Hii had a sullen face as he looked over the area in front of him.

The trees were gigantic and filled with a menacing aura.

The sounds of wild beasts could be heard echoing throughout the forest.

Every other ninja was slightly intimidated by this, but he only felt a twinge of disappointment.

"It's here?"

Hii silently said to himself as he saw the little knots he put on the fence years ago.

He didn't think he'd be back here so soon!

"Welcome to the Forest of Death! This place will be your new home for the next few days during the test. I'll go over the rules so you know what to expect."

Anko smiled at the remaining participants and began to go over the rules.

It was a survival game where each group held a scroll they must protect and had to snatch the opposite scroll from an enemy team.

Once a team collected both scrolls, they would head into the tower at the center of the forest to complete the exam.

The time limit to complete the mission was 120 hours, or 5 days to complete the mission. They could only complete it with all 3 members alive in their team.

'So it's basically a survival game.'

Hii looked at the forest once more, then noticing Anko was handing out consent forms for them to sign.

"Now I need you to all sign these and hand them in to exchange for your scroll. I can't have you getting me in trouble now, can I?"

Anko gave an innocent smile, but none of the participants acknowledged it as they quietly grabbed a form and read through it.

Hii looked over the form as well and read the details.

'Looks like there will be quite a few deaths in this test.'

After reading the waiver in detail, Hii quickly signed it and looked over at Maka and Shizuka.

"You two ready?"

"I'm ready."

"We got this! Gimme them!"

Shizuka grabbed all 3 waivers and brought them over to tent set up to hand out the scrolls.

She came back a minute later with a smile on her face.

"We're all set! Now we just have to wait for it to begin."

The three of them stood together and waited near the gate, watching the groups read and hand in their waivers.

"Hey."

"Hmm?"

"What?"

Hii and Shizuka turned to Maka.

"Doesn't that girl look like Kushina-Neesan?"

"Hmm?!"

Shizuka quickly turned to the direction Maka was pointing at and barely noticed a red haired girl with glasses surrounded by her teammates.

Shizuka's eyes narrowed as she continued to look at the group for a moment. She started to frown.

"They seem like....they're keeping her hidden?"

Hii looked at the group as well and slowly nodded his head.

The way they made sure she kept her head down and out of sight was suspicious.

Hii also noticed something else strange about the two boys.

"Aren't they paying too much attention to Naruto? They seem to keep glancing at him."

Hii followed their eyes and noticed they never strayed far from him.

Shizuka frowned even more when she thought more about the situation.

"Naruto didn't do anything, but be loud as usual. What did he say that cou-"

Shizuka suddenly stopped as her gaze grew cold looking at the team.

"I guess the one thing that could be a problem would be if someone took her away, claiming to be her family."

Her voice oozed with anger and contempt.

Maka turned with a surprised expression.

"You don't think...?"

"You said it yourself, girl. She looks like Mom. I can even feel a familiar level of chakra coming from her."

The two turned back to the group and watched them with their eyes narrowed.

Maka memorized their faces and turned to Shizuka again.

"We should get her out of there and teach them a lesson."

"......."

Shizuka slowly shook her head.

"I have an even better idea. One I'm sure they will love."

Hii and Maka saw Shizuka's face morph into a sinister grin. The two decided to leave it up to her. When that face came out, she was definitely up to no good.

"I think for this test, we should split up. I want to test something out anyway."

Shizuka suddenly told the two as she tapped their shoulders.

Hii felt a surge of chakra come into his body and formed a seal on his back.

"This is one of my new seals I made. We can talk to each other through the seals when we are close by. The range isn't very far yet, but it should be fine for this test."

Hii and Maka looked at each other and nodded their heads.

"I'm fine with it, but who will carry the scroll?"

Hii turned to Shizuka with his head tilted.

"Hmmm. Let's decide once we're inside the forest. Less prying eyes."

The two nodded at her words and prepared to go into the forest.

*Shiver*

Hii suddenly shivered violently as he looked around the area.

"What's wrong?"

Maka turned back to Hii with a hint of concern in her eyes.

Hii shook his head and looked around once more.

"....Nothing. Maybe it was just my nerves acting up."

"Hehe! I can't believe the mighty Hii can feel nervous."

Shizuka turned around with a smile.

"I get nervous like everyone else. I'm not mighty either."

"Psssh! I'll believe it when I can beat you."

Shizuka dismissed his reply and continued walking.

"Don't worry. We should be able to take on anyone in this exam!"

Hii smiled and nodded at Maka as he let the thought go. 

He still watched his surroundings though. He knew better than anyone that his instincts were usually right if danger was near.

He had to be careful.

*********

A group of ninjas far away from the entrance looked over at Team 9 with interest.

"Do those three interest you, my lord?"

The three were a group of ninjas from the village hidden in the grass.

The tallest of the three with long hair licked his lips with a long tongue.

"They are rather interesting. At least one of them could sense me."

The tallest one watched as the three started to line up next to their gate.

"Keep an eye on that group. I think they're worth playing with. Also keep an eye on Kakashi's little team as well."

""Yes, my lord.""

"Kukukuku."

The man chuckled as he held his chin over his hand.

"There's so many toys to play with. How ever will I choose who to play with first?"

***********

Team 9 went through the entrance of the forest as they eagerly moved to a secluded spot.

"I wonder how everyone else is going to do in the exam?"

Shizuka said her thoughts out loud as she raised her head to look at the imposing forest.

"They should be fine. I just want to know what those Sand siblings are up to?"

"You mean the scary one you talked about?"

Hii nodded his head to Maka's question.

"Well, you should go and find out more intel about him. I need to go help out the little Uzumaki before she's exploited any further."

Shizuka turned to Maka and tilted her head.

"What about you, Maka? Any plans during the exam?"

"......"

Maka closed her eyes and nodded her head.

"I saw one of my relatives in a group. I'll go find him and pay him a well deserved visit."

Shizuka smiled as she nodded her head.

"Good! Now for the method of who gets the scroll!"

Hii and Maka both looked at Shizuka as she grinned ear to ear.

"Rock Paper Scissors should be good enough, right?"

Maka and Hii looked at each other and nodded.

"I'm fine with it."

"Hehe. I figured we'd do this again."

"Alright! I'm playing to win!"

The three grouped together and readied their hands.

"Ready?!"

""Ready!""

""Rock!""

""Paper!""

""Scissors!""

*************

Hii jumped through the forest stealthily as he followed old paths he used to take.

'I'm shocked I still remember these paths. Well, running from Akumu is pretty scary when I think about it.'

Hii continued to move until something caught his eye.

"Hmm?"

He stopped at a nearby tree and noticed some footprints on the moss of the branches.

"Fresh tracks. Someone's been through here recently."

"Haha! I can't believe you Sand ninjas are challenging us!"

Hii suddenly heard yelling nearby and quietly snuck his way towards the source.

In the nearby brush, Hii watched two teams stand off against each other. He saw the Sand siblings on one side while the other side had three ninjas from the Hidden Rain village.

"I don't know what made you think you could take us on, but we'll make sure you regret it!"

The older ninja was quite talkative as he stood with an imposing aura.

Hii couldn't help, but shake his head.

'Nothing too unique about that guy. His umbrellas seem pretty special though.'

Hii couldn't help admiring the craftsmanship of the umbrellas as the older ninja continued to boast.

"Are you going to talk all day, or are you going to fight?"

Gaara spoke with a tired tone as he looked at the ninja with a condescending gaze.

'Oh. That'll rile him up.'

 Sure enough, the man couldn't hold his anger in after hearing that!

"You brat! Prepare yourself!"

The man tossed the 3 umbrellas behind his back into the air and formed a seal!

"Ninja art: Heavenly Rain Jutsu!"

*Swish Swish Swish*

Multiple senbon fell from the umbrellas straight towards Gaara!

Despite this, Gaara looked completely unconcerned as he watched the hail of needles fall towards him.

Hii watched with the utmost concentration as the needles were closing in on Gaara!

*Fwoosh*

"!!"

Hii was stunned when he saw the gourd on Gaara's back uncork itself as sand flowed out of it and blocked the needles.

"W-What?! Not one needle made it through!?"

The man began to falter as he saw Gaara's unamused expression.

"Is this all you've got?"

"Tch! Why you!"

*Swish Swish*

More Senbon shot towards Gaara, but the sand blocked it all easily.

Hii's face grew serious as he observed Gaara's movements.

'Sand, huh? That's good for me at least. I can compete against him in elemental techniques. He doesn't even really need to move to use it. Gotta be careful of that.'

Hii nodded his head as he continued to watch the man struggle to fight Gaara.

"This is the only rain you can muster? I'll have to show you what a rain of blood looks like then."

'Ugh! So much cringe.'

Hii frowned at Gaara's sinister lines as he watched him form a few seals.

"Sand Coffin!"

Gaara stretched his hand out to the man, making sand swarm around the man!

"What?!"

The man tried to escape, but was quickly bound to the ball of sand that surrounded him!

As he was caught, his Jutsu was released and his umbrellas fell back down to the ground.

Gaara walked over to one of the umbrellas and opened it.

"I'll show you true rain."

Gaara extended his hand up to the floating coffin of sand.

"Sand Burial!"

Gaara clenched his hand, crushing the ninja in his sandy grasp!

Blood sprayed down from the sky as the body of the Rain ninja was crushed into paste!

"....."

Hii's face grew solemn as he appraised Gaara more closely.

'He's definitely strong. He's probably already at the level of a Chunin now.'

Hii silently watched the faces of the older Rain ninja's companions grew pale as one of them reached into their bag and pulled out their scroll.

"T-Take the scroll! Spare us please!"

Gaara said nothing as he raised both of his arms, trapping the two in sand!

"No! Please! Don-"

*Splat Splat*

More blood sprayed on the ground as Gaara crushed both of them as well!

Kankuro walked over to where the scroll was and picked it up.

"Well, look at that! Just what we needed."

Kankuro put the scroll together with the other one and turned to his siblings with a smile.

"Let's head to the tower then. No point waiting here."

Temari said as she turned toward the tower and sighed in relief.

"No."

""!!!""

The two froze at those words.

Gaara refused to go, which wasn't a good sign.

"W-Why, Gaara?"

"I haven't had enough yet."

A sinister aura started to rise from Gaara. 

"H-Hey Gaara! There's no need to go that far."

"Shut up."

"Urk!"

Gaara's chakra started to rise as he looked over at a set of bushes.

'Hmm? Oh crap!'

Hii suddenly noticed as well that there were three ninjas behind those bushes!

The situation was even worse because he knew them!

'Why is Hinata's team here?! I gotta think of something fast!'

"Come on, Gaara! Listen to your Nii-san for once. It's not worth it."

Gaara kept his eyes on the bushes as he responded to him.

"I've never considered you my family. Now shut up before I kill you too."

"....."

"Gaara..."

The two were scared as Gaara lifted his hand up towards the bushes and started to make a grasping motion!

On the other side, Kiba, Hinata, and Shino were all paralyzed with fear!

'Oh crap! He's gonna kill us!'

The three could see grains of sand floating around them as they held their breaths.

*Rustle*

Gaara's chakra was going to form an attack when a sudden noise made him flinch!

'Someone else was there? Since when?!'

Gaara stopped his hand and looked over towards the source of the sound.

"Hehe! Sorry to bother you guys."

"Huh?!"

"It's you?!"

"...?"

Everyone was surprised to see Hii come out of the bushes.

'Hii-kun?!'

'What is he doing here?!'

'I didn't even sense him.'

Team Kurenai were shocked to hear him so close to them! He was only a few bushes away!

Gaara stared at Hii with a suspicious gaze.

"What are you doing here? Have you come to fight?"

"Huh? No, that's not it. I actually came to get one of those umbrellas!"

"....Huh?"

Gaara was very confused as Hii's expression became bright!

"I saw the fight and I couldn't help, but admire the design of those umbrellas! I have to get one of them to study!"

Hii looked over at the bodies of the Rain ninjas and shook his head.

"Did you really have to crush the other ones though? I could've used more samples..."

Hii pouted as he walked closer to the umbrellas.

He suddenly paused and turned towards the Sand Siblings.

"Um. You guys don't mind if I take them, do you?"

Temari was still a bit shocked by his appearance, but recovered quickly and nodded her head.

"Yes! You can take them! We're going to head out of the area and finish our exam."

Kankuro quickly recovered as well and gave a wry smile.

"Right! We'll would have just left them here anyway. Knock yourself out!"

The two had no attachment to the umbrellas as they tried to get Gaara to come with them once more.

"....."

Gaara frowned as he kept his eyes on Hii.

"Hm? What's wrong? Is there something on my face?"

Hii looked around him to see if anything was out of place.

Temari and Kankuro were impressed by Hii.

He was talking with Gaara so long without shivering!

"Hmph!"

Gaara suddenly lifted his hands, bringing the sand around Hii as he tried to surround him!

*Shuuu*

But before Gaara's sand could close in, Hii disappeared out of sight!

"What?!"

Gaara was confused as he paused to look around for him!

"Wow! You really are bloodthirsty!"

Gaara and his siblings were shocked as Hii disappeared and reappeared right beside Gaara. His arm was around Gaara's neck as he leaned on him.

Gaara grew tense as he turned his head and looked at Hii's face.

Hii smiled and patted his head.

"No need to kill each other so soon. I'm sure we'll have a fun match all to ourselves soon enough."

Hii stopped and grabbed the nearby umbrella next to Gaara.

Gaara could only stare at him, growing more and more confused by the second.

"Cool! This one still works. I'll take it then."

Hii laid the umbrella on his shoulder and started to walk away.

"Let's play in a bigger stage. This one isn't good enough."

Gaara watched as Hii disappeared into the bushes in silence.

Kankuro and Temari watched Gaara, concerned he might go on a rampage.

 Surprisingly, a smile started to formed on his face, quickly morphing into a maniacal one!

"He's strong! Very strong!"

Gaara held his hand over his eye and kept watch over the area he left in.

"I can't wait to fight him!"

Gaara quickly raised his hand and recreated his stopper for his gourd.

"Let's go to the tower then. Lead the way."

"R-Right..."

'Tch! This is why I don't like kids!'

Temari responded to Gaara while Kankuro clicked his tongue.

He looked over in the direction Hii went to and smiled faintly.

'That guy. I want to fight him myself now.'

Kankuro knew how hard it was to oppose Gaara. Anyone who could make it seem that simple must be strong.

'I guess we'll have to wait until the next part of the test.'

The three headed to the tower, leaving Team Kurenai behind to finally relax for a moment.

"Ahh! I can't believe how strong that guy is!"

"Arf!"

"W-We shouldn't watch other teams fight anymore, in case this happens again."

"Agreed."

"I'll say. You three definitely aren't ready to fight someone like him."

""?!""

The three of them turned around to find Hii smiling at them with an umbrella over his shoulder.

"Why are you back here again?!"

Kiba asked Hii as he smiled.

"To make sure three curious ninjas don't get killed off by a grumpy kid."

Hii scanned the three for a moment and nodded his head.

"Looks like you're all healthy to me. I'll take these other umbrellas too and leave you guys to your exam."

The three of them watched Hii pick up the other umbrellas stuck in the ground with excitement and headed off in another direction.

"".........""

The three watched him leave for a moment until Shino stood up.

"We should go and find ninjas at our level. We'll be able to reach his level soon enough."

Kiba shook his head and smiled.

"Hmph! I'll show him how strong our teamwork is! Right, Akamaru?!"

"Arf!"

"Right! We can't let the other push us around."

Even Hinata was pumped up after seeing Hii nonchalantly help them.

The three nodded in sync and disappeared into the forest. 

They were a tracker team. It wouldn't be hard for them to find an advantage in this forest.

*************

Maka dashed through the forest with an annoyed expression on her face.

"How did I lose?"

She muttered to herself as she looked at her side pouch. It contained the Heaven scroll for their team.

She sighed as she remembered their game to decide the carrier.

'I shouldn't have picked scissors!'

She shook her head as she continued looking around the area. 

She hadn't run into anyone yet, but the signs of a battle were still left in the area when she arrived.

She also noticed quite a bit of shurikens embedded into the nearby trees.

"....."

She silently followed the trail of battle until she finally heard something.

"Give up and hand over your scroll!"

"N-Never!"

'Haaaah~!'

She had to be the one to run into a fight!

It was even worse when she recognized one of the voices speaking.

She could feel a headache coming already.

*Shuu*

She landed on a nearby branch and could finally see the groups fighting each other.

It was just as she thought.

Three oppressive Mist ninjas were cornering three Leaf ninja. She frowned even more when she realized the leader of the group was one of her cousins.

Kenta was a normal, egotistical Uchiha. He would get his butt kicked everytime he mentioned Maka was never going to be strong like him and it made him mad to no end. Once he unlocked his Sharingan, he thought he would finally be beyond her level.

Reality, however, seemed to kick him in the face every time he saw her train.

Even though he was frustrated, he still kept his pride in his eyes!

He thought he would be able to easily pass this test with his team, but these Mist ninja were too strong!

He looked over at the three Mist ninja with sneers on their faces.

"I thought the Uchiha clan was much stronger than this. If that's the case..."

The man looked over at his male and female companions before forming a seal!

"I'm sure they won't mind if we have fun with a weakling like you!"

"Grrr!!"

Kenta unleashed his Sharingan in anger, but the Mist ninja had already completed his technique!

"Water Style: Hidden Mist Jutsu!"

*Sssssssh*

Mist quickly formed over the area, hiding the three ninjas and surrounding Kenta's team!

" Tch!"

"H-Here they come again!"

"Can you see them, Kenta?"

His two companions, Yama and Momo, pulled out kunai and watched his back.

Kenta frowned in silence as he tried to peer through the mist.

His Sharingan was only one Tomoe, so all he could see was vibrant colors of chakra surrounding them!

"I can't see anything yet! Stay alert!"

'Amateur at best.'

Maka shook her head as she activated her own Sharingan. 

She could easily see the three ninja from Hidden Mist sneaking up on the group slowly.

It was getting too hard to watch.

"Haaaah!"

""!!!!!""

Everyone suddenly stopped and looked around.

*Pak*

Maka slapped her head and groaned.

She didn't think her disappointment in her cousin was so large, she sighed for real instead of in her head!

'Need to work on that.'

Maka shook her head and stood up.

She might as well get a good workout in.

*Shuu*

Maka suddenly appeared between the two teams and looked at her cousin.

Kenta was shocked at first, but soon changed into a discontented frown.

"What are you doing here, cousin?"

Maka looked at him for a moment before turning over to the other team.

"What scroll do you guys have?"

"....."

The Mist ninjas were silent as they observed Maka inside the mist.

Maka's calm and nonchalant demeanor immediately put them on alert. 

Anyone who had seen this Jutsu before and didn't become nervous was an enemy they might not be able to handle.

"Hey! I'm talking to you!"

Kenta started to become enraged as he noticed Maka taking control of the situation.

"Shut up or I'll take your scroll too."

Maka's confident voice hit everyone's ear nearby and caused them all to react differently.

The Mist ninjas were on guard despite being covered by mist.

Kenta's teammates didn't dare to say anything.

Even Kenta kept his mouth shut despite his anger reaching new heights.

Maka sighed as she cracked her neck.

"You won't tell me, huh? I guess I'll have to find out for myself then."

*Shuu*

Maka suddenly disappeared from view and caught the groups by surprise!

'So fast!'

Kenta had a hard time accepting how he couldn't even see her move, even with his Sharingan!

"Guaah!"

""!!""

The Leaf ninjas jerked as the heard a scream from the Mist's side!

"Look out!"

They heard the Mist ninja scream towards his teammate, but he only heard silence before another scream!

"Kyaaa!"

"Damn it!"

The Mist ninja cancelled his technique and jumped towards the Leaf ninjas!

He turned and saw that both of his comrades were unconscious and laying on the ground. A girl stood in front of him from the receding mist and casually looked at him, bringing fear to his heart.

"So you have it?"

"...Tch!"

The Mist ninja wouldn't give up that easily!

He weaved hand signs quickly and started to take in a deep breath!

Maka rolled her eyes and clenched her fist.

"Water St-"

*Bam*

"Ugh!!"

Maka appeared right in front of the Mist ninja and punched him hard in his chest!

"Why would you try that kind of Jutsu right in front of a fast enemy? Seriously?"

The Mist ninja slumped over on the ground as Maka proceeded to check his belongings.

The three Leaf ninja could only look in shock as Maka pulled out a white scroll.

She looked at it for a moment in silence before turning to Kenta and his group.

Her eyes sparkled as she saw the rising look of greed in her cousin's eyes.

'I guess this'll do.'

Maka stood up and walked over to Kenta's group slowly.

*Gulp*

Kenta could hear Yama gulp behind him. He would normally admonish him for being a coward despite being a big guy, but he couldn't this time.

He watched Maka, the cousin he thought he was one day be above, come towards him.

Her eyes looked at him as if he was a piece of meat as she stood a few feet away.

He had a bad feeling ever since he saw her appear between his group and the enemy.

He hoped he was wrong about that.

"Hey. Do you want this scroll?"

"Huh?!"

Kenta was shocked as he heard her!

After a brief moment, Kenta had a smile on his face!

'Heh! Our family should at least support each other.'

"Yeah! We need that scroll."

Kenta couldn't wait to get his hands on that scroll!

"Sweet! I'll trade you this one for yours."

"....Eh?"

"You can't have both~."

Maka's smile brought Kenta from heaven straight to hell.

****************

"Phew! Finally done with the seal. This one should be fun."

Shizuka wiped the sweat off her brow as she rolled up her seal scroll.

She couldn't wait to see if it worked well.

She rose from her hiding position and stretched her arms out.

She had found her prey and only needed to make the experience more 'enjoyable' for them.

It was the second day, and it was finally time to make her move.

She had also watched over the ninjas just to make sure she wasn't being overly sensitive to red haired ninjas. She could have the wrong idea the whole time.

It only took a few hours of monitoring for her to realize that she was right all along. 

They treated her like a med pack for every little thing.

Fought a ninja for a few minutes and escaped? Bite her!

Random encounter with nature and you got injured? Bite her!

She had seen enough.

It was time to get some revenge for the poor girl.

She just had to be really careful. Although the girl was being used, she still tried her best to assist her teammates, despite their behavior.

She had a sensor ability, so she had to be quick.

Shizuka couldn't help seeing parts of Naruto and Kushina in the girl's caring nature. 

This, however, only made Shizuka want to hurt them even more.

A sinister smile came over her face as she slowly made her way towards the group.

This was gonna be fun!

*****

Karin laid with her eyes open as she looked up into the dense trees surrounding them.

She wish she could peek at the stars.

She would do this with her mother from time to time as well, but those days would never come back.

'Mom...'

She looked over to her side to see her two comrades nearby. 

They couldn't really be described as comrades. They were more like bodyguards and parasites to Karin.

It was all due to her stupid bloodline!

If she was just born a normal girl, she wouldn't have all these problems.

It couldn't be that easy for her!

Her village used her mother like a blood pack, draining her of all she had.

She would be next if nothing changed.

'What can I do?'

Her village would never let her have enough power to change her fate. 

She was only taught the bare basics of being a ninja and no other techniques. She only got this far because the village needed a more concrete reason to use her.

She closed her eyes and thought back to all the ninjas she had seen so far in the exam. All of them were vibrant, powerful, and ambitious.

'Especially that one kid.'

She wouldn't forget his name.

Naruto Uzumaki.

The name rang in her ears loudly like a bell.

It was just like hers.

Karin Uzumaki.

She couldn't yell out her last name like he could. Her mother told her it could mean disaster for her if the wrong people heard it.

She also was suspicious of him since she didn't see any red hair.

'Maybe it might be written differently? Or his parents have strong bloodlines?'

Karin couldn't imagine that bright ball of energy to be a relative of hers.

She tried to shake the thought off, but it kept resurfacing in her head.

"Go to sleep!"

A cold voice admonished Karin as she froze still and tried to calm her thoughts.

She didn't want to get on their nerves.

*Twitch*

Karin suddenly felt something coming at them fast!

"Wat-"

"Uuuaaah!!!"

She tried to warn them, but only turned in time to see both of her teammates pushed into the bushes by a figure!

"Oh no!"

Her heartbeat started to echo in her ears as she slowly stood up and brandished a kunai.

She went to check on them as she watched her surroundings, but she was stunned by what she saw.

'W-What is that?!'

A sinister seal shined on their faces as they twisted in pain!

Her hands grew sweaty as she looked around with heightened senses!

Her hands couldn't keep the kunai steady, but she tried her best to keep it still.

She turned around constantly in case the figure tried to sneak behind her, but she found nothing behind her.

'Where is it?!'

*Shuu*

Karin felt the wind blow behind her as a figure grabbed her hand with the kunai and turned her around!

"Hyaa!"

Karin couldn't help, but close her eyes!

She braced herself for an attack, but didn't feel anything besides the hand that gripped her wrist.

She peeked at the figure and froze.

The deep green blouse and black shorts.

The brown, long hair that covered her right eye.

That mischievous, yet gentle smile.

"Relax. I'm not going to hurt you."

Karin tried to jump away from her, but her grip on her wrist was iron clad.

There was no escape.

"W-why are you after me alone? Don't you want our scroll?!"

The girl shook her head and smiled softly at Karin.

"No. I'm here for you. I have a question for you? Think you can answer it for me once you calm down?"

Shizuka looked at Karin with a caring gaze. 

".........."

"........."

Karin could feel the hearbeat in her ears slowly disappearing as the two stood in front of each other.

Karin slowly felt she could relax around her, but the words that came out of her mouth once she visibly calmed down made her blood freeze.

"Are you an Uzumaki?"

Karin could only look at Shizuka, not knowing what she should say.

Her heartbeat reappeared in her ears!

'Should I tell her? Should I lie?'

Her current situation was because she was an Uzumaki, so would that change if she told her or would it continue?!

Would it be worse?!

Karin looked down and contemplated her decision.

Shizuka kept quiet while she made her decision.

Finally, after a few minutes, she nodded her head.

"....Yes."

Shizuka's smile blossomed as she grabbed Karin's shoulders.

"I'm glad to finally meet some family members!"

"....Eh?!"

Karin stared blankly as her glasses tilted on hee face.

"My name is Shizuka Uzumaki. The energetic boy you met before is my little brother."

Shizuka smiled and let Karin go while also taking the kunai away from her.

"I'm adopted though, but the feelings for family are all there! Naruto looks different because Dad's traits are too strong."

"......."

Karin felt a fuzzy feeling coming over her with a wave of relief.

"Y-You-"

"Uaaagh!!"

"Aaaaghu!"

""!!!""

The moment the two had was shattered for a moment as they both turned towards the bushes the 2 from Karin's team laid in.

"W-what did you do to them?!"

Karin started to become defensive again, but stopped once she saw Shizuka's face.

Her eyes blazed with fury as she looked into the distance silently.

She then saw Shizuka raise a finger slowly to her lips as she crouched down.

Karin crouched with her as she realized something wasn't right.

"I just knocked the other guys out and placed a Nightmare seal on them. They should only be whimpering right now."

Shizuka's fierce expression gave Karin a gut wrenching feeling.

The two quietly crouched over towards the bushes and saw two masked ninja looming over Karin's teammates. 

Or what was left of them.

"Hehehe! I can't believe these two were just sitting out in the open."

"Well, easy kills. Less people to screen for Lord Orochimaru."

*Fwoosh*

Karin shivered as she looked over at Shizuka and couldn't move.

She was too afraid.

The face Shizuka was making now was unimaginable from the one when she told her they were family.

It was one of pure wrath!

The two masked ninjas looked at each other leisurely as one pointed to them.

"Would you look at that? Two moths getting a bit too close to fire, don't you think?"

"Right. Perhaps we should show them what it feels like to burn?"

Karin's body quivered, but Shizuka paid it no mind!

"You two bastards know Orochimaru?! Where is he?!"

The aura of the two ninjas became colder as they brandished their kunai.

"I don't think you should take that tone when referring to Lord Orochimaru."

"Why? Because he's a scaly, old, predator with a peeping fetish?!"

Karin quickly realized that things were going to go south really fast!

**************

"Man! We haven't run into anyone yet! Where are the other teams?!"

"Shut up, Naruto. Your mouth would alert them if they were close by."

Sasuke and Naruto walked ahead as they scoured the area for another team.

Besides the first team they ran into who got away, they haven't seen another team since.

Even Sakura was a bit miffed at the situation.

'I can't fight anyone if no one appears!'

Sakura grumbled a bit as she walked behind the two.

"....."

Naruto looked behind him for a moment and leaned over to Sasuke.

"Hey. Doesn't Sakura feel...kinda dangerous now?"

"What was that, Naruto?"

Sakura quickly appeared behind Naruto with a sinister smile!

"N-Nothing!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes at Naruto's question.

*Kyaaaaa*

The three looked in the direction of the sudden scream at the same time and turned to each other.

*Shuu Shuu Shuu*

With a quick nod, the team quickly dashed in the direction of the scream.

After following the screams for a few minutes, the team found a girl cornered by a large brown bear!

"What?! Why is she alone?!"

"Where's her team?"

Sasuke was confused at what he was watching, but Sakura had already rushed out and weaved hand signs to help!

"Earth Style: Mud Wall!"

*Dooon*

Sakura slammed both her hands to the ground, forcing a wall of mud to appear between the bear and the girl!

"Huh?!"

"Graah?!"

Both were confused by the sudden appearance of the wall!

"Oh crap! Let's go, Sasuke!"

"Tch!"

Sasuke and Naruto both jumped from their hiding spot and dashed towards the head!

"Fan kick!"

"Uzumaki Punch!"

*Bam*

"Gruaaah!!"

The boys smashed the head of the bear down to the ground, knocking it out before it could test the mud wall.

After they both landed on the bear's head, Sasuke looked at Naruto.

"......"

"What?"

"...Uzumaki punch? Really?"

"Hey! It was Habanero punch before that! I had to change it from my Mom's style to my own style!"

"......?"

Sasuke felt he wasn't getting any information from him, so he decided to drop it.

He turned and went over to the girl just behind the mud wall.

"Hey. You alright?"

"......"

The girl seemed to just stare at Sasuke's face for a moment before shaking her head.

"Y-You have to help me!"

"What's going on?"

Naruto landed on the mud wall and looked down at Karin.

Karin stared at him for a moment and gritted her teeth.

"I-I'm Karin Uzumaki! Your sister needs help!"

***************

*Boom Boom*

Explosions rang out through the night as Shizuka continued to throw explosive tag kunai at the two masked ninjas!

"Guh! How many of those things does she have?!"

The ninjas started to regret trying to play with Shizuka!

They should've cut her up at the first chance!

She started throwing explosives at them as soon as they started to praise Lord Orochimaru!

"Die! Die! Die!"

*Boom Boom Boom*

Shizuka was seeing red as she only wished to kill these bastards!

*Swish*

She threw another kunai with at tag on it at the tree the two landed on!

The two were tired from dodging, but noticed this kunai didn't blow up!

One of the men sighed in relief.

"Hehehe! Looks like you ran out of bombs!"

"Not really."

Shizuka sneered as she formed a hand sign!

*Shiiii*

"Look out!"

One of the Masked ninja jumped away from the spot immediately!

The tag in the kunai didn't explode this time, but the seal expanded from the tag and swiftly covered the surrounding area!

"W-What is this?!"

He tried to get away, but the seals were already on his feet!

The masked ninja could only watch as the seal crawled up his body, paralyzing him in place!

"Gotcha!"

Shizuka appeared behind him with a crazed expression!

*Slash Slash*

"Where is he?"

"Ack! Aaah!"

Shizuka started to cut the ninja impatiently as she questioned him!

"This crazy little girl!"

The other ninja threw kunai at her from a distance!

"Wrong move!"

Shizuka quickly hid behind the sealed ninja and pointed him towards the projectiles!

*Shik Shik Shik*

"Aaaargh!"

The kunai pierced into the sealed ninja, but Shizuka made sure to move his body away from his vital points!

"Tch!"

The other ninja was not amused as he quickly weaved hand signs!

"Sound Style: Sonic Boom!"

The man quickly inhaled air as he prepped his technique!

"So he must be in the Sound village or Grass village then?! Thanks for the clue!"

She quickly reached into her back pouch and pulled out another kunai with a tag and threw it at him!

'Oh no!'

The ninja dodged away from the kunai, but the attack wasn't over yet!

*Bang*

"Gaaah!!"

*Boom*

The tag exploded with bright light, blinding the man!

His yell fired his Jutsu off course towards the nearby trees, smashing through them!

"Ugh! You'll pay for that!"

The man jumped down from the tree into the bushes and began to hide from Shizuka.

"Tch! He's smarter than I thought."

"Unf! Agh!"

Shizuka shifted the man around slightly as she kept her senses sharp.

'Now. Where are you?'

Shizuka waited patiently as the sealed ninja continued to groan as he bleed out slowly.

*Swoosh*

"!!!"

Shizuka heard movement behind her and turned the ninja towards it quickly!

"Crap!"

She then jumped away from him as a demon wind shuriken sliced into the masked ninja!

"Ah...."

The ninja could only gasp his last breath as the shuriken lodged itself into his chest!

"Hehe! Got you now, brat!"

*Shuu*

More shurikens flew towards Shizuka as she jumped back!

*Clang Clang Shtik*

"Ugh!"

She tried to block the shurikens, but one managed to lodge into her arm!

"Hehe! Looks like your advantage ends here."

The mask ninja grew excited as he drew a kunai and focused his hearing.

Shizuka jumped into a bush nearby and tried to hide her presence.

"Haa! Haa! Unf! Ssss!"

*Shuk*

She pulled out the shuriken slowly and wrapped a bandage over the wound!

'I can take him! I just need an opening.'

Shizuka quickly calmed her breath and pulled out a kunai as well.

She could still use her arm!

She honed her senses as sharp as she could while she readied herself.

"Die!"

The Grass ninja quickly jumped towards the bush from behind her and slashed for her neck!

"Rrraaagh!"

Shizuka quickly retaliated as she turned toward him!

*Shtik Shtik*

They both pierced their kunais into each other!

"Pfft!"

Shizuka couldn't help, but spit out blood as she felt the kunai enter her chest!

The masked ninja was no better as she could see blood leak down from his mask down his vest!

They traded chest blows!

"Ung! You're such a crazy brat!"

"Hehe! Why don't you just die for your lord already?!"

*Poof*

Shizuka suddenly disappeared into a puff of smoke!

"What?! A shadow clone!"

"What?! Did you think I was as slow as you?!"

Shizuka pointed a kunai at the masked ninja's back!

"It's over!"

"....Hehe,Hahahahahahaha!"

The mask man laughed hysterically as he lifted his head to the sky!

"You're right! It is over!"

*Crrrrrk*

Shizuka saw the man's body become like stone as he slowly hardened into a statue!

"That's?! No way!"

"Too bad, little Genin!"

"Gah!"

The masked ninja appeared behind her and gripped her by the neck!

"Hehe! Earth Clone jutsus are pretty good, no?"

"Ghhk!!"

The masked ninja chuckled as he poised his knife close to her throat.

"Since you're so young, let me give you a lesson before you go on your way. Never let your guard down."

Shizuka was slowly running out of breath as she tried to get away from his grip.

The ninja chuckled, then stabbed his kunai deep into her chest!

*Poof*

"W-What?!"

"Noted. Thanks for the advice."

"!!!"

*Shtik*

Shizuka disappeared in a puff of smoke as she came out from behind the ninja and stabbed him in his back!

"G-Guh!"

The ninja managed to dodge, but he couldn't get out of the way completely in time!

"Tch!"

Shizuka's breath was heavy as she held onto the bloody kunai.

She didn't have much chakra! She had to end him soon!

"Guh...I won't...lose to some brat!"

The masked ninja struggled against the pain on his side as he stared at Shizuka with killing intent!

"Haaa...haaa...that's fine."

Shizuka smiled mischievously as she looked at the ninja.

"You'll lose to brats instead."

"Wha-"

"Uuuurrraaagh!!!"

*Pow*

The masked ninja could only see a blur of orange fly at him before everything went dark.

*********

"Huuuu~! You sure took your time!"

Shizuka sank against the base of a tree as she tried to catch her breath.

Her chakra was dangerously low after the battle.

She was glad Karin managed to find them.

"....Sorry, Nee-san. I came late."

Naruto looked down at the masked ninja he knocked out.

His mask was broken into pieces as the force behind Naruto's punch was tremendous!

".....Naruto."

"......."

Shizuka could feel a tinge of wild power coming off him as he refused to look at her.

Her frown deepened as she put more power in her voice.

"......Look at me, little brother."

"......"

Naruto slowly turned toward her as she looked at his face.

She could see the whisker marks on his face looked wilder and darker while his eyes had taken a crimson red color.

She stared at him for a moment before patting the ground next to her.

Naruto was confused for a moment before going to the spot and sitting down next to her.

Shizuka put her injured arm around his neck and looked at him.

"Ne-"

*Bam*

"Oww!"

Naruto quickly grabbed his head from the pain!

"What was that for, Nee-san?!"

"Hmph! You think I can't handle a bunch of goons?! Stop showing that worried face!"

Shizuka puffed her cheeks up as she kept slapping Naruto's head! He tried to get away, but Shizuka's injured arm was on him!

"Okay! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Stop!"

Shizuka stopped after a moment and tenderly rubbed Naruto's head this time.

"Apology accepted. Thanks for worrying about me."

"...Sure."

Naruto and Shizuka couldn't help, but smile as they shared a moment together.

"Naruto! You still alive?!"

"Hey! What kinda question is that?!"

"Hmph! One that gets an answer out of you."

 *Shuu Shuu Shuu*

Sasuke, Sakura, and Karin all landed around the two as they finally caught up to Naruto!

Karin sighed in relief as she saw Shizuka was still okay.

"Haaa~! You shouldn't run off like that, Naruto! What if you ran into a trap?!"

"Ugh, sorry. I heard Nee-san was in trouble and blanked out..."

Sakura saw the guilt on Naruto's face and decided to drop it.

"Nevermind. Let me help you, Shizuka-san."

"Sure thing. Thanks."

Sakura quickly weaved her hand signs and used her medical technique on Shizuka's arm.

"I-I can heal as well! You just have to bite-"

"No thanks! You'll have to learn how to heal properly! I will not bite into another girl! Thanks for getting help, by the way."

"Wait?! You have to get bitten to heal?! How does that work?!"

Karin fixed her glasses as she glanced at Naruto.

"I don't know! It just does!"

"We'll ask Mom about it when we get back."

 The three Uzumaki's chatted with each other while Sakura focused on healing and Sasuke decided to watch the unconscious goon and the surroundings.

".....?!"

Sasuke suddenly grew tense as his posture grew alert.

"Who's there?!"

"!!!"

The team grew tense as well as Sasuke slowly looked around.

"I-I didn't sense anyone!"

"That doesn't mean they can't get close. I snuck up on you, after all."

Shizuka watched the surroundings as well as she said her piece.

Sakura was getting nervous, but she continued to heal Shizuka's wounds despite the situation.

"....Hmph! You asked for it then!"

Sasuke blinked and activated his Sharingan while scanning the area again!

He suddenly locked on to a small area of the nearby tree and watched closely.

"Hmph! You can't hide from me anymore!"

*Swish Swish*

Sasuke threw several shurikens at nearby tree!

*Tak Tak*

He noticed the chakra stopped abruptly and smirked.

"Come out! You've been caught."

".....Kukukukukuku!"

A sinister chuckle echoed through the forest, bringing a sense a foreboding dread to everyone.

The group watched as a figure suddenly rose up from the shadows and walked into the dim light.

Everyone stared at the figure and realized it was a Kusa village ninja!

"This guy....."

The group could all feel it. 

Something was different about this guy.

"Ha....hahahaha!!"

"N-Nee-san?!"

Naruto turned to look at his sister and noticed an eerie smile on her face. 

"Shizuka-san?! Kyaa!"

Her chakra started to rise as Karin, Naruto, and Sakura blew away from her!

Shizuka kept her eyes on the man's face as her fists clenched tightly around a kunai.

"I finally get to see you again."

"Hmmm? Where have I seen a little mouse like you before?"

Shizuka grit her teeth as she calmed her nerves.

"Don't you remember~? It was when you killed my parents. I never forgot what your presence felt like!"

"....Kukukuku."

The man chuckled and put his hand on his chin.

"You'll have to be more specific than that, child. I've killed a lot of rats and it's hard to remember every one of them."