Space to Breathe - [ Sakura Haruno ]

CHAPTER 06

Kabuto was not enjoying his time in the forest of death, although he supposed that was the point.

His annoyance was compounded when they ran into the shinobi who's face Orochimaru had borrowed.

"So, you want my scroll, do you?" The man spoke, his voice smooth like caramel yet it felt bitter as dirt in his ears. "Then you'll have to fight for it, Sasuke."

Kabuto sighed, watching his superior lure a genin into his trap. He eyed carefully when Sasuke sprung into action, watching their battle begin.

"It looks like you're just fine here, Sasuke," Kabuto called over, "I'll go help Naruto."

Fighting Orochimaru was not something he wanted to do, but he could manage one of the man's summons.

So he leaped away, Sasuke glancing at him briefly but doing nothing to stop him from leaving.

Tracking down the snake wasn't hard, and when he arrived he found it bulging, as if it had eaten far too much.

Then, he watched with a wry smile as it exploded. He was glad he didn't need to deal with the creature himself, at least.

And now that Naruto collapsed, he just had to deal with his chakra exhaustion.

                                       
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Collecting the now unconscious Sasuke and Naruto, Kabuto made his way swiftly to a more defendable position. Stowing the pair under a large tree's roots and got to work tending to them, although steering clear of Sasuke's new cursed seal.

They were like that throughout the first night, with Sasuke rolling around and muttering in his sleep. Kabuto managed to keep his fever down with his medical Ninjutsu, but there was nothing to do about his restlessness.

Naruto, for one, slept calmly. It annoyed Kabuto, he's been getting annoyed a lot then, that he'd need to stay awake, but he didn't complain and took a soldier pill before settling in to keep guard.

                                            
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The next morning was when disaster, albeit planned, struck. Team Dosu, the team from Otogakure officially, none of them knew his true allegiance, and so he'd have to pretend.

Taking the scroll they'd received at the beginning of the test, he placed it down in front of himself and spoke clearly.

"I'd prefer if we didn't have to come to blows," Kabuto said diplomatically, "so I'll offer you our scroll and ask that you be on your way."

"We aren't here for your scroll," the kunoichi of the group said, smirking at Kabuto's perceived weakness. "We're here for Sasuke."

Kabuto stilled at that as he wondered, 'why would Orochimaru send his team after Sasuke?'

Dosu took a step forward bringing Kabuto's attention back to the group with a critical gaze.

"Let us kill him, and we'll be on our way," Dosu claimed, although Kabuto saw through the lie. "That way you don't get any more hurt."

Kabuto shook his head at that and scowled. He'd need to conceal his actual skills, to be able to maintain his cover, but a regular genin couldn't defeat this team.

So, he scanned the surroundings for familiar chakra signatures. He noticed a few not too far away, being members of Naruto's graduating class from what he'd overheard before the exam.

He decided then, he'd use just enough power to survive until backup arrived.

Getting into a stance, Zaku, the third and most cocky member of Team Dosu, scoffed at Kabuto. "You have no chance of beating me."

Kabuto mirrored his actions, getting into a defensive stance, Zaku burst forth.

Taijutsu wasn't where Kabuto shined, but he wasn't a slacker either. He wished his chakra scalpels were a choice he had, but a genin wouldn't know a technique like that. Instead, he did it the old fashioned way.

A kick to Zaku's ribs caught the boy off guard as Kabuto pushed forward. He planned on taking the defensive until the Nara's team arrived, but if he could handle at least one of them whilst the others were content to stay their hands then who was he to refuse.

But Zaku didn't just stick to Taijutsu, and began pushing blast of air through the holes in his palms.

Thus Kabuto took the defensive again, standing back before...

A boy with a black bowl cut and a blinding smile swooped down from the trees, Kabuto had not sensed him, so he was likely very fast and had come from outside the older boy's range. He was wearing dark green Spandex.

"Leaf hurricane!" He called, spinning and kicking the Oto nin repeatedly. He seemed injured already after traveling as far as he must have to save him.

Kabuto wasn't about to complain, though. The boy was making his life much easier than it would have been otherwise.

But Zaku recovered quickly, standing back up, although now with a limp to his left leg.

"You piece of shit," he cursed, watching the Taijutsu user carefully, "you'll pay for that!"

Kabuto felt the Oto nin's chakra soar as he prepared a blast larger than any so far.

But Rock Lee, Kabuto recalled, didn't even react verbally, instead plugging his hand into the packed soil beneath his feet.

And when the air is blasted forward, Lee dragged out an entire tree root, larger than himself, to block the attack.

'That's some impressive raw power,' Kabuto noted to himself as he watched the battle unfold further.

Lee's advantage didn't last long however, as when Dosu stepped in he ended up on the back foot quickly.

Fighting both Oto nin would be impossible for the Taijutsu user at this stage, and so Kabuto was ready to step back in despite a few cuts and bruises he'd yet to heal.

But then the Nara, the lazy kid Kabuto was sure he was, showed up with his team, and the tide turned in their favour.

                                      
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They all stood, watching as a venomous aura radiated from Sasuke whilst he walked slowly towards Zaku. The boy was injured heavily already, and when Sasuke gripped his arms, nobody moved to stop him.

When Sasuke pulled and Zaku screamed nobody stopped him.

He pulled harder, he screamed louder, nobody stepped in still.

Then, a sickening crunch and a squelch sounded from the Oto nin, and Sasuke smirked darkly. Zaku's arms were laying on the floor, the boy no longer conscious, and unlikely to live much longer regardless.

                
                                        
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As they entered and unfurled their scrolls, Iruka, Sakura's academy teacher, appeared and directed them further inside. The man seemed confused about her being on a new team, but didn't question it and granted them entry.

Sakura smiled once they entered the tower proper. She was grateful they weren't the first there, too. Attention brought along a whole host of problems with it, after all.

So seeing the Suna siblings already present sent a wave of relief through her. She would have approached them to start a conversation had she been the same naïve kunoichi she'd been a few weeks prior.

Instead, she saw what the shortest one of them, a redhead, could do. Her mind flashed through images of piles of flesh and blood barely recognisable as human, wet sand stained red intermixed.

Shaking her head, she followed Nanako and Masato towards where they'd be sleeping until the end of the survival portion of the exam.