! I was about to stab myself!"

Genma massaged his right shoulder lightly as they entered the market district.

"Raidou, you should know by now that there are a lot of Shinobi in other countries that are...eccentric." Kurenai snorted; very unladylike.

"I know! But man! That has got to be the worst quirk I've ever seen in a Shinobi! Do you think he was genuinely nuts?"

His two teammates remained silent, causing the scarred Chuunin to slouch forwards as he walked. Spoil-sports. They were so unsociable!

"What I wanna know is what Uzumaki was doing at the VOTE."

Kurenai's head whipped up at Genma's statement. It was unlike him to show interest in anything, but sure enough his Senbon hung limp from his lips, a deep frown scrunching his brow.

Kurenai brought her hand up to brush her soft raven hair from out of her ruby-red eyes. What was the young Kyuubi-container doing outside of Konoha? Not only that, but also he was moving in the direction of Rice Country with purpose and neither she nor Genma had an inkling as to why he would go there. At first, they had found it funny that a kid would move around without a care in the world whilst Shinobi moved unseen all around him. That was just asking for trouble. What was the Sandaime thinking, allowing him to leave Konoha with his condition?

But as they had moved into the trees on the opposite bank of the valley, they had seen him pump a large amount of Chakra to his feet, so much that they could see a layer of the blue energy pervading the air around his appendages. He had then shown a precise ability in Chakra control, blasting himself into the air using the Chakra Pads technique before landing daintily on the head of the Uchiha scion's statue. Kurenai had been shocked that one so young could pull off such a feat so easily; she had never seen the exercise used quite like that, she had only just learnt the technique herself and the most that the Jounin-hopeful would use it for was aiding in tree-jumping.

Reaching the base of the Hokage Tower, the three made quick time up the steps to the Tower's main corridor. Hurrying along the hall they stopped outside the Hokage's office, Genma striding forward and knocking purposefully on the thick, brown oak.

"Hai, come in."

Pushing open the heavy doors, the three entered their leader's room, standing to attention in front of the aging Hokage.

"Ahh, team Genma report. I trust your mission went well?"

The three Chuunin couldn't help but smile at the warmth in the venerable leader's voice. It made it so much easier to work in their field with a trustworthy and kind superior.

"Hai, Hokage-sama. As per the mission parameters, we were accepted into Kumogakure and escorted to the Raikage complex. Although angry at his ordeal, the Raikage assures you that he has no intention of hostile activity against Hi no Kuni whatsoever." Kurenai breathed in deeply. The soft scent of crushed herbs hung lightly in the air. It always made her sleepy when she stood in this office with the heat of the day warming her body.

"Excellent! Everything went smoothly then?"

The three Chuunin exchanged glanced.

"If I may Hokage-sama?" At the Sandaime's nod, Genma continued. "As was stated in the briefing, Uzumaki Naruto was involved in this incident. Luckily Kumo did not recognise who he was although they had received word from Iwa that the Tsuchikage was raging about the 'son of the yellow flash'. Naruto-san's escapade in Iwa has left an impact on all of the countries and as we were making our way back to Konoha, we saw him moving towards Rice Country."

Sarutobi paled alarmingly.

"What? Where did you see him?" The question was curt, and all three knew that this was important.

"The Valley of the End, Hokage-sama."

The Sandaime slumped wearily into his chair, the wooden legs groaning at the sudden force of his weight.

"Damn! Jiraiya's out of the Village too..."

Kurenai only just picked up the Hokage's whispered words. Jiraiya? Jiraiya of the Sannin? What did he have to do with this?

"Team Genma, that will be all. Please have the written report on my desk by tomorrow morning."

Turning, the three shrugged at each other as they moved towards the door. The Sandaime's agitated expression alarmed them to a small degree. There was obviously more to this whole fiasco than was detailed to them.

Just as they exited the room, Raidou threw a square, white object which landed neatly on the Hokage's desk. At the questioning glance sent his way, he smiled and winked at his leader.

"Lighten up Hokage-sama!" With one last wink, he shut the door behind him.

Sarutobi reached forward and plucked the piece of paper, no, the photo, from the surface of his desk. Turning it over, he stared open-mouthed at the image.

The Raikage stood flanked by his brother and four other Shinobi. His face was painted a myriad of colours, vaguely resembling a rainbow in spring. The Raikage's face was contorted in fury and at the bottom-right of the frame; a small message was scribed in what could only be Naruto's handwriting.

'Omni-Paint! ;D'

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TenTen hefted her shopping bag as she walked slowly down the main road in Konoha's market district. She had had a hard week of training, her weapons accuracy had improved to a very high level and Higurashi-san had begun teaching her how to use summoning scrolls in battle. It was a highly difficult concept to master. One had to have a very fast hand speed whilst preferably using the Chakra Pads control technique to launch weapons from the air. When coupled together, the weapons-master was a dangerous long-range Shinobi, one that could provide brute force backup for the rest of the squad.

She had pushed all thoughts of her small conversation the previous week with her teacher to the back of her mind. She was fully focused on her training and she didn't have time to waste brooding on things from the past. She would be graduating in two years, and whilst she already knew all three Academy Jutsu thanks to a certain blond, she wanted to be as strong as possible for when that time came.

Naruto had given her those scrolls. She had mastered the Henge, Kawarimi and Bunshin from them and after leaving his apartment she had thought of going back to ask for more. But her pride and her stubbornness prevented her from doing something that would have been good for both of them. Every time she thought of her ex-friend, she would ruthlessly bottle her thoughts inside her mind, refusing to acknowledge them.

And yet Naruto had given those techniques to her, helped her wherever he could and she was shunning him. The brown-haired academy student was trying her utmost to forget her time with the blond, but every day brought another reminder, another memory of her time with him. It was annoying, but she couldn't seem to stop her thoughts no matter how much she tried.

In her furious introspection, she failed to notice a figure jogging towards her, black hair parted at the centre of his scalp, large bushy eyebrows mounted above obsidian eyes. The boy was wearing a white training uniform, one found commonly in most martial arts Dojos with a black sash tied around his waist.

With a cry, the two collided, TenTen's shopping bag following to the ground, the wrapped bunch of lettuce rolling from the top. Through her pain, the memory of a similar occurrence flashed through her mind.

That's how I met him too.

"I'm so sorry! Are you hurt?"

TenTen looked up to see the boy standing, his hand held out to help her up. The bun-haired girl realised that he was one of her classmates; at least she thought he was. He was either very quiet, or he was one of the outcasts of her year.

Grimacing at the dull throb in her side, TenTen grasped his hand and was surprised at the strength with which the boy grasped and pulled her to her feet. He was strong, not unlike Naruto.

Why the hell did she keep thinking about that idiot?! He had betrayed her trust hadn't he?

"Oh, I know you! TonTon, right?"

Again, the image of a blond-haired, cerulean-eyed, grinning visage superimposed itself over the boy's face. Hurriedly, TenTen rubbed her eyes, turning slightly to the side so the boy couldn't see her face.

"Are you okay?"

At that statement, the dam that had been held back for so long, the barrier that was built like a barrier snapped and the emotions she had refused to confront came rushing to her mind. Tears began leaking from the side of her eyelids as she struggled to understand why she was crying.

"I'm really sorry, are you hurt anywhere?"

"J-Just LEAVE ME ALONE! YOU BETRAYED ME!" Turning, the bun-haired girl ran as fast as she could to get away from that place.

Rock Lee stood bewildered in the middle of the street, his hand outstretched. He only had one word to describe the events that had just happened, and it wasn't even a word!

"Huh?"

And the kids at school called him weird! Ah well, he had better get back to training right? He had to show the world he could beat anyone without Chakra!

Pumping his fist in the air, his previous engagement forgotten, he broke into a light jog once again. The white plastic bag lay forgotten at the edge of a gutter, its contents spilled out to the side. A lone bunch of lettuce rocked back and forth as Villagers walked past.

XXXXXXXX

In a small town outside Tea Country, a buxom-blonde with a green jacket, her hair in pig-tails, sat gambling with a few card-sharks.

"PTTTTTHTHTHTHTHTHHTttttt!"

The men wrinkled their noses as the pink pig held in a black-haired girl's arms farted.

"GOD WOMAN! GET THAT THING OUTTA HERE! IT STINKS!"

Tsunade of the Sannin scowled heavily.

"DAMMIT SHIZUNE! When are you going to potty train that damned pig?! That's the fifth time we've been thrown out of a building because of him stinking up the place!"

"You can't blame TonTon, Tsunade-sama! He's just a pig!"

A very smelly pig! Why couldn't pigs sneeze instead of farting?!

The princess of the Sannin didn't realise the irony of her thoughts...

XXXXXXX

Oh-ho-ho. Orochimaru was going to pay! Naruto rubbed his hands in glee as he prepared his latest act of retribution. For the last week since his humiliation at the hands of the Snake of the Sannin, he had been terrorising Rice Country. After letting off the single biggest stink bomb known to the history of mankind, he had stumbled across the entrance to the Hidden Village of the Sound.

The noxious fumes were a bright orange colour, and Naruto noticed that in some places the gas would leak into the ground much faster than it would disperse in the air. He had no clue why that was and after sitting and watching the gas disappear, he had set out to find the answer.

What followed could only be described as chemical and biological warfare.

Orochimaru had awoken two days ago to find his entire village reeking of bad eggs and what smelled vaguely like dog-poo. Feeling disgusted at the lack of hygiene on the part of his Shinobi, he had ordered some of the ninja to spray some air-freshener to get rid of the pervasive smell. It had been all good, the smell had slowly disappeared and by mid-morning the hidden sound smelt of lavender and chamomile, which coincidentally made Orochimaru's stomach wretch too.

He hated sweet things.

But then the smell had returned with a vengeance, leaking through the very air and saturating every breath with the foul stench of whatever the hell it was. Screaming in anger, the Snake had summoned three of his Genin and literally thrown them out of the village with the order of finding the source and obliterating it.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on which side you prefer, the entrance the three ninja were unceremoniously kicked out of was the same place that had seemed to swallow up Naruto's stink bombs and so Naruto found the door to the newly formed Otogakure no Sato.

The following day, Naruto had set out to launch a village-wide disaster. Slipping in to the underground haven, the blond prank-master snuck into as many rooms as possible, spraying every available piece of furniture with rude messages and pictures of a pale-faced 'snake-man' with his tongue caught in a jar of dog food. The Village was practically a Labyrinth. The houses and rooms were built out of the ground with long, endless corridors twisting and turning throughout the whole length of the Village. Much of the Village was obscured in darkness, with only the occasional light shining from the surface, burning lamps used to illuminate the 'streets'. As Naruto made his way through the maze of corridors and back-streets, he couldn't help but think that he was irrevocably lost. It was a spark of inspiration that had caused him to leave a Chakra Beacon seal he had designed on the spot, at the entrance to the Village; he would never find his way out otherwise! Later, he found the entrance to the Shinobi bathrooms and taking the golden opportunity given to him, slipped into the boiler room and empty a large container of corn-flour into the tank. Stowing his storage scroll back in his hip-pouch he moved on.

Finding no other opportunities, the blond exited the Village, dropping his invisibility technique and setting up for the night. He had awoken a few times to the sound of shouts of outrage and screaming. Each time he had grinned and fallen back to sleep.

But today was different.

Today, he had set up almost a hundred slingshots linked to a master seal that upon command, would fire dozens of oil pellets at the entrances to the village. He had thought about setting the oil on fire afterwards, but he didn't want to give himself away just yet. Better to have Orochimaru think it was a bunch of kids than to find him blowing up parts of the village. Furthermore, he had dug a huge hole deep into the ground directly on top of where he thought the centre of Hidden Sound lay. Upon striking thick concrete, the blond had used the Rasengan constantly until he had drilled eight holes in a square over the ceiling of the structure. Wrapping explosive tags around the hilts of eight kunai, he had jammed them into the holes and linked them by ninja wire to his main seal. He had managed to procure the equipment from a team of Grass Shinobi he had found dead at the border of Taki, no doubt the work of the evil missing-nin and his minions.

Grinning broadly, the blond took up position in a medium sized elm tree, granting him a front-seat view of the main entrance to the Village. It was ingenious really; something which no Shinobi would think was the entrance to a Village. All it was, was a small rectangular building, painted a single white colour with a block of wood mounted at the entrance; a small inscription carved into the surface that looked to Naruto, like two snakes. To think that this tiny bungalow led to a Village underground was simply so absurd that even Naruto thought it hidden.

'Dunno why it's called hidden sound though! In any case, better give it a reason to have its name, eh?'

With a ceremonial flourish, the blond 9 year old whipped his hand up into the air, before slamming it down on the master seal. Immediately, the array lit up in an awesome display of beauty, sapphire lines zooming outwards towards their targets in all directions. A loud explosion was heard almost immediately and Naruto spotted a bunch of gray pigeons taking flight through the trees in the direction of the centre of the Village.

He did not have to wait long for the fun to start.

It was very comical, almost as if the scene had been taken from a comedy-drama TV show back in Konoha. A squad of Shinobi attempted to exit the building, only to slip on the oil coating the floor. As if that wasn't bad enough, traps triggered by ninja wire opened up from the top of the entrance, covering the Shinobi, first in glue, then in Canary-Yellow feathers. A further set of stink-bombs dropped from the ceiling exploding all over them, soaking them to the bone in the deluge of rank-smelling liquid and gas.

Throughout all of this, Naruto sat hunched over his stomach, his right fist jammed into his mouth and his left hand sealing any gaps. His entire being rocked back and forth as he attempted to stifle the laughter that threatened to give away his location.

This was gold alright! The stink-bombs were his own concoction, made from the garbage cans of Taki's most decrepit areas, melted down with a small, prolonged Goukakyu and wrapped in a thin film of explosive. The smell would stick around for days even if they tried to wash it off, and hopefully in doing so, they'd use the rigged showers in the village.

A howl of pure fury and agony rent the air as with a loud crunching sound, the ceiling at the centre of the Village buckled inwards. Earth, grass and wet mud tumbled into the gaping fissure onto what was obviously a very angry "Snake Sannin". The ripped ground was followed by a smattering of Omni-paint, colouring the entire room with a makeover that resembled a 2 year old's bedroom.

At Orochimaru's second scream, this time one of shock and horror, the blond 9 year old actually fell off his tree from the amount of laughter wracking his small frame. The Shinobi caught in his entrance traps were too busy dealing with their own woes to notice the blue-eyed Konoha civilian falling from his perch and thumping into the ground.

Luckily for hidden Sound, the Village was built almost entirely underground and so the outside world wouldn't come to know of the day's events for quite a while. But when they did, Orochimaru would swear to kill the young Jinchuuriki in the most painful and humiliating way possible.

Orochimaru's humiliation and rage would only grow in the coming weeks. Woe was to him when he chose to hurt a child searching for knowledge in the middle of his country.

ZZZZZZZZ