《Naruto: The Otherworldly Cultivator》 Chapter 01: Another Chance Chapter 01: Another Chance Disimer: "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 01: Another Chance His eyes opened, and he was weed by the vision of a white ceiling. Pushing past the stage of confusion, he tried to make sense of the situation. He was sure he had died during thatst battle. After all, he went as far as burning his life force and detonating his own body...all was done, to prevent his enemies from acquiring any of his secrets. ''But¡­how am I alive then?'' A terrible thought came to mind¡­what if they found a way to stop his death and now he has been captured¡­waiting for his torture tomence. He felt very weak, but with some effort, he was able to move his head a bit. ''What?...they didn''t bind me?...'' He could not believe this. He was justfortably lying on a bed without a single restraint ced on him. The door then opened, and a woman dressed in white came into the room. She gasped in shock when she saw him awake. "I-I''ll go call the doctor!" ''Who was that?...doctor?...'' The rest of his body did not seem to respond to him. So, with only his head, he started to look around the room. There wasn''t much to see. Basic furniture, some chairs, a table, and a ss cab in one corner. The window''s curtains were closed, so he couldn''t glimpse outside, but by the lighting in, he could tell it must be around the middle of the day. Finally, he gave his own body another look and found something unusual. It looked shorter and much thinner than he remembered. ''Did they cripple my body?! Is that why they didn''t bother restraining me?'' He wouldn''t be surprised if that''s what they did. His enemies were ruthless and willing to do anything for their goals. The door opened again, and the woman from before came apanied by an older man. "Good day, Uzumaki. I''m d to see you finally awake." "Uzu¡­maki¡­" He said the name with difficulty. His voice sounded wrong, and it hurt to speak. The nurse filled a ss with water and ced it close to his lips. "Drink, it will help." He was feeling thirsty, so he drank. He wasn''t afraid of being poisoned at this point. They clearly wanted him alive. "Now, I would like to ask you a few questions," the doctor said while holding a small notebook in his hands. ''He wants to interrogate me already¡­'' He lifted his gaze to stare at them. "I¡­I will never reveal my secrets to you!" The doctor made a surprised expression. "Secrets? What are you talking about, Uzumaki? I was just going to ask you how you felt. Does it hurt anywhere?" "Hurt?... This is nothing! You can tell Hong Feng that he will never get his hands on my Golden Scripture!" The doctor and nurse looked at each other. "It must be from one of those video games," the nurse said. "Uzumaki¡­do you know where you are or how you got here?" the doctor asked. He remained silent. "Mmm¡­this may be more serious than I thought," the doctor muttered. "You think he has suffered brain damage?" the nurse asked. "I will need to speak with a specialist¡­and we also need to inform the Hokage of this." He didn''t understand what they were talking about, but theypletely ignored him and left the room. "Ugg¡­!" He then felt a sharp pain on the side of his head. Random images started to sh in front of him. Unknown people dressed in strange clothes, ces he didn''t recognize¡­arge flow of information was entering his mind. He was somewhat familiar with this sensation. It was simr to what urred when you tried to read an ancient manuscript containing insights left behind by an expert. Those old masters were able to leave behind more than just words on a manuscript but also images and even feelings, making it easier toprehend their contents. But this was a lot more chaotic. The memories were disorganized and scrambled together with no apparent rhythm or reason. The bombardment of information continued for almost ten minutes, and when it ended, it left him with a terrible headache. Disregarding the pain, he closed his eyes and began working on organizing all that information. The key to his current situation must be somewhere in there. An unknown amount of time passed, during which he did not open his eyes or move an inch. When he was finally done, he looked to be baffled at his situation. Moving his eyes upwards, he caught a glimpse of some blonde strands of hair. "This can''t be happening¡­this is not my body." But as difficult as it was to ept¡­the doctor had referred to him as Uzumaki. The memories he had were from a boy known as Uzumaki Naruto, who lived his entire life in this vige where warriors called ninjas were trained. He attended the academy until very recently when he failed to graduate. A teacher named Mizukiid a trap for him and tried to kill him after making him steal some important treasure from the vige leader. That was thest event in those memories. So it must be thest thing that happened to him before¡­waking up here. The fastest way to confirm this would be to take a look in the mirror. There was a small one attached to the cab in the corner, but he couldn''t move his muscles¡­ ''Wait¡­'' As he was concentrating on his body, he noticed there was still a lot of energy circting through his spiritual veins. ''My dantian is still here! No, wait¡­if I''m not in my body, this cannot be my dantian.'' But it was still pleasant to find out he had one... although the energy coursing through it felt very unusual. Chapter 02: A New World Chapter 02: A New World Disimer: "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 02: A New World ''What is this? I can detect several elements mixed in¡­there''s also pure yang and pure yin energy, as well as traces of something else¡­'' How could he be alive with this mesh of energies inside his body? How do they cultivate their bodies without destroying them? The door opened again, and two different people came inside. One was an old man he recognized from the memories he just received. This person was the vige leader¡­ the Hokage. ''He seems to have a personal interest in the owner of this body as he had visited him several times even though they are not rted.'' The other person was a tall blonde man with strange blue eyes. He wore a protector on his forehead with the symbol of the vige, giving away his identity as a ninja. "Hello, Naruto. I''m so d to see you recovering¡­you gave us all quite the scare¡­" the Hokage said with a warm smile. "Greetings¡­Lord Hokage." He wasn''t sure how to address this man, so he opted for the safest option. But after seeing the way his face changed, he realized it may have been a mistake. "Naruto¡­the doctor is concerned that you have suffered some mental damage on top of your physical injuries. This person at my side is Yamanaka Inoichi. His n specializes in mind techniques. With your consent, he can delve into your mind and perhaps find out what the damage is." "Into my mind?" ''Wouldn''t that allow him to see that I am not the person he thinks I am?...that would be dangerous. I am in no position to defend myself here¡­and I do not even know where I am.'' "Is that necessary?" He pretended to be afraid of the procedure. "I won''t go too deep. I will only be looking at your surface memories to see how they look," Inoichi assured him. "He''s just here to help you, Naruto. There is nothing to be worried about," the old man said. ''If I refuse again, it will be a bit suspicious¡­I can only hope he is unable to view my real memories¡­'' He nodded. The Yamanaka ninja performed some hand signs, and a momentter, he felt something invading his mind. It was a very unpleasant feeling. But at least, like he promised, he didn''t go deep and stayed at the entrance. After prodding around for a few minutes, he left. "Well?..." The Hokage nced at the other man. "Mmmm¡­I have never seen something like this so it''s hard to exin," Inoichi said. "Try," the old man insisted. "His memories are mostly there, in his mind. But they are fragmented and disorganized." "Will he recover?" "I think so. Naruto is still young and with a strong mind. He will certainly recover. But he may be a bit different than the one you knew¡­our memories and the way we experience them are what more or less define who we are," Inoichi exined. "I see¡­" The old Hokage pulled out a protector from his pocket and looked at him. "Naruto¡­you have done a great service to Konoha by assisting in the capture of the traitor Mizuki¡­because of this¡­" He handed the protector to him. "Congrattions, you are now officially graduated from the Academy." The Hokage ced it on his bed. "You will be able to move again soon, don''t worry. There is still a month before the teams are announced. Until then, I want you to focus on recovering." <><><><><><><><><><> Several doctors woulde in after the Hokage''s visit and focus on his physical recovery. His muscles and tendons had been damaged, and that is why he couldn''t move. But with their excellent medical techniques and Naruto''s unnatural healing speed, it only took two days before he started moving his fingers. Two more days before he could stand up on his own. And three more days before he was given permission to go home. <><><><><><><><><><> The Hokage had wanted to send a ninja to apany him home, but he assured him he still remembered his way home. It wasn''tpletely true. He had some memories of the apartment but no idea of where exactly it was located. It didn''t matter to him, as he just wanted to spend some time alone and walk through this vige of Konoha that he now finds himself in. It was at this moment, walking on the streets and looking at the strange people and buildings, that he could truly acknowledge he was in apletely different world. It wasn''t just that he woke up as a different person, there was much more to it. The buildings were not just bizarre to him but also contained many pieces of technology he was not familiar with. It all looked so advanced¡­like thousands of years ahead of his time. He also noticed that the vigers would give him asional nces, and when they did, their eyes were filled with hatred. ''What could this boy have done to all these people to earn such a level of hostility?'' Perhaps it was not about him but his family or his background. He was aware of his current status as an orphan, something that he was truly grateful for. ''I cannot imagine having to pretend to be a good son to people I know nothing about¡­.itis better this way.'' After wandering the streets for three hours, he spotted a familiar neighborhood¡­and soon enough, he caught a glimpse of his apartment. He opened the door with the keys he had been given and went inside, only to then remember he forgot to buy supplies. He pulled an envelope out of his pocket. Before leaving the hospital, a ninja came to visit him and gave him some money to buy food, clothes, or whatever he needed for the rest of the month. He wouldn''t get paid until he started officially working as a ninja, so the Hokage had been giving him money, as well as this apartment. The previous owner of this body never seemed to question those things¡­but it was certainly strange. ''Why is someone so important giving me so much attention?'' He walked to the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. ''There has to be something special about this boy¡­'' Chapter 03: In Bad Shape Chapter 03: In Bad Shape Disimer: "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 03: In Bad Shape "What are you doing here?" A young man wearing the Konoha bandana called out to him when he tried to get past the door. "Huh? Am I not allowed? I have been told these were the training grounds of the vige." Naruto pointed ahead. There was arge forest area locked behind a gigantic wall and arge door with the number 44 on it. "Are you trying to die?..." The young ninja stared at him in shock. "Behind that door is training ground 44! That one is massive and filled with dangerous beasts. Even a Chunin would not dare to enter there without proper preparation¡­not to mention, a troublemaker like you." No one had mentioned this to him when he asked... "Fine¡­" He sighed. "I just need a quiet ce to train a bit. Where can I go? Oh, and I am not a civilian¡­from what the Lord Hokage told me, I have sessfully graduated from the academy and will be a genin soon enough." "You managed to graduate?!" The ninja was shocked to hear that. "You seem to know me..." Naruto pointed out. He had no memories of this young man, not even fragmented ones. "Everyone knows you! You are always causing problems and pulling pranks on the vigers," he shouted. ''A troublemaker?...is that who I became?'' He was still considering if his current situation was a gift from some god who wanted to give him a second chance or¡­a punishment¡­ It was still hard to tell, but it would all depend on whether this body had any talent for martial arts. Naruto turned around and walked away from the training grounds, ignoring the guard''s attempts to call for him. He would need to find a different ce¡­a more deste one where no one would bother him. <><><><><><><><><><><><> He ended up traveling all the way north of the vige. Behind the mountain that contains the carvings of the previous Hokages was arge forest that no one seemed to be using at the moment. ''This will do¡­'' Naruto looked around the clearing. He could not feel any presence nearby. Not that he trusted his senses that much at the moment. He began by performing some simple physical tests, like punching, kicking, lifting rocks, or jumping. He continued to do this for two hours until he felt he had gathered enough information to assess his current condition. All of the tests were greatly disappointing¡­ His physical capabilities were only slightly above what a normal human should be capable of doing. Normally, that would not be so bad, but from what he had learned so far, he was supposed to be a ninja apprentice or something like that already. ''Shouldn''t he be better trained?'' The only things this body appeared to be extraordinary in were stamina and regeneration. The small cuts he got on his fists when punching a tree disappeared in a very short amount of time. Also, even after all that physical activity, he didn''t feel tired at all. "That is quite interesting. How can this body be so out of bnce?" Just in terms of stamina, he would be considered near an elite warrior, but the rest¡­ ''At least I am still young¡­as long as I can train myself again, I should be fine.'' He thought as constion. ording to the identification he found while searching his apartment, he was just fifteen years old. That was also the age he had when he entered his first sect. Back then, he was just a useless boy from a farming vige. His life at the sect was not a pleasant one. By making resources very limited, the rules of that sect only favored the strong. If you did not have the strength to protect your valuables, they would be taken away by others. This included not only cultivation resources but even food and water. That was the life at the outer sect. ''If I hadn''t found the Golden Scripture in those ruins¡­my existence would have been a terrible one¡­as well as a very short one.'' The Scripture was also the reason for eventually being hunted down. After its existence becamemon knowledge, everyone in all Murim wanted to get their hands on it. "Do I still have it with me?" He wondered if it had somehow followed him into this life as well. The Golden Scripture was considered by many as a divine artifact that could be attached to the soul of its user, traveling with them forever. So it was very likely that it was still somewhere in him. "There is only one way to find out..." Naruto closed his eyes and focused on entering his inner mind. This was something he had done so many times before. The inner mind was a mystical space where one could interact with the metaphysical and with one''s own soul. Darkness enveloped him. Slowly¡­shapes started forming around him, creating a structure¡­ "What is this?..." Since this body was still so young, he was expecting apletely empty space, or at least mostly empty. But instead, he found himself in some kind of underground structure filled with running water. "What is this ce? And who did this?" Chapter 04: The Uninvited Guest Chapter 04: The Uninvited Guest Disimer: "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 04: The Uninvited Guest "Is this a sewer?!" he said with shock. He had seen these kinds of structures beneath capital cities. They were used to move around water and¡­ ''waste.'' "Why is there something like this inside my mind?!" he shouted with anger, as if this was someone''s idea of a joke. After calming down slightly, he decided to get to the bottom of this. His eyes moved to the water at his feet. It was flowing deeper into the sewer, getting lost in the distant darkness. "There is something that way¡­" He could feel a power source of energy ahead of him. After walking for almost two minutes in this dark sewer, he arrived at arge chamber. "This must be the actual core¡­why didn''t I appear here to begin with?... huh?" He spotted something strange. In a corner of the chamber was a massive cage made of ck metallic bars. It was not possible to see what was inside as it was all too dark. The entire ce only had a few scarce torches in it. Upon closer inspection of the cage, he spotted some pieces of paper ced where the keyhole should be. "Mmm¡­this looks like a talisman or a ch¡ª" His instincts warned him of an attack when he felt a strong fluctuation of the energy source inside the cage. Naruto hurriedly stepped away from the cage just in time to avoid a gigantic w that crashed against the bars. A pair of red eyes appeared from the darkness, apanied by a menacing growl. "A beast?..." The situation got weirder and weirder¡­why was there a beast locked inside his ''Inner Mind''? There should be nothing here except for things that he brought himself. "Boy¡­what are you doing here?" The beast spoke between growls. Naruto''s eyes opened wide. "A demonic beast?... now that is something I could never have expected." As far as he knew, only demonic beasts were capable of using humannguage, and even among them, only the most powerful could manage such a feat. One thing had be clear to him. Someone had put this demonic beast inside his body. Something like this would not have happened by ident if the cell and talisman hadn''t already made it evident. "Who put you inside my body? I want answers, demon!" He shouted with rage. He did not like feeling like he was being used for some unknown purpose. He was not going to be someone''s puppet. The demonic beast showed him its fangs as itughed. "You demand answers from me, boy?! How dare you!" The beast mmed its jaw against the bars. "Hmph! You think I am stupid? Hitting those bars will do nothing. After all, the metal bars don''t really exist, like the rest of this sewer¡­ It''s just something my mind has created to make sense of the situation." He pointed at the piece of paper stuck to the cell. "That is the only real thing keeping you locked inside my body¡­and if you could free yourself by sheer force, you would have already done that. So go ahead and keep bashing your metaphorical head against the cage¡­" The demon stopped its attempts to intimidate him. "Who are you?..." "Shouldn''t you know the person who is serving as your jailor?" He was trying to find out how much this beast knew about the outside world. "I know you are not the boy¡­" the beast growled. He looked down at himself. This image was something created by his own mind, like the rest of this ce. As such, it was not strange for the demon to realize he was someone else. His current looks were more a reflection of his old life rather than his current one since it was all still new to him. "I''ll admit this much¡­I am not the same boy you knew¡­if you even knew him, which I doubt." The demon got closer to the bars, and he could now make out more of its face. "A demon fox¡­" "Who are you?" the demon asked again. "Mmm¡­you are not answering my questions¡­why should I answer yours?" The demon growled in response, clearly not liking his refusal to answer. "Demon Fox¡­you seem to think that we are in an even situation. You don''t tell me anything, and I will do the same¡­but remember that YOU are the one trapped." The demon snarled. "And how long do you think you can keep me here? A few decades?... Humans have short lives. Me, on the other hand?... I am eternal! One day, you will die, and I will escape!" The demon shouted before smashing his ws against the bars. Naruto smiled. "Eternal¡­what a joke. We will see about that." He had heard enough from this demon, so he turned around and left the cage room. ''Hey, human! Come back here!'' the demon fox called, but he was ignored. Naruto returned to the corridor where he had first entered, and upon further inspection, he found a small door on the side of one of the walls. It was easy to miss as it had the same color and texture as the rest of the walls. "This must be it¡­the real core of my Inner Mind¡­" He pushed the door open and walked inside. "What a sight¡­" This was more like what he was expecting. Most of the space was empty. A small pool filled with some bluish liquid upied the middle of the ce. But the important part was the golden book floating above the pool of liquid. It wasn''t much of a book. More like a thin pamphlet with a couple of pages. That didn''t matter to him at this moment. "It is here¡­" Naruto smiled. "As long as I have this¡­I will be fine." Chapter 05: The Library Chapter 05: The Library Disimer: "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 05: The Library Naruto walked through the streets of Konoha until he found the building he was looking for¡­the library. As much as he would like to start his training now that he knew he was in possession of one of his old treasures, the truth was that hecked too much knowledge about this strange world he found himself in. The energies used by the humans here to train were somewhat different from what he was familiar with. Trying to use his old methods without thinking twice would certainly be very dangerous. He first needed to learn as much as he could about how things work in this new world before he could move forward. And the best ce to do so should be here¡­ "What are you doing here?! Get out!" He had only taken a few steps past the entrance door when an olddy approached him with a deep frown on her face. Naruto lifted his gaze to look at her. "I''m here to read some books¡­" He gave her what should have been an obvious answer. After all, what else could he be doing in a library? "Reading?...you?!" She gave him an expression of disgust. "You must be here for one of your nasty pranks. Well, not in my library! Now, get out of here before I call the guards." "Excuse me? You can''t bar me from entering here. This is a public library, and I have not caused any trouble here. Go ahead and call the guards if you want. I will present a formalint against you." Naruto walked past the angry old hag. "Tsk!...if you even talk a bit too loud, I''m kicking you out! You hear me?!" the olddy shouted. Naruto turned around and gave her a quick nce. He was tempted to tell her something about raising her voice too much in the library but ultimately decided she was not worth the trouble. "Now, let''s see¡­" There was so much he wanted to know about this world . He had always been a curious person and one who pursued knowledge. He believed that knowledge was power, and the more you knew, the safer you would be. However, he only had a bit over two weeks of time left before having to join his official team and begin his work as a ninja. And he didn''t even know what that work entailed¡­ Meaning that he was going to have to prioritize some knowledge over others. For the time being, learning more about ninjas, their fighting styles, and their methods of training was the highest priority. Naruto began walking past the numerous bookshelves, trying to find something that could be relevant. Eventually, he picked up a few tomes and sat down to read them. He noticed another librarian peeking at him now and then, but she seemed to be more curious than angry, unlike the other one, and didn''t say anything to him. Naruto began reading the books he brought but soon found out that they didn''t contain the information he wanted. Or at least, they didn''t go into enough depth to be useful. For the most part, these books included some surface information about the technical aspects he wanted to learn. They mentioned terms like ''Chakra,'' ''Ninjutsu,'' ''Taijutsu,'' and ''Fuuinjutsu''... but only gave some simple descriptions. ''It''s better than nothing, but I need more than this¡­'' While he was considering a way to obtain more information, the young librarian approached his table. "Excuse me¡­" Naruto turned his head to nce at her. ''Is she going to try and kick me out?'' he wondered. Even though it didn''t seem like this girl had any hostile intentions, unlike that other woman from before. "Is there something specific that you need help finding?" Her eyes moved over the books on the table. "You won''t find much information about ninja-rted matters, other than books about history and dissertations about the wars." "How so?" This vige appeared to have been created with the sole purpose of housing these ninjas. It was strange to him that it didn''t have more to say about them. The librarian smiled. "This is a civilian library. Most information rted to ninjas is considered ssified." Naruto understood it then. ''So this ce must be only for civilians then¡­I must find a ninja library.'' "Can you tell me w¡ª" "The ninja library is inside the Hokage building. But¡­" She nced at his empty forehead. He had not started wearing his bandana yet. "Only official ninjas can ess it. And the amount of information you are given ess to will depend on your rank." "I understand¡­." He wouldn''t be able to use that one until he was officially recognized as a ninja. "But¡­aren''t you an academy student? There is arge library there that you can use. Of course, it is not asplete, but it should have whatever you are trying to learn now. Is it for a test?" "The academy library¡­" He had almost no memories of that ce, so it didn''t even ur to him that there should have been a library there. After all, that is a ce for learning. ''Even if I have already graduated, they should grant me ess to it.'' "Thank you, Miss." Naruto gave thedy a bow of gratitude and left the library after cing all the books in their appropriate locations. The young librarian stood there, looking at the door with a thoughtful expression. "Were you watching him? Did he steal anything?" the old librarian spoke furiously. The young one shook her head. "He was well-behaved the whole time¡­are you sure he is a troublemaker like people say?" "Tsk! Don''t let this deceive you! That boy is a demon!" Chapter 06: Back at the Academy Chapter 06: Back at the Academy Disimer: "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 06: Back at the Academy "N-Naruto?! I was not expecting to see you here." He recognized the young ninja in front of him. There were a lot of memories about him in his mind¡­ "Greetings, Professor Iruka." The young man looked at him with aplicated expression on his face. "I''m sorry for not being able to visit you while you were in the hospital¡­I just got my release yesterday and they told me that you had already left¡­." Naruto noticed that the professor still had many bandages on several parts of his body. The Hokage didn''t want to give him many details about what happened. But from what he was able to figure out, the previous owner of this body was attacked by a former professor of this academy who betrayed the vige and obtained some secret information. Professor Iruka came to help him and they both fought the traitor, resulting in both of them ending up in the hospital. Of course, he was the only one who knew that the boy known as Naruto ended up dying from those injuries¡­allowing his soul to inhabit its broken body. "What happened to that professor?" he asked. Iruka''s face changed to a frown. "Mizuki, he¡­he was taken into custody but his injuries were too severe and he died¡­" He then looked at Naruto and his expression softened. "You don''t have to worry about him anymore, Naruto¡­Oh, but don''t tell anyone what I just told you. This matter rted to Mizuki is still ss A information. Very ssified." "I understand." ''So the traitor is dead¡­one less thing to worry about, I suppose. I wonder what kind of secrets he was trying to steal¡­and who he was working for.'' He still knew next to nothing about this world or its history. But it makes sense for a vige such as this one to have many enemies. "So, Naruto¡­what are you doing at the academy? The new year won''t start for another month¡­and you have already graduated, remember?" He nced at his watch. "Is it a bit early to ask for ramen?" "I was actually wondering if I could ess the library here." Iruka became so shocked that he almost fell down on his butt. "What did you say? I must have misheard you¡­there is no way you asked for the library." "I want to see the library¡­" The professor now had a suspicious look on his face. "You are not going to throw paint at the books again, right? Because you have no idea how long that took to clean." Naruto sighed. ''This is going to take some convincing.'' <><><><><><><><><><><> "What is he doing here?!" The terrified librarian pointed at Naruto. "Well¡­he wanted to read a few things¡­" Even Iruka had a hard time believing this much. "Thest time he was here¡­I had to rewrite over a hundred scrolls by hand!" the librarianined. "I know, I know¡­I was there. That will never happen again. Right, Naruto?" Iruka nced at him. "Of course not¡­I greatly apologize for my poor behavior in the past¡­" He hated having to apologize for something he didn''t do, but if this is what it took¡­ The librarian gave Naruto a suspicious nce. "I will give you onest chance, just because Professor Iruka asked¡­but I will be keeping a close eye on you, and¡­" He pulled a sharp kunai before showing it to Naruto. "If you try anything funny, don''t forget that I am a trained Genin." <><><><><><><><><><><> Iruka also decided to stay at the library to observe him. Despite what he said to the librarian, he didn''t really have that much confidence in Naruto''s ability to change his behavior. Naruto tried to ignore the stares as he read and focused on his task. ''Eventually, they''ll realize that I have no interest in performing any sort of prank¡­I hope.'' He was at least pleasantly surprised to find several books that went more in-depth in their exnations about chakra and its usage. His first impression had been a correct one. Chakra is abination of the yin and yang energies. Except that they call them Spiritual energy and Physical energy. Oncebined inside the dantian, or chakra core, this energy flows through the body using a chakra pathway system, also known as ki veins. Ninjas then release this chakra from one of the 361 nodes to produce diverse effects. All of their ninja techniques are based on this principle. ''It doesn''t sound too difficult to learn but it will take some time to get used to this¡­'' He then found a scroll containing a technique to practice one''s chakra control that consisted of using a leaf. The leaf would be ced near a chakra node, and one would need to circte the appropriate amount of energy through it in order to keep it stuck to the body. Too much and the leaf would burn. Too little and it would fall. "Excuse me¡­Professor Iruka?" Naruto raised his hand to gain the young ninja''s attention. "Yes?" Iruka was still surprised by the fact that he had spent thest hour watching Naruto reading in silence¡­and he did it without anyone forcing him. "Is there a ce where I can go practice this?" Naruto showed him the scroll. "The leaf exercise?...you always hated that one¡­" Iruka came out of his stupor. "I mean¡­you are free to use the academy training facilities all you want. Just make sure to leave before seven P.M." "Great then¡­I''ll take my leave for today." Naruto gave Iruka and the librarian a quick bow and left the room after cing the reading materials back in their ces. Iruka stood there, not very sure of what to think. "He wants to practice now?..." All he could think was that if this was a prank, it was the most borate that Naruto had ever done. Chapter 07: Rapid Improvements Chapter 07: Rapid Improvements Disimer: "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 07: Rapid Improvements "And¡­ you say he''s been doing that for a week?" the worried Hokage asked. "Yes¡­ every day for a week already. Hees here first thing in the morning, visits the library, spends several hours reading books and scrolls in silence, and then hees to the yard for practice¡­" Iruka exined the strange behavior he noticed in Naruto since the previous week, when he came to visit. "Mmm¡­" The old man peeked from around the corner. Naruto was currently practicing the Bunshin jutsu inplete focus. He realized that the resulting clone was very much perfect. "I thought he was incapable of using that jutsu¡­" Iruka nodded. He also found it strange. "He could do the other two, but the Bunshin always came out wrong because he didn''t have enough control over his chakra¡­ this has always been the one thing that held him back." "But now he can do it with no problems. How is that possible?" The Hokage asked. "On the first day, he spent several hours practicing the leaf exercise. And I must say¡­ by the end of it, he had perfected itpletely. He could hold a dozen leaves on his body with no problems." "So, he had been practicing his chakra control¡­" The Hokage knew well enough why Naruto had problems controlling his chakra flow. He always had to work with a big handicap after all¡­ "It wasn''t just his chakra control¡­" Iruka whispered. His face filled with worry. "What is it?" The old man asked. "I have looked through all the books Naruto has been reading over thest week. There are a few missing, but for the most part, he had gone through the entire academy curriculum. And not just the theory but also the practice. Other than the leaf exercise¡­ Naruto had perfected his taijutsu, shurikenjutsu, and the three academy ninjutsus, among other things." "You mean?" Iruka nced at the boy. "It''s like¡­ he went through six years of the academy in just seven days." "I see¡­" "Lord Hokage¡­ what happened to Naruto? He is like apletely different person since he left the hospital," Iruka asked. "I''m not sure either, but¡­ his mind appears to have been affected during the attack he suffered at the hands of the traitor. ording to Inoichi, some of his memories had be fragmented in some parts¡­ while others arepletely missing." "So he has some type of amnesia?" Iruka asked. "Is he going to ever go back to being like he was? Or¡­" "Only time will tell. But it seems unlikely that he will go back to his old personality. I can only hope that at least he can recover some of his old spark." <><><><><><><><><><><> "Bushin!" Naruto said while making the hand signs. A clone appeared at his side and he observed it carefully, trying to find some ws. "Looks good, but¡­" He smacked the clone on the head and this one disappeared. "A bit disappointing, considering how difficult it is to make." After putting in a lot of effort, he managed to learn how to circte chakra through his body and perform these basic ninja techniques. But it required a lot of extra effort for him to do so. He knew where the problem was but not how to fix it. Normally, people would only need to worry aboutbining two types of energy, but Naruto had a third one added to the mix. Since the first day, he had noticed a third string of energy circting through his chakra veins and into his core. It wasn''t difficult to find the origin of this energy. Especially after he had seen the Demon Fox in person. For some reason, whoever had created the seal designed it in a way that would allow a small amount of demonic chakra to seep into his body. The real purpose of this would remain unknown to him for the moment since he was no expert on seals. But it was a fact that having this extra flow of energy was making it difficult for him to make use of these ninja techniques since they require being very precise with how much chakra is used. The mixture of spiritual and physical energies also required finesse. ''In any case¡­ my purpose at this academy is nowplete.'' He had learned as much as he needed for now. It was time to take the next step. Naruto pretended not to notice the two adults hiding around the corner and made his way outside the academy. <><><><><><><><><><><> By the time he left the academy grounds, it was already getting dark. His stomach grumbled inint. For the past week, he had been so focused on the task at hand that he had neglected some of his other needs a bit. The only food he had in his small apartment were dried noodles since that seemed to be the only thing the previous owner of this body ate. ''Maybe I should go do some shopping¡­'' He looked down at his orange jumpsuit. ''And not just for food. I need more clothes too. I still can''t believe that this is the only piece of clothing he had, other than those ugly pajamas.'' The Hokage had left him a decent amount of money so it should be enough to get a few necessities until he finds another way to earn money. "Naruto?! Where have you been?" He heard someone calling his name and turned around. There was a young woman wearing a white apron right next to a food stall. There was something very familiar about that stall¡­ its looks and the smell that came out of it. As for the girl¡­ "Ayame," Naruto said. "So you didn''t forget about me, huh?" The girl waved her hand at him. "Well?...what are you waiting for? Come in. My dad will prepare something for you. I''m sure you are hungry." Just in time, his belly grumbled again. "I am indeed hungry¡­" Chapter 08: Team 7 Chapter 08: Team 7 Disimer: "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 08: Team 7 As soon as he entered the ssroom, Naruto felt all their eyes fall on him before they started murmuring. ''It looks like no one was expecting me here¡­ Professor Iruka must have failed to inform them.'' His eyes moved across the room, trying to identify the students here. Oddly enough, he did remember the names of them all. At the back of the ss were Chouji and Shikamaru. One row ahead was Kiba along with his dog, Akamaru. His eyes were filled with hostility towards him for some reason. Next to him was the mysterious boy, Shino. Naruto stopped for a moment on him¡­ he could feel something stirring beneath his dark robes¡­ something alive. On the other side was a shy girl called Hinata. Finally¡­ sitting next to a window was a ck-haired boy named Sasuke Uchiha. He was well aware of what happened to his n and could sympathize with the young boy, but he was not going to show him any pity. ''Just seven?... there should be nine, ording to Iruka. Looks like we are still missing two.'' "Oi Naruto, what are you doing here?" Kiba could not hold any longer and decided to confront Naruto, thinking he was up to something. Naruto turned to face the Inuzuka boy. "I am here for the same reason that everyone else." The cold way in which he answered Kiba seemed to have surprised everyone present, even though only a few showed it on their faces. They knew Naruto as the loudest boy in the ss. And having Kiba in that same ss¡­ that was saying a lot. "The same reason? Don''t make meugh. We all saw you fail the test! Did you steal that bandana?" Naruto stared at the boy for a moment and wondered what was the best way to handle this. With these types of people, violence was often the fastest and most efficient way to shut them up. Before he could take any action, the door opened and two girls walked inside. They both immediately nced toward Sasuke and smiled. "Sasuke!" The pink-haired one called with joy. "I bet we are going to be on the same team. Isn''t that great?!" "Wait right there, forehead. How do you know he is not going to be in my team?" The blonde one pushed her aside. "We should ask him. Which one do you prefer?" Naruto recalled the names of those two¡­ Sakura and Ino. Ino just then noticed Naruto, who was still standing up. She appeared surprised for a moment. "Naruto, what are you doing here?" She was not only surprised by his presence in the graduate ss but also because she almost didn''t recognize him without his usual orange jumpsuit. "Naruto?..." Sakura gave him a look of pure disgust. "Are you trying to look cool by dressing more like Sasuke?..." Naruto looked down at his clothes. He was wearing some very simple ck robes and a utility belt with some kunais and shurikens. He only got these robes because they were cheap and he was able to afford two of them so he could at least wear one while cleaning the other one. He was not able to buy better footwear so he still wore his old sandals. It was the bare minimum when it came to basic hygiene. "I don''t know what you are talking about¡­ those are just normal clothes," Naruto answered. Sakura was about to yell something else when Iruka entered the ssroom. "Professor Iruka, look!" Sakura pointed at Naruto. "Professor! I think Naruto has stolen someone''s bandana. You have to do something," Kiba eximed. "Okay okay, everyone calm down and take a seat," Iruka said with a calm voice. He was already expecting this. "And Naruto didn''t steal anything. He is a graduate, like the rest of you." "But he failed the test! We were all there," Sakurained. "Yes, there were some special circumstances that urred after that¡­ I cannot reveal the details but in any case, Naruto has passed. The Hokage himself gave him that bandana." "Special circumstances?..." Shikamaru murmured. "The Hokage gave him that bandana?!" Kiba could not believe it. "Amazing¡­" Hinata used her hands to cover her smile. "Yes, now shut up and sit down. I am about to announce the teams," Iruka said with authority. Sakura was the fastest and sat down in the empty seat next to Sasuke. Ino sighed and had no choice but to sit a bit further away. Naruto chose an empty seat away from those two girls. He barely had any memories of them other than their names and that they were obsessed with Sasuke¡­ but he could already tell that he was not going to get along with them. "Let''s begin with Team 10. Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Chouji, and¡­ Yamanaka Ino." "Nooo!" Ino shouted. "Why am I stuck with those two?!" "Ha!, take that!" Sakura screamed with joy. "Next¡­ team 8." "Wait, what happened to team 9?" Kiba asked. "It''s already taken, now shut up," Iruka said. "Team 8 will be Hyuga Hinata, Aburame Shino, and Inuzuka Kiba." "Yeah!, best team ever!" Kiba shouted. "Wait¡­ this actually means¡­." Sakura stared at Sasuke with teary eyes. "Team 7¡­ Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura¡­" "It''s not fair!" Ino cried. "Hell yeah!, he is mine!" Sakura shouted. "And¡­ Uzumaki Naruto¡­" Iruka finished. "Oh no!, I got Naruto¡­" Sakura groaned. Inoughed at her. "That''s the least you deserve¡­" "Now¡­ team 7, wait here for your instructor. The rest, follow me." Iruka did not want to waste more time so he turned and started to walk out of the ssroom. The six students left the room while discussing with excitement about their potential instructors. "Who do you think our instructor is going to be, Sasuke?" Sakura leaned closer to him. "Hmmm¡­" Sasuke mumbled something she didn''t understand and continued to stare out of the window. Naruto looked at his two teammates. He was not really looking forward to working as a team with these two. ''Let''s hope that at least this instructor is an incredible ninja who can teach me something useful¡­'' Chapter 09: The New Team Chapter 09: The New Team Disimer: "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 09: The New Team "Ahh!, why is he taking so long?!" Sakura mmed her hands on the table. They had already been waiting for three hours and the instructor was nowhere to be seen. Naruto had been meditating in silence during all this time, so he didn''t mind it that much since his time was being put to good use. But he could understand the girl''s frustration. He opened his eyes and peeked at his two teammates. The one called Sasuke had notined once and remained in the same spot. ''He is neither meditating nor sleeping¡­ he must be a very patient person then.'' He found it very impressive for someone that young to have so much discipline. His otherpanion, the girl called Sakura, turned to look at him and by her expression¡­ she was extremely upset. "Naruto!, what is wrong with you today?, why are you acting so strange?" "I don''t know what you mean." Of course, he did know what she meant. From the things he had heard and the opinions people had of the past ''him''... he could get a good idea of what kind of person the previous owner of this body was. ''Loud, obnoxious, boisterous, loud, desperate for people''s attention, loud, hyperactive¡­ and liked the color orange.'' He was nothing like that. And he was not going to pretend to be like that. It would not take long for people to discover that he was faking his attitude. That would make him seem more suspicious. It was better to stop the pretense from the beginning and let them think that his change in personality was due to his loss of memories and head trauma. Sasuke lifted his head from the desk and turned to look at him. Despite not saying a word about it, he had also noticed the change in Naruto and had a tinge of curiosity about it. Not that he would ever admit it. "You don''t know what I mean?" Sakura raised an eyebrow. "You are not acting like yourself at all! Youe here wearing those dark clothes and you haven''t spoken in three hours! I have never seen you be silent for more than ten minutes." "I see what you mean now¡­ but what do you want me to say?" Naruto asked her. This seemed to make her angrier. "Stop this! It''s not funny! Do you think that if you act more like Sasuke I will agree to go on a date with you? That will never happen, not in a million years!" ''I asked this girl out?...'' He had no recollection of doing this in the fragments of memory left behind. But he had no reason to believe this girl was making things up, so it must be true. After giving her a closer look, he would admit that the girl was attractive. She had a nice body, albeit a bit thin, and a very pretty face. But her loud and aggressive personality did not fit his tastes at all. ''Mmm¡­ maybe I shouldn''t be too hasty to judge her. She could be having a particrly bad day¡­'' He decided to wait a bit longer before forming any opinions about his new teammates. ''Perhaps I should tell them about my loss of memories. They are bound to find out about it eventually as we interact more.'' "The truth is¡­" At that moment, the door was mmed open and someone walked in. "Finally! Do you have any idea how long you made us wait?!" Sakura turned her frustrations back to the source. On the other hand, Naruto and Sasuke observed the man with interest. He was a tall man with spiky silver hair. He wore the typical uniform for Jonins with the addition of a face mask that covered the lower half of his face. His bandana was ced in a way that covered one of his eyes for some reason. Naruto was unable to make any sort of assessment of this man''s strength. He had just begun his training and his senses were almost nonexistent. He could not feel anything from him. However, his instincts honed over many decades of facing the most powerful warriors in thend¡­ were telling him that this man was extremely dangerous, almost as much as the Hokage himself. ''Why would they send someone like that to serve as a mere instructor for three newbies?.... he feels overqualified.'' The silver-haired ninja gave the three of them a passing nce. "My first impression of you is¡­ disappointing. Meet me at the rooftop in five minutes." He then disappeared, leaving behind a small cloud of smoke. "What? Hey! Who is the disappointing one?!" Sakura was outraged now. "Who does he think he is to call us disappointing after getting here three hourste?, right, Sasuke?" The ck-haired boy finally stood up from his chair and began walking out of the ssroom. "He said we had five minutes, so we should not waste time¡­ there are a lot of stairs¡­" Naruto also began walking out. "Oh, right¡­" Sakura frowned. For once, she had nothing else to add, so she hurried to follow them. They arrived at the roof with just a few seconds to spare and found the instructorfortably sitting on one of the benches while reading some small book. "You arete." He told them without lifting his eyes from the book. "No, we are not!" Sakurained. She did not like this man. "Wait¡­. you are the one who arrivedte!" She then realized the hypocrisy of hisment. Naruto wondered if this man was performing some test on them. Arriving a few minuteste would be careless but understandable, but three hours¡­ that was deliberate. Then he made us run through a lot of stairs and called us out for beingte. The instructor closed the book and looked at the three of them again. He then sighed, now looking disappointed and tired at the same time. "Very well¡­ let''s do this. Go ahead¡­ introduce yourselves." Chapter 10: The next Test Chapter 10: The next Test Disimer: "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 10:The next Test "You want us to talk about ourselves? You should already know about us!" Sakura eximed. "Of course I do, but I want to hear it from you," Kakashi answered. "Why don''t you start? We don''t even know your name." Sakura insisted. "Very well¡­ I am Hatake Kakashi. I like¡­ things. I dislike¡­ different things. My goal in life is¡­ not to have my time wasted¡­ now you go." "You told us nothing about yourself!" Sakura shouted. "He did tell us his name," Naruto said. "We also know he is a jonin¡­ and that he has several dogs." "Wait, how do you know he has a dog?" Sakura turned around. "Because of the smell." "And how do you know I have several?" Kakashi asked. "You have dog hair on your clothes and there are several different ones¡­ so, different dogs." Naruto pointed out. Sakura stared at him in shock. "Who are you?..." Sasuke stared at him for a moment but kept his silence. Kakashi looked at him with interest. He neither confirmed nor denied what he said. "Why don''t you go next, blondie?" "I am Uzumaki Naruto¡­ I think I like ramen¡­ don''t really have much else to say." He had eaten the ramen from Ichiraku a few more times after his first visit and would admit that he liked it. Even though it wasn''t the only item on his diet anymore. "You think you like it?... that''s the only thing you eat," Sakura said. "What''s with you today?..." "Okay, the loud girl¡­ you are next." Kakashi pointed at Sakura. "I''m not that loud!... I mean¡­ I am Haruno Sakura, I''m fifteen. I like the color pink¡­ and romance novels and¡­" She gave Sasuke a side nce, and her cheeks gained a red tint. "I don''t like annoying people, like Ino or¡­" She now gave Naruto a nce but didn''t say his name. For some reason, he hadn''t been annoying today. "My goal in life is to be an awesome kunoichi and be recognized by someone¡­" She gave Sasuke another nce. Kakashi rolled his eyes. She was being way too obvious. "Fine¡­ you, quiet one. Say something." He looked at Sasuke. "Uchiha Sasuke¡­ I have nothing I like¡­ as for what I hate¡­" He clenched his teeth and fists. Kakashi stared at him with an impassive gaze. He knew well enough who Sasuke was thinking about right now. ''Still the same, huh?...'' "My goal in life is to restore my n and¡­ get revenge," Sasuke said coldly. "R-Restore the n¡­" Sakura''s cheeks became red again. Naruto recalled reading about Sasuke''s n being exterminated around six or seven years ago. There were no details about the ones responsible for it or their motives. But from what little Sasuke had said, he definitely knew more than that¡­ "Well¡­ that was¡­ something, I guess." Kakashi said with little enthusiasm. Sakura approached Kakashi. "So, you are going to be our instructor then? Will you be the one who gives us our missions or?..." "That is still to be seen¡­ for when you are actually Genins," Kakashi said. "What do you mean? We are already genins," Sakura said. Sasuke nced at Kakashi. He also thought the same. "Is there an extra test we have to pass?" Naruto asked. He had been wondering why this man was trying to test them. It all seemed to indicate that they were still being evaluated. Kakashi smiled. Or at least it appeared that way. It was hard to tell with the mask. "Correct¡­ you still need to pass my test. Only then will you have the right to call yourselves¡­ genins." "But¡­ we passed. We graduated already! Me and Sasuke were number one students!" Sakura shouted. "You did graduate, yes. But to be an official genin, you need to also pass a trial period under the guidance of a Jonin instructor. This next test is to decide if I take you under my wing¡­ if you fail¡­ you go back to the academy until another instructor is willing to test you." Kakashi exined. "But that¡­ that''s not fair!" Sakurained. Sasuke frowned. "I''m not going back to the academy¡­" "We''ll see about that," Kakashi said. "Tomorrow, five a.m., Training Ground number three. I advise you not to eat breakfast¡­ and do not bete." After saying that, he disappeared. "W-wait!" Sakura shouted. "This is so unfair! Now we have to pass another test?!" Sasuke stood up. Sakura turned to face him and smiled. "Oh, Sasuke!... do you want to go somewhere? We could go get some tea or s-" "I need to train¡­ I will not fail here." He muttered in a low voice and left the rooftop. "I doubt one more day of training would make any difference¡­ I wonder what kind of test he has in mind." Naruto wondered if there was a way to learn more about this teacher. Sakura stared at Naruto like he was aplete stranger. She seemed to be waiting for him to say something to her, but much to her surprise, Naruto left while in deep focus, thinking about something. "You didn''t even ask me out¡­" Sakura muttered in a soft voice. After a nice meal at Ichiraku, Naruto went home and began preparing for the next day. He opened the door and walked inside. The apartment looked very clean now. At leastpared to what it used to be. And although he didn''t have much food in the fridge, this one wasn''t spoiled. "I wish I had more money though¡­ I need to buy new tools and¡­ uhm?...." He nced at the window. There was something off with the way it was closed. "Someone has been here¡­" When he got closer to the window, he was able to pick up a familiar smell. For the past week, his sense of smell had been improving a lot, even though he didn''t know why. His current training should have had no effect on his nose. "Sniff sniff¡­ it smells like¡­ dog." Chapter 11: The Bell Test Chapter 11: The Bell Test Disimer: Dialogue ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 11: The Bell Test He arrived at the training ground number three with a good ten minutes to spare. His other two teammates were already there. Sasuke was resting his back against a tree with his eyes closed, while Sakura was sitting under the next tree, looking at him with a smile on her face. Her smile diminished when she saw him arrive. Naruto wasn''t sure if it was because he had disturbed her alone time with the other boy or because she just didn''t like his presence. ''This is going to be a problem¡­'' He had spent many hours thinking about the subject of this particr test. The most likely scenario was¡­ apatibility test. The academy had already tested their individual skills. The fact that they graduated proves they had the knowledge to be genins. The only thing that remained unknown was¡­ if they could work together. He had read many books in the short period of time he had been awake in this world. Although he still had much to learn, there was one thing he was sure about...this ninja vige puts a lot of value in camaraderie and teamwork. Working with these two was going to be difficult. Sasuke was obviously the type who wanted to prove himself by aplishing everything without help. He could easily recognize this because in the past¡­ he had been exactly like him. Their ultimate goals may have differed, but the way to get there was the same. As for the girl¡­ she has no respect for him and would not listen to anything he could say. She would only listen to Sasuke. ''I may fail this¡­'' He did not want to spend another year surrounded by young students. His immediate goal was to be a ninja and gain more independence. Then he would be able to train without being bothered. He also needed to learn more about this world. Information could be considered equivalent to power¡­ and he had little to none at the moment. Bing a high-rank ninja would certainly help with that. ''I need to pass this test somehow. Besides, something tells me that I will not find a more qualified instructor than this Kakashi if I let this chance go.'' Naruto said a quick good morning and sat down next to a more distant tree. Sasuke opened his eyes for a few seconds, stared at him, and closed them again. Sakura just showed him a gesture of disdain before returning her attention to the other boy. ''Difficult¡­ indeed.'' Naruto closed his eyes and began to meditate. He didn''t know if Kakashi was going to pull the same one from yesterday and arrive three hourste again. He didn''t want to waste time, and this was a great ce to cultivate. His consciousness went back to his Mind Pce where the golden book and the pool of chakra were located. He had not returned to the room with the demon fox again. He had nothing else to say to that demon for the moment. Instead, he focused on cultivating his body with the method gifted to him by the Golden Scripture. The reason why everyone was after this Divine Treasure was because it was always able to give its users the most efficient cultivating method. No matter who it was or what it was, or...where it was. In his past life, he was given a Divine Technique called the Crimson Dragon Ascend. This was because his body had been especially attuned to the fire element, and his core had an affinity for dragons. Had he been a demon or a ghost, the Golden Scripture would have been able to provide him with the absolute best possible technique avable. And now it had done the same. Cosmic Assimtion¡­ that was the name given to his current breathing method. In this world, people circte both yin and yang energies through their bodies to use their techniques. With this method, he was able to infuse part of those energies into his body in a permanent way. And he could do this with any type of energy he could somehow circte through his chakra veins. This included the powerful yang energy seeping out of a certain fox demon sealed inside his body. A small amount of demonic yang was always leaking through his body. This was an intended design of the sealing method used on him. Now, while he cultivated, some of that energy would remain with him and make his body more powerful instead of returning to the demon. Naruto didn''t know how long it would take because the demon had a tremendous amount of chakra, but one day, as he continued to absorb his energy¡­ the demon would disappear¡­ and be his strength. ''He said he was an eternal being¡­ I''ll show him who is eternal.'' "Naruto¡­" He opened his eyes and saw Kakashi standing in front of him. ''The sun is in a very different position¡­ I must have lost track of time¡­'' He got too absorbed in his meditation. "Hehe, sorry¡­ I fell asleep." He said in an apologetic way while scratching his head. "Naruto, you idiot! How can you sleep at such a moment!" Sakura was quick to scold him. Kakashi''s uncovered eye was sharply fixed on him. "It didn''t seem like you were sleeping¡­ but fine." He turned to look at the other two. "Gather around¡­ I will exin your test." "Are you not going to tell us why you were sote again?" Sakura asked. "As you can see, I have two bells here." Kakashi said, while ignoring Sakura''s question and proceeded to show them the two bells. "When I give the signal, we will start. Your objective is to get one of these bells from me, using whatever method you want, before the timer runs out." He then tied the two bells to his belt. "Wait, there are only two bells!" Sakura pointed out. "I can see why you were number one at the academy." Kakashi nodded. "Hey!" "Only two can pass." Sasuke said. Kakashi did not answer him and instead just went to ce the clock down at the shade of a tree. "How much time do we have?" Sakura asked. "Normally, you would have five hours¡­ but since we began a bitte¡­ you have two." Kakashi told them. "But that was your fault!" Sakura screamed. "That''s fine by me. I just have to get one of those bells¡­" Sasuke smiled. "Any method you said?" "That''s right¡­ ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu, shurikenjutsu¡­ or anything else that you can think of. You can use anything that you want. As long as you get the bell within the time limit¡­ you win." Kakashi said calmly before kneeling down to tap on the clock. "And the time begins¡­ now!" Chapter 12: The Bell Test Part 2 Chapter 12: The Bell Test Part 2 Disimer: Dialogue ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 12: The Bell Test Part 2 Sasuke and Sakura hurried to jump out of view and hid in the nearby trees. Naruto remained in the clearing, considering his options. Kakashi nced at him with curiosity. "Aren''t you going to hide? You should not waste time." Naruto raised an eyebrow at his strangement. "Wouldn''t hiding be wasting my time also? I mean¡­ you are not going to attack us, so we are not in danger. And due to the difference in strength and speed, pulling a sneak attack on a Jonin would be an impossible task. So, just a waste of time." "And what is going to be your strategy? A direct attack?" This would be more in line with what Kakashi would expect from the old Naruto. But he wasn''t so sure now. ''I can barely recognize this boy.'' He thought for a second. Not that he ever put much effort into getting to know his mentor''s son¡­ something that he now regretted. "That would also be a wasted effort. I''m just waiting." Naruto''s answer was not what Kakashi was expecting at all. But before he could ask what he was waiting for, Sasuke decided tounch his attack. A series of well-aimed shuriken flew towards his head. Kakashi used a single hand to pick them up from the air and then spotted the boy while he was jumping down from the tree. Sasuke threw three kunai as soon as his feet touched the ground. Without even checking if they connected, he started to move as fast as he could. He stopped a short distance away and moved his hands at lightning speed, forming six hand signs before releasing his attack. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!" Arge st of fire came out of Sasuke''s mouth and was aimed directly at Kakashi. ''Does he really think this is going to hit?'' Naruto wondered as he watched the other boy fighting. The technique was impressively powerful but also slow. And more so against someone like Kakashi who they had already seen moving at incredible speed. Naruto thought that Sasuke was perhaps using this to cover his next move but afterunching the attack, Sasuke stood in ce, searching for the missing instructor. When the smoke from the fire explosion cleared up, he was nowhere to be seen. "Where did he go?!" He moved his eyes around. "Beneath you." Naruto tried to warn him when he saw the dirt move but it was toote. "Huh?" Sasuke looked down just as a pair of hands emerged from the ground and grabbed his feet before pulling him down and burying his body until only his head could be seen. Naruto watched with interest. He had never seen techniques such as these in his previous life. ''How fascinating¡­ a great tool for capturing someone alive.'' As long as the target was not strong enough to break free by himself. Kakashi came out from the ground and proceeded to stare down at Sasuke. "Let me go!" Sasuke screamed with rage. "You should pay more attention to your surroundings. You never know where the next attack ising from." Kakashi said before disappearing. Naruto decided to approach the other boy. He may be more receptive to cooperation after having lost. Sasuke nced at him with angry eyes. His usual impassive and calm demeanor was gone. "You coward! Aren''t you even going to try?!" "It is not cowardly to avoid confronting a much stronger opponent. I''m curious though¡­ did you really think you could win?" Naruto asked instead. "Shut up! You wouldn''t understand. I am an Uchiha, an elite! I must keep fighting to be the best." Sasuke eximed. "If you do that against a real enemy, you will end up dead or captured. But let''s leave that for now. We first need to pass this test or we will go nowhere. I think I know how to pass it but we need to cooperate." "Cooperate with you? You were the deadst in the academy! You would only hold me down." Sasuke said with a frown. Naruto chuckled. "You don''t need me for that." His teammate was about to yell something rude at him when they both heard a bloodcurdling screaming from the nearby forest. "Looks like the girl has been defeated too." Sasuke''s demeanor seemed to change at that moment. "Who are you?" Naruto nced back at him. ''What did I say to make him change his attitude so much?...'' "Why are you asking that now?" "I thought you were acting strange since yesterday. I considered that you may have been trying to fool us, but¡­ the Naruto I had known for six years would never call Sakura, ''the girl'' in such a cold way after hearing her scream in pain¡­ he was obsessed with her. So who are you? A spy or something?" "If I was, I would be a terrible one, and¡­ you would be dead." Naruto pointed down to remind Sasuke of his current condition. Sasuke got nervous and swallowed his saliva. He had not thought that far. "Rx¡­ I am no spy. I truly am Naruto. There is a reason for my change of demeanor¡­ but we have no time for exnations. Would you at least listen to my n?" Sasuke knew he had little choice in the matter. Staying in the hole would mean that he failed. "Get me out of here and I will listen to what you have to say." "Good! Now, let''s see¡­" Naruto walked behind him and buried his hand in the dirt until he could get a good grip on Sasuke''s shoulders. "This may hurt a bit." "Wait, what are y¡ª... argh!" A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 13: The Bell Test Part 3 Chapter 13: The Bell Test Part 3 Disimer: Dialogue ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 13: The Bell Test Part 3 "There she is," Naruto pointed at the unconscious Sakura. "Mmm¡­" Sasuke continued to rub his shoulders. "Come on, I put them back in ce. It can''t hurt that much anymore," Naruto said. "Should I dislocate your shoulders to see?" Sasuke spat. Naruto ignored hisints and went to check on the girl. He didn''t know what technique Kakashi had used on her but there were no visible injuries on her. "It looks like she is just unconscious. By her scream, I thought she would at least have a few broken bones." "She was probably attacked with genjutsu¡­" Sasuke said with a certain bitterness in his voice. "Genjutsu¡­" He didn''t think of that. The academy books don''t go too deep into that branch of techniques so Naruto didn''t know much. Just that they were meant to attack the mind instead of the body. ''I''m not good with those kinds of tactics.'' In his old world, mental attacks were mostly used by some female practitioners. There were also some demonic beasts who specialized in those but they were rare. "A mental attack¡­" Naruto muttered. "Kakashi must have shown her something very painful. It may take a long time for her to wake up." Sasuke said. He then thought of something. "Will this n of yours work without her? You still haven''t told me what it is." Naruto frowned. "No¡­ it will not work. We need the full team." "We only have around ny minutes. We can''t just stand here and wait for her to wake up." Sasuke said. "Do you have some water? That may help." "If you want to stay here, that''s fine. I''m going back there and fighting Kakashi again." Sasuke had little patience left at this moment. There was too much at stake. ''I cannot fail here¡­if I''m sent back to the academy for another year¡­ I''m already too far behind him¡­ I''ll never catch up.'' Naruto could see the mental stress that Sasuke was under. "If you go there by yourself¡­ you will exhaust your chakra without aplishing a single thing and then we will all fail." "How can you be so sure? Don''t underestimate me!" Sasuke was losing his calm again. "Because the objective of this test is teamwork." Naruto decided to reveal it before it was toote. Sasuke stared at him without blinking. "Teamwork?..." "Yes. What else could this test be for? Our individual skills have already been tested in the academy. We graduated so we are good enough, there is no need to prove ourselves again. However, there is still the question if we can work as a team." "If that is the objective, why are there only two bells? Only two can pass." "Do you know of any two-man teams?" Naruto asked. "What do you¡­ hmmm¡­" Sasuke thought about it but could note up with an answer. Konoha teams were alwaysposed of three ninjas. "He lied to us?" He asked. "Is it that hard to believe? I think the bells are meant to simte an emergency situation. What do you do in a situation where you have to choose betweenpleting the mission or saving a teammate?" Naruto pointed at Sakura. "We could leave her here and try to get the two bells for us. But I''m sure that even if we could do that¡­ we will fail the test. What do you think is the correct answer, based on Konoha''s philosophy?" Sasuke remained silent for a minute. He then opened a small container on his belt and pulled out a scroll. "I have water stored here." "How convenient," Naruto said as he saw Sasuke unseal tworge bottles of water. ''That is fuuinjutsu¡­ seals. Like the one I have on my body.'' He nced down at his belly. He could not see it now but knew there was a seal there. ''I should learn more about that when I have time.'' "Here." Sasuke handed Naruto a bottle of water. "How are you going t¡ª" "Thanks." He said before dunking the bottle on Sakura''s face. Sasuke stared at Naruto with a serious expression. "What happened to the whole ''caring for your teammates'' speech?" Sakura started to cough violently and Naruto removed the bottle of water. Naruto''s eyes turned to meet Sasuke''s. "I am an individualist¡­ much like you. But I will y along with the vige rules and you should do the same." ''I''ll y along for now at least¡­. once I have regained my strength, we''ll have to see.'' Sakura coughed again. "W-wha¡­what happened?...Sasuke?..." She turned her head around to stare at the boy. Shepletely ignored Naruto''s presence and just stared at Sasuke with shock. "You are alive!... but I thought¡­." "You were hit by a genjutsu¡­ I don''t know what you saw but, none of that was real, it was just an illusion." Sasuke exined. "It wasn''t real¡­ oh thank God¡­ wait!" She looked down at herself. "Why am I all wet?" "I had to wake you up." Naruto showed her the bottle of water. Just then Sakura appeared to recognize his presence. "Na¡­ru¡­to¡­" Her face contorted in anger. "How dare you throw water at my face?!" She stood up with a jump and lunged at him with her right fist ready to break his face. "Ahhh!" Sakura let out a yelp of surprise when Naruto grabbed her arm and flipped her around, having hernd on her back with a loud ''thud'' noise. "We don''t have time for these games¡­ we have a test to pass." "W-what?! What was that?" Sakura was in shock. This was the first time that Naruto stopped her from punching him. He always took the punishment. Even Sasuke looked a bit surprised despite knowing that Naruto was very different now. "Is she always like this?" Naruto asked Sasuke. Maybe his first impression of the girl had not been that far off. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 14: Teamwork Chapter 14: Teamwork Disimer: Dialogue ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 14: Teamwork "Teamwork?... that''s it?" Sakura asked. "If I''m correct, then yes," Naruto answered. "And if you are not?" Sasuke had an impassive gaze. "What about this... the three of us work together to get one of the bells. If we seed, you can have it. That way, if I am right, the three of us pass, and if I am wrong¡­ then you pass," Naruto suggested. "I have no problem with that n! I''ll help Sasuke in any way I can!" Sakura said with a lot of enthusiasm. Sasuke stared at Naruto with a tinge of distrust. "And you will be okay with just me passing the test?" "I have confidence in my n," Naruto said. He was also sure that he was not going to be allowed to remain a civilian forever even if he failed here. Whoever had put that demon fox inside him, had some n for the benefit of Konoha. That would exin why the Hokage showed so much interest in him. ''Whatever n they had... was definitely not for my own benefit. But it doesn''t matter. It suits me for now... I need to be stronger.'' "Fine then... let''s do this." Sasuke nodded. As long as he got what he wanted, he didn''t care about the rest. "So, how do we do this, exactly?" Sakura asked while mostly looking at Sasuke. "We have over an hour, why don''t we spend some timeing up with a good strategy?" Naruto suggested. He didn''t know what his teammates were good at so it was difficult toe up with a proper n like that. He was also not used to fighting as a group, so it was an extra challenge for him. <><><><><><><><> Naruto walked into the open and found Kakashi standing in the middle of the clearing as he had been from the beginning. He was currently reading the same book from the day before and didn''t seem interested in paying much attention to him. "You three have already wasted an hour. You have less than thirty minutes left," Kakashi said without lifting his gaze. "I wouldn''t say wasted. We had some things to discuss as a team," Narutomented. Now he finally lifted his gaze. His single visible eye focused on Naruto. "As a team, huh? But there are only two bells¡­ who is going to give up their position... you?" "Let''s be honest, even if we work together, our chances of getting a single bell are astronomical." Naruto walked towards Kakashi. "But you seem ready to fight this time." Kakashi did not miss his change in posture and demeanor. "I have to try... I also have my pride." Naruto gave Kakashi a wide grin. The silver-haired ninja felt something... a shiver at the back of his neck. ''What was that?...'' Naruto jumped to action once he was just a few feet away from Kakashi. ''My opponent is faster, stronger, and has a much better understanding of this world''s techniques. My chances of winning right now are¡­ probably none. Especially without knowing what he can do¡­ that covered eye is worrying me.'' His hands moved to form the Ram-Tiger-Snake seals. Two clones appeared, one at each side of him. "What?!" Kakashi was surprised to see him use that technique. ording to what he had read, Naruto was unable to mold the chakra with enough precision to use that particr jutsu. There was also something else that bothered him. ''Why isn''t he using the Shadow Clones?'' Naruto,pletely unaware of Kakashi''s thoughts, began his attack. All three figures punched together at the instructor. ''What a careless move¡­'' This was more like something he expected from Naruto. A very telegraphed punch that left him open for a counterattack. He didn''t even need the Sharingan to know which one was the real one. He easily dodged the punching from the middle Naruto and used his one free hand to punch back, aiming at the boy''s sides with enough force to break a few ribs and teach asting lesson. "Puff¡­" The Naruto he punched disappeared in a cloud of smoke, along with the other two copies. "Wait¡­" For a moment, Kakashi thought he had punched a Shadow Clone, but then he saw a shuriken floating in the air and realized. All around him were the shuriken and kunai that Sasuke had previously thrown at him. ''A substitution.'' Naruto had used one of them for the substitution jutsu. The real Naruto was now at his left side, his hand extended to grab one of the bells. "Tsk!" Kakashi had to put his book away to smack Naruto''s hand from the bell. But then, a series of well-aimed kunai flew at him from the trees. ''Sasuke?'' He thought. ''They are working together?...'' Kakashi used his own kunai to block them while his other hand was busy blocking Naruto''s relentless attacks. Kakashi noticed that despite being much slower than him, Naruto''s attacks were not as easy to block as he expected. He was always aiming at the correct spots, depending on his position, making things difficult for him. ''He doesn''t fight like a newbie genin¡­ were all the reports about Naruto wrong? I''ll need to have a long talk with Iruka about this.'' Kakashi did not have much time to think now. "Fire release: Phoenix Sage Fire technique!" A volley of small fireballs attempted to hit him from behind. ''Wait! It wasn''t Sasuke who was shooting from the trees then¡­ it must have been Sakura. So the three of them had been working together.'' He really thought that Naruto had been making things up before. He avoided some of the fireballs while blocking the rest. None of them were aimed at any of his vital points and were not too difficult to block. ''Didn''t Sasuke have better aim than this?...'' The smell of smoke reached his nose. He looked down, expecting to see that his clothes had been singed but much to his horror, he saw his beloved book catching fire. "Nooo!" A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 15: Team 7 Chapter 15: Team 7 Disimer: Dialogue ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 15: Team 7 Using his superior speed, Kakashi moved a good distance away and put the fire out, saving his beloved novel. "Uff¡­ that was close. I had only read this one three times¡­" "Haa!" Kakashi spotted some pink hair before being forced to avoid a potentially dangerous punch to his groin. "Sakura?" He had not expected to see this girl charging directly at him and attacking using taijutsu since that was her weakest point ording to the profile he read. Kakashi was using one hand to stop her attacks but was starting to feel the pressure. Sakura''s attacks were not just fast but she was also urately aiming for his blind spots. Momentster, he also had to avoid several shurikens being thrown by Sasuke, who was now acting as support. ''This is a bit annoying¡­ but wait¡­ where is Naruto?'' As Kakashi was wondering this¡­ three kunai came flying towards his back while several more shurikens were thrown by Sasuke. At the same time, Sakura threw a barrage of punches and kicks at him. With no other choice, he had to put his book away and attack the girl with one hand while stopping the flying weapons with the other one. He felt bad for having to hurt the young girl, but he was being pushed quite a bit by these genin. He felt his punch connect with her stomach, but just then¡­ she disappeared. Kakashi felt a presence behind him. ''She used substitution?!... That''s the same thing that he did¡­ oh!'' He quickly turned around and found Naruto''s hand already going for one of the bells. ''That was not Sakura!, Naruto was using a transformation!'' Had he been using his Sharingan, he would have easily found out, but since he wasn''t taking this fight very seriously, he hadpletely underestimated what Naruto could do. His transformation had been perfect. ''But this is not enough to take the bell,'' Kakashi thought. He was still many times faster than Naruto and could easily deflect this attempt. But the blonde boy surprised him again. When Kakashi tried to grab Naruto''s hand as it was moving close to the bells¡­ the hand disappeared as if it was never there in the first ce. A different hand appeared a few inches away and grabbed onto one of the bells, pulling it out while Kakashi was still trying to figure out what happened. "Got one!" Naruto shouted with joy. This had been as difficult as he thought. He was forced to make use of a variation of the ''Illusionary Palm'' technique. A low-rank martial art from his old world that is able to deceive the opponent by making him see a fake hand. "Yes, we did it!" The real Sakura came running towards Kakashi and Naruto. Sasuke was only a short distance behind. His usual impassive face was reced by a satisfied smile. Kakashi nced down at his belt. There was only one bell remaining. ''They really got one¡­ I can''t believe this.'' Of course, if he had been taking this encounter a bit more seriously, the genin would have had zero chance of victory, but that would have been too unfair so he had held back quite a bit. Even then¡­ he did not predict this oue at all. Kakashi thought he had a good grasp on their abilities based on what he had observed personally and what he had read from their files. His assessment of Sasuke and Sakura had been mostly urate. But he had beenpletely off the mark with Naruto¡­ the boy was nothing like his file says. Kakashi knew about his incident, followed by his loss of memories and change of attitude. But this was more than just having a different personality. ''Those taijutsu moves¡­ where did he learn that? And thatst technique he used¡­ was that genjutsu?'' Kakashi decided that he was going to have a good talk with Iruka after this. He was the one who knew Naruto the best so he may have some idea of what was happening here. "So¡­ did we pass?" Sakura asked with excitement. Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Pass? You only got one bell¡­ and the time is almost up." Kakashi nced at Naruto. "Should I congratte you now?" "Wait, you are only going to pass Naruto?" Sakura had trusted Naruto''s n because Sasuke had agreed to it, but now she was beginning to have doubts. Naruto shrugged. "If you only want to pass the person with the bell¡­" he threw the bell to Sasuke. "Pass him." Sasuke caught the bell and stared at it for a moment. He seemed to be conflicted. "Is that so? Should I pass only Sasuke then?" Kakashi asked. "No¡­ I don''t deserve to be the only one who passes. We all worked together," Sasuke said while looking at Naruto. He could not ept to win like this. Not when he knew that Naruto had done most of the work. Naruto was the one who came up with the strategy, plus was the one who ultimately got the bell from Kakashi. If he just took this bell like this¡­ it would be too shameful. Sasuke threw the bell at Kakashi''s feet. "You should pass us all. We all got that bell." "Yeah, Sasuke is right!" Sakura eximed. "Wasn''t that the point of this test? To see if we could work together? Well, we just showed you." Kakashi stared at the pink-haired girl. "Who told you that was the point of the test?" "Eh?... well." She pointed at Naruto. "I see¡­" He saw it now. Naruto had figured it out from the beginning and had been trying to get the other two to cooperate with him. Kakashi sighed in defeat. ''It looks like I will be a teacher for a while.'' They all then heard the clock set up previously by Kakashi. The time was up¡­ Kakashi nced at the three of them. "From today on¡­ you are officially recognized as Genin of Konoha. Wee to Team 7." A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 16: Let’s get to work! Chapter 16: Let¡¯s get to work! Disimer: Dialogue ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 16: Let''s get to work! Three dayster, Naruto was walking through the streets of the vige by himself. It was early in the morning but many civilians were already out, doing their early chores. Most of them gave him some nasty res as they passed by, but since he had be an official ninja, they had at least stopped with the offhand nastyments. Naruto was mostly used to their rude attitude by now. And at least he understood the reason for his treatment. He had read all about the events that urred fifteen years back. The demon known as the Kyubi attacked the vige, killing thousands of civilians and hundreds of ninjas. It was the worst massacre the vige had ever suffered. The Kyubi was only stopped by the sacrifice of the beloved Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato. This also made very clear to Naruto who was the one responsible for putting that demon inside him. He didn''t know the details behind the Fourth''s death. Either he died as a side effect of the sealing or he had suffered mortal wounds during his fight with the demon. But it was clear he had been the one who performed the sealing. Peopleter on found out that the Kyubi didn''t actually die but was instead ced inside the body of a young boy known as Naruto. Civilians didn''t have much knowledge about the inner workings of seals so they all interpreted it in their own way. While some understood that the demon was merely trapped inside him, others believed that he was some sort of human reincarnation of the demon himself. Whatever the case, most of them appear to have decided to vent their anger and frustrations about the loss of their loved ones¡­ on him. There was not much he could do about it without breaking the vigews. That was the only thing stopping him from crushing the skull of the next idiot who called him ''demon boy'' or something like that. But even if he wanted to ignore them, it was very difficult to perform any kind of shopping in the vige. Half the shops refused to sell him anything while the other ones would overcharge him. Now he understood why the previous owner of this body would only eat ramen and had barely any clothes. Naruto did find a solution to the shopping problem though. He would use the Transformation Jutsu to adopt the looks of Sasuke when going out to buy supplies. The vigers'' attitude would take aplete turn, and not only would they sell to him but also give him discounts. Apparently, the Uchiha n was very much liked by the vigers and now Sasuke is the only one left so they all treat him like he is some sort of member of the royal family. He moved his eyes around the ce. ''I''m almost there.'' Just one more turn and he would reach the entrance to Training Grounds number 3, where they were meeting with their new, Professor. They had been given three days to rest before officially beginning their jobs. Naruto had used this time mostly to peruse the Ninja Library, now that he had permission to use it as a proper ninja. He was disappointed to find out that he only was granted ess to a small portion of it with his status as Genin. This made sense to him, as his old sect had the same type of distribution where the outer disciples could only read the low-rank martial arts and cultivation techniques. But it was still frustrating. ''If I want to learn everything in there, I would need to reach the rank of Jonin, and I better get there quickly.'' He did not want to stay here forever, but he was still too weak to venture outside and this vige contained all the resources he needed to grow in power. "Okay¡­ here we go." Naruto walked past the entrance to the training grounds. His life as a ninja starts now. <><><><><><><><><><><><> "This is really not what I was expecting¡­" Narutoined again. "Shut up! I can''t hear anything!" Sakura shouted. "Maybe keep silent and you will¡­" Sasuke groaned. The three genin were standing on top of some branches in the middle of a forest. All of them were wearing hearing devices attached to their ears. "Can you copy now?" The voice of Kakashi reached them through the devices. "Yes, we hear you, Professor," Sakura answered. "Good, now¡­ can you see the target?" "I can see it," said Sasuke. "Distance?" "Ten meters. I''m ready to go." "I''m ready too!" added Sakura. "Me too¡­ I guess¡­" Naruto sighed. "On my call¡­ three¡­ two¡­ one¡­ GO!" Kakashi ordered. The three genin jumped from the trees and pounced on their target, who was smelling some flowers,pletely unsuspecting of the iing attack. "Me?!" Therge cat yelped as Naruto grabbed it from behind. "Naruto got it!" Sakura eximed. "Are you sure this is the target? I swear if we get the wrong cat again¡­" Naruto was ready to snap the cat''s neck at any moment. "It has the red ribbon on the left ear¡­ there is no doubt, this is the correct one," Sasuke observed. "Good job!" Kakashi spoke through themunication devices. "Search mission ''Lost Pet Tora'' has been sessfullypleted. Just bring the cat back to the Hokage''s office. The client will be waiting there." "Fine, let''s get this over with. Here, Sakura, you carry this thing." Naruto handed the cat to her. "Ahh!" The cat immediately started scratching her before she could get a good grip. "Naruto!" She growled at him. He was not paying attention to her at all. It had been a week since they started doing missions but all they got so far were nothing but chores. This was truly nothing like what he expected they were going to do. Even the impassive Sasuke could not hide his disappointment. "What do you think, Sasuke? When are we getting a decent mission?" Naruto asked him. "Hmmph¡­" The boy just grunted. Naruto was starting to know him enough to interpret his noises. That was the grunt for ''I don''t know'' "I see¡­ well, let''s hope it''s soon¡­ I can''t ta¡ª" "Ahh!" Sakura screamed when the cat scratched her face. "Noo!" She then screamed again when the cat escaped from her hands. "It''s getting away!" "That''s it! I''m killing that beast!" Naruto decided. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 17: An Unexpected Opportunity Chapter 17: An Unexpected Opportunity Disimer: Dialogue ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- A.N - I have decided to make a few changes after reading some of thements. I have been trying to keep the number of Japanese words at a minimum, but it is a hard bnce to maintain. -I will be using the word ''Sensei'' to refer to Kakashi, instead of Professor or teacher. - I will still keep it for Iruka as he is more of an academic type of teacher and it fits him. - I will also use Ninjutsu and Jutsu instead of ''technique'' for everything. The reason for this is that the MC will also use moves from his old world, and those are not ninja techniques, so it helps me make a more clear distinction between non-ninja moves and the rest. Chapter 17: An Unexpected Opportunity "Now, let''s see¡­ Kakashi''s team 7. Your next mission is to babysit an elder''s grandson and paint Mr. Kobayashi''s fence." "Wait, we already painted that fence!" Sakura shouted before realizing who she was shouting at. "Haruno!" Professor Iruka was outraged. He had expected this from someone else but not from this girl. "I-I''m very sorry, Great Hokage! I didn''t mean to disrespect you!" She quickly bowed to him. "It''s fine." The Hokage brushed it off. "And yes¡­ you had already painted that fence. But we did not receive payment because your job was too sloppy. So you are doing it again. And Kakashi¡­ make sure they are doing it properly this time." Kakashi nodded. "I will." "Is there really nothing else for us to do? We have been Genin for two weeks already, but we have been doing nothing but D-rank missions." Naruto finally decided to speak. Sasuke was at his side. He said nothing but nodded in approval. "Naruto, two weeks is nothing! You are still newbies¡­ of course, you are going to be doing D-rank missions." Iruka said. "I am also a bit more limited in what missions to give you¡­" The Hokage said. "After what happened to Madam Shijimi and poor Tora¡­ I do not dare to give you any mission involving any animals." "That was Naruto''s fault!" Sakura said defensively. "Sasuke and I did a great job catching that cat!" "That was an ident," said Naruto. "Kakashi had to rip the kunai from your hand before you could stab that poor cat!" The Hokage was starting to lose his patience. "That cat must have been at least part demon. Nothing poor about it¡­" Naruto added. "Hmm¡­" Sasuke seemed to agree. "Naruto, you didn''t even apologize for that!" Iruka scolded him. "I''ll tell you what¡­" The Hokage nced at him. "If your team does a good job today with these missions¡­ tomorrow, I may have a C-rank for you all." "Eh? Are you serious, Hokage? They are still new to this." Iruka said. The Hokage looked at Kakashi. "What do you say? They are your students. Can they handle a C-rank?" Kakashi nced at his students. After spending two weeks with them, he knew that strength-wise, neither Sasuke nor Naruto would have any trouble with a C-rank mission or even a B-rank. Sakura was a bit behind in that regard, but her long-rangebat skillsplemented well the two boys who seemed to prefer fighting up close. His only worry was their attitude. That was not something he could fix in two weeks. Sakura did not seem to take her job as a ninja seriously and focused mostly on Sasuke. He even heard that she was on a strict diet while also training. He had already warned her that it would affect her growth but she refused to listen. Sasuke''s state of mind was terrible. He was not a specialist, but it was obvious that the massacre of his n,bined with whatever Itachi had done to him during their brief encounter, hadpletely altered his personality. He was obsessed with gaining power and getting revenge for his n. His loyalty to Konoha was very questionable. Naruto was an enigma for him. After a long talk with Iruka, he had decided that he could not trust any information from before the incident. The current Naruto was apletely different person. If it wasn''t for the fact that he had personally seen the Kyubi''s chakra on him, using his Sharingan, he would doubt that person was even Naruto in the first ce. "They can handle it." Kakashi finally said. By his look, the Hokage could tell there was more to it he wanted to say. "Very well¡­ then it is decided. Perform well today and we can talk about Team 7 getting a C-rank mission. You three are dismissed¡­ Kakashi, stay for a few minutes." Iruka handed the mission report to Kakashi and this one passed it on to Sakura, as usual. "Okay, you three get started with the first mission. You have all the information in there¡­ I will be checking on you in a while." Kakashi then nced towards Naruto. "Don''t mess this up." The trio of Genins left the office, leaving Kakashi alone with the Hokage and Professor Iruka. "Kakashi¡­ you have been their teacher for two weeks already. I would like to hear your opinion on those three genins." Despite saying that, it was obvious for the rest that the Hokage was particrly worried about one genin. Kakashi gave his report on Sakura and Sasuke, ending with a rmendation for Sasuke to be seen by a specialist in psychological traumas. "We have already tried that¡­ I had Inoichi talk with the young Uchiha years ago. It did not go well¡­" The Hokage sighed. That n massacre was going to go down as his biggest regret¡­ and worst failure as a Hokage. "As much as I want to help that boy¡­ as long as he is not willing to ept others'' help, there is not much we can do. If we try to force the issue, he will just push us further away." Kakashi nodded. "I see¡­" He could at least understand that, even if he didn''t like it. "Let''s move on to Naruto¡­ what can you tell us about his progress? Did he remember anything from before the incident?" The Hokage asked. "No¡­ nothing at all, as far as I know. He is like a brand new person now." Said Kakashi. "Well¡­ I wouldn''t saypletely new. He does still have some things from the old Naruto. Although I''m not sure if he even realized it." Said Iruka. "Like what?" The Hokage asked. "You also have spent some time with him, didn''t you?" "I did." Iruka smiled. "He still loves ramen, for one. Even if he now has more restraint while eating it. He is also mischievous sometimes, but in a different, more mature way. And beneath all that cold attitude he has now¡­ I know he is still a kind person who cares about others." The Hokage seemed pleased to hear those words. "That is good¡­ I''m d to hear the boy I watched grow up is notpletely gone¡­" He then looked back at Kakashi. "You seemed worried about something before. Can you tell us what it is?" "Yes¡­ it is not Naruto''s personality that worries me. A change of attitude or manner is not that strange after suffering a severe trauma. What worries me is¡­ his skills and knowledge. He improves at an rming pace." The Hokage''s eyes became sharper. "You think he has found the other use for the Shadow Clone technique?" Kakashi shook his head. "That is another thing I wanted to say¡­ I have not seen him use the Shadow Clone technique¡­ not even once." A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 18: Who are you? Chapter 18: Who are you? Disimer: Dialogue ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 18: Who are you? "Arg¡­" Naruto grunted. He looked down at his clothes. "I need to buy new ones¡­" His ck kimono waspletely ruined by all the white paint that hadnded on it. There was no chance he could clean that up. At least he had money now. They had already received the payment fromst week''s jobs, so he could buy something a bit better. He looked up at the sky. ''It''s still early, I should go now. I can pick up some new clothes and groceries before going back home.'' He stopped at a nearby corner and scanned his surroundings, making sure there was no one around. "Change." After the cloud of smoke cleared, he now had the identical looks of his teammate Sasuke. He didn''t like doing this, but it was the only way they would sell anything to him. Once he was ready, he continued to make his way to themercial center of the vige. "Oh, it''s Mister Uchiha!" People greeted him politely and even bowed to him as he passed. ''Maybe I should choose someone more inconspicuous next time. This form always brings too much attention even if the discounts are good.'' He hurried his steps and found a decent clothing shop that should have what he was looking for. As he was cing his hand on the door handle and about to open it, he heard a female voice yell from his side. "Sasuke! Is that you?" He turned his head to look and found someone familiar. It was the blonde girl who graduated from the academy at the same time as he did¡­ Yamanaka Ino. "What a coincidence to find you here." Ino approached him with excited steps and grabbed onto his arm. "Oh! Are you going to buy new clothes? Do you want me to help you choose? I''m really knowledgeable about fashion." "Hm¡­" He tried to imitate Sasuke''s grunt of ''no need'' but he wasn''t sure if he got it right. "And who may this be?" Naruto looked up and found another familiar face. It was Yamanaka Inoichi, the man who had first visited him at the hospital along with the Hokage. The one who went inside his mind that one time. "Papa, look, Sasuke is here!" Ino eximed. Inoichi gave Naruto a piercing nce with his strange blue eyes. "I don''t know who this is, but it is definitely not Uchiha Sasuke." "What are you talking about?" Ino asked. "That transformation jutsu is well made, but it will not fool the eyes of a Jonin." Inoichi said. Ino immediately let go of his arm and took several steps backward. Her face changed to one of anger. "Who are you?! How dare you impersonate my beloved Sasuke!" "I assume you are a ninja or at least an academy student. Then you should know that using the transformation jutsu is forbidden while outside a mission or a training exercise." Inoichi gave him a stern re. "I will have to ask you to remove the jutsu and reveal your real identity." That was not a request, but an order. The altercation had taken the attention of several bystanders who were watching the event unfold. "Fine¡­" Naruto knew the rules. He had no choice but to obey now. "Kai¡­" After the smoke cleared, they could all see the form of Naruto, dressed in his paint-stained kimono. "Uzumaki¡­ I should have guessed. You are his teammate after all and the transformation was extremely urate, so it had to be someone who had observed him in close detail." Inoichi said. "Naruto!" Ino yelled. She was more than ready to jump at him and beat him up but was stopped by her father. "Let me go, I can''t forgive this!" "Calm down." Inoichi did not miss the look on the faces of the civilians. He then nced at Naruto, his clothes, and the shop he was about to go into and¡­ he understood the situation. "Why don''t we talk inside the shop? Away from all these prying eyes." He then dragged his daughter inside while sheined. Naruto followed behind the Jonin. "They won''t sell anything to me if I look like this." He muttered. "What are you talking about?" Ino turned to look at him. The anger in her eyes had not dissipated one bit. "Hey! What are you doing here? I already told you we have nothing to sell you!" The shopkeeper came yelling at him. Naruto had already been in this shop before, so he was not surprised by the reaction. But Inoichi and his daughter were different. The Jonin had known that Naruto was not well received by the civilians since the news about his rtion to the Kyubi was made public. But he did not know it was that bad. ''Does the Hokage know?... I will have to speak with him about this.'' If this situation continued, things could get bad. As a mind healer, he had seen it many times before. A ninja who feels like he has been mistreated by his own vige and starts to develop resentment towards it that will eventually be hatred. Those will usually be traitors. In the case of Naruto, it was even worse. He was not a receable ninja. He was the one and only Jinchuriki of the Kyubi. They could not afford to lose him for something silly like being mistreated by the vigers. "See? I told you. Without the transformation jutsu¡­ no one will sell me anything." Naruto told the Jonin. "Naruto, what did you do to these people to make them this angry?" Ino asked. She knew he was infamous for his pranks, so she assumed that Naruto must have done something terrible to the shop owner to make him so angry. "I have not done anything to him or any of the other civilians," Naruto told her. "They hate me for a different reason." "Naruto¡­ we cannot mention that¡­" Inouichi warned him. "Dad? What is he talking about?" Ino asked. "It is a vige secret, Ino. I cannot speak about it." the Jonin said. "A vige secret that the civilians know about but I can''t?" This did not make sense to her. If it was a high-rank secret, then the civilians would have no business knowing about it. ''But what kind of secret could Naruto have?'' She wondered. "Wanna know?" Naruto asked her and she nodded. She was really curious about this now. Even her previous anger had been forgotten. "Naruto!" Inouichi warned again. "The Fourth Hokage sealed the Kyubi inside me when I was a baby. The civilians fear and hate me because they think I am the Demon himself." A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 19: The Demon Boy Chapter 19: The Demon Boy Disimer: Dialogue ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 19: The Demon Boy "The Kyubi?!" Ino spoke too loudly. The shopkeeper and the civilians waiting at the door trembled at the mere mention of that name. "Get out of here, you demon!" the old man yelled. "Silence!" Inoichi shouted with authority, letting some of his chakra spill out. The civilians felt the pressure and were almost brought to their knees. "That''s enough!" He pointed at the shopkeeper. "Go close that door and be quiet. We have some important things to discuss. With my authority as a Konoha Jonin, I''m borrowing your shop." The old shopkeeper had wanted toin and deny his request, but when he saw the look on the Yamanaka n Leader''s face¡­he changed his mind and immediately went to shoo everyone away and closed the doors of the shop. "Dad, is this true? Didn''t the Kyubi die?" Ino''s eyes moved constantly between Naruto and her father. Inoichi sighed. "Naruto¡­you just broke an S-rank secret. Some would spend the rest of their life in prison for something like that." "I''m not the one who broke it in the first ce since the entire vige knows about it," Naruto pointed out. "And besides, the secret is about me. I can tell it to whoever I choose." Ino got closer and looked him up and down. "Is it really in there?..." She found the whole thing hard to believe. "Yes, Ino¡­it is true. Since the times of the First Hokage, the nine Chakra Beasts have been sealed inside people. We call these people¡­Jinchuriki¡­the human sacrifices. During the catastrophe that urred fifteen years ago, the Fourth Hokage gave everything he had to reseal the Kyubi inside a new container¡­that was Naruto." Ino gasped and nced at Naruto. "But how?..." She only knew the basics of Fuuinjutsu, so it was hard to understand how a massive demon like that could fit inside a human body. "With a very advanced jutsu¡­I can''t exin it to you since I don''t understand it myself. There are few who do¡­" Inoichi answered. "Say, Mister Yamanaka¡­who was the previous container of the Kyubi? The one who died fifteen years ago." Naruto had dedicated some time to research the events from that day. The information was very limited. It was obvious that the Hokage and the Konoha higher-ups had contained the flow of information about what happened that day. But he had started to develop a theory¡­ Inoichi frowned. "I cannot tell you that. Information about the vige Jinchuriki has always been kept a secret only known to the highest rank ninjas in the vige. Your case was an exception caused by some unknown individual who decided to spread the secret around." "Then¡­something else then. Am I rted to the Fourth Hokage?" Naruto asked. He saw the face of Jonin be a shade paler even if he did a good job at hiding his reaction . "Why are you asking this?" The Jonin looked worried. "Naruto, you are an orphan, there is no way you are rted to the Fourth Hokage," Ino said with a hint of disdain. Ignoring the girl, Naruto just looked at Inoichi. "It''s just a logical conclusion. For the things people wrote about Namikaze Minato, he was a very kind man who loved the vige. Would a man like that pick up a random baby from the streets and put a demon inside him? I don''t think so¡­also from the few pictures I have seen of him¡­you can''t deny that we share a few physical simrities. Spiky blond hair, blue eyes, simr eyebrows¡­if anything, and if it wasn''t so ridiculous, I would say I could be his son." "Pfft, that''s so funny." Ino smiled. "Right, Dad?" The smile went away when she saw the worried expression her father was making. "This is not something we should be talking about in an unsafe location¡­we should go see the Hokage, right now." Inoichi talked. "Dad?...you don''t mean¡­" Ino moved her eyes to look at Naruto. Now that he had mentioned it¡­his face did look kind of simr to the Fourth. "That can''t be¡­" "Ino!" The Jonin red at her. "Go home right now. You will not speak a word about what you heard here." "What? But Papa! What about my new dress?" Ino just remembered their original reason for being here. "Not now, Ino! This is serious." Her father was in no mood for nonsense right now. The girl was surprised to see her father talk to her like that. He always spoiled her. "And you." He turned to the old shopkeeper. The man trembled when the blonde Jonin approached him. "Do you understand what will happen to you if you reveal anything that you heard here today? We are talking about high-rank Konoha secrets." "I-I understand, Mister! I-I won''t speak a word!" the panicked man said. "Well, let''s get out of here then," Inoichi said to Naruto. "I''m not very presentable to see the Hokage." He assumed that was where the Jonin wanted to go. "He won''t mind, considering the circumstances," Inoichi said. Naruto could not have predicted this oue when he went shopping this afternoon. But this may not be a terrible thing. Ino said goodbye to her father after they left the shop, and then¡­under the eyes of the curious onlookers, Naruto followed the Yamanaka Patriarch towards the Kage building. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 20: Your Parents are… Chapter 20: Your Parents are¡­ Disimer: Dialogue ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 20: Your Parents are... "Mmmm¡­" The Hokage''s eyes moved from Inouichi to Naruto a few times after hearing the full story. He then remained silent for a minute. "I guess it is not surprising that you would find out eventually." The old Hokage stood up from his chair and got closer to him. "I''m very sorry, Naruto. I was nning on telling you after you became a Chunin or when you were finally an adult¡­whatever came first." "So it is true then. I''m the son of the Fourth Hokage." Naruto didn''t really feel anything after this discovery, but he was sure that the original owner of this body would have been shocked by the news. He was still mildly irritated by the fact that his supposed father sacrificed his life and turned him into a demon container to save this vige. And the civilians had repaid such a sacrifice with nothing but disdain. "You are the son of Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina. Your mother was the previous container of the Kyubi¡­as you can imagine, she also died on that terrible night¡­" The Hokage said as much as he could. He hoped that Naruto would not ask details about their deaths since he could not reveal the actions of that mysterious masked ninja to a genin. "Naruto, even if you now know this, it would be better if you don''t go around telling everyone. There is a good reason this information was kept a secret from the public," the Hokage added. "That''s right," Inouichi spoke. "The Fourth Hokage made many enemies during the Third Great Ninja War¡­he may have saved Konoha, but he killed thousands of enemy ninjas. The vige of Iwakure was the most affected by your father''s actions." "Indeed..." The Hokage nodded solemnly. "Had the news of Minato having a son gotten out¡­I''m afraid that your childhood would have been riddled with assassination attempts. The Tsuchikage would have given any reward for your head. Most of his family died during the war, including his two sons." "I suppose that makes sense¡­still, to throw the son of a Hokage and current Jinchuriki of the Kyubi into an orphanage and make him think he was worthless¡­it seems like a terrible idea." The Hokage made a troubled expression. "Well¡­there were some political issues when it came to your housing. It''splicated to exin, but there was a lot of tension between Konoha''s ns, and letting you stay with any n could have broken the delicate bnce. In the end, it was decided that a civilian orphanage was the safest option." "It''s fine." Naruto shrugged. "It''s not like I remember much of it. And I like my current apartment." "Ah¡­right¡­" The Hokage didn''t know what to say to that. "Now that we had a chance to rify this, we can go back to the matter of your misuse of the Transformation Jutsu that Inouichi mentioned¡­given the circumstances of your mistreatment by some civilians, I will let this one go. However, if you do it again, you shall receive the appropriate punishment." "Then, how am I supposed to buy things?" Naruto asked. "I was getting to that¡­give me a bit of time to arrange something for you. We can have your food supplies delivered directly to your apartment. And there are some shops administered by ninjas who could sell you any clothes you need. I will talk with the owners¡­everything should be ready by the time you return from your C-rank mission." "Oh? So we are truly being given a C-rank?" The Hokage nodded. "You will learn the details tomorrow morning. If there is nothing else for now¡­" "I''m fine. I still have a few supplies and one more change of clothes." Naruto said his goodbyes and left the room. When the Hokage was alone with Inouichi, he spoke again. "What do you think?" "He took the news very well¡­maybe too well, he barely reacted." The blonde ninja said. "Yes, that is what worries me¡­I really thought he was going to throw a tantrum like usual. I knew he had changed, but I expected that such news would have affected him more." The old Hokage sat back down on his chair, looking very tired. "Well¡­he barely has any memory of his childhood. It''s hard to be attached to a life he doesn''t remember. And he never knew his parents either. Ack of reaction is rare but notpletely unexpected." "He didn''t ask about his inheritance¡­but we will need to prepare that also. Minato and Kushina didn''t have much, but that house and whatever they left inside belongs to Naruto now. We have no right to keep it from him." "He may not even have thought they left anything to him," Inouichi said. "That is a depressing thought." The Hokage then opened a drawer and pulled out a report before giving it to the Jonin. "Since you are already here, I would like your professional opinion on this." Inouichi read it over very carefully, not wanting to miss anything since it was a request from the Hokage. "Kakashi''s evaluation of Naruto¡­I see¡­it is very different from the academy one." Back during the incident where the boy ended up in the hospital, Inouichi had taken a look at his academy file to learn more about him. His file was¡­well, to put it in one word¡­catastrophic. Naruto was one of the worst students he had ever seen. Inouichi was not too surprised about it, considering his upbringing. No one had ever put much effort into teaching anything to Naruto, except maybe for Professor Iruka. But by that time, the boy had lost interest in being taught by others and wanted to learn things by himself. That did not go well¡­ The evaluation written by Kakashi after training with Naruto for two weeks waspletely different. "An unparalleled genius¡­I can''t believe Kakashi wrote that." Inouichi mentioned. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 21: The C-Rank Mission Chapter 21: The C-Rank Mission Disimer: Dialogue ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 21: The C-Rank Mission Team 7 arrived at the Hokage''s office during the early hours of the morning. The sun had juste out, and they were all still feeling tired but somewhat excited about not having to do chores today. "Professor, don''t fall asleep." Naruto nudged Kakashi on his arm when he started to close his eyes. The man looked ready to fall asleep at any second. "I''m fine¡­I think I lost the habit of waking up this early." Kakashi grumbled. "I knew it! You are always arrivingte because you are sleeping!" Sakurained. "Why call the team meetings so early then?..." Naruto wondered if their professor just wanted to mess with them. "Team 7, pay attention!" Iruka shouted. The Hokage cleared his throat. "Yes, thank you, Iruka¡­as I was saying, your C-rank mission will be to protect a certain individual." "Oh, who are we protecting? Is it someone famous? Maybe a famous actor or a rich merchant?" Sakura asked. "You think they would put genin to protect someone like that?" Naruto raised an eyebrow. This girl was supposed to be the smartest in the ss. It made him question how bad the other ones were. "Well¡­you are about to meet him." The Hokage moved his eyes to the door. "You maye inside." The door opened, and a tall old man entered. If his clumsy movements and the bottle of sake in his hand did not make evident how drunk he was, he then started talking. "W¡­what¡­what is this? Are¡­these the ninjas I hired?" He mumbled while looking at Team 7 with an expression of disdain and very red cheeks. "They are nothing but brats¡­" "You get what you paid for¡­." Naruto said. "What was that?!" The old man growled. Kakashi decided to intervene. "What my student is trying to say is that you hired Konoha for a C-rank mission, which can be carried out by genin. These three are my students, and although they are still novices, you can trust in their skills. Also, I am a jonin, so you will be fine." "Hmph¡­fine." The man lifted the bottle and took another big gulp. "My name is Tazuna, and I am a genius bridge builder. Your job....blheegg...urg...your job will be to escort me back to my country and offer me protection while I finish my bridg- ops..." He lost his bnce and had to grab the door to avoid falling down. "Sir, I-I don''t think you should be drinking so much¡­this early in the morning." Sakura told the old man. "Huh?...mind your business, pinky. And I would not be this drunk if your Hokage hadn''t left me waiting for an entire day for a team to escort me! Now I only have four bottles left¡­" Heined. "Well, this is going to be fun¡­" Naruto grumbled. "Hmmm¡­" Sasuke nodded in agreement. <><><><><><><><><><> They walked for over an hour in rtive peace. The vige could no longer be seen, and the forest they were in had be much thicker. "We are going to the Wave Country, right?" Sakura said. They had little time to read the mission report before leaving, but she at least recalled the basic details. "That''s right. I''m in the middle of finishing a magnificent bridge that will connect the Wave Country to the Land of Fire. This will make trading much easier and greatly improve the economy of the country since the ess by sea is very rough." The old builder looked a bit better after getting some fresh air. "And who is the one trying to prevent this?" Naruto asked. The man got nervous all of a sudden and took anotherrge gulp of sake, emptying the bottle. "Eh¡­just some bad guys¡­they don''t want to see my bridge finished." "Bandits?" Sakura asked. "Y-Yeah¡­something like that¡­" The old builder looked away in a suspicious manner. None of them had missed that. "Professor¡­do they have ninjas in the Wave Country?" Sakura asked. She was starting to have a bad feeling about this mission. "No. Wave is a small country, so it doesn''t have a Hidden Vige and has to rely on hiring ninjas from other countries. There are many small countries like that in the Elemental Nations." Kakashi exined. "So we aren''t going to encounter any enemy ninjas then?" She asked. Kakashi''s face grew serious. "There is always a risk of that during any mission outside the vige, so we should be careful. That being said¡­enemy ninjas are not part of the mission. Otherwise, this would not be a C-rank." "No enemy ninjas¡­" Naruto moved his eyes toward a suspicious-looking pond of water as they walked by. It was very faint, but he could feel some chakra emanating from that water. Animals could have chakra too, but that was just a puddle formed by rain. ''Wait¡­when is thest time it rained?'' While Naruto was starting to realize the danger¡­tworge figures emerged from the small puddle and immediatelyunched an attack against Kakashi. Their professor was quickly tangled with some chains. The two individuals stood on each side of Kakashi and held onto the ends of the chains before pulling them hard. "Huh?" Sakura turned around. "An ambush!" Sasuke shouted. Kakashi made an expression of surprise before he was apparently ripped into pieces by the chains. Sakura screamed in pure shock at the macabre spectacle. Sasuke reacted a bit better and at least got ready for battle. It had be obvious that those two were enemy ninjas and were trying to kill them, as well as the person they were supposed to protect. Even with his dulled senses, Naruto knew that Kakashi was fine. It would take a lot more than this to kill that person. He just didn''t understand why the need for this charade. ''Is he trying to assess how the team will react in a realbat situation?'' That would make sense. This is the first time Sakura and Sasuke are faced with a real deadly encounter. Things were a lot different for Naruto¡­deadly encounters were basically his daily life for arge part of his previous life, so he had no trouble remaining calm. ''Well¡­how do we handle this?'' A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 22: The Deceit Chapter 22: The Deceit Disimer: Dialogue ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 22: The Deceit "One down, hehe!" The masked ninja said with a mocking tone, and hispanionughed. They then moved quickly to ambush their next target, choosing Naruto because he was the closest and positioned in front of the old bridge builder, who was their real target. Everyone else was a bonus. Naruto observed the two ninjas as they approached him. Their style seemed to rely heavily on teamwork. They both wore metallic gauntlets on opposite hands and had a metallic chain attached to them, which they used to trap their opponents by moving to each side, like they did to Kakashi. Once their target had been tangled with the chain, they would each pull in opposite directions, ripping the person to shreds. "Naruto!" Sakura yelled when she saw the two enemies surround Naruto in the same way they just did to their teacher. Sasuke did not waste time and reacted by jumping over the two ninjas, using a single kunai to snare the chain and pull it away. The kunai then impacted one of the nearby trees, getting the chain stuck along with it. The ck-haired genin followed this up by holding onto their gauntlets and kicking both of them in the face at the same time, sending them away from Naruto. ''Tsk¡­now you have pull them apart¡­'' Naruto wanted toin. He was nning on killing them together. The two enemy ninjas did not seem to have suffered much damage from Sasuke''s kick, so they just detached their gauntlets from the chain and divided their next attack. One of them went for Sakura, and the other one rushed at Naruto. He didn''t have much trust in Sakura being able to handle an opponent of this level, but he was in an awkward position since their client was right behind him, so he could not move away. Sasuke seemed to agree with his thoughts because he hurried to move towards the one in Sakura''s direction, leaving Naruto to fend for himself. ''Oh well¡­I''m sure that Kakashi will intervene if those two are in danger. Let''s deal with this guy first.'' "Die!" While yelling something stereotypical, the enemy ninja struck at Naruto with his metallic gauntlet. The fingers had sharp des at the end of them, like the ws of a wild animal. The man was fast, but his technique was nothing to brag about. The wide move made it easy for Naruto to get closer to him and block his gauntlet using only his forearm. He then used his free hand, armed with a kunai, to stab the ninja in his neck. The ninja''s eyes widened. He had certainly not expected a genin to not only block his attack but to counter him at such speeds. Naruto had now secured the man''s gauntlet at its base, so he could not pull back and was forced to use his only free hand to cover his bleeding neck as he would not evenst a minute if he didn''t. This left himpletely defenseless¡­and Naruto showed him no mercy. His right hand moved like lightning, using the sharp kunai to stab the body of the enemy ninja over and over. His chest, his stomach, his liver¡­in less than five seconds, he had over two dozen new bleeding wounds. "Ugg¡­" The man could not even scream in pain before copsing on the ground, and just a momentter¡­he died. He turned around and was not too surprised to find Kakashi holding the neck of the other enemy ninja under his arm. But that one seemed to be only unconscious. Naruto then nced at the old man, who was now staring back at him with frightened eyes. "Are you okay, Mister Tazuna?" "W-what?" The old man took a step back. He still seemed to be a bit shocked by the bloody scene. "I asked you if you have been injured." Naruto cleaned his kunai and stored it back in its pouch. "N-no¡­I''m fine¡­thank you." "Good job, Naruto." Kakashi told him. He knew that killing someone was just a matter of time for any new ninja. But he also recalled that the first time was hard. ''He seems to be holding well¡­'' Kakashi noticed. In fact, Sakura and Sasuke appeared to be more impacted by the death of that ninja than Naruto himself. "You killed him?..." Sakura moved her eyes over the bloody corpse. "I did." Naruto nced back at Kakashi. "I hope this didn''t affect whatever you were nning¡­I could not tell why you did that disappearing act. Was it a test for us or?..." Kakashi shook his head. "This was no test for you. We are done with that. I was trying to find something out¡­and I think I did." He moved closer to the bridge builder. "These men¡­were going for you, weren''t they?" The old builder had a guilty expression on his face that no one failed to notice. "Is that true?" Sasuke asked. "You have ninjas going after your life? Why didn''t you say anything?!" Sakura was outraged. "Because of money¡­right?" Naruto asked. Tazuna looked down. "I gave Konoha everyst coin I had¡­a C-rank mission was the only thing I could afford." "But aren''t you a famous genius bridge builder? How can you be broke?" Sakura was very doubtful of the old man''s words. "Leaving aside your personal circumstances," Kakashi intervened. "You put my team in danger by making us believe this was an easy C-rank mission. If enemy ninjas are involved, the mission is upgraded immediately to B-rank and requires a minimum of three chuunin to take part in it." Kakashi nced at the unconscious ninja in his arms. "Depending on who else has been hired¡­it could even be an A-rank mission." "What? A-rank?!" Sakura eximed. Even Sasuke had his eyes widened. This was more than he expected. "Now we have to decide one thing¡­if we continue with this mission or not," Kakashi said. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 23: We Keep Going Chapter 23: We Keep Going Disimer: Dialogue ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 23: We Keep Going "You can''t do that! We made a deal!" Tazuna shouted at Kakashi. "You purposely hid information from us and put my team in danger in the process. I have full right to end this mission right here and now. And be thankful that is all I would do¡­others would not be so kind in my ce," Kakashi told the old man in a cold voice. Tazuna did not dare toin anymore. "But, Teacher¡­if we abandon the mission now, what would happen to him?" Sakura looked at Tazuna with worry. She may not particrly like the old builder, but to leave him to die just feels wrong. "I don''t want to abandon my first proper mission because things got a bit more dangerous," Sasuke decided. At this rate, he was never going to catch up to his brother. Especially if he started giving up on hard missions. "So you two want to continue? What about you, Naruto?" Kakashi asked him. "I agree with continuing the mission," Naruto simply said to his teacher. But he was really hoping this mission got more interesting. It had been a while since he had a proper fight. His cultivation was still at the Body Forging Stage where he was beginning to use chakra to reinforce his body. It was going to take a month or two at least before he could break through to the Qi Refining stage. Only then would he be able to start using all that energy in more interesting ways. "Mmm¡­" Kakashi stared at Naruto for a few seconds. He wanted to make sure the boy was in good condition to continue after his ''first kill''. ''He is either really good at hiding it or¡­he is not affected at all.'' Kakashi turned to the old builder. "Very well¡­since my students have agreed to it¡­we will continue this mission. But I do have one condition¡­" "O-of course, anything! But if you want more money, I''m afraid that¡­" "It is not money. What I want is the truth. Who is after your life?" Kakashi asked. "A very dangerous man¡­" Tazuna started. "You may have heard of him. His name is Gato and he is one of the wealthiest shipping magnates." "The Gato Company? Of course, I have heard of him. He is one of the richest men in the entire continent," Kakashi said. "A shippingpany?" Naruto asked. Tazuna nodded. "On the surface at least¡­but secretly, he also sells drugs, weapons, or anything that can bring him money. He uses mercenary ninjas as bodyguards and hires assassins to kill whoever gets in his way. A year ago, he came to our country of Wave. It took him no time to take control of the country''s shipping industry by buying all thepetition and bing the sole provider. He now has a monopoly on all business traffic. Everything that goes in and out of the country is through hispany." "I see¡­your bridge would give the people a better alternative, making his business disappear into smoke," Naruto concluded. "That''s why he is trying to kill you? So he can make more money? What a despicable man!" Sakura eximed. "So those two ninjas were hired by this Gato," Sasuke said. Tazuna nodded. "There are probably several more. All hired by that man to eliminate me. If you quit the mission¡­I won''tst long." Kakashi looked at his students. They had noints after hearing everything that Tazuna had to say. "We will continue the mission as contracted. My team and I will protect you until you finish that bridge." <><><><><><><><><><> "I still can''t see anything," Sakura repeated. "Is this mist normal?" Naruto asked. "I''m afraid so. This is one of the reasons navigating these waters is so dangerous," Tazuna answered. "We should see the bridge soon," said the man driving the boat. Just momentster, a gigantic bridge came into view. "Whoa! That is massive!" Sakura shouted. "Be quiet! We are trying to hide, that''s why we are rowing instead of using the engine," the driver scolded her. "If Gato''s goons find us here, we will be in a lot of trouble," Tazuna added. They remained quiet as they approached the coast. The boat went underneath another part of the bridge and arrived at a small port. "This is for me¡­I wish you good luck," the driver of the boat told Tazuna. "You did more than enough." The old man knew the risk that anyone who helped him was taking. "Thank you so much." The group looked around the small port town. It appeared to be in a terrible state. Most of the houses were in dire need of repairs, with their wooden walls filled with holes or missing tiles. When asked what happened here, the old man''s only answer was, "Gato." They quietly left behind the small port town and ventured further into the woods. Their target was to bring Tazuna back to his house, and it was still some distance away. They were all on high alert now. This was basically enemy territory and also the most likely ce to be ambushed since it was the only way to reach the old builder''s house. ''If we are attacked again¡­it will surely not be a chuunin like those two from before¡­but a jonin,'' Kakashi thought as they moved. He spotted some movement in a nearby bush and then saw something white. With a smooth movement of his wrist, Kakashi sent a kunai toward the target. They were all startled by his actions. Naruto looked around but could not see anything suspicious or detect any presence. ''Damn these dull senses¡­Kakashi must have seen something that I missed.'' They all approached the ce where Kakashi had shot his kunai and found a dead white rabbit. "Teacher! You just killed a poor rabbit!" Sakura said in horror. "A white snow rabbit?" Sasuke noticed the issue. This rabbit was only white during the winter, but now it was summer. Its fur should have changed to brown¡­unless someone kept it in a dark cage. "Get ready¡­we are about to be attacked," Kakashi warned. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 24: A Deadly Encounter Chapter 24: A Deadly Encounter Disimer: Dialogue ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 24: A Deadly Encounter "Attacked?" Sakura looked around. Everything appeared to be tranquil. "I don''t see anyth¡ª" Naruto put his hand on the back of her head and pushed her down, as well as Tazuna. "Ahh! Naruto, what are you d¡ª" A momentter, something massive flew over their heads and ended up hitting a tree. "A sword?...wait," Sasuke was staring at the giant sword when a tall man appeared on top. "A ninja." "Momochi Zabuza, a missing ninja from the Mist Vige," Naruto said. They all turned to Naruto and looked at him like he had grown a second head. "What? I read the Bingo Book. It seems useful to memorize it before going outside," Naruto told them. "But you didn''t know who those two guys from before were," Sakura said, cleaning the dust from her clothes. "I only paid attention to the highest rank criminals¡­like this one," Naruto stared at Zabuza. "Haha! You have some clever newbies¡­Sharingan Kakashi," Zabuza spoke directly to Kakashi. His eyes did not move away from the silver-haired ninja even for a moment. Sasuke reacted at the name. His eyes moved to the back of his teacher. ''Sharingan?...could it be?'' "Everyone, get back. Like Naruto just said¡­this opponent is on another level. I will handle this," Kakashi stepped forward. His left hand moved away the bandana covering his left eye. "I''ll have to use this¡­it''s been a while." "Just save yourself the trouble, Kakashi. Give me the old man and I will leave you alone. There is no need for this," Zabuza offered. Kakashi ignored his words and instead addressed his students. "Surround and protect the client. That is your only job." The bandana was moved away from his left eye, revealing something bizarre. His iris was red and he had three pupils circling around it in the shapes of some ''tomoes''. "What is that?" Naruto, near Kakashi''s side, could see the eye clearly. Even in his previous life, he had never seen an eye look like that. There were some disciplines that could manipte the eyes and by the use of many alchemy ingredients, they would eventually change the same slightly. But not to this point. "Oh¡­I get to see the famous Sharingan. I am honored," Zabuza spoke. "Sharingan," Sasuke repeated. "This is the Sharingan? Isn''t that a technique from the Uchiha n?" He had read some basic things about Konoha ns but didn''t have time to delve very in-depth into them since he had other priorities. Not that there was much information about the ns'' unique techniques. Those things were kept secret and guarded well. "Is it true then? Does that eye allow you to analyze and copy techniques with just one nce? In my country, they call you Copy Ninja Kakashi, the man with over one thousand ninja techniques," Zabuza said. ''Copy techniques with one nce? Can that eye do that?'' Naruto could not help but feel a tinge of greed while staring at Kakashi. If he could have an eye like that¡­it would make his learning process so much faster. ''Huh?...what''s going on there?'' He noticed the look of suspicion and anger in Sasuke''s eyes. ''I guess he dislikes the fact that someone else is using his n technique. He may think that Kakashi stole it,'' Naruto concluded. But he was sure that their teacher would not have stolen anything. He had only known the man for a few weeks, but Naruto could tell that Kakashi was a very righteous individual. This means there must be a good exnation for his possession of the Sharingan. "Well¡­since you are not in the mood for a talk¡­" Zabuza stated. "I''m going to have to kill that old man now." The ninja disappeared from the tree, along with his sword, and in the next instant, he was standing on top of theke. "Hidden Mist technique¡­" As Zabuza said this, a very thick mist manifested around him and began to envelop everything in the surroundings. "He''s gone!" Sasuke said. "I can''t see anything!" Sakura started to panic. "He''lle after me first," Kakashi said, trying to calm his students in the process. "He used to be an elite ninja from the Mist Vige¡­back then he was well known for his expertise in silent killing. You won''t know he''sing until you are already dead." "Can''t that eye see through this mist? It is a ninja technique after all," Naruto pointed out. "To some degree, yes. But I can''t use the Sharingan perfectly since I am not an Uchiha. So be very careful," Kakashi warned them. "The mist is getting thicker¡­and closer," Naruto noticed. "Liver, lungs, spine, vicle vein, neck vein, brain, kidney, heart. Which one should I go after?" The voice of Zabuza was heard from all around them, making it impossible to pinpoint an exact direction. Along with it, the group was hit by a very intense bloodlust intent. ''Oh? It''s been a while since I felt this,'' Naruto was reminiscing about his past while his teammates trembled in terror. "Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto! Don''t worry, I will protect you all with my life. I don''t let myrades die!" Kakashi said with confidence. With this, he was able to dispel most of the effects caused by Zabuza on them. But the attack had just begun. The Mist ninja appeared in the middle of the group, with his back against the old man. "It''s over." He twisted his body and with a knife in hand, he prepared to kill Tazuna. Kakashi had been more than ready for this and immediately drove a kunai into Zabuza''s chest and pushed him further away from his students. "Behind you!" Naruto warned his teacher. As Kakashi heard this, he noticed the ninja in front of him began to dissolve into water. "A clone." The real one was behind him, with his massive sword raised in the air and just a moment away from cleaving him in half. "Teacher!" "Kakashi!" His students screamed when they saw Zabuza''s sword cut him at his waist. But much like the Mist ninja¡­Kakashi had also created a water clone. The real one was now standing behind Zabuza with a kunai aimed at his neck. "It''s over. Don''t move," Kakashi said. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 25: The Water Prison Chapter 25: The Water Prison Disimer: Dialogue ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 25: The Water Prison "What are you doing? Kill him!" Naruto shouted at Kakashi. He did not understand why his teacher hesitated after getting the upper hand. "Hehe, you have at least one decent student. But don''t misunderstand, boy," Zabuza nced at Naruto for a moment. "This is far from over." Another Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi. "I am not that easy to kill." As the clone in front dissolved, the one behind Kakashi made a vertical swing with his sword. Their teacher was quick enough to react and avoid the worst, but was then hit by a powerful kick that sent him right into theke. "Oh no, Kakashi got knocked down!" Sakura said. "That kick was not normal. He is also a master in taijutsu?" Sasuke observed Zabuza. "Damn! He fell right into his trap!" Naruto took off running. He could not let their teacher get killed now, or they would all soon follow him. Kakashi had just gotten his head out of the water when Zabuza surprised him, holding his hand over him. "Water Prison!" A sphere made of water formed around Kakashi, trapping him inside. "Hehe, the moment you fall into the water against a ninja from the Mist, you are in for a very bad time. There is no escaping my prison!" "Tsk, how do you walk on water?!" Naruto arrived at the shore but was hesitant to jump in. He would be left at the mercy of that man. "What a brave student. But you won''t be able to save anyone." Zabuza nced at Naruto before using his free hand to form a water clone next to him. "That will be enough to kill your students and finish the job¡­you can watch as you drown, Kakashi." "Hmph, wearing a forehead protector and acting like ninjas," the clone spoke in Zabuza''s voice. "Only someone who has survived numerous encounters with death can be considered a real ninja. Once you are good enough to be listed in my handbook, you can consider yourself a ninja¡­you kids should have stayed home. You are not ninjas!" The clone twisted its body and sent a kick towards Naruto''s head. Naruto blocked it but was sent flying away by the force of the impact. "Naruto!" Sakura eximed. "I''m fine¡­" Naruto stood back up. "I''m not getting beaten by a clone¡­" "Hehe, I like the eyes on this one¡­how did Konoha breed a ninja like this?" The clone asked. "Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke! Take Tazuna and go! You have no chance of beating him. But as long as he keeps me trapped here, he can''t move. And his clones can''t go too far away from him. You won''t get a better opportunity to escape!" Kakashi shouted. "What? We can''t just leave you here!" Sakura said. "I am not running away!" Sasuke added. "Save your breath. Besides, we are still three days away from Konoha. If we run away and leave you here to die, it is almost guaranteed that this guy will be able to catch up to us. What do you think will happen next?" Naruto exined. Kakashi was surprised at how cold Naruto''s reasoning was. He was not trying to save him out of a sense of duty or responsibility. It was just because it gave him the best chance of surviving. "Ha! I like this kid." Zabuza''s clone smiled. "Too bad I have to kill you." "Sakura, stay close to the client. Sasuke,e over here and attack the real Zabuza while I fight this annoying clone," Naruto told them. "Who put you in charge, Naruto?!" Sakurained. "Do you want to fight the clone of an enemy jonin who will not hesitate to kill you instead of me, Sakura?. Just step forward." Naruto offered. She kept quiet after that. "Do you have a n?" Sasuke asked. "Sure¡­that was my n." Naruto noticed the harsh stareing from the ck-haired boy. "Look, as Kakashi said, the real body of Zabuza cannot move from that spot. That''s why he created this clone." As Naruto said this, the clone attacked again, and he was forced to move away. "I think that if you can make Zabuza move from his position, that water prison of his¡­will break." Sasuke got closer to the shore of theke. "Fine¡­I can do that." "Good! Go on then!" Naruto had chosen Sasuke for that task because he had some long-distance techniques and he was also much better than him at throwing weapons. At this point, Naruto did not have many options to fight at long distance and their teacher never taught them how to walk on water. The massive sword came down on him, and he had to use a substitution to avoid it. "How annoying¡­" The clone probably only had a fraction of Zabuza''s real power, but even that was enough to give him trouble at this time. He felt humiliated and angry. He wanted to show this arrogant ninja what he could truly do¡­but any real techniques would break this fragile body like a twig. ''Wait¡­maybe I can use ''that one''¡­it only needs a bit of yang energy. But I haven''t been practicing it at all.'' "Haha,e on! At least try to fight back!" The clone mocked him again. "Okay, that''s it¡­" He saw the ridiculously big sworde down again and moved just enough to avoid being cleaved in half and then ced his hand on the de for a second. As Zabuza''s clone pulled his sword back and prepared for another attack, he was surprised to see Naruto jump backward and create distance between them. "Oh? Getting scared now?" The clone smiled. "Of course¡­I don''t want to get burned." Naruto said before snapping his fingers. "What? What are you talking ab¡ª" The clone was interrupted when his sword blew up. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 26: Tactical Explosions Chapter 26: Tactical Explosions Disimer: Dialogue ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 26: Tactical Explosions "Ahh!" Sakura screamed and dropped to the ground, pulling Tazuna along with her. Sasuke, who had been busy throwing kunai and shuriken at the real Zabuza, was startled by the sudden explosion and turned to look. "Naruto, what kind of explosive tag was that?!" He had never seen one that exploded in such a way. "It didn''t just explode; it also burned everything around the area of the detonation," Zabuza said, narrowing his eyes. Naruto walked out from behind the smoke. "Explosive tag? Ohh! You just gave me an idea!" He recalled a book chapter about Konoha''s explosive tags and how to use them efficiently. "An idea?" Sasuke was getting worried. "Yes¡­let''s blow him up." Naruto pointed at the Mist ninja. "Kakashi is there too," Sasuke felt the need to remind him. They were trying to save their teacher, not blow him up. "Don''t worry, the water should protect him." Naruto pulled out a few kunai. What he used before on the clone''s sword was a rank 1 Fire Seal. They worked a bit differently in his world, but it was somewhat equivalent to the explosive tags everyone mentioned. Except his seal was a lot more vtile since it concentrated arge amount of yang energy in a single spot and let it go out of control. This created a fiery explosion with a short radius of effect. "Let''s see¡­" Naruto ced the seal on the kunai. The metallic surface became red as the yang energy umted and grew out of control. He could not waste any time, so he threw the kunai at Zabuza immediately. Zabuza hurriedly created another water clone between him and Naruto. The newly created clone intercepted the kunai before it exploded. "Right, he can still do that¡­ That''s fine, I have more." Naruto still had nine more kunai left. There was also no need to throw them one at a time. He was no seal expert, but even for him, it would be easy to make three or four at the same time. This was the lowest rank of seal, after all. Even newly joined disciples could learn them back at his old sect. Four kunai, two in each hand, became fiery red as he pumped them full of energy, and then he threw them at Zabuza. The ninja was now forced to make several more clones since he wasn''t sure if one was going to be enough. They were all instantly destroyed, and Naruto prepared to throw even more kunai. Zabuza was starting to get worried. As a veteran Jonin, he hadrge reserves of chakra, but he wasn''t a chakra beast like Kisame. The prison containing Kakashi was already taking a heavy toll on him, and the clones were not cheap to make. ''If that boy keeps this up¡­I may be in trouble.'' "Ha!" Four more kunai flew at Zabuza. "Shit!" He was forced to make more clones to stop them. "Sasuke, how many kunai do you have left?" Naruto asked. "Five¡­ Can you really keep this up? That must consume a lot of chakra, right?" Sasuke wasn''t even sure what Naruto was doing, but by the size of the explosions, they must take a heavy toll on Naruto''s reserves. His ''Great Fireball'' was extremely taxing and he could only use it twice before bing tired. "I''m perfectly fine. Just need more kunai to throw. Go ask Sakura and have her give you more." While Sasuke went away, Naruto continued. After four more clones were destroyed, Zabuza was starting to feel bad. His breathing becamebored and heavy. "Getting tired? You can''tpete with Naruto in terms of chakra," Kakashi told him. "Shut up and die already!" Zabuza screamed at Kakashi. He then realized that for a moment, he stopped keeping track of Naruto. When he looked back, Naruto wasn''t there. And the other ck-haired boy wasn''t there either. They had both disappeared. His eyes moved to Kakashi¡­ and he realized that the bastard had distracted him on purpose. Zabuza heard something and immediately reacted by making a clone in that direction. The clone blocked something, but it didn''t explode afterward. "A shuriken?" A red kunai then came from apletely different direction. "They tricked me!" Zabuza understood the deceit. They were both hidden, so the ck-haired boy was now also throwing weapons at him, but those were not explosive. ''They want to make me waste my remaining chakra.'' He had no time for a clone, so he had to resort to another water technique to stop the kunai. This one was not as effective, and he still felt some of the explosion''s effects on him. "Urggg¡­" More weapons came flying at Zabuza from different directions as Naruto and Sasuke moved through the nearby forest that surrounded theke. Now the Mist ninja had to do extra work and identify which ones were explosive and which ones he could just block with his free hand without wasting more energy. Zabuza was having a hard time keeping his breath steady. He also needed to keep his concentration on the Water Prison while tracking all the weapons thrown at him and reacting ordingly. Eventually¡­the inevitable happened. His hold on the Water Prison wavered, giving Kakashi a chance to escape. The white-haired ninja was not going to waste this opportunity. His students had worked hard to give him this chance. The prison exploded, and Zabuza was sent flying into the woods. Kakashi''s Sharingan began to spin. He stared at Zabuza with an impassive expression, but deep inside¡­he was extremely angry. "Now it''s my turn¡­Zabuza. And let me tell you something. I never fall for the same trick twice." A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 27: The Ninja Hunter Chapter 27: The Ninja Hunter Disimer: Dialogue ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 27: The Ninja Hunter Zabuza managed to stand up again but was visibly exhausted. "Leave the rest to me, stand back!" Kakashi ordered them while jumping out of theke. He was getting ready to finish off Zabuza, but then, all of a sudden, the enemy ninja was struck by several metallic needles in the neck and fell to the ground. "Who goes there?!" Kakashi scanned the forest and found a masked figure standing on top of a nearby branch. "Hehe, sorry I stole your prey. I was getting tired of waiting." Kakashi approached Zabuza and ced two fingers on the neck. "You killed him¡­" His eyes locked onto the masked person. "Who are you?" The masked person jumped down and gave Kakashi a polite bow. "Thank you for your assistance in taking down this dangerous individual. It would have been very troublesome without you and your¡­students." He then turned to stare at Naruto and Sasuke. "Very talented students, I might add." "Wait, I recognize that mask¡­" Kakashi said, now that he took a better look. "You''re a ninja hunter from the Mist, aren''t you?" "Indeed, you are correct," the masked person replied. "A ninja hunter?" Sakura asked. "He looks almost our age¡­" Sasuke frowned. "Yes, I was tasked by my vige to hunt down missing ninjas, like Zabuza here." They pointed at the corpse. "So, he is not an enemy then?" Sakura asked. "I am not your enemy. I just need to retrieve the body and the sword, and I will be on my way," the hunter said while approaching Zabuza. "You have to take the body?" Naruto asked with a hint of suspicion. The ninja hunter took hold of Zabuza''s sword and picked up the body of the fallen ninja. "Your battle is now over. This sword is one of the Mist Country''s treasures, so it must be returned, along with the body of the missing ninja. I thank you again for your cooperation¡­farewell¡­" The hunter then disappeared, leaving only some leaves behind. Sasuke continued to stare at the spot. "That hunter ninja¡­was very strong." Even with this brief encounter, he could tell this much. "Indeed, he was very strong¡­" Kakashi covered his Sharingan and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He seemed to be troubled breathing. "Teacher? Are you feeling okay?" Sakura asked. "I''m fine¡­just a bit tired. Using the Sharingan consumes too much chakra." Kakashi noticed Sasuke''s eyes on him. "I will give you an exnation at a different time. Now we must get the client out of here¡­none of us are in shape for another fight." "My house is not too far from here. You can safely rest there," Tazuna said. <><><><><><><><><><><><><> "Argg¡­." Kakashi groaned. "Are you okay, sir? Is there anything I can bring you?" a beautiful ck-haired girl asked him. "You spoil me too much, Miss Tsunami. I could eat some porridge¡­and some vegetables if you have any," Kakashi answered. "This technique of yours seems to really take a toll on your body," Naruto observed his teacher. "Indeed¡­I won''t be able to do much for a few days," Kakashi said. "Well, we defeated that strong ninja, so they should leave us alone for a while, hahaha." Tazuna seemed to be in a much better mood now that he was at home. "We?" Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Ah, my bottle is empty!" Tazuna eximed. "I''ll go get some more." He hurried out of the room. "I will go prepare something to eat." Tsunami gave them a polite bow and left the room. "Say, Sakura," Naruto nced at the pink-haired girl. "Hmm?" She was a bit surprised by this. Naruto had barely talked to her during all the time they had been part of the same team. Sakura had been expecting him to ask her out, but he never mentioned anything. "You have memorized a lot of books. Is itmon for a ninja hunter to take the entire body? Because I remember reading somewhere that they only take the heads." "Eh?..." That was not the question she was expecting. "Let''s see¡­I think I read that too. But there was also something about taking the body under special circumstances." "Special circumstances?" Naruto asked. "Bloodline abilities," Kakashi answered his question. "The body of a ninja can hold many secrets, but it is imperative to never give the enemy the body of an ally who has some bloodline ability." "Bloodline abilities¡­you mean like the Hyugas and their¡­what was it called?" Naruto asked. "Byakugan." Kakashi nodded. "Yes, that bloodline ability belongs to the Hyuga n. We also have¡­" "The Sharingan, that belongs to the Uchiha n," Sasuke interrupted him. Naruto gave Sasuke a side nce. "I see¡­so these bloodline abilities can be taken by others too¡­" He understood now why Sasuke was so upset. Their teacher was not part of his n, but he was in possession of the Sharingan. ''Does this mean that I can also get this Sharingan?'' Naruto thought about it. Now, Naruto was sure that their teacher could not have stolen it, otherwise, he would have never been allowed to remain free. He did not know how severe it was treated, but stealing a n''s bloodline ability must be at least a very serious crime. He was going to need more information about these matters. After all, stealing someone''s precious possessions was a very valid way to increase one''s power. At least, in the ce where he came from¡­ Kakashi noticed Sasuke''s look. "Sakura, Naruto¡­wait outside for a few minutes. I need to have a private conversation with Sasuke." Naruto nodded. "Understood." He wished he could stay to also hear how Kakashi got that eye, but he did not mind it that much. It was just a matter of time before he found out what he wanted. ''In the end¡­I always get what I want.'' Naruto left the room with a grin on his face. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 28: A New Training Chapter 28: A New Training Disimer: Dialogue ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 28: A New Training After a good night''s rest, their teacher called them into his room for a meeting. The trio of genins were sitting down close to Kakashi''s bed, waiting for their teacher to speak. "There is a good chance that Zabuza is alive," he started. "No way!" Sakura eximed. "Hmm?" Sasuke looked confused. "Can you rify that?" Naruto had a bad feeling about this, but he hadn''t been able to find anything wrong with what had happened the day before. "Since you asked yesterday about the ninja hunter taking away Zabuza''s body¡­I had this feeling that something was off¡­then I remembered something. Although it''s not rare for a hunter to dispose of the target''s body, they would usually still keep the head and then¡­they would burn the rest." "Maybe he didn''t want to burn it there. That''s why it was taken away," Sakura suggested. "Maybe¡­but there is another strange thing," Kakashi added. "The weapon he used to kill Zabuza¡­" Sasuke gasped. "No way!" "He used those steel needles. Is that what you mean?" Naruto also thought it was a very inefficient killing weapon since it would not do much damage unless you hit the exact spots. "Senbons, and they are rarely used as weapons. Most ninjas who use them are medics, and they are used for-" "Acupuncture, of course!" Naruto was very familiar with this. Now he realized what Kakashi was referring to. With acupuncture, it is possible to slow down or even stop someone''s heart momentarily and then bring them back. "He stopped his heart with acupuncture and then took him away¡­right in front of our eyes." Kakashi nodded. "That is what I am afraid of." "That hunter made a fool of us!" Sasuke clenched his fists. "You are still inexperienced genins, don''t beat yourself up over it. I should be the one offended¡­" Kakashi said. "But we can''t be sure of this, right? I mean¡­this is just a theory," Sakura said, hoping to avoid thinking about that monster still being around. "True¡­we are just specting," Kakashi said. "But, we should still act under the premise that he could still be alive and will attack again when he recovers from his wounds." "And that he has a very powerful ally," Naruto pointed out. "That masked guy seemed very strong¡­" Sasuke agreed. "We must be prepared. Even if Zabuza neveres back, Gato could have hired more ninjas. There are plenty of missing ninjas out there," Kakashi exined. "Oh¡­" Sakura was getting worried again. "But what can we do? You can barely move now." "By preparing¡­of course, I mean training," Kakashi told them as if it was obvious. "You haven''t trained us since the team was formed and you want to start now? When we are in hostile territory and could be attacked by enemy ninjas at any moment?" Sakura was in disbelief. Sasuke and Naruto weren''t much different. Kakashi let out a chuckle. "These are the best moments to train! You will learn faster if you are under pressure." "I mean¡­" Naruto mumbled. He had to agree with their teacher. People always progress faster when there is actual danger involved. "Besides, when I saw Naruto unable to walk on water, I realized that I didn''t even teach you the basics¡­hehe," Kakashi added. "It''s not funny!" Sakurained. "You are going to teach us how to walk on water?" Sasuke asked. He could not hide his interest. Kakashi raised a finger. "Not yet. There''s another step you have to finish first." "So there is something even more basic that you haven''t taught us yet?," Naruto concluded. "Exactly!" Kakashi admitted it with no shame whatsoever. "We will start after lunch." <><><><><><><><><> "This seems like a good ce to start." Kakashi pped a tree. "We are going to train in the middle of a forest?" Sakura looked around. None of them knew what kind of training their teacher had prepared for them, so they were very excited. Even Naruto, who had mastered countless techniques during his past life. He was always happy to learn something new. That attitude is what allowed him to get so far in life. "Alright, what are you going to teach us?" he asked. "I assume you are all familiar with the leaf exercise, yes?" Kakashi asked his students. Of course, he already knew the answer since he had read their academy reports. Sakura was extremely good at chakra control but she had very small reserves. Sasuke had above-average reserves and his chakra control was also decent, thanks to all his training. Kakashi''s eyes moved to Naruto. He had no idea how he was going to perform in this exercise. If it was before the ''incident''...he would have assumed that Naruto was going to do very poorly due to hisck of training and the fact that the Kyuubi''s chakra was leaking into his own, making it very difficult to control. He still didn''t understand why his old professor had made the decision to create such a seal. Did he really expect Naruto to learn to control the demon''s chakra?...he did not know and from what the Hokage had told him¡­neither did he. Kakashi made a mental note to speak with Jiraiya the next time he stopped in the vige. If anyone knew more about Naruto''s seal, it was him. "Of course we are familiar with that exercise. We learned it at the academy," Sakura said. "It''s meant to teach chakra control. Are we going to do something simr?" Naruto asked. Kakashi nodded. "The leaf exercise is the most basic chakra control technique, but it doesn''t have many practical applications. What I am going to teach you is the next level of chakra control techniques¡­tree climbing!" A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 29: Tree Climbing Training Chapter 29: Tree Climbing Training Disimer: "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 29: Tree Climbing Training The genins stared at Kakashi with nk expressions. Sakura raised her hand. "Teacher¡­we already know how to do that." Kakashi sighed. "Let me demonstrate what I mean." They watched as their teacher ced a foot on the surface of a tree, then lifted his body up and began walking up the tree trunk as if he were still on the ground. He continued until he reached one of thergest branches and stood upside down. "Get it now? You can''t use your hands to climb, just your feet." "You''re using your chakra to remain stuck to the surface of the tree," Naruto said. "Bingo!" Kakashi pointed at him before jumping down. "And this is going to make us stronger?" Sakura asked. "You want us to train our chakra control?" Sasuke realized, unable to hide his disappointment. "Indeed! This is an exercise that will help you train your ability to control your chakra," Kakashi said. "What about water walking?" Naruto asked. He saw the utility of being able to stick to surfaces but was more interested in the other technique. "That one is more advanced. You first need to master this skill." Kakashi pointed at the tree. "To avoid falling, you need to apply the exact amount of chakra. If you use too much, the tree bark will break, and if it''s too little, you will fall." He threw some kunai on the ground. "You can use these to mark your progress." "I see¡­so it''s kind of simr to the leaf exercise. Instead of using our chakra to keep the leaf stuck to us, we have to focus on our feet''s pressure points¡­let''s give it a try." Naruto rested his foot on the tree and circted a small amount of chakra. He tried pulling his foot off and had no issues moving it away. "Didn''t stick¡­not enough chakra then?" This time, he used more¡­the bark broke into pieces, and his foot slipped. Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke watched Naruto with interest. "Tsk¡­" Sasuke broke away from the group and went looking for a tree to use. ''I can''t stand watching him¡­I cannot fall behind!'' "Why don''t you give it a try, Sakura?" Kakashi gave the girl a little push. "Ah¡­yes¡­" For a moment, she had gotten distracted watching Naruto. He was so methodical with his approach. Instead of trying to run up the tree and see how far he could get, Naruto was first trying to find the perfect amount of chakra to use. Kakashi didn''t miss this either. He was still trying to figure Naruto out, so he didn''t know what to expect yet. "Teacher, look!" Sakura shouted. Kakashi looked up at the tree and found Sakura standing on top of the tallest branch. "I did it!" she eximed. "Good job, Sakura." Kakashi had already expected she would be the first one to finish the exercise, so there were no surprises there. "Mmm¡­I think I got it," Naruto muttered. "Huh?" Kakashi turned his attention to the blond boy. He had spent several minutes standing on the ground and had yet to make even a single attempt to climb. "Are you finally ready to start?" he asked. Naruto nced back at his teacher. "No, I mean that I already found the perfect amount of chakra to apply." Kakashi chuckled. "Even if you have, in practice, it''s going to be more difficult than you think. Using the exact same amount of chakra every time is not as simple as it sounds. It requires months, or even years of practice t-" He stopped talking all of a sudden when he saw Naruto slowly walking up the tree. "What?!" Sasuke raised his voice more than he intended when he saw this. Ignoring their reactions, Naruto continued to walk across the surface of the giant tree until he reached the tallest branch, and then¡­like Kakashi had done, he moved to the branch and stood upside down. "Well? Did I pass?" Naruto nced at Kakashi while saying this. "Mmm¡­yes, you did¡­good job, Naruto." Kakashi was a bit taken aback by the ease with which Naruto had learned this technique. He hadn''t expected him to take more than a few hours, but on the first try¡­it should have been impossible. ''Is the Kyuubi''s chakra not interfering with his control? Could there be something wrong with the seal?'' Now he was even more motivated to speak with Jiraiya. "Can you teach me to walk on water now?" Naruto asked him. Kakashi looked troubled. He had hoped that this exercise would keep his students busy for a day or two at least. But now Sasuke was the only one who still hadn''t learned it. "It wouldn''t be right to teach something to you alone, Naruto. Why don''t we wait until Sasuke finishes with the tree-walking technique, and if there is time, I will teach it to the three of you." Naruto moved his eyes to the ck-haired boy. "I suppose that makes sense. I''ll wait then." He turned around and sat down with his back against the tree. "Ah¡­yes." Kakashi was once again surprised by his behavior. He expected him toin a little at least. Sasuke clenched his teeth so hard that they started to make noises. Now he was thest one of his team to learn this¡­the worst one¡­ "Sasuke, do you want me to help you?" Sakura approached the boy with a gentle smile on her face. "I can give you some advi-" "Shut up!" Sasuke shouted. "Leave me alone, I can do this!" He turned and walked further into the forest, looking for a more distant tree to practice on. Sakura stood there in shock, not sure what to do. Sasuke had been mad at her before, but this was the first time he screamed at her like that. She then felt a hand on her shoulder and looked around, finding her teacher. "Don''t mind his words too much. I think he is just feeling a bit stressed¡­Sasuke is verypetitive, you see?" Kakashi was the one who understood Sasuke the best since he had been informed about many details of what the boy went through during the day of the massacre and the years after. "I know¡­I¡­I think I''ll go back to the house and see if Tsunami needs help with something." She walked away while wiping her teary eyes. Kakashi sighed once more. "Teenagers¡­" He was well aware of Sakura''s feelings for the Uchiha boy, but those feelings would only make things more difficult. Kakashi looked at Naruto. The blond boy had his eyes closed and appeared to be meditating. "At least one of you seems to be unaffected by these kinds of matters. That''s a relief¡­" A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 30: The Bridge of Hope Chapter 30: The Bridge of Hope Disimer: "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 30: The Bridge of Hope "You okay there, boy?" Naruto opened his eyes and looked up at the figure of the old Tazuna. "I''m fine, I was just meditating." Naruto remained seated in lotus position and gave the ce another nce. There were a lot more people working now. "It looked to me like you were sleeping. And where are the girl and the grumpy kid?" the builder asked. "The grumpy kid is having some trouble training a new technique, and the girl refuses to go too far from the grumpy kid," Naruto answered. "And shouldn''t you be with them? That ck-haired kiddo is going to steal the girl, you know?" Tazuna tried to tease him. "I seriously doubt he has much interest in her. Besides, someone has to be here to protect you, and our teacher is still a bit under the weather." "And you are protecting me with your eyes closed?" Tazuna gave him a look of suspicion. "Even when I am meditating, I remain aware of my surroundings. But in any case, an attack right now is very unlikely. That ninja we fought should be at the very least severely injured and will need some time to recover." "Wait a minute, I thought he was dead!" Tazuna eximed. "Right¡­" They hadn''t told him about Kakashi''s theory. "He probably is¡­anyway, if you see anything, just give a shout and I will be there in a second." After saying that, Naruto closed his eyes again. "Hey, Tazuna!" Another man approached them. "Giichi? What is it?" "I''ve been thinking¡­and I want to quit working on the bridge." "What? You too?! Why do you want to quit now? We are so close," Tazuna eximed. "We''ve been close for a long time now¡­but do you really think that Gato is going to let us finish? And what if he kills you next? We should all stop this¡­we should stop building this bridge." The man looked defeated. "I refuse to quit! This is our bridge¡­this is the bridge we started building, thinking that it would improve our country''s situation. I will not stop until it''splete," Tazuna said with conviction. "If we lose our lives, it will all be for nothing!" the man shouted. "Enough! It''s already noon, so let''s stop working for today¡­you don''t have toe tomorrow." Tazuna turned around and walked away. Naruto stopped his meditation and followed him. He paid attention as they walked through the streets of the city. Everything looked dirty and run down. Most of the houses had been put together with old wood, tarps, and sheet metal roofs. "Thief!" Naruto moved his eyes around and spotted a small child running with a loaf of bread in his arms while an angry man went after him. "Has this town always been like this, or is it also something caused by that man?" Naruto asked Tazuna. "This has always been a humble country¡­but we had what we needed. Things got much worse after Gato''s arrival. He monopolized most of themerce, and that caused massive intion. Prices continued to rise while people barely made any money¡­what you see now is the result." "Mmm¡­" Naruto nodded. He had seen this kind of thing happening many times. Humans are greedy creatures. He could not im to be that different, except the source of his greed was knowledge and power, instead of money. Although he had always tried to avoid hurting innocent people to aplish his goals if that was a possibility. However, he would show no mercy to those who opposed him. "Once we finish the bridge¡­everything will get better. You''ll see!" Tazuna''s eyes were filled with conviction. Naruto noticed this but made noment about it or about this man''s goals. In his personal opinion, Tazuna''s n was filled with holes. His team had only been hired to protect Tazuna until the construction wasplete. But even if the bridge is finished, there is nothing stopping Gato from destroying itter on. Once their job is done, Team 7 will leave this country and there will be no one left to stand against Gato''s army. It would have been better if he had hired some assassins to take out the source of this country''s problems¡­to kill Gato instead of protecting the builder. He wasn''t sure if Konoha would have epted the job since their leader seemed to be a very upright and righteous person. "This country needs a symbol of courage¡­my bridge will serve to inspire them. To lose their fear and regain their desire to stand up for themselves." <><><><><><><><> When they arrived at the house, Tazuna''s daughter was just finishing setting up the table. His teammates, along with Kakashi, were already sitting and waiting for dinner. "You look terrible," Naruto said as his eyes rested on Sasuke. The ck-haired boy was dirty and covered in cuts and bruises. It appeared that he had fallen from the trees over and over while trying to learn that technique. "Naruto! Don''t say that! You have no idea how hard Sasuke has been working," Sakura snapped at him. "Did you at least learn it?" Naruto ignored the angry girl. Sasuke nced at him with his usual expression of displeasure. "I''m close¡­I will master it tonight." "Oh¡­I see." He went and sat down next to their teacher. "So, how did your day go? Did you have fun with your bodyguard job?" Kakashi asked him. Naruto could not see his mouth, but he was sure the man was grinning. "It was all quiet. Nothing worthy to report." "Mmm¡­that''s good. I should bepletely fine with one more day of rest." Kakashi said. "How long until the bridge isplete?" he asked Tazuna. "Perhaps two weeks will be enough, if we don''t run into any serious issues and work as hard as we can," Tazuna said. The builder''s grandson got up from his seat and stared at them with a scowl on his face. "What are you even bothering for? You are all going to die! Gato is going to kill every single one of you!" "Inari!" Tsunami came running from the kitchen to scold her son, but he ran upstairs. "What''s wrong with the brat?" Naruto asked. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 31: Intruders Chapter 31: Intruders Disimer: "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 31: Intruders Three days had passed since then. This morning, Kakashi and Sasuke were on guard duty at the bridge while Naruto remained at Tazuna''s house. Sakura was also supposed to stay here, but she could not stand to be separated from Sasuke, so she went with them, leaving Naruto alone. Naruto didn''t mind this. Without the loud girl, it was much easier to focus on his meditation. He sat on his bed with his eyes closed. His consciousness was at the core of his mind pce. He was still far from breaking into the next stage, but his "Cosmic Assimtion Technique" made things very risky, and he could not lose focus and rx yet. He was progressively absorbing the energy emanating from the demon fox called Kyubi and integrating it into his own body. Even in his previous life, he had never tried to integrate a type of Qi that was this violent and unstable. He had to very slowly drip the demon''s chakra into his still-developing dantian and refine the chakra until it could be used without causing him harm. If he didn''t refine it this way, that chakra would be not much different from poison, and it would destroy his bodypletely. Much more so in his current weak state. As Naruto prepared to refine another bit of that violent chakra, he heard some noises on the floor beneath him. He was still unable to feel the presence of other living creatures, but something was telling him that an enemy had entered the house. The sound of tters being broken and Tsunami screaming just served as confirmation. ''Looks like Gato is finally making a move.'' He wondered if Zabuza hade in person or if they had sent others to attack. Considering that Tazuna was not in the house, he guessed it was thetter. "Mom!" Naruto heard the little brat shouting and a couple of menughing. "Oh, what do we have here? Should we take him too?" "We only need one hostage." He could only hear two persons speaking, but he still approached with care. If there was someone on the level of Zabuza, he would be in trouble. "Hehe, should I kill him then?" A man with an eyepatch and a katana said in a threatening tone. Tsunami hurried to pull her son behind her. "Wait! If you touch my son¡­ I will bite my tongue and kill myself! If you want a hostage, just take me." ''Mmm¡­ those men don''t look like ninjas¡­ they appear to be regr swordsmen¡­ I should be able to do this.'' He decided to act now, instead of waiting for them to take hold of Tazuna''s daughter. If they got a hostage, that wouldplicate things. The two men had yet to notice his presence, further confirming that they were not very powerful individuals. Naruto pulled three kunai and aimed at the swordsman closer to Tsunami. The man waspletely bare-chested, while the other was wearing a thick coat and could be hiding some armor underneath, which could block his attack. Hiding and throwing weapons from afar was very different from his preferred style, but he was not stupid enough to discard his advantage. He would use whatever tools he had at his disposal to increase his odds of victory. Without hesitation, he let go of the kunai, and they hit the man on his shoulder and neck. "Ahh!" The swordsman screamed as the foreign objects pierced his flesh. He let go of his sword and almost fell to the ground. Hispanion turned around and spotted Naruto kneeling near the top of the stairs. "Shit! One of the ninjas was still here?!" They had been informed that all of them were at the bridge. "Argg, fuck!" The injured swordsman grunted as he took the kunai out of him. He began losing a lot of blood and was forced to use his hands to cover his wounds. "Stay there, I''ll take care of this one." The other swordsman felt at least a bit relieved to confirm that this was not the Jonin. That one was supposed to have white hair and a mask. "You are a genin, right boy?" The swordsman unsheathed his sword and pointed it at Naruto. "I''m sure you are scared¡­ there is no need for us to fight. We just want the woman over there. Then we''ll leave." Naruto''s answer was to send a barrage of shurikens his way. "Tsk!" The swordsman showed that he at least had some skills as he was able to block all of them at lightning speed. But the next moment, when he looked back at where Naruto had been, there was only a small cloud of smoke. "Where di- ahh!" The swordsman felt a sharp pain on his side, and when he looked, he found a sharp kunai stuck in his side while Naruto held it. ''No armor¡­ okay then.'' He twisted the kunai while it was inside the other man. "Ahhhh!" The swordsman dropped his sword and pulled out a short knife from the front of his jacket. He determined that the sword was too long to fight at this distance, so this was more effective. He directed a stab towards the face of the blonde ninja, but Naruto was not an easy target. Fighting at this distance was his specialty. He blocked the swordsman''s attack and pulled the kunai out at the same time, earning another grunt of pain from the man. The intense pain was too much for him and, just for a second, he lost his concentration. Naruto used this small window to direct another attack, this time aimed at the man''s neck. The kunai entered on one side and almost exited on the other. The swordsman opened his eyes and mouth widely when Naruto gave the de a violent twist. The swordsman was incapable of screaming and could only let out some harrowing noises before he died. "No¡­" The other swordsman moved back against the wall. He was still holding onto his neck. His left torso was covered in blood, and his only remaining eye showed his fear and shock. Tsunami and Inari were also staring at Naruto with a mixture of admiration and fear. He had always been polite and quiet during his stay at their house, and they never expected he would be capable of killing someone with such coldness. Naruto nced at them for a moment and pointed to an empty corner of the room. "Go wait over there. I''ll finish this in a minute." A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 32: The Ice Prison Chapter 32: The Ice Prison Disimer: "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 32: The Ice Prison After leaving Tsunami to clean the mess, Naruto made his way towards the bridge. If Gato had sent those two swordsmen to kidnap the builder''s daughter, there was a good chance that they were also attacking Tazuna himself. He regretted not leaving one of them alive to get some information, but he got a bit carried away, and those two were too weak anyway. "Oh¡­ so I was right¡­" He spotted several of the builders running away from the bridge, and when he got a bit closer, he could see clear signs of an intense fight going on. ''What is that thing?'' There was arge crystalline structure in the middle of the bridge. Next to it were Zabuza and Kakashi. A short distance away, he saw Sakura standing in front of Tazuna. ''Is Sasuke in there?'' He was the only one missing. And since Zabuza was obviously alive¡­ Sasuke was probably fighting his aplice¡­ that ninja hunter pretender from the other day. "Ahhh!" A loud scream came from inside the ice. "Sasuke!" Sakura screamed with desperation while staring intensely at the ice structure. Kakashi tried to move but was blocked by Zabuza. "If you get past me¡­ I''m killing that girl and the builder." The Mist ninja said with a cruel smile. "I''m sorry, Tazuna¡­ I need to go help him." Sakura pulled out a kunai. "Y-yeah¡­ go do your thing¡­" The builder said. Sakura ran forward and threw a kunai aimed at the ice structure where Sasuke was trapped. The surface of the ice started to ripple¡­ the figure of the masked ninja hunter got part of his body out and caught the kunai. ''That''s an interesting move¡­'' Naruto considered that he was close enough already. He pulled several shurikens and sent them to the target as fast as he could. The masked boy was taken by surprise and barely blocked the attack, suffering some cuts in the process. "Naruto?" Kakashi was not expecting him to arrive so soon. "Didn''t they send anyone to attack Tazuna''s house?" He hoped that Naruto didn''t leave too soon and left Tsunami and her sonpletely unguarded. "Wait! You left my daughter alone?" Tazuna yelled. "They only sent a couple of swordsmen and I already took care of them. Your daughter should be fine for a while." Naruto tried to calm the old man down. "You took care of them, huh?" Zabuza smiled. "I really like this kid." "Master Zabuza, let me fight the genin in my own way." The masked boy said. "You don''t want me to interfere?" Zabuza asked. "You are too soft, Haku¡­ fine, but be careful around that blonde one. Don''t give him a chance to kill you¡­ he will take it." He said as he nced over at Naruto. There was something about that genin that felt familiar to him. He did not have the aura of an inoffensive genin but it was more like the ninjas from his country. Zabuza could not understand how Konoha could produce a boy like that with their gentle training methods. "You are my opponent then?" Naruto approached Haku before moving his eyes towards the ice structure. On a closer look, it became obvious that it was not just one piece of ice but many frozen panels floating close to each other, forming a dome shape. "I am¡­ why don''t you step inside? I''m in the middle of something with your teammate." The masked ninja pointed at his ice cage. Naruto raised an eyebrow. "You must be thinking I''m stupid¡­ there is no way I will just walk into a trap." He took off running directly towards the ice. "I''ll just break it from outside." By the way Haku had protected the ice from Sakura''s kunai, it must mean that it is not very resistant. He threw his remaining shurikens, aiming at three of the panels, trusting that the other ninja would not be able to protect everything at the same time. But he was wrong¡­ Haku was faster than he predicted, and his aim with those senbons was precise enough to intercept every single projectile that Narutounched. ''Fine¡­ I''ll use my fists.'' He approached the nearest ice panel and threw a punch at it. In an instant, Haku emerged from the ice like it was a pool of water and blocked his punch. "Fire release¡­ Grand Fireball!" Sasuke called from inside the ice prison. Naruto could see some of the mes appear from beneath the ice panels, but none of them melted. "I''m afraid that my ice will not be melted by that level of technique," Haku imed with a hint of pride in his voice. Naruto then felt the grip on his arm increase, and he was now being pulled inside the ice. He tried to use his free hand to attack Haku, but he was much slower than his opponent, so his other arm was also grabbed, and now he had no way to prevent himself from being pulled. "Urgg¡­" He felt a sense of disorientation and then, he was rolling on the floor. "He got you too¡­ how useless," Sasuke grumbled. Naruto looked up and realized he was now inside the ice prison. "Tsk! He got me good there." Now that he had fought the masked ninja a little bit, he could make a more urate evaluation of his strength¡­ and it was not good for him. ''He is several times faster and stronger than those two chunin we fought before. This Haku may already be at the level of a Jonin.'' Even after understanding the situation a bit better, he did not despair. This was not the first time he was facing someone much more powerful¡­ but he still had a few tricks up his sleeve. ''I''m not going to die again so early. I''ll have to show them.'' A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 33: Sharp Needles Chapter 33: Sharp Needles Disimer:Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 33: Sharp Needles They both saw the image of Haku appear on the ice panel right in front of them. "There!" Several shuriken were already in Sasuke''s hand. Both genin were about to attack when, all of a sudden, they heard something behind them. Another Haku threw several steel needles at them, forcing them to move away from each other. "A clone?...no¡­what kind of technique is this?" Naruto wondered how this worked. "They are not clones." Sasuke answered. But he didn''t seem to know much more than that. More images of Haku started to appear on all of the ice panels, covering their entire view. ''It''s like¡­mirrors¡­'' That meant that only one of them could attack while the rest were merely a distraction. ''If I were able to sense his aura, this fight would be over very quickly, but I need to finish my Core Formation Stage for that.'' Even knowing that only one of them was real didn''t help much when the needles started raining on them. They appeared to being from all directions as Haku was able to move extremely fast from one mirror to the next. Not even two minutes after the start of the fight, Naruto''s body had been pierced a dozen times. Sasuke was in much worse shape than him since he had already been doing this before Naruto arrived. "Trying to follow my position with your eyes is impossible. This technique allows me to use the mirror''s reflection to transport myself. From my point of view, you two are moving in slow motion." Haku exined. "Oi, can''t you use that technique from your n? I''m sure it woulde in handy now." Naruto said. "The Sharingan¡­ I have not awakened it yet¡­" Sasuke said with exasperation. "That''s too bad." Naruto nced at Sasuke. The ck-haired boy was having trouble breathing and was barely standing up. "Give me some cover then." He said before rushing to one of the mirrors. It didn''t matter which one he broke. Haku probably needed them all intact to keep using his technique. A single mirror missing would be enough to prevent the reflections from covering the whole dome. "Too slow!" Haku was already in the mirror that Naruto was nning on attacking. He aimed some of his senbons and released them. Some of them were intercepted by Sasuke''s shuriken while Naruto had to block the rest by using his left arm as a shield. His right fist went directly to the middle of the mirror while Haku was more than ready to stop it. But then, Naruto''s right arm disappeared from that position and reappeared a few inches lower. This took Haku by surprise and he could not move in time before he received a good hit in the stomach. "Urgg¡­" Haku reacted by pushing Naruto away from him. "What?!" Both Sasuke and the masked ninja were surprised to discover that arge amount of blood was pouring from his belly. "What did you do there?" Sasuke asked. "It''s a move called Illusionary Fist. This masked guy is not the only one who can do tricks with light." Even though the technique is called as such, there is nothing preventing you from using a weapon. Naruto had disguised his real right arm, where he was wielding a kunai, with a fake one that just looked like it was punching. Haku groaned in pain as he removed the bloody kunai from his body and applied pressure on the wound with one hand. "If I aimed it right, he is not going tost too long. But we better finish him off." Naruto advised. "Finish him off¡­" Sasuke muttered. He had never killed anyone, but he understood that in this situation they didn''t have much of a choice. Their opponent was stronger than them. If they also were to show him mercy, it could be a fatal mistake. "Finish me off?! Ahh!" Haku snapped. His prior calm attitude had disappeared, and he now appeared to be truly angry. "Master Zabuza was right¡­ I should never have shown mercy to my enemies!" Naruto felt arge amount of bloodlust. "This is bad¡­ you may wanna leave now, Sasuke." "What are you talking ab-" Before Sasuke could finish, his instinct made him react to an attack. More needles were sent at him, but now they felt a lot faster, and they were all aimed at his neck and face. Two needles buried in his left shoulder, causing him tremendous pain and making him lose his bnce. Naruto was dealing with the same. He was not fast enough to block everything that Haku was throwing at them. Even with his current wound, the masked ninja was moving even faster than before, and his attacks had be much more dangerous. ''If this continues¡­ we are actually going to die¡­'' Naruto considered his options. And he didn''t like any of them. ''I''m going to need a bit of help on this one¡­'' His consciousness was pulled inward and into his Mind Pce. When he regained his sight, he was back in that familiar sewer. "I knew you would be back eventually." The demon fox snarled at him. Naruto walked towards the cage, not slowing down even when he was only a couple of feet away. "I need something from you," Naruto said in a calm tone. A gigantic paw with sharp nails appeared from the cage like a lightning bolt and grabbed onto Naruto. "You should not have gotten so close, boy¡­ I am going to crush you now!" The demon fox threatened him. "Unless you release that seal¡­" Naruto started tough. "What''s so funny?!" The Kyubi shouted. "You are either taking me for a fool, or¡­ you are a fool yourself, Demon¡­" Naruto said with a grin. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 34: The Deal Chapter 34: The Deal Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 34: The Deal "You think I won''t do it?!" The Kyubi growled. "Go ahead¡­ let''s get this over with. Crush me." Naruto taunted the demon fox. The fox roared at him while showing his sharp fangs, and then¡­ it closed its ws, crushing Naruto''s body and turning his insides into mush. Or that was what the Kyubi thought. The ''corpse'' of Naruto vanished from its hand and reappeared a few feet away, lookingpletely intact. "Do you understand now, demon? We are nothing but immaterial constructs, created inside my mind. You could say that we are manifestations of our own selves. So you won''t be able to hurt me here." It was not impossible to perform an attack while inside someone''s Inner World, but Naruto was confident that this demon fox was unaware of such methods. The creature remained silent after that. It had obviously been offended by his actions. "I did note here to make you look like an idiot, demon. I need you to give me some of your chakra." With the way the seal had been designed, Naruto could only take a small amount at a time. This was meant to protect his life, as arge amount of the demon''s yang chakra would certainly kill him. But if the demon is willing to cooperate, then he may be able to get enough to make a difference in his current fight. "You want my help?... and why would I do that, human?" The Kyubi spoke with disdain. "Because for as long as you are inside my body, your life is connected to mine." Naruto said. "Nonsense! If you die, then I''m free! So go ahead and get yourself killed, brat. I could not care less!" "Oh? Are you sure about that?" The Kyubi narrowed its eyes. "What are you plotting, human?!" "I am no expert in seals, but from what I understand of that one," he pointed at the cage, "if I were to suddenly die, you would also suffer some serious consequences." "What are you speaking of? I cannot die." The Kyubi said with absolute confidence. "Maybe not, but your body can be temporarily destroyed, can''t it? Your body is made of pure chakra, so when it disperses, it can take a very long time before you can recover your form." Naruto was speaking from personal experience as he had already met several beings like this demon fox in his past. So he had a good understanding of their inner workings. The fox remained silent, so he interpreted that as a cue to continue. "If I am killed here, your chakra body will disperse, and you won''t regain your consciousness for many years. What do you think will happen when you do? You can be sure there would be arge number of people here, waiting for your return so they can seal you again into someone else''s body¡­ is that what you want?" Naruto asked. The demon fox was still not talking and just stared at him. "What about making a deal with me?" "A deal? What kind of deal?" The fox could not hide its curiosity and finally spoke. "You help me out with your chakra whenever I need it and¡­ one day, I will remove the seal and let you out free." "One day¡­ that sounds very vague." The Kyubi noted. "Ten years. That is more than enough time for me to build my own strength¡­ then I''ll let you go." Naruto promised. "Ten years is nothing for a being such as yourself, right?" "And why should I believe that you would keep your part?" Naruto shrugged. "I have no way to give you a guarantee. But even if I were to lie, you would not be in a worse position than you are right now. What do you have to lose?" The Kyubi growled at him. "Very well, human¡­ I''ll let you use my chakra¡­ but if you deceive me, I will find a way to pay you back. Even if I cannot kill you, I will go after your descendants¡­ do not underestimate my fury." "I won''t¡­" Naruto turned around and disappeared from the room. When he opened his eyes back in the real world, only a moment in real time had passed. But even then, Naruto was surprised to see that the masked ninja did not miss his small opening to attack him. "Urgg¡­" Sasuke groaned. His body was filled with senbons, from his shoulders to his toes. "Why did you protect me?" Naruto asked. While inside his Inner World, only a few seconds must have passed on the outside. He knew there was a risk of being attacked but had not been too worried about being hit by a few of those needles, because one of the best things about this body was the speed at which his wounds regenerated. Thest thing he expected was to find his grumpy teammate sacrificing himself to save him. "M-My body¡­ moved on its own¡­" The ck-haired boy said before falling back. He caught Sasuke and ced him down with care. Despite his long life, this was not amon urrence for him. Someone who was willing to put their life on the line to protect his. He did have a few people he was close to, like his daopanions, but he wasn''t sure if any of them would have given up their lives for him. It seemed unlikely. And now, this boy who he barely knew¡­ "Mmm¡­ what is this¡­" red mist started to pour out of his body, and he was suddenly surrounded by a baleful aura. "Am I¡­ angry?" There was a lot of rage and fury mixed with the chakra he was receiving and it was trying to affect him, but his mind remained serene, despite all of that. His now red eyes moved towards Haku, who was visibly shaken by the new development. "What is that chakra?!" The masked ninja eximed. "This is an interesting sensation¡­" Naruto said with a calm voice as the demon''s chakra swirled around him. "I don''t dislike it." A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 35: A Glimpse of Power Chapter 35: A Glimpse of Power Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 35: A Glimpse of Power As Naruto had expected, the chakra from the demon fox contained more than just yang qi. It also held a great deal of pure and unadulterated¡­hatred. ''This is why most demon cultivators end up losing their minds¡­ I think I understand it better now¡­ still, this power is nothing to scoff at,'' he thought. "What are you?!" Haku yelled. Outside the ice barrier, Kakashi and Zabuza had stopped their fight when they felt that powerful wave of chakra. "What was that?!" Zabuza felt an incredibly violent chakra emerging from inside Haku''s ice. "Oh no!" Kakashi eximed. Unlike Zabuza, he was very familiar with that particr chakra. It was the same one he felt that day, fifteen years ago, when the Kyubi went loose and destroyed half of Konoha. ''Did the seal break?'' The Jonin was starting to panic. But then, all of a sudden, the baleful aura disappeared almostpletely, leaving behind only a mild trace. "What''s going on in there?" Kakashi muttered. "Sasuke¡­ please be fine¡­" Sakura stared intensely at the dome of ice. She wanted nothing more than to rush in there. Back inside the ice, Haku was watching in disbelief as the genin in front of him was able to put all of that violent energy under control. "I''m surprised you didn''t attack me while I was distracted¡­" Naruto nced at the masked ninja. "It''s best if you give up¡­ I don''t want to have to kill you, like I did with your friend." Haku clutched at his senbons, trying to hide his nervousness. That chakra had shaken him to the core, but his Master always told him that a ninja must never show his emotions. Naruto was also hiding something under his impassive gaze. He was currently in tremendous pain. ''I have put this demonic chakra under my control, but my body is not strong enough to contain it for long. I must hurry to finish this opponent, or I may truly die early in my new journey.'' He was beginning to regret taking this route. At the time, using the demon''s chakra seemed like the least harmful option. Naruto had other ways to give himself a short-lived boost of power. But they required sacrificing his own life force or his cultivation, and that was something he wanted to avoid at all costs. ''I would feel like a fool if I just die now for something like this.'' Despite the pain, his body felt much better to move. He could estimate that in his current state, he was around the Core Foundation in terms of power. This was also the moment when he could start to use all his stored energy to activate some real techniques. Haku noticed Naruto moving his feet and knew it was time to attack. He did not know what the genin was capable of doing with that baleful chakra, but his instincts were telling him he had to finish this as fast as possible. A dozen senbons ended up being stabbed on the surface of the stone bridge. Naruto had disappeared from the spot with a speed that surpassed Haku''s, and the next instant, he was in front of the masked ninja, prepared to attack. In that small frame of time, Haku knew he was in danger and pushed his bloodline ability to its limit, creating the most powerful ice shield he could muster. Naruto did not stop or change his movements. His right fist continued its path until it made contact with the ice. For a moment, it seemed like nothing was going to happen, but then¡­ all that demonic chakra they had all felt moments ago was transformed into a wave of pure heat and released right in front of Haku. His ice shield cracked and disintegrated immediately under the zing temperature. His body then began to burn so quickly that he did not have time to even consider using a substitution technique. Haku was an incredibly talented ninja but had little experience in realbat. And the few times he had to fight, he would always overwhelm his opponents with his superior speed. This was the first time he found someone who could move faster than him, and his reaction had been a fraction of a second too slow. That is all it took. Kakashi and Zabuza had not resumed their duel after feeling that demonic chakra. Both experts had been staring at the dome of ice, wondering what was going to happen next. But neither of them had expected to see Haku''s imprable prison being blown up by a massive wave of fire that emerged from the inside and erupted towards the sky. Kakashi reacted immediately by taking Sakura and Tazuna away from the heat. Even at the distance they were in, it was enough to suffer severe burns. But then he nced back at the ce where the ice used to be. His two students had been there a moment ago, but now there was nothing but a thick mist, created by the sudden evaporation of all that ice. "No! Sasuke!" Sakura screamed and had to be stopped by her teacher so she would not rush in there. "Wait here¡­ I''m going to g-" Kakashi stopped talking when he felt something moving. The tomoe on his Sharingan began to spin as he put it to work and immediately saw traces of chakra moving in the mist. It was hard to detect anything with precision because the demonic chakra of the Kyubi was currently covering most of the bridge. But then, a figure emerged from within. "Naruto?..." Sakura walked closer, and then¡­ she gasped. "Sasuke!" She took off running when she saw that Naruto was carrying on his back the body of their teammate. "Oh no!" Kakashi also moved immediately to Naruto''s side. Had he lost a student already? A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 36: The End of the Road Chapter 36: The End of the Road Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 36: The End of the Road "Give him here." Kakashi took Sasuke down from Naruto''s shoulder and examined him. "Is he?... is he?..." Sakura had tears falling across her face. "He is still alive!" Kakashi said with relief. He could still see his chakra circting around his body, but his pulse felt very weak. "He is?" Naruto was also surprised to hear this. He had the feeling that there could be a chance for Sasuke to be alive, but it was a very small one. As soon as Kakashi pulled the senbons from Sasuke''s neck and chest, the boy''s skin started to recover its normal color and his chest started to move. "Stay with him¡­ we still have another problem to take care of." Kakashi nced back at Zabuza. The enemy ninja had not taken advantage of this chance to attack them. Instead, he appeared to be looking for something on the bridge. "If he is looking for the masked boy¡­ he won''t find much." Narutomented. "Naruto, you¡­" Kakashi stopped talking when he noticed Naruto''s body. Half of his face and torso had been badly burned. Kakashi had many questions at the moment, but this was not the time to ask them. "Naruto, stay here too. I''ll deal with Zabuza." He went on and approached the Mist Ninja, leaving the three genin and Tazuna behind. "It seems like I lost my apprentice." Zabuza said, while staring at the burned part of the bridge. He was unable to find any remains. Whatever was left may have fallen into the waters. "I''m sorry for your loss." Kakashi continued to get closer. "Don''t be¡­ we ninjas are nothing more than tools designed to kill. Your genin did his job¡­ mine didn''t." Zabuza nced in the distance towards the group of genin. "Must we continue this? You will die too." Kakashi said with confidence. "Hahaha! If I just quit when a job gets difficult, then no one will hire me in the future." Zabuza pointed his sword at Kakashi. "No¡­ I think I will finish what we started." The two Jonins continued to fight while the rest watched. It became obvious very soon that Kakashi had the upper hand. The silver-haired ninja used his summoning technique to bring a group of ninja dogs that restrained Zabuza. "Lightning?" Naruto was observing Kakashi with rapt attention when this one formed a mass of lightning in his hand. Even without his sensing abilities, he could tell that there was a massive amount of chakra concentrated there. "It''s over¡­" He said, just a moment before Kakashi pierced Zabuza''s chest with his technique, killing him instantly. Sakura moved her eyes away. "Don''t look away." Naruto told her with a stern tone. "If you can''t even watch that¡­ how are you going to kill your own enemies?" "I am not like you!" She screamed at him. "I am not so¡­ so cold! I can''t kill like that." "Then you better stop being a ninja¡­ it won''t end well for you." Naruto told her. Tazuna opened his mouth to say something. He did not like how Naruto was talking to his teammate, but he thought about what he could say¡­ nothing came up. He did not know much about ninjas, but he at least knew that one could not be too soft on their enemies, otherwise¡­ Sakura stared at him in disbelief. Even though she kept calling him Naruto, she could not recognize this person anymore. The way he speaks and behaves is just too different. He is so¡­ "We havepany." Naruto turned around. The mist on the bridge had only be thicker after his fight with Haku. It was difficult to see anything past a few feet. But his hearing was sharp enough to detect the sounds of steps. "A big group." He then added. "Could they be my workers?" Tazuna suggested. They had all run away when Zabuza appeared, but perhaps some of them were now trying to help. But they were soon able to see the figures of the people approaching, and they were definitely not the bridge workers. A short man in a ck suit and dark sses stood at the front. Behind him were at least two dozen armed warriors, like the ones Naruto had fought at Tazuna''s house. "I knew I could not trust that damn useless ninja!" The short man shouted. "Good thing I came in person to do the job properly." "Gato¡­" Tazuna stared at the man with fear in his eyes. "That was going to be my first guess¡­" Naruto said. "W-what do we do?" Sakura was visibly shaken. "Stay calm." Kakashi appeared behind her. He covered his Sharingan and nced over the group that Gato had brought with him. "All sellswords¡­ a few samurais, some mercenaries¡­ no ninjas there." "Can you still fight?" Naruto looked at the Jonin. "Of course! I am still fresh as a lettuce." Kakashi assured him. "You can barely stand." Naruto added. "I''ll fight too." No matter how much he tried to hide it, it was obvious that Kakashi was very exhausted already. Kakashi''s uncovered eye nced over him. "Your wounds?" Naruto moved his burned right arm a bit. "The pain has lessened. It won''t be a problem." His regeneration was the one thing that he found most astonishing about this new body of his. He still wasn''t sure if this was caused by some dormant bloodline ability he had or a side effect of growing up with that demon fox sealed in his gut. When he ended his fight with Haku, he could barely contain himself from groaning in pain, but now he was feeling so much better. "I¡­ I¡­" Sakura grasped at the kunai in her hand. "You better stay here." Kakashi told her. "Someone needs to protect the client." A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 37: Brawl at the Bridge Chapter 37: Brawl at the Bridge Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 37: Brawl at the Bridge "So, Zabuza and his little assistant are dead?..." Gato looked around the bridge with a smug expression. "That''s too bad, I wanted to see that arrogant missing ninja die with my own eyes¡­ oh well..." "Talk about being arrogant¡­" Naruto grumbled. He gave Kakashi a side nce. "What are the instructions? Can we kill them all?" "We, ninjas of Konoha, are fully authorized to kill non-mission-rted targets for as long as our lives are threatened. There is a self-defense use and all of that." Kakashi answered. "Including the short one?" Naruto nced at Gato. "What are you waiting for? Go get me the head of that bridge builder, and kill all those useless ninjas too!" Gato ordered. The men behind him began tough and shout. They all seemed eager to finally get something to break. "That sounded like a threat to me. So yes¡­ the short one too." Kakashi said. Tazuna stood a good distance away from them, with Sakura right in front of him, acting like a shield. "Are they going to be okay?" the builder asked. Sakura''s eyes moved to her side, to the tree where she had left Sasuke to rest, before going back to the front. She could only see the backs of Kakashi and Naruto. She knew they were both injured and tired. She had not missed the burns on her teammate''s body. Those were the reason she had not yelled at him for letting Sasuke get hurt. And Kakashi had been using his Sharingan during the entire fight with Zabuza, and she was aware of how much that drained him. "They are going to be okay¡­ they won''t lose against some swordsmen." She said with conviction. Kakashi went first and started to sh the mercenaries away. Naruto could not use the Kyubi''s chakra again. His body had not recovered yet, and putting it through that again would certainly kill him. However, with a quick nce, it became evident that these men Gato had brought with him were not too impressive. They seemed to be at the level of the two who attacked Tsunami. He saw a group of around ten of them running at him while yelling. "Kill that boy!" "Come here, blondie!" Three of them fell down after having some kunais stabbed into their skulls. When he went to grab some more, he realized something. ''It looks like I''m out¡­'' He had already used all his kunai and shurikens. The only thing left in his belt was a smoke bomb. "Ahh!" Someone tried to sh him with a long sword. Naruto dodged the attack and used his fists since he had no more weapons. He punched the man in the neck. A loud crack was heard when his neck shattered under the intensity of the blow. Three more men took the opportunity to close the gap and went for the kill. It was then that Naruto noticed the sword in the hand of the man he had just killed. It was a straight long sword with a double-sided de. He was very familiar with this type of weapon. Even though he had always favored his fists and legs over weapons, this sword was going to make things faster, in the current situation he was in. His best techniques required a very high cultivation level and he could not use them now. But sword techniques were a bit different. The dao of the sword was more aboutprehension than actual physical power. Someone who had been truly illuminated in this path could be able to split a mountain in half with a butter knife while barely using any phisical strength. Naruto was no master by any means, but he met a few true masters and had learned a few things over the years. The men attacking him were carrying a variety of weapons, long swords, short swords, clubs, chains, axes¡­ it did not matter. As soon as he moved his sword, their heads were separated from their necks. It only took a single swing, and a dozen men died. "Maybe I should have brought a sword with m-" Before he could finish his sentence, the de of the sword he had just used snapped in half. The pressure he had put on the weapon had been too much for this cheap steel. "If I can find a decent one." He added. When Naruto nced forward, he saw that only Gato was still standing. Kakashi had made quick work of the other mercenaries, leaving the short businessman by himself. "W-Wait! Let us talk about it!" Gato stared at their silver-haired teacher. All his previous arrogance and confidence were now gone. "There is nothing for us to talk about. You must have been aware of the consequences of your actions." Kakashi told him. "Wait!" Gato got to his knees and raised his arms up. "I surrender! Just arrest me." Kakashi was now hesitant to continue. If Gato surrendered, maybe it would be better to restrain him and take him to Konoha, where he could be properly judged. The Jonin felt something moving quickly and passing by his side. "Urgg¡­" Gato let out a gagging sound. His neck had been pierced by a broken sword de. Kakashi turned around and watched as Naruto approached. It didn''t seem like the boy had suffered a single scratch from those mercenaries. "What was that?" "The de?" Naruto asked. "I ran out of kunais." "You know what I mean¡­ the man had surrendered. There was no need to kill him." "That is incorrect. For as long as that man was alive, our client''s life was going to be at risk. I was just following the mission parameters." Naruto shrugged. "And let''s be honest¡­ if you had wanted to stop that de..." he pointed at Gato as the man copsed on the ground. "You could have done so... Am I wrong?" Kakashi sighed. His eye moved back to the now-dead businessman. "I suppose not." A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 38: Time to leave Chapter 38: Time to leave Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 38: Time to leave Two weekster "Sasuke, you should be resting!" Sakura frowned. The ck-haired boy made a loud grunt as he got out of the pond. He then looked to his right, where his teammate had been meditating for over a week already, only moving for a bit in order to eat. "Does he even sleep?" Sakuramented after she followed Sasuke''s gaze towards Naruto. Unlike Sasuke, who needed several days of rest in bed, Naruto had taken the bandages covering his burns off the next day and went back to the forest in order to train. A week after their fight with Zabuza, their Sensei had agreed to teach them the next chakra control technique¡­water walking. Like with the previous one, Sakura had mastered it extremely quickly, but Naruto had not been far behind. It only took him an hour before he could confidently walk over the pond with no apparent effort. Sasuke was still trying his best and was getting close already, but still needed some more practice, as this was already the tenth time he had fallen into the pond, despite Sakura''s advice to take it easy. Just two weeks ago, he had almost died. Both Sasuke and Sakura had matured a lot in the past two weeks. That experience with Zabuza had affected them deeply. For Sakura, it had been a wake-up call. She knew what her job as a ninja was going to be like, at least in theory, but witnessing in person what a true battle to the death looked like was a lot more intense than what she expected. She was still having nightmares, and they were not likely to go away anytime soon. Seeing the boy she loved almost dying before her was not helping either. Her view of Naruto had also changedpletely. The goofy boy she met at the academy was long gone. If she had any lingering thought that this ''serious persona'' he had been disying was some sort of prank or trick, that was gone after what she saw that day at the bridge. Sasuke also had his own wake-up call, in a way. Back at the academy, he had always been the number one. None of the other students came even close to him. So, as far as he was concerned, he was progressing quite well, and in a few years, he would be strong enough to kill his brother and avenge his n. How wrong he had been¡­ He had experienced in his flesh the difference between the current him and an actual Jonin. It was a hard pill to swallow, knowing how far away he still was. If that had not been enough, after only being a genin for a month, he had already met two boys of his age who were stronger than him. Sasuke could no longer view himself as a genius. Unless he worked ten times harder than now, he would only be left behind in the dust. But he dide out with one constion prize after going through all of that. Sasuke could feel that he was extremely close to awakening his Sharingan. He felt it during his fight with Haku. If only he had been able tost a few more minutes¡­ The sound of footsteps pulled them away from their thoughts. "How are things going?" Kakashi smiled at his students. Lately, he had been making sure to make noise when he approached them. Those children did not need more surprises. His eye moved to Sasuke. "I''m close¡­I think I will get it by tonight." Sasuke said before his Sensei asked. Kakashi nodded. "That is excellent. But I am afraid that we will not be spending another night here." "Is it over?" Sakura asked. He gave her a thumbs up. "It is!. The Wave Bridge isplete and our job is done." "So, when are we leaving?" Sasuke asked. "The townsfolk wanted to throw a party tomorrow. But I think it''s best if we leave today, after lunch. There is no reason to stay here any longer." Kakashi was in a bit of a rush. There were many things he had to discuss with the Hokage, and he also wanted Sasuke to be checked by a proper medical ninja. "That''s¡­sudden. We have to prepare our bags. Oh, and I need to prepare some food for the trip." Sakura took off running. "I need to speak with Tsunami!" Sasuke stood up and after giving Naruto and Kakashi onest look, he walked away. "I better go get my things ready too¡­" Kakashi approached Naruto, who had yet to move or say anything. "And¡­did the sleepy boy hear anything I said?" "The sleepy boy heard everything." Naruto opened his eyes. "Should I go get my things ready?" "Have youpletely recovered?" Kakashi asked. Naruto opened his kimono to show the right side of his naked torso. That is where he had suffered most of the damage. "As you can see¡­not even a mark." He said before closing the simple brown clothes he was wearing. This was something that was given to him by one of the vigers since he had no more clothes to use. "But that is not what you really wanted to ask, is that right?" Kakashi chuckled. "You are quite sharp¡­" "You want to talk about the demon?" Naruto could already guess that his teacher had several questions about what happened that day at the bridge. After the fight was over, they all went to get healed and rest. After that, Kakashi had not asked him anything at all about it. And of course, Naruto did not say anything either. "Yes, I did want to talk about that¡­if that is okay with you." A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 39: Inheritance Chapter 39: Inheritance Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 39: Inheritance "That is all..." Kakashi ended his summary of the mission to the old Hokage. The only other upants in his office at the moment were the other members of Team 7, Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto. After a minute of silence, the Hokage spoke again. "It seems like you all had a very rough first mission outside Konoha. But I am d that everyone came back alive and well." His eyes moved over the genins. "You will all bepensated properly for this mission. Even though the client only paid for a C-rank, the vige will not mistreat you and will give you all the payment of a B-rank mission." "Whoa, really?" Sakura looked excited. "I think I can afford those earrings now..." She mumbled under her breath. "Won''t your advisorsin about this?" Kakashi knew how stingy those two old people could be. The Hokage brushed him off. "Let themin if they want to. But if they are somewhat smart, they will see that this mission has greatly improved our reputation with the Land of Waves. And now that their bridge is built, their economy should flourish. This means more future missions for our vige and more benefits." "Thank you, Lord Hokage." Kakashi gave him a quick bow, and the others did the same. "I''m sure you are all wishing to get some rest, so you are dismissed...however, Naruto...I need you to stay for a moment. There is something else we must discuss," the Hokage said. Sakura and Sasuke shared a look between them. They obviously wanted to know more but could not possibly question their leader. So they turned around and left the office. "I assume you also want to speak with me?" Kakashi stayed behind. The Hokage nced at him. "Indeed, but this first matter only concerns Naruto. Could you go call Ebisu? I believe he was waiting on the ground floor." Sensing that the Hokage wanted to talk with Naruto alone, Kakashi gave him a nod and disappeared from the spot. "Is something wrong?" Naruto wondered if he had made some serious mistake. But he calmed down a bit when he saw a smile appear on the old man''s face. "No, not at all. But...thest time we talked about your parents, there was another matter that we failed to tackle." "Another matter about my parents?" "Yes...it''s about your inheritance." "Ah..." He understood now. Since his parents passed away all of a sudden and as far as he was aware, he had no more family in the vige. Whatever they left behind must now belong to him. "Now...neither of your parents were particrly wealthy individuals, but we have saved whatever they left behind. Your mother came from the Uzumaki n, shortly before it was destroyed, so she only had the few items that came with her. And your father was thest member of a very small n that had little left. But they did have a nice house on the other side of the hot springs. Everything they possess is in there." "And no one has touched the contents inside that house?" Naruto found it hard to believe. Even if they weren''t rich, his father had been considered one of the most powerful ninjas in the entire continent. He was sure there were a lot of people who would want to get their hands on any of his secrets. "Of course, many had wanted to do that..." The Hokage mentioned with a hint of sadness in his voice. "There are a lot of greedy people out there. But, I would never have allowed anyone toy a finger on Minato''s secrets." "I understand...I guess I should thank you for that." Naruto''s opinion of the old Hokage had gone up a notch. It was rare to find people this righteous. "No need for thanks..." The old man pulled a small scroll from a drawer. "This is the key to unseal the property. It also contains instructions on what you have to do." Naruto nodded and took the scroll. "But...I thought you wanted me to keep quiet about my parentage. Won''t people be surprised to see me enter the house of the previous Hokage?" "You think every civilian knew where Minato lived? His house is in a district exclusive to ninjas. And the ones who knew him and his house are very much familiar with your identity. Some of them may give you a strange look, but no one will say anything to you." "Oh...I see." "That being said, if you decide to move into that house, I would prefer it if you were discreet about it." He then added. Someone knocked on the door at that moment. "That must be your guide." The Hokage looked ahead. "Come in." Kakashi went back inside. A tall man, wearing dark blue clothes and dark sunsses, was following right behind. The man gave Naruto a passing nce before focusing on the Hokage. "Lord Hokage, I am here as you requested..." He gave a deep bow. "Ebisu, I assume you remember what I need from you?" The Hokage asked. Ebisu nced at Naruto again. "I do...I will escort Uzumaki to ''his'' residence and help him remove the seal." There was some bitterness in his tone. "It is Naruto''s residence now," the old man reminded him. "Of course." Ebisu bowed once more. "Go on, Naruto. Ebisu will...oh wait, before I forget." The Hokage handed Naruto another piece of paper. "This is a short list of shops owned by ninja families. You will have no problem doing your shopping in any of them. I have already spoken with the owners." Naruto nced down at the paper he had been given. On top of the shop names, it also had detailed descriptions of the shops, what they sold, and where to find them. "Thank you. I appreciate it." The old Hokage gave him a warm smile. "Don''t worry about it. It''s the least I could do. Now, go on. I need to have a conversation with your teacher." A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 40: Home? Chapter 40: Home? Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 40: Home? Naruto looked around as they walked through the ninja district. It was much quieterpared to the civilian center. It was mostly apartment buildings, with a few shops here and there. Barely anyone was walking on the streets. "Is this your first time here?" Ebisu asked him. He may not like this particr boy, but he was trying his best to be polite. After all, this was a personal request from the Hokage himself. ''At least, the rumors about his change of personality seem to be true.'' The ninja was grateful for that. He had met Naruto a year ago, and it was not a pleasant encounter for him. The boy had been loud, obnoxious, and very rude. "Yes, I never had a reason toe here before," said Naruto. Although he didn''t even know there was a district just for ninjas. "I see¡­" Ebisu pointed towards the next corner on their right. "If you take a turn there and walk for a bit, you will find a weapon shop called ''Ten Ten Ten''... ignore the strange name. They have more than just weapons. That includes a decent variety of clothes appropriate for a ninja." He made noments on Naruto''s current clothes, but he did stare at them for a few seconds. Naruto noticed this. He was still wearing the simple brown kimono that was given to him by that viger at Wave. These were hardly appropriate clothes for a ninja, so he could understand the man''s stare. ''Ten Ten Ten¡­ I believe that one was in the notes the Hokage gave me.'' "Thank you for your advice. I will visit that shop today if I have the time." "Ehm¡­ you are wee." Ebisu gave a nod of approval. He now wished to know the secret of Naruto''s change of personality. It would be great if his disciple, Konohamaru, would change a bit too¡­ but one can only hope. They had arrived at the end of the street. Ahead of them was a metallic rail, and just a bit further was the Naka River that crossed the southern part of the vige. On thest corner, looking to their left, was a single house. "Here we are," Ebisu stated, even though it was obvious since this was the only house here. Naruto examined the building a bit closer. It didn''t have any peculiar features that made it distinct from the other houses he had seen before. It was a small two-story house, made of wood with red tiles on the roof. The walls had been painted a very light yellow, while the door was a deep dark red color. "We need to remove the seals before trying to open it," Ebisu reminded him of what the Hokage had mentioned. "Right." He pulled the scroll out. "He gave me this¡­" The old man had mentioned some instructions, so he decided to open the scroll and start reading. Ebisu watched patiently as Naruto read its contents. "I think I got it¡­" Naruto said. "We just need to apply this part of the scroll on the main wall to remove the protections, right?" he asked, just in case. The older ninja gave him a genuine smile for the first time. "That is urate, Mister Uzumaki." He pointed at the wall right next to the door. "That is the main wall. Just open the scrollpletely and apply it against that wall. The seals will do the rest of the work." Naruto did as he was told. The moment he ced the seal, it seemed to be stuck, and he had to move his hands away. The writings on the scroll gained an intense glow before they burst into mes, and then he felt the ground shake for just a moment. "It is done¡­ the house is safe to open now," Ebisu confirmed to him. Naruto pulled out the metallic key that had also been included inside the scroll. The door made a clicking noise and opened. "Just out of curiosity, what would have happened if someone tried to enter without removing that seal?" Ebisu seemed to consider it for a moment. "I am no expert on fuuinjutsu, but the function of those types of seals is twofold: to protect the secrets inside the sealed area and to punish those who try to ess them. In this case, I believe the reaction would have likely been some sort of explosion. That would aplish both goals." "Do many ninjas out there know who owned this house?" Naruto asked. "I would assume that many knew about it, yes. But I doubt they would question your presence here," Ebisu said. "Now, my mission here ispleted. If there is nothing else you require, I will leave you to your personal business." "Thank you for your assistance, Mister Ebisu." Naruto gave the man a polite bow and watched him leave before opening the door and walking inside. He was weed by a musky smell. It was expected from a house that had not been opened in fifteen years. The first thing he did was to open a few windows and turn on the lights so he could see what he was doing. Other than the dust, the inside of the house had remained in perfect condition. It almost looked like someone had been living here until very recently. He saw two sets of tes and sses set up at the kitchen table, like they had been preparing for a meal before having to leave in a rush. There were pictures everywhere and personal items scattered around. This had been a very cozy home at some point. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 41: Followed Chapter 41: Followed Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 41: Followed ''I''m sure all those things would have meant a lot for the previous owner of this body¡­'' Naruto nced over the many pictures and other memorabilia disyed on the shelves. ''But they mean nothing to me.'' He did not consider these people as his family, so it was impossible to feel anything at all while ncing over these things. What mattered to him right now was to find out if these two powerful ninjas had left behind any useful techniques or artifacts. Considering that the Hokage himself felt the need to protect this ce from others, they must havee to the same conclusion as he did. ''The house is not too big, so it shouldn''t take long to explore. I better get started.'' He began upstairs; there were only two bedrooms and one bathroom. One of them was almost empty. Naruto could guess that this was meant to be his room. The other one looked like a normal bedroom with onerge bed at the center, surrounded by several pieces of furniture. He approached thergest wardrobe and opened it up. It was divided into two sections, each containing a very different style of clothes. Naruto pulled out a white robe. It had some writing on the back that said ''Fourth Hokage.'' "If I start wearing these in public, it would make people go crazy." The other section was packed with more feminine clothes. Several dresses in different colors, although she mostly seemed to prefer green. Since he had no intention of wearing any of their clothes, he closed it up after making sure there were no hiddenpartments and moved to inspect something else. Naruto spotted a wooden cab on the other side and walked to it. "Oh¡­" The first drawer he opened was filled to the brim with scrolls. He then opened the other drawers and saw that they all contained either books, scrolls, or loose papers. "This may take a bit longer than I thought." He was sure that most of this was useless, but he didn''t want to miss anything that could be potentially important, so he had to be very thorough. <><><><><><><><><> By the time he was satisfied with his search, the sky outside was getting dark. "Ufff¡­" Naruto rested his tired body on the living room couch. His team had spent the entire night traveling with no stop to rest because they wanted to arrive at Konoha as soon as possible. He had nned on spending this day resting at his apartment, but instead, he used it all to search his dead parents'' home. His eyes moved to the short table in front of him. There were three scrolls resting on top. "I thought they would have more than that, but¡­ who knows, they may have stored things somewhere else." The first scroll contained a detailed manual for a sword style that originated from his mother''s n: the Uzumaki Sword style. Naruto wasn''t sure if he could learn something from that since he was hardly an apprentice when it came to the Sword Dao, but who knew? It seemed like something useful to keep. The second scroll had a very peculiar ninjutsu called Rasengan. It involved circting your chakra to form some type of spherical shape that could maintain the rotation of all that energy and create a serious destructive force. Naruto was looking forward to practicing that one. Thest scroll talked about something called the ''Flying Thunder God'' seal . From the few notes, it seemed to be a very advanced movement technique that involved the use of fuuinjutsu. There were two problems with learning that one. For one, Naruto did not know anything about this world''s version of sealing techniques that they called ''fuuinjutsu.'' And two¡­the writing was iplete. At most, that scroll only had half of the instructions to replicate that technique, and he had no idea where the rest was. He did find arge box with books about fuuinjutsu, so he intended to read them when he had time. If he could somehowbine what he already knew from his previous world about seals with the ones from this one¡­ maybe he could create something new and powerful. <><><><><><><><><> With his job at the house concluded, Naruto ced everything in arge box and began the walk back to his apartment. For the moment, he had no intent on living here. He found his small apartment morefortable, as he was used to spending long periods of time in very small spaces. The streets of Konoha were all well-illuminated and still brimming with people. Naruto earned a lot of nces as he walked by. Not that he usually didn''t get harsh nces, but he was sure that his old clothes, dirty appearance, and therge box he was carrying didn''t help him blend in among the other civilians going around the vige. It was a bit toote to stop for any shopping, so he decided to make his way directly towards his apartment. Just a few minutester, he was walking on a deserted street, away from the busy center. ''Hmm?... is someone following me?...'' His spiritual senses may be dull, but his senses of hearing and smell were very sharp. And he was clearly hearing steps behind him. Naruto stopped for a moment and looked back. As soon as he did, the other set of steps also came to an abrupt halt. ''I am definitely being followed¡­ could it be?'' His eyes moved to the box in his hands. Perhaps someone had been following him all day as he went into the former Hokage''s house and was now nning on stealing the scrolls he had acquired. He was sure that many would love to get their hands on those. ''If they think it''s going to be easy to take something of mine¡­'' His eyes became sharper as he spotted a shadowy figure hidden behind amp post. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 42: Stalker Chapter 42: Stalker Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 42: Stalker Naruto shifted the weight of the box in his hands to hold it with one arm while pulling a kunai with his now free hand. It would have been better to leave the heavy box on the ground, but it was very likely that the contents of the box were their real target. He could not take that risk. Naruto could clearly see part of the feet of the person hiding behind the post. This clumsy behavior showed that this was an amateur, or... a distraction, meant for him to lower his guard. "Show yourself! I can see you there!" He never expected that to work... "W-Wait!" He heard the nervous voice of a young girl before she stepped into the dim light of themp. "You are¡­" He realized that he knew this girl. He had a few memories of her and had even seen her very recently. "Hyuga Hinata?" "Y-Yes!" She gave him a polite bow. "Good evening, Naruto." He did not rx the grip on his kunai after seeing who this was. His ears and nose were still on full alert, trying to detect if someone else were to approach. Despite her innocent look and nervous attitude, this was a ninja, so it could all be a lie. And there was no doubt that she had been following him for a while. "Why are you following me?" He decided to be direct. "Eh?... well¡­ I¡­" The girl''s cheeks became bright red as she began to mutter words in a low tone of voice. "Who sent you to spy on me? What are you after?" Naruto''s eyes narrowed in a frown, and he began to get closer to her. "Sent me? N-no one!" Hinata eximed. "I just¡­ I j-just wanted¡­ to see you¡­" Naruto was carefully observing her as her flushed face went through a dozen different emotions. ''This girl just graduated from the academy a month ago. Her acting can''t be that good¡­'' Naruto considered the possibilities. He had no sure way to detect lies at this moment, so he had to trust his instincts. Either Hinata was a once-in-a-century genius actress, or¡­ she was not acting at all. The fact that he could not detect anyone approaching after all of this did help her case. ''Let''s go with a different approach then¡­'' Naruto stored back his kunai. "My apologies, Miss Hyuga. It appears that this has been a terrible misunderstanding." He made use of his years of experience dealing with nobledies from powerful ns. Those women were always easily offended if you did not mind your words and actions. "Miss Hyuga?" She made an expression of such pain that any bystander would think she just had her guts stabbed. Naruto wondered what he could have possibly done wrong already after only saying two words. ''Should I have used the term ''Lady'' instead of ''Miss''?...'' It looks like I''m stillcking when ites to interacting with these noble fairies¡­ In his previous life, he could have been called ''lucky'' when it came to interacting with powerfuldies. He always ended up offending them sooner orter. "Is it true then?... the rumors about your memory loss?" Hinata asked him after a moment of hesitation. "My memories?...my memories are... fragmented. I still remember a few things but¡­" Naruto then thought about something. "Were we close?" That would exin why she got upset after being called in a formal and impersonal manner. After all, she did refer to him by name. "Close? Like?..." Her cheeks became red again, and she used her hands to cover her face. "No no! We were just ssmates!" Naruto stared at the girl. It didn''t take a genius to know there was more than that. "I understand. I am still sorry, but I have just a few memories of my academy days." He decided to tell her the truth. "That''s¡­" There was a hint of sadness in her voice. "But it''s not Naruto''s fault!" She hurried to say. "You were attacked, and¡­ I''m just d you are okay." "How did I use to call you?" He asked. Hinata was a bit surprised by the question but still answered it. "We never talked that much, but you would always call everyone by their names." Naruto had a much better understanding of the situation now that he had a chance to observe this girl for a bit. It was obvious that she liked him, or at least the past version of him. She was also extremely shy and had not dared to approach him directly to ask how he was. If this was some random girl, he would just say his goodbyes and forget about the whole incident. But this was the heir of one of Konoha''s most notorious ns. Having a positive rtionship with someone like that could only be beneficial to him. So he decided to try something. "Say, Hinata¡­" "Yes?" She looked at him with interest. "Are you free tomorrow night?" "Eh? Yes?..." Hinata appeared to be confused by the sudden question. "Excellent, then what about having dinner with me? My treat." "What?!" She almost shouted. She could not have heard that right. "You know, aspensation for the misunderstanding. I mean, I pointed a kunai at you¡­ paying for some food seems like the least I can do. So what do you say? I know a good ce that sells ra¡ª" Hinata copsed on the floor. Naruto stared at her for a few seconds. She was clearly unconscious. "This has never happened to me before¡­" A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 43: What did you do? Chapter 43: What did you do? Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 43: What did you do? "This better be an actual emergency!" He heard the annoyed voice of Sakura and turned around to face her. He had not wanted to do this but was left with little choice. So he used themunication device Kakashi had given them to contact Sakura. "This is a real emergency, look¡­" He pointed at the person resting on the park bench. After Hinata had passed out, he had carried her, along with his heavy box, to a nearby park. Thankfully, this small park was not a popr one and had been empty since he arrived. Sakura made a loud gasp when she saw the unconscious girl. Her shock quickly shifted to anger. "What did you do to her?!" "Nothing¡­ I just asked her if she wanted to have dinner with me tomorrow." "You asked Hinata on a date?" Sakura gave him a look of suspicion. She found it a bit hard to believe the current Naruto would be asking anyone on a date. "But then again¡­ that would exin what happened to her¡­" Sakura muttered while peeking at her. Anyone with half a brain could tell that the girl was obsessed with Naruto, for some reason she didn''t understand. But her extreme shyness had made things very difficult for Hinata. Sakura had seen her almost copse on a few asions when Naruto gave her a few words of praise when she got some academy assignment right. She nced at the peaceful expression on Hinata''s face as she slept and knew that Naruto was telling the truth. "Looks like she is having a nice dream¡­" "Now that you understand the situation, can you help me out?" Naruto requested again. "Why did you even call me? Just take her home. I''m sure you can find the Hyugapound¡­ it''s huge." "And what do you think their reaction is going to be like when I show up with the unconscious body of their heir?" "Ah¡­" Sakura could see his point now. The situation could clearly be misinterpreted. And Naruto didn''t have the best reputation in the vige. "Fine, I will apany you and give them some excuse to exin the situation." "Thank you. I knew that beneath all that anger, there was a reasonable person." "You betterpensate me for this¡­" Sakura frowned at him. "I had ns to go see a movie tonight." "Sure, I can buy you some ramen," Naruto offered. "I don''t want ramen!" sheined. "Here, you carry this while I take her." He handed the box to Sakura while he went to pick up Hinata. "Huff¡­ this is heavy. What are you carrying here?" "Secrets belonging to the Fourth Hokage," Naruto said casually while lifting the girl and cing her on his back. Sakura nced at the box. "And why would you have something like that?" She decided to humor him. "Because he was my father?" he simply said. "Naruto¡­" She gave him a stern re. "If you don''t want to tell me, that''s fine. But if you are going to make up something, at least try a bit harder." He shrugged and didn''t say anything else. If she didn''t want to believe him, that was fine by him. He would not put any extra effort on that front. <><><><><><><><><> They walked mostly in silence through the dark streets of Konoha until they reached the entrance of the Hyugapound. It was hard to miss it. The entire location was surrounded by walls decorated with the symbol of the n. They were received by two guards who seemed to be in a very bad mood. "State your business!" one of them huffed. Naruto was d he made the decision of bringing Sakura with him. "Wait! Is that?..." "By Kami! That is Lady Hinata!" The guards just noticed the girl Naruto was carrying. Before the situation got worse, Sakura hurried to give the two men a made-up story about how Hinata had passed out during a joint training session between their teams and how she and Naruto had offered to bring her home. Had hee alone, things could have gotten very ugly. Apparently, Hinata was supposed to be back an hour ago and the Hyuga had already sent people to look for her. <><><><><><><><><><><> With the situation resolved, Naruto and Sakura went their separate ways. When he arrived at his apartment, Naruto was beyond exhausted. He had barely eaten or slept in thest forty-eight hours. But he could not rx yet. There was one more thing he needed to finish before he could finally rest. He ced down the box and opened it up. The books about Fuuinjutsu were left on one side, to be storedter on. What was important now was to secure the three scrolls he had brought. He could not be certain of how valuable the Uzumaki sword technique was until he studied it further. But he had no doubts about the other two. The Rasengan was certainly a high-level ninja technique. And the other one was even more valuable, even in its iplete state. Today''s events had done more than enough to demonstrate how risky it was to have these scrolls lying around. It was just a matter of time before they got stolen. Luckily, he knew a method to engrave this knowledge into his very own soul, so it could never be taken again. Once he did that, the scrolls themselves could be destroyed without him suffering any sort of loss. Naruto ced the three scrolls in front of him and began to focus. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 44: Open the door Chapter 44: Open the door Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 44: Open the door Strings of words and symbols entered his Mind Pce. Every letter, every line appeared to be alive. They shone in golden light as they floated around. Once all the contents were there, Naruto created a container for that knowledge and stored it in the safety of his own soul. He repeated the same method with the other two scrolls and by the time he was done, he knew every detail there was to know about them, up until thest word, symbol, or mark that had been written on them. And he would never forget about them. That knowledge had now be a part of him. Once he was done, he felt his consciousness fading away and his eyes wanting to seal shut. He had to make full use of his willpower to stand up once more, bring the three scrolls to the kitchen, and burn them down, using the stove. Then¡­ he passed out, right there on the kitchen floor. There was a good reason he did not use this method very often. Engraving information into your soul is not something to take lightly. It should only be used with the knowledge that you feel is of extreme importance, for the amount of time this method can be used is very limited. During his previous life as a wandering cultivator, he must have learned thousands of techniques. But not even one hundred of them had been engraved. As for the rest¡­some things he still remembers, like those low-rank techniques he had used previously, like the illusionary fist or the fire seal. Their simplicity made them easy to remember. But for the mostplex concepts, only those that had been recorded remain with him. A loud banging on the door woke him up from his slumber. "Urg¡­" He groaned. It was unknown to him for how long he had been sleeping, but how terrible he felt right now, he could conclude that¡­it had not been enough. "Naruto, open up!" He did not immediately recognize the owner of the voice, but it sounded somewhat familiar. The bangs were getting louder and louder. "Come on, I know you are there, and I don''t have all day for this!" With great effort, he stood up from the kitchen floor and walked to the door. "Finally!" The voice said after hearing the noises of the door being unlocked. When Naruto opened up, he found himself face to face with Ino Yamanaka. "Huh?..." He was not expecting a visit from this girl. Thest time he saw her was during his encounter with her father at the shopping district. "What took you so¡­ahhh!" Ino just realized that Naruto was not wearing anything except for his underwear. He nced down and realized this too. "When did I take off the robes?" He didn''t know either. "Go get dressed!" Ino yelled. Naruto left the girl waiting at the entrance and put on his only piece of clothing. "There, I''m dressed," he said to the girl, who had been trying her best to look away. Ino''s blue eyes were now fixated on him. "You look like a farmer. Where did you get those clothes?" "From a farmer," Naruto told her. Ino huffed in annoyance. "What are you doing here so early in the morning?" He asked with a frown. ''Why is she annoyed? I should be the one offended.'' "Morning?" Ino eximed. "It''s three P.M!" "It is?.... I did sleep a lot then¡­" He shouldn''t be too surprised. He had been already exhausted when he got home and then he used that method to engrave the scrolls'' information into his soul. That also puts a heavy toll on the body. If Ino didn''t wake him up, he might have slept until the next morning. "You still haven''t told me the reason for your visit." From what he understood from their previous meeting, this girl did not hold him in high regard. So this could not be a friendly visit. "Let me make one thing clear¡­I only came here at the request of my father. So don''t get any ideas." She pointed her finger at him while speaking in a harsh tone. "Request?" Naruto asked. ''What does that man want from me?'' He had nothing personal against Inoichi Yamanaka, but he could not feelfortable next to someone capable of delving into his mind. "He wanted me to apany you on your first shopping trip," Ino told him. "I''m sure to make sure you didn''t waste all of your money on ramen and ugly clothes." She felt the need to add. Naruto frowned. "I don''t need your help for that." He did not like being treated like a child. Even if he was one, at least technically speaking. Ino looked at him up and down. "I think you do need my help." She turned around and began to walk to the door. "Come on, we only have a few hours left before it gets dark." His stomach started to make noises, and he just realized he hadn''t eaten anything in almost two days. "I''m hungry¡­" "Come on, Naruto, stopining." She went back, grabbed him by his robes, and pulled him along. "Konoha''s number one beauty came all the way here to help you out¡­" She red directly into his eyes. "You are not going to waste my time¡­are you?..." Her intimidating gaze was very effective. Even with hiscking senses, Naruto could almost detect strands of energying from her pupil-less blue eyes. ''Not bad¡­maybe this girl has some potential after all.'' A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 45: TenTenTen Chapter 45: TenTenTen Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 45: TenTenTen "Mmm¡­ no, not that one." "What about this?" Naruto came out of the changing room wearing a white kimono and ck sandals. "A pure white kimono?" Ino gave him a dubious look. "It seems very impractical for missions." "I already have several outfits for that." They had been here for over two hours already, and Naruto had chosen enough clothes to fill his small closet. This white kimono reminded him of the old robes he wore during his days at the Blue Jade Sect, and it gave him a sense of nostalgia. Of course, he could not mention that to anyone. "Oh! I think he looks very handsome in those clothes." A dark-haired girl intruded into their conversation all of a sudden. Ino turned around with an expression of annoyance. "I never said that he... wait, who are you?" "My name is Tenten, and I will let you know that I am the owner of this shop. So be more respectful," she said with a smug tone. Therge man at the counter gave the girl a stern re. "Who did you say the owner was?" "Hehe,e on, Dad¡­ I meant one day." She scratched her head. "Hmph! We''ll see about that." He scoffed. "Anyways¡­" Ignoring the father and daughter issues, Naruto made his way to the counter. "I''ll take these. And I think I''m done with the clothes." "I suppose you have enough¡­ for now." Ino agreed. "I will keep these on." Naruto pointed at his white kimono before cing the rest of the bags on the table. "I was going to suggest that, in case you were thinking of using those farmer clothes again," Inomented. "I wasn''t¡­ especially after you threw them in the garbage." "Are you two genins?" Tenten looked at Naruto and Ino with curiosity. Neither of them were wearing their headbands, so it wasn''t immediately obvious. "We graduated two months ago." Ino gave the girl a sharp answer, but this did nothing to deter her from asking more questions. "Are you two teammates? What team are you on? Are you dating?" Ino red threateningly at the girl. "No, team ten, and¡­ of course not!" "Oi, stop bothering my customers," her father scolded her. "I''ll take all of these clothes, plus a new set of kunai, shuriken, and smoke bombs." He had lost most of his tools during the Wave mission when he started using them as explosives. The only ones he had left were the ones he took from his teammates and Kakashi. The attitude of therge man changedpletely while talking with Naruto. "Of course, just a moment. I will wrap these up." He lifted his gaze to nce at his daughter. "Go fetch the kunai and shuriken." "Wait, today is my day off!" She huffed. Tenten wanted toin some more, but then she saw the expression of her father and changed her mind. "I''ll go get them¡­" "Anything else that you need, Mister Uzumaki?" "No, that would be¡­ hold on, do you have any high-grade swords?" Naruto just recalled the sword style scroll he got from his parents'' house. If hebined it with his already basic Sword Dao, he might be able to piece together something useful. "You want a sword?" Ino asked. "I have never seen you hold a sword before, much less use it." "I''m just a beginner trying to learn," Naruto answered with a half-truth. He wasn''tpletely a beginner, but he did consider himself as such. "If you are a beginner, then¡­" The owner pointed at a group of weapon racks on the lowest section. There were several different types of des on disy. "I would rmend buying one of those. They are low grade, but their quality is quite decent for their price." "My father is right, you know?" Tenten came back with two boxes in her hands. "A very high-grade de would cost you a small fortune. Not something you can buy with the sry of a genin. Trust me¡­ I know from experience." Naruto nodded in understanding. He knew that exceptional weapons were going to be out of his current budget. "A small fortune? How much are we talking about?" Ino''s interest seemed to have been piqued. "Well, let''s see¡­ for reference." Tenten pointed at the des that her father had just rmended to Naruto. "Those swords are all between fifteen hundred and two thousand Ryo. (Around 100 USD.) "They may be the cheapest ones we have here, but they are decent enough for genin and even most chunin. Just don''t try to channel chakra through them." The shop owner advised. Tenten then pointed to a katana disyed on the highest part of the wall, right above the owner''s head. "That one is called ''Crimson Dragon''. It is one step below legendary grade and was crafted by a famous swordsmith from the Country of Iron, almost one hundred years ago. It is a unique piece of the highest quality, even fit for an S-rank ninja. And its price is¡­ one million Ryo." (Around 62,000 USD.) "A million?!" Ino eximed. She came from a fairly wealthy family, but even then, this sword went way over her budget. "And there are weapons even more valuable than this one out there," Tenten said. "Few would be willing to even sell a legendary grade weapon for just money," her father added. "The country of the Mist was able to acquire seven legendary swords and turned them into a symbol of power for the country." "Right! The Seven Legendary Swordsmen!" Tenten said with excitement. She had read many tales about those swordsmen. ''The Legendary Swordsmen? Wasn''t Zabuza one of those?'' Naruto recalled what the Bingo Book said. ''Does that mean that¡­ that giant sword of his¡­.'' "Arg¡­" He growled. "Naruto? What''s wrong?" Ino asked. "Nothing¡­." He knew that the sword would be at least a bit valuable. But Kakashi had insisted on leaving it next to the man''s grave, and he didn''t want to argue with his sensei. Especially when he was not the one who killed Zabuza, so he had no right to loot his body. "In any case, you don''t need a legendary sword now. You are still a genin," the shop owner said. "I understand." He should stop overestimating what he could acquire in his current situation. He was no longer the influential and wealthy figure he had been in the past. It almost felt like he was back in his early days as an outer disciple of the Jade Sect. "I can be patient," he then said. The shop owner smiled. "That is a good way of thinking! One should not rush into things. I wish my daughter was more like that." "Hey!" Tenten eximed. "Tell you what." The owner pointed at the swords on the lower weapon racks. "Pick any of these, I''ll give it to you for free." "Dad? I have never seen you even give a piece of scroll for free." Tenten looked baffled. "My instincts may have be duller over time, but even I know it when I see someone with great potential. So go ahead, take my gift. And one day, when you have be some big shot, remember my store." Naruto gave the man a nod of agreement. He had always lived by the rule of returning kindness one hundredfold. His eyes scanned the many des on disy until he found a suitable one. "I''ll take this one." A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 46: The Mysterious Cave Chapter 46: The Mysterious Cave Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 46: The Mysterious Cave A few dayster, Naruto was making his way to a team meeting during the early hours of the morning. They had been given a short period of time to rest after that difficult mission at Wave. In fact, they were supposed to have three more days left, but their sensei, Kakashi, had sent them a message to meet earlier than expected. He would have felt more annoyed by this, but his cultivation was progressing at a faster pace than he anticipated. He was already approaching the peak of the Body Forging Stage. If this continues at this rate, he would be breaking into the Qi Refining State in less than a month. From his previous experience, this usually took between six months and a year, depending on the person''s talent and resources. Naruto was sure that this fast pace was thanks in great part to the Golden Script. It had granted him the perfect cultivation method for his current body. And it wasn''t just the speed that impressed him. As he paid such close attention to his progress, Naruto could tell how solid his foundation was. Hemented not having found this divine artifact earlier in hisst life. Had hee across it before stepping into the Core Formation stage¡­ things would have been much different then. During his early years, he had no choice but to use the cultivation method provided by the sect. However, the outer disciples like him were given the lowest rank manual they had avable. They also received little guidance and resources, and this led to many disciples making serious mistakes during their cultivation. No one really expected much from them, so the sect did not want to waste their limited stock of cultivation materials on people from low backgrounds or with subpar talent like them. It was already good if one could break out of the Body Forging Stage in a year under those harsh conditions. He did seed in time and even became an inner discipleter on. But due to hiscking foundation, the mistakes he made during his early days woulde to haunt himter in life, and he became stuck after reaching the Core Formation Stage. This could already be considered very good. Most outer disciples wouldn''t get past the second stage and had no choice but to work as simple guards for the sect or take their chances in the outside world as mercenaries or bodyguards. He left the sect during his early thirties, once he finally epted that if he stayed there, his future would not be very bright. At most, he could have be an instructor and spent his remaining days teaching some of the newer disciples. He had wanted more than that¡­ so he decided to leave. Everyone in the sect probably thought he would die in a decade or two...after all, the world was an extremely dangerous ce for a rogue cultivator. People would often kill each other to steal their resources. And a cultivator with no backing was an easy target since there was no danger of repercussions for the killer. He had many close encounters with death until one day, the Heavens took pity on his poor luck. Almost a decade after leaving the Blue Jade Sect, he came across a strange cave while seeking refuge from the weather. It was inside this cave where he found the remnants of an ancient being... It was the most bizarre encounter he ever had and he could still recall every single detail of it. After taking a few steps inside the cave, he felt a wave of Qi energy washing over him like a wave. Then¡­ the inside of the cave became much brighter, and he saw her¡­ It took him a few moments to even realize she was dead. In front of him was the most stunning woman he had ever seen. She had long silver hair and wore some golden robes that still seemed to shine despite all the dust that had been deposited on top of them. The woman was sitting in a lotus position and was not moving or even breathing. At first, he thought she was a powerful cultivator in the middle of a long session of closed-door cultivation. He had already heard tales about ancient powerful beings capable of remaining still for decades with no food or water. If this was such an incredible individual, there was no chance he could just stumble upon her cave and go inside. But he felt nothing while standing this close to her. There wasn''t even an ounce of energy left in her. She was definitely dead, he had absolutely no doubts about that. He did find it odd that her body looked so pristine despite being dead. By the dust on her, she must have passed away years ago¡­ but she still lookedpletely perfect and there was no stench at all. It was then, when he began to observe her more closely, that he saw it¡­ she had both hands open with her palms up, and resting on top of them, was a small book with a golden leather cover. The moment he saw it, he knew this was something very special. He felt an immediate connection with this book, and before he could even think about what he was doing¡­ he reached for it. When his hand touched the cover, he was suddenly blinded by an intense golden light emerging from the book. He screamed in pain and tried to retreat while covering his eyes. In his desperation, he fell backward and hit his head against the walls of the cave. It was thest thing he remembered of that day. When he woke up next, he found himself outside, with his back resting against a rocky wall. The cave was nowhere to be seen. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 47: The Fallen Goddess Chapter 47: The Fallen Goddess Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 47: The Fallen Goddess He spent the next two weeks looking for that cave, andter on in his life, he would spend many more years doing the same. But he never found it again. It wasn''t until his next session of deep meditation that he found out where the golden book had gone. It had somehow merged with his soul and was now resting inside his Inner Pce. He read many books back at the Sect, but never learned about an artifact capable of doing that. This already gave him a hint of how incredible this book was, but when he touched its surface once more¡­ he learned what it was capable of. His mind was assaulted by an endless barrage of knowledge. At first, nothing made sense to him, it just felt like senseless strings of letters and numbers. But then it started to change. The letters and numbers began to rearrange themselves, forming meaningful messages. He soon realized he was reading a cultivation manual. One like nothing he had ever dreamed of. As he read it and understood its contents, he felt like he was seeing something that was meant just for him. It was a perfect cultivation technique for him, he instinctively understood that. This had been tailor-made for him, and like a pair of gloves created by a craftsman after many hours of measurements¡­ it fit him perfectly. He ditched his old method, the one given to him by the sect after he became an inner disciple, and he did it without a second thought. Then, he began to cultivate using this technique given to him by the book¡­ The difference was like heaven and earth. It was here that his true journey began. He would go on living for many more centuries, and the more he lived and the more he learned¡­ the more fascinated he became with the Golden Scripture and its origins. At some point, he became wise enough to understand that the person he found in that cave, was without a doubt¡­ a fallen Goddess. In the mortal realm, nothing is eternal. Even the most powerful cultivators will one day¡­ die. And when that happens, their bodies will dpose like anyone else. They will remain mostly intact during the first months as their umted energy leaves their bodies, but then, they will rot and be dust. Only those who can step beyond the realms of the mortal world and into the one belonging to the Gods¡­ are able to be eternal. Even to this day, he had no idea how a Goddess came to die in that mortal realm, or how she came to be in possession of that book. Those were questions that still eluded him up to this day. And he was very unlikely to get an answer unless he could also step into the realm of the Gods. This had been his goal since the beginning. But hisst journey was cut short. ''No¡­ I only have myself to me for that. I failed and lost my life. But it won''t happen again¡­ this time¡­ this time for sure.'' "Ouch!" Naruto felt something hitting his chest, followed by the voice of someone familiar. "Sakura?..." He nced down and saw the girl, sitting on the floor. "What are you doing?" "What am I doing?!" She red at him with her usual angry look. He was getting used to that one. "You bumped into me, you idiot!" Sakura yelled. ''Was I that distracted?...'' He must have beenpletely lost in his own thoughts while walking through this peaceful vige. It was rare for him to be so careless. "Are you going to help me up at least?" Sakura said while holding her hand out to him. He thought for a moment that she should be able to stand by herself with no issues, considering she was a female ninja in peak physical shape. But he ultimately decided that thisment would only bring more trouble. And he owed this girl a favor anyway. "Thanks¡­ I guess." She muttered after being helped. "Where were you even going?" Sakura asked him. "The training grounds are that way." She pointed in the opposite direction. "Looks like I was really distracted¡­" Naruto muttered. Sakura sighed. "What were you even thinking about? Is this about Hinata? Did you two have dinner together?" Her bad mood seemed to disappear when she thought about that. "Oh that?¡­ no¡­ I have not seen her since the night when we brought her home." Naruto told her. Sakura made aplicated expression. "Poor girl¡­ she must have been very embarrassed. Maybe I should talk to her¡­" Naruto shrugged. He didn''t really care that much about that. He was sure there would be more opportunities in the future. He began walking again, and this time, in the right direction. "Hey wait!" Sakura had to run for a bit to catch up to him. "How can you leave me behind?" Naruto nced at her. "I didn''t think you would want to walk with me." "I mean¡­ no, but¡­ we were already together. And we are teammates! So it''s normal to walk together, you know?" Sakura told him. "Just don''t get any ideas! I love Sasuke." She hurried to add. "Understood¡­" He continued to walk but this time he kept at her pace. "You could react a bit at least¡­" Sakura muttered. "By the way, have you thought about how you are going to repay the favor from the other day?" She gave him an inquisitive face. "You already said no to ramen." Hemented. "Is inviting me to ramen the only form ofpensation you can think of?" Sakura asked. "Maybe you still have a bit of your old self¡­" Naruto stopped all of a sudden. "What are you d-" He pointed at the wooden wall in front of her. "There is someone hidden there." A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 48: Another Ambush? Chapter 48: Another Ambush? Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 48: Another Ambush? Sakura was about to ask ''where'', but the moment she took a passing nce at the wall, it became too obvious. The fabric used to ''camouge'' into the wall didn''t quite match, and whoever was behind it hadn''t even pressed itpletely against the surface, making the whole effort to hide¡­ totally futile. In fact, you could say that it only made them stand out even more. If that was not enough, they began to move and giggle. "S-stop, that tickles!" "Ah!, who touched my bottom?!" "T-there is no r-room here." "What is this supposed to be?" Naruto didn''t understand anything. If this was supposed to be an attempt to spy on him, it was even worse than Hinata''s. "It looks like academy students¡­" Sakura pointed out. Or at least that''s what it looked like to her. "Aha!" The one behind the ''camouge'' cast it aside and jumped out before pointing his finger at Naruto. "I knew my rival would be able to detect my presence and see through my hiding skills." The boy who shouted was short, with a skinny body and spiky brown hair. "Wait, don''t you mean ''our'' hiding skills?" A boy with sses and a bowl cutined to the other one while cleaning the dust of his clothes. "We all worked on this!." The third member was a girl with a very bizarre hairstyle, even for the vige standard, and some red circles painted on her cheeks. She was not paying attention to the others and appeared to be busy examining the piece of fabric they had just used to hide. "Wait a minute¡­ I don''t think this matches the wall." "It really doesn''t¡­" Sakura made aplicated expression. She felt a bit bad for them. "Who are you, and what are you talking about?" Naruto asked. He was sure he had never seen this boy before, but then again¡­ he could have forgotten about it so he had to ask. The boy didn''t seem to mind his question and was, in fact, excited to answer. "My name is Konohamaru, and I want you to teach me!" "I thought he was your rival." Sakura chimed in. "Teach you?..." Naruto raised an eyebrow at this sudden request. He was not keen to teach things to others unless they were important to him. His knowledge was not something to be used carelessly. Otherwise, he may end up in the same situation as his previous life. "That''s right! Grampa is always telling me how much I could learn from Naruto, and even my Sensei has begun to speak about ''Mister Uzumaki''s'' great potential and calm demeanor, and how I should be more like him. So here I am, I came to learn!" "I have no idea who your Sensei or your grandpa are, but I am n-" "Whoa!" Konohamaru was now staring at Sakura. "You even have a cute girlfriend, can you teach me about girls too?" "Girlfriend?!, no way, I like¡­ wait, did you say cute?" Sakura muttered. The boy''s eyes went a bit lower and focused on a different area of her body. "She is a bitcking in the chest department though." He said without missing a bit. "Konohamaru!" His femalepanion appeared to be outraged. "Sensei always says that you should keep the dirty thoughts inside your head, or you will get in trouble," his other friend reminded him. Naruto didn''t even need to look at Sakura''s enraged face to know the boy was in serious trouble. Also, the air seems to have gotten a few degrees colder. "How dare a brat like you talk about my chest?!" Sakura''s fists were shaking with anger. She had not hit anyone in a long time, and she was very eager now. Konohamaru must have sensed the danger and immediately took off running in the opposite direction. "Come back here!" Sakura went after him. "I''m very sorry about this!" The girl bowed to Naruto. "He learns these things from our Sensei¡­." "This is bad¡­ we should follow them, that girl looked very dangerous," the other one said. "You are not wrong about that¡­" Naruto agreed to go with them. It would reflect badly on him if he allowed his teammate to beat up a child, and he knew well about Sakura''s violent outbursts. "Ahhh!" They all heard Konohamaru''s screams from around the corner and assumed that Sakura had caught up to him, but then they heard her too. "Hey stop, let him go!" When they arrived at the scene, they found Konohamaru being lifted in the air by a young man wearing foreign-looking clothes. Next to him was a young blonde girl. Sakura seemed to have shifted her anger towards those two. "Let him go, you brute! He is just a child." "He bumped into me and didn''t even bother to apologize¡­" The man increased the strength of his grip, making the boy yelp in pain. "From where Ie from, that type of attitude will earn you a few beatings." "Kankuro¡­." The girl spoke in a warning tone. "Come on Sis, I''m just having a bit of fun. Besides¡­" He nced at Naruto. "Don''t you want to see if these Konoha genins are worth something, before the exam starts?" Naruto examined them a bit closer. By their clothes, it was easy to tell that those two were not from around here. The symbol on their protectors told him exactly where they came from. "Let me handle this." Naruto said as he passed by Sakura. Sakura saw the confident manner in which Naruto confronted those two and could not help but feel a bit safer. ''Stop that!'' The voice in her head screamed at her. ''That''s not Sasuke!'' Kankuro watched as Naruto got closer and smiled with confidence. He could not see anything special about this genin. "You want me to let go of this boy? Why don''t you make me?" A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 49: The Sand Ninjas Chapter 49: The Sand Ninjas Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 49: The Sand Ninjas Naruto could tell that this young man was not just arrogant, but also had the skills to back it up. ''That bundle wrapped on his back looks very suspicious¡­ I wonder what that''s for? It should be some sort of weapon.'' He was curious to find out how different the techniques from foreign ninjas were. There was also something else that caught his attention. "You mentioned something about an exam. What were you talking about?" Both foreigners appeared to be surprised by the question. "You don''t know?..." The blonde girl nced at her brother. "Kankuro, I don''t think those genins are participants." "Tsk¡­ I should have guessed, they look so weak. They must be newbies then." Kankuro''s expression changed to one of disappointment. "What a wast- ouch!" A small rock hit his arm, and as a result, he let go of Konohamaru. The little boy wasted no time getting away and took cover behind Sakura and Naruto. "Some foreigners think they cane to our vige and cause trouble?" "Sasuke!" Sakura spotted the ck-haired boy standing on top of a nearby tree branch. "So cool!" "Damn it!, get down here you sneaky coward!" Kankuro went quickly from disappointment to anger. "Mmm¡­ he is not bad looking." The blonde girl muttered to herself. "Not gonnae? Then I''ll make you." Kankuro took off the bundle from his back and rested it on the ground. The girl next to him made a panicked expression. "You want to use Karasu?! That''s too much, we are going to get in trouble." "That''s enough, Kankuro." They all turned their attention to the new voice and saw a red-haired boy, standing upside down on a branch close to Sasuke. ''I didn''t even hear him appear¡­'' Naruto realized that this boy was much more dangerous than the others. ''And by the face Sasuke is making, he didn''t detect him either.'' "G-Gaara!" The two siblings began to panic. Seeing the faces of the sand ninjas, it became obvious who was the one in charge. "Getting lost on the first day and picking up a fight¡­ you are making our vige look bad, Kankuro." His voice sounded t and without emotion. "W-wait, I¡­ I can expl-" "Shut up, or I''ll kill you right here." They were surprised by the coldness disyed before them, especially so because it was directed at an ally of his. "Sorry!" Kankuro immediately apologized, not wanting to suffer punishment from him. "I''m sorry too." The blonde girl also said, just in case. ''They arepletely terrified of that boy.'' Naruto noticed. They were not trying to be respectful; they were just scared of being killed by this boy who was much younger than them. As he studied the boy, Naruto began to feel something familiar about him but couldn''t tell what it was. The redhead must have noticed something and returned the stare, but soon lost interest in Naruto. "I apologize to you all for my siblings'' poor behavior." After saying those words, he disappeared from the branch where he was on, and in a gust of wind, he was in front of the other sand ninjas. "Those three are siblings?" Sakura spoke her thoughts out loud. It was a fair question since none of them looked alike. "Let''s go." Gaara ordered. The group was about to turn on their heels when Sasuke spoke again. "Wait!" The leader stared at the young Uchiha with interest. "Is there something you need?" "By the symbols on you, I can tell youe from the Sand Vige. I want to know what is your purpose here." "That''s right! Even if our viges are allies, you can''t just enter another''s territory without permission." Sakura spoke to support Sasuke''s words. "Without permission? You guys really don''t know anything?" The blonde girl asked. "He said something about an exam before." Sakura pointed at Kankuro. "The Chunnin exams, that is the purpose of our visit. And of course, we have the appropriate permissions." Gaara said with a calm voice. "The Chunnin exams? Why would ninjas from another vigee here for a promotion?" Naruto decided to ask since it didn''t make sense to him. "Howe they didn''t teach you this at the academy? The Chunnin exams always take ce in a different vige, and ninjas from all the nearby hidden viges will attend. The purpose of this is to improve the political rtionships between the many different hidden viges." The blonde girl exined it to them with a tone of smugness and superiority. "Political rtionships? That sounds more like a show of power between hidden viges." Naruto spoke his thoughts. "Well¡­ there is a bit of that too." The girl admitted. "If that is all¡­ we must take our leave." Gaara appeared to be losing his patience, and his tone was bing less polite and more hostile. "Hey, before you leave, I want to know your name." Sasuke stepped closer. "Me?¡­" The blonde girl smiled. "I am Tema-" "No¡­ him." Sasuke pointed at the one in the middle. The boy stared back at Sasule with some mild interest."Gaara of the Desert¡­ I am also curious about yours." "Uchiha Sasuke." Gaara repeated his name. His eyes stopped at Naruto for a moment while scanning over the group, but then he turned around without saying anything else to them. "Let''s go." He spoke to his siblings and began to walk. The other two followed him closely without saying a word. ''A promotion exam...I wonder if I can join already.'' Naruto knew that to ess this vige''s best secrets, he had to climb the ranks and he did not want to remain at the bottom for longer than necessary. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 50 : The Chunnin Exams! Chapter 50 : The Chunnin Exams! Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 50 : The Chunnin Exams! "Good Morning!" Kakashi jumped down from a tree. "Don''t give us that! You wereter than usual today!" Sakura said with exasperation. "But I did have a proper reason today." Their Sensei pulled some papers from his pocket. "I was in a very long meeting today, and I have nominated you all for the Chunnin Exam!" "So you normally don''t have a proper reason to bete," Narutomented. "The Chunnin Exam? But¡­ we just became Genins," Sakura said. Kakashi handed them the papers. "It''s just a nomination. Whether you take the exam or not is up to you." Sasuke was staring at the paper with great interest. "If you decide to attend, just fill out that form and present it at room 301 of the academy, at four P.M. tomorrow. Don''t bete." "Wait, I have questi-!" "That is all." Kakashi disappeared before Sakura could finish her sentence. "Argg, he is so infuriating!" She huffed. Naruto read the paper with attention. It looked like a simple form to fill out with their personal data. But there was nothing in the paper that gave them information about the contents of the exam. Sasuke stored the paper and began to walk away without saying a word. "Wait, Sasuke!" Sakura called. "Are you really going to attend?" Sasuke just stared at her for a second before turning away. "Of course." He did not stop again. ''If I stop moving forward¡­ I will never catch up to him.'' Sakura turned to Naruto. "Naruto, what about you? Don''t you think it''s too early? We have just be genins! This is crazy!" "It does seem a bit rushed." Naruto agreed on that. "Then¡­" "But I will still join in." Sakura looked at him with shock. "Why? This exam could be very dangerous. You have heard it too, there are going to be ninjas from other Hidden Viges." "Challenges are the best way to grow stronger!" Naruto eximed. This surprised Sakura, as he rarely showed that much emotion anymore. "Those who always avoid dangerous situations will never amount to anything. Besides, a life without risks is a boring one." If he didn''t believe in those words, he would have remained at the Blue Jade Sect. His life would have been very different then. Sakura sighed. "Why are all boys like that?..." Naruto looked at Sakura. "The decision to take this exam is yours. If you feel like you need more time¡­ then wait." He had the feeling that without her, they would not be able to take the exam. But he would not pressure her into doing something that could get her killed. There are many roads to the peak. If this one closes, he will find another one. "Anyways¡­ I''ll take my leave." Naruto began to walk away. Sakura stared at his back. She wanted to say something¡­ but in the end, she remained quiet. ''I also want to be strong¡­'' <><><><><><><><> When Naruto arrived at the entrance of the academy, he found it packed with people. But what surprised him the most was seeing Sakura standing next to Sasuke. "So you have decided toe¡­" Sakura had dark circles around her eyes, like she hadn''t slept one bitst night. "Yep! Of course¡­" "Hmph¡­" Sasuke made some noises that Naruto took as a ''nice to see you,'' or something like that. "Well¡­ shall we go inside? There are only thirty minutes left before four P.M." said Sakura. Team 7 entered the academy, and they soon stumbled upon amotion. "It looks like someone got hit." Sakura spotted a guy wearing a green suit on the floor, holding his cheeks. "You should quit now, kid¡­ this is no ce for weaklings!" Two young men stood in front of a door with the number 301 over it. Around them, were a lot more people, waiting for a chance to enter. "Please, let us pass." Naruto recognized the girl. This was Tenten, the daughter of the shop owner where he bought most of his things. The moment she got too close, one of them pped her across the face and sent her tumbling down. "How cruel!" Sakura eximed. "Hey, that''s too much!" "Yes, just let us pass!" The people around them began toin. "You think we are the bad ones here?" One of them said with a smug face. "We are doing you all a favor! This exam is not a joke. Those who are not prepared will likely suffer grievous injuries. Some of you may even die¡­ it would not be the first time." Those words managed to quiet the crowd. "Should we do something?" Sakura asked. "Hmph!" Sasuke began to walk forward with a confident stride. "You will let me pass through. And you will also remove the genjutsu you put on that door." The two men smiled. "So you noticed¡­" "Of course, and I''m sure my teammates have too." Sasuke turned to look at Sakura. "Isn''t that right?" "Eh?..." Sakura was startled by the sudden attention but quicklyposed herself. "I mean, yes! Also, this is just the second floor after all. The 301 should be on the next one." They removed the genjutsu and the number over the door changed to 201. "Fascinating¡­" Naruto stared at the sign. ''This Genjutsu uses a very different principle than techniques like my Illusionary Palm. It works more like hypnosis.'' He had been busy with other things and hadn''t had time to learn anything about this branch of techniques. "Naruto!" Sakura eximed when she saw it. One of the two young men who had been blocking the door had turned his attention to Naruto while the other focused on Sasuke. Noticing that Naruto seemed distracted, looking at the jutsu, he decided to teach him a lesson. "Losing your focus¡­" He rushed at Naruto and sent a powerful kick at his face. "Will get you killed!" A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 51: A Sudden Challenge Chapter 51: A Sudden Challenge Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 51: A Sudden Challenge After the two groups of genins left for the third floor, the two "seniors," who were in reality secret instructors, went to hide behind a fake wall and continue their job. "Those Kakashi''s and Guy''s prized students¡­ man, that Uchiha boy is quite something, as all the rumors say. He easily blocked my attack," one of them said. "Urgg¡­ damn it!" The other one grunted in pain while clutching his leg. "What happened to you?" "He broke my foot¡­" "What?" He had missed what his partner was doing, so he had no idea what had happened. "Did you attack the Hyuga? There was no need to test that one...he is a genius." "No, it wasn''t Neji Hyuuga¡­ I saw the Uzumaki boy being distracted and wanted to teach him a lesson¡­" "Uzumaki?... That annoying brat who is always pranking the civilians? That one broke your foot?" He could not believe what he was hearing. "S-shut up!" He got a bit embarrassed now that he thought about it. Uzumaki''s reputation was truly terrible, not just as an annoyance but also as being one of the least talented genins from his generation. Being hurt by someone like that was very humiliating. "He must have hit me in the wrong spot by chance. You better not tell anyone about this!" "Haha! Fine, I won''t tell, but¡­ you can''t continue your job like this, so you better go to the hospital. I''ll do the rest of the vignce by myself." "Damn it all¡­" The instructor limped away. "You are going to pay for this¡­ Uzumaki." <><><><><><><><> "Are they really doing this now?... seems like a bad idea all around." Naruto saw as his teammates prepared to fight against that green-suit boy from before. "Uchiha Sasuke! I want to test my techniques against the so-called ''genius'' of this year," Rock Lee said with determination before turning his gaze towards Sakura and giving her a wink. "He keeps winking at you," Naruto pointed out. "Shut up!" Sakura became embarrassed. "He looks some¡­" "You are an angel, Sakura!" Lee yelled and sent a kiss to her. "Ahhh! Stop doing that already!" Sakura eximed. "Sasuke, just beat this guy, please." "That won''t be so easy¡­." Naruto muttered. With a quick nce, he could tell that, despite his strange appearance, this boy was well-trained in martial arts. "You are a fool for challenging me after learning I am a Uchiha¡­" Sasuke stared at Lee. "You would think that... but I will tell you this¡­. right now, I am Konoha''s strongest genin!" Rock Lee said with confidence. Sakura nced at the clock. "We only have twenty minutes left." "I''ll only need five," Sasuke huffed before beginning his attack. "Yes, go kick his ass!" Sakura eximed. Naruto gave the other two a passing nce. His teammates were the girl from the weapon shop and some Hyuga guy that he was not familiar with. Sasuke and Lee began to exchange blows at close range. "You are not going to win in taijutsu against that one¡­" Narutomented, but no one seemed to be paying attention to his words. It became clear that Rock Lee had the advantage after a short while. Sasuke then received a powerful punch to the face that pushed him back. "Oh no!" Sakura cried. "Hehe¡­ fine, this gives me a chance to practice it," Sasuke said. Naruto noticed some change ur in his teammate, and when Sasuke lifted his eyes, they could all see what it was. "The Sharingan!" Sakura gasped. "You finally awoke it, huh?..." Naruto said. ''It is a bit different than Kakashi''s one. This one only has two tomoes instead of three¡­'' There was no detailed information about the Uchiha signature bloodline ability, so he could only specte about this. "Now Sasuke is going to win for sure!" Sakura celebrated. "Not really¡­" Naruto said. She snapped her head to him. "How can you say that?! He is your teammate! Don''t you want him to win?" "This has nothing to do with that¡­ for what we learned from Kakashi, the Sharingan allows you to analyze jutsus at instant speed and even copy them. But that green-suited boy has used nothing but pure taijutsu the whole time. Unless there is some hidden use for those eyes that I am unaware of¡­ it won''t help him much." Both Sasuke and Rock Lee turned to nce at Naruto. "Nonsense! He has been using something to get past my defenses. And I will find out now!" Sasuke shouted before charging at Rock Lee. "Yes¡­ you will see," Lee remained in his usual posture and waited for him. Before Sasuke could react, Lee had already kicked him into the air. "That guy was right." Lee jumped after Sasuke. "My techniques are neither Ninjutsu nor Genjutsu, but pure Taijutsu¡­ there is no secret for your eyes to reveal." "Uh oh¡­" Naruto saw what Lee was doing and got a bad feeling. It looked like he was positioning himself to grab Sasuke from behind while still in the air before smashing him down, head first. ''Even if Sasuke survives that, he is going to get seriously hurt¡­ that may ruin my chances at this exam. I can''t let that happen.'' Naruto pushed as much chakra as he could into his legs¡­ No one saw him disappear from his spot, but they did detect him when he appeared right beneath Rock Lee and grabbed one of his legs. "What?!" Lee shouted in absolute shock. And he was even more surprised when he tried to move his right arm and found that his bandages had be stuck on something. "That''s enough, Lee!" After hearing that voice, Lee immediately abandoned his attack and used his stuck bandages to push himself aside. Seeing this, Naruto let him go and grabbed Sasuke instead. Hended on the ground while holding his teammate on his shoulder, while Lee hit the floor a short distance away. "A turtle?...." Naruto stared at the new arrival. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 52: The Cheerful Master Chapter 52: The Cheerful Master Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 52: The Cheerful Master "L-let me down!" Sasuke demanded. Naruto put him down but paid no more attention to the Uchiha. Instead, he was looking at the turtle. ''I didn''t even notice it approaching, much less throwing that needle at the bandages¡­'' He had seen some animals trained inbat, like Kakashi''s dogs, but this turtle was on a whole other level. "Lee, what were you thinking?! That technique is forbidden!" the turtle yelled at Rock Lee. Lee immediately kneeled down and apologized. "I''m sorry, Master! I¡­ wasn''t nning on using the other part¡­" "You think you can get away with excuses?!" The turtle continued to yell at him. "That turtle is getting him good¡­" Sakura said. But her attention quickly turned to Sasuke. "Are you okay, Sasuke? Should we go to a medic?" "I''m fine," the boy brushed off her concerns. He was not in the mood for any of that¡­ he had lost again. His eyes returned to normal, but he kept ncing between Naruto and Lee. Once the turtle appeared to be done yelling at Lee, they saw a cloud of smoke appear out of nowhere, followed by another voice. "Herees Guy Sensei!" "Ahh! Another weirdo has appeared!, what is going on?." Sakura pointed at the man who was now standing on top of the turtle. "That must be their Sensei," Naruto said. For a moment, he thought it was the turtle. "Then who is the other one?..." "They look alike¡­" Sakura made a disgusted expression as she stared at the man who looked like an older copy of Rock Lee. "His eyebrows are even thicker¡­" "Lee!" the man spoke loudly. "Yes?..." "You fool!" Then he proceeded to punch Lee right in the face with such force that it sent the boy flying away. The Master hurried to go check on his disciple. "Lee¡­ are you okay?" "Master¡­" "Do you understand why I had to do that?" "I do, Master. I''m very sorry!" "Lee!" "Master!" "What is this...?" Naruto did not know what to think. He had never seen a Master behave like this with his disciples. "Why are they crying and hugging now?" Sakura asked. "Let''s just go¡­" Sasuke was really not in the mood for this either. "How did I lose to that guy¡­" He spat the words. "Yes, that''s what youth is about!" the turtle nodded with approval. "The turtle is encouraging them¡­" Naruto felt like he shouldn''t be watching this. After proposing a punishment of five hundredps around Konoha after the exams were over...something that would kill any human being...the Sensei turned his attention to the turtle, who whispered something to him. The Sensei then walked toward Team 7 members. "So you are Kakashi''s new students?" "You know our Sensei?" Sakura asked. "Know him?..." He smiled, and then used some type of movement technique to appear behind them in an instant. "People refer to us as Eternal Rivals!" "How did he?..." Sakura said. "He is fast!" Sasuke''s eyes became sharp. "We are currently 50 wins and 49 losses¡­ I am stronger than Kakashi, you know?" he bragged. ''Is he?...'' Naruto thought. It was hard to tell without seeing him in an actual fight. But he could tell that this man, much like his disciple¡­ was specialized in hand-to-hand martial arts. ''If only my cultivation was a bit higher¡­ I would love to measure myself against him.'' "My name is Maito Guy, and¡­" He nced at Sasuke. "I must apologize on behalf of my disciple; he should never have taken things so far against a fellow Konoha ninja." "No¡­ it''s fine." Sasuke would rather forget about the whole thing. Guy''s eyes then moved over to Naruto. "Ningame mentioned that you tried to stop Lee''s move¡­ that''s interesting." "Interesting?" Sakura said. "Anyways¡­ I won''t entertain you more. You should hurry to ssroom 301 before your time runs out¡­ good luck to you all!" Guy then disappeared without a trace. "Thank you, Sensei!" Rock Lee bowed at the spot where his Sensei had been. He then looked at the group. "I came here to test my abilities. We may have another chance during the exam." He then looked directly at Naruto. "What is your name?" "It doesn''t matter. I doubt we''ll have a chance to fight anytime soon." Naruto turned around. "We have like five minutes left, by the way." "Ahhh! Let''s hurry!" Sakura began to panic. "Hmph!" Sasuke gave the strange boy ast nce before leaving. "Next time I won''t lose!" he added without turning around. Lee remained there and watched them as they left. Tenten and Neji jumped from the balcony where they had been watching the fight. "We should hurry too," Tenten said. "Neji¡­ what do you think?" Lee asked. "About the Uchiha?... very disappointing." Neji Hyuuga had been hearing a lot about the genius Uchiha over thest few years, but seeing him in person had ruined his expectations. "What about the other one?" Lee added with a serious expression that was unusual for him. Tenten was surprised. She thought that her teammates would only focus on the Uchiha and that she was the only one who had been paying attention to Naruto. "He is fast¡­" Neji simply said. But for those who knew him, it would be clear how high his standards were. For him to admit that someone was fast meant that they were at least close to his level. Anything below that would not enter his eyes. "He is more than fast." Lee lifted his pants to show the weights he always carried around his calves. "What?!" Neji was rarely surprised, but this took him off guard. "Is that¡­ a hand?..." Tenten stared at the weights. The shape of a hand had been indented into the metal and could clearly be seen through the fabric cover, meaning that Naruto''s grip had been strong enough to bend them out of shape. "If I wasn''t wearing these¡­ he would have shattered my leg," Lee said. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 53: Classroom 301 Chapter 53: ssroom 301 Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 53: ssroom 301 "Hmmm¡­" "Sasuke¡­" Sakura was worried about how Sasuke was going to take his loss. "Stop grumbling. Everyone loses once in a while. At least you''re alive to try again," Naruto told him. "Naruto!" She shouted at him. "I''ll beat him next time!" Sasuke growled. "And you too!" he added. Naruto looked at him. "You may have a chance during these exams. I mean¡­ we don''t know if we have to participate as teams or if it''s going to be everyone vs. everyone." "Ehmm¡­ guys?..." Sakura was getting nervous. She did not even want to think about her teammates fighting against each other. "I won''t lose against you!" Sasuke said. "If that''s your intention, then revealing your secret weapon was definitely a mistake." Naruto chuckled. Naruto and Sasuke kept ncing at each other as the tension grew. "It seems like my team is fired up already." "Sensei!" Sakura said with relief. "I hope you weren''t nning on starting anything in the halls." Kakashi had a stern expression on his face. "Of course not, Sensei," said Naruto. "Good¡­ then we can properly take the exam." Sakura appeared to be confused. "Properly? What do yo¡ª" "We needed the entire team to participate, right?" Naruto asked. Sasuke tried to hide his reaction, but he was obviously surprised. "This exam can only be taken in teams of three. But if I told you that beforehand, I was afraid that you would pressure Sakura to join." Sakura nced back at her teammates before going to Kakashi. "So if they came without me?..." "They could not participate at all. But never mind that, you are all here, so we can begin." Kakashi smiled and pointed at the door. "Go ahead. And good luck!" He pointed at the door. After saying their goodbyes to their Sensei, the team opened it up and went inside. "Whoa!" Sakura''s eyes were open like tes. The ssroom was much bigger than expected, and it waspletely filled with people. "Are we thest ones?" Naruto asked. "I think we barely made it¡­ but what about¡­ ahhh!" Sakura got startled when somerge guy sitting nearby nced at her. When looking around, the entire room was directly staring at them. "What''s with all the attention?" Naruto wondered. "Sasuke!" A blonde girl came running and threw herself at the boy. "Ino! Get away from him!" Sakura already forgot about everything else and went to yell at the other girl. "Oh¡­ you''re here too, of course." Ino stuck her tongue out. "Naruto! How are you doing?" She let go of the Uchiha and went to greet him. "I''m fine, Ino. So your team is also taking the exam?" Naruto said. "Not just us, Team 8 is also here." Ino pointed at Hinata, Kiba, and Shino. "Since when are you two so friendly?" Sakura had mixed feelings about this. For one, she was d that Ino was no longer touching her Sasuke, but she didn''t feel exactly happy to see her speak with Naruto either. "Why do you care? I thought you only had eyes for Sasuke." Ino taunted her. Sakura''s face became a bit more red. She was about to yell something back at Ino when someone got in the middle of them. "N-Naruto¡­" A red-faced Hinata was now standing in front of him. "Hello, Hinata." "Ehmm¡­ I wanted to¡­ I wanted to apologize for¡­" She began to rub her hands nervously. ''For passing out on me after inviting you to dinner?'' Naruto thought, but he couldn''t say that here. The girl might actually die of embarrassment. "Don''t worry about it, Hinata." Naruto got closer to her, but not too close. "I''m sure we''ll have other chances to chat." He looked around at the crowd. "The mood here is not good." "Hey!" Kiba approached with a displeased expression. "I hope you''re not bullying my teammate, you loser!" He red directly at Naruto. "Hmm?" He barely remembered this kid. ''Did I do something to him? Or maybe he is like that to everyone.'' "Kiba!" Hinata raised her voice way above her normal levels. "It''s not like that." "Do you guys have to be so loud?" Shikamaru sighed. "So annoying¡­" "How long is this going to take?" Chouji asked while munching on some snacks. "I don''t know if I have enough¡­" "Hmph! So the nine rookie genins are here." Kiba said. "I wonder how far you guys are going to make it¡­" He nced at Sasuke. "What do you say?" "I won''t lose to anyone." Sasuke spoke with confidence. "We''ll see about that." Kiba red at Naruto again. "Having to carry all that dead weight¡­ make sure you don''t drown." "Hey, don''t talk to him like that." Sakura stepped forward. This took most of the rookies by surprise. She was probably thest person they expected to defend Naruto. "Kiba, that''s enough, please¡­" Hinata pulled on his jacket. "Fine¡­" the boy grumbled. "You guys are all rookies out of the academy, right?" A senior ninja with silver hair spoke to them. "This is not a pic, you know? You should try to keep it low." "And who are you?" Sasuke asked. "My name is Kabuto. But it''s not me who you should be worried about." He pointed behind them. "Look behind you." They could see a lot of angry-looking people staring at them, so they were not sure who this Kabuto was referring to. "Those guys over there are from the Hidden Rain Vige and are very violent, so be careful. Although, in general, everyone is nervous about the exams, so it would be best if you rookies didn''t make a lot of noise. Things may get unpleasant¡­" "See? I told you. You guys are too noisy¡­" Shikamaruined. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 54: Info Cards Chapter 54: Info Cards Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I created. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 54: Info Cards "Ehmmn¡­ Mister Kabuto?" Sakura was feeling the pressure from everyone around her and felt the need to say something to distract herself from that. "Is this your second time taking the exam?" "No, this is actually my seventh attempt. This exam is held twice a year, and this is my fourth year." "Seventh time?" Ino eximed in shock. "What a loser," Kiba said with a smirk. "Is it so difficult?... Maybe I shouldn''t havee..." Chouji looked worried. Naruto had been suspicious of this man since he first saw him, but after hearing him im to have failed the exam six times, he knew for sure that something was wrong there. Even if he was unable to feel his chakra, Naruto''s instincts were sharp enough to recognize strong individuals when he saw them, even if they were trying to hide it. ''This man is at least as strong as a jonin. There is no chance he failed the exam so many times¡­ unless he wanted to fail for some reason.'' The best-case scenario was that he was one of the examiners, blended with the crowd to keep an eye on them from up close. But something told him that this person had more sinister intentions. There was something about Kabuto that put him on edge. "Oh wow, seven times. You must know a lot about this exam then." Sakura was smiling,pletely oblivious to Naruto''s thoughts. She was just happy to find a friendly person in this hostile room. When she made a motion to get closer to Kabuto, she was stopped by Naruto grabbing her shoulder. Sakura turned her head to face him, angry at the sudden touch. But when she saw the serious look on Naruto''s face, she became unable to voice a word ofint. Naruto shook his head slightly while pointing his eyes at Kabuto in a discreet manner. Sakura understood what her teammate was trying to tell her, even though she did not know the reason behind it. Kabuto, for his part, did not miss this gesture of distrust but did a good job of pretending not to be offended by it. He instead offered Naruto a gentle smile that hid something behind it and pointed at the protector on his head. "We are all from the same vige, there is no need for that." Kabuto then took a pack of cards from his jacket and ced them on the floor. "I''ll show you these as proof of good faith." "Cards?" Sakura wondered what this was about. He picked up the first card and showed it to them. It waspletely nk. "These are nin-info cards. The information has been burned in by using my chakra." "Chakra signatures are very unique, so that means only I can reveal the information hidden in them." As he said this, a detailed drawing appeared on the card. "That sounds very handy." Ino and the other rookies were listening to their conversation with attention. "What is that? A map?" Sakura asked while staring at the card. Kabuto held it up so they could see it better. "And more. This one shows the number of participants from each nearby vige." "What about information on specific individuals? Do you have that too?" Sasuke had be more interested now. Kabuto seemed pleased by the attention. "Of course! It''s not perfect, but I have information on all the participants¡­ including the three of you." Kabuto said. "Then¡­ tell me about Gaara of the Desert and Rock Lee." "Oh, you know the names¡­ that makes things easier." Kabuto pulled two cards from the stack at incredible speed. "Let''s see¡­" "Show me." Sasuke looked impatient. "Rock Lee, member of Team Nine. One year older than you, but it is his first time participating in the exam. He haspleted twenty D-rank missions and neen C-rank ones. His taijutsu skills appear to be the only impressive thing about him." He then moved to the other card. "Gaara of the Desert. Haspleted eight D-rank and one B-rank. Since he is a foreigner from the Sand vige, I don''t have much information on him¡­ other than he always returned from his missionspletely uninjured." Sasuke gave Naruto a nce. "If you want to know something, you can just ask," Naruto told him. Kabuto produced one more card. "Uzumaki Naruto¡­ to be honest, I don''t have much information on him either." "How can that be? He is from the same vige." Sakura asked. "Most of my information about new geninses from the academy records. But after some analysis, I have determined that the academy information about Naruto is false, or at least unreliable." Kabuto exined. "False?... Well, he has changed a lot, that''s true." Inomented. "Tsk, changed? He looks like the same loser to me." Kiba frowned. He always saw himself as superiorpared to Naruto and did not like to think otherwise. "He is not a loser!" Hinata eximed loudly. That reaction took Kiba so much by surprise that he almost dropped his dog. "They are not wrong, Kiba. He is very different." Shino finally decided to speak, but he used a low tone so he could only be heard by his teammates. "My bugs don''t want to approach him too much. They seem to be afraid of something." "Don''t be ridiculous. What is there to be afraid of?" Kiba was getting annoyed by all this talk about Naruto. "My bugs are very sensitive, they must be feeling something that I am missing. In any case, I would advise staying away from Team 7. Even if you don''t care for Naruto, the Uchiha is also there." Kabuto moved his eyes away from Naruto and looked at his card. There was barely anything written on it. But it did have his record of missions, including a certain C-rank mission that ended up being changed to an A-rank. Of course, he could not reveal this to the genins since this information was not widely spread, and he would definitely be questioned for even having it. ''Uzumaki Naruto is turning out to be more of a mystery than I thought¡­ I can use this exam to collect more information about him too. I''m sure that Master Orochimaru will be interested.'' Kabuto thought. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 55: The First Test Chapter 55: The First Test Disimer:Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 55: The First Test "But¡­ in any case," Kabuto continued. "You can expect to find many geniuses from different viges here: Leaf, Grass, Sand, Waterfall, Sound¡­ they would send their best genins here. Well, I don''t know about Sound¡­ that is a new vige, so their genins may not be on the same level as the others." "Makes you lose confidence¡­" Hinata frowned. "Yeah¡­ hearing about so many geniuses gathered here," Sakura added. "Indeed," Kabuto agreed. "Lee and Gaara are far from the only ones." "So what?" said Naruto. He had heard the words genius and prodigy so many times already, back at the sect. Those fools would always get most of the resources because their talents were a bit better. But in the real world, even the geniuses died like flies. Cunning and luck were the things that would allow you to survive long enough until you acquired some real power. "Talent alone is not enough. At the start of the road, we are all the same, and the grass that stands taller than the rest¡­ gets cut first." Naruto''s words resonated through the room. The silence was broken by Kabuto''s chuckle. "That''s an interesting view¡­." He got a bit closer. "But you are kind of standing out right now¡­ so be careful you don''t get cut." Naruto did not show any reaction to his threat, but he was ready to go all out if it came to that. He felt some movement to his right and thought that Kabuto had done something. But he then realized he was wrong¡­ he was not the target of this attack. A tall masked man came running directly at Kabuto and took a swing aimed at his face. Kabuto dodged it, showcasing some of his speed in the process. "He is fast!" Sasuke realized he had underestimated the harmless-looking genin. They all thought that Kabuto hadpletely avoided the assault, but then his sses broke and he fell to his knees. "What was that? He avoided it!" Sasuke said. "He may have nced his face" Shikamaru added. "Blegh!" Kabuto began to vomit. Naruto red at the attacker as he stood menacingly over Kabuto. He had his face covered in bandages, so it was hard to see his expression, but he appeared to be smiling. On his forehead, he wore a headband with a musical note as a symbol. ''This must be the Sound vige he mentioned before¡­ that would exin it. I felt like I heard something when he threw that punch.'' Naruto noticed the strange armband he was wearing. It had many holes, like some musical instruments. ''I see¡­ so that''s what he did. That was kind of clever¡­'' Using wind instruments as weapons was nothing new for him but he had not been expecting to see it in this world. "Write this down in your stupid cards!" He shouted at Kabuto. "These three ninjas of the Sound are no pushovers. We will soon be Chunin." "What kind of trick was that?" "I don''t know, it looked like a normal punch to me." Naruto heard the room erupt in murmurs. And then¡­ arge smoke bomb exploded on the other side of the ssroom. At first, he thought it was another attack, but then he spotted a group of older ninjas standing there. At the front was arge bald man, whose face waspletely covered in scars. "Quiet, you worthless brats!" He waited a moment for everyone to shut up, and then continued. "I am Morino Ibiki. I am the examiner for the first test¡­" His eyes moved to the three Sound genins. "You over there! There will be no fighting in this ssroom. If you can''t even do that much, I will disqualify all of you." The three ninjas from the Sound vige looked towards the examiner. "Sorry about that. I got a bit carried away," the man with bandages gave a half-assed apology. "Now we can start the first Chunin test. You will all be assigned a specific seat, and after everyone is seated, we will begin to distribute the paper exams¡­" "A written test?!" Kiba said with horror. "I have a chance!" Sakura was one of the few who looked excited at the prospect. Once they were all seated, some of the assistants began to distribute the papers while Ibiki told them the rules. Naruto ended up being seated next to Hinata. But his other teammates were far away from him. ''What was the point of forcing us to join the exam as a team if we are going to be separated?'' he wondered. "Do not turn your test over until I finish exining the rules." Ibiki turned around and began to write on the board behind him. "First rule: You will begin with ten points, there are ten questions in total, and you will lose a point for every wrong question you answer." "Second rule: Whether you pass or not will be determined by your team''sbined score." "Wait, that is not fair!" Ino shouted. She did not have much trust in Chouji''s chances. "Shut up! And now the third and most important rule¡­ if I or any of my assistants catch you cheating, you will lose two points." The ssroom erupted in murmurs. "I said shut up!" Ibiki''s loud and authoritative voice was enough to keep everyone quiet. "Last rule! Those who lose all their points or fail to answer a single question correctly¡­ are out! And their two teammates too." "Wait, what?!" Sakura eximed. "Well¡­ there is the teamponent I guess," Naruto said. ''Still¡­ there is something off with these rules.'' Naruto nced around. There were eleven Chunins sitting around the ssroom as well as Ibiki, the examiner. All watching them with attention. "Begin!" A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 56: The Tenth Question Chapter 56: The Tenth Question Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 56: The Tenth Question While Naruto was reading over the questions, he noticed something. ''These are really hard¡­'' He was no schr, but he still had a good understanding of all disciplines, like mathematics or philosophy. He had also studied much of the material taught at the academy. But even then, he wasn''t sure if he could answer half of these questions. Looking around at the expressions of the other examinees, they were in a much worse position than him. ''ording to the rules, as long as I can answer a single one correctly, I would be fine. But¡­'' It looked like they made the test hard enough so most of the attendees wouldn''t be able to answer even one correct question. ''If you are caught cheating, you lose two points, but you are not disqualified. So as long as you don''t get caught five times and can get the answers to one question¡­ I see¡­ that''s the goal of this test.'' Naruto realized. And he was not the only one. He spotted several people making moves already. ''That means there must be at least a few fake students with the answers so others can copy from them.'' Now this made more sense as a ninja test than just answering some questions. ''But¡­ I have no need to y their games¡­'' He was confident that Sakura would be able to answer most of the questions correctly. And Sasuke should manage at least one without issues. So they didn''t need his help. When he nced forward, he spotted Sakura ncing back at him. Naruto gave her a nod, that meant ''I''m good,'' and she smiled. "Naruto¡­." He heard a whisper at his side and turned to look. Hinata was staring at him with worried eyes. "Need help?" She used a hand sign to ask. As they learned in the academy. It was a good thing he bothered reading that book. "I''m fine." He answered. "You!" Someone mmed a table. "Two points!" ''Someone had gotten caught¡­'' Naruto thought. It was only the beginning. Over the next forty minutes, he heard those words many times. As well as¡­ "Ten points, disqualified!" Naruto looked down at his paper. He ended up answering five out of the nine first questions. Since he was quite confident in his answers, there was no need to y their game and try to cheat. The tenth question said that it would only be revealed at the forty-five-minute mark. He gave the wall clock a nce. "I guess it''s time¡­" "Alright! Stop writing!" Ibiki shouted. "I am going to reveal the tenth question." ''Why would they wait to reveal thest question?'' Naruto wondered. "For this tenth question¡­ you must decide if you will try to answer it or not." "What do you mean by that? What if we choose not to answer it?" Temari, the Sand ninja, asked. "If you choose not to answer it¡­ you will lose all points and fail." The examiner told them. "That''s stupid!" "Yeah, of course we''ll answer it then." Some genins eximed. "Idiots¡­ there must be more to that¡­" Naruto murmured. "If you choose to take it and answer incorrectly¡­ that person will lose the right to ever take the Chunin exams ever again!" "What kind of ridiculous rule is that? There are people here who took the test before." Kiba pointed out. Their examinerughed when he heard this. "Then you can consider yourselves unlucky. This year I am the one in charge¡­ and I make the rules." Seeing the pale faces of the genin, Ibiki smiled. "But¡­ I will give you a way out¡­ you can give up now and try again in six months, with a different examiner." Naruto stared at the man. ''What is he thinking?...'' "Now¡­ those who do not wish to take the question, raise your hand. Once your number has been confirmed, you and your team can leave the ssroom." Naruto was surprised by the number of hands being raised in the air. But even more so when he spotted the nervous figure of Sakura, who was obviously hesitating to do the same. He wasn''t nning on doing anything, but now he had to say a few words before that girl did something rash. "This is foolish! You should have threatened us with cutting off one of our fingers. That would have been more believable." Naruto huffed with annoyance while trying to put up an act. "What did you say, brat?!" Ibiki frowned. The scars on his face moved, making him look more threatening. "Naruto!" Sakura shouted. "Naruto?..." Hinata nced at him with worry. "What is he saying now?" Ino asked. Everyone was now staring at him. Naruto returned the re at Ibiki. "I said that you should havee up with a more believable threat. Banning us from ever taking the Chunin exam?... ridiculous. I don''t know who you are, but I would bet anything that you don''t have the authority to make that im. In this room, you have the heirs of the vige''s most powerful ns, as well as one of thest Uchiha. Can you imagine the outrage that you would face if you tried to ban them from rising in the ranks and crippling the vige''s power as a whole? Your head would be on a pike before the end of the month¡­" There was an ufortable silence after that. But he was not done yet. "And I have not mentioned the foreign ninjas because¡­ I shouldn''t even need to say this, but not even the Lord Hokage has the authority to tell foreign ninja viges to ban their genins from ever participating in another Chunin exam. Can you even imagine how that conversation would go down? Even someone with half a functioning brain would realize that threat ispletely empty. And if the threat is not real..." "Wait!" Three ninjas from the Waterfall vige were still at the door after giving up and listening to everything Naruto said. "Is that true?!" One of them shouted. "Hold on! I take it back. I want to take the question." "You are disqualified, get out already." One of the Chunin instructors had to kick them out. Everyone had their hands lowered now and were thinking about Naruto''s words. "You brat!" Ibiki was not amused. He mmed his hands on the desk and red daggers at him. "That''s why I said that you should have made a different threat, like cutting a finger off those who got the answer wrong. It will still make people hesitate and is a lot more believable. Losing a finger is not a crippling injury and is not enough to start an international conflict if you did it to the child of someone important. Especially after you gave them the chance to not take the question¡­ even if you never had the intention to carry out any punishment, to begin with." "Last chance to quit!" Ibiki shouted while looking around the room. No one else raised their hands again. The examiner sighed in defeat. "Fine¡­ everyone who still remains here¡­ you all pass the first test!" "Wait, that''s it?" "There was no question?!" "What was the point of the other questions then?" Murmurs were heard all over the ssroom. "You!" Ibiki pointed at him. "What''s your name?" "Uzumaki Naruto." The examiner clenched his fists. "I will remember you. The one who ruined my test." A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 57: The Missing Question Chapter 57: The Missing Question Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 57: The Missing Question A.N - Hello!, Author here. I wanted to address two of the main issues that people have been pointing out. The first one would be that everything feels too simr to the canonical events in the story. This is because I have kept everyone in character, other than Naruto, of course. This means that the story will ''try'' to keep the same course unless Naruto himself does something to change it. This will inevitably lead to many things remaining the same, but the ripples created by Naruto will berger and more evident as the story progresses until we reach the point where this will be somethingpletely different from canon. And I know this can lead to the pacing feeling slow, but you will start to see big changes soon enough. - The second one would be that the story doesn''t have enough cultivation elements in it. The thing is, the beginning of the story is all very rushed with little breathing room for the MC to take his time and cultivate. Normally, a cultivation novel will have arge time skip at the beginning, like from six months to a year so the MC has a chance to have some breakthrough and learn at least one offensive technique. We don''t have that here, so I had to take that into ount when I came up with Naruto''s cultivation method, to make it much faster. But even with all of that, we are still at the beginning. You will see more xianxia elements as the story progresses. That being said, this will not be a pure cultivation novel. My idea is to create a story that can blend the elements of Naruto with some elements from xianxia to create something new that even people who have never read a cultivation novel could enjoy. That is all. Thank you for reading. - "So what about the tenth question?" Sakura asked. "There was never a tenth question," Ibiki answered. "The only things being tested were your ability to gather information and your willingness to take on dangerous situations. Allow me to exin¡­" At that moment, something broke through the window and fell inside the ssroom. "Oi, I wasn''t done yet!" Ibiki shouted. The dark bundle was revealed to be a woman wearing arge coat with a tight fis underneath. "No time to celebrate, you brats! I am the examiner for the second part of the exam. My name is Mitarashi Anko!" "You didn''t let me finish my exnation," Ibiki said. "Wow, there are a lot of them left¡­ did you go soft on them?" Anko nced at Ibiki. "Hmph, some kid ruined my tenth question test¡­" "Oh¡­ well, no matter. I''ll get rid of at least half on my test." She nced over them. "Follow me!" "H-half?..." Sakura said with dread. "What is she going to do?" a worried Chouji asked his friend. "We''ll have to s-" "Stop being like that all the time!" Ino cut off Shikamaru''s answer. "You''ll be fine. You have me in your team!" "You are worried too?" Naruto saw Sakura trying to hide her nervousness. "N-o¡­ I mean¡­ a little bit." He got closer to her. "There is nothing wrong with being afraid. As long as it doesn''t stop you from moving forward." He nced at Ino. "She is scared too, but tries to hide it under a mask." "Ino?..." Sakura always saw her brave side, and that made her jealous. This had caused them to fight a lot over the years. "Come on. This next examiner seems to have a serious attitude problem. We shouldn''t make her wait." He added before walking away. "Wait!" Sakura ran after him, not realizing she had left Sasuke behind in the ssroom. <><><><><><><><> They arrived in front of a massive forest, closed by a metallic gate with the number 44 on it. "Mmm¡­ I have been here before." He recalled trying to enter this ce for some training. The ninja guarding the gate that day told him that this training ground was only for chuunins or higher-ranked personnel. The examiner was standing right next to the gate. She nced at therge group of nervous genins and gave them a cruel smirk. "Wee to the location for the second test. Training Grounds 44, also known as the Forest of Death." "What an ominous name¡­" Sakura said. "Hmph!" Sasuke was not impressed. "Seems like an exaggeration. It''s just a forest." Naruto could not see anything dangerous about this forest. He doubted there were demonic beasts or anything of the sort. That would kill every single examinee and benefit no one. A kunai flew directly at his head and he barely avoided it. That crazy woman from before was now behind him. "Oh?... not bad." She got closer to his face. "Should the examiner be doing this?... seems inappropriate," Naruto told her. He did not detect any hostility from this person. She was clearly just trying to scare him. "Haha! I was just ying around a bit. But¡­" She separated a bit from him and began to walk back to the front. "Don''t underestimate this forest¡­ or you will never get out." "Yikes¡­" Sakura was getting goosebumps just listening to her. Anko picked up a stack of papers from a nearby table. "Some of you are likely going to die. So I need everyone to sign these forms." "What''s that for?!" someone asked. "It''s just to rify that you understand the risk of possible death and fully consent to take part in the test despite the risks, freeing me and the Konoha vige from any responsibility in case of¡­ you know, in case you don''t make it." The genins began to talk loudly among themselves. "Okay, shut up! I was not done!" Anko shouted. "I will now exin the rules, and then you can sign the papers." She pulled out arge map. "This is going to be an extreme survival test." Anko then exined theyout of area 44. Naruto made sure to take a good look at the map and memorize it. This could end up saving him. "So we just have to survive in there? That doesn''t seem too bad." Kiba said with a confident smile. "Did I say I was done?!" Anko frowned. "No, that''s not all you have to do¡­ hold on." She picked up two different scrolls from the table. "While you are in there¡­ this will be your mission." The scrolls had different words written on them. "You will be fighting over these scrolls. Before you enter, your group will be given one of these scrolls. Half of the teams will get the ''Heaven'' scroll while the other half will be given the ''Earth'' one." "So, we just have to steal one scroll from another team." Sasuke said. "But I doubt they will tell us which scroll they have. So we may have to take more than one," Naruto pointed out. "That''s no problem." Sakura looked at her two teammates. She wanted to be more positive but could not help to be worried. Among the group of genins, there were a lot of scary individuals, like the genin from the Sand Vige, or that green-suited guy who defeated Sasuke. Anko finished her instructions by informing them that they had five days to get both scrolls and reach the tower on the other side of the forest. While Naruto was thinking about how toplete this task efficiently, other genins had different worries. "Wait, five days? Without a shower?!" Ino looked horrified. "What about food?! I definitely did not bring enough for five days!" Chouji was also horrified. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 58: Ambush in the Forest of Death Chapter 58: Ambush in the Forest of Death Disimer:Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 58: Ambush in the Forest of Death "Was that a scream?" Sakura looked back at the sea of trees but could not see anything or anyone there. "That came from at least half a mile away¡­ forget it. We cannot worry about others." Naruto pulled a scroll andid it on the ground. "What are you doing, Naruto? We shouldn''t stay here in the open. We should hide, right?" She turned to Sasuke. The examiners didn''t give them any time to discuss strategies after being given their scrolls to protect. Sakura moved nervously and touched her belt pouch. ''Why did they leave it with me?'' She would have preferred one of them to carry it instead, but could not say no to Sasuke''s request. She understood that when it came tobat, she was going to be of little usepared to her teammates. Sasuke nced at the scroll Naruto had pulled out and realized it was a storage one. "Please, tell me you didn''t just stop to get food." Naruto pressed on the center of the scroll and a ck kanji appeared after detecting his chakra signature. A secondter, arge bundle came out of the scroll. He smiled while seeing this. It reminded him of a different time when he would use his storage rings to keep all his possessions neatly organized. Storage scrolls were nowhere near that convenient, but it was better than having nothing. It was unlikely for him to get his hands on a storage ring in this mortal world, though. Crafting one was also out of the realm of possibilities. Even if he somehow could acquire the necessary materials, hecked the skills and knowledge of a Rune Master to build it. ''Maybe if I study this ''Fuuinjutsu'' discipline, I may figure out how to make something a bit better than these scrolls. But in the meantime, I''ll have to be patient and make do with what they have here.'' He picked up the bundle and opened it up. Inside it were his new sets of kunai and shuriken, as well as the sword he had recently acquired. It was a very simple one-sided straight de with a steel guard and a brown leather handle. "You got a sword?" Sasuke stared at the simple de with mild interest. He had never seen Naruto show any interest in other types of weapons. "I just began learning it. I can barely call myself an apprentice," Naruto gave him a short answer since there wasn''t much more he could add. He only had a couple of days to study the Uzumaki Sword Style left behind by his mother and had only had time to grasp the surface while incorporating some of his old knowledge. Calling himself an apprentice...already seemed too much. "Naruto, this is not the best ce to get some practice, maybe you sh¡ª" "Shhh!" Sasuke interrupted her and made a gesture for them to keep quiet. He held one of his kunai and looked towards the trees. Naruto was also able to pick up a few subtle noises. Whoever was stalking them was at least skilled in concealing themselves. He also picked up one of his kunai and waited for what wasing next. ''As I thought¡­ they came for me first.'' Naruto sensed movement behind him. He concluded that the ambusher would consider Sasuke as the most dangerous foe and would not want to risk attacking him first, since that would have a lower chance of seeding and thus waste their surprise factor. Sakura must have been considered too low of a threat to waste their ambush on her. That left Naruto as the best target. "Careful!" Sasuke shouted a warning when he noted something moving next to Naruto. "Foolish¡­" He twisted his body around to face his attacker. It was a young man with long ck hair and a breathing mask covering most of his face. He tried to stab Naruto in the neck before this one could react. His stealth skills were top-notch, but hisbat ones were verycking, at least as far as Naruto was concerned. ''You are filled with openings¡­'' Naruto deflected the attack with his right hand after passing the kunai to his left one. Then, he countered with his own stab to the man''s neck. "Urggg!" The enemy ninja''s eyes widened and were filled with shock and horror at the realization of what happened. He took several steps back while using his hands to press his neck wound, trying to stop the bleeding. He could not understand what went wrong. He did not make any mistakes, and his ambush skills were the best in his ss¡­ now he was dying in a foreign vige. The genin moved his eyes towards the trees. His teammates may still be able to save him, but he could not speak. "So your friends are up there." He heard Naruto''s voice, but when he looked for him, he was unable to find him. Before he could do anything else, he felt a strong pressure on the back of his head and everything went dark. Sakura gasped when she saw Naruto pick up his sword, get behind the enemy genin, and stab him through the back of the head. Sasuke gave the corpse a quick nce, not really looking too bothered by it. "He bears the symbol of the Rain Vige¡­" "His teammates must be close by, likely in the trees." Naruto looked around but could not find anything. "Kukuku¡­ what a cruel genin, you killed him without hesitation¡­" A female voice came out of nowhere and taunted him. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 59: Sword Skills Chapter 59: Sword Skills Disimer:Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 59: Sword Skills They all heard the voice very clearly, but none of the genin was capable of pinpointing its origin. This meant that the speaker was even more skilled in concealing their presence than the previous one. "Why don''t youe here and see for yourself?" Naruto said. "If you want our scroll, you are going to have to actually appear and take it from me," he added. The womanughed again. "Good try, but you don''t have the scroll¡­ that pink-haired girl does." Sasuke moved in front of Sakura. "Stay close to me." He assumed she was going to be attacked at any moment. "Damn it¡­ where is she?" He could not detect a single sound or smell, but he was sure she was very close to them. But then¡­ the silence was broken all of a sudden by a series of loud noises. "I have no business with you, for the moment at least¡­ so go away," the female voice spoke again. The next instant, they all saw it. "Naruto!" Sasuke shouted in rm. "Move!" So did Sakura. From between the trees, a colossal snake appeared, and without hesitation, it lunged directly at Naruto. To avoid being swallowed whole, Naruto had to move back as fast as he possibly could. But the snake appeared to be very determined to eat him and continued to give chase instead of going after his teammates. "How persistent!" His sword was still in his right hand, so the next time it lunged at him, Naruto gave it a good sh across its face. Even then, the snake did not give up and continued to chase him, as if it were in some form of trance. "There is no way this is a local beast." This snake was too determined to eat him, despite having been injured. Not to mention that for a creature of this size, Naruto could barely count as a light snack. The timing was also too precise. Right after she said she had no business with him, this snake appeared and chased him away. ''She is trying to separate me from Sasuke and Sakura. This means that this beast must be under her control.'' He only saw her figure for a second but could already tell there was something off about that woman from before. ''There is no way a genin can control a massive creature like this one and sneak up on us with such ease¡­ did a jonin from the Rain Vige manage to infiltrate the exams?'' It seemed like the most likely conclusion at the moment, although he could not understand what her motives could be to do such a thing. The snake charged again, but instead of retreating like he had been doing previously, Naruto made use of the trees to rise above the beast. One thing was clear to him... if he wanted to get back and find the other two, he had to kill this thing, so it was time to act. The snake hissed and opened its mouth, ready to eat him alive as he descended. "First Step¡­" Naruto held the sword in both hands and raised it above his head. "shing Stream." Before the snake''s fangs could reach him, hepleted the first movement of the Uzumaki Sword Style. It was a seemingly simple vertical sh. But those with a keen eye would be able to perceive some of the insights left behind by its creator on the scroll where it was written. Naruto had spent two days trying to understand as much as he could, as well as incorporating his previous knowledge into the move. He had never personally walked the path of the Sword Dao. But for a long time, he became the daopanion of someone who did. Her name was Liao Ming, and she was a core disciple of a very powerful sect, the Divine Sword Sect. They would often get together to discuss the Dao and do some dual cultivation. He had been offered to join her sect a few times, but he always rejected it. He was of course interested, but the reason for this refusal was because he did not want to deviate from his current path. He had heard many stories about those who tried to learn many different disciplines, and it never ended well for them. The previous him had been more than content to just observe her and some of the other members of her sect practicing their sword techniques as well as listening to their arguments about the Sword Dao. So even though he had never personally wielded a sword, he had gained many insights about the mysterious Sword Dao. Even more than he could imagine at the time. He never learned about this during his lifetime, but his daopanion, Liao Ming, was an unparalleled genius who, after his death, would go on to be the strongest Sword Saint in history and achieve revenge on those who had killed him. As Naruto finished his move, a part of the snake''s mouth received a deep cut that almost went all the way to its skull. This alone would have been enough to send the beast fleeing and possibly dyingter on due to its injuries. The technique he had just employed was meant to be used on the ground, not in the air, so it didn''t even have half of its effectiveness. Still, this was more or less what he had been expecting, and as long as it was good enough to get the job done, it was sufficient for him. However, at that moment, something unpredictable urred¡­ a second attack followed his sword sh. He never nned for this, but his understanding of the Sword Dao had been more than enough to manifest a sliver of Sword Intent. Naruto watched in awe as this faint wave of mystical energy cleaved the colossal beast in half, with a clean cut that went from its head all the way to the tip of its tail. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 60: The Mysterious Woman Chapter 60: The Mysterious Woman Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 60: The Mysterious Woman Naruto would have wanted to stay and examine the dead snake for a bit longer. A swordsman novice like him should never have been able to create even a tiny amount of Sword Intent. Only those who walked the path of the Sword Dao for a very long time should be able to perform such a feat. But he had the feeling that if he waited too long, his two teammates would likely die. He shouldn''t care that much for them since he barely knows them. But abandoning them to die is a different matter. "There!" He jumped over arge branch and spotted the clearing where he was attacked by the snake. Sakura was standing back while Sasuke fought with that woman. ''So she finally showed up¡­'' He decided to observe them for a few seconds before intervening. ''Things don''t look good¡­'' Everything that Sasuke threw at her was easily countered. And she wasn''t even taking him seriously. As he thought, this person was way beyond the level of a genin. She was just ying with Sasuke as Kakashi did during their genin test. At the very least, she appeared to be as strong as Zabuza, if not more¡­ "How long are you nning on staying hidden, Uzumaki Naruto?" The face of the woman turned in his direction while her wide creepy eyes red directly at him. "I guess hiding to collect more information is pointless against you¡­" Naruto walked from behind arge branch. "Naruto? You''re alive!" Sakura appeared to be happy to see him now. Not that there was much he could do, other than gain time. ''How long will they take to get here?...'' He considered. "Naruto¡­" Sasuke grumbled something before looking back at Sakura. "Give me the scroll!." Hemanded. "Huh?¡­ but¡­ okay." Sakura was confused by the sudden change but still agreed to his order. She pulled the ''Heaven'' scroll from her bag and handed it to Sasuke. "Here, take it!" Sasuke showed it to the woman. "Just take it and leave us!" He threw it at her. Naruto moved from his spot and intercepted it halfway through beforending on another branch. "Are you giving up?" Sasuke frowned at the question. "You don''t understand the situation! This is not an opponent we can beat." "You are the one who is missing something¡­ do you really believe someone with the strength of a jonin will be interested in the Chunin Exams? Use your head for once." Naruto huffed. "What did you say?!" Sasuke eximed. "The strength of a jonin?!" Sakura was shocked to hear this. "A jonin, you say?..." She did not seem to like his evaluation. "I''m afraid you are falling a bit short¡­" "Really?... my apologies then, Miss¡­" He waited to see if she would say her name, but she remained silent. "What is it that you want? I''m sure it''s not our lives or the scroll¡­ who are you?" She pulled her sleeve up, revealing some sort of symbol. "You are right¡­ I don''t care for the scroll, and if I wanted you dead, you would be dead already. Speaking of¡­." She crossed a line over the symbol. "Summoning jutsu¡­" "Naruto! Get out of there!" Sasuke yelled. A massive cloud of smoke formed beneath her, and the next instant, she was standing on the head of a snake that was even bigger than the one he just killed. It was also much faster. The tail of the snake appeared from behind him. Naruto did his best to protect himself from the blow, but he was sent flying with tremendous force. He heard his teammates call for him before his body collided against the side of a tree and almost broke an arm. ''Oi¡­ Kyubi¡­ are you paying attention?...we have a bit of a problem here.'' He called inside his mind. The demon fox said nothing, but the surge of yang chakra that he felt next gave him the answer¡­ the Kyubi was at least somewhat aware of what was happening. "Go ahead and eat him," the enemy ninja said with a cold tone. Naruto stood up from his branch¡­ his eyes turned red, and his facial marks became more notable. "Eat¡­ me?" The face of the colossal snake was already in front of him. It opened its mouth with the intent to swallow him whole, along with the branch where he stood. He moved arge amount of that cursed demon chakra to the palm of his right hand. A small ball of fire manifested as the side of the temperature rose. His hand and part of his arm began to burn¡­ another side effect. Since this was not a technique, there were no protections in ce for him. It was the same thing he used against the masked ninja from Wave Country. He was taking arge amount of yang chakra and concentrating it in a single point until it created an explosion of pure heat. This was the most basic and brutish way to use this chakra. But at this moment, he was a bitcking in options against an opponent such as this. "What is that?!" The woman on top of the snake looked truly shocked. The reason for this was simple. She could not recognize what fire jutsu this was. And how could she? No matter how much she knew¡­ this was not something she could recognize. It was just something she needed to understand. Naruto held his hand firm, despite the burns. Just a momentter¡­ a wave of heat exploded forward, engulfing the upper part of the snake. There were no words or chants of any kind. Just a simple release of energy in the form of fire and heat that will turn everything into cinders. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 61: Breaking Through Chapter 61: Breaking Through Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 61: Breaking Through A.N -Drinking game: Take a shot every time I say the word "chakra" in this chapter.- Seeing the massive corpse of the snake reduced to cinders, Naruto could notin about the effectiveness of this strategy. "Urgg¡­" However, his right arm was going to be unusable for a while. Third-degree burns will affect the muscles and bones, after all. But he had to admit that seeing the shocked expression on that woman''s face was very satisfying. His two teammates were equally surprised. "What was that jutsu?!" Sasuke asked no one in particr. He was very knowledgeable about fire jutsu, as it was the specialty of his n. But that one felt much stronger than the ones he knew. "That''s the thing he did at the bridge!" Sakura would never forget that moment. The heat was even more intense back then, and if their sensei didn''t protect her, she would have suffered some burns for sure. "At the bridge?... you mean¡­" Naruto never gave Sasuke a satisfactory answer when he questioned him about what happened in that fight. His teammate only told him he used some risky jutsu and killed the masked ninja but would give him no details. "This is what he used?..." Now he understood what happened back then. There was no chance for that ice ninja to have survived this. "Those eyes¡­ that chakra¡­" The woman had jumped off the snake in time to avoid the wave of heat that came off Naruto''s palm. She knew what was inside Naruto, as every other adult in the vige, but this was truly something she did not expect. "You have some control over ''that'' chakra¡­." It was the only exnation. That attack had been very intentional and not just something that happened after losing control to the demon. "That''s very interesting, but¡­" She disappeared from the spot. The next moment she was next to Naruto. "I can''t let you interfere with my business anymore¡­" Naruto was aware of the attack. But no matter how many years of fighting experience he had¡­ his body could not move to match his enemy''s. He tried to turn and use the de in his left hand to block the iing attack, but her hand moved around the sword like a snake and ended up hitting his chest. Naruto was sent flying away and crashing against another tree. Eventually, hended on arge branch and remained in a sitting position, seemingly unconscious. "Naruto!" Sasuke jumped into action, throwing his fears aside to face the enemy in front of him. The woman nced in Naruto''s direction, wondering if her move was enough to cut his supply of demonic chakra. She had directly injected her own chakra into his core, creating an interference. It would have been more effective to ce a seal over his own, but she was wary of him using that move again. Seeing that Naruto did not move and Sasuke was getting closer, she shifted her focus. "Oh¡­the Sharingan." She noted his eyes. Sasuke went all out against her, using all his strongest moves. Meanwhile, Naruto was having his own fight inside his mind pce. His supply of chakra had been cut off by something that woman did. "Disgusting¡­" He stood in front of the pool that represented his chakra core. All around it was some dark purple substance that was preventing it from circting his chakra. "Is this?... that woman''s own chakra? Why does it look like that?" It almost appeared to be alive. "She must be a Demonic Cultivator¡­ that''s for sure." He had never seen something like that before. "Now¡­ the question is¡­ how do I get rid of it?" He had read a bit about the Hyugas and their personal jutsu, capable of blocking the chakra veins, but this was something different. Still, he was sure it would go away if he let it be. Chakra, no matter how weird, cannot remain active for long once it leaves your body. That''s why things like fuuinjutsu exist. And this was definitely not a seal. "But that may take hours¡­ I don''t know what that woman wants, but I can''t just sit here and let her do what she wants." There was only one method he could think of to remove this foreign energy from his body. He would have to overwhelm it with his own chakra reserves. Even if he can''t circte it through his body, he still has ess to the energy already stored in his core. Naruto tried the best he could, but soon realized that his current reserves were not going to be enough. "So my only choices are to wait until this foreign chakra weakens, or¡­" His body has another source of energy he could use. But that was risky. Because of the blockade, he cannot just circte the Kyubi''s chakra like he usually did. He would need to allow a tremendous amount of demonic chakra to burst through the block. It would be like opening all the gates of a water dam at the same time. That demonic energy is extremely harmful to his body. If he is not capable of regaining control afterward, it would destroy himpletely. It was a gamble¡­ He could take this risk, or he could hope that woman''s intentions were not too extreme. But if she was anything like the demonic cultivators he knew¡­ a fate worse than death may await him and his two teammates. "No¡­ I won''t have that. If I have to die, I''d rather die my way." He used his connection with the demon fox to make him aware of his intent. And the flood began. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 62: Three Tails Chapter 62: Three Tails Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 62: Three Tails On the outside, Sasuke and Sakura had be paralyzed after experiencing a tremendous amount of bloodlust. "Who the hell are you?!" Sasuke shouted. He had already experienced something like this before during his encounter with Zabuza. But this one felt even more intense. This told him that the person in front of them was even more dangerous than he previously thought. Burnt pieces of fake flesh fell off her face, revealing the visage of a man hiding beneath. Her voice changed to a more masculine tone. "My name is Orochimaru, and if you want to see me again, you have to pass this test¡­" "What are you talking about?! Why would we want to see you again?" Sakura eximed. She just wanted to get as far away as possible from this bizarre person. "It won''t go that way¡­" Orochimaru made a hand sign and prepared to make his move, but then¡­ A violent surge of energy erupted from Naruto''s previously unconscious body. It lifted him into the air and covered him with a coat of red chakra. His face became more feral-looking, the marks on his cheeks were more prominent now, and when he opened his eyes, they showed a pair of vertical red slits. "Naruto?" Sakura stared at him with confusion. She did not understand what was happening to him. Sasuke was the same. "What happened to him?!, what is that that chakra?!" He did not need his Sharingan to know that this chakra did not belong to Naruto. Orochimaru was the only one who truly understood what was happening, even if it didn''t make sense to him. "How did he break away so quickly?! Can this boy actually control the demon?..." He didn''t think that was the case. Naruto roared like a wild beast and got on all fours. The thick red chakra began to form elongated shapes behind him. "Tails?..." Sasuke mumbled. That''s what it looked like to him. The tails made him look even more like some sort of wild animal. Orochimaru looked worried for the first time. ''Three tails already?... that''s not good¡­this is bound to get a lot of attention here. I better hurry and finish what I came here for.'' He knew there were several ANBUS stationed around the forest. The moment one of them felt the Kyubis chakra, they would definitely want toe to check. Orochimaru did not care what would happen to Naruto afterward if hepletely lost control of the demon inside him. This was Konoha''s problem. He just needed to mark Sasuke and get out. With that in mind, he finished his hand sign. His neck then became stretched,unching his head forward like a bullet. Sasuke didn''t even see the attacking. He had been too distracted with Naruto. But Orochimaru also missed something. Before his head could reach its intended target, it was intercepted by a wild Naruto, who then proceeded to bite his neck with tremendous force, almost ripping it apart. Orochimaru screamed and was forced to retract it. "You damn beast!" Now he was more than annoyed with Naruto¡­.he was truly angry. Naruto gave chase. He jumped into the air and lunged at Orochimaru, shing at him with his hands. The red chakra around him had created the form of sharp ws around his hands so he could use them as weapons. But, no matter how fast and strong he was in his current state, an attack like that had no chance to hit someone like Orochimaru. This one avoided the ws with little effort before summoning a dozen ck snakes from his left sleeve. The snakes hissed and wrapped around Naruto''s arms and legs, securing him in the air. Orochimaru watched as the red chakra consumed Naruto''s clothes and began to burn away his skin. "You don''t even feel the pain anymore, right?" Orochimaru asked after seeing no reaction from him. Naruto roared like an animal while he struggled to free himself from the snakes. "Nothing but a beast¡­." Orochimaru formed a seal with his right hand and was about to use it on Naruto, but then he noticed a sudden change in his chakra signature. When he looked up, he saw Naruto opening his mouth. A bright sphere of energy formed from it. "You have to be kidding me¡­" Orochimaru let go of his snakes and moved away without wasting a second. He barely avoided being hit by the st of concentrated chakra that destroyed everything in its path. Orochimaru''s patience had reached its limit now. "Fine¡­.I''ll kill you then." He knew this would make things more difficult for him in the future. But nothing was more important than securing the Uchiha''s body. A sword came out of his mouth before it was secured in his right hand. "You left me no choice, brat¡­" After firing that st, Naruto fell to his knees. His body continued to be consumed by the toxic chakra and it was obvious that it was not going tost much longer, even if it was left alone. Orochimaru lifted the de and prepared to end this in one attack. "Over there!" "I see them!" This was thest thing he wanted to hear. "They found us already?!" He expected the examiners to show up after feeling the Kyubi''s chakra, but they were found too fast. It was then he saw it¡­a short distance away, there was a tall cloud of red smoke. This was used as a distress signal. "But who could¡­" His eyes moved to Naruto. That boy was the only one who could have done it. He never took his eyes off the other two genins after all. This meant that from the beginning, Naruto never expected to win against him. He had only been buying time. Orochimaru wasn''t sure if he felt more impressed or angry at the boy who had ruined his ns. "I''ll get you for this¡­" A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 63: Lost Chapter 63: Lost Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 63: Lost Orochimaru considered for a second if he still had time toplete his objective, but then he saw his former student, Anko, approaching with Morino Ibiki and three ANBUs, and he knew it would be better to retreat. He could also imagine that the Hokage had been informed and was on his way. If he stayed here to fight them off, it would put his other n at risk. And that one was even more important. He was about toment his failure when he spotted something very interesting¡­the expression on Sasuke''s face. Sasuke was paying no attention to him or to the new arrivals. His eyes were focused on Naruto. Orochimaru could recognize that look. It was envy¡­ and lust for power. ''I can work with that¡­'' Orochimaru then knew that not all was lost today. ''I will get what I want¡­ one way or another.'' "Orochimaru!" Anko screamed his name with pure vitriol. The group was a short distance away but none of them dared to make the first move. "I''m sorry, my dear, but I don''t have time to y with you today." Orochimaru looked directly at Anko as he said that. And then¡­ his body disappeared into the ground. "Don''t let him escape!" Ibiki ordered. Anko rushed away, chasing after Orochimaru. However, as theynded on the floor, they were weed by a loud roar. "What is that?!" One of the ANBU nced at Naruto. They had been so focused on the dangerous criminal that they almost missed him. "Is that the Jinchuuriki?!" Another one realized what this was. "Shit! Did the seal break?!" Thest one said. They all took their weapons and pointed them at Naruto. "What do we do? Do we kill him?" "Maybe we should wait for the Hokage first." "Stop!" Sakura came running, with Sasuke following her close behind. "Don''t hurt him!" "He is our teammate!" Sasuke added. "We know who that is¡­" Ibiki said while giving Naruto a wary look. Naruto turned to them. His body was so burned that his skin had turned almost ck. "Naruto¡­" Sakura called for him with trembling lips. "What happened to you?...." "I can''t find him! Maybe w-...oh shit! Is that the Kyubi?!" Anko almost got a heart attack after she came back and found them facing against Naruto. "Kyubi?..." Sasuke wasn''t sure if he heard it right. But now¡­ looking at Naruto, he could clearly see that his shape resembled a demonic fox, like the books described the visage of the Kyubi. Although that one was supposed to have nine tails and be massive. "Surround him! We have to keep him in ce until the Hokage gets here!" Ibiki ordered. "Stop, he is not dangerous!" Sakura insisted. But no one was willing to believe her. At that moment, Naruto let out another roar, but this time, it sounded more like a painful cry instead of a wild beast. They saw him gripping his head while struggling to regain control. "He ising back to his senses by himself?, that''s impossible!. " Anko eximed. The ANBU nced at Ibiki and this one gave them a gesture to wait and see. The three tails started to retreat and the coat of red chakra returned to his body. His expression lost its previous ferocity as his eyes became blue once more and the marks on his cheeks turned into barely visible lines. The aura of danger around Naruto vanishedpletely. As he regained consciousness, he barely had time to discern the situation before everything went dark again. Thest thing he remembered was hearing Sakura screaming his name. <><><><><><><><> He had no idea how long he had been in this darkness, but when he opened his eyes again, he found himself staring at the artificial lights of an unknown room. "Wh-...where?..." He felt both tired and disoriented so he tried to put his thoughts in order first. ''Last thing¡­ right¡­ that woman. I released the demon''s chakra to break away from her restraints and then¡­'' "I lost control¡­" He muttered. "You did." A familiar voice said. Naruto turned his head on the pillow and found his Sensei, sitting on a wooden chair with a book in his hand. "Did I kill anyone?" The demon fox chakra is loaded with hatred, so he was a bit worried about his actions after losing control to something like that. "No¡­ Sakura and Sasuke are fine. If that is what worried you." Kakashi answered. "What about that woman?..." Could he have killed her? That seems unlikely. "Woman?... ah¡­ right." Kakashi was confused for a moment, but then he recalled the first part of the report his students had given him. "The enemy you faced against was not a female ninja from the Rain Vige, like you may have believed. It was someone else, using that identity as a disguise." "Who was it then?... I would like to request a summary, if it is not too inconvenient¡­" Naruto said. Before Kakashi could speak, the door opened and Sakura walked in. "Naruto! You finally woke up!" "Yes, I was about to exin to him what urred after he lost consciousness." Kakashi said. "Oh! That''s going to take a while." Sakura made aplicated expression. "Why¡­ how long have I been out?" He asked. Sakura made a hand gesture. "Almost four days!" "Four days?!" He had not seen thating. "Yes, so listen up, because there is a lot you need to hear¡­ and we don''t have a lot of time." Kakashi said. "Why, what''s the hurry?" "The third test¡­ it starts in two hours." He answered. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 64: The Identity of the Atacker Chapter 64: The Identity of the Atacker Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 64: The Identity of the Atacker "Okay¡­ I''m listening," Naruto said. He was very curious to find out what had happened in all this time. Thest thing he remembered was unleashing the demon''s chakra to break the block that was put on him. There were a few fragments of him fighting against that woman¡­ and then nothing after that. "But first¡­ there is something I need to know." Kakashi had a serious expression. "Thest time I asked, you assured me that you could control the Kyubi''s chakra¡­ how did this happen then?" Naruto noticed theck of reaction from Sakura after Kakashi mentioned the Kyubi in front of her. "You told her." Kakashi nodded. "I had to give her and Sasuke some exnation before they drew the wrong conclusions." "I''m sorry, Naruto, I didn''t mean to find out this way¡­" Sakura said. "Sensei told us about¡­ you know¡­ I had no idea you had gone through so much." "It''s fine, Sakura. I would have told you myself if you asked me. It''s not like it''s a great secret. Not when every adult in the vige already knows." "Every adult?... My parents know about this?" She nced at Kakashi. He sighed. "It was meant to be a secret¡­ but someone leaked it to the public shortly after the event. We still don''t know who it was or what their intentions were, but yes¡­ your parents probably know about this, like everyone else." She seemed to recall something. "That''s why they told me to stay away from Naruto when I was little¡­ I thought they just didn''t want me to y with boys¡­ I''m gonna have a talk with them after this!" Sakura was getting furious. "Okay, we are deviating from the issue." Kakashi''s demeanor became serious again. "Naruto, I need you to tell me that this won''t happen again and that you have everything under control." "Did the vige superiors get spooked?" Naruto could guess why Kakashi was so insistent on this. He wanted assurance that the demon fox was not about to escape its containment. "You have no idea¡­" Kakashi said. Naruto moved the sheets aside to reveal his naked torso. He was only wearing some blue pajama pants. "What are you doing?! Wait for me to leave first!" Sakura became embarrassed but did not leave the room. Naruto began to circte chakra and the seal appeared on his belly. "Everything seems to be normal. I assume you already checked the seal''s condition." "I did, and the Hokage did too. But our knowledge about seals is inferior to that of the Fourth. A true expert has been called, though that will take time," Kakashi answered. "Whoa¡­" Sakura was now staring at Naruto''s seal. "Is that¡­?" He nced at her. "Yes, this is what is keeping the demon contained." "Naruto¡­" Kakashi was still waiting for an exnation. "You want to know how I lost control, right? Well, it''s very simple. That woman, or whoever that was, did something to my chakra core. She blocked my ability to circte it by cing some of her own disgusting chakra inside. To break the blockage, I had to send arge amount of chakra to collide with it, but I didn''t have enough by myself so¡­" "You used the Kyubi''s¡­" Kakashi finished the sentence. "I hope you realize how reckless that was. The demon''s chakra¡­" "I am very aware of that, yes. I was put in a difficult situation. If they want to me someone, then me whoever let a jonin sneak into the exams and attack us." Naruto was getting annoyed with this. He did what he could to increase their odds of survival. "I understand, Naruto. I will exin to Lord Hokage and his advisors that this event was caused by that individual''s interference and it wasn''t your fault¡­ just promise me that you will be more careful in the future. Because next time you lose control, it may be thest one," Kakashi said with a grave tone. Naruto nodded in agreement. It wasn''t like he had enjoyed losing authority over his body. This was a very unpleasant experience. ''I need to raise my cultivation so I don''t be dependent on that demon''s chakra¡­ I just have to make it my own.'' "Good enough¡­" Kakashi pulled a small book from his pocket. But it was not his usual one. "As for the person who attacked you¡­ that was not a simple Jonin." He handed the book to Naruto. "A bingo book? I already read it." Naruto still took it. "Last page," Kakashi added. ''Last page?... wasn''t that one¡­?'' He opened the book and nced at thest page. His memory had not failed him. This page portrayed the one considered the most dangerous missing ninja from the vige. "Orochimaru of the Sannin¡­" Sakura felt shivers just from hearing the name again. Unpleasant memories surfaced at the front of her mind. "The one and only," Kakashi said. ''No wonder I couldn''t do anything against him¡­ the difference was much bigger than I thought.'' "Why would someone like that go after some genins¡­ wait¡­" Naruto realized he could only have been after one thing. "He did not reveal his true intentions, but we can take an educated guess. He probably want-" "Sasuke," Naruto interrupted. "He wanted Sasuke." After going through all his actions, this was the only thing that made sense. That person had no interest in him or the Kyubi since he kept pushing him away. Their scroll would have zero value to him since he wasn''t a genin. That only left Sasuke and Sakura. "We also think that." Kakashi nced at Sakura. "He did say something strange to him before you woke up, isn''t that right?" "Yes, I believe his words were¡­ ''If you want to see me again, you have to pass this test''¡­ I don''t know what he meant, but he was about to do something. Then Naruto woke up, surrounded by that red chakra, and attacked him," Sakura exined. "Test?... and why would Sasuke want to see him again?" Naruto asked. "I think that you prevented him from doing something to Sasuke," Kakashi said. "But I doubt he is going to just give up. He will try again¡­" A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 65: Just Checking Chapter 65: Just Checking Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 65: Just Checking "He wants the Sharingan," Naruto stated. Since Sasuke was the only Uchiha left in the vige, that seemed like the most likely motivation for Orochimaru to have. "That man is known for his cruel experiments with human beings. Whatever he wants from Sasuke is not going to be good for him," Kakashi said. "Sasuke¡­" Sakura had barely slept since that day. She could not stop worrying about that monstering back to take Sasuke away. "Fine, let''s leave that aside for now. What else happened after that? How did we get away from him?" Naruto asked. "A team of ANBU found your smoke signal and went to check. They were already suspicious of an infiltration after they found the real body of that Rain ninja that Orochimaru had supnted." "The examiner, Anko, was with them. She wanted us to give up on the exam," Sakura exined. "But Sasuke¡­" "He insisted on continuing with me unconscious?" He saw Sakura nod. "And they call me reckless¡­" "Sorry¡­" Sakura felt bad for that. Instead of taking him to a hospital, they dragged the unconscious body of Naruto all across the forest for three days." "It''s fine." He wasn''t really upset. They could not continue without him anyway. And it''s not like his life was in danger afterward. His body probably healed in a few hours. "And?¡­ How did the rest of the exam go? Did we pass?" he finally asked. "We did! But barely¡­ we were thest team to arrive," Sakura said. "We got attacked by a team from the Sound Vige on the second day¡­ it was very scary." "The Sound Vige?" Naruto now remembered them. One of the guys who attacked Kabuto in the first exam was from that team. "So you beat them. Well done!" Sakura made aplicated expression. "We received help from other teams¡­" She felt a bit embarrassed about it. But that was not the only asion they received help during the exam. If it wasn''t for that, they would never have made it all the way to the tower. "That Rock Lee and his team helped us defeat the Sound ninjas. And Hinata''s team also gave us a handter on." There was a loud knock on the door. "Who can that be now?" Sakura was about to stand up when the door opened. Ino''s head peeked in. "Can wee in?..." Her blue eyesnded on Naruto and she smiled. "Oh, he''s finally awake!" "Really?!" The voice of Hinata could be hearding from outside. "Looks like you are very popr, Naruto." Kakashi stood up. "I''ll leave you then. I still have some things to do before we begin the next part of the exam." He walked to the door. "You maye inside," he told the two girls before leaving. "Thank you, Kakashi Sensei." Hinata gave him a polite bow as he passed. "Yes, thank you!" Ino walked inside with a cheerful attitude. "Oh, what are you doing here?" She acted like she had just noticed Sakura. "Checking on my teammate?... and what about you?" Sakura asked with suspicion. She could understand why Hinata was here but wasn''t sure what Ino was thinking. "H-Hello¡­ Naruto. How are you¡­ ahhh!" Hinata became startled and looked away. "Naruto! Put some clothes on!" Ino shouted. Naruto looked down; only his chest was naked, the rest was well covered by the pants, so he could not see how this was a big deal. But Hinata looked very bothered by it, so he decided to put some clothes on. "By the way, where are my clothes?" he asked. "Your clothes werepletely destroyed during¡­ you know¡­" Sakura didn''t want to mention anything about the Kyubi in front of those two. "So you dragged me naked for four days across the forest?" "Of course not! Don''t be ridiculous." Sakura''s cheeks gained a red tint. "One of the ANBU had some extra clothes inside a scroll¡­ hold on." She opened a small chest that was ced at the foot of the bed and pulled out a set of dark green pants and a shirt. "Here, you can put these on." Naruto chose to put the green shirt over his naked body and decided to leave the pants for after the girls left. "All covered, you can look now," he announced. "How are you feeling?" Hinata tried her best to avoid direct eye contact. "I feelpletely recovered. Sakura was just telling me what happened over thest few days," Naruto said. "Oh, we can help with that." Ino walked up to the chair left by Kakashi and sat down. "That forest was very scary¡­" Hinata said. "Yes, Sakura told me that your team helped us out. Thank you for that," Naruto told Hinata. She hid behind her hands. "N¡­n¡­ it was nothing!" "You are also wee!" Ino added with a grin. "You didn''t help us at all!" Sakura frowned. "What do you mean?" Ino looked genuinely surprised. "We were watching you for almost the full four days." "What?!" Sakura obviously had no idea. "Well¡­ I wasn''t watching you. Mostly, I was looking at my Sasuke, and¡­" She nced at Naruto. "Just checking on Naruto''s condition." "You were spying on us?!" Sakura raised the tone of her voice. "C-calm down, Sakura¡­ I''m sure that¡­" Hinata mumbled in a low tone. "I was checking on you! And it''s not my fault you didn''t notice!" Ino shouted. The two girls proceeded to engage in a shouting match that continued to escte until one of the chunin overseeing the exam came to tell them to shut up. But he also told them to go down, as they were about to begin the next part. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 66: Preliminary Chapter 66: Preliminary Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 66: Preliminary When they descended the stairs, the group spotted several of their Jonin senseis and examiners, all standing at the back of the room. In front of them was none other than the Hokage himself. In the middle of the room were all the genins who passed the Forest of Death test. Naruto spotted Sasuke standing at the back and walked toward him. The ck-haired boy gave him a long nce before saying anything. "So you finally woke up." "Yes, aren''t you d to see me?" Naruto answered him. "Hmph¡­" Sasuke turned around. Sakura hurried to stand at his side, and the other genins also went to find their teams. Naruto noticed how damaged Sasuke''s clothes were. Sakura didn''t have time to give him all the details about the struggles they had during the past four days, but it was definitely tough for them. "First off¡­for the second exam, congrattions on passing!" The Hokage proimed loudly. While their vige leader went on with his speech, Naruto took the chance to examine the remaining genins. All of his academy ssmates were here. Plus, Team Nine with TenTen and Rock Lee were present. He was not surprised to see the three genins from the Sand Vige. That redhead boy appeared to be very strong. There were also three ninjas from the Sound Vige, but the one who caught his attention was Kabuto with his two strange teammates. This person gave him a simr feeling of unease as when he saw that female ninja that turned out to be Orochimaru. ''Could he also be an impostor?...'' If there was one, there could be two. However, this was not a foreign ninja. This one was from his own vige and was said to have participated in the exam six other times. If he was some impostor, he would have been caught already. "Lord Hokage will now exin the third test! Pay attention!" The examiner called Anko announced loudly. "Yes, thank you. Now¡­as many of you may already know, the third part of the Chunin exams is always an individual tournament. You have already proven your ability to gather information and to work as a team. All that is left is to showcase what you can do in a fight." "Yeah! Let''s go!" Kiba looked very eager. "Shhhh! Kiba, please¡­" Hinata looked around nervously. "But¡­" The Hokage continued. "Before we get to that, I''m afraid there is something else you must aplish." "Wait, I thought we already passed," Sakura said. "Allow me to exin¡­you have passed the second part, but the final test will take ce in front of arge audience. Among these spectators, there will be many important and influential figures like the Imperial Family, as well as Kages from other viges. If we allowed all twenty-one of you to participate together, it would take too much time. So we will be reducing the numbers with a preliminary test, which will take ce right here, right now." "Now?" "A preliminary?..." One of the jonins approached the Hokage to whisper something, and the Hokage nodded. "This person here is Gekkou Hayate¡­ he will be the referee for this test. I will leave him to exin the rest." The old Hokage took a step back and let the Jonin take over. "Thank you, cough cough¡­Lord Hokage." Hayate turned to look at the genins after coughing a few times. The jonin had dark circles around his eyes and appeared to be in terrible condition. "As you have heard, we are¡­cough¡­we are going to have a quick preliminary. Like the final test, this will be an individual tournament where you¡­cough¡­you will have to fight an opponent chosen at random. If you are not feeling well enough for the task, this is the moment to say something or raise your hand¡­cough." "Is he okay?" Ino asked. "He looks like he is going to drop dead at any minute¡­" Kibamented. No one expected to see one of them give up after getting this far. But much to their surprise, Kabuto raised his hand. "Excuse me, but I think I''m going to quit," he said while scratching his head. Naruto narrowed his eyes. ''He''s quitting now?...'' He didn''t seem injured, and even if he was a bit tired, that was no reason to quit. After all, everyone was in the same condition. This was very suspicious. It was like he didn''t want to show his true skills in public. "Mmm¡­.let''s see¡­" The referee, Hayate, nced at the papers in his hand. "You are¡­cough¡­Yakushi Kabuto from the Leaf, right?...very well, you may leave." After writing something, he nced back at the group. "Anyone else?..." He waited for a few more seconds, but no one else was willing to quit. "Fine then¡­.I cough¡­I guess this is good. Now you are exactly twenty. One round should be enough." Hayate nced up at a wall. A wooden board moved aside, revealing a screen. "As I said already, we are going to do a series of one-on-one fights. When you see your name up there on the screen, you will walk to the center of this room. The rest will wait upstairs. As for the¡­.cough¡­cough¡­cough¡­" "Ehm¡­Sensei? Are you okay?" Sakura asked with a worried expression on her face. Hayate brushed her off. "I''m fine¡­now, as for the rules¡­there are basically none. The fight will continue until one of you gets knocked out, surrenders, or dies¡­whatever happens first. However¡­cough¡­if I decide that the winner is clear, I will stop the fight, since we want to avoid pointless deaths when possible." He nced at the screen. "Now¡­cough¡­let''s see the first match." As he said that, the screen began to go through all the names one after another until it finally stopped. One name was shown on each side. "Uchiha Sasuke vs. Misumi Tsurugi!" A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 67: The Stretchy Man Chapter 67: The Stretchy Man Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 67: The Stretchy Man "Uchiha Sasuke vs Misumi Tsurugi!" Hayate announced. The rest of the genin were rushed upstairs, along with the other jonins and the Hokage. They could watch the matches from there. Naruto was keeping an eye on Sasuke''s opponent while he spoke with his other teammate. Those two were on the same team as Kabuto, and if that one was suspicious, then they were too. He couldn''t pick up everything they were saying, but they looked a bit nervous and confused. "I thought that¡­but wasn''t I supposed to¡­" "Shut up¡­Master¡­n¡­" Those were the only words Naruto could pick up before the teammate was asked to leave the fighting area. Once they were all out of there, the only ones remaining were Sasuke, Misumi, and the referee, Hayate. "He is going to be fine, right?" Sakura asked with slight worry. She knew how strong Sasuke was, but his opponent was much older and more experienced. Misumi Tsurugi was a tall man, wearing a dark sleeveless jacket, a ck fabric mask covering his face, and a pair of circr spectacles. "Of course he will¡­" Naruto could not see anything worth noticing in this man. He just looked very average. The only reason he even paid any attention to him and his teammate was because of Kabuto. "What? You don''t trust Sasuke?" Ino joined the conversation. "What a terrible teammate you are¡­maybe we should trade ces." "Shut up! Of course I trust him!" Sakura got angry. She did not like being questioned about her loyalty. "Try to be quieter." Kakashi appeared on top of the wooden railing. "Focus on watching the match." "Sensei!" Sakura eximed. Naruto leaned on the rail next to him. "What do you know about that team?" Kakashi lowered his eye to peek at him. "You mean Sasuke''s opponent?" After seeing him nod, Kakashi spoke again. "Not much, to be honest. Even if they are from Konoha¡­I don''t know every ninja, especially with older genins." "They seem very low-key, huh?..." "But you are not the only one who took an interest in them," Kakashi added. Naruto looked up at Kakashi for a moment. "To whoever is interested¡­tell them to be careful with that Kabuto¡­he is definitely dangerous." "Mmm¡­I will." Kakashi seemed to smile for a moment before his attention was taken elsewhere. Sasuke''s match had begun. Misumi wasted no time running at Sasuke. "He wants to fight up close with Sasuke?" Naruto did not know what to think about this Misumi, but he didn''t strike him as a taijutsu specialist. Sasuke remained in ce and prepared to react to his opponent''s next move. He was more thanfortable with fighting at close range. Once Misumi was close enough, he pulled out a kunai and threw a very sluggish stab toward Sasuke''s neck, which Sasuke blocked with little effort. But the moment Sasuke made contact with Misumi''s arm, he noticed something wrong. Both Sakura and Ino, who were at Naruto''s side, made some noises of disgust when they saw Misumi''s arm start to bend at an impossible angle. At first, they thought Sasuke hadpletely shattered his bones, but it soon became evident it was something more. Misumi''s arm bent and twisted around Sasuke''s like it was a snake. He then contorted his entire body, moving his other arm around Sasuke''s left side. His legs did the same. They bent and wrapped around Sasuke''s own legs. In just a short moment, Misumi had immobilized Sasuke by using his own body like a rope. "Ew¡­" Ino said. "Sasuke¡­" Sakura muttered his name. "That technique¡­" Naruto was getting a bad case of d¨¦j¨¤ vu. Afterpletely blocking Sasuke''s movements, Misumi approached the kunai on his right hand toward his neck. "Surrender right now, or¡­" As Hayate was watching this, his muscles were tensed and ready to intervene at any second if he felt that Sasuke was about to be killed. Although, when he observed Sasuke''s expression, he did not look worried at all. "Is this all you can do?" Sasuke asked calmly. "You have already lost!" Misumi tensed his limbs, increasing his grip on Sasuke. "Give up!" He got the kunai a bit closer. "Why? I can still move just enough." Sasuke turned his face slightly to look at his opponent. He then began to move his right hand to form signs. Misumi noticed this and tried to stop him by twisting his arm as much as he could. But it was toote for that. "No! Stop!" he screamed. Sasuke''s face was mere inches away from Misumi. And then¡­he opened his mouth. "Fire Release¡­me Bullet!" Misumi had no way to avoid this. The ball of fire hit him point-nk in the face. The mes spread across his skin and began to burn him. He immediately undid his restraint on Sasuke and began to roll across the floor, trying to put out the fire. The mes had spread onto his clothes and the rest of his body. Because of his technique, Misumi had to dislocate many of his bones, and it took time to reattach them, so he was unable to control his body properly to put out the mes. No longer willing to wait, the referee rushed at Misumi and used a water jutsu to save his life. The medics hurried inside the room and carried the badly burned Misumi away. Hayate nced at Sasuke. "Winner, Uchiha Sasuke!" "Yeah! I knew he was going to win!" Sakura cheered. "Really? I saw you a bit doubtful a minute ago." Narutomented. "I didn''t!" she defended. "For the record, I never doubted him," Ino said with a smug smile. Sakura was about to tell Ino something when she saw her expression change all of a sudden. "What''s wrong?" Ino was ncing at the screen on the wall. The next match was about to be announced. "Yamanaka Ino vs Zamu Abumi!" A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 68: Ino’s Match Chapter 68: Ino¡¯s Match Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 68: Ino''s Match "Looks like it''s my turn," Ino said. "Ino¡­ be care¡ª" Sakura was about to warn her when Sasuke made his way upstairs. "Sasuke!" Ino ran towards him. "Make sure to watch my fight! I''ll show you what a real female ninja can do¡­ unlike that one¡­" She gave Sakura a smirk. "Go get yourself beat up already!" Sakura shouted in response. Naruto observed her opponent as he walked into the arena. Zaku Abumi was one of three ninjas from the newly founded Sound Vige. His teammate was the one who attacked Kabuto during the first exam. "Looks like he had a rough time in the forest," Narutomented. The young ninja had a very inconspicuous appearance, with his camouge clothing and short ck hair. But what caught the most attention right now was his terrible state. His clothes were cut and torn in several ces. He had bruises on his face, and it looked like he was missing an eye, due to arge cut that went from his forehead to his chin. If that wasn''t enough, he was also limping on his left leg. "That''s one of them!" Sakura pointed at him. "One of them?" Naruto asked. "Him and his team attacked us on the second day of the exam." Sasuke arrived at his side and rested his arms on the wooden railing. "So, I guess that was your doing." Naruto gestured toward the gravely injured Sound ninja, and Sasuke nodded. "I should have done worse," Sasuke huffed, while Sakura looked at him with aplicated expression. Once Ino and her opponent stood on the arena floor, the jonin acting as referee approached them. Hayate observed Zaku carefully. "You sure you''re in¡­ cough¡­ cough¡­ are you good to fight?" Zaku frowned. "Worry about yourself, old man." "I''m¡­ cough¡­ twenty-two¡­" Hayate said. "Well¡­ fine, start at my¡­ sign." "This should be an easy fight. Her opponent is almost dead." Kiba smirked. "Don''t underestimate him, Kiba." Shino stared at the Sound ninja. "A desperate animal is always more dangerous." Zaku was clenching his teeth hard enough to make a noise when Hayate gave the sign to begin. Their attack on the Uchiha didn''t go as nned. Sasuke had been much more dangerous than they had estimated with the information given to them by Kabuto, and they were also helped by another Konoha team on top of that. He had lost an eye and almost his life. As much as he would have liked to give up on the exam, he couldn''t do it without his Master''s permission. And they had received no more messages since the start of the exam, so they had to continue with the original n¡­ A barrage of kunai came his way. Zaku''s left leg was hurting like crazy. He had received several deep cuts on it and was barely able to use it now, depending mostly on his right one. Because of this, he was almost unable to avoid the kunai. "Ahhrggg!" He screamed when he put some weight on his bad leg and fell down. Ino stopped her attack after seeing this. This may be a foreign ninja she knew nothing about, but she still felt a bit bad attacking someone in such bad shape. "Maybe you should give up¡­" Zaku''s anger exploded at her. "Mind your own business, bitch!" She had no idea about his situation. If he were to surrender here, Lord Orochimaru would certainly kill him. He had no need for weaklings¡­ that was something he had learned during his early days at the secret vige. He stood back up and looked down at his hands. At least his main weapon hadn''t beenpromised. "I can do this¡­" All he had to do was get a bit closer, and then he could destroy this girl for sure. Ino frowned. "How rude¡­ I was just trying to be nice." She went back on the offensive. Since her opponent couldn''t move well, her best bet was to circle around him while throwing some kunai and shuriken, and when she got a good hit, she could get closer to finish him off. Zaku grunted in pain when one of Ino''s attacksnded on his shoulder. And following this, another one hit his good leg, making him fall to one knee. "Now!" Ino saw the opportunity. She grasped the kunai in her right hand with force and charged in. A subtle smile appeared on Zaku''s face. Ino got behind him and jumped in the air, aiming her attack at his neck. "Be careful, you fool!" Naruto''s voice broke through the audience''s silence just in time as Zaku turned around to face Ino. He raised his palms up and aimed them at her. Ino knew something was wrong. With nowhere to go, she crossed her arms in front of her to protect her vitals, and a momentter, she felt the impact of the air st that came out of Zaku''s palms. She was pushed with tremendous force and ended up hitting one of the few columns that supported the upper floor. "Urgg¡­" She was hurt but still conscious. "Tsk¡­" Zaku nced at the girl with annoyance. He had hoped to end this in a single attack. He even allowed her to get a few hits so she would get closer. Now the surprise factor was gone, but it wasn''t like he didn''t get anything in exchange. Ino''s legs trembled as she tried to get up. Blood poured from her mouth. The hit against the stone column had caused some internal damage. "I¡­ I''m not done yet¡­" Despite her injuries, her eyes were filled with determination. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 69: A Hard-Earned Victory Chapter 69: A Hard-Earned Victory Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 69: A Hard-Earned Victory Now that Ino understood the dangers of approaching her opponent, she began to formte another n. She wasn''t as clever as her teammate, Shikamaru, but her head wasn''t empty either. Zaku grunted. "Damn it¡­" Now he had revealed his strongest weapon and was even more injured than before, making it harder for him to move. His ''air cannon'' was deadly at close range, but it quickly lost power as it traveled further away. Now that his opponent had seen this, she would likely try to defeat him from afar. "Take this!" Ino shouted. As Zaku had predicted, she began to throw shuriken at him while moving around the room, keeping a good distance away. Zaku used his own kunai to deflect her attacks, but each move he made brought him excruciating pain. He knew he wasn''t going tost long enough for the girl to run out of things to throw at him. ''I have to do something¡­'' If she wasn''t going to approach him again, he would have to be the one to move. Running in his current state was impossible¡­ but there was another way. Zaku waited for the opportune moment while deflecting as many attacks as he could. Still, several shuriken had embedded themselves in his body. He ignored the pain as much as he could and continued to hold out patiently, until¡­ "Tsk!" Ino went to grab more shuriken, only to realize they were thest ones she had. She threw them out, and one of them almost hit Zaku right in the face, but he managed to move at thest second, only receiving a nasty cut on his cheek. ''Almost had it!... Wait, I still have plenty of kunai.'' Ino calmed herself. She adjusted her belt to have easier ess to them, but this left a small gap in her flurry of attacks. And this was exactly what Zaku had been waiting for. He moved his hands behind his back and used his air cannon at full power. "Ahh!" He felt his bones creak and begin to shatter as his body was propelled like a bullet, directly towards his target. Ino''s eyes widened. "No!!" She couldn''t move out of the way in time. Zaku collided with her and gripped Ino by the shoulder, sending them both tumbling on the ground. They screamed in agony as their bodies continued to hit the hard ground. Zaku had taken the most damage due to all the shuriken embedded in his body. The tumbling made those des rip his flesh apart more with each bounce. His body was cut, bruised, broken, and more¡­ but despite all of this, he was now exactly where he wanted to be. No matter how much it hurt him, he never let go of Ino, and now he was lying on the ground right next to her. "Urgg¡­" Ino grunted in pain and made an attempt to stand up and assess the situation. Just then, Zaku turned around and pushed his body on top of hers. "Hey! What are you¡­?" She watched in horror as Zaku lifted himself slightly, keeping his left arm on her shoulder and pressing her body down while his other arm hovered over her head. She didn''t need to ask what he was nning to do next. Ino couldn''t escape from her current position with brute force, but her hands were free at least, so she made some hand signs and used the only jutsu she could think of. "Yin Release: Mind Body Switch!" A sh of light came out of her and hit Zaku on the chest. Then¡­ they both copsed. The audience watched with rapt attention as Ino and Zakuy on the floor. A short momentter, Zaku opened his eyes and began to stand up. Hayate was watching closely. He had a good understanding of how the Yamanaka jutsu worked. Now, all that was left was to see if it had seeded. Out of nowhere, Zaku began to scream, taking everyone by surprise. "What''s wrong with him?! Did Ino''s jutsu fail?" Sakura eximed. "Did she go inside his mind?" Naruto asked. He had seen this before when her father used a simr jutsu on him. That one was a bit different, as the Yamanaka Patriarch wasn''t trying to control his body, just taking a peek into his mind. "Yes, that is the Yamanaka specialty," Kakashi answered. "But she didn''t take into ount how badly damaged that body was and how much pain she was going to experience once inside¡­ That boy had a lot of mental fortitude to be able to continue under those circumstances." "Come on, Ino! You can''t stop now!" Sakura shouted. "Ino, you can do it!" Choji pushed away his shines and shouted. "Ino...you got too far to lose now. " Shikamaru muttered. Zaku gritted his teeth and barely managed to stand on his shaky legs. "I¡­ I¡­" He lifted his arm. "I¡­ surrender¡­" Once Ino forced the words out of Zaku''s mouth, she immediately cut the connection and everything went dark. She opened her eyes back on her own body and with a lot of effort, she was able to put herself in a sitting position. Zaku''s body copsed again and did not stand back up. "Winner, Yamanaka Ino!" Hayate announced. "I...won..." She was so exhausted that as soon as the referee announced it, she felt her heavy lids close again and fell back on the ground. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 70: More Preliminaries Chapter 70: More Preliminaries Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 70: More Preliminaries Ino was still unconscious when the medics took her away. But she was in much better shape than her opponent, who had to be rushed to the hospital for intense care. The next match was then announced... "Yoroi Akado vs. Kankuro of the Sand!" Yoroi was thest remaining member of Kabuto''s team, and his specialty was stealing chakra through physical contact. An ability that was promptly shown to be useless when the ''Kankuro'' they had all seen, was revealed to be a wooden puppet, while the real one had remained hidden behind the puppet''s back. The match ended very quickly after that, leaving Kankuro as the clear winner. "Sakura Haruno vs. Temari of the Sand!" Hayate announced next. "It''s my turn!" Sakura said, her voice tinged with evident nervousness. "Wish me luck, Sasuke!" She eximed before rushing down the stairs. "Hmph¡­." That was all Sasuke said to her. "She has no chance," Narutomented. "Naruto¡­." Kakashi gave him a look of disapproval. "You should be cheering for your teammate." "Do you disagree?" Naruto nced at his sensei. "That girl from the Sand Vige looks very tough." "I mean¡­" Kakashi also thought that Sakura had no chance, but as her sensei, he couldn''t say that. The truth was that Sakura was nowhere near ready to participate in this exam yet. She had only been a genin for less than two months, and herbat skills were average at best. If Sasuke and Naruto were also at that level, Kakashi would never have suggested they participate in this exam, but¡­ he couldn''t let this opportunity pass. His eye moved to his other two students. Everyone knew that Sasuke was a genius, although not as much as his elder brother. But Naruto had been a surprise to Kakashi. He had not been expecting much from his sensei''s son... and he now felt a bit bad for even thinking like that. However, his preliminary assessment of the boy, was promptly shattered after meeting him in person. Naruto turned out to be a monster in more than one way. "Begin!" Kakashi''s attention was brought back to the present when Hayate signaled the start of the match. Sakura wasted no time starting her attack. She circled her opponent like Ino had before. And as soon as she spotted an opening, she began to throw her kunai. Temari responded by using her iron fan. She created a powerful gust of wind that blew away all of Sakura''s weapons¡­ along with Sakura herself. "Ahh!" The girl screamed as she was sent flying. Sakura ended up hitting the wall with tremendous force before falling to the ground, where she remained immobile. Seeing this, Hayate hurried to stop the match and dere Temari as the winner before she had the chance to hurt the other girl any more. "Winner, Temari of the Sand!" Hayate announced. The blonde girl stared at Sakura''s unconscious body as the medics rushed to take her away. There was a mixture of anger and disappointment in her eyes. "Is this the best Konoha has to offer when ites to female ninjas?... So weak¡­." "Sigh...I should probably go check on her¡­" said Kakashi before walking away. "At least it didn''t seem like she got hurt too badly," Narutomented. As far as he was concerned, it could have been much worse, given the difference in strength between her and her opponent. Sasuke didn''t say a word, but he was obviously not pleased to see his teammate lose so quickly. He then gave Naruto a re that seemed to convey a, ''You better not lose like that,'' feeling. Over the next hour, several more matches went by. TenTen put up a good fight against Aburame Shino, but she was unable to stop the mass of insects with her weapons and lost. Shikamaru had to deal with Tsuchi Kin, another member of the Sound Vige. She fought using senbons, which reminded Naruto of that ninja he met at Wave. Although, she was nowhere near as strong. Shikamaru still had to put in a lot of effort to defeat her. The matchsted for thirty minutes, making it the longest one so far. It took a while until Shikamaru was finally able to trap Kin with his shadow jutsu, but once he did that¡­ the fight was over. Next was Choji vs. Kiba. This was the most direct fight of the preliminaries since both ninjas were specialists in frontal assaults. Choji used hisrge body and tremendous strength while Kiba relied more on speed and coordinated attacks with his dogpanion. Ultimately, Kiba won the match because Choji refused to make use of the Three Colored Pills. That secret medicine from his n was only meant to be used in life-or-death situations. Then came the match between Hyuga Hinata and her cousin Neji... this was a very one-sided fight. Neji was clearly not just a genius in name, and his skills far surpassed those of Hinata. As Naruto watched, he got the feeling that she was holding back for some reason. He also got the feeling that the Hyuga house had some serious internal problems. Neji showed his cousin no mercy, and in the end, he had to be stopped by the referee and several of the jonin present before he could cause irreparable damage to her. ''Something is going on between those two¡­'' Naruto wondered if this was something he could use to his advantage. Internal problems were not rare in big ns, but to show them so publicly¡­ they must be very serious. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 71: Rock vs Sand Part 1 Chapter 71: Rock vs Sand Part 1 Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 71: Rock vs Sand Part 1 The next match was between Rock Lee and Gaara of the Sand. "So, I have been left forst," Naruto realized, his eyes moving to thest member of the Sound Vige. That would be his opponent. "Good luck, Lee!" Guy Sensei cheered for his students with his usual enthusiasm. "This is bad¡­ he should give up." Kiba, still in the viewing area despite the bruises on his face,mented. "What are you talking about?! Lee is not going to lose," TenTen replied, staying to cheer for her teammate even after Neji left without saying a word. "You have no idea¡­" Kiba looked genuinely afraid, casting quick nces at Gaara. "That guy is a psychopath¡­ my team and I saw him kill an entire team by himself¡­ he wasughing." TenTen frowned. "Just because he''s crazy doesn''t mean he''s strong." "He is strong. There''s no doubt about that," Naruto said from the other side. "Naruto¡­" TenTen nced at him. "Tsk¡­ what would you know about being strong, deadst¡­" Kiba muttered, though he reluctantly agreed. "Begin!" Hayate gave the signal and moved away from the arena. Naruto observed this fight very carefully. These two were the most interesting genins, in his personal opinion. Lee''s fighting style reminded him of his early days when he had to rely on pure martial arts. As for Gaara¡­ there was something familiar about him, but Naruto couldn''t quite put his finger on it yet. "Let''s have a good match!" Rock Lee shouted. "Pff¡­ shut up." Gaara said, keeping his usual frown. The cork on his gourd loosened and shot towards Lee. Lee dodged it by moving his head aside before charging directly at Gaara. "Leaf Spinning Wind!" He jumped into the air and performed a powerful spinning kick aimed at Gaara''s chest. Arge amount of sand emerged from Gaara''s gourd and blocked the attack while Gaara remained with his arms crossed. "Sand?..." Naruto looked a bit surprised. It was very unusual to find someone who would choose sand as a weapon. Those who delved into the Dao of Earth usually preferred to employ rocks. Lee tried a few more times, but all his attacks were blocked by the sand while Gaara didn''t even have to move from his spot. "It''s useless¡­ he won''t be able to touch him¡­" Kankuro approached the railing and looked down. Naruto couldn''t help but notice how afraid Kankuro looked. ''He''s that scared of his own teammate?'' "Up until now¡­ there has never been anyone capable of putting a scratch on Gaara," Kankuro added. TenTen''s expression changed; she now looked much more worried than before. Lee didn''t change his strategy and continued throwing punches and kicks. All were blocked with little to no effort. "He should try something else¡­" Naruto said. "It''s not like he doesn''t want to¡­" Guy Senseimented. "Lee can''t use anything other than taijutsu." "He can''t?..." Naruto said. ''So this wasn''t a personal choice¡­ taijutsu is the only thing he can do.'' "Lee has dedicated his life to perfecting his taijutsu skills. And that''s why he''s going to win!" Guy gave a thumbs up. "Go ahead, Lee! Take them off!" Lee nced at his Sensei with doubtful eyes. He had been told to never take them off unless it was to protect something precious. "But¡­." "Go ahead, Lee! You have my permission!" His Sensei shouted. Lee removed two sets of weights from his legs. "Great! Now I can move so much faster!" "How stupid¡­ that''s not going to change anything¡­" Kankuro snarled. Naruto kept his mouth shut, but he agreed with that statement. Even if removing a few pounds would allow Lee to move a bit faster, it wouldn''t make much of a difference. However¡­ when they saw the destruction caused by the weights when Lee dropped them¡­ "What?! How much was he carrying?!" Temari got closer to the group. They got no answer from the Sensei. Then¡­ Lee began to move. "How is this possible?" Naruto didn''t think he would be this surprised by one of the genins, but Lee''s increase in speed made no sense. ''Unless¡­'' Lee was now moving at least five times faster than before. Gaara''s sand was having trouble keeping up as Lee moved around, throwing all sorts of attacks. After a few more seconds of this¡­ Lee finally managed to get his first hit, as one of his kicks connected with Gaara''s head. "No way!" "Impossible!" Gaara''s teammates were the ones most shocked. They knew how powerful Gaara''s sand defense was. "See? Lee won''t lose to anyone, even if he can only use taijutsu. He''s a taijutsu specialist!" Guy Sensei dered with pride. "When you say that he can''t use anything other than taijutsu¡­" Naruto looked at the jonin with a serious face. "Is this caused by some sort of medical condition?" Might Guy was a bit surprised by the question but still answered. "That is correct¡­ Lee was born with malformed chakra veins, so he''s unable to circte chakra properly, and thus, unable to use ninjutsu." "Malformed chakra veins¡­ I see." Naruto now had a good idea of how Rock Lee could move like that. To have that speed and strength at his age and with that body type¡­ it should be impossible unless Lee was a cultivator like himself. By absorbing chakra into one''s body, it was possible to push it past its limits. And by the looks of it, Lee''s cultivation was ahead of his own. He seemed to have reached the peak of the Body Forging Stage. ''But if cultivation manuals don''t exist in this world, there''s only one other possibility¡­ Lee must have been born with a special constitution¡­'' A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 72 : Rock Vs Sand Part 2 Chapter 72 : Rock Vs Sand Part 2 Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 72 : Rock Vs Sand Part 2 There are many special constitutions out there, but only a few humans are lucky enough to be born with one. Like the Yin Constitution, the Golden Body, Heavenly tinum Physique, Chaotic Demon Veins¡­ there are countless of them. He didn''t know exactly which one Lee had, but its effects seemed to allow him to concentrate and assimte chakra into his bones and muscles. This was essentially what the first stages of cultivation were about, but Lee could do it in a passive manner. Much like demonic beasts, he could get stronger just by letting time pass. Of course, Lee''s rigorous training had exacerbated the effects. Naruto felt a bit envious of this. But then again, it wasn''t like he didn''t have any boons of his own. Also, even if he were born with a unique constitution, his advantage would be less noticeable as the level of power gets higher. Among genin, he would stand at the top, but among jonin, he would just be one of many. Unless¡­ he could get a cultivation manual that fits his constitution¡­ only then could his true potential be unleashed. Naruto knew of such a method, but he had no reason to share such valuable information in exchange for nothing. "Wow!" Shikamaru said. Lee had just sent Gaara flying after connecting a punch to his face. "Go, Lee!" His sensei continued to cheer. "This is bad¡­" Naruto looked back and saw the worried expression on Kankuro. At first nce, one would assume he was preupied with his teammate''s potential loss. But that was not the case. Gaara''s face began to crack¡­ "Huh?... is that sand?..." Naruto could see it clearly now. There was ayer of sand covering his entire body. Gaara had used some method to make it look like normal skin, but after Lee broke the part that was protecting his face, it began to take its original shape. "He''s going to lose it now¡­" Kankuro muttered. Gaara began tough like a maniac. "What''s with that guy?..." Naruto said. It was obvious that this boy was not mentally stable. Gaara reformed the sand armor around himself. This time, there seemed to be a lot more sand around him. "What is he doing?" Kiba asked. "The Sand Armor¡­ that is his absolute defense. Nothing can break through that," Temari was the one who answered. "So he''s just going to defend like a turtle?..." Kiba scoffed. Temari red at him before returning her gaze to the arena. "If only¡­" "Hurry up ande," Gaara said as if to taunt him. "As you wish!" Lee rushed to him and performed a powerful upwards kick that propelled Gaara into the air. "That move!..." Sasuke''s demeanor changed when he saw this. His Sharingan activated and began to spin around. "That''s the one he used against you¡­ but he never finished it," Naruto said as Lee jumped after Gaara and wrapped him up in a white bandage. He then proceeded to flip him upside down and brought him back down while spinning his body at great speed. Gaara collided with the ground, making a tremendous noise and breaking arge part of it. "Yikes!" TenTen grimaced. "Is¡­ he dead?..." Kiba had the same expression. "Aren''t you d you didn''t get hit with that?" Naruto said to Sasuke in a jovial tone. "Hmph¡­" Sasuke responded. "Yes! Good job, Lee!" Gai-sensei eximed. "A bit early for that¡­" Kakashi said. After the smoke cleared, they could all see that the ''body'' that impacted the ground was nothing more than an empty sand armor. "When did he leave the armor?!" Gai shouted. "When you closed your eyes to pray¡­" Kakashi told him. The real Gaara appeared behind Lee and chuckled. Lee turned around just in time to see a massive wave of sanding his way. He crossed his arms in a protective manner and was pushed with force toward the wall. "Arg¡­" Lee grunted, but Gaara was not done yet and sent a barrage of sand bullets at him. "Ahhh!" Lee screamed. He tried to cover his vitals as much as he could but still received serious damage to his entire body. "Why didn''t he dodge that? He was moving so fast a moment ago," Kiba asked. "He can''t¡­" Gai had an expression of pure concern on his face. "The Lotus technique allows Lee to enhance his speed tremendously, but it also causes damage to his body. It''s a double-edged sword¡­" "He must be in a lot of pain right now," Kakashi said. Lee was attacked several more times, but he didn''t seem willing to give up. "If he can''t fight anymore¡­ why keep going?" Shikamarumented. To him, it made no sense. "Lee is not done yet!" Gai eximed. "The Lotus will bloom again¡­" Kakashi seemed surprised by thisment. "Gai¡­ don''t tell me that you also taught him that technique¡­" "It is as you think, Kakashi¡­" Gai said. "You taught the Eight Gates to a genin?" Kakashi said in an usatory manner. "The Eight Gates?" Naruto''s interest was piqued at hearing that. Sasuke was also paying close attention. Gai did not deny it. "He had the ability to learn them." "Even if he did! That doesn''t mean you should have! Some techniques are forbidden for a good reason. I''ve lost my respect for you as a sensei¡­" Kakashi told him. Gai red at Kakashi. "What do you know about that boy?" "Lee has something important to prove. Something so precious to him that he is willing to risk his life to aplish it. As a sensei¡­ it is our job to give them the necessary tools to achieve their dreams, isn''t it?" A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 73: The Eight Gates Chapter 73: The Eight Gates Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 73: The Eight Gates "How many gates can the boy open?" Kakashi asked. "Five¡­" Gai replied. "Five¡­" Kakashi frowned. "That could be enough to damage his body beyond repair." "What are these gates you two are talking about?" Naruto decided to ask directly. "In the chakra cirction system, there are eight very important spots where chakra flows through. We call those the Eight Gates, and each one has its own name. These gates act as a safety feature, preventing too much chakra from passing through and damaging your body," Kakashi exined. "And let me guess¡­ this technique removes those limitations," Naruto said. "It''s a necessary requirement to perform the Ultimate Lotus," Gai said. "Lee has already opened the first gate in order to use the Initial Lotus¡­" "Opening all eight gates would grant you power beyond a Kage¡­ for a short duration of time. And then¡­ you will die," Kakashi added. Naruto looked back at the arena. Lee appeared to be getting ready to begin. ''A technique capable of granting you immense power before killing you...It is nothing new, but still interesting. I wonder if I could learn it?...'' Large amounts of energy were circting around Rock Lee. "Third Gate¡­ Open!" The chakra was bing so concentrated that it could be seen clearly without the need for any special jutsu. "Fourth Gate¡­ Open!" Lee shouted. The floor trembled, and the rubble next to him began to float in the air. "Oh¡­" Naruto watched with interest. He didn''t want to miss any details. Lee disappeared from the spot, moving several times faster than before, and kicked Gaara into the air again. The sand ninja had no chance to react and could only try to protect himself. Naruto was very impressed with the results being shown by this Eight Gates technique, and Lee had only opened half of them. ''Looks like I''ve found something interesting¡­'' Gaara tried to move the sand that remained on the ground to use it as protection, but Lee appeared right in front of him and attacked once more before the sand could reach him. One attack after another, Lee was making Gaara bounce in the air repeatedly. The only protection Gaara had was the sand armor already on his body, as he was unable to move the rest of his sand fast enough to intercept Lee. "Gaara''s Sand Armor is cracking!" Kiba eximed. "Just a bit more¡­" Shikamaru muttered. "Gaara¡­" Kankuro and Temari were watching with wide eyes. They had never seen their brother pushed to this extreme. "Lee¡­ finish it already¡­" Gai looked on with concern. With each passing second, Lee''s body was closer to copse and potential permanent damage. "It''s over!... Fifth Gate¡­ OPEN!" Lee screamed. He punched Gaara with such force that pieces of his armor exploded in a shower of sand. "Not yet!" Lee caught his opponent in the air with his white bandages and wrapped him up like before. "Ahhhhh!" Lee screamed as he delivered the final blow, finishing the Ultimate Lotus and propelling Gaara directly towards the ground. Gaara impacted the ground like a meteorite, leaving arge crater in the process. Lee fell just a short distance away. Before the dust could clear, the sand next to Lee began to move and managed to trap his left arm and leg. "Argg!" Lee tried to escape, but his body was no longer responding properly. He had just performed the Ultimate Lotus and would need a long time to recover. Gaara opened his eyes, and while still resting with his back against the ground, he moved his arm to manipte the sand. "That move!..." Kiba recognized it. It was the same one he saw in the forest. Gaara closed his hand into a fist. "Desert Coffin." The sandpressed immediately, crushing the defenseless boy''s limbs. Lee copsed, screaming in agony. But Gaara wasn''t done yet. He wanted his opponent dead, so he moved the sand again, this time aiming for his head. ''Oh no!'' Naruto thought. If Lee died here, his n to negotiate for the Eight Gates would be ruined. Naruto had no time to waste, so he summoned as much chakra as he could and focused it on his legs. He was about to jump into action when someone else got there first. Maito Gai sted away the mass of sand with one arm and stood before his disciple in a protective manner. Gaara seemed to be assaulted by a powerful headache. He clutched at his head with both hands. "Why¡­ why did you save him¡­" "He is my beloved disciple¡­ I can''t watch him die¡­" Gai seemed almost apologetic but also firm in his decision. Gaara clenched his teeth in frustration. But even in his current state of anger, he knew there was nothing more to be done, so he recalled his sand and began to walk away. "Winner¡­ Gaara of the Sand!" Hayate hurried to dere. Kakashi nced at his side. "Naruto¡­ what were you thinking?..." Naruto had recalled his chakra, but just for a second¡­ they all felt the wave of demonic chakra emerge from him as he was preparing to intervene. The portion of the railing in front of Naruto had been reduced to splinters, and he was standing with his feet on the edge. The genin around him gave out noises of surprise, as none of them had even seen him move. "You would have been disqualified," Kakashi said. Naruto grinned. "I couldn''t let someone with such fighting spirit die like that¡­" His hand was pointing down, directly at Lee. Gai turned around when he felt the movement and found his disciple standing up in a battle pose, ready to continue fighting. "Lee?!... it''s over, the match is¡­" Gai stopped talking because he realized that his disciple was still unconscious. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 74: The Last Preliminary Chapter 74: The Last Preliminary Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. ¡°Dialogue¡± ¡®Thoughts¡¯ -Author notes- Chapter 74: The Last Preliminary Gai and TenTen left with the medical team that took Rock Lee away. Gaara didn¡¯t even wait for the examiner¡¯s permission before he also took the stairs and left. ¡°Right¡­ there¡¯s still one more match,¡± Hayate nced at the viewing area. ¡°I guess it¡¯s my turn,¡± Naruto said. ¡°Good luck, Naruto, show everyone what you can do.¡± Kakashi said with a smile. Sasuke just made a grunt that Naruto could only interpret as, ¡®You better not lose,¡¯ or something of the sort. He jumped down into the arena and immediately realized how badly damaged it was. There was barely any room left to stand. His opponent walked into the arena, looking calm andposed. It was Dosu Kinuta, thest remaining member of the Sound Vige team. His teammates had been defeated by Ino and Shikamaru, leaving him alone and without a clear mission to continue. But Dosu didn¡¯t care about any of this. He would keep going until his master told him to stop. His eyes met with Naruto¡¯s. ¡°Sorry, it looks like the fighting grounds are very damaged¡­ perhaps¡­ cough¡­ we can move the location,¡± Hayate said before looking in the direction of the Hokage. ¡°I would need to a¡ª¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need¡­ there¡¯s enough space to fight over there,¡± Dosu pointed towards the north side of the arena. There was a small rectangr area that had somehow escaped all the destruction, but it was tiny for the purposes of a fight. ¡°Are you sure?¡­ That doesn¡¯t seem¡­¡± Hayate was a bit hesitant. ¡°It¡¯s okay. That will be more than enough space for us.¡± Naruto walked to the rectangr space that Dosu pointed out. ¡°Let¡¯s get this over with.¡± He added. Dosu found his attitude amusing and mistook it for Naruto being too nervous. ¡°Eager to go home?¡­ Don¡¯t worry boy, I won¡¯t take long to destroy you.¡± Naruto stood on one side while Dosu took the other. There was less than twenty feet (6 meters) between them, and not much room to move on the sides beforending on the broken ground or hitting a wall. Hayate nced toward the Hokage, who gave him a nod of approval. ¡°Very well¡­ let us carry¡­ cough¡­ carry out thest preliminary match¡­ Uzumaki Naruto vs. Dosu Kinuta¡­ start!¡± Neither Naruto nor Dosu made an immediate move. Dosu chuckled. ¡°Scared, boy? You don''t have your Uchiha teammate to save you now.¡± He was still bitter about how they were defeated back in the forest by the Uchiha and those medlers who came to help them. Naruto had been unconscious inside a cave so they didn''t even see him at all and concluded he had been hiding. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m terrified¡­ can we finish this?¡± Naruto had a very bored expression on his face. This opponent held no interest in him. ¡®I wonder who I¡¯ll have to fight in the next part¡­ Will they make us fight today, or will we have some time to rest?¡­¡¯ He was very close to a breakthrough. If he had a few more weeks¡­ Dosu frowned when he realized that Naruto wasn¡¯t listening to him at all. He decided not to waste more words in an attempt to taunt this newbie. It wasn¡¯t worth it. Dosu assumed his fighting stance and went for it. Since they were already so close, he reached Naruto in one long dash. This small fighting area gave him aplete advantage. There was nowhere for Naruto to run, no escape from his deadly sound waves. Just like during his attack on Kabuto, Dosu performed a long swing that passed right in front of Naruto''s face. Dosu couldn¡¯t help but notice that Naruto didn¡¯t even try to dodge him. This showed the difference in speed between them. The Sound Ninja looked at Naruto with a cruel smile, knowing what was about to happen next. The attachments on his arms were weapons that used the speed of his punches to create high-frequency noises that would affect a person¡¯s brain. Even if his opponent avoided the punch itself, there was no way to escape from the sound. This was Dosu¡¯s masterful technique. Now, all he had to do was watch as Naruto lost his bnce and fell, then he could go for the finishing blow. ¡°Now you go down!¡± Dosu shouted right after he finished his motion. A second went by¡­ Two seconds¡­ Three seconds¡­ Naruto remained standing. ¡°Huh?¡­¡± Dosu¡¯s eyes moved to Naruto¡¯s face. Something he should have done earlier, but he had been a bit too overconfident in his technique. Had he looked before, he would have realized that Naruto had been using his fingers to cover his ears, thus negating the effect of his sound-based jutsu. Dosu only had one second to realize how badly he had messed this up. After failing his swing, he was now in a very awkward pose, with his sidespletely exposed to his opponent. ¡°Idiot.¡± That was the second-tost thing Dosu heard before he felt a strong pressure on his neck¡­ and everything went dark. Naruto¡¯s kick snapped Dosu¡¯s neck with a very loud crunching noise that made everyone flinch. The Sound Vige ninja copsed on the ground like a puppet whose strings had been cut. ¡°He¡­ he¡¯s dead¡­¡± Hayate had been standing close by and could clearly see it. He didn¡¯t need to be a doctor to know this. Dosu¡¯s neck was bent at a ny-degree angle, and his eyes werepletely white. There was no recovery from this. The members of the audience were staring in disbelief at the scene. All except Kakashi and Sasuke, who had already seen how brutal Naruto could be. The rest of them¡­ either didn¡¯t know anything about Naruto or remembered him as the cheerful and goofy prankster of Konoha. That image was now gone. The entire match hadsted less than five seconds. It had been more of an execution than an actual fight. ¡°Hayate¡­¡± The Hokage had appeared in the area and stood beside the referee. ¡°The winner¡­¡± he reminded him. ¡°Right¡­¡± Hayate snapped out of his stupor. ¡°Winner¡­ Uzumaki Naruto!¡± A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 75: The Final Matches Chapter 75: The Final Matches Disimer:Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. ¡°Dialogue¡± ¡®Thoughts¡¯ -Author notes- Chapter 75: The Final Matches "The preliminary test for the finals has beenpleted!" Hayate announced. "To everyone who has won their matches¡­ congrattions!..." He looked around. "Right¡­ cough¡­ there are two missing though..." The Hokage stepped forward. "It will be fine." He moved his eyes around the remaining genin. For a moment, he stopped at Naruto. "It is time to exin the next and final test. Like the preliminary one, the main event will also be a tournament, but this one will take ce in a stadium, and important guests from the surrounding nations will be present to witness your performance¡­ which is why it will take ce a month from now." "Wait, we don¡¯t have to fight right now?" Kiba felt a bit relieved if he was honest. And he wasn¡¯t the only one. Most of the genin here were already injured and tired¡­ they could really use a month to prepare. ''A month?¡­ that may be enough time for me¡­'' Naruto considered it. In a month, he could finallyplete the Body Forging Stage and properly step into the path of a cultivator. That would make a big difference in his fighting capabilities. "Don¡¯t waste this time!" The Hokage said with a serious expression. "This is not only to make our own preparations but is also important for you all. You can use this period to recover and train, but you can also try to gather information on your next opponents. It is up to you how well you use it." "But we don¡¯t know who we are going to fight, though," Kiba pointed out. "I was getting to that¡­" The Hokage pointed to Anko, who had been waiting behind him, and she brought a box with her. "There are pieces of paper inside that box. Each one of you will take one piece," he instructed. "Come on, get in line," Anko told them. "Lord Hokage¡­" Asuma Sarutobi approached him. "My student, Ino¡­ she¡¯s still unconscious. If it¡¯s okay, I will draw for her." The Hokage nodded. "I have no issue with that, and for the other missing one¡­ we can just leave him forst." He looked at the other two members of the Sand team. "I will entrust you two to inform him afterward." Kankuro and Temari bowed politely. They had to at least show some respect to the vige leader. "We will, Lord Hokage." One by one, they began to pick pieces of paper. Naruto looked at the one in his hand. It was the number eight. The instructor from the first exam began to take note of each of their numbers. These would determine who they would be fighting next. "I got number one¡­" said Sasuke. "Number nine here," Asuma informed Ibiki of the number he got for his student. "Five¡­" Shikamaru sighed in relief. "At least I don''t have to fight Ino." "I''m number two!" Kiba announced with pride, not realizing what that meant. "Does everyone have one?..." The Hokage waited for confirmation. "Good, then we can reveal the final tournament! Ibiki¡­ show them the arrangement." "Wait¡­ that¡¯s what the numbers were for?" Kiba asked. "What else could it be for?¡­" Shikamaru stared at Kiba in disbelief. "But...this means...." Kiba began to realize. Ibiki turned the piece of paper and showed it to them. The tournament matches were now in full disy. First Match- Sasuke vs. Kiba Second Match- Kankuro vs. Shino Third Match- Shikamaru vs. Temari Fourth Match- Neji vs. Naruto Fifth Match- Gaara vs. Ino "No¡­" Asuma''s face went pale when he saw it. Ino had gotten the worst possible matchup. "Sorry¡­ make sure to advise her well," the Hokage nced at his son with pity. He knew he was in a difficult position. ¡®Mmm¡­ so I have to fight Hinata¡¯s cousin¡­¡¯ Naruto didn¡¯t think much about this. Other than being very brutal with his cousin, Neji did not leave much of an impression on him. The most interesting part was that after beating Neji, he would have to fight Gaara. ¡®Now¡­ that one is going to be good.¡¯ There was something strange about that sand boy, and Naruto would make sure to find out what it was during their match. "Oh¡­" Kiba¡¯s enthusiasm had died out quite a bit after finding out he would be facing Sasuke. "Well¡­ with this, you are free to begin your strategy as you like. Are there any final questions?" The Hokage asked. "Since this tournament will only have one winner¡­ does that mean that only one person will be a Chunin?" Shikamaru asked. "Not at all. The results of this tournament will influence our decision on who seeds in the exam, but we will also take into ount the other two exams you have already performed. This means that you don¡¯t need to win the tournament to be a Chunin, but depending on the circumstances¡­ there is a possibility that no one will pass." "Is that clear?" He waited for Shikamaru to nod. "Excellent. Then if there is nothing else¡­ you are dismissed until a month from now." The group of people started to disperse. Naruto saw Sasuke walking towards him and decided to say something. "So, you¡¯re fighting the dog boy? I don¡¯t think he will be much of a match." "From now on¡­ and until this tournament is over, we are rivals," Sasuke told him with a cold expression. "And I will not lose against you! No matter what powers you have¡­" His eyes moved down for a moment. Naruto hadn¡¯t forgotten what Kakashi told him. Sasuke knew about the Kyubi now. "Hmph¡­ sure, I wee a good fight any time¡­ and since we are on opposite sides of the bracket, we may meet each other in the finals¡­ who knows." Sasuke gave him onest look and left without saying anything else. He didn''t seem to be in a cheerful mood. Naruto watched him as he left. He knew what Sasuke was thinking¡­ he had met many of his type. Thepetitive ones who see everyone as their stepping stones. It wasn¡¯t much different from how he once was. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 76: Plans for the next month Chapter 76: ns for the next month Disimer:Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 76: ns for the next month As Naruto was about to leave the main building, he spotted Kakashi standing next to the door. "I assumed you had gone to check on Sakura," Naruto said after getting a bit closer. Kakashi moved his uncovered eye to meet his. "Sakura''s been moved to the hospital already. But don''t worry, I''ve been told that her injuries aren''t severe, and she''ll probably be out in a day or two." "I see¡­then, you were waiting for me?" Naruto asked. There seemed to be something troubling Kakashi before he began to speak again. "Yes, we need to talk about the uing month and your training. I''ve decided it would be best to train you separately. I''ll take Sasuke away for two weeks beforeing to train you. But don''t worry, it''s not like I''ll leave you with nothing to do for that long. I have a few acquaintances who can help you with tr¡ª" "It''s okay." Naruto interrupted him. " I was nning on training by myself. No need to call anyone...you can dedicate the entire month to Sasuke," He added. It wasn''t like he didn''t want to learn from the jonin, but what he needed right now the most, was some peace and quiet to cultivate, and he should be able to make a breakthrough before the finals. As he was now, Naruto felt extremely restricted. With his ridiculously low cultivation base, there was not much he could do, no matter how great his knowledge was. He felt like an adult trapped in the body of a toddler...he wanted to remedy that. "Eh?... Are you sure about that, Naruto?" Kakashi looked a bit shocked. He knew that the boy was very independent, but was not expecting him to reject his training before the finals. "Very sure. I''ll be fine, so you can go inform Sasuke. I''m sure he''ll be pleased with the news." Kakashi made aplicated expression. "About that¡­I''d better wait until tomorrow. He seems to be in a sour mood after the preliminaries ended." "He''s always in a sour mood." Naruto had noticed the faces Sasuke was making during the match between Gaara and Rock Lee. ''That boy gets upset every time he sees someone stronger than him.'' He reminded Naruto of those young Lords. They would also react the same way and could not tolerate anyone surpassing them. Kakashi sighed. "Well¡­ I''ll take my leave then. If you have time tomorrow, go visit Sakura at the hospital. I''m sure she''ll appreciate it." Naruto nodded. "Sure, that''s no problem." He was already nning on going there. Kakashi stared at him for a moment. If it were anyone else, he would never leave one of his students without supervision for an entire month. But his instincts were telling him that this was the right decision for Naruto. "Still¡­if you change your mind about the training, go talk with the Hokage. He''ll be able to arrange something for you." "I will." Of course, he had no intention of doing that. Since he woke up in this world, this was the first chance he had to cultivate in peace. Back at his old sect, students were always left alone for months at a time so they could meditate without distractions. They would hand out resources every six months and hold optional lectures every month¡­for the most part, that was about it. Many would find that lifestyle¡­boring. But for young cultivators, there was nothing better. Here...he was kept busy almost every day. When they had no missions, Kakashi would call them to practice some team-building exercise¡­ Because of this, his strength was not growing as fast as it could. He had considered leaving the vige and wandering around thend, like he was used to doing for so many years. But there were many advantages to staying here. He still had much to learn about chakra and all the techniques that the inhabitants of this world had developed. And the best ce to do so would be a big ninja vige like this one. Besides, if he left now, he would be a wanted criminal. And since he had that powerful demon sealed inside him, he would likely be ssified as a high-priority one. He could not afford to have jonin like Kakashi hunting him down. There was also another benefit to staying in a popted ce like Konoha. There were many talented girls who could make potential daopanions to dual cultivate. That was a very effective method to increase his reserves and would greatlyplement his other methods. Or at least, that was the case in his old world. He had no idea if it could still work with chakra. ''I won''t hurt to try, though¡­.'' <><><><><><><><><><><> After a proper night of rest, Naruto put on a new change of clothes and made his way to the hospital. Even if Kakashi hadn''t asked him, he would still havee here. He wanted to check on Rock Lee''s condition, as well as Hinata''s. He adjusted the bag on his back as he walked. His n for today was to buy some supplies and spend a few days in the mountains. Naruto soon found himself staring at a nurse. "Excuse me¡­" She lifted her head, and the smile on her face disappeared when she saw who he was. "What do you want?" she grunted with exasperation. ''I guess it''s going to be the same here¡­'' No matter where he went, this was the usual treatment he received. "I''m here to visit my teammate, Sakura Haruno." "Mmm¡­" She nced at a paper on her table. "Room 76, second floor¡­" She then red at him. "You better behave while in the hospital." Naruto decided to ignore the woman and be on his way. Nothing good coulde out of fighting a civilian. He walked to the second floor, and as soon as he did, he immediately felt that something was wrong. His instincts were screaming at him to be careful. There was something dangerous here. Naruto heard some soft noisesing from a nearby room. It almost sounded like¡­ A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 77: Hospital Visit Chapter 77: Hospital Visit Disimer:Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 77: Hospital Visit Naruto identified the source of the sounds and hurried inside the room. "What the¡­" He found Rock Lee lying on a bed. His left arm and leg were in casts, suspended in the air. The other upant of the room was bending over the bed. Gaara was staring at Lee, moving sand closer to his face. "Got some unfinished business here?" Naruto asked. Gaara was visibly startled as he turned to face Naruto, having been so focused that he failed to notice his approach. "You''re¡­?" Gaara recognized him but couldn''t recall his name. "Uzumaki Naruto, and I already know who you are. But¡­do you mind telling me what you''re doing?" "I''m going to kill him!" Gaara said without hesitation. "I figured you''d say that." Naruto could easily sense the bloodlust radiating from the boy. "If you try to stop me¡­I''ll kill you too." Gaara threatened. "What''s the point of killing him now? You already won the match." Naruto got a bit closer. Gaara grinned. "I don''t have any specific reason for doing so¡­I just want to kill him, that''s all." Naruto raised an eyebrow. "You''re really messed up in the head, aren''t you?" His face contorted with contempt. "I warned you¡­don''t get in my way¡­" Gaara moved his hand, and the sand began to creep across the bed, inching toward Lee''s face. "You''re really stubborn¡­" Naruto knew this was a very powerful opponent and could not afford to hold back too much in his current state, so he used the traces of the demon''s chakra already in his system to enhance his movement. In an instant, he was next to Gaara and threw a direct punch at his face. Gaara hadn''t expected Naruto to attack so suddenly, so he wasn''t on full alert and his automatic defense was too slow to block the punch. Naruto''s fist connected with Gaara''s face, sending him flying through the window he had used to enter the room. The ss shattered with a loud crash, along with part of the window''s frame. Naruto poked his head out of the hole and found Gaara standing on the hospital''s outer wall. The sand armor on Gaara''s face had already begun to regenerate and he didn''t seem to have sustained any real damage. "How dare you?! I''m going to kill you!" Gaara lookedpletely enraged now. Naruto made aplicated expression. He had not wanted to confront this crazy boy yet. From what he had seen so far during his match against Lee...this was not an opponent he would be able to beat without resorting to using the Kyubis chakra. And that was something he would prefer to avoid as much as possible. However, when Gaara tried to jump back into the room, a shadow passed by Naruto at an impossible speed and blocked his path, forcing him tond in the hospital''s inner garden, along with the person who stopped him. "That''s enough." Gai held Gaara firmly by the arm. "You again¡­" Gaara red at the jonin. "Let me go!" He struggled, but he couldn''t break free from Gai''s grasp. "Leave now, and I won''t mention this to anyone," Gai told the boy before releasing his arm. "But if you try this again, I''ll make sure you''re locked away for a long time¡­" Gaara looked extremely angry, but he wasn''t stupid and he hasnt reach the point where he would lose control. He knew he couldn''t do much against a jonin like Gai, so he had no choice but to leave. Without saying a word, Gaara gave Naruto one murderous re before he jumped away and disappeared into the busy vige. "What a character¡­" Narutomented. "Uzumaki¡­" Maito Gai came back into the room and looked at him with a kind smile. "I must thank you for what you did. If th¡ª" "What happened here?!" Several nurses and a few patients arrived at Lee''s room, attracted by the loud noise from the broken window. "Who did that?!" One of the nurses pointed at the destroyed property. Her eyes locked onto Naruto, showing nothing but hatred. The other nurses soon joined in. "It was you, wasn''t it?!" They began to use him. Gai stepped forward and smiled at the women. "Oh, this window?¡­I must apologize for this. I got a bit carried away while doing my morning stretches, hahaha." "Mister Maito?¡­it was you?" The mood of the nurses immediately changed. All Jonins were extremely revered figures in the vige after all. "Yes, I''m very sorry about the mess. I''ll pay for it, of course." "Oh, there''s no need for that!" "Yes, it was just an ident." The nurses began to assure him. Gai tapped Naruto on the shoulder. "Your teammate is at the end of the corridor. You came to see her, right?" "Yes, thank you." Naruto wasn''t going to reject a good chance to get out of here, where everyone was looking at him with those nasty eyes. As he approached thest room, he began to hear voices. Peeking inside the one with the open door, he found Sakura sitting on her bed, seemingly in the middle of a heated argument with the girl in the next bed. "Shut up, you just got lucky!" Sakura eximed. "Lucky? I won fair and square." Ino was quick to defend herself. "Your opponent was half-dead; where''s the fairness in that?" Sakura retorted. "My sensei always says that luck is also part of a ninja''s skill set," Ino said. "Luck is not a skill¡­" "Yes, it is! And it doesn''t matter anymore. The results are clear¡­I''m in the finals, and you aren''t. Thus, I''m the superior ninja, hehe." Ino chuckled. "It doesn''t work like that!" Sakura shouted. "You two are very lively already¡­that must mean your injuries aren''t a big deal." Naruto said. The two girls finally noticed his presence. "Naruto! You came to visit me." Ino appeared pleased with his arrival, at least. "Wait¡­why would he visit you? It''s obvious he came to see me. I''m his teammate!" Sakura insisted. And just like that, another argument began. ''Why would they put those two together?...'' Naruto wondered. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 78: An Unexpected Arrival Chapter 78: An Unexpected Arrival Disimer:Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 78: An Unexpected Arrival While the two girls kept arguing, Naruto nced at the bed on the other side of the room. Hinatay there, her eyes closed, with a machine connected to her mouth. A continuous beeping noise filled the room. Naruto didn''t need any knowledge of the medical devices being used here, to realize that her condition was very severe. Noticing Naruto''s gaze, the girls stopped their pointless argument. "They brought her here a few hours ago¡­she''s been in intensive care since yesterday," Ino said in a grave tone. "I can''t believe her own cousin left her in that state¡­" Sakura frowned. Being injured by an enemy during a mission was one thing, but for her own family to do this? She couldn''t understand something like that. "You underestimate the internal conflicts of arge n," Naruto replied. "Is she going to recover?" he asked Ino, who seemed to know more. "The doctors said her life isn''t in danger, but they don''t know when she''ll wake up. If she stays like this too long, there could be permanent damage," the blonde girl answered. "Do you know what caused the Hyuga boy''s anger?" Naruto tried to get a bit more information about her n. Perhaps there was something he could do about it. Ino shrugged. "The Hyugas are very private and would never let others know about their internal affairs. The only one who might know something is my father because he works closely with the Hokage, but¡­" "He wouldn''t tell you," Naruto guessed. Ino nodded. "Say, Naruto¡­" Sakura felt the need to change the topic. "Did you hear a loud noise a few minutes ago? It almost sounded like ss breaking." "I''m surprised you heard anything, considering how loud you two were being." Naruto told her. "Hey! We weren''t that loud!" Ino retorted. "It was nothing¡­I believe someone broke a window by ident," Naruto said, deciding it wasn''t worth sharing what had happened with Gaara with these two. It would only serve to worry them, and there was no chance for that red-headed boy to return, now that he knew Maito Gai was close by. However, he did wonder what Ino was nning to do, considering she must have already been informed about who her next opponent was. Before he could ask, Ino made an angry face and pointed at him. "I just remembered something¡­ You''re the one who called me a fool during my match, weren''t you?!" "There''s no need to thank me for that," Naruto brushed her off. "I wasn''t going to thank you!" she snapped. "I mean¡­he did help you, right? You were about to fall into that guy''s trap," Sakura pointed out. "I wasn''t¡­I knew what I was¡­" Ino found herself at a loss for words. "As I said¡­no need to thank me. I just saw you doing something foolish and called you out. Just try to be more careful next time." Naruto said in a calm manner. Ino huffed with annoyance. "Did Kakashie to see you?" Naruto asked Sakura while ignoring the blonde girl ring at him. She nodded. "He camest night, right after my parents left. He said he''s going to leave with Sasuke for most of the month so he can prepare him for the finals." Sakura sounded a bit conflicted as she told this to Naruto. "Wait, but what about¡­" Ino threw him a nce. "It''s fine. I''m the one who told him to do that," Naruto said, not wanting them to pity him, especially for something he didn''t need. "You did?" Ino looked confused. "Why would you do that? Aren''t you going to train for the tournament?" Sakura was equally baffled. "I have my own way of doing things. I don''t need t¡ª" Naruto stopped talking when he heard a loudmotion outside. There were a lot of people talking very loudly, and the noises were getting closer. "This way! , thest room is empty. He can rest there," a female voice said. It sounded like one of the nurses. A group of several medical personnel with at least one or two doctors passed by their door, heading to thest room. They could all clearly see the nurses pushing a wheeled bed with someone on it...a young man with ck hair who looked very familiar. "Wait! Is that?¡­" Ino thought she was imagining things. "That did look like¡­" Sakura was just as puzzled. They heard the doctor speak in a clear, stern tone to the nurses. "I don''t want anyone disturbing Mister Uchiha. Is that clear? We''ve already called for his sensei and notified the Hokage." "Sasuke¡­" Naruto narrowed his eyes. ''He''s hurt?¡­ But how? He was fine yesterday, and there were no more fights remaining.'' "Oh no! What happened to Sasuke?!" Ino eximed. Sakura got out of bed in a hurry. "I have to go see him!" "Stop, Sakura. They won''t let you in. You heard what the doctor said just now," Ino reminded her. "But¡­Sasuke is hurt¡­What happened? Who could have done that? He was fine yesterday, right?" Sakura nced at Naruto. "He only had a few minor injuries from his time in the forest¡­This means something happened to him after that," Naruto concluded. "Someone attacked him?" Ino asked. "Could it have been his next opponent?!" Sakura suggested. "His next opponent is Kiba, remember? You also saw the list¡­so that''s a no," Ino reminded her. "They said Kakashi has been notified¡­ I''m sure we''ll find out what happened if we wait a bit longer. That would be better than guessing," Naruto said. Sakura nodded with some reluctance. ''It looks like my trip to the mountains will have to wait a bit longer¡­'' Naruto thought. He was also very curious to find out what had happened to his moody teammate. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 79: Cursed Seal Chapter 79: Cursed Seal Disimer:Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 79: Cursed Seal "Kakashi-sensei, wait up!" Sakura was the first to spot him as he passed by their room. Kakashi stopped and looked at them. "Oh, Sakura¡­Naruto." He seemed distressed enough that he had forgotten they were there. "Sorry¡­I¡­" "What happened to Sasuke?" Ino asked hurriedly. "Yes, is he okay? I want to see him!" Sakura added. "I was just told what happened, but¡­I need to speak with Sasuke first¡­alone." "But¡­" Sakura looked extremely worried. "I''ll let you talk to him as soon as possible¡­I have to go now." Kakashi turned around and left without letting them say anything else. "This isn''t fair! He''s my teammate...I should be able to see him!" Sakura pouted. "Calm down. I''m sure your sensei has a good reason for wanting to speak with him alone first, right?" Ino nced at Naruto for support. "If Sasuke was ambushed by some enemy, it would make sense that Kakashi wants to get all the details as soon as possible so Konoha can take proper action," Naruto suggested. This was the most likely scenario he could think of. "Ambushed?!" Sakura eximed with dread. "That makes sense¡­I wouldn''t be surprised if they sent someone from my family too." Ino was already used to this type of thing. Her family was often in charge of gathering information from others. <><><><><><><><><><><> With no other choice, Naruto, Ino, and Sakura stayed in the room, waiting for Kakashi to return and exin what had happened. It took well over thirty minutes before their sensei finally opened the door. After walking out of Sasuke''s room, he came directly to theirs. "Well?" Naruto asked. "Can you leave the bed?" Kakashi looked at Sakura. She was still wearing hospital clothes, but she quickly nodded. "Yes, they were going to discharge me in the afternoon." "Then you and Narutoe with me." His eye moved to Ino. "My apologies, but this matter concerns Team Seven¡­" The blonde girl was obviously displeased not to be included but did her best to hide it. Ino has been taught to always behave politely when in front of authority figures since her behavior also represents her n. "It''s okay, Kakashi-sensei. I understand..." She was definitely going to interrogate Sakurater. The next room was as big as the one they had just left, but Sasuke was the only upant. He sat on the bed, looking out of the window. Naruto noticed a bandage covering his neck, but other than that, Sasuke didn''t seem to have any serious injuries. "I have nothing else to add¡­" The ck-haired boy turned his head around and saw Naruto and Sakura standing in front of Kakashi. "Ah¡­you''re here too." "Sasuke!" Sakura rushed to his bed. "Are you okay? What happened to you? Who did this?!" She started bombarding him with questions while checking him with her eyes. "Sakura¡­please be calm. Sasuke had a rough night," Kakashi said in a stern tone. "So?¡­ Who beat you up this time?" Naruto asked in his usual calm tone and Sasuke gave him a very hostile re. "Naruto¡­" Kakashi warned before approaching Sasuke. "Do you want to tell them, or should I exin it to themter? They''re involved in this too, so they need to know regardless." "Hmph¡­there is not much to say. It was Orochimaru," Sasuke grunted. "What?!" Sakura''s eyes widened like tes. "The one we met in the forest?¡­The Sannin?" Naruto didn''t expect to hear about that person so soon after theirst encounter. "What did he want?" It was obvious that Orochimaru didn''t want to kill Sasuke, or he wouldn''t be sitting there. Sasuke looked away and grasped his neck. "He just attacked me out of nowhere when I was at my house¡­" He removed the bandage, revealing a strange ck mark on his neck. Sakura gasped in horror. "What is that?!" "A seal?¡­" Naruto said trying to take a better look. The mark on Sasuke''s neck looked like three ck tomoe, simr to those in the Sharingan. Surrounding the three shapes was another one¡ªa circle with symbols in it. It looked very much like the seals used in f¨±injutsu. "A cursed seal¡­" Kakashi added. "He bit me on the neck, and¡­I don''t really remember much after that. When I woke up, I had this mark..." Sasuke said. "He just attacked you without uttering a single word?" Naruto felt that something was missing. Sasuke didn''t look at him, continuing to stare out the window. "He only said that I''d see him again if I passed the test¡­" "Test? What test?" Naruto asked. Sasuke shrugged but didn''t answer. "For what we know¡­victims of the cursed seal often die on the first day," Kakashi said. While Sakura looked as if she might faint, Naruto gave Kakashi a suspicious nce. "You understand a lot about this thing¡­how many people have Orochimaru done this to?." "We don''t know¡­our informationes from one of the few survivors who used to be very close to him. But that happened many years ago¡­ The seal on Sasuke is a bit different." Kakashi seemed reluctant to reveal more. "And what does this seal do?" Naruto continued to inquire. Theck of reaction from Sasuke''s part meant he likely already knew the answer to these questions. "We''re not certain¡­my mastery of seals is a bitcking." Kakashi nced at Sasuke for a moment. "And this creation of Orochimaru''s is more than just f¨±injutsu¡­ In any case, there''s a true experting to the vige. He should be here in a week or so. We''ll know more then. For now, I''ve ced a five-element seal around it¡­that should prevent it from activating." Naruto could tell that Kakashi knew more than he was sharing with them. But then realized something as he thought back to their encounter with the Sannin. "So¡­this was his objective from the beginning¡­he wanted to put that seal on Sasuke." For whatever reason, this seal must be extremely important for his n. He was a wanted criminal but risked being caught twice, just to get this thing on Sasukes neck. ''I don''t understand it...'' Naruto could not figure out yet what the Sannin was thinking. But then, while looking at Sasuke, an idea came to his mind. ''Oh...I see. That''s what he wanted.'' A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 80: Half-Truths Chapter 80: Half-Truths Disimer:Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 80: Half-Truths After talking for a few more minutes, Kakashi said that he had to leave for a bit. No doubt, their sensei was going to inform the Hokage about his findings. "Ah! You must be thirsty. I''ll go get you something to drink," Sakura said with a cheerful smile. Naruto watched as the girl went out and closed the door. He then got closer to the bed and stared at Sasuke with a knowing look. "What?..." The ck-haired boy did not feelfortable being nced at like that. "Did you at least tell Kakashi the truth, or did you also lie to him?" Naruto asked. Finally, Sasuke showed a change in his expression. His eyes opened widely for a second before he contained his reaction. "What is that supposed to mean?" "You weren''t attackedst night¡­you let that Orochimaru put that thing on your neck¡­I was just wondering what he offered you in order to convince you, that''s all." Sasuke reacted by covering the seal on his neck and putting the bandages back in ce. His narrow eyes moved to look directly at Naruto. "You know nothing!" "I know you didn''t put up a fight. Other than the seal, you only have a few scratches. And I know that his true objective for infiltrating the exams was you. But he didn''t want to kidnap you or kill you, otherwise you wouldn''t be sitting on that bed right now. So I think he wanted to recruit you. Did he make you an enticing offer?" Naruto saw how much Sasuke was struggling to prevent his face from showing emotions, but he was failing at it quite badly. "Shut up!" Sasuke was beginning to lose his temper. "That''s fine, you don''t have to tell me. I can already take a guess¡­" From what he knew about Orochimaru, he seemed to be like many demonic cultivators Naruto had met in the past...those who would do anything to acquire more power, no matter how immoral their actions were. If he was interested in Sasuke, it was definitely for his own benefit. Whatever promises he made to the boy would likely have been filled with nothing but half-truths and dressed lies. But Naruto had no intention of telling this to Sasuke. Whatever that boy did with his life, it was not his business. "I''ll just say one thing before I leave¡­if you think your poor acting has deceived Kakashi, then you''re really underestimating him," Naruto said before turning around. "Get out!" Sasuke lost his calm. As Naruto was about to open the door, Sakura came running. "Ah, Naruto!" She almost dropped the drink in her hands. "Wait¡­you''re leaving already?" "Yes¡­I have other things to do. Take good care of our teammate, would you?" Sakura smiled. "Of course!" she eximed with joy. Now she had Sasuke all to herself. Naruto left the room without giving Sasuke another nce. His interest in this matter was minimal, at least for the moment. One day, he would definitely repay Orochimaru for attacking him¡­but that was for the distant future. <><><><><><><><><><><> Naruto arrived at the forest located behind the Hokage statues. He looked for a good spot next to a tree and sat down, leaving his bag next to him. "Okay¡­let''s begin." Not wanting to waste one more second, he closed his eyes and activated his Cosmic Assimtion cultivation technique. His chakra began to circte through his pathways while at the same time reinforcing every muscle and bone in his body. He was already very close to the peak of the Body Forging Stage, but this was just the beginning. Only after one reached the Qi Refining Stage would one have the right to call themselves a cultivator. After all, it was possible to enter the Body Forging Stage without even using any cultivation technique. There were many martial artists who achieved this by merely working their bodies through physical training alone while subconsciously using their inner Qi to reinforce it further. Naruto couldn''t help but be impressed with the speed of this mysterious technique he received. It''s only been around two months since he was forced to begin his cultivation from rock bottom, and he was already so close to his first breakthrough. And it''s not just speed, but the intensity of his improvements is also much more potent than during his previous life. After all, he was not just using his own Qi to reinforce himself but also the demonic chakraing from the Kyubi. The fox''s chakra was being purified and permanently injected into his system, where it wouldter be used to enhance him. Naruto entered his mind pce while meditating. This allowed him to have better control over the procedure. The ce was still mostly empty, with just his pool of chakra at the center and the Golden Scripture floating above it. Small crevices were connected to this pool. They took some of the chakra from it and sent it everywhere in his body. These were his chakra veins. There was also a very different one that carried a red-looking substance and went into the main pool. But before it arrived, its color began to change to a pure white one. This was the Kyubi''s chakra¡­ ''I wonder if the fox even knows about this?'' Naruto thought. This system had already been in ce before he began his cultivation. This was done by the seal that his father created. Naruto had merely improved upon it. Now the demon''s chakra is purified before fusing with his own, instead of remaining as an external force. Of course, the amount he was taking right now was negligible, so it would not be strange if the demon had not noticed. Naruto doubted the Kyubi would be willing to cooperate with him if he ever discovered that he was slowly being eaten away by the one serving as his container. And of course¡­he had no intent of ever informing him of that fact. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 81: The Results Chapter 81: The Results Disimer:Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 81: The Results Three weekster. Naruto heard the crunching sound of dry leaves being stepped on and knew that someone was approaching. He opened his eyes and saw a middle-aged man staring at him with an amused expression on his face. "Did you have a good nap, Naruto?" the man asked. "Do we know each other?" He was sure he had never seen this man before. He would remember meeting someone with such a peculiar appearance. The man had a massive head of pure white hair and wore an old-style kimono in dark green with a red sleeveless jacket on top. "You really don''t know who I am? Do they not teach history anymore at the academy?" he grumbled. "I don''t recall much of my academy days," Naruto told the man. "Perhaps you can tell me your name. That would help." "Right¡­Sensei did mention your amnesia¡­ Very well, I will tell you my glorious name!" He struck a dramatic pose. "What is this?" Naruto wondered if someone had sent a buffoon to bother him during his training. But¡­something told him that this man was more than he seemed. "I am the Legendary Jiraiya of the Sannin!" he proimed loudly. Naruto stood up immediately, his demeanor changing to full alert. "Sannin?...." Jiraiya noticed this and made a calming gesture with his hands. "Whoa, calm down. I didn''te here to fight you. I was sent by the Hokage." "And I''m supposed to trust you just because you mentioned the Hokage? If he really sent you to me, then you must know that I had a recent encounter with one of your friends¡­and it was not a pleasant one." Jiraiya''s eyes narrowed, and his attitude suddenly changed. "I can overlook a lot of things, but don''t ever call ''that man'' my friend again. Orochimaru is nothing more than a stain in Konoha''s history¡­ and one day, I will seed in hunting him down." "Oh?..." Naruto could not sense any deceit in his words. "Fine, I can believe you are not allied with that other Sannin¡­but that doesn''t mean I trust you." "You are a very cautious boy¡­ What the hell happened to you? Last time I saw you¡­nevermind." Jiraiya decided not to get into that. After all, he had seen Naruto a few times in the past when he had visited Konoha, but he never appeared in front of the boy¡­he didn''t want to get too close. "You still haven''t told me why you are here¡­I''m sure the Hokage would not have sent a Sannin just to check on me," Naruto said. "Of course not," Jiraiya replied. The truth was that he had been keeping an eye on Naruto for over a week. He was truly startled when he didn''t see him move from his sitting position for an entire day. But his vitals always seemed to be okay, so he didn''t interrupt his meditation. "But first, I would like to ask you something¡­what have you been doing for the past three weeks?" the Sannin asked. "Training," Naruto simply told him. "That was a very peculiar way of training¡­" Jiraiya pointed out. "Everyone has their ways," Naruto answered. "Tsk¡­what an annoying brat¡­" He was getting frustrated by theck of proper answers, but it was obvious that the boy didn''t trust him at all, so he wasn''t going to get much from him. "Fine¡­I''ll tell you why I came to see you. I don''t know how much you have been told, but¡­after your stunt in the Forest of Death, the Hokage sent me an urgent call. He wanted me to check the state of your seal." "Kakashi did mention a F¨±injutsu master¡­is that you?" "Indeed! Among my many incredible talents, I am a master in the art of seals." "Mmm¡­" Naruto didn''t seem very impressed. There was something about this man that he didn''t like but couldn''t yet figure out what it was. "Come on, take off your robes, and let me take a look¡­ Why are you looking at me like that?" Jiraiya frowned. "I still don''t trust you¡­" "Oh, for crying out loud! I already told you I am one of the Sannin! If I wanted to harm you, it would be so easy!" Jiraiya eximed. "It wouldn''t be that easy¡­." Naruto muttered. "But you do have a point¡­" He opened his robes and took them off, leaving himself in just the shorts he had underneath. "What the¡­" Jiraiya stared in disbelief at Naruto''s body. His muscles were all defined to an almost impossible degree. This was the body of someone who spent most of their waking day doing physical work, not of someone who spent three weeks sitting beneath a tree. What Jiraiya didn''t know was that this was the result of Naruto''s major breakthrough. Afterpleting the Body Forging Stage to perfection, he was left with a body that went beyond what was normally possible to achieve with mere martial training. Every second he spent refining his body with his chakra was the equivalent of spending hours in intense workouts. But the external appearance was merely a side effect. The real benefits were his immense improvement in strength and speed, as well as his physical resistance to damage. His skin was almost as tough as copper and would resist the impact of most normal weapons with no more than some superficial scratches. His bones were also many times more resistant than before and would be very difficult to break. His body was now ready to begin the next stage¡­the Qi Refining. "Would you stop staring so much?¡­ I''m not interested in old men, you know?" A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 82: Seals and Power Chapter 82: Seals and Power Disimer:Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 82: Seals and Power "Brats these days have no manners!" Jiraiyained while examining Naruto''s seal. "Mmm¡­there don''t appear to be any anomalies¡­how is your chakra control?" "Quite decent," Naruto answered him. He was sure this man had already spoken with Kakashi beforeing here. "That is unusual, to say the least¡­" Jiraiyamented. "This seal was designed to filter a small amount of the Kyubi''s chakra that would then mix with yours. Bijuu chakra is very different from our own, so the mixture would be difficult to control. You either have immense talent or you''ve practiced like crazy to manage this." "Perhaps it''s both¡­are you done touching my belly?" Naruto pointed down. "Yes, yes¡­" Jiraiya stood back up. "So, can you tell me about the incident where you lost control?" "Before that¡­you mentioned something about ''Bijuu Chakra''...what is a bijuu?" Naruto wondered if that was the name of this demon''s race or n. Demons usually had arge variety of subspecies. "Oh, that¡­I suppose they don''t teach it at the academy," Jiraiya said. "Tailed Beasts, Chakra Demons, Bijuus¡­people call them many things. There are nine of them on the continent, each with a different number of tails ranging from one to nine." He pointed at Naruto. "You have the Nine-Tails inside your gut. That one is supposed to be the most powerful, since more tails equate to more chakra." "So the One-Tail would be the weakest, then." "Yes, but not by much¡­any of these beasts could unleash absolute chaos if they were left to wander free." "Are they all sealed inside people, like me?" Naruto asked. This was a great discovery. He had been worried about what he was going to do once he finished absorbing all the Kyubi''s chakra, since this was what allowed him to progress much faster than normal. But if there were eight more of these demons¡­that would change things. "As far as I know, they are all currently sealed, yes. Jinchuriki¡­is what we call these human vessels," Jiraiya exined. "A human sacrifice¡­how nice," Naruto said with sarcasm. "Don''t take it literally. There are also benefits to bing a container¡­although Jinchurikis are often treated very badly in their own viges." "You don''t say¡­" Naruto replied with his arms crossed. Jiraiya looked somewhat troubled. "I know you didn''t have a great childhood. Your father¡­he must have been out of options when he decided to do what he did." He had learned about Naruto being aware of who his father was, so there was no need to beat around the bush. "I''m sure he was," Naruto said with no change in his facial expression. Jiraiya didn''t like the way Naruto said that, but this was not the best time to poke at that particr ho''s nest. "I answered your question. Now tell me about the incident." "You must have already heard every detail from Kakashi and the Hokage." "I did. But I would still like to hear it from you. They could have missed something important." Naruto told the Sannin about his encounter with Orochimaru in great detail. Jiraiya listened attentively, and once Naruto was done, he remained silent for a few minutes as he digested the information he had just received. "I see¡­using arge amount of the Kyubi''s chakra to break Orochimaru''s restraint¡­wasn''t a terrible method, but it was incredibly risky. Had the fight dragged on a bit longer, you could have died, or the seal could have brokenpletely, which would also have killed you." "Yes, I am aware of that." He had already heard the same thing from Kakashi and the Hokage, more than once. "I''m sure you are." "Did you remove the seal he put on Sasuke?" Naruto decided to ask. He had no doubt that the Seal Master had also been called to examine his teammate. "No¡­the cursed seal can only be removed by Orochimaru. It''s not just a work of f¨±injutsu, but there are also other disciplines involved in its creation. I have no doubt that they are the result of many years of that madman''s research." "And what is their purpose?" "The function of a cursed seal could be anything he wanted¡­from killing, control, or just serving as a tool to spy ormunicate with the user. The one on your friend seems to contain arge amount of chakra stored inside, as well as something else mixed in. The intent is to give the user a great surge of power for a limited amount of time. Or at least that''s what I belive. " "It makes him stronger, like when I use the demon''s chakra?" That was not what Naruto was expecting to hear. ''Unless Orochimaru''s objective is to recruit Sasuke. And he is offering him the power he seeks¡­that would exin why Sasuke did not fight back against him. '' Naruto thought. "That seems to be the case. During the night after his attack, Sasuke mentioned feeling a great rush of energy before passing out. However, these kinds of things always have severe side effects and downsides. And much more so when you consider the source of this ''gift''...who knows what else he put in there." "You forbade him from using it," Naruto stated. "Of course we did!" Jiraiya eximed. "That thing is incredibly dangerous! So I reinforced the Five Element Seal that Kakashi had ced on him. That should be more than enough to contain it for now. I will need to find more information about these seals." ''That is certainly going to have the opposite effect on Sasuke,'' Naruto thought. It appeared that Naruto understood Sasuke better than these men if they thought that was going to work. Forbidding that boy from using a newfound power would only push him more toward using it. ''That''s probably what this Orochimaru is counting on¡­'' A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 83: Learning a New Jutsu Chapter 83: Learning a New Jutsu Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 83: Learning a New Jutsu "Don''t worry about your friend, he is fine, and you will see him soon enough," Jiraiya told him. The man really thought that Naruto was worried about his teammate, but Naruto was just asking out of pure curiosity. He was the type who liked to know as much as possible. After all...information was just another form of power. "But, there was another reason I came to find you," the Sannin said. "And what would that be?" "I wanted to offer you my expertise before your final exams." Jiraiya gave him a confident smirk. "You are offering to train me?" Naruto was going to question why someone with such a high status would want to train him. But the answer was very obvious. "Is this because of my father? Were you friends or something?" Jiraiya smiled. "More than friends! We wer¡ª" "Lovers?... I see¡­ so even ninjas do that kind of thing." Naruto nodded in understanding. He never had an interest in that kind of experimentation, but some of his acquaintances had ''dipped their toes'' in that world. "Although I feel bad for his wife¡­ she must have been s¡ª" "We were not lovers!" Jiraiya wanted to smack his face. "I was his Sensei!" "Oh¡­ I see¡­ your teammate, Orochimaru, appears to have an unhealthy amount of interest in younger boys, so I must have jumped to the wrong conclusion¡­ my apologies." "I thought I made it clear. I am nothing like that man." Jiraiya looked a bit more serious. He seemed to be more offended by beingpared to Orochimaru than anything else. "So you want to train me¡­" Naruto said. ''I have finished my breakthrough already, and there is not much else I can do with this remaining week so is not a terrible idea.'' He needed to let his body adapt to its new changes, so he couldn''t meditate for at least one more week, otherwise, he could suffer a setback. Although he did not like the idea of being offered something just because of who his father was...it made him feel like one of those pampered young Masters he had disliked so much in the past. ''But then again, it would be foolish to reject an offer from a powerful ninja like this one,'' he thought. "I ept!." "Of course you do." Jiraiya returned to his good mood. "There is only one week left, so there isn''t much we can do. But there was one jutsu that I had in mind¡­" "And what is that?" he asked. "First¡­ we must change locations. This forest is too dense for the purpose of learning this jutsu. Come on, get dressed, and let''s go. There is no time to waste." Jiraiya guided him to arge open field right outside the vige. "This will do¡­" "Okay, so can you tell me now what you are going to teach me?" The Sannin took out a scroll andid it on the ground. "Have you heard about the Summoning Jutsu?" "You mean like what Kakashi uses to summon his dogs?" Naruto asked. "Exactly! But you won''t be summoning dogs." Jiraiya opened the scroll and then began to pull out some writing utensils. Naruto got closer and took a better look. Several names were written on the green scroll. Thest ones were Ogata Shuma Hiroyuki and Minato Namikaze. "This is the Toad Contract. The n rarely allows new people to sign it, so you should feel honored," Jiraiya said. "A n of toads?" Naruto recalled the talking turtle he had met recently. "Are there animal ninja ns out there?" "There are quite a few. But they live too far away, so you would only see those who had been summoned with this jutsu," the Sannin exined. "I see¡­" This wasn''t too hard to ept for him. In his old world, he had met several animals who found enlightenment and developed human intelligence and the ability to cultivate. And not just animals, but also trees, nts, and even mountains could achieve this, given enough time. ''It looks like this ce is more advanced than I previously thought.'' He was honestly happy to learn this. It just meant there was more to discover out there. "Here, you have to use this to write your name." Jiraiya handed him a strange quill. Naruto noted theck of ink and the peculiar design of the object. "Use the upper end to make a small cut on your finger," Jiraiya instructed. Naruto then realized what this was. "A blood contract¡­." This was a very serious thing. A contract signed with one''s blood was extremely hard to break without suffering terrible consequences, as it was tied to your very own soul. Naruto could understand why the Toad n would demand something like this from their summoners, but he was not going to be careless about this. He took the scroll and flipped it over so he could read the uses of the contract. "You are very cautious, aren''t you?" Jiraiya noted. "Your father did the same thing¡­." he added. "I like to know what I am signing for." Naruto read everything very carefully, and Jiraiya didn''t interrupt him. There were things like not being able to purposely bring harm to the Toad n or divulge their secrets. He could not find anything suspicious written on the contract, and the terms seemed reasonable enough. He put the scroll back the way it was and took the quill in his hands. After letting a few drops of his blood reach the tip, he signed his name on the scroll and then marked it with his fingerprint, as Jiraiya instructed. "Congrattions! You are now a contractor of the Toad n." Jiraiya closed the scroll and put it aside. "I will show you how it''s done¡­" He bit one of his fingers, performed a hand sign, and then pushed his right palm on the ground. "Summoning Jutsu!" A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 84: The New Summoner Chapter 84: The New Summoner Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 84: The New Summoner Arge cloud of smoke appeared in front of the Sannin. Once it cleared up a bit, there was a massive orange toad with peculiar marks all over its body. The toad was also wearing something akin to Buddhist beads around its neck. "Jiraiya¡­ why did you call me?" The toad nced at the Sannin with caution. "It''s been a while, Gama." Jiraiya went to pick up the scroll and walked closer to the toad. "Here, I called to return this. And to inform you that the Toad n has a new summoner." "A new summoner?¡­" Gama noticed Naruto''s presence now and looked at him. "This boy? He looks familiar." He glimpsed at him with interest. "Yes, that''s the one. He is Minato''s son. They look alike, right?" Jiraiyamented. "Nice to meet you, I am Uzumaki Naruto. " Naruto went to greet the toad. If he was the keeper of that scroll, his status in the n must be very high. Gama gave him a nod. "Nice to meet you, young one¡­" His eyes moved to Jiraiya. "He still hasn''t met the boss, correct?" The toad asked the Sannin. "Of course not. I was just teaching him how to use the jutsu." "Then¡­ if there is nothing else, I will take my leave¡­" Gama looked a bit worried. "Are you trying to hide from him?¡­ Did you owe him sake or something?" Jiraiya inquired with amusement. "Goodbye!" The toad looked away and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. "I guess they have their own problems¡­." Narutomented. "You have no idea." Jiraiya chuckled. "Who is this boss he mentioned?" Naruto asked. "He was talking about the current Toad Lord of the n. But you won''t be able to summon him yet, so don''t worry about it. Just give the jutsu a try. Let''s see what you can bring out." Jiraiya looked excited at the prospect. "Okay, let''s see¡­" Naruto tried to emte what he had just seen. His observation skills were quite good so he had an easy time when it came to memorizing new techniques. This one was particrly easy since it only involved a single-hand sign. He bit his right hand''s index finger and formed the correct hand sign before cing it on the ground. "Summoning Jutsu." A small cloud of smoke manifested in front of Naruto. "Whoa! Someone is calling me?!" A childish voice said. Naruto saw it better when the smoke cleared. The toad he summoned was very small and had a dark orange color. "Did I summon a child?" "Oh, not bad!" Jiraiya looked impressed. "I expected you to get a tadpole or something on your first few tries." "Who are you, and why did you summon me?" the small toad demanded. "My name is Naruto, and I have just be the new summoner for your n." He at least tried to sound polite, although he was not very impressed with his results. "Mmm really?¡­ you don''t look very strong." The small toad gave him a judging nce. Naruto looked down at the toad. "I am stronger than you, at least." The little toad did not like hisment one bit. "Hey, how dare you?! I am Gamakichi, the eldest son of the Toad Lord, Gamabunta!" "The Toad Lord? Is that the one you were talking about?" Naruto asked. Jiraiya nodded. "It is, but... this is the first time I''ve seen one of his sons." ''So I just summoned the toad equivalent of a young master¡­ that''s great.'' Narutomented. "How do I send him back?" "That''s just rude!" Gamakichi looked outraged. "You called me for no reason, and now you want me to leave?" He added. "My apologies for calling you out of nowhere, but I was just practicing the jutsu." Naruto looked at Jiraiya. "Is there no way to control who I summon?" He didn''t intend to summon a toddler, after all. "Of course there is¡­ it would be a useless jutsu otherwise. But to summon specific toads, you have to meet them in person at least once before. Other than that, the more chakra you put into the summoning, the more powerful the summon will be." "I see, so I didn''t put enough chakra to get an adult toad and ended up with this child." Naruto understood it better now. "I''m not a child!" Gamakichiined. "Let''s try again¡­." Naruto ignored the little toad and repeated the same thing, but this time, he put as much chakra as he could without exhausting himself or tapping into the Kyubi''s chakra. The cloud of smoke was muchrger, even more so than the one produced by Jiraiya. "What the¡­ you summoned him already?" Jiraiya looked shocked. This was the second time Naruto used this jutsu. ''Kakashi was right¡­ this kid is a monster¡­'' Gamakichi was also surprised. "Big brother?!" This toad was huge, with pale green skin and a massive sword on his back. The toad calmly looked around until his eyes stopped at the Sannin. "Jiraiya¡­ who should I cut?" "Hello, Gamadachi. It''s nice to see you again, but I am not the one who called you." Jiraiya pointed at Naruto. "A new summoner?" Gamadachi immediately concluded. "Big Brother Gamadachi!" Gamakichi shouted while jumping around. "Now I summoned his brother?¡­" Naruto wondered if he was going to summon the entire family of toads. "Gamakichi¡­ you are here too." He looked at Naruto. "I take it there are no enemies for me to kill¡­ yes?" The toad had a cold and dangerous tone when he spoke. "I''m afraid not. You can rx." Naruto stood calmly in front of the huge toad. He could feel that this one was very strong, but there was no hostilitying from him. "Your name is Naruto, right?¡­ Maybe you are not that bad after all." Gamakichi jumped to his side before taking onest leap andnding on his head. "What are you doing?¡­" Naruto asked. "If you can summon Big Brother Gamadachi, then you probably have some talent at least." Gamakichi said with a grin on his face. "After all, Gamadachi is one of the best sword masters in the n. Maybe in a few more years, you can even summon my father!" "Your father, huh?¡­ That would require a lot of chakra." Naruto said. "Yes! A lot, lot!" Gamakichi eximed. "Let''s give it a try then¡­" The air around Naruto changed. A baleful reddish aura began to emerge from his body. Gamakichi was startled and jumped away from him. "This chakra?!¡­ Gamakichi, stand behind me. Jiraiya, is this¡­?" Gamadachi looked at the Sannin with concern. "It is as you think¡­ Naruto is also the Jinchuuriki of the Kyubi¡­" Jiraiya was also somewhat worried, but at least this gave him the chance to see how much control Naruto had over that demon''s power. He had actually been nning a way to force Naruto to use it, so he could check this. He didn''t expect him to suddenly do this with no warning. A.N - Gamadachi is an O.C from the toad n. I created him because I needed someone kinda simr to Gamahiro but smaller in size and I could not find any toad who fit the bill. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 85: The Toad Lord Chapter 85: The Toad Lord Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 85: The Toad Lord Naruto''s eyes began to change color as strands of demonic energy swirled around his body. He felt an immediate differencepared to thest time he used the Kyubi''s chakra. His body was now much more resilient than before, and thus it did not suffer nearly as much damage while circting the venomous chakra through his body. Jiraiya stood watching. His face remained serene, but his eyes showed how surprised he was. Naruto was moving a tremendous amount of the Kyubi''s chakra, but so far, he showed no signs of losing control of the violent energy. ''Is this the result of Minato''s seal?'' He could only guess that his student''s idea of letting small traces of the demonic chakra mix with Naruto''s was to let the boy limate to it and perhaps gain a natural resistance. ''Or maybe it is just his natural talent, after all.'' Even if he hadn''t heard the reports from the Hokage and Kakashi about Naruto, after observing him for a short time, it was obvious that he had a monstrous amount of talent. ''Thest time I saw someone like this was¡­ yes¡­ Nagato.'' Jiraiya was forced out of his musings when Naruto finished the jutsu. "He seeded¡­" The Sannin had yet to see the summoned creature, but just by the size of the smoke¡­ he knew who this was. "Mmm¡­. what did you call me now for?" The colossal toad moved his eyes upwards and addressed the person standing on his head. "Say something, damn it! Oi, Jiraiya!" "Are you the Toad Lord?" Naruto nced down at the creature below him. He could not see much from his current position, just that this one had pale red skin and was many times bigger than the previous one. "That voice¡­ who is this?" Gamabunta couldn''t recognize the speaker. "Papa!" Gamakichi jumped on Gamadachi''s shoulder and called for his father. "Oh? Is that you, Gamakichi? What is going on? Where is Jiraiya?" The Toad Lord demanded to know. "Greetings, Lord Gamabunta." Gamadachi made a reverence. "If you are looking for Jiraiya¡­ he is right over there." The green toad pointed to his left. The Sannin was standing next to arge rock. He had been wondering if he should hide or not since he knew that Gamabunta didn''t like to be disturbed unless there was sake involved, and this was going to put him in a bad mood. "Hey there¡­" Gamabunta narrowed his eyes. "Jiraiya! What is the meaning of this? Who is on my head?!" Naruto jumped down andnded somewhat close to the other man. "My apologies, I didn''t mean to stand on your head. I didn''t know you were going to appear beneath me¡­" "Mmm¡­ who is this? His face looks familiar." The massive toad got his face closer to Naruto. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto." "Uzumaki¡­" The toad seemed to recognize the name, but then he noticed something else. "I can feel traces of that sted demon fox on this boy!" Gamabunta''s demeanor changed very quickly. Realizing this, Jiraiya decided to intervene before things got out of hand. "Hold it, Bunta! Naruto is Minato''s son!" The toad moved his eyes to the Sannin. "His son?! Wait¡­ I think I remember him mentioning something about that¡­" "It''s true¡­ Naruto here is thest legacy left behind by Minato." Jiraiya told him. Gamabunta seemed to be reminiscing about something. "That night, when I fought the fox¡­ I think I remember hearing a baby crying." He looked at Naruto. "So that was you. You do look a lot like your father, now that I think about it. Then¡­ the demon¡­" Naruto opened his robes and showed him the seal. "The Kyubi is right here. I guess you could say it was my father''s one and only birthday present." "A Jinchuriki¡­ like his wife." Gamabunta sighed. "I see now." He nced at Jiraiya. "And you let him sign our contract. You could have consulted me at least." "I got the approval from the elders years ago. They left the final decision to me." Jiraiya looked at Naruto and smiled. "You won''t be disappointed. The boy has as much talent as his father, or maybe even more." "Hmph! We''ll see about that." Gamabunta grunted and turned again towards Naruto. His demeanor became more intimidating now. "Listen here, boy. I considered your father a good friend of mine, and I was willing to fight at his side. But even if you are his son, and even if you have signed the Toad Contract¡­ you have yet to earn my approval." "My Lord¡­ isn''t it a bit early for this?" Gamadachi looked a bit concerned. "Papa?... what do you mean?" Gamakichi asked. Naruto looked directly at the Toad Lord. "Understandable¡­ it''s not like I want things handed to me just because of who my father was. I like to get things done for myself." "Good! Then I propose a test. If you pass it, you will earn my approval to summon any of my fellow nsmen and aid you in battle." "Bunta, do you have to do this now? Naruto has just be a genin very recently. Why not wait a few more years to test him?" Jiraiya suggested. Gamabunta chuckled. "No need¡­ I can feel it. He is ready." The toad lit his pipe and began to smoke. "What do you say, son of Minato?" "What does this test of yours involve?" Naruto felt like since he came to this world, he had been constantly tested. But if this was the way to move forward, he was not going to run away. "Easy¡­ all you have to do is hold against me for ten minutes. If you get knocked out before the time is up¡­ you fail." Gamabunta stated. "Wait, you are going to fight him directly?" Jiraiya expected the toad to propose something more harmless for Naruto, but a fight against the Toad Lord was no joke. Even a jonin might not survive five minutes in front of him. "That''s right, ten minutes, not one less. Oh¡­ and you are not allowed to use that fox demon chakra. I already know that beast is strong, but it is you I''m testing now." Gamabunta added. "Fair enough." Naruto threw his backpack away and adopted a fighting posture. "Whenever you want." "Jiraiya¡­ take care of the timer." Gamabunta released a puff of smoke. "Let''s see if you are really anything like your father¡­ boy." A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 86: The Final Test Chapter 86: The Final Test Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 86: The Final Test One weekter "Where is he?" Kiba looked around. All the genins who qualified for the finals had been brought to arge circr arena surrounded by a viewing area where all the guests were watching them. However, there was one genin missing. "Could something have happened to Sasuke?¡­" Ino looked worried. "I heard from Sakura that your Sensei is alwayste, is that true?" After their stay at the hospital together, Ino and Sakura had begun to fix their broken rtionship. They would not call each other friends, but at least they were on talking terms. "He does that sometimes." Naruto was paying more attention to his surroundings than to what was happening in the arena. ''The Hokage didn''t lie about this part of the exam. This looks more like a spectacle for them than an actual test for us,'' Naruto thought. He was still not familiar with the big shots from the area, but he did spot the Hokage, sitting in a very high spot that oversaw the whole structure. Next to him was another important-looking man, sitting right beside him. ''That must be the leader from the Sand Hidden Vige¡­'' He had heard that this person would be attending. "Hmph! He better not get Sasuke disqualified for this!" Ino huffed. "So, do I win by default if he doesn''t show up?¡­" Kiba looked somewhat hopeful. No matter how confident he was in his abilities, he did not believe he could do much against the Uchiha. ''Why couldn''t I get someone easier, like Naruto or Ino¡­'' Kibamented. His eyes moved to his right, where Naruto was standing. It wasn''t like he didn''t notice the changes in him. Not only was he dressing differently now, but his whole demeanor had changed. Even his smell had changed¡­ but Kiba still believed that he could win against him. Naruto had been the worst academy student for years¡­ even if he decided to try harder now, it would take a while before he could catch up to the rest. At least that''s what Kiba thought. "Winning by default will not earn you any points with the audience, you know?." Shikamaru decided to remind him what the purpose of this test was. Just winning was not enough, otherwise there would only be one person being promoted. It was about showing everyone what you were capable of. Winning a match because your opponents didn''t arrive in time was not going to prove anything about you. "Shut up! I know that." Kiba snapped. If he passed this match, his next one would be against either Kankuro or Shino, and he was a lot more confident against those opponents. "Shh! Be quiet already!" The proctor turned around to re at them with furrowed brows. This one was someone called Genma Shiranui, a tokubetsu jonin who always carried a toothpick in his mouth. "Stop looking around and face the crowd. Over there on the stands are many important individuals from the nation. They are all potential customers for our vige. Show them your worth!" ''So that''s what this is about¡­'' Naruto wasn''t used to this. Ninja viges worked very differently from the sects he was familiar with. They depended in a great way on the money collected from missions. And performing missions required clients. These finals were also a form of advertisement to attract customers. "Thanks everyone foring to¡­" The voice of the Hokage began to resound all over the area. "The Konoha Chunin selection exam! We will now start the main tournament matches, between the ten candidates who made it through the preliminaries. Please stay and watch until the end!" Genma turned around to face them. "All right, this is the final test, and I will be acting as your referee." He pointed around. "As you can see, the arena is a bit different from the preliminaries. This one is meant to simte a real scenario where there would be trees, bushes, rocks, and other things that you could potentially use to your advantage." The genins nced at their surroundings, already nning how to use the environment. "However, the rules are the same. You fight one on one until someone dies or admits defeat. But if I feel that the winner is already obvious, I will stop the fight and dere the winner. Is that clear?¡­" Genma waited until he saw everyone nod in agreement. "Good¡­ now." He took a piece of paper out. "When I call the names, I only want those two to remain in the arena. Everyone else will go wait at the stands. The first match will be¡­ Uchiha Sasuke vs. Inuzuka Kiba." "Wait, but¡­ Sasuke is not here yet!" Ino went toin. "He will be given ten minutes after the match begins, and if he is not here by then¡­ he will be disqualified." Kiba could not help but smile. "Now¡­ as I said, I want everyone to¡­" Genma stopped talking when someone jumped onto the arena. It was Sarutobi Asuma. "Sensei?¡­" Ino didn''t know what he was doing here, but he went directly to Genma and spoke something in his ear. "Seriously?¡­ fine." Genma didn''t seem happy with what he heard. He turned to address them once more. " There has been a change of ns. The first fight will be pushed tost ce. So, the first match will be¡­" "Hold on! What?!" Kiba eximed. "They are granting him extra time to get here¡­ looks like Konoha is giving preferential treatment to the Uchiha." Kankuro chuckled. "That''s not fair! If he can''t make it here¡ª" "That''s enough!" Genma interrupted him. "If you want to present a formalint, wait until the exams are over. Until then, you will follow my instructions. Is that clear?" Kiba had no choice but to nod. "Good¡­ for what it''s worth, I don''t like it either. Now¡­ the first match will be Kankuro of the Sand vs. Aburame Shino! I want everyone else, out of here." Genma announced. Shino and Kankuro went to their spots in the arena while the other genins left the premises. It was time for the finals to begin. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 87: An Attitude Problem Chapter 87: An Attitude Problem Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 87: An Attitude Problem As Naruto was walking through the sitting areas, he spotted someone familiar and approached. "I thought you had to stay in the hospital for another week," he told the girl next to him after leaning on the brick balcony. "Naruto!" Hinata almost jumped from the shock. "I¡­ I didn''t see you approach." "If anyone should see me approach, that would be you," Naruto remarked on her Byakugan ability. "I don''t use it all the time¡­" She still felt very embarrassed to be next to him, but at least she could talk mostly normally now. It had only been six days since she woke up from hera, and Naruto went to visit her on the second day. They talked about various things but avoided the topic of her family troubles since she didn''t seem to feel like talking about it. "How are you feeling?" Naruto asked her. "Better¡­ the doctor said that I should bepletely recovered in a month," Hinata told him. She got lucky not to have any permanent injuries after what Neji did to her. But no one in her n had spoken in her defense, so she remained quiet about it. Still, she was very happy that Naruto showed interest in her. He was the only one who visited her in the hospital, other than her sensei and teammates. Her father had onlye the day prior to remind her that her presence was required at the finals. After all, she was the Hyuga heir. "Oi, stay away from my daughter." Naruto heard someone speaking in a harsh tone from behind him. He turned around and saw a man with long ck hair and white eyes, sitting close by, and he did not look happy to see him. "You must be Lord Hyuga," Naruto said calmly. "Indeed, and I don''t need to ask for your name. I already know who you are...the troublemaker of Konoha and the worst student of your year," Lord Hyuga said. "Father, please¡­," Hinata muttered. "You better keep quiet¡­ you have done enough to embarrass me already. Come here and sit down next to your sister," the man demanded. "Sorry¡­" Hinata said to Naruto in a whisper before walking to her seat. "Looks like your n has some internal issues, Lord Hyuga," Naruto told the man without skipping a beat. The two Hyuga attendants who were sitting behind their lord gasped in shock. Not even the Hokage would speak to Lord Hiashi with so little courtesy. "My n is none of your business, and neither is my daughter. So stay away from both¡­ this is the only warning you''ll get from me," Hiashi said in a cold tone. Normally, Naruto would avoid offending the leader of a powerful n for no good reason, but he knew how empty his threat was. There was no way for the Lord of the Hyuga n to attack him inside the vige without suffering some serious consequences. He had a reputation to maintain. He could not go around assaulting Genins as he pleased, unless he had a very good excuse to do so. "Your daughter was almost killed by a lesser member of your n¡­" Naruto saw as Neji arrived and sat down to the left of Lord Hyuga without saying a word. "And I see that he has suffered no consequences for his actions." Neji stared at him with his white, empty eyes. "If that had been my daughter, I would have at least taken one of his limbs as an example," Naruto added. "D-daughter!..." Hinata''s face turned red, and she got lost in her own imagination. "How many times must I repeat myself? This is none of your business!" Lord Hyuga stood up from his seat. "Neji is the genius of our n, why should I punish him? Had my heir been more¡­ worthy of her position, she would not have been put in this situation." There was a lot of venom in Hiashi''s words as he red at Hinata. This was obviously meant for her and not for Naruto. Hinata lowered her head and said nothing. "Hmph, Father, there is no need to waste words with this boy¡­ he will soon get killed by Cousin Neji." Naruto had barely noticed the small girl sitting on the right of the n Lord. "Who is the little Hinata?" Naruto asked. The girl immediately got angry. "I''m not like my sister! And my name is Hanabi!" "I see, the little sister¡­" Naruto felt like he had learned a lot about the Hyuga n from this short exchange already. Lord Hiashi had Neji sitting at his left and his youngest daughter sitting at his right, while Hinata, his heir, was one more seat away. This showed the Lord''s preference and also told him that the Hyuga n holds a traditional inheritance system where the older child bes the heir, but at the same time, their current Lord values talent and strength over everything else. That would exin why Lord Hiashi did not punish Neji. As far as he is concerned, the strong should discipline the weak, so he didn''t do anything wrong other than point out the current heir''s weakness. "So you are sure that I will lose against Neji, huh?" Naruto nced at the little Hyuga girl. She grinned with satisfaction. "Of course! A loser like you has no chance." "Hanabi!" Hinata looked horrified. Neji had remained stoic during the whole exchange, opting not to join in. As far as he was concerned, Naruto was so far beneath him that it would be insulting for him to say anything. "Is that so?¡­ Then what about this...If I don''t get horribly beaten by this cousin of yours¡­ you will have to refer to me as Mister Naruto every time you see me, and you will do it with the utmost respect that a girl of your caliber and education knows how to," Naruto suggested. "And if you don''t?" Hanabi asked. "Then, ording to you, I would be dead, so there is no point in further terms, right?" Hanabi seemed to be thinking about it. "Fine, if you win, I''ll call you whatever you want. Like that is going to happen¡­" "Hanabi¡­" Hiashi gave her a look of disapproval. "Then I will take my leave and wait for my turn." Naruto looked at Hinata. "We can talk more on another asion," he told her before walking away. "Hey! I told you to stay away from my daughter!" Lord Hyuga shouted. "And I chose to ignore it!" Naruto shouted back without turning around. "Damn boy!" Hiashi red at his younger daughter. "And you! Why would you engage him in a stupid bet?" Hanabi made a troubled expression. "But he¡­ but Father, it''s not like he can win!" "That''s not the point! You should have ignored him and been done with it¡­ urgh¡­" Hiashi turned to Neji. "You better teach that arrogant boy his ce." "Of course, Lord Hyuga¡­ I will¡­" Neji answered. "Naruto¡­" Hinata looked at his back as he was getting away. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 88: Naruto vs Neji Part 1 Chapter 88: Naruto vs Neji Part 1 Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 88: Naruto vs Neji Part 1 The fight between Shino and Kankurosted a good fifteen minutes and ended with Shino''s victory. Kankuro was overall stronger and more experienced than Shino, but unfortunately for him, this was a bad match-up. His only puppet had been designed for quick assassinations, not to deal with a massive amount of insectsing at him from all directions. The Aburame insects got inside the puppet''s joints, rendering it useless before the rest attached to him and drained most of his chakra. After Shino''s victory, it was Shikamaru''s turn to face the second member of the Sand Vige. Temari might have been the most capable female ninja from all the candidates, but she still fell for Shikamaru''s machinations and was caught in his shadow jutsu, forcing her to surrender. Then, it was finally time for Naruto to face the renowned Hyuga genius. "Good luck!" Sakura told him before he took the stairs down. "Yes, give him a good beating!" Ino cheered. She and Hinata could not be called close friends, but she was still angry with Neji for what he did. Naruto gave them a nod and went into the arena. Up inside the V.I.P viewing room, a man leaned forward just in time to see Naruto walk in. "Oh¡­ What do you think of this next match, Hiruzen?" the Kazekage asked. The Hokage nced at his guest. He had barely said anything the entire time. He didn''t say a word when his two children were bested, but he spoke now. "I didn''t think you would be very interested in this match¡­ it''s just two Genins from Konoha." "Please, do not insult my intelligence, Hiruzen. We both know that is not the case¡­" The Hokage did his best to keep his facial features from showing any change. "Right, I suppose you have your eye on Hyuga Neji. He is considered the most talented Genin in the vige. I have great expectations for his future." He decided to test this man. The Kazekage had been acting strange all day. And the reports he got from Jiraiya were pointing toward a hidden danger threatening Konoha. "Sure, the Hyuga boy is not bad¡­ but I was mostly interested in the other one." "Naruto?..." Hiruzen did not like the way the Kazekage was speaking. The Kazekage chuckled. "Yes¡­ I wonder what kind of fight he will show us today¡­" Neji and Genma were already on the other side, waiting for him when he walked inside the circr fighting area. Once Naruto was in position, the referee asked them both if they were ready, and then¡­ "Let us begin the third match!" He shouted for the audience to hear. "Hyuga Neji vs. Uzumaki Naruto!" Genma gave the signal for them to start and got out of the way. None of them moved from their spots. "Well?¡­ Aren''t you going to show me what the number one genius can do?" Naruto asked. "I have nothing to prove to you!" Neji got into a fighting position. "But I would shame my n if I let this match drag for too long against someone like you." He rushed at Naruto. "Not even going to activate those eyes of yours?¡­ You are really looking down on me¡­" "Taijutsu will be enough!" Neji got to his side and threw a series of normal punches. Naruto deflected them with little effort¡­ p! Naruto''s palm made contact with Neji''s cheek before he could react. The hit was not hard enough to cause any serious damage, but it made a very loud noise and left the whole stadium staring in bafflement at what had just happened. "Did¡­ did he p Neji?" Hanabi had her eyes opened like tes. "He did¡­" Even Hinata did not know what to think right now. "That can''t be¡­" Hiashi refused to believe it. Neji recovered from his stupor and took several steps back to distance himself from Naruto. "Ready to take this more seriously?" Naruto asked him. Neji clenched his teeth. He went easy on his opponent and was rewarded with humiliation. "Byakugan!" His eyes transformed. "Better." Naruto nodded. Neji attacked again using the same Taijutsu style, but this time he was a lot more cautious and was keeping track of Naruto''s moves. Naruto remained standing still and waited. A momentter, Neji decided to make his move. After taking a side step and positioning himself at Naruto''s left, Neji sent a powerful kick aimed at his legs in order to knock him down. Naruto shifted his weight and twisted the target away before he brought it back down, stomping on Neji''s toes. The boy grunted in pain but did not lose his concentration. Neji assessed the situation and moved his arms in position to perform another attack. p! Naruto''s hand impacted his cheek on the same spot as before. This time, Neji got hit hard enough to make him lose bnce, and because Naruto had been pressing on his foot, he fell on his butt. "What the¡­ Neji got pped again?!" Sakura eximed. "How is Naruto pping him so easily? Is something wrong with Neji?" Ino wondered. After all, Neji was supposed to be incredibly strong at Taijutsu. "There is nothing wrong with Neji." The two girls were startled by the sudden appearance of Maito Gai at their side. "Then¡­" Sakura urged him to continue. "Neji is using the academy Taijutsu style, and he is doing it almost perfectly. There are no important ws in his performance¡­ the problem is the style itself." Gai had a grave expression, and he did not move his eyes away from Naruto for one second. "The academy style? What''s wrong with it? We all learned it," Ino asked. This was also the style she used, even though she tried to avoid being that close to her opponents. "I already said this many times to the Hokage¡­ The academy Taijutsu style is just meant to teach you basics, and it is not rmended to be used on the field. There are certain gaps in the moves¡­ they are hard to spot, but in the eyes of a master¡­ it would be possible to use those gaps and create counterattacks." "Phew¡­ that''s impressive." Kakashi appeared out of nowhere and poked his head. "Ahh, Sensei! Where were you?!" Sakura shouted. "Huh?... And where is Sasuke?" Ino asked. Kakashi pointed. "He is right over there." No one had noticed their arrival due to their focus beingpletely on the match. Sasuke was standing a few feet away and looking down at the arena with interest. "Naruto¡­ did you grow stronger again?..." A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 89: Naruto vs Neji Part 2 Chapter 89: Naruto vs Neji Part 2 Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 89: Naruto vs Neji Part 2 "Sasuke!" Sakura grinned from ear to ear. It had been almost a month since shest saw him. She took off running until she was almost at his side. "Sasuke, how have you b¡ª..." She stopped mid-sentence when she saw the face that Sasuke was making while staring at the arena, no¡­ he was staring at Naruto. His eyes were wide open, and his Sharingan was active. The two ck tomoes on each eye were spinning at a steady pace. Sakura didn''t like the way Sasuke looked right now. He was ring at Naruto like¡­an enemy. "Sasuke¡­." Kakashi must have noticed something because he moved to her side. "Come on, why don''t we go over there to watch the match?" He moved her away from Sasuke and brought her back to where she was before. Ino also saw this and didn''t know what to think. "What''s going on with him?" Kakashi smiled wearily. "We can discuss this at a different time." p! Meanwhile, the match continued, and Neji got hit for the third time. Naruto had been steadily increasing the strength of the ps. This one had sent Neji tumbling around. When the Hyuga genius stood back up, his cheek had begun to swell, and there was a clear red mark in the shape of Naruto''s hand on it. "Yikes, I can see the mark on his cheek from here," Ino made a troubled face. "Kakashi, did you¡­ no¡­ you did not teach this to Naruto¡­" Gai stated. Kakashi shook his head. "Don''t bother to ask. Even I don''t know where he learned this¡­ I don''t even know what style of Taijutsu he is using." "Naruto is not using any style. He is just reacting to Neji''s moves from a neutral position. That should be impossible unless his mastery over the discipline was several steps higher than Neji''s," Gai exined. "Sensei! Look, he is over there!" They turned around and saw TenTen arriving with Rock Lee at her side. Lee was using a cane to help him walk, and his teammate was apanying him just in case he needed help. "Lee¡­ you were not supposed to leave the hospital yet." Gai frowned. "I''m sorry, Gai Sensei! But I couldn''t miss the finals. I''ll run a hundredps around Konoha when I recover!" Lee shouted. Gai sighed. "Fine,e over here." "Neji''s fight has already started!" TenTen eximed. "It''s not going well for him," Sakuramented. "What?!" TenTen shouted. She and Lee looked at the arena and immediately noticed the strange situation. Neji looked terrible. He was breathing heavily, he had his back bent forward, and he was ring at Naruto with pure venom in his eyes. On top of his swollen cheek, his beautiful long ck hair waspletely disheveled, and his clothes were dirty and torn. Naruto, on the other hand, appeared to bepletely fresh. His back was straight as an arrow, and his ck tunic did not have a single stain on it. "Neji would do well in calming down. Maybe he would then realize that he cannot continue to use the Academy Style against Naruto," Gai said. "He is not using the Gentle Fist?" Lee asked. "I''m afraid that Neji looked down on this opponent a bit too much¡­ now he is paying for it," Gaimented. "I told him not to underestimate Naruto¡­." Lee said. "Neji is too stubborn, though¡­" TenTen said. She knew Neji better than most, even if that boy barely showed his feelings. For Neji to go all out against someone younger and less experienced would be akin to renouncing his position as a genius. Back at the arena, Neji was staring at Naruto with his enhanced white eyes, trying to figure out how he was losing on every exchange. "You¡­ how¡­." "If you don''t start using your fancy n technique, you are going to lose on the next p," Naruto told him. "How dare you¡­ I cannot be fated to lose against a nobody like you¡­" Neji changed his posture, and his eyes gained more intensity. "Fate?..." Naruto hated that word. "He is finally going to use it!" Hanabi looked excited. For a moment, she thought about the possibility of Neji losing. "Oh no¡­" Hinata covered her mouth. She wasn''t sure how much Naruto knew about the Gentle Fist. She should have warned Naruto about her n''s jutsu. "That''s right! Go for it, Neji!" The Hyuga Lord smiled. "Kakashi¡­ did you teach Naruto about the Gentle Fist?" Gai asked. "Well¡­" Kakashi looked toward the sky. "That''s a strange bird¡­." He pretended not to hear him. "If Naruto doesn''t know about it¡­ this will be over the moment Neji touches him¡­" Leemented. He did not want to see Naruto lose. He still hasn''t had the chance to thank him for the help against Gaara. "You want to see my real style?...very well. You are inside my range¡­" Neji moved his palms around beforeunching himself at Naruto. "Gentle Fist¡­ Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!" "Naruto, dodge it!" Ino shouted. "Narut¡ª ahh!" Sakura gasped. Neji''s palms impacted Naruto''s chest. "Two palms!" Next, it was four. "Four Palms!" And Naruto did not move. "Eight Palms!" "Sixteen¡­ Thirty-Two!¡­ and finally¡­ Sixty-Four Palms!" A barrage of attacksnded on Naruto''s body without giving him time to react. "Oh no¡­" Lee said. "It''s over..." TenTen added. "This is very bad!" Ino was clenching her teeth. "That idiot didn''t even try to move!" Gai narrowed his eyes as he watched the scene. There was something odd about the way Naruto took the attacks, but he could not figure out what it was. Kakashi was also doing the same thing. Something was missing. He was sure that Naruto could have at least avoided some of those hits, but he did not move an inch. Afternding thest hit, Neji finally smiled. In the end¡­ he had won, as expected. He looked up at Naruto. "You can''t escape Fate¡­ victory is mi¡ª" p! A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 90: Naruto vs Neji Part 3 Chapter 90: Naruto vs Neji Part 3 Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 90: Naruto vs Neji Part 3 Neji was sent flying this time andnded on his side, several feet away, with a loud ''thud'' noise. The audience was baffled, especially those familiar with the Hyuga Gentle Fist. Naruto should have copsed on the ground after receiving the full Sixty-Four Palms. Having all of your chakra points closed at the same time was incredibly painful, but he did not even flinch before pping Neji again. Neji coughed up some blood before attempting to stand back up. Thatst p had caused decent damage to his face, and his teeth had made several cuts to the inside of his mouth. There was nothing broken yet, but the swelling on his cheek was making it difficult to use his left eye. Neji looked at Naruto and made sure that his technique had worked. "It worked¡­" He could confirm with his own eyes that his opponent''s sixty-four chakra points had been sealed sessfully. But then¡­ "How are you still moving so fast?!" Why couldn''t he react to thest attack? It made no sense. He had assumed that Naruto was circtingrge amounts of chakra throughout his body as a way to enhance his movement, like his teammate Lee does during his ''Eight Gates'' technique. But there were no signs of anything like that on his body. There was absolutely zero chakra circting through his body right now, and still¡­ "No¡­" Neji denied. He must have lowered his guard at the end. That''s why he got hit. All he had to do was attack Naruto again, and he would win. Up at the stands, the audience was watching the contestants'' moves with rapt attention. Particrly at the seats reserved for the Hyuga family. "Why is Neji having so much trouble? He should have won by now!" Hanabi had never seen her cousin lose a fight, unless it was against her father. He was the number one genius of her n, but now he was being tossed around like a novice. Hinata had nothing to say to her sister. She also didn''t know how Naruto had be so strong in such a short amount of time. Back at the academy, he would rarely win during the spars, even against some of the other civilian children from their ss. "This is very strange¡­" Hiashi Hyuga had his Byakugan active and was not taking his eyes away from Naruto. He had spotted something that shouldn''t be there. "What''s wrong, father?" Hanabi noticed her father''s odd reaction. "That boy still has chakra in him¡­ lots of it¡­ a tremendous amount of chakra!" Hiashi eximed. "But¡­ that''s not possible." Hanabi had also activated her Byakugan and could see as clear as day that no chakra was circting through Naruto''s body. "There is something in his muscles and bones¡­" Hinata was the one who said this. But then¡­ she was forced to deactivate her jutsu and began to cough violently. "Hinata!" Hanabi and the two attendants hurried to check on her. "You shouldn''t be forcing yourself like that !" "Lady Hinata! Should we take you to the hospital? You are notpletely recovered yet," one of the attendants said. Hiashi nced at his older daughter with interest. She was able to see it too, despite her condition. "She is right¡­ there is chakra infused in his bones and muscles¡­ and it''s not a small amount either." The Hyuga Lord was now truly concerned. This was not the first time he saw something like this. Many have tried to permanently enhance their bodies with chakra, but the degree of sess had varied greatly, and no one could be said to truly seed in this. "But if there is someone who did¡­" Hiashi muttered. His n''s signature technique would be of little use against someone who seeded in mastering this method. ''Even if all their chakra paths were closed, they would still possess strength and speed, many times over the normal human limit.'' The Hyuga Lord considered the terrible scenario where something like this becamemon knowledge, as this would be the end of their n. Back at the arena, Neji closed the gap between him and Naruto. Since his Gentle Fist had already aplished its purpose, it was now time to use normal Taijutsu to finish the job. He aimed a vicious strike at Naruto''s neck, hoping to knock him out before he could react. But much like before, his attack was deflected with ease. It was then that Neji realized that Naruto''s speed had not decreased one bit after receiving the Sixty-Four Palms¡­ if anything, it looked like he was moving faster now. "No way! How are you doing this?!" Neji continued tounch one attack after another. His eyes were able to follow Naruto''s every move, but still¡­ he could not connect a single hit. Neji felt the same as during his practice matches against his Sensei. Gai would always handicap himself during their spars and would not abuse his superior strength and speed. But even with that, Neji was never able to connect a strike on him. It was as if his Sensei always knew the best way to deflect his every move. This was pure skill and experience¡­ the advantage that a Master would always have. ''This makes no sense!'' Neji told himself. He was fighting another genin, and one younger than him. How could Naruto have a level of expertise high enough to suppress his Taijutsu? At that moment, Neji spotted movement in Naruto''s right hand. This was the one he had been using to hit him every time. ''Another p!'' Neji could not help but panic. Naruto had been progressively increasing the strength of every p. Thest one had already sent him flying and caused serious damage to his face. The next one could shatter his bones¡­ Not wanting to take any more risks, Neji made use of his ultimate defensive jutsu. Chakra coated his entire body before he twisted his torso around and began to spin. "Revolving Heaven! (Kaiten)" Right in front of Naruto, Neji created a semi-sphere of wind and chakra where nothing could pass through. It was the absolute defense of the Hyuga n, and it could block even most ninjutsus. However, this jutsu had a ring weakness¡­ the user cannot move from the spot during its entire duration. The timing of its use must be carefully calcted in order to block the attack with precision before deactivating. In his panic, Neji used it too soon. Naruto had done nothing yet, so he didn''t receive any deflective damage and could just remain standing in his spot with no issue. After a few more seconds, Neji ended the Revolving Heaven and realized his mistake. But it was toote. "Oh no¡­" A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 91: Naruto vs Neji: Conclusion Chapter 91: Naruto vs Neji: Conclusion Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- A.N- I decided to do an extra chapter today so you guys were not left hanging right before the end of the match :) - Chapter 91: Naruto vs Neji: Conclusion For the first time since their match began, Neji saw Naruto move from his spot. And in the next instant, Naruto was right in front of him. It should have been impossible for his eyes to miss something like this¡­ it was as if he had used some sort of space-time jutsu. Neji felt the impending attack and prepared to activate his defensive jutsu again, but just then, his right wrist was grabbed by Naruto. "No," Naruto said in a cold tone before he began to squeeze. Neji felt a tremendous amount of pain and could even hear his bones cracking. "S-Stop!" He tried to use his other hand, but this one was also intercepted and held. "Ahh!¡­ I surrender!" he finally said. There was nothing more he could do. His opponent was too strong. "No," Naruto said once more. Then he proceeded to squeeze Neji''s wrists until every bone was broken and every muscle was ripped apart. Neji screamed again, this time much louder. His mind was racing as he endured all this agony. ''Why is the referee not stopping the match?!'' He could not see Genma anywhere. His eyes moved to the audience, trying to find his uncle. He should have done something by now. But Neji was unable to find anyone. Other than the arena, everything was covered in darkness. He could not think properly anymore...the pain was too much. At this point, Neji just wanted it to end. He saw Naruto release what was left of his wrists and prepare to attack again. This time, Naruto raised his closed fist¡­ this was not another p. However, Neji did not move. He had already lost the will to fight. This was his fate, and he had to ept it. Naruto''s fist was massive¡­it was impossibly big and began to grow even more until it covered his entire field of view. It came down on him like a hammer on an anvil. Neji heard a loud and terrible noise as his skull began to crack, and then¡­ everything wentpletely dark. The spectacle viewed by the audience was very different from what Neji had just experienced. What they all saw was Neji using his Revolving Heaven jutsu for a few seconds, and then, once Neji came back into view, he looked directly at Naruto. His eyes opened wide, and an expression of pure terror appeared on his face. This onlysted for a very short amount of time before the boy copsed on the ground. Genma hurried to check on him. The referee gave a sigh of relief when he noticed that Neji''s vitals were normal. He was just unconscious. He nced at Naruto. Genma would never admit it out loud, but he had no idea what the blond boy had done to knock out the Hyuga genius. His first thought would have been Genjutsu, but as far as he was aware, there was no Genjutsu that would work on a Hyuga while their Byakugan was active. "Winner¡­ Uzumaki Naruto." Still, the winner was clear, and he had to dere it. Very few ps and cheers wereing from the audience. Most of them did not understand either how Neji Hyuga, the number one genius of Konoha, had lost so quickly after a few ps. "That was certainly an interesting way to defeat a Hyuga." The ''Kazekage,'' sitting in the V.I.P. area,mented with amusement in his voice. "Yes¡­ it is definitely unusual." The Hokage was not amused at all. "To release such a controlled wave of bloodlust¡­ especially from a genin. And they say that Mist Vige is too cruel with their new recruits. Makes you wonder¡­ right?" The Kazekage chuckled. Of course, he was aware that the Hokage had nothing to do with this. The man was too kind. But that just made it funnier to him. ''Naruto¡­ what happened to you?'' The Third Hokage had nothing but concern in his eyes. Bloodlust was not something one could learn by practice alone and could not even be called a technique. It was just something that people learned naturally as they experienced dangerous situations. Only those who had gone through hell and back could have bloodlust powerful enough to project it onto others. The one used by Naruto had been very focused on Neji, leaving only faint traces that most people in the audience were not able to notice, other than the most experienced warriors. "Oh well¡­" Naruto said while ncing at the unconscious Neji. He had not been expecting this topletely knock him out. Bloodlust affects everyone very differently. It all depends on their personal life experiences. Someone who had seen their fair share of bloodshed might be able to shrug it off, while others would be so affected that they could even experience hallucinations, akin to a genjutsu. What happened to Neji was an extreme case. This was because of hisck of field experience and the fact that he was already beginning to be afraid of Naruto. Neji''s own fear and his sense of guilt for what he did to his cousin made him believe that he deserved a terrible punishment. And his mind did the rest. It created a very realistic hallucination of a scenario he feared¡­ being killed by Naruto. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 92: Ino’s Determination to Fight Chapter 92: Ino¡¯s Determination to Fight Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 92: Ino''s Determination to Fight As Naruto was about to reach the top of the stairs, he came face to face with Ino, who was about to go down. "Oh, there you are. Congrattions, Naruto!" Beneath her gentle smile was a great deal of concern. "Thanks¡­ you''re not actually going to fight that Gaara¡­ right?" Naruto asked her. She immediately became upset. "You too? I already heard this enough from my father and Sensei. I''m not giving up before even trying." "You don''t seem to understand how dangerous that boy is," Naruto warned her. Ino had missed the match between Gaara and Rock Lee, so all the information she had about him was from third-hand sources. But she was aware of how strong he was. "I''m not stupid, Naruto. I know I don''t have much of a chance to win¡­ but I won''t give up that easily. If I do¡­ I''ll never be a Ch¨±nin, you know? I also have ambitions¡­" she said with mixed feelings. "It''s not about winning or losing. If you step in there, he won''t let you leave the arena alive." Naruto had already faced Gaara directly and had a good grasp of how deranged that boy was. "Oh? Are you perhaps worried about me?" She had a mischievous smile. "I can''t me you for bing smitten by my beauty. But I still like Sasuke." She wasn''t sure if that was true anymore, but she said it anyway. "But I will tell you something." She walked past Naruto and began to descend the stairs. "If¡­ you win this tournament, you can take me out to dinner," she added without stopping. "Wouldn''t winning the tournament mean that Sasuke has to lose?¡­" Naruto said, but she was too far away to hear it. When he returned to the viewing area, he found Kakashi and the others in the same ce. "Congrattions, Naruto. I never doubted you for a second." Kakashi made a victory sign. If he had any concerns about what Naruto did, he kept them to himself. "Yes, congrattions Naruto!. You did great. " Sakura at least had a sincere smile. She didn''t understand what had happened down there but was at least happy that her teammate had won. "What did you do at the end?" Sasuke''s cold voice cut through the short silence. He had not been able to figure it out with the use of his sharingan. "Oh? You wanna know?" Naruto nced at his teammate. "Maybe if you ask nicely, I will tell you." "Tsk! Forget it." Sasuke went back to ignoring him and nced back at the arena. "Sasuke..." Sakura looked at him with worry. He hasn''t even acknowledged her presence since he came back. Ino was just walking in while Gaara was doing the same from the other side. The medics had already taken Neji away, and Genma was alone at the center. Naruto saw Maito Gai and his two other students close by. "Naruto!" Rock Lee called for him in a formal manner, as they had barely talked since they met before the exams. "Ah¡­ you are out of the hospital already?" Naruto saw that his left leg and arm were still heavily bandaged, and the boy was using a cane to hold himself steady. "How are your wounds?" "It''s going well¡­ I''ll be in top shape very soon, you''ll see!" Lee said with enthusiasm. By the expression that his Sensei was making¡­ that seemed unlikely. ''And that would be a problem¡­'' thought Naruto. He had been nning on exchanging some low-rank cultivation method for the Eight Gates technique. But that won''t work if the boy was a cripple. ''Unfortunately, I don''t know anything about the healing arts.'' Now he was regretting being so focused on cultivation during his previous life. Perhaps some knowledge of alchemy, runes, and medicine could have been very handy. But it was toote for regrets. If his initial idea won''t work, he would have to find another one. "Oi Naruto. That was a very interesting match." He saw TenTen approaching, and she didnt seem very angry with him at least. "I thought you would be more upset with me. Isn''t Neji yourpanion?" "Companion? You mean as in boyfriend?¡­" Tenten''s face got very red. "Of course not! We are just teammates¡­" even though she wouldn''t mind if there was something more. "I was just surprised. I never thought I would see Neji being pped around in such a manner," the girl said. "Right! That was insane!" Lee added. "I sparred many times, but with his Byakugan, it is impossible tond a hit on him. You were moving so fast that he could not react¡­ maybe if I had used gates¡­" "Lee¡­" Gai had a warning tone. "I know, Sensei. I was just¡­" "And besides, Naruto was not really moving much faster than Neji," Gai added. "Really? But Neji could not follow his attacks, even with the Byakugan active," Tenten said. "He could follow them, but he couldn''t avoid them in time. All attacks have momentum to them. During a brief period of time, there will be an opening. No matter how good or refined your fighting style is, there will always be an opening that can be exploited. It is up to the user to cover those openings the best they can. " their Sensei exined. "You are saying that Naruto was exploiting those openings in Neji''s moves?¡­ That''s¡­" Tenten nced at Naruto with surprise. Lee was doing the same. They both thought that Naruto had somehow be faster than Neji and used this advantage to overwhelm him. But surpassing someone like Neji with pure technique was a whole different thing. It meant that Naruto was at least at j¨­nin level when it came to Taijutsu technique and expertise. "Hey, Ino''s match is about to start!" Sakura eximed. Naruto got closer to the wall and looked down at the arena. "This is not a match¡­ this is an execution." A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 93: Hope and Despair Chapter 93: Hope and Despair Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 93: Hope and Despair "What?! Why would you say that?" Sakura frowned. "He is not wrong," Kakashi added. "What is Asuma thinking? He shouldn''t have let her set foot in that arena. There is always the next Ch¨±nin exam¡­ there''s no need to push her luck this far." "I''m sure Asuma warned her of the dangers. That is as far as he should get involved as a Sensei¡­" Gaimented. "Wait, is he not going to help Ino if things get dangerous?" Sakura said with concern. She also thought this was a terrible idea, but Ino was too stubborn to change her mind. Kakashi nced towards Asuma, who was standing on the other side. The man was obviously worried and would not take his eyes off his student. "We''ll see¡­" Down at the arena, Ino and Gaara had taken their positions and were ready to begin. "The fourth match is about to begin. Gaara of the Sand versus Yamanaka Ino¡­" Even the referee seemed a bit hesitant to give the signal, but he had a job to do. Genma lifted his right hand in the air. "Begin!" Ino began moving immediately. She pulled some kunai and threw them at Gaara. Gaara lifted his hand and used the sand already on him to block the attack with little effort. He did not even bother to release the sand inside his gourd. Ino did not seem deterred by this. She ran a bit closer, got three more kunai, and threw them in the same way as before. Gaara had a disgruntled expression. This was not the fight he wanted, he needed to prove his existence by killing strong opponents. He once again blocked the three kunai using the sand from his armor. But he failed to notice that these kunai were a bit different from the others. That was until he heard the sizzling noiseing from the seals tied to them. "Got you!" Ino smiled. Her kunai exploded while still on Gaara''s right arm, and he was covered by a cloud of smoke and dust. But Ino knew this was not going to be enough. She approached even more while taking a water y jar from her backpack. She unsealed the lid and performed several hand signs. The water inside the container rose up in the air and floated in front of her. While she did this, the smoke cleared up a bit, revealing that Gaara was still alive. His sand armor had managed to stop most of the st, but the one on his right arm had not been thick enough to protect himpletely, and there were some clear burn marks on it. "Hurts¡­" Gaara began to mumble while his expression went through many emotions. "That girl hurt Gaara?¡­" Temari and Kankuro stared in disbelief. "She threw those first kunai to make him believe she was not a threat and then used the explosive ones," Kankuro said. "Oh¡­ that''s clever," Kakashi said, right before Inopleted her jutsu. The sphere of water floated in front of Ino''s face. "Water Release: Wild Water Wave!" A st of water impacted Gaara at a tremendous speed. However, there was not much force behind the attack, and for the most part, it only had the effect of getting Gaarapletely wet. "Clever, but it''s already toote," Naruto said. He couldmend Ino for the idea of sting the sand with water to make Gaara more vulnerable, but she should have started with that. Ino threw four more kunai at Gaara while he was still recovering. The expectation was clear in her eyes. If she could get him again with those explosive kunai, the wet sand would make it much more difficult for Gaara to block the impact of the explosion and he would be defeated. "Ahhh!" Gaara shouted with rage. The gourd on his back exploded and the sand contained inside surged with tremendous force, covering himpletely and creating a sphere of sand where the four kunai hit and exploded. "Oh¡­" That''s when Ino realized her mistake. She did not ount for Gaara being able to release that extra sand in time. "It''s a shame," said Gai. "Yes." Kakashi agreed. "Had she started with that water jutsu, and followed it with a surprise explosive kunai aimed at a vital area instead of his arm¡­ she may have had a chance to take him down before he could unleash all his power." "Wait, what are you saying?¡­" Sakura became increasingly worried for her friend. Ino took several steps back. Her hands went to her pouch, but as expected, it was empty. Those were all the explosive kunai she had. The smoke cloud cleared, and it became immediately evident that Gaara had suffered no damage at all this time. The sphere of sand had a few indentations that quickly healed before it opened to reveal the shape of a very angry Gaara. "You!¡­" He pointed at her. "You hurt me!" His hand was trembling with barely contained anger, and his eyes were bloodshot. "Die!" Ino didn''t know what else to do now, he mind switch jutsu would require her to be even closer than this, and...there was no way she could do that. She sawrge strands of sand shoot at her like arrows and tried to move away in a panic. One of the strands touched her left ankle and quickly wrapped itself around it, not letting her go. Ino had no time to say anything before Gaara closed his hand to form a fist. At that moment, the sand around Ino''s anklepressed, destroying the bones and turning them into smithereens. The girl let out a bloodcurdling scream that covered the entire arena and made everyone present feel part of her pain. "Enough, stop!" Genma decided to end the match here. There was nothing more that Ino could do at this point, other than die. But Gaara was not willing to leave it here¡­ she had to pay the ultimate price. He had released the sand inside his gourd and his mother would not be happy if he let the girl live now. "No!" Gaara screamed and continued his assault. His sand shot everywhere and forced Genma to use some defensive moves to avoid being hit by his attacks. Ino saw as arge mass of sand flew directly at her. With her anklepletely destroyed, she could not move in time to avoid this. ''Is this it?¡­'' she thought in despair. Why didn''t she listen to her Sensei¡­ to her father¡­ or to Naruto? ''I wanted to prove that I could do it¡­'' She reminded herself. This was not just for the exam. She was trying to prove to everyone that she was a good ninja¡­ that she could get far. ''Maybe I also wanted him to see me¡­'' The sand was almost onto her. "Ino!" She heard her father scream. It was very close¡­ and also very far. But then¡­ Ino heard something else. It was ''his'' voice and it was much closer. "RASENGAN!" A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 94: Naruto Confronts Gaara Chapter 94: Naruto Confronts Gaara Disimer:Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 94: Naruto Confronts Gaara Moments earlier, in the stands Sakura gasped in horror when she saw the mass of sand crushing Ino''s feet. "You have to do something!" she red at her Sensei. Kakashi made a troubled face. This was against the rules, especially during the final test. If a jonin jumps in to help one of their genin against a foreign ninja when things get bad, it would set a dangerous precedent. This is why only the referee is allowed to act. He is the neutral figure in the arena. During his moment of hesitation, he saw that someone was already about to jump in. Inoichi Yamanaka was not willing to let his only daughter die just like that. Naruto grasped onto the low wall. His chakra burst out with violence as he broke through the restraints ced upon him by Neji just mere minutes ago. The baleful aura of the demonic fox was mixed in also, making the reaction more spectacr. The wall in front of Naruto broke into pieces and began to fall down. Everyone around him was forced to turn their eyes to him. "Naruto¡­ you¡­" Kakashi was about to ask ''what the hell are you doing,'' but he was cut off by Naruto''s next words. "A drop of water shall be returned with a burst of spring." After saying that, Naruto used a powerful movement technique to close the gap between him and Ino in a mere fraction of a second. Red Lotus Shift was a top-rank technique for core formation cultivators. However, the boundless energy from the Kyubi allowed him to make limited use of this move, even though he was still at the beginning of the Qi Refining realm. Naruto was almost there. He could get in between the girl and the approaching mass of sand. He did not have many options to use against this kind of attack. But there was something he had learned recently that should be sufficient for the task. A jutsu passed down by his father. Naruto focused arge amount of chakra on the palm of his right hand and made it spin. This was just the second time he tried this move, but he was confident in his own skills. The violent sphere of chakra came out wlessly and he directed it towards the sand. "Rasengan!" As he expected, the sand could not make it through¡­ much to Gaara''s frustration. With onest twist, Naruto released his control over the sphere and allowed it to move forward, sending the mass of sand away from him. "Naruto?!" Ino eximed. She was so surprised to see him here that she almost forgot her blinding pain. "Ino!" Her father was already at her side and wasted no time in picking her up in his arms. "Papa!" she cried. "Take her away¡­ I''ll deal with this boy." Naruto turned to face Gaara. "Ahhh!" Gaara screamed. "You again?!" He had once more denied the death he so much needed. "Noo!" Ino shouted. "Dad, we can''t leave him with that monster!" Naruto nced back at her for a moment. "It''s fine¡­ you see¡­" His eyes changed color towards a deep orange, and his pupils morphed into vertical slits. "I''m also a bit of a monster myself." The marks on his cheeks became more prominent, and he allowed the demon''s chakra to flow more freely through his body. He was going to need it for this opponent. Naruto had already guessed why Gaara''s chakra felt so familiar. After hearing the story from Jiraiya about the other demons, he finally understood it. Gaara was just like him¡­ a Jinchuriki. "Wait, Nar¡ª" Ino could not finish what she was going to say before her father took her away. It was too dangerous to stay in the arena while Gaara was going berserk. sts of sand began tond near Naruto, but he could easily avoid them so far. He was now realizing that Gaara was not really inplete control of his demonic chakra, but it appeared that instead of damaging his body, his Bijuu was affecting his mind, making him progressively more deranged. "Stop this!" Genma came running back to the center of the arena. "The match is over!" He red at Gaara. "You have already won, but if you two continue this¡­ I will have to disqualify you both!" "Get out of my way!" Gaara''s response was transforming his left arm and extending it with his sand to reach the referee. Genma was forced to jump away to avoid being caught. "There is no stopping him now." Naruto disappeared from his previous spot and was now right in front of Gaara. "But I will try." He threw a direct punch aimed at the face. Gaara''s automatic defenses covered him and stopped most of the impact. Naruto had to now keep track of all the sand that was moving around him. The one from the previous attack on the referee was nowing back to him, while at the same time, there was a lot of sand moving beneath him. ''I''m about to be attacked from all sides.'' He jumped directly upwards just a moment before spikes made of sand filled the spot he had just been in. On his way down, Naruto formed another Rasengan, and this time, he was going for the main body. "Let''s see if you can shield from this." Gaara formed a protective spherical cocoon around himself in preparation for the attack. "Rasengan!" This one was twice as big as the one he used before. He had now mixed a lot of the demon''s chakra to increase its potency. The sphere of energy collided with the one made of sand and immediately began to bury itself inside as it destroyed oneyer of protection after another. Gaara screamed when Naruto''s attack finally reached his flesh. In his panic, he made hundreds of sand spikes to get Naruto away from him, but this did not stop the assault of the blue sphere of chakra as it continued to rotate and destroy everything in its path. "Ahhhh!" Gaara let out an animalistic roar, and for a moment, it looked like he exploded into a mass of sand that traveled everywhere. Everything remained quiet for several seconds after that. "Did that do it?..." Naruto looked around. He could feel some traces of chakra but was still unable to perceive a more clear reading to find the boy''s exact location if he was alive. But then¡­the sand began to move again. In the stands, everyone was watching this improvised event with rapt attention. "This is very bad¡­." Kankuro looked both scared and worried. He had only seen his brother go fully berserk once¡­ and he knew there was no stopping him then. "This is going to ruin our ns." "Shh, shut up." Temari hit his shoulder. "We will have to improvise a bit¡­ just wait for the signal. It wille soon." At that moment, from therge pool of sand in the middle of the arena¡­ a colossal w emerged from within. "ARRGGGG!!" A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 95: The War Breaks Out! Chapter 95: The War Breaks Out! Disimer:Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 95: The War Breaks Out! What came out of the sand was an ugly creature. Half of Gaara''s body still looked human, but the rest had be deformed beyond recognition. His right arm was massive and shaped like a w, while the right side of his face had a ck eye and an animal ear. "Is that what your Bijuu looks like?" Naruto asked. There was arge appendage moving behind Gaara. It almost resembled a tail, albeit a very deformed one. "It''s the One-Tail then? ...Or you have yet to unleash all its power," Naruto concluded. "D¡­DIE!" Gaara roared at him. People in the audience began to panic. "Sensei?! What is that thing?!" Sakura pointed at the arena. The other genin present were also wondering the same. "That is the Jinchuriki of the Sand Vige¡­ and it appears that he is losing control," Kakashi said. Sakura gasped. "That thing¡­ no¡­" She realized now. Gaara was like her teammate and had a demon sealed inside. But Naruto had never looked like that¡­ not even when he fought Orochimaru in the forest. "A Jinchuriki¡­" Sasuke stared at the scene with interest. He wanted nothing more than to jump down there and fight Gaara right now. He wanted to see how he couldpare to that monster¡­ and how close he was to Naruto right now. "Kakashi¡­" Gai nced at his friend, wondering what they should do now. "I know¡­" Kakashi nodded. He was well aware of the dangerous situation they were in. If that Bijuu breaks out of the seal, they may have a simr situation to the one fifteen years back. The Jonin nced towards the Hokage''s private stage. It was then that he saw something rming. The Kazekage had stood up and thrown a smoke bomb. "The Hokage is under att¡ª!" Before Kakashi could finish, countless feathers began to fall from the sky. Most people in the audience began to fall asleep. "Kai!" Kakashi uncovered his Sharingan and canceled the attack. "It''s a genjutsu!" "We are under attack!" Gai realized that Gaara''s transformation was not an isted incident. The Sand had been nning an attack on their vige from the beginning. The two Jonin hurried to shake the genjutsu effects off their students before theypletely fell under. "W-what happened?..." Sasuke was feeling very drowsy when he saw his Sensei doing something to remove the effects. "A genjutsu?" the boy concluded. "What is happening?!" Sakura looked around at all the chaos urring around them. Masked ninjas had appeared out of nowhere and were now fighting against the Konoha elite ninjas who were able to brush aside the effects of the genjutsu. "Stay alert and protect yourselves!" Kakashi told them before jumping away to help the other Jonin. "Gai Sensei! What do we do?" TenTen asked. "Protect the members of the audience and try to wake up everyone you can." Gai nced at the Hokage''s stage. Their fight seemed to have moved to the rooftops, and a massive seal was being activated. "Looks like their primary target was the Hokage¡­ they are trying to iste him." Asuma appeared next to them. "Wait! What about Naruto?!" Sakura pointed at the arena. Naruto''s fight had not stopped for a second and he just had to avoid another attack from thatrge arm. Gaara''s movements weren''t too fast, but the nature of the sand element made it very difficult to predict any sort of pattern. The arm could take any shape or spawn several spears of sand every time it moved while Gaara remained at a safe distance, making it very annoying to deal with. "She is right, we can''t let that continue. If the Bijuu getspletely free¡­ thousands would die," Asuma said. "We need an expert in seals, but the Hokage is too busy at the moment, and I''m not sure if Kakashi would be enough," Gai said. "Where the hell did Jiraiya go? He was here yesterday, I''m sure of that¡­" Asuma muttered. Right before Gaara attacked again, Kankuro and Temari jumped next to him. "Gaara, wait!" Temari shouted. "We have new orders, we need to retreat to the outer wall." Kankuro kept a good distance away from his brother. "Shut up!" Gaara turned to them. "Go away!" Temari trembled but did not move from her spot. "Gaara¡­ please." She hoped that his will had not deteriorated past the breaking point, because then¡­ there would be no stopping him. And it was toote to carry him away. "I have some sleeping drugs with me." Kankuro moved his puppet a bit closer. "No, wait!" Temari knew this was a bad idea. Gaara noticed the movement. "You want to die too?!... fine!" He smashed his massive arm on the ground, and hundreds of sand spikes came out of it, piercing Kankuro''s puppet and forcing him to move away. Temari used her fan to slow down the attack, but this did not have much effect. Gaara was too enraged to be stopped now. His transformation progressed even further, and it began to affect the other side of his body. "Ahhh!" His movements now became faster and more powerful, and his two siblings had no choice but to run away before they were killed. "We have to retreat, Kankuro!" Temari screamed. The other boy did not need to hear that twice. He picked up his broken puppet and jumped away from the arena. "Sasuke, TenTen, Sakura. Go after those two!" Gai ordered. "What?!" Sakura said. "Yes, Sensei!" TenTen said. "No! I want to go there!" Sasuke nced at the arena. Gaara and Naruto were the only ones he wanted to fight. "Sasuke¡­ a Jonin gave you a direct order. If you consider yourself a ninja from this vige, you will obey," Asuma said with a stern tone. He had never liked the Uchiha, and he had no patience for his attitude problems. "You are not my sensei, I don''t have t¡ª" "But I am." Kakashi appeared behind him. "Go do what they told you. And hurry." The other genin were already getting away. "You have your mission¡­ go," Gai said again. Despiteining, Sasuke had no choice but to obey for now. He moved away, along with the other two genin, and went after Temari and Kankuro before they could escape. "The audience is safe, we have stopped the few masked ninjas who were pretending to be ANBU. Now all that''s left is¡­" Kakashi nced at the arena. Gaara waspletely out of control, attacking like a madman and roaring like a wild beast. "Mmm¡­ that''s going to be tricky." He wasn''t sure if his sealing skills would be enough to put that demon back in control. "In any case, we need to move the Jinchuriki away from here," Asuma said. "Wait¡­ is that?" Kakashi saw Naruto making some familiar moves. "The summoning jutsu?" A massive cloud of smoke appeared beneath Naruto. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 96: The Sand Racoon Chapter 96: The Sand Racoon Disimer:Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 96: The Sand Racoon "Arggg!, what now?!. I was busy." The gigantic toadined. The Jonins stared in shock at the summoned creature. "Oi¡­ isn''t that?..." Asuma said. "The Fourth¡­" Gai said. "Naruto¡­ what the¡­" Kakashi muttered. It''s only been a month since hest saw him. He was already surprised when Naruto used the Rasengan all of a sudden, and now this¡­ "Gamabunta!" Naruto called for the toad. "Mmmm¡­ Naruto? I didn''t expect you to call me this soon¡­" The smoke cleared, and Gamabunta saw the creature in front of him. "I can guess that you didn''t call me for a drink." The Toad Lord was now talking to him in a much more polite way. This was the result of Naruto passing his test. Therge gash that Gamabunta now had going across his entire face was also a reminder of that day. He had pushed the boy a bit too far during the test and, without being able to use the Kyubi''s chakra, Naruto resorted to using his sword. That decision had almost cost the Toad Lord his life. "No, no drinks today, sorry about that," Naruto told the toad. "I have a bit of an issue here." "What is that thing?... It doesn''t look human at all." Gamabunta nced at Gaara. "A Bijuu trying to escape its container," Naruto said. "What?!" Gamabunta eximed. He had not expected to see another one of those demons so early. He then noticed all the mess around the vige. There were many fights urring all over the ce, and a gigantic snake was currently trying to break the entrance gates. "Konoha is under attack¡­" "That''s what it looks like¡­" It wasn''t like Naruto hadn''t noticed all that noise around him, but his focus was on Gaara. "However, my issue is just this guy. I need you to help me take him away from the middle of the vige. Maybe to one of the forests on the outskirts. I can fight him there a lot better." "That''s an easy request, I suppose," Gamabunta said. Gaara tried to attack again after he passed the shock of seeing that gigantic toad appear in front of him and begin speaking. However, despite therge size of his right arm, it was tiny inparison to the Toad Lord. Gamabunta brushed aside his first attack and grabbed him. "Graaaa! Let me go!" Gaara screamed and tried to wrestle himself free, but to no avail. "Let''s go then!" The toad made a massive jump in the air. In just one move, he almost disappeared from view, along with Gaara and Naruto. "Hmmm¡­I believe we can leave that to Naruto," Kakashi said. "Are you sure?" Gai nced at his friend. Kakashi nodded. "The Hokage is the one who worries me the most right now." He looked at the roof where the old man was fighting. "I agree¡­ I don''t like the look of that barrier either," Asuma said. <><><><><><><><><><><> "Ahh!" As they were close to the outer walls of the vige, Gamabunta hollered and tossed Gaara into the distance. "What did you do that for?!" Naruto eximed. If the container dies, then the demon will be released. That was the very thing he had been trying to avoid. "That bastard bit me!" The Toad Lord groaned. Naruto sighed. "Just take me there. I think hended near that clearing," he said while pointing. He then heard a loud cracking noise, and from the sky, he saw the entrance walls of the vige began to fall. "Those are somerge snakes¡­" Naruto remarked, seeing what was happening in the distance. "They called for the snake n¡­ this is probably Orochimaru''s doing," Gamabunta could take a guess. After all, that particr Sannin was the only holder of the Snake Contract. "You know that guy too?" Naruto asked. "Of course¡­ that human always gave me the creeps. But you don''t have to worry about that. I can feel another summoner in that area." As the Toad Lord said that, a massive toad armed with two swords fell on top of one of the snakes and killed it. "So, that Jiraiya is here too." This was not Naruto''s concern. His interest was mostly in Gaara. He had finally found another one of those demons, and he wanted to do what he could to secure it. In the future, he was going to need every single one of those chakra demons. ''They will be my key to the heavens¡­'' Naruto thought. But for that, he needed to capture this one alive and keep it contained. It was too early for him to absorb the chakra of another demon. The Kyubi would still take him at least another two or three years. Only then would he be able to start using the others. "There!" Naruto spotted Gaara. The boy had continued to transform, and there was nothing human left of him. "Graw!" The beast had grown twice in size. The moment they got closer, it threw several projectiles made of sand at them. Gamabunta used his arm to block the attack. "Do you have a n to contain the demon?" The toad asked him. "Not really." Naruto admitted. "What?! Then why are we chasing this creature? It''s just going to make things worse." Gaara was now four times his normal size and was beginning to look like some type of animal. "Is that an overweight roon?" Naruto asked. "I believe that is the true form of the One-Tail¡­ although it is still very small," Gamabunta pointed out. "That won''t be true for long. It is growing very quickly¡­ that must mean the seal is breaking." Naruto was getting concerned. If the seal brokepletely, hecked the knowledge to remake it. "Arhhhgg!... Kill!" The One-Tail screamed as its size continued to grow. In just mere seconds, it was almost as big as the Toad Lord. "I have an idea," Gamabunta suddenly said. "Do you know any fire jutsu?" "Fire jutsu?... no, I don''t know any of those. But, if you want fire, I can make some." Naruto''s orange eyes became more intense, and red chakra started to emerge from his body. "Okay¡­ just tell me what you need." A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 97: Give Me Some Fire! Chapter 97: Give Me Some Fire! Disimer:Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 97: Give Me Some Fire! As more chakra came forth and circled around Naruto, it began to form tails. Gamabunta was beginning to get rmed while seeing this. "Oi oi! I only need a few mes! What are you nning on doing up there?!" "This is my weakest fire technique. It would normally need aplete Golden Core, but if I unleash at least three tails'' worth of the Kyubi''s chakra, that would be enough yang energy to bypass the requirement to some degree." Naruto exined while a second tail appeared. "I have no idea what you are talking about! Wait¡­ did you say three tails?!" The Toad was now regretting making the suggestion. Thanks to Jiraya, he had at least a basic understanding of how the Jinchuriki worked. Enough understanding to know that allowing ''chakra tails'' to form was always a bad idea. The third tail appeared behind Naruto, but there were no signs of him losing control now. "I can begin now." Inside the seal, the Kyubi was going crazy. "Brat! What are you taking so much of my chakra for?! Are you trying to kill yourself?! Stop it! Stooop!" Jiraiya had modified the seal so Naruto no longer needed the demon''s consent to takerge amounts of his yang demonic energy. Now he had a lot more freedom in that regard. "Whargggg!" The One-Tail rushed at Gamabunta, and he was forced to block the attack with his sword. "Damn it! He is getting stronger." The Toad Lord was beginning to be pushed back. They could not let this continue for much longer. Gamabunta then saw something appear on top of his head. Some massive red petals came into existence and floated in the air. "What is that?!" The air was getting hot enough to be ufortable. "When the sixth lotus petal appears¡­ be ready for whatever you are going to do¡­ because I will shoot," Naruto warned him as a second petal became visible. The One-Tail jumped in the air with tremendous agility and performed a flip mid-air while it brought down its tail in a downward sh motion. Four petals appeared. Gamabunta blocked the attack with his giant sword, but the blow was too much, and it sent his weapon flying. Five petals. The Toad Lord saw the sand creature recovering from itsnding. He could not get his sword back as it was now too far away. But then, the sixth lotus petal appeared in the air above him, and Naruto began to move. "Okay then¡­" The Toad Lord picked up his oil sk and drank as much as he could. Naruto aimed his technique in Gaara''s general direction. This was not a move that could easily be focused on one target, as it was designed to cause mass destruction. Although, the One-Tail was just big enough for the purpose. Naruto performed a hand sign. His eyes shone as a pair of orangenterns as energy swirled around his body. "Six Petals¡­ zing me Lotus!" The petals transformed into six whirlpools of mes before they all converged into a single one. Gamabunta had to cover his head to protect himself from the heat. It felt like having the sun passing right above him. Seeing the fire appear, he hurried to open the oil sk, took a good gulp, and got ready to take action. The convergence of the six lotus petals created a colossal wave of fire that made its way to the One-Tail while it incinerated everything in its path. "Fire Release!... shit!" The Toad Lord spat all the oil on the ground and got down while covering himself in a protective manner. The fire passed at an incredible speed and impacted the sand creature, causing a great explosion that went on for several miles all around it. "Ahhrg!" Gamabunta used both hands to shield his body from the intense heat. Naruto was still standing on top of his head and was breathing heavily. "Puff¡­ that was tiresome¡­ okay, Gamabunta. Go do your thing." "My thing?..." The toad nced up. "Yes, you wanted fire¡­ now what? What was your n? Go ahead." Naruto pointed in the direction of the sand roon. The smoke was starting to clear up a bit, but now arge part of the forest was on fire. "I just asked you for a LITTLE BIT of fire, you damn human! I was going to use some oil to increase its potency!" Gamabunta shouted while pointing at the burning forest. "What am I supposed to do with that!" "Oh¡­ well, you should have told me that beforehand. I would have used something less exhausting," Naruto told him. They both looked at the One-Tail. The creature had been turnedpletely ck, and its size was greatly reduced due to all the sand melting. "You don''t think we killed the human container¡­ right?" Naruto asked. "We?..." Gamabunta muttered. The burned sand roon began to move. Its surface cracked as the crystallized sand on the topyer broke down. "Ahhh!" A much smaller but still alive One-Tail resurfaced, screaming. "I''m free!" he shouted. "Is that Gaara or the Bijuu? Is there a way to tell if that thing got unsealed?" Naruto asked. "I don''t know anything about seals, but¡­" Gamabunta pointed at the creature''s head. It was hard to tell from that distance, but the figure of Gaara could barely be seen. The red-headed boy seemed to be attached to the forehead of the sand roon and remained immobile. "There he is!" Naruto eximed. "But we don''t know if he is alive or not from here." He nced down at the toad. "You are going to have to get closer." "Can''t you summon another toad?" Gamabunta didn''t want anything else to do with this matter. He lost his sword, his oil, and got burned. On top of that, Naruto never offered anything to drink. "Come on! You are the Toad Lord! Who else is more fit for this mission?!" Naruto tried to cheer him up. Noticing his hesitation, he decided to add something else. "Look, if you help me out a bit more, I''ll promise to get you a giant barrel of the best sake in Konoha by next week." "Ten barrels!" Gamabunta hurried to say. "Ehm¡­" Naruto wasn''t sure if there was even that much alcohol in the vige. But he needed this toad''s help for now. "Fine!... ten barrels!" He may have to ransack all Konoha reserves after this¡­ "Let''s go then!" Gamabunta shouted with renewed vigor. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 98: Wake Up! Chapter 98: Wake Up! Disimer:Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 98: Wake Up! "Ghaaaa!" The One-Tail released an intense st of wind towards them. "Water Release¡­ Cannonball!" Gamabunta blocked it with a powerful water jutsu while he jumped in the air. Once they were a bit closer, they could see Gaara''s body more clearly. His torso was poking out of the roon''s head. "He is alive!" It was very faint, but Naruto could see his chest moving slightly as he breathed. "Good, then we still have a way to stop this. If we can wake up the boy, that demon will be forced to retreat into the seal," Gamabunta said. "Will punching him work?..." Naruto asked. "Maybe¡­ but it won''t be that easy to approach him. The demon will do everything in its power to stop you from getting closer to its vessel," Gamabunta said. "Mmm?... It''s growing again¡­." Naruto noted. The One-Tail had lost a lot of its mass due to Naruto''s previous fire attack. But now, it was transforming the dirt ground into sand and reabsorbing it into its body. "We can''t let it continue!" Gamabunta rushed at it. If they allowed the Bijuu to reach its full level of power, then they wouldn''t be able to do much to it. "Then, look for an opening and throw me at its head," Naruto said. "Throw you?... Are you crazy? If that thing grabs you from the air¡­ you will be crushed," Gamabunta pointed out. "It won''t. Trust me!" Naruto tapped the toad''s head. "Come on!" "Tsk¡­ reckless brat¡­" Gamabunta grabbed Naruto with his left hand and jumped into the air. The One-Tail nced at them and extended both its arms upward to grab the giant toad. Gamabunta released another water jutsu that was able to stop the Bijuu moves, just for a moment, and used this chance to send Naruto flying at the creature. Naruto ended upnding on its shoulder and began to move toward its head. As expected, the One-Tail tried to crush him with its right hand, but just then, Gamabuntanded and grabbed onto the creature. "Hurry!" The Toad Lord yelled. "My toad hands are not good at holding onto things made of sand!" Naruto reached the head and got a clear view of Gaara. He was just a short distance away. But then, the sand beneath him began to move and tried to trap his feet. Naruto focused most of his energy on his feet and made use of his ''Red Lotus Body Shift.'' This was the movement technique he had mastered during his previous life, and at Great Completion, he could soar through the air faster than the speed of sound, and not even gravity would be able to encumber him. But with his current cultivation level, he was only able to use it in the most superficial manner. Even so, it was more than enough to move at several times his normal speed, and could also reach his maximum velocity from the first step. Naruto disappeared from the spot, leaving an empty void where the sand tried to grab him, and reappeared a short distance away. Spikes made of hardened sand flew at him from all directions, and Naruto used his technique again. His muscles cried in pain due to the massive stress he was putting his body under. ''I can use it one more time at most¡­'' Naruto knew his limits¡­ if he tried to push it further, he would break his body. He made it in front of Gaara. Now all he had to do was give this boy a good punch. To prevent this from happening, the sand around Gaara began to rise and form a protective wall. Naruto grinned. "That won''t stop me." He used the Red Shift once more to gain momentum. He could hear his bones beginning to crack. "Naruto!" Gamabunta shouted with concern. He was not going to be able to punch through that wall. It was too thick. The toad tried to help him by releasing another water jutsu in that area, but the One-Tail prevented him from moving. The sand was beginning to wrap around his body in an attempt to crush him. ''If Naruto can''t finish this quickly, the summoning will be canceled,'' Gamabunta thought. When a summoned creature takes too much damage, the connection gets canceled, and the summon is recalled back to its point of origin. "I said I got this!" Naruto shouted. He stopped just an inch away from the wall and sent a powerful palm strike that struck the sand wall with tremendous force and created a shockwave. At first, it seemed that nothing happened to Gaara and the wall was able topletely block his attack. But then¡­ more shockwaves followed after the first one and went through the wall, impacting the boy behind it. "The Hyugas are not the only ones who know the ''soft fist'' style," Naruto said. He may not be able to close the chakra points without the Byakugan. But using one''s inner energy to send an attack that can bypass a powerful defense and damage the enemy''s internal organs was something that many martial artists learned during their careers. Getting through a wall of sand was a very simple thing for someone like Naruto. "Ahhhh!" Gaara screamed. As soon as he woke up, he began to spit several mouthfuls of blood. The ''soft first'' that Naruto had just used, was designed to destroy the person''s internal organs while bypassing any exterior defenses. "Nooo!" The One-Tail became smaller and smaller as he felt himself being pulled back into the seal. "I was so close to getting free this time!" "Hpmh! Be a good demon and go wait inside your prison¡­ I will have need of you one day." Naruto wasn''t sure if the sand roon could hear him anymore. The creature quickly disappeared, leaving him and Gaara with nowhere to stand on, so they began to fall. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 99: The Repercussions of the Invasion Chapter 99: The Repercussions of the Invasion Disimer:Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 99: The Repercussions of the Invasion "I really thought you were going to let us hit the ground," Naruto told Gamabunta. "I consider it for a moment¡­" The toad was in a very bad mood. "The next time you call me¡­ the first thing I want to see are those ten barrels you promised, or we are going to have a problem." After saying that, the Toad Lord disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving Naruto and Gaara in the middle of a burned forest. "What a grumpy toad..." Naruto sighed. "Right?" He turned to look at the other boy. "Cough, argg!" Gaara spat some more blood whileying on the ground. "I suppose I have to get you some medical attention¡­" Naruto said. If he let the boy die now, it would have made all his work useless. After all, killing him would have been so much easier, but that would just cause more problems. He then heard the noises of several people approaching. The first ones were the other two Sand Vige genins, Kankuro and Temari. "Gaara!" They both said at the same time when they spotted their brotherying on the ground, lookingpletely still. Immediately after this, their pursuers finally caught up. The first one was Sasuke, and quickly after, TenTen, Sakura, and Shikamaru arrived. "You bastards made me run a lot¡­" Sasuke did not look happy at all. "Naruto?...and¡­." Only then did he notice Gaara was also there, along with Naruto. "Naruto!" Sakura and the others stared at him. Temari tried to approach Gaara, but Naruto got in her way. "Move away! What did you do to our brother?!" she shouted. "He is alive¡­ I just thrashed him up a bit. I was about to take him to a hospital," Naruto said. "You defeated Gaara?..." Kankuro said in shock. He didn''t think that was possible. But judging by the appearance of the ce they were in, it could not have been an easy fight. The forest waspletely destroyed. "Why is everything burned?..." TenTen asked. "You beat him¡­." Sasuke red at Naruto. Now he wanted to fight him even more. "Can someone tell me what''s going on in Konoha? I just saw a giant snake breaking through the main gates," Naruto said. "Konoha is under attack." Shikamaru pointed at Temari and Kankuro. "The Sand Vige has broken the alliance and betrayed us. Or that is what it seems. We were sent to capture these two." "So that''s what happened¡­" Naruto looked at the two other genins from the Sand Vige. "Then¡­ what are you waiting for? Capture them." Gaara coughed blood again. "Urggg ¡­" He seemed ready to pass out at any moment. "Gaara!" Temari was not allowed to get closer because Naruto was standing before her. "Get out of my way!" She pulled her iron fan out. "I''m taking my brother and leaving this ce." Kankuro was also ready to fight. Although with his puppet broken, there wasn''t much he could do. "Do I have to do everything myself?" Naruto raised an eyebrow. Sasuke, Temari, and Sakura jumped into action while Shikamaru prepared his shadows. They were promptly captured without putting up much of a fight. Sasuke alone would have been more than enough to handle the two of them, so with the help of three more genin, it was a very quick fight. "Let us go!" Temari struggled against her restraints. "Just let us leave! We never wanted to take part in this war." "Yes! We were just following orders!" Kankuro added. "There is no way we can do that," TenTen said. "We are also following orders," Shikamaru added. "Noo! Let us goo!" Temari shouted. "E-enough¡­.." Gaara said with a weak voice. "We lost¡­." His eyes were barely open. "Gaara¡­" Kankuro had never seen him looking so weak. "Brother¡­" Temari said. "Well then¡­ let''s go back to the vige." Naruto was eager to see the state of the vige. "By the way, Naruto¡­" TenTen stared at him. "Was that giant toad your summon?" <><><><><><><><> When they returned to Konoha, the battle was already ending. Most of the Sand invaders had been defeated, while the rest managed to retreat back to their country. Their side had not suffered too many losses, as their forces were much bigger than the army brought here by the Kazekage. However, they did suffer one very important loss. The Hokage had been killed by Orochimaru. It wouldn''t be until dayster when Naruto learned that the rogue Sannin was the one behind the attack. And he never truly intended to win this war. His objective had been to cause as much damage as possible and to kill the Third Hokage¡­ his former Sensei, whom he still held a grudge against. <><><><><><><><> Several days passed and the funeral for the Hokage was held, to which most of the ninjas from the vige attended. Only those holding important posts were missing from the cemetery. Gaara and his siblings were captured and held separately. Jiraiya was called to check on the boy''s seal and made sure that no other incident urred. Their ultimate fate was yet to be decided, as both viges had been left without a leader and they still had notmunicated with each other. <><><><><><><><><> On the seventh day after the attack, Naruto was walking through the streets of the vige. The reconstruction was still ongoing, and it was going to take a few more months before everything was back as it was before. Naruto did notice that the vigers'' attitude towards him was a bit different now. Even though most of the civilians were not there at the arena, the stories about his fights with Neji and Gaara had been circting around. They moved their gazes away from him as he passed. ''They are scared now¡­'' Naruto thought. He did not enjoy being seen as a scary figure, as he had always considered himself a distant but somewhat social person, if that made any sense. It was still much preferablepared to their previous attitude. "Naruto! There you are." He looked ahead and spotted two people a short distance away. It was Ino and her father. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 100: A Quiet Talk and Sudden Call Chapter 100: A Quiet Talk and Sudden Call Disimer:Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 100: A Quiet Talk and Sudden Call Naruto greeted them. He hadn''t seen any of them since the day of the attack, but he had learned that Ino had been in the hospital since then. "How''s the leg?" Naruto noted that Ino was wearing a cast around her ankle and using a cane to walk. "Not bad, but the medics say it''ll take a while to healpletely. That sand attack crushed my bones into small fragments¡­" Ino said with a frown. It hadn''t been a great week for her. "But at least I''m alive," she added while looking at him. "About that¡­ I wanted to formally thank you for saving my daughter. My family owes you a great deal," Inoichi said. "If there''s anything we can do for you¡­" "Dad¡­ do you mind if I talk with Naruto alone?" Ino interrupted her father. "Are you too busy?" she then said to him. "Not really. I was just getting some fresh air," Naruto told her. For the past week, he had mostly been locked inside his room, meditating. He had only left once for the funerals and another time to speak with Kakashi, who wanted to inform him about the vige situation and the dy in the Ch¨±nin exam results. "Great!" Ino smiled. "Then you can keep mepany for a while." "Well then, I''ll leave you alone. Just don''t walk for too long. You need to let your leg rest," Inoichi told his daughter. After her father left, Ino walked a bit closer to Naruto. "Shall we?" "Where do you want to go?" he asked. "There''s a park nearby...we could sit there. I doubt there''s anyone there this early," Ino suggested. The two walked slowly to the park. Ino was quieter than usual, and she seemed to be moving with a lot of difficulty, but she never asked him for help. "Naruto¡­" When the park was already in sight, Ino stopped. "Mmmm?" He turned to look at her. "I''m sorry¡­" Tears began to fall across her cheeks. "I should have listened to you¡­ to everyone¡­" Naruto stood there and listened to her. Ino went over her grievances and what she considered her own failures. "You risked your life to save me¡­" "I would have fought Gaara sooner orter," Naruto said. And he didn''t really feel like he was risking his life either. At most, he risked breaking the tournament rules. "I guess¡­ still¡­ thank yo¡ªahh!" She had been standing on one leg for too long and suddenly lost her bnce when she tried to move her cane. Naruto moved closer and picked her up before she could fall. "Naruto!" she eximed after he picked her up in his arms, and her face turnedpletely red. "T-thanks¡­" She had never been this embarrassed when being close to Sasuke, but for some reason, she was a lot more self-conscious when Naruto was near. Maybe it was because, deep down, she knew that Sasuke had no interest in her whatsoever, so he would never react, no matter what she did. But Naruto was different. "No problem." He used his foot to kick her cane up in the air and grabbed it. "If you had asked for it, I would''ve carried you here." "No!" Ino hurried to say. "That would''ve been too embarrassing¡­if someone saw us like this..." "I see¡­" He began to walk toward a nearby bench at the park. "Besides, I''m still a ninja, you know? I have my pride," Ino added. But she never asked to be put back on the ground. Naruto ced her on the bench and sat next to her. "Was there something else you wanted to talk about?" "I don''t really mind, but¡­ you could''ve visited me at the hospital," she said. "I''ve had enough hospital visits for a while," Naruto answered. "I suppose that''s true¡­ but I''m sure Hinata would''ve also loved a visit or two from a certain blonde boy¡­" Inomented. "How is she doing?" he asked. "She''s¡­ fine, I guess. She was discharged before me, but she still couldn''t use chakra properly. Her cousin seemed to have damaged her chakra points very badly¡­ and speaking of Neji¡­" "Was he also there?" Naruto didn''t think he had damaged the boy too badly. "He was in a different room, of course. But I did hear a few things from the nurses¡­ apparently, he was unconscious for several days and would always be screaming at night, like he had a lot of nightmares," Ino exined. "Oh¡­" Naruto supposed that could be a side effect after being hit by his bloodlust. But there shouldn''t be any permanent damage. "Sakura kept me informed. The entire week has been so weird¡­" Ino said. "I suppose." He hadn''t really been paying much attention to the vige business, if he was honest. His main priority would always be to increase his cultivation. Everything else would always be secondary to him. "Say, Naruto¡­" "Yes?" "Do you remember what I said before my match?¡­" "You said a lot of things¡­" Naruto had no idea what she was talking about. "I meant about¡­ you know¡­ I told you that you could take me on a date if you won the tournament." "Ahh¡­ that." He had forgotten about that. "Well¡­ you didn''t technically win the tournament, but you did win thest match that was fought before it got canceled. So, I think you deserve a small reward¡­" "You wanted me to invite you to dinner, right? That sounds more like a reward for you, though," Naruto pointed out. "Hey!" Ino poked his shoulder. "I''ll have you know that many boys in this vige would go crazy for the chance to spend time with me," Ino said with a smug smile. "Do they?" Naruto had the feeling she was making this up. "I don''t mind if you want to apany me to some ramen. It''s always more enjoyable to eat inpany." He didn''t have much money left, but he could always afford some ramen from Ichiraku. The owner would often give him discounts. "Ramen?..." Ino didn''t seem pleased with the suggestion. "What is it with you and ramen?" She had heard it from Sakura, but it seemed to be the only thing Naruto ate. "What''s wrong with it?" Naruto didn''t understand it. The food tasted better than anything he''d eaten in his previous life. Why wouldn''t someone like it? "How about this? Why don''t youe to my house tonight for dinner? That sounds more like a reward, and my mother has been wanting to meet you for a while," Ino suggested. Before Naruto could answer, two masked ninjas appeared before him. "Naruto Uzumaki," one of them said. "ANBU?" Ino looked surprised. They would rarely show themselves. "Your presence is required at the Hokage''s office," the masked ninja said. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 101: Deciding Gaara’s Fate Chapter 101: Deciding Gaara¡¯s Fate Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 101: Deciding Gaara''s Fate "The Hokage''s office?... and who is calling for me exactly?" He was sure they couldn''t have chosen another leader so quickly. "The order came from one of the Council Elders. That''s all I can say. Now, if you will..." the masked ninja said. Naruto could tell these two weren''t going to take no for an answer. He nced at Ino for a moment. "I need to p¡ª" "I can escort Miss Yamanaka to her home," the other ANBU agent said. "It''s okay, Naruto. I''ll be fine. You cannot ignore a call from a Council Elder," Ino hurried to say, worried Naruto might do something rash and get into trouble. "Very well... I''ll go see this Elder," Naruto said. When he entered the Hokage''s office, he was surprised to see Jiraiya there, along with three other people. "What is this boy doing here?" one of the older men asked, his tone sounding quite furious. The ANBU bowed. "I brought Uzumaki Naruto under themand o¡ª" "I asked for him to be here," Jiraiya said casually. "Come to my side, Naruto. We have a few things to discuss." He waved at him. "Jiraiya..." The old man frowned. The masked ninja gave another bow and left the office, closing the door behind him. "I suppose we should introduce ourselves. You probably don''t know who we are," an olddy told Naruto. "The Council Elders, I suppose," he answered. "That too. We were also the advisors of thest Hokage. My name is Homura," an old man said. "And this is Elder Koharu." He said while pointing at the olddy at his side. Homura nced back at the other elderly man, who stood at the back of the office with his arms crossed. "That one over there is Shimura Danzo. He is also an Elder." Naruto looked at the old man. While the first two elders gave him the feeling of being schrs, thisst Council Elder was definitely a warrior. His body was covered in bandages, including half his face. But he didn''t seem injured, meaning the bandages were likely hiding something. "What?" Danzo didn''t like the way Naruto was observing him. He felt as though he was being evaluated. "So, three elders and a Sannin require my presence... and I suppose this isn''t for a promotion?" Naruto asked. "No... the exam results will have to wait a bit longer," Koharu said. "We didn''t mean to call a genin for this, but Jiraiya assured us that your input would be valuable in this matter," Homura added. "My input? On what exactly?" Naruto couldn''t imagine what these important figures needed from him. "It is in regard to Gaara of the Sand and his two siblings," Jiraiya revealed. "What about them? I assume they are well-secured?" Naruto said. Koharu made a troubled expression. "We haven''t received a message from the Sand Vige yet, but we are expecting one very soon. They will certainly demand the release of the three genin. After all, they are all descendants of the deceased Kazekage." "So?... They attacked our vige. Those three are war prisoners. They don''t have the right to make any demands." Naruto had at least a basic understanding of how wars worked among mortals, and it wasn''t too different from how cultivators operated either. The winner of a war was the one who could make demands. "Naruto... there''s something else you need to know. Orochimaru was behind the attack. He infiltrated the Sand Vige, killed their Kazekage, and impersonated him, leading to this war. The Sand ninjas were merely following orders," Jiraiya exined. "I see... they were all fooled..." Naruto considered this for a moment. "Still, even if that''s the case, it doesn''t change the fact that they attempted to destroy our vige. If anyone can make demands, it should be us." "Oh?" Danzo nced at Naruto with interest. "That seems a bit harsh... The Sand Vige used to be good allies. They were tricked during a moment of weakness and ended up suffering great losses during this unfortunate event," Koharu said. "We also lost several good ninjas, and we lost our Kage..." Homura seemed to hold a different opinion than the female Elder. "You''re not seriously considering sending the Jinchuuriki back to them, right?" Naruto asked in disbelief. "It would be the right thing to do. That boy, Gaara, has gone through a lot. I could tell by just interacting with him for a bit. He must have had a very traumatic childhood," Jiraiya said. "Why did you even ask me to be here if you''ve already made up your minds? And I assume I don''t have any voting rights in this?" Naruto was already getting frustrated with these people. "Of course not, you''re just a genin," Koharu said. "But we will take your opinion into ount. Right now, we are at an impasse when ites to votes," Homura looked at Jiraiya. "And he assured us that your talent rivals your father''s, and that we can expect great things from you in the future." "You were also the one who defeated Gaara, and as a fellow Jinchuuriki, I thought you deserved to at least say your part," Jiraiya added. "Hmph!" Danzo red at them. "Personally... I don''t think the opinion of a brat with little field experience is worth listening to, but... my two fellow elders say otherwise. So go ahead and say your piece." "If you want my opinion, then... you can go ahead and release the other two siblings if you want to keep some semnce of a rtionship with that vige. But... I wouldn''t let go of the Jinchuuriki anytime soon. Why would we give up something so valuable? Keep him locked up." Naruto had to try to keep Gaara in the vige. If those idiots gave him up, it would be much more difficult to retrieve himter when the need arose. The four of them appeared surprised by his answer, albeit for different reasons. "Naruto... Gaara is just like you. How can you rmend keeping him locked up?" Jiraiya was not expecting that answer from the son of Minato. "Like me? Nonsense." Naruto huffed. "I have my demon under control, while he lets his run wild. Don''tpare me to that loser. I don''t care what happens to him, but don''t let that sand roon out of Konoha. If you want to save Gaara, then put the demon in another container." "That would be impossible without killing the boy," Koharu said. "I agree with the brat. We cannot let the Jinchuuriki go free. He stays here," Danzo said. He hadn''t nned on such a useful tool falling into hisp, but now that it had, he didn''t want to give it up. "I also say we should keep Gaara here, but as an honored guest, not just a prisoner," Homura said. "It would deter the Sand Vige from further action. I''m fine with releasing the other siblings." "Keeping Gaara here..." Koharu muttered. "I suppose we could make his amodations asfortable as possible and leave open negotiations for the future." She nced at Danzo. "As long as he is well-secured, I don''t mind," Danzo said. Jiraiya sighed. This wasn''t what he had in mind, but he could understand the logic behind it. "Fine... keep him here." His eyes moved to Naruto. This was not what he had in mind when he called him here. He had hoped that Naruto would help convince the elders to showpassion for the young boy and let him go back home. But...he had misjudged things a bit. "Looks like we''ve reached an agreement." Homura looked satisfied. "Now we can move on to the next item... the Hokage sessor." A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 102: The Next Leader Chapter 102: The Next Leader Disimer:Narutoand all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 102: The Next Leader "Right, I believe we all have a specific candidate in mind," Koharu nced at Jiraiya. "Not everyone¡­" Danzo was obviously not too happy with their choice. Homura was also looking at Jiraiya. This was something they had discussed in detail the day before. "Will you take the position, Jiraiya? As a member of the Legendary Sannin and a former student of the Third Hokage, you are without a doubt the most qualified for the job. I''m sure the rest of the council members will agree." "Him?¡­" Naruto looked at Jiraiya with a dubious expression. He had only known this man for a week, but leaving aside his strength, he didn''t seem to have the qualities of a good leader. "I''m not interested," Jiraiya said without hesitation. Danzo flinched. "Interested?¡­ Jiraiya, this is not about what interests you. It''s about taking responsibility." Koharu looked very upset. "That''s right! As ninjas of Konoha, we should all do what is best for our vige. And right now, we are in dire need of a strong leader...someone who has already been recognized by the inhabitants of the entire continent," Homura added. "As much as I hate it, they are correct," Danzo said. "Konoha is in a vulnerable position right now. After suffering an attack like that and losing our Hokage, the other Great Viges could see us as an easy target. I would be the most worried about the Cloud (Kumo) and Stone (Iwa) Viges. They are likely watching us right now like a pack of vultures, seeing if there''s anything they can pick off. If we don''t make a show of strength soon, we may have another war at our door." "I agree, and that''s why we need a strong leader, someone the other Great Viges will be forced to recognize and respect," Homura said. "I''m not saying your logic is incorrect, but¡­ you''re forgetting something. There is another Sannin out there," Jiraiya said. "You want the snake guy to be our leader?" Naruto asked. ''This man may be even more ipetent than I thought,'' he told himself. "Of course not!" Jiraiya snapped. "You''re talking about Tsunade? But¡­" Koharu showed some concern. "She abandoned our vige over a decade ago!" Homura eximed. "You want to bring that traitor back?" Danzo huffed. "She is not a traitor. Tsunade had a good reason to leave, and still¡­ she never abandoned her loyalty to the vige that her grandfather founded," Jiraiya said. "You think you can bring her back?" There was some hope in Homura''s voice. "Having another Sannin with us would certainly be wonderful. And Lady Tsunade is the best healer this vige has ever seen," Koharu added. "She''s a healer?" Naruto became more interested. Perhaps this person could heal Rock Lee. And Hinata could also use a healer. Her wounds were still very serious. "Yes, she is one of the best ninja healers in the world," Jiraiya assured him. "And she has other wonderful features¡­" His expression changed all of a sudden. "Ahem!" Koharu cleared her throat. "If you can truly bring Lady Tsunade back to us and she agrees to be the next Hokage¡­ I will have no issue with this solution." Homura nodded. "But, if you fail to do so, then you will have to take the position yourself." "Fine¡­ deal." Jiraiya ced a hand on Naruto''s shoulder. "But I''m taking this brat with me. He can help me track her down." "You want to take the Jinchuriki out of the vige? Have you lost your sanity? It is too dangerous right now." Danzo frowned. "Danzo is not wrong. The chances of suffering an ambush are very high. We have been forced to reduce the perimeter of our security by arge margin, and we arecking the resources and personnel to restore it. At least for the moment," Homura exined. "This is why we have canceled all Genin missions outside the vige for the time being," Koharu added. "He''ll bepletely safe at my side. Even more so than staying in the vige," Jiraiya said with confidence. "What makes you think that I am not busy with something else?" Naruto didn''t mind staying in the vige for a few more years. He had everything he needed to break into the Golden Core stage already, and by then, if he wanted to leave¡­ they would have a very hard time stopping him. "Please¡­ you spent most of your week locked inside your apartment. You are definitely not busy," Jiraiya said. "Have you been spying on me?" Naruto asked. Ignoring his question, Jiraiya added something else, "And you heard Koharu¡­ Genin will have no important missions for the time being. Are you telling me that you prefer to do chores?" "Mmm¡­ I suppose not," Naruto admitted. Learning more about the outside world might not be a bad thing. And finding a healer was also important for his goals. "Very well, I will go with you." "We have yet to agree on this!" Danzo eximed. "I don''t need your agreement for anything," Jiraiya confronted the other man. "Okay, let''s calm down¡­" Koharu could feel the tension rising. "You, you can take the boy, but this mission cannot take too long¡­ I would say a month at most," Homura added. "Indeed¡­ if you cannot find and bring Lady Tsunade back in one month, you must return and take your ce as our next Hokage. That is your duty." Koharu nced at the grumpy Danzo. "What do you think?" "Hmph¡­ very well. We will entrust him with this mission, and the protection of the Jinchuriki. But you must be back in a month. Or we will have to make a decision without you¡­" Danzo''s words sounded more like a threat than anything else. "Oh, before you leave, we have one more order of business with Uzumaki," Koharu turned to him. Homura did the same. "Your contribution during the attack has not been overlooked, young man. Now¡­ without the Hokage, we cannot do anything official, but if there is something that you require¡­ we can consider it." "A ninja should need no reward for doing their job!" Danzo huffed. "I think even you have to agree that Uzumaki''s actions were above and beyond what is required and expected from a Genin," Homura said. "And besides¡­ we always pay our ninjas for their missions. You can consider this as such," Koharu added before addressing Naruto again. "Now¡­ is there something on your mind?" "Mmm¡­" He considered the offer for a minute. At first, he thought about requesting a good de since he lost his previous one during the Gamabunta test. But then he remembered that he had a promise to keep. "How many barrels of high-quality sake can you get me?" The three elders looked shocked. "Sake?¡­" "Did he say barrels?!" A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 103: A Small Village and a Suprise Visit Chapter 103: A Small Vige and a Suprise Visit Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 103: A Small Vige and a Suprise Visit "Are you sure that''s all you need? We''ll be gone for a while," Jiraiya said, eyeing Naruto''s small backpack. "I''ve got some storage scrolls filled with instant ramen and other necessities. I''ll be okay," Naruto replied. "I see..." Jiraiya shrugged. He also had everything packed inside scrolls, so he couldn''t say much. However, he found it odd that Naruto specifically mentioned ramen instead of just ''food.'' "You didn''t bring only ramen, did you?" "What else was I supposed to bring? I''m not that fond of sweets," Naruto answered. "Yeah, but... never mind that." Jiraiya decided to drop the subject of food. "Are you going to tell me about that strange request you gave to the Elders?" "I made a promise to Gamabunta. Tenrge barrels of sake. That was his price for helping me out. And one must keep their word." Naruto exined. "As I thought..." Jiraiya sighed. That toad liked alcohol as much as he liked women. Jiraya nced at Naruto as they walked out. He also wanted to question the boy about his decision on Gaaras fate but decided not to say anything in the end. If he wanted to know more about what kind of person Naruto was. Then this trip was the perfect chance for that. They exited the vige through the North Gate and began their journey onto the dirt road that eventually led to the Fire Country Capital. Meanwhile, at the South Gate, two suspicious individuals attempted to infiltrate the vige, but were discovered. The ensuing battle wouldnd several important Konoha ninjas, including Hatake Kakashi, in the hospital. Vige of Hima, Late Afternoon After many hours of walking along dirt roads, they arrived at a small town. "This is where we''ll be staying," Jiraiya said as they entered arge building. The ce had very dim lighting, and the stench of alcohol was almost overwhelming. Women in skimpy clothing wandered about, chatting with the men. Naruto wasn''t oblivious to what kind of ce this was. He had visited red-light districts before, though he never indulged in the pleasures of the flesh. To him, intercourse with a woman had to serve a deeper purpose than mere satisfaction. Otherwise, one risked deviating from their path and losing themselves forever. "Wee!" A very attractive young girl in a tight ck dress greeted them from behind a small desk. Jiraiya gave her a lecherous grin. "It''s been too long, Sayaka! Are you free tonight?" He waved his coin purse. "Oh! Mister Jiraiya, it''s you! I''m afraid I can''t attend to you tonight, but I''m sure we can find someone you like," she said with a seductive wink, her eyes sliding toward Naruto. "And you''ve brought a handsome young man with you." "Yes, this is Naruto, my... nephew." A tall blonde girl with long hair and ample curves walked up behind Naruto, hugging him. "Ahh, fresh meat¡­ tell me, young man, how old are you?" Jiraiya''s eyes widened. He didn''t recognize her, but this girl was exactly his type. "Fifteen," Naruto replied in a dry tone. There was something about this woman that rubbed him the wrong way, so he hoped she''d leave him alone. The blonde smiled. "Fifteen, huh? Almost a man, then. Would you like me to keep youpany tonight? I''m sure your uncle can pay for it." "Not interested. Let go of me and leave," Naruto said bluntly. The woman gasped, but her eyes quickly narrowed. "You¡­" "Wait!" Jiraiya hurried to intervene. "Please, forgive my nephew... he''s never learned how to properly treat a wonderfuldy like you." "Is that so?..." The blonde still looked upset. "And the uncle knows better?" "Why don''t I keep youpany instead?" Jiraiya offered, showing her his wallet. The blonde''s mood shifted instantly. "Now this is a proper gentleman." Jiraiya turned to the girl at the desk and handed her some coins. "I''ll take my usual room and another one nearby." He received two sets of keys and handed one to Naruto. "Here, go to your room and get some rest. We''ll talk tomorrow." "Sure," Naruto muttered, taking the keys. He had no interest in the ce and would rather spend the night meditating in peace. Once Jiraiya reminded him to stay in his room, Naruto left and went upstairs. "Well then... where were we?" Jiraiya grinned, ncing at the girl''s barely covered chest. The blonde chuckled and grabbed onto Jiraiya''s arm. "Now we''re going to have some fun." The two of them walked toward the bar. <><><><><><><><> Two Hours Later Naruto opened his eyes and nced out the window. "Mmm... it''s getting dark. Maybe I should go out and fetch something to eat." He hadn''t forgotten Jiraiya''s warning to stay in the room. He just didn''t see a reason to obey it. They were far outside Konoha''s territory, and the chances of being attacked by an enemy ninja in a small town like this were close to zero. "Then again... I do have instant ramen with me..." Naruto wasn''t confident in the local chefs, so perhaps a meal in the motel room would be more pleasant. While weighing his options and thinking about how unprofessional Jiraiya''s actions were, he heard a knock on the door. He hadn''t ordered any room service, and there was little chance Jiraiya woulde knocking. By now, he should be more than entangled with that blonde woman. ''Unless something happened¡­'' He considered the possibility. Naruto stood up and walked to the door. Since he still couldn''t sense other people''s chakra, he had no way of knowing who was on the other side. But just before he reached for the handle, he felt his skin crawl. ''Bloodlust...'' Whoever was on the other side had clear bad intentions, and they were strong. Still, Naruto wasn''t one to shy away from a challenge. He opened the door. A pair of Sharingan eyes stared back at him. "Sasu¡ªno¡­" He mmed the door shut, turned around and leaped out of the window as fast as he could. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 104: Confrontation Chapter 104: Confrontation Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 104: Confrontation The two men who had just knocked on Naruto''s door remained still, exchanging nces. "It sounded like he jumped out of the window¡­" the one who looked like a human fish remarked. "Mmm¡­ that seems overly cautious. He must have recognized me," Itachi concluded. "I believe he was about to call me by my brother''s name but stopped." "So, what do we do now?" Itachi broke the lock and pushed the door open. "What kind of question is that? We go after him. Jiraiya won''t be distracted forever." "Hehe, I don''t know about that. He''s probably piss drunk by now. That girl seemed... talented," Kisame chuckled. Seeing theck of amusement on hispanion''s face, he quicklyposed himself. "Fine, let''s go." He leaped through the same window Naruto had just used. Landing on the next rooftop, Kisame took a deep sniff of the air. Itachi waited patiently beside him. He hadplete trust in his partner''s tracking abilities. Once Kisame caught a scent of chakra, no one could escape him. "Urgh¡­ Samehada doesn''t like this boy''s chakra. Says it''s too hot," Kisameined, feeling the shared senses of his sword. "Which direction?" Itachi asked, hoping Kisame would focus. "This way!" Kisame said, jumping off in pursuit. Around the middle of the town, Naruto was jumping from one roof to the next. It was dark already but the small town looked a lot more busy now,pared to when they arrived. He decided to leap down onto the ground level and try to blend in with the crowd. "Tch! Where''s the old pervert when I need him?" Naruto muttered, running through the narrow streets. He had no way to contact Jiraiya, but he knew he couldn''t take on these two by himself. He immediately recognized Itachi...the only other living Uchiha, and one of the most dangerous missing-nin from Konoha. As for the other man apanying him, he was unmistakable also. Kisame Hoshigaki, an S-rank missing-nin from the Hidden Mist, and a member of the Seven Legendary Swordmen from the Mist. ''Why are two famous S-rank ninjas after me?'' Naruto thought, mind racing. It wasn''t a coincidence, that was for sure, and there were a few possibilities: Maybe they were after Jiraiya and found him by ident. Or... word about him being the son of the Fourth Hokage had spread, and there might be a bounty on his head. The Rock Vige would definitely pay a good price for him. The third possibility¡­ they wanted a Jinch¨±riki. He was sure that many would be interested in capturing one. The Bijuus could considered very powerful weapons and any country would want to have them. ''If that''s the case, they must''ve been spying on Konoha already and followed us as soon as we left. But how did they find me so quickly?'' Naruto wasn''t used to dealing with these kinds of covert tactics. While darting through a busy street, he sensed something moving at great speed directly at him, and sidestepped just in time. Arge, wrapped bundle crashed into the ground, shattering the stone tiles. The impact sent debris flying, injuring several bystanders. People screamed as a towering figurended beside the bundle and picked it up. Only then did Naruto realize the bundle was a weapon, wrapped in white bandages. "There you are," the half-fish man smiled, his satisfaction was evident. This person seemed to enjoy the act of the hunt. A group of townsmen, angry at the destruction, began to confront him. And they will soone to realize how terrible of an idea that was. "You! What do you think you''re doing?!" one of the men shouted at Kisame while brandishing a small knife. Without even facing the man, Kisame swung his massive sword in response, sending all the townsfolk who dared to approach him flying away, and sttering their blood across the street. "Ahhh!" "Murderer!" "Monster!" The air filled with screams as the crowd scattered in all directions, panicking. Itachinded beside his partner, frowning. "What are you doing? We were supposed to be discreet," he scolded. Kisame hadpromised the mission by causing chaos in the town center, rather than waiting for Naruto to be further away. "Heh, rx, Itachi. I just need ten seconds to catch the boy. Watch me." Kisame grinned, showing Naruto his sharp, serrated teeth. Naruto''s heart raced. ''So they''re after me... that rules out the first possibility.'' He tried to stay calm. Running no longer seemed like an option. The uproar would definitely attract attention. Even Jiraiya, no matter how drunk, wouldn''t be able to ignore this. "Let''s negotiate," Naruto said. "You two are here to capture me, right? If you''re mercenaries, I can double whatever you''re being paid." "We''re not here to negotiate. Juste with us quietly, and you won''t be hurt," Itachi replied coldly. "And I doubt a nobody orphan brat like you could offer us much," Kisame added dismissively. ''So, they don''t know who my parents are... they''re after the Ky¨±bi.'' Naruto realized. It didn''t matter what why they wanted him. They weren''t going to take him without a fight. "I know who you are¡­ Kisame Hoshigaki," Naruto said, pulling a kunai from his pouch. Kisame paused, looking slightly surprised. "I didn''t know genins paid that much attention to the Bingo Book. Not bad, but if you know who I am, then you must know resistance is useless." Naruto ced the kunai against his own neck. "I know you need me alive. Don''t get any closer, or I''ll do it!" "Whoa, hold on!" Kisame stopped and looked at Itachi for guidance. The Uchiha''s Sharingan spun as he narrowed his eyes at Naruto. "He''s lying. He has no intention of killing himself." "What? But then..." Kisame turned back to Naruto, who was now smiling. He just needed a small gap to focus on the next move, and now he got it. "Your ten seconds are up," Naruto said, slicing his palm with the kunai. "Summoning Jutsu!" A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 105: A Family Reunion Chapter 105: A Family Reunion Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 105: A Family Reunion A light green toad appeared in front of Naruto, towering at nearly thirteen feet tall (four meters), with a long curved de strapped to its back. "It seems this time... there''s someone for me to cut," the toad, Gamadachi, said as he eyed Kisame. "Be careful, Gamadachi. This one''s an S-rank ninja," Naruto warned. He had summoned Gamadachi instead of someone like Gamabunta because of the limited space inside the town. The street was wide, but the Toad Lord''s massive size would cause mass destruction in such close quarters. Besides, since he was facing a swordsman, Gamadachi seemed like a good match. He was the only swordsman toad Naruto had met so far, and thus the best choice for summoning. "What''s this? You brought a frog to fight me?" Kisame said, clearly amused. Gamadachi narrowed his eyes. "You''d do well not to underestimate the Toad n," he said, unsheathing his sword. "Ignore his taunts," Naruto said, walking to his side. "I know this street is too narrow for you to fight properly. Just try to create an opening for me." Since Kisame would likely underestimate them, they may have one small chance to get a good hit on him. "What about the other one?" Gamadachi gave a side nce at Itachi. "That one doesn''t seem interested in interfering. But if he does¡­ leave him to me. Focus on the fish guy." Naruto told him. "Understood," Gamadachi replied before rushing forward to engage Kisame. "Ha!" Kisame grinned, shing his sword with Gamadachi''s. "Not bad!" "Kisame!" Itachi raised his voice in warning. "Huh?" The voice of his partner put him on full alert, and it was then that he noticed it. Naruto had slipped behind Kisame, ready to strike. A blue orb of rotating chakra was on his right hand. "Rasengan!" Kisame moved with blinding speed, deflecting Gamadachi''s sword and swinging his own to block Naruto''s attack. The Rasengan lost energy and fizzled out before it could reach Kisame''s weapon. "Nice try, but attacks like that won''t work on me," Kisame said, as the bandages on his sword unraveled, revealing its true form. "My Samehada can eat any kind of chakra!" The strange sword emitted a sharp noise, almost as if it was responding to Kisame''s words. "Samehada¡­ that''s one of the Seven Mythical Grade swords of the Mist," Gamadachi noted. "A Mythical Grade sword?" Naruto was intrigued. That meant there were weapons even more powerful than the Legendary Grade ones he had heard of. The fact that mythical weapons had such extraordinary properties piqued his interest. He had known of weapons as such in his past, but never held one in his hands. "That''s right," Kisame said, lifting the sword as its spikes began to move. "And my Samehada is the best one!" He swung it in a wide arc. The sword''s range was so great that Naruto couldn''t dodge in time, and it scraped his arm. Naruto nced at his wound. It wasn''t a deep cut, and it felt more like he had been scratched by a wild animal. But what concerned him more was the sudden loss of chakra. Just one touch from the sword had drained a significant amount of his energy. ''So, that sword can absorb chakra not just from my attacks, but directly from me if it touches me,'' he thought, turning to Gamadachi. ''If that thing touches Gamadachi, it''ll probably be enough to undo the summon.'' Naruto had learned more about how the Summoning Jutsu worked over the past week after performing a few more tests. If a summoned creature took enough damage, it would be forced back to its point of origin, in the case of the Toad n, they return to Mount Myoboku. Additionally, maintaining the connection required a constant supply of chakra. If Samehada absorbed that chakra, it would likely break that connection and the summon would end prematurely. "What a ridiculous ability," Naruto muttered. In a world where everything depended on chakra, the power to take it away was a huge advantage. "Haha! You''re damn right," Kisameughed. "See, Samehada? Even the boy recognizes your greatness." The sword emitted another sharp noise in response. "That''s enough fooling around," Itachi said, his patience wearing thin. He wasn''t sure if Naruto was stalling by talking to Kisame, or if his partner was just being foolish. Either way, they couldn''t waste any more time. "I''ll handle the boy. You deal with the toad." He finally said. "Eh? Come on, I had everything under control! I was just about to cut his legs off," Kisame protested. However, before Itachi could make his move, he suddenly dodged to the side, avoiding a barrage of kunai that embedded themselves into the ground with great force. "Sasuke¡­ what are you doing here?" Itachi asked, his eyes narrowing. Naruto blinked in surprise. "I was about to ask the same thing," he said, as Sasukended in front of Itachi. This was thest ce he expected to find his teammate. Sasuke''s eyes were locked onto his brother. The two tomoe of his Sharingan spun, focused and full of hatred. "I came to kill you." "Oh? Is that your little brother? He looks just like you," Kisamemented. "So, I guess you didn''t kill your entire n after all¡­ you left one." The remark seemed to push Sasuke over the edge. His anger reached its boiling point, and without another word, sparks of electricity formed in his palm. "That''s¡­" Naruto watched closely, recognizing something familiar about the technique. It reminded him of his Rasengan, but it used an elemental nature and had a different rotation. ''Is this what Sasuke learned during his month with Kakashi?'' Naruto wondered. His teammate hadn''t had the chance to show off his progress, since the tournament was canceled after the attack on Konoha. ''So this must be from Kakashi''s arsenal.'' Naruto concluded. Sasuke moved with lightning speed, thrusting his right arm forward. "Lightning Release: Chidori!" A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 106: The Great Sannin Arrives Chapter 106: The Great Sannin Arrives Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 106: The Great Sannin Arrives Itachi sidestepped Sasuke''s attack with ease, allowing his younger brother to crash into the stone wall of the building behind them. The sheer destruction caused by the jutsu was a testament to its power. A massive hole gaped in the wall, its edges scorched from the intense heat of the technique. Naruto, observing this, couldn''t help butpare the Chidori to his own Rasengan. ''I wonder how Rasengan would fare against that,'' he thought. "Whoops!" Naruto had to jump back as the massive Samehada swung dangerously close to his legs. Kisame hadn''t been joking when he said he''d cut them off. "Tsk! You move like a cockroach. It''s so hard to hit a small target," Kisame grumbled. Gamadachi, meanwhile, was struggling against Kisame. The skill difference between the toad and one of the Seven Legendary Swordsmen of the Mist was bing painfully clear. Kisame deflected most of Gamadachi''s strikes and even managed tond a few blows on the toad with his fists, before targeting Naruto. He wasn''t sure if Kisame was aware that hitting the toad with his sword would undo the summon, so he purposely avoided doing that to keep the fight going. ''He must be one of those battle freaks who enjoy fighting all the time.'' That was at least the first impression Naruto got from this strange fishman. Suddenly, Sasuke''s agonized screams filled the air. Naruto''s attention snapped back to his teammate, only to find Sasuke writhing in pain on the ground. Itachi wasn''t even attacking him physically...he was just staring at his brother as this one copsed on the floor and remained there, motionless. "What was that? What did he do?" Naruto asked, not really expecting an answer. "Haha! That''s how the Uchiha fight... with their eyes," Kisame chuckled. "Their eyes¡­ the Sharingan did that?" Naruto realized his knowledge of the Uchiha''s unique ability wascking. He had always thought the Sharingan''s only function was to analyze and copy techniques, but clearly, it was capable of much more. ''If Itachi did that to Sasuke just by looking at him¡­ it must be some kind of genjutsu projected through the eyes, like...'' Naruto remembered stories from his old world about creatures born with special eyes that could hypnotize anyone who made direct eye contact. The best way to fight those bizarre beings was to avoid looking into their eyes. Otherwise, they could create illusions and guarantee their opponent''s defeat. "Urgh!" Gamadachi let out a cry as Kisamended a heavy blow to his side, and this time he used the sword. Samehada activated, draining the toad''s chakra and forcing the summoning jutsu to cancel. "Oh well, it was time to wrap this up I guess," Kisame grinned, turning his attention fully to Naruto. "Looks like it''s just you now." ''Where is that pervert ninja?'' Naruto thought in frustration. He had bought a lot of time, but any more would require him to go all out...and that was something he wanted to avoid in the middle of town. Also, now that Sasuke was down, Itachi might also join the fight. If that were to happen... Naruto frowned. ''Not much of a choice now.'' His eyes turned orange as the Ky¨±bi''s chakra began circting through his body. "So you can use that chakra too. "Kisame looked at him with interest before lunging at him, Samehada was raised way up in the air, but as the sword came down, it shed with a patch of white hair. The force knocked Kisame back a few steps. "Finally..." Naruto scoffed. "The Great Jiraiya is here!" the Sannin dered dramatically, making his entrance. "You thought you could distract me with a woman? I am the epitome of manliness and will never fall for a woman''s charm!" he proimed, carrying the unconscious woman from earlier over his shoulder. "You did though¡­" Naruto muttered. "Is that your teammate over there?" Jiraiya ignored Naruto''sment and nced at Sasuke. "Yeah, he showed up unannounced and got defeated in less than ten seconds... What a great help that was," Naruto said dryly. "Here, hold this," Jiraiya said, handing the woman to Naruto, who immediatelyid her on the ground. "So, this is the legendary Sannin? I didn''t think the woman we sent would keep you distracted for long," Kisamemented. "That was two and a half hours ago," Naruto pointed out. "You two didn''t waste any timeing after Naruto," Jiraiya said, his tone serious. "We were tasked with the abduction of Naruto Uzumaki by the higher-ups of our organization," Itachi exined. "Akatsuki," Jiraiya said. "It seems you already know quite a bit," Itachi noted. "I know enough¡­ like the fact that you will never get Naruto," Jiraiya said, preparing for a fight. "Oh, you think you can stop both of us?" Kisame asked, unconcerned by the Sannin''s presence. He had no idea how powerful Jiraiya truly was. Itachi, however, knew better. As a former member of Konoha, he understood the situation. "I told you we needed to hurry. It''s toote now." Itachi told his partner. "What? What are you saying, Itachi?" Kisame red at his partner, clearly annoyed. "We''re leaving," Itachi dered. This decision wasn''t made lightly. He had considered all the possible oues. If they both fought Jiraiya at full strength, they might be able to capture Naruto, but the odds weren''t in their favor. Itachi would have to rely heavily on his Sharingan, possibly to the point of blindness. Additionally, without arge source of water nearby, Kisame wouldn''t be able to fully unleash his abilities and would likely be killed. In the end, Itachi decided it was best to retreat and try againter. "Are you serious?!" Kisame growled, already knowing the answer but frustrated nheless. It had been a long time since he had a good fight, and Samehada was hungry. "You think I''ll just let you leave?" Jiraiya asked, mming his hands onto the ground. "Summoning Jutsu!" A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 107: What about a night stroll? Chapter 107: What about a night stroll? Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 107: What about a night stroll? Several armed toads emerged from within the smoke cloud, attempting to block their escape. "Let''s go," Itachi insisted. As much as he wanted to stay and continue the fight, Kisame knew he was supposed to follow Itachi''s instructions. Their leader had told him many times that in situations like this, Itachi had the right to choose their course of action, and Kisame had toply. "Fine!" Kisame attempted to leap onto a nearby roof but was stopped by a toad wielding a pair of sai knives. In total, four toads appeared from the summoning. They were all around the same size as Gamadachi, but Naruto had never seen these particr ones before. "Go grab your teammate and keep him safe," Jiraiya told him before taking off. Itachi and Kisame had to carve their way through, fending off the toad warriors as they leaped from one roof to the next. Naruto watched them getting farther away and felt a bit relieved. ''I''m still too weak...'' he reminded himself. No matter how powerful he had been in the past, his previous cultivation was gone, and he had to start anew, in a world he didn''t fully understand, and with a body that wasn''t his. He thought he had been careful so far...he had tried to avoid standing out too much or making powerful enemies. But trouble seemed to follow him regardless. These men had just admitted to receiving orders to capture him, and they came from an organization called Akatsuki. ''They''re likely after the Kyubi¡­'' Kisame, at least, seemed oblivious to who his parents were, so the only other logical exnation for trying to capture him was to extract the demon sealed inside him. Naruto walked over to Sasuke and knelt beside him. "He''s alive at least¡­" he noted, checking his pulse. It was weak, but there. He nced at the cursed seal on Sasuke''s neck. ''No wonder you were so desperate to be stronger¡­ your brother seems like a very dangerous man.'' Naruto had only faced the fish-man, but his instincts told him that Itachi would have been a much more difficult opponent. Not that he was a match for Kisame either. At least, not yet. ''I need to be more powerful¡­ before they find me next time,'' Naruto thought. And it wasn''t just those two. It appeared that a mighty organization was after him, which meant there were likely even more dangerous members among them. ''Jiraiya seems to know about them... I''ll try to get some answerster.'' He ced Sasuke in a sitting position next to the blonde woman and then waited. As the area became more silent, and the scared citizens who had been hiding began to peek out into the streets. A few houses and shops had been destroyed, but given the circumstances, this wasn''t too much damage. Some of the vigers stared at Naruto, and a few began to approach. ''I hope they''re not nning to charge me for the damage...'' he considered. Just as one of them was about to speak, they all heard someonend on the roof. Naruto initially thought it was Jiraiya returning, but quickly realized it was someone else. The citizens began to panic, thinking the two scary men hade back. They screamed and scrambled to run away. "Huh?..." A very confused Maito Gai looked around. "What did I do?..." "They thought you were one of the men who destroyed part of the town, moments ago," Naruto said, walking over to him. "Itachi! So he was here?!" Gai''s eyes scanned the area until he spotted Sasuke. "There he is." "Wait, you knew about those individuals?" Naruto asked. "Yes, they attacked Konoha this morning. They must have found out that you and Lord Jiraiya left through the North Gate." Gai knelt next to Sasuke and checked his vitals. "Hmm¡­ his life doesn''t seem to be in danger, but I should take him back to Konoha as soon as possible." "They attacked the vige?... They came looking for me, didn''t they?" Naruto''s question surprised Gai. "How did you¡ª" Gai''s question was cut short as Jiraiya returned. "I lost them!" He seemed in a bad mood and didn''t even notice the jonin nearby. "So even the Great Sannin couldn''t stop those two¡­ or maybe you were already too exhausted from your previous activities," Naruto remarked. "How dare you! I''ll have you know I could go on for hours without end!" Jiraiya eximed. "I didn''t need to know that." Naruto frowned. "Lord Jiraiya!" Gai stood up and greeted him with respect. "Oh, you are¡­ Maito Gai, right?" His eyes moved to Sasuke. "I presume you came looking for that boy." Gai exined about the attack and about Kakashi being put in the hospital by Itachi. "The healers say he was hit by a very powerful genjutsu, and they don''t know when he''ll regain consciousness." "A powerful genjutsu¡­" Naruto nced at Sasuke. "I believe the same thing happened to him." Gai looked worried. This meant Sasuke could also be unconscious for an unknown amount of time. "So that''s how they found us so quickly¡­" Jiraiya muttered. "Don''t worry, Naruto. I''m sure Tsunade will be able to heal your friend and your sensei," he added. "Great," Naruto said with little enthusiasm. He wasn''t sure if he should consider Kakashi his sensei since the man had barely taught him anything. And he definitely didn''t consider Sasuke a friend. Teammate was as far as he went. "Lady Tsunade?! She''sing back?" Gai''s eyes widened. "Yes, that''s why Naruto and I are traveling right now. We''re on our way to speak with her," Jiraiya said, though he wasn''t entirely sure where she was at the moment. "This is great news!" Gai eximed. "You think she''ll be able to heal my disciple?" "Of course!" Jiraiya made yet another promise, despite not knowing if it was possible. "Then, I''ll take Sasuke back to the vige and wait for your return!" Maito Gai said, excited. "Well then, let''s head back to the hotel," Jiraiya suggested. "I think we should leave this ce¡­" Naruto nced around. The townsfolk were still staring at them. "Unless you want to pay for all the damages." Jiraiya looked around and quickly understood the situation. "I''m sure the folks here will be reasonable and understand that we weren''t the ones responsible for th¡ª" "What about the prostitute and everything you drank? By the stench on your breath, it wasn''t little. And I doubt you paid for any of that before storming off," Narutomented. Jiraiya now looked troubled. "You know... I''m suddenly in the mood for a night stroll, how about you?" A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 108: The Incomplete Jutsu Chapter 108: The Iplete Jutsu Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 108: The Iplete Jutsu For trained ninjas, traveling for days without sleep was hardly an issue. After escaping the town under the cover of night, the duo continued moving without pause until around midday the next day. "Why don''t we take a break and eat something," Jiraiya finally suggested. The green grass fields surrounding the road were dotted with groups ofrge trees offeringfortable shade, making it a good ce to stop. After setting up an improvised cooking fire, they sat down to rx a bit. "Say, Naruto, what would you want me to teach you?" the Sannin asked. "I thought we were on a tight schedule to find the woman. Do you have time for that?" "Of course. I already have a good idea of where she is, so it shouldn''t be too difficult to find her. Besides, giving you some training was one of the reasons for bringing you along," Jiraiya said. "So I don''t get captured by this Akatsuki organization," Naruto stated. Over the course of the night, Jiraiya had shared some of his knowledge about this mercenary group. While he didn''t have much, Naruto learned that Akatsuki wasposed entirely of S-rank ninjas from across the continent. Though the group was small, each member was immensely strong, and even Orochimaru himself had been one of them until a few years ago. Their ultimate goal was still a mystery, but it was clear that they were after the Jinchuriki scattered throughout the ninja viges. It was only a matter of time before they attempted to capture him again. Naruto swore to himself, that next time, he would be the one teaching them a lesson. Jiraiya nodded. "So you don''t get captured¡­ that''s the idea. And to prevent that, you''ll need to be much stronger than you are now. We don''t know most of the members, but we should assume they''re at least on the level of those two fromst night...if not stronger," he said, adding some rice to the boiling pot. "Is there something specific you''d like to learn? I originally nned on teaching you the Rasengan. That''s an original jutsu created by your father, but¡­ from what I''ve heard, you already know that one." The Sannin nced at him inquisitively. "Yes, I found a few scrolls in their old house. One of them had that jutsu written on it. It took me a few days to get it right though¡­ it was really difficult to find the correct rhythm for the different rotations so the sphere would remain stable," Narutomented. "A few days?!" Jiraiya was left speechless. "That jutsu is ssified as A-rank, and you say you only needed a few days to learn it by yourself, and from a scroll?" Jiraiya stared at Naruto for a long moment before speaking again. "Do you mind showing me?" "What, you don''t believe I can do it properly?" Naruto raised an eyebrow. Not sure if he should feel offended by being doubted. "I''d like to evaluate your level of mastery, that''s all," Jiraiya insisted. This was something he had to see. If he actually learned the jutsu properly under that condition, this meant that the boy before him was an absolute monster in more than one way. "Fine¡­" Naruto lifted his right palm upward. A small current of chakra appeared out of nowhere and began to rotate. Very quickly, the amount of chakra increased. Several currents rotated in different directions and intersected with each other as their power became more intense. In three seconds, a perfect blue sphere had formed on top of Naruto''s palm. The moving energy made a terrifying noise as it caused friction with the air. "I can probably form the sphere a bit faster with more practice," Naruto said. Jiraiya was truly impressed, though he chose not to show it. As far as he was aware, Naruto was just a gifted boy, and it would do him no good to be praised excessively, which might lead to arrogance andcency. "Satisfied?" Naruto asked. Jiraiya pointed at a nearby tree. "Hit that tree with the Rasengan. I must see its effect while impacting on something to evaluate it properly." Naruto shrugged and did as Jiraiya instructed. The blue sphere obliterated the tree trunk without encountering any resistance and buried itself deep inside. As Naruto released the energy, it exploded outward, creating a massive hole in the back of the tree and causing it to copse. Jiraiya stroked his chin. "Not bad." It was actually a perfectly executed Rasengan, as far as he could observe. "Not bad?..." Narutomented. "Okay, it was good, but you need to keep practicing to perfect it. Your father put a lot of effort into creating that jutsu. I hope you''ll treat it with the respect it deserves." Naruto nodded. "Of course. I''ll always be grateful for the knowledge I gain today, as it will be the foundation of my future." "Good¡­ as long as you understand that." Jiraiya wondered if all kids Naruto''s age spoke like that. He had little experience with teenagers, but he had a feeling they didn''t. "As for what I want to learn¡­ I want to learn everything I can. But there is something specific I''ve been meaning to ask you," Naruto said. "Something specific? And what''s that?" Jiraiya asked. "I heard you''re the most prominent master of f¨±injutsu in all of Konoha." Jiraiya smiled proudly. "You''ve got that right. Are you interested in seals? That''s a veryplex discipline." "There was another jutsu left behind by my father that got me curious. What do you know about the Flying Thunder God?" A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 109: A Promise For The Future Chapter 109: A Promise For The Future Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 109: A Promise For The Future "The Flying Thunder God?! Don''t tell me Minato left that scroll at his house," Jiraiya appeared upset. "There wasn''t much in that house, to be honest. And that scroll was iplete. It looked like only half the technique was written," Naruto said. Jiraiya sighed in relief. "At least he had the sense not to leave theplete version." Jiraya sighed in relief. "And of course there wasn''t much!. Any important jutsus must be stored in a secure location." "You seem to that jutsu very well," Naruto pointed out. "I can''t use it myself, but I''m very familiar with what it does. It''s a dangerous jutsu invented by the Second Hokage, but your father was the first to fullyplete it and make it usable inbat. It became his signature jutsu...and the main reason people feared him so much." "You don''t happen to know where the other half is, right?" Naruto asked. Jiraiya considered it for a moment. "I could make a good educated guess about where it is, but even if I told you, you wouldn''t be able to get it. That''s not a ce a genin could gain ess to. And even if you got it somehow¡­ you''d never be able to understand the jutsu without mastering the art of fuuinjutsu." Seeing Naruto''s expression, Jiraiya added, "I assume you didn''t understand anything from the half you have, right?" Naruto had to admit Jiraiya was right. He had memorized the text perfectly, to the point that he could replicate it on paper at any time. But it was true that memorizing something and understanding it were two different things. "I''ll tell you what," Jiraiya said. "I can teach you what I know of seals, and once I''m confident you won''t blow yourself up trying that jutsu, I''ll tell you where the second part is probably hidden¡ª" "Inside the Hokage''s office?" Naruto interrupted. "What?! How did you¡ª" "I mean, that''s the most logical ce for a former Hokage to hide something. Especially considering my father didn''t n on dying that night, so he wouldn''t have tried to find a more secure hiding spot," Naruto exined. "Hmph! Even if it''s there, it won''t be easy to locate. You''d need the Hokage''s permission to even look around. That''s why I said a mere genin has no chance of essing it," Jiraiya said. "Yeah, I figured as much." "If you want that jutsu, you''ll need to learn fuuinjutsu and be a Jonin as soon as possible. Only high-ranking ninjas are allowed to ess the Hokage''s secret library, which contains the vige''s most forbidden jutsus." Naruto nodded. This was simr to his old sect, where one had to reach the rank of Core Disciple to gain ess to the sect''s most valuable resources and cultivation methods. "I''ll get it done in no time. You''ll see," Naruto promised confidently. Jiraiya chuckled. He felt a bit happier seeing Naruto setting future goals and acting more like someone his age. "I like the confidence, but just learning fuuinjutsu will take quite a while, even with someone as incredible as me teaching you. I thought you''d ask me to teach you some cool ninjutsu or something." "Ninjutsu?... Now that you mention it, other than the academy jutsus, I haven''t learned much else," Naruto admitted. "Wait, Kakashi didn''t teach you anything at all?" Jiraiya was surprised. Kakashi was known as the Copy Ninja, with a thousand jutsus under his belt. Surely he must have taught something to the son of his sensei. "He taught us how to walk on trees and¡­ water," Naruto recalled, thinking if there was anything else. He had learned other things, but they weren''t ninja-rted. Like how to use that magical box with moving images, or the ck device you could put in your ear to hear someone talking from far away. ''ording to Kakashi, there are even some that can be used to speak with people inpletely different countries. He called them telephones,'' Naruto thought. The mortals in this world had developed science much further than the ones from his previous world. Not that there weren''t conveniences back there, but most were spiritual artifacts created by cultivators, and far too expensive formon mortals. "I can''t believe this¡­ I thought Kakashi would put in more effort after bing a sensei. But it seems he''s aszy as ever," Jiraiya muttered. "No matter, I''ll deal with him another time." "Then, can you teach me some fire jutsu?" Naruto asked, remembering the incident with Gamabunta. The techniques from his old world were still usable, but since they were designed for a different type of spiritual energy, their effects with chakra seemed¡­ unpredictable. If he could learn more about the ninjutsu that the people in this world used, he could adapt his old techniques to better suit this new energy system. "Fire jutsu?" Jiraiya repeated. "You don''t know any? It''s okay, don''t feel bad about it. I''ll ask someone else," Naruto tried to sound reassuring. "You damn brat! Who says I don''t know any?! I am the Legendary Jiraiya, and if anything, fire jutsus are my specialty! I was just thinking¡­ I don''t know your elemental affinity. Since Kakashi hasn''t taught you properly, I doubt he gave you the test." "Elemental affinity?" Naruto asked, curious. "There''s a simple test that shows which elemental chakra you''re mostpatible with. You can still use other elements, but¡­" "It''s best to focus on what you''re good at," Naruto finished, understanding the logic. It was the same in his old world. Jiraiya nodded. "Exactly¡­ but I don''t have any chakra paper with me. We''ll probably have to get some at the Capital." "Chakra paper¡­ I see, so we have to wait a bit." "I''ll tell you what, until we get there, I''ll teach you a basic fire jutsu. And once we know your affinity, we''ll figure out what''s next." A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 110: The Beautiful Capital Chapter 110: The Beautiful Capital Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 110: The Beautiful Capital "So she''s a gambler?" Naruto asked, deciding to inquire about the person they were searching for as they neared the city. "A massive one. But she rarely wins," Jiraiya exined. "She must be rich then..." Naruto concluded. "What does she look like?" "That''s the tricky part. She can change her appearance, even her age. Sometimes, to avoid debt collectors, she''ll look anywhere between ten to forty. But never older than that," Jiraiya said with certainty. "That''s going to make things difficult¡­" Naruto remarked. How were they supposed to find someone if they didn''t even know what she looked like?. He did not know any technique to detect if someone was altering their appearance. If his cultivation was higher, he could at least notice if someone had an unusual energy around them, but at the moment, he iscking in resources. "Don''t worry about that, leave it to me. I''ve found her countless times already," Jiraiya reassured. "That''s good to know, but...how can you be sure she''s even in the city?" Naruto pressed. "Thest report I got said she was heading in this direction. And she''s never been able to resist the Fire Country Capital. This ce has the best gambling houses in the nation," Jiraiya exined. Naruto''s face twisted with mild disappointment. "So you''re addicted to women, and Tsunade''s addicted to gambling. What about Orochimaru?, what is he addicted to?." he asked. "You don''t wanna know¡­" Jiraiya muttered. "The Three Legendary Sannin¡­" Naruto scoffed. "Hey! Don''t be so quick to judge. You don''t get to our age without developing a few vices," Jiraiya said in his defense. ''If only you knew¡­'' Naruto thought. As a cultivator in his previous life, he had lived for several centuries and still considered himself in his middle age by those standards. Yet, he had never developed harmful vices. His life had been dedicated to self-improvement and meditation. Aside from training, he engaged in little else. He never indulged in alcohol, women, or other worldly pleasures. Even during his dual cultivation sessions with those fairies, his focus was more on cultivation rather than seeking personal enjoyment. ''Maybe I should have done more¡­'' he reflected. Had his previous life been too dull?. He never really thought about it. But seeing Jiraya now... maybe he had missed something important. While Naruto was lost in thought, Jiraiya watched him. He had grown used to Naruto drifting into deep contemtion asionally. Jiraiya often wondered how someone so young could have so much on his mind, but he never interrupted his meditation sessions. In fact, Jiraiya had never seen Naruto sleep like a normal person. Yet, he couldn''t argue with the results. Naruto learned new jutsus at an incredible pace. In just three days, he had mastered two fire jutsus and achieved a high degree of proficiency with them. <><><><><><><><> An hourter, the country''s capital came into view. "Nice, huh?" Jiraiya smiled. He was sure Naruto would be impressed, even if he didn''t show it. After all, the boy had barely left Konoha since birth, and the capital was farrger and more impressive than the ninja vige. Before them stood a massive stone wall that encircled the city, and at its center was a colossal iron gate, heavily guarded by armed men. From the outside, the tallest buildings were visible, including the Imperial Pce''s peaks. To enter, people had to line up for a quick inspection at the gates. Naruto and Jiraiya, being recognized as ninjas from the country, entered without any issues. Jiraiya was clearly well known among the guards. "Well, where do we go from here?" Naruto couldn''t help but feel a bit disappointed. After hearing about the country''s capital, he had expected something grander. Compared to thest Imperial Capital he had visited, this city seemed small. Even the royal pce looked more like a wealthy person''s mansion than a true pce. "Now¡­" Jiraiya''s expression shifted. "It''s research time!" he said with a lewd grin. "Don''t tell me you''re nning on going to another brothel¡­" Naruto huffed. "Not just any brothel! The biggest one on the entire continent! It''s got hundreds of girls to choose from! Can you believe it?" Jiraiya said excitedly. "No, I can''t believe we''re going to aplish anything by doing that," Naruto raised an eyebrow. Jiraiya looked at him seriously. "You''re still a brat, so you wouldn''t know, but brothels are one of the best ces for gathering information. You''d be surprised at the confidential things people share while being¡­ entertained." Naruto wasn''t sure how to respond. It wasn''t like he was an expert in espionage or intel gathering. "Fine¡­ as long as it works, I won''tin." Despite Jiraiya''s strange habits and perverted behavior, Naruto had grown to respect his skills. He was, after all, the Legendary Sannin. "That''s the spirit! Let''s go!" Jiraiya shouted, grabbing Naruto''s shoulder. When they arrived, Naruto had to admit Jiraiya''s ims weren''t exaggerated. The brothel was almost as big as the Imperial Pce itself. ''I wonder what their ruler thinks about that,'' Naruto mused. "Let''s go inside," Jiraiya was practically bouncing with excitement. "Whoa! Look at this ce!" he eximed, like he hadn''t been here a dozen times before. It was still the middle of the day, but inside, you wouldn''t know it. The atmosphere was dim, illuminated by colorfulmps. The ce was packed. People sat at tables,ughing and talking with beautiful women clinging to their arms. At the end of the room was a stage where musicians yed, and to the right was arge door covered with blue fabric, guarded by a desk in front. ''That must be the private area,'' Naruto realized. He was learning a lot about brothels on this trip. Jiraiya caught Naruto eyeing the private section. "Hehe, what do you say, Naruto? Want to give it a try?" A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 111: Naruto Goes To Explore Chapter 111: Naruto Goes To Explore Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 111: Naruto Goes To Explore Naruto looked at Jiraiya with a deadpan expression. "I thought I already told you I''m not interested in sleeping with these women." "You''re so boring¡­" Jiraiya sighed, disappointed. "Fine, I''ll have fun...I mean, collect intel in here by myself." He pulled something out of his robes and handed it to Naruto. "Here you go. You can use this." "This is?" Naruto took the picture and nced at it. It showed a beautiful young woman. "Is this your favorite prostitute or something? That''s not something I''d brag about. They only want you for your money, after a¡ª" "That''s Tsunade!" Jiraiya interrupted. "The woman we''re looking for. Use that picture to ask around the city if anyone has seen her." "Mmm¡­ that makes more sense. But you said she can change her looks." Naruto pointed out. "She can, but she usually only alters her age. She''ll look something like in that picture, maybe a bit younger or older, but she''ll always be a blonde with long hair and a jewel on her forehead. She stands out a lot, so people should remember her." Naruto stored the picture. "Okay, I''ll ask around." Jiraiya nodded. "Good. Come back here at sundown. And if you happen to find her,e back here immediately. Don''t talk to her or approach her! Juste back and tell me." "Fine. Go have fun while I do all the work." Naruto tossed his backpack at Jiraiya. "At least take care of this." "Hey! Treat your uncle with more respect, you brat," Jiraiya huffed. "Sure...''uncle''. Go do your thing," Naruto said, rolling his eyes. In public, Jiraiya had told him to refer to him as his "uncle." Naruto left the brothel and began walking around the city. He showed the picture to a few shopkeepers, but no one had seen the woman. He then recalled an important detail about her. "Excuse me, do you know if there are any gambling dens nearby?" he asked an old man managing a food cart. If anyone would have seen her, it would definitely be in a ce like that. "Gambling?" The man sighed. "So young and already corrupted¡­" Naruto handed a few coins to the old fellow. While Jiraiya was still asleep, he had taken the opportunity to swipe a small bag of money from him. ''I''m sure he has a lot more,'' Naruto thought, not feeling the least bit guilty. From their casual conversations, Jiraiya had mentioned his sessful side job as an author, which brought in a decent amount of money. "Ohh!" The old man''s eyes widened at the sight of the coins. "You must be some rich kid¡­" He then pointed toward an alley. "If you''re looking to lose some money, just follow that road until you see a golden sign that says ''The Golden Goose.'' But be careful. There are some shady characters in there¡­ Ever since the Daimyo ced harsh regtions on gambling, most dens are now hidden away and run by dangerous people. Be very careful." He repeated. "Thanks for the warning." Naruto could tell the old man was being kind, so he left a few more coins for him before leaving. It wasn''t hard to find the ce. The sign was shy enough. "It doesn''t seem like they''re trying to hide, to be honest¡­" Tworge men stood at the door. They nced at him suspiciously. "Did you get lost, boy?" "Actually, I''d like to go inside," Naruto replied. The men looked him up and down. Naruto wasn''t wearing his Konoha headband, and his outfit consisted of ck martial arts robes and simple sandals. His kunai and other supplies were sealed in a small scroll, so he didn''t look like a ninja at all. "Huh? Aren''t you a bit young to be here?" one guard asked. "Yeah, just get lost!" the other one grunted, pushing him away. Naruto was about to say something when the door opened. A middle-aged man in an elegant blue kimono appeared, ncing at Naruto. "I heard some shouting. What seems to be the problem?" "This boy says he wants toe inside," the guard exined. The man in the kimono sized Naruto up, then smiled. "Do you have money?" Naruto showed him the wallet he had "borrowed" from Jiraiya. It was stuffed with cash. "Thene inside. What are you waiting for?" The man in the blue kimono gestured Naruto in, giving the guards a harsh re. "We wee anyone with money here, remember?" "Yes, Manager!" "We''re sorry!" the guards apologized. Naruto had never been in a gambling den before, but it was pretty much what he expected. Several rooms were filled with people ying games, drinking, and shouting. "What would you like to y? Cards, dice? Perhaps roulette?" the manager asked as they walked through the hall, pointing to different rooms. "Actually, I''m more interested in some information." The manager stopped and turned, his expression serious. "Information?... that is not really our business." "About this person." Naruto showed him the picture. "Have you seen her before?" The man''s eyes widened in surprise before he quicklyposed himself. Naruto noticed him subtly gesture to a man standing near one of the gambling rooms. "The woman in this picture¡­ Who is she to you? Your mother or something?" "Or something," Naruto replied. The door opened, and the guards from outside entered. More guards appeared from the rooms, and others descended from the upper floors, surrounding Naruto. The manager''s face darkened with intimidation. "I''m afraid I''m going to need more than that. Normally, we don''t share information about our clients, but this woman is¡­ special. You see, she owes us arge sum of money. Since you seem to be connected to her, we''re going to need your cooperation in finding her." The guards drew their weapons, making their intentions clear. "Will you help us?" the manager asked with a menacing smile. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 112: You Want to Capture Me? Chapter 112: You Want to Capture Me? Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 112: You Want to Capture Me? "You seem to have the wrong idea. I have no rtion to that woman; I''m just looking for her," Naruto said calmly to the man who appeared to be in charge. The manager grinned. "And why are you looking for her exactly?" "I don''t have to tell you that." The managerughed. "Well, you''ve got guts, boy. Here''s what we''re going to do. We''re going to take all your money, and you''ll stay here with us to work off that woman''s debt. If shees back and pays, we''ll let you go." "When''s thest time you saw her?" Naruto asked, ignoring the threat. "Boss, this kid doesn''t seem to understand the situation," one of the armed men remarked. "It does seem that way¡­." The manager shrugged. "Fine, but make it quick. I don''t want you disturbing our customers." He gave a hand signal. Naruto quickly assessed the situation. There were six men surrounding him, plus the manager, though thetter didn''t seem interested in fighting. The two door guards approached first. One reached for Naruto''s shoulder, but Naruto grabbed the man''s hand instead. "Wha¡ª?" Therge guard was shocked by the strength of Naruto''s grip. Despite the size difference, he couldn''t pull his hand back. The other guard, confused by his partner''s reaction, was about to make a move when the first man started to scream. "Agh! Let me go!" Everyone could see how Naruto had crushed his wrist with just his grip. "Shit! Who are you?!" Had the manager known that Tsunade was a ninja, he might have realized that anyone looking for her could also be one. But hecked that information and by judging by Naruto''s looks, he could not have guessed he was someone dangerous. Just some naive boy who went into the wrong ce at a bad time. As the man screamed, it dawned on the group that this wasn''t just a normal boy, but at least someone with a high degree of mastery in martial arts at the very least. Naruto knocked the guard out with a blow to the back of his head, before the other five lunged at him. The men were big and strong, but it was obvious they had no realbat training. They also didn''t know how to use chakra, so for Naruto, taking them down, did not require that much effort. He didn''t even need to use a single jutsu. The manager stared at Naruto in shock. It was now clear that this boy must be a ninja. A samurai would never be caught without their sword, and this kid had handled his men with ease by only using his hands. He took a step back, ncing toward the stairs. His organization was powerful, but only a few members could stand a chance against a ninja. Unfortunately, the only one stationed in this facility, had left to get drunk a few hours ago. "Where do you think you''re going?" Naruto asked the manager, noticing the doors around him creak open as people peeked out to see what themotion was about. But after seeing the bodies of the unconscious guards, no one dared step outside. "Wait! This is just a misunderstanding! I didn''t know you were a ninja, since you''re not wearing your headband. Let''s not take things too far. We have no issues with any of the nearby ninja viges." He had no idea from which vige this boy was from. Or if he was one of those ronin ninjas. "Huh?... Right..." Naruto muttered, realizing he had left his headband in the bag he gave Jiraiya. "I forgot it." "O-of course!" The manager forced a smile, convinced now that Naruto was some sort of fugitive ninja, given that poor excuse. He didn''t want to make any wrong moves, fearing for his life. "We were talking about the woman in the picture," Naruto said. "What can you tell me about her?" "The woman?... Right, the blonde woman! We don''t know her real name. Shees to the capital every year, always looking a little different. She usually visits one of our dens, gets drunk, and causes a scene. But she always paid her debts, so we didn''t mind. However,st year, she made a massive loss and ran away without paying. We haven''t seen her since," the manager exined. "So you really don''t know where she might be¡­" Naruto said, disappointed. "No, but¡­ this is about the time she usuallyes to the city. For all I know, she could already be here. I have my men keeping an eye out for her. Does she owe you money too? We could work together to find her," the manager suggested, smiling slyly. Naruto didn''t need any special abilities to know the man was trying to trick him. However, the story seemed to match what Jiraiya had told him about Tsunade''s behavior. ''Doesn''t look like I''m going to get anything useful here¡­ Maybe I should try the other gambling dens,'' Naruto thought, just as the front door opened. "Huh?... What''s going on? Where are the guards?" a tired, drunken voice called out. "Mister Hanma! You''re back!" the manager shouted, relieved. The man who entered quickly assessed the situation. He took in the unconscious guards on the ground and Naruto standing before the frightened manager. "We have a troublemaker?" "Yes! But be careful, he''s likely a ninja. He bested all of my men in a few seconds!" the manager exined. Naruto nced at the neer. This man was different from the others. He had a dangerous aura about him. Hanma, wearing only baggy pants and a sleeveless shirt, was over seven feet tall with defined muscles. He studied Naruto with wary eyes. "Yes¡­ this kid is dangerous¡­" "I was just about to leave. There''s no need for us to fight," Naruto said, not wanting to waste more time. These people didn''t have any useful information for him. Hanma cracked his neck, loosening up. "No, I''m afraid that won''t be possible." A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 113: Bad Choices Chapter 113: Bad Choices Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 113: Bad Choices "Wait! Take it outside! You''ll destroy everything!" the manager shouted. Therge man, Hanma, red at Naruto. "This kid looks nimble and fast. If we fight outside, he''ll have the advantage¡­" He tensed his muscles, and they swelled to twice their size, his shoulders now nearly touching both sides of the narrow hallway. "There''s nowhere to run here." With that, Hanma charged at Naruto. Naruto watched as the giant stepped over the unconscious bodies of the men he had just defeated. The sound of their bones breaking was loud, but Hanma didn''t seem to care about his co-workers. His focus was entirely on crushing Naruto. "Take this!" A powerful straight punch was aimed directly at Naruto''s face. Naruto dodged by moving his head aside, or at least it seemed like he had dodged, but he felt an impact on his cheek and was still sent flying backward. "Haha! How''d you like that? I''m not so easy to avoid," Hanmaughed. "Your arm grew¡­" Naruto patted his cheek. He had noticed the trick. His dodge had been perfect, but just before Hanma''s punchnded, his forearm had grown, forcing Naruto to miscalcte the space necessary to avoid the hit. "Yeah, that trick always gets ninjas. You lot arecking in creativity when ites to chakra. You see¡­" His body swelled again. " I may not know your ninjutsu, but I can control my musclespletely." "I see¡­ that''s interesting, but that trick won''t work on me again. So I hope you have something more than that. " It was clear now that chakra usage wasn''t as secretive as the academy had made it seem. Naruto also recognized that Hanma was using a form of taijutsu. ''There''s probably a sizable ck market for ninja manuals,'' Naruto mused. With the number of missing ninjas out there, it wouldn''t be that surprising if some of those decided to make some money by selling their vige''s secret methods. Hanma charged again,unching another straight punch aimed at Naruto''s face. This time, Naruto wasn''t nning to just dodge. He spotted an opening and struck with his knuckles, hitting directly beneath Hanma''s arm at the elbow joint. "Ahhhhh!" Hanma screamed. Though he could bulk up his muscles, his bones remained as vulnerable points. The bones in his right arm were fractured but not fully broken. He stepped back, creating space for his next attack. "Those ninjas you killed¡­ they were just genin, weren''t they?" Naruto asked, his expression calm. Hanma ignored the question and lunged again, this time leading with his left fist. His hand grew until it almost covered Naruto''s entire upper body. "Die!" Naruto stepped back and threw a kick to deflect the punch. Hanma smiled. He had been waiting for that. The moment Naruto moved, Hanma returned his left fist to its normal size and lunged forward with his right hand. It had been a feint. "You''re mine!" His massive hand grabbed Naruto''s face, and Hanma applied all his strength to crush it...only for the figure in his grasp to vanish in a puff of smoke. "With that half-assed taijutsu style and that muscle trick¡­ even a rookie Chunin would see right through it," Naruto''s voice echoed from behind him. "What?" Hanma turned, stunned to see Naruto standing behind him. "How did¡ª?" "Substitution and Clone are just basic jutsu¡­ Let me show you something that isn''t basic." Naruto raised his hand, and a Rasengan began to form. In that moment, Hanma knew he was in serious trouble. "W-wait!" It was toote to run. He was now the one trapped in the hallway. The only exit would the stairs to the next level but those were too far away. Narutopleted the Rasengan and closed the distance between them in less than a second. Sensing the danger, Hanma crossed both arms in front of him and bulked up his muscles as much as possible. His body became a huge mass of flesh, barely fitting in the corridor. As soon as the Rasengan made contact, Naruto pushed it forward and stepped back. What followed was a gruesome spectacle as the spinning chakra sphere tore through the gigantic bulk of muscle. Hanma let out a bloodcurdling scream of agony, but it didn''tst long. His vital organs were destroyed, and he died soon after. The manager stood at the other end of the hallway,pletely covered in blood and trembling. "You should''ve let me go when you had the chance¡­" Naruto muttered. He didn''t enjoy senseless killing, but he would repay any attack on him in kind. With that, Naruto turned and left the building. No one came after him as he walked away, which didn''t surprise him. <><><><><><><><><> He wandered the city streets for over an hour, eventually visiting another gambling house without incident. However, the story he heard there matched what he had been told earlier. Tsunade had visited the previous year, yed several games of dice, lost a significant sum of money, and then disappeared without paying. Eventually, Naruto decided to rest in a quiet part of the city and take some time to think. "And they want that woman to be the next leader?..." Naruto wondered if the elders truly knew what Tsunade was like. Everything he had found so far, did not give a pretty picture of that individual. "Hurry! This way!" Several armed men ran toward him. For a moment, Naruto thought they wereing to arrest him for killing therge man at the gambling den, but it quickly became clear they had no interest in him. "Make way, boy!" "Move!" Naruto stepped aside, watching the squad of soldiers rush past and take a set of stairs leading to the city''s outer walls. "Did something happen?" he asked, not expecting an answer. However, a kind-looking soldier stopped next to him. "Young man, you shouldn''t go near the walls right now. A giant monster has appeared and damaged part of the Shogun''s castle!" "A monster?" Now Naruto was truly curious. "Yes, a giant snake!" A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 114: Meeting Two Sannins Chapter 114: Meeting Two Sannins Disimer: Naruto and all its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 114: Meeting Two Sannins Naruto moved quickly, jumping from one roof to the next until he saw a destroyed castle wall in the distance. However, there were no signs of any giant snake. ''It must be him.'' ording to what he knew about the Snake n, only Orochimaru was in possession of their scroll. ''This can''t be a coincidence that he would show up now¡­ is he also looking for that Tsunade?'' Naruto thought as he moved around. Once he got close enough, he spotted a few figures standing in the middle of a road. He stopped on top of the roof tile of the inner wall for a moment and was about to jump again when one of the figures appeared to punch the other wall. The ground shook violently as the stone structure was reduced to rubble, leaving arge gap where the impact took ce. It was impossible to tell their identities from this distance, but he could at least see that the one who punched the wall was a blonde woman, and next to her appeared to be a younger girl with dark hair. On the other side were two individuals, one with long ck hair and another with silver hair. ''Is that the one?...'' Jiraiya didn''t mention Tsunade having monstrous strength, but this must be her. ''I need to get a bit closer.'' He carefully continued moving until he could hear some of what they were saying and hid behind one of the many decorative statues that adorned the inner wall. "Lady Tsunade, please calm down. We are not here to fight you," the silver-haired man said. ''Kabuto?... Why am I not surprised.'' Naruto still remembered how suspicious that guy was during the Chunin Exams. There was a strange smell about him, which he now knew must have been the scent of snakes. "I already told you¡­ get out of my sight!" Tsunade shouted at him. "You''re probably the only one who can heal my arms¡­ does our old friendship mean nothing to you?" Orochimaru asked. ''His arms?'' Naruto had heard that Orochimaru got hurt during his fight with the Third Hokage but didn''t know how serious it was. ''Looks like he''spletely crippled¡­'' "It''s not like this will be a one-sided deal. We have something to offer you," Kabuto tried to appease the angry Tsunade. "You have five seconds to get out!" she shouted. "Just listen to us for a moment," Kabuto insisted. "Five¡­ four¡­" Kabuto sighed and nced at his master. "Three¡­ two¡­" "I can revive your little brother and the man you loved," Orochimaru said. This made Tsunade stop. "I can bring them back with a new seal I''ve developed," Orochimaru said with confidence. ''He can bring back the dead?!'' Naruto was shocked. Orochimaru already sounded like the old demonic cultivators from his previous world...someone willing tomit all sorts of immoral acts to achieve his goals. But bringing back the dead? That was something that belonged to the realm of the gods. ''Could this man have achieved something like that?... No, there''s no way. This must be a deception,'' Naruto concluded. "You¡­" Tsunade stared at Orochimaru in shock. "You''ve stopped counting. Does that mean we have a deal?" Orochimaru looked around. "I''m sure you want to see them again." "What will you do if I heal your arms? And don''t try to lie to me!" She had a stern look on her face. "I''m nning to finish the job and destroy Konohapletely this time. The old man is no longer there to protect them," Orochimaru admitted without hesitation. "Lord Orochimaru¡­" Kabuto whispered something in his ear. "I know¡­ we have a curious boy listening to our conversation. You thought we wouldn''t notice the scent of a toad, Naruto?" Orochimaru nced directly in Naruto''s direction. "Naruto?" Tsunade reacted upon hearing the name. She was sure she had heard it before but couldn''t ce where. "Tsk, he saw me," Kabuto said. "I wouldn''t worry about that. By now, everyone must have realized that you were on my side," Orochimaru pointed out. Kabuto withdrew a kunai. "Want me to bring him out?" "There''s no need for that," Orochimaru gestured with his head. Naruto stepped out from behind the decorative statue he had been hiding behind and jumped down from the wall. Both Tsunade and herpanion stared at him. "Who is this?" Tsunade asked. "And why was he spying on us?" "You should have tried to hide your scent too, Naruto. Didn''t they teach you that at the academy?" Orochimaru seemed more amused than angry at Naruto''s presence. "I must have forgotten about that," Naruto answered. "Ah yes¡­ the amnesia." "Are you a ninja from Konoha? What is your purpose?" Tsunade asked. This wasn''t the first time the vige had sent people to locate her, but they had never sent someone so young. "It is as you think, Tsunade. He is definitely here looking for you," Orochimaru said, ncing between them. "But this isn''t just any ninja. Doesn''t his face look familiar to you?" Tsunade frowned. It was indeed familiar, but she couldn''t ce it at first nce. "No matter. We can conclude our business here for today." Orochimaru turned to Tsunade. "I will be waiting for your answer. You have twelve hours to decide," Orochimaru said. "This forbidden jutsu has a small window of opportunity since it requires dead bodies. We have everything prepared, but you must not dy," Kabuto added before handing her a piece of paper. "We will be waiting there at that specific time." "Lady Tsunade! You can''t actually be considering this! We should take this chance to kill them. He''s crippled now!" the young girl at Tsunade''s side urged. "Shut up, Shizune!" Tsunade snapped. Orochimaruughed. "I may be a bit weak at the moment, but don''t think I''m defenseless¡­ I wouldn''t havee here if I wasn''t confident I could at least escape." "Master, what about¡­" Kabuto threw Naruto a re. Orochimaru looked at Naruto. "Leave it¡­ this is not the time for you two to fight. However, young Naruto, allow me to give you a warning." Naruto didn''t say anything, remaining fully alert in case Orochimaru decided to attack. "This is the second time you stand before me and I let you go. Don''t think this is mercy...it just doesn''t suit my ns. But the next time may be thest¡­ don''t tempt your luck." With thosest words, the Sannin and hispanion disappeared, leaving only a cloud of smoke behind. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 115: A Long Waited Reunion Chapter 115: A Long Waited Reunion Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 115: A Long Waited Reunion Naruto felt the eyes of the two women on him. "This is troublesome¡­ I wasn''t supposed to show myself. That Orochimaru left me in a difficult position." "Are you really a ninja from Konoha?" Tsunade asked. "I am," he admitted. "You don''t look like an A.N.B.U¡­ are you a new Jounin or something? I don''t remember hearing your name before," Tsunade said. "Lady Tsunade, you left the vige a very long time ago. I''m sure there are a lot of ninjas you don''t know about," her assistant reminded her. "I am not a Jounin, though. I graduated from the academy around three months ago. I''m still a genin," Naruto told her. "A genin?!" Shizune eximed. "A genin?..." Tsunade looked at him with suspicion. "How is a genin given the task to track me down? And you seem to have a history with Orochimaru. He would never pay attention to a random newbie¡­unless." "Over there!" "They broke the other wall too!" The voices of arge number of soldiers approaching could be heard clearly. "Lady Tsunade, we must leave!" Shizune said. There was no way they could pay for all the damage they had caused. It was better to avoid the city guards. "I know¡­" Tsunade gave Naruto onest nce but jumped away without saying another word to him. "Phew¡­ that worked out somehow," Naruto sighed. He had been wondering how to get away without telling her too much. "Hey you!" "The blonde one, wait there!" "Oh¡­" Naruto hurried to throw a smoke bomb and disappear from the scene before they could identify him as a ninja from Konoha. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> "It wasn''t my fault. He found me first," Narutoined to the Sannin as they walked through the streets at night, looking for a ce to eat. "You should never have gotten that close. What were you thinking?" Jiraiya scolded him. "Not only did you put yourself in danger, but you also alerted her to Konoha ninjas in the city. She''s probably left by now." "This wouldn''t have happened if you hadn''t been so busy with your ''entertainment.''" "I was collecting important information!" "And what important information did you find?" Naruto asked him. Jiraya flinched "That''s not important right now." " I thought so... but at the very least, I''m sure Tsunade won''t leave until tomorrow morning." Naruto hadn''t had the chance to tell him about Orochimaru''s deal. The twelve-hour limit they gave her would ce their meeting in the early hours of the morning...if she were to ept. He just didn''t know the exact ce where they would meet. Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "Why do you say that?" he asked as he opened the door to the first restaurant he found. "You see¡­" Naruto''s eyes scanned the crowd of patrons inside the establishment and stopped at a particr table. "I found her again." "Mmm?..." Jiraiya followed his gaze until he saw what Naruto was looking at. "Tsunade!" He spotted her, sitting at a table next to Shizune. "Maybe I have a talent for this job after all," Naruto considered. "You?! I''m the one who chose this restaurant," Jiraiya huffed. "Jiraiya?!" Tsunade said in shock. "What are you¡­?" She then saw Naruto. "Ah¡­ so he was with you." Now she understood a bit better. It made no sense they would send a genin on a mission like this, but if he was with her old teammate, it was a different situation. "Do you mind if we sit and talk?" Jiraiya asked. "It''s been a while since thest time." Tsunade seemed a bit hesitant but eventually agreed. "As long as you pay the tab." Jiraiya chuckled. "Are you broke already? You just got here." "Hmph! I''m not broke, but I need to reserve enough for the dice tables," the woman answered. "Lord Jiraiya¡­" Shizune joined in. "Did you pick a new apprentice?" she asked, pointing at Naruto. "Naruto?... Yes, I suppose he is my apprentice... or something like that." Jiraiya wasn''t sure how to answer that. He had taught Naruto a few things, but he never recognized him as a proper disciple, and Naruto had never referred to him as Sensei or Master either. "Quite reckless of you to bring a genin along. Today he could have gotten killed. Has he told you about¡­?" Tsunade nced at Jiraiya. "Orochimaru¡­ yes. We were just talking about that. What did he want?" the Sannin asked. Tsunade hid her surprise well enough. She had expected Naruto to have told Jiraiya about the offer, but apparently, she was wrong. Her eyes moved to Naruto for a moment before returning to Jiraiya. "I think he just wanted to brag about having killed our old sensei to my face." Jiraiya flinched. "Did he?... So you already know what happened." "Is it true then¡­ Sensei is dead." Sadness could be glimpsed in Tsunade''s eyes. "He is," Jiraiya confirmed. They remained in silence as the waitress brought several trays of food and drinks. Eventually, Tsunade spoke again. "And what about you? I doubt you went through the effort of tracking me down just to inform me about his death. And don''t tell me it''s a coincidence either." Jiraiya grinned. "You know me too well. I can''t lie to you. The vige elders sent me here to offer you the position of the Fifth Hokage." Shizune spit her drink on the table. "I''m so sorry!" "What?! What are those old fools thinking?" Tsunade was truly surprised now. "I agree," Naruto put his ss down and looked at Tsunade. "This woman is not fit to be the vige leader. You should find someone else." The blonde woman mmed her hand on the table, making everything tremble. "What did you say?..." "Did I stutter?..." Naruto nced directly into her eyes. "After everything I''ve learned about you so far, I can say without a doubt that you would be a terrible Hokage. We would be better off naming almost anyone else." A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 116: Losing the Temper Chapter 116: Losing the Temper Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 116: Losing the Temper "Jiraiya, who the hell is this rude brat? You better tell him to shut up before I decide to punch him," Tsunade spat the words. "Sorry about that," Jiraiya apologized before addressing Naruto. "Please, be quiet. You''re making things worse¡­" "My name is Uzumaki Naruto." "What did I just say?!" Jiraiya eximed. "She wanted to know who I was," Naruto said, undeterred. "Uzumaki¡­" Tsunade had heard that name before. It sounded familiar, not to mention his face. But now that she heard hisst name, Tsunade finally realized who this was. Her eyesnded on the other Sannin. "Jiraiya, this is¡­" She wasn''t sure how much the boy knew about himself, so she stopped there. "Yes¡­" Jiraiya nodded. "He knows everything." "I see¡­" That exined why her old teammate had shown interest in him. "You might want to be more careful when you take him out of the vige then." "You''re going to speak about me like I''m not even here? Talk about having no manners," Narutomented. She looked at him for a moment before going back to Jiraiya. "Also,pared to your previous apprentice, this one seems like a downgrade," she said with a mocking smile. Jiraiya nced at Naruto. "I wouldn''t be so sure about that¡­" "Are you serious?!" She couldn''t believe he had said that. His previous student was the Fourth Hokage. "This rude brat?" "He''s usually more polite¡­" Jiraiya felt the need to lie on that one. Naruto was always rude to him, too. "I only pointed out the truth. And you don''t want to be Hokage anyway, isn''t that right?" Naruto asked. "That''s right! Only a fool would want to give up their life for that vige¡­ like the old man," Tsunademented. "You''re right," Naruto told her. "Wasting your life gambling and drinking is a much better choice." "Hey! Don''t talk about Lady Tsunade like that," Shizune red at Naruto with narrowed eyes. "Hmph¡­ What does a brat like you know about me? You have no idea!" Tsunade shouted, her temper rising. "Let''s calm down. Naruto, I think you''ve said enough," Jiraiya warned, growing worried. Tsunade was known for losing her temper in a very explosive manner, and he could tell she was already close. Just one more push and it might happen. "I do know that you lost two important people." Naruto recalled hearing about it from Orochimaru. "A lover and a little brother, wasn''t it?" Tsunade''s expression darkened. Shizune gasped. No one dared to talk about them in her presence. "Naruto, shut up!" Jiraiya eximed, but Naruto kept pushing. "What would they think if they could see what you''ve be? A pathetic drunk old woman with no future." Tsunade smashed her fist on the table with such force that it was almost reduced to sawdust. Then, before anyone could stop her, she punched Naruto in the face, sending him flying out of the restaurant. "Oh¡­" Jiraiya muttered. "Lady Tsunade!" Shizune shouted. "Oh no!" Only then did Tsunade return to her senses and realize that she had just punched a genin with over half her strength¡­ and likely killed him. "What have I done¡­" The restaurant patrons and staff began to panic and ran outside, yelling. Tsunade hurried outside too. ''Maybe I can still save him!'' she thought. "Do I have to pay for all of this now?¡­" Jiraiya said. "Lord Jiraiya!" Shizune called him out. She didn''t understand how he could make such ament while his student was either dying or already dead. "He''s fine¡­" Jiraiya said, watching as Tsunade had held back quite a bit on that punch. "It''s going to take a lot more than that to kill that brat." Tsunade went outside and found the boy embedded into a stone wall across from the restaurant. She was about to rush to his side to check on his condition when he opened his eyes. "Okay¡­ I take back the ''pathetic'' part of my statement¡­ that was a good punch," Naruto said as he struggled to remove himself from the rubble. "How are you¡­" Tsunade couldn''t believe he could still stand up. He didn''t even look very hurt, other than a small red spot on his cheek. "I have a hard face," Naruto stated. Of course, that was a lie. His cultivation had finally reached the point where he could start using the most basic defensive technique in his arsenal. The Blue Jade Turtle Shellwas something taught to every apprentice of his old sect once they reached the Qi Refining stage. This technique was particrly useful for beginners because it taught them how to manipte their internal energy to form a thin protectiveyer around themselves. This protective barrier could stop most attacks from other Qi Refining cultivators, or those lower. Tsunade''s attack had gone a bit beyond that, so it managed to cause some damage to his face, but it still absorbed most of the impact. ''It''s still impressive that, even after taking precautions, she almost broke my jaw,'' Naruto thought, considering how strong this woman was. He had a feeling she could do much more damage than that. "A hard face¡­" Tsunade repeated his words. She wasn''t dumb...she knew Naruto had done something to reduce the impact of her punch, but she didn''t know what it was. ''Maybe Jiraiya wasn''t exaggerating too much after all,'' she thought, considering the possibility that this boy had as much talent as his father. "Say, Miss Sannin¡­" Naruto nced at Tsunade while brushing the stone dust from his clothes. "Why don''t you make a bet with me?" A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 117: The Bet Chapter 117: The Bet Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 117: The Bet "A bet?" Tsunade looked at him suspiciously. "Yes, since you like those so much, I figured it would be a good way to go about this," Naruto suggested. Jiraiya and Shizune had followed outside and saw the two of them standing a short distance apart. "He''s not hurt?!" Shizune eximed in pure shock upon seeing Naruto standing seemingly unhurt. "I told you. The brat''s tough," Jiraiya said with a knowing look. Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "What kind of bet? Do you even have anything I could possibly want?" "The terms are simple," Naruto said, pulling out arge wallet filled to the brim with money. "If I win, youe with us to Konoha withoutining. If I lose, I''ll apologize for my previousments and this wallet is yours¡­" Tsunade''s eyes widened at the sight of all that cash. "How much is in there?" "Hey! That''s my emergency wallet!" Jiraiya screamed while checking all his pockets, realizing he hadn''t noticed it was missing. "I borrowed it," Naruto admitted. "I hope you don''t mind, after all, this iskind of an emergency." "Wait..." Tsunade paused, confused. "I thought you didn''t want me as Hokage. Why would you want to bet on meing back to the vige?" "I still believe you''re unfit to serve as Hokage," Naruto stated bluntly. "But yourbat skills don''t seempletely rusted. I assume your medical skills are still at least decent." Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "You need a medic." She concluded that he only wanted her because of that. "There are a few in the vige who are in need of the Legendary Sannin medic, if that person still exists¡­" Naruto said. Tsunade stared at him, trying to gauge his motives. If what he was saying was true, then this boy was a bit less selfish than she initially thought, and at least he was willing to care for others. "And what do you want to bet on?" Jiraiya''s eyes widened...this was a rare opportunity to end this. "Just say dice! She always loses at those!" "You shut up!" Tsunade red at him. "And I don''t always lose!" "Its around seventy percent thought..." Shizune mumbled under her breath. Naruto shook his head. "Those types of games rely too much on luck. I have something else in mind." Tsunade crossed her arms. "And what is that? Spit it out already." "Abat challenge." "You want to fight me?" Tsunade stared at him in disbelief. "My punch from earlier must''ve done some internal damage after all." "Naruto, what are you thinking?!" Jiraiya shouted. "Is he crazy?" Shizune wondered aloud. "I never said I wanted to fight. I just want a simplebat challenge," Naruto rified, pointing to the middle of the street. "You stand over there and let me attack you once. If I can make you take a step back, I win. If you can stop my attack without moving, then you win." "Just one attack?" Tsunade asked, seeking confirmation. "Just one," Naruto assured her. Tsunade seemed hesitant, trying to figure out his angle. "You''re not afraid of what a genin could do, right? You are one of the Legendary Sannin, after all. You should be able to stop anything I throw at you with little effort. " Naruto goaded her, giving her a gentle nudge. "Naruto..." Jiraiya was growing concerned. He had an idea of what Naruto was nning, but a frontal attack with the Rasengan wouldn''t be enough. Tsunade had plenty of ways to stop him without even moving. And as far as he knew, Naruto didn''t have anything stronger than that. Tsunade chuckled. "You know what? Fine. I''ll ept this bet. I may lose often at the tables, but I won''t lose in something like this." "We have an agreement then," Naruto said. The two of them got into position after Jiraiya managed to disperse the crowd and assured the restaurant owner he would cover the damages so the guards wouldn''t be called. Jiraiya watched as Naruto prepared. He still believed this wasn''t going to work. He would have to think of another way to convince Tsunade to return to Konoha. But he wasn''t prepared for what Naruto was about to do. "Go on, brat. Show me your best jutsu," Tsunade said with a confident smile. "Then, I''ll get started," Naruto said as he lifted his right hand, where chakra began spinning rapidly. In only two seconds, a perfect Rasenganwas formed. Tsunade''s eyes widened in surprise. "That''s the Fourth''s jutsu." She nced at Jiraiya. There was no doubt he had taught Naruto. "You taught him the Rasengan?! Teaching an A-rank jutsu to a genin with no experience...how reckless." "That''s the Rasengan?" Shizune murmured, seeing it for the first time. "Hmph! No matter. Bring it on," Tsunade said confidently. She did not care how potent the jutsu was, it was still being performed by someone whocked realbat skill. That jutsu was terrifying in the hands of Namikaze Minato because of his ability to perform the Flying Thunder Godand strike from anywhere, making it impossible to avoid. But she was sure Naruto didn''t know that technique. Even Jiraiya hadn''t been able to learn it. However, none of them were ready for what wasing next. "I''m not done yet," Naruto said, surprising them. The Rasengan, though already formed, still wasn''t ready. It took too long to prepare, so he didn''t set a time limit on the challenge. He could take as long as he wanted. "What¡­ What else is there to do?" Tsunade wondered. The Rasengan wasplete...if he didn''t release it soon, it would explode in his hand. "Naruto, what are yo¡ª" Jiraiya''s words died in his mouth. The blue Rasenganbegan to shift¡­ turning red as mes appeared around it. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 118: Fiery Side Effects Chapter 118: Fiery Side Effects Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 118: Fiery Side Effects Over the past few days, Naruto has learned a lot about how the elemental maniption of chakra functions, at least on a surface level. As chakra circtes through the body, it''s possible to infuse it with a particr element...this is where your affinityes into y. A person with poor affinity would require more cycles to gather the necessary amount of elemental chakra to activate a specific jutsu. This meant it would take longer to prepare, making it difficult to use inbat. Naruto had no doubt that his affinity for fire remained strong. Whether this was due to his past life or because this body grew with a powerful source of Yang chakra inside... he wasn''t sure. But it didn''t matter at this point. He made sure to add some of the demonic chakra on top of his own fire chakra. As soon as he began to integrate the elemental energy into the rotation, the effect on the Rasengan was immediate. The sphere of pure blue energy turned red, radiating heat and bursting into mes. This also had an effect on him. His skin began to burn, despite his attempts to protect himself using the Blue Jade Turtle Shelltechnique. The invisibleyer of protection was clearly not enough to stop the high temperatures from hurting him at this distance. Pushing past the pain, he remained rational enough to make a decision. ''I need to move before I lose that arm.'' Without hesitation, he rushed forward as fast as his legs could carry him. In an instant, he closed the gap and stopped just a few feet away from Tsunade. The Sannin couldn''t hide the shock on her face. Whatever she had expected him to do... this wasn''t it. "Fire Release... Rasengan," Naruto muttered, before smashing the sphere of fire and destruction against her chest. He had no chance toe up with a name for the jutsu yet, since this was nothing more than a test. The sphere of energy exploded with tremendous force, sending Naruto tumbling backward, where Jiraiya caught him just in time. "By Kami! What did you do?!" Jiraiya shouted, staring at Naruto''s burned body. It was in terrible shape. His entire right side had suffered second to third-degree burns, and his right arm waspletely ck, like a piece of charcoal. "I was trying something new..." Naruto winced from the pain. "Maybe I''ll work on a version I can throw..." Keeping the Rasengan in that state next to his body seemed to cause too much harm. "You think?" Jiraiya said, incredulous. He had never seen anyone so reckless in his entire life. "Did I win?" Naruto asked. They both nced to the other side as the smoke cleared. Tsunade stood at the far end of the street, her arms crossed in a defensive posture. She was burned, but nowhere near as badly as Naruto. "It does look like it, at least for the bet. " Jiraiya said. If that had been a real fight, things would have gone very differently. A long trail of molten stone stretched from the point of impact all the way to Tsunade''s position. Naruto stared in awe at the effects of his jutsu. "Whoa..." He hadn''t expected it to get this hot. He hadn''t ounted for the natural rotation of the Rasengan acting as a vacuum, drawing in oxygen to fuel the mes and drastically increasing the temperature. Tsunade seemed to recover quickly and began healing her arms before turning her gaze toward Naruto. "Lady Tsunade, are you okay?" Shizune rushed to her side. When she saw the fiery explosion, she had been worried for her mentor. The seal on Tsunade''s forehead returned to its original form as her burned skin healed, restoring her youthful appearance. "I''m fine..." she huffed. Tsunade had managed to escape most of the damage by reacting quickly and moving away before the first explosion urred. The remains of the fire Rasengan followed her briefly but had lost most of its energy by that point. "Was the brat trying to kill me?!" she snapped. "Ehmmm... Lady Tsunade," Shizune pointed toward Jiraiya and Naruto. "I believe he may need your help. Those burns look pretty bad." Tsunade''s anger vanished when she saw Naruto''s condition, reced by concern. "Shizune, bring me the disinfectant and as many bandages as we have." "Yes, ma''am!" Tsunade knelt by Naruto''s side. "Let me see." Her hands were already glowing with the green light of a healing jutsu. "So that''s healing jutsu..." Naruto said. He had been in the hospital a few times, but this was the first time he experienced healing while still conscious. "Don''t talk," she said in a harsh tone. He could feel her chakra working hard to repair the damage caused by the burns. "It''s not that bad," Naruto said. "You could''ve lost your right arm! What were you thinking?!" Tsunade scolded him. "I was thinking about winning the bet," Naruto said with a grin. "I told you not to talk!" "Lady Tsunade, here." Shizune ced a small bag next to her mentor and pulled out a bottle of disinfectant. Tsunade turned to grab a few things from the bag, but when she looked back at Naruto, she was surprised to see his arm had already begun healing. The pitch-ck burned skin was regaining its normal color, and the rest of his body looked almostpletely fine. "How is that possible?" Shizune gasped. "I told you, it wasn''t that bad. I''ve had worse burns than this before," Naruto said casually. "The demon chakra has a few perks." Tsunade red at him. "And I believe I won the bet," Naruto said, grinning. Tsunade nced at Jiraiya. "I want to punch him again." Jiraiya chuckled. "And I wouldn''t me you. But how about a drink first?" A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 119: A Short Interruption: Find Tsunade! Chapter 119: A Short Interruption: Find Tsunade! Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 119: A Short Interruption: Find Tsunade! "Oi, wake up already." Naruto kicked him again. "Urgg¡­ s-stop that¡­" Jiraiya groaned. "You drank too much again. We should go fetch that woman. She''s going to¡ª" The door of the hotel mmed open, and Shizune rushed in before copsing on the floor. "Uggg..." she groaned. "Wow, you too? And to think you looked like the responsible type." Naruto looked very disappointed. "Not drunk¡­" Shizune lifted herself from the ground, clutching her sides. "She knocked me out..." "Oh... okay." Naruto said. "Lord Jiraiya, please¡­ you must stop her! She left to meet with her old teammate. That man can''t be trusted." Shizune pleaded, turning to Jiraiya. "She drugged me¡­" Jiraiya muttered, still struggling. "She must''ve put something in myst cup of sake¡­ I can''t release any chakra, and I have no strength..." "You''re as reliable as always," Naruto pointed out. "Hey, you brat¡ª!" Jiraiya tried to stand up but fell t on his face. Shizune saw this and lost all hope. "Lady Tsunade¡­" "Do you know where exactly she''s meeting Orochimaru?" Naruto asked. They had finally found the medic, and he couldn''t let his efforts go to waste now. "You''re not thinking of going by yourself, are you?" Shizune asked, incredulous. "You''re also a medic-ninja, right?" Naruto asked, watching her nod. "I''m far from my sensei''s level though¡­" "That''s fine. I''ll go ahead and help Tsunade. You stay here and help the useless old man recover from the poison as fast as you can. Then,e find me." "But you''d be going against Orochimaru! He''s incredibly dangerous. And the silver-haired young man with him...he''s dangerous too," Shizune warned. "Yes, but that guy was pretty crippled. I''ll manage to do something...trust me." Shizune stared at him for a moment. This didn''t seem like a good idea, but she couldn''t think of anything better either. "Take the west gate out of the city. They said they''d be waiting just outside. They shouldn''t be far from the walls. I don''t think Lady Tsunade would venture too far to meet them." "Then¡­ I''ll go first." Naruto was about to leave when he heard amotioning from the stairs. "Here! They said room twelve." "Hurry!" Arge group of angry men appeared at the open door and looked inside. "Is that him?!" one of them pointed at Jiraiya. "Who are these people?" Jiraiya asked. "I have no idea," Naruto said. "I think they''re from a local criminal family..." Shizune recognized the symbol on their clothing. They''d had a few encounters with this particr group. "But it doesn''t seem like they''re looking for me," she added. "No, it was the young blonde one!" It was the manager from the gambling house Naruto had visited the day before. "He''s the one who killed Mister Hanma!" Both Jiraiya and Shizune nced at Naruto. "Oh¡­ I may have an idea of who they are," Naruto said. This time, the group seemed well-prepared for a fight. "Naruto, what did you do yesterday?!" Jiraiya eximed. "You know¡­ what you asked me to do. Gather information and all of that," Naruto responded. "Did you really kill someone?" Shizune asked. "He did! He killed one of our best men," the manager pointed at Naruto with a shaky hand, still traumatized from the previous day. "That''s not important right now," Naruto said. There were about ten men, all of them looking fairly strong and well-armed. At the back of the group stood an older man who seemed particrly dangerous. "So, this is the one?" The old man with long white hair and a purple kimono moved to the front and gave Naruto a measuring stare. "I''ll deal with the boy myself. Just make sure no one interrupts us." The old man took another step forward and adopted a fighting stance. "It is customary in my profession to introduce oneself to those we are about to kill. I am a master of the Crane Style school, and my name is Ge¡ª" "So, I''m leaving these guys to you two," Naruto said casually, turning and walking toward the window. "Wait! Don''t dump your mess on me!" Jiraiyained while pointing at the goons. "Hold on, Naruto," Shizune protested. "Hey! Let me finish!" the old manined. This was the first time someone had rudely interrupted him during his introduction. "Go after him!" the manager shouted. "Don''t let him escape!" "Naruto! I can''t even use chakra," Jiraiya reminded him. "Don''t worry, these guys are pretty weak. You''ve got this." Naruto assured him confidently before breaking through the window and disappearing. "He left just like that..." Shizune stared at the hole he left behind. "You know¡­ Tsunade sometimes does the same thing." She recalled going through something like this before. "She does," Jiraiya nodded. The same thing happened to him. "Mister Manager, what should I do with these two?" the old assassin asked, turning to him. "I was only paid to kill that blonde boy." "Those two must be aplices. We can''t just let them go. If Mister Gen can deal with them, the organization willpensate you properly." The manager was yet to recognize Shizune because he only got a picture of Tsunade and never met them in person. "Very well¡­" The old man prepared himself again. "Lord Jiraiya, leave this to me," Shizune said, readying her poisons. She wasn''t sure how strong this person was, but she was confident in her ability to defeat anyone below a J¨­nin level at least. <><><><><><><><> Meanwhile, Naruto was rushing across the rooftops toward the west gate. He spotted several groups of soldiers heading in the same direction. As he got closer, he realized why¡ªthey had reduced the west gate to rubble. Narutonded near the destroyed structure and looked around. There was no sign of Tsunade or Orochimaru, but several townsfolk stood nearby with frightened expressions. "Did any of you see a blonde woman in light robes, or a creepy guy with long ck hair and pale skin?" Naruto asked. "You know those monsters?!" one of the townsfolk eximed. "I saw that woman from my balcony! She broke the gates with one punch!" another added. "Can anyone point me in the direction they went?" Naruto asked. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 120: Facing a Traitor Chapter 120: Facing a Traitor disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 120: Facing a Traitor It wasn''t hard to follow the trail of destruction until he finally found her. Tsunade appeared to be facing Kabuto, while Orochimaru waited patiently on the side. By the looks of it, things weren''t going well for the blonde medic. So, Naruto continued his approach without any sign of stopping. He made several hand signs and inhaled the chakra-charged air before expelling a ball of mes. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!" Kabuto and Tsunade saw the ball of fire approaching and were forced to create some distance, allowing it to explode in the now-empty space. ''I bet Sasuke would be furious if he saw me using his favorite jutsu,'' Naruto thought. This was one of the two fire jutsus Jiraiya had taught him. It was only a C-rank technique and very easy to learn. "Naruto?! What are you doing here?" Tsunade stared at him with wide eyes. "I came to protect my investment," Naruto told her before turning his attention to Kabuto. ''This one seems like the type who would stab you in the back.'' "And you came alone? Where are Jiraiya and Shizune?" "Where you left them. One is poisoned, and the other has a few broken ribs," Naruto said. Tsunade flinched. "If you wanted them to help you, you shouldn''t have done that." He pointed out. Tsunade looked towards Orochimaru. "I couldn''t let them get involved¡­.this is my bus-" "You thought you could handle those two alone, didn''t you? Now it''s a bitte to realize that you were too overconfident," Naruto told her. "Kukuku. As amusing as it is to see my old teammate being scolded by a genin...and believe me, it is very amusing. Unfortunately, I must cut all loose ends." His eyes met Naruto''s. "I warned you. I told you that next time you got in my way, I would kill you. And yet, you chose to ignore my kind warning." "Don''t take this the wrong way, but you don''t look very intimidating at this moment." Naruto, of course, knew better than to underestimate someone like that. But there was no harm in some provocation. "I suppose not. You may think of me as a defenseless old man with no arms, if you will," Orochimaru said calmly. "But you won''t be facing me. Kabuto, kill this boy." He was done ying around. He knew the consequences of killing a Jinchuuriki but would worry about thatter. "Leave it to me, Lord Orochimaru." Kabuto kept his eyes on Naruto. "Wait, Naruto. He''s too much for you. Let me help." Tsunade had already been exchanging blows with the young man for several minutes and could gauge that he was even stronger than Shizune. "It won''t be that simple." Naruto saw Kabuto move next to Orochimaru and perform a familiar hand sign. Tsunade becaem rmed. "He''s going to use the summoning juts¡ªahh!" "Summoning Jutsu!" Naruto finished his first. Orochimaru couldn''t move his arms, so he needed Kabuto''s help to pull it off. Tsunade found herself standing on top of a gigantic toad, while Orochimaru and Kabuto were looking down on them from an evenrger snake. "Gamabunta?!... How did you?..." Tsunade couldn''t believe it. "Are you really a genin?" "Tsunade?... and Orochimaru," Gamabunta said. "I guess you didn''t summon me for my payment." "Sorry, still working on that. But it seems like I must have some negative karma. Trouble keeps finding me," Naruto said. "Hmph!, like you are not looking for it..." Gamabunta huffed. "I did agree to help you out if the situation was serious enough. And I can''t ignore that man¡­." Gamabunta''s eyes were fixed on Orochimaru. "Long time no see, Gamabunta. You were a lot smaller back then," Orochimarumented. "Can you handle that snake?" Naruto asked. "Of course! Who do you take me for? I am the Toad Lord." "Good, then I wi¡ª" "And I want five extra barrels for this." "Damn it¡­ you greedy toad," Narutoined. The chaotic battle began. Gamabunta continued to attack the colossal snake while Orochimaru made several attempts to kill Tsunade with a sword that came out of his mouth. Kabuto waited for the right opportunity to turn things around. While the two Sannins were too busy to notice, he jumped onto Naruto. Tsunade tried to warn him but was forced to avoid a deadly stab. "Sorry about this," Kabuto attacked with some sort of strange blue knives he created with his own chakra. He made cuts on Naruto''s shoulders and legs before pushing him off the head of the toad. "Naruto!" Tsunade cried. "Go kill him!" Orochimaru ordered. He knew this wouldn''t be nearly enough to finish the boy. Kabuto didn''t hesitate to jump down the toad andnded next to the blonde boy. The two of them fell down andnded on the rocky terrain underneath. "I bet that hurts a lot. I got some main arteries there, as well as your tendons," he said with clear joy in his voice. Naruto stood up and looked at Kabuto. "That was just a scratch." "What?!" Kabuto was sure his cuts were deep enough to sever tendons and muscles. He was unaware of Naruto''syer of defense because it was hard to detect unless you had abilities like the Hyuga n. His chakra knives were able to cut through Naruto''s protection, but the wounds weren''t deep enough for any serious damage, and he was already regenerating them. "Fine then...allow me to try again." Kabuto prepared. "Now we can begin for real, Mister Spy," Naruto told him. Kabuto was just where he wanted him....on the ground and away from Orochimaru. This was why he chose not to defend himself earlier, allowing Kabuto to knock him down. It would also make Orochimaru more vulnerable, as he needed the extra hands far more than Tsunade. "You did it on purpose¡­." Kabuto realized he had been tricked and turned to look up at his master, but Naruto appeared at his side. "Where do you think you''re going?" A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 121: There Will Be Nothing Left Chapter 121: There Will Be Nothing Left Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 121: There Will Be Nothing Left Kabuto moved aside to make room and blocked Naruto''s kick. "Tsk! Don''t get arrogant with me. I only need a second to kill you." Kabuto didn''t feel like he needed to keep up appearances anymore, since this person was going to die anyway. His chakra scalpels appeared once more, aimed at Naruto''s vital points. Naruto deflected the scalpels away from him by hitting on Kabuto''s arms and wrists. He was well aware of how dangerous they could be. Kabuto then sent a kick toward his chest, and Naruto blocked it by twisting his body and using his calf to intercept the attack. As soon as he did this, he realized the mistake. A smile appeared on Kabuto''s face as Naruto felt something cut deep into his leg. When he tried to put his foot down, he had no control over his right leg and lost bnce. "You thought I could only make them with my hands?" Kabuto said with a satisfied grin. "It''s over now." He moved closer and aimed his next attack at Naruto''s neck, not expecting much more resistance. But when he saw the blonde boy''s face, Kabuto became rmed. Naruto''s cheeks werepletely puffed, as if they were filled with something. In the next instant, Naruto spat a mouthful of oil on Kabuto''s face before lighting it up in mes. This was the other fire jutsu he had learned, called Fire Bullet. Despite its name, it was a very versatile technique. The user created oil using chakra and spat it out. It was possible to create small fireballs but also throw everything out in onerge wave of mes. "Ahhh!" Kabuto screamed and threw himself on the ground, rolling to extinguish the mes. Before he could recover, Kabuto saw a kunaind next to him. There was a red rune inscribed on its side, shining brightly. Kabuto jumped away just as the kunai exploded. That was a rank 1 fire seal. Less potent than a high-quality explosive seal, but Naruto could create them on the fly, with no need for paper or ink. "You bastard!" Kabuto''s face waspletely covered in third-degree burns. He could recover from that, of course, but the pain was unbearable. Another fire kunai exploded next to him and exploded. Naruto wasn''t giving him time to catch his breath. Kabuto took refuge underground to escape the barrage of explosions, using an earth jutsu, and Naruto had to stop once his kunai began to run low. ''That should be enough time...'' he concluded. While his body was moving in the real world, his mind was working just as hard to make the arrangements. There was one technique in his current arsenal that should be enough to decimate his opponent to a degree that would make regeneration impossible. But he needed to pull far more chakra from the demon than he had ever pulled before...at least in practice. His calctions were rarely wrong, so he was confident about this. Kabuto emerged from the ground, looking dirty, wounded, and annoyed. "Is that all you got?..." "You look upset. Does your face still hurt?" Naruto asked. Kabuto began tough. "This is not a big deal. I''ve recovered from much worse. There''s nothing a genin like you can do that I couldn''t recover from. So stay there and die like a good boy." Naruto waited patiently as Kabuto approached, his chakra knives in hand, ready to cut him into pieces. He began to circte chakra and form the strongestyer of protection around him that he could muster. But this was not to protect himself from Kabuto''s attack...it was for his own one. The spy noticed that Naruto was doing something, but he couldn''t guess what. Still, he acted with precaution. Despite what he said, he wasn''t going to disregard Naruto''s capabilitiespletely. After all, Naruto was the Jinchuuriki of the Kyubi and could still surprise him. The moment he entered the area surrounding Naruto, Kabuto immediately sensed that something was wrong. He wasn''t a chakra sensor, but his instincts were sharp after a lifetime of working as a spy. First for Danzo, and then for Orochimaru. Despite the distance, Orochimaru and Tsunade must have felt something too, because they stopped what they were doing and nced down at the ground, where the two young men were fighting. "You know¡­" Naruto''s eyes changed color to a deep orange. "There''s a passage in one of the academy books that I read recently. It lists rules that all ninjas should follow..." "What are you¡­" Kabuto noticed the ground shaking. Naruto''s eyes turned a bright red. "One of the rules is to never show your enemy the limits of your abilities unless you are sure they won''t live long enough to take advantage of that information." The demonic chakra from the Kyubi escaped the seal and began to spread around. "Naruto?! What is happening?" Tsunade eximed. "Let''s move away," Gamabunta suggested. He did not want to get caught in the middle of whatever he was about to do. "Kabuto!" Orochimaru screamed. "Your time is up." As Naruto said this, five of the Kyubi''s nine tails manifested behind him, and he was covered by a thickyer of red chakra that began to consume him. Kabuto felt a cold shiver run down his back. He knew better than to stay put. No matter how confident he had been about surviving anything Naruto could throw at him¡­ this was not something he could have predicted. A red circle surrounded him and Naruto. "mes of the Heavenly Furnace." A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 122: Kabuto’s Fate Chapter 122: Kabuto¡¯s Fate Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 122: Kabuto''s Fate Kabuto didn''t have much time to think about his next move. Escaping into the ground would be a bad idea. The violent shaking beneath him told him the next attack wasing from underground. He needed to escape in a different manner. Substitution was another option, but he hadn''t prepared anything beforehand. His confidence in regenerating from anything Naruto could throw at him had been absolute. A kunai appeared in his hand, and he threw it immediately with the intention to use it as a recement. "Come on!" he cried. For a moment, Kabuto felt a glimmer of hope when the kunai passed the red circle. But that hope was quickly shattered as he watched the kunai disintegrate in an instant. "Nooo!" he screamed. Then he heard Naruto''s voice onest time,ing from behind him. "mes of the Heavenly Furnace." A blinding sh enveloped Kabuto, and then... everything went dark. A massive column of crimson mes erupted from the ground, surrounding Naruto and rising high into the sky. Gamabunta quickly took Tsunade away from the fire, while Orochimaru used his summon as a shield to protect himself from the intense heat. "Naruto!" Tsunade''s voice was filled with worry, but the mes obscured her view. The fire surged higher and higher, reaching up to the clouds. It stayed like that for several seconds before dying out, having consumed all its fuel. When the mes finally dissipated, they all stared at the scorched ground where Naruto and Kabuto had been moments ago. Only one figure remained, standing atop a mound of ck rock surrounded by arge crater. The fire had erased everything in its path. "Kabuto..." Orochimaru muttered. Tsunade jumped down from Gamabunta and rushed toward Naruto, calling his name. Naruto appeared dazed after the technique, but he snapped out of it when she called for him. "I''m fine..." he assured her, noticing the worry in her eyes. "Just a bit spent." That technique had drained five tails'' worth of chakra, which was an immense amount that would take the demon fox a long time to regenerate. ''Maybe it was a bit premature to use that, but I couldn''t risk Kabuto surviving, even if it meant showing Orochimaru one of my tricks,'' Naruto thought. His instincts told him Kabuto was too dangerous to leave alive. There was something unsettling in Kabuto''s eyes...an unwavering ambition, one he had seen before, willing to burn the world down to achieve its goals. ''No... I did the right thing... he reminded me too much of... It doesn''t matter anymore.'' His past was behind him, but he had to learn from his mistakes and avoid repeating them. Naruto''s eyes shifted to Orochimaru. The Sannin had lost his snake summon, having used it as a shield, but he remained unharmed aside from his already crippled arms. Orochimaru didn''t say a word, simply watching Naruto with an unreadable expression. ''I don''t sense any bloodlust from him,'' Naruto observed. He considered his options if Orochimaru decided to attack, but it didn''t seem like that was about to happen. Instead, Orochimaru seemed deep in thought. "There they are!" "Lady Tsunade!" Jiraiya and Shizune finally caught up to them, their voices approaching quickly. Both Naruto and Tsunade took their eyes off Orochimaru for only a second, but when they looked back, he was gone. "He left..." Tsunade remarked. "He must have sensed Jiraiya approaching long before we did." "Lady Tsunade!" Shizune noticed the blood on Tsunade''s clothes and panicked. "Are you okay?!" "I''m fine, just a few cuts... What happened to you two?!" Tsunade eximed, seeing that Shizune was even bloodier, and Jiraiya looked equally dirty. "So Orochimaru''s gone, huh?" Jiraiya nced around until he spotted Naruto, still standing on the remains of his technique. "What did you do this time?" Naruto pointed at Tsunade. "Your job, apparently. See?, I got her back." "Don''t give me that! Do you have any idea the mess you left us in?!" Jiraiya snapped, his frustration clear. It had been a long time since he''d been this angry. "Yes... those men kepting after us. We had no choice but to kill many of them until they finally gave up." Shizune shuddered at the memory. She was a healer at heart and hated killing, even if it was necessary. "So, what''s the story here?" Jiraiya asked, ncing toward the giant toad. "You even got Gamabunta involved?" "Better ask them," Gamabunta grumbled. "I''ve got other things to do." The Toad Lord did not wish to get more involved in this than necessary. Not when Orochimaru and his Snake n were part of it. So with that, Gamabunta vanished in a puff of smoke, but not before reminding Naruto about his promise. "I''ve gotta say..." Naruto jumped out of the crater. "That toad''s a bit too obsessed with alcohol." "Aren''t you going to ask us about the men chasing us?" Shizune asked. "No." "Huh? Seriously?! We went through a lot of trouble, you know!" Shizune cried in disbelief. This was his own mess. "We should get going. The trip back to Konoha is a long one. You''ll have plenty of time to share stories," Naruto said as he began to walk away. "Hold on, who said I''m going back there?" Tsunade huffed. "Are you going to break your word too? That might be thest good thing you have," Naruto shot back without holding anything back. "Naruto! Don''t talk to her like that. And she''s got plenty of good things left..." Jiraiya said, his gaze lingering on her chest. After smacking the pervert on the head, Tsunade approached Naruto with a frown. "I didn''t say I was breaking my word. But you shouldn''t make assumptions. And you should speak to your Hokage with more respect." "You''re not my Hokage, though," Naruto pointed out. "Lady Tsunade, are you going to take the offer, then?" Shizune asked, her voice filled with hope. She would love nothing more than to stop running around the country, visiting every gambling house. "We''ll see... I need to talk with the elders first." Tsunade had a mischievous glint in her eyes that Shizune recognized immediately. "Oh no, what are you going to ask for?" Shizune said with dread. "Nothing! I just want to see how much they want me there... hehe." Jiraiya walked up to Naruto''s side. "So... what actually happened with Orochimaru and Kabuto?" "Let''s see..." Naruto began to recount the events as they walked. "Hold on, can''t we stop in the city for a few hours at least?" Shizune pleaded. "I want a bath!" She was covered in grime. "If we go back to the city looking like this... we''ll get arrested," Tsunade pointed out. They were all covered in blood. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 123: The Fifth Hokage Chapter 123: The Fifth Hokage Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 123: The Fifth Hokage "Starting today, this vige will be my responsibility as the Fifth Hokage," Tsunade dered, a satisfied smile on her face. She had gotten everything she requested from the elders. They were more desperate than she had anticipated. "It''s incredible that you managed to bring her back," remarked the elder Homura, clearly impressed. "Yes, you did an amazing job, Jiraiya," Koharu praised him. "Haha! Of course, my title as a legendary ninja isn''t just for show," Jiraiya bragged. "No one can resist my charming perso¡ª" "All you did was drink and sleep with prostitutes," Naruto interrupted him. "He did what?!" Koharu screamed. "Now now...I''m sure he is exaggerating." Homura tried to ease his old teammate. Although he was very much aware of Jiraya''s many vices but chose to keep it to himself. "I still can''t believe she took the job." Naruto nced at Tsunade. "Don''t worry. I can tell that Lady Tsunade is starting to change. She will make a great Hokage," Shizune assured him. "By the way, are the fifteen barrels of high-quality sake I requested ready?" Naruto asked. "It hasn''t been a month yet," Koharu began, but then a realization hit her. "Wait... you asked for ten barrels." "Did I? Must''ve misspoken. I need fifteen." He said it without a hint of shame. "What do you need that much alcohol for? Surely you can''t be that much of a deviant at your age," Homura chimed in. If this was true, then this boy was on his way to be the next Jiraya. And he wasn''t sure if that was a good thing. "It''s a payment for his summon," Tsunade exined, turning toward them. "From what I''ve heard, Gamabunta yed a significant role during the attack. Prepare those barrels for him." "Oh, so it''s like that," Koharu realized. Now feeling much more relieved. "If the Hokage agrees, then I have no issues. We''ll have them ready by the end of the week," Homura added. Tsunade looked at Naruto with a smug expression. "You''re wee," she said, proud of herself. "We shouldn''t waste any more time. Let''s gather the vigers and make the announcement," Koharu suggested. "Yes, the vige needs something to celebrate," Homura agreed. "That can wait until tomorrow. I''ve been told there are people in dire need of medical attention at the hospital," Tsunade said. "I''ll head there now... who were they again?" she turned to Jiraiya. "I told you, Kakashi, the Uchiha brat, and Gai''s student, Rock Lee," Jiraiya reminded her. "If you have time, check on Hyuga Hinata too. She had difficulty recovering from the internal damage she suffered during thest exam," Naruto added. "Oh?" Tsunade nced at him. "Is she your girlfriend or something?" "She''s a person of interest," Naruto replied nonchntly, offering no further exnation. "Can''t you act more like the boys your age? I was trying to tease you!" Tsunadeined, but Naruto ignored her as he walked away. "Hey!,e back here!" Tsunade cried. <><><><><><><><><><><><> He felt exhaustion catching up with him as heid down on his bed, and for the first time in a long while... he slept. The next day, Naruto woke up feeling refreshed and immediately took a long shower. "Ahh, that felt good!" he sighed as he walked into the kitchen, grabbing a quick bite to eat before heading to the living room. "I wonder if there''s anything interesting on that magical box today..." he mused, referring to the TV. He usually kept it on during his long meditation sessions. He didn''t need full concentration the entire time, so having something like television made things more pleasant. "I wish I had you in my previous life..." Naruto ran his finger across the surface of the TV before reaching for the remote to turn it on. But just as he was about to press the button, someone knocked on his door. "Who could it be this early in the morning?" He sighed, getting up to answer the door. "Yes?" Naruto asked, opening the doorpletely. Standing outside were three people, two of whom he knew very well. "Hello, Naru¡ªahhh!" Hinata''s eyes rolled back, and she nearly fainted. "Lady Hinata!" her attendant hurried to catch her before she could fall. Neji, standing next to her, red at Naruto with an annoyed expression. "Do you usually open the door while naked?" Naruto looked down at himself. He hadn''t had time to get dressed yet, but it wasn''t like he waspletely naked. "I''m wearing a towel." "You''re wearing it on your head!" Neji snapped. "Of course, I''m drying my hair," Naruto replied matter-of-factly. "Go get dressed, please!" Neji was growing more annoyed, thinking Naruto was doing it on purpose. "What does Lady Hinata see in this individual?" the attendant muttered disdainfully as Naruto retreated inside to throw on some clothes. "Ah..." Hinata moaned as she opened her eyes. "Lady Hinata! Are you alright?" the attendant asked, concerned. "I... I was having a wonderful dream... Where are we?" Hinata blinked in confusion as she looked around. "We came to talk to Uzumaki, remember?" Neji reminded her. Hinata gasped. "That wasn''t a dream?! I saw his... his..." "Please, Lady Hinata, don''t finish that sentence! It is beneath your station," the attendant eximed. "No, it wasn''t a dream... and yes, I saw it too..." For a moment, Neji cursed his perfect eyesight and photographic memory. He was never getting that image out of his mind. The door opened again. This time, Naruto was properly dressed in a clean,fortable-looking white tunic. "Come on in. Then you can tell me the reason for your visit." Hinata and Neji nodded politely and stepped inside his house. The attendant asked for permission to prepare some tea and headed toward the kitchen. "What can I do for you?" Naruto asked. "Naruto... I... I wanted to thank you," Hinata began, her voice soft. "Lady Tsunade visited my householdst night and treated my internal wounds. The medics had told me it would take at least another month or two to fully heal. But now... thanks to her, I feel better than ever." "I see..." Naruto nodded, satisfied. It seemed Tsunade''s reputation for medical prowess was well-earned. ''I wonder if she also treated Rock Lee. I should visit the hospitalter.'' "And she mentioned that she came at your request," Hinata added, her eyes soft with gratitude. "Don''t worry about it. It was nothing major, no need to thank me," Naruto shrugged, turning his attention to Neji. "And you? What''s on your mind?" A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 124: An Appointment With a Hyuga Chapter 124: An Appointment With a Hyuga Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 124: An Appointment With a Hyuga "Surely you''re not here to thank me for pping you around," Naruto said, eyeing Neji. The Hyuga attendant, who was returning with tea, nearly dropped her tray at Naruto''s bluntment. But Neji didn''t react much to it. "In a way, I am thankful. That match opened my eyes¡­ it showed me how much I still have to learn." Naruto stared at him for a moment before nodding in approval. "There''s nothing wrong with being a frog in a well, as long as you eventually get out and see the vastness of the universe." "Uh¡­ yes," Neji replied, unsure if he fully understood what Naruto was talking about. The attendant ced the tea down, stealing nces at Naruto. "I''m surprised to see you two together. I thought there was some internal n dispute between you," Narutomented, sipping his tea. "That''s¡­" Hinata looked troubled. She wasn''t sure how much she could disclose about her n''s affairs. Naruto noticed her difort. "You don''t have to exin it to me. I''m just d you worked things out." He had seen too many ns copse due to internal conflicts. Neji touched his forehead protector. "We did, and I''vee to understand that perhaps my fate isn''t as absolute as I believed it to be." "You shouldn''t underestimate the power of fate. But you shouldn''t resign yourself to it either," Naruto said with conviction. "What do you mean?" Hinata asked, curious about his words. Naruto took another sip of tea and ced the cup on the table. "I mean that you should always mind your thoughts, for they be your words. Words be actions, actions be habits, habits be character, and finally... character bes fate." "Oh..." Neji finally understood. "You mean that by obsessing over fate, I was only ying into it even more." "Exactly." Naruto knew that fate and karma were real forces that affected every mortal. But he also knew that breaking free from those shackles required a path to ascend beyond mortality. That wasn''t a destiny meant for Neji, so he left him with a positive message instead. "Thank you," Neji bowed his head down. "You''ve opened my eyes once again." "Neji¡­" Hinata looked at her cousin in awe. She had never seen him act like this before, not even with her father. Neji''s politeness always had a cold and distant undertone. But now, in front of Naruto, he seemed genuinely grateful. "Thank you, Naruto," Hinata added softly. They talked for a few more minutes about less important topics until the conversation shifted back to Tsunade. "Wait, you haven''t heard? They woke up yesterday," Hinata said, referring to Kakashi and Sasuke''s recovery. "Oh¡­ that. I was nning to visit the hospital after this," Naruto replied, trying not to admit that he had forgotten about their condition. He had been more interested in checking on Rock Lee''s situation. If all went well, he could have his hands on the ''Eight Gates'' technique by the end of the week. "Then we shouldn''t keep you. You must be eager to see your sensei and teammate," Hinata said kindly. "Of course, I should do that." Naruto thought he should at least maintain the appearance of being a caring teammate, though, in reality, he hadn''t developed a deep attachment to Kakashi or Sasuke. Sasuke was consumed by his revenge, and Kakashi seemed trapped by past traumas that kept him distant from others. Before they said their goodbyes, Neji made a request for a sparring match in the near future, and Naruto had no reason to deny him that. Being on good terms with a major n could only benefit him, and Hinata wasn''t the only Hyuga member worth knowing. "Before I forget," Naruto turned to Hinata, "I believe I promised we''d have dinner sometime. Are you avable for this weekend?" Hinata froze. Her cheeks turned bright red, but she didn''t faint this time. She had been working hard to control herself. Neji nced at his cousin. "Lady Hinata, I believe he''s waiting for an answer." "You''re free Friday afternoon after practice, Lady Hinata," her attendant chimed in, deciding to help her out, even though she wasn''t particrly fond of Naruto. Her duty was to assist herdy, after all. "Yes, I''m free!" Hinata said, a little louder than she intended. "Friday afternoon, then. I''lle by your n''s residence." Naruto nodded before taking his leave. The three Hyuga members remained behind, watching as Naruto walked away. It was then that Neji realized something. "He''s nning to visit the n to invite Lady Hinata out... but what about Lord Hiashi?" Hinata and her attendant gasped. "Oh no¡­ will Father be too angry?" Hinata asked, worried. After the tournament, Hiashi had been furious about Naruto''s overwhelming victory over Neji, his n''s genius. And he was still very much against the idea of his daughter being involved with Naruto...now more than ever. "I-I''m sure it''ll be fine," the attendant tried to sound reassuring, but the look she received from Hinata made it clear she had failed. For a moment, Hinata thought about chasing after Naruto to ask him to change their ns. But she had already missed one date while unconscious in the hospital... she couldn''t face him now. ''What if he gets tired of me and cancels the datepletely?'' Hinata clenched her fists, anxiety building within her. Chakra began emanating from her body. "No¡­ I can''t let that happen." Her tone was cold, taking Neji and the attendant by surprise. "Lady Hinata?" Neji felt a shiver run down his spine. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 125: Visiting the Teammates at the Hospital Chapter 125: Visiting the Teammates at the Hospital Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 125: Visiting the Teammates at the Hospital When Naruto arrived at the hospital, he spotted a depressed-looking Rock Lee sitting on one of the benches just outside and decided to approach him. "I take it things didn''t go well with Tsunade?" Naruto asked. Lee lifted his head slowly. "Naruto?..." He then shook his head, his expression grim. "She told me I should quit being a ninja¡­" "What? After all the effort I put into bringing that woman back and she said that?!". Naruto eximed. " Hold on...what else did she say?" He must be missing something. Lee blinked, shocked to hear Naruto speak about the new Hokage that way. He had no idea Naruto was involved in her return, as the elders had kept that part of the story a secret...along with the money they gave Tsunade to cover her gambling debts. Regaining hisposure, Lee continued. "She said that the operation to restore my bones would only have around a fifty percent chance of sess. And if it fails¡­ I''ll probably die." "Wait?.... then why are you so sad? I thought she said there was no chance of recovery." Naruto replied, genuinely confused. "But¡­ I could die," Lee muttered. "Or you could recoverpletely. What''s the alternative? Give up your life as a martial artist and live like a civilian? Be a farmer or a shopkeeper?. Is that what you want to do for the rest of your life?." Naruto asked him. "Well¡­ I haven''t really thought about that¡­" Lee admitted, still unsure. "What is there to think about?" Naruto asked. "Since the first time I saw you fight, I knew you were a martial artist to your core. That''s who you are. Now, you have a fifty percent chance to keep being one." Lee still looked hesitant. "And if I die¡­?" "There''s no sess without risk," Naruto said, knowing that from what he understood about karma, if Lee died young, he would probably be reincarnated into a good life. But that wasn''t something he nned on sharing. Instead, Naruto pulled out a small scroll. "Inside this scroll is an ancient technique I found." This piqued Lee''s interest. "An ancient technique?" he asked, wondering how this was relevant. "This technique allows the user to channel chakra into their bones and muscles, increasing their strength and speed several times over. With this method, one can turn their bodies into weapon capable of surpassing all human limits. And it''s especially effective for someone with your condition." Naruto had intentionally modified one of his old cultivation techniques specifically for Lee. "You know about my condition?" Lee asked, surprised. "I do. I actually came here today to hand this over to your sensei, so he could teach it to you." "Really?!" Lee didn''t even question why Naruto would give the technique to his sensei instead of him directly. "Indeed. But now I find you like this¡­ with no will to fight. I wonder if I was wrong about you. Perhaps you''re not the martial artist I thought you were," Naruto sighed, and turned to leave. "Goodbye Lee, I wish you well with whatever you intend to do." He hadn''t even taken three steps before Lee called out. "Wait! I''ll do it! I''m not giving up!" Lee eximed, his determination rekindled. "I''ll take the surgery!" Naruto turned back and smiled. <><><><><><><><><><><><><> "Naruto? What took you so long to visit?!" Sakura demanded as Naruto crossed the entrance to the private room. "Nice to see you too, Sakura," Naruto replied. "Lady Tsunade was here yesterday. She treated Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei. You should have been here," Sakura said with a frown. "I was feeling a bit tired yesterday," Naruto exined. "You see, I was one of the people responsible for bringing that healer back to the vige so she could treat my sensei and teammate." That was at least half true. "You did?" Sakura was surprised by this revtion. She had noticed his absence but had no idea of his involvement in Tsunade''s return. "Are you making that up to sound cool or something?" Sasuke, who was lying in bed, red at Naruto. "Does that sound like something I would do?" Naruto raised an eyebrow. Sakura hesitated for a moment. She couldn''t really use him of lying...and he had no reason to do that. Sasuke, on the other hand, knew a bit more. He had seen Naruto in that town. He hadn''t seen Jiraiya, but he had heard about them leaving the vige together. Naruto''s gaze shifted to a metal tray lying in the corner of the room, along with several food items. It seemed to have been thrown with enough force to leave a mark on the wall. He could feel a tinge of bloodlust emanating from Sasuke. "So¡­ how''s our sensei?" Naruto asked, breaking the tension. Sakura, oblivious to the mood, answered. "He left early this morning, but Sasuke is going to be released after one more exam around midday. Isn''t that great?" She had barely left his bedside, so she was looking forward to a bath, clean clothes, and a good night''s sleep. "Wonderful..." Naruto nced at Sasuke, whose grip on the bedsheets was so tight that they were beginning to tear. "Sasuke? What''s wrong?" Sakura finally noticed something was off. "Are you in pain? Should I call the doctor?" "Naruto!" Sasuke''s voice grew louder, filled with frustration. "If there''s something you want to say, don''t hold back. We''re teammates after all," Naruto said, maintaining his calm. Sasuke''s eyes narrowed, turning a shade of red as his Sharingan activated. "Yes, there is something I want from you¡­ fight me." Naruto grinned. "I''m surprised you didn''t ask sooner." A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 126: The Duel Chapter 126: The Duel Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 126: The Duel Sakura waspletely perplexed to hear him dere something like this all of a sudden. "Sasuke, what are you saying? You''re still in the hospital. A sparring match can wait until you¡ª" "Shut up!" Sasuke screamed at Sakura, his voice filled with pure rage. The four tomoe of his Sharingan were spinning rapidly. Sakura became frightened. She let out a yelp and fell on her butt as she tried to back away from him. Sasuke didn''t seem to care about what he just did. His eyes locked onto Naruto''s. "You think you helped me? You and that meddling woman who calls herself Hokage?" "What?" Naruto was genuinely confused for a moment. Then it hit him. Everyone probably assumed he had gone through all that trouble to save his teammate and sensei. In reality, Naruto had only done it because he wanted to learn the Eight Gates technique and maybe gain some connections with a big n. He didn''t consider himself bad or cruel, but he wouldn''t have gone out of his way to help someone unless he expected something more valuable in return. That kind of thinking was normal where he came from. Truly selfless people were rare there. And they didn''tst long... "Sasuke, what''s with you today?... You''re scaring me." Sakura continued to tremble from the floor. "Naruto, please, tell him to stop!" "Come with me," Sasuke said coldly. It wasn''t a request. If Naruto refused, Sasuke would attack him right here and now. Naruto watched as his teammate got out of bed and walked toward the door, pausing only briefly to see if he was following. "How annoying..." Naruto shrugged and followed him. He knew it would be more troublesome if he refused. He didn''t likeplying with demands from spoiled brats, but sometimes it was better to just humor them. Sasuke led him to the rooftop of the hospital, with Sakura hurrying after them. She didn''t try to stop the fight; she at least understood it was pointless to interfere. "Is there any real purpose to this, or are you just using me to vent your anger?" Naruto asked. "Shut up and¡ª" Sasuke nced at Naruto up and down. "Where are your weapons?" Naruto had left home in nothing but a white shirt and sandals. He didn''t bother bringing his tools bag with the kunai, shuriken, and other ninja gear. "Why would I carry those when I''m not on a mission? I left them at home," Naruto said. "Naruto, we''re supposed to carry basic gear at all times. And you should be wearing your headband too," Sakura pointed out. "I forgot, okay?" Naruto replied before turning to Sasuke. "Who cares about that? You don''t have any weapons either." Not that he was going to need them. "Fine, I''ll beat you like this!" Sasuke charged at him. "Wow, you''re really confident, aren''t you?" Naruto said, disappointed. Even if Sasuke didn''t know everything about his abilities, he should at least remember that Naruto had already defeated a Hyuga n genius in taijutsu. Yet, he wasn''t taking any precautions and was attacking head-on. "Ahh!" Sasuke threw a flurry of quick punches, followed by a high kick. Naruto easily deflected the punches and grabbed Sasuke''s ankle, tossing him aside. Sakura screamed, thinking for a second that Sasuke was going to fall off the building, but then saw him caught by the metal ced around the rooftop. Sasuke grunted in pain as he hit the ground. "Damn it!" He quickly realized that his Sharingan wouldn''t help him if Naruto wasn''t using ninjutsu, just like during his fight with Rock Lee. And if he tried the same strategy, he would lose quickly. He didn''t know where Naruto had learned his taijutsu skills, but he had no choice but to admit he was outmatched in that regard. As soon as he got back on his feet, Sasuke''s hands moved at lightning speed, forming a series of hand signs. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!" A gigantic burst of mes erupted from Sasuke''s mouth, engulfing most of the rooftop. Sakura barely managed to take cover behind the door that led to the roof. "Naruto!" But she couldn''t see any sign of her other teammate. "Sasuke, stop this, please!" she cried. Sasuke''s red eyes scanned the area as the smoke cleared, but he couldn''t find any trace of Naruto. "Did he jump off the roof?" "No." The voice came from behind. Sasuke reacted instantly, twisting around and swinging with all his might. But Naruto was faster. He struck Sasuke in the chest with his right palm. Sasuke felt a wave of pain invade his body as he was sent flying into the metal fence once again. This time, he had taken real damage. He could feel blood filling his mouth. "Blegh¡­" He spat it out onto the floor. "Sasuke!" Sakura panicked when she saw the blood. "That''s not a bad jutsu, but it leaves you wide open. You should never use it in such a confined space against someone skilled in closebat unless you''re trying to bait them," Naruto remarked as he walked closer. "Shut up!" Sasuke yelled, his voice filled with fury. Thest thing he wanted was to be lectured by Naruto. "Naruto, Sasuke! That''s enough, please!" Sakura pleaded with them. She couldn''t bear to see her teammates hurting each other anymore. "We can leave it here. You can''t win against me," Naruto said calmly. That only enraged Sasuke further. "No! I''m not done yet!" Electric chakra began crackling around his right hand. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 127: A Failed Rivalry Chapter 127: A Failed Rivalry Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 127: A Failed Rivalry Sakura stared in horror as Sasuke aimed his deadliest jutsu at his other teammate. Naruto, however, was observing it with interest. This was the first time he''d seen the Chidori up close, and he noticed its simrities to the Rasengan. He watched closely, fascinated by how the chakra moved around Sasuke''s hand without severely burning him. Something that he could really learn from, considering what happened thest time he tried to add an element to his jutsu. ''I wish I had a pair of those special eyes to analyze this more closely¡­'' hemented. Still, even with his normal eyes, he could learn something just from observing. "Naruto! You better use your own jutsu, or you''ll die!" Sasuke warned, his voice edged with frustration. He had been waiting topare his Chidori to Naruto''s Rasengan ever since he saw him use it against Gaara, especially after learning it was created by the Fourth Hokage. Naruto raised an eyebrow at the threat. "You want me to use the Rasengan¡­ or I''ll die?" A smile crept onto his face. "Come on¡­" He had to try hard to avoidughing as that would make things worse. Sasuke clenched his teeth and prepared to move. "I''m serious!" Naruto gestured with his hand. "Go ahead. Show me how serious you are." "Sasuke!" Sakura''s screams were ignored. Sasuke snapped and charged at an impressive speed. In an instant, he was right in front of Naruto, the lightning in his hand crackling loudly. "Chidori!" He aimed directly at Naruto''s chest. As amusing as Sasuke himself was, the jutsu was no joke. The amount of lightning chakra concentrated in Sasuke''s hand made it clear to Naruto that if he allowed the attack tond, it would pierce through his defenses and leave a gaping hole in his torso. However, this attack had a ring w Naruto had already noticed when he first saw it. Due to the sheer intensity of the jutsu and the speed Sasuke had to maintain, it forced him to attack in a very linear, straightforward manner. Naruto twisted his body, narrowly avoiding the lightning, and grabbed Sasuke''s forearm. Without allowing Sasuke to lose momentum, Naruto used all of his energy and redirected it, sending him flying for the third time. Sasuke''s Chidori collided with the metal water tank mounted on one corner of the rooftop. His hand became buried in the structure just before the lightning chakra lost its form, causing an explosion that tore the top of the tank apart and sent water sshing everywhere. Sasuke pulled his arm out of the remains, ring at Naruto. "Looks like I''m still alive," Narutomented. Sasuke''s jaw was clenched so tightly that everyone could hear his teeth grinding. "You¡­ you¡­!" At that moment, Sasuke finally realized why Naruto irritated him so much. He reminded him of his brother. Sasuke''s Sharingan spun faster as his rage intensified. Just the thought of that manwas enough to drive him mad. For a moment, the image of Itachi ovepped with Naruto. "Ahhh!" Sasuke screamed. "Sasuke¡­" Sakura watched him with growing concern. "What''s happening to him?" Naruto noticed something strange as well. A dark mist was rising from Sasuke''s neck. The ck-haired boy seemed to be in some kind of trance, his body visibly changing as he screamed in both pain and fury. Before anything worse could happen, Kakashi appeared out of nowhere and struck the back of Sasuke''s head, knocking him out instantly. "Sensei!" Sakura said in relief. Kakashi caught Sasuke and lowered him to the ground, inspecting his neck. "Was that the curse seal?" Naruto asked. Kakashi''s expression turned serious. "I''m afraid so¡­" "Wait, what? I thought you solved that problem," Sakura said, confused. "I ced a seal around it to prevent the curse mark from influencing Sasuke, but¡­ I can''t stop himpletely from using it if he really wants to." "No¡­ Sasuke would never do that! He knows how dangerous it is!" Sakura said desperately. "Then you don''t know him at all," Narutomented coldly. "He''s desperate for power and will do whatever it takes to get it." Sakura snapped at him. "This is your fault! Why did you have to push him so far?" "Excuse me? Should I have just let him kill me?" Naruto''s patience was wearing thin. "He wouldn''t have done that if you didn''t provoke him!" Sakura shouted. "Sakura, that''s enough," Kakashi said in a stern tone. "But Sensei¡ª" she protested, her voice faltering. "No¡­ this isn''t Naruto''s fault." Kakashi shook his head. "If you want to me someone, me me. I should have intervened sooner." "You were watching the whole time?" Naruto asked, surprised. He hadn''t sensed Kakashi''s presence at all, though that wasn''t much of a surprise. Kakashi nodded. "Sensei?... Why?" Sakura didn''t understand. Kakashi''s expression was troubled. "I thought it might help Sasuke¡­ maybe give him some perspective." He nced at Naruto. Kakashi had hoped that having a rival close in age could motivate Sasuke in a healthier way, pushing him to grow stronger without being consumed by the need to kill his brother. He had hoped Naruto could be that rival. But now, seeing how effortlessly Naruto had handled Sasuke, Kakashi realized his mistake. Minato''s son had far exceeded his expectations. In such a short time, Naruto had surpassed all of his peers, to the point where handling Sasuke was almost effortless. Kakashi now wondered just how close Naruto was to catching up to him¡­ or how long it would take before the blonde surpassed him. But his focus shifted back to Sasuke. ''What am I going to do with you?...'' For the first time in a long while, Kakashi felt truly conflicted. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 128: Rewards Chapter 128: Rewards Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 128: Rewards "Yo!" Jiraiya greeted Naruto in his usual cheerful manner. "I''ve been told you wanted to see me," Naruto said as he nced at Tsunade, who was seated behind herrge desk, surrounded by towering stacks of paperwork. "I see you''re keeping yourself entertained." She frowned. "Hey, don''t ignore your Sensei!" Jiraiya pouted. Naruto turned his attention to him. "I thought it would be polite to address the Hokage first." His gaze shifted to thest upant in the room. "Greetings, Shizune. I hope you''re adjusting well to your new position." Shizune smiled warmly. "Yes, thanks for asking." "Now, as for the reason behind my summons¡­ no one has told me yet," Naruto said. "You still haven''t greeted me properly! At least say hi to your Sensei, damn it!" Jiraiyained. "My Sensei?... I don''t remember ever acknowledging you as such," Naruto replied coolly. Seeing the expressions on their faces, he decided to borate. "I didn''t mean to sound rude or ungrateful. You''ve taught me many useful things, and I''m thankful for that. I always repay those who show me kindness, tenfold over. However, the rtionship between a Master and a student has a deeper meaning to me. And I don''t n to acknowledge anyone as my Master¡­" ''At least not in this life,'' Naruto thought to himself. "Right¡­" Jiraiya was caught off guard by the answer and felt a bit lost. "The reason for your summons was to discuss the results of the Chunin Exam. Normally, the Hokage wouldn''t do this in person, but in your case, I thought I should exin," Tsunade said. "Well?..." Naruto waited for her to continue. "You failed," Tsunade stated bluntly. "How so? I beat a giant monster that was trying to destroy the vige," Naruto pointed out. "Yes, and the elders are still preparing your reward. But that wasn''t part of the exam," Tsunade said as she nced down at a particr paper on her desk. "Of the three parts the exam was divided into¡­ in a way, you failed all three." "I''m sure I passed the first two¡­" Naruto argued. Tsunade sighed. "The first part tested your ability to gather intel. Do you remember what you did during that test?" "I already knew the answers, so there was no need for that," Naruto shrugged. "And that''s why I said ''in a way.'' You passed the test but failed to fulfill its true purpose. Now, what about the second part?" she continued. "I don''t remember much of that one. I lost control of the Kyubi while fighting Orochimaru and woke up four dayster," Naruto said. "Yes, that one was unfortunate. But again, your teammates carried you out of the forest. I can''t really consider that a ''pass,''" Tsunade pointed out. "I was attacked by an S-rank criminal who shouldn''t have been there¡­" Naruto added. "I agree, it wasn''t fair. You could say you were unlucky. But luck is also a factor during real missions, so there''s that," Tsunade exined. "That is true," Jiraiya nodded. "Although I usually get lucky." "Lord Jiraiya, don''t say that! It''ll bring bad luck!" Shizune eximed. "And finally¡­ the third exam. You were eliminated for attacking someone who wasn''t your opponent," Tsunade said. "I was s¡ª" "I know, you saved the life of the Yamanaka heiress. We''re all grateful for that," Tsunade acknowledged. "I''m sure she''s particrly grateful," Jiraiya winked, earning scornful looks from both women. "But," Tsunade continued, "rules are rules. And you were disqualified from the tournament. That''s a fact." "Naruto, Lady Tsunade wanted to pass you," Shizune chimed in. "She said you were the best Genin th¡ª" "Oi! Don''t say unnecessary things," Tsunade cut her off, flustered. "And yes, it wasn''t my decision alone. Since I wasn''t the Hokage at the time of the exam, It was only fair that I called upon the Ninja Council to help make the decision regarding the results. The majority felt that, despite your capabilities and your merits during the vige''s defense, it would be unfair to pass you, given that you didn''tplete the tests satisfactorily." "Did anyone pass?" Naruto asked. "Just one," Tsunade replied. "That''s disappointing to hear. And now what?" Naruto said. "There''ll be another exam in less than five months. Prepare for that one. If your team doesn''t want to participate, I can arrange for another one just for you," Tsunade informed him. "I''m sure you''ll pass next time!" Shizune said, trying to sound reassuring. "It''d be a disgrace if my student fails again¡­" Jiraiya pretended to be sad. Tsunade gave her assistant a nce. "Bring that." Shizune nodded and went to a nearby cab, pulling out arge leather bag. "Here!" She ced it on the table. "What''s fair is fair¡­ that''s for you," Tsunade said, pushing the bag towards Naruto. "This is?..." Naruto opened it up. The bag was filled with money. "One hundred and fifty thousand ryo," Tsunade informed him. Naruto raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to exin further. "One hundred thousand is the reward for sessfully hunting down the A-rank criminal, Kabuto Yakushi. Normally, some proof of the kill would be required, but in this case, my word was enough since there was no corpse to recover." "And the extra fifty?" Naruto asked. "That''s my way of saying thank you. You can also consider it payment for yourst mission," Tsunade said. Naruto hadn''t expected to receive this much money, but he wasn''t going to turn down such a generous reward, he hasn''t done a mission with his team in a while so he was running low on funds. "I''ll take it. Thanks." Tsunade chuckled. "I thought you''d say that." She looked around. "Now¡­ there''s one more matter I need to discuss with you," she said, her tone serious. "But I''d like to talk to Naruto alone." Jiraiya and Shizune exchanged surprised nces. They hadn''t been informed about this. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 129: Loyalties and Affinities Chapter 129: Loyalties and Affinities Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. Chapter 129: Loyalties and Affinities Jiraiya and Shizune stepped outside the office, quietly closing the door behind them. Naruto turned back to face Tsunade. "What is it you wanted to discuss that requires so much privacy?" "It''s nothing of major importance, but I didn''t want them to know about my concerns regarding this matter," Tsunade replied. "Very well¡­ What is it, then?" Tsunade met his gaze. "I was informed about the incident on the hospital rooftop." "It was just a short fight, if you can even call it that," Narutomented nonchntly. "That''s what your Sensei said in his report. But a civilian on a nearby rooftop saw Uchiha attack you with lightning chakra. If it was the jutsu I think it was¡­ it''s more than just a little fight." "To me, it wasn''t," Naruto shrugged. Tsunade pulled out another sheet of paper. "I''ve been reading up on your teammates. After meeting the boy in person once and reviewing all the reports about him, I can''t help but feel concerned." "Concerned about what? His mental stability? His loyalty to the vige?" "Yes, those are my biggest concerns," Tsunade admitted. "Shouldn''t you be having this conversation with Kakashi?" Naruto asked. "I have reasons to believe Kakashi will protect his student and hide information from me. He''s already done that before. What I want is the truth on this." "And you think I wouldn''t lie to protect my teammate?" Naruto raised an eyebrow. "No, I don''t think you care enough to lie," Tsunade said bluntly. "So that''s the impression I give, huh?" Naruto smirked. "I''m skilled at reading people''s character," Tsunade replied. "And what do you think of me, then?" "I''ll keep that to myself," she said, her tone unreadable. "That bad?" Naruto chuckled. "Now, back to the Uchiha. Answer me honestly¡­ what are the odds of him betraying the vige?" Tsunade asked, not beating around the bush. Naruto paused, considering his response. He knew the answer but needed to decide how much to tell her. "There are no ''odds''¡­ It''s only a matter of time before he realizes his ambitions can''t be fulfilled here." Sasuke sought power at any cost. Unlike Naruto, who had the Kyubi as a source of strength, Sasuke had no such advantage. Staying in the vige offered him little in the way of what he craved most. If Naruto were in Sasuke''s position, he too might be tempted to leave the safety of the vige to explore the outside world. The quickest way to grow stronger was to train and fight constantly, risking life and limb against dangerous opponents. It was a path many had taken, though only a few seeded. But those who did often became fearsome individuals that no one would dare challenge. "A matter of time?" Tsunade hadn''t realized it was that serious. "He wants power and revenge. That''s his only goal, and if he can''t get what he needs here, it makes sense he''ll look for it elsewhere, doesn''t it?" Naruto replied, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. Tsunade leaned back in her chair. "I guess his loyalty to the vige died with his n." Naruto said nothing to that. The only things he knew about the Uchiha massacre were what he''d read in books, and those didn''t go into much detail. "If that''s all¡­" Naruto made a motion to stand up. "Yes, that''s all for now." "Farewell, then, Lady Hokage," Naruto said with a hint of mockery in his tone. He was almost at the door when she called after him. "Tomorrow morning is the surgery for Gai''s student. I''m just telling you because you seemed interested in the case," Tsunade said. Naruto showed no outward reaction, but he hadn''t mentioned his conversation with Lee to anyone. That meant someone had been keeping an eye on him while he was in the vige. ''I''ll have to be more careful about what I say and do. At least until I can sense anyone who gets too close to me,'' Naruto thought. "I see¡­ I wish him luck, then." Naruto left the office. Outside, he spotted Jiraiya waiting, though Shizune was nowhere to be seen...she likely went off to tend her other duties. "I''m going to be leaving for a month or so. I''ve got an important mission I can''t talk about," Jiraiya informed him. If Jiraiya didn''t look so serious, Naruto might have thought he was in a rush to get back to the brothel. Then again, with Jiraiya, it could easily be both. "I see," Naruto said, still unsure why Jiraiya felt the need to tell him this. Jiraiya pulled a small piece of paper from his pocket. "I didn''t have time to grab any from the Capital, but it was easy enough to get here." Naruto looked at the nk piece of paper in his hand. It looked like regr paper to him, but Jiraiya was clearly implying there was something special about it. "This is chakra paper. Remember how we talked about finding your chakra affinity?" Jiraiya handed him the paper, and Naruto took it. "So, what do I do?" "Just hold it in your palm and circte your chakra. This paper is very sensitive and will react depending on your affinity," Jiraiya exined. Naruto did as instructed, channeling his chakra a few times before opening his palm. As he did, the paper was cut cleanly in half. "Huh?... It got cut¡­" Naruto wasn''t sure what that meant. Jiraiya stared at the paper in shock. "Wind?... Wait, just wind?" He looked back at Naruto, bewildered. From what he''d seen Naruto do with fire, Jiraiya had assumed his affinity was with fire...almost as if he had an incredible natural affinity almostparable to the Second Hokage''s legendary connection with water. But it turned out Naruto had no affinity for fire at all. And yet¡­ A thought crossed Jiraiya''s mind. ''What could he aplish with wind?'' A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 130: A Fair Trade Chapter 130: A Fair Trade Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 130: A Fair Trade "I believe congrattions are in order." Naruto found himself once again on the rooftop of the hospital. His eyes drifted to the damaged water tank that Sasuke had destroyed. It looked like they still hadn''t reced it. He hadn''t seen or heard from Sasuke since that day. Or Sakura, for that matter. The onlymunication he''d received was a brief message from Kakashi, saying they''d meet on Monday morning. That was it. "You told me there was something important you wanted to discuss with me," Maito Gai said, his voice holding an odd tension despite the happy news about Lee''s surgery. "You said it was about Lee''s future." "Have I done something to offend you?" Naruto asked, noticing the wariness in Gai''s tone. Thest time they''d spoken, Gai had been immensely grateful for Naruto saving his student from Gaara. Now, though, something had clearly changed. "Lee told me about your conversation with him. You manipted him to ept the surgery... and I don''t appreciate that. That was his decision to make." Gai''s usual goofy expression was gone, reced by a serious, almost stern look. "Did it seem like I was manipting him for my own benefit?" Naruto asked, calm, though inwardly questioning if he had been too hasty in his approach. He could have let nature take its course, allowing Lee to make his own decision. Worst-case scenario, he would eventually reach the rank of a Jonin and gain ess to the forbidden jutsu through the Hokage''s permission. "Lee said you tempted him with some ''fantastical'' technique that would improve him greatly," Gai frowned, clearly displeased. Naruto reached into his robes and tossed a small scroll at Gai. "There''s nothing ''fantastical'' about what I offered. It''s very real. You can check for yourself." Gai caught the scroll and opened it cautiously. As he read, his eyes widened. "This... this can''t be true... A method like this exists?" Naruto smiled. If only Gai knew the truth. What he''d given him was merely a modified version of the most basic cultivation method he had learned. One that had been freely distributed to outer disciples of the Blue Jade Sect. In powerful sects, such a technique would be considered trivial, almost worthless. But here, in this world, the people had yet to fully grasp how to harness natural energy to permanently enhance their bodies. Even for someone like Gai, a master of martial arts, this method was enough to leave him speechless. "Wait... there has to be more. Where''s the rest?" Gai quickly realized that the scroll only contained the beginning of the method. "I have the rest," Naruto replied, "but I''ll only give it to you in exchange for something." Gai''s eyes narrowed. "Exchange? I knew there was something you wanted. What is it?" "Of course I want something. There''s no such thing as a free meal," Naruto said calmly. "Besides, wouldn''t it be more suspicious if I handed you something this valuable without asking for anything in return?" "If you''re asking for something of equal value... I don''t have much," Gai admitted, knowing he wasn''t exactly a man of wealth. "I don''t want money," Naruto said, his gaze sharp. "I want the Eight Gates." Gai blinked, stunned. "What?! Are you out of your mind? That technique is forbidden for a reason! I only taught it to Lee because of his... limitations. Why would you want to learn it?" "I know it''s dangerous. I''ve seen it firsthand," Naruto responded, unshaken. "But I still want it." Removing his body''s natural limitations was likely the only way for him to ess the full extent of his ancient techniques. This world''s natural energies were far weaker than those in his previous one. No amount of seclusion or cultivation would bring him back to his old level of strength, not in this lifetime. That''s why the Golden Scripture had gifted him a different method of cultivation...one based on absorbing the energies of other beings. It was the only path to immortality in this world, and the Scripture had known that somehow. But absorbing the Ky¨±bi alone wouldn''t be enough. Naruto needed to find the other tailed beasts, and that task would be far from easy. For that, he needed to grow stronger... much stronger than anyone who might stand in his way. Gai''s hesitation was palpable. "I can''t just teach you the Eight Gates... I''m not allowed to teach that jutsu without the Hokage''s permission. And you''re not even my student." "Then we''ll keep this between us," Naruto said quietly. "That would be treason," Gai replied, clearly torn. "I''ll be a Jonin in a few years, and then I will be allowed to learn any forbidden jutsu," Naruto pointed out. "As long as I don''t use it publicly before then, no one will ever know it came from you." Gai knew this was wrong. Teaching the Eight Gates to Naruto would be against everything he stood for as a shinobi of the Leaf. Yet, his eyes drifted to the scroll in his hand. This technique could secure Lee''s future. It could make him the number one taijutsu expert, fulfilling the boy''s dream. Gai would dly break the rules for his student, but something else troubled him. "Before I make a decision... there''s something I need to know," Gai said. "And what would that be?" Naruto asked. Gai lifted the scroll. "Where did thise from? Did the same expert who taught you taijutsu give you this? Because I know it wasn''t Kakashi." Naruto remained silent for a moment. He understood the source of Gai''s concern. The man was worried Naruto was in contact with some mysterious master who could pose a threat to Konoha...someone like Orochimaru. ''Now¡­ how do I convince him that my intentions aren''t harmful to the vige?'' Naruto thought, calcting his next move. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 131: Naruto and Team 10 Chapter 131: Naruto and Team 10 Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 131: Naruto and Team 10 "I see..." Asuma nodded thoughtfully. "Then, I''ll leave him in your care. You''re one of the few wind users in Konoha. Don''t be surprised at how quickly the boy learns." Jiraiya gave Asuma a reassuring tap on the shoulder before turning to leave the garden. "I''ll do my best to guide him, Lord Jiraiya," Asuma responded, offering a polite bow. He then turned to his students, who were waiting nearby with Naruto. "Is he going to train with us?" Ch¨­ji asked. "I''ll just be giving Naruto some pointers on manipting his elemental chakra," Asuma exined. "Wait, isn''t that, like, super advanced?" Ino asked, her eyes asionally flicking toward Naruto. "It is," Asuma nodded. "Typically, you wouldn''t be expected to learn this until you be a ch¨±nin." "Aren''t you bragging because you already learned some water jutsu?" Shikamaru ncedzily at Ino. "Does Shikamaru have to learn it, too?" Ch¨­ji asked, looking over at his friend. Shikamaru, sitting on a cushion and idly moving a chess piece, sighed. "How troublesome... I just wanted to enjoy being a genin for a few more years." Naruto, curious, nced at him. "Tsunade told me only one person got promoted. I take it that was you?" "Naruto, don''t talk about Lady Hokage so casually. It reflects badly on her," Asuma gently advised. He knew Naruto had close ties with two of the Sannin, but still offered the suggestion. "Right, I''ll keep that in mind," Naruto replied. Shikamaru stood up, rubbing his head. "Yeah, I was the one promoted. I hope you''re not upset about that." "Why would I be?" Naruto shrugged. "It was the Council''s decision, not yours." Shikamaru studied him for a moment. He hadn''t interacted much with Naruto since their academy days and was still adjusting to his changed demeanor. The Naruto he remembered would''ve thrown a fit over not being promoted. "I can''t believe they didn''t promote you, Naruto! You even fought that giant monster to save the vige..." Ino huffed, clearly dissatisfied on his behalf. Naruto merely shrugged again. "Suppress your desire for glory, and you''ll never be disappointed. I''ll try again next time, don''t worry about it." "Well said!" Asuma smiled in approval. "Now, let''s get started on today''s training." "Wait, I thought we were going to finish that game," Shikamaru gestured toward the chessboard. "Not today. We have a guest, and we can''t look like a bunch ofzy ninjas," Asuma chuckled. "I''m already a ch¨±nin. Can''t I skip this?" Shikamaruined. "Not officially, and no," Asuma replied with a smirk. "Until you have your own team, you still belong here, and you''ll do what I say." "Ugh..." Shikamaru groaned. Naruto, curious, asked, "So what do you normally do?" "Eat," Ch¨­ji replied, grinning. "Sleep," Shikamaru added. "My nails," Ino chimed in. Naruto raised an eyebrow, ncing at Asuma. "And I thought Kakashi was neglecting us." "Hey,e on!" Asuma protested. "We train sometimes!" His students were making him look terrible. "Most of our training happens at home. So, yeah, there isn''t much to do here," Shikamaru exined. "Right... You all have your n jutsus." Naruto nodded, realizing their situation. The three of them relied on special techniques that Asuma could not help them with, so he could only help them with more basic things. "That''s right!" Ch¨­ji beamed with pride. "My job is to eat as much as I can. My family jutsus take a lot of calories to use." "There is a bit more than just eating..."Asuma interjected, turning back to look at Naruto. "These three actually make a greatbination when they''re serious. Want to see it in action? It could be a good warm-up exercise." "Wait, you want us three to fight Naruto alone?" Ino asked, a bit incredulous. "That''s unfair," Ch¨­ji added. Shikamaru, on the other hand, was already analyzing the situation. If Asuma was suggesting this, he likely believed Naruto had a chance. After seeing Naruto''s performance at the Ch¨±nin Exams, that didn''t seem far-fetched. "What do you say, Naruto?" Asuma turned to him. "I have no issues," Naruto said, moving to one side of therge garden, ready for the challenge. Once Team 10 took their positions, Asuma gave the signal to begin. Ch¨­ji charged forward while Ino and Shikamaru hung back, likely to set up their jutsus. Naruto, understanding the basics of their abilities, quickly pieced together their strategy. "That won''t work." Naruto shifted his stance, releasing a surge of chakra that tore the grass beneath his feet. ''Red Lotus Body Shift¡­'' He could only use the first stage of this movement technique, but that was enough to elerate his body to ten times its normal speed. Ch¨­ji had no hope of catching him as Naruto darted past and reached Shikamaru in an instant. "Tsk! I knew it!" Shikamaru grimaced, his shadow already extending to catch Naruto. But before it could reach him, Naruto disappeared again, reappearing behind Shikamaru in a blur. "Urgh!" Shikamaru grunted as Naruto''s palm struck his back, sending him flying. "Shikamaru!" Ch¨­ji gasped and rushed to catch his friend. But with Ch¨­ji preupied, Ino was left defenseless. "W-Wait!" Ino stammered, holding a kunai in her right hand. She attempted to strike, but Naruto swiftly moved behind her, disarming her with ease and locking an arm around her neck. "Do you give up?" Naruto asked calmly. "Hmm¡­ I don''t know. This is kindafortable," Ino said, her tone yful. Naruto wasn''t applying any real pressure, just holding her in ce. "Ino..." Asuma shook his head in mild disappointment. "Shit... that hurt," Shikamaru grumbled as Ch¨­ji gently set him down. "Sorry... I couldn''t stop him," Ch¨­ji apologized, feeling responsible for letting Naruto reach Shikamaru so easily. "Alright, that''s enough." Asuma pped his hands. "I didn''t expect you three to win, but I thought you''dst more than a minute." "You knew how this would end. What was the point?" Shikamaru grumbled, clearly annoyed at the wasted effort. "He''s too fast!" Ch¨­ji eximed, still astonished. "The point was to learn," Asuma exined. "Yes, Naruto is faster than you, Ch¨­ji. That''s why you shouldn''t have charged at him alone. You should''ve stayed closer to your teammates and protected them. And Ino... would you let go of Naruto?" Ino, who had been clinging to Naruto''s shoulders, finally released him with a yful smile. "This is payback." "Sure..." Asuma gave her a deadpan look. "And Ino, you should''ve covered Shikamaru''s back. That would''ve made it harder for Naruto to iste you." "There wasn''t time to form a n," Shikamaru muttered. "In a real battle, you might not have time either," Asuma said. "That''s why practice is important. Your instinctive reaction needs to be a good one." Asuma stretched his arms. "But enough of that for now. There''ll be more practiceter. Now, let''s move on to elemental jutsus." A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 132: Meeting the Lord of the House Chapter 132: Meeting the Lord of the House Disimer:Naruto and all its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author''s notes- Chapter 132: Meeting the Lord of the House "What do you want?" The door guard almost spat the words at him. "Wow... is that how the Hyuga n treats guests? You won''t have many that way," Naruto told the guard. There were two men guarding the main entrance to the Hyugapound, and it seemed like neither of them liked him much. "If you have no business here, you need to leave," the second guard said. "If I had no business here, why would Ie? I definitely didn''t walk all the way here just to see your ugly faces, that''s for sure," Naruto said with a mocking smile. He''d admit he took some joy in messing with these strict types of people. "You dare?!" "Even if we are guards, we are still members of the prestigious Hyuga n. If you think we''re going to take insults from a mere genin like you..." Both guards were reaching their boiling point when the door opened. The person who came out was the same female attendant that had been following Neji and Hinata a few days prior. "What do you think you''re doing?" she asked the guards. "This boy insulted us!" one of them pointed at Naruto. "Yes, he just came here to cause trouble," the other added. She nced at Naruto for a second. For some reason, she didn''t doubt the ims of Naruto insulting them, but he hade here for a reason. "Mister Uzumaki has an appointment with Lady Hinata. Let him in." "But..." "The n Leader said that..." The guards looked at each other with worried expressions. "I don''t know what you''ve been told previously, but Lord Hiashi sent me here with instructions to escort the guest inside. He wishes to speak with him in person first," she said. "Oh... if that''s the case." "Come on in..." The guards moved aside and allowed Naruto to enter without furtherints. "Follow me, please." The attendant began walking as soon as he passed through the main gate. Inside thepound, there was a massive green field with several buildings scattered within. They followed a well-made stone path that led to arge building at the end. This one was decorated in a much more luxurious way than the others, making it obvious that the n Leader resided there. "Are you actually taking me to see the n Lord?" Naruto thought for a moment that she had only said that to deal with the guards. She stopped briefly to look at him directly. It would have been rude to do otherwise. "Yes... he requested your presence several minutes before you arrived." ''Is there no privacy in this vige?'' He wanted to ask. "Does he want to kick me out personally?" he asked instead. It was quite obvious that he hadn''t made a great first impression on the n Lord. It wasn''tpletely his fault, to be honest. After all, Lord Hiashi had been antagonistic toward him from the beginning. "Yes... I believe that is his intention." The attendant didn''t try to hide it, and by her facial expression, neither did she seem to care. "He dislikes me that much, huh?" Naruto said with a smirk. He never truly got along with that type of individual and it appears that in this life, things won''t be different. The attendant looked at the ground. "I would not venture to guess my Lord''s intentions, but... I would assume he''s antagonistic toward anyone who shows interest in his daughters." She nced at him with a troubled expression. "He may not show it often, but Lord Hiashi cares a great deal for his two daughters." "Mmm, is that so." Naruto had a feeling there was more to Hiashi''s dislike for him. The attendant turned around and continued walking until they reached the building. She had him wait while she checked if Lord Hiashi was ready to receive him. Only then did she open the door for him. Once inside, Naruto found the n Lord sitting in the middle of a massive room, with only a small tea table in front of him and a few cushions around it. "Sit down," Hiashi said, showing as much displeasure as he could with his tone alone. Naruto shook his head and sighed. In his eyes, this man was no different from a lizard pretending to be a dragon. He acted like he was some sort of great leader from arge sect or perhaps an emperor. But his position was lower than the Hokage''s, and neither of the two Hokage Naruto had met so far would act in such a way. The Hyuga n may have been the biggest in Konoha, but in the grand scheme of things, they weren''t that important. Still, Naruto had nothing to gain by pointing this out to the man, so he went ahead and sat down in front of him. Hiashi waited for almost three minutes after Naruto sat down before speaking again. This was amon tactic to make the other person nervous and overthink things. But that wasn''t going to do much against someone used to spending whole years sitting in silence. Also, Naruto never perceived Hiashi, or the rest of his n, as an important threat. "I thought I made it very clear that I didn''t want you approaching my daughter," Hiashi finally said. Naruto looked directly into the man''s clear, angry white eyes. "I thought I made it very clear that I didn''t care what you wanted." "What?!" Hiashi shouted. ''Oh... oops, I shouldn''t have said it like that. Now he''s really angry,'' Naruto thought. "What did you say?!" Hiashi was well past angry at this point. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 133: The Proposal Chapter 133: The Proposal Disimer:Naruto and all its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author''s notes- Chapter 133: The Proposal "Now... calm down, Sir," Naruto said. The other man appeared ready to flip the table. "This is really inappropriate behavior for someone of your status." "Don''t talk to me about inappropriate behavior, you brat!" Hiashi shouted. "What is this really about? You''ve been against me being close to your family before I showed any interest in Hinata. What''s is your issue with me?" Naruto wondered if this man had some problems with his parents and was now projecting those emotions on him. Or maybe it was something else. "You''re too dangerous! Of course, I don''t want you close to Hinata. She has enough worries already," Hiashi finally said. "Dangerous?... I don''t deny it. But can you be more specific?" He answered. Hiashi managed to calm down a bit. "You know what you are..." "Oh..." Naruto realized. "Are you talking about the demon fox sealed inside me? Is that what you''re worried about? Don''t tell me you''re like those civilians who believe I''m some sort of reincarnation of the demon." "Don''t be ridiculous!" Hiashi snapped. "I''m not an ignorant fool. But that doesn''t make you any less dangerous to be around. You could lose control..." "I have it under perfect control," Naruto said. "You went berserk during the second test of the Chunin exam," Hiashi pointed out. "I meant now..." Naruto added. "And you expect me to trust your word on that?..." Hiashi raised an eyebrow. "There are also going to be people who will go after you because of that...I don''t want my family involved in that." ''That already happened,'' Naruto thought. "The only reason I even considered talking to you in person is because my nephew Neji speaks very highly of you since your match. I thought that I could perhaps reason with you," Hiashi said. "I can be reasonable. But you''re the one making no sense," Naruto told him. Hiashi red at him. "How am I not making sense? I made myself very clear." "Yes, and if Hinata were a normal civilian, it would make sense for you to want to keep her out of danger. But she''s a ninja and the heir of this n... and from what I understand, you don''t consider her a very good heir because of her soft nature. So how is keeping her away from any danger going to change that?" Naruto asked. It was only then that Hiashi understood what Naruto meant. By keeping Hinata as safe as possible, she would have no room to grow as a person, a ninja, and a future leader of the n. "I..." For the first time in a long time, he was at a loss for words. "I don''t want to¡ª" The door slid open with a loud noise, as if the person outside was in a hurry. "Father!" Hinata rushed in. Following her were her sister Hanabi and her attendant. "Lady Hinata, wait!" The assistant had tried to stop her, knowing this could only make her father angrier. "Hinata?" Hiashi nced at his daughter. "What are you doing here? I asked not to be interrupted." His eyes shifted to the attendant. "I''m very sorry, Lord Hiashi. I tried to stop her..." "Don''t me Asami. She did try to stop me," Hinata said as she walked to the table. "What are you doing with Naruto?" she asked with furrowed brows. Hiashi was surprised to see his daughter acting in such amanding manner instead of her usual shy self. "There were a few things I needed to discuss with him..." "You weren''t trying to kick him out of the house?" Hinata asked suspiciously. "Yes, what are you waiting for? Show him his ce!" Hanabi eximed. Naruto turned to her. "Have you forgotten about our deal?. Is that how you should be talking to me?." "That''s..." Hanabi hesitated. She hadn''t forgotten, which was precisely why she wanted him out. "You agreed to speak to me with the utmost respect if I defeated your cousin. Which, if I recall, I did... So are you going to break your word?" Naruto asked. "No... I didn''t say that," Hanabi muttered. "Then? Where''s my formal greeting, Lady of the Hyuga n?" Hanabi''s face turned as red as a tomato. "Greetings, Mister Uzumaki. Wee to the Hyuga household. Please feel at home." She gave him a polite bow. Naruto nodded. "I will, thank you." He then turned to Hiashi. "I believe we were about to reach an agreement," he told the n Lord. Hiashi red at him. "I''m still not convinced that you would be a good influence on her." Or on his other daughter, for that matter. He''d been in the room for only a few minutes, and both his daughters were acting out of character. "What if I told you I can turn Hinata into a confident and powerful n leader?" Naruto knew the girl had immense potential, which was being wasted due to herck of self-confidence. "What?!" Hinata eximed. "What are you saying?" Hiashi asked. "Leave her with me for one month, and she''ll be able to evenpete with Neji," Naruto offered. He had some free time now that his team wasn''t taking missions. As long as it didn''t affect his cultivation speed, he didn''t mind spending some time with this girl. It could prove useful for his future. "What do you mean, ''leave her with you''?!" Hiashi was about to flip the table, while Hinata was doing her best to stay conscious. "I meant to train with her for a month, of course," Naruto said. "What did you think I meant?" "Never mind that!" Hiashi huffed. "What is a month going to aplish?" He had tried for years to toughen her up, but the girl was too kind in nature. "And topete with Neji...?" "I''ll do it!" Hinata said, excitement filling her voice. Her father and the rest were shocked that she would agree so quickly to a rematch with Neji after what happenedst time. But the only thing in Hinata''s head was that she could spend an entire month alone with Naruto. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 134: The Deserter Chapter 134: The Deserter Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 134: The Deserter "Well, I did enjoy it¡­" Hinata said. "What''s not to like?" Naruto asked, grinning. "It''s not about the vor! I can''t believe you took Lady Hinata to eat ramen." The female attendant, Asami, looked at Naruto with clear disappointment. It had taken some convincing, but Hiashi eventually allowed his daughter to go out with Naruto. However, he insisted that her attendante along. "Asami, that''s enough. You know I don''t like being treated differently because of my family," Hinata said softly. "I know, but¡­" Asami nced at Naruto disapprovingly. "At least take her to a proper restaurant next time." Naruto wanted to argue that Ichiraku Ramen wasa restaurant but decided against it. "Next time¡­" Hinata murmured to herself. "Next time¡­" They were walking near the main road that led to the South Gate of the vige when Naruto spotted something unusual near one of the wooden benches by the path. It was already dark, and the fewmps in the area barely illuminated the way. This part of the vige was far from themercial district, and only a few houses were nearby. "There''s someone there," Naruto said, his eyes narrowing at the shadowy figure on the bench. Asami''s demeanor changed instantly. Her Byakugan activated. "Stay here, Lady Hinata." She vanished from the spot. "Did someone get hurt?" Hinata asked in concern, her own Byakugan activating. She gasped and covered her mouth. "Oh no!" "What is it?" Naruto asked, turning to her. "It''s Sakura!" Hinata eximed, running toward the bench, with Naruto quickly following. Asami was already checking Sakura''s vitals when they arrived. "She''s fine. Someone knocked her out with a blow to the head, but there are no serious injuries. Just a few bruises." "You''re a medic?" Naruto noticed her glowing hands, recognizing the medical jutsu from his time with Tsunade. "I''m still in training, but you can trust me. Your teammate is fine," Asami assured him. "But¡­ who could have done this?" Hinata looked around with her Byakugan still active, scanning the area for any signs of movement. Naruto was already thinking about it. If this had been the work of intruders, Sakura would likely have been killed. It didn''t make sense for her to be here alone sote at night. Only one name came to his mind, but he wouldn''t need to guess for long. "Mmm¡­" Sakura moaned softly as she stirred. "She''s waking up," Asami said, continuing to administer treatment. "Sakura? Are you okay?" Hinata asked, concerned. Sakura''s green eyes opened slowly, blinking in confusion. "Hinata?... What are you d- Naruto?!" "Whoa, stop moving. You have a head injury," Asami warned, trying to keep Sakura from sitting up too quickly. "Naruto, you have to stop him, please!" Sakura suddenly blurted out, her voice frantic. "You have to stop Sasuke!" "The Uchiha? Wait, was he the one who attacked you?" Asami asked, frowning. "Where is he?" Naruto asked, though he could already guess the answer. There weren''t many reasons why Sasuke would knock out Sakura in the middle of the night and disappear. "Sasuke left the vige!" Sakura eximed, her voice trembling. ''Just a matter of time¡­'' Naruto thought, remembering the words he had told Tsunade. He was surprised it happened so soon. "Why?" Naruto asked, knowing Sasuke wouldn''t leave unless he had received a tempting offer...someone that promised the power he sought. Sasuke wasn''t reckless enough to wander aimlessly on his own. There was only one name that made sense to Naruto. ''Did Orochimaru sneak back into the vige?'' "Naruto, please. If you don''t stop him¡­ if he leaves like this¡­" Sakura began to sob, tears streaming down her face. "He''ll be dered a criminal," Asami said grimly. "Oh no! We have to do something!" Hinata eximed, distressed. "Yes, we need to inform the Hokage immediately," Asami added. Sakura looked at her attendant with fear in her eyes. "I''m sure Lady Tsunade will show him mercy if we can retrieve him quickly," Asami tried to reassure her. "I''ll go inform the Hokage. You take Sakura to the hospital," Naruto said, already determined. "Let me go with you," Hinata said. "If there''s anything I can do to help¡­" <><><><><><><> Tsunade''s Office "Damn it! Why did it have to be now?!" Tsunade nearly smashed the table in frustration. "Please, calm down¡­" Shizune pleaded. "Do we have any Jonin avable?" Tsunade asked her assistant. "Most of them are on missions, and we can''t dispatch any more without leaving ourselves vulnerable," Shizune exined. Tsunade turned to Naruto. "Fine then¡­ you handle this." "Pardon?" Naruto raised an eyebrow, surprised. "Lady Tsunade, you can''t put everything on Naruto''s shoulders. We still have some Chunin avable for a team," Shizune said. "Right! Bring me that Nara boy I promoted. And a few of the other Genin," Tsunade demanded. "Are you sure? We have more experienced ninjas ava¡ª" "Just hurry! I want everyone here in ten minutes! There''s no time to waste!" Tsunade mmed the table, causing it to crack. "Y-Yes!" Shizune stammered, quickly running out of the office. Naruto leaned closer to Hinata. "I bet that table breaks before sundown." Hinata blushed and smiled. "I-Is there something we can do, Lady Tsunade?" she asked, raising her hand. Tsunade looked at her with a raised brow. "No, you can only wait for the¡­ wait a minute, were you two on a date tonight?" A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 135: The Sasuke Retrieval Mission is Ordered Chapter 135: The Sasuke Retrieval Mission is Ordered Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 135: The Sasuke Retrieval Mission is Ordered "Lady Tsunade, here''s a report from the 21st lookout." A masked ninja ced a stack of paperwork on her desk. Shikamaru stood in the corner of the room, ncing around curiously. He hadn''t been told what was happening, just summoned to the Hokage''s office in the middle of the night. Behind him, Naruto and Hinata sat quietly on a couch, waiting. Shikamaru wanted to ask what this was all about but knew it would be rude to speak before the Hokage. "I see¡­ so that''s where they''re headed after all¡­" Tsunade muttered under her breath. The door opened, and Shizune entered, followed by several familiar Genin. "This better be important," Ino mumbled, rubbing her eyes. "I shouldn''t have stayed up sote watching that show¡­" Kiba grumbled as he entered, even his dog Akamaru looking drowsy. Neji and Shino, by contrast, appearedposed as usual, though their impassive expressions likely masked their fatigue. "Lady Tsunade, these are the five Genin I managed to gather," Shizune reported. Tsunade nced up and scanned the group. "You only brought four." "Eh?" Shizune looked confused. "If you''re looking for Choji, he''s asleep outside on one of the chairs," Ino pointed out, stifling a yawn. "Ah!" Shizune hurried out to wake him. Ino now noticed Naruto and Hinata sitting nearby. "Naruto? What are you¡ª" She shifted her gaze to Hinata, curious about why they were already here and together. "Alright, since everyone is present, let''s begin this emergency meeting," Tsunade announced, getting straight to the point. Lookout number 21 was situated at the outer ring of the forest surrounding Konoha. If the enemy continued on their path, they would soon be too far to catch. Time was running out. "I''ll get straight to the point. Sasuke has run away from the vige. We have a potential case of desertion." Tsunade''s words hung heavy in the air as she exined the rest of the details. The group reacted with shock. Ino''s heart sank. She had admired Sasuke for years, once believing she loved him. Recently, though, those feelings had begun to fade. Now, learning that he not only betrayed the vige but also hurt Sakura to keep her from talking, her admiration twisted into anger. ''How could I have been so blind?'' she thought bitterly. "So¡­ we can expect him to have help," Shikamaru noted, having read the report Tsunade received about several suspicious individuals carrying arge container. None of the descriptions matched Sasuke, which raised even more concerns. "Given the timing and direction they''re heading, I believe we''re dealing with ninjas from the Sound Vige," Tsunade exined. "Those weird guys from the Chunin Exam?" Ino asked, recalling their bizarre techniques. "Wait¡­ isn''t their leader Orochimaru? Is he involved in this too?" Shikamaru asked. He had more intel than the other Genin due to his promotion, so he knew that Orochimaru was the leader of the Sound Vige. "Orochimaru? The Sannin?" Neji''s calm demeanor faltered slightly, showing his concern. "Wait, what?!" Choji, now wide awake, eximed. "So it washim who convinced Sasuke¡­ that makes sense," Naruto muttered, already suspecting this but now having his theory confirmed. The allure of being trained by one of the Sannin...especially the one who had cursed Sasuke. It must have been too tempting to resist. "That is correct, we have reason to believe Orochimaru is involved. However, I know for a fact that he''s in no condition to travel right now. I wouldn''t send you out if I thought you''d encounter him personally," Tsunade reassured them. Hearing this, the Genin felt some relief. "Nevertheless," Tsunade continued, her tone serious, "don''t get overconfident. I''m sure Orochimaru sent the best ninjas he could for this mission. This is crucial to him, and it''s equally crucial that Sasuke never falls into his hands." Shikamaru frowned. "Are you saying that if capturing Sasuke isn''t an option¡­ we should kill him?" "Wait, what?!" Hinata gasped. "Kill Sasuke?. " Ino nearly shouted in disbelief. "Is there no chance that he was kidnaped?." Neji asked. "There is little chance that he was taken against his will. And I''m sure it won''te to that, but¡­" Tsunade nced at Naruto before turning back to Shikamaru. "For this mission, Shikamaru will be in charge. He''s the only one with the rank of Chunin, so you''ll all follow his orders." "I haven''t been officially promot¡ª" Shikamaru began to protest, but Tsunade cut him off by tossing a Chunin vest into his face. "Consider yourself promoted. That''s your new uniform. Congrattions," Tsunade said matter-of-factly. Her gaze swept over the rest of the group. They were all still green for a mission of this caliber, but with Shikamaru''s tactical mind and Naruto and Neji''s strength, she believed they could handle it. "Remember, if they cross the border of the Fire Country, you''ll have to stop your pursuit and return. We can''t risk an international incident. If that were to happen, you can consider your mission as failed." Tsunade warned. "We won''t fail," Shikamaru said, determination in his voice. "Yes! We''ll bring that jerk back so he can at least apologize to Sakura," Ino added firmly. Naruto stood up. "I''m ready. Let''s go." Shikamaru nced at him, noticing that Naruto wasn''t even wearing his headband. "At least put on your headband. This is an official mission." "Oh¡­ right¡­" Naruto scratched his head, trying to remember where he hadst left it. "Does anyone have a spare?" A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 136: Track him Down Chapter 136: Track him Down Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 136: Track him Down "Does anyone have a spare?¡­ I can''t believe you said that in front of the Hokage," Ino huffed as they walked out of the vige gates. "Well, I don''t always carry it around when I go out," Naruto said, scratching his head. "You should," Hinata said, adjusting her headband around her neck. "I always keep mine in my bag." "I don''t think it serves much purpose if you wear it on your neck, though¡­" Naruto pointed out. Hinata looked confused. "Why not? I think it looks nice¡­" "It totally does!" Ino chimed in. "I always wear mine around my waist, see?" She gestured at hers proudly. "Ah¡­" Naruto trailed off, unsure of what to say to that. How was this worse than forgetting about his headband?. "Can we focus for a moment?" Shikamaru cut in. "I''m trying to exin the general n." "Right, we should listen to what Shika says. He''s the team leader," Choji agreed. "Feels weird having to listen to him¡­ we''re the same age," Kiba muttered. "He has the highest rank, so of course we listen to him. Age is irrelevant," Neji stated firmly. He was, after all, a year older than most of them, but had no issues with this. Shikamaru pulled out a small map of the area. "This is a capture mission involving an unknown number of hostile ninjas. The report says at least four, but there could be more." He pointed to an area south of the vige. "This is where the lookout tower is located. They werest seen moving southwest past here. Our first objective is to reach this tower as fast as possible." "And then what? Keep going in that direction and hope to get lucky?" Ino asked. "Of course not¡­" Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "We have a tracker with us." He nced at Kiba, then pulled something from his bag. "The Hokage had the foresight to send this." Kiba peeked into the bag. "Clothes? ¡­Oh, I see." Akamaru poked his head out and gave the bag a sniff. "It''s Sasuke''s," Shikamaru said. "I trust Akamaru can use this to at least get a direction once we reach the tower." Kiba gave a thumbs-up. "Definitely! You can count on us." He said with exitement. Akamaru barked in agreement. Shikamaru then looked at Neji and Hinata. "We also have two Byakugan users, so we won''t be moving blindly. What''s your maximum range?" "One mile," Neji answered. "Around half a mile," Hinata said. Shikamaru nodded. "That''s more than enough. We''ll move in single-line formation. Neji, you take the rear and watch for any ambushes. Kiba and Hinata, lead us in the right direction and keep an eye out for enemies ahead. Naruto, you''re in the center. If anyone is attacked, you go and assist them." "What if our target bes hostile?" Shino asked. It was rare to hear him saying anying. Be felt like he had to ask where their limits were. "Right...our priority is to take Sasuke back to the vige alive. However...if that is not an option, we cannot let him fall onto Orochimaru''s hands." Shikamaru said with a grave voice. "You aren''t seriously considering that, right?." Ino asked. If Sakura were to be here, she would be throwing a fit right now. Shikamaru nced at her. "I don''t like it either, but that is our mission." He then looked over the rest of the group. "If we want to prevent that scenario, then we just have to make sure we don''t fail to capture him then." "Right!. Is not like we are going to fail. No way!" Kiba shouted. Once he confirmed everyone understood, Shikamaru gave the signal. "Let''s go. We don''t stop until we find either Sasuke or one of the enemy ninjas." As they departed, two figures approached the vige gates. "I wish I could have gone too¡­" Rock Lee said, leaning on his cane. He had only just learned of Sasuke''s departure when Sakura arrived at the hospital. Still too weak to walk without support, he wasn''t in any condition for a mission this dangerous. Naruto had helped keep him from going stir-crazy by leaving him with a technique to train from his hospital bed. The meditation exercises were hard to get used to, but he could tell he was getting stronger, little by little. "They''ll bring him back, right?" Sakura asked. Despite everything, she hoped that Sasuke would return and things would go back to how they were when they first became Genin. Lee looked at her, saying nothing at first. Based on what he knew of Sasuke, it seemed clear that Sasuke had left of his own will, not as a captive. Unless they could physically restrain him, Sasuke likely wouldn''te back. "I''m sure it''ll all go fine," he finally said, offering her a smile. <><><><><><><><><><><><> The sun was beginning to peek through the trees when Kiba suddenly shouted. "Wait! His scent has disappeared!" "You lost track of Sasuke?" Ino frowned, concerned. "But I can still smell the others. I can sense their scent all over this area," Kiba replied. "Wait!" Hinata called out. "Stop!" Neji added. The group halted immediately, perching on thick tree branches. "There''s a scroll stuck on that tree ahead," Hinata pointed. "There are scrolls all over the area," Neji added. "I recognize some as explosive tags, but I don''t know what the others do. They could be rms." "Why would they put so many traps here? We haven''t seen any until now," Ino said. "Because they must have stopped¡­" Shikamaru mused. "They''re resting?" Choji asked. "I doubt they''re just resting. It''s been six hours since they left the vige," Naruto replied. "We''re still in the Konoha forest. There''s no way they''d stop to rest now¡­ unless they were forced to." "Whatever the case, we can''t waste this chance to catch up with them," Shikamaru decided. "We''ll move with extreme caution. Kiba, Neji, and Hinata, we''re relying on you three to locate them." "Right! Leave it to me; I''ll find those guys in no time," Kiba said confidently, shing a grin. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 137: The Sound Four Chapter 137: The Sound Four Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 137: The Sound Four "I found them," Neji said. "So Kiba failed, then." Ino smirked. "Hey! I was just about to say the same," Kibained. "I found them too!" "Shhh! Keep it down," Shikamaru scolded. "Did you forget what we''re doing? The enemy is close by." "Right¡­ sorry," Ino muttered, and Kiba grumbled in agreement. "How many are there?" Naruto asked. "Four¡­ and Sasuke isn''t one of them," Neji replied. "Sasuke isn''t with them? Have we been following the wrong group this whole time?" Ino almost shouted but held back. "No. There are still faint traces of Sasuke''s scent around here," Kiba said. "He must''ve been here not too long ago." "They all look tired¡­" Neji observed. "They would be, after setting up all those traps," Chojimented. "Something tells me that''s not all they did¡­ but we''ve only got one choice now," Shikamaru said. "Wait, I think I''ve found Sasuke!" Neji suddenly eximed. "Where?!" Ino asked. "One of them is carrying arge container on his back¡­ it''s like a coffin," Neji exined. "There is someone inside." "Wait¡­ did they kill him?" Shikamaru asked urgently. "No, he''s alive. The container is covered in protective seals, so it''s hard to see clearly, but he seems to be sleeping," Neji replied. "That sounds like some sort of ritual," Naruto noted, remembering past encounters with demonic sects that used simr methods. "Then we''ll have to ambush them and secure that container. Just give me a second to think," Shikamaru said. "Alright, here''s how we''re going to¡ª" "Careful!" Hinata shouted suddenly. "They saw us!" Neji added. They heard something hit the side of the tree they''d been standing on. "Jump!" Shikamaru ordered. The tree exploded just as they leaped away. Naruto noticed Ino had been thrown off course and caught her before she could fall, but this also made himnd somewhat far away from the group, while the rest of the teamnded near the st zone. "Well, well¡­ looks like some bugs fell out of the tree I poked," a young man with blue hair sneered. Shino frowned at thement, visibly irritated. "W-Wait!" Shikamaru called out quickly. "We''re not here to fight. We want to negotiate for ourrade''s release." "Heh, he called him arade," a man with long ck hairughed. "They really have no idea of what they walked into." The one with blue hair smiled confidently. "Yes, but let''s f¡ª" Before he could finish the sentence, a smoke bomb went off, obscuring the area. "Damn it!" One of the enemiesined. "You idiots! This is pointless. My spider webs are all over the ce. You can''t do anything without me knowing," the ck-haired one sneered. "Too bad," Shikamaru smirked, "because you don''t know about our techniques either." As the smoke cleared, Shikamaru''s shadow was revealed, connecting to all of them. "Now I have you all under¡ª" "Shikamaru, move!" Hinata warned just in time as a shuriken flew towards his back. "Wha¡ª?!" He was forced to dodge, disrupting his jutsu. The group of genins had no time to take advantage of the situation before their enemies became free again. Neji was momentarily baffled. He hadn''t seen anyone else hiding nearby. And there should be no chance of someone escaping his eyes. Thergest man in the enemy group mmed his hands to the ground, using an earth jutsu to trap the team. Arge number of rocks were lifted over their heads and in less than a second, they were all enclosed inside some sort of dome made with the stones. "Got them all!" Therge manughed. "And they won''t be getting out any time soon." "You didn''t get all of us," Naruto said, stepping out from behind a tree near the dome that had formed around the rest of the team. "What is that thing?" Ino asked, confused while looking at it. "Are they okay in there?." "Yes, I''m sure they are only trapped," Naruto noted that the man seemed to be maintaining the rocks in ce. "Tsk!, I missed two," therge man grumbled. She and Naruto had been too far away to be caught in the jutsu. "It''s okay, Jirobo, it''s only two of them. I''ll handle this," said the blue-haired ninja. "Tayuya, take Sasuke and go. Kidomaru, make sure no one follows her," he ordered. "Wait! Leave Sasuke here!" Ino tried to rush forward, but Naruto stopped her. "Don''t be so reckless¡­ we don''t know what they''re capable of yet, if we turn our backs on them we could get killed. " Naruto told her. "Also¡­ I just heard someone else in the trees." It was obvious that they had someone else hiding around. Someone had thrown a shuriken at Shikamaru when everyone should have been immobilized. Ino looked around, realizing the situation. "Let''s focus on freeing the others. Then we''ll go after the rest," Naruto said. "Right¡­" Ino nodded. Naruto noticed that therge man, Jirobo, had his hands rooted to the ground, maintaining the rock dome. "Looks like that jutsu has a major w," Naruto observed, ncing at Jirobo. "You can''t move without breaking it, can you?" "Like I''d let you touch him!" The blue-haired ninja blocked Naruto''s path. "Ino, you know what to do," Naruto called as he moved forward. Sakon, the blue-haired leader of the four, tensed when he saw Naruto''s Rasengan forming in his hand. Realizing the threat, he activated his cursed seal, ck marks spreading across his skin as his power surged. Before Naruto could strike, Sakon pressed his hands to the ground. "Summoning Jutsu!" A massive gate appeared in front of Naruto, absorbing his Rasengan as it shattered. "You can summon non-living objects?" Naruto asked, more intrigued than anything. "Got you!" Ino used her jutsu, aiming at Jirobo, who was maintaining the rock dome. Naruto nced her way and saw she had climbed on top of the dome to get a clear shot. But it left her open for an attack. ''Did she forget what I just told her?'' Naruto thought, spotting a figure moving through the trees. Ino gasped as she realized the danger, but it was toote to dodge. Naruto appeared in front of her, blocking the attack. "What were you thinking¡­? Wait¡­ there are two of them?" Naruto realized, stunned, that the attacker looked identical to the blue-haired ninja who had summoned the gate. "Hehe, now I''ve got you!" The blue-haired ninja grinned confidently, grabbing Naruto''s arm. "Ukon, wait!" Sakon called out, recognizing Naruto''s strength. "Don''t do it!" But his brother, Ukon had already begun merging with Naruto, his body transforming into a liquid and phasing into Naruto. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 138 : Get Out Chapter 138 : Get Out Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 138 : Get Out "What was that?!" Ino looked at him,pletely rmed. "Did someone just turn into a liquid and go inside you?" She had a hard time belivig what she just saw. "What a strange sensation¡­" Naruto felt the right side of his body bing numb, his control beginning to slip. "Move away, Ino." "Huh?" She was right beside him, about to ask something, when he suddenly moved and threw a quick punch at her. "Wh-" She dodged and jumped off the rocky dome. "What are you doing?!" "I can''t control that side¡­" Naruto nced at his right hand as it seemed to move with a mind of its own. His hand twitched in unnatural ways. "Haha! We''ve got you now," Sakon said while pointing at him. "It''s just part of your body now, but soon¡­ my brother will take overpletely and kill you from the inside. And there''s nothing you can do to stop it." There was a hint of worry beneath Sakon''s words but he tried to hide it the best he could. His brother had already made the move and now they had to fullymit to it. "I see¡­" Naruto said calmly, feeling his control slipping further as his right leg also began to go numb. "Interesting technique." "Naruto! Don''t just stand there. Do something!" Ino eximed. She would be freaking out if she was in his ce. "You do seem oddly calm¡­ I''ll give you props for that. Most would be begging for mercy by now," Sakon sneered. "Argh, damn it!" Jiroboined. "They keep hitting the dome. There are too many of them inside. Sakon, hurry up and kill those two already!" Sakon frowned and red at hispanion. "If you can''t even contain a few genin, I''m afraid your mission report won''t look favorable. And you know what Lord Orochimaru thinks about failures." Jirobo''s face paled, and he went silent. "Now¡­ let''s see," Sakon''s eyes returned to Naruto. "Wait!." He shouted when he saw Naruto pull out a kunai and aimed it at¡­ "Naruto, stop!" Ino shouted, but she was too far away. Naruto buried the kunai into his right arm. "Ahhh!" A mouth appeared on the palm of his right hand, screaming in agony. "So, you feel my pain too. I thought it would be like that¡­" Naruto muttered. He had once fought against a terrifying species that could take over the bodies of others by transforming into immaterial entities, directly infiltrating the soul. Now that was frightening. Soul-based attacks were incredibly tricky to defend against. Compared to that, what this boy was doing was child''s y. A physical fusion had many ws...the shared pain receptors, for one. And it was worse in this case, as Ukon wasn''t just feeling Naruto''s pain...his own body was also being injured, making the situation more dangerous for him. Usually, this was not a concern, as most people would not be that willing to injure themselves, but his current opponent was very different. Not only Naruto had a very high tolerance to pain, but he could also regenerate his wounds extremely quickly. "Knowing that¡­" Naruto summoned the demon''s chakra, something he could now call upon at will. His eyes turned a deep orange, and the marks on his cheeks became more pronounced. "I''ll let you experience something much worse than a simple stab wound¡­" The three other ninjas stared at him, wondering what he was nning. A menacing red chakra began to coat Naruto''s body. Tails of this chakra began to manifest behind him, first one¡­ then two¡­ then three¡­ Ino already knew Naruto was the host for the Demon Fox, but this was the first time she''d seen him use the Kyuubi''s chakra in such a way. "Naruto¡­" She could only hope he knew what he was doing. "Oh¡­" This was exactly what Sakon had feared since recognizing Naruto. He had tried to warn his brother about entering that body, but for a while, it seemed things were going in their favor, and he had brushed off his concerns. Now it was clear he''d been right. "Ukon, get out of there!" he shouted. At this point, Naruto had enough control over the Kyubis chakra to avoid being hurt by it, for as long as he kept it at three tails or less. But for this case, he would allow the deadly substance to inflict damage upon him so he could expel the uninvited guest. A wave of difort washed over Naruto as the toxic, demonic chakra ate away at his flesh and muscles. The more chakra he summoned, the quicker it deteriorated his body. With three tails, it caused excruciating pain. Naruto, however, had developed a high tolerance for this kind of pain and could filter most of it. Ukon wasn''t so lucky; he was feeling it doubly. "Ahhhh!" he let out a bloodcurdling scream. "Come back here, now!" Sakon ordered his sibling. Under the intense agony, Ukon did his best to separate from Naruto, and thanks to years of practice, he managed to do so, even under such distress. Liquid appeared to pour out of Naruto''s body and flew toward Sakon, who felt his control over his right arm return immediately. Naruto then repressed the demon''s chakra, allowing his body to start healing the burns on his flesh without dy. Within seconds, he was ready to fight again. "Ugh¡­ that hurt a lot¡­" Ukon''s head poked out from Sakon''s shoulder. "You should have listened to me! That guy''s a Jinchuriki," Sakon scolded his brother. "Ugh! He has two heads now¡­ how creepy¡­" Ino grimaced before turning her attention back to herpanion. "Naruto, you''re hurt!" She moved closer to check on him. "Wait, I have some healing ointment somewhere¡­" "There''s no need, Ino¡­ see?" He held up his hand in front of her. His skin was already pink and healing fast. "I''m fine." He had only used three tails, so the damage wasn''t serious. With five tails, it would be a very different story. But looking at his opponents, it seemed unlikely it woulde to that. They appeared weaker than Kabuto, at least. And he now had one more tool than before. "Ino, I''m going to keep those two entertained. Your job is to disable this rock dome and free everyone. But try to avoid using your unique jutsu for that...it leaves you too vulnerable." "Alright, leave it to me!" she said confidently. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 139: The First Fallen Chapter 139: The First Fallen Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 139: The First Fallen "Are you okay, brother?" Sakon asked. "Sakon¡­ this guy''s dangerous." Ukon said with a grave tone. "I underestimated him." "I tried to warn you. I''m sure of it now¡­ he''s the blonde Jinchuuriki that Master Orochimaru warned us about." "Then¡­ if we kill him, Master will reward us," Ukon said. Sakon nced at his brother...or at least the head poking out of his shoulder. He wanted to rebuke him for his recklessness, but they couldn''t just abandon Jirobo now. They had to buy some time. "Just don''t forget what our mission is," Sakon told his brother. As long as Sasuke made it past the border, they will seed. "Yeah! Let''s go all out." Sakon and Ukon had already unleashed their cursed seal power, but only up to level one. There was still one more level they could use. Naruto watched with curiosity as their bodies began to transform. Their skin darkened, and horns grew from their foreheads, giving them a demonic appearance. "That''s an interesting ability. Or is that your true form?" Naruto asked, wondering if the two were from some demonic race he didn''t know about. "This is the power of the cursed seal that Master Orochimaru gifted us," Ukon said. "The cursed seal? So Sasuke can also transform like that?" Naruto wondered if Sasuke had a simr capability. "Sasuke is still a novice. He can barely manage level one," Sakon said. "Not that you''ll be around to see it. Sasuke belongs to our Master now. He''s nevering back to your vige," Ukon added. "So that''s how it is¡­" Naruto wasn''t focused on their taunts...he was more intrigued by the seal itself. It reminded him a bit of how his own seal allowed him to channel the Kyuubi''s chakra through his body. If he tried to use too much, he''d also undergo physical changes, though not as drastic as what he was seeing in these brothers. ''Did Orochimaru take inspiration from Jinchuurikis, or was this his own idea?'' Naruto found it fascinating how people in this world had found such creative ways to manipte their energy. The technique seemed weaker, but at least it was inventive. As the two-headed foe charged at him, Ino attempted to do the same to Jirobo. "Don''t get close to him!" Naruto shouted to her, hoping the warning would reach her in time. If she tried to get too close, there was a good chance Jirobo would drop his jutsu and grab her to finish her off. Ino reacted quickly, halting her movement before throwing several kunai at therge man. He couldn''t move his hands from the ground but was able to shift his body enough to minimize the damage. The kunai barely pierced his skin. "He has some sort of defense on his body¡­" Ino concluded, guessing that it must be a result of some kind of jutsu. Earth users were known for their formidable defenses. Meanwhile, Sakon and Ukon positioned themselves in front of Naruto and unleashed a barrage of attacks. Sakon would throw a punch, then Ukon would extend one of his arms from his brother''s body to attack as well. It was like fighting someone with four arms. And to make things worse, they were highly skilled in close-rangebat, leaving almost no openings for Naruto to exploit. ''They''re fast too¡­'' Naruto estimated that with their level-two seal, these guys were almost on par with that Kabuto guy he fought recently, or even faster. That battle had forced him to use a highly destructive technique that caused great harm to his own body. But that wasn''t an option this time. If he used it here, the mission would end, as he wouldn''t be able to continue, and his allies would likely get caught in the st. "Tsk! I can''t hit him at all!" Ukon growled in frustration. Sakon was also getting frustrated but kept his temper in check. It had been a while since they encountered someone who could keep up with theirbined attacks at full power. Until now, only Master Orochimaru and their old team leader could manage such a feat. But Naruto was avoiding all their attacks, despite being physically slower. It was as if he could predict where their next move would go. A kunai appeared in Naruto''s hand. ''I guess I can try that one¡­'' "Got you!" Ukon eximed when he saw what looked like a mistake...a brief moment of distraction as Naruto pulled the de from his pouch. Sakon''s eyes widened. He had spotted the opening too, but his instincts warned him not to take it. "Ukon!" he tried to warn his brother. That sudden opening had to be a trap. "Ahhh!" A bloodcurdling scream tore through the air as an arm went flying. The kunai in Naruto''s hand was coated with a thickyer of wind chakra, extending its range and sharpness. Cutting through muscle and bone was effortless. "Brother!" It was Ukon who cried out. Sakon jumped back to create some distance, wasting no time as he wrapped a torn piece of cloth around his stump. "Damn it!" "Why?!" Ukon realized what had happened. His brother had saved him, intercepting a de aimed at his head by sacrificing his own arm. "Oh¡­ that''s too bad. I thought I''d got you with that one," Naruto taunted them. Sakon and Ukon red at him, their eyes filled with hatred. "But at least I got the other one," Naruto pointed behind him. "Ahh!" Ino gasped as she saw it. "When did you do that?!" She was about to attack again, when she saw it. Jirobo was staring off into the distance with vacant eyes, his mouth hanging open. A kunai was buried in his skull. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 140: The Chase continues Chapter 140: The Chase continues Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 140: The Chase continues "Jirobo!" Ukon shouted. "I just threw another kunai when they moved away," Naruto said, as the rock dome exploded into a hundred pieces, and something flew out. "Ha! We did it, Akamaru!" Kiba eximed. As his jutsu ended, he and his ninja dognded nearby. The other genins who had been trapped inside hurried out before the structure copsed on them. Once outside, they assessed the situation. "Hmm¡­ I don''t think it was your doing, Kiba," Shikamaru noted, observing the dead Jirobo before turning his gaze to the remaining enemy. "Where are the rest of them?" "They ran off with Sasuke. Only three of them stayed behind," Ino informed him. "Three?¡­ I only see two," Chouji remarked. Neji narrowed his eyes as he observed. "There are two individuals inside that body¡­ I''ve never heard of a jutsu that allows that." "Yeah, they can fuse with each other. One of them even tried to get inside Naruto but failed," Ino said. "Wait! Who killed that guy?!" Kiba eximed as he joined the group and noticed Jirobo''s corpse. "I did," Naruto replied, then turned to Shikamaru. "We need to follow the others before they get too far." "You''re not going anywhere!" Sakon shouted. Naruto pointed at Sakon and Ukon. "Let Neji and Hinata handle him. They specialize in close-rangebat, and their Gentle Fist would be very effective." Neji stepped forward. "Leave it to me. I can handle this," he said, ncing at Shikamaru. Shikamaru had no reservations about Neji taking the lead, but he had doubts about Hinata. She looked hesitant. Over her few months as a genin, she had yet to face a truly dangerous opponent capable of killing her. She felt a reassuring hand on her shoulder and turned to see Naruto. "The path to the top is filled with hardship. You can''t reach your goals without putting everything on the line," Naruto said, offering her encouragement. Had he not cared for her, he wouldn''t have bothered with doing this. If Hinata couldn''t ovee her fears and doubts, then the life of a warrior wasn''t for her. In that case, it would be better to retire and let her sister be the heir. He didn''t say this aloud, but Hinata seemed to understand the underlying message. She pushed away her hesitation, her eyes filling with determination. "I can do this." "Okay then¡­" Shikamaru muttered, hoping he wouldn''te to regret his decision. They all knew what they had to do next. Kiba took the lead, tracking the enemy while the others followed closely behind. Sakon and Ukon attempted to block their way, but Neji intercepted them. "I''m your opponent!" Neji dered, his palms glowing. "And you''re within my range." "Let''s go," Shikamaru ordered, leaving Neji and Hinata behind to deal with Sakon and Ukon. They hadn''t traveled far when Akamaru began to bark. "We have the scent. It''s this way," Kiba said, changing direction. "Keep your eyes open. We don''t have the Byakugan users to warn us about traps," Shikamaru cautioned. Shino approached him. "My insects can do that, but they''ll be slower than the Hyuga eyes." Shikamaru frowned. "We can''t afford to slow down. We''re only about three hours from the Fire Country border. If they get beyond the valley, we''ll fail the mission." "I doubt they have time to set traps. They must be rushing to their goal by now," Naruto replied. "Maybe¡­ but the next one we''ll likely encounter is the one who made all those strings before," Shikamaru said thoughtfully. "Right, and it was the girl who took Sasuke. She''ll be thest we encounter," Chouji added. Shikamaru took a moment to assess their information. "From here on, we won''t stop. When we encounter the next enemy¡­ Shino, you and Ino will handle him while the rest of us continue." "Me and Shino?" Ino asked, surprised. She had never worked closely with the quiet insect user. "From what I''ve seen, that guy prefers to fight from a distance and use those strings to entangle his opponents. My fighting style, and Chouji''s, won''t match well against him. We need Kiba to keep tracking, and Naruto is likely the only one who can stop Sasuke. So¡­" "We''re the only ones left," Ino said, nodding. "I have no issues with this decision," Shino said calmly. "Good," Shikamaru nced at Ino. "Remember, only use the Mind Transfer Jutsu if there''s a big enough opening." "I know!" she huffed. Naruto had already reminded her several times. "We''re getting close...the scent''s getting stronger!" Kiba said, and Akamaru barked in confirmation. "Careful!" Shikamaru shouted as arge arrow whizzed past them. "I see him," Shino said, unleashing a swarm of insects in the enemy''s direction. Ino pulled out a kunai, ready forbat. "We''re not stopping...push through!," Shikamaru ordered. Ahead, numerous ropesy in their path, but Naruto sliced through them with his wind-enhanced kunai. "Tsk! Damn it," their enemy muttered in frustration, unable to stop all six of them. Especially now that Shino and Ino were closing in on him. <><><><><><><><><> Meanwhile, the group of four ninjas were so focused on tracking their next target that they failed to notice someone trailing them. Sakura leaped from one tree to the next, her breathingbored but her determination unwavering. "Sasuke¡­ Sasuke," she repeated to herself. Lee had tried to stop her from leaving, but he was still too weak after his surgery to do anything about it. "I have to find Sasuke myself," Sakura kept reminding herself. She couldn''t leave it in Naruto''s hands. It wasn''t that she doubted her teammates'' abilities, but she didn''t believe Naruto cared as much about bringing Sasuke back. "I''m the only one who can convince him to return!" There was more than just determination in her eyes...there was a hint of desperation, maybe even madness. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 141: The Last Obstacle Chapter 141: The Last Obstacle Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 141: The Last Obstacle A sweet melody began to invade their ears all of a sudden. Naruto started feeling disoriented, nearly losing his bnce as he leaped over arge tree branch. "Genjutsu," he realized, but he quickly dispelled it thanks to his mastery over his Inner Pce, located in the deepest parts of his consciousness. If anyone tried to affect his senses, he could tap into his full power to fight back against the mental attack. In seconds, he regained control. Shikamaru also shook off the Genjutsu and immediately assisted his teammates. "Ahhh!" Kiba yelped in pain as Akamaru bit him. The Inuzuka n had their own unique way of breaking free from Genjutsu. "The enemy is up there, on those branches!" Kiba shouted, regaining his senses and locating thest member of the Sound Four. Or so they thought. "Where is Sasuke?" Shikamaru spotted the female ninja standing on a branch, flute in hand, but therge urn she''d been carrying was nowhere in sight. "They either had another member pick it up, or¡­" Naruto trailed off. "Or Sasuke is no longer inside," Shikamaru concluded. "You''ll never find him!" the female ninja sneered, biting her finger. "Summoning Jutsu!" Three giant humanoid creatures materialized beside her. "Damn, what are those things? They don''t smell like anything¡­" Kiba muttered. "Kiba, focus on your task. Can you pick up any trace of Sasuke? Or any new scents nearby? We could be dealing with someone we haven''t encountered yet," Shikamaru said. "Hold on¡­" Kiba and Akamaru began sniffing the air. "Wait¡­ yes, there''s a new scent," Kiba confirmed. "Good. We''ll have to take a chance on that. Follow it," Shikamaru instructed. The enemy started ying her flute again, and soon after, the three giant creatures lunged at them. "Expansion Jutsu!" Chouji''s body grew in size, intercepting all three summons at once. "Chouji and I can handle this. You and Naruto follow that lead," Shikamaru said. "But¡­" Kiba hesitated, reluctant to leave them alone with such a dangerous opponent. "Kiba!" Shikamaru shouted in a surprisingly forceful tone. "I know¡­ We keep going," Kiba relented. Shikamaru may have seemedzy, but he had his pride and didn''t like to be underestimated. With the sounds of battle echoing behind them, Kiba and Naruto dashed ahead. Minutester, they left the dense forest behind, emerging onto vast grassy ins that stretched as far as they could see. "The scent is much clearer now¡­" Kiba said, quickening his pace. "This way!" Naruto trusted Kiba''s sense of smell since it was far more developed than his own. His senses were still dulled; he couldn''t yet create his divine sense until his Golden Core was fully formed. "We''re getting closer¡­" Kiba''s expression shifted, and Akamaru began barking. "What is it?" Naruto asked, sensing the change. "Sasuke! I can smell Sasuke again!" Kiba said excitedly. "He must have escaped the container they kept him in," Naruto thought aloud. The container was likely what had blocked the Byakugan from seeing through it. He still didn''t understand the purpose of confining Sasuke. He''d never considered that his teammate might have been taken against his will, so the container must have had another purpose. "Naruto, look!" Kiba called out. Ahead, a figure stood in their path, arms crossed. "Who is that?" Kiba asked. "An enemy," Naruto replied. He''d never seen this individual before, but the man''s posture and calm confidence signaled that he was formidable. He was clearly waiting for them. "Look at what''s beside him," Naruto pointed out, noticing broken remnants nearby. "Ah! That''s the thing!" Kiba eximed. No doubt about it. These were the shattered pieces of the container that had held Sasuke, this would exin why Kiba could suddenly pick up Sasuke''s scent. "Can you still track Sasuke?" Naruto asked. "Yes, he''s just ahead, not far," Kiba confirmed. They stopped a safe distance from the unknown individual. "My name is Kimimaro. I''m afraid I have to stop you from going any further," Kimimaro said, looking directly at Naruto. "Kiba¡­ keep going," Naruto ordered, his gaze locked on Kimimaro. "But¡­ Shikamaru said you''re the one who has to confront Sasuke," Kiba protested. He didn''t want to admit it, but he knew he stood little chance against the Uchiha genius. What he didn''t realize was that he had even less chance against the enemy before them. "This one is too dangerous¡­" Naruto muttered as he activated one of the Nine-Tails'' chakra tails for precaution. Every instinct told him to be wary of this person. "Naruto¡­?" Kiba was surprised to see Naruto reacting so cautiously. Akamaru growled, trembling as he stared at Kimimaro. "Akamaru¡­" Kiba murmured, recalling that his dog hadn''t reacted like this since they''d first encountered Gaara. "Is this guy really that dangerous?" "Go find Sasuke. But when you do, don''t confront him directly. Just try to buy some time. I''ll catch up as soon as I can," Naruto instructed, ncing at Kiba. Kiba opened his mouth to argue, but Naruto interrupted. "I said, go!" A second tail of chakra formed behind Naruto, pushing Kiba back with its sheer force. Kiba nodded and took off, leaving Naruto behind. As Naruto suspected, Kimimaro didn''t so much as flinch or try to stop Kiba. His focus remained solely on Naruto. "He has no chance of stopping Mister Sasuke. Even less now, in his current state. That boy with the dog is more likely to die than anything else," Kimimaro said calmly, his gaze fixed on Naruto. "Uzumaki Naruto¡­ I was ordered to stop you if you showed up. Those are my master''smands." "Well¡­ you''re wee to try," Naruto replied, his eyes glowing bright orange as a third chakra tail emerged behind him. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 142: The Unshaking Defense Chapter 142: The Unshaking Defense Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 142: The Unshaking Defense Naruto activated his movement technique and vanished from his spot. He appeared to Kimimaro''s left side and sent a powerful kick aimed at his head. "Oh?" Kimimaro murmured, as bones extended from his shoulder, blocking the strike. He had not known anything about Naruto''s fighting style of his choice. But it would be good for him if it was close-rangebat. That was also his preferred style. Naruto''s kick should have been strong enough to bend steel, but the bones barely suffered a few fractures. He took a step back and tried again, this time aiming a punch at Kimimaro''s stomach. But as six sharp bones shot up to intercept his fist, Naruto withdrew just in time to avoid having his hand pierced. "What a bizarre ability¡­ What''s with all those bones?" Naruto wondered if this was some kind of jutsu he hadn''t seen before. Not only they wereing out instantly, but they must also be enormously fortified in order to withstand his attacks. Kimimaro met his gaze with calm indifference. "This is my bloodline limit. My n can transform our bones at will and reinforce them to be harder than steel." "How convenient¡­" Naruto thought, realizing that attacking close-range was a poor strategy unless he used enough force to break through those defenses. He moved again, this time positioning himself safely behind Kimimaro. "Fire Release¡­ Great Fireball!" The massive sphere of mes shot toward Kimimaro, who remained motionless, covering himself with a thick shield of bones. The fire dissipated, leaving a dense cloud of smoke and charred grass in its wake. "I see¡­a distraction. " Kimimaro murmured as Naruto emerged from the smoke, Rasengan in hand. Dark lines appeared on Kimimaro''s skin as he activated his first level of the cursed seal. His bone shield darkened to a deep gray as he braced for impact. Naruto''s Rasengan surged, growing three times its original size as he channeled more of the Nine-Tails'' chakra into it. The blue sphere of energy ground against the bone shield, filling the air with a shrill, grating noise. Naruto could tell his jutsu was wearing down the shield, but the process was excruciatingly slow. This defense was remarkably resilient. Seeing no point in wasting more chakra, Naruto released the jutsu and leaped back. The Rasengan went out of control, exploding and leaving deep grooves in Kimimaro''s shield. But these quickly regenerated, and the shield returned to pristine condition. "You gave up too quickly¡­ You could have destroyed my defenses if you''d kept at it," Kimimaro remarked. Naruto chuckled. "I doubt it. You still haven''t shown your full power, have you? That cursed seal can go one step further, right?" Kimimaro''s face remained impassive. "So, you know about that, too¡­" He then looked directly at Naruto. "But you haven''t shown me your full power, either. Is three tails your limit?" Naruto didn''t answer. Since Orochimaru had witnessed it, he likely knew Naruto had unleashed five tails to kill Kabuto. However, three tails was the maximum amount of demonic chakra he could use without seriously harming himself. He had only gone that far before because Tsunade was nearby in case he went too far and required extra healing. But the mission wasn''t over yet. Even if he defeated Kimimaro, he still needed to catch up to Sasuke and bring him back. ''So that''s his n¡­ He''s stalling, forcing me to go all out and exhaust myself. Which can only mean one thing,'' Naruto mused, studying Kimimaro. "Why are you giving up without a proper fight?" Naruto asked. Kimimaro smiled faintly. "You''re sharp." He moved his arms slightly, though his expression didn''t show it, the pain was constant. "I don''t have much time left¡­ Had I been in my prime, I would have done everything to kill you." His eyes shed with anger as he looked at Naruto. "You''re a thorn in my Master''s side, and if I thought I could end you, I would." "Are you sick?" Naruto asked. "Even if I stayed in bed, I wouldn''t havested another month. This way, I can at least be of use onest time." As Kimimaro spoke, another shield of bone formed on his other arm. "I''ll keep you here for as long as I can. I won''t allow this mission to fail." "You''re confident you can withstand anything I throw at you, huh?" Naruto said. "I am!" Kimimaro replied, his determination evident. Until hisst breath, he would not leave this ce and he would not allow Naruto to leave either. This was his goal from the beginning. "Since you''re so eager to be useful, I''ll use you to test something. I was only given this technique three days ago, so forgive me if I''m a little rough with it." Naruto said, as the chakra within him began to stir. To convince Maito Guy of his sincerity, Naruto shared a partial truth about himself. If he had lied and imed his knowledge came from some legacy left by his parents, it would have backfired, as Kakashi was close to them and would have known if they''d had techniques like the ones Naruto possessed. Reincarnation was not a foreign concept in this world, it seemed, and with few other exnations, Guy had mostly believed him and sworn to keep his secret. Of course, the man believed Naruto was simply a reincarnation of an older inhabitant of this world. He could never guess the full truth, and it was better that way. Theplete truth must nevere to light, for his own sake. But he had to admit...the technique had been worth revealing that sliver of information. "First Gate¡­ Open!" A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 143: The Absolute Offense Chapter 143: The Absolute Offense Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 143: The Absolute Offense Naruto felt a rush of energy as the first gate burst open. But he wasn''t going to stop there. "Second¡­ Gate of Healing, open!" His muscles tensed and trembled. Opening even a few of the Eight Gates ced tremendous pressure on a person''s body, inside and out. And Naruto was doing it while channeling the Kyuubi''s chakra, amplified by three tails'' worth of energy. Thisbination elerated the speed of the poison coursing through his chakra veins. If not for his enhanced regeneration and the protective Blue Jade Turtle Shell technique, his body would never have endured it. "Third¡­ Gate of Life¡­ open!" Kimimaro''s eyes widened. "Are you insane?! You''re doing this with bijuu chakra?" He was somewhat knowledgeable about the technique that Naruto was using. His Master had a lot of notes about Konoha''s most well-known jutsus and the most dangerous ones. This one was one of them. But Kimimaro also knew how damaging this was for the user''s body, as it forcesrge amounts of chakra to course through the system, a lot more than the body can take without suffering serious damage. And Naruto was doing this while the demon''s chakra was also in his system, making things much worse for him. The baleful orange chakra swirled around Naruto''s body like a raging torrent. "Fourth¡­ Gate of Pain¡­ open!" Naruto''s eyes turnedpletely red, his pupils vanishing. He let out a roar as his chakra surged even further. Kimimaro observed, wondering if Naruto had lost his sanity...or if the demon fox had taken over. But regardless, he had to prepare to survive the next attack. He activated the second level of his cursed seal, his body morphing into itspletely transformed state and increasing his power several times over. Naruto could feel his body breaking down. He knew he had time for only one attack before he would have to close the gates. Despite the pain, he felt a rare sense of joy... he could see a glimpse of his old self. And for this brief moment, he was free to fight as he wished. ''Red Lotus Shift¡­ stage two¡­'' Naruto vanished, leaving only scorched marks in his wake. Kimimaro, sensing a change in the air above him, moved his shield. But by the time he adjusted, Naruto was already there, closer than he had expected. The first sage of the Red Lotus Shift is meant to merely increase the speed of the user several times over. The second stage allows for aerial movements by using the air as steps. "There you are!" Kimimaro raised his shield, which grew in size, bristling with spikes. This was his absolute defense. Naruto paid no mind to Kimimaro''s defense...he had already decided the oue. He sent his right palm down in a powerful strike, aiming not at Kimimaro directly, but at the air around him. "Infernal Lotus Blossom," Naruto intoned as his palm struck an invisible barrier just above Kimimaro''s shield. A wave of heat and a sh of light followed, incinerating everything in an instant and leaving the charred symbol of a lotus flower. This was an old technique of his that he found in some abandoned ruins early in his journey, just a few years after leaving the Blue Jade Sect. It creates a wave of intense heat that burns everything in front of where his palm hits. It is simple but also very versatile as it''s fast and can be used in quick session while also beingbined with any movement technique. He was still young and weak back then. It was this technique and a few resources he found in those ruins that allowed him to survive for as long as he did. Once he broke through the Golden Core stage and mastered this move, it would be his signature one for a very long time and would be responsible for the deaths of many cultivators who crossed his path. Narutonded, and only charred bones remained of Kimimaro. "Ugh¡­" Naruto quickly closed the gates before the damage became irreparable, as it had with Rock Lee. The Kyuubi''s chakra receded back into its seal, and the tails disappeared, leaving Naruto with numerous self-inflicted injuries to heal. "Hmm¡­ seriously¡­ what a terrifying guy," Naruto muttered as the ckened dirt behind him began to move. From within, a giant gray bone emerged, which shattered to reveal Kimimaro, still alive and standing. "M-Master Orochimaru¡­" Kimimaro whispered, the sharp bones on his forearm moving toward Naruto''s head. But Naruto remained still, as he already knew that it was over. "I-I''m¡­ sorry¡­" Kimimaro murmured, hisst breath fading away as he remained in an attacking position that would never reach his target. "You survived an attack equivalent to a Peak Core Formation cultivator by burying yourself underground. Even the elders from my first sect would have trembled under that attack." Naruto looked at Kimimaro''s standing form, knowing he was already gone. "Kimimaro¡­ I won''t forget your name." Naruto nced at his right arm, nowpletely charred. "That''s going to be useless for a while," he muttered, fashioning an improvised sling for his arm from torn clothing. At least the rest of his body wasn''t too damaged. His muscles were recovering quickly, and no bones were broken. "I should get going. I doubt Kiba willst long if he''s trying to fight Sasuke." He had told Kiba to avoid directbat, but he knew the Inuzuka''s temper was unlikely to allow him to heed that advice. The fight with Kimimaro hadsted less than five minutes in total, but it was best to hurry. Ignoring theints of his body, Naruto resumed running in the direction Kiba had gone. Soon, he spotted towering structures in the distance. ''If I remember correctly, that''s the Valley of the End, where the First Hokage fought Madara. That valley also serves as a natural border.'' If Sasuke had crossed to the other side, he wouldn''t be able to continue the pursuit. As he neared the statue of Hashirama, he saw a figure in ck standing atop it. "Sasuke¡­" Naruto began to look for Kiba but quickly found him nearby, lying on the ground. Kiba was curled up in a fetal position, blood pooling around him. "Naruto¡­" Sasuke turned, his eyes cold. "You''rete." A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 144 : The Rematch: Sasuke Vs Naruto Chapter 144 : The Rematch: Sasuke Vs Naruto Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 144 : The Rematch: Sasuke Vs Naruto "If I''mte, then why are you still here?" Naruto ignored his teammate for a moment and nced over Kiba''s body. There was still some movement, so he was alive. But with all that blood loss, he was going to need urgent medical attention to survive. "That was a bit excessive, don''t you think?" Naruto added. Kiba had obviously disregarded his advice and engaged in directbat with Sasuke. The numerous marks on the ground indicated that Kiba had been using his signature jutsu. But he was sure that Sasuke could have defeated the dog boy without causing so much damage and put him on death''s door. Sasuke grinned. "I needed someone to test my new power with. And you were taking too long. So I used him." "You were waiting for me? " Naruto wondered if his teammate was now suffering from memory loss and had forgotten the duel they had earlier this week. Sasuke must have guessed what he was thinking because he grew angrier. "It won''t go like that again!" As he shouted this, his curse seal activated. The restriction ced by Kakashi had been removed, so Sasuke had no issues using the curse seal this time. ck lines spread from the seal and covered his left side, indicating that he had sessfully activated the first level. Sasuke grinned widely as he felt the incredible rush of power. "Fight me, Naruto!" ''What a troublesome teammate I got...'' Narutomented his bad luck, why couldn''t he have gotten someone like thezy guy or the one who is always eating?. It had only been a few minutes since his encounter with Kimimaro, and his right arm wouldn''t be usable for at least another hour, so fighting right now was a bit inconvenient. The truth was he had never intended to stop Sasuke from leaving. As far as he was concerned, Sasuke should be free to pursue his goals in any way he wanted. However, there were certain methods he did not approve of, mostly those that involved sacrificing innocent lives. But he never went out of his way to stop these demonic cultivators either. As long as they didn''t attempt despicable deeds in front of him or interfere with his personal matters, he didn''t care much. However, Sasuke was not willing to take the chance that was being offered to him and leave just like that. Since the day of the Uchiha Massacre, his goal has been to kill the perpetrator. But he couldn''t ignore the fact that his supposedly useless teammate could surpass him in such a tant manner. If he wanted to move forward toward a future where he could finally kill his brother, he first had to defeat Naruto and remove those demons from his mind, only then he could move on. He let out a loud sigh, Sasuke was not going to back down without another fight. "Okay, fine. Let''s get this over with, Sasuke." Naruto waved at him to begin. He had to finish this quickly and get Kiba to the nearest medical facility. He may not be close friends with the dog boy, but he couldn''t just let him die. Sasuke noticed that Naruto''s right arm was in a sling and rightly assumed it was from his fight with Kimimaro. What he didn''t know was just how strong Kimimaro was, as he''d only seen him for a couple of minutes after leaving the container. But what infuriated him was that despite his obvious injuries, Naruto was still not taking him seriously. "You think you can still beat me with one arm? Don''t be so arrogant!" Sasuke shouted. "Hey, stop barking so much. You''re the one who wants to fight. If you want to leave, then just leave. I won''t stop you." Naruto frowned. He couldn''t stand it when people acted so spoiled. "I''ll show you what I can do now!" Sasuke went for a direct attack against Naruto''s right side, knowing it would be difficult for Naruto to defend from there. With the first level of the cursed seal, he was now moving at least twice as fast as before. "Take thi¡ªurgggg!" Sasuke felt an indescribable pain between his legs, almost causing him to fall over. "Y-You¡­shameless!" "It wasn''t a bad idea to attack there, but don''t forget I can still use my legs." When Sasuke tried to punch his face, Naruto twisted his body to avoid it while using his left knee to strike Sasuke''s most vulnerable area. Sasuke''s legs trembled as he clutched his injured area, ring at Naruto with rage-filled eyes. His teammates always seemed to find a way to humiliate him further. After recovering for a few seconds, Sasuke attacked again, this time with ninjutsu. Realizing Naruto was still too dangerous at close range, he opted for a distant attack. "Fire Release¡­Phoenix Sage!" Arge ball of mes exploded into smaller projectiles that flew directly at Naruto. Naruto detected that hidden inside the small balls of fire were shurikens. Using his left hand, Naruto quickly performed five hand signs. "Wind Release¡­Great Breakthrough." A powerful gust of wind pushed all the projectiles away and extinguished the mes. On top of that, it also pushed Sasuke back with such force that he nearly fell off the rocky cliff. Frustrated by hisck of sess, Sasuke decided to finally get fully serious. He was about to fully utilize his cursed seal when he heard someone shouting at them. Naruto thought it must be Shikamaru or one of the other genins who had finished their business. But it turned out to be someone unexpected. "Stop!" Sakura jumped in between them. She waspletely exhausted after running at full speed for hours, but she had managed to catch up to them. "Stop this fight!" she shouted. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 145: An Unfortunate Result Chapter 145: An Unfortunate Result Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. Dialogue ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 145: An Unfortunate Result "Sakura? What are you doing here?" Sasuke was honestly surprised to see her here already. He was sure he had knocked her out properlyst night. "It''s obvious that she came for you, isn''t it?" Naruto said. Sakura looked at Sasuke and gasped when she noticed the marks on his body. "You''re using that seal¡­ why? Kakashi Sensei said it was extremely harmful to you." "You can''t tell me what to do. Neither can Kakashi. I no longer belong to Konoha!. " Sasuke clenched his fists. "I''d be a fool to reject this power... no matter where it came from." "Come on, Sasuke. Juste back to the vige with us. We can fix this," Sakura said, trying to sound hopeful. "Back to vige? And why would I do that? Orochimaru will give me what everyone there denied me!." Sasuke shouted. "Sasuke, please! I''m sure the Hokage will forgive you for leaving. I''ll go with you, and we can talk to Lady Tsunade together. She''ll understand...we''ll make her understand that this was just a mistake. And then¡­ we can go back to being a team, like before¡­ remember? Team Se¡ª" "SHUT UP ALREADY!" Sasuke screamed at the top of his lungs, a baleful purple chakra beginning to surround him. "That''s only what YOU want¡­ you selfish bitch." "S-Sasuke?..." Sakura took several steps back, her fear of him now evident. "I just¡­ I just want to make you happy¡­" she said softly. Tears began to fall from her eyes. "Happy?, don''t make meugh. The only thing I want¡­" Sasuke''s body began to change. "...is power." He activated the second level of the cursed seal. "W-What is happening to him?!" Sakura became startled. "It''s the cursed seal. There''s another level that can be activated. It has the side effect of transforming the body," Naruto recalled, thinking of Sakon and Ukon, who had looked like demons after changing. Though this one looked very different. Sasuke''s skin became dark brown, his hair turned blue, and tworge, flesh-like protrusions appeared on his back, giving him a very inhuman look. "This is it!" Sasuke eximed, ecstatic with the sudden increase in his chakra. His muscles tensed up and he felt invincible at this moment. His eyes moved to Naruto. "Is this how you felt when you used that demon fox chakra? Now I understand¡­this is so incredible!." "Sasuke, please stop this!" Sakura begged him. She had the feeling that if he used that cursed power, there would be no turning back. She was about to move closer when she was stopped by her other teammate. "It''s best if you stand behind me." Naruto said while moving her aside. It was then that Sakura noticed he was only using one arm. "Wait, you are hurt!. You can''t fight like this." "It''s fine. I can handle him. Even if he''s be stronger and faster, his skills haven''t changed," Naruto said. He had said this to Sakura, but Sasuke also heard it. "Even now¡­ you still look down on me, Naruto?!" Sasuke opened his right hand, gathering lightning chakra that crackled withrge sparks. "This time, you''ll have to take me seriously¡­ or you''ll die." Naruto lifted his left hand, his chakra beginning to rotate and forming the Rasengan. "No¡­" Sakura watched with dread in her eyes. No matter the oue of their encounter, the consequences would be irreversible. Seeing this, Sasuke smiled. "That''s more like it!" Finally, he was going to get what he wanted. He lowered his posture and finished forming the Chidori. Not wanting to waste another second, Sasuke unleashed his explosive speed and rushed directly at Naruto. He brought his right hand forward, aiming for Naruto''s chest. At this speed, he couldn''t react or change direction, so he had to make sure he aimed correctly. Naruto prepared to stop the attack by using his own jutsu. He wasn''t sure what the result of the sh would be, so he added someyers of protection, just in case. Once he stopped the Chidori, Sasuke would be left open, and he could go for the finishing blow. Everything happened in an instant. Sasuke moved...Naruto moved. The gap between them closed to almost zero. But at thest moment, something got between them. Sasuke felt his arm prate flesh and bone and was ted. ''I won!'' he thought. This moment of pure bliss didn''tst long when his view was obscured by a lock of pink hair. "What?!" It took a moment for his mind to process what his eyes were seeing. "Foolish girl¡­" Naruto''s Rasengan had stopped mere inches from Sakura''s back. He had enough control to stop himself, but his opponent could not. Sasuke didn''t notice that Sakura had jumped between them until it was over. As he looked at his own right hand, he saw it waspletely buried in Sakura''s chest. Blood was running down his arm and dripping from above. "Sakura?!... What did¡­ what did you do?!" Sasuke screamed. Why was she there? Her eyes were still open, looking directly at Sasuke, while blood continued to spill from her mouth. She tried to speak, but words did note out...instead, she could only make guttural noises. "Sakura¡­" Sasuke''s eyes showed only shock. She made more noises, trying to say something to him. When she realized it was impossible, she lifted her hand with difficulty and ced it on his cheek. Sasuke''s transformation ended. He couldn''t maintain it with his mind inplete turmoil. He looked down again at his bloody arm. "No¡­this is not what I..." He pushed himself off her. As soon as he removed his arm, Sakura copsed to the ground. Her body twitched a few more times, then went still. Naruto allowed the Rasengan to fizzle out as he watched the scene. The fight was over. Sasuke just stood there, staring at what he had done without saying a word. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 146: Mission Failed Chapter 146: Mission Failed Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. Dialogue ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 146: Mission Failed The distant sounds of people approaching broke the silence. Sasuke snapped back to reality and moved closer to the cliff, but he was still in shock. Naruto noticed but didn''t try to stop him. Sasuke had lost his will to fight. Without saying a word, Sasuke jumped onto the head of the First Hokage''s statue, and then leaped across the valley to the other side. Naruto looked down at Sakura for a moment. There was nothing he could do for her¡­ she was gone. "Well, you did seed in stopping the fight," he said quietly. "Not sure it was worth your life, though." This was not the oue he wanted. The sounds grew louder as people neared. Three figures came into view, they were two men and a young woman. Naruto didn''t recognize the men, but their attire indicated they were medics. He did however recognize the woman....it was the Hokage''s asistant, Shizune. "Naruto!" she called out to him immediately. He pointed to Kiba. "Take care of him first. I don''t think he''llst long otherwise." The two medics hurried to Kiba''s side and began assessing his condition. "What about you, and¡­?" Shizune''s breath caught when she saw Sakura. "Oh no!, is that?..." "It''s toote for her," Naruto said. Despite this, Shizune moved quickly to Sakura''s side, but it didn''t take long for her to realize that Naruto was right. There was nothing she could do for anyone. "What happened here?" Shizune demanded to know. They had just missed seeing Sasuke for a few seconds. "It''d be better if I saved the full exnation for when the Hokage is present," Naruto replied. He didn''t want to repeat himself. "What about Sasuke Uchiha?, where is he?" She asked. "Gone. He crossed the border." Naruto pointed in the direction Sasuke had taken just moments before. "The mission failed then¡­" Shizune nced at Sakura with a pained expression. "In more ways than one." "What about the others? Any other casualties?" Naruto asked. "Shino and Chouji are in serious condition, but no deaths," Shizune replied. "They''ve all been sent back to the vige, along with the two surviving enemies." Naruto nodded, relieved to hear no one else had died. Shizune walked over to the other medics. "How is he?" One medic was holding Akamaru, while the other attended to Kiba. "The dog has a few fractures, but nothing serious. The boy, however, has deep cuts and has lost a lot of blood. We need to get him back to the vige immediately." "Then do so," Shizune ordered. "I''ll take care of the rest." As they left, Shizune turned to Naruto. "What about you? Anything serious?" She nced at his right arm with concern. "I''ll be fine with some rest. You know how fast I heal." Shizune unrolled a scroll on the ground. "Can you help me lift her onto the scroll?" Naruto recognized the symbols well enough to know it was a storage scroll. He''d read that only inanimate objects could be sealed inside them. ''I guess the dead count as inanimate,'' Naruto thought grimly. Mortal bodies were nothing more than bags of flesh once life had left them. <><><><><><><><><><><><> Upon arriving at Konoha, Naruto was taken directly to the Hokage''s office, along with Shikamaru. The others had all been sent to the hospital for check-ups. Shikamaru, as team leader, was responsible for giving the report, despite a few injuries of his own. Naruto, as thest person to see Sasuke, needed to give his ount, including the details of Sakura''s death. Tsunade didn''t ask Naruto if he had intentionally allowed Sasuke to escape. Perhaps she feared that he might answer honestly, forcing her to discipline him for it. Naruto listened quietly as Shikamaru gave his report. He learned that the two captured enemies were a Genjutsu user named Tayuya and another who resembled a spider, apparently named Kidomaru. He also discovered that Rock Lee had been found by Shizune''s team. He''d been pursuing Sakura but copsed halfway through the forest. His body had barely recovered from surgery, so it was already impressive he''d made it that far. By the time Naruto left the office, it was nearly midday, and he''d been on the move since the previous night. When he finally reached his apartment, he took a long shower and copsed onto his bed. By then, all his wounds werepletely healed. All he needed now was rest. Today, he had pushed his young body to its limits. The moment he ced his head on the soft pillow, his eyes closed. <><><><><><><><><> A loud knock on the door woke him. Naruto groaned and opened his eyes. "What time is it?..." he murmured, still a bit disoriented. Meaning that he must have slept for a while. "It''s almost midday. You''ve been asleep for nearly twenty-four hours." Naruto looked to the foot of his bed, where a man was standing, watching him. "What''s the point of knocking if you''re just going to sneak inside?" "For courtesy?" Kakashi''s expression was unreadable behind his face mask. Naruto sighed. "Is there something specific you need? I assume Tsunade gave you the full report. You must know everything that happened..." "I''m not here to ask you any questions. I already have a pretty good idea of what happened¡­" Kakashi moved to the desk near Naruto''s bed. "I just came to check on my student. And¡­" He lifted several packs of ramen, holding them out to Naruto. "I thought we could eat. You must be hungry, at the very least." Naruto''s stomach growled, confirming Kakashi''s assumption. He hadn''t eaten in over a day. "I suppose I am." A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 147: The Official Proceedings Chapter 147: The Official Proceedings Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. Dialogue ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 147: The Official Proceedings Sakura''s funeral was held that same afternoon. She was buried in the ninja section of the vige cemetery. Nothing borate, it was just a simple stone que with a few words inscribed on it. Naruto had been told that her name wouldter be engraved on the Memorial Stone thatmemorates all ninjas who fell in the line of duty, even though Sakura hadn''t been on an official mission when she died. After they ate, Kakashi brought Naruto here. The Hokage was present, along with most of Sakura''s former ssmates, except for Kiba and Chouji, who were still under medical care. For the first time, Naruto saw Sakura''s parents. Their demeanor and posture suggested they weren''t ordinary civilians, so they must have had some formal training at some point in their lives. Her father ignored Naruto entirely, while her mother threw him a few harsh nces. After the ceremony, her parents spoke briefly with Kakashi before returning to stand by their daughter''s grave while they pretended that Naruto didn''t exist. "You think they me me? Judging by the looks they were giving me," Narutomented. "Don''t mind them," Kakashi replied. "Her parents never particrly liked you in the first ce. If they med you for her death, they would have been very vocal about it, trust me." Naruto couldn''t remember ever meeting them before, so their dislike of him was likely based on the same reasons as the rest of the civilians, so as Kakashi suggested, he paid them no mind. He wasn''t sure how many details they''d been given about Sakura''s death. Naruto had given the Hokage a full recount of his encounter with Sasuke. But he''d left out the moment when, as Sakura stepped between him and Sasuke, he could have pushed her aside to save her life...though he''d have been struck by Sasuke''s jutsu and might not have survived. That wasn''t a sacrifice he''d been willing to make, especially for someone he hadn''t been close to. He was never asked if he did everything that was in his hands to prevent this from happening, so he didn''t have to lie at least. ''Maybe they should me me after all,'' Naruto considered. Not that it would have changed his decision. "Naruto¡­" He turned and saw Ino looking at him with concern in her eyes. "How are you holding up?" she asked. Naruto didn''t want to seem cold or detached, but it was clear to him that Ino was far more affected by Sakura''s death than he was. Since he had meet her, the pink haired girl had only shown interest in Sasuke and he was mostly treated like an annoyance that was in her way. Naruto had not cared about this at all, but this also prevented him from growing closer to her. "I''m fine, but what about you?" His eyes drifted to the left side of her face. A deep scar on her left cheek served as a reminder of her deadly battle with Kidomaru. If it hadn''t been for Shino, the oue could have been far worse. Ino noticed his gaze and used her hand to cover the scar. Naruto gently moved her hand away. "There''s no need for that." "It''s ugly¡­" she murmured. He ran his fingers across her cheek. It was already healed, though the pink scar tissue contrasted sharply with her pale skin. "Battle scars aren''t ugly. They''re marks of your experiences. Wear it with pride." Ino smiled, her cheeks turning a little pink. "Thanks¡­" For a moment, she felt happy. But then her smile faded as her mind returned to the reality of the situation. "I should get going..." After the girl left the cemetery, Naruto stayed beside Kakashi, receiving condolences from several others. They were expected to receive them as her parents would. For a ninja, teammates were almost like family. Losing one was like losing a sibling. "I''m so sorry!" Rock Lee stood before them, looking remorseful. "I should have stopped her. I tried to¡­" Naruto noticed that Lee was no longer using his cane, and he seemed to be in much better condition, though he still favored one leg. "There''s no need for that, Lee," Kakashi told him. "Sakura was a ninja just like you, and she made her choice to join the mission, knowing the risks. You weren''t her caretaker." "I know¡­ Gai-sensei said something like that, but¡­" Lee nced at Naruto. Naruto shrugged. "No one mes you, Lee." He was tired of people apologizing for Sakura''s death. No one had even mentioned ming Sasuke, though he was the one who had driven a fatal jutsu through her chest. "I think I''ll be taking my leave too," Naruto said. He wanted to get away before he ended up saying something he''d regret. No one tried to stop him as he left the cemetery. He wandered around the vige, thinking about some of the words the Hokage had shared with him. Tsunade had informed him that Sasuke''s name was now in the Bingo Book as a B-rank missing ninja, though his bounty was marked as "Alive Only." This seemed like a soft punishment for a ninja who had abandoned the vige and killed a teammate, but the ninja council had likely forced Tsunade''s hand. Sasuke was thest Uchiha, and they weren''t willing to lose him just yet. ''Huh?...'' Naruto stopped in the middle of an empty street. He had heard someone moving behind him. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 148: Rising the Spirits Chapter 148: Rising the Spirits Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. Dialogue ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 148: Rising the Spirits Naruto pretended not to notice and kept walking through the vige until he arrived at the training field his team always used. Only then did he stop and look around. "Okay, Hinata, you cane out," he called aloud. A few secondster, someone jumped down from one of the trees onto the field where Naruto was waiting. "How did you know? I was careful not to get too close," Hinata said as her eyes returned to normal. She''d been using the Byakugan to keep track of him. "You did better, but on an empty street, it''s not hard to notice even the smallest sounds. Plus, the wind was blowing west, so I caught your scent," Naruto replied. "M-My scent?!" Hinata''s cheeks turned pink with embarrassment. "It''s not an unpleasant one," he added with a small smile. "Was there something you wanted to talk about?" She was a bit hesitant to answer. "No¡­ well¡­ I just wanted to see how you were doing. I didn''t want to approach you at the funeral, in front of everyone¡­" "I''m fine." Naruto was getting tired of the same question. Hopefully, this would be thest time. "If there''s anything I can do for you¡­ you can ju¡ª" "Actually, there is something." Naruto stretched his limbs. "My body''s feeling a bit stiff, I could use some exercise." "Stiff¡­ exercise¡­" Hinata''s face turned as red as a tomato. "I-I don''t know if I''m ready for this¡­ I mean, here?" She looked around, taking in the empty field of grass, rocks, and trees. "What are you talking about? This is the perfect spot for a sparring match." Naruto couldn''t help but notice her tendency to let her mind wander in that direction. ''Why is the mind of a girl so pure behaving this way?'' Naruto thought. He expected something like this from the likes of Jiraiya, but not Hinata. "Oh, sparring¡­" Hinata realized her misunderstanding. "Right!" Naruto studied her more closely. There was no doubt she was growing into a beauty. Even in her loose ck robes, her figure was easy to make out. If she was so willing to be by his side, he wasn''t going to turn her away. ''At least I won''t have to look too far when I need a Dao Companion to aid me in cultivation. But it''s too early yet,'' he thought. He had only just entered the Qi Refining stage. He wouldn''t need apanion until hepleted his Golden Core and absorbed all of the Kyubi''s chakra. The Kyubi''s energy was pure yang, so once he was done assimting it, he would need significant amounts of yin chakra to bnce it out. This would be absolutely essential before he attempted the next stage. He could achieve this bnce through normal cultivation, but that would take too long. Dual Cultivation was a quicker way to absorbrge amounts of yin energy, as females naturally had plenty. Another option would be obtaining a Bijuu with pure yin chakra, but the only one he''d encountered was the One-Tail, and it was unsuitable for this purpose due to its yang properties. ''There''s no point in thinking about that now,'' Naruto reminded himself. He would still need at least a couple of years to fully assimte the fox demon''s chakra. Only then could he consider his next step. "You want to spar with me? I''m not sure that''s a good idea¡­" Hinata seemed hesitant. "Why not? Are you still hurt from the mission?" Naruto asked. "No, Lady Tsunade took personal care of me. I''mpletely healed," Hinata quickly replied. Naruto nodded, already knowing this. The Hokage likely felt regretful about sending an unprepared team on such a dangerous mission, so she had made sure they received the best medical attention upon returning. "Is there another reason, then?" Naruto asked. "It''s just¡­ you''ll be disappointed if you spar with me. I''m too weak. My father always said so¡­ I''ve epted it, but I don''t want to hear it from you." Hinata rubbed her hands together nervously. ''Nice job, Lord Hyuga,'' Naruto thought with frustration. He couldn''t understand why her father would crush her spirit that way. He could tell that the girl had a tremendous amount oftent talent, but training her was going to be challenging due to herck of self-esteem. However he had already taken on this responsibility, and it was toote to back out now. He was a man of the word after all. ''I''ll have to push her a bit...'' He decided. Naruto stepped close to her, lifting her chin with his fingers. "Look at me." Hinata raised her head slowly, tears brimming in her eyes. "Hinata, you are weak," he said tly. She gasped, devastated. That was thest thing she''d wanted to hear from him. "Why?" The tears started to fall down her cheeks. "Because¡­ only when we admit we''re weak can we grow stronger. Those who believe they''ve reached the top of the mountain will never try to climb higher." "Ah¡­" Hinata finally understood his meaning. "Can I really be stronger?" she asked. He cupped her cheek gently. "Stay by my side, and not only will you be stronger¡­ I''ll make you the strongest." He leaned in and softly pressed his lips to hers. Hinata''s eyes widened, but she didn''t pull away. The kiss was brief, and then he pulled back and turned around. "N-Naruto?" She felt as if she might pass out from the shock, but her mind was racing too much for her to lose consciousness. He nced back at her. "It all begins today, Hinata. Now, we train." She would help him on his journey to Godhood, and in return, Naruto decided he would turn this shy girl into a true warrior...one who could instill fear in her enemies'' hearts. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 149: The Results of the Training Chapter 149: The Results of the Training Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. Dialogue ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 149: The Results of the Training Three weekster, Hyuga Compound "What have you been doing all this time?!" Lord Hiashi was not amused upon their return. "Training, remember? We had a deal that I would train her for a month. It''s only been three weeks, and you sent her to bring us back." Naruto pointed at the Hyuga attendant standing beside Hiashi. In truth, Naruto had nned to return around this time anyway. Jiraiya was expected to arrive soon, which meant Naruto could finally leave the vige for a while. So, when Asami, Hinata''s personal attendant, arrived and informed them that her father wanted to see them, Naruto wasn''t particrly bothered. "I haven''t forgotten that," Hiashi replied, "but you took her to the Forest of Death...for two weeks!" he said with evident anger in his voice. The Hyuga Lord would never admit it, but he''d been worried sick about his daughter''s safety in that forest, even though he made sure that someone was always watching over her. "So? It was the best ce to go. After all, we weren''t allowed to leave the vige," Naruto exined. Initially, he''d nned on taking Hinata outside to do some hunting or even attack a few bandit camps. However, he hadn''t been allowed to take one step beyond the vige walls. Naruto found himself in a difficult position. His team had been dissolved after Sakura''s death, and Kakashi had resigned from his position as Jonin Sensei. Team Seven was no longer active, leaving Naruto as a genin without a team. On top of that, he was the Jinchuuriki, and a dangerous group of criminals was out to capture him. Without substantial protection, he wasn''t allowed outside the vige, at least not until Jiraiya returned and officially took him as a disciple, or until he reached Chuunin rank. Because of this, he''d chosen the Forest of Death as their training location. He needed a ce where he could experience realbat, and the forest was filled with dangerous creatures. "Look at her!" Hiashi gestured to his daughter. She was covered in dirt, and her clothes were torn in several ces, revealing more skin than he would have liked. But Hiashi couldn''t ignore the change in her eyes...there was a hint of coldness that hadn''t been there before. "What happened to her?." He questioned his decision to leave Hinata with Naruto almost every day. "Are you okay, Lady Hinata?" Asami asked worriedly. She had taken care of Hinata since her mother''s death and had never seen her like this before. Hinata nced at her. "I''m fine, Asami." She answered in a calm tone. "See?. She is fine." Naruto told them. The truth was that Hinata had gone through a lot more than what Hiashi knew. The observers never got close and just spied on them from afar with their Byakugan, otherwise they would have noticed what Naruto was doing. "Well, it''s only been three weeks, but if you want to test the results, feel free," Naruto told Hiashi. Hiashi frowned. He didn''t appreciate being told what to do, but he was genuinely curious to see if Hinata had changed that much in such a short time. For the reports, she had spent most of her time either sparring with Naruto or hunting some of the dangerous inhabitants of that forest. Surely that much had some effect on her. "Very well. But first, she needs to look more presentable. Asami, I''ll leave her to you," Hiashi said. "Of course, Lord Hiashi." Asami turned to Hinata. "Follow me, Lady Hinata. Let''s get those torn clothes off¡­" Hiashi nced back at Naruto. "That goes for you too..." <><><><><><><><><><> After being allowed to take a bath and change into clean clothes, Naruto was led to the main dojo of thepound, where Lord Hiashi, Neji, and several other important n members had gathered as witnesses. Hiashi had decided that if Hinata''s performance was still disappointing, he would finally announce the change of sessor. He hadn''t personally witnessed her training, but he''d read the reports on everything she''d gone through in that forest. And if all of that wasn''t enough to spark a change in her, then she was truly unfit for the life of a ninja. ''The elders of the n won''t be pleased¡­ but it won''t matter,'' Hiashi thought. If he dered Hanabi as the heir, the elders would likely push to ce the cursed seal on Hinata. But he wouldn''t permit it. ''I''ll fight them if I have to¡­ I just want my daughter to be happy. If the ninja life isn''t for her, then we''ll find another path,'' Hiashi resolved. But he didn''t want to jump to conclusions. Seeing Hinata''s confident posture and demeanor sparked a glimmer of hope in the Hyuga Lord. It was as if all her previous doubts had been washed away. Hiashi nced at Naruto, who was calmly seated on a cushion, sipping tea. "Why is she there?..." His eyes moved to the person next to Naruto. "Are we ready to begin, my lord?" A n member, acting as the referee, approached Hiashi. Pushing his concerns aside, Hiashi addressed the man. "Yes, ehm...go ahead." "Very well¡­" The referee looked over at Neji and Hinata, who had already taken their positions. Neji eyed Hinata with curiosity. Much like Hiashi, he''d immediately noticed there was something different about her. And he wasn''t the only one. "What did you do to my sister? She seems¡­ different," Hanabi asked, seated next to Naruto. "You''ll see soon enough. Now, pour me more tea, Firecracker," Naruto said, moving his cup closer to her. The young girl furrowed her eyebrows. "You idiot! My name is Hanabi, not Firecracker!" "Is that the way to address me?" Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Ugh¡­ you''re insufferable," Hanabi grumbled, though she still poured him tea. The referee then exined the rules of the duel: the participants were restricted to using only Hyuga n techniques, and no outside jutsu was permitted. Other than that, he didn''t put in ce any restrictions. After all, he knew that his Lord would want to push his daughter to her current limits. With a gesture, the referee announced, "This duel can¡­ begin!" A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 150: No Fear Chapter 150: No Fear Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 150: No Fear "Byakugan!" Hinata activated her doujutsu and began to move. Neji got ready, surprised to see Hinata take the initiative and attack first. He quickly noticed that her movements felt far more fluidpared to her usual, more rigid style. "Hakke!" Hinata used both hands to strike at Neji''s chest, aiming to block some important chakra points right from the start. "Byakugan!" Neji decided to get serious. Despite her improved fluidity, Hinata''s speed was still simr to before and well below Neji''s capabilities, so he had no trouble blocking her attacks. He finally decided to counter and began his own offensive. The two of them exchanged several more blows under the watchful eyes of other n members. At first nce, this didn''t look very distinguishable from their previous duels, with Neji clearly in control the whole time. "I thought she was somewhat different, but¡­she''s still the same," Hanabi said, disappointed. She had actually hoped her sister would remain the family heir, as it was not a position she wanted. She only went along with it to avoid disappointing her father. "She is very different. You just haven''t noticed it yet¡­how careless," Naruto said, taking another sip of tea. "How am I careless?" Hanabi thought Naruto was messing with her again. "Are those eyes of yourspletely useless? Look at her demeanor while fighting. Does she seem the same?" Hiashi and a few others overheard Naruto''sment and turned their attention back to the duel. "Well¡­" Hanabi considered his words as she watched her sister fighting Neji. She tried to observe more carefully. "Hinata seems¡­more decisive in her moves. Is that it?" Naruto gave her a passing nce. "You''re on the right track, but there''s more to it. Let me ask you something¡­what''s the most detrimental thing for a warrior in a deadly situation?" "Huh?" Hanabi looked puzzled. "Something detrimental in a deadly situation? Like¡­breaking a leg?" "No, not that "Naruto pointed at his head. "That''s it¡­" Hiashi seemed to understand at that moment why his daughter felt different. Her techniques hadn''t improved dramatically...that made sense, as Naruto wasn''t a master of the Gentle Fist and couldn''t teach her much in that regard. What he had done, however, was something else, something Hinata had been in dire need of. "The answer¡­" Naruto pointed ahead. "Is fear." Hinataunched a direct attack at Neji. He blocked her hand and aimed one of his own strikes at her. Neji''s hand grazed Hinata''s cheek, leaving a long cut. He flinched, as he was trying not to hurt her too badly this time. But Hinata didn''t react to the pain and continued her offensive, taking advantage of Neji''s momentary hesitation. She secured one of his hands with a firm grip, turned her face to the side, and used her teeth to bite the other hand that had just cut her. "Ahh!" Neji shouted in surprise. "She bit him!" Hanabi couldn''t believe what she''d just seen. Hinata didn''t stop there and used her free hand to continue her assault. "Vacuum Palm!" She created apressed shell of air aimed directly at Neji''s vital areas and released it without hesitation. Hiashi stood from his seat, shocked. "Hinata!" The referee moved closer, ready to intervene if needed. He hadn''t set specific no-kill rules, believing neither would attempt such a thing. Neji managed to twist his body just enough to avoid the attack from hitting his heart. Otherwise, his life might have been in serious danger. He quickly pushed her away and spun to create a protective barrier. "Kaiten!" He had to get her away from him. "See? Now she can fight without hesitation, even if her skills remain mostly the same. " Naruto said proudly. It had taken him a lot of effort to reform Hinata in only two weeks, but he was satisfied with the results. "Did she try to kill Neji?" Hanabi asked, bewildered. "It wasn''t against the rules, right?" Naruto replied. "She has to do anything to survive. That''s what she learned at the forest." "What did you do to her?!" Hanabi shouted. "I scared her to the brink of death," Naruto exined. He knew it would be a waste of time to try teaching her new techniques since he wasn''t a Gentle Fist master, so he focused on changing her attitude toward fighting. "You did what?" Hanabi was even more confused. Naruto put his cup down and looked at her. "Look at me." As she did, he released a small amount of bloodlust, directed right at her. Hanabi felt an overwhelming terror wash over her. She felt a sharp pain in her belly and looked down, seeing blood pouring out and feeling excruciating pain. She tried to move, tried to scream, but nothing happened. Her eyes were open with horror but could not break away. "That''s enough!" her father''s voice cut through the illusion. "I was just giving her a small taste," Naruto shrugged. Hanabi gasped, disoriented, as the pain and vision faded, and she found herself back with everyone around her as if nothing had changed. She looked down, her kimono spotless and free of any blood. "What was that?" she eximed. "That was just a bit of my bloodlust," Naruto replied. "You used that on my daughter?!" Hiashi stood up and moved toward Naruto. "How dare you!" "It felt so real¡­I thought I was going to die¡­" Hanabi whispered, looking at Naruto in shock. "You did that to my sister?" Naruto nodded. "Over and over, and much stronger than what you felt. While she fought wild beasts at first, I also bombarded her with bloodlust. She had to ovee that to survive. That was her training." "That''s barbaric! We don''t train like that in Konoha!" the referee shouted. "The most detrimental thing for a warrior is freezing with fear in a deadly situation or showing hesitation because you don''t want to hurt your oponent. That will never happen to Hinata again," Naruto said, pointing at the duel. Hinata was still attacking Neji, each move aimed at his vital points with no signs of stopping. "She still needs to improve her actual strength, though." As Naruto spoke, Neji managed tond several hits on her chakra points, sealing her movement. "But she''ll improve faster now." He looked at Hiashi again. "Isn''t that what you wanted in your heir? A fearless leader? You have it now. She just needs some time to grow." "That''s¡­" Hiashi looked at Hinata. It was true that he''d wished for her to be less timid and fearful, but he wasn''t sure if this was what he had envisioned. After a few minutes, Neji finally managed to knock her out, finishing with a Thirty-Two Palms move. "W-winner¡­Hyuga Neji¡­" the referee dered. There was a moment of silence. Yes, Neji had won, but judging by his current state, no one could really say he was the victor. His clothes were torn, and he was covered in cuts and bruises. He had three bite marks on his body, and his right eye was injured from when Hinata nearly poked it with her fingers. "Was that really Hyuga Hinata? That shy girl?" one of the n elders muttered. "She fought like a wild beast¡­" another spectatormented. "Take Neji to the healer¡­" Hiashi ordered. "I''ll take care of my daughter." He looked at Hinata with mixed emotions. Naruto stood up. "Well, my job here is done. I''ll leave her to you for further training. I probably won''t be back for a few months." A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 151: Going on a Trip Chapter 151: Going on a Trip Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' Author notes Chapter 151: Going on a Trip "Did you miss me?" Jiraiya appeared in the doorway with his usual cheerful attitude. "I miss going outside," Naruto replied honestly. At the moment, unless he wanted to go rogue like Sasuke, this man was his only ticket out of the vige. "I spoke with Tsunade, and she agreed to make you my official disciple!" Jiraiya dered. Naruto gave him a skeptical re. "I know, I know. It''s just an official thing...I won''t be allowed to take you otherwise," Jiraiya exined. "That''s fine, I guess. When do we leave?" "As soon as you''re packed. But we should grab a bite first." Naruto nodded. "Ichiraku then." Jiraiya groaned. "Does it have to be there? I was craving some dango¡­" "I won''t be able to eat their ramen while we''re away. So¡­" Naruto gave Jiraiya a firm look. Naruto had never been picky about food, but there was something about ramen that soothed him, almost like it reached his soul. Of all the ramen he''d tried, Ichiraku''s had the strongest effect. "Fine¡­" Jiraiya sighed in defeat. "Ramen it is." <><><><><><><><><><> After finishing a plentiful meal and grabbing his bag for the trip, Naruto walked to the vige gate, where he found Jiraiya scribbling on a small notepad, catching the curious gaze of a nearby guard. "Ready?" Jiraiya looked up from his notes. "All set." Naruto adjusted his new sword at his belt. "You got another one?" Jiraiya remembered Naruto breaking his previous sword while fighting Gamabunta. "Picked it up yesterday. It''s a little better than thest, but I still can''t afford the highest-quality ones," Naruto said. Especially now, after losing his position on Team Seven. The only money he had was from the reward for taking down Kabuto, but that wouldn''tst forever, so he had to settle for a cheaper sword. Still, he wasn''t disappointed, as it was enough for now. "Did you say goodbye to your friends? We won''t be back for a while," Jiraiya reminded him. "Uh¡­" Naruto hadn''t thought about that. Hinata was probably the only one who knew he was leaving. "You''re so careless¡­" Jiraiya shook his head. "Oh, before I forget about...here, take this." He handed Naruto a scroll. Opening it, Naruto saw a small collection of jutsu written inside. "I asked Asuma to write down a few wind jutsus for you. These are more advanced, so take your time with them," Jiraiya said. Naruto scanned the contents. The jutsus were definitely moreplex than the ''Great Breakthrough'' he''d just learned. There was even a variant on the ''Chakra de.'' "Interesting¡­ I''ll study these when I get the chance," Naruto said, rolling up the scroll. "And don''t forget to thank Asuma when you see him again," Jiraiya added. "I will, of cour¡ª" "Naruto!" They both turned to see Ino running toward them. "Oh boy¡­ She doesn''t look happy. What did you do?" Jiraiya teased. "Did you forget to tell your girlfriend you were leaving? That''ll get your ass kicked." The Chunin guard chuckled. "People get mad about stuff like that?" Naruto thought back. One time, his second daopanion, the Sword Fairy Liao Ming, got very upset when he left to explore some ruins and didn''t return for fifty years. ''But for a few months¡­could it be?'' He found it hard to understand. "Naruto!" Ino called again, finally reaching him, her hands on her hips. "Were you going to leave without saying anything?!" ''She''s very mad,'' Naruto noted. But he didn''t panic.... for he had experience with these kinds of situations. He knew exactly what to do. He set his bag down and stepped close to Ino, their faces only inches apart. "Ino," he said softly. "W-what¡­?" she muttered, suddenly embarrassed by his closeness. "I''m very sorry for not telling you sooner. You''re right to be upset." He gently took her hands in his. "Well¡­ yes," Ino replied, her cheeks flushed. Her previous anger was quickly diminishing. Naruto ced a hand on her cheek and caressed it lightly. "This journey is something I have to do. But I want you to know that I''ll miss you every day I''m gone." "Eh?¡­ You will?" She hadn''t expected him to be this direct. "Of course." He leaned in and kissed her. "Mmm?!" Ino''s eyes widened as their lips met. "Oh!" Jiraiya grinned. "That''s my boy." The kisssted a few seconds but left Inopletely flustered. "In the future, I''d like for you to be my Dao Companion. Will you wait for me?" Naruto asked. Ino nodded several times, still dazed. "Sure¡­" "Excellent. I''ll see you soon, then." Naruto picked up his bag and turned to leave. Jiraiya gave her onest look before following him. Ino stood there for a moment, watching them disappear into the distance. "Are you okay?" The gate guard sounded concerned that she might be in shock. "Wait..." Ino finally snapped out of it. "What the heck is a Dao Companion?" <><><><><><><><><><> "Very smooth!" Jiraiya pped him on the shoulder. "You''re one step closer to bing a real man now." Naruto decided to ignore thement and ask something that had been on his mind. "Is there a n for this trip? Or are we just wandering around for a few months?" "Oh no, we''ve got a mission toplete." "A mission?" Jiraiya nodded. "Of course. We still have to work, even outside the vige. In fact, we''re on our way to meet the client now." "What kind of mission is it?" It had been a while since Naruto''sst mission. "We''re escorting a famous actress back to her country. The Land of Snow," Jiraiya said. "The Land of Snow, huh?... Wait, a famous actress? Tell me more." Jiraiya''s expression turned lewd. "She''s quite the beauty. Her name is Yukie Fujikaze." A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 152: Reports Chapter 152: Reports Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 152: Reports Four Months Later, Hokage''s Office "What¡­ is this?" Tsunade stared in disbelief at the towering stack of papers on her desk. "Those are the reports from thest four months of activity," Jiraiya replied. "I wrote them in extensive detail, so you d-" "Why are there so many?!, and you were supposed to send them after each mission! How many did you take?" The Hokage eyed the paper stack with a mix of anger and confusion. Jiraiya chuckled. "Not that many, to be honest. Most of those are damage reports." "What?!" Tsunade picked up a report from the top of the stack. It was full of figures and pictures of destroyed buildings. "Oh, that one''s from the Land of Snow, right?" Shizunemented. "We did receive someints from there." "There isn''t much left now¡­ is there?" Tsunade studied one of the photos, raising an eyebrow. "What''s this?" Naruto perked up. "Can I have that one? I want to hang it on my wall." Tsunade examined the photo. It depicted Naruto standing next to a very distressed woman with the ruins of a castle in the background, signed by someone called ''Yukie Fujikaze''. "She signed it for me. I''m a fan of her work," Naruto admitted. In his free time, he''d be fond of watching her movies while meditating. At this point, he was more familiar with her voice than her looks. "Why does she look so¡­ troubled?" Tsunade asked, pointing to the actress in the photo. "And scared..." "That was taken right after Naruto destroyed her castle and killed her uncle, along with most of his followers," Jiraiya exined. "That could be why." "Turns out she''s a princess. Can you believe it?" Naruto added, not really bothered by the rest of the story. "Why did you destroy her castle?!" Shizune eximed, shocked. Naruto tried to exin. "I was trying tobine the Rasengan with wind chakra. I didn''t think it''d break everything! That jutsu is still in the testing phase, I need to make some adjustments to th- " "Then you shouldn''t use it against people!" Shizune couldn''t believe what she was hearing. "And where wereyouduring all of this?" Tsunade red at Jiraiya. "Because I don''t see any record of your involvement in this report." Jiraiya looked ufortable. "I was¡­ you know, gathering intel from a¡ª" "You were in a brothel, weren''t you?" Tsunade''s eyes narrowed, her tone deadpan. "Now, hear me out¡­ I was confident that Naruto could handle the situation alone. It''s the best way to learn!" Jiraiya dered passionately. Tsunade flipped to another report. "The current ruler of the Land of Snow is demanding thirty million ryo from Konoha aspensation for our ''sloppy work.'' They say we caused more damage than necessary in the process ofpleting the mission." Shizune sighed. "We can''t pay that sum right now. We''ve lost an important client." "Look, I admit that one was not ideal, but the next mission was handled much more cleanly, I''m sure you won''t be disappointed. " Jiraiya imed. Tsunade reached for the next stack. "Prince Michiru and the Land of the Mo¡ª" Jiraiya quickly snatched those papers away. "No! Not that one!" He shoved them aside, as far from her as possible. "Read that er¡­ I meant the one after that." Tsunade stared nkly at Jiraiya for a moment, then sighed and grabbed the following report. "You hunted down Tetsuo Kurogane, also known as the ''Rusted de.''" "Who''s that?" Shizune asked, peering over her shoulder. "I don''t remember seeing that name in the Bingo Book." "Me neither¡­" Tsunade muttered. "I think he was removed about twenty years ago. But I never forget a name or a face, so I knew it was him the moment I saw him," Jiraiya exined proudly. "Twenty years ago? And what did he do?" Shizune asked, puzzled. "He kidnapped the Daimyo shortly after the First Ninja War. He was one of the most wanted men for years," Jiraiya replied. "The First Ninja War?! That was ages ago!" Shizune eximed. "How old is he now?" "Oh, I remember him," Tsunade said. "He was an S-rank missing-nin for a long time but was eventually dered dead after no one found him for decades." "Yes, a very dangerous criminal," Jiraiya nodded. "Wouldn''t he be about ny by now?" Tsunade asked, raising an eyebrow. "More like eighty-six or eighty-seven¡­ something like that," Jiraiya said. "You want me to be impressed because you captured some fossil from the First War era?" Tsunade scoffed. "Captured?" Naruto nced at Jiraiya with confusion. "Is that what the report says?" "Wait¡­ you killed that old man?!" Shizune was losing her temper. "We didn''t kill him!" Jiraiya protested. "You cut off his head, though," Naruto pointed out. "You didwhat?" Shizune looked horrified. "It''s customary with missing-nin!" Jiraiya defended himself. "The report says he died from plications during the capture process,''" Tsunade read. "He probably had a heart attack," Naruto said. "The old man went stiff when Jiraiya started shouting his name in public." "I got excited from finally finding him!." Jiraya said in his defense. "And where did you find this ''dangerous criminal''? You didn''t include that in the dossier." Tsunade eyed Jiraiya with suspicion. "Now¡­ hear me out," Jiraiya began. Tsunade''s hands mmed onto her desk. "Anotherbrothel?!" "It wasn''t a brothel, I swear!" "It was a women''s public bathhouse," Naruto interjected. "They were both trying to spy on the women." "Naruto! You should protect your sensei a bit more!" Jiraiyained. "Where''s your loyalty?" "Can I go now?" Naruto asked calmly. Tsunade clenched her fists. "Yes, Naruto¡­ you''d best leave now. I need to have atalkwith Jiraiya about the proper use of the travel budget." The sounds of destruction could still be heard from several blocks away. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 153: Business with the Hyuga Chapter 153: Business with the Hyuga Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 153: Business with the Hyuga "Mm¡­ yes, that looks good," Naruto muttered in satisfaction, stepping back to admire the picture of himself with his favorite actress, Yukie Fujikaze, now proudly disyed on the wall near his TV. "What should I do now? I could meditate a bit longer¡­ or maybe¡­" His eyes drifted toward the television. "A little TV after breakfast won''t hurt. Maybe there''s a new movie." Just as he reached for the remote, a knock sounded at the door. ''Who could that be? I wasn''t supposed to be called to the Hokage''s office untilter.'' He thought with a tinge of annoyance. As he moved to open the door, he heard a muffled voice outside. "Wait, my Lord, don''t look!" came a female voice, sounding panicked. "Asami! Unhand me¡ªwhat are you doing?!" Naruto opened the door to find himself face-to-face with Lord Hiashi and Hinata''s personal attendant, Asami. "He''s¡­ dressed¡­ thank Kami," Asami sighed in relief, removing her hands from Hiashi''s eyes. "You do realize that covering my eyes does nothing to prevent me from seeing?" Hiashi chided. "And why are you so surprised that he''s dressed?" "No reason¡­" Asami replied, looking away. She''d rather not exin her assumptions. Because then Lord Hiashi will realize that she skipped some parts of the recounting from theirst visit. "Can I help you?" Naruto asked, feeling slightly ignored as the two of them seemed to have their own conversation. Hiashi turned his attention to Naruto. "I''d like to have a word with you¡­ inside." "Right¡­" Naruto said, stepping aside to allow them entry. "Make yourselffortable, I suppose. " He gestured toward his modest table. "I''ll prepare some tea." Asami moved into the kitchen while Hiashi took a seat at the table. Despite the humble surroundings, Hiashi made noment, looking around with quiet curiosity instead. "Your parents had a muchrger home in the ninja district. I believe the Third Hokage informed you about it¡­ so why aren''t you living there?" Naruto sat down across from him, unsurprised that Hiashi knew about his parents. As one of the most influential people in the vige, there were likely few things hidden from him. "I like it here," Naruto replied simply. "It''s small and cozy. More than enough for just me." He was used to living in small caves meant for meditation. Compared to that, this apartment was a pce. Hiashi nodded. He could hardly imagine living in a space so modest himself, but he respected Naruto''s reasoning. "Is this about Hinata?" Naruto asked, thinking of the only reason Hiashi might visit him. Hiashi met his gaze. "I was quite angry when I learned about the kind of training you put my daughter through. But¡­" "But?" Naruto prompted. Hiashi paused. "I cannot deny the results. Over thest four months, I''ve taken it upon myself to oversee her lessons personally¡­ and I have to admit I''m impressed by her progress." "Here''s the tea," Asami announced, cing a tray on the table and pouring for both men. "She''s be fearless and relentless in battle...to the point that I sometimes fear for her own safety¡­ and that of her opponents¡­" Hiashi reminded himself of some recent incidents that he would rather not talk about. "All I did was shift her mindset. I helped her let go of her fear of hurting others and of hurting herself. Has she beaten Neji yet?" Hiashi flinched. "Last week¡­" Naruto shrugged. "It was only a matter of time. Neji may be a genius, but his style is too rigid and orthodox." Hiashi nodded thoughtfully. "Hinata is developing her own form of Gentle Fist. Her movements are fluid, soft, and nimble...almost like water. If she continues to progress this way¡­ no one will object to her inheriting the n." "So I take it you didn''te here just to yell at me," Narutomented. Hiashi lifted arge package he had ced beside him and set it on the table. "You''ve done a great service for the Hyuga n. As such, you deserve a reward." He unwrapped the fabric around the package to reveal a rectangr wooden box. "I heard you were looking for a high-quality sword." ''Is everyone spying on me?'' Naruto wondered. Hiashi opened the box, revealing a beautiful de Naruto recognized instantly. "That''s from Tenten''s shop," Naruto said. It was the same sword that had once hung on the shop''s disy wall. "The owner assured me it was his finest piece," Hiashi exined. "This sword is near legendary grade, and it even has it''s own name: Crimson Dragon." "The de is made from chakra steel, so you can channel chakra through it without worrying about it breaking," Asami added. "Yes, you could use that wind de technique Asuma taught you," Hiashi said. "Is there anything about me that youdon''tknow?" Naruto asked, a bit exasperated. "Plenty," Hiashi replied. This implies, of course, that he still has many questions about Naruto. "Will you ept it?" Hiashi pushed the box toward him. Naruto picked up the sword, feeling its bnce and admiring its craftsmanship. "I''d be honored to ept such a generous gift." It was also perfect timing, as hisst sword had broken a month ago. The quality may have been better than the first one, but it was still a cheap sword. The same could not be said about the one he was currently holding. "Do not misunderstand," Hiashi said, his eyes hardening slightly. "This is a token of appreciation for your contributions to my n. This doesnotmean I approve of you courting my daughter." "My Lord¡­" Asami cast Hiashi a wary nce. He had promised not to bring that topic up. If Hinata heard, she would be genuinely upset. "That''s fine," Naruto said, meeting Hiashi''s gaze steadily. "Because I never asked for your approval." Both men rose to their feet, tension simmering between them. Asami watched with concern. If they started arguing, it could quickly turn into a disaster. Hiashi''s eyes widened for a moment, as if realizing something. "When did she¡­?" Bang! The apartment door burst open, splintering into pieces, and someone rushed inside. Naruto caught sight of a familiar figure just before she threw herself into his arms. "Naruto, you''re back!" Hinata eximed with a cheerful smile. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 154: The Next Goal Chapter 154: The Next Goal Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 154: The Next Goal Hiashi let out a loud sigh of defeat as he watched his daughter clinging to Naruto''s neck. Her obsession with him had only grown stronger over the past few months. This was precisely why Hiashi had decided to visit Naruto alone, without informing Hinata of his return. He had hoped to have a quiet discussion with the boy first. "I missed you!" Hinata eximed, her face buried in Naruto''s shoulder. "Me too," Naruto replied warmly. "Are you letting your hair grow long?" He ran his fingers through her soft locks, noting that they now reached her shoulders. "You noticed! Do you like it? I thought I''d let it grow long like my Mom had. I can always tie it up so it doesn''t get in the way during training," Hinata said with a bright smile. Naruto couldn''t help but notice how much she''d changed. The Hinata he first met would have fainted at the mere thought of hugging him, let alone doing it so boldly. ''This must be another effect of her experience in the Forest of Death,'' Naruto thought. While it wasn''t the intended purpose of that training, he wasn''t entirely surprised by this oue. Now that Hinata had conquered her fears, she no longer hesitated to show her true self, unbothered by consequences. "Your hair''s gotten longer too," Hinata pointed out while moving her fingers across his blonde locks. "Yes, I haven''t really cut it once while I was away," Naruto admitted. His hair now bore a striking resemnce to his father, Minato Namikaze. He briefly considered the possibility that people might start making the connection, even those who didn''t know the truth. Not that it mattered much to him...at worst, it might draw the attention of enemies like the Hidden Stone, who considered his father a war criminal. "How long are you staying this time? Can we go on another date tonight? Oh! I also want to train with you, I have so much to show you!" Hinata said, her excitement bubbling over. "I''m not sure how long I''ll be here, but I''ve got some free time now if you want," Naruto replied with a grin. <><><><><><><><><> An hourter, at Training Ground Number 3 "Your movements are much smoother now¡­ I''m surprised you''ve improved so much, considering how strong you already were," Neji remarked, wiping sweat from his forehead. "Alright, you''ve had your fun. It''s my turn again!" Hinata said, trying to push Neji aside. "But Lady Hinata¡­ Master Naruto and I have only sparred for a few minutes," Neji protested and refused to move away. After spotting Naruto at the Hyugapound earlier that morning, Neji had boldly asked for a sparring session, and Naruto had agreed. Hinata frowned. She had hoped this time with Naruto would be private...just the two of them. She had been waiting for this for so long. "How about the two of you attack me together?" Naruto decided to suggest, given that none of them were willing to back down. Hinata and Neji exchanged nces. "Would that be alright?" Neji asked cautiously. "Of course it will. Naruto is super strong!" Hinata said, already taking her stance. "Well, since I''m up against two Hyuga geniuses, I''ll have to get a little serious," Naruto said as chakra began to swirl around him. "First Gate¡­ Open!" <><><><><><><><><><> Around midday, Ichiraku Ramen Stand "There you are! I thought you''d forgotten about me," Teuchi said with a grin as Naruto sat down at the counter. "Of course not! I''ve just been away on missions. I''ll take a Number Three with extra pork and a Number Five as well." He requested. "Coming right up!" Teuchi replied cheerfully. "You''ve been doing missions outside the vige?" Ayame asked as she approached with a ss of water. Her expression was troubled. "But¡­ I thought your team¡ª" "Ayame! Don''t pry into other people''s business," her father scolded. "Sorry! I didn''t mean to intrude," Ayame apologized quickly. "It''s just¡­ there are a lot of rumors going around." Naruto wasn''t surprised. The fallout from the Sasuke Retrieval Mission was still a hot topic in the vige. Most people didn''t know the full truth...that Sasuke had left willingly and that Sakura had been killed during the mission, by no other than Sasuke himself. The official story was that Sasuke had been kidnapped by Orochimaru''s agents and that Sakura had died during the rescue attempt. "Indeed, my old team isn''t active anymore," Naruto said after a moment. "But I''ve been doing missions with someone else." "Oh¡­ I see." Ayame looked like she wanted to ask more but held back. "Here you go," Teuchi said, cing the steaming bowls of ramen in front of him. "This is the best!" Naruto dered as he began to eat. "After traveling all over, this is still the best ramen in the country!" "Haha! d to hear it," Teuchi said, his grin widening. "Naruto, your new look¡­" Ayame began, her gaze lingering on him. "You look a lot like¡ª" "There it is!" Chouji''s voice interrupted her train of thought. "And there is Naruto too!" "I told you we''d find him here," Ino said, stepping into the stall and sliding onto the seat beside Naruto. "Hi there," Naruto greeted with a smile. "Have you missed me?" Ino asked, shing him a bright grin. "Of course. Every day," Naruto replied yfully. "Hey, Naruto," Chouji said as he joined them, already eyeing the menu. "Hey, Chouji. It''s unusual to see you without Shikamaru." "He''s off on a mission with the other Chunin," Chouji said, looking a little disappointed. "Oh, and the Hokage sent us to find you." Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Really?" "We''re your new temporary teammates for the uing Chunin Exams!" Ino announced, practically glowing with excitement. "Isn''t that great?!. We are going to be spending a lot of time together." A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 155: The Chunnin Exams…Again Chapter 155: The Chunnin Exams¡­Again Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 155: The Chunnin Exams...Again "So, when do we leave?" Naruto asked, standing before the Hokage''s desk. Tsunade lifted her weary eyes from the documents piled in front of her. The dark circles under her eyes revealed she hadn''t slept much...if at all. "In three days. Be ready at first light. Jiraiya will escort your team to the Hidden Sand Vige," she replied. "We''re going with a Legendary Sannin?" Ch¨­ji eximed, his eyes wide with excitement. "The Sand Vige? Aren''t they the ones who attacked us? Are we going to be okay there?" Ino asked nervously. An older woman seated on a couch in the corner of the room decided to speak up. "That is why we are sending you with a Sannin as an escort," Elder Koharu said, her tone firm. "His presence will discourage any hostile actions against our genin." "Elder Koharu!" Ino eximed, realizing she had failed to greet the elder properly upon entering. "I''m so sorry for not acknowledging you earlier." Koharu shook her head. "You seemed too excited when you rushed in, interrupting my meeting with the Hokage. I can overlook your carelessness, Miss Yamanaka. However, that boyover there¡­" She nced pointedly at Naruto. "He saw me perfectly and still chose to ignore my presence." He nced towards the lone Elder. "For as long as we have ''that boy''under our control, the Sand Vige can''t make a move against us," Naruto said calmly. Koharu frowned. "That''s exactly what Lord Danzo said. You two would get along...he even refers to him as ''that boy'',just like you." "Which boy? What are you talking about?" Ino asked, confused. The fact that Gaara was being held as a war prisoner hadn''t been made public. Only a handful of people in Konoha knew about it. Tsunade''s expression soured. The idea of Naruto aligning himself with someone like Danzo was enough to give her a headache. And she had enough of those already. "Is it just going to be us?" Naruto asked, steering the conversation back on track. Tsunade shook her head. "Actually¡­ there''s another team I''ve been considering¡ª" At that moment, the office door suddenly burst open. "Lady Tsunade! I''m going too!" Hinata dered, stepping inside. "Hinata, wait!" Kiba followed closely behind, with Shino and Kurenai bringing up the rear. "Hinata, I told you to let me go first," Kurenai scolded her immediately after catching up to her. Tsunade cleared her throat loudly, drawing their attention. Kurenai paled slightly. "Lady Tsunade, I''m so sorry about this! It''spletely inappropriate¡ª" "Hinata, calm down," Tsunade interrupted, raising a hand. "As it happens, I was considering Team 8 as the other genin team to send. Although I had intended to discuss it with Kurenai in private first." "You were considering my team?" Kurenai asked, surprised. She hadn''t expected this opportunity so soon. Given the location of this exam, she thought they would have to wait another six months. "Since you''re all here, we might as well discuss it. What do you think?" Tsunade asked, ncing at both the Jonin sensei and her students. "Really? We have another chance so soon?" Kiba''s eyes lit up, and Akamaru barked in agreement. "We want to go!" Kiba added excitedly. He and his team had been training nonstop since they left the hospital. He was willing to do anything in order to avoid another failure like the one on that day. "I am ready to try again," Shino said simply. He may not show it, but he was also excited about having another opportunity to prove himself. Hinata''s gaze shifted to Naruto. "Yes, I want to go," she said firmly. "Oh dear," Kurenai sighed. "Do the three of you even know where the exam is being held? This time, you won''t have the advantage of ying at home. You''ll be entering hostile territory." "Hostile territory?" Kiba asked, confused. "The Sand Vige," Ino answered. While the alliance treaty between the two viges had been renewed on paper, tensions remained high due to Konoha holding Gaara prisoner...a situation indirectly caused by Naruto''s refusal to engage with the other Jinch¨±riki. "I don''t expect it to be too hostile," Tsunade said. "Your group will be escorted by my old teammate, Jiraiya. With him present, I doubt they''ll give you any trouble." "Lord Jiraiya will be apanying us?!" Kurenai eximed. "That''s great! Maybe he can teach me some cool jutsu!" Kiba said, his excitement growing. Even Shino seemed slightly intrigued, though his expression remained stoic. "The Sannin..." he muttered. Hinata walked up to Naruto, taking his hand. "Isn''t it great, Naruto? We''ll get to go on a trip together. You and I alone for several weeks, traveling across the country." "Hold on a second." Ino grabbed Naruto''s other hand, pulling it toward her. "Don''t forget about me!" Hinata red at Ino, her Byakugan activating. "You want topete? Bring it!" "H-Hinata? What the¡ª" Ino stammered, stunned by the transformation in the once-timid girl. "What happened to you?". "The shy girl I remember is nowhere to be seen," Ino added. She wasn''t really shocked to find out that Hinata was obviously chasing after Naruto, since she had a crush on him for years. But it was her bold attitude that Ino found so strange. "Oh dear, what is happening?" Shizune asked, stepping into the office. "And who broke the door?!" Tsunade smirked. "Looks like this is going to be an eventful trip." Once the genin left, Koharu stood and approached Tsunade. "Are you sure it''s wise to send him there?" Koharu asked. Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? We agreed on this. With Jiraiya present and their Jinch¨±riki in our possession, they won''t dare try anything." Koharu shook her head. "It''s not themI''m worried about." Her gaze shifted to the towering stack of reports on Tsunade''s desk. Tsunade frowned, her tired eyes narrowing. "You don''t think¡ª" "I do," Koharu interrupted. "That stack of papers is going to get muchrger soon. Let''s hope this will all be worth it." A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 156: ChÅ«nin Rank Chapter 156: Ch¨±nin Rank Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 156: Ch¨±nin Rank Three weekster, Hokage''s Office. "They have just entered the vige, Lady Tsunade," a member of the ANBU informed her. "Thank you, Bear. Make sure theye directly to my office...I must speak with them," Tsunade said grimly. "I warned you," Elder Koharu said with a smug smile. Therge stack of papers on Tsunade''s desk had done nothing but grow over the past week, mostly letters from the Hidden Sand Vige using them of various crimes and attempts to break the peace treaty. "Lady Tsunade, please stay calm. You can''t start yelling and throwing things as soon as they walk through the door," Shizune said nervously. "The Carpenter''s Guild is beginning toin about the constant repai-" "I know!" Tsunade shouted. "I can control my temper." "I wish that were true¡­" Elder Homura muttered and Koharu nodded in agreement. "Why are you two even here?!" Tsunade demanded, pointing at the two elders. "This is just a minor matter of promoting a few genin. It shouldn''t warrant your attention." "If the Jinch¨±riki is getting a promotion, then it is an important matter," Koharu said. "Yes, the Council will be very interested in this information," Homura added. Tsunade sat back in her chair, trying to rx before the group arrived. It wasn''t long before there was a knock at the door. "Come in," Tsunade said, wanting to get this over with. The first to enter was Jiraiya, who was wearing a guilty expression. He clearly knew she was angry. "Oh Tsunade, you look as beautiful as usual!" Jiraiya tried to charm her. It only made Tsunade grumble. "Greetings, Lady Tsunade. We brought all our genin back from the exam," Kurenai said with a polite bow. The genin entered next, greeting the Hokage respectfully, well most of them, at least. Tsunade observed their unkempt and exhausted appearances. "Did you run into trouble on the way back?" "A little bit¡­" Kurenai replied, unwilling to borate. Tsunade turned her attention to Jiraiya. "Well? What happened?" "Not much. We just passed a bit too close to the Valley Vige. Some ch¨±nin started chasing us," Jiraiya said. "It wasn''t that serious, really." "The Valley Vige? You were supposed to cross north of there, near the Hidden Rain Vige," Shizune pointed out. "Konoha has been enemies with them for two generations. What were you thinking, getting that close to there?" Koharu said. "Were you attacked?" Homura asked. "Yes, they attacked us first," Ino replied. "You entered their territory¡­" Tsunade eyed the group. "You were supposed to follow the marked route. Who decided to change it?" All eyes turned to Naruto. "Why am I not surprised?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "It was a shorter route," Naruto said matter-of-factly. "Why was Naruto in charge of the route?!" Shizune eximed. "He wasn''t! I left Hinata in charge," Kurenai said. "Well¡­" Hinata looked embarrassed. "I can''t say no to him¡­" "That''s dangerous," Kurenai muttered. "It''s all Naruto''s fault! We almost got killed!" Kiba shouted. "Stop exaggerating. It wasn''t so bad," Naruto grumbled. "I was stabbed!" Kiba eximed while grabbing at his butt. Ino was having trouble holding back herugh while thinking about how Kiba was hit on his behind by a lost shuriken. "Is not funny!" Kiba''s face was getting red. "Okay, that''s enough!" Tsunade sighed. "I''m sure I''ll hear a lot more about this in theing week, but let''s set that aside for now." "So¡­did we pass the exam?" Naruto asked eagerly. "Please say yes," Jiraiya stepped forward. "I don''t want to go through this again in six months." Tsunade looked over the group of genin. "Kiba, Ino, Ch¨­ji...you did not pass. I''m sorry." "What?!" Ino eximed. "No!" Kiba copsed on the floor. "Don''t be so dramatic, Kiba," Kurenai scolded. "You can try again soon enough." Ch¨­ji was the only one who seemed unbothered. "You were all very close, but there are still some ring weaknesses that need addressing before promotion. I''ll discuss this personally with your Senseis as soon as I can." "So, I passed, then?" Naruto asked eagerly, already thinking about the ninja library and what he could ess as a ch¨±nin. "Does that mean I''m a ch¨±nin too?" Hinata asked, genuinely surprised. "Yes, congrattions to the three of you," Tsunade said. "Come back tomorrow to receive your new uniforms." Her gaze settled on Naruto. "Also, Naruto¡­" "Yes?" "You are banned from ever setting foot near the Hidden Sand Vige." Tsunade frowned deeply. "Huh¡­?" "Don''t ''huh'' me...you know what you did." Tsunade grumbled. <><><><><><><><><><> A bitter, after everyone else had left the office. "You cane out now," Tsunade said. A ninja wearing a white mask dropped from the ceiling. "What do you think?" Tsunade asked. "About the mission?, it was a bit of a disaster...Mister Jirayia should had paid more attention to wh-" "I know that...but I was referring to Naruto in particr." Tsunade interrupted him. She did not a reminder about what happened in the Sand Vige. "About Naruto?" Kakashi removed the mask, letting it rest on top of his head. "I''m d for him. He looks so much like his father¡­though I don''t think Minato was ever so reckless, even in his younger years." "No, he wasn''t," Tsunade agreed. "Are you sure you don''t want to return to your position as a j¨­nin sensei? The next generation could learn so much from you. It''s a waste to have you in ANBU." Kakashi shook his head. "It was my failure as a sensei that led to this oue. I should have predicted that oue and be better prepared for it...I was too close to the boy and got blinded." Tsunade wanted to tell him it wasn''t his fault, but she''d tried that many times before. Kakashi still med himself. "If you change your mind,e talk to me." "Thank you, Lady Hokage. And thank you for letting me know about Sasuke." "No problem. It''s the least I can do." She also felt a bit responsible after all. "Then¡­I should return to my duties." Kakashi reced his mask. Tsunade nodded. "Very well. You may go back to your post, Fox." A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 157: Girls Trouble Chapter 157: Girls Trouble Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 157: Girls Trouble Naruto looked around after leaving the Hokage''s office. "Is anyone else hungry? I could go for some r¡ª" "Are you fucking kidding me?!" Kiba shouted in frustration. "I got a kunai in my butt and didn''t even get promoted!" "Kiba! Watch yournguage," Kurenai scolded him. "And it was actually a shuriken." And then corrected him. "Why would you be promoted for that? It wasn''t part of the exam," Ino chimed in, clearly amused. "Yes, that happened muchter," Hinata added. "Are you saying you should be promoted for being ipetent?" Naruto asked with a smirk. "I am hungry, by the way," Ch¨­ji said,pletely ignoring the shift in the conversation. "That''s not what I m¡ªouch!" Kiba yelped in pain. "I''ll take you to the hospital," Kurenai said, stepping in. "Where did Lord Jiraiya go?" She looked around, realizing the Sannin had vanished. "Probably went off for some ''research,''" Naruto said knowingly. "What is he researching?" Ino asked curiously. "Naked women, mostly," Naruto replied nonchntly. "What?!" Kurenai eximed, visibly shocked. She had noticed him sneaking off several times during their trip but hadn''t thought to question it. "He''s one of the Legendary Sannin!" "So? Tsunade''s addicted to gambling, and Orochimaru¡­well, he''s just weird," Naruto said with a shrug. "Naruto," Ino interrupted, pulling gently on his hand. "Yes?" He nced at her. "I need a moment of your time. Alone," she said softly, almost whispering. Without waiting for a response, she led him away from the group. "Where are those two going?" Kiba asked, frowning. "Don''t worry about that. You''re going to the hospital," Kurenai said firmly, dragging him away. "I''m going to get something to eat," Ch¨­ji announced before stomping off. "I have business with my family," Shino added as he turned to leave, no doubt heading to share the news of his promotion with his parents. "Hinata, want toe with us? You can get a check-up too," Kurenai suggested. "No¡­I also have something to do," Hinata replied, ncing in the direction Naruto and Ino had gone. "All right then. Congrattions on your promotion, Hinata. I''m very proud of you, and I''m sure your father will be too." "Thank you, Sensei." Hinata gave her a polite bow before turning to leave. Once she was alone, she activated her Byakugan. Her current range extended over a mile, so there was no way she could miss them. "Ino¡­what are you nning to do with my Naruto? I won''t let you take him away," Hinata murmured to herself. <><><><><><><><> In an alley nearby "Finally," Ino sighed, pulling Naruto into an empty alley. "I can''t believe we didn''t have a single moment alone during the entire trip." Every time she''d tried to speak with him in private, something...or someone would always interrupt her. It had been beyond frustrating. "Indeed. It''s been an eventful trip, but I''m d I don''t have to go through that again," Naruto said. "Yes, and I''m sure the ninjas from the Sand Vige are d too¡­ But that''s not important." She stepped closer to him. " When you left for your trip...well, I justwant you to rify something for me." "Of course. What is it?" "It''s about the kiss and what you told me before leaving ¡­that thing about being your Dao Companion. What did you exactly mean by that?" "Oh¡­" Naruto blinked, realizing his mistake. Of course, they wouldn''t understand that concept here. ''What''s the closest equivalent for mortals?'' he thought, searching for the right words. "Let me see if I can exin. Dao Companions are like¡­a couple who vow to remain together for their entire journey in this mortal realm...and possibly beyond. It''s a very seriousmitment." "Naruto¡­that sounds like marriage," Ino said, raising an eyebrow. "Did you learn that from a book or something?" He hesitated, not wanting to lie but also not ready to reveal the full truth. "Something like that." Ino made aplicated expression. "Naruto¡­I do like you. But I''m not sure if I''m ready for amitment like that." He wasn''t surprised. In fact, he''d expected it. After all, they''d only known each other for a few months. "It''s a very seriousmitment. I understand that. You don''t have to make a decision r¡ª" "Wait!" Hinata suddenly jumped into the alley. "What the...Hinata?!" Ino eximed, shocked by her sudden appearance. She had made sure no one was around. Then she noticed Hinata''s Byakugan. "You were spying on us?!" "I''ll do it! Choose me!" Hinata clutched Naruto''s arm tightly. "I''ll be with you forever!" "Hold on a minute!" Ino tried to separate them. "I didn''t say no!" "But you did!" Hinata retorted. "You have to think about it. Well, I don''t." "Let go of his arm. He said he liked me." Ino said. "He did not say that." Hinata rebuked. Narutoughed loudly, drawing the attention of both girls. "I am very fortunate to have two beauties arguing over me, but there''s no need for that," he said. "We are notarguing!" Ino snapped. "What do you mean?" Hinata asked, looking up at him. "What I mean is¡­I''ve chosen both of you to be mypanions," Naruto said confidently. "Wait...what did you say?" Ino released her grasp on the other girl. "B-Both of us? You want¡­both?" Hinata stammered, her eyes were wide open with astonishment. "Is that true?. Are you being serious?" Ino frowned deeply. "Of course. I want you both," Naruto would realize toote why that didn''t work. p! "You double-dealing pig!" Ino yelled, storming off. "Naruto¡­" Even Hinata''s eyes were filled with disappointment. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 158: Ino’s anger Chapter 158: Ino¡¯s anger Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 158: Ino''s anger "Is that how it is?" Hinata asked. She and Naruto sat down to have a calm conversation after Ino stormed off. At least the Hy¨±ga heiress was willing to listen to him. Naruto realized he''d made a mistake by being so open about wanting twopanions. In his old world, having more than one Dao Companion wasn''t exactly a taboo, but it wasn''t universally epted either. He still remembered the day he told the Sword Fairy about his secondpanion, only for her to try to cut off his most important parts with her de. It had taken him weeks to convince her otherwise. ''I should''ve been more careful in my approach, especially in trying to understand how this world views rtionships,'' Naruto thought. "Sorry, Hinata. I should have been more mindful with my words," he said sincerely. Hinata smiled softly. "I wasn''t mad at you...just a little disappointed to find out that I can''t have you all to myself." ''That would make things easier,'' Naruto thought wryly but kept thement to himself. The truth was, one person wouldn''t be enough. He wasn''t trying to be greedy, but even a talented kunoichi like Hinata wouldn''t be able to provide the amount of yin chakra he''d need to maintain perfect bnce. Even with two, it would be difficult, but he couldn''t ask for more. "It was never my intention to make you feel like you were a second choice. I knew I wanted you from the beginning," Naruto said. Hinata''s cheeks flushed a deep red. "But there''s a reason I also need Ino. I know it may be hard to believe, but I''m nothing like Jiraiya," Naruto added. "Show me, then," Hinata said, her expression turning serious. "Show you?" Naruto asked, confused. Hinata nodded. "I want you to show me that you really like me. If you can do that, I''m willing to ept sharing you with Ino." "And how do I do that?" Naruto asked. Hinata gave him a confident, and slightly mischievous smile he hadn''t seen before. "Kiss me. That''s how you can show me." He was surprised for a short moment by the sudden request but quickly recovered. "I can do that," Naruto said, wasting no more time. He wrapped one arm around her waist, pulling her close until their bodies touched. His other hand gently cupped her cheek as he leaned in, pressing his lips to hers. Hinata moaned softly as he deepened the kiss, their tongues meeting in an intimate dance. When they finally parted, her expression was one of pure satisfaction. "How was it? Did I pass your test?" Naruto asked with a grin. "Oh yes, you did," Hinata replied, her eyes glimmering with passion. "But I want to do that again." "As much as you want. But first¡­I have to speak with Ino," Naruto said. Hinata pouted. "Ino won''t be easy to convince." "I know that." Hinata seems to be thinking about something. "She''s never been one to share. Back in the Academy, she fought with Sakura for years over who would get to ask Sasuke out. It almost ruined their friendship," She exined. "So, she''s not the sharing type," Naruto mused. "Not at all. So, good luck convincing her." "Right¡­" <><><><><><><><><><><><> The first challenge was finding Ino, and doing so on an empty stomach since he still hadn''t eaten. Hinata had suggested looking in isted ces, reasoning that Ino would want to be alone. After nearly an hour of leaping across rooftops, Naruto finally spotted her sitting on one of the Hokage Monument''s stone heads. She was so lost in thought that she didn''t even notice when he sat beside her. "Did you have to pick my father''s head to sit on?" Naruto teased lightly. "Is kinda weird..." Ino gasped in surprise. "Naruto?!" He quickly reached for her hand as she almost lost her bnce in shock. She yanked her hand away after stabilizing herself. "I wasn''t going to fall! I can attach myself to the stone with chakra, you know?" "Right¡­ I acted on instinct," Naruto admitted. Ino frowned. "I came here because I didn''t want to see anyone...especiallyyou." "Yes, I figured as much. But I still wanted to talk to you," Naruto said, his tone soft but determined. Ino stood, ring down at him. "We have nothing to talk about. I want no part in your haremor whatever it is that you''re trying to build." "That''s not what I''m trying to do," Naruto said firmly. "Then what is it?! Why do you need two girlfriends? Was I not enough for you? Or do you just prefer Hinata?" Ino''s voice grew louder with every word. Thankfully, no one was around to hear them. "It''splicated to exin," Naruto said carefully. He knew this was a crucial moment. If he messed up, Ino would walk away...and from what he''d seen, it would be nearly impossible to find another sopatible with him. "You can''texin it, huh?" Ino huffed, crossing her arms. "I thought you were a nice guy¡­" "I never imed to be," Naruto said, stepping closer. He gently took her hand. "What are you doing? Let go of me," Ino demanded, trying to pull away. But Naruto didn''t let go. Instead, he guided her hand toward his head. "If you believe my motives are impure or disgusting, use your family''s jutsu on me. Enter my mind and see for yourself." "What?!" Ino eximed, stunned. "You won''t understand unless you see it. Go ahead. Get inside my mind...that''s the only way I can convince you," Naruto said, his voice calm and steady. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 159: Inside Naruto’s Mind Chapter 159: Inside Naruto¡¯s Mind Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 159: Inside Naruto''s Mind "Inside your mind?! Are you crazy?" Ino shouted, her voice sharp with disbelief. The mere thought of entering Naruto''s mind meant facing the Ky¨±bi, and she wasn''t eager to deal with that. Her father had warned her never to use that jutsu on a Jinchuriki. "The demon won''t bother you, I promise. Do you really think I''d put you in harm''s way?" Naruto released her hand, letting her decide. Ino stepped back, hesitating, but stopped short. Naruto had saved her life on more than one asion, and he''d never given her a reason to distrust him. "No... I don''t think you would," she admitted. "Then go ahead," Naruto urged. Ino took a deep breath. She was fully aware of the dangers of her n''s mind-transfer techniques...her father had drilled it into her, but curiosity and trust won out. If Naruto was so eager to show her something, she needed to know what it was. And Ino had the feeling that whatever she was about to see...was going to change her life. "Alright, Naruto. I''ll do it. But let''s sit down first," she said, ncing around the precarious perch atop the Hokage Monument. Once they were properly seated in a safer ce, Ino formed the necessary hand seals and ced her right hand on his forehead. In the next instant, her consciousness dove into the depths of Naruto''s mind. Ino opened her eyes to find herself in a dimly lit sewer. "Why does this look like¡­this?" she muttered. She had limited experience with this version of her n''s jutsu, but this was unlike any mind she''d entered before. Taking a closer look, she realized it wasn''t a sewer at all...it was more like a prison. "Oh no¡­" A chill ran down her spine as she connected the dots. If this was a prison, then she already knew who the prisoner was. Despite Naruto''s previous words, she could not help but tremble in anticipation. The sound of something shifting behind her made her whip around, fear gripping her. Her scream echoed as she came face-to-face with the Ky¨±bi. Its massive body loomed before her, and its aura was overwhelming. Panic surged, and she prepared for an emergency escape...until a voice called out beside her. "Calm down, Ino. It can''t harm you." Ino turned to find Naruto standing next to her. Except, this Naruto looked¡­different. His hair was longer and darker, and his face was more mature. Still, there was no mistaking him. "Look again," he said, gesturing toward the Ky¨±bi. Steeling herself, Ino forced her gaze back to the beast. This time, she noticed something she''d missed in her panic: the Ky¨±bi appeared to be submerged in a deep slumber and even her scream did not seem to disturb it at all. She also noticed the metal bars in front of it, though they didn''t extend to the sides or the top. "Won''t it escape from there?" Ino whispered the first question that came to mind. Naruto shook his head. "It won''t. Don''t forget, this is my mind. What you''re seeing is just a projection. The real barrier is that seal, not the metal bars." Following his gaze, Ino spotted the piece of paper affixed to the front part of the bars. "Oh. That must be the Fourth Hokage''s work¡­" Her voice faltered as she realized she was speaking about Naruto''s father and hisst sacrifice before dying. "I''m sorry¡­" she said softly. "You don''t need to whisper, and you don''t need to worry about the volume of your voice here," Naruto reassured her. "But¡­won''t it wake up?" "As I said...it won''t wake up no matter what you do," Naruto replied firmly. He pointed above the Ky¨±bi. "Look there." Ino squinted, scanning the area he indicated. At first, she saw nothing. But when she focused harder, she spotted a faint red mist rising from the Ky¨±bi''s head and dissipating into the air. "Mist?" she asked. "That''s the Ky¨±bi''s chakra," Naruto exined. "It''s leaving its body. Well, metaphorically at least...since the Ky¨±bi doesn''t have a body right now." "Why? What''s happening to it?" Naruto''s expression grew serious. "I''m absorbing it into my body." Ino''s eyes widened in horror. "What?! That''ll kill you!" She''d seen what even a small amount of the Ky¨±bi''s chakra could do to him. Trying to take more was suicidal. Naruto smiled calmly. "I know what I''m doing. I''m taking it slowly." He turned and gestured for her to follow. "But that''s not what I wanted to show you. Come with me." Ino cast onest wary nce at the slumbering Ky¨±bi before following Naruto. He led her toward what appeared to be a solid wall, but as they approached, a door materialized. Her curiosity deepened. As someone trained in the workings of the human mind, Ino was keenly aware of how secure Naruto''s mind waspared to others. Ch¨­ji''s mind was open and easy to read, filled mostly with thoughts about food. Shikamaru''s was moreplex...his mental "doors" were closed, but with effort, they could still be opened. Naruto''s mind, however, was a fortress: a giant prison with no visible doors and a terrifying beast inside. For any mind-reader, it was the ultimate nightmare. ''What are you hiding in there?'' she wondered. And how had Naruto built such an imprable mental defense? This wasn''t something one could learn at the Academy. Naruto opened the door and nced back at her. "Stay close to me, and don''t wander off. I don''t want you getting lost in my memories." "Your memories?" Ino asked, stunned. "I thought you had amnesia. Have you recovered your past?" A.N 1 - I haven''t originally nned on writing this short arc. But as I was thinking about the previous conversation with the two main girls, I realized that Ino was never going to just ept being part of a harem without questions. It made no sense for her strong personality, so she needed some extra convincing. Given that she had the ability to delve into people''s minds, this was an opportunity to deepen her rtionship with Naruto by having her learn some of his secrets, while also allowing the reader to learn more about his past. But it won''t be long, don''t worry. The big time-skip before Shippuden is near.- A.N: 2 - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 160: Memories Chapter 160: Memories Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 160: Memories "What is this...?"Ino couldn''t believe what she was seeing. The room she now stood in was many timesrger than the previous one, and that one had already been massive. But it wasn''t the sheer size of the room that took her breath away, it was its contents. Rows upon rows of tall wooden bookcases stretched endlessly before her, each shelf filled with pristine white scrolls. The rows seemed to vanish into the distance, twisting and turning to form countlessbyrinthine passages. It was impossible to count the shelves, let alone the number of scrolls they held. Naruto hadn''t exaggerated when he warned her about getting lost in here. This was a maze of identical bookcases, each one indistinguishable from the next. She felt like, if left alone here, she could spend years wandering the corridors with no way to find her way out. "What is this ce? What''s in the scrolls?"Ino approached the nearest shelf cautiously. Naruto didn''t stop her, he simply observed. Each scroll was pure white, devoid of markings, making it impossible to guess their contents. She nced back at Naruto, who gave her a nod of approval. Ino hesitated for only a moment before trying to pull one of the scrolls from the shelf. But the moment her fingers touched it, a flood of information surged into her mind. She found herself in a ce she''d never seen before, a small and humble wooden house. She was seated at a table surrounded by adults wearing modest clothing. Before her was a te with a single piece of old bread. "What...?"she murmured, her confusion mounting as the people around her began to speak in a foreignnguage. "I don''t understand what you''re¡ª" Her vision abruptly darkened, and she was back in the library, her fingers still resting on the scroll. It took her a moment to process what had happened. When she did, her eyes widened."Memories..." "Correct,"Naruto said calmly."This hall is where memories are stored. It''s well-organized, isn''t it?" "Yes, but..."Ino couldn''t deny the impable organization, but that wasn''t what puzzled her."Whose memories are these?" "Mine, of course,"Naruto replied. "But the people I saw didn''t look like they were from around here, and they spoke in some foreignnguage. Who were they?" "My parents,"Naruto exined."What you saw was a simple scene of my family having dinner. I grew up in a very humble home in a small farming vige." Despite theck ofbels, Naruto knew the contents of every single scroll. The memories were arranged with purpose. The scrolls on the outer perimeter held mundane recollections, like childhood moments, years spent meditating in istion, or trivial routines like brewing tea or eating something. The more significant memories, the ones he deemed held vital information...were locked deep within the library''s core, far beyond reach. Ino still looked perplexed. Naruto''s exnation had only raised more questions. "Souls are meant to be eternal, did you know that?"Naruto asked suddenly. "Souls?"Ino repeated, confused by the sudden shift in topic. "When a mortal person dies, their soul undergoes changes. It''s purified, and all previous memories are erased. Then, the soul finds a new home, and life begins anew. But those memories aren''tpletely gone. There are ways to recover them." Naruto continued."It''s a known truth among cultivators that if someone reaches the Spirit Transformation Stage, they regain all their memories from past lives." "Spirit Transformation?" "It''s the second-tost stage a mortal can achieve before ascending to Godhood. Very few ever reach it, and unfortunately, I wasn''t one of them." He paused, a flicker of thought crossing his features.''I''m convinced my unique situation was caused by the Golden Scripture. It''s the most logical exnation and the only one I have. But I cannot tell her about that.'' That was one topic he refused to touch. Ino frowned, her suspicion clear."Naruto... are you suggesting what I think you are?" Naruto extended his hand toward her."Come. I have something else to show you." After a moment''s hesitation, Ino ced her hand in his. Naruto guided her through the endless corridors of the library. "The most interesting ones are closer to the center, the ones at the entrance are all boring ones,"he said as they walked. "How big is this ce? How can there be so many memories?"Ino was still overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the library. Even if each scroll contained only a short moment, there were far too many. Finally, Naruto stopped and pointed at a particr scroll."This one." Ino instinctively reached for it. As soon as her fingers brushed its surface, the memories flowed into her mind. She was sitting in the middle of a massive stadium-like structure. Around her were young boys and girls, all dressed in green tunics. At the center of the arena stood an older man in intricate ck robes, exuding a powerful andmanding presence. The man spoke in the same foreignnguage as the vigers from before, but this time, Ino felt a strange sense of peace while listening. Though she couldn''t understand the words, fragments of meaning seemed to reach her. "A breathing exercise? What is this?"Ino wondered, feeling herself falling into a trance for an unknown amount of time, listening to the wordsing out of that person''s mouth. "Ino..." Naruto''s voice brought her back to the library. He was standing beside her, watching her closely. She didn''t even realize that she had already left the memory. "How was it?"he asked. "What was that? And who was that man? There was something... entrancing about his speech, but I couldn''t understand it." "That,"Naruto exined, "was my first public lesson after joining the Blue Jade Sect. The man speaking was one of the elders. He was teaching a basic cultivation technique to the apprentices. Even if you didn''t understand his words, some of that knowledge likely reached you. That''s the power of hearing a high-ranking cultivator''s preaching." "Sect? Cultivators? Was that really your life? This makes no sense..."Ino trailed off, her thoughts racing. Naruto extended his hand once more."It will make sense soon enough. Follow me." A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 161: Ino’s Understanding and the Unexpected Visit Chapter 161: Ino¡¯s Understanding and the Unexpected Visit Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 161: Ino''s Understanding and the Unexpected Visit Naruto continued to show Ino more memories, one after another. Ino quickly lost her sense of time in the vastbyrinth of scrolls. However, as the hours, or perhaps days had passed, she began to understand much more about the person standing beside her. These memories belonged to Naruto''s past self, a self he had somehow regained, granting him ess to an incredible wealth of knowledge. It exined so much about his sudden transformation after leaving the Ninja Academy, and about the confidence and wisdom he now carried. What shocked her most, though, was that this world she glimpsed through his memories wasn''t their own. In that world, there were no ninjas or samurai. Instead, there were cultivators, individuals who honed their bodies, minds, and souls in entirely different ways. They practiced techniques far removed from anything she knew. These cultivators lived extraordinarily long lives, which exins why Naruto''s library contained such an overwhelming number of memories. ''How long did his previous lifest?''Ino wondered, awed by the sheer magnitude of it all. From the fragments she absorbed, she picked up pieces of the breathing techniques used by members of the Blue Jade Sect, along with other cultivation methods. Yet she wasn''t sure these techniques would work in their world, given the different nature of the energies involved. Throughout the process, Naruto said little, simply guiding her deeper and deeper into thebyrinth of shelves and scrolls. He would asionally stop, point to a specific scroll, and let her absorb its contents. Finally, her curiosity got the better of her."Naruto¡­ why are you showing me all of this?" Naruto paused, his gaze thoughtful."Because I wanted you to understand me a little better,"he said softly. Her eyes widened."You''ve only known me for a few months, and yet you''re trusting me with all this?" She was acutely aware of the value of what he was showing her. This wasn''t just personal...it was dangerous knowledge. If the Hokage or the Elders ever learned about the wealth of information hidden within Naruto''s mind, there was no telling what they might do. Naruto was looking at her closely, and by the faces she was making, he could guess at what she was thinking about right now. But he was not worried about people trying to steal his knowledge. There was no chance of that happening. At least not anymore. Perhaps if he had been captured right after waking up in that hospital bed, months ago¡­back then, if someone with Inoichi capabilities had insisted on entering the deepest parts of his mind¡­then maybe they could have gotten something. But now it was toote for that. He had grown in power, developed his cultivation, and secured his mind. But Ino thought he was taking a massive risk by telling her, so why would he deny it?. And he hasn''t even shown her anything that important. Just memories from his time at the Blue Jade Sect to give her a basic understanding of his previous persona. "I may not have known you for long, Ino, but my instincts tell me I can trust you with this,"Naruto said, his voice sounding sincere. Her heart skipped a beat."Naruto¡­"She felt truly moved by his words. This was proof of how much he trusted her...how much he cared. "Do you believe me now,"Naruto continued,"when I say I never intended to disparage you or Hinata when I asked you to be mypanions?" Ino frowned slightly."So, having multiple partners was a normal thing in that world?"Her voice carried a hint of suspicion. From what she''d seen in his memories, that didn''t seem to be the case. Naruto chuckled nervously."Well¡­ it wasn''t unheard of, but it wasn''t exactlymon either." "See?"Ino said, looking smug. For a brief moment, Naruto considered exining the concept of dual cultivation to her...how it could benefit both parties, and why it was such a vital aspect of his previous life. He even thought about showing her a memory or two to make it easier to understand. But after spending this much time with her, he knew better. ''She''d just get mad and start yelling,''he thought, stifling a sigh.''I''ll save myself the trouble.'' For now, there was no urgent need for a Dao Companion. He could give Ino more time to adjust to the idea and grow more mature. If necessary, he could rely only on Hinata or find someone else who could support him in cultivating Yin energy. ''I''ll need to create a technique for Hinata. There are ways to enhance the quality of her yin chakra. That would make dual cultivation a lot more rewarding.'' "Naruto?"Ino''s voice pulled him from his thoughts. She was watching him intently, her head tilted in curiosity. "Sorry,"Naruto said, shaking off his distraction."I think we should end the discussion here. You probably have a lot to think about." Ino blinked, caught off guard by the sudden shift."Huh?" Then a thought struck her."Are you nning to show all of this to Hinata too?"Her tone was casual, but there was a hint of something deeper...possessiveness, perhaps? Naruto shook his head."No. You''re the only one I can show this to." Of course, this was because Ino was uniquely capable of delving into someone else''s mind. There was no way for Hinata to do the same, and he was not able to pull someone in here by himself. "I see¡­"Ino smiled, her cheeks tinged pink. At that moment, she didn''t care about the reasoning behind his words, she was too happy to think clearly. If Naruto noticed, he made no attempt to correct her. "Then¡ª"He was about to suggest they leave his mind when a golden light red above them. "Whoa!"Ino gasped, staring up in awe."What is that? It''s beautiful!" Naruto''s eyes widened, but his reaction was entirely different. ''What is the Golden Scripture doing here?''he thought, rmed. He hadn''t intended to show Ino the Divine Artifact. In fact, he had deliberately avoided bringing it up. This meant that the Divine Artifact had decided to move on its own and show itself before Ino. And Naruto had no idea as to why. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 162: The Gift Chapter 162: The Gift Disimer: Narutoand all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author Notes- Chapter 162: The Gift Both Ino and Naruto were staring at the floating golden scripture in astonishment, albeit for different reasons. In his previous world, artifacts crafted by cultivators ranged from low-grade to high-grade. asionally, high-grade artifacts made by particrly skilled craftsmen and wielded by equally skilled cultivators would awaken hidden properties and ascend to the legendary grade. However, there was another type of artifact that sometimes made its way into their world. These were not crafted by mortal cultivators and were far beyond the level of even the legendary-grade ones. It was believed that these mysterious artifacts originated from the Immortal Realms where the Gods lived, far beyond human reach. They would asionally fall into the mortal world when a God perished during a battle fought too close to the lower nes. This did not happen often...perhaps one Divine Artifact would be discovered every several millennia. And every time such an artifact appeared, the world descended into a frenzy to acquire it. Even the most reclusive and ancient cultivators would abandon their secluded training, interrupting centuries of cultivation, just for the chance to im one of these extraordinary items. In his previous life, Naruto had been the one to find such an artifact. This could have been considered a fortuitous encounter, but it was also a tragic one. The Golden Scripture he had discovered earned him the enmity of every major sect in the world, ultimately leading to his untimely death. The true potential of a Divine Artifact is hard to quantify. After all, only an Immortal God could truly utilize such an item to its fullest extent. It was also said that every Divine Artifact recorded in history had a will of its own and would choose its wielder. This led Naruto to believe that the day he found the cave with the fallen goddess inside¡­ it was the Golden Scripture itself who had guided him there. For reasons unknown, this Divine Artifact had chosen him as its owner. And now, for the first time, it was acting of its own ord. ''The Golden Scripture must have a reason for this...it has never behaved this way before.'' Naruto''s eyes shifted to Ino. She was clearly the cause for the artifact''s bizarre behavior, as it was now slowly descending toward her. Ino was utterly confused, as she had no idea what this shining book was. But even with no prior knowledge of Divine Artifacts, she could tell this was an extraordinary object, far beyond herprehension. So she stood silently, watching as the artifact approached her. The Golden Scripture stopped when it was just a short distance away. Its light became more intense, almost blinding...but it wasn''t harmful in any way. Instead, it radiated a pleasant warmth. A single page emerged from the book, drifting down slowly until itnded in Ino''s hands. The moment she touched it, the Golden Scripture vanished, having fulfilled its purpose, leaving behind only the golden page. Ino looked at Naruto in confusion. "Read it. It''s for you," Naruto instructed her. When Ino nced down at the strange page in her hands, she found it written in apletely unknownnguage. The symbols were unlike anything she had ever seen. They were neither kanji nor f¨±injutsu. Before she could ask Naruto about it, something happened. Despite not understanding a single word on the page, knowledge began to pour into her mind, bing perfectly clear in an instant. Ice Veins of the Moon Goddess. This was the name of the cultivation method the Golden Scripture had bestowed upon her. The information was engraved into her very soul. At this moment, there was no one in existence with a greater mastery of this technique, or who was morepatible with it...than Ino herself. This was because the Golden Scripture had created it specifically for her. "Incredible¡­" Ino muttered as the golden page dissolved into particles of light. "What did you learn?" Naruto asked, genuine curiosity in his voice. He had never intended to show the Golden Scripture to anyone, and now he needed to know what it had revealed to Ino. Ino shared the name and described the cultivation method she had received. ''A yin-type cultivation method¡­ and an extraordinary one at that,'' Naruto thought. That was no surprise, considering its source. "Ino, you need to understand something. That golden book you saw and the cultivation method you''ve learned¡­ you must never tell anyone about them. If word of this reached the wrong ears, the consequences would be catastrophic." Ino nodded solemnly. "Yes¡­" She wasn''t foolish. A book capable of producing techniques like this would drive every nation to madness if its existence were known. And she had a feeling this was only a fraction of the book''s true capabilities. "So¡­ should I use it? This cultivation method seems incredible, but¡­ could it harm me?" "The Golden Scripture has a will of its own, and it''s a very mysterious item, even to me. But I don''t think it would have given you that technique if it meant you harm." Ino nodded. "Yes, I think it was trying to help me." With that, the two of them finally exited Naruto''s mindscape, finding themselves seated on a patch of grass. In the outside world, only a brief moment had passed. "Naruto¡­" Ino''s expression turned serious. "Yes?" "You''ve shown me so much today, and I''ve learned a lot. But I need time to process all of this." She seemed to organize her thoughts before continuing. "About your proposal to be your daopanion¡­ could you give me some time to think it over properly?" She now understood better where Naruto wasing from, but her mind was a whirlwind of unprocessed information. She needed rity before making such an important decision. "Of course, take your time," Naruto replied calmly. He had expected this and wasn''t surprised or offended by her hesitation. This could be said to be the possible oue when it came to her. "The path of cultivation is a long one, Ino. And now, you''re a part of it. If there''s one thing we have, it''s time." A.N - Just one thing I want to rify. Just because Ino had acquired a cultivation technique, it doesn''t mean that she is suddenly going to be a powerhouse who outshines the MC, and is going to solo Madara after the time skip or something. Her skill set will remain mostly the same, but just stronger. Ino will remain as a support-type ninja who focuses on healing and long-range assistance. The main purpose of the cultivation method is to make her a betterpanion for Naruto, but it would feel unfair if she didn''t also benefit from the deal. - Chapter 163: The New Rock Lee Chapter 163: The New Rock Lee Disimer: Narutoand all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author Notes- Chapter 163: The New Rock Lee "Ah, Naruto!" The next day, as Naruto stepped out of his apartment, someone called out to him from near the entrance. It was clear they''d been waiting for him. "Lee?" Naruto hadn''t seen him since the day of the funeral. After four months, Rock Lee looked much better. He radiated an aura of confidence that hadn''t been there before. "Have you been waiting to speak with me? You could have knocked on the door," Naruto told him. "It''s okay! I''ve only been waiting for two hours!" Lee said with his usual boundless energy. "Two hours?! You should have definitely knocked on the door then¡­" Naruto said, shaking his head. He had no ns for the day and had decided to take it easy before going for a walk. Lee stretched his muscles casually. "No worries! I kept myself busy with some basic exercises." "I''m sure you did¡­" Naruto chuckled, knowing Lee''s inability to sit still for even five minutes without some form of physical training. "So? What did you want to talk about? We can head back to my apartment if you want." Lee shook his head. "If you have some free time...and it''s not asking too much, I''d like to finally have a spar with you, Naruto." "Mmm...that would be fine. I was nning to head to the training grounds anyway. Follow me," Naruto replied, curious about Lee''s progress after he''d shared the strengthening method with him. <><><><><><><><><><> "Training Ground Number Three?" Lee asked as they stepped inside and he recognized the location. "No one''s using it at the moment, so I got permission toe here," Naruto exined. Lee''s mood grew somber. "Right¡­ this was Team Seven''s training ground. I heard the team was dissolved." "Makes sense. I''m the only member left. Even Kakashi quit his position as team sensei and went back to ANBU," Naruto replied. "I see¡­ I''m sorry," Lee said, bowing slightly. "Forget it. These things happen all the time. There''s a reason genin teams rarely number over twenty," Naruto said nonchntly. Lee nodded. While death was an unfortunate reality of their lives as shinobi, it never got easier when it involved someone close. "Now, before we get started...how''s your training going? Have you been following the instructions I left for you?" "Yes! Of course, I have! I do every exercise in the scroll every day!" "Even the meditation part?" Naruto asked, raising an eyebrow suspiciously. Lee made aplicated face. "I do it¡­ but it''s not my favorite part. Sitting still with my eyes closed just isn''t my style." "I don''t care if it''s not your style...it''s a crucial part of the process, and you can''t skip it. Do you understand?" "I''m doing it! Really! I just don''t understand its purpose. It''s not going to make my muscles stronger, right?" "You''d be surprised at what you can aplish with it. Meditation isn''t just sitting still with your eyes closed. When you focus and follow the proper breathing exercises, you''re moving all the chakra inside your body and directing it to the right ces," Naruto exined. "But my chakra paths don''t work," Lee countered. "No, they don''t...which is why your method is different. You do it at the end of the day because it has to be done after your other training has overloaded your muscles with chakra. Meditation helps with the absorption process. When your muscles and bones be imbued with all that energy, you grow stronger. Even if you can''t feel the chakra moving, as long as you follow the method properly, it will work. I guarantee it," Naruto said. "So that''s how it is¡­" Lee murmured, a look of understanding crossing his face. "I''ll admit I''ve noticed changes. I didn''t realize the more boring part was so crucial." "You''ve improved a lot?" Naruto asked, adopting a fighting stance. "Show me." Lee''s demeanor shifted instantly, bing sharp and focused. "Ready." Naruto gestured for him to begin, and Lee charged without hesitation. Lee closed the gap between them in an instant, throwing a precise kick aimed at Naruto''s side. "Oh?" Naruto blocked it, and Lee immediately followed up with a flurry of punches. ''He''s as fast as he was during his fight with Gaara¡­ and he''s doing it without opening a single gate, Naruto thought, noting the weight behind Lee''s strikes. It was clear Lee could push even further. However, Lee wasn''t the only one who had been training. In the past four months, Naruto had umted enough chakra to approach the peak of the Qi Refining Stage. He only needed a final push to break through to Core Formation. Considering he''d started from scratch less than a year ago, his progress was unprecedented. Even the so-called genius young lords with endless resources couldn''t match him. "Ha!" Lee shouted, aiming a powerful punch at Naruto''s face. Naruto blocked and countered with a strike of his own. "Argh!" Lee tumbled to the ground. "Your moves have be a lot more fluid since the tournament," Naruto praised. It wasn''t just strength and speed, but it was obvious that Lee had not stopped refining his skills either. But he was not without ws. Lee smiled weakly. "But I''m still nowhere close to you. I can''t evennd a single hit¡­" "You''re fast and strong, but your movements stillck finesse and are too predictable. That''s something you can work on," Naruto advised. A grin spread across Lee''s face. "Actually¡­ there''s something I''ve been meaning to try." He pulled a small sk from his belt, opened it, and downed its contents in one go. "Huh?" Naruto caught the unmistakable scent of alcohol. "Are you drinking sake right now?" For a moment, Naruto thought Lee had given up, but then Lee resumed his attacks. However, his style waspletely different now. "Is this¡­ the Drunken Fist?" Naruto murmured. He''d heard of martial artists who became stronger when drunk but had never taken it seriously. Lee''s face was flushed red, his body swaying as if he was about to fall...but he never did. Instead, he attacked with unpredictable ferocity. Naruto realized he had to get serious. Lee''s speed had increased, and his movements werepletely unreadable. Before Naruto could react, Leended a solid kick, sending him flying. "Now!" Lee leaped after him, attempting to bind Naruto with his bandages and execute the Initial Lotus. Naruto grinned. "Not bad¡­ I''ll have to step it up." With practice, Naruto had learned to open multiple gates simultaneously. He opened three of the Eight Gates at once, tearing through the bandages and shoving Lee away. While Lee regained his bnce, Naruto activated the second stage of his ''Red Lotus Shift''technique, granting him aerial mobility. "What?!" Lee eximed, watching Naruto disappear mid-air. Before he could react, a powerful blownded on the back of his head, and everything went dark. Naruto stood over Lee''s unconscious form. "Oops¡­ Did I go too far?" He wondered briefly, then smiled. "But I have to say...the fact that you pushed me this much shows just how far you''vee," Naruto said with satisfaction. "How far will you go?" A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 164: The Journey Begins Chapter 164: The Journey Begins Disimer: Narutoand all its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author Notes- Chapter 164: The Journey Begins The next month passed by quickly. Naruto spent most of his time training, either alone or with Hinata, who wanted to make the most of their time together before his next, much longer trip. asionally, they were joined by Neji, Rock Lee, or Tenten. Team Ten also called on Naruto a few times to join their training sessions. This gave him the chance to spar with Asuma and pick up some insights into refining his wind-style jutsu. He found himself talking to Ino often as well. They had grown closer after her unusual experience inside his mind, but neither of them brought up the topic of their rtionship, leaving things in afortable yet undefined state. Then, Jiraiya returned to the vige. And not long after, it was time for them to leave again. <><><><><><><><> After packing his belongings into storage scrolls, Naruto made his way to the Hokage''s office. The meeting, of course, began with Jiraiya being scolded. "I shouldn''t have to remind you to send regr reports!" Tsunade snapped. "No more waiting four or five months to dump everything on my desk at once." Jiraiya gave a sheepish grin but didn''t respond. Tsunade turned her attention to Naruto. "Be careful, Naruto. That organization will be watching you." "I know. I''m ready for it," Naruto replied confidently, though in his mind he added, ''Or at least, I will be soon enough.'' "And don''t let this perverted old man blow the budget on¡­ extracurricr activities." Tsunade''s re was sharp. Jiraiya waved a hand, producing histest book. "I''ll have you know my recent sales are doing great. I don''t need the budget for¡ª" "Get that filthy book out of my face!" Tsunade barked. "Don''t think I don''t know what''s in it." "My books are about love and passion!" Jiraiya retorted. "What''s so wrong with that?" Tsunade sighed heavily, sitting back in her chair. "Just¡­ be careful. And if things get dangerous, don''t hesitate to request reinforcements." "We''ll manage," Jiraiya assured her. Shizune stepped forward, smiling warmly at Naruto. "Take care of yourself, Naruto. Come back safe." "Thanks, Shizune. I will," Naruto said. "Oh, by the way," Shizune added, "Ino asked me to teach her some healing jutsu." Naruto blinked. "Ino? She never mentioned wanting to learn that." "Well, she did," Tsunade said with a grin. "And if she shows potential, I could teach her more advanced techniques." Jiraiya frowned. "Tsunade, you''re not going to turn that delicate flower into a brute like yourself, are you?" Tsunade''s eyebrow twitched. "You know, Jiraiya, since you''re making so much money, maybe I should cut your funding in half. You can cover the rest with your personalfortune." "Wait, let''s not get carried away¡ªI need my money for..." Jiraya stopped talking all of a sudden. "For what? Go on, say it," Tsunade challenged. "Research?" Jiraiya muttered weakly. "Get out of my office!" Tsunade roared, sending the pair out the door. <><><><><><><><> " Oh¡­" Tsunade seemed to recall something, a short moment after those two left. " What is it?, Lady Tsunade." Shizune asked. " Maybe I should have given them the information we received about Sasuke and Orochimaru¡­." "But that''s Kakashi''s mission¡­ or rather, Fox''s," Shizune reminded her. "And Naruto hasn''t shown much interest in going after Sasuke again." Tsunade nodded slowly. "True. But if they''re heading north, there''s always a chance they might cross paths." "Should I call them back?" Tsunade made a gesture with her hand. " Leave it¡­if it''s fate, they''ll run into each other eventually." <><><><><><><><><><> When Naruto arrived at the vige gates, he was surprised to see a small group waiting for him. "Looks like you gave your friends a heads-up this time," Jiraiya said with a grin. He liked seeing that the boy had some friends at least. He could seem a bit antisocial sometimes. "Well, it''s going to be a much longer trip," Naruto admitted. "I''ll wait ahead. Take your time." Jiraiya waved and walked toward the gates, leaving Naruto with his friends. Kiba pped Naruto on the back. "Don''t die." Shino offered a silent nod. Shikamaru gave him a thumbs-up, while Chouji handed over a bag of chips. Neji bowed politely. "I wish you fortune on your journey." And then there was Rock Lee. "Why are you giving me this?" Naruto asked, staring at the green jumpsuit in his hands. "Sensei always says this suit makes him stronger, so I got you an extra one!" Lee said proudly. "Uh¡­ thanks." Naruto forced a smile, silently vowing never to wear it. "You''re wee!" Lee gave him a thumbs-up. "Where''s your forehead protector?" Ino asked, stepping closer to inspect his traveling outfit. Naruto scratched his head. "Uh¡­ I think I left it at home. I don''t really need it, right?" Ino sighed. "You''re hopeless. That''s the symbol of our vige!" "It''s okay," Hinata said softly, untying her own from around her neck. "You can take mine." "Thanks, Hinata." Naruto tied it around his neck, mirroring how Hinata wore it. "And you can take this too." Before he could react, Hinata leaned forward and kissed him deeply. "Whoa! What the¡ª?!" Kiba eximed. "How troublesome," Shikamaru muttered, ncing at Ino. "Wait..."Kiba was looking around but no one seemed surprised by the sudden kiss. " Was I the only one who didn''t know this was happening?!" "Maybe," Shino said. "Seems like it," Chouji said, munching on a chip with a nonchnt attitude. "Your deduction skills need work, Kiba," Neji added. "It has been obvious for a while that Lady Hinata''s rtionship with Master Naruto had reached another level." Shino nodded. After breaking the kiss, Hinata was smiling proudly from getting a reaction out of Naruto. "Don''t forget about me." She said softly before taking a step back, allowing Ino to have a moment. " Well, I''m not doing that." Ino huffed. " You don''t have to," Naruto answered. It wasn''t like he had been expecting Hinata to do that either. The shy girl was truly no more... Ino frowned but stepped forward to get closer. "You don''t have to show off," she said before leaning close to Naruto and whispering something in his ear. Naruto blinked. "Really? You want to do that?" Ino nodded with a serious expression. He nced at Hinata, who smiled encouragingly. "If that''s what you want, it''s your decision." Ino gave a quick nod before leaning up and kissing Naruto on the cheek. "Don''t forget about me either." "I won''t," Naruto promised. "It''ll be two years at most," he added, ncing around the group. "It''ll go by fast." "By the time you''re back, I''ll be an amazing kunoichi!" Ino dered. "I won''t disappoint you either," Hinata added. "I know you won''t," Naruto said with a smile. "And who knows? Maybe by then, even Kiba will be a Ch¨±nin." "Hey!" Kiba barked, making everyoneugh. With that, Naruto waved goodbye to his friends and set off toward the gates, ready for the next chapter of his journey. A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 165: Welcome to Mount MyÅboku Chapter 165: Wee to Mount My¨­boku Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 165: Wee to Mount My¨­boku "There it is! We''re finally here." Jiraiya pointed excitedly toward a towering mountain in the distance. It had been a month since they left Konoha, traveling through winding roads and dense forests without stopping in any towns along the way. Thest week had been particrly grueling, as they veered off the trails entirely and made their way through hidden, narrow tunnels nestled deep within the thick shrubbery of the region. Eventually, they emerged onto sprawling ins dotted with countless tall mountain peaks. "They''re really well hidden¡­ So this is where the Toad n lives?" Naruto asked, his eyes scanning the surrealndscape. The mountains seemed to exude an ancient, mystical aura. The air felt heavier yet somehow purer, and there was an unshakable sense of nostalgia that tugged at his chest. "Indeed. That one in the center is called Mount My¨­boku, where most of the n resides," Jiraiya exined. "It''s been a long time since I came here by foot." Naruto tilted his head in thought. "I had been meaning to mention that. Since we both have contracts with the toads, couldn''t we have just used a reverse summoning to get here?" Jiraiya chuckled, shaking his head. "That''s would fine for short visits, but this trip is for your training. We''ll be staying for several months so that wouldn''t work. " "Hmph. You''ve been oddly secretive about this training. What exactly are the toads going to teach me?" Naruto asked, crossing his arms. Jiraiya grinned. "Don''t worry about it, kid. You''ll find out soon enough." Naruto sighed but decided to let it go. At least his instincts were telling him this trip would be worth it. "Look! They''re finally here!" Naruto''s ears perked up as he heard excited voices. At the base of the mountain stood two familiar toads, waiting to greet them. "Hey, it''s the little toad lord!" Naruto called out with a grin. "It''s Gamakichi!" the orange toad shot back indignantly. Naruto blinked in surprise. "Whoa, you''ve grown a bit, haven''t you?" Thest time he saw Gamakichi, the toad was the size of a regr frog. Now, he was closer to the size of arge dog. "Of course I''ve grown! And in a few more years, I''ll be as big as my dad, you''ll see!. " Gamakichi dered, puffing out his chest proudly. "Greetings, Lord Naruto and Lord Jiraiya," a deeper, calmer voice spoke. Gamatatsu, who had been patiently waiting next to Gamakishi, stepped forward and bowed respectfully. Naruto smiled. "Gamatatsu, you''ve grown too. Looks like everyone here''s been busy." "Thank you, Lord Naruto. I''ve been practicing my sword skills every day. I hope to be of greater use to you one day," the polite toad said with a bow. Naruto chuckled. "Do all toads in this n grow this big?" "Not all of them," Jiraiya exined. "The physical types tend to grow to impressive sizes, while others remain smaller but are highly skilled in different ways." "Yeah, the elders are tiny!" Gamakichi chimed in. "Lord Gamakichi, please don''t speak about the Venerable Elders like that," Gamatatsu said with a disapproving frown. "Speaking of the elders," Jiraiya said, "we shouldn''t keep them waiting. They''ve been eager to meet you, Naruto." As they climbed to the peak of the mountain, Naruto took in the sight of twisted houses clustered around a massive pond. The area was teeming with life, from vibrant moss and flowers clinging to every surface to small amphibians that hopped along the paths. It felt alive in a way Naruto had never experienced before. Naruto paused, sensing something peculiar. The air seemed charged with an energy he couldn''t quite ce, almost as if the entire mountain pulsed with life. "This ce seems quite special. " Naruto muttered. "You''re not wrong. There''s nowhere else like it in the world," Jiraiya replied, a note of pride in his voice. "What do you think of my home? Cool, huh?" Gamakichi asked, mistaking Naruto''s silence for awe. "There''s something¡­different about the air here. What is it?" Naruto asked, ncing at Jiraiya. Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "Noticed it already, huh?" "Hey! Don''t ignore me!" Gamakichiined. Naruto was about to reply when a new voice interrupted them. It was smooth but carried the weight of centuries, a tone that demanded attention. "I''m not surprised he noticed either. He is the one who was chosen after all." Naruto turned to see a small, purple-haired toad stepping forward. Despite her petite stature, she exuded an aura of immense power, and her golden eyes seemed to pierce straight through him. "Ma! We were just about toe find you," Jiraiya greeted her with a grin. Naruto straightened. ''She must be one of the elders¡­ She feels even stronger than the others.'' "Elder!" Gamatatsu bowed deeply, his respect evident. "You must be Naruto," she said, her tone softening as she examined him. "I am Elder Shima." "It''s an honor to meet you, Elder Shima," Naruto said, bowing politely. She tilted her head, a small smile gracing her lips. "You''re the spitting image of your father. That hair...those eyes..." Naruto hesitated but nodded. "So I''ve been told." "Though your demeanor is...different," she added, her smile turning wry. "Your father was a lot more cheerful." Jiraiyaughed and pped Naruto on the shoulder. "Yeah, this kid doesn''t know how to party like his old man!" Elder Shima frowned at Jiraiya. "Then again...two of you might have been too much for this world..." Turning back to Naruto, she gestured for him to follow. "Come. My husband and the Great Elder are ready to receive you." A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 166: The Great Elder Chapter 166: The Great Elder Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 166: The Great Elder Elder Shima led Naruto and Jiraiya to a more secluded part of the vige. Far from the central pond, they approached a peculiar structure that seemed to have been carved directly into the side of a rocky cave. The exterior was rugged, almost blending into the mountain itself, but there was a distinct aura of importance surrounding it. Once inside, they followed a long, dimly lit corridor. The faint glow of torches flickered along the walls, casting elongated shadows that danced as they passed. Eventually, they entered arge open chamber. Two more toads awaited them. "Here it is¡­ thest contractor of the Toad n," rasped one of the toads. He sat on a stone throne at the back of the chamber, his ancient, wrinkled skin sagging as if weighed down by centuries. His eyes were closed, yet Naruto felt the unmistakable sensation of being scrutinized. He stood tall under the unseen gaze, his instincts heightened. "You don''t need to be so wary around us. We are not your enemies," the ancient toad spoke again, his voice as heavy as the earth beneath them. "Naruto?" Jiraiya nced at his student, puzzled by the Great Sage''sment. "I am always cautious around those with extended senses. Don''t take it personally," Naruto replied calmly. Despite hisposed tone, Naruto was fully aware of the Great Sage''s subtle attempt to probe deeper into his being. He resisted instinctively, not aggressively, but enough to set some boundaries. Naruto''s narrowed eyes conveyed a silent message: I''ll let you look, but only so far. The Great Elder''s expression didn''t change one bit, but Naruto sensed approval rather than hostility. This wasn''t an intrusion born of malice, it was more likely a test instead. "Can we at least finish the introductions before you start harassing the boy, Great Sage?" Elder Shima chided, crossing her arms. "Yes, let''s do that." The toad beside the Great Elder stepped forward. He was small like Shima, with green skin and a tuft of white hair. Despite his size, he carried an air of authority. "I am Elder Fukasaku, Shima''s husband," he said, motioning toward his wife with a fond nod. "And here," Shima added, gesturing toward the ancient toad, "is the Great Elder, Gamamaru. He is the oldest and wisest member of our n. Though he lives in seclusion now, his words guide us all." Naruto inclined his head respectfully. "I don''t doubt his wisdom," he said before turning his gaze back to Gamamaru. "I was told the Elders of the Toad n had something to teach me." The Great Elder didn''t respond immediately. Instead, his head tilted slightly, as if weighing Naruto''s very essence. "We do have much to teach you," Gamamaru finally said, his voice slow and deliberate. "But I must admit... I wonder..." "Elder?" Fukasaku interjected, his brows furrowing in confusion. "What did you discover?" Both Fukasaku and Shima exchanged uneasy nces. They were vaguely aware of the prophecy surrounding Naruto, but the Great Elder''s insights often came shrouded in cryptic vagueness. Jiraiya was even more confused than the rest. He thought this would be just a cordial introduction, but there was clearly something else going on. "Reincarnation is a tricky thing, isn''t it?" Gamamaru finally spoke again after a minute of silence, turning his blind gaze toward Naruto. Naruto''s expression remained impassive. "It is. And only those who achieve a very high degree of enlightenment can begin toprehend it." "Ah, true enough," Gamamaru acknowledged. "I then presume it was not your case?" Naruto''s gaze hardened slightly. "I was not that lucky." The Great Elder hummed thoughtfully. "Perhaps. But then, you must have found fortune in another way..." Naruto frowned, sensing the implication but not rising to it. Gamamaru raised a wrinkled hand in a cating gesture. "Worry not. This old toad harbors no greed for your secrets. My curiosity is a me that flickers faintly now." "Great Elder," Shima interrupted, exasperated. "What is this all about? Shouldn''t we have been informed of such matters beforehand?" "These things... you, youngsters, need not concern yourselves with," Gamamaru spoke dismissively but firmly, silencing further objections with hismanding tone. He returned his attention to Naruto. "I care not for who you were in the past. What matters is who you are now, what you intend to do with the power and knowledge you already possess, and... what you would do if I were to offer you...even more." Naruto considered the question carefully, aware of the weight of the moment. The others in the chamber fell silent, their eyes fixed on him. "My goal..." Naruto finally said, pointing upward, "has always been the same. I want to see what''s up there." Jiraiya blinked, confused. "The roof? There''s nothing there. What are you talking about?" "He''s not talking about the roof!" Shima snapped, leaping onto Jiraiya''s head and giving him a sharp smack. "And keep silent!" "Wait... You mean..." Fukasaku''s eyes widened as realization dawned. "Ohohoh!" The Great Elder''s raspyughter echoed softly through the chamber. "How ambitious!" Jiraiya rubbed his head. "I still don''t get it..." "Fuka," Gamamaru called, his voice low butmanding. "Yes, Great Elder?" Fukasaku asked, his tone reverent. Gamamaru gave a slow nod. "I understand," Fukasaku said, turning toward Naruto with newfound resolve. "Jiraiya," Shima said, tapping his shoulder. "Take Naruto to the Stone Fountain." "You mean..." Jiraiya began, his eyes widening. "Yes," Fukasaku affirmed with a small but knowing smile. "We will teach him how to be... a Sage." A.N - A bit of a cryptic conversation, but I felt like if any character was going to pick up on Naruto''s origins, was going to be Gamamaru, as he is one of the most ancient beings in this world and was around even before the Sage of the Six paths. Reincarnation is also something that exists in the world of Naruto and Gamamaru is very well aware of this possibility, as someone who already existed before ninjutsu and chakra was introduced, he could have knowledge about other more esoterical disciplines. I hope it made some sense. The elder was just trying to figure out what kind of person Naruto was before deciding to give him even more knowledge that could potentially put the world at risk. When he realized that Naruto''s main objective was to ''Ascend'' to a higher ne of existence, he was able to make a decision. - Chapter 167: The Stone Fountain and the Prophecy Chapter 167: The Stone Fountain and the Prophecy Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 167: The Stone Fountain and the Prophecy After leaving the Great Elder''s cave, Jiraiya guided Naruto to a different part of the Toad Vige, one that seemed to be covered in stone statues. The towering carvings of toads, some weathered by time, loomed over them as they walked. The atmosphere felt heavier here, as if the statues themselves were silently watching. During the walk, Naruto noticed Jiraiya ncing his way, his expression pensive. It was clear the older man had something on his mind. "Go ahead," Naruto said, breaking the silence. "Say whatever''s bothering you." It wasn''t surprising. Their bizarre encounter with the Great Sage had undoubtedly left Jiraiya with questions. Naruto had his own, though he didn''t expect answers any time soon. The ancient toad had somehow perceived that Naruto carried memories of past lives, or so it seemed. Even Naruto wasn''t entirely sure what to make of it. Was he a foreign soul that had inhabited the boy''s body during a moment of weakness? Or... had his soul reincarnated naturally, with the memories of his past life sealed until recently?. There was only one way to know for sure. If he could ascend to the ''Spirit Transformation Stage'', he would regain all the memories his soul had umted across lifetimes. But that meant surpassing his previous self...going past his failures and progressing further than ever before, so he had a very long and difficult path ahead of him before he could obtain all the answers he wanted. Jiraiya suddenly stopped in his tracks, pulling Naruto from his thoughts. "Naruto..." Jiraiya began, his tone unusually serious. "Yes?" Naruto prompted, curious. "There''s something you should know." Naruto raised an eyebrow. "That''s odd. I assumed you wanted to ask me something, not tell me something I don''t already know." Jiraiya scratched the back of his head. "Let me ask you this then...do you believe in prophecies?" "Prophecies?" Naruto made a face, his disgust evident. "Please don''t start preaching about fate and destiny. Those are just chains created by those who want to control others." "Well, whether you like them or not," Jiraiya said, "you might be the recipient of one. I figured you had the right to know." Naruto crossed his arms. "Let me guess...the Great Elder is the one behind this so-called prophecy?" "Yes," Jiraiya confirmed. "He''s the only one in the Toad n with that ability. And before you dismiss it outright... the Great Elder is usually right about these things." Naruto''s mistrust didn''t waver. "What does this prophecy say about me, then?". It wasn''t as if he didn''t believe in prophecies. It was more that he had a natural dislike for them. As far as he was concerned, the maniption of mortals'' fates was something done by one of several entities from the Higher Realms in order to exert their influence over those they deemed as lesser. Jiraiya hesitated as if the memory pained him. "To be honest, it was told to me so long ago that I''d almost forgotten about it. But during your conversation with the Elder, something triggered my memory. His wariness suddenly made sense." "Oh?" Naruto''s curiosity was piqued now. "The Great Elder predicted that one day, I would mentor a child who would either save the world... or destroy it." Naruto scoffed. "That''s about as vague as a prophecy can get." "I''m serious," Jiraiya insisted. "For a long time, I thought it referred to your father. But then..." "He died," Naruto said tly. Jiraiya nodded grimly. "So now you think it''s me?" Naruto''s voice carried a note of amusement. "And you think I''m either going to save the world or destroy it? Let me save you the trouble...I have no interest in doing either." Jiraiya studied him carefully. Knowing Naruto as he did, he believed that statement. But that didn''t make the prophecy any easier to dismiss. "If it''s not you..." he trailed off, unable to imagine another candidate. "Forget it," Naruto said firmly. "Don''t waste your energy on things like prophecies. They''ll only distract you from what''s happening here and now." Naruto''s voice carried a conviction that surprised Jiraiya. Unknown to him, Naruto understood the reality of fate and karma all too well. But he also knew they weren''t infallible. The closer one came to the realm of the Immortals, the more resistant they became to such forces. That was Naruto''s goal...to rise above the chains of fate and carve his own path. For now, his focus was on the task at hand. They arrived at their destination, and Naruto''s eyes settled on an unusual structure, a small waterfall cascading into a fountain adorned with a toad statue. "That''s the fountain?" Naruto asked, puzzled. The liquid flowing from the waterfall shimmered faintly, radiating an energy that was anything but ordinary. ''That feeling from before... this must be the source,'' Naruto thought, stepping closer to examine it. "Careful!" Jiraiya warned sharply. "Don''t touch it." Naruto paused, turning to him. "That''s the Toads'' special oil," Jiraiya exined. "It''s extremely dangerous." Naruto frowned. "Dangerous? It feels... powerful. What is it?" "It''s natural energy," Jiraiya said. "The energy you''ll need to master if you want to be a Sage." "Natural energy..." Naruto murmured. So he was right...this was a source of power separate from the Yin and Yang that made up chakra. "It''s a type of energy that flows throughout the world, but it''s usually imperceptible," Jiraiya continued. He didn''t mention how unusual it was for Naruto to sense it so keenly before even beginning his training. Naruto studied the oil carefully, reaching out with his senses to grasp the flow of natural energy around it. There was something faintly familiar about it, though he couldn''t quite ce why. "Eager to start, huh?" a voice interrupted. Naruto turned to see Elder Fukasaku leaping from the top of the waterfall tond on the fountain''s edge. "I am," Naruto said without hesitation, his eyes zing with determination. The elder blinked in surprise, taken aback by the intensity of Naruto''s resolve. Though Naruto was typicallyid-back when something captured his interest, his focus and drive became unstoppable. "Good," Fukasaku said with a nod. "Then let''s begin." A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 168: Natural Talent Chapter 168: Natural Talent Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 168: Natural Talent Fukasaku nced at Naruto with a satisfied smile. "It''s a good sign that you can feel the natural energy before even beginning your training. It means you must have some affinity for it." "Affinity for natural energy? I''ve never heard of any human with an ability like that. Only a few of the animal ns¡­" Jiraiya said, his tone skeptical. He was aware of the Snake n''s natural talent for Senjutsu. "Oh, but you haveheard of another human like that," Fukasaku replied. "He was the first person taught by the Great Elder Gamamaru¡­ a man known as Hagoromo." "The Sage of the Six Paths?" Naruto''s eyes widened. He recalled reading several legends about Hagoromo. The figure was a cornerstone of shinobi history, said to be the originator of modern ninja techniques. "The very same," Fukasaku confirmed. "From what I''ve heard, he also had a strong affinity for the natural energies of the world and could sense their presence even before he met the Great Elder." "Mmm¡­ Hagoromo¡­" Jiraiya muttered, his expression contemtive. "But enough about that," Fukasaku said, shaking off the nostalgia. "I can tell Naruto is eager to begin this training." He tapped his wooden staff against the edge of the fountain. "Take a seat and getfortable. This training will require a great deal of patience and focus." Jiraiya groaned dramatically. "Ugh, I remember that part. Maybe I should go take a nap in the meantime." Fukasaku shot him a harsh re. "Yes, and I believe that attitude is precisely why you never mastered this discipline. Always running off somewhere or ogling females!" "You never mastered it?" Naruto asked, tilting his head. Jiraiya shrugged casually. "Mostly mastered¡­ and I still became a legendary ninja anyway. Can''tin." He stretched his arms. "You won''t find Narutocking in the patience and focus department, though. The kid''s always meditating." After tossing that offhanded remark, Jiraiya strolled toward a shady spot to rx. He had already decided to leave Mount Myoboku the next day... after all, this training was going to take months, and the idea of spending that long surrounded by nothing but toads made him itch with boredom. "Well then¡­" Fukasaku chose to ignore Jiraiya''s antics. He was already more than used to that man''s personality so he wasn''t surprised that he was so eager to walk off. "Well then, what do I have to do?" Naruto asked, already sitting cross-legged in his usual lotus position in front of the Toad Elder. "Allow me to exin," Fukasaku began. "To be a Sage, you must bring natural energy into your body and, using your chakra core, create a perfect bnce with your already present Yin and Yang energies. Only when this bnce is achieved can you fully harness the true benefits of Sage Mode." "A perfect bnce¡­ but circting three different energies inside my body¡­" Naruto furrowed his brows. That sounded tricky. He already had experience bncing the Kyubi''s demonic chakra with his own, but this was on a whole new level as this was a different type of energy altogether. While the Kyubi''s chakra, as different and dangerous as it was, was still of the Yang Type. "Indeed, it''s no easy feat. But the main reason this training is so challenging isn''t just the bnce, but caused by the inherent dangers of natural energy itself," Fukasaku warned. "Dangers?" The toad elder nodded solemnly. "Although natural energy surrounds us and can be extremely beneficial, it bes hazardous when concentrated in excess. I want you to look around, Naruto." Naruto did as told and nced around the pond, his eyesnding on the countless stone toad statues surrounding the fountain. It suddenly dawned on him what these statues actually were. "Are they¡­" Fukasaku''s face fell. "These were once living beings who failed to achieve the perfect bnce. An excess of natural energy turns one to stone. They be one with nature...forever trapped in that state, neither alive nor dead." Naruto felt a shiver as he detected the faint traces of energy emanating from the statues. As the Elder said, these statues weren''t exactly dead but not alive either. "It''s a terrible fate," Fukasaku continued. "We keep these statues here as a reminder for future generations...to caution them against carelessness." "But if that''s the case¡­ there''s still hope for them," Naruto said quietly. "Hope?" Fukasaku blinked, caught off guard by the remark. "Even if only a fragment of their consciousness remains, given enough time, some of them could achieve enlightenment and break free from their stone prisons," Naruto exined. "That''s¡­" Fukasaku paused, his thoughts interrupted by a memory of something the Great Elder Gamamaru had once said: ''There is always hope for the future. Who knows what will happen?''. Naruto noticed Fukasaku''s contemtive expression, he decided to add something else. "Given enough time, even a mountain has the chance to be a god. Who knows what might happen?" Fukasaku flinched. ''This boy¡­'' He wanted to press Naruto further but stopped himself. The Great Elder had warned them not to discuss Naruto''s past or origins and to focus solely on his training. "Apologies if my words were confusing," Naruto said. "Achieving ascension through pure enlightenment is¡­plicated. Even I don''t know enough to exin it properly." After all, this wasn''t a path avable to mortals with their short lifespans. Not even cultivators could achieve it easily... it could take countless millions of years, or even longer than that. But there had always been legends about such stories in the past. "I think I understand now. I''m ready to begin, Elder," Naruto said, straightening his posture. "Right¡­" Fukasaku took a deep breath, regaining his focus. "Since you can already sense the energy around you, I''ll exin how to begin mixing it inside your body." A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. Chapter 169: The Path of Balance Chapter 169: The Path of Bnce Disimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create. "Dialogue" ''Thoughts'' -Author notes- Chapter 169: The Path of Bnce "This oil next to you is something our ancestors created," Fukasaku began. "It has the capability of attracting and concentrating all the natural energy in the surrounding area, making it an excellent tool for practice." "Oh." Naruto understood immediately. In his old world, there were devices called runic arrays that aplished the same purpose of concentrating specific types of chi energy in a designated area. This oil seems to work on the same principle. Having such tools in a cultivation cave was almost mandatory once you reached the higher stages. Without them, the ambient energy would be far too thin and insufficient for meaningful progress. "I should give you one warning. There will be one extra inconvenience for you, though, since you''re human," Fukasaku added. Naruto nced at him and waited patiently for the exnation. "This oil was originally designed for our Toad n," Fukasaku continued. "We discoveredter that when humans use it, there are¡­ minor side effects." "What kind of side effects?" Naruto asked, raising an eyebrow. "If your bnce deviates even slightly, your body will begin to change¡ªyou''ll develop toad-like features." "So¡­ I could be a toad if I mess up this exercise?" Naruto''s brow arched higher. Fukasaku chuckled. "It''s not permanent, and I can fix it. With a simple tap of this staff"¡ªhe gestured to the wooden staff in his hand¡ª"I can disperse all the natural energy stored in your body. The moment I notice any changes, I''ll intervene." Naruto nodded calmly. "I''ll leave it to you, then." "Very well, let''s begin. Close your eyes and focus on my voice. I''ll guide you through the process." As Fukasaku began giving instructions, it didn''t take him long to notice how unusual Naruto was. He had expected the boy to be exceptional, but Naruto followed his guidance wlessly, with a level of precision that astounded the Elder. What Fukasaku didn''t know was that Naruto had centuries of experience practicing various cultivation methods, and this one was rtively straightforward for him. That said, it wasn''t without its challenges. Bncing three types of energy inside his chakra core was no easy task. After about ten minutes, Fukasaku noticed a change as Naruto''s skin was beginning to morph, small toad-like warts appearing on his hands and neck. Without hesitation, Fukasaku gave Naruto a light tap on the head with his staff, dispersing the natural energy and returning his body to normal. Naruto didn''t make a sound, open his eyes, or offer anyment in response. He didn''t need to. Inside his Mind Pce, he was carefully observing everything and knew exactly what was happening on the outside. He had made a slight mistake. ''Hmm¡­ I see.'' Naruto stood within his inner world, staring at the chakra pond in the center of his dantian. Three distinct energies swirled within... the fiery red of Yang chakra, the cool blue of Yin chakra, and the vibrant green of Natural Energy. The colors were just visual representations created by his mind for categorization and they didn''t hold any real significance. As he studied the green energy more closely, something clicked. ''I''ve encountered this before.'' It was said that all sources of energy shared amon origin before diverging into countless forms. Among them, two were considered the most primordial and mysterious: Life Chiand Death Chi. This natural energy, Naruto realized, was undoubtedly Life Chi...an ancient and fundamental force epassing creation and harmony. Methods to cultivate Life Chi were incredibly rare, even in his previous world. It wasn''t just the difficulty of finding a method...but it was also because it required a mindset of absolute peace and alignment with nature, a path few humans could walk. Buddhist monks were among the few known to have delved deeply into this discipline. ''No wonder it feels so familiar.''Naruto mused. The benefits of incorporating Life Chi could potentially be immense...enhanced physical capabilities elerated regeneration, and near-immortality. If Life Chi cultivators were notorious for something, was for being challenging to kill. And that was quite the understatement. Determined, Naruto returned his focus to harmonizing the three energies within him. Just then, a rush of information flooded his mind. His own cultivation technique, Cosmic Assimtion, had unveiled a new chapter...one that wasn''t there before. "This is¡­" Naruto''s gaze shifted upward,nding on the Golden Scripturefloating above his chakra pool. The artifact had always been there, but now it seemed to shine with renewed brilliance. "Are you helping me again?" Naruto asked, a small smile on his lips. The artifact didn''t respond...it never did. But no answer was needed. This Divine Device had proven to him to have a mind of its own, and for some reason, he had been chosen to wield it. So it was natural that I would help him in a moment of need. As much as he would like to understand more about the Golden Scripture, Naruto was well aware that he was currently too weak and insignificant to obtain any real answers about such matters. That was something he would need to leave for his future self. Naruto turned his attention back to the chakra pool, his eyes gleaming with determination. " I can do this." His eyes were filled with determination. With this newly gained knowledge, he knew exactly how to aplish perfect harmony. He will absorb the natural energy directly and then refine it andbine it with the other two. Absorcion, Refinement, Combination. Those were the three main steps of this cultivation method. This newly revealed chapter of Cosmic Assimtionwould allow him to create a new, unified source of energy by blending the three. While maintaining bnce was still critical, this method simplified the process. He only needed perfect harmony during the moment ofbination...not throughout the entire process. This approach also held greater potential, though its true benefits would reveal themselvester. Opening his eyes in the real world, Naruto''s irises shimmered faintly with streaks of red, blue, and green light. Fukasaku noticed the change, though he wasn''t entirely sure what it meant. Naruto''s body wasn''t morphing, which meant he hadn''t made another mistake. For now, the Elder decided to observe. Naruto could now sense the natural energy around him with unprecedented rity. "The natural energy around this pond will replenish even if I absorb it all, right?" he asked. "Absorb it all?!" Fukasaku nearly fell over. "Unless you want to be a permanent decoration here, I rmend only taking a small amount at a time!" Naruto smiled faintly. "Let''s see what happens¡­" Raising his hand, he opened his palm and softly whispered: "Cosmic Assimtion: Absorb." A.N: - Remember toment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it. You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!