Naruto slowly opened his eyes, thankful for the dimness of the room. He lay off on the bed, staring into nothing and thinking of nothing, and cleared all the sleep from his eyes.
Sitting up, he was happy to find that he no longer felt exhausted and tired like yesterday evening. In fact, he could say with certainty. That aside from having chakra control problems, he was in top physical condition. Looking around the room, he saw his two teammates sprawled out on their beds. Like him, they hadn't bothered to change or freshen up; they had probably fallen out a little after him.
He took the opportunity to hit the shower first and moved to the bathroom. Twenty minutes later, he was clean and fresh in a new pair of clothes and Sasuke and Sakura were just beginning to stir when he walked out of the bathroom.
He grinned at their half sleepy forms. "Hey guys!" he exclaimed a bit too loudly. He grinned a bit more when they just grumbled angrily. No one liked loud noises in the morning.
He chuckled, "Anyways, I'm heading off to breakfast in the canteen. The bathroom's free if you want it." He walked to the door and just when he was about to open it when he turned and smirked, "I don't know if the hot water is limited or not."
Sasuke and Sakura froze for a moment and for a moment, they just sat like that. Sasuke was the first to snap out of it and was about to rush into the bathroom when the door was knocked, causing the two genin to pause momentarily.
If Naruto had not been a sensor, he would have probably slapped an explosive tag on the door and backed away. However, he sensed two familiar chakra signatures outside. 'Kakashi-sensei and jiji. Didn't know they would come this early. Then again, this is Orochimaru we are talking about,' he mused as he opened the door.
Hiruzen and Kakashi's serious faces greeted him on the outside. Behind him, Sakura and Sasuke also tensed up for a second before relaxing. Naruto wordlessly stepped aside to let them through and closed the door behind them.
Hiruzen turned to Naruto and said in a tone that unconsciously caused Naruto to straighten his back. "Iruka said that you encountered Orochimaru in the forest."
Naruto nodded just as seriously, "Hai, Hokage-sama." He then recounted everything, beginning from the time when they first encountered him. How he was forcefully separated from his team, how he and Sasuke teamed up to take him down and failed spectacularly. "I don't know what happened after I was knocked out, but I can take a guess," he said, glancing at Sasuke, who tensed up.
Hiruzen and Kakashi both knew very well that when Naruto said that he could guess something, it was something worth witnessing. Naruto never guessed anything, he always observed and when he had gathered his facts, he connected them in such a way that it was hard to argue with him when he had presented his deduction.
Seeing jiji's and Kakashi's anticipating looks, he continued. "I woke up a day after I was knocked out. I was mostly fine, but when I emerged from our hiding spot, I observed that we had been ambushed. An unconscious Lee was in the clearing. When I observed team ten's faces, they positively did not know when Lee had come, which meant Lee had arrived before team ten came to our aid. He was knocked out when I saw him. But," he said, glancing at Sasuke, who was staring at him with a neutral face, "Something was wrong with Sasuke."
He didn't mince his facts. The whole room turned to face Sasuke, who had adopted a scowl. Naruto continued his explanation, "I felt a strange chakra emanating from him. It felt very…evil, for the lack of a word. It also caused him to become extremely ruthless while under its effects. What's more dangerous is that the feeling of that chakra was quite similar to what I felt from Orochimaru."
Both Hiruzen and Kakashi had wide eyes at what had happened. Naruto seemed not to notice their shock as he still continued speaking, "He was covered in strange black marks that were spread over the left side of his body. Judging from his euphoric and ruthless behavior, I'd say he was under the effects that are quite similar to when shinobi receive a major boost in power. However, an accidental slip caused him to get knocked out and while it was only for a fleeting moment, I saw the marks receding to underneath his left collar."
That confirmed Hiruzen's and Kakashi's worst suspicions. Hiruzen turned to Sasuke and asked, but it was more like an order, "Sasuke-kun, can you please remove your shirt for a moment?"
"…Hai, Hokage-sama," came the quiet response from the boy. Sasuke deftly pulled his shirt off and all the occupants in the room were wide eyed, including Naruto, when they saw a strange mark on the left hand side of his neck, its appearance not unlike the three tomoes of sharingan.
"Oh kami," Hiruzen breathed out. This was not good at all. Orochimaru had come into the chunin exams and had put his curse mark on Uchiha Sasuke of all people, who was a major flight-risk. Orochimaru knew that Sasuke carried a deep, revenge fueled desire within him to avenge his clan by killing his brother. He had offered a source of power and gave a glimpse of its effects to Sasuke. Hiruzen became even more worried that Sasuke will go to Orochimaru in hopes of controlling that power.
Naruto curiously asked in disgusted fascination, "What the hell is that?" He had a feeling that this was quite familiar.
Hiruzen turned to Naruto, "That…is the curse mark of Orochimaru. I'm sure you know of this Naruto," he gave a knowing look that confused the others in the room.
Naruto furrowed his brow in thought and it immediately came to him. Anko-sensei had showed him the same thing once on her neck! "Oh damn," he breathed out.
Sasuke was starting to get irritated that the others were talking about him as if he was not even in the room. "What are you talking about?!" He near snarled at the three.
Naruto turned and walked towards Sasuke, pressing two fingers to the seal. While his sensory abilities were still blocked, being in contact with the seal negated the handicap. For a moment he just felt it out, brushing against it with a tiny amount of his chakra. He ignored Sasuke's flinch at the burn of the seal and thought for a moment on how to explain it to someone who did not even know the 'F' of fuinjutsu.
"This seal…..it might sound extremely bad on my part, but it's quite a beauty. It's so complicated, so intricate that it will take years of study to try and find a counter to it. It's like a storage seal that can only be activated by you. If I had to make a guess, judging from when I previously observed you using this seal, it has Orochimaru's chakra in it. Not exactly the same, but just enough to tell that it's similar," he laid out his analysis.
Hiruzen nodded, "Very good analysis, Naruto-kun. That's exactly what it is. However, there is a risk in using it. A grave one."
Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "What is the risk?"
Naruto narrowed his eyes at not just Sasuke's question, but also the way he asked it. He could not say with certainty, but he almost felt like Sasuke was considering using that chakra.
Naruto cut in before jiji could speak, "In the short time that you used it, it probably must have felt euphoric to you. A rush of power so potent and heightened, unparalleled by anything you've felt ever before. Am I wrong?"
He pinned Sasuke with a stare that advised him not to lie. Not that he could anyway, with Kakashi and Hiruzen keeping a close eye on him.
"Yeah," Sasuke answered hesitantly. Hiruzen and Kakashi were in awe of Naruto's deducing skills. If not for both of them knowing who his parents were, they would have thought he belonged to the Nara clan.
Naruto picked up from his answer, almost mumbling more to himself rather than his superiors in the room. "And whatever feels to us that way, we are bound to resort using it again and again. Orochimaru must have kept this in mind when he designed the seal. Anyone who used its power would be tempted to use it repeatedly until they become dependent on its power."
Turning to Sasuke, he said in a pleading tone, "Sasuke, no matter what, you have to absolutely avoid using that seal. I was told that it was nothing but a slave collar, a way for Orochimaru to make you kneel to him."
Naruto carefully studied Sasuke's expression. By the end of his explanation, Sasuke looked angry that someone tried to make him dance to their tune. But underneath the anger, Naruto could see it. Sasuke was leaning towards using it when the situation gets worse. Judging by the looks on jiji's and Kakashi's face, they had seen it too.
Hiruzen spoke in a commanding tone, "We have no choice but to seal it immediately. For the good of others and your own."
Naruto raised an eyebrow, "How will you seal it? There is only one such seal in existence and that too relies on the will of the recipient."
Kakashi nodded, "I will seal it with the Fuja Hoin (Evil containment seal). But, as Naruto said, there's a catch," he said, glancing towards Sasuke.
"What is it?"
Naruto took up from where Kakashi left off, "The evil containment seal is only as powerful as you want it to be. The stronger your will to resist using that chakra, better will be the effects of the seal and better will it be contained."
Kakashi stepped forward, "Come, Sasuke. You can relax after the sealing is over. We must do it now."
Naruto smiled slyly, "I didn't know you were versed in the delicate art of sealing, sensei."
Kakashi turned with a bored eye, "I picked up a thing or two from my sensei." Taking a hold of Sasuke, who had put on his shirt, he vanished in a swirl of leaves. Hiruzen proceeded to leave as Sakura closed the door to the bathroom.
"Jiji!" he called out. This was his chance to get his seal taken off. He lifted his shirt and jacket and molded some chakra to make his seal visible. "Can you remove this seal? Orochimaru placed it on me, and I don't think I want my teammates to know about my status just yet."
Hiruzen studied the seal and saw what it was. "I can do it, but you better brace yourself," he warned before five kanji lit up on his fingers. "On the count of three. One….." he slammed the fingers on to the seal, exclaiming "Gogyo Kain!" He watched with satisfaction as the seal came off Naruto, who was unprepared and as such, fell on his butt. The Five Elements Seal disappeared from on top of his seal.
Naruto glared at the old man, "Where was the two and three, old man?"
Sarutobi shrugged innocently, "Two, three. All the best for the next phase." He shunshined away just in time to avoid a barrage of shuriken.
Naruto grumbled in irritation, but brightened up when he felt his consciousness being prodded by a familiar presence. He closed his eyes and when he opened them, he was in the valley again, underneath the tree that Kurama enjoyed so much.
The said demon was lazily lying underneath it, his tails swaying behind him lazily, but magnificently. He stared at Naruto intensely, who grinned back. Naruto walked up to Kurama's head and sat down in front of him.
"Are you alright, Kurama?"
Kurama scoffed, sending hot air from his nostrils. "Such a seal can't affect me, but it did affect the seal your father placed on you. We aren't mutually inclusive."
Naruto nodded in understanding. Kurama spoke again, "By the way, nice job on trying to fight Orochimaru. You were quite efficient in your attacks, if only to compensate for your weakness."
Naruto simply waved that comment away. He had gotten used to Kurama's way of complimenting a long time ago. "Also, the tag team that you formed with the Uchiha was quite impressive, considering who repulsive he acts towards you."
Naruto turned serious, "Sasuke will do what's necessary to survive to face Itachi someday. Even if it means admitting his weakness right now and teaming up."
Kurama gave a grunt to acknowledge him, but Naruto knew that Kurama could care less about Sasuke, or any Uchiha in general.
"Alright, I'll see you later Kurama." Kurama nodded and settled down for a nap. Naruto then exited his mindscape and opened his eyes in the real world. Only five seconds had passed. Naruto smirked at the time difference opened the door and proceeded to breakfast.
XXXXXXX
The next two days were pretty much uneventful. Naruto did not waste the time given to them. The day the seal was removed, his chakra control came back. He was better than before, hell even his chakra pools had expanded quite a bit.
Nothing interesting had happened in the two days, other than Naruto meeting Temari once again during breakfast. Nothing major had happened, except the two had made eye contact once and looked away quickly, both of them blushing heavily.
It seemed that now that the tension of the second phase had passed, the awkwardness from the end of the first date had returned in full. They didn't meet each other again until the last day, when all the genin had assembled in an arena of sorts.
They were pleased to find that all of the Konoha teams had made it, along with the Oto team as well. He already knew about the Suna team. All of the genin stood in a formation before the Sandaime, who looked serious and imposing, every bit the shinobi he was known to be. He observed all the genin from under his hat, and Naruto could see none of the kindness that he was usually known for by the people of his village.
"Congratulations on successfully completing the first half of the chunin exams. You all have proven you at least have the will to become chunin….but will is not enough by itself, however strong it may be. It's time I revealed to you the real reason why chunin exams are held, one of the many truths you will no doubt learn later in your life," he addressed them.
"In reality, the chunin exams are games of war, a representation of the conflicts between all the nations. It is a chance for hidden villages to showcase the best of their shinobi, who strive to bring glory to their homes. Other nations, all potential clients of our profession will watch the battles."
Naruto tuned the rest of the speech out as he frowned in thought. Basically, what jiji was saying is that the chunin exams are a show of strength from the hidden villages, and they were merely pieces of the whole game. It made perfect sense to him though; the village received more missions and commerce, and in turn put more money in his pockets.
He had no complaints to make as long as he was getting his due.
He returned his attention to the front when Hiruzen cleared his throat. "Now, I will….."
He trailed off when a jonin from the line up of all senseis behind him jumped up and appeared in front of him in a kneeling position of respect. "With all due respect, Hokage-sama, please allow me, the proctor of this exam, to explain."
Naruto observed the ninja carefully. The man was decently tall, bandana with metal plate attached covering the most of his brown hair save for the few in the front. The bags underneath his eyes indicated an exhausted and if the repeated coughs were anything to go by, a chronically sick nature.
The Hokage nodded and moved back to stand in front of the lineup, his eyes sharp and present. The man cleared his throat and began speaking, "My name is Gekko Hayate, and I am the proctor for the third exam. We usually don't do this, but it is being done this time." He said all that before being attacked by another coughing fit.
The genin muttered among themselves as they tried to figure out the reason for the preliminary round. Shikamaru called out in irritation, "What?! Why do we have to go through a troublesome round like this?"
"Like Hokage-sama explained, there will be people coming to watch this. Important people such as the royalty, businessman. We want them to have a good time watching the fights. We didn't anticipate on this many people remaining after the second round. So for the best fights, the best fighters would be chosen. That being said, the rounds will start immediately so if you don't feel your best, you can drop out right now. Your teammates won't be disqualified if you drop out," he explained.
A hand rose up from the crowd, which Naruto identified belonging to one Yakushi Kabuto, the genin they had met back in the exam room.
"I forfeit. I have almost no chakra left." Kabuto said.
Hayate nodded, "Always good to know your limits. You can leave."
Kabuto nodded and walked away. Naruto's eyes narrowed in suspicion. He could easily sense chakra levels, and Kabuto's was almost full. In fact, he had more chakra than any genin assembled, barring Naruto himself.
Naruto saw Ibiki speaking to the Hokage, who nodded. Nothing more, he turned his gaze back front. Speaking of sensing, Naruto's gaze shifted and landed on one of the jonin from Oto. His chakra was as normal as any of the jonin, but the very familiar maliciousness in his chakra gave him away. He was the only jonin who had such a feeling to his chakra.
Not to mention, he failed to disguise his eyes. Naruto heard Kurama snigger as he thought, 'Is Orochimaru an idiot or what? I'm surprised those snake like eyes haven't been caught by jiji yet.'
He turned his gaze away just before Orochimaru faced his direction. Naruto kept his cool, knowing that he wasn't the target of Orochimaru's stare.
Hayate explained that now that the number of genin was even, they will now have ten one-on-one matches. The victors will proceed to the final stage of the chunin exams. He explained all the regular rules of an authorized shinobi fight and started the matches. All the teams and senseis went up to the balconies. Foreigners on the right and Konoha on the left. They all turned to the screen to see names flashing by, before they stopped on the first two.
Akadou Yoroi vs Uchiha Sasuke.
Naruto rose an eyebrow. "Looks like you're first, Sasuke. All the best," he wished the boy luck, but it wasn't said genuinely. Honestly, it was getting harder and harder to trust Sasuke now. Anko had once told him that the cursed mark brought out the worst, the truest part of you. Naruto had taken a glimpse at the real Sasuke back in the forest- a maniac who would do anything for power, even kill his own. He had no love for his own people.
Naruto watched as Sasuke went down. Sasuke was his comrade and as such, he would protect his comrades with his life, as was his duty. But to Naruto, that's all what Sasuke was to him right now. A comrade, nothing more. There was no friendship, no trust between them as of now. Sasuke officially lost them when he chose to use the tainted power and attack him with the intent to at least fatally injure him.
Naruto would be wary of Sasuke now.
Back in the arena, Hayate raised his hand before shouting. "Hajime!"
Yoroi placed his hands in a seal, "Let's do this!"
Naruto closely payed attention to the match. After Yoroi had placed his hands in a seal, his left hand had begun to emit a blue aura of chakra as he took off in a sprint towards Sasuke.
Sasuke, for his part, simply stood still with his sharingan active. 'I thought he wouldn't be able to use the sharingan without being affected by the cursed seal. But no matter, I will win anyway,' Yoroi panicked at first, then relaxed, continuing his assault. As soon as Yoroi threw his hand forward, Sasuke blocked it. However, he was shocked when he could feel his chakra leaving him.
"I have the ability to absorb another person's chakra through my jutsu. You don't have a chance," Yoroi said smugly. Sasuke grit his teeth and immediately lashed out, forcing Yoroi to disentangle from him.
Sasuke stood at a distance, breathing heavily. He had deactivated his sharingan. 'Dammit! I was too careless! I can't afford to lose any more chakra! I have to finish this fast, or I risk exhaustion from his jutsu!' he thought furiously.
Yoroi gazed at Sasuke, feeling smug about his apparently easy victory. However, that feeling soon disappeared when Sasuke seemed to disappear as well, right in front of his eyes. However, the jonin and Naruto saw that Sasuke had just moved incredibly fast, crouching in front of Yoroi and delivering a kick to the boy's jaw.
Naruto narrowed his eyes. 'That cannot be his speed. He was that fast only with the power of the curse mark. But that kick….Sasuke copied Lee, didn't he? Not bad at all.'
Yoroi was sent flying with the force of the kick. When Sasuke appeared below him, Yoroi instantly recognized the maneuver as the shadow dance. He had no time to be shocked at all.
"Shishi Rendan!" Sasuke executed a devastating three hit combo, with the last hit involving smashing Yoroi into the ground with such force that the boy was knocked out instantly. Sasuke stood back, breathing heavily and a scowl on his face. 'I can't believe I was pushed so far by this guy. I should have been able to defeat him no time at all!'
Hayate checked if Yoroi was knocked out. When he was, he stood up and announced Sasuke's victory.
Ino and Sakura cheered loudly at the victory, and even Kakashi cracked a smile. But Naruto was standing with a neutral expression, just looking at Sasuke and replaying the fight in his head.
'He copied Lee's techniques back when they were fighting. That sharingan…..quite a useful way to learn techniques,' he speculated. Then he looked at Lee, who looked a bit downcast. 'I guess that's how everyone feels when they have all their hard work copied by the sharingan in just a blink. I'll have to be careful from now on; Sasuke might just be looking for opportunities to use the sharingan on me,' he thought.
The rest of the fights that followed were quite interesting. The next fight was Shino vs Zaku. According to Naruto, Shino won in a true Shinobi fashion. Zaku could only use one arm, but he almost got Shino with his attack Zankuuha. But despite being hurt, Shino was able to trap Zaku with his Kikaichu in a checkmate. The bugs had actually stuck inside the holes of Zaku's arms, rendering them completely useless and making it a victory for the Aburame.
The next match was Kankuro vs Tsurugi, the genin from Kabuto's team. The match was very short. Tsurugi could contort his body, his arms and limbs getting longer and trapping Kankuro in his grasp. At first, it seemed that Kankuro's neck was snapped, but it just turned out to be the puppet, while the real Kankuro was the one in the bandages. He turned the tables on Tsurugi and trapped his in the grasp of his puppet, breaking several of his bones. Tsurugi lost the match and Kankuro was declared victorious.
The next match was Sakura vs Ino. Honestly speaking, the fight was quite pathetic. It was nothing more than two fangirls fighting, though this time, Sakura was more focused on her fight rather than just impressing Sasuke. She managed to land many hits on Ino before Ino allowed her anger to take over. In an impulsive action, she cut her own hair, trying to show her resolve. Naruto just shook his head, feeling secondhand embarrassment on behalf of them. 'This is what ninjas of Konoha are supposed to be? The previous Hokages must be rolling in their graves.'
Both of them just knocked each other out. Kakashi went down to pick Sakura up, while Asuma picked Ino up.
Naruto was honestly torn in his feelings about the next match. He didn't know whether to ogle Temari and admire her, or to feel bad about his fellow Konoha genin, Tenten. The matchup for Tenten couldn't have been worse.
All the weapons that Tenten threw at Temari were effortlessly blown away by the other girl. Naruto shook his head; Tenten overly relied on her weapons and that was a glaring weakness. Without her weapons, Naruto doubted she knew any elemental jutsu. Tenten's final move, which was throwing all her weapons at Temari, was as useless as Naruto predicted. All her weapons were thrown back at her. Tenten flew up in the air, and was about to land on the ground when another swipe of Temari's fan sent the girl rolling on the ground, unconscious surrounded by her weapons.
Lee seemed to take Tenten's defeat quite personally, and felt that Temari was a bit too harsh. He moved to attack Temari, who just blocked the attack with her fan.
"The world of the shinobi is harsh, Lee. What Temari-san did was actually quite mild," Gai-sensei said in a solemn tone as he guided Lee back upstairs. Temari scoffed at Lee and turned to go back upstairs, when she stole a glance at Naruto. He was looking at her with a warm smile, silently mouthing his congratulations with a wink. She blushed and looked away from him, walking back to her brothers.
The next match was Shikamaru vs Kin, a genin of the sound team. Naruto actually enjoyed watching his friend's match. Shikamaru 's intellect never failed to surprise him.
She used needles tied with bells towards Shikamaru, who figured she would throw one with the bell and one without the bell to confuse him. She threw more bells, all dodged by Shikamaru. But he was shocked to hear a bell behind him. Turned out she used a type of genjutsu based on sound, disorienting him. After a little struggle on his part, Shikamaru managed to trap her in her shadow imitation technique. He threw a shuriken at her, causing her to do the same and dodged, but the wall was in her way and she was easily knocked out.
All in all, it was a great match. 'Shika can go far if he focuses a bit more on the versatility of his techniques instead of just relying on the clan techniques,' he thought with a smirk. He nodded to the guy, congratulating him on the match, but the boy just muttered troublesome and walked away.
It was finally his turn. And his match was against Kiba.
Naruto just sighed at the matchup, whereas Sakura and Kakashi seemed to wince. Even Sasuke felt his eye twitching. Kiba was in for a rough time.
"Ha! We got lucky, Akamaru!" Kiba gloated, jumping down into the arena. Akamaru gave an enthusiastic bark of agreement. Naruto also jumped down into the arena. Now was the time to show a little of what he was capable of. Kiba didn't know of his true strength like his own team and team ten, so he was likely to be underestimated.
On the other hand, Kiba was likely to stick to clan techniques. This was a great opportunity to learn Kiba's ways of fighting. He wouldn't be revealing anything significant of his own.
Naruto stood across from Kiba as Hayate stood between them. Kiba smacked his right fist into his other palm. "Heh, I feel bad for you Naruto! I'll end this in just one punch!"
Naruto showed no reaction at that. In fact, the Konoha jonin except Kakashi were quite unnerved at the lack of reaction from the resident prankster of Konoha. His face was devoid of expression, eyes giving nothing away. It reminded them too much of a certain missing Uchiha.
"Hajime!"
Naruto did not bother falling into a stance. First, he would let Kiba do all the work, showing him all his techniques. He was not disappointed when Kiba underestimated him and dashed forward in low-chunin speed, after getting on all fours, an elbow on the way to get buried in his gut.
Kiba grinned savagely when he neared Naruto. 'He doesn't stand a chance against me!' However, that thought was thrown out of the window when Naruto side stepped at the last second. Kiba was going too fast to stop, so he just went past him. Naruto grabbed Kiba's jacket from behind and threw him back towards Akamaru. Kiba grunted as he landed on his back, managing to flip up after the landing.
Naruto just stood there, arms at his sides. He called out, "Don't give less than your best, Kiba! Or you won't even stand a chance of winning!"
Up in the stands, Kurenai frowned and turned towards Kakashi, "Kakashi, your genin is being quite cocky, despite being the dead last of his batch."
Kakashi nodded, "He has every right to be."
Kurenai scoffed and turned back to the fight, "Kiba will thrash him, Kakashi. Naruto is no match for his speed."
She missed the entirety of team 7 wincing. 'If only you knew,' they collectively thought. She was about to be proven wrong.
Down in the arena, Kiba was scoffing. "I don't need my best attacks to beat you, Naruto!"
However, Naruto was no longer in front of him. His eyes, along with all the jonin present widened. He turned around in almost a whiplash and panic gripped him when he saw Naruto holding Akamaru by his front legs, the puppy whimpering in fear.
Naruto's voice was as cold as his eyes, "Is this enough of an incentive?"
Kiba grit his teeth. 'I didn't even see him move! How is he this fast?! And he's got Akamaru!'
Kiba didn't waste any more time. "Akamaru!" He tossed a pill into the open mouth of the dog. Naruto immediately dropped the puppy and retreated to a safe distance. 'Now I might get a warm-up, at least.'
He was wrong.
Immediately after Akamaru had swallowed the pill, he grew larger until he was a regular sized dog, with red fur. Akamaru dashed in a speed he did not possess earlier to Kiba's side. Kiba and Akamaru then dashed together towards Naruto, with Kiba throwing smoke bombs around Naruto. He expected Naruto to get disoriented and confused, allowing him to hit the boy easily.
However, Naruto surprised everyone again when he flash stepped out of the smoke field in an instant and looked at the smoke screen intently. All the jonin suddenly realized what Naruto was doing. He was scouting, analyzing Kiba's techniques and strategies to develop a counter strategy!
So far, Naruto had gathered quite some info on his opponent. 'The Inuzuka clan employs ninken to aid in their battle. From what I have seen until now, Kiba's style if purely offensive, relying on speed and ferocity and augmented by Akamaru. His fighting style utilizes his claws. Kiba is hot-headed, plunging headfirst into this situation without any strategies, believing he can overpower me with brute force and speed. However, he employs distraction tactics when brute force does not work. The smoke bombs were to confuse me and taking advantage of that, it would allow Kiba would land his attacks.'
The whole train of thought took less than a second. Naruto knew Kiba had much more to reveal. "Oi, Kiba! There is no one in there, you smelly dog!" of course, Naruto meant no offense. It was purely to provoke Kiba into attacking him with his strongest attack, revealing his trump card to all.
As expected, Kiba took the bait and rushed out of the smoke screen with Akamaru, both snarling furiously. "You'll pay for that, Naruto!" Finally, he revealed it.
He crouched on all fours again, with Akamaru climbing on his back. "Gijou Ninpo!" (Ninja art of beast mimicry) A puff of smoke revealed that Akamaru had transformed into Kiba, with both the Kiba crouched on the ground.
Kurenai smirked on the railing. "Seems that your student is done for Kakashi. He may be fast, but not fast enough to avoid both of them at the same time."
Kakashi just eye smiled at her, "We'll see, won't we?"
In the arena, both the Kiba's took off towards Naruto, their speed greatly increased. However, Naruto surprised everyone present when he nimbly dodged all of their efforts to land on him. What confused the team 7, however, that they didn't know Naruto incorporated his fighting style to be so flexible. They didn't know that Naruto had indeed, incorporated the Snake-style Taijutsu in his own style of fighting.
This continued for about ten seconds after which Naruto decided that Kiba was still hiding his ultimate technique. He absently dodged a Kiba by leaping into the air, thinking on how to make him reveal it.
Kiba grinned when he saw Naruto leap into the air to dodge Akamaru. It was pissing him off on how easily he was dodging them. He never knew Naruto was capable of being this fast. But now he had their chance.
"Gatsugaaaaaaa!"
The cry snapped Naruto out of his thoughts, noticing too late the twin swirling tornados heading towards him in mid-air. He cursed for letting his concentration slip and immediately threw a kunai behind the duo before he got hit with them.
Kurenai smiled in satisfaction as she saw Kiba using his strongest attack to smash Naruto into the ceiling of the arena. "Your student lost, Kakashi. Might as well go and collect him, because that was Kiba's strongest attack. Naruto won't be getting up anytime soon."
Kakashi smirked beneath the mask, "Well, it's not over yet, Kurenai." Kurenai narrowed her eyes and looked down, eyes widening along with Asuma and Gai when they figured out what happened.
Kiba stood triumphantly over the downed form of Naruto. "Heh! You might be tough, but not tough enough! Gatsuga is a crippling attack, and you just- huh?!"
The Naruto on the floor puffed into smoke, revealing just a kunai. Kiba spun around just in time to receive a blow to his stomach that sent him barreling into Akamaru.
Naruto carefully kept his eyes on the real Kiba as they rolled. The next part of his plan required it. He taunted Kiba, "I am getting bored Kiba. I am finishing this now, if you don't mind." Without a seal, a shadow clone popped up beside him.
"I'll give you only thirty seconds. Try to knock me out, will you?" With that, both of them separated, the clone going after Akamaru and Naruto facing Kiba.
In the next thirty seconds, Naruto dodged three Gatsuga, all the while looking relaxed. He was waiting for the perfect opportunity, which arrived finally when Akamaru had to take a breath.
Kiba barreled towards him with another Gatsuga, finally hitting him. The attack sent Naruto barreling into the wall on the other side, causing it to crack a little.
Kiba was lightly panting as he stared at the down form of Naruto. "That'll teach you not to get me angry…" However, panic gripped him for a second time in the whole fight when another puff of smoke revealed just who he had hit.
Akamaru lying on the ground, unconscious and heavily injured, if the blood was anything to go by. He turned around with wide eyes to see Naruto and his shadow clone smirking, both sharing a fist bump after which the clone dispelled.
The jonin above were dumbstruck. None had expected Naruto to substitute with Akamaru at the last second. Naruto had used a simple, but a very clever tactic to take Akamaru out of the fight. Now that Kiba was alone, the Konoha jonin were rethinking the fact whether Kiba would be able to beat Naruto or not.
Naruto said while smirking, "Now that your partner's out of the fight, it's your turn, Kiba."
Kiba's eyes were wide with disbelief at how Naruto had completely turned the tables on him. Naruto, except for the punch that sent him into Akamaru, had not attacked once. Instead, he just let the fight progress, letting Kiba do the work for him and taking Akamaru out instead of himself.
Naruto created four shadow clones that popped into existence with a half ram seal. They all surrounded Kiba, who cursed at his situation. What happened next would be remembered by everyone.
The Naruto in front of Kiba punched him fast and hard sending him into the Naruto behind him, who roundhouse-kicked him into the Naruto on his left. That Naruto spun-anticlockwise and his left leg caught Kiba in the chest, sending him backwards into the fourth Naruto who kicked Kiba so hard in the chin that Kiba swore he felt his teeth crack as he was sent flying across the arena in an arc.
Naruto then jumped across the arena himself, having timed the jump such that he was above Kiba in mid-air. "HAH!" The cry was to denote the victory in his voice rather than the application of force. Spinning to gather momentum, he sent a punishing kick to Kiba's gut that sent him crashing into the ground, creating a mini crater.
He landed in a crouch a few meters away, facing away from Kiba. He already knew that Kiba had passed out from the pain. He looked over to Hayate, who was confirming Kiba's condition. Finding him to be unconscious, Hayate rose and declared, "Winner, Uzumaki Naruto."
The entire crowd, including Naruto's team, was speechless. The teams outside of Konoha were gaping at the blonde, who was not even out of breath. What kind of training did Konoha give to this guy?! The team from Suna had varied reactions. Kankuro was slightly sweating, not because of the punishment Kiba went through, but at how effortlessly Naruto delivered it. Temari had a hand over her mouth to prevent anyone from seeing that she was gaping in amazement. She had figured Naruto was strong, but not this strong.
He had finished the fight with just a shadow clone and taijutsu, not to mention he didn't use any weapons, except for the kunai which he just used for replacement. He had not given away any of his trump cards, and could dish it out hard without resorting to any of them. He wasn't even out of breath! But the reaction from Gaara was the one that worried them the most.
"Uzumaki Naruto," he whispered, a crazed expression coming on to his face. "You'll prove my existence."
Naruto walked up the stairs confidently, but stopped when Kurenai stepped in front of him, an incensed look on her face. "Was it really necessary for you to be so brutal?"
Naruto folded his arms and replied, "I fail to see why you're so incensed."
Kurenai put her hands on her hips and glared hard, "I believe, from your performance, that you were skilled enough to simply knock him out. Why didn't you?"
Naruto checked in his peripheral vision that all the Konoha nin on the railing were watching in interest. Turning his attention back to Kurenai, he said, "You won't understand. Besides, there are people my age who are way stronger than me. If this were a real battle, Kiba would have been dead a hundred times over in one minute." He wanted to say more, but held it in. He just walked away, letting Kurenai take in his words.
The Konoha nin had to admit that it was true. From the looks of it, Naruto had gone extremely easy on Kiba, not even putting much effort. If he had put effort…..they didn't want to think about it.
[AN: Sorry for the skip guys, but I won't be writing any more of the fights. My main focus is on Naruto, so read it like the rest of the fights went exactly like that of in canon.]
After the fights were finished, Hayate called out, "Will all the winners please come down to the arena floor? We have a few announcements."
Sasuke, Shino, Temari, Kankuro, Naruto, Shikamaru, Neji and Gaara arrived at the arena floor as Hayate addressed them again.
"Congratulation to you all. You eight genin are the finalists that will compete in the finals of the chunin exams in one month's time. It will be just how it happened today except your opponent will be decided right now." He pulled out a small pouch filled with chits.
"You will pull a number from the pouch and announce the number you have received along with your name. By those numbers you will be paired."
He started with Naruto first and then went down the line.
"Uzumaki Naruto-1"
"Aburame Shino-6"
"Gaara-3"
"Kankuro-5"
"Hyuga Neji-2"
"Sabaku no Temari-7"
"Uchiha Sasuke-4"
"Nara Shikamaru -8"
Hayate nodded and read from the clipboard he was carrying. "The final matches will be the following:
Uzumaki Naruto vs Hyuga Neji
Gaara vs Uchiha Sasuke
Kankuro vs Aburame Shino
Sabaku no Temari vs Nara Shikamaru"
He looked up from the board and addressed the genin. "There will be seven matches in total. The fifth match will be between the winner of the first and the second, the sixth match will be between winner of the third and the fourth, seventh between the winner of the fifth and the sixth."
Sandaime stepped forward at this point, "Now that you know who your opponents are going to be, use the following month to prepare for the finals. Your village will be represented, so while preparing, keep that in mind."
XXXXXXX
The next day, Naruto was walking at a comfortable pace to training ground 7, where he had sensed Kakashi. As he walked, he thought about what happened yesterday.
Hinata had been pit against Neji, and it wasn't just cousin rivalry that was going on. Naruto had learned for the first time, listening to Neji talk, that the Hyuga were divided even among themselves. Hinata was the heiress of Hyuga, which meant that she was a member of the main house. Neji was a member of the branch house, and held a serious grudge against the main house, if his behavior towards Hinata was anything to go by.
Naruto hadn't taken well to Neji verbally assaulting the already timid girl so much. Neji had to be stopped from landing a fatal blow to Hinata by the jonin senseis. Naruto himself had sworn a blood oath to make Neji pay for what he did to Hinata. Maybe it was fate that they ended up being opponents. Who knows?
Naruto didn't know the full story yet, but he won't be looking into it just yet. Right now, he needed to find Kakashi for his training. He leisurely walked into the training grounds and spotted Kakashi and Sasuke, both standing by the stumps. Kakashi, as usual, had his head buried in his porn while Sasuke just looked plain annoyed. He then spotted Naruto walking towards them in no hurry at all.
"What are you doing here?" the annoyance was crystal clear in his voice. Naruto easily shrugged it off and replied.
"I'm sure our sensei was expecting me. After all, we both need training for the chunin finals," he easily smiled back, further annoying the Uchiha.
"I was, indeed, expecting you, Naruto," Kakashi said, snapping his book shut. He regretted for what he was about to do, but it couldn't be helped.
Naruto stared intently at Kakashi, straight in his visible eye. There was something going on that he did not know. Casting a bored glance at Sasuke, he couldn't find anything. Th boy just looked annoyed and…impatient? Impatient for what?
Kakashi found it hard to stare his student in his eyes. Those eyes that were full of intelligence, but always looked bored. But now that Naruto was staring at him, trying to figure out what was going on, he didn't see Naruto. Instead he saw his sensei, who only looked disappointed at him, as if already knowing what he was about to do.
Naruto stared at Kakashi, waiting for him to speak. But for some reason, the usually cool jonin looked a tad bit uncomfortable. Naruto mentally sighed, thinking that Kakashi would need some prompting to speak. Bluntly pointing a finger towards Sasuke, he asked, "Why is he impatient?"
The question caused Sasuke's neck to snap towards him. It also caused Kakashi to finally regain his wits. Before he could speak, Naruto beat him to it. "Anyways, I came to ask you to train us for the finals, Kakashi-sensei." He was careful to say "us" and not "me".
"You see Naruto, the thing is, I won't be training you for the finals," he said, guilt bubbling up on the inside. The level of guilt grew exponentially when he learned what his student had come to ask for. But because of who Sasuke's opponent was, he needed to train him.
Naruto for his part, simply stared at Kakashi like he was stupid. Inside though, he was a bit hurt. He knew Kakashi was the only man with a sharingan still affiliated to the village and therefore, was the best person to train the last loyal Uchiha. But that excuse became invalid the moment he chose to become a sensei. As a sensei, he had to treat all his students fairly, without playing favorites. He could understand that Sasuke needed training because of who his opponent was, but that was no excuse to ditch his other students. What about him and Sakura?
Naruto's posture straightened up, and he folded his arms across his chest. "Other that the fact that Sasuke is facing Gaara and only you can train him with his sharingan, what excuse do you have this time for ditching me and Sakura?" He didn't mince his words. He had laid his cards onto the table, opting to see Kakashi's hand.
Kakashi flinched heavily this time. The accusation was clear Naruto's voice, and his question had hit a bullseye. What excuse did he have? HE could not form an answer.
Naruto watched Kakashi struggle for words and fought to keep his eyes from narrowing. He felt anger for the first time since wave mission, and it was smoldering. He knew that he himself had received special training before, but it was justified considering his position as the lone jinchuriki of the village. Why was Sasuke entitled to special training?!
Naruto simply put his arms in his pockets and turned around. He really wasn't in the mood to hear another half-assed excuse that Kakashi would likely give to him.
"Don't bother answering. I can see you have no excuse," Naruto said, walking away. Kakashi decided to change the topic to at least salvage what little he could.
"But I did find you another sensei, Naruto."
Naruto stopped, but did not turn around. "If you mean the closet pervert hiding in the woods behind us, thanks but I'll pass." He was in no way training with Ebisu of all people for something as important as the chunin exams. He had met the man when he was training Konohamaru how to use the Oiroke no jutsu. Needless to say, he was not impressed at all. The man's chakra was barely mid-jonin, and his attitude towards him pissed him off.
Before using shunshin to go away, he said without turning around. "I don't know if you know or not, but Gaara's like me, maybe even stronger," he revealed, causing Kakashi to widen his eye in shock. Naruto continued, "Even people like you would be hard pressed to beat him." He flickered away, not waiting to watch the man's reaction or Sasuke's confusion.
He appeared in front of the Hokage tower, deep in his thoughts. He was sure everyone would remember what Gaara had done to Rock Lee yesterday. The guy, with his sand, had crushed Lee's hands and legs so brutally, without any hint of remorse or emotion, that even Naruto had sweat a little. Gaara was dangerous, and he himself didn't know how he would beat the guy.
Kurama had told him that since the Ichibi was the weakest of all tailed beasts, he gave his host full access to his power very early, which is why Gaara was so deranged. Shukaku had been influencing Gaara ever since Gaara could talk, so it was bound to affect him some way.
Naruto did not care to go through all the doors. He simply jumped up to the window, slid it open and announced "Yo jiji!"
XXXXXXX
Sarutobi was glaring at the paperwork before him with all the hate he could muster. He was about to start on it when he felt an exceptionally large amount if dense chakra heading towards him. He was about to stand up when he heard the familiar voice "Yo jiji!"
Sarutobi blinked at the blonde perched on his window, waving casually at him. However, he detected a small amount of sadness emanating from the boy.
"Naruto-kun, come in." He let the boy come inside and sit in front of him. He patiently waited for Naruto to speak.
Naruto deliberated how to say it, but decided that laying it out seemed the best option. "I need someone to train me for the finals," he had expected the confusion on jiji's face.
"Why, what happened to your sensei?"
Naruto managed to keep the bitterness out of his voice, "He is training Sasuke for the finals."
Sarutobi had been a shinobi for almost seventy years, and therefore was adept at reading the emotions of people, especially the hidden ones. So it immediately became clear to him what had happened and his eyes hardened.
'Kakashi promised me he would treat his students without favoritism! How dare he break that promise?! I knew he would be conflicted between Obito's and Minato's legacy. He should have at least found some middle ground instead of just tossing aside Minato's legacy!'
He raged mentally for a few more moments before calming down. Fortunately, he did have someone excellent who could train Naruto for the finals.
"Very well, Naruto. I will speak to Kakashi later, but for now, I do have someone who could train you."
Naruto's eyes lit up with hope, "You do?"
Sarutobi smiled and nodded, "Why, yes. He is in the village right now."
Naruto looked confused for a second, but immediately grasped the meaning of that statement. A smirk spread across his lips, "Is he now?"
Without waiting for him to respond, Naruto was gone in a swirl of leaves. Sarutobi chuckled, returning to his paperwork. He looked forward to seeing what Naruto did in the finals.
Naruto immediately spread his senses, sensing every chakra signature he could. A particularly large chakra signature showed up on the outermost point of his range. Naruto smirked and ducked into an alley. After checking that no one was watching, he flashed to the location. He had put his formula around the hot springs as well.
Appearing silently in a blue flash beneath the large man perched on the branch of a tree, shamelessly peeping into the women's side of the hot springs and giggling, Naruto reacted the instant he appeared, jumping up and kicking the man into the women's side of the bath.
He then sat down to enjoy the show. There were definitely screams of women and the pained screams of Jiraiya filled the air. Naruto laughed heartily at the beating his godfather was going through. He had settled things with him a while ago, and had no problem making fun of the guy.
He didn't stop laughing even when Jiraiya managed to leap over the fence and out of the war zone looking no worse for wear. He glared at the blonde brat on the branch, who was wheezing so hard that he fell down the branch, not even registering the fall. Jiraiya growled and was about to kick the brat when Naruto finally stopped wheezing and stood up. His face was flushed with all the laughing.
"That's what you get for peeping, Ero-sennin," Naruto smirked, folding his arms. Jiraiya crossed his arms in a huff.
"You know better than to interrupt my peeping time, Naruto," he muttered, though there was no heat in his voice. He then really looked at Naruto for the first time. He had grown well, standing over at five feet two and a well-built physique for his age. His hair was tied in his usual ponytail, and he still looked as bored and indifferent as over.
"Anyways, what do you want?"
Naruto's expression turned serious and asked, with a hint of pleading in his voice, "Will you please train me for the chunin finals?"
Jiraiya smirked, having already known what Naruto was going to ask. He had no problem training his godson for the finals, but he wanted to test his resolve first.
"What are you offering me in return of the training?"
Naruto gave a deadpan stare, "What happened to being a respectable shinobi? The people would be mighty disappointed to learn that the Mountain Toad sage is a stingy old man."
Jiraiya shook his head, not at all offended. "I'm not talking about money." A lecherous grin spread across his face, "I'm talking about your Oiroke no jutsu. It sounds very interesting from what sensei told me."
Naruto raised an eyebrow in interest, "You really are just a pervert aren't you?"
"Wrong!" Jiraiya shouted, waving a finger. "I not just a pervert- I'm a SUPER pervert!"
Naruto let a smirk across his face, "Let's see you hold up against this!" With a ram seal, Naruto was replaced with a naked, buxom young woman with smoke covering her most sensitive areas and her pigtails waving gently in the breeze.
"Is this what you were referring to, Jiraiya-sama?" Naruko asked cutely with a finger on her lower lip.
For a moment, he thought Jiraiya would fall over in a nosebleed- his eyes were bugged out to the max, and the man almost looked like he'd have a heart attack on the spot. But suddenly, he surprised Naruto with a two-way thumbs up, hearts replacing his eyes.
"THAT'S VERY GOOD!" He almost crowed in praise. "Alright kid, I'll train you!"
"Great!" Naruto cheered and almost released the jutsu when Jiraiya stopped him.
"One condition though!" Jiraiya stopped him.
"What?"
"You have to keep that henge on the entire time we're training."
Naruto dispelled the jutsu, looking plain annoyed. "You are way over the top sometimes, ero-sennin."
"Don't call me that, brat!" He barked, bonking Naruto on the head. "Fine, I'll train you. Meet me here tomorrow, morning seven o' clock. Don't be late."
Giving a two fingered salute, he was gone. Naruto chuckled; it was good to see his godfather after such a long time, and he was as perverted as ever. He was gone in a blue flash a moment later.
XXXXXXX
The next morning he met Jiraiya at the bathhouse again. "Good morning, ero-sennin!"
Jiraiya grumbled, "You're really stuck on that name, huh?"
Naruto said mildly, "You have to admit though, it's oddly befitting of you."
As they walked, Jiraiya explained, "Alright, first I need to have a measure of your current skills, so we'll go an empty ground I know a few ways away. Then after that, I'll help you set up for the things you need to work on, while I do my own work."
Naruto interrupted with a dry tone, "You mean peeping, don't you?"
Jiraiya didn't even acknowledge the question, leading them into a field with a large lake on the other side of the bushes. Jiraiya stopped in the middle of the field and turned to face Naruto.
"Show me what you got."
Naruto asked in return, "Should I take off the resistance seals?"
Jiraiya considered it and said, "Start of with them, then when I say so, take them off."
Naruto grinned savagely. He could strike without holding back this time. The thought spiked his heart rate, adrenaline filling his veins. He shot forward in a dash, his right foot towards Jiraiya's face. It was blocked by the man, but Naruto only needed to get close. He engaged Jiraiya in an exchange of punches, kicks, palm strikes and jabs, never hitting the Sannin, but not getting hit either. He realized that Jiraiya was just getting serious, so he decided to up the game.
Disengaging, he formed the snake seal. 'Futon: Kaze gyorai no jutsu!' (Wind style: Wind torpedo) A spinning ball of wind sped towards Jiraiya, who looked shocked. 'He knows Futon?!'
He jumped out of the way, seeing the spot he was standing on explode in wind. 'I would have been cut in pieces if I had gotten hit with that.' He sped through his own hand seals. "Ninja art: Toad oil bullet!"
Naruto's mind worked instinctively, knowing what set oil on flame. 'Katon: Ryuka no jutsu!' As soon as the fire impacted the sticky oil, it raced back towards a stupefied Jiraiya. 'He knows Katon?!'
He immediately disconnected the oil. He turned around on instinct to block the punch from the shadow clone, kicking it and causing it to dispel. However, chains of water rose up and wrapped around him in a flash. 'He knows suiton as well?!'
However, he was not allowed to dwell on it for long. A cry distracted him. "Suiton: Dai Suigadan no jutsu!" (Water style: Great water fang projectile) Jiraiya stared dumbstruck at the twenty feet tall spinning water drill coming from above, with Naruto holding the dog seal. The drill crashed onto where Jiraiya was being held, creating a large explosion of water. Naruto stared at the spot where Jiraiya was, a wooden log in its place.
His danger sense rang true, warning him from behind. He shunpoed just in time to avoid the heel that would have sent him through trees. Jiraiya blinked when he missed. 'What was that?'
Naruto then appeared in front of him, his face not giving away anything. Jiraiya rose an eyebrow, curious as to what the blonde was up to. "You're fast, ero-sennin. But are you faster than lightning?" he added a smirk in the end.
Jiraiya only had a microsecond to get confused before Naruto was covered in red lightning of all things. Since the whole area was covered in water from Naruto's earlier jutsu, it acted as the medium for the lightning to race towards Jiraiya. Jiraiya was obviously not faster than lightning, so he grunted when he was electrocuted. It only lasted for a moment, after which Naruto landed a direct kick in Jiraiya's gut, sending him flying backwards on his behind.
Honestly speaking, the fight should have been over by now. Naruto didn't need to let up the lightning, otherwise Jiraiya would have been finished by now. But….
Naruto watched dispassionately as Jiraiya crumbled. He flipped back to avoid his face from meeting the ground. Jiraiya grinned as he watched Naruto settle into a strange fighting stance. 'He's fast, and his taijutsu style is something I've never seen, but it had elements of the Snake style. He hits hard and fast, even with the weights. His instincts are excellent, and he doesn't let his guard down even for a moment. He knows four nature transformations and he is pretty well versed in them, considering he used three of them with only one or two seals and the lightning without a seal. He almost had me there, if I hadn't substituted at the last second. A jonin would be hard pressed to beat him right now.'
"Alright brat, seals off!" He felt a little nervous at the grin that appeared on his godson's face, but shook it off. This time, he took the initiative, dashing forward towards Naruto.
However, he was once again surprised just how fast Naruto was. His speed was easily high jonin, with the reflexes to match. Jiraiya was hard pressed to find an opening the fight. He was forced onto the defensive when Naruto took out two kunai, held them in a reverse grip, and channeled wind chakra, causing the kunai to look like blue daggers. He was on the defense for a while before he managed to disengage with the help of an earth spike, sending Naruto back. Naruto threw the kunai mid-air with deadly accuracy, which Jiraiya avoided by the skin of his teeth.
Naruto landed and looked at him, and Jiraiya had to admit he was more than a bit unnerved at the grin Naruto was showing. Naruto then took out two exploding tags between fingers of both hands, held them in a cross and threw them such that they were on either side of Jiraiya, who scoffed.
"If you think two explosive tags can take me out, think again!" But then he cursed and jumped back, because somehow, the tags were multiplying!
"Gojo Kibaku Fuda!" Naruto exclaimed. A series of successive explosions shook the area. When the smoke cleared, as expected, Jiraiya wasn't there. He spread out his senses, but it seemed Jiraiya had a way to block himself from sensor type ninjas. He sniffed the air, looking for the distinctive smell of oil, but other than in the clearing, it was nowhere. But he wasn't out of his options just yet. He still had yet to reveal his trump card.
Hiraishin.
Jiraiya may have been able to block himself from his senses, but Naruto could always sense where he had placed his jutsu shiki. Along the course of the fight, Naruto had placed his formula on the ground in multiple spaces. All of them were in his vision, all except one.
Jiraiya in a tree fifty feet behind Naruto. Naruto wasted no time in flashing.
Jiraiya closely observed Naruto while under a jutsu that prevents anyone from sensing him. 'He is good, better than what Minato was at his age. He's faster than most of the jonin that I know. What is that technique, though? It seemed like a short ranged shunshin, but not the shunshin. Those explosions though…how did he create those? The tag multiplied into copies, but the explosive power didn't diminish one bit. It was a truly ingenious seal. He is easily mid to high-jonin level. But now that the enemy is hidden, what will you do next, Naruto?"
He was flabbergasted, however, when Naruto disappeared in a blue flash. Naruto grinned as he connected a solid kick to the real Jiraiya's cheek for the first time in the fight, sending him flying through two trees and straight back into the clearing.
Jiraiya flipped onto his feet, ignoring the pain completely and staring open mouthed at Naruto, who used his shunshin-like technique to appear in front of him. "T-That was-"
He didn't get a chance to finish as Naruto disappeared in a blue flash again, appearing right in front of Jiraiya and punching him in the cheek. Jiraiya staggered back, clutching his tender jaw. Naruto disappeared again, reappearing behind Jiraiya in less than a second. A double palm thrust sent Jiraiya flying straight into the path of a tree. However, he already knew what he wanted to know.
Jiraiya easily landed sideways onto the tree, then jumping down. He stared at Naruto in shock, who was smirking. His voice was barely above a whisper, "You mastered the Flying Thunder God?"
Naruto nodded, still smirking. He kept smirking when Jiraiya chuckled, which progressed into deep bellowing laughs. He hadn't had this much fun in a fight since Minato. He calmed down and stared at Naruto with a grin.
"Kid, you could beat most jonin with what you have right there!" He remarked and his opinion of Naruto only rose higher when he replied.
"True, but there is always room for improvement," Naruto conceded. He still wanted to improve. He was still only thirteen years old, so he had a lot of room for improvement left.
Jiraiya asked with some hope in his voice, "Naruto, how would you like to become my apprentice?"
Naruto's eyes lit up, "Really?"
Jiraiya nodded with a smile. He would make a damn good shinobi out of this kid, even stronger than Minato.
Naruto jumped up in joy, "YATTA!"
Naruto looked at Jiraiya with his blue eyes shining, "Does that mean-"
He didn't even finish his question when a scroll appeared in Jiraiya's hands, offering it to Naruto. Naruto opened the scroll and his eyes softened when he saw the name of the latest toad summoner. 'Dad…' His eyes moistened as he rubbed them. He took out a kunai and cut his right thumb.
Just as he was about to sign on it, Kurama stopped him. 'Wait Naruto!' Naruto's thumb stopped short of the scroll, brow furrowing in confusion with Jiraiya. He looked over to Jiraiya, pointing towards his stomach and then to his mind. Jiraiya's eyebrows rose disbelievingly.
"The Kyuubi is speaking to you?!"
Naruto nodded absently as he put his thumb in his mouth. 'What is it, Kurama?'
'Don't sign the contract,' the fox rumbled.
Naruto rose an eyebrow in challenge. 'Why not? They are powerful.'
What he heard next caught him off guard. 'The fox contract is even more powerful.'
Naruto couldn't help but blurt it out, "You want me to sign the fox contract?!"
Jiraiya's eyes widened, "There is a fox contract?" He couldn't believe that the Kyuubi of all beings was trying to persuade Naruto to sign a contract that was the same as its species. He watched as Naruto's face cycled through different expressions. First shock, confusion, challenging, speculation, agreement and finally resignation.
Naruto sighed, "Kurama wants me to sign the fox contract, ero-sennin."
"Kurama?"
Naruto gave him a look, "The Kyuubi has a name, you know. And he won't accept me signing any other contract than that of the fox." He looked up to Jiraiya with worried eyes, "Does that mean I won't be able to become your apprentice?"
Jiraiya was frowning, and that only fueled Naruto's worry. "Are you friends with Kyu…..Kurama?"
Naruto looked confused as to why Jiraiya was asking this question, but nodded. Jiraiya then surprised Naruto by chuckling. "No worries Naruto!" He declared. "You might not become a toad summoner or apprentice, but you will still be my apprentice! Who knows, you might even become a better summoner than me one day!"
Jiraiya was deeply hurt and sad that Naruto won't be able to become a toad summoner like him or Minato. But he really didn't want to antagonize the demon fox residing inside Naruto, not to mention the prophecy that the toads gave him. The key to Naruto's seal was with the toad clan, so Jiraiya was the only one who can give it to him now.
"He hates toads."
Jiraiya blinked, snapping out of his thoughts. "What?"
Naruto ignored Kurama's enraged yells, "He doesn't want to be associated with toads. The reason he explained for a long time how foxes are superior to toads in every way is because he can't be upfront about his feelings."
Jiraiya was finding it hard not to chuckle, lest the Kyuubi forcefully send some chakra into Naruto in an attempt to kill him. The aspect of Kurama he just learned…it was surprisingly human. He figured it was fair reason for Naruto not signing the toad contract. But that left a problem.
"Where will you find the fox contract though?"
Naruto answered, "Kurama told me that for shinobi to use summoning jutsu successfully, they have to have a contract with an animal. But if a shinobi performs the summoning jutsu without a contract, they will be transported to the realm of the animal they are most suited to have a contract with."
Jiraiya remembered with a grimace when he had tried to to the same and ended up on Mt. Myoboku. "That's true."
Naruto shrugged, "Then I will do the same, but my case is a bit special. Due to having Kurama, a fox demon inside me, I automatically qualify to become a fox summoner. So performing the jutsu will take me straight to the fox realm."
Jiraiya thought over it a bit. It was a sound theory, but if it didn't work, Naruto would have no way to come back. "What if doesn't work?"
Naruto blinked then winced, "Kurama doesn't like other people questioning his intelligence." Jiraiya paled, but nodded and told Naruto the hand signs. "You perform the hand signs boar, dog, bird, monkey and ram and slam your hand onto a surface. That's the gist of it."
'Boar, dog, bird, monkey, ram,' Naruto made each hand seal slowly, his anticipation clear for Jiraiya to see. As soon as he completed the sequence, Naruto slammed his hand on the ground. A sealing array, which Naruto guessed was a contract seal, erupted and he disappeared in a puff of smoke. Jiraiya exhaled a sigh and sat down, waiting for his godson to return.
XXXXXXX
Naruto appeared in the realm of the foxes, shaking his head at the sight dizziness. The sensation of traveling was not unlike Hiraishin. He heard Kurama's voice in his head, which was filled with the emotion one goes through when they come back home, 'Welcome to Kitsune no kuni, Heiwa no oka. The hills of peace.'
Naruto gazed awestruck at the realm of the foxes. It was the most beautiful place Naruto had ever seen, so exotic that it felt like the true symbolization of nature. It looked very much like a hill station, but instead of houses, a number of caves were on each hill. There were five hills in total, leading up to a huge mountain, the top of which was among the clouds. The place was so full of ambience that Naruto had unknowingly sat down just to admire the beauty of the place. He had never felt this close to nature ever before.
Naruto had never seen so many foxes in one place before.
'Beautiful, isn't it?' Kurama spoke in a soft tone, well as soft his rumbling voice could become.
Naruto agreed in an equally soft voice, afraid that if he spoke above a whisper it would shatter the peace of the place. "Yeah….."
He just kept gazing at the valley, a soft smile on his face, not even noticing that a brown fox had spotted him and alerted the others. A snarl interrupted his thoughts and he found himself gazing at around fifteen snarling foxes of different colors, who looked not the least bit friendly.
Naruto unconsciously straightened up while sitting Indian style, making eye contact with the lead, silver fox. He didn't mask himself, instead, he revealed who he truly was through his eyes. The fox stopped snarling, and adopted what looked like curiosity on his face. He looked into Naruto's eyes for several moments, Naruto not flinching away for even a moment.
"Who are you, human?"
The smooth tenor surprised Naruto only for a second, but he recovered. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto. May I know yours?" Best to be polite rather than hostile.
"Osamu," came the reply. "What are you doing here, Uzumaki Naruto?"
Naruto didn't know whether his answer would infuriate Osamu or not, but it would be unwise to lie. Foxes are extremely clever creatures.
"I was told to come here by Kurama to sign the contract of the foxes."
He gulped when he saw Osamu's face twisting, revealing his sharp teeth. It did not help that Osamu was almost as tall when Naruto was standing.
"You have some nerve…..addressing the lord of foxes by his name, without an honorific no less."
Naruto spoke before he would be forced to defend himself, "Because he lives inside me!"
Osamu blinked, not understanding Naruto's statement at first. But when he realized what it meant, his face twisted into a snarl once again and he got into an attack position. "Why you-"
"Stop."
A simple command from a soft voice caused all the foxes to turn around. Naruto found himself gazing at a regal looking red fox. The voice was obviously female, filled with power and superiority but at the same time, a warm and comforting tone. She looked beautiful.
The red fox strode towards Naruto, assessing him with her gaze. The foxes parted for her and soon she was looking down at Naruto. "Stand up, Naruto-kun."
Naruto blinked at the soft tone, but did as she said. Soon, his eyes were level with the red female fox. She gazed into his eyes for a moment, then spoke. "We have been waiting for you, Naruto-kun."
Naruto rose a puzzled eyebrow, "Waiting for me?"
The red fox smiled and said, "Come, we have much to talk about." She turned around and from the way everyone bowed to her, she must be a pretty important fox around here. He walked after her as she led the way.
"I understand Kyuubi-sama told you to come here?"
"Y-Yes, he did."
The red fox chuckled, "No need to be afraid, Naruto-kun. You are one of us now. Or you will be after you sign the contract."
Naruto then spoke, his confidence returning but still being cautious, "I never did get your name, Kitsune-sama."
The female fox chuckled, "That's because I never told you. My name is Naomi."
Naruto smiled, "Nice to meet you, Naomi-sama."
Naomi laughed softly, "You are very well-mannered, Naruto-kun. It is nice to meet you too."
Naruto then said, "Not to be rude or anything, but having an animal contract is pretty serious. So shouldn't I be tested if I am worthy of the contract or not?"
Naomi easily replied, "The word of Kyuubi-sama is proof enough. Believe me, if Kyuubi-sama didn't think you were worthy, he wouldn't have even told you that we exist."
Naruto listened as Naomi told him the history of how the Kitsune contract came to be. Many years ago, way before the era of the kage, Kyuubi was still a free demon. It was a misconception that Kyuubi randomly attacked human settlements. In truth, Kyuubi only attacked those human settlements where the greatest concentration of negative feelings was. People were right to fear the Kyuubi, but they started taking out their anger on the normal foxes, attacking and killing a fox whenever it came into their sights. Kyuubi listened to the plight of the foxes and created this realm in a remote corner of the world, so that foxes can live without having to look over their shoulders every few moments. The foxes settled down in these hills and over time, they became beings that were strong and intelligent enough to create a summoning contract of their own. However, there was only one person worthy enough to become their summoner.
Then, a prophecy was told that a boy judged worthy by their lord would become the next summoner of the foxes and would change the world. Naruto was frowning at the end of the explanation. "I get the history of the foxes, Naomi-sama, but I was mentioned in a prophecy?"
Naomi saw that Naruto was likely to prod at that, so she changed the subject. "A story for another time. For now, you need to meet the boss of the Kitsune." They arrived at a large gate, which stood well over a 120 meters. But what caused Naruto's mouth to drop were the guards that stood on either side of the doors. They were easily 70 to 80 meters, humanoid foxes like Kurama, with the opposable thumbs and all. There were wearing black, full sleeves haori and had swords strapped to their waists. The most notable features though, were the five tails that lay ate rest behind them. At Naruto's dumbfounded look, Naomi chuckled and explained.
"They are boss level fighters, Naruto-kun. The number of tails they have denote their level of strength and as such, rank is given out. But you don't need to know that right now." She nodded to the guards, who bowed deeply to her and proceeded to open the gates.
"Naomi-sama, you seem to be an important figure around here," Naruto commented as they proceeded inside.
Naomi winked at him, "If you must know, I am a member of the high council of the Kitsune." She laughed at Naruto's pale face and walked inside.
Naruto snapped out of his shock and ran after her. The sight on the inside was just as shocking as it was on the outside. Large foxes, with tails that varied from two to six, were inside sparring with each other with various weapons. Naruto found it curious that none of the noise was heard when they were standing outside the gates. 'A silencing barrier, perhaps?'
He marveled at the sheer amount of chakra he was sensing from each of them. It was easily S-rank, surpassing the kage-level. Naruto himself had kage level chakra reserves due to having Kurama inside him and Uzumaki lineage. He looked around in awe, keeping up with Naomi, until he spotted a fox.
The fox was easily the tallest of all, standing a bit taller than everyone. And he had seven tails, making him the strongest fox here. Which meant he was the boss of the Kitsune. He had a deep blue fur, and wore a red haori which had the kanji for boss on the back. On his waist was strapped a chokuto.
Naomi walked up to the boss and as she did, Naruto noticed that everyone had stopped fighting and was bowing to her. After she acknowledged their now, they turned their attention to Naruto. As Naruto expected, they looked at him strangely, probably wondering what a human was doing in their realm.
Naomi walked up to the boss of the Kitsune, who bowed deeply to her as well. "Naomi-sama," his voice was deep like Kurama, but unlike the demon's rumbling, his voice was a deep, smooth baritone.
"Takeshi," she acknowledged. The now dubbed Takeshi straightened up and asked, "Naomi-sama, what can I do for you today?"
Naomi's voice was full of authority, "I want you to meet and judge the newest summoner of the Kitsune. The one who is mentioned in the prophecy."
Takeshi frowned and asked, "Has he already arrived then?" He then turned his eyes onto Naruto, who had to crane up his neck to see him. Takeshi bent down to take a greater look at Naruto. After a long moment, he dryly commented, "You're tiny."
Naruto almost face planted at that. Even the other foxes were sniggering with mirth. Only Naomi was the one watching the conversation with a serious eye. Naruto snarked at him, "Well, I can't be as tall as you now, can I?"
Naruto got the impression that he had just insulted the boss, if the sucking of breath and straightening of backs from the other foxes was any indication. Takeshi's eyes narrowed, but Naruto didn't show a hint of fear. He had come too far to get afraid now. "I see you are quite witty yourself. But I have to ask, Naomi-sama," he turned his attention to Naomi, "Who judged him worthy?"
"Kyuubi-sama."
The single answer was enough for Takeshi to widen his eyes, along with all the other foxes. "I see," he said slowly, straightening up. He gazed at Naruto, "What is your name?"
"Uzumaki Naruto."
"Uzumaki Naruto," he rolled the name over his tongue, testing it out. He held an arm out, "Climb on, Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto wasn't startled this time, jumping onto the arm.
Takeshi looked at him with a critical eye, "If Kyuubi-sama has judged you worthy to be our summoner, then I have no doubt that you are strong. But physical strength isn't everything. As the Kitsune, we value wisdom and cleverness as much as we value our physical strength. So answer me this, Uzumaki Naruto: When you stop and look, you can always see it. If you try to touch, you cannot feel it. It cannot move, but as you near it, it moves away from you. What is it?"
Naruto thought for a moment and replied, "It's the horizon."
If Takeshi was surprised, he did an excellent job of hiding it. He chuckled, "What a sharp wit you have, Uzumaki Naruto. You are strong in the mind as well, as expected from someone who is to be our summoner." He surprised Naruto by gently setting his hand on the ground, saving Naruto from jumping from such a height.
He smiled, "The Kitsune will be glad to serve as your summons, Uzumaki Naruto."
Naruto grinned widely and put a thumbs up, declaring loudly, "I look forward to working with you guys as well!"
Takeshi chuckled loudly and said, "Naomi-sama, now that I have judged our summoner, perhaps you should give him the contract?"
Naomi nodded and slapped her right front foot on the ground. A sealing array spread out and in a puff of smoke, a large red scroll was revealed. Naomi spread it open and gestured Naruto to sign it. Naruto nodded took a kunai, cutting his thumb and letting some blood flow out. Naruto deftly put his name onto one of the columns, absently noting the name of the previous summoner.
Yamamoto Arashi.
Naruto couldn't make anything of that name, so he put it at the back of his mind. Placing the top of all his fingers beneath his name, he released a breath. He was finally a fox summoner now. He watched as Naomi rolled the scroll up and it disappeared into a puff of smoke, presumably returning to where it came from.
Naomi smiled at Naruto and said, "Congratulations, Naruto-kun. We welcome you as the summoner of foxes."
Naruto smiled and nodded. Naomi then addressed him, "Now that is over, I presume you know how to return?"
Naruto rose an eyebrow, "It's the same way isn't it? Kuchiyose without the blood?"
When Naomi nodded, Naruto smiled and immediately performed the seals, saying, "I'll summon you as soon as I can, Takeshi-san!" With that, Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke.
One of the foxes scoffed, "As if he could summon you, Takeshi-sama." He was not expecting a blade to his throat, with Takeshi holding it with narrowed eyes. He gulped as his boss growled, "I will not tolerate anyone insulting our new summoner. Is that clear?" He asked the question to everyone.
"HAI!"
Naomi muttered to herself, "Things are starting to look interesting on the horizon, Naruto-kun."
XXXXXXX
Only five seemed to pass, but even then Jiraiya was close to chewing his nails. He was about to go into panic mode when a puff of smoke revealed Naruto, standing triumphantly with arms crossed. Jiraiya almost melted in relief, then asked the relevant question. "Did you get it?"
Naruto grinned and spread his arms, "You are now looking at the newest summoner of the Kitsune clan!"