Chapter 2: Trial by Blood and Stupidity
It had been a week.
Seven days since Naruto stumbled on that insane, half-psychotic scroll buried in the back of the Konoha Library. Seven days since he threw caution (and common sense) to the wind and walked alone into the Forest of Death like some kind of badass.
Spoiler: it was a terrible idea.
He wiped blood off his knuckles with a ripped piece of his own shirt. His skin was torn, arms covered in scratches, bite marks, and bruises that were turning a lovely shade of purple.
"Okay, maybe… just maybe," he panted, dragging himself up from the mud, "I shouldn't have come into the Forest of Death alone."
A shadow clone popped beside him—number twelve of the day.
"Gee, you think?" the clone snapped, before disappearing in a puff of smoke. The memories hit Naruto's brain instantly—every mistake, every fall, every predator dodged by a hair's breadth. His head throbbed from the info dump.
And that's when he realized something else—something huge.
When a shadow clone dispels… he gets all its memories.
"HOW DID I NOT KNOW THIS?!"
He yelled it into the treetops, birds scattering from the trees like they were personally offended.
All this time, he'd been using clones as battering rams. He could've been learning from them. Multiplying his training. But nooo, he was too dumb to notice—and of course Kakashi hadn't bothered to tell him.
"Why would he, huh? He's got his precious Sasuke."
Naruto growled and summoned another set of five clones without hand seals. They knew the drill. One went straight to practicing chakra strings with a bunch of leaves and shuriken. Another ran toward the stream to continue water-walking drills. The rest scattered to dodge traps Naruto had set earlier.
His training had changed. He had changed.
In just one week, he'd mastered water walking. The scroll had helped him understand chakra flow better than any teacher ever had—especially when he risked dying over it.
More importantly, he had chakra control now. Real control. On par with a Chunin—maybe better. He could mold chakra to his hands, his feet, even use it to balance on a single kunai jammed in a tree branch.
And the chakra strings? He'd figured out how to connect them to items—and maybe, maybe, one day to people. For now, they were an extension of him. A web of movement and reflex.
Animal Instinct training wasn't about memorizing moves. It was about letting go. Acting on feeling, not form. Reacting without thought. His body moved faster now, more unpredictably, like something wild.
But there was a problem.
Even with his control skyrocketing, something still felt off. He couldn't access the same overwhelming chakra reserves he used to. His power flared, but always like it was being filtered through something thick and constricting.
Then it hit him like a punch in the gut.
"The seal…" he growled, hand drifting to his stomach. "That snake freak—Orochimaru…"
During the second exam, Orochimaru had marked him with that weird seal. it was a suppression seal, but now Naruto was certain—it was actively screwing with his chakra flow. Maybe that's why his control shot up. Like trying to suck water through a straw—you learn to be precise because you have to.
His eyes narrowed.
"Great. So I'm strong because I'm being crippled."
Before he could finish that bitter thought, a prickling sensation crawled down his spine. His muscles tensed. He didn't hear anything, didn't see anything. But instinct screamed at him—
Move. Now.
He leapt to the side just in time as something massive crashed down where he'd been crouching, sending dirt and shattered wood flying. Naruto hit the ground in a roll, spinning to face—
A snake. Not just a snake—a monster. At least five meters long, thick as a tree trunk, with yellow slitted eyes and pale green scales mottled with brown.
Naruto's heart slammed against his ribs.
Fear. Real, primal fear.
Not because it was a snake. Not even because of its size.
But because of its intent. The thing radiated bloodlust like steam—calculated, cold, and hungry.
Its tongue flicked. Naruto didn't move.
The snake lunged.
He dropped to all fours, chakra flaring into his limbs. Not forming a jutsu—just enhancing his body. No thoughts. Just movement.
The serpent snapped where his head had been. Naruto was already gone, skidding low under its neck and leaping up the tree trunk like an animal. His hands and feet stuck easily—chakra clinging to bark.
He didn't think about the next move.
He felt it.
Launching off the tree, he twisted mid-air and landed on the snake's back, digging in his kunai and using it like a makeshift stirrup. The beast hissed in pain, thrashing violently. Naruto growled—literally—claws of chakra forming at his fingertips as he clung on.
The snake coiled, trying to smash him against a rock. Naruto jumped off just in time, flipping backward and landing on all fours, knees bent low, nostrils flaring.
His breath was ragged. Eyes wide. Lips curled back in a feral grin.
"This is it, huh? Let's see if this instinct crap really works."
The snake came again—this time faster. Smarter.
It twisted in a wide arc, trying to catch him off guard with its tail. Naruto ducked, chakra pushing through his calves as he exploded forward, running beneath the snake's belly. With a snap of his fingers, a thin thread of glowing blue chakra whipped from his hand and wrapped around the snake's midsection.
The string dug in—taut, humming with energy.
The snake shrieked.
Naruto twisted his hand, fingers shaking from the strain. His other hand grabbed the string, reinforced it with more chakra, anchoring it to a nearby tree trunk.
Then he yanked with everything he had.
The string bit deeper.
Deeper.
Slice.
The snake's scream was cut short—literally—as its body split in half. Blood sprayed the clearing. Naruto hit the ground in a crouch, panting, his arms trembling from the recoil.
The front half of the beast spasmed, then collapsed.
He stood there in silence, surrounded by blood, his chakra string hissing softly as it dissipated.
For a moment, he just breathed.
Not like a ninja.
Like something else.
Something wild.
Then, with a weak laugh, he wiped his face, smearing dirt and blood across his cheek. "Okay… that was new."
But even through the exhaustion, he felt it—satisfaction. The instinct, the movements, the kill—it had all flowed through him like it was second nature.
He didn't just fight.
He hunted.
And he survived.
Again.