Chapter 61 - I'm gonna ignore that.

It had been 15 minutes since Orochimaru escaped from the site. Kurama had a serious look on his face as Sakura was carefully moving her two teammates.

"How did all this happen," the girl wondered as she sighed ruefully. Kiba was injured with a few broken bones, not to mention that the damage to his internal organs was not negligent, while Sasuke, he was sweating heavily as a large number of black marks moved across his body.

"Let me see," Kurama said as he looked at his friend with a frown. He was concerned not only that Sasuke was Mikoto's son, but also that as his best friend, he would not allow him to go down the wrong path. Carefully, he released some of his Chakra as he placed his hand on the boy's forehead, only to feel a dark chakra trying to eat away at the mind of the young Uchiha.

"What did you find?!" Sakura exclaimed in surprise. She was worried about her companions but mostly about Sasuke.

"Do you know what the chakra is?" asked the redhead as he looked at the girl.

"Are you asking something they teach us at the academy?" asked in response to the pink-haired girl. She was upset by the question the redhead was asking but calmed down when she noticed his serious look - "Well... The chakra is the combination of the physical and spiritual energy of all living beings, as well as the source of life for everyone in the world"

"Now... do you know where spiritual energy comes from?" - asked the young Uzumaki again.

"Hmm..." - Sakura started to think a little more. If the physical energy was achieved through training the body and going beyond the limits of the body, then the spiritual energy came from... - "The soul?"

"That's right, the Chakra is the perfect fusion between the physical energy of the body and the profound force of the soul of a living being, that's why when our Chakra reaches 0, the probability of death is 99%" - answered Kurama calmly - "What is happening to Sasuke, is that an external soul is trying to enter his body, that's why he is suffering so much"

"Is there any way to extract that soul?" - Sakura asked with concern because it was obvious who the entity was that was trying to enter her boyfriend's body.

"Ku... Kaasan is the only one who can extract the soul within that... we will call it the Cursed Seal for the time being... without causing irreversible damage to the user" - the red-headed young. He understood that if someone tried to 'play' with the Seal that was affecting Sasuke, it would not only cause irreversible damage to the boy, but it was also possible that Orochimaru's presence would be much more prominent. Playing with the soul was a Taboo because a single mistake could create a catastrophe.

". . ." - Sakura only sighed ruefully but still nodded.

"By the way... how is Kiba?" - Kurama asked as he looked at the boy who seemed to be breathing heavily.

"I already gave him first aid but his current state..." - the girl muttered as she gave the Inuzuka boy a worried look.

"First let's make sure Kiba is out of danger, then I'll put a simple seal on Sasuke to reduce the influence of the corrosion of the cursed seal of Orochimaru" - said Kurama seriously - "Now that I think about it... what scroll do you have?"

"The scroll of heaven... why?" - Sakura asked curiously.

"Because I have the one of the earth," the redhead nodded. "When we see that you are out of danger, we will send you to the Tower with our scroll so that you may have the necessary assistance"

". . ." - Sakura didn't know what to say. She could only give the boy a grateful look, as it was obvious that he was putting the safety of his friends ahead of the second test.

"Relax, I do not plan to fail this test" - the redhead smiled - "But seriously, I want you to inform one of the Jonin when you reach the Tower to call Kaasan to check the status of that Cursed Seal".

"Okay... thank you..." - Sakura mumbled while giving the boy a hug - "Thank you..."

Kurama did not say anything, he just returned the hug.

"Sakura!" - shouted Ino when she arrived but was surprised to see those two embraced, mostly because it was common knowledge that they were like water and oil. Hinata was equally surprised but quickly calmed down, after all, it was impossible that Sakura was interested in the boy that they liked.

"Girls!" - shouted Sakura as she released the redhead and went out to embrace her friends with tears in her eyes.

"What happened?" - Hinata asked as she looked around, only to notice the state of the other two boys on team 7.

"I'll explain it to you while I check on the condition of the boys" - answered Kurama as he walked over to where Kiba was to check that his life was not in danger - "Hinata-chan..."

"I know..." - nodded the Princess of the Byakugan as she separated from her friend - "I'm not an expert at this but I can at least ease the pain he feels"

* * * * *

Another 30 minutes passed when Anko arrived at the site along with a group of Jonin who were serving as co-examiners for the second stage of the Chunin Examinations.

"For the love of all the Dango in the world! I want to know what just happened here!" - exclaimed the snake charmer, only to notice how the person who was there was none other than her lover - "Foxy-kun?"

"It's good to hear your voice, Anko-chan" - the redheaded man nodded - "But I don't think this is the time for formalities, we have a serious situation"

"More respect for your superiors, Genin!" - said one of the Jonin with a frown.

Kurama glanced at the man, who was radiating an aura of jealousy, hatred, and l.u.s.t. He decided to ignore him because it was obvious that he would get nowhere talking to someone like that guy, but that same attitude made the Jonin's anger that much greater.

"You'd better calm your pet, Anko-chan" - said Kurama coldly as he released his killer instinct - "Because he's about to annoy a beast that's sleeping peacefully"

The man only froze where he was while feeling as if a beast was watching him with its red eyes from the shadows. It was as if he felt a great row of fangs slowly approaching his neck, waiting only for the chance to tear at his prey.

"Jonin Sakamoto, I hope this will not be repeated," Anko said with a frown. Honestly, she was fed up with this guy because ever since the test began, this guy has only been asking her to go out with him.

"Hai..." - Sakamoto only looked down as the anger grew inside him.

Kurama gave the guy a second look that he was a hopeless case but as long as he didn't do anything stupid, he wouldn't do anything to him.

"Now... could you tell me what the f.u.c.k just happened, Foxy-kun?" - Anko asked with a seriousness that had rarely been seen before.

"Orochimaru," answered Kurama simply. A single word was enough to make the Jonin tremble with fear as Anko's fury increased.

"You say that bastard is in this place?" - Anko asked as she tried to calm down but was unable to. The person she hated most had not only passed under her nose but had put on a show while she watched the surroundings. This was a clear slap in her face, one she honestly couldn't take.

"You'd better calm down, Anko-chan," the redheaded man denied. "Orochimaru is seriously injured, so he won't be showing up for quite some time"

"Injured?" - Anko was surprised when she heard this.

"Yes" - Kurama nodded - "Let's say I gave him a little gift that made him BURST with emotion"

"Haha~!" - Anko could only laugh with emotion when she heard this. She knew that what her lover said was true because there was no reason to lie to her, especially when it came to Orochimaru, the person she detests the most.

Anko was happy but his smile disappeared when he heard that annoying man's voice - "Do you think we'll believe such a lie?"

". . ." - The other Jonin just kept quiet but it was obvious they were thinking the same thing.

"I believe him," Anko nodded calmly. She knew about how strong the red-haired boy was so there was no need to check the situation.

"I'm sorry, Anko-chan but I think you're putting your feelings in the middle of the mission," said the Jonin with disdain.

"I've told you a thousand times not to call me that" - said Anko angrily - "Only one person can call me that affectionately"

"But..." - whispered the man, only to feel a hand grabbing his neck.

The Jonin were surprised when they saw how the boy who was talking to their leader now had one of his companions by the throat.

"Normally I would ignore all your talk because it would be a waste of time to try to communicate with a living being who has the intellectual capacity of an infant..." - said Kurama as he looked at the Jonin with a neutral gaze - "But I'm going to do it this time because I sincerely don't like people calling my loved ones liars or unprofessional..."

Sakamoto-san tried to speak but the words stayed in the middle of his throat when he felt a chakra so dark and heavy that he could barely keep consciousness. The other Jonin were the same, they could only look in terror at the boy in front of them.