Team 7 reached the second floor to an all-too-familiar spectacle.

The Forever-Chūnin Gatekeepers of Konohagakure was their nickname -- it would have been stranger if more genin from Konoha fell for this first trick. It was a well-hidden advantage that the Hokage had included in the Exams for the new generation of shinobi from his village. Well, it it was not like this instance of favour helped them pass the second stage anyway.

Kotetsu mocked, his voice disguised to sound like a teenager's, "Ha! Did you plan to take the Chūnin Exams with just that much?"

"You should just quit now," Izumo added helpfully, looking so smug that some genin seemed to visibly restrain themselves from going up to sock him in the jaw.

Surprisingly, despite their delay, the trio managed to arrive in time to catch this scene happening right before their eyes.

"I know you're compassionate and kind, but at times like these, you should just walk past them," Sakura reminded lowly.

Sasuke's eye twitched as he muttered in disbelief, "Me? Compassionate and kind?"

"Yeah, Sakura-chan is right -ttebayo! You are always too nice, wanting to help others while gaining nothing in return," Naruto agreed loudly.

It was Sakura's turn to feel her eye twitching in irritation.

"Naruto! Are you trying to attract attention to us?" she hissed in disbelief.

Sakura looked up and realised, in dread, that the genin gathered before Room 201 were now staring at them instead of focusing on the commotion between the self-instated door gods and Team Gai.

Even the stoic Neji was looking over curiously (presumably -- his face was unreadable as ever).

Their real twelve-year-old selves did not realise that they were being presumptuous by ruining a preliminary test that was included under the orders of the Hokage himself, but they were not the naïve children of that time anymore. There was no reason for Sasuke to call unnecessary attention to themselves out of some sort of misplaced goodwill. She did not expect Naruto, of all people, to ruin it by so blatantly declaring it before the crowd that they were pitying them.

"We have to attract aggro for Orochimaru to feel comfortable acting out in the Forest of Death. Can't you see him right there? He... I mean she is the woman with the black sheet-like hair."

Sasuke did not look up since it would arouse suspicion from the Snake Sannin but a mental image of Orochimaru seen through the Rinne Tenseigan promptly arrived, flooding his mind through their telepathic connection.

"I forgot. It's been so long since I've seen him in that body. He takes on so many appearances, it's hard to keep track of all of them."

"Let us pass. We're going to the third floor and you lot are blocking the way," Sasuke arrogantly announced.

The drama was interrupted partway -- only Lee was on the ground as Tenten did not have the opportunity to say her part yet.

"So you noticed..." Izumo said, clicking his tongue.

Sakura did not wait for Sasuke to mention her supposed genjutsu know-how (it was far too embarrassing considering the three of them knew how unrealistic the illusions she cast were).

"Of course. Because this is the second floor," Sakura answered with a sweet smile that Naruto and Sasuke knew spelt danger to its recipient. "So, if you would, please get out of our way."

"That's right!" Naruto chimed in.

"I'm not in a good mood," Sakura informed, "so I do hope you will stop wasting our time."

Kotetsu pretended not to hear that.

The chūnin-in-disguise abruptly surged forward, attacking with a roundhouse kick.

Lee did not have a chance to act before Sakura swiftly disabled Kotetsu with a few senbon.

"I said I was not in a good mood," she said darkly, watching him fall to the ground paralysed.

She moved so quickly that even Izumo could not tell when she acted.

"Don't worry," Sakura appended as she walked past the fallen chūnin, "it's not poisoned."

With a shrug, Naruto followed along and reached down to retrieve the senbon that Sakura threw out so casually. He knew better than to take her behaviour at face level. She was going to regret doing that later. This set of senbon was expensive and even had special features imbued by the phoenix monarchs. That alone made each of these needles priceless. It was too much of a loss to just discard them on a whim -- she would surely cry about it later.

Sasuke felt a shiver run along his spine as he looked at the fallen chūnin sympathetically. It was never wise to be at the receiving end of Sakura's wrath. It was especially so when the treatment was undeserved. Sakura was just lashing out at Kotetsu as he was the most convenient target.

'Stay strong, comrade,' Sasuke tried to convey the message through his eyes while maintaining a blank look.

The poor fellow probably did not receive the correct signal and quickly broke eye contact with the Uchiha, possibly fearing a genjutsu attack via Sharingan when he least expected it.

Sasuke's composure almost cracked.

"That's why you'll forever be stuck as chūnin," he grumbled harshly as he stalked away.

Naruto snickered, "Teme was misunderstood."

He did not laugh for long as Sakura punched him in the head with full force.

It actually hurt a lot, and his brain felt like it might have momentarily been reduced to mush.

Sasuke smirked as he knew Sakura could not break the most essential part of the act -- she had to be obsessively infatuated with him.

Thus, he did not expect to be pinched, hard.

Once he saw through the red glare of pain, Sasuke idly wondered if his skin ripped where Sakura had pulled and twisted it.

She did not have to explain her anger to her male teammates.

"But Sakura-chan, we were trying to draw attention to ourselves."

Sakura almost did not stop her startled laugh.

Naruto seemed so deep in his act that he was even speaking that way through their telepathic connection.

"We were?"

"Pedo-Hebi has to know that you are self-absorbed and look down on Konohagakure's education, dattebayo! The best way is for you to show obvious disdain towards other genins the first time he sees you."

"But I never looked down on all of the other genins during the Chūnin Exams. I even thought of some of them as monsters."

Naruto shrugged expressively and said nothing more.

"He would see the situation through his own lenses. He probably looked down on everyone else in his chūnin days, since he was said to be a great prodigy at the time. Even so, 'Ruto, I do dislike it when you act first and explain later."

Despite their quick escape, Team Gai unanimously gave chase.

While passing through the hall where Sasuke was challenged during their previous lifetime, Neji, Tenten and Lee managed to catch up to them.

"This..." Neji spoke, "What is your name?"

Tenten and Lee leaned forward in anticipation, appearing quite anxious to hear the answer.

Team 7 stared at the Hyūga prodigy who managed to intercept them and was now blocking their way, their faces almost spelling out question marks.

The two sides had the longest face-off until Naruto finally reacted belatedly.

"Me...?" Naruto asked, uncertainty emerging within him.

How unusual. What was it that he did that called attention upon himself? Why were they acting so unlike their previous selves? It was not like he dressed or behaved any differently from how he did in the past -- he was still an unremarkable dead last of the Academy in appearance.

Neji realised that his approach was somewhat rude and cleared his throat as he addressed the other party in formal language, "That was unbecoming of me. I was overexcited. We have failed to introduce ourselves first. We are Team Gai. I am Neji and these are my teammates, Tenten and Lee. Might I inquire about your identity as a fellow shinobi of Konohagakure?"

Naruto was feeling a little creeped out now. Neji only speaks to the main branch in formal language. He was being far too courteous -- this was something Neji would reserve for addressing the Hyūga heiress Hinata. Even then, he was impersonal and painstakingly polite. Naruto could not remember the last time Hyūga Neji claimed to have been "overexcited". It was actually a bit scary.

No one could frighten Naruto more than a fanatical Hyūga.

Tenten and Lee's bright eyes obstructed his vision, compelling him to speak.

'I'm scared. Help me, Rama,' Naruto squeaked out to the bijū onlookers who were not at all oblivious to his plight.

"This Usuratonkachi-" Sasuke gave up on the waiting game and broke the silence.

He was quieted by a terrifying glare from Tenten.

He really never knew what it was like to be on the wrong side of a fangirl before. He now had an inkling of how it felt like to be Naruto before the war. Tenten had a faint crush on him after their first encounter in the past, but she now acted as if she could not stand the mere sight of him. He was truly intimidated.

Tenten and Lee sparkled more intensely as they stared at Naruto.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, the one who's going to be Hokage -ttebayo!" Naruto exclaimed, immature.

Unfortunately, while Team Gai was indeed taken aback by the ostentatious self-introduction, they were not hoodwinked by the front he put up.

"I see..." Neji murmured.

The three members of Team Gai looked at each other and nodded solemnly.

"We will become your best ANBU operatives, so please await that day!" Lee shouted, saluting.

Naruto did not know how he should respond and could only go with, "Yeah, I'll be waiting! Let's work hard together!"

He was essentially taking from what he once said to Konohamaru.

Thinking about Konohamaru, Naruto realised that he has never met the boy in this timeline. He would have to make it up to him, whenever it is that they end up encountering each other once more. Konohamaru first proclaimed himself Naruto's apprentice, then his rival. However, Naruto never taught him anything worthy of note. He first tutored Konohamaru on the execution of the Henge no Jutsu, then took it upon himself to teach the other how to do the Rasengan during the earlier days of the war. Konohamaru ended up dying in the crossfire, and Naruto always felt guilt from it.

Still, not everything changed.

Lee came forward and told Sakura, "Your name is Sakura, right? My name is Rock Lee and I would like to pursue you! I promise that, if we get together, I will protect you until I die!"

Sakura felt her heart twinge.

Despite her initial revulsion towards his appearance, she did grow quite close to Lee during the war. Lee was a very gentle person. Compared to Sasuke, it was more reasonable for her to spend the rest of her life with the sensitive and considerate Lee. However, she did not like him that way. She knew it broke Lee's heart but Sakura felt nothing more than the kinship between comrades-in-arms and friends. Even when it came to Sasuke, she could no longer recall what her hormone-driven pubescent mind found so attractive about him that she would be willing to die for him. To her, it did not matter even if Sasuke never noticed her feelings. That childish, beautiful dream of another self that was still pure and innocent. She dreamed that one day Sasuke, who never did look at her, will like her the way she liked him.

Although it was but a young girl's silly fantasy, Sakura found herself missing it.

What was it like, to be able to fill her mind with inane thoughts of a single boy?

She felt that, in growing up, she has lost something.

"I'm afraid not. I need neither your protection nor your life. I am flattered that you like me, but is it possible to just be friends? I would rather you stay well and alive," Sakura answered, far more sensible than her vain past self.

Lee beamed at Sakura and yelled, "Then we are friends! I didn't think you'd like me back right away anyway!"

Sakura sighed, "I mean that I will not be dating anyone in the near future. I am not interested in love right now, Lee-san."

Lee looked jarred by this revelation but nodded in understanding.

"I won't bother you. I just really like you," he said decisively.

Sakura found herself feeling genuinely helpless.

"How about you try to find someone else to like?" Naruto attempted to persuade -- he really had no clue about this matter.

Lee made eye contact with Naruto, then suddenly held up a gloved hand.

"There's someone. This person has helped me a lot, changing my life in the process. Thanks to this person, other than ninjutsu, I can do everything else. It is because of this person that I am not lacking as a shinobi. If I would like to try furthering a relationship with that person, what will you think?" Lee said seriously.

Naruto was even more at a loss now.

"You are very quick to fall in love, aren't you?" Sasuke remarked, finally being able to chip in now that Neji and Tenten have left.

Lee frowned and returned, "I was not speaking to you, Uchiha-san."

Sasuke gaped, stunned that he was being dismissed just like that.

"What if that person lacks the capacity to love?" Naruto questioned softly, ignoring his black-haired teammate.

"I will not say that is impossible, but that is not the case for that person. I think that person is just unwilling to form emotional ties," Lee replied firmly.

Naruto felt stung -- it was something he was vaguely conscious of, yet he did not expect another to catch on so quickly.

"Other than Sakura, you're the first person to confess to me," Naruto informed, airily.

Sasuke's head swivelled so quickly that it made a "pop" sound.

The pink-haired kunoichi coughed, her cheeks flushing slightly.

"It wasn't in this time," she explained succinctly.

"You actually fell for me?" Naruto confirmed, still finding it a bit bizarre.

"While I do fancy Sakura-san's personality and appearance, I was attracted to Naruto-san first. I do think she is someone I can fall for, but I merely like her as a person right now," Lee elaborated. "I'll back off if you aren't comfortable, but I want you to seriously consider it."

Sakura heaved a sigh of relief. She did not wish for Lee to be stuck and unable to move on from his feelings for her. His liking of Naruto did not seem like an improvement, though.

"I really cannot return your feelings," Naruto stressed out.

"You're confusing your gratitude with love," Sasuke commented. "This is your first time meeting Naruto."

"It doesn't matter. I've known him for a long time now. I kept all of the letters he left with the gifts. I've even written return letters, that he sometimes responded to," Lee said decisively.

"I cannot accept. I am... fated to be alone," Naruto stated, more careful with his word choice than anyone else would know.

Before, he most certainly did not believe in fate. Even now, he did not believe there exists a higher order which controls destiny. However, he did know that sometimes there were things that were inevitable. There were choices he had to make time and time again, even if he already knew that they were flawed. If that was not fate, he was not sure what would construe as fate.

Mugetsu rumbled, "You will have us."

Naruto smiled sadly and shook his head.

In the end, there will be nothing.

He had long since accepted that.

And, as long as it was only that, it would have been fine.

Except, it was not.

ʕ•ﻌ•ʔ

Naruto fiddled with a sheet of paper, folding and unfolding it into various shapes while following the same creases. The number of creases on the paper gradually grew until it no longer formed a crisp structure. He looked down at the crumpled sheet that looked like it will crumble into dust if he just tugged on it too hard. It persisted through several further rounds of torture. It finally gave way when he was unfolding a rabbit-shaped origami.

The paper disintegrated, the fragments landing on his desk.

He glared at the remnants of the sheet that had been used to make so many structures until its utility was exhausted at long last and it was finally unusable.

He gathered up the pieces and burned them.

He could have sustained the paper and preserved its crispness if he changed its properties at the beginning. Since he did not do so and did not use chakra or any other method to hold the paper together from start to end, it reached the end of its lifespan. Immortality was not something that existed in nature. Everything would deteriorate and, eventually, not even dust will be left. What if he never bothered to do anything? Would the pristine paper last for all of eternity, or could it still be decomposed as time wears on? It was clearly the latter. In this world, nothing lasts forever.

So what about the world itself?

What happens to it when he rewinds time?

Is it akin to the paper that he unfolded after folding into some shape or another? If it is, just how many times can it be unfolded and refolded before it gives way? Why was he able to do this, to begin with? How many times has it already been folded and unfolded before?

Naruto closed his eyes as a weak laugh escaped him.

It would have been nice if his problems were that simple.

This universe is not a two-dimensional plane that has been turned three-dimensional through such unsophisticated methods, much less something that can be compared to a single object.

He covered his eyes, deactivating his Rinne Tenseigan so he no longer saw everything all around him.

The result was him feeling completely blind -- as if he was trapped in empty darkness. He soon found his non-visual cues. He still felt the circulation of air around him, the hard tiles beneath his soles, the unpleasant splintered wooden bench he sat on and the sound of pens scratching and genins quietly voicing the names of jutsu. After overcoming the dearth in his perception, he felt his hollow world take shape once more.

He heard a rustling noise on his desk and opened his eyes to see a filled-in answer sheet placing itself on his desk. The exam paper that he had yet to even write his name on was discreetly taken away by sand that changed colour to camouflage with the floor that silently scooted back to the culprit's desk. It was likely that not even the examiners invigilating the exam noticed the smooth exchange of papers. Morino Ibiki, the Proctor of the first stage of the Chūnin Exams, was focused on something else at that time and failed to notice how Naruto had cheated.

Hyūga Hinata, who was sitting next to him just like before, once again wanted to offer the answers that she copied from the chūnin mixed into the crowd, only to see that the answer sheet already had writing on it. She was puzzled as she knew that Naruto never picked up his pencil during the course of the examination, but soon realised someone must have beaten her to it. She was not curious about why Naruto changed his clothing style again to look like he did during his Academy days, only annoyed that she did not notice whoever it was that exchanged test papers with Naruto. She thought that, if only she was just a little bit faster, she could have done that for him.

Naruto felt amused despite knowing that his plan to submit a blank test paper was foiled.

It was cute that Gaara was so concerned about his performance in the Exams that he took it upon himself to make things easier for Naruto. He made an effort to write down the correct answers in Naruto's stead and even delivered them to him safely. It was unnecessary, but Naruto would not dismiss the other jinchūriki's efforts completely.

ʕ•ﻌ•ʔ

Naruto did not stand up for the rest of the wavering genins this time.

Since Sakura did not try to raise her hand for his sake like before, he saw no need to do so. As he has stated, he was not kind or considerate enough to help his enemies. It did not matter whether or not these genins would be a threat in later stages. He just did not feel like helping them for no reason.

The rule was stupid. How could a single Proctor decide whether a genin ever gets the chance to retake the Exams in their lifetime? It was not as if Konohagakure was the only place hosting the Chūnin Exams in the Elemental Countries.

Because of this decision, four more three-man teams were disqualified.

End of stage one. Sixty-six genins remained within the Chūnin Exams.

ʕ•ﻌ•ʔ

"This is strange. There are twenty-two teams this time, so why did we still get the Heaven scroll? If I didn't know any better, I would think we were purposely assigned with this scroll," Sakura pointed out, turning the scroll in her hand.

"Whatever the reason, this is a good thing. Orochimaru's team has received the Earth scroll again," Naruto alerted while bringing his hands together and separating them.

An identical object with a similar chakra signature to the Heaven scroll appeared in his hands and he handed the item over to Sasuke. Without having to ask, Sasuke dutifully passed the real scroll to Naruto -- other than those in the know, none would be able to guess that their scroll was in the so-called Academy dead-last's hands. Naruto did not doubt their ability to gather two more scrolls of the correct type, but he did not want their scroll to end up in Orochimaru's hands just to be destroyed either.

"Hey~ Naruto! Why didn't cha act up during tha' explanation? Things are boring here without ya, y'know?" Anko whined, barging right into the tent without regard.

"Anko-nee, favouritism is against the rules," Naruto reminded her, shooing her out.

"Don't worry, I put yer team at the most dangerous gate. No favouritism here!" Anko cheerfully informed. "No supplies in yer path, either!"

Naruto realised why they never saw the food pills during their journey then -- this insane snake lady must have arranged for them to be sent to a gate without any resources that would be reachable during their journey towards the centre. They would never know what she was thinking during the previous timeline -- she could have been genuinely curious about how they would survive the tribulations she put them through. Still, for her to knowingly pit him like this was... very characteristic of her.

It now made sense that they were so "coincidentally" dispatched at the same gate with the same scroll type.

"That's great, but you know which team was chosen for that mission," Naruto said, exasperated.

Anko shrugged, allowing herself to be shoved aside, and threw over her shoulder with a wink, "Hokage-sama told me to remind ya -- no traps or fūinjutsu. Commercial seal tags are included in yer restriction."

"Only in combat. He didn't say we couldn't use them for storage," Naruto countered, shrugging on a backpack.

"Sure, but the scroll cannot be hidden using fūinjutsu. That counts as a trap," Anko warned.

"Don't worry. We're just using the good old decoy method," assured Naruto, holding up a fake scroll -- a newly-made one that was but a blank scroll designed to look like a Heaven scroll.

It had no chakra signature and Sakura secured it to her forearm so it would be visible when she moved.

"Tis in the grey zone," Anko mused, "since yer trick'll fool any genin." She then cackled, "But I'll just hafta overlook it! Run wild, ya crazy kiddos!"

Anko marched out of the tent with pride.

"Unexpectedly... She seems serious about treating you as one of her own, Hokage-sama," Sakura said in surprise.

They hardly visited Naruto in his home and vice versa. It was rare for them to glimpse the relationship between guardian and ward. Although Anko was the playful sort, she did not seem like one to willingly care for some random child.

"How soon do you want to meet Pedo-Hebi-Teme?" Naruto asked, adjusting his hitai-ate and removing the spare brushes and blank talismans he had hidden on his person.

Sasuke watched, amazed, at the pile of items that tumbled to the ground when Naruto unequipped everything within his loose jacket, causing the blond to look a lot less chubby than before.

He had a sinking feeling that Naruto might have hidden a lot of weapons that he never used in front of them during the previous timeline too.

"Immediately. We don't want to waste time muddling along, waiting for him to show up," Sakura replied quickly.

"Well, we can either finish early or stay in the Forest for as long as possible..." Naruto suggested, remembering what Sakura said about discussing his plans.

"Let's just leave early. I don't want to stay here where it's hard to even train properly now -- too many annoyances roaming around," Sasuke grumbled, spraying insect repellent formulated by Sakura on himself.

"Then let's charge through this. Go!" Naruto cried out, loudly enough to be heard from the other gates.

Nearby, Shikamaru pitied the genins who would definitely fall for the bait.

An Ame team that was closer to Gate 12 came within an ordinary sensor's range of the time-traveller trio ahead of Orochimaru and detected the three genins who appeared to be ambling along but were actually speeding towards Orochimaru's predicted location.

"It isn't Orochimaru. They have a Heaven scroll."

Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"Team Oboro from Amegakure?" she reconfirmed.

Naruto looked them over for identifying markers and found none except the identical symbol on the metal plates of their hitai-ate.

"I'm not sure. They have the guy who pretended to be me before."

Sasuke gawked at Naruto in shock.

"You saw everything and yet you chose to wait to show up after everything was over?"

"You dealt with it well enough."

Naruto concealed their group from the other genin team's senses and crossed paths with them none the wiser.

He marked a mental reminder to tell Nagato to improve his shinobi forces' sensitivity to danger.

"Flare your chakra slightly. Make it dense," Naruto instructed in a low voice.

He cut down several insects with a basic kunai and left shuriken stabbed in a few slugs on a tree nearby.

"Walk faster. He's found us."

They skirted around the route of another genin team and carefully left barely-there traces for the Snake Sannin to follow.

"Ah, ah, I suddenly kinda need to pee," Naruto said sheepishly, tugging the hem of his pants.

"He's under our feet right now. Don't look down."

The two mutely adjusted their mental states.

"Gross! Don't do it here, you idiot! Go do your business into the bushes or something!" Sakura shrieked, smacking him on the head.

"Fine, fine," Naruto relented, scratching his cheek.

He hopped off the tree and "obliviously" brushed past Orochimaru's hiding spot.

Of course, he conveniently imprinted an untraceable Hiraishin marker on the missing-nin's chakra while he was at it. If he was fully honest, the truth was that this technique was a rip-off of Orochimaru's favourite curse seals. It was something that would follow the mad researcher regardless of the number of times he switches bodies. It was a little gift he left for this person, who ruined the life of his brother in all but blood.

He made a shadow clone that followed Sakura's words and went into some bushes nearby.

In the meantime, Naruto leaned back on an invisible hammock of wind and seamlessly blended in with his surroundings as he observed the scene that was playing out below with the all-seeing Rinne Tenseigan.

'I will have to find a way to anchor Orochimaru's soul into a vessel against his will. How would he take the life of an immortal low-level spirit, bound to the will of a mediocre master?' pondered Naruto as he scrutinised the vessel that Orochimaru was using.

It was not the body of the woman whose face he had stolen. It would have been clear enough to a sufficiently skilled Byakugan user. It was also female and could have been rather talented even before it was taken over by Orochimaru. What surprised Naruto was the chimaeric chakra of the entity housed by the vessel. There were signs of rejection and conflict that were visible within the obscurest depths of the being. In other words, whatever technique Orochimaru was using, it was possible for his host to take over as the dominant party. However slim, it was possible for an intended vessel to usurp Orochimaru's place and absorb the rest of the messy chakras that now clashed within.

Orochimaru's original personality might not have been so sinister or wicked. He could have been corrupted by the many individuals he has failed to thoroughly assimilate. Naruto could not quite ascertain what the hosts that Orochimaru has swallowed up without such considerations would have been like, but he could guess that there were many criminals in the mix. It seemed that the former shinobi of Konoha was quite heavily influenced by his hosts.

He wondered if the madman he was observing has realised this yet.

"Shiore," he read the name on the stolen shinobi identification card aloud.

The two subordinates of Orochimaru wearing the faces of the Kusa genin team did not possess the identification cards of their false identities.

Orochimaru was briefly shrouded in smoke as she used Henge to transform into the orange-clad genin who just left.

The madman of a researcher walked in, whistling a tune, looking quite refreshed -- as if she really did just take a good piss.

It was an impeccable disguise, if not for Sasuke's Rinne Sharingan. Rather, just a normal pair of Sharingan would be able to see past the low-level genjutsu. Of course, Orochimaru's act was lacking substance -- she was not anywhere close to Naruto who was the master of deception. Sasuke did wonder what Naruto would do and how whatever that was would not count as a "trap", but he did not have the leisure to worry about that.

After the two effortlessly exposed Orochimaru as an imposter, she reverted to her original form without resistance.

"You want my Earth scroll, right? Since you guys have the Heaven scroll..." Orochimaru stated, her tongue slithering out as she held up the scroll so the remaining members of Team 7 could inspect the goods.

She proceeded to stuff it into her mouth, her obscenely long tongue wrapped around it as she forced it down her throat.

This was a display that had shocked the wits out of them the last time they saw it, but they have since experienced many horrors -- not even this degree of creepiness could unnerve them.

Once fully swallowed, Orochimaru spoke while digging a finger under her eyelid, "Now, let us begin... the battle for each other's scrolls... With our lives on the line."

Sakura watched on in disgust, realisation sinking in that Orochimaru seemed to have a strange fixation on making those in her presence feel as much discomfort as possible.

The Sannin-in-disguise cackled, "Huhu... You can no longer move..."

Against her expectations, Sakura and Sasuke moved in tandem as they attacked Orochimaru together.

While the person with the highest bounty in Hi no Kuni was distracted by the glee she felt as she saw the "last" Uchiha resist his killing intent, Sakura managed to stab a modified kunai in Orochimaru's abdomen. Since she was free to move while Orochimaru fended off Sasuke's sword blows, she managed to do so without any resistance. It was difficult to identify this special kunai at a glance -- it was not available for purchase anywhere on the continent. In fact, its use was simple: it could be used to contain liquid that would be poured into the wound that was made by the blade. It was just a disguised injection needle, one could say.

This time, she used a tested toxin.

Indeed, the blood-dissolving solution had made its comeback.

The woman (?) was paling at a noticeable speed, the flush of life receding starting from the exposed torso.

"Oh? How fascinating! A talented young poisons prodigy of Konoha. To have forced me to this point... it's a shame that you lack a kekkei-genkai," Orochimaru exclaimed, looking simultaneously entranced and intrigued by the sight of the blood running clear as it left the flesh injury.

The missing-nin vomited out another body, shedding the shell now rendered unusable.

Sakura cringed at the horrid view and tried her best to ignore the slimy squelching sound as the body forced its way through the throat of the discarded shell.

Sasuke ran through a series of single-handed seals, simultaneously moulding his chakra for two separate jutsu through the handy technique he had reinvented before the war. He did not have the spare concentration to shout the names of the jutsu he used. This was the best card he could show short of using chakra natures considered kekkei-genkai to others.

It was a classic hybrid of Fūton and Katon chakras, though this was usually done by two shinobi, Fūton: Hassuru and Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu. He favoured the combination of Fūton: Tatsumaki no Jutsu and Katon: Gōka Jigoku. While the lower-level one he used just made use of convection currents and air to fuel the power of the Uchiha standard fireball technique, the real deal used a landscape-changing Katon jutsu that required Kage-level chakra reserves and enabled Sasuke to fire off wind tornadoes that would whip up the flames in their whirling path.

Orochimaru, after being lightly torched due to underestimating the Uchiha clan heir, was forced to shed her body again to recover from the damage he had incurred.

She cackled manically, her gaze on Sasuke intensifying while the teen in question rubbed his arms as he felt goosebumps rise from the increased attention he was getting from the snake summoner. Sasuke could only wonder if this was how Itachi had felt when Orochimaru was still targeting him. It was only because Orochimaru could never defeat Itachi that she (then he) went on to target the supposed traitor's weaker little brother. Sasuke was more of a genius than expected, but it was not to the extent that he could no longer be controlled.

Or, at the very least, that was what Sasuke wanted her to think.

While Sasuke might have had to resort to dirty tactics to defeat Orochimaru while the latter was trying to take over the body of the former, he has improved in ability since then. It was a strange thought since it was an event of the future rather than the past, but there was no denying that war was a great catalyst for growth. Be it as a shinobi or as a person, Sasuke had grown through those struggles.

Right then, Naruto received feedback from his clone. The shadow clone had dispelled once it dispatched the snake, vanishing from the scene right as the snake poofed in a cloud of smoke. If an onlooker witnessed this unbelievably short scuffle that could hardly be called a fight between a rookie dead-last and a snake summons, it will probably cause them to doubt their eyes. It was bizarre indeed that both the assailant and the victor of this skirmish disappeared at the end of the fight.

Naruto (still suspended above the battleground) activated his Rinne Tenseigan to watch Orochimaru far below, awaiting the kunoichi's reaction to the loss of one of her summons. He gave it another minute or two, with no result. He inferred then that Orochimaru's connection to the serpents that she controlled was much weaker than he had anticipated. He wondered what Orochimaru could have done to cause this to be so. It was hard for a summoner to cut off the bond between man and creature while still retaining the ability to call them forth.

"That wouldn't do," Sasuke taunted, reciting Orochimaru's words from the previous timeline as he watched the Sannin slither along a branch with her body snaking around it bonelessly. "You shouldn't relax even for a moment. Prey should always do their best to escape... When they are faced with a predator, that is."

Orochimaru did not recognise the short speech as her own, though it was something she might also say to intimidate others in such a situation.

Using chakra strings, Naruto flung a kunai from the opposite direction of Sakura and Sasuke as he flashed there using Hiraishin. The blade was narrowly dodged by the snake summoner, leaving a trail of oozing blood along Orochimaru's shoulder. Several beats passed in silence.

The researcher realised, belatedly, that the throwing knife had been aimed at her heart. While the thought crossed her mind, she turned her head to see the attacker who had evaded her senses completely. She did not see anything at first which was, in itself, quite odd. Even if not a person, she expected to see signs of a trap that had just been triggered. With there being no such thing...

While pondering, Orochimaru's long-absent sense of danger started ringing and she quickly disentangled from the tree.

Allowing herself to free-fall, Orochimaru finally sighted the individual whose assault had just threatened her life.

"Damn it! I missed!" Naruto yelled up at his teammates, a bloody kunai grasped loosely in one hand.

Orochimaru stared up at Naruto as she fell, one hand flying up to touch the neat cut on her neck -- the gash already starting to ooze blood.

Smiling, she recovered her sense of balance in midair and landed on her feet.

"So you have defeated the giant snake, Naruto-kun," Orochimaru stated, brushing herself off as she sealed her wounds with a minor jutsu.

Naruto opened his eyes and frowned down at the missing-nin on the ground.

"Should I call you Shiore-san?" Naruto asked, almost sounding polite. "Anyway, I don't seem to know you."

"No, you didn't. You know more than you let on. You can call me that, if you'd like," Orochimaru replied calmly.

"What are you doing to my teammates?" Naruto questioned, his eyes glowing red.

Orochimaru laughed brazenly, "We were just getting along. I have the Earth scroll, after all."

Naruto grinned, his teeth sharpening as his pupils narrowed into slits and the whisker marks on his cheeks darkened.

"Then this is all in the name of friendly competition, dattebayo!" he declared while jumping down after the kunoichi.

With raw bijū chakra rolling off him, Naruto discarded the kunai and lengthened his nails into claws -- Matatabi style.

"If not for that... you would have made a most worthy vessel, Naruto-kun," Orochimaru sighed in pity, almost seeming wistful.

Sakura understood what Orochimaru had meant this time. Like the villages that banded against Uzushiogakure so long ago, the missing-nin coveted the Uzumaki clan's abilities and talents. She would have desired Naruto as well, if not for his status as a jinchūriki. And perhaps she did long to take Naruto's vessel as her own even during the previous timeline, despite the boy's dumb act.

Orochimaru blocked the attack and winced at the corrosion from the chakra as it came into contact with her through the kunai she wielded.

Orochimaru backed away, retreating to a safe distance, and smeared blood on the tattoo on her forearm, yelling, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

A giant snake appeared and charged at the blond jinchūriki.

Naruto leapt upwards, landing a dropkick that turned the snake into smoke.

"Snakes... Naruto! That person is Orochimaru of the Sannin!" Sakura cried out as Naruto clawed a hand towards the woman's heart.

"Fascinating," Orochimaru remarked. "After all these years, Naruto-kun's chakra has started to merge with that of the Kyūbi."

"And yet yours still hasn't fully integrated with that of your victims," Naruto whispered, just loud enough to be heard by the Snake Sannin.