Just barely sneaking in to get it out on a monthly schedule, here comes
Chapter 10.

And it's very sneaky indeed!

 Like always, you have my sincerest hopes that it does not
suck terribly.

[Sakura] "You know, like Ino-buta."
[Ino] "WATCH IT!"

        It wasn't a particularly good trait for a Leaf ninja, but unless
she was paying close attention, forests all looked the same to Haruno
Sakura.

Even Forests...OF DEATH?

        Sakura grimaced.  While Anko had said this training would
increase her chakra reserves, Sakura wasn't certain whether this had
been the best use of her time.  Summoning snakes might be useful in
general, but she didn't have to chakra to summon one big enough to be of
much use in a direct fight.  Though the related technique Anko had shown
her had some potential.  The pink-haired genin rubbed at the snake
tattoo on her arm through the jacket, grimacing.  The mechanics of that
technique were just creepy.

Well, after all, it's an Orochimaru thing, so...

        Sakura jumped, not bothering to duplicate her teacher's feat,
then jumped again to catch up with Anko.  "Home," the genin muttered.
It wasn't like she really had a home to go back to, did she.  The only
thing that awaited her was Naruto's empty apartment  Even Ino was might
still be on a mission.

"was might still be"?

        "Sounds like you need some motivation," Anko said lightly.
"Tell you what.  If I hear that you haven't spoken with your mother
within two days of us getting home, I'll start sneaking snakes into your
bed until you do."  Anko smiled menacingly.  "The third exam won't have
me so busy that I won't have time to do that."
        Sakura paled.  "You wouldn't."

She would. She's eeeeeevil.

        Her only male student struggled against the ropes that bound his
arms behind him.  "It wasn't fair," Aoki Saburo protested.  "Midori
caught my eyes and kept me paralyzed while Ren-chan snuck up behind me
and got my arms."

Since when was--

        Shimano Ren rolled her eyes, running one hand through her short,
dark hair.  "Since when was being fair part of being a ninja?"

Damn, she beat me to it.

        "It's your funeral," Midori told her simply.  "I intend to fight
that silver-eyed freak and rip out his eyes, and a weakling like you is
only going to suffer if you try to get in my way."

Ouch!

        Temari ignored her, slowly pulling out a small black book as she
gazed at Nagare's unmoving visage.  "So this is the one you caught,
huh?" she asked.  Without waiting for an answer, she flipped the book
open to a marked page and compared the picture and data there to the
prisoner.  "Nagare of the Stony Waste," she said, grinning evilly as she
shut her bingo book.  "The interrogation squads back home will be...
pleased to see you."

Oh dear.

        "Neji-kun has been closing his tenketsu so that he can't
escape," Gai stated.  "You may wish to drug him before the effects wear
off.  He's mastered a variation on your brother's techniques, which
makes him a little troublesome to keep under control in this
environment.
        "My brother's techniques?" Temari said, glancing at Nagare.
"Maybe I'll give you to him instead of the interrogation squads.  Gaara
hardly kills anyone anymore, and he could probably use the
entertainment."  For the first time, fear showed on the missing ninja's
face.

Oh dear dear dear. XD

        Lee swallowed slightly.  "Is he here?" he asked, keeping his
voice as flat as he could.

SMOOOOTH, Lee. Sure you don't want to just go ahead and piss your tights?

        Temari shook her head.  "The council decided that the new
gentler and kinder Gaara of the Desert only needed one keeper," she
said, a hint of bitterness in her voice.  "He and Kankuro are off
chasing sightings of strange ships on the southern coast.

Ah yes, the Hypocrites of Peace.

*snip* Ah, Temari. Ever the ambassador of tact.

        It wasn't even these bare facts that were making her feel
poorly.  What caused her discomfort was that, while a part of her
recognized how terrible the deeds she had performed were and shivered in
sympathy for at least the poor princess, another part of her felt
differently.  This cold, clinical portion of her mind merely observed
that she had only been following orders and that the orders were even
nothing to bat an eye at.

Well duh, she's a NINJA. What the hell did she think ninjas DO?

        Yamakita Akira paced nervously in front of one of the room's two
doors, occasionally muttering something under his breath.  His male
teammate, Gonkuro, simply stared at the intricate mural of the legendary
Earth Dragon that decorated one of the other walls, but even with his
eyes closed Hojo could feel his nervousness.  The third member of the
team, Mako, was seated beside Hojo, but her eyes darted between her
teammates and her hands played nervously with the zipper of her open
jacket.

Except for the time she missed, and played with the zipper of her open pants
instead, but that led to something best left for a sidestory.

        The renegade Sannin let one hand rest on the boy's head and let
a smile grace his stolen face when the younger ninja stiffened but did
not protest.  "He is my... apprentice,"

Orochimaru's word for "sex toy"...

Orochimaru stated.  "His ears are my ears."

And he means that literally!

        The Mist ninja slowly pulled out a scroll, then jumped back to
the floor.  "My apologies," she said.  "I should have warned your...
guard."

Euphemism for "cock-cozy"...

        "So you plan to betray them?" Sasuke asked, a hint of something
in his voice.

DUH, bitch-boy! He's OROCHIMARU! He betrays everything in his path!
*eyeroll*

        This was because the only higher structure was actually almost
on the peak of the mountain and was frequently shrouded by clouds.  It
was the Temple of the Thunder Dragon, considered one of the holiest
places in the world by the followers of what was called in most of the
world the "old religion" but in the Lightning Country was called the
"true faith."  It was there that a new Raikage could be appointed, there
that Cloud ninja swore their oaths upon receiving their forehead
protectors, and there that the fallen heroes of the Cloud Village had
their memorials built.

They also handled weddings, christenings, and bar mitzvahs.

        Only there, in all of Lightning Country, did the Raikage not
rule unchallenged.  On those grounds, one woman - the High Priestess of
the Thunder Dragon - was considered his equal and by some his superior.

But only because of the whip.

        "You're just complimenting me so that I won't electrocute you
for copping a feel, you filthy pervert,"

Not only is she a Priestess, she's also a Pikachu!

        Jiraiya laughed lightly.  "You always see through me."

Well, at least while shocking him.

        It seemed as though Naruto had had enough, as he stormed past
the guards.  "Ero-sennin!  Stop being perverted and get to what we came
here for."
        "Patience, boy," Jiraiya said automatically.
        "Ero-sennin?" Kaida asked, a smirk on her face.

Oh, I can tell she LOVES this.

        "You have a question?" Kaida asked.  The road turned, becoming a
large staircase but not narrowing in the slightest.
        "What's a thunder dragon?" Naruto replied, puzzlement in his
voice.

Well gee, Naruto, it's called a thunder dragon, so maybe it's, I dunno, a
DRAGON? That like, spits thunder an' shit? >.>

        "I wonder why the directions were so bad," Arata mused aloud.

...no comment.

        He studied the swollen moon that hung in the unusually cloudless
sky, noting that it was finally two hours past midnight.  It was bad
weather for sneaking about, but one didn't become an elite jounin by
letting little things like that bother you.  Taking one last careful
look at the guards standing on the border of the temple grounds, Zeshin
finished smoking his Fire Country cigarette - he wasn't the sort to let
patriotism get in the way of enjoying the best tobacco in the world -

So THAT'S what kind of "Leaf" Konoha is hidden in! XD

        Outside her cell, one of the two ANBU guards clapped twice.
"Good morning, Tayuya-chan!" he said, his voice sickly sweet.  "It's a
beautiful day today!"  He laughed.  "Not that you'd know that, of
course."

Gotta love a cheerful jailor.

        The other guard spoke harshly.  "Out of bed and up against the
far wall," he stated, as though Tayuya had not gone through this
procedure countless times before.  She hated herself as she complied
without hesitation.  The second guard nodded in satisfaction, gesturing
at his companion.

Rape time!

        The first guard stepped forward, and even through his wolf-like
mask Tayuya could sense him grinning as he studied the little of
Tayuya's curves that could be made out through the filthy gray prison
uniform she wore, as usual.  "Why don't you just rape me and get it over
with, you fucker?"

Yes, please do! h.h

        "Maybe we need to do some more basic research," the serpent
woman said, suddenly striding over to Tayuya.  "I wonder what would
happen if you had two cursed seals."  Tayuya's eyes widened.

BAD IDEA, ANKO! BAD IDEA!!

        "The conflict would probably just kill her," Shizune said
simply.
        "Well, yes," Anko said, "but the way she died might tell us
something.  It's not like we don't have a spare."

Well isn't that convenient.

        The Hokage's assistant, following the younger woman into the
room, flushed slightly.  "I'm sorry, Hokage-sama," she stated.  "We were
involved in a sealing that turned out a bit messy, and the clean-up took
longer than we expected."

*WINCE*

        "Now, for the important part."
        "Hokage-sama?" Homura questioned softly.
        Tsunade grinned.  "Bets."

*cackle* Yes, indeed!

        "So what did you train her in, then?" Tsunade asked.  "I would
like to know so I can better plan her first lessons as my apprentice."
        For the barest instant, a frown flickered across Anko's face, as
though some new, troubling thought had just occurred to her.  Then, she
smiled again.  "That is a secret," she declared.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!

        "I... um... need to go check on some things for the exam," Anko
said.  "You know, stuff.  Details.  All right?"  Without waiting to be
dismissed, she vanished in a puff of smoke.
        "Shizune," Tsunade said, "why do we put up with her again?"

Because she's fun?

        Springing into motion, Ichizo had his sword drawn and slashing
at the arm of Rui's captor in less than a second.  His target reacted
just as quickly, dropping the kunoichi and vanishing without even a blur
of motion or cloud of smoke.  He reappeared next to his companion, and
Ichizo thought that he caught a hint of crimson in his eyes, mostly
hidden by the bamboo hat he wore.

OSHI--

        "All right," Kisame said agreeably.  Then he casually
defenestrated Ichizo with the flat of his blade.

Defenestration! Wai!

        Rui flung herself forward, out the shattered window.  Perhaps
her captor was simply caught off guard, but Rui was half-certain that he
let her go.  When she saw what waited or her below, she knew that was
indeed the case.  The street was empty, except for her brother's still
form and his victorious foe.  Even on this cloudy night, there was
enough light to see the crimson stain of Ichizo's blood spread over the
light covering a freshly fallen snow.

;_;

        "I like it when people beg," Kisame commented, stepping forward
and raising his sword high above his head, "but Itachi-san wants this
done quickly."  Aimed at Rui's neck, his sword fell like an avalanche.
        Halfway through, it was stopped by the armored arm of a toad as
large as a man.  Rui stumbled away, discarding the now-bloody scroll
Jiraiya had given her.  She managed to crawl over to Ichizo, grabbing
onto his still form.  The pair of Snow ninja melted into the earth, and
then the toad vanished in a burst of smoke.

*whew*

        "Again," Kisame snarled, staring at where the toad had stood.
"I hate toads."

And toads hate you!

We forward looking up to next chapter being the yes!

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