Sasuke looked up upon hearing Naruto's voice, a contemplative look passing through his eyes. After barely a moment of contemplation, the raven gave a small, giddy smile and immediately skipped away from Orochimaru, like nothing had ever happened. Both his action and facial expression seemed wrong to the extreme. Simply unnerving.

But nobody seemed to really notice. At the sound of Naruto's voice, Sakura, who had been completely out of it for a while, slowly stirred. When she returned to her senses she looked up at the blond, eyes slowly regaining their luster.

"Naruto!"

Sasuke quickly, almost comically, schooled his giddy expression, and struck a typical 'I'm too cool for you' Uchiha pose, nose in the air. Although it seemed kinda characteristically like an Uchiha, it was suspiciously exaggerated...

"About time you showed up, dobe."

Sasuke spoke with a smirk, which soon dimmed as his eyes widened ever so slightly in realization. As if as an afterthought, Sasuke gave an awkward attempt at his usual go-to response for everything.

"...hn."

Very smooth cover-up, one must say. Very smooth.

But Naruto certainly didn't notice a thing.

"Yah, it's me. Sorry, I kinda forgot the password..."

Sakura, apparently feeling much better, snorted.

"Yeah no kidding, you idiot."

Naruto gave an embarrassed grin, but was jolted out of it when he heard Sasuke's voice. Sasuke was suddenly leaning against a tree, looking weak and fatigued, his face showing an aggrieved expression.

"Naruto, *cough*, you came just in time..."

Everybody just froze. Nobody even questioned how someone who was perfectly fine and welcoming Naruto back with a smirk had, in the span of a few seconds, been reduced to leaning heavily against a tree, looking weak and coughing blood like some terminally ill person. Sakura was worried to the extreme about her crush being hurt, Orochimaru was simply once again shocked far beyond speechlessness while Naruto seemed to feel confused. Something seemed wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it...

Inside of Sasuke's mind, Cei was just giving herself mental high-fives, praising herself endlessly on her faultless acting.

I totally deserve an Oscar!

Looking up at Naruto with teary eyes, using Sasuke's inborn beauty to the extreme, she donned the image of a weak, wronged and aggrieved white lotus.

Cei never even considered that she made Sasuke act a just a bit ooc. Like, just a bit.

Blinking Sasuke's thick dark lashes, she gave Naruto her (well Sasuke's) most pitiful look.

"Naruto, I'm afraid... we can't defeat her... *cough* she's... too... strong *cough*..."

His (her) eyes looking pained, Sasuke pulled their scroll out of his pouch, and held it out in front of him.

"I guess we'll just give her what she wants... here..."

Sasuke's hand holding the scroll slowly stretched into Orochimaru's direction, but Naruto instantly acted. His brain had been trying to figure something out, but Sasuke was being stupid, and that needed intervention immediately! So Naruto unhesitatingly threw all his considerations out of his mind and charged straight at Sasuke.

Charging straight for the scroll, Naruto grabbed it from Sasuke's hands and landed on a branch a way's behind him. Looking back, the blond's eyes simply generated fury.

"How dare you! Just like that you're giving up!? You're not he Sasuke I know!"

In response to Naruto's words, Sasuke's expression became exaggeratedly hurt. Naruto felt something wasn't quite right, but he was on a roll so...

"Sasuke, since when did you become a coward?!?!"

Naruto cept berating Sasuke, screaming at him. In response, Sasuke grabbed his own chest with his hand, looking pained as if a relative just died. Or his hamster.

Lifting his hand to his forehead, Sasuke have the dramatic motion of almost fainting.

"Ahh, Naruto! How your words wound me!"

Then Naruto stopped, and fixed Sasuke with a suspicious gaze.

Something is definitely really, REALLY wrong... but what?!

Once again, Sasuke didn't let him finish his line of thought. Looking wronged, the teenager removed his hand from his forehead and pointed at the grass ninja.

"Naruto, you have to be careful! We have to run! She's gonna kill us!"

At that, Naruto automatically scanned his teammates. Seeing the bruises on Sakura whose legs still hadn't recovered from the loss of strength due to fear and the pathetic teme who was looking as hurt and aggrieved as an innocent bunny, the fury in the blond's eyes spiked to extreme levels.

He turned his glaring eyes to face Orochimaru.

"You bastard, nobody hurts my friends!!!!"

With a roar, Naruto charged straight at the snake-sannin. But Orochimaru didn't even let him get close. Quickly recovering from the series of shocks his future prospective vessel had given him, the shinobi quickly lifted his sleeve and drew a line of blood through the tattooed summoning seal.

Instantly, violent winds similar to the one that had separated the teammates earlier whipped the air. Even though she was still sitting collapsed on the ground, the plain force of the wind blew Sakura away into some nearby bushes. Naruto was whipped straight into a tree trunk, the violent winds almost blasting him through it.

Only Sasuke stood completely still. Even the air around him had an almost creepy stillness about it, like it was frozen in time. His eyes were looking at Naruto with a certain expectation in them.

Just a little more...

When the winds receded, Orochimaru was standing on a giant snake, it's presence emitting the oppressive atmosphere of a predator. The sannin turned his snake, facing Naruto. Naruto groaned as he slowly got up from the tree trunk he had slammed into. He raised his eyes, looking at the snake duo.

The grass ninja stroked the snake, and his/her creepy voice sounded.

"Aah... what a tasty meal you'll make for him. But careful, he likes to play with his food."

Naruto's eyes widened but he couldn't react in time. The tip of the snake's tail had shot out and smashed into him, demolishing the branch he had been standing on. Completely numb, Naruto started falling.

Orochimaru let out a small chuckle.

"Enough playing, finish him off."

The giant snake opened its jaws revealing its long, sharp teeth, and positioned its head so Naruto's body would fall right into its mouth.

Sasuke smirked.

Suddenly, Naruto's eyes snapped open. They had turned a deep, frightening red, the pupils narrowed into slits. He growled as he faced the snake, and started raining punches on it, his power obviously superior.

Orochimaru was caught by surprise, staring at the unexpected development. Sakura had just managed to get out of the bushes, and she too was struck by awe. Only one person, remained calm.

Sasuke, who had just moments ago seemed half-dead and was "ready to give up their scroll out of fear", was watching from a tree branch with flaming eyes, his face the very epitome of indifference. But even so, the flames of joy in his onyx eyes as he watched Naruto, was unmistakable.

Orochimaru smirked, and threw a fire-jutsu at Naruto, sending him crashing through a barrage of trees. While the blond was crashing and burning, the snake-sannin turned to Sasuke.

"Well, he was very interesting... now, let's see how well you do Sasuke."

Immediately following his/her words, the giant snake charged straight at Sasuke.

Sasuke though, just continued to stand there. Staring the pedo in the eyes. A shiver went down Orochimaru's spine from the Uchiha's eyes displaying twisted amusement. He didn't understand why, but she felt genuinely afraid. Looking into Sasuke's eyes, it felt like he was looking into bottomless pits. Like hell lied beyond his eyes, the sinister feeling they emitted almost overwhelming Orochimaru himself.

It's completely different from before...

And this is not the aura that some genin could have, no matter what kind of traumatic childhood he might have had.

For a moment, he thought he saw a flash of burning purple in the Uchiha's onyx eyes, but before Orochimaru could think further, Naruto had jumped in front of him. Stabbing a kunai into his giant snake, Naruto pushed it back, ruining it's momentum and making it come to a stop right before Sasuke.

Panting slightly, Naruto looked up, meeting Sasuke's eyes. His mouth was open, probably to spout some insult or other, but he closed it when he saw Sasuke's eyes. For a brief moment, they just looked at each other, seemingly in a trance. Red fox eyes meeting purple-tinged onyx.

Sasuke's lips stretched into a genuinely joyful smile.

"Hello dad!"

Naruto couldn't help snorting, his red eyes narrowing in amusement.

"You know kit, using that kind of frozen face to smile and call out gently... is just wrong on a whole new level."

Sasuke let out a chuckle, the joy clearly visible in his eyes.

"Well, I wouldn't want to traumatize you dad... I get it. You just need to remember my gorgeous visage from time to time. Nothing like the image of a flawless goddess to take away one's nausea..."

Naruto just continued grinning, like a fox, while listening to his kit in the body of a DAMNED UCHIHA talking on and on about how great she is. He was pissed to the extreme, HOW DARE THAT UCHIHA HOST HIS PRECIOUS KIT?!?!?!

Well, at least I know who I'm killing the moment I get out of his container...

Kurama mused, his thoughts soothing just by imagining all the ways he could dismember and kill the damned Uchiha...

But a certain snake couldn't read the mood. Their moment was broken when the snake-woman's (man's) tongue wrapped around Naruto and yanked him into the air. The sudden movement made Naruto's consciousness push to the surface, and he let out a sound of annoyance. When Naruto became aware of what was happening he instantly started wailing and screaming, throwing insults at the grass ninja that seemingly held his life at her mercy.

"Darn it! Let me go! You stupid snake!"

Orochimaru ignored his thrashing around and brought him closer, looking at him with a slight smirk on his face. He made a hand sign, and leaned in closer to Naruto, his rough voice scathing at their ears.

"I see. When your anger is roused, some of the nine tailed fox's chakra is released..."

He grabbed his right wrist with his left hand, and small purple flames ignited on each of the fingers of his right hand, one by one.

"... what an interesting childhood you must have had."

The end of the snake-sannin's tongue (that was still wrapped around Naruto) lifted his shirt, exposing his stomach. And the seal on it. The woman's (man's) eyes flashed with a sick interest as she/he observed the seal.

"The spell that seals him within you has appeared on your skin... "

An insane smirk spread on the grass shinobi's face as she (he) brought her flaming fingers to Naruto's seal.

"FIVE PRONGED SEAL!"

Right as she said it, she struck her hand with the purple flames to Naruto's stomach, attaching each finger to a specific point in his seal, reforming it. Naruto's screams echoed through the forest.

"NARUTO!"

Sakura's worried screams followed right after his.

Slowly, Naruto's red irises turned back to blue and his slitted pupils expanded. Not being able to hold on, he fainted. The snake woman (man) held on to him for a while, observing him, looking as though she/he was thinking about something. She/he reached her hand into Naruto's pouch, pulling out the scroll he had taken from Sasuke earlier, and with one last look, her tongue moved as she flung Naruto somewhere behind her.

"Hang on!"

Sakura exclaimed before throwing a kunai at Naruto, pinning him to a tree by his clothing, effectively saving him from the fall.

Sasuke remained silent. Still standing on his branch, watching the whole scenario, his eyes growing colder with every second. It wasn't very pronounced, but the area where he was standing seemed darker than the rest of the already rather dark surroundings. Shadows crawled around him, from time to time reaching out from the ground, like arms of the damned reaching for the light. His eyes were shining a sinister purple, and they were practically screaming murder.

Cold, ruthless and unforgiving.

Those, were the eyes of a monster.