The other examinees began arriving at their designated gates, teams clustering in nervous anticipation around the massive fence that surrounded Training Ground 44.
Anko had not moved from her position.
Naruto remained settled between her legs, her arms wrapped around him, her chin resting on his head. The other proctors—chuunin assigned to distribute scrolls and manage gate assignments—shot bewildered glances at their superior but said nothing.
No one wanted to question Mitarashi Anko when she had that look in her eyes.
"You need to let him go," Sakura said gently, approaching the pair. "The exam is starting. His team needs to be at Gate 12."
"I know." Anko's arms tightened. "I just... five days. He'll be in there for five days. Anything could happen."
"Naruto-kun can handle anything," Satsuki said, though her own expression betrayed similar reluctance to separate. "He defeated Zabuza. He's stronger than most jonin. He'll be fine."
"That's not the point." Anko's voice cracked slightly. "The point is he'll be alone. In danger. And I won't be there to—"
"He won't be alone," Sakura interrupted. "Satsuki and I will be with him. We'll protect him."
"And we'll be nearby," Ino added. "Different gates, but we'll find each other inside."
"We always do," Tenten agreed.
Hinata's Byakugan was already active, scanning the forest's perimeter. "W-We'll watch over him. All of us."
Temari nodded, her fan held ready. "Nothing will touch him that we don't allow."
Anko looked at the six girls—their transformed figures, their devoted expressions, their absolute certainty. Whatever strange phenomenon had claimed them, it had created something formidable.
"Fine." The word seemed to cause her physical pain. "But I'm holding all of you responsible. If anything happens to him—anything—I will make your lives very unpleasant."
"Understood," all six said simultaneously.
Anko slowly, reluctantly, released her hold on Naruto. He stood without ceremony, brushing off his clothes with mechanical precision.
"The examination awaits," he said flatly. "Excessive emotional displays are counterproductive."
"I know, I know." Anko rose as well, her massive figure somehow managing to look both intimidating and vulnerable. "Just... be careful. Please."
"Caution is always advisable."
It wasn't the reassurance she wanted. But it was all he could offer.
Team Seven made their way to Gate 12, collected their Heaven scroll from the bewildered chuunin proctor, and waited for the signal.
At precisely noon, the gates opened.
The Forest of Death swallowed them whole.
What none of them noticed was the shadow that slipped through the canopy behind them.
Anko had lasted approximately thirty seconds after the gates opened before following. Her official excuse, if anyone asked, would be "proctor duties" and "monitoring for rule violations."
The real reason was simpler.
She couldn't stay away.
The maternal instincts that had consumed her demanded constant proximity. Every moment she couldn't see Naruto was a moment of almost physical pain—an ache in her chest that only his presence could soothe.
So she followed. Silent, invisible, using every stealth technique she had learned in ANBU to remain undetected.
She watched as Team Seven moved through the forest with practiced efficiency. Naruto took point, his empty eyes scanning their surroundings with mechanical precision. Sakura covered the rear, her medical training making her hyperaware of potential injuries. Satsuki's Sharingan spun constantly, catching details the others might miss.
They encountered their first enemy team within the hour.
A group from Amegakure—three genin with rebreathers and water-based techniques. They had been setting an ambush, clearly expecting easy prey.
They were wrong.
Naruto moved before they could complete their trap. One moment he was walking through the clearing. The next he was behind the enemy team leader, hand pressed against the genin's spine.
"Your scroll. Now."
The Ame genin's teammates tried to react—hands forming seals, mouths opening for jutsu. Sakura intercepted one with a chakra-enhanced punch that sent him crashing through three trees. Satsuki's fireball consumed the other's water technique and continued onward, forcing a desperate substitution.
It was over in seconds.
"E-Earth scroll," the team leader stammered, producing the item with shaking hands. "Take it. Just let us go."
Naruto examined the scroll briefly. "We require Heaven. This is useless to us."
"Then—then why—"
"Eliminating competition reduces variables." Naruto's voice carried no malice, no satisfaction. Just cold logic. "Your team is no longer a factor. Proceed to the tower or leave the forest. Either option is acceptable."
He released the genin, who immediately fled with his battered teammates.
Anko watched from the canopy above, her heart racing for reasons that had nothing to do with the brief combat.
He's so strong, she thought, something warm blooming in her chest. So capable. So—
Her train of thought derailed completely when Naruto paused in the next clearing and removed his shirt.
"The humidity is affecting my mobility," Naruto explained, folding the garment and sealing it into storage. "Reduced clothing will improve combat efficiency."
Sakura and Satsuki both stared at his exposed torso with expressions that mixed appreciation with possessive hunger.
Naruto's body was... refined. Years of brutal training had carved lean muscle across his frame—not bulky, but defined in ways that spoke to functional strength rather than aesthetic pursuit. Scars marked his skin here and there, remnants of the village's abuse that even his healing factor hadn't fully erased.
But it was the seal on his stomach that drew the most attention—the spiral pattern that contained the Nine-Tailed Fox, visible now in the afternoon light.
"Naruto-kun," Sakura breathed. "You should... you should warn us before doing that."
"Warn you of what?"
"Of—" She gestured vaguely at his exposed form. "That. All of that."
"My physical appearance is unchanged from previous observations. You have seen me without clothing during training exercises."
"That's different. That was training. This is..." She trailed off, apparently unable to articulate the distinction.
Above them, hidden in the canopy, Anko was experiencing a similar difficulty.
The maternal instincts that had dominated her transformed psyche were still present—still urging her to protect, nurture, care for the boy below. But something else had joined them now. Something that felt distinctly less maternal.
He's twelve, she reminded herself firmly. He's a child. You're supposed to want to take care of him, not—
But the thought wouldn't complete itself. Her eyes kept tracing the lines of his muscles, the definition of his abs, the way his pants hung low on his hips—
Stop it. Stop it right now. You're being creepy.
The problem was that the feeling wouldn't stop. It merged with her protective urges in confusing ways, creating an emotional cocktail she had no framework for processing.
She wanted to hold him. Feed him. Protect him.
But also... other things. Things that made her face flush and her heart race.
What is happening to me?
Below, Naruto had resumed walking, apparently oblivious to the effect his shirtless state was having on the women around him—both visible and hidden.
Sakura and Satsuki flanked him with expressions that suggested intense internal struggle.
Anko followed at a distance, equally conflicted.
The first two days passed without significant incident.
Team Seven moved through the Forest of Death with methodical efficiency, covering ground at a pace that would have exhausted most genin teams. They encountered three more enemy groups—one from Kusagakure, two from minor villages—and dispatched them with minimal effort.
None had the scroll they needed.
The forest's natural predators presented no challenge whatsoever.
This was perhaps the most notable observation from their journey. The giant centipedes, massive leeches, and predatory beasts that made Training Ground 44 so deadly seemed to actively avoid Team Seven's path.
Satsuki noticed it first.
"That tiger-bear thing just ran away from us," she observed, watching a massive creature retreat into the undergrowth. "It saw us coming and fled."
"The fauna appears to recognize a superior predator," Naruto said flatly. "Self-preservation instincts override territorial aggression."
"They're scared of you," Sakura translated. "The animals can sense what you are, and they're terrified."
"That assessment appears accurate."
It made their journey significantly easier. Where other teams had to fight through waves of dangerous wildlife, Team Seven walked through the forest as if strolling through a park. The monsters parted before them like water around a stone.
Anko, still following from the shadows, watched with a mixture of maternal pride and that other feeling she was trying very hard not to name.
My boy is so strong that even the monsters fear him.
She realized what she'd thought and mentally corrected herself.
Not my boy. He's not mine. I just... I want to take care of him. That's all.
But the correction rang hollow even in her own mind.
Day three brought everything crashing down.
Team Seven had stopped to rest in a defensible position—a hollow formed by massive tree roots that provided natural barriers on three sides. Sakura was preparing a small meal while Satsuki kept watch. Naruto sat motionless, eyes closed, apparently meditating.
The wind shifted.
Naruto's eyes opened instantly.
"Something's coming."
Sakura and Satsuki were on their feet immediately, weapons drawn, Sharingan spinning.
The forest had gone silent. The constant background noise of insects and distant animals had simply... stopped. Even the air felt different—heavier, charged with something that made the hair stand on end.
"What is it?" Sakura whispered.
"Unknown. Powerful. Malevolent." Naruto's voice remained flat, but his body had shifted into combat readiness. "Likely the threat Kabuto mentioned. Orochimaru or one of his agents."
The attack came from everywhere at once.
Wind tore through the clearing—not natural wind, but a jutsu-enhanced gale that would have scattered a normal team like leaves. Sakura braced herself with chakra-enhanced footing. Satsuki ducked behind a root. Naruto simply stood, letting the wind wash over him without effect.
"Kukuku... impressive."
The voice seemed to come from the trees themselves—slithering, serpentine, carrying amusement that made Anko's blood run cold from her hiding spot.
Orochimaru.
Her former master. The man who had used her, marked her, discarded her. The snake who had haunted her nightmares for over a decade.
He was here. And he was after Naruto.
Every protective instinct in Anko's transformed psyche screamed at her to intervene. To throw herself between her... between Naruto and the monster who had ruined her life.
But something held her back.
He needs to handle this himself, some part of her realized. If I interfere now, I rob him of the chance to prove himself. To grow.
It was the hardest thing she had ever done—remaining hidden while the boy she needed to protect faced one of the most dangerous criminals in the world.
But she did it.
Barely.
The snake came from below.
The ground exploded as a massive serpent—easily fifty meters long, its scales the color of dried blood—erupted from the earth directly beneath Naruto's position. Its jaws gaped wide, revealing fangs the size of swords, and it swallowed him whole before anyone could react.
"NARUTO-KUN!" Sakura's scream tore through the forest.
Satsuki was already moving, Sharingan blazing, hands forming seals for the most powerful fire technique she knew.
In the trees, Anko nearly broke cover entirely. Her hands shook. Her heart pounded. The maternal/romantic hybrid emotion that had consumed her turned to pure, overwhelming terror.
He's been eaten. My boy has been eaten. I have to—
The snake exploded.
Not from external force—from within. A sphere of grinding chakra and screaming lightning tore through the creature's body like paper, expanding outward until the serpent simply ceased to exist.
Naruto stood in the center of the destruction, covered in viscera, completely unharmed.
His expression hadn't changed.
His eyes scanned the forest with cold calculation, identifying the source of the attack, calculating trajectories and probable locations.
A Rasendori already spun in his right hand—the hybrid technique he had created, combining his father's Rasengan with Kakashi's Chidori into something far more devastating than either.
"Orochimaru."
The name was not a question.
"I know you're there. Your chakra signature matches the traces I detected on Kabuto. You orchestrated this encounter specifically to evaluate me."
Silence from the forest.
Then—laughter. That same slithering amusement, now carrying notes of genuine delight.
"Remarkable. Truly remarkable." A figure emerged from the shadows—pale skin, snake-like eyes, a tongue that extended far beyond human norms. "You destroyed my summon from the inside in less than three seconds. You identified my involvement immediately. And you're not even breathing hard."
"Your observations are accurate but unnecessary." Naruto's Rasendori crackled with increasing intensity. "State your purpose or be eliminated."
"Eliminated?" Orochimaru's smile widened. "How delightful. A genin threatening to eliminate one of the Sannin. Most would call that arrogance."
"Most would be wrong. I am accurately assessing my capabilities relative to available intelligence about your power level. While you likely exceed my current development, the gap is not insurmountable. Combat would be costly for both parties."
"Kukuku... you truly are empty, aren't you? No fear. No anger. No desperation." Orochimaru's tongue flickered. "Just cold, clinical calculation. Exactly as my spy reported."
"Kabuto provided you with data about me. Logical. What do you want?"
"Want?" The Snake Sannin spread his arms wide. "I want you, Naruto-kun. Your potential is... extraordinary. The village has wasted you—broken you down and left you hollow. I could fill that void. Give you purpose. Power beyond anything Konoha could offer."
"Your offer is rejected."
"Without even hearing the details?"
"The details are irrelevant. I have no interest in serving anyone or anything. I exist because existing is the default state. Your promises of power and purpose mean nothing to someone who experiences no desire for either."
Orochimaru's expression shifted—surprise, perhaps, or reassessment.
"Fascinating. You genuinely don't want anything? Nothing at all?"
"Correct."
"Then why grow stronger? Why train? Why participate in these exams?"
"Because doing is marginally preferable to not doing. Improvement requires less effort than decay. The alternative to activity is stagnation, and stagnation is tedious." Naruto's empty eyes met Orochimaru's golden ones. "Your offer assumes I have desires that can be fulfilled. I don't. Therefore, your offer has no value."
The Rasendori in his hand intensified further—now bright enough to cast shadows across the clearing.
"Leave. Or we discover whether my current capabilities can eliminate you after all."
Orochimaru studied him for a long moment.
Then, slowly, he smiled.
"Very well. I'll respect your... disinterest. For now." He began melting into the shadows. "But know this, Naruto-kun—the void inside you won't last forever. Someday, something will fill it. And when that happens..."
His voice echoed from everywhere and nowhere.
"I'll be waiting."
He was gone.
Naruto stood motionless for several seconds, scanning the forest for any sign of continued presence. Finding none, he slowly allowed the Rasendori to dissipate.
Sakura and Satsuki rushed to his side immediately.
"Naruto-kun! Are you okay? You were swallowed by—"
"I'm fine. The snake was insufficiently durable to contain me."
"But Orochimaru—one of the Sannin—you just faced him and—"
"And he retreated. Temporarily, I assume. He will likely attempt another approach." Naruto turned to look at them, his expression unchanged. "We should continue to the tower. This location is compromised."
"But—"
"The examination continues. Orochimaru's interference is a variable to account for, not a reason to abort. Move out."
He began walking, still shirtless, still covered in snake innards, still completely emotionless.
Sakura and Satsuki exchanged glances—that familiar silent communication of shared devotion—then hurried to follow.
Above them, hidden in the canopy, Anko remained frozen.
She had just watched a twelve-year-old boy face her former master and force him to retreat.
The terror she had felt was giving way to something else now. Something that made her chest tight and her breath short.
Pride. Overwhelming, consuming pride.
And that other feeling—the one she kept trying to suppress—burned brighter than ever.
He's perfect, she thought, no longer bothering to qualify the emotion. Absolutely perfect.
She followed at a distance, watching over him, protecting him in the only way she could right now.
Already planning what she would cook him when this was over.
What she would say to him.
How she would hold him.
The maternal instincts and the other thing had merged completely now. She no longer tried to separate them.
She just felt.
And for the first time in her transformed existence, that was enough.