## Hokage's Office ##
"What a beautiful day" Tsunade murmured to herself as she began her daily work in the office. She had Jiraiya back in town for the next foreseeable weeks, the Uchiha Clan strike had no repercussions whatsoever and it was a sunny day to end it all. If not for the amount of paperwork already standing in front of her, it would had been one perfect day.
"Tsunade-sama" Shizune said, making Tsunade raise her head "You have a message from Kumo" Shizune said and Tsunade raised an eyebrow.
"Interesting" Tsunade thought to herself chuckling as she read the letter. "I shouldn't be surprised in the end…it's been almost twenty years since the third great war ended"
Crumble
"Uhm?" Tsunade hummed in confusion as she saw small specks of dust fall from the ceiling. She started feeling some vibrations and looked at her cup to see some ripples in her morning sake. Suddenly, her office started shaking to the point she had to secure herself with chakra to avoid falling from the chair.
"What the hell?" Tsunade asked to no one in her confusion. Konoha wasn't in any active fault line so why would an earthquake appear all of a sudden. Tsunade quickly ran to her window and was met with shock when she gazed at the horizon. A swirling black sphere appeared on the horizon, drawing everything to it. The wind, trees and even clouds seemed to shift and spiral around it.
"Hokaaaaage-saaaamaaaaa" some chunnin burst through the door yelling at his leader but she was already gone.
"Are they going all out?" Tsunade thought to herself as he ran towards the training ground. She had to put an end to it and fast.
## Moments Earlier - Training Ground Zero ##
CLANG!
CLANG!
Sounds of metal clashing with other metal rang through the battlegrounds. In the middle of the training ground zero, two shinobi were clashing with unprecedented fierceness. Neither one willing to forfeit or back down. The training ground zero, one of the most recluses of the training grounds, reserved only for high level training and clashes, whose access was granted only by the Hokage's direct order.
"Senpou (Sage Arts)" Hashirama started and green marks started appearing on his face. The marks formed a loop around his eyes going into his cheeks and they had two concentric circles on his forehead. Hashirama's eyes turned to golden ones and felt like they were radiating power.
"Mokuton Hijutsu" Hashirama said as he did the snake hand seal and the ground started shaking. Hashirama looked towards Naruto who was also building up chakra for his own jutsu.
"Jukai Kotan (Nativity of World Trees)" Hashirama shouted and flexed his arms forward making trees burst from the ground. Hundreds upon hundreds of trees suddenly popped from the ground and started heading towards Naruto destroying everything in their path.
"Enton (Inferno Style)" Naruto said as he pumped his lungs with air and his mangekyou started glowing. "Goka Mekkyaku (Great Fire Annihilation)" Naruto said unleashing a gigantic sized wave of black flames upon the incoming wooden barrage. Naruto unleashed fire so hot that it scorched the ground and the trees were instantly vaporized upon contact.
Naruto's eyes glowed as his Susanoo formed itself around him. A silver scythe appeared from the ribcaged as it sliced off a wood branch that tried to flank Naruto from the side. Naruto dropped his Susanoo and cancelled his fire jutsu and watched as Hashirama's jutsu was reduced to nothing more than black ashes on the ground.
"Mokuton: Kajukai Korin (Advent of a World of Flowering Trees)" Hashirama said as more trees were born from the ground. The trees grew into huge heights until they started blooming into beautiful pink flowers. They were exactly like roses, beautiful and yet deadly.
As the flowers bloomed, a thick yellowish mist enveloped the whole field. The flowers had released their pollen that spread through that battlefield. Anyone that inhaled even the smallest amount of it, would be rendered unconscious.
"Katon: Goen Rasengan (Great Flame Rasengan)" Naruto said as he unleashed his attack in the middle of the forest. Hashirama was forced to jump into safety as the ground around him erupted in a maelstrom of fire. A tornado of fire raged in the training grounds, unleashing scorching winds and vaporizing everything around it. Hashirama had sweat rolling down his face due to the heat being unleashed but Naruto didn't seem to be affected by his own creations as he stood in the middle of it, enjoying the inferno he had unleashed.
"Aren't they going a bit too far?" Nao asked, gulping as she watched a friendly spar between Senju Naruto and Senju Hashirama. Tobirama, Minato, Kushina, Mito, Hinata, Itachi and Nao were all watching the clash of both power houses safely behind a barrier. Although if the battle were to escalate, not even the barrier could stand in their way.
"Well" Tobirama started, bringing his hand to his chin. "Hashirama is pissed about Naruto's choice to eliminate the Uchiha Clan" Tobirama said and Itachi sighed.
"Yasaka no Magatama" Naruto said as his Susanoo evolved from the base rib cage and into a more built form, a form worthy of a warrior. Several ethereal beads formed between the Susanoo's arms and were hurled towards Hashirama and high speeds.
"Mokuton: Hobi no Jutsu (Wood Expulsion)" Hashirama said as a dragon faced dome rose from the ground around him. Hashirama's wooden dome creaked as the beads dug themselves within the wood. Even thought they were thrown with impressive speed, Hashirama's jutsu managed to block them.
"Senpou: Mokuton: Shin Susenju (True Several Thousand Hands)" Hashirama shouted, clasping his hands together as a titanic, many-handed statue appeared. The whole training grounds quaked as the statue burst from the ground and stood in front of Naruto. The statue had such magnitude that it put the bijuu to shame, it easily toppled mountains in terms of height.
"I think you might be right" Tobirama said, looking at the monstrous wooden statue in front of him. Tobirama felt like an ant before the statue in front of him. This was Hashirama's most powerful jutsu, one that could cripple even bijuu and the very one that destroyed Madara's Susanoo back during their last battle.
"We should leave" Nao hurriedly said as she couldn't even see the top of the statue from her position on the ground. To think Hashirama could have this level of power.
"I agree" Tobirama said and no one needed to be told twice.
"Damn…he's going all out" Naruto thought to himself. He chuckled at the good time he was having. It wasn't every day he was forced to use his most powerful jutsus. Kurama was simply watching the show from his host's body. The last time he saw that wooden thing, the statue picked him up like some rag doll.
"Juryoton (Gravity Release)" Naruto said pointing his right hand into the air. Purple chakra started swirling in his hand. Moments later a pitch black sphere formed on his palm, the size of a football. Around the sphere, series of white rings started appearing, orbiting the black sphere. The rings started aligning themselves into a one disc-like shape around the orb. It seemed that Naruto had a black planet in his hand with planetary rings around it, either that or a black hole.
"Dai Rasenringu (Great Spiraling Ring)" Naruto said he released his jutsu who simply levitated, heading straight for the statue. The moment the black sphere touched the wooden statue, all hell broke loose. The training ground exploded in a maelstrom of blackness. Fierce winds raged on, pulling everything towards the black sphere. Piece by piece, Hashirama's wooden statue started disintegrating and was simply absorbed into the black hole. Any strike that the statue might do was simply redirected and pulled into the sphere's gravitation pull.
Mito had her eyes widened at the magnitude of the jutsu. She gawked as the barrier in front of her seemed to stretch towards the black hole. Not even one second later, the barrier fell as the black tornado raged on in the battle grounds. Trees were uprooted and huge chunks of earth were simply turned to dust to the gravity pull of the jutsu, even the clouds swirled towards the epicenter of the jutsu.
Every single spectator was hanging for dear life. They bolted away the moment they saw Naruto started their jutsu and, even thought they were almost a mile away, they could still feel the pull. The jutsu started expanding and quickly growing in size, eating away the terrain. Suddenly, just like it had begun, the black vortex imploded and disappeared completely.
Every spectator breathed down in relief as they regained their bearings and started approaching the battlefield. Someone had to tell those two to stop the battle or they might accidently level Konoha. If not for the barrier, a good chunk of Konoha might already be gone.
"U-unbelievable" Nao stuttered in shock at the devastation lying in front of her. The wooden statue was nowhere to be seen and the once green battle ground was now nothing more than a crater, one hundred meters deep. They spotted Naruto at the edge of the crater and made their way towards him. "And I thought I was strong…these two are on a whole different level" Nao thought to herself in shock. Hashirama's skill with the wood element dwarfed even Fugaku's mastery.
"Uhm" Mito started wearily "Where is Hashirama?" Mito asked worried as she didn't see or felt her husband anywhere on the battlegrounds. Naruto used his kamui and simply dropped Hashirama on the ground, unconscious.
"I had to warp him into my dimension otherwise he wouldn't survive" Naruto said and Mito thanked him, bending down to check up on Hashirama.
"He really must have been pissed to fight you to the point he passed out" Minato chuckled while Naruto just shook his head.
"It was better this way. Let him release his hate on me" Naruto said as he watched Tsunade arrived at the training field with an expression that promised pain.
"W-What?" Tsunade had eyes bulging out at the state of the training ground, if it could be called that at this point. "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING TAKING THINGS TO THIS LEVEL?" Tsunade roared while everyone cringed at the sound spike.
"It had to be done" Naruto simply replied and gulped as Tsunade approached him.
"You could had destroyed Konoha with your spar" Tsunade said putting an emphasis of the word spar.
"We know what we were doing baa-chan. You worry too much" Naruto said waving Tsunade's concern off. "I will even sweeten the deal" Naruto said making Tsunade raise an eyebrow in surprise.
"Onmyoton (Yin-Yang Release)" Naruto said as his eyes turned silver and started glowing. "Jikan no Suna (Sands of Time)" Naruto said flexing his right arm towards the destroyed training ground. Everyone's jaw dropped as the training ground seemed to be reverting back to its initial state. The crater started feeling itself with rock, trees were born out of nowhere and were rooted to the ground. As the crater closed, a vast sea of grass filled the grounds. The training grounds were back as if nothing had happened to begin with.
"A-amazing" Nao breathed out as she watched everything revert back.
"Such mastery of yin and yang release" Itachi thought to himself analyzing Naruto to the detail. He had just used the rawest form of chakra manipulation and yet, he seemed normal, like said jutsu was just another one. "To him, perhaps it is" Itachi mused in thought.
"There you go. All back to normal" Naruto said and Tsunade only nodded dumbly as she heard the birds chirping in the trees.
"Maybe I had too much sake already" Tsunade thought to herself as she turned around and simply walked towards her office. "That must be it" Tsunade thought, confirming her beliefs.
"What about him?" Tobirama asked, pointing towards his passed out brother, lying on the floor.
"He's just unconscious. I will take him home and let him cool off" Mito said, holstering her husband and disappearing in a shunshin.
## Later that Day ##
Every Konoha's civilian was running like wild chickens when they saw that huge black tornado rise on the horizon, but still close to the village. They thought another bijuu was about to attack their home once again. Everyone breathed in relief when the black thing disappeared and everything returned to normal.
"Say…can we talk?" Nao asked as she approached Hinata. Everyone was gathered around in the Senju compound. Hinata rose an eyebrow in interest when she saw Uchiha Nao approaching. Things had been a little rocky between the two ever since Nao started living there as well.
"…sure" Hinata replied not really sure what else to say. Hinata watched as Nao nervously approached and sat beside her. Nao fidgeted with her fingers not sure where to begin. Both of them just sat down in awkward silence.
"Sorry" Nao said just above a whisper. Nao didn't know why she couldn't apologize to Hinata. It's not like she did anything wrong, well, except for trying to kill her.
"Come again?" Hinata asked as she didn't understand what Nao had said.
"Sorry for trying to kill you" Nao said looking down and avoiding Hinata's eyes. Hinata just smiled and turned towards Nao.
"Ok" Hinata replied and Nao did a double back.
"What?" Nao asked surprised by her reaction. "Just like that?"
"You said you were sorry and you already helped us so no harm done. Besides, everyone deserves a second chance" Hinata replied smiling. Nao was suddenly so overjoyed that she jumped forward and hugged Hinata with all her might. "This is awkward" Hinata thought to herself when she heard sniffling sounds coming from Nao.
"Are you all right?" Hinata asked with concern in her voice. She never expected Nao of all people to cry on her shoulder, Nao always seemed like nothing ever affected her.
"Y-yes…thank you" Nao said breaking the hug and cleaning her red and puffy eyes. "It's just…my life was a nightmare ever since I was born. My parents died when I was still young. I was only four years old and I can barely remember their faces. My sister did the best she could to take care of me but it wasn't the same" Nao began, looking at the ground while Hinata just listened.
"I didn't want to let them down and I just trained and trained to be the best, to make them proud. I never had any friends at the Academy since I was so engrossed on being a shinobi. The only kid that would even come close to me was Itachi-kun. I was overjoyed when we both graduated from the Academy at the same time and got into the same team together" Nao said smiling fondly at her memories.
"We both belonged to the Uchiha Clan but I only met him at the academy. He was the son of the clan head and I was just another random Uchiha. I walked through the compound's walls and I felt like I was invisible to everyone else. No one seemed to care about me. Yet, Itachi treated me like a normal person."
"Those three years were the best I ever had. I finally had a friend in Itachi. He always kept to himself but I managed to get a few smiles from him from time to time" Nao said and Hinata chuckled softly. "We grew like friends and rivals at the same time. We both wanted to grow strong and we pushed each other, sparring almost daily. Eventually we took the chunnin exams together and we both aced it. The bastard managed to win against me in the last round, thought I left him with a few good bruises" Nao said pouting softly.
"Then everything went downside again. Itachi was recruited into ANBU six months later and I was left all alone again. My sister was often on long terms missions and I did what I did best. I drowned myself in training once again. The years went by and eventually I was promoted to jounin. Sometimes I caught glimpses of Itachi at the compound but for some reason he always disappeared, like he wanted to push me away"
"I only understood why he did it when Fugaku told us the plan of escape Konoha. Itachi had been keeping his distance from me so he could more easily do his mission. Every member of the clan was replaced by a clone and I watched as Itachi slaughtered everyone. He was branded as a traitor and left Konoha to live as a missing shinobi"
"I could clearly see the pain he was in when he finished his deed. I wanted to find him and tell him that he didn't kill anyone but Fugaku never let me. Just two years after we left Konoha, my sister died and I was left completely alone. Even worse is that we were in the middle of the civil war in Kiri. A war that Fugaku himself had started to weaken the mist village"
"I was alone for years. Going on missions after missions, coming home exhausted only to fall asleep immediately. The next day, another mission would be ready for me to take. I kept doing missions and I grew stronger as my eyes developed, awakening new powers. Until I was given that mission in Kiri where I met you" Nao said sighing.
"It was just another mission for me. One of so many I had already did before. But I lost" Nao chuckled. "That was my wake up call. You opened my eyes and I began training once again in the hopes we would meet again and I could repay the favor. After the whole Kiri fiasco, the Uchiha Clan was forced out of Kiri with the rebels taking control over the village. We were relocated and a few weeks later I was given another mission. To blow up Konoha's Academy and kill everyone inside" Nao said and Hinata gasped.
"I did come to Konoha to do the mission" Nao said and Hinata was shocked that Nao would even consider such thing. "We even crossed paths in the middle of the street" Nao chuckled slowly and Hinata remembered that event when she had felt some familiar chakra.
"I infiltrated the Academy and was walking through the halls when I heard someone named Iruka giving a lecture on the Hi no Ishi (Will of Fire)" Nao said and Hinata chuckled inwardly. Of course it had to be Iruka lecturing the will of fire. "He said that everyone in Konoha was like a big family. Everyone took care and protected each other. I wanted to believe in that so much since I never had nothing like that after my parents died."
"I chose not to complete the mission and returned to give Fugaku the news. It was then that I learned that it was him that killed my sister" Nao said gritting her teeth. "I thought my sister died when we swapped eyes and I blamed myself for it. I wanted power so much that I forced my sister to trade eyes and she paid the price. But it was Fugaku all along, he killed her because she wouldn't follow his orders anymore. I got so mad…Fugaku had taken the last person I had in my life"
"I fought him to avenge my sister but I was defeated and left to die. But Itachi of all people found me and brought me here…to my new home" Nao said smiling. "I-I…just don't want to be alone anymore" Nao said and Hinata quickly hugged her again.
"We are not alone anymore Nao-chan" Hinata said as Nao's eyes began watering again. "You have a new family now and you have Itachi back again" Hinata said and both split apart.
"T-Thank you" Nao said smiling. Nao gave her a real smile, like she hadn't smiled like that in years.
"Say" Hinata began and Nao focused on her. "Have you confessed to Itachi yet?" Hinata asked and Nao blushed, looking away. Hinata just giggled at her newest friend, easing the ambient.
"N-No" Nao stuttered out her answer.
"Why not?" Hinata asked confused.
"What if he doesn't like me?" Nao asked slowly. She couldn't handle rejection right now.
"He was willing to beg to Naruto to save you" Hinata replied smiling and Nao was surprised. Itachi might have not inherited his clan's arrogance but he had pride on his own way. And for him to be willing to beg so that she be saved.
"You think he likes me?" Nao asked slightly blushing. She felt like she was a school girl again. Like she had felt when she told her older sister she liked Itachi, a few years ago.
"I know he does" Hinata said and Nao nodded.
"W-what should I do?" Nao asked, panicking and bringing her hands to her warm cheeks. She never had any female friends to talk about things like this. And talking to her older sister wasn't exactly the same thing.
"This is what you will do…" Hinata said and she whispered into Nao's hears.
## With Naruto & Itachi ##
Naruto and Itachi were eating peacefully together at the kitchen when Itachi suddenly shivered. "You alright?" Naruto asked when he noticed Itachi suddenly shift uncomfortably in his chair.
"I feel like something bad is about to happen" Itachi said making Naruto raise an eyebrow. Suddenly the kitchen's door opened and both Hinata and Nao walked in, giggling like crazy.
"That can't be a good thing" Both Naruto and Itachi thought to themselves, gulping as they watched the two girls approach.
"Up boys" Hinata said and both Naruto and Itachi rose from the table. Hinata's voice didn't left much margin for disagreement.
"Now Nao-chan" Hinata said getting her attention. "Activate your sharingan and do as I" Hinata said and walked forward until she was face to face with Naruto who was wondering where this was going. Nao nodded as her eyes changed into blood red as she focused solely on Hinata.
Hinata looked Naruto dead in the eyes as she cutely bit her bottom lip in anticipation. Hinata reach for Naruto with her hand, brushing his golden hair out of the way, her hand softly caressing his right cheek, getting a small purr due to his sensitive whiskers. Hinata smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck and felt Naruto's own arms wrapping themselves around her waist, pulling her closer.
Hinata could feel his hot breath, they were but an inch apart. "Of course…ramen" Hinata thought to herself, smelling his breath. She leaned in, closer and closer until their lips grazed together. Hinata looked Naruto in the eyes as she closed her own, she leaned in firmly yet seductively and their lips met.
Hinata could feel Naruto's quick inhale, pulling air from her lungs. Naruto pulled her closer, holding her tightly, feeling the race of her heart, the softness of her lips and her intoxicating smell. Hinata had completely forgotten about Nao as both of them were in their own world.
Their lips started pulling apart but both remained in each other's arms. Their breathing came out in short and in quick gasps as the world around them began to slowly come back into focus. "Wow…" Naruto breathed out while Hinata just hummed in his chest, until she remembered the purpose of all of this.
*Cough*
Hinata cleared her throat trying to clear the ambient after such public display of affection.
*Thumb* *Thumb*
Both Uchihas fell to the floor with a small trail of blood on their noses. "Those two are made for each other" Naruto replied chuckling.
"Yes they are. Kukukuku…can you picture the awkward position they will wake up" Hinata chuckled evilly as she eyed both unconscious Uchihas on the ground, with Nao lying on top of Itachi.
Naruto looked down at his waist, then he looked at Hinata who raised an eyebrow and finally he looked back to his steaming bowl of ramen. Having decided on his choice he took Hinata's hand and dragged her away.
"Where are we going?" Hinata asked confused as she was being led by Naruto somewhere.
"We are going to have sex" Naruto simply said.
"uhm ok?" Hinata replied confused while Naruto nodded his head.
"You can't kiss me like that and not take responsibility"
## Next Day – Hokage's Office ##
"Thank you all for coming" Tsunade said as she looked at the five shinobi in front of her. Senju Naruto, Senju Hinata, Tenten, Nara Shikamaru and finally Rock Lee. All five chunnins were standing in perfect stance in front of their leader. "Yesterday I received a letter from Kumo with a very interesting proposal" Tsunade cryptically said, raising a few eyebrows and a particular brushy one.
"Kumo sent us a letter inviting us for the jounin exams as they decided to host them" Tsunade said and Naruto was surprised.
"I've never heard of jounin exams. Are they like the chunnin exams?" Naruto asked curious and Tsunade smirked.
"The jounin exams is a very special event, even more than the chunnin exams. The jounin exams are only hosted once in every five years and only when there have been long times of peace" Tsunade informed and Naruto nodded his head. "It's been almost twenty years since the end of the third great ninja war and Kumo decided to host this event and sent us a letter inviting us"
"While these exams might seem like any others, I assure they are not. Only the strongest of the chunnins are sent into these exams. The contestants are the strongest and most influential of each village and most likely, they will occupy positions of power later on" Tsunade explained and everyone nodded, convinced to do their best in the exams.
"Suits you well Naruto" Tenten began drawing Naruto's attention to her. "You were always the one shouting about becoming Hokage"
"Maybe" Naruto replied and everyone did a double take.
"Maybe?" Hinata asked in disbelief. "You gave up on being Hokage?" Hinata asked shocked. She never even suspected such thing.
"Not gave up per say…I just realized the truth" Naruto began and everyone listened. "At first I wanted to be Hokage so that everyone would acknowledge me, but I already have that. Then I wanted to be Hokage to protect the whole village and I realized the truth when I went to the mist. I don't need to be Hokage to protect everyone I care for"
"Being Hokage is just a bonus really. I have everything I need right now. I'm respected and acknowledged, I have friends, family and my beautiful wife" Naruto said and everyone just stared at him. What happened to the blond loud mouth that always shouted about being Hokage back at the Academy?
"What do you know? ...the brat is growing up" Tsunade smiled to herself. Hinata smiled since she felt the exact same way. After being expelled from her clan she gained her mother back, a new family and now she had her husband.
"My husband" Hinata thought to herself giggling in her mind and bringing her hands to her cheeks in her mind.
"Anyway…I chose two three manned teams. First team will be Tenten, Rock Lee and Nara Shikamaru and the last team with Senju Naruto, Senju Hinata and a third member who will be arriving shortly" Tsunade explained.
"YOSH…I SHALL SHOW KUMO THE FLAMES OF YOUTH" Lee suddenly shouted with fire burning in his eyes. "NARUTO-KUN…I CHALLENGE YOU" Lee roared pumping his fists and making Naruto take a step back.
"How about….no" Naruto said.
"DAMN YOU NARUTO-KUN AND YOUR HIP WAYS" Lee said crying anime tears. Everyone just chuckled at their antics.
"Troublesome" Shikamaru muttered beneath his breath.
"So our third member is Shino-kun?" Hinata asked but Tsunade shook her head in denial.
"I offered him the chance to participate and bring back team 8 but he's busy with his clan" Tsunade said and Hinata nodded. It was a shame, it had been a while since she has seen Shino.
"Only us?" Naruto rhetorically asked. "I thought more of our age group would want to participate" Naruto said in retrospect.
"Neji is already a jounin so he was already out. Temari, Kankuro and Ino became full time apprentices under Anko and Ibiki in the interrogation and torture department. Gaara said something about working with Fuu and their bijuus. Chouji, Kiba and Shino were busy with their clans. You were all that remained" Tsunade explained, putting down the sheets.
"Don't worry baa-chan. We will kick some ass" Naruto said giving her a thumbs up and making her shake her head.
"Shikamaru, Tenten, Lee you are dismissed. Naru-chan and Hinata-chan, you stay and wait for the third member" Tsunade said making Naruto glare at her. He could hear Tenten giggling all the way out at Naruto's nickname.
When Naruto was alone in the office with Tsunade and Hinata, he turned to his grandmother. "You have any more intel on the Akatsuki movements?" Naruto asked. He felt the Anbu's chakra signature and they were ones he trusted.
"Jiraiya has his spy network after their members but they are hard to track down. They are all S-rank shinobi you know?" Tsunade asked and Naruto nodded sighing.
"They already have five of the nine bijuus. Only the Hachibi from Kumo, me, Gaara and Fuu remain" Naruto said and Tsunade raised an eyebrow.
"How do you know that?" Tsunade asked curious.
"I'm connected to the statue and I can feel their chakra inside it. I would summon the statue and released them but I want to destroy their Rinnegan first" Naruto explained and Tsunade nodded.
"They will have to wait" Tsunade said until she remembered something. "About your new teammate" Tsunade began getting the attention of both Naruto and Hinata. "Keep an eye on him" Tsunade advised and both of them were surprised by such expression.
"Why?" Naruto wondered.
"He's from Root. He was appointed by Danzo to and I quote 'protect the Senju heir and Kyuubi Jinchuuriki at all costs'" Tsunade said.
"Interesting" Naruto hummed scratching his chin. "Danzo knows I can handle myself" Naruto said. "I wonder what you are up to now" Naruto added, thinking about the one eyed mummy.
*Knock Knock*
"Enter" Tsunade said, raising from her chair as the door opened. Both Naruto and Hinata turned around to see what would be the third member of their team to the jounin exams.
He had short, black hair, and black eyes which contrast with his very pale skin. He carried a small backpack with his brush, scrolls, and ninja ink in it. He wore a short black jacket with red straps. He also carried a tip-less tanto on his back. The rest of his outfit consisted of a high-collared midriff shirt, black pants, shinobi sandals and gloves with his index and thumb fingers exposed, most likely to facilitate the use of his drawing based techniques.
"Welcome Sai" Tsunade said greeting the newcomer and approaching him.
"This is my grandson Naru-chan and my apprentice Hinata-chan" Tsunade and Naruto's eyes twitched at his name once again. It seemed that he would live with him to the rest of his life. Sai walked in with a neutral face, without a care in the world.
"Hokage-sama, Senju-sama, Hinata-sama" Sai said, slightly bowing his head.
"Nothing of that Sai-kun" Hinata waved off the formal greetings getting a smile from the boy.
"Pleasure to meet you" Sai said shaking Hinata's open hand. "Ugly"
Everything froze after that comment. Even the hand shaking motion came to a halt as everyone blinked to try and come up with another possible and logic word that might have been mistaken for. In the end, no one thought of any plausible alternative and Hinata immediately retracted his hand.
"On second thought, Hinata-sama seems good" Hinata replied with her eyes twitching while Naruto on the other hand was trying to suppress a laugh, much to her irritation.
"You're lucky she isn't violent otherwise you would already be buried" Naruto thought to himself chuckling.
"And of course the Senju heir. A pleasure" Sai said shaking Naruto's hand as well. "Dickless"
Now Hinata wasn't violent but Naruto did have short fuse. Naruto's eyes twitched as his sharingan almost came to life. "Sai" Tsunade called, making him turn and give her the same smile. "Do you want to die?" Tsunade rhetorically asked. "Because that is how you die" Tsunade said, nodding her head while Hinata held Naruto back from frying Sai.
"Now that the introductions are over" Tsunade said chuckling weakly with Naruto and Hinata giving Sai side looks. "The exams are in two weeks. I will have Blue and Green as your jounin senseis to the exams" Tsunade said and threw Naruto a knowing look. With the Akatsuki out there, a wondering jinchuuriki was like a free piece of meat. Although Naruto could take care of himself. "Rendezvous tomorrow at dawn" Tsunade said and everyone left.
Tsunade sat down at her desk and went to pick up her cup of sake when the cup suddenly cracked. "I have a bad feeling about all this" Tsunade thought to herself gulping down the sake and burying down her superstitions.
## Next Day – Konoha's Gates ##
"Are you all ready?" Blue (Tobirama) asked towards the six shinobi in front of him. Hinata, Naruto and Sai formed one team while Shikamaru, Lee and Tenten were the other one. Accompanying the two teams was the Blue Dragon (Tobirama) and the Green Dragon (Hashirama).
"And you are?" Tenten asked the masked man.
"I will be acting as your jounin-sensei during the exams while Blue takes Naruto's team" Green replied.
"What is up with the mask?" Tenten asked suspicious.
"The mask serves its purpose. Our identity is an S-class secret only known to the hokage and our group" Blue explained and Tenten hummed in thought.
"I heard about the dragons of Konoha. They are supposed to be this elite group that takes only the most dangerous and difficult missions for our village. They report only to the Hokage" Tenten said.
"Troublesome…just ask Naruto. He's the leader of the group and one the highest ranking officers in the village even higher than the Anbu Commander." Shikamaru explained making Tenten eyes pop in surprise. Her neck snapped towards Naruto so fast that it nearly broke.
"Is he serious?" Tenten asked pointing towards Naruto with her arms shaking.
"He is" Naruto simply replied. Naruto flexed his arms around his silver armor. On his back was his trusted fan and on his kamui dimension, his staff. On his wrists, several storage seals with kunais, shuriken…the works. In fact, both Naruto and Hinata were in their standard dragon uniform. You may say that they grew attached to it as it provides so much more armor than regular chain mail.
"So…who is Blue?" Tenten asked.
"Sorry Tenten, S-class secret" Naruto replied and Tenten pouted.
*Whistle*
Blue placed two fingers on his mouth and took a deep breath. Blue unleashed and loud whistle that rang across the gates of Konoha and high into the skies.
*RAWR*
Fours dragons suddenly dropped from the cloud banks and plummeted towards the ground and neck breaking speeds. As they arrived near the ground, they flapped their wings creating a cloud of dust and blocking everyone's view. They landed on their respective owner's shoulders.
"You called?" Blue (Dragon) asked. Tenten's jaw dropped at the creature standing on his shoulder. Blue's scales and eyes were the color of sapphires, an intense blue that refracted the light. His talons and spikes on his neck, back, and tail were a dull blue. Like all dragons, he had white, sharp, knife-like, meat-shearing teeth. His body stature could be inferred as very aerodynamic and built for flying (A/N: Check profile for picture of all dragons)
"Keep your eyes open in the sky for possible ambushes" Blue (Tobirama) said as the dragons left their owners and returned to where they belonged, the skies.
"Is that a dragon?" Tenten asked in disbelief. She had only heard of dragons on books and fairy tales. But to see one here, alive and talking.
"Perks of the group" Blue (Tobirama) said smirking behind his mask while Tenten just pouted. The little thing, although had a feral look, looked adorable to her.
"Let's get on with this shall we" Green (Hashirama) grumbled as everyone nodded and left the gates walking towards Kumo, where the jounin exams would take place.
"Danzo-sama will want to know about this" Sai thought to himself watching the dragons disappear in the sky.
## Middle of the Road ##
"Still grumpy about it?" Naruto asked towards Green who remained silent, making Naruto sigh towards him. He didn't know what else to do. Sure Hashirama was angry at Naruto's decision to wipe out the Uchiha Clan but he should have understood.
"I don't understand why you had to wipe out the whole clan" Green said looking at the sky. "I wasn't even a battle to begin with…it was a slaughter"
"Maybe you are too blind to see it" Blue (Tobirama) said, making Green (Hashirama) turn towards his younger brother. "You grew up with Madara as a brother of sorts. Maybe you are too close to his clan to make the right calls and we both know that as cost us back in the days" Blue said while Green sighed.
"Madara?" Shikamaru thought to himself now paying attention to the conversation. Both Naruto and Hinata caught Tobirama's reference to Madara but let it slip as no one seemed to take note of it with the exception of Shikamaru which opened a single eye.
"You are too soft brother" Blue said sighing.
"Why are you so against it? You want peace don't you?" Naruto asked in a serious voice. Naruto knew how much Hashirama had struggled to find peace and yet he wasn't able to make sacrifices.
"But not at the cost of lives" Green replied.
"And that is why you never reached it" Naruto simply answered.
"That's cold" Green said but Naruto disagreed.
"Realistic" Naruto countered. "There is only one answer to peace and some…can't be in the new world" Naruto explained while Green sighed.
"He's right you know?" Shikamaru rhetorically asked and everyone turned towards him, surprised to see him talk of all people. "Troublesome…one bad seed can wreck a whole crop" Shikamaru yawned as he began cloud watching again.
"I'll refrain from judging until later on" Green said.
"So we are good?" Naruto asked and Green nodded making Naruto grin.
"I still want a dragon" Tenten pouted making Naruto chuckle.
## Kumogakure ##
Kumogakure, the hidden village of the lightning country, founded by the very first Raikage. The village is located in a range of tall mountains, and is literally hidden in the clouds. The Raikage works in a large blue structure built into the tallest mountain. The mountains provide a natural defense against any incursion as their shinobi have higher ground.
"This place hasn't changed one bit" Green said as he looked around the village. The village's structure was exactly how he remembered it.
"You speak has someone who hasn't come here in many years, yet you don't seem that old" Shikamaru lazily pointed out.
"Stop over analyzing every word I say, its freaking me out" Green said annoyed by the Nara's behavior. What he didn't know was that both Blue and Green had sparked Shikamaru's curiosity, and that was never a good thing on a Nara.
"Hai hai" Shikamaru waved him off as he yawned loudly.
"Damn kids" Green thought to himself, crossing his arms in surrender.
"YOSH" Lee yelled with fire in his eyes. "LET'S SHOW THEM THE FLAM-"
*Smack*
Lee dropped to the ground as Blue had hit his neck, effectively knocking him out. "What did you do to Lee?" Tenten yelled as she rushed her fallen teammate.
"He was loud and annoying, and the exams only start in two days" Blue said and walked off into his room at the hotel. Everyone had their own separate room with Naruto and Hinata sharing their own.
## Two Days Later ##
"First Exams of the jounin exams…begin"