Preliminaries

Naruto and one clone took on the tall boy, while the other four clones paired off to fight the remaining two.

The Rock Armor slowed the tall boy down, but its defenses were nearly impenetrable. Even attacking with all his strength, Naruto only left a few cracks in the armor. Strikes to vital spots left his opponent completely unharmed.

"Damn it, I can't get through! I have to find a way to break that armor... I've got it!"

Naruto leaped back, leaving his clone to keep the boy occupied, and created another Shadow Clone. He threw a kunai while the clone formed hand seals. "Wind Release: Gale Palm!"

A blast of compressed air struck the kunai, multiplying its speed and power several times over.

The tall boy had no time to react. The kunai pierced the Rock Armor over his heart, killing him instantly.

"Brother!" the short boy screamed. The girl had just defeated the clones in front of her and froze in shock.

"One down. Two left." Naruto's voice was ice-cold as he and the clone beside him began forming a Rasengan. The remaining Iwagakure ninja failed to notice the threat behind them.

The short boy realized how bad things had become. Seeing the jutsu in Naruto's hand, he broke into a cold sweat. Everyone in the Land of Earth feared that technique. Naruto advanced slowly, then picked up speed.

"Run! I'll hold him off!" the boy shouted to the girl as he charged forward to intercept Naruto. But she was too terrified to move and could only watch as Naruto drove the Rasengan through the boy's chest. Just as she was about to scream, a sharp pain tore through her back. One of Naruto's clones had plunged a kunai into her heart.

He looks like he's suffering so much. We're the ones who forced him to fight... That was the girl's last thought as she looked into Naruto's eyes and slowly collapsed.

"Please, let them have an Earth Release scroll. I don't want to fight anyone else." Naruto searched the bodies as he prayed, finally finding what he needed. He used Sealing Jutsu to store the Earth Release scroll and the Heaven Scroll he had obtained earlier. "Thank goodness. No more fighting. I can head straight for the Tower."

Naruto immediately ran toward the Tower.

Ten minutes later, the Tower finally came into view, and Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. Suddenly, he sensed an enormous surge of chakra, far beyond a Genin's level and even comparable to his own. It lacked the Nine-Tails' sinister presence, too.

"That isn't a Genin's chakra. There's about as much as mine, but it doesn't feel evil. Could someone be going after the rookie teams? No, I have to check. I've still got four days, anyway."

Naruto changed course and headed toward the source of the disturbance.

As he drew closer, he sensed two chakra signatures far beyond a Genin's level. He immediately suppressed his own presence and crept forward. Thanks to his genjutsu training, he had learned to suppress his chakra.

Hidden in the shadows, Naruto could make out their conversation. One voice belonged to Anko, and it was filled with fear and fury.

"Well, Anko-chan, you've been doing nicely. The last time I saw you, I'd just given you your Cursed Seal. How time flies," another voice said sinisterly.

"Orochimaru, what are you doing here?" Anko demanded through gritted teeth, forcing down her fear.

"I only came to see this year's rookies. They're so impressive that I couldn't resist giving one of them a little gift," Orochimaru said flippantly.

"You... what did you do to him?" Anko's voice trembled.

"I gave Sasuke-kun a Cursed Seal. He'll become a far better student than you, provided he survives. His will to live and his hatred are both strong. I'm sure he'll be fine." Orochimaru sneered at Anko's terrified expression. "Don't worry, Anko-chan. Perhaps I'll come looking for you again someday."

"Die! Shadow Snake Hands!" Anko roared, releasing several venomous snakes.

"Anko-chan, have you forgotten who taught you that technique? This is how you should use it." As Orochimaru spoke, venomous snakes shot from his palm toward the paralyzed Anko.

Naruto acted on instinct, using Gale Palm to knock the snakes off course.

"Oh? Aren't you that brat from Konoha? Stay out of this. I'm merely catching up with an old student." Orochimaru unleashed a powerful wave of killing intent.

Seeing Anko frozen in terror, Naruto knew he had to act or she would die. With no other choice, he could only draw on the Nine-Tails' Demon Fox Cloak.

As the Nine-Tails' chakra surged out, Orochimaru was stunned. This boy is the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki! How troublesome. If I kill him, Akatsuki will come after me. I'll test his strength first.

"Get away from her!" Naruto's voice turned hoarse and sinister. "Get lost, now!"

Naruto rushed at Orochimaru with astonishing speed and punched him in the jaw, sending him flying.

Naruto fell from the tree, but a red hand extended from the Demon Fox Cloak and pulled him onto level ground. The tree trunk the hand touched was instantly scorched black.

"Crazy snake lady, are you all right? Are you hurt?" Despite being shrouded in Nine-Tails Chakra, Naruto's voice was still full of concern.

"I... I'm fine," Anko stammered. Her fear had vanished, replaced by astonishment at the boy's power.

He's so young, yet he can control the Nine-Tails' power to this extent. He could be useful against Akatsuki. But if he becomes a threat... never mind, that can wait. First, I need to place the Five Elements Seal on him, then leave before the Hokage arrives.

Orochimaru gathered the seal at his fingertips and charged at Naruto.

Overwhelmed by bloodlust, Naruto's awareness began to blur, and he failed to notice Orochimaru's movements. Fortunately, Anko reacted in time.

Just as Orochimaru was about to touch Naruto, Anko threw a kunai through his palm. "Can't let myself owe you one, brat."

Realizing he could no longer maintain the Demon Fox Cloak, Naruto dispersed the chakra. "Thanks, snake lady. Now let's take care of this snake together. I've still got something up my sleeve."

He created a large number of Shadow Clones and sent them charging at the wounded Orochimaru. Even injured, Orochimaru easily destroyed every clone.

Anko summoned a small snake, coated her kunai in venom, and threw it. Orochimaru sneered at the sight. "Heh, Anko-chan, do you think snake venom works on me? I'm immune to every kind. Surely you haven't forgotten?"

"Damn it, I'm out of tricks. What about you?" Naruto threw another kunai.

"I have a few techniques left, but I don't know if they'll work. He is one of the legendary Sannin, after all," Anko replied.

"We have to try anyway. The old man must have sensed the Nine-Tails' chakra by now. He's probably already sent someone. We just have to hold on a little longer." Naruto threw another kunai as he spoke, but Orochimaru blocked it.

Orochimaru lost patience and quickly formed hand seals. "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

He drew a deep breath and expelled a powerful blast of air. Branches snapped and small trees were uprooted as the wind swept toward the two of them.

They had no time to dodge and could only anchor themselves to the ground with chakra, but it was nowhere near enough to withstand the gale. Naruto quickly scrambled up and saw that Anko had taken a harder fall. Her arm looked broken, and she could barely stand. Just as he moved to help her, Orochimaru appeared behind him and kicked him into a tree, knocking the breath from his lungs. Then Orochimaru walked leisurely toward Anko.

Standing over the fallen Anko, Orochimaru summoned venomous snakes to bind her and raised a kunai to finish her off. "Heh, look at you now. Sasuke-kun will be a far better student than you..."

Before he could finish, a kunai flew toward him at an impossible speed. Orochimaru turned to see Naruto and a clone standing there, panting.

The legendary Sannin caught the kunai with ease and threw it back at Naruto. Naruto had no time to dodge, and the kunai struck his legs. It wasn't fatal, but it left him unable to move. Orochimaru was savoring his triumph when he realized he had struck a Shadow Clone. A powerful surge of chakra came from above his head.

He looked up, but it was already too late to dodge. A Rasengan slammed into his face, sending him flying backward. He fell to the ground and lay motionless.

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief and moved to help Anko, only to see terror written across her face. He spun around. A pair of hands emerged from Orochimaru's mouth, and, like a snake shedding its skin, Orochimaru stood up completely unharmed.

"Heh, this has been an entertaining fight. You've made me look forward to seeing how you grow, Naruto-kun. Unfortunately, I can't stay. Things are getting rather crowded here."

As soon as he finished speaking, Orochimaru sank into the ground and vanished without a trace.

Naruto remained on guard, but when he saw four figures appear in the trees, he immediately understood why Orochimaru had fled.

The Third Hokage arrived in the clearing. Seeing Naruto standing protectively in front of the unconscious Anko, he relaxed.

"Naruto, what happened here? I sensed a great deal of Nine-Tails Chakra," Hiruzen Sarutobi asked urgently.

"Old man, forty minutes ago, I sensed some powerful chakra in the forest. It wasn't a Genin's, and it wasn't the Nine-Tails', so I came to check. I found Anko facing Orochimaru, one of the Sannin."

The Third went pale at Orochimaru's name. Naruto continued, "Anko was too scared to move. I was no match for Orochimaru, and there wasn't time to get help, so I had to use the Nine-Tails' chakra. I activated the One-Tail Cloak and knocked him away. But right now, I can only keep it up for two minutes at most."

Naruto let out an exhausted sigh.

"After that, I dispelled the cloak and helped Anko hold him off until you arrived." When Naruto finished speaking, he swayed, barely able to stay on his feet.

"I see. Have you collected both scrolls?" the Hokage asked.

"Yeah. I got them from some Iwagakure ninja. They really hated me because I look like the Fourth Hokage." Naruto looked dejected.

The Third's heart tightened. The Anbu also realized that Naruto looked exactly like Minato Namikaze.

"What happened to those Iwagakure ninja?" the Hokage asked.

Naruto lowered his head, overcome with guilt. "I killed them. I gave them a chance, but they wouldn't stop. They said killing me was their revenge."

The elderly Hokage silently sighed in relief. Though he hated to see the boy's hands stained with blood, the Iwagakure ninja's deaths greatly reduced the risk of Naruto's identity being exposed.

"Go back to the Tower and rest. I'll take Anko to the hospital." With that, the Third and the Anbu vanished using the Body Flicker Technique.

Less than thirty minutes later, Naruto reached the Tower. He opened the scrolls, and when the smoke cleared, Iruka stood before him, looking at him with pride.

"Well done, Naruto. You're the second to arrive. The Sunagakure team got here a little before you. You look terrible. What happened?" Iruka asked curiously.

"It's a long story, Iruka-sensei. Let's talk inside," Naruto said, and the two entered the Tower. All he wanted now was a good night's sleep before the next exam.

Life had been fairly peaceful since Naruto returned from the Tower in the Forest of Death. The day Anko left the hospital, he accompanied her to give the Hokage a full report. The only tense moment afterward came on the third day of the exam, when he sensed a powerful surge of chakra from the forest.

The other teams arrived one after another. Naruto was relieved to see Team 10 and Team Guy return largely unharmed.

The days passed, and Naruto spent them at ease until the day before the finals, when he was told to report to the first-floor hall for the second exam's closing ceremony.

Entering the hall, Naruto discovered that every team from his graduating class had passed. Team 8 and Team 7 had arrived earlier that day, and neither looked tired. Only then did he notice the other people in the hall.

The teams' Jonin instructors sat in the viewing stands, apparently all belonging to teams that had passed. The Hokage sat at the front with Jiraiya standing beside him. Anko and another sickly-looking Jonin stood before the Genin, waiting for the Hokage to speak.

"Congratulations on passing the Forest of Death's trial. Before we continue, let me explain the rules of the third exam," the elderly Hokage began.

"In the past, the Chunin Ninja Exams were life-and-death contests between promising young ninja from different nations. They were often used to settle disputes between villages, and that tradition continues today. The finals will be an elimination tournament, attended by potential clients and political dignitaries from various nations," Hiruzen Sarutobi continued.

"Lord Hokage, please allow me to take over from here." The sickly Jonin stepped forward.

"I'm Gekko Hayate, and I'll be the examiner for the preliminaries."

His words immediately drew a wave of complaints from the candidates.

"What preliminaries? We just got out of the Forest of Death!" Kiba shouted.

"There are currently too many participants. The preliminaries are intended to eliminate those who lack sufficient strength or only made it this far by relying on their teammates. Teamwork is important, of course, but becoming a Chunin and leading a team on missions requires individual strength." Gekko Hayate broke into a cough as he finished.

"Now, does anyone wish to withdraw?" the examiner asked again, before lapsing into another violent coughing fit.

Kabuto and Sai both chose to withdraw.

"Sai, what's wrong? You can't be that badly hurt, can you?" Sakura asked loudly.

"I'm too tired, Sakura. Five days in the forest drained my energy, and I have very little chakra left. Competing now wouldn't be wise. We failed to arrive in time. I'll try harder in the next exam," Sai replied expressionlessly.

"Does anyone else wish to withdraw?" Gekko Hayate waited a moment. "All right. The matchups will be displayed on the screen. Everyone else, please move to the viewing stands. First match: Sasuke Uchiha versus Akado Yoroi!"

The remaining candidates headed to the viewing stands, leaving only Sasuke and an older Konoha Genin on the floor, with Gekko Hayate standing between them. Anko went over to the Hokage, while Jiraiya headed for the stands to speak with his student and the other Jonin.