Konoha's No. 1 Most Unpredictable Ninja

[CHAPTER 33]

Team 7 made it to the central tower right on time. Had they wasted another hour they would've been disqualified. 

21 genin made it out of the forest of death, the remaining either have to find their way out or never be seen again. One of the genin, Kabuto, quit before the announcement of the preliminaries. Seeing as everything from now on is individual, the proctors let his team continue in the exam.

 Naruto sent scavengers after him, he was too suspicious to not keep tabs on.

Sasuke was taken away after his fight, although it surprised Naruto that they even let the Uchiha continue with the exam. There was the faint sounds of screams, surely the curse mark was being sealed to prevent any accidents. 

Hopefully someone would be able to help the Uzumaki with his own problem. The chakra radiating from the nine tails  has gotten weaker since Orochimaru did something to the eight trigrams seal. 

He was in the middle of zoning out while watching a fight when he sensed Orochimaru. It was clear he was fighting Kakashi, Sasuke's presence was near both of them too. The blonde disappeared from the arena, going straight towards the chakra signatures of the fighting shinobi.

I just need to send a message. Naruto thought. Let him know that we need to talk. 

As he ran, Naruto took out a paper bomb and disabled the exploding mechanism. Biting his finger, he used blood to write a summoning formula commonly used by the kitsunes.

Hopefully he's smart enough to understand this. Naruto prayed.

He made it to a chamber dimly lit by some torches. It was easy to make out the shapes of the two shinobi and differentiate between the two.

Conceal my chakra. Naruto prepared himself. I need this to be in and out. Kakashi can't know. 

Using the darkness to his advantage, Naruto stayed in the shadows. He flickered from the entrance to a pillar near the snake shinobi and placed the summoning tag in one of his vest pockets. Having finished what he came to do Naruto went back to the arena hoping he'd get summoned sometime soon.

The prelims went as expected. Three fights were most memorable to Naruto. First it was Shikamaru's as most people thought he would have surrendered because fighting is such 'a drag'.  The another fight that caught the blondes interest was Neji against Hinata, a cruel matchup to tell the truth.

Just like the day they all trained together, the cousins agreed to only fight with the byakugan and taijutsu. Neji came close but Hinata took the win, much to the crowds surprise. 

She's been hiding just like me. Naruto smirked. Wait until they see what else she can do.

Naruto left after Lee's fight though. Despite opening some of the eight gates he was bested by the one tails scum. He heard as the bones shattered, knowing that no one in the village, not even him, would be able to heal Lee. He looked over at Guy and knew that his sensei realized the same thing as he made his way down to the floor to stop the fight. 

Naruto sneaked into Lee's hospital room and agreed with the doctors, the capabilities they had will never bring Lee back to being a shinobi. His friend didn't wake before he was kicked out. 

As he walked the halls of the hospital Naruto ran into Kakashi, likely going to visit Sasuke.

"You left early." Kakashi pointed out. "They already set up the matches for the final round, but since you and Sasuke weren't there your matches aren't clear."

"Are we not fighting against each other?" Naruto asked.

"No, although I suggested the same thing." Kakashi sighed. "You'll be facing either that red head sand shinobi or Hinata Hyuga, you have a month to train."

With that the jonin left, continuing to his other genin's room.

Just my luck. Naruto thought.

The Uzumaki made it to the village gates before he was summoned. Temporarily forgetting about Orochimaru he emerged rather annoyed but was taken aback by the lack of foxes surrounding him. 

"Well I certainly wasn't expecting the demon child." The pale man hissed. "I take it you know what I am here to do?"

"Killing the hokage?" Naruto said plainly. "It's supposed to be my job unless the mission request has been made null and void without our knowledge."

"Our?" Orochimaru pondered the term. "So those foxes finally accepted a human in their ranks."

"There have been others." Naruto explained. "They were just too weak to survive the final trial is all."

"What have you come here to do?" Orochimaru questioned, going straight to the point rather than having useless small talk with a child.

"First I need to know if I'm still supposed to kill the Hokage." Naruto glanced at Kabuto standing to Orochimaru's right. "And if I am, I'll need some assistance."

"I signed a contract when putting in that mission request, barring me from killing the hokage." Orochimaru looked at the grey haired boy to his side. "Another assassin was planning on taking my place, but as your services are being offered I'm inclined to take them."

"Right." Naruto internally laughed at the thought of Kaabuto trying to kill the hokage. "Now of the assistance I require, just a diversion will do. Take care of the anbu and crowds, I'll handle the rest."

"That can be done." Orochimaru agreed. 

"The final fights of the exams will have everyone gathered in the arena. That will be the best time to strike." Naruto strategized. 

"If that's all-" Orochimaru was cut off.

"The thing you did to me in the forest of death, something happened to my seal." Lifting his shirt Naruto revealed the tattoo and the new additions that were recently added. "Undo it all."

"Glad we could come to an agreement Uzumaki." Orochimaru turned to walk away. "But you go ahead and keep that as an insurance. Can't have you going back on your word last minute."

Frustrated, Naruto teleported back to his house. His only chance at fixing the seal refuses and now he can barely even feel the nine tails. Not only that, but the pain was still there, still burning him inside out.

The boy collapsed on his bed and finally realized how unwell he was. The cold sweat drenched his clothes and chills shook his body. 

I'm not technically sick, just physically exhausted. Naruto thought. Maybe I should try those hot springs I heard Shikamaru talk about. He said his dad recommended it so it should have some type of medical benefits right?

The question was left unanswered. No voice agreed or called him a fool. 

His mind was quiet and his soul was alone.

It gets worse as time goes on. I can't feel the fox's chakra anymore but a few minutes ago I could. Naruto dug his hands into his face. 

Slowly he stood back up, took some money from the counter and teleported to the village. From the apartment he trudged his way to the hot springs, one painful step after the other.

He rented a locker for his things and soaked in the water, keeping his eyes closed and trying to relax.

"Hehehehe."

What the hell is that noise?

"Hehehehe."

Naruto opened one eye and saw some old man shaking with giggles. His face was pressed against the wall the separated the women from the men. 

"Hey!" Naruto yelled, making it loud enough for those beyond the wall to hear. "Stop peeping you old pervert! I'm trying to rest over here and your giggling isn't making it easy!"