Naruto: I Became Orochimaru's Apprentice

The evening after his clash with Neji's team, Teriyaki was left resting with stiff muscles and a dull ache in his side. The curse mark had receded, leaving him with a faint burning sensation across his shoulder. His Heaven scroll, rested beside him. He scowled at it. He had to find another team — one that carried an Earth scroll — and he had to do it before the exam's time limit expired.

He spent the early morning moving carefully, avoiding conflict. Teriyaki's nerves were raw; Neji's team wouldn't forget him. They'd be on alert, and with Neji's Byakugan, he'd never be safe from their gaze. He knew he couldn't linger in one place too long because sounds of battle were always nearby.

Hours passed, and his patience paid off. A trio of genin — Cloud ninja, judging by their headbands — stumbled into his path. They were bloodied, tired, and dragging their feet. 

"They must've been in a fight recently."

He stalked them from the trees, waiting for an opening. One of the Cloud genin stopped to adjust his gear, allowing the others to wander several steps ahead.

Now.

Teriyaki moved swiftly, weaving hand signs. "Water Release: Water gun technique."

A condensed bullet of water shot across the forest, hitting the isolated ninja on the back of his head, sending him to the ground swiftly.

Thud.

"What's this?!" 

"Stay together," one of them barked, but their tension betrayed their unease. 

"Is Ailo alright? He looks concussed."

"Now I need them to be confused." Teriyaku muttered.

Teriyaki's three duplicates appeared silently and emerged from the surrounding trees, their shapes barely distinguishable from the shadows. The Cloud ninja struck wildly, slashing their kunai through clones. In the confusion, Teriyaki moved in from behind.

"Rising Water Slicer!"

A blade of water whipped out, but one of the Cloud genin twisted away just in time. "Wind Release: Gale Palm!" The blast of wind tore through the mist, destroying Teriyaki's clones and revealing his position. His hair flew rampant in the wind, his eyes lit up in shock.

"Why are my clones so weak?"

"There!" one of the Cloud ninja shouted, hurling a volley of shuriken.

 Teriyaki countered by body flickering behind a tree, slamming his back into the wood caused him to grunt in pain. The shurikens struck into the tree bark, they saw his outline lingering from behind the tree.

"He's there."

Before he could gather his thoughts, one of the Cloud ninja lunged at him with a kunai. Teriyaki barely twisted away, feeling the swipe of a kunai scrape across his arm. He retaliated with a quick jab, but the Cloud genin was skilled — blocking the strike with a braced forearm before countering with a sharp elbow to Teriyaki's ribs.

"Keep him down, I'm going to blow his face off." They cackled.

Winded, Teriyaki staggered back. The second Cloud ninja charged forward now, unleashing a flurry of punches. Teriyaki dodged and wove, narrowly avoiding most of the blows — but a strike slammed into his shoulder, jarring his already-bruised body. The battle with neji had damaged him, his body felt slower in this fight.

"Fine," Teriyaki muttered, his fingers blurring through hand seals. "Water Release: Water Bullet Jutsu!" He poured all his chakra in, he made the technique as lethal as possible.

A condensed blast of water shot out, slamming one of the Cloud ninja into a tree. The other leapt back, forming hand seals of his own. "Fire Release: Phoenix Fire Jutsu!"

Volatile, rapid fireballs burst through the air. Teriyaki scrambled away, weaving between the burning streaks as they set branches ablaze around him. His breathing was ragged, his chakra draining faster than he'd hoped. One scorched his back, causing him to almost collapse as he ran away in fear.

"I need to end this," Teriyaki muttered. He flickered away again, this time landing behind a twisted tree. The brief distance he gained didn't last — the Cloud ninja regrouped, advancing cautiously through the thinning mist.

"You're not going anywhere," one of them growled.

"You should've never chased after us.," the other added, raising a kunai.

Desperation gripped Teriyaki. His fingers jerked through desperate hand signs. "Snake Binding."

Two snakes shot forward, twisting around the closest Cloud ninja's ankle. Teriyaki blitzed forward using the body flicker technique, slamming him face-first into the mud. Before the second ninja could react, Teriyaki followed with another jutsu. "Water Release: Rising Water Slicer!"

A crescent-shaped wave sliced through the air, knocking the remaining Cloud genin aside. Both groaned in pain as Teriyaki darted in and snatched one of their scrolls.

He flicked it open — Heaven scroll.

"Dammit," he hissed, clenching his fist. "Why does this test have a luck aspect?"

The curse mark pulsed faintly beneath his skin, and Teriyaki gritted his teeth. He could feel its influence creeping back — that twisted rush of power tempting him to give in. He took a deep breath, forcing it back down.

"I don't need your power, Master."

Stashing the useless scroll with the other, Teriyaki continued deeper into the forest. His chakra felt unstable — too much drain from fighting, flickering, and suppressing the curse mark. He'd need to rest soon.

Nevertheless, he took the cloud genin's Heaven scroll and now he had two heaven scrolls.

"I should find someone to trade with. A heaven for an earth scroll."

Looking at the diminished forms of the cloud genins, a thought ran through his mind.

"Do I kill them? Surely they would've done the same to me."

He looked at their faces, they were so young, but not innocent enough.

One of them awoke, the first he had shot down and ran at him.

"I'll kill you." Teriyaki sidestepped him with ease and disarmed him easily.

"Snake binding."

"I guess that settles it." Teriyaki held his tongue and by the end of it they had all died.

"This isn't Earth anymore... This is a place where killing is normality. Anko even said so herself."

There was no time to relax. As the day dragged on, Teriyaki caught glimpses of movement — figures darting through the trees, teams converging. The tension in the air grew thick. Some fights broke out in the distance — brief flashes of fire jutsu, shouts, and violent crashes that echoed off the trees.

It was only the second day.

By mid-afternoon, Teriyaki realized something worse — Neji's team had found him again. He caught sight of Neji's pale eyes through the trees, scanning the forest like a hawk. Tenten and Lee flanked him, moving purposefully. They were closing in.

"I can't hide," Teriyaki whispered. The Byakugan made stealth useless. His mind raced. He couldn't outrun Lee's speed, and if Neji locked onto his chakra points again, it was over. His only chance was to make a stand.

His fingers twitched. He couldn't afford to unleash the curse mark fully — not yet. But if they forced him... if they cornered him... he wasn't sure he could resist it a second time.