Uzumaki and The Dead (Bonus) (CH 2) (Patreon)

A/N: This story is rated M for mature content not suitable for children.

Ten Ten - (Twin, Boy and Girl) - Kazuki and Sora

Anko - (Girl) - Kushina

Tsume - (Boy) - Inumaki

Hana Inuzuka - (Triplets, 2 Boy and 1 Girl) - Kenji, Ryuu and Hanae

Yugao - (Girl) - Tsuki

Tsunade - (Boy) - Minato

Shizune - (Boy) - Dan

Shion - (Girl) - Himawari

Hinata - (Boy) - Boruto

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Chapter 2: The Scent Of Treachery

Village Hidden In The Leaves - Forest Of Death

Graduation Exam

The atmosphere in the designated training sector of the Forest of Death was far from the sterile environment of the Academy grounds. The air hung thick with humidity and the smell of decaying leaves. For Boruto and his siblings, this was supposed to be the final, basic survival test. Instead, it had morphed into a desperate, no-holds-barred ambush.

The three 'proctors,' who had shed their official uniforms for generic black combat gear and masked faces, were clearly Jōnin-level. Their movements were fluid, their coordination lethal, and their intent wasn’t to test, but to incapacitate—specifically targeting Minato.

"Minato, fall back!" Boruto shouted, spinning his body to deflect a wide-arc kick from the largest assailant, the blow leaving his shoulder aching.

Minato, who resembled his namesakes with his golden hair and clear blue eyes, was furious. His Uzumaki reserves, while vast, were still untrained and difficult to modulate. He managed to force a pillar of Wood Style from the earth, but the enemy jōnin effortlessly melted the wooden construct with a blast of concentrated water jutsu.

"They're too fast for your Wood Release, Minato!" Tsuki yelled, weaving hand signs rapidly. She was the picture of composure, channeling Yugao's quiet discipline. "Kage Buyō!"

She launched a swift, silent assault, aiming to distract the enemy targeting her younger half-brother. But the ninja was ready, anticipating her swift taijutsu. The enemy countered with a single, perfectly timed elbow strike that knocked the wind from her lungs, sending her skidding back.

We need distance. They’re closing in, and their elemental affinity counters ours, Kazuki thought quickly, adjusting his glasses.

Kazuki and Sora, the twins of Ten Ten, moved as a synchronized unit. Kazuki was the strategist and sealing specialist, while Sora, less prone to hostility, was adept at mid-range projectile use.

"Sora, distraction pattern gamma! Inumaki, go wide and flank!" Kazuki ordered, his voice cutting through the noise.

Sora, armed with a scroll, erupted in a spray of razor-sharp senbon, forcing the jōnin to leap back and defend. Simultaneously, Inumaki, driven by pure Inuzuka adrenaline, let out a piercing, wordless battle howl and charged. He was bigger, stronger, and wilder than any of them, but also less refined. The enemy easily dodged his clumsy charge and slapped a paralysis tag onto his neck. Inumaki collapsed with a frustrated snarl, momentarily out of the fight.

The situation was deteriorating rapidly. The enemy had successfully isolated the most dangerous elements.

"That's enough games!" Hanae, the triplet who favored Naruto's looks, spat, her fists bunched. "We’re supposed to be allies. Why are you doing this?!"

The large jōnin, the one primarily targeting Minato, laughed—a cold, grating sound. "Allies? Your brat of a children of a demon. The Leaf needs a stable future, not a horde of half-breeds demanding influence."

That was the spark. That one phrase—half-breeds—was a political bomb meant to elicit chaos, it was a term use by the Uchiha and their supporters, and it landed perfectly on the fiery, proud temperament of Kushina, who had been waiting for her moment.

Her face, usually marked by Anko's playful, yet teasing smile, hardened into a mask of pure, predatory intent. Her red hair seemed to shimmer with the released chakra.

"You speak of stability, but you're nothing but hired muscle for cowards," Kushina snarled, moving with the blurring speed of a serpent striking prey.

She bypassed the direct combat entirely, focusing all her attention on the ground. She wasn't fighting the jōnin; she was fighting their ability to fight. Drawing on the immense, volatile reserves she shared with her father, she slapped her hands down.

“Fūinjutsu: Kage Shinsui (Shadow Siphoning)”

It was a crude, half-mastered technique, a desperate bastardization of a high-level sealing art. Where the Four Symbols Seal was used for containment, Kushina's version was for paralysis and consumption. Complex, swirling black seals—haphazardly drawn but charged with enough chakra to matter—appeared on the dirt, spreading out to ensnare the shadows of the three attackers.

The jōnin, caught mid-movement, felt an instantaneous, searing agony in their chakra networks. It wasn't the pain of being cut, but the pain of being drained. They were momentarily locked down, their muscles seizing as the seals leeched their energy. The paralyzing effect was only temporary, but the shock was absolute. They dropped their weapons and crashed to the forest floor, their masks finally falling away to reveal the terrified, middle-aged faces of rogue Chuunin they recognized only vaguely.

A shocked silence fell over the children. It was a brutal, non-lethal, yet utterly dominating victory.

"The test is over," Kushina said, breathing heavily, the remnants of powerful chakra washing off her body like heat haze. "You failed."

Minato staggered toward her, looking utterly shaken but alive. "K-Kushina! What was that? That was… too much!"

"It was necessary," she retorted, her hands still trembling slightly from the raw power she’d channeled. "They weren't planning on passing us. They were planning an accident."

Just as the rest of the children rushed to check on the downed assailants, a sound that froze the blood in their veins echoed through the humid woods:

Slow, deliberate clapping.

A woman emerged from the dense foliage, her shadow long and distorted in the afternoon sun. She was clad in her signature dark netting and trench coat, her voice carrying a soft, dangerous amusement.

"Impressive, darling. You used my little trick. A bit sloppy on the brushstrokes, but the intent was perfect."

It was Anko Mitarashi. But this was not the playful, teasing mother they knew. This was the legendary, former disciple of Orochimaru—the Viper of the Leaf, radiating an aura of suppressed, yet palpable, violence.

She stepped over one of the whimpering, paralyzed Chuunin and nudged him with the toe of her boot.

"So," Anko purred, her eyes—now the color of cold, hungry amber—sweeping over the three men. "The Elders have finally decided to show their wrinkled faces, haven't they? Trying to stage a little tragedy for my sweet, half-Uzumaki girl?"

She crouched low, her face inches from the lead Chuunin’s terrified, sweating mask.

"You failed two tests today," she whispered, her voice dropping to a seductive, lethal undertone that made the hair stand up on the children's necks. "First, you failed to neutralize the Uzumaki brats. Second, and far more critically, you failed to anticipate what happens when you threaten the child of a woman who enjoys cutting political slack-jawed morons into confetti."

With a speed that defied perception, a small, highly venomous purple-and-black viper materialized from her sleeve, its fangs dripping. Anko held it inches from the Chuunin’s eye.

"This little snake delivers a slow-acting poison. It doesn't kill you. It just ensures every joint, every muscle, every synapse screams for a week. Tell me, where is the payment held? Which Elder signed the contract? Where is the document?"

The Chuunin, already paralyzed by Kushina’s seal, was sobbing uncontrollably. "I… I can't… T-The Civilian Council—"

Anko didn't let him finish. She pressed a small vial of clear liquid against the viper's snout, then allowed the viper to vanish back into her sleeve.

"Wrong answer," she said, standing up. "I'll get the names myself. You’re coming with me."

She looked back at the stunned children, her face softening only slightly as she focused on Kushina. "You did well. Now go home, shower, and don’t talk about this. The official report will read: Successful completion of the survival exam. Minimal injuries sustained due to unanticipated wildlife. Understood?"

Anko gave them no time to respond. She grabbed the three paralyzed men by their collars, slung them over her shoulders as if they weighed nothing, and vanished into the trees with a low-level, high-speed flicker.

The forest was silent again, save for the nervous gulping of Boruto. The air was now charged not with combat, but with the cold, absolute certainty of an unseen political war. The children hadn't just passed an exam; they had survived an assassination attempt orchestrated by the Leaf's ruling elite.

Chapter End

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A/N: In the upcoming bonus chapter, I will present the story from the viewpoint of the Uchiha and their allies. I hope you find this chapter enjoyable, and please remember that I am currently accepting paid commissions.