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Thunder and Black Wings 22
🕑 Added 2025-04-15 23:07:05 +0000 UTCChapter 22:
– Blake –
I pumped my four black wings steadily, gliding over the massive canopy of the Forest of Death. The trees beneath me were absolutely enormous, their thick branches and dark green leaves woven together into an impenetrable blanket of darkness. Even in the bright afternoon sun, only faint trickles of light managed to slip through.
I squinted downward, frustration building inside me. Anko had tasked me with secretly watching over a bunch of "important" genin from the Leaf Village—but how exactly was I supposed to protect them if I couldn't even see the damn forest floor through the leaves? Maybe she’d overestimated me a bit…
Still, I didn't want to disappoint her—especially not now, when she'd run off to warn Tsunade about Orochimaru sneaking around. From what Anko said, this entire exam was about to blow up into one massive clusterfuck. Honestly, I wasn’t even sure how much longer we had until things went completely sideways.
Just then, my enhanced hearing picked up distant screams from somewhere below.
I quickly swooped lower, hovering carefully just above the leafy ceiling. Brushing aside some branches, I peeked through the foliage, doing my best to remain hidden.
“U-Um… Proctor-san? I can still see you…” a quiet, gentle voice suddenly called up from below.
Damn it.
Sighing, I pushed through the branches and dropped fully into view. Beneath me on a large branch stood three young Leaf genin staring upward, clearly confused by my awkward entrance. My eyes instantly flickered over them, recognizing their faces and matching them to the list Anko gave me earlier.
Yep, all three were names I’d memorized.
I forced an awkward smile, lifting one hand in a casual wave. “Uh… hey there. Let’s just pretend you didn’t see me, okay?”
They exchanged confused glances. Kiba Inuzuka—easily recognizable from his scruffy brown hair, sharp canine grin, and the tiny white dog perched on his head—stepped forward with a skeptical look. “What’s a proctor even doing inside the forest? We only started the test like an hour ago.”
I scrambled to come up with a believable excuse. “...Oh, I’m just patrolling around. You know, making sure no one’s cheating or causing trouble—standard proctor stuff.” I shrugged, doing my best impression of someone who actually knew what the hell he was doing. “Everything looks good here though, so just carry on. Forget I was ever here.”
Nailed it.
Kiba raised a suspicious eyebrow, but thankfully didn’t press any further.
The second kid, wearing sunglasses and a long coat, nodded silently at me—totally calm and collected despite having hundreds of creepy little bugs crawling all over him. I tried not to visibly shudder at that.
But the third one—a shy, petite girl with pale lavender eyes and short dark hair—gave me a small, polite bow. Her cheeks were flushed pink, and she looked adorably nervous.
I couldn’t help but smile softly in return. “Good luck out there,” I said kindly.
She ducked her head, cheeks flushing even brighter. Cute kid.
My eyes flickered past the Leaf team, landing on the source of those earlier screams. Nearby, a group of genin from another village hung limply from a thick net, their bodies completely covered by hundreds—maybe thousands—of crawling insects. They didn’t seem conscious. I stared for a moment, mildly horrified.
“Okay then,” I said slowly, pointing vaguely toward the unconscious insect-covered team. “I’m guessing you three did that?”
The bug kid gave a slow, quiet nod. “…Indeed.”
Right. Maybe it was best if I didn’t ask any more questions.
“Right, well…carry on,” I said again, slightly awkwardly, before quickly taking to the air and pushing back through the thick leaves. Once safely hidden by the forest canopy, I exhaled sharply, shaking my head in disbelief.
Honestly, how the hell had that shy girl spotted me in the first place?
I paused mid-air, remembering her distinctive eyes and shy little bow. Wait—shit, she was a Hyuga, wasn’t she? Tsunade had mentioned them briefly. A legendary clan famous–or infamous–for their ability to see through literally everything—walls, solid objects, even clothes.
A clan full of perverts, basically.
I laughed softly under my breath. Man, most guys I’d known back home would’ve killed to have eyes like that…
…
I kept flapping my wings slowly, scanning the darkened treetops as carefully as I could. Every so often, I'd sense a team of genin moving around below me, and I'd slow down, leaning forward and trying to catch a glimpse through the thick foliage.
The tension in the forest seemed to be rising with each passing minute. Everyone must've been starting to get desperate now that we'd been out here for a couple hours already.
As I drifted lazily through the sky, my mind wandered back to Anko and Tsunade. Where the hell were they? I hadn't sensed or heard any signs of fighting—no loud explosions, no earthquakes, no giant chakra flares—nothing.
Then again, my sexy older girlfriend Tsunade was smart. Very smart.
She probably had some sort of trap ready for him at the exit to the forest.
As I let out a quiet sigh, pondering all that, a sudden wave of pure bloodlust surged violently from below me. The sensation hit me so sharply that my wings stiffened, feathers bristling, and the air caught in my throat. My instincts flared immediately, and my heart thumped loudly in my chest.
Holy shit—someone down there was unleashing some serious murderous intent!
I paused mid-air, hovering as silently as I could, and cautiously parted the branches to peer down through the dense greenery. My pulse quickened when I immediately spotted the team from the Hidden Sand village—the red-haired jinchuriki, Gaara, stood completely still at the center, facing down three older genin from the Hidden Rain village.
Gaara's eyes were wide and wild, filled with madness and pure killing intent. Sand swirled violently around his feet, twitching impatiently as though hungry for blood. He didn't look remotely intimidated by the fact that he was facing older, clearly more experienced opponents. No—if anything, he looked ecstatic. Like he'd just stumbled upon the most exciting prey.
My eyes flicked slightly to the right.
Dammit…
Hidden among the bushes, barely visible if you didn't look from above, were Kiba, Shino, and Hinata. The Leaf team I'd just encountered earlier was crouched in hiding.
The lead Rain ninja stood tall, clearly attempting to intimidate Gaara with sheer bravado.
"Listen, kid," their leader sneered arrogantly, drawing a large kunai from his belt. "Give us your scroll right now, and maybe we'll let you walk away."
Gaara didn't even blink. His lips slowly curled into a dark, sinister smile. "Walk away?" His voice was eerily soft, barely audible yet chilling enough to make me shiver even from this far up. "Why would I do that? Mother demands your blood. She hasn't tasted enough today."
One of the Rain ninja visibly flinched back, uncertainty creeping onto his face. "W-What the hell are you babbling about?"
Gaara's smile widened even further, becoming disturbingly manic. "Die," he whispered gleefully.
In an instant, his sand exploded forward with blinding speed, engulfing one of the Rain ninja entirely before he could even scream. The other two staggered back in horror as their teammate was lifted helplessly into the air, his muffled shouts silenced by crushing sand. A sickening crunch rang out, unmistakably the sound of bone snapping.
The forest fell silent again.
Gaara tilted his head to the side, expression serene as the sand gently lowered the Rain shinobi's broken corpse to the forest floor. "More…" Gaara murmured quietly, licking his lips slowly. "Mother isn't satisfied yet."
"Fuck!" One of the remaining Rain genin finally snapped out of his stunned shock, lunging forward recklessly, weapon raised. "You bastard!"
Gaara didn't move an inch, didn't even blink. The sand surged around him in a chaotic storm, effortlessly deflecting every desperate blow the older ninja tried to land. In mere seconds, the attacker was ensnared, trapped in a tightening cocoon of living sand.
"I'll kill you!" the Rain ninja shouted frantically, struggling helplessly as Gaara simply raised his hand and clenched it into a fist.
"Sand Coffin," Gaara said softly.
Another sickening crunch echoed through the trees, quickly followed by the sound of splattering blood.
The last Rain shinobi had already turned to flee, stumbling blindly away from Gaara's merciless slaughter. But Gaara didn't let him get far. His sand darted forward like a living creature, seizing the ninja's leg and dragging him back, screaming and thrashing in terror.
"Please—no! Spare me!" The ninja begged desperately, eyes wide and filled with horror.
Gaara just stared blankly, his face emotionless again. "Mother doesn't spare anyone..." he said as he finished off the last one.
…I'd seen violence before, but Gaara's cruelty was on a completely different level.
Hinata let out a frightened little squeak, the quiet sound echoing in the suddenly heavy silence of the forest clearing.
Gaara's head snapped around instantly, his gaze locking onto the bush where the Leaf genin were hiding. My heart sank immediately, knowing exactly what was about to happen next.
"Oh, hell," I muttered under my breath. This was exactly what I was hoping to avoid. Gaara's eyes narrowed dangerously!
He raised his hand, and a massive wave of sand surged forward toward the terrified trio of young Leaf shinobi. Kiba stood protectively in front of Hinata, growling defensively.
Time to step in unless I wanted them to die…
I tucked my four wings in tight and dove sharply downward, cutting swiftly through the leafy canopy. Branches snapped and leaves scattered around me as I broke into clear view, dropping directly between Gaara and his intended victims.
"That's enough!" I shouted, thrusting my hands out towards him. Instantly, hot bolts of holy lightning crackled to life, leaping from my fingertips in a blinding surge of pure energy.
The attack struck Gaara square on the head, a loud, sharp crack ringing out as brilliant sparks exploded across his form.
To my surprise, I saw flakes of sand breaking away from Gaara's skin. The sand crumbled to the ground, but the defense wasn't perfect against my holy lightning. Gaara's body jerked and spasmed violently, the intense jolt clearly affecting him.
For a moment, his expression twisted into confusion and pain.
The instant the lightning faded, more sand swirled rapidly around Gaara, enveloping him in a thick, protective shell. He staggered slightly but quickly steadied himself, breathing heavily, eyes locked onto me with absolute fury.
"You alright?" I called back quickly, glancing briefly over my shoulder at the Leaf team.
Kiba blinked up at me in shock, before quickly nodding. "Y-Yeah, thanks!"
Hinata's pale eyes were wide with relief and gratitude as she gave me another shy nod. Shino simply adjusted his sunglasses, though even he seemed very unsettled.
Gaara's teammates finally snapped out of their stunned silence. The blonde girl glared up at me furiously. Beside her, the boy in the black catsuit and purple face paint scowled up angrily as well.
"This isn't fair!" the girl shouted up at me accusingly. "Leaf Village proctors aren't supposed to interfere with the exam! You're cheating!"
I glared right back, slowly crossing my arms over my chest and raising an eyebrow skeptically. "Oh? We're cheating? Funny you mention cheating—since your village thought it would be a good idea to sneak in a murderous jinchuriki as your secret weapon." I made sure to emphasize 'secret weapon', and the girl's angry expression immediately faltered into shocked silence.
Clearly, she hadn't expected anyone to figure that part out.
Gaara still hadn't moved, though the sand swirling around him had grown more erratic, more frantic. His breathing was ragged, eyes blazing with pure hatred. But he didn't immediately lash out. Instead, he seemed wary, sizing me up carefully.
"Listen," I continued calmly, "Nobody's seriously hurt yet. Why don't we all just agree to let this go right here, before it gets any worse? Gaara, I barely grazed you—let's call it even."
Kiba gave me a skeptical look, clearly doubtful Gaara would actually agree. But to my relief, the blonde girl from the Sand team swallowed thickly, exchanging a tense glance with her teammate.
"Fine. We'll let it go this time," she snapped irritably. The makeup-wearing boy beside her nodded stiffly, still scowling but clearly unwilling to push the issue further.
I released the breath I'd been holding, feeling relief wash through me. This could've spiraled into a major international incident—
"You…hurt me," Gaara's voice hissed dangerously, interrupting my thoughts. "Nobody hurts me. I want your blood, Blake Himejima! Mother demands to feast on your bones!"
Oh, fuck me sideways.
Instantly, a massive surge of sand exploded outward from around Gaara, rocketing straight toward me with terrifying speed. I cursed loudly, flapping my wings hard and dodging swiftly to the side as the sand narrowly missed grabbing me by mere inches. The sand twisted sharply in midair, immediately redirecting to follow me as I weaved desperately between the giant trees.
"Damn it, Gaara!" I shouted over my shoulder, pulse pounding as adrenaline surged through my veins. "Why the hell can't you just let this shit go?"
Behind me, his chilling laughter echoed between the trees, and I knew I was in serious trouble.
"You cannot escape!" Gaara shouted gleefully, his voice ringing with crazed excitement. "Mother will drink your blood! She'll devour your soul!"
"Oh, shut the fuck up about your mother already!" I yelled back irritably, narrowly avoiding another lethal sand strike. "You have serious fucking issues!"
– Tsunade –
Tsunade clenched her fists, feeling her fingernails digging painfully into her palms. Her first damn day as Hokage, and everything had already gone straight to hell.
She scowled, eyes narrowed fiercely at the dense expanse of trees stretching endlessly before her. Somewhere deep inside the Forest of Death, Orochi-fucking-maru had decided to slither his creepy ass into the Chunin Exams. She wasn't sure yet what that snake-faced bastard wanted this time, but knowing him, it wasn't anything good. Honestly, Tsunade wasn't even sure she wanted to know.
She'd been ready to storm in there herself—fists blazing with chakra, ready to pound Orochimaru’s smug face into a bloody smear across the forest floor. Especially once Anko had burst into her office panicking and blurted out the news. Not only was Orochimaru hiding in the exam, but Blake—her own Blake—was currently flying around the forest as a proctor, obliviously caught in the middle of this impending disaster.
The second she'd heard that, Tsunade had almost smashed straight through her office wall, fully intent on tracking down Orochimaru herself and making him choke on his own damn tongue. But just as she'd been about to charge out, the Third Hokage and Jiraiya both appeared, urgently advising against it.
She'd argued. Hell, she'd almost physically fought Jiraiya when he'd blocked her path. But deep down, Tsunade knew they were right. As much as she loathed admitting it, storming headlong into the Forest of Death—especially in front of dozens of foreign shinobi and village leaders—would look terrible for Konoha. It would cause an international uproar and might even ignite a fourth Great Ninja War if things spiraled out of control.
So here she was, forced to wait and watch helplessly, her heart twisted in frustrated anxiety as every damn minute ticked by slowly. It felt like torture. She couldn't stop picturing Blake unknowingly stumbling across her traitorous ex-teammate and his psychotic schemes.
Tsunade's jaw tightened painfully, feeling a sharp wave of fear and fury twist in her gut. No. She refused to lose someone else she cared about. She had already lost Dan and Nawaki—losing Blake was not even an option she'd consider. Politics, diplomacy, potential wars—none of that meant a damn thing compared to the possibility of losing Blake.
She stood silently at the forest edge, sensing Jiraiya a short distance to her right and the Third Hokage to her left.
She knew that neither of them really cared about her current lover. The old man thought this was a fling, some kind of midlife crisis. And she knew Jiraiya hated Blake because the legendary pervert was still “in-love” with her after all these decades. She snorted at that. If that was true he wouldn't have slept his way across half the Elemental Nations.
But she had to believe in Blake, knowing he was smart and would do his best to stay out of any dangerous situations if he could…
– Blake –
"Blake Himejima!" Gaara screamed, his voice hoarse with deranged fury. "Mother will drink your blood! Your bones will be her banquet!"
I grimaced, flapping harder. Mother, mother, mother. Gaara seriously needed professional help. Or a therapist. Or possibly an exorcist.
"Yeah, yeah, I heard you the first time!" I shouted back irritably, narrowly dodging another lethal spear of sand that ripped apart a nearby branch in a violent explosion of splinters. "Maybe if you weren't so fucking crazy, you'd have friends!" Yeah, that one was kind of weak. I was just randomly spitballing insults at this point.
But apparently, my insult had landed perfectly. The roar from Gaara behind me was more animal than human.
My gaze flicked frantically below as I sought any potential advantage or escape route. Then, something down on the forest floor caught my eye, and I blinked hard, almost not believing what I was seeing.
Holy shit—was that fucking Orochimaru?!
I quickly glanced again, eyes widening sharply. Sure enough, standing casually beneath the massive trees, his arms crossed calmly over his chest and wearing a sinisterly amused smirk, was Orochimaru. He was directly across from three familiar faces—Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura. All three looked petrified, frozen like frightened deer facing a hungry wolf.
My stomach dropped. Tsunade had warned me repeatedly about how dangerous Orochimaru was—and now he had his sights set squarely on Naruto’s team.
I gritted my teeth, my mind racing. I had one homicidal psycho chasing after me already, and now the ultimate creep in the ninja world had shown up too. Great, just fucking great. Then suddenly, a reckless, wonderfully stupid idea flashed into my brain.
A dark smirk stretched across my lips.
Hell, why not? If life throws monsters at you, might as well make them fight each other.
"Hey Gaara!" I called loudly, twisting around mid-flight and flipping Gaara the middle finger with both hands, knowing exactly how much it would piss the lunatic off. "You want my blood so bad? Come and fucking get it!"
Gaara’s roar shook the forest, his sand surging after me with renewed ferocity. Perfect.
I spun and dive-bombed straight toward Orochimaru and Team Seven below.
Wind screamed past my ears as I shot downwards at breakneck speed, my wings tight against my back. Naruto’s eyes widened comically as he spotted me plummeting toward him from above.
"What the hell—Blake?!" Naruto yelled, panicking and stumbling backward.
Orochimaru tilted his head slightly, looking up at me with faint curiosity, his snake-like eyes narrowed in confusion. "Well, now," he hissed smoothly, an amused smirk tugging at his pale lips. "If it isn't Tsunade’s little pet gigolo. Dropping in to save the day, are you? I’m afraid I can’t have that. Leave now while I give you this chance on behalf of my old teammate Tsunade…"
I ignored him, landing hard enough to kick up dirt and leaves, directly between Orochimaru and the three terrified genin. Naruto stared at me with his jaw slack; Sakura looked about to faint, and Sasuke was tense, clearly trying—and failing—to hide his fear.
"Blake—what are you doing?" Sasuke demanded sharply, taking a hesitant step forward. "Get out of here! He’s dangerous—"
I flashed him a quick, reassuring grin. "Trust me, I fucking know."
Gaara and his tidal wave of murderous sand burst through the treetops, barreling downward at a frightening speed. His insane eyes blazed with bloodlust, locked squarely onto me.
"I FOUND YOU!" Gaara screamed joyously, his voice cracking with deranged excitement. "MOTHER WILL FEAST ON YOUR BLOOD!"
Orochimaru's eyes widened slightly, the smug look on his face slipping into genuine surprise for just a split second as Gaara’s sand crashed violently toward me.
I waited until the last possible second–holy shit I can’t believe this worked–then swiftly leaped aside, grabbing Naruto and Sakura by their collars and dragging them with him, while Sasuke wisely scrambled backward.
Gaara’s tidal wave of sand slammed brutally into the spot I had stood seconds earlier—exactly where Orochimaru was currently standing! It smashed down directly on top of him.
XXX
Comments
Chase Garcia
oh shit
Rycork
Hey Gaara, Orochimaru said your mother suc.. c... in hell. Gaara: ...
WhatAFungi
Lmao, this is SUCH a shit show. I thought canon’s exam went bad, but this is so much more scuffed XD. Thanks for the chapter!
Josh
lol ok that ending
Michael Mounts
SAAANNNNDDDDD COFFIN....AHAHAHAHA
Raymond
The chapters fine honestly it gave us more info on this mysterious goddess
Paul Luettke
Dr. Serizawa: let them fight
Schloppi
I personally think it's fine the way it is, especially since you scaled up the power of the bomb
Austin
Love it
CJ
Im just gonna pose this question here, concerning my other story the Fox Hole. Do you guys want me to delete chapter 89 and completely rewrite it? Im not perfect and I know some chapters wont always be amazing every time, but it seemed like a lot of people didnt like that one. I dont ever want my readers to have a bad experience.
