Naruto: I Became Orochimaru's Apprentice

Teriyaki whistled high and loud, straining his throat as he did so. The sound genin jumped down from the tree tops, and Teriyaki walked back into the enclosure.

Shikimaru's team was surrounded.

"Oh... So we've been set-up." Shikimaru snarled, looking at Teriyaki in dissapointment.

Shikamaru's team stood at the ready, eyes locked on Teriyaki and the three Sound Genin that flanked him. Leaves danced in the wind, rustling against the branches the sound genin had jumped from.

"Don't make this difficult," Teriyaki said, gripping his kunai. "Hand over your Earth scroll and we won't have to fight."

"Yeah, right," Shikamaru muttered, rolling his eyes. "Like we'd trust you after this. I knew we shouldn't have trusted you, the weakest people are the most desperate."

Ino flexed her fingers, her eyes darting between the four enemies. "I don't like this... four against three? And I have to work with you two idiots?"

"Time to get stuffed." Choji yawned, reaching into his pouch for a handful of food pills.

Teriyaki sighed whilst holding back a smile. "Suit yourselves." 

Without warning, Zaku leapt forward, thrusting both hands forward.

"Sound Wave: Decimating Blast!"

A thunderous shockwave tore through the air, branches snapping and dirt exploding upward. Shikamaru barely managed to dive out of the way, cursing as the blast nearly clipped his leg.

"Shadow Possession Jutsu!" Shikamaru called, sending his shadow racing across the ground. It snaked toward Zaku, but Dosu sprang forward, his arm-mounted amplifier screeching as sound rippled from it. The vibration caused Shikamaru's shadow to falter mid-attack as Shikimaru himself began to bleed from his ears.

"Tch..." Shikamaru grimaced whilst cupping his ears. "This is one way of fighting I suppose."

Ino formed a hand seal. "Mind Body Switch Jutsu!"

Her chakra darted toward Kin, but the Sound kunoichi flung a cluster of ringing bells into the air. The hypnotic chime threw Ino's focus off just enough to miss her mark.

"Nice try," Kin sneered. "Feeling dizzy?"

Teriyaki wasn't wasting time. While the Sound team distracted Shikamaru's group, he wove hand seals.

"Water Release: Wild water wave!"

A powerful breath of water crashed into Ino and sent her sprawling. The entire forest floor was coated in water. Teriyaki's chakra surged unnaturally, faint black marks creeping up his arm from the curse mark. He clenched his teeth, suppressing its pull for now. "Already?"

"Choji, now!" Shikamaru barked.

"Human Boulder!"

Choji rolled like a spinning boulder toward Zaku and Dosu. Dosu jumped back to evade, but Zaku thrust his palms out again.

"Sound Wave: Shock Impact!"

The resulting blast slowed Choji's roll, but Shikamaru was already behind him, his shadow racing forward again. This time, the shadow snagged Zaku's foot.

"Gotcha," Shikamaru grinned, controlling Zaku's movements like a puppet.

"Zaku, you idiot!" Dosu hissed, activating his amplifier. He targeted Shikamaru again, vibrating the shadow out of place. "How did you get hit by that?"

Kin rushed in, metal wires laced with bells darting toward Ino and Choji. Ino flung a kunai, severing a few of the strings, but Kin grinned.

"You'll need to get rid of all of them if you want to stop me."

The bells rang louder, and Ino staggered, clutching her head.

"Now!" Dosu barked. "Zaku!"

Teriyaki interrupted Shikimaru's shadow posesssion jutsu.

"Snake binding."

Shikimaru dodged but cancelled his jutsu in the process.

Zaku, now freed from shadow posession, rushed forward with a sound blast that sent Choji tumbling back into Shikamaru. Shikamaru grunted, his head spinning from the reverberations.

"MOVE," Shikamaru growled. Choji barely avoided crushing Shikimaru with his weight. "We need to change our plans."

"I can keep going.," Choji huffed, popping a food pill.

While the Sound team was distracted, Teriyaki took advantage.

"Water Release: Rising water arc."

A powerful arc of water rushed through the battlefield, splitting the groups. Shikamaru's team barely managed to climb to higher ground as the current raged below. Teriyaki's curse mark pulsed harder now, black veins crawling up his face. 

"My jutsus are stronger, it must be because this part of the forest is already covered in water."

"You're getting too into this," Dosu warned.

Teriyaki gave him a dark look. "Make sure you don't kill them."

With a flash of hand signs, Teriyaki unleashed another attack.

"Water Release: Water gun technique."

A swirling bullet exploded outward, slamming into Shikamaru's team and sending Ino and Choji crashing into trees. Shikamaru barely dodged.

The bullet, enhanced by surrounding water and the curse mark, destroyed their formation.

"Let's finish this!" Zaku shouted.

Dosu surged forward to finish off Choji, but Teriyaki pivoted — and sent a powerful blast of water slamming into Dosu instead.

"What the hell?" Dosu shouted, staggering back.

"Can't you listen?," Teriyaki yelled, the curse mark distorting his face. "We aren't killing them."

Before Dosu could react, Teriyaki seized the Earth scroll from Dosu's pack and blinked away using body flicker technique.

"You bastard!" Zaku shouted, blasting compressed air toward Teriyaki. He blinked away just in time.

"Relax." Teriyaki furrowed his brows. He threw down a heaven scroll to the sound genin.

Teriyaki looked at Shikimaru.

"Pass them your Earth scroll, or you know what happens."

Shikamaru's group stumbled out from the wreckage, battered but alive.

Shikimaru threw their Earth scroll reluctantly.

"If it wasn't a four versus three, well there's no use complaining now..."

"What the hell was that guy's deal?" Choji groaned. "Now how are we gonna pass?"

Shikamaru exhaled heavily, holding his ribs.

"We got played... We still have two more days to get both the scrolls. Maybe we should just wait near the tower and try to intercept people who have the scrolls."

"Let's rest for now." Ino wailed. "I can't believe we got beaten that badly!"

Teriyaki watched from the branches above as the Sound genin excitedly ran towards the tower, both scrolls in hands. He also had collected both.

"Now I have to finish my other mission." He muttered. Orochimaru's mission, to scout the competition. "Since I've guaranteed my passing, atleast I can relax now."