《Am I a Demon, Or am I a God,》


 1 The Tragedy of a Otaku

    [you can skip to chap 12 to avoid re-reading the parts of ''summoner of the league, it deviates starting from there.]


    The blue light from the computer screen shone against a young, pale-faced Japanese boy, about 14 years old, in a dark room as he played League of Legends. "Come on, Ahri-chan show me what you can do!" He whispered to no one in particular as he ulted into the team fight. First came the Leona''s hook, which he dashed the second time away from, the second was the Veigar box, which he dashed from also, with all the CC out his team began dismantling the enemy team, throwing his Q to secure kills he got his third Penta-Kill this game, once the announcers words sounded, the enemy surrendered.


    Standing up from his computer chair, he walked out of his room and down the flight of stairs, greeting his mom absently as he went to get a bottle of coca cola. After taking a swig from the bottle, he decided to address the annoying crick in his neck that he had acquired after sitting down for 45 minutes. He went to pop the joint but as he did this, his 5-year-old little brother, that he had not known was in the room with him, decided it was time to tackle him and as he shot into his back, he dropped the bottle of cola from his hands and spilled at his feet. The combination of the tackle and slick floor caused him to fall with his hand still on his chin, with his elbow hitting the ground it cause him to jerk his head nearly all the way around, snapping his spine and killing him. As he laid on the ground in his paralyzed state as his life slowly left him as his brain slowly started to lose oxygen. He heard his brother giggling and then going silent then asking him what was wrong, then a scream as his mother walked in and saw his head doing a full 180-degree turn. But he could have also sworn he heard something else, someone else talking, like his own thoughts, and if he was right, they said: "Return home."


    Shooting upright in what he assumed was a bed, heart beating a mile a minute, he quickly patted his body and released a sigh of relief as he threw off his sheets and walked towards his door, but he soon realized something off about his room. "This...isn''t my room... Where am I? Am I still dreaming?" He thought as he looked towards a full body mirror that he knew he never had." He could feel himself turn cold as his stomach turned in his chest. On his head blond, spiky hair stood and his brown eyes had become blue. On his cheeks rested three whiskers. His height had obviously dropped from his 5''9 to what he assumed was 4''8 to 4''9. Looking into his face and reaching up and feeling it he realized, this was no dream. He had died and was now in the body of Naruto. I don''t know if this is some hallucination while I''m still dying or if this is truly a new life, but how would I reincarnate into a body of someone that doesn''t exist, in a world that doesn''t exist.....


    Once he had started to come to terms with this, his vision blacked as he appeared in front of a cage, a gigantic orange-red fox with nine beautiful tails flowing behind it encompassed his entire view. "Why am I already seeing Kurama? This didn''t happen anytime soon in the show.." He thought, after all, he was a huge otaku who had watched hundreds of anime, Naruto included. Right as he was about to say something, the Kyuubi spoke.


    "You don''t need to ask any questions. I can see your thoughts and know what you want to ask, yes, you died. You took over the body you are in, and yes I brought you here because of the memories I saw in you, and no, I am not sealed from interacting with you, courtesy of your ''father''. I don''t understand why this has happened or why. But I don''t really care since your not really the same person, but with the knowledge of my future with your body''s previous host and ''him'' asking me to take care of you, I will let you remove my seal, and I will help you, as long as we are equal or ''friends'' as your memories had us pegged." The deep booming voice said as the mindscape shook, surprisingly he felt no danger from this immortal spirit of amazing strength. "How could I release your seal if I never studied seals, and I also don''t have any of Naruto''s memories and who is the ''him'' you spoke of that asked you to take care of me?" He asked quickly, trying to take in it all.


    "I knew this would happen." Kurama grumbled, "I can''t tell you who he is until you''re ready, that is. All you need to know is that he is waiting for you to improve yourself and as for the seal, he gave me many abilities and much knowledge of things which I thought impossible, he told me to give them to you when you met his requirement criteria. for now, I will give you the memories on how to remove my seal."


    Naruto or at least he is now, stood with his hand cupped on his chin, thinking, until he looked up and spoke. "Alright, I will trust you, I know you''re not actually bad after all, just misunderstood and in need of a friend. But I do hope you will tell me what criteria I have to meet to understand what happened to me and why I''m here." He said to the demon.


    What could possibly be described as a smile etched Kurama''s face as a ball of white light shot from Kurama''s forehead and flew into Naruto''s head. Memories filled his mind on sealing techniques as Kurama talked. "I will let you know when you meet them but not what they are, you don''t make the same discovery and achievements when you know what you''re looking for after all." The Fox spoke.


    After standing in a daze for a minute or so, the clarity in Naruto''s eyes returned as he began doing a set of hand seals always ending with an even number, slamming his hands onto the cage surrounding the Kyuubi as it slowly dissolved into a liquid-like substance before disappearing. Naruto walked up in front of Kurama as he held his fist out to the giant fox, Kurama did his best attempt at a smile as the fox''s fist at least 10 times as big as Naruto''s bumped his back.


    Without warning, he was thrust out of the mind space and back into his apartment room, on top of this the original memories of naruto flooded back into his mind and his face went white... "I''m late for the academy!!" He screamed as he started to throw on clothes and run out of his apartment toward the academy. It amazed him how all these grown adults could send such hate towards a twelve-year-old boy. "Just ignore them, I can deal with all this in the future."


    After a few minutes of running he finally reached the academy and burst through the doors, the whole class turned to look at him as he decided to ignore the stares and find a seat. The only one he could find was next to his secret admirer, Hinata. Walking up to her table he put on his trademark smile as he asked: "Do you mind if I sit here, Hinata-chan?" Hinata in all her poor lovestruck embarrassment stumbled over her words as she tried to respond "I-Uh um no, I mean uh!...yes, you can."


    Naruto could barely contain his urge to smile and giggle at how adorable she was as he sat down next to her and made sure to be close enough to cause her to freak out a little bit so he could see her face. After he was seated, Iruka-sensei began his speech. "As you all know, today is the day of the graduation test, you will be asked to perform the Transformation Jutsu(Henge no Jutsu), Clone Jutsu(Bunshin no Jutsu) and a written test on what to do in certain situations. You will also be tested in Taijutsu and kunai accuracy. If you pass you will be assigned to a team tomorrow. If you fail... You will have to retake the entire academy year."


    All the students in the room gulped when they heard this and a few looked surprised, clearly forgetting what day it was. Naruto, however, was lost in his own thoughts. "I will and probably need to fail this test. I could probably recreate the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique (Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu) from memory of the hand seals but I couldn''t pass anything else besides the written test. Guess I have to get my ass beat, huh." He chuckled slightly earning a glance from Hinata, he noticed a clear look of worry in her eyes as he knew she didn''t think he could pass, and she was right.


    After about an hour of waiting and after everyone else had taken the test and already left the room, it was Naruto''s turn to take the written test, which he managed to pass with an 80%. However, as in the original story, he failed both the Transformation Jutsu(Henge no Jutsu) and the Clone Jutsu(Bunshin no Jutsu) test, strangely, they didn''t even appear. His kunai accuracy and taijutsu took the same turn as well as being an utter failure.


    Being brought back into the classroom by Iruka-sensei, Naruto did his best to portray a devastated twelve-year-old boy. "Naruto-kun, I''m sorry to tell you this, but you will not be passing this test and will have to take the year over. You just do not have the talent to become a ninja." Iruka said softly as he could, but his words to any other child would be much too insensitive in Naruto''s opinion.


    Naruto did his best to look sad and slowly walked out of the academy and went to the swing that he was known for sitting in and looked at the other kids and their families and thought back to his own family which he was never going to see again. His brother was probably devastated, he was only five and pretty much killed his own brother on accident. As he started thinking about his family and how he hadn''t even told them how much he loved them in the past days he got more and sadder until he started crying for real instead of faking it. Like this, he spent the evening reminiscing and apologizing to his parents when he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder.


    Looking up with bloodshot eyes he saw Mizuki standing there with a smile on his face, but he knew not to trust that smile. He had to make himself not seem suspicious so he just asked in a weak voice "Mizuki-sensei? What are you doing here? To tell me I''m useless too?" Naruto didn''t miss the slight flash of disdain in Mizuki''s eyes as he said in a kind voice "No, no no, perish the thought Naruto-kun, I''m here to offer you a chance to become a Genin, It''s a hard test, but all it will test is your practical ability, you don''t even need to use jutsu, what do you say?" Naruto did his best to not laugh at Mizuki''s pitiful acting skill. "R-Really Mizuki-sensei? Can I really become a ninja?" He asked in a hopeful voice. "Of course, all you need to do is manage to sneak into the Hokage''s mansion and retrieve this scroll and learn one jutsu from it." With that said, Mizuki pulled out what Naruto assumed was a replica of the sealing scroll. With as much enthusiasm as he could fake Naruto jumped off the swing into his signature peace sign and exclaimed: "Roger that Mizuki-sensei, I''ll have that scroll here in no time and as many jutsu learned as I can, dattebayo!" Mizuki smiled a cruel smile as he said: "Good, meet me in the forest behind the mansion once you have it." Naruto nodded and started to run off when he heard Mizuki call out. "Naruto! Remember, be as cunning as a fox." Naruto cringed at his passive aggression as he threw up another peace sign and ran off.


    The retrieval of the scroll was easy as pie, but then again Sarutobi let him take it in the show to see what was going on. Naruto made sure to memorize all the jutsu in the scroll, even asking Kurama to memorize it as well to make sure he wouldn''t forget. inside were many jutsu''s but none were up his alley except the can''t do without it Multiple Shadow Clone Technique (Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu) However, there was another he had never heard of there, all It showed was a seal pattern, when he reached out and touched the seal it shot off the scroll and started to coil around his entire right arm and the right side of his chest and kanji for different numbers were fading out all over his arm and chest faster than he could identify them. He felt a burning pain and screamed out and even Kurama seemed to be in pain as he growled deeply in Naruto''s mind space. But just as quickly as the pain came, it left. However, the pain was replaced with a deep voice in his mind that didn''t come from Kurama.


    Naruto, I see Hiruzen has given you the seal I left for you. He most likely has already told you about what has happened to me and how to go to the place I was born. I am sorry I and your mother left you alone, but this was the only way it could be done. I begged the Kyuubi after his control was weakened and was being sealed in you to help you and to, when you were strong enough, tell you what you must do. Heed these words, do not fight the man that controlled the Kyuubi, he can and will kill you if you try. I pray that one day we may meet again, and I can give you your birthright." The voice spoke and then disappeared.

 2 A battle in the woods.

    [you can skip to chap 12 to avoid re-reading the parts of summoner of the league, it deviates starting from there.]


    Naruto didn''t even have the time to be freaked out or find out what the seals did. He heard rustling in the trees. Naruto''s time with the scroll was ruined as he looked up and noticed Iruka looking down at him. His face was an odd mixture of humor and anger. Somehow, in the stillness of the night, while Naruto was getting his ear torn off by Iruka''s rambling, he heard something else. Something swirling in the trees.


    He watched as Mizuki stepped out behind Iruka and started talking "You really are an idiot Naruto, to think you would go to such lengths as betraying your village, just to bring me a forbidden scroll for me to give to Orochimaru-sama! Truly for the brat with that damned Kyuubi inside him, you would think you wouldn''t be so useless!" Naruto did the best to adopt a look of shock and disbelief as Mizuki laughed at his face maniacally. "That''s right Naruto! You are the Kyuubi who attacked Konoha 12 years ago!" Mizuki proclaimed as Naruto glared at him. Iruka widened his eyes as he turned to look at Naruto, and seemingly falling for Naruto''s acting as well.


    "Now you know why you are hated and why you will forever be the filth of this village. The Sandaime made sure that everyone hated you, that NO one loved you! It makes me wonder who would truly love someone like you! Now, why don''t you be a good brat and die!" Mizuki shouted as he flung his Fuma shuriken towards Naruto''s face. Naruto could hear the blades hissing through the air and he honestly made no attempt to move. Iruka gasped before he found his strength and desperately charged at Naruto. Iruka pushed Naruto to the ground only for the shuriken to slam into his backside letting out a painful yell from the academy teacher as blood dripped from his backside.


    "Why Iruka?! Why would you protect the same demon that killed your parents?!" Mizuki asked. Iruka chuckled as the shuriken seemed to embed itself even harder. With one hand he touched Naruto''s forehead. "It''s not fair is it Naruto? To work so hard, but to never be acknowledged, I understand that pain well. He''s wrong you know. You''re smart. Smarter than anyone in the class. You might think you don''t care, but I know you do. I know you aren''t what they call you," Iruka said. Naruto would have snorted now thinking back to that. Iruka must have thought too highly of him. No, he didn''t care about proving himself to others. He sent a small glare over to where Mizuki was standing.


    "Naruto, you have to take the scroll and get away. You can''t let Mizuki have the scroll!" Iruka said urgently.


    Oh please, Naruto wasn''t an idiot. Of course, he knew he couldn''t let the man have the scroll. However, at the same time, Naruto had a rather hard peeve with being insulted. even if it wasn''t his body. He loathed it. He¡­absolutely¡­loathed¡­IT! "Sorry Iruka-sensei, but that''s not an option," Naruto said as he stood to his feet. He quickly dusted himself off from the dirt before he sidestepped Iruka. Iruka watched Naruto in surprise and shock.


    "Oh?! The demon is going to fight me?! You who failed the academy test three times think you have a snowball''s chance of defeating me, a chunin?!" Mizuki proclaimed boastfully. Naruto could feel his right hand burning as he continued glaring at Mizuki. He tightened his right fist. "¡­" Naruto didn''t reply as he looked down at his right arm. An interesting development. He didn''t know what to think of the seal lighting up like this. But soon it struck him as memories flooded his brain from what he assumed was the seal. "So that''s how it works.


    "Sounds like fun! Bring it on demon brat! Show me the power of the Kyuubi!" Mizuki shouted with a mad cackle as Naruto took a firm step in front of Iruka. A power was coursing through his right arm begging him to be unleashed. Naruto looked down and noticed the kanji for the numbers 7 & 8 light up. "Naruto don''t fight him! Just run!" Iruka pleaded, but he only saw Naruto raise his hand into the air.


    "Be silent Iruka Umino-sensei. I will teach Mizuki-sensei that NO ONE insults Uzumaki Naruto! Summoning Technique (Kuchiyose no Jutsu." Naruto shouted as he slammed his hand into the ground. Iruka covered his eyes as did Mizuki as smoke came over the area. Naruto squinted his eyes for a brief moment before the smoke started to dispel. Naruto, Iruka, and Mizuki looked on as¡­a little girl appeared from the mist. Her pink hair actually reminded Naruto of Sakura, if he remembered correctly though this little girl''s hair was probably a shade darker than Sakura''s. Her shirt was simply purple in color as well as her semi-pink skirt. Naruto blinked. Had¡­he summoned what he thought he had? He looked down at his hand and noticed both Kanji 7 & 8 were lit. So¡­why did he only see this little girl here? Why was a little girl here at all?! However, something was wrong. Growing up as he did and playing games that required strategy and forward thinking, Naruto had a knack for assessing situations. Though¡­perhaps that needed refining given this situation with Mizuki at the moment. In any case, this little girl who looked like someone who shouldn''t even be in this world. She gave him a playful giggle before turning around to Mizuki.


    "Hey Mister, have you see my bear, Tibbers?" she asked. Mizuki and Iruka gawked though Iruka was the only one showing fear. While it was impressive that Naruto performed B-ranked ninjutsu. given the blond''s record with ninjutsu and genjutsu in general, he had actually summoned an innocent little girl to a full-blown fight. Iruka had to get up before Naruto got this girl killed! "Ha! Is this the best that your power can do? How you killed the Yondaime is far beyond me! I will become the true hero this village deserves by slaughtering you, Iruka, and this little brat!" Mizuki laughed as he took out a kunai.


    "No Mizuki! let her live!" Iruka shouted from his place and started to stand, but a hand from Naruto stopped him. He could feel it in his head. A connection bonding with the girl on the ground and¡­.the shadow in the trees. He knew this girl''s name and honestly, he should have known it when he first saw her, seeing as he had played her many times. He also knew the person in the tree''s name for the same reason. Mizuki had to be so sure of his victory that he didn''t even check his surroundings and sense the woman in the trees. Naruto snorted. It didn''t matter though, Naruto would make him regret it!


    "Go on, Annie, and kill him," Naruto ordered. The smile on the girl''s face seemed to darken as Iruka and Mizuki watched a fire cover her hands. "Playtime!" Annie said happily and before Mizuki could even question the situation a huge fireball fired from the little girl''s hands. Iruka and Mizuki gasped.


    "Nani?!" Mizuki screamed before he dodged to the fireball by jumping to the side. Annie''s eyes followed his form before she tossed another fireball at him.


    Mizuki jumped up and over the fire shot just in time to watch it completely incinerate the tree behind him. Iruka was stunned to silence while Naruto turned to Annie. He then glanced back to the figure in the trees. He could understand them. Their abilities, their names, their very memories. He could feel it following into him. Like pieces of a puzzle, they joined together in his mind.


    The archer in the trees awaited his command. Naruto held his hand into the air. "Wait for my signal. Annie, make sure he doesn''t escape," Naruto commanded. Annie gave another grin before she laughed as she skipped towards Mizuki as the man landed to the ground. Iruka just continued to watch, stunned. "Was this summoning from the forbidden scroll? What a strange jutsu," Iruka thought to himself.


    Mizuki''s thoughts were in disarray. How the hell could a little girl command the powers of fire release without using hand signs?! Is this the demon''s true power? Mizuki thought but he didn''t have time to think as Annie came up to him. He watched as the fire filled her hands.


    "Don''t be a scaredy-cat!" Annie exclaimed before she fired another volley of fire in Mizuki''s direction. Mizuki quickly jumped to the side before tossing three kunai at Annie. She had to be eliminated at all costs. However, Mizuki only watched in disbelief as a shield of fiery aura surrounded Annie. The kunai effortlessly melted into the flames as Mizuki sucked his teeth.


    He backflipped through the air as Annie continued to grin. Mizuki looked around the area before focusing on Naruto. He gave a quick glare to Naruto. ''So he''s controlling her? Well, I''ll just take the damn fox out first!'' Mizuki thought before he dodged another fire volley. Mizuki jumped over Annie causing her to gasp.


    "You failed, Kyuubi! I''m going to kill you now, no hard feelings!" Mizuki said while laughing as he swung a kunai at Naruto. Naruto closed his eyes and couldn''t resist a smirk. "Checkmate Mizuki-teme! Now, Ashe!" Naruto ordered. Iruka and Mizuki gasped as a teenage girl dropped to the ground. Everything about this girl screamed, cold. Not the emotion, but the literal feeling. The flames of hell behind Mizuki from Annie and the cold front of Ashe in front of him. Her blue and gold hood, cape, battle skirt, and shirt had Mizuki glued, but the thing that gave her away was the solid ice bow in her hands along with five frozen ice arrow. Ashe narrowed her eyes with a solid glare as her hands tightened around her bow. She pulled the string.


    "Right between the eyes, Bare! ( Volley)" Ashe yelled out as she shot five arrows at the Chunin ninja. Mizuki''s feet skidded across the ground before he noticed Naruto hold out his hand. Fear overcoming Mizuki, he turned and noticed Annie smiling¡­fire in her hands. "Shokyaku( Incineration)," Naruto called out as the flames exploded from Annie''s hands. Mizuki glanced at the icy arrows coming for him from the front and the flames coming to him from the back. He was trapped! Mizuki couldn''t die here! He wouldn''t die to the Kyuubi brat! He wouldn''t die to the dead last!


    Mizuki tightened his legs and jumped into the air in time as the flames and ice arrows collided exploding in a sea of flowery fire. "You can''t kill me, Kyuubi! Don''t be so damn full of yourself Brat! You''re a hundred years too early to think you can defeat me!" Mizuki said, but Naruto merely closed his eyes while Annie and Ashe looked up. Annie was the only one who was surprised.


    "Yay! Tibbers! I found him!" Annie shouted with joy as Mizuki felt a shadow loom over him. He looked up and the last sight he saw was a flaming teddy bear, the monstrous fluff toy opened its mouth and decapitated Mizuki''s head from his shoulders with a single bite. The Chunin''s blood sprayed through the air before falling on the ground around Naruto, Ashe, and Annie. His body twitched once before going limp. Annie walked over to the body and kicked it slightly. "Beaten by a little girl. Hehehe," she giggled before Tibbers faded back into an ordinary teddy bear. Annie grabbed him while Ashe put her bow over her shoulders. Both moved over to Naruto.


    Naruto looked at the deceased Chunin''s body before turning back to Ashe and Annie. "May we continue to aid you, Summoner," Ashe said before she vanished. Annie smiled and walked up to Naruto. Naruto gave a distressed look at Iruka when Annie hugged his leg before vanishing away as well leaving Naruto and Iruka alone.


    "Naruto, what was?" Iruka wanted to ask, but he watched Naruto turn back to him. Iruka''s gasped in wonder. Naruto''s eyes, had they ever been so blue before? Iruka wasn''t sure he could remember such a time. Whatever Iruka was going to say died in his throat before he smiled. He groaned as he leaned against a tree. "Naruto, come here," Iruka said, the smile never leaving his face. Naruto narrowed his eyes for a moment but complied and stood in front of Iruka.


    "Close your eyes for a second," Iruka said. Naruto did so, he was too tired to complain. The few seconds passed in a blur and Naruto opened his eyes to see Iruka without a headband. "Congratulations, Naruto! You graduated!" Iruka said. Naruto frowned for a moment. He could honestly say that Iruka looked a lot happier than Naruto could remember from these bodies memories. Naruto might have given the man a thank you if he didn''t pass out just before Iruka congratulated him.

 3 Summoning Technique: Dimensional Rif

    [you can skip to chap 12 to avoid re-reading the parts of summoner of the league, it deviates starting from there.]


    Two days had passed by since the Forbidden Scroll Incident. Hiruzen Sarutobi rubbed his chin. "So that''s what happened," he said as Iruka noded in an affirmation. The Chunin academic instructor had spent the last day getting himself checked out by the medical personnel of Konoha before he was safe to exit just a couple of hours ago. The wrapped wound on his back was still sore, but Iruka made his attempt to ignore it. "Yes, He managed to summon people, a little girl which he called Annie and a teenage girl called Ashe. Both had interesting techniques, but by Naruto''s commands, they were able to...defeat Mizuki. I think his task at leadership and him learning a B-rank summoning technique are worthy of him passing the course. Hokage-sama, while he might not have been the smartest child, I think there is more to him than he had been letting on, after all, how could he not learn an E-rank jutsu but learn a B-rank jutsu in less than 20 minutes? Iruka asked. Hiruzen just sighed as he took a puff of his pipe. The nicotine was refreshing for the stressful day.


    "Iruka, you are a highly qualified chunin. I wholesomely trust your judgement in Naruto-kun''s promotion. However this little summoning that you claim he possesses has given me some worry. I looked through the forbidden scroll the night it was stolen. The formula for one of the techniques was gone. It sounds like Naruto-kun may have obtained it by unconventional means. If it''s what I think it is then not even Jiraiya with all of his experience could remove the formula from Naruto''s body," The Sandaime said. Iruka widened his eyes while Hiruzen took a look out his window.


    "Summoning Technique: Dimensional Rift(Kuchiyose: Jigen Kirema). It was a technique that the Shodaime-Hokage had developed and the Nidaime experimented with. However the technique required too much chakra to work, however rather than throw the formula away, the Nidaime stored it in the scroll for security purposes. It seems that Naruto-kun has it now. That formula is even more complex than the sealing that the Yondaime did against the Kyuubi. I''ll have to inform his Jonin-sensei when I can," Hiruzen said. Iruka quickly nodded.


    "You think this he''ll be alright?" the Sandaime suddenly asked. Iruka merely smiled. "I think he''s going to astound us all someday," Iruka answered honestly. Sarutobi just nodded with a small grin of his own before moving back to his work. Iruka quickly gave a salute before marching out of the room.


    At the opposite end of the village, Naruto laid on his bed looking at his hand. He flexed it and his eyes stared at the summoning formula that wrapped around his arm. Naruto couldn''t forget that feeling when he defeated Mizuki. He could feel that connection of memories with the two champions he summoned. "Ashe, the Frost Archer and Annie, the Dark Child." Naruto thought to himself, this is so out there I can barely believe it.


    With a small grunt, he got off his bed. His team placements were tomorrow. He was sure that he was still a buzz in the shinobi forces due to his debacle with Mizuki. Well, Naruto did get something meaningful out of it and for now that was all Naruto truly carried about. Naruto quickly got himself a shower, some food, and some clothes before he turned and picked up the headband that Iruka gave him. It sat upon his table. That''s right, Naruto had to take that ID picture thing. Naruto grabbed the headband, and put it around his neck and walked out of the door.


    "Come on brat! Hurry up and give a smile!" The photographer said as Naruto sat on a stool, a face of indifference etched across said face. Naruto never liked pictures in his past life, he would rather have had the man just take his picture and then let him be on his way. Naruto didn''t feel like smiling. He was tired and he needed to get some shinobi supplies with the little bit of Yen the Hokage sent him for defeating Mizuki. Now wasn''t the time for him to worry about a stupid ID and shinobi registration. So one can imagine his mentality when the photographer said. "I''m not doing a retake." before he flashed the camera.


    The processing didn''t take long before it was given to the Hokage. Hiruzen looked at the photo before glancing back to Naruto. "You really couldn''t give a smile could you?" Hiruzen chuckled while Naruto frowned. "If I thought a smile was going to benefit me in this profession then I''m sure I would have given one, but I can''t think of a time where I would need a smile on my ID to be used to my advantage. You think you should be more lucky that I didn''t cover myself in face paint. Although even for me that''s ridiculous." Naruto said as Hiruzen merely chuckled and nodded.


    "That is indeed true. Heaven forbid if you had grown to have an extremely outgoing personality and did that he said sarcastically, about his past exploits. but then we''d really be demanding a retake." Hiruzen said before allowing the paperwork to go through. "So how have you been feeling? With, everything going on?" Hiruzen asked. If Naruto was a little less attentive to the nature of the question then he might have just answered regularly, but he has to keep up the facade of Naruto and slowly ''Mature'' as to not arouse suspicion.


    "Discovering that I have the Kyuubi in my body is definitely an unexpected turn of events. Frankly, I can''t say I don''t bear any animosity to the Yondaime Hokage, but I do respect the tactic. Not only did he get rid of a global threat to the village, but he also manages to increase the village''s power output through me. As much as I dislike being a pawn, I doubt there is much I can do about it," Naruto said simply, and as well as he could fake a truthful voice. Sarutobi just gave a short nod of his head.


    "For what it''s worth. The Yondaime did wish for you to be seen as a hero rather than this current result," Hiruzen replied. Naruto merely looked into his eyes before responding. "It hardly matters what he wished for now. The result didn''t happen. To be honest, that little wish was hopeful dreaming at best," Naruto said and Hiruzen couldn''t help but agree with Naruto even if he was slightly saddened by the news of Naruto''s thoughts.


    "And your other problem?" Hiruzen asked taking a look at Naruto right arm. Naruto followed his vision before he sighed. "I will admit that this was my own fault and I let my frustrations get the better of me. I will merely take this as a lesson and learn from it, though the result was a lot better than what I could have probably hoped for," Naruto said. The Sandaime couldn''t really argue that and truth be told he didn''t want to try. He merely nodded.


    "Which is why I believe you won''t do something like that again. You are dismissed. Good luck with your team placements," Hiruzen said. Naruto nodded before he stood to his feet. However, before Naruto could make it to the door it was busted open. A blue scarf was in front of his vision. "Now I''ve got you, gramps! The title of Hokage is mine!" A boy shouted as he dashed through Naruto''s eyes, a shuriken in his hands. Naruto rose an eyebrow before the boy tripped on his own scarf and slammed his face into the floorboards. Naruto looked a bit amused by the action and so did the Hokage. Shaking his head, Naruto opened the door and exited the room just in time to see a jonin pass him.


    "Honorable grandson, are you alright?!" the jonin asked. Naruto didn''t really want to stick around. This was a headache waiting to develop. He sure wasn''t going to be the one to deal with it.


    As Naruto exited the Hokage Mansion, he made his way into the streets. It hadn''t taken him long to find a general shinobi store. A quick stop and he had the supplies he needed while still having enough money in his account to pay the month and next month''s bills. The rest of the day was actually uneventful for Naruto as he made it back home before the sun fell over the horizon. He went ahead and laid out the stuff he would need tomorrow these included a pair of black cargo pants a new pair of combat boots to replace his sandals a camouflage pattern long sleeve shirt, and a kunai pouch which could go on his right thigh. Looking pleased at his new outfit to get rid of the tacky orange shit he was wearing he started to get ready for bed. As Naruto laid in his bed, a book about jutsu in his hands, he looked out the window at the moon. Strange, had the moon always looked so lovely? Naruto wasn''t sure. He just shook his head before turning out his light and going to sleep.


    The very next day, it was early so Naruto made his way towards the academy, his headband on his neck. Naruto did have to admit it was irritating to have his right arm burning every so often, but he figured that was because of something to do with the summoning formula. Naruto had actually been meaning to try that summoning last night, but he hadn''t found a very good opportunity to get away from the village to do it. Considering it was the only technique besides Shadow clone jutsu.


    The academy was finally in sight and Naruto quickly proceeded to open the door. He took notice of a lot of his classmate''s break from their conversations to stare at him, in clear surprise at him being there and on top of that his new outfit drew many murmurs. Naruto looked at them all for a moment before closing his eyes and weaving through some of the students and went to sit next to Hinata. He made small talk with Hinata when he thought someone was staring at him. Naruto sent a glare down the aisle and noticed Sasuke giving him a small look as well. Their eyes met for a brief moment before Naruto focused back on Hinata. Sasuke turned forward again.


    "Troublesome. Didn''t he fail?" Shikamaru thought to himself. While he was rather interesting in Naruto being able to come to the classroom, he couldn''t stave off the whys of him being able to come. He saw the headband around his neck but didn''t know how he could have passed. Shikamaru just shook his head. With time, conversations slowly started to go about again. It was no secret to anyone that Naruto was a ¡­odd one. It was also no one''s secret that you were supposed to leave him alone. Not that anyone went out of their way to be friends with him since their parents pretty much badmouthed the hell out of him. Well, he was the dead last so it wasn''t much for anyone to think that they couldn''t defeat him, but his aura just gave off a tone that he wasn''t in the mood to be messed with at the moment.


    About ten minutes passed by before Naruto and the rest of the class heard thunderous footsteps. The entire class grimaced as they heard shouting and yelling. "Move out of the way billboard! I get to sit next to Sasuke-kun!" people heard one feminine voice speak. "In your dreams Ino-pig! I''m the one who''s going to sit next to Sasuke-kun!" they heard another feminine voice say as the door opened. Everyone deadpanned as a blond girl and a pink-haired girl pushed against each other through the door. Both snarled as they looked at each other. With grunts, they noticed the open seat near Sasuke. The pink-haired girl charged at the seat while the blond was nearly left in surprise. The pink girl slid into the seat before smiling.


    "Hello Sasuke-kun, how are you doing today?" She asked with a small smile. Sasuke didn''t reply to her question, but judging how his eyebrow twitched it was safe to say that the Uchiha was very much unamused by the whole situation. The blonde girl snarled before puffing out her chest and sitting in another seat. "Too slow Ino?" Shikamaru asked with a small smirk. The Yamanaka heir gave him a solid glare.


    "Shut it Shikamaru. I''m not in the mood. Not like Sasuke-kun''s gonna give Sakura the time of day anyway," Ino said as she folded her arms. However her eyes noticed a sea of blonde hair just a few seats away from Shikamaru, where Naruto was talking to Hinata much to Ino''s surprise. "Naruto''s here? Didn''t he fail?" Ino whispered. Shikamaru merely shrugged his shoulders.


    "That''s the million yen question on everyone''s mind. But no one wants to bother him to ask. We all just assume a teacher''s going to correct the mess if it gets to that," Shikamaru said. Ino just nodded before turning back to see Naruto with his attention totally on Hinata. Ino thought she could see something black on Naruto''s right hand, but her view was too obstructed to be sure. Ino just settled to sigh in frustration as she watched how much attention he was giving to Hinata, wishing Sasuke would look at her like that. Sakura was just smiling next to the Uchiha heir. Ino snorted before she found some other ways of passing the time.


    About an hour passed by for the class before everyone heard the door open. Naruto moved his attention from Hinata to notice Iruka come through the doorway. The chunin gave the blond a small look, a flash of surprise at his new outfit. Naruto merely watched as Iruka made his way to his desk. "First I just want to tell all of you how proud I am of you and the work you have put into school these years. You are all now true Konoha shinobi and I wish you the best of luck. Remember to look after your teammates and protect the Will of Fire. I will now read off your teams. Your Jounin-sensei will come to pick you up after lunch," Iruka said, however before he could read he saw a raised hand.


    "Iruka-sensei, what about him? Didn''t he fail?" Ino asked pointing towards Naruto. Naruto didn''t have to look at the class to know they were all looking at him. However from his peripheral, he could see Sakura turn around and see him, a surprised look was etched on her face. It must have taken her a long time to realize that he was even breathing. Sasuke didn''t even react to the question.


    "Yeah! What''s the dead last doing here?!" came a cry from a hooded youth with a canine adoring his wild hair. He essentially voiced everyone''s thoughts in a more crude manner before Iruka demanded silence from the classroom. " Quite down Kiba. Now then, Naruto has passed as well in helping with an important matter with the Hokage. If you want to know more then you are more than welcome to ask him when I am able to conclude my business!" Iruka said a little irritably. The Inuzuka heir whittled in his chair before he slowly nodded while Ino looked at Naruto for a second before turning back to the teacher. For many female students¡­the chant of praying to the gods to give Sasuke to their team had already begun.

 4 Date at Ichiraku Ramen

    [you can skip to chap 12 to avoid re-reading the parts of summoner of the league, it deviates starting from there.]


    After letting the room calm down from praying to the god''s to have Sasuke on their teams, Iruka-sensei started calling out teams. "Ahem, Team One, Judai¡­Seto¡­Yubel," Iruka said. Naruto frowned before he rummaged through his pack that he bought with him and pulled out a book full of tricks and tips for a beginning shinobi. Naruto pulled out a small pencil to underline with. "Team Seven, Uzumaki Naruto¡­Haruno Sakura¡­Uchiha Sasuke," Iruka said which seemed to be the queue for Sakura to jump into the air and squeal before throwing a peace sign to Ino¡­much to the blonde girl''s chagrin. Though Sakura was a little miffed at having the dead last on their team, she quickly knew that the pro''s outweighed the cons.


    Naruto narrowed his eyes at this team. On function, this team was actually a rather weak one. It would have been better to put the top two male students together with the top female while giving the lowest ones the same with all those in the middle of the class average the varying teams. Though Naruto could see the underlying strategy here since he had seen the anime. Naruto, the dead last, would be inspired to not lose to Uchiha Sasuke, the rookie of the year, and Sasuke wouldn''t stand for Naruto being better than him thus a sense of competition was made. It wasn''t necessarily a bad strategy. It might have worked, had Naruto actually cared about competition with the Uchiha. He actually didn''t care about competition with anyone. Now Naruto wasn''t ever to be considered lazy in his past life, but he saw no benefits in making attempts to prove his ego to someone else. That wasn''t his aim. Still, these two were his teammates now, he would make due.


    "Team eight, Inuzuka Kiba¡­Hyuga Hinata¡­and Aburame Shino," Iruka said. Kiba gave a smirk while a shy Hyuga girl sighed before looking at Naruto for a moment and Naruto just smiled at her and told her good luck. The boy in a trench coat with dark glasses merely nodded. Iruka then moved on. "Team nine is still in circulation so I will move on. Team Ten, Nara Shikamaru¡­Yamanaka Ino¡­and Akimichi Chouji," Iruka said. Ino resisted the urge to cry as she not only got the laziest boy in class but the fattest boy in the class as well. Her luck had to have hit a new low. Even Naruto would have been better than Chouji! Aside from her, Shikamaru sighed. Just what he needed, a troublesome woman on his team.


    "May you all grow strong and continue to support each other," Iruka said before he left the room. Slowly students started to file out of the room. Naruto quickly took this time to pack his things and make his way for the door. "Hey Naruto, hold up! What work did you do for the Hokage that allowed you to pass?" Naruto turned his head and noticed Chouji was the one to ask. Naruto really wished no one had sought to go into the issue any further. Looking around the room, he noticed most of the clan heirs looking at him for an answer. Even Uchiha Sasuke had a single eye on him. Naruto closed his eyes and released a breath.


    "Pest elimination," Naruto said before he walked out of the door which left most of the clan in suspense. Some began to murmur to themselves about what that could have meant. However, no one was able to come up with any definitive results to Naruto''s response. The only one who seemed to be thinking it over deeper than anyone else was the Nara heir as he watched Naruto leave.


    Naruto decided to indulge himself for once and made his way towards Ichiraku Ramen. Almost the entire way he had been debating in his mind as he looked at the formula on his right hand. Doing it in the middle of the street was probably too bold for his taste, however, whatever Naruto was summoning it wasn''t in him to be ungrateful and plus who could give up talking with two champions from his favorite game. Naruto glanced to his left and then to his right before he moved into an alleyway. "Perhaps I merely have to think about them and the formula will summon them naturally. Naruto took a still breath. He held his hand into the air before he slammed it into the ground.


    "Kuchiyose no Jutsu," Naruto said releasing a puff of smoke. It hadn''t taken long for the smoke to dispel at all for Naruto stand face to face with the same two girls who had helped him four previous nights ago. His blue eyes met the blue eyes of Ashe. He then shifted his gaze to look at the young girl, Annie. She gave him a wide smile while her teddy bear, Tibbers, laid in her arms. "You asked for us, Summoner?" Ashe asked. Naruto turned to her for a moment before lightly bowing his head which seemed to confuse Annie and Ashe a tad.


    "I wished to express my gratitude to you both for your help in my fight a few days ago by treating you both to some lunch. Is this a bad time?" Naruto asked. The female frost archer raised an eyebrow while Annie quickly grabbed Naruto''s arm. "Lunch! Lunch! Lunch!" Annie said with a wide smile. Naruto gave a defeated look before turning to Ashe.


    "We didn''t do anything special. We only did as our summoner commanded of us. There is no need to treat us to a meal," Ashe replied rather humbly Naruto had noticed. The blond frowned before turning back to the open streets. "I insist," Naruto replied before walking from the hallway. Ashe barely had the time to say anything else before she blinked. She watched Annie skip with Naruto into the street. Ashe slowly removed her hood and holstered her bow. She walked into the street. A hand helped her block out the sun. It was hot. A lot hotter here than Runeterra. Still, for a woman who grew up in the icy hills of the Freljord, this was indeed a welcome change. Still, when she looked at what the people wore, she had to admit that they wouldn''t have lasted long in the Freljord, but Ashe figured she was probably the most out of sorts here. Annie didn''t seem to mind, but what else could the frost archer expect from the Dark Child?


    Ashe quickly moved to catch up to Naruto. To be honest, Ashe and Annie had been surprised to be summoned by the blonde. As far as Ashe knew, she had been having bow practice before something called out to her. It was a good half a second, but her mind was filled with how Naruto lived his life and the situation he was in. Ashe, being a queen, never thought she would let herself before ordered around so easily, but his eyes. Ashe didn''t mean to sound like¡­someone not¡­her, but his eyes captivated her in about one second when she stared into him. Any doubt she might have had about his capability in giving orders had vanished as soon as she landed on the tree branch. She didn''t understand how getting summoned to a different world worked but she decided not to question it, seeing as he was so interesting. It would do well to watch him in the future. She supposed being treated to lunch wasn''t a big deal as she was making it.


    Naruto quickly guided Ashe and Annie to Ichiraku Ramen. Not the best place to treat someone, he admitted, but any other place and there would be hassles that he didn''t wish to deal with. So, Naruto opened the curtain and guided the two inside. "I apologize for accommodations, but it''s all I can truly afford at the moment," Naruto said. Annie quickly climbed up to the seat while Ashe just nodded. She truly didn''t mind. Her summoner was paying. It was needless to say that she felt a little obligated. She quickly seated herself alongside Naruto. Naruto wasn''t entirely sure he was comfortable with Annie in his lap, but he figured that it could have been a lot worse, knowing the girl''s power.


    "Welcome to Ichiraku Rame¡­oh Naruto-kun, you didn''t tell me that you were on a date!" Naruto looked up and noticed Ayame giggling at him. Naruto raised an eyebrow before he sighed at what she was getting at. "These are friends of mine. They helped me so time ago so I am treating them to lunch," Naruto replied. Ayame pouted at Naruto''s non-humor and Ashe looked surprised at being called his friend before a blush tinted her face, who else had called her friend besides Anivia?


    She just nodded before looking down to see Annie in Naruto''s lap. She then looked over and noticed Ashe sitting rather peacefully, but with a blush that she chose to ignore it. Ayame then turned back to the smallest of the group. "And what would the young lady have?" Ayame asked. Annie glanced up to Naruto for a moment before grinning. "Everything!" she shouted. Naruto''s eyebrow twitched while Ayame nearly dropped her notepad. Ashe shook her head with a hard sigh.


    "She''ll have a small vegetable ramen," Naruto said. Ayame glanced to Naruto before nodding and jotting down the notepad. Annie made a pouting face at him. She then made a face showing just how much she appreciate vegetables.


    "And what would you have missed?" Ayame asked turning to Ashe. The archer blinked before giving a glance to Naruto. "I will take whatever he has," Ashe said. Ayame turned to see Naruto pinching the bridge of his nose. "Two miso ramen please Ayame-san," Naruto said. The waitress just nodded and quickly went away to give the order to her father who was in the back leaving Naruto and his two apparent female summons alone.


    "Will this continue on?" Naruto asked. Annie and Ashe looked at him. "My summoning the both of you like this. I know the two of you live your own lives and I certainly know what lives I''m disrupting, but, I might have to call on you both sometimes," Naruto said. The silence of the area was only matched by the sounds of footsteps outside. "Well I can''t speak for Annie, but this summoning is a definite one. I will admit that I had not known that summoning could take place from outside of Runeterra, or that there was somewhere else besides Runeterra, however, I will assist you if I am able. You are the bow to my arrow. Point me in a direction and fire me," Ashe said. Naruto had to admit that was a little old-fashioned loyalty servitude if he had ever heard one, but he just nodded and offered his gratitude.


    "I wanna play here more! I wanna play lots!" Annie said. Naruto blinked, but he just gave a nod to her as well. "Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto introduced holding out his hand. Ashe looked at the offer for a moment before giving his hand a firm shake. "Ashe," she introduced. Naruto nodded. He looked down as Annie gave her name as well before smacking Naruto''s hand with her own. About ten more minutes passed by as Ayame delivered their food. The food was eaten in relative silence, but a sudden common ground had been made with the three, no matter how small it was.


    Ashe had to admit that this food was an absolute delicacy. The way it warmed her body reminded her of warthog noodles back in the Freljord. However, this dish had a lot more flavor to it. Ashe could even see Annie eating her foot without a hint of complaint despite it having vegetables in it. She glanced back to Naruto for but a moment and noticed him calmly eating. Ashe quickly turned back to her own food. This could be interesting.


    With lunch finished, Naruto, Ashe and Annie exited the ramen shop. "I will be sure to summon you if I require assistance," Naruto replied to her. Ashe merely nodded before she vanished away. Annie gave him one more hug with a wink of her eye before she vanished away as well. Naruto released a small sigh before he looked at the time on a clock in a shop. He should be getting back now.

 5 First Impressions

    [you can skip to chap 12 to avoid re-reading the parts of summoner of the league, it deviates starting from there.]


    As Naruto was on his way back to the academy to meet up with Sasuke and Sakura, he thought back to the Shadow clone Jutsu that he had yet to use, and the training he could get done with it. Quickly sidetracking towards his apartment he walked inside and started doing the hand seals for the jutsus. Though his first four tries were in failure, he finally managed to do it on the fifth try, getting 50+ versions of himself in the room. He didn''t need to but he told them anyway "I need you guys to start practicing different stances for taijutsu and spar as well as practice chakra control." With this said he began his run to the classroom.


    Naruto made it back just in time to see that Sasuke and Sakura were still here waiting for Kakashi, which won''t be here for another hour or so. "Naruto! Where were you, we were waiting for hours!" Naruto saw it fit to go sit in the corner and just read his book on tactics he brought this time and think about why he was so unaffected by the fact he had basically killed Mizuki. "Don''t ignore me, Naru-baka!" Sakura screamed but alas, she was ignored.


    After a few seconds Sakura just huffed and took her seat next to Sasuke. Time slowly past by, Sasuke took a nap, Naruto read his book and Sakura....She was fuming. After the Two hour mark she finally snapped and screamed in her shrill voice "WHERE IS OUR SENSEI!" Sasuke learched in his seat from being scared awake and hit his knee and could be seen rubbing it and Naruto dropped his book losing his place. "OI, teme!" the two genin yelled at once at the annoying strawberry that is Sakura.


    A sound of the door sliding open brought the three out of their spewing of insults. Kakashi came through the door. He looked at the three and Naruto took the time to observe him. He had a lazy look in his eye that wasn''t hidden by his headband. His mouthpiece covered his, well, mouth, but the part that Naruto could most easily recognize was the man''s gray hair that stood up in the air. All in all, Naruto could feel something radiating from the man. He wasn''t someone to be trifled with. "Team Seven?" He asked. Sakura adamantly nodded while Sasuke and Naruto reminded silent. Their sensei gave a short sigh. "First impressions? You all suck and I hate you," Kakashi remarked. Sakura felt the comment smack her over the head while Sasuke''s eyebrow twitched. Naruto rose an eyebrow before the man hiked a thumb over his shoulder. "Top of the school. Follow me before I fail you guys," he said before leaving.


    Sakura remained stupefied at what just happened. "The nerve of that guy! Being late and then threatening us! What kind of jonin-sensei did we get?!" Sakura asked, however she found that she was the only one who cared about the event as Naruto had already left and Sasuke was at the door. Sakura quickly paced to hurry up and not get left behind.


    On top of the Academy''s roof, Kakashi leaned against the railing as Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke sat on the ground. Well, perhaps it was more Sasuke and Sakura sat on the ground while Naruto leaned against a pillar to the side. The man looked over the three before giving a smile. "Well, now that we''re all here. How about we all give some introductions. Ya know, get to know each other better," he said. Sakura quickly raised her hand. "What do you mean, Sensei? What do you want us to say?" she asked. The grey-haired man sighed before clearing his throat.


    "Well how about your name, your likes, your dislikes, dreams for the future. Things like that," he said. Sakura placed a finger to her chin while Sasuke frowned. "Can you give us an example sensei?" Sakura asked. The man almost gave in to the urge to smack his face with his hand, but he had a cool demeanor going for him right now. He really wanted to keep that going for as long as possible.


    "Well alright. My name is Hatake Kakashi. I have many likes. I have many dislikes. My dreams for the future? I haven''t really thought about it. Okay, you first pinkie."Kakashi said with a smile while Sakura dropped her mouth to the floor. Sasuke''s eyebrow twitched irritably. Kakashi''s tactic was plain. Reveal a little to get others to reveal a lot. Simplistic in nature, but Naruto could appreciate simplicity especially when it looked like it was working on his teammates.


    "My name is Haruno Sakura. I¡­I guess I like¡­S-S-S¡­.," she stuttered as she sent a couple of glances to the Uchiha. "My dreams for the future¡­well I would really like to¡­.," a blush appeared on her face as she glanced to Sasuke again. Kakashi and Naruto saw it, Sasuke was about one to two inches further from Sakura then from where he was. It amused Kakashi. Naruto didn''t have an opinion on the matter.


    "I¡­I¡­I hate Naruto and Ino-pig!" Sakura said with laid down authority in her tone. Now Naruto''s eyebrow twitched at that one. What had he done to earn this girl''s apparent childish hatred? Was it because his bodies previous host was so infatuated with her or because recently he ignored her in the class? If that was the only reason then he felt like he could have dropped it all together which he felt inclined to do even if this apparent ''hatred'' of hers was valid.


    "Alright good. You next Broody McBroodBrood" Kakashi said pointing to Sasuke. The Uchiha frowned at the name, but continued anyway. "I am Uchiha Sasuke. I don''t like many things and I dislike a lot of things," Sasuke said sending a small look to Sakura that Kakashi didn''t miss. From the shift of Sasuke''s head, Naruto hadn''t missed it either. Soon Sasuke continued on.


    "What I have is not a dream, but an ambition. One that I will fulfill. I will restore my clan and I will destroy¡­a certain someone," Sasuke said his eyes the picture-perfect face of hatred making Kakashi narrow his eyes. Naruto knew who Sasuke was talking about of course. ''Uchiha Itachi, the infamous prodigy of Konoha that managed to kill off his entire clan in a single night. I can see why Sasuke would want him dead. But seriously I wonder why no one would just tell him the truth, I''m sure Sarutobi knew what happened and why. But I guess I could tell him'' Naruto thought to himself.


    "Alright blondie, your turn," Kakashi called. The air was silent. The only thing that could be heard was the breeze of the wind. Sasuke and Sakura turned to see Naruto with his arms folded and his arms closed. Kakashi gave a small smile. "So are you mute too?" Kakashi asked. Naruto didn''t rise to the obvious taunt tactic.


    "Naruto would you stop being complicated and just tell him your name!" Sakura hissed underneath her breath though it didn''t seem to do much good since everyone heard it. "¡­.," Naruto continued to remain quiet as he kept his arms folded. Sasuke snorted before going back to whatever he was thinking about while Sakura tried to glare daggers into Naruto''s skull.


    "¡­Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto said and then finished. Kakashi waited for something else, but he didn''t get anything else. "Anything else you want to tell us?" Kakashi asked the smile came up even tighter. Now Naruto opened his eyes and turned to his sensei. "I gave you all that you needed to know. You don''t need to know anything else." Naruto remarked a glare of his own to match the small one on Kakashi''s face. "He''s acting in a way different way than how I thought he would," Kakashi thought to himself before sighing as he figured he wouldn''t get anything else out of Naruto.


    "Well alright my cute little students, it''s time for your test to prove you''re genin!" Kakashi said. He didn''t get much further before Sakura interrupted him. "Prove we''re genin? But we''re already genin. We took the test at the academy! Why do we need another test?" Sakura asked. Kakashi grinned. Oh man, he always loved this part of dropping the bomb on students.


    "Well Sakura, that test was just a test for seeing who had the potential to become genin. This test is going to truly weed out the rest of you. This test has a 66 percent failure as an average. Out of all of you students, only nine will actually pass this course. Let''s hope you three are in that number," Kakashi said with an eye smile. Sasuke glared hard at the jonin while Sakura shuddered. "We will begin tomorrow. Meet me at training ground 7 at 8 a.m. on the dot," He said before he hopped onto the railing. He glanced back at them.


    "Oh, and word of advice. Don''t eat, you''ll surely puke," Kakashi said before he vanished away leaving the three alone. "What a weird guy, right Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked. Sasuke just stuffed his hands into his pockets and got to his feet. Sakura sighed. How did Sasuke make even walking look cool?


    "You heard him Naruto. You''d better not be late this time." She said.


    Naruto didn''t respond to that as he looked to the other two as he said: "We need to talk, I think he''s trying to trick us." Sasuke raised an eyebrow and was clearly interested, Sakura, on the other hand, was annoyed "Why should we listen to you Naru-baka, come on Sasuke, let''s go get some food somewhere." She started walking off but stopped as she heard Sasuke say "Go get food yourself, I want to know what the ''dead last'' has figured out, he said sarcastically. Naruto ignored the sarcasm and waited till Sakura was standing next to Sasuke to start talking.


    "I don''t believe what he said about not eating, if we would just throw it up as he said, that would mean we''re going to be doing strenuous physical activities, but if he''s late like he was today for 2-3 hours, and we don''t eat breakfast. Then we will be without food for more than 10 hours assuming you all eat dinner at 7 pm. I think he wants us to be at our lowest to test our teamwork when we are irritable. Also if I''m right about this he will probably try to trick us again tomorrow during the test."


    Sasuke was surprised at Naruto''s analysis, while Sakura was shocked as they both thought at the same time ''Is this the same Naruto?'' they both thought. Sasuke was the first to respond as he said, "Alright Naruto, I''ll trust you since it does make sense, but if you''re wrong, don''t ever expect me to trust you again." He said as he turned to walk off. Sakura echoed him as she ran after him. With this, they all went their separate ways to prepare for tomorrow.

 6 Bell Test-part one

    [you can skip to chap 12 to avoid re-reading the parts of summoner of the league, it deviates starting from there.]


    Naruto entered his home and dropped his pack on the ground. He quickly made his way over to a bookshelf and while he put on a pot of coffee, he thought about the best strategy for tomorrow''s fight. ''I could re-summon Annie or Ashe, but I have a feeling they wouldn''t be a good matchup against Kakashi with his sharingan. I need someone fast and skilled in 1v1 battles. I need a duelist. I can only think of two that would fit the bill. Fiora and Jax, that is, if I can even summon them.'' he mused as he went to find a book to read and settled on a puzzle book to solve in his boredom as he drifted to sleep.


    The next morning came easy enough. The first part of Naruto''s plan against Kakashi was to actually eat his breakfast which was easy enough. Now he could think clearly and he wouldn''t have been as easily susceptible to irritation than he would have if he was hungry. Sasuke and Sakura seemed to listen to his advice, but, it seemed Sakura hadn''t eaten enough, owing to her dieting obsession.


    Without a word, Naruto leaned against the fence before taking out the same book filled with puzzle games that he had been doing last night. "Each door is the exact same as the last. One door goes right and five others go left. For every third door on the left, the sixth on the right will change color. Make each door the same color and go three doors to the left," Naruto narrowed his eyes before he got to work.


    "What are you doing?" Sakura asked, glaring as she watched Naruto work on his book. She couldn''t suppress the irritated look in her face when Naruto didn''t answer her. She hadn''t eaten enough and she was a little pissed off right now! "How long are you going to ignore me?!" Sakura asked as she marched up to Naruto, her hands on her hips.


    "¡­" Naruto continued to tune out his teammate as he worked on this new challenging puzzle. Unknowing to him he was actually making Sakura angrier and angrier with his denying of her existence. Sakura scowled as she balled her fists. She held her fist up and was ready to strike the blonde, but Naruto lowered his book and glared into her eyes. He turned the book towards her. "I''m occupying myself with a puzzle while we wait. Are you done?" Naruto asked. Sakura looked at the book in surprise. Sasuke gave Naruto a small look. The dead last was doing puzzles?


    "Since when do you do puzzles?" Sakura asked. She had never known Naruto did puzzles. Granted she didn''t know a lot of what he did in general. Still, the puzzle looked complicated even by her own standards and Sakura prided herself on her intelligence least from the grades she received from the academy. "Rather than worrying about what I do. I would like to ask you a question. Why didn''t you eat?" Naruto asked. Sasuke opened his eyes and turned to look at Sakura, and seemed to mouth off ''idiot'' while Sakura stared at the blond incredulously.


    "Just as soon as I think you might have a brain, you ask something like that. Don''t you remember? Kakashi-sensei told us not to eat or we''d puke!" Sakura said. Naruto brushed off the insult like water before looking over their faces. "Hmph, you already look like you''re about to puke. Looks like you fell for Kakashi''s tactic even though I told you how to outsmart him, your straight-laced following of rules and inability to think outside the box WILL get you or someone else killed one day." Naruto said making Sakura widen her eyes. With these words, Sakura went to go pout while Naruto and Sasuke waited for Kakashi to arrive.


    In time, two hours passed by as Kakashi came into the clearing with a smile on his face. He wondered how his cute little genin were going to blow up in his face for being late. A small part of him did feel bad making them suffer, but that part might as well have been minuscule. He just couldn''t stop thinking about it. He could see the forms of Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura in the clearing. Naruto seemed to be the calmest for one who was hungry, but given his attitude from last time, Kakashi couldn''t tell if he was hungry or not. However, he was most concerned when Sakura was looking at him with surprise completely etched on her face. She looked back and Naruto before looking back at Kakashi. Kakashi blinked. Did he miss something?


    "You''re late Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura shouted with extra vigor that Kakashi didn''t know a hungry girl could have. He just rubbed the back off is head as Naruto looked up and Sasuke stared at him. "Maa maa, sorry about that. I saw a black cat in my path so I had to take the long way around the village. Then an old lady was carrying her groceries. So I had to help her." Kakashi said. Sasuke frowned while Sakura tightened her fists. Naruto blinked before releasing a sigh.


    "Well, the sun''s still in the sky. There is a fresh breeze in the wind. Shall we get started?" Kakashi asked as he walked through the gates. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura followed him until they all stood in the middle of the training ground''s clearing. Kakashi stood before them with a smile. He then reached into his pocket. "Your test is to, retrieve these bells from me. You can use anything at your disposal. Oh also, another word of advice, come at me with intent to kill, or you will never get these bells." Kakashi said holding two bells in front of the three students. "Are you sure Kakashi-sensei? Won''t you get hurt?" Sakura asked. Kakashi smiled.


    "Oh, I think I can take care of myself just fine. You have one hour. If you don''t have a bell by that time then you will be tied to a post as you watch me eat my lunch. Also to the person who doesn''t have a bell, not only will you be tied to a post, but you will also be sent back to the academy. Kakashi said. Sasuke''s eyes hardened. Unlike Sasuke, Naruto looked unaffected, ''What does he know that I can''t figure out? I hate this feeling..'' He thought to himself. Meanwhile, Sakura''s eyes grew fearful and didn''t try at all to figure out what the underlying meaning of Kakashi''s words were.


    Kakashi tied the bells to his flak jacket. "Well, are we all ready?" Kakashi asked. Naruto took a glance to the summoning formula on his arm. He then glanced back to Kakashi. Sasuke nodded. So did Sakura, albeit hesitantly.


    "Well¡­GO!" Kakashi said and without a word, Naruto slammed his hand on the ground shocking Sakura and Sasuke as the blonde spoke. "I know someone can hear this, come, fight for me!" he yelled in his mind as his eyes glared into Kakashi''s form. "Kuchiyose No Jutsu!" Naruto shouted as a puff of smoke came over the area.

 7 Bell Test-part two

    [you can skip to chap 12 to avoid re-reading the parts of summoner of the league, it deviates starting from there.]


    Perhaps, Naruto had to admit that using a new summoning formula, whose intricate design and functions were alien to him, was probably a rather, unreasonable use of resources in an exam against a jonin. Yet, Naruto had held the understanding that this jutsu was the same as any other jutsu. The smoke had clouded the area just like it would have for a quote-unquote regular summoning jutsu. However, Naruto was at least expecting something to come to his aid. When the smoke dissipated, he summoned nothing! All he had gotten for his troubles was a cloud of smoke.


    Naruto''s eyebrow twitched while Sasuke and Sakura, even Kakashi, waited for something to happen. Kakashi was the one with the most amused look on his face while Sakura and Sasuke blinked. Sasuke''s was more out of a sudden interest than anything else. "Since when was the dobe capable of the summoning technique? Though judging by the effects. He screwed it up somehow," Sasuke thought to himself.


    Naruto turned a small eye to the sealing formula on his right hand. Everything looked fine as far as he could tell. There weren''t any smudge marks that could probably tamper with the summoning array. Did this have something to do with Annie and Ashe? Naruto wasn''t exactly sure. Given how the two had been summoned by him, it seemed that they had the option to refuse to be summoned. Perhaps the two were having important matters to attend to that didn''t allow them to be summoned right now. And maybe he could only summon those two


    It was definitely one plausible theory Naruto had. However Naruto couldn''t rule out the possibility of something happening to the summoning formula. Although as far as Naruto understood it, there was no one in Konoha who specialized in seals or summoning techniques, besides Jiraya. This left Naruto with an internal curse. He had a plan where he would have liked Annie''s assistance, but that seemed to be off the table.


    "Am¡­I to be waiting for something?" Kakashi asked, breaking Naruto out of his thoughts. Naruto sent a glare to the smiling jonin. Quickly he realized their predicament before reaching into his pouch. Naruto quickly grabbed a smoke bomb and slammed it into the ground covering the area in more smoke. It didn''t take long for the smoke to dispel until Kakashi realized he was the only one in the fields. He narrowed his visible eye. "Well, it looks like despite that¡­interesting start, they all know how to hide. Let''s see, Sasuke''s over there. Sakura''s over there. The only person I can''t find is Naruto. Well, let''s see what they can come up with," Kakashi thought to himself. Well, he was sure that he could handle three academy students. So¡­he took out an orange book and placed one of his hands in his pockets. He just had to bide his time.


    Meanwhile, in another section of the forest, Naruto slammed his hand on the ground. He had made the attempt to summon Ashe and Annie one more time, but all he got was smoke in return. Naruto had thereby concluded that he wouldn''t be getting any help from either Ashe nor Annie. Add to the fact that Naruto wasn''t sure if or how he could summon anyone else, but given that some parts of the seal were now blackened and red then there had to have been something that he was missing. Still, the bad part was Naruto didn''t have the time to think about it.


    "I have to get to Sakura and Sasuke." Naruto said to himself as he stood. Just as he stood Naruto heard a piercing scream that sounded much like Sakura. Naruto pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. Looked like Kakashi had his first victim. Okay, he had to get to Sasuke¡­and then maybe get to Sakura. Still, Naruto wasn''t sure how he could help. His only technique was being blocked somehow. Naruto looked at his right hand before he clenched it. No matter. Uzumaki Naruto wouldn''t let something so insignificant stop him. As Naruto dashed from where he was previously standing, he didn''t notice the seal begin to brighten.


    It hadn''t taken Naruto very long to find Sasuke and if he were honest, if he weren''t him, then he would have outright laughed in the Uchiha''s face. He only settled for looking at the pride of the Uchiha clan buried up to his neck in dirt. Naruto and Sasuke stared at each other for a rather long time. Naruto gave a small sigh. "Discovered that you couldn''t match a jonin, didn''t you?" Naruto asked. Sasuke resisted the urge to scowl.


    "Just get me out of here dobe!" Sasuke said with a growl. However to Sasuke''s rising irritation, he watched Naruto kneel in front of him. Naruto knew he could dig up the Uchiha, but right now Sasuke was as restrained as Naruto was going to get him so he might as well have used this opportunity.


    "Listen to what I have to say first," Naruto said. Now, generally Sasuke would have told Naruto to dig him out with more of a demand, but Sasuke wasn''t really in the mood to try and dare he say he couldn''t do anything without Naruto helping him anyway. It''s not like he had much of a choice to listen to Naruto. So¡­Sasuke heard Naruto speak his possible theories. Each made Sasuke surprised at the sudden intellect he didn''t know Naruto could have. Much as Sasuke loathed to admit it, he had come to see recently that Naruto actually had a knack for theory and strategy games. Sasuke couldn''t deny that Naruto''s theories held some type of weight. Even in his mind, Sasuke could¡­begrudgingly agree that even with his skills he couldn''t fight a jonin¡­at least on his own. Once Naruto finished, Sasuke wasn''t sure how to respond.


    "Hn, and if you''re wrong, what then? We''ll all fail!" Sasuke said. Naruto eyed the Uchiha for a moment. He had to admit that what he was telling Sasuke to do was actually a huge jeopardy of interests, especially Sasuke''s interests, but Naruto definitely knew that this was the best choice of action. He gave a short breath before staring into Uchiha Sasuke''s eyes.


    "Because I know that with how we''re dong right now¡­none of us are going to get those bells and we''ll all fail then. You trusted me when I told you about Kakashi''s little test in us eating. I''m asking you to place that same trust in my judgment right now." Naruto said plainly.


    Sasuke glared into Naruto''s eyes for quite a long time, but finally he heaved out a sigh. If, and Sasuke sure as hell meant if, Naruto was wrong he was going to make sure Naruto never spoke like this again. However, for now, Sasuke just nodded¡­willing to go along with this¡­theory of Naruto''s.


    So, Naruto gave a nod and effortlessly dug Sasuke out of the pit. The two young men stood at the outer rims of the forest. Naruto looked back in the direction that Sakura was most likely in. "We''ll need Sakura to cooperate as well. Despite her¡­tendencies she is still a pretty good shot. She got an 8 out of 10 in kunai and shuriken practice. She also has some logically sound strategies. I understand your opinion of her isn''t the highest, but curb it for now." Naruto said. Sasuke gave a snort, but that meant his acceptance of Naruto''s request even though he didn''t like it.


    "And what about you? Your little technique backfired back there. Do you have anything else?" Sasuke asked. Truth be told, Naruto did have the shadow clone jutsu, but that''s his trump card. And he had the recently mastered with help of his clones, Henge, Kawarimi, and Bunshin technique, but how long those would last against someone like a jonin was yet to be seen. Naruto looked at his arm. He clenched it.


    "I''ll make it work. I promise!" Naruto urged as he walked off. Sasuke squinted for a short moment before he followed after Naruto to go and search for Sakura. They had to hurry. Obviously time was running out for all of them.


    Naruto and Sasuke looked down at the ground. Or perhaps it was better to say who was on the ground. Sasuke and Naruto watched Sakura, unconscious. Naruto resisted the urge to sigh. "I remember reading that during the time of the Third Great Shinobi War, genin like us were capable of taking B and A-rank missions. I think our standards have fallen," Naruto said. Sasuke folded his arms.


    "Wartime will do that," Sasuke added in. Naruto just nodded before motioning for the Uchiha to play the role of the prince and wake up the unconscious princess. Sasuke grunted before rubbing Sakura''s shoulders. A quick groan and a small squeal later, Sakura quickly wrapped her arms around Sasuke nearly crying that he was quote-unquote¡­alright. Naruto could feel the glare coming from Sasuke for the ordeal. That glare amused Naruto.


    With Sakura''s¡­attitude dropping back to a reasonable level, Naruto and Sasuke quickly filled her in on Naruto''s theories. In her mind, Sakura had to actually applaud Naruto for the sound judgment¡­as irritating as he was.


    Despite her misgivings, Sakura just nodded. "Okay so how do we team up against him? Naruto''s jutsu didn''t work while Sasuke and I didn''t last very long either. I think we''re at the end of our rope," Sakura said dejectedly. Naruto turned back to the forest.


    "Don''t be so quick to give up Sakura. While he''s a jonin, Kakashi''s also human. He''s not perfect and even he can make mistakes. Right now he knows he''s essentially overpowered us in some way, he''ll underestimate us. It''s a given. All we need is one tactic that will break his perceptions of us," Naruto said. Sasuke and Sakura stood to their feet.


    "What do you suggest?" Sasuke asked. Sakura was surprised to see Sasuke actually conceding¡­to Naruto of all people, but she figured that he knew what he was doing. Naruto tightened his right hand. Right now, the fact that he couldn''t summon Ashe nor Annie had some weight on his mind, but he couldn''t dwell on those two anymore. He needed someone, anyone that he could summon. He would revise the tactic but dammit he needed a summon to make it work.


    Naruto felt the skin on his right hand burn as he looked down. He glanced down and noticed the had fully lit up in two places. Naruto turned back to Sasuke and Sakura. "Simple. We''re going to make him pay for this mockery. This is how we will proceed¡­," Naruto said as his voice grew lower and lower. Sasuke and Sakura widened their eyes, but continued to nod.


    Meanwhile, Kakashi rubbed the back of his head as he looked at the sun in the sky for a moment. It was close to the hour. He probably should have given them an extra hour, but they were already deep into the exercise. He couldn''t just do that. Though given what hat happened in the last half of that hour, he doubted that these kids were going to really last any further. He had disabled Sakura with a D-rank genjutsu of the Uchiha near death. He then disabled the Uchiha who claimed himself to be¡­different from Sakura and Naruto. Oh, he was different alright. Kakashi admitted that Sasuke was talented in being able to catch him slightly off-guard with that Katon jutsu. He had actually almost touched one of the bells. Maybe Kakashi had taken that a little too seriously that time. He sighed, the only one he had yet to see was Naruto after the spectacle the blond made of himself with his failure at summoning¡­whatever he was trying to summon. Well, it was no skin off his bones if they all decided to give up. Much easier on him, actually.


    Kakashi was brought from his thoughts when he heard the leaves rustle. He glanced down and noticed Naruto walking out into the plains. Kakashi doubted he would ever take the ''serious'' look of a genin to heart, but the look in Naruto''s eyes nearly made him put his book away all together. To walk out into the fields¡­where Kakashi could see him either told Kakashi that Naruto was either very confident or very stupid¡­maybe even both. He watched Naruto stand at the edge of the forest. "Where are your teammates?" Kakashi asked with an eye smile. Naruto frowned before snorting. Tactic number 1¡­begin.


    "I don''t need those idiots. I''m more than capable of taking you down on my own," Naruto said and Kakashi twitched before he sighed. Great, just like the Uchiha. What a group of students this was. Kakashi refused to give a sigh and only settled for a chuckle. Naruto frowned when he heard Kakashi''s snicker.


    "Say that after you get one of these bells. I doubt that if the Rookie of the Year couldn''t get one, then the dead last would actually be worse off," Kakashi taunted. However Naruto didn''t rise to that taunt. Actually in his mind, that wouldn''t have been far off. Naruto was the dead last¡­for some other reasons, but he would have thought the same if he was in Kakashi''s position. Yet, Naruto was going to shatter that logic.


    "You would be surprised Hatake," Naruto said as he raised his right hand into the air. Kakashi raised an eyebrow. Looked like the blond was going to attempt another summoning. Kakashi shook his head, but smiled. When students had a jutsu that they liked they would continue to try it, even if there was doubt that it worked.


    "Anyone, if I can summon anyone then grant me your strength. If only for a short while. Anyone, hear me!" Naruto pleaded as he raised his right hand into the air. Let it be known that Uzumaki Naruto was not known for his begging or pleading. However, he required a strength that wasn''t his own just yet. He required skills that he didn''t have yet. He required a partner who could help him out right now. For reasons, Ashe and Annie couldn''t reply to his plea. However, if this summoning held any value¡­someone, anyone would hear him. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Naruto shouted as he slammed his hand on the ground. A vast amount of smoke exploded from upon the ground. From their places, Sasuke and Sakura widened their eyes as the smoke nearly covered the plains. Kakashi quickly jumped back as the smoke dispelled.


    This feeling. Naruto remembered this feeling. The same feeling that Ashe and Annie gave him when he had first summoned them. He could feel his thoughts were filled with this person''s memories. He could feel¡­their desire and at the same time their curiosity. Naruto watched the person turn. He could hear their names in his mind. Their light blue eyes so similar to Ashe''s eyes connected with his own eyes. He glanced down at the person''s body. Obviously a female in his eyes. She wore a single white chest plate that covered her feminine form. Her shoulders were weighted by golden armor pads. Her hands were covered in a gold armor band that protect her hands. Her dark green/blue pants fell down to her legs and the cape she wore fell down her backside as it flapped in the wind. The most notable thing was her short hair. Her black hair was only enhanced by the two strands of red hair that hung on the sides of her face. Her blade was absolutely stunning as it shined in the sunlight. However, that could not compare to her natural beauty and her natural deathly glare. She looked at him for an order. Naruto was happy to oblige. "Here is a worthy opponent. Go, Fiora." Naruto said. Fiora turned around and held her blade. A sharp grin appeared on her face. "At once, Summoner "

 8 Bell Test-part three

    [you can skip to chap 12 to avoid re-reading the parts of summoner of the league, it deviates starting from there.]


    "At once, Summoner," Fiora said before she dashed out of the cloud of smoke. Naruto watched her go before he looked down at his hand. It was glowing bright white. Naruto then glanced back. "Fiora, the Grand Duelist, I got really lucky, I guess." Naruto thought to himself.


    It took years of experience, instinct, and will against life and death situation for Kakashi to¡­just barely dodge the sword strike from the mysterious woman who blasted from the smoke. Kakashi''s visible eye couldn''t have widened further as Fiora''s blade scratched the bear tip of his mask before Kakashi swirled away. Fiora spun on the dirt before turning back to Kakashi. A kunai couldn''t have appeared faster in Kakashi''s hands. "Did Naruto summon her? Who is this woman?" Kakashi thought to himself, but he didn''t have time to think it for long before Fiora straightened her sword before placing her left arm behind her back.


    "En Garde!" Fiora called before she dashed for Kakashi''s position. Kakashi blocked a sword lunge before quickly countering the next as his thoughts flared. "En what?!" Kakashi thought as he quickly jumped away from another sword strike. Fiora swung her body and her momentum carried over as she swiped at Kakashi''s jonin vest. Kakashi backflipped away as Fiora smirked. Kakashi took this time to gasp for breath. What in the Five Villages'' names was going on here?!


    Sasuke and Sakura widened their eyes as they watched the mysterious woman Naruto had summoned quickly put Kakashi to his best defenses. Sasuke actually shivered. The way her sword gleamed in the sunlight actually made him wish for such a blade. He tightened his grip on a tree branch before looking back at Naruto. Just what was the dobe supposed to be summoning?!


    Even Sakura had to admit that the woman she was looking at was skilled. She was making Kakashi dance around like a puppet where he had all, but been fooling around with the three of them¡­as far as Sakura knew. "Sakura release!" Sakura jumped upon hearing Naruto''s voice. She swallowed the lump in her throat as she swiftly unleashed a flurry of kunai at Kakashi. The jonin swiftly kicked Fiora away for a moment only to see a multitude of sharp knives raining down over him. He watched Naruto point at him.


    "Sasuke, your turn!" Naruto commanded. Kakashi gasped as Sasuke dashed out of the trees. Sasuke wasn''t sure if this lady was going to be alright, but Naruto seemed to know what he was doing. This was the best that Sasuke could do. "Katon: G¨­kakyu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Grand Fireball Technique)," Sasuke shouted as he blasted a fireball at Kakashi''s location. Kakashi watched as the kunai wrapped around the flaming fireball. The flames ignited each kunai as they flew at Kakashi''s person. Fiora took a glance to Naruto. The two nodded to each other.


    Kakashi was ready to move to intercept, but he cursed when he saw Fiora clash into him. "You have such an unrefined style." Fiora mocked for a moment. Kakashi glared into her eyes before he swept her legs with his own. Fiora quickly jumped away while Kakashi jumped away from the fireball and flaming kunai. The explosion rocked the earth as Fiora jumped back in front of Naruto.


    "So you are the one shaking the foundations of Runeterra. I see, many warriors heard your call. I was the first one to respond. You have a sharp mind, summoner," Fiora said. "Runeterra, this confirmed his theory that the seal was summoning those he was familiar with, did this mean he could summon people from other games or maybe even other animes? This has so much potential." He thought excitedly


    "I appreciate your words." However, that wasn''t even enough to faze him. "However we''re going to keep trying," Naruto said. Fiora agreed before she readied her blade at her summoner''s command.


    As soon as Kakashi jumped out of the smoke, Fiora dashed for him. "Sasuke, Sakura, it''s our turn! Follow my lead!" Naruto said. The Uchiha and Sakura quickly jumped to the ground. Naruto gave Sasuke the order and Sasuke nodded. Naruto then turned to Sakura. He handed her a kunai. Sakura steadied her breath before Naruto took out a spare kunai and charged at Kakashi.


    The clashing of metal could easily have been heard around Training Ground 7 as Kakashi ducked underneath a sword lunge from Fiora. Kakashi blocked her strikes as best he could and dare he say he was tempted to use his other asset to assist him, but these were freakin'' genin. How could he ever live it down if he was forced to use that of all things here?! Even Hatake Kakashi had his pride!


    Just as Kakashi and Fiora landed on the ground, Kakashi found himself bombarded by Naruto and Sasuke. Sasuke quickly jumped over Naruto''s back and into the air. Kakashi effortlessly dodged a strike from Naruto and Sasuke, however he was still having trouble as he was dodging a more experienced sword-wielder at the same time! A variation of trying to fight against slow, predictable moves and fast, nearly unpredictable ones. It was agonizing!


    Kakashi blocked a kick from Sasuke and a punch from Naruto. However, he had to swerve his body as Fiora''s blade nearly ended his form with a stab to the gut. Kakashi threw Naruto into the air before he kicked Sasuke away from him. His kunai parried Fiora''s blade. He quickly attempted to turn it around on her but failed.


    Kakashi threw his kunai at Fiora''s form, but she easily darted to the side and lunged for Kakashi. She was actually a little surprised to find she had stabbed him. The brief moment of satisfaction on her face had disappeared when Kakashi vanished only leaving a log in his place. Fiora frowned as she watched the log drop. She felt Kakashi''s presence behind her. There was only so much the head of the House of Laurent could take!


    "Insolent peasant! Prepare to die!" Fiora called out as she chased darted back for Kakashi''s location. Kakashi watched her come before he looked overhead. He saw Naruto actually holding a Fuma shuriken. "You let your guard down sensei! You''d better refine your tactics!" Naruto said as he flung the shuriken at Kakashi. The one-eyed jonin saw both Fiora and the shuriken coming for him. Obviously, Fiora couldn''t outrun a shuriken so Kakashi made that his priority.


    Kakashi noted the arch of the shuriken and danced out of the way. From a genin, the speed of a shuriken wasn''t worth much. "Sasuke! Sakura! Fiora-san! Now!" Naruto called out. Kakashi blinked and turned back. He noticed the Fuma shuriken poof out revealing Uchiha Sasuke with a kunai in his hands. The Uchiha flung a kunai with a fire tag at him. He also finally noticed Sakura fire a kunai with a lightning tag at his person. On his immediate right, Kakashi was sure he saw Fiora''s blade glow in a piercing light.


    "Sein¨­ha( Bladework)," Fiora called out as she swung at Kakashi. Kakashi jumped out of the way of Fiora''s lunge, but even with his normal eye, he was certain, deathly certain, that he saw a series of afterimages following Fiora''s next action. She pointed her blade for Kakashi and finally, Kakashi realized¡­Uzumaki Naruto was a dangerously individual. The kunai Sasuke and Sakura had thrown collided with Fiora''s blade having it flare in fire and lighting. Kakashi had just enough time to notice Naruto land on the ground. From his place, Kakashi realized from dodging the Fuma shuriken, he wasn''t in a position to follow up! He felt a bead of sweat drop down his face as Fiora lunged her blade.


    "Fiora stop!" Naruto called out. Fiora instantly stopped her blade merely inches from Kakashi''s chest. Sasuke and Sakura gawked as Fiora had stopped her assault. Kakashi opened his eye when he noticed that the pain didn''t come.


    "Naruto, we had him! Why did we stop?!" Sakura asked. However, everyone could hear it. A sound that Sasuke and Sakura instantly dreaded. It was the sound of the alarm clock going off. An entire hour had passed. Kakashi watched as the fire and lightning combo that illuminated Fiora''s blade, slowly vanish into nothingness. Fiora gave Kakashi a hard look before she withdrew her blade and sheathed it. Fiora gave Naruto a look.


    "Despite having the winning edge in the fight. He actually stopped the battle merely because the alarm clock signaled them to stop. An interesting boy." Fiora thought to herself before she removed herself from the center of the field. Kakashi blinked before Naruto brought Sasuke and Sakura together. With sighs, they all walked to the three posts. Kakashi watched jaw-slacked as the three waited for their punishment.


    "Are¡­are these guys serious?!" Kakashi thought to himself before he stopped the ringing alarm clock. He turned back to his students. He sent a look to Fiora who was leaning against a tree, resting from the somewhat intense excitement. Kakashi gave a small glare to his students before appearing in front of them.


    "I''m willing to hold all questions about her¡­later." Kakashi said looking at Fiora for a moment. Sasuke and Sakura looked at Naruto for that one, but Naruto remained steadfast. He had predicted this outcome. Kakashi looked back at his students.


    "You fought together¡­knowing that one of you would fail. Why?" Kakashi asked with a narrowed eye. Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto were silent for a moment before Sakura shakingly raised her hand to answer.


    "W-Well, you''re a jonin and we''re just fresh out-of-the-academy genin. We already knew we couldn''t beat you in a one-vs-one fight. So fighting you as three, technically four, increased our chances of getting the bells," Sakura said. Kakashi was actually impressed with that answer. It was true obviously. On their own, none of them had any hope of actually defeating someone of Kakashi''s caliber, not to toot his own horn.


    "We also realized that there was a chance of all of us failing if we stayed as we were. We would possibly all fail of none of us could get the bells. So while we were unable to achieve our objective we were able to realize that at least we attempted it rather than continued with the old tactic," Sasuke followed on. Kakashi nodded before finally coming to the main headache, the one Uzumaki Naruto.


    "Lastly we realized what you wanted us to know. To be bold to our commanding officer, you lied about the bells. Or I surmised that you lied about their importance. You told us that there was a 66 percent chance of failing this test. You then told us only nine genin actually pass this exam. You said if one of us is unable to get a bell then they would be sent back to the academy. That was a hole in your previous statement. If that was the case then you could have told us only six or eight genin pass this test if this is given to more than one team. Given that, I surmised that there had to have been a way for all three of us to pass otherwise there would have been no meaning in the academy pairing us in threes. No shinobi cell in Konoha''s structure has had less than three genin and one jonin. Your little test was merely a tactic of divide and conquer. You expected us to fight amongst each other over the desire to pursue our individual goals. Combined with the fact that you didn''t want us to eat to make our minds a lot more easier to manipulate. You wanted to see that in the direst of dire situations for a teammate where one loses¡­that he/she will still work with their teammates to complete an objective¡­even if it means their downfall. You wanted us, despite every reason telling us not to, to use teamwork to conquer you," Naruto said finally taking a short breath.


    Fiora glared at Naruto. That reasoning. There was no way a 12-yr old boy could have made reasoning like that and explained it like he was teaching an entire class of children. He literally nearly silenced Sakura, Sasuke, and his teacher in that one move. Fiora could not hold back the measures of curiosity weighing on her mind. "Just who are you, summoner?" Fiora thought to herself.


    Meanwhile, much to Fiora''s thoughts, Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi were indeed stunned by Naruto''s analysis. "This is the dead last of the Academy?" Kakashi thought before he looked through Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura. He then closed his visible eye.


    "You were all unable to get the bells. Are you ready for your punishment?" Kakashi asked. Sasuke scowled but nodded. Sakura hung her head down. Naruto closed his eyes but nodded as well. Kakashi glared at the three before taking a breath.


    "Good. Because you all¡­pass," Kakashi said with an eye smile. The scowl on Sasuke''s face left as he blinked. Sakura jerked her head up in surprise. Naruto didn''t move. He had figured as much. Sakura took a step toward Kakashi.


    "We pass? But we didn''t get the bells. How did we pass?" Sakura asked. Kakashi resisted the urge to laugh. It would have ruined the cool demeanor he had going for himself right now.


    "Everything you all assessed was true and everything Naruto analyzed was to the point. The bells weren''t the focus of the test. They were merely a secondary objective. The true objective was to see if you all could work together despite every attempt to drive you all apart. While you didn''t complete the objective you still managed work together as a team and not abandon your comrades at the end. All of you, remember this. There are rules for every mission objective to complete. Yes those are important. Yes, those who break the rules of a mission are scum. However the person who abandons their comrades is worse than scum," Kakashi replied. Sasuke gave a swift nod as did Sakura. Naruto gave a small smirk. An interesting lesson concept.


    "Well it seems that you all understand that, so all I can say is well done! Team seven begins its first mission tomorrow!" Kakashi congratulated. Sasuke grinned while Sakura chuckled with tears in her eyes. Naruto just smiled. A feeling of satisfaction was etched into his features.


    "Now before I tell the Hokage our news, anyone mind explaining her?" Kakashi asked pointing the woman who had quite literally almost forced him into uncovering his headband. Naruto took a step forward on this. He gave a look to Fiora and she acknowledged his request. For her, it was almost always customary to give one''s name after combat.


    "Her name is Fiora. She was summoned by me via the summoning formula that rests on my right hand. Her sword style isn''t one that has been discovered by the Elemental Nations and for her reasons, I will not divulge what her sword style is, nor her clan or the House she resides in. This is the sealing formula from the¡­incident a week ago," Naruto said. Kakashi slowly gave a small nod knowing just what happening a week ago. He understood Naruto not wanting to talk about it in front of Sasuke nor Sakura. So that was the summoning formula that had been taken from the Forbidden Scroll. It definitely looked intricate.


    "I see. Well, by all definitions you did¡­summon her. I suppose she can be classified as a summon, though I never heard of humans being the summon of another human. I will run this by the Hokage. You are all dismissed," Kakashi said before he vanished out of sight.


    Sakura fell to her knees and grinned. They made it. She was on a team with Sasuke! They passed! "Hey Sasuke-kun, do you want to¡­," Sakura didn''t get very far before she noticed Sasuke glaring at Naruto hard. Naruto turned to him for a moment. Inwardly Sasuke was grinding his teeth and Naruto could easily see the Uchiha straining his fists.


    "Thanks, dobe," Sasuke said with a huff before he quickly turned and walked away with his hands in his pockets. Naruto rose an eyebrow, but he didn''t pursue Sasuke''s reasoning as he watched Sakura run after the Uchiha. Pretty soon, Naruto turned back and noticed Fiora looking at him intently.


    "You didn''t dispel," He stated simply handing Fiora a towel. She looked at the offer with a slight amount of indignation that Naruto didn''t miss, but she took it regardless and cleaned some of her sweat.


    "I believe you and I have some unfinished business," Fiora said. Naruto merely nodded and guided the Grand Duelist back to his home. She followed him without a word.


    The entire walk to Naruto''s house, Fiora took the time to take in the strange land that she had found herself in. It very much looked different from Runeterra as far as Fiora could tell. Perhaps she was the odd one out since a majority of men and women couldn''t stop staring at her. Though she did wonder about some of the glares being sent towards her summoner. Well Fiora would make sure any ill attempts were met with swift justice.


    "My home is probably not suited to your tastes so I apologize," Naruto said as he walked the stairs. Fiora followed him. This small apartment was about as big one of her servants'' houses. Not a big deal. She watched Naruto open the door leading her inside. For a single boy''s home, it was surprisingly very clean. Granted Fiora knew Naruto was an orphan. Just like Naruto had seen all of her memories, she had also seen all of his own. She knew the harshness of life that had been dealt to him. It was possibly even worse than her own. She could respect his strength, for a 12-yr old.


    "Please give me a moment to not talk with you in sweat and dirty clothes." Naruto said. Fiora merely nodded as Naruto disappeared into his room. Granted she was a little dirty too, but she had no change of clothes. It wasn''t like she wasn''t used to dirt. She was a warrior after all.


    A quick shower, and a quick change of clothes, Naruto noticed Fiora sitting at his table. "Coffee?" Naruto asked. Fiora doubted he had the kind of coffee she was used to, but he was being a generous host and Fiora wasn''t one to slight hospitality.


    "Some would be appreciated," Fiora said. Naruto nodded. It had taken some time, but he placed a cup in front of her before he sat down with his own. Fiora took a sip. Cheap market stuff, but she expected no less from an orphan. Not like he could manage much else, but say what you will about Fiora, but she never complained.


    "If possible, Fiora-san, can you explain to me Runeterra?" Naruto asked. He knew of Runeterra, but only from what little lore he had read, and he wasn''t a lore lord.''Fiora''s eyes never left Naruto as Naruto stared right back. "I would like to understand just what I am getting myself into with summoning a lot of you." Naruto continued on. Fiora merely smiled but took another sip of coffee.


    "Runeterra is the world I reside in. I surmise it to be different from your own. It has a history long since spanning my knowledge of it. However, I can explain to you that I reside in the supercontinent, Valoran. Valoran is capable of holding nearly every nation and faction on the planet of Runeterra. There are many races on this continent such as the Yordles, the Ursine, the Marai, Trolls, and Iceberg, merely to name a few from the vast many," Fiora took a second and Naruto allowed her to do so.


    "Like your nations, I am assuming, the nations of Valoran are numerous. I hold allegiance to Demacia. It is the largest city in the Kingdom, the capital is the main political, cultural, religious, military, economic and educational center of the country. We pride ourselves on ''Justice for All.'' We rid Valoran of corruption and injustice if it is in our power to do so. However, as much as it disgusts me, we have corruption as much as any other nation given that most of our positions are filled with nobility. Some of the main houses you would find the Buvelle, the Crownguard, my house, the Laurent, and a couple of others," Fiora finished for Naruto if he had questions. Naruto took a sip of coffee.


    "I see, so those memories were indeed correct. Ashe-san is from a tribe called the Avarosan and Annie resides within the Voodoo Lands of Valoran. I recognized that from my memories gathered that Ashe-san was indeed a queen and Annie had a large amount of¡­energy for her abilities. Can you tell me of any other nations?" Naruto asked, carefully not letting the fact he already knew most of this slip out, since it seemed Fiora could only see the memories of Naruto''s body


    . Fiora nodded. "Then there is Demacia''s most hated enemy. One that we are currently at war with, the Noxians. Unlike us, are merely a group of peasant savages believing in acquiring strength and power through any means necessary regardless of what it does to the people who live under their rule. As much as it stains my tongue to comment, they are indeed powerful adversaries. Like Demacia, they house many noble clans, one being the Du Couteau. To this day I still praise the Zhao for being able to stand before such a capital. However, I digress. The next nation would be Piltover or the City of Progress. It is the leading center of ecologically-minded techmaturgical research on Valoran. The city''s great academies and their contributions to science are known across the land, rivaled only by the eccentric colleges found in Zaun, as I have been informed," Fiora replied. Naruto gave one more nod.


    "Then there is Zaun. One could call it the City of Privileges. Like Piltover, it is a city-state, however, unlike Piltover I find it to be a backwater nation both supported and ruined by unchecked industry, mercantilism, and magic. The pollution from the countless factories and laboratories is constantly spewed into the environment. The urban heart of the city-state is often choked with smog that blocks the morning sun and drains the sky of its pastels. Some believe nothing good comes out of Zaun, but I will leave that to you to discover should you ever venture there." Fiora said. Naruto nodded. It seemed that he had a lot to learn, but for now, that was enough information.


    "Thank you Fiora-san, one last question. Has anything happened to Ashe-san or Annie? When I attempted to summon both, I was unable to summon either," Naruto said. Fiora nodded glad to actually get to an issue that she wanted to explore.


    "I would surmise that was because of the Institute of War blocking your attempts. I will not bore you yet with the knowledge about our history of conflict better known as The Rune Wars, but let''s just say that we wanted conflict to be more¡­clean. Thus nations sponsored the organization known as the League of Legends. The Frost Archer and Dark Child are in a match as we speak. This is probably why you are unable to summon both. Due to the magic barrier that protects the grounds known as the Field of Justice," Fiora responded. Naruto placed a finger to his chin. So it wasn''t the seal, but it was a..league match. It seemed that the Runeterra was the older version than what he knew from the game.


    Over the next couple hours, Fiora taught Naruto about other places where political conflicts were fought for the good of Valoran. Naruto soaked up as much as he could about the knowledge of this world while simultaneously satisfying Fiora''s, to the best of his ability, curiosity about the Elemental Nations and something similar that they had to the League of Legends known as the Chunin Exams.


    It wasn''t quite the same, but both were political in nature. Naruto told of her some of the noble houses of Konoha such as the Hyuga, Nara, Akimichi, Aburame, Yamanaka, Uchiha, Senju, and Inuzuka. Fiora had to admit that there was more to this world that she had assumed. It was nice having a talk away from the mansion and her servants sometimes. Naruto told her as much as she wanted to her and before both realized it, the sun was going down.


    "I believe I had stayed long enough. I appreciate your hospitality Summoner," Fiora said as she stood from the table.


    "Please, Uzumaki Naruto, Fiora-san," Naruto said with a small bow. Fiora smiled away from Naruto''s eyes. "Very well Uzumaki Naruto. Should you require my aide again I will respond if I have the time. May we continue our studies another time," Fiora said before she vanished away leaving Naruto alone. Naruto quickly washed his cups and went to bed. He looked out of his window as he mumbled


    .


    "Demacia, Noxus, and the Institute of War, it sounds like I have found something more interesting than I could have hoped," Naruto thought before he closed his eyes and fell asleep exhausted from the day.


    [(Leave a comment on different games or anime/novels that you would like to see characters summoned from and I might add them, the first world I have picked out, is Runeterra, my second is still under thought.)]

 10 Special D-rank missions

    While Naruto and Fiora had been regaling each other with stories of their individual worlds, Kakashi was in the Hokage''s office. Along with him stood other jonin who gave their team assessments. Kakashi shook his head when he had heard teams 1-6 had failed. Oh well, not every genin team could be as amazing as he could have been in their final moments. Hiruzen turned to Kakashi as the man gave his report. "Team 7, pass," Kakashi stated. The other six jonin looked incredulously at Kakashi while the sensei of teams 8 and 10 looked at him intrigued. Sarutobi allowed a small smile to come across his face. Judging from how dirty Kakashi''s attire looked, it seems he had a rough time. Finally, the former student of the Fourth Hokage had found a team to call his own.


    "Had some trouble with them?" Hiruzen asked. Kakashi would have chuckled at the tactless joke, but he just took it all in stride. He simply sluggishly slumped his shoulders. "Maa, they were better than I thought," Kakashi admitted. He actually found himself enjoying the prospect of teaching a team like this one. He just hoped they would take his lessons to heart. He would do his best craft them into amazing shinobi who were capable of forging their own paths and bonds. Hiruzen could see the glimmer in Kakashi''s eye, it seemed the man had finally found something to strive for.


    "Teams 8 and 10, pass." the two jonin said at the same time. Hiruzen turned over and smiled with a nod at Team 8''s leader, Yuhi Kurenai, and team 10''s leader, his son, Sarutobi Asuma. Hiruzen nodded and quickly began to dismiss everyone. "Hokage-sama, a moment," Kakashi said. The other jonin glanced back for a second in surprise. Hiruzen frowned for but a moment before quickly moved the other jonin from the room leaving him and Kakashi alone. The jonin stared at his leader before he gave a hard sigh. "Hokage-sama, I think I should have been told that Naruto learned a summoning technique from the forbidden scroll. The people he summons, they are more than enough to challenge a single chunin team, maybe even a jonin team if they are lucky. Where is he getting these people?" Kakashi asked.


    Sarutobi took a large puff of his pipe before exhaling. "Kakashi that summoning technique was experimental. We have no idea of knowing where Naruto-kun is getting these people from. It''s a dimensional rift, we aren''t supposed to know. Truth be told unless this becomes a matter of life and death I wouldn''t like to know either. If the council gets wind of this then I''m sure Naruto-kun will be placed under even more scrutiny than he already has been." Hiruzen said. Kakashi blinked.


    "Would you have me ban him from using it?" Kakashi asked. Hiruzen swiftly shook his head and held up his hand.


    "No, no, I wouldn''t do that to my boy. It''s common knowledge in the medical facility that his problem with ninjutsu and genjutsu is¡­complicated. I haven''t the will to tell him just yet. Why take away the one jutsu he has finally been able to learn for himself besides what the academy has taught him. I can''t do that to him," Hiruzen said. Kakashi placed a finger to his chin.


    "Thank you Hokage-sama. I will come up with something, but I think we''re wasting his intellect by keeping him this low. I think¡­you might want to give this team a special consideration," Kakashi said. He was being honest here. He knew his team was good. At least with Sasuke''s power, Sakura''s¡­uhhh¡­Sakura''s¡­book smarts? Yeah, that was fine. And Naruto''s intellect that wasn''t mentioned in the academy reports, then perhaps it was possible for them to take the special-class genin missions. While Kakashi would have liked nothing more than to watch his genin slave doing yard work, chasing cats, and doing other genin tasks, but Kakashi felt this team, particularly Naruto would be better suited in other D-rank missions. The special D-rank missions.


    "I see. I will give it some thought. You are dismissed." Hiruzen said. Kakashi nodded and then left. Slowly the hours of the day dwindled away allowing everyone within Konoha to get a restful night''s sleep.


    The very next morning, the dew was beginning to set into the grass. Naruto huffed as he followed through with his morning exercise. "When I had said ''May we continue our studies another time'' this wasn''t precisely what I meant Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto heard Fiora speak. Naruto made the small attempt to tune her out as he continued his push-ups. He grunted as the sweatdropped from his face. "That would be number two hundred. Would you like to try for another?" Fiora asked with a smirk while Naruto continued on. Fiora sighed. She never once thought that in all her times training¡­SHE would be the weight equipment. Fiora folded her arms as she sat on Naruto''s back as the blond did his pushups. Naruto had summoned her rather early. Fiora had assumed she had captivated Naruto with the stories of Runeterra and would also have liked to learn more about the Elemental Nations, but when Naruto had asked her for training¡­she wasn''t sure how to respond. She agreed¡­for whatever reason, but¡­she wasn''t sure that this was what she was expecting.


    "Aren''t you supposed to meet with Monsieur Hatake Kakashi, your leader soon? A late body is a late mind." Fiora said. Naruto felt the burn of his arms and his legs. The dew of the grass wasn''t making it any easier, but that was a part of the challenge.


    "Kakashi has a habit of arriving late from the behaviors I observed. I''ll be fine." Naruto said. Fiora shook her shoulders. Well, it was no¡­how did they say¡­skin off her bones? She smiled when Naruto twitched as she slacked his legs with a ruler. "30 degrees off Monsieur Uzumaki. You have another hundred more to go." Fiora said as Naruto frowned. I wonder if I should have tried summoning Master Yi or even Jax, I mean, come on, who uses a ruler for training? Only Fiora as far as Naruto could imagine it. Constantly, the sounds of a ruler smacking flesh were heard as Fiora continued to encourage Naruto to finish. About half an hour later, Uzumaki Naruto dropped to the ground with a hard huff. Fiora blinked as she stood up. "287, not bad Uzumaki Naruto, not bad," Fiora said as Naruto took a second to recuperate before standing to his feet despite how sore he felt. He then bowed. "Thank you, Fiora-san," Naruto said. Fiora waved him off before she dispelled with a wave. Obviously, this was going to continue to be a thing. Soon Naruto collected his towel, water bottle, and kunai before walking back inside his apartment. That was the beauty of having an outdoor hanging lawn. Naruto quickly dressed, ate, and grabbed his necessary supplies. Today was the start of his time as a member of Team Seven. Naruto didn''t know what they were going to be doing, but he had a good guess, that it would involve a feline friend. Well, it wasn''t like Naruto was looking for anything insane at this moment. Naruto grabbed his headband off his counter and attached it to his neck. He had just brushed his hair and didn''t need his headband ruining it.


    Naruto had arrived at the academy. It was where Kakashi had told them all to meet up at 8, so essentially meet up at 10. Naruto walked up to the front door just in time to see Sasuke and Sakura glaring at him. Naruto lightly shook his head. "You both forgot his behavioral pattern, didn''t you?" Naruto asked. Sasuke snorted and looked away while Sakura had the decency to look foolish. She blushed and rubbed the back of her head. Naruto merely closed his eyes and shook his head.


    "Well, it seems that we are all here. Good morning my cute little genin!" the three turned and noticed Kakashi walking up to them all. Sakura would have shouted, but she was way too tired to begin to try. Sakura just sighed while Sasuke frowned.


    "Well, it looks like we''re all a bundle of energy this morning. I know everyone''s just dying for our first mission as a team so how about we all not waste any time." Kakashi said as he walked towards the Hokage Mansion with Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura quickly following after him. It wasn''t the most spectacular journey. However, the walk did help Sasuke and Sakura become more awake.


    All three proceeded into the mission room. Team seven stood before the Hokage and Suzume, the academy instructor. Naruto blinked. He half expected Iruka to be sitting there. Suzume looked up from her work before she pushed up her glasses. Somehow¡­without any sunlight hitting them, her glasses shined. "I see the rumors were true after all. You have the makings of an excellent shinobi, Naruto. I expect you to not fail my predictions." Suzume said with a small smirk. Naruto slightly tilted his head to the side. However, he returned Suzume''s smirk with a gentle smile of his own.


    "I will try my best Suzume-sensei," Naruto said making the academy teacher smile. The kunoichi had never told it to anyone, and most likely never would, but Naruto was actually her favorite student. Everything he did was positively cute to her, jinchuriki of the Kyuubi or not. He was trouble, he did try his best at his work, and he applied her lessons as best he could, even if he usually did not succeed, but hearing he finally managed to master a jutsu, and even passed Kakashi''s test made her feel happy for him. That wasn''t to say Suzume didn''t like her other aspiring kunoichi, but she always had a small place in her mind and heart for the blonde container of the Kyuubi. It was a disgrace to the very profession of teaching that some of the teachers made slight attempts to make life harder of Naruto. Of course, Suzume tried to not let that happen. "Nonsense! However, no matter what you do. I will always expect you to keep our lessons to heart." Suzume answered. Naruto gave a curt nod. Suzume gave a smile back. The others of the group looked at Naruto in surprise. In Sasuke and Sakura''s eyes, it was a rather interesting sight to see Suzume have a favorable light of ANY student, let alone the dead last. Without a doubt, Suzume was a strict teacher. Perhaps she was one of the stricter ones. Sometimes, even Sasuke and Sakura had a hard time pleasing her with their work. The fact that Naruto could do so was a surprise, but from how things had been handled yesterday both knew that they had to take a reevaluation of their blonde teammate.


    "He''s one of my favorites Hatake. If anything happens to him, I will be holding you personally responsible!" Suzume said glaring at Kakashi, making the jonin sweatdrop. Granted, everyone knew that a teacher wasn''t supposed to show favoritism, but Naruto wasn''t in the academy anymore so maybe it was alright to make that common knowledge. "Ummm, I''ll do my best?" Kakashi asked. Suzume sent him a strong look behind her glasses, but she gave a nod all the same. She had poured a lot of her time into Naruto. She would be most displeased if her favorite fox didn''t become all that she envisioned. A clearing of a throat, brought everyone back to the matter at hand as the Hokage opened a mission scroll. "Now then, I assume team Seven is here for their first mission, correct?" Sarutobi asked. Kakashi and the others quickly nodded as Hiruzen gave Kakashi a look. The laziness in Kakashi''s eye belied the intenseness that the Sandaime could see in them. The Hokage sighed. These types of missions hadn''t been given to a genin team since the Second Great Shinobi War. Why was that? Because it required a certain level of intelligence, coordination, and skill that not just any genin could have. Not even Uchiha Itachi, nor Kakashi had taken them, granted they were offered, but both refused. Many a great Nara genin had taken them, though, given the lack of a drive for the Nara, they never completed a lot of them. Either this was a very good idea or a very bad one. Hiruzen would just have to wait and see.


    "Very well, not many requests have been made, but I believe I have one that will start you off. Your mission will be to go and assist Konoha''s Cryptanalysis Team in encrypting and decrypting a couple of messages. This mission is a little difficult. It requires intense analysis. Are you sure you''re up for it?" Hiruzen asked. It was always customary to give consent to the genin team who were taking B-rank and C-rank missions under the guise of a D-rank mission. Officially the missions were D-rank and as such would be put as such on a public record, but for those unofficial documents, they were given a completion of a C or B-rank mission. This is why they were special. In context, they weren''t something just any genin could do, but they were within the village and overseen by superior officers allowing for no true harm or danger to come up leaving it as nothing short of a D-rank.


    "You mean we aren''t doing something more¡­simple?" Sakura asked. Hiruzen and Suzume offered a small smile. "Would you like to do something more simple? We have tasks such as walking the dogs, cleaning out gutters, or pulls some weeds," Suzume asked. Sasuke''s eyebrow twitched before he patted Sakura''s shoulder.


    "We''ll take the former mission. Thank you!" Sasuke said rather sternly much to Sakura''s surprise. No way in hell was Sasuke going to do ANY of those things. If it was just some stupid thing like fetch books or whatever then at least he could learn something, but he would never consider those other ones. "I see the Uchiha''s determinations haven''t diminished and that is good, but we also need Naruto''s opinion as well," Suzume said and of course all eyes dropped to Naruto. He just looked at the mission. Something was going on here. There was no way doing work for an organization whose primary goal was deciphering top-secret messages could be a D-rank mission. Hiruzen seemed to look at him the hardest out of everyone. That wasn''t to say this didn''t make Naruto curious. Because it definitely did. Naruto merely released a breath. "I don''t care," Naruto replied. As far as everyone knew, that was Naruto''s acceptance of the mission. Hiruzen just sighed and nodded before closing the scroll. He really hoped Naruto cared a lot more than he was saying. He then handed Kakashi the mission scroll. The jonin took the scroll before pocketing it away. Team seven bowed to Hiruzen and Suzume before leaving the room. Suzume looked back at the Hokage before looking back at the door. She offered a silent prayer for her students. No doubt Sarutobi was doing the same.

 11 Clarification *not a chapter*

    I''ve got a few messages as of late saying that I am plagiarizing another fanfiction called ''Summoner of the league''. And, as I said in the description of my novel, I am rewriting another fanfic which I did not like. This is that fanfic which I did not like.


    One person said I was copying it word for word, and I am making minimal changes, but that is only on the early chapters, its the same as if you are making a new naruto fanfic from scratch, you can''t just change Kakashi into a woman, unless you are planning on making it alternate universe. The fanfic ''summoner of the league'' is an Alternate universe, however, I want to use this alternate universe in my book. I am simply keeping the early chapters as is since I don''t want the universe to be too different, but what I do want to change are the characters. for example, the things I have added which don''t exist in the ''summoner of the league'' 1: Kurama is in Naruto''s body and already speaking with him do to something which will be revealed in later chapters. 2: Naruto with foreknowledge and the mentality of an adult (since he is a reincarnation of a human from earth) and the knowledge of runeterra. 3: I do not plan to limit the universe to just the world of Naruto and runeterra. If I was just plagiarizing I wouldn''t be taking so long to release chapters, this is because I and my friend who helps me think up plot are setting out the plot after runeterra and also the future of the elemental nations. and making sure it doesn''t conflict too much with the earlier chapters.


    If you think it''s plagiarism, fine, I don''t care, I just told you everything you need to know. This is a FANFICTION of a FAN FICTION, It WILL be similar in the earlier chapters but will be MUCH DIFFERENT in the mid to late chapters.


    I WILL NOT be removing this book and will continue writing whether you cry about it or not, you can go read the original if you want, I''ve already mentioned the name multiple times, and it might be better in your opinion than mine. I have been a fan of the author of ''summoner of the league'' for a long time, and love his other books, I just wanted to turn ''summoner of the league'' into something that appealed to me, and possibly others. I have currently sent in a formal request to the original author KyuubiGoku for permission to write this fanfic since some of ya''ll wanna be so extra.

 12 True Yin-Yang Body and Soul Tempering

    Meanwhile, Team Seven left the Hokage Mansion and made their way towards the Cryptanalysis Team. Kakashi had told them it wasn''t relatively far away. "Kakashi-sensei, what actually does the Cryptanalysis Team do?" Sakura asked slightly confused and just what they were going to be doing. Kakashi had lowered his book upon hearing Sakura''s question. Truth be told, a lot of what they did he didn''t particularly understand either, but he supposed he could give a solid answer as best he could. "Well Sakura, the Cryptanalysis Team deals in deciphering secret coded messages. They take their orders directly from the Hokage. Their building is located a bit away from the Intelligence Division. They work rather closely with our Aviary team since we have messages sent via messenger hawks.


    Imagine if you were behind enemy lines and you had to pass on information. Assuming that the information made it past enemy lines and into Konoha then it would be the job of the Cryptanalysis Team to decipher those messages. It''s mainly a lot of reading and translation of codes." Kakashi said. Sakura nodded. It sounded like something right up her alley. Sasuke didn''t really care what they did, but it was much better than the alternatives. Naruto didn''t precisely have an opinion mainly because he had his mind occupied in his own thoughts. It was currently February 8th, it will be Valentines day soon... I should get something for Hinata-chan. .....Maybe some chocolate for Ashe and Annie too, they did help me out a lot after all.


    After about ten minutes, Team Seven finally reached the office building for the Cryptanalysis Team. Kakashi quickly opened the sliding door and met with the receptionist. Naruto ignored the hesitant stare that was sent his way while Kakashi held up a scroll. The receptionist merely nodded before pointing down a corridor. The team walked forward. "Mitoku-sensei where are you going?! We still need your help here!" a sharp female voice came through the hallway. Naruto turned an eye in the direction of the noise.


    "We''re not going to get anything done like this I''ll just finish this at home." another voice was heard, obviously male. Sakura blinked while Sasuke raised an eyebrow. Kakashi sighed. Sounds like it wasn''t going to be as quiet as he had hoped. The team turned to the door just in time for a heavy crash to come through the room. Kakashi hand had just been on the doorknob as he sweatdropped. Sasuke glared forward. Just what kind of mission was this?


    "They sound¡­interesting." Sakura said nearly voicing the thoughts of the entire group before Kakashi opened the door. A wave of dust exploded into the hallway as multiple coughs were heard. Once the dust settled, Team Seven was greeted to the sight of a young light blonde haired female. Her hair was tied in a loose ponytail with occasional strands sticking out. Naruto frowned at her glasses. She also wore a white lab coat over her red dress and had on her forehead protector backwards, and a sash around her waist.


    "Man, Yurika-san''s gonna be soooo pissed," she said before realizing that she was not alone. She looked up and noticed the expressions of Team Seven. They looked majorly unimpressed. She quickly released one more cough before cursing. She straightened herself. "Erm¡­sorry about the mess. My name is Shiho. Can I help you?" She asked. Kakashi took a look around as piles upon piles of scrolls littered the ground along with piles of notebooks. Computers and printers blinked and sounded as a window was opened. No, it looked more like Team Seven should have been asking that question. "We''re Team Seven. We''re responding to your D-rank mission. Mission 8T532-AD6." Kakashi said with narrowed eyes. Now Naruto knew something was really up when the woman named Shiho stiffened. Her colleagues were all in the same boat as they looked from Sasuke to Sakura before resting on Naruto. Naruto resisted the urge to sigh. He was going to have a headache at the end of this, wasn''t he?


    Shiho paned over the faces of Team Seven. "D-rank Mission 8T532-AD6? Did I hear that right?" Shiho asked just on the off chance that her mind was messing with her. She was looking through the group of genin. Forgive her as they were more or less her age group, but she doubted any of them was a Nara. While Shiho didn''t know a whole great deal on the procedures of the special D-rank missions, she still knew that they required a person with an abnormal amount of skill or intellect to fully comprehend or even attempt. Actually Shiho was one of the few¡­non-Nara shinobi to take the special D-rank missions.


    The person she identified as Uchiha Sasuke, while a remarkable genin, she didn''t see him as someone who had the aptitude for these. It took more than being proclaimed ''Rookie of the Year'' to handle these missions. It''s not that Shiho was looking down on the Uchiha heir. She was sure that he was a very capable individual, but¡­personally she didn''t think he was for these types of tasks.


    She turned her eyes to Haruno Sakura. Shiho wouldn''t lie. She had felt that out of all of them, Sakura had the¡­most aptitude from her grades more or less. While not better than Sasuke in the shinobi department, it held weight that she excelled at theory in shinobi classes. Shiho had actually been one of the assistant teachers who graded Sakura''s papers. She had been intrigued by some of Sakura''s deductions and calculations which is why she believed Sakura to be the most¡­capable of all of them.


    She turned to finally rest on Uzumaki Naruto. What¡­was she supposed to say? There was no way Uzumaki Naruto could do these. Someone with the worst grades in the academy would never be able handle these missions. It''s not like Shiho was trying to be mean, but she was a definite realist. How Uzumaki Naruto even graduated was beyond her, but the fact that their sensei, Hatake Kakashi, a famous shinobi no less, recommended them for this obviously told her that she was missing something here. Plus, the way Naruto''s blue eyes seemed to pulsate and glare into her form nearly made her shiver. They were nice in a¡­creepy sort of way.


    "Yep, we''ll be taking this mission." Kakashi said with a small grin behind his mask. Shiho just nodded before turning over to her supervisor. "Looks like you won''t be able to go home early Mitoku-sensei. Team Seven is reporting for Mission Number 8T532-AD6." Shiho said. The man, Mitoku, frowned before he took the mission scroll from Shiho and looked it over. Yup, this was the mission that they had, by obligation, put into the mission system. Mitoku wasn''t actually expecting anyone short of a Nara to do these. He pinched the bridge of his nose.


    "What a drag..." Mitoku said before he stood up from his chair. He walked past the genin team. "Shiho, gather the papers, we''re heading to the CDR room." Mitoku said. Shiho nodded and quickly moved grab some scrolls of the shelves. "Please, follow us." Shiho said. The group turned around and walked after them. As they walked, Naruto couldn''t get rid of the feeling that something was off here. Never mind the fact that his sensei had a grin on his face the entire time, but also the way the entire Cryptanalysis team had looked at them when the mission was stated. Naruto didn''t like it. Something was going on here and he was sure he would hate Kakashi for it.


    "Tell me, Shiho-san, you guys at the Cryptanalysis Team encrypt and decrypt messages. Does that mean your team can decipher any message?" Sakura asked. Shiho withheld the smirk at her lips. "No, no, Sakura-san. That would be rather impossible. There are even texts from the Shodaime''s era that we have trouble deciphering. We make out bits and pieces thus allowing us to get a rather hazy view of the message. Most of the encrypted messages are by others who want to get select information. We most deal in the work of undercover operatives in the other nations. We need their messages to help keep tabs on the other nations." Shiho replied. Sakura slowly nodded.


    "Given that tactic of yours. Does that mean you believe they wouldn''t do the same to us?" Naruto asked. Mitoku and Kakashi nearly lost their stride for a brief moment. Undercover operatives¡­while common were sometimes some of the best shinobi. Not only did they have to blend into the village, but they had to interact in such a way that raised suspicion from no one. No village liked undercover operatives and getting discovered easily warranted execution, but the idea that their village could even have some based on Shiho''s explanation and Naruto''s question, Kakashi and Mitoku suddenly felt a need to go see Hokage.


    Not even Shiho could deny that Naruto''s question disrupted her thoughts a little bit. She hadn''t expected such a question out of him of all people. She never thought he would turn her own explanation right back at her like that in form of a question. "Well I would hope that wouldn''t happen to Konoha. It would be bad if it did, but we do have some of the best detection forces out of the Five Great Nations." Shiho replied. Naruto would have made a comment flooded with sarcasm, but he decided not to.


    Kakashi could see that Naruto wasn''t entirely satisfied, but he was glad that the blond decided to not pursue that line of questioning anymore. Kakashi knew that if Shiho kept answering then she would have found herself going around in circles with her arguments against what Naruto was saying. It was probably in Kakashi''s mind, but he was sure that Naruto almost liked doing this to some people. "Here we are!" Mitoku said as he opened a door to a much larger room. Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto could see and hear a computer beeping, a glass room with a platform and the door leading to the platform.


    "You still haven''t told us what we''re doing..." Sasuke said a little irritated at getting nothing done. He leaned against the wall as the others filed into the room. Everyone began to spread out over the entire room as Mitoku walked over to the lone computer in front of the glass room. He placed the files down. "Impatient, aren''t you? You should learn to take things easily when you can Sasuke-kun. Now then, since we''re all eager to get started, I will tell you that we will be running a training simulation. This is to not only help create new combat sequences that we can put into books in the library, but it will also help us in creating new fitness books for shinobi your age. This is a D-rank mission after all." Mitoku said as Shiho placed some more scrolls and papers on the computer. Naruto raised an eyebrow.


    They actually needed genin for this? That was odd. Usually you didn''t have genin doing exercises like other genin or even other civilians. That was what the academy taijutsu was for, to give everyone a starting point. This ''mission'' just essentially made the Academy Taijutsu a useless endeavor. "Is there something wrong with the Academy''s taijutsu that you would need something like this?" Naruto asked. Mitoku sent Naruto a small look, a little intrigued before moving back to his computer.


    "Did you think that all students not coming from a clan favored the Academy''s taijutsu? For those who are looking for something more personal, or to set themselves apart from the standard then that is what we are doing. Now since I won''t ask Uchiha Sasuke to showcase his Uchiha taijutsu for just anyone to copy I had Shiho give us some scrolls we had on some old taijutsu forms. What we''re going to do is have two spar while the third helps Shiho with the adjusting. It will help us discover any flaws or weaknesses." Mitoku said. Naruto didn''t truly believe him, but he didn''t comment.


    "Hn, then the dobe and I will fight. Sakura can run the simulation numbers. Let'' get this over with." Sasuke said, sounding in Naruto''s ears, a little more eager than just a few seconds ago. It seemed like Sasuke was looking forward to being able to look at more taijutsu. Naruto wasn''t going to hide it. He was too. He had recognized in his fight with Kakashi that he still had holes he needed to cover though some of those holes were only ones that time could fulfill such as him not having enough experience or him not having the same strength as Kakashi who was a grown human being. That said, Naruto did find it interesting that they could look.


    "Now, now, Sasuke, I know you''re eager, but everyone''s going to fight. It will get some good taijutsu practice for all of you while I observe. Besides, you don''t even know which ones you''ll get so keep calm." Kakashi said with an eyesmile. Naruto and Sasuke glanced to each other before they noticed Shiho open a box. A box full of sticky suckers. Shiho quickly applied a bit of glue and wire to them.


    "Naruto-san, Sasuke-san, I''m going to apply these to your clothes. With them, we will be able to record the data as you practice. This mission might go over a week or even a week and a half. I''m sure we''ll have a productive session." Shiho said as she applied the stickers to Sasuke''s face and his clothes before doing the same to Naruto and his clothes.


    "Pick a scroll and read it. You''ll have half an hour to read as much as you can while Shiho explains the equipment to Sakura-san." Mitoku said. Sasuke and Naruto glanced to each other before moving to the scrolls in the pile. Naruto didn''t bother looking at what Sasuke was picking as he was too busy thinking while searching. A D-rank mission that lasted that long? From how Iruka had taught them in the Academy, one''s typical D-rank mission lasted at least one hour, a max of a day or two. What type of D-rank needed a week? Naruto frowned. Something was really wrong here. There was something here he wasn''t getting. That said, he still needed to participate even if he didn''t really want to.


    Naruto rummaged through some of the scrolls present. He didn''t know how many they were intent on doing. He had done some reading, but none of the styles that he read on any subject seemed to suit him. Naruto pushed each scroll to the side. His taijutsu, he admitted, was lacking. He didn''t have the most amazing hand-to-hand combat techniques, he hadn''t really practiced outside of using shadow clones.


    As he rummaged, Naruto felt his hand scrape through something wooden. He narrowed his eyes before he moved to grab the wooden square. A wooden book to be exact. Naruto picked it up and unfurled it. He looked at the name. "True Yin-Yang Body and Soul Tempering" Naruto read the scroll. He gazed down through the stances in front of him. There were graphical images of the chakra points along with a depiction of a human outline with a blue smoke inside the lines. It was telling how even the chakra points were susceptible to feeling different temperatures such as cold and heat and that through repeated exposure to extremes his body could be tempered, eventually to the strength of steel. There was also a part that mentioned that the will needed to undergo the painful training would increase the strength of one''s soul or will. It also included some basic stances and some taijutsu stances and moves as well, it seemed this was an all-around skill.


    "Naruto-san, do you have your scroll? We''ll be beginning soon," Shiho called jerking from his thoughts. He turned back to see Sasuke already in the glass room and on the platform.


    He just settled for a nod before he moved into the room as well. Naruto and Sasuke stood side by side. A sound from the microphone behind the glass came into their ears. "We''ll spend the first two or three days going through the routine exercises and then we''ll proceed to forms and then to application of them." Mitoku said. Naruto and Sasuke nodded while Sakura was currently at the computer with Shiho. Kakashi seemed content to just watch.


    "Alright Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, you may begin!" Mitoku said. Naruto and Sasuke saw the white lights on the ceiling suddenly turn red. "Do not worry about the lights. They are merely sensing your chakra and relaying it back to our computer. It will copy the movements and allow us to make a better analysis," Mikotu replied. Naruto and Sasuke stared at each other for a moment before Sasuke began his own exercises. Naruto opened his scroll and stared at one of the exercises to the technique. The scroll did say that a study of the chakra points was needed so Naruto would go to that when he went home.


    Naruto dropped to the ground and fell to a meditative posture. The scroll said to mediate, to attempt to send chakra to all points of the body simultaneously. This was proving impossible for him at first since he couldn''t feel his chakra and never really had been able to, but without words, the chakra from Kurama slowly began to enter his system and he gladly took control of it as he sent a mental thank you to the fox. for some, this step was impossible because when thinking or fighting chakra cycled through the body, but never stayed in parts of the body at the same time. It was concentrated into specific areas. If you were fighting then you concentrated your chakra into your hands or feet since those were where the pressure was hardest. Emitting chakra was more than one part of the body was¡­difficult.


    Naruto continued to mediate, attempting to do as the scroll indicated. Naruto didn''t expect any real results in the first fifteen minutes or even half an hour, but nearly an hour later. "Naruto-san, can you stop for a moment?" Naruto opened his eyes hearing the speakers. Sasuke, who had been doing his exercises, stopped as well. On the outside of the glass, Mitoku stood up. "Did you find something?" Mitoku asked as Shiho and Sakura looked over the computer. Kakashi leaned from over the wall and gave the screen a look as well. The representation of Naruto was sitting on some kind of floor as well, but everyone could see the beginnings of an orange hue in the far left shoulder of Naruto''s chakra points.


    "Three of his chakra points suddenly turned orange. They''ve been changing from orange to blue and back for about 45 minutes now," Sakura said, looking at the computer screen. What this meant¡­she had no freakin'' clue. They didn''t go over this when she was in the academy.


    "It might be a product of him and the exercise from the scrolls, but he''s only been meditating. Sasuke-san has been the most¡­physical in his exercises from his scroll. I''ve also be watching his other¡­body functions. It''s odd, the temperature in the left side of his body steadily rose for a moment then dropped to lower than room temp" Shiho said. Mitoku placed a finger to his chin.


    "Let''s continue to observe for now. When two hours passes then we''ll have Sakura-san do hers. But keep a closer eye on Naruto-kun." Mitoku said. Shiho and Sakura nodded before Mitoku spoke into the mic. "No worries Naruto-san. You may continue!" The head of the Cryptanalysis Team said. Naruto blinked before he closed his eyes. He knew there was something they weren''t telling him, but he would figure it out later.


    It was another two hours before Naruto and Sasuke stopped their exercises. Sakura had the amazing sight of Sasuke rubbing his face with a towel from his sweat while Naruto looked over to see Shiho and Mitoku discussing something that he couldn''t hear. The scroll did say that when the meditation was finished then the user should have been a bit warmer in some places than before and cooler than others. Naruto felt¡­warmer on his left side and cooler on his right, but that feeling soon passed as a comfortable warmth took precedence.


    Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi, Mitoku, and Shiho continued to observe Sakura''s own exercises from one of the scrolls she picked. Naruto looked at the scroll. Its premise wasn''t bad in his eyes, though Sakura stuck a little too much to form in Naruto''s eyes. "Sasuke, do you remember what Sakura was like in taijutsu class?" Naruto suddenly asked as he watched his female teammates work. Sasuke raised an eyebrow before he snorted.


    "You and I both know she struggled with her taijutsu. Even Shikamaru was better than her and he was about as low as you were on the grading system." Sasuke said with a fold of his arms. Naruto stared at the glass. He then turned to Shiho. Out of the corner of Mitoku''s eyes, he watched Naruto''s action. Naruto moved over to the computer. Shiho turned and noticed Naruto looking at the numbers.


    "Something wrong Naruto-san?" Shiho asked as Naruto looked at the images on the computer as they translated into numbers while Sakura worked. Naruto turned back to see Sakura breathing. He then looked back at the computer. Her heart rate was increasing which wasn''t so far out of the ordinary. Naruto closed his eyes. "Sasuke, did you feel any¡­weight in the glass room?" Naruto asked. Sasuke turned to himself once again. Everyone saw Sasuke give a nod and at this Mitoku gave Naruto a look. He hadn''t told them, but to get some better results, those stickers were embedded with seals that increased weight over the body, but it shouldn''t have been so big that a genin would notice. "Nothing more than usual. What are you getting at?" Sasuke asked. Naruto turned a stare to Mitoku. The man looked into Naruto''s eyes before he turned to Kakashi. The jonin looked at the head of the Cryptanalysis Team. He gave an unseen nod. Mitoku turned back to Naruto and gave him the nod to do what he wanted. Naruto excused himself and knelt next to Shiho. She widened her eyes as he took the keyboard and pulled up his and Sasuke''s files.


    "If this is because of her lack of training or even her lack of muscle strength I don''t know, but Sakura''s going to wear herself out before she gets her two hours finished," Naruto said. Mitoku and Shiho widened their eyes as they turned and noticed Sakura perform a sidekick. Kakashi, Sasuke, Mitoku, and Shiho looked at Sakura and then at Naruto.


    "How do you know that? I mean sure she doesn''t train as often as I''m sure you guys do, but that shouldn''t hinder her that she couldn''t get to her training," Shiho said in slight amazement. Naruto leaned up and turned back to the glass. He watched Sakura perform more exercises.


    "Rather than call it a tactic of know how Sakura does things, it would be better to call it¡­a heavily-based intuition." Naruto said. Shiho looked back at the screen and then turned around to look at Sakura. She then turned her eyes to look at Naruto. Somehow, Shiho couldn''t help some form of anxiety surfacing. She wasn''t sure why. Had Naruto always been this attentive?


    Everyone watched as Haruno Sakura continued with her exercises. She seemed to be keeping well in stride as her heart rate continued to increase. As it stood, Sakura was approaching 1 hour and 45 minutes. Shiho didn''t see it. Sakura still looked to be fine. Shiho had suppressed a laugh. It looked like Naruto wasn''t able to trust in his teammate''s abilities. Course then again he probably assumed that as physically women were weaker than men then Sakura wouldn''t be able to hold her own, but obviously that wasn''t the case. Either he had looked at the numbers on the screen wrong or he was just boasting about their training. With his grades, Shiho didn''t necessarily believe it to be the former. "Then again I would have been impressed if Naruto-san was right. That would have took a lot of prediction and calculation to achieve." Shiho said to herself.


    "Shiho, give Haruno Sakura new stickers in five minutes," Mitoku said as Shiho looked up from her thoughts. "Huh? Erm¡­why?" Shiho asked as Mitoku glared through the glass. Sasuke, Kakashi, and Naruto continued to look on though Shiho could tell that they were a little surprised.


    "Tell me Shiho, when training, how long does it take you to work up a sweat?" Mitoku asked. Shiho blinked. She blushed at the question in embarrassment. She hadn''t trained as much as she probably should have given her time with the team, but Shiho always managed to get her times in when she could. That didn''t mean that she didn''t stop thinking about the question.


    "I guess a good sweat is two hours in depending on what I''m doing. Maybe by four hours I would be drenched I guess." Shiho replied before she widened her eyes. She stared back at the glass and noticed Sakura''s pink outfit completely soaked from her sweat as Sakura performed a set of punches. Shiho stiffened. Had Sakura been moving too hard? How was that much sweat accumulated in only 1 hour and 50 minutes?


    "I think either Sakura will have to change her scroll to fit something more to her style or she might have to have another method. If what Naruto said is true then there is some weight, while unnoticeable at first, accumulates over time. I think she''s worked enough," Kakashi said with a narrowed eye. Mitoku quickly nodded and leaned forward. "Sakura-san, you can stop there. We will leave everything for tomorrow!" Mitoku said as Sakura threw out a punch. She gasped as she, surprisingly, fell to her knees and panted. She watched as the drops of water fell from her forehead and to the ground. She didn''t realize she had been working that hard. Sakura just nodded. Her arms and legs were killing her. With Kakashi''s help, Sakura was able to get to a chair and rest. Sakura panted as she had a towel draped over her head.


    "Alright I think we can stop there. We will pick this up tomorrow. There is water in the receptionist area. We will see you back here at noon." Mitoku said as he and Shiho left. Naruto noticed Shiho give him a look before she followed after her supervisor. This left Team Seven alone.


    "Kakashi-sensei¡­what are we doing here?" Naruto suddenly asked. Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi glanced at Naruto. Kakashi had a mirthful smile. "We''re doing a D-rank mission Naruto. Did you forget that? It''s just a little special is all" Kakashi said. Naruto folded his arms. This was no D-rank mission.


    Naruto had thought about it when explaining Sakura''s predicament to the others, but he was hella sure that he had seen her taijutsu form before from that scroll. Maybe it wasn''t from THAT scroll in particular, but he remembered that form from somewhere. Maybe one of the episodes from Naruto? But¡­which one? Plus the style Sasuke had used. Naruto had been able to read it just a bit. That one was recognizable also! They didn''t look like Konoha taijutsu techniques. The one Sasuke picked was called Botsuraku( Downfall) and Sakura''s was called Tenk¨­ka( Heavenly Descent). Naruto had seen the list of every taijutsu form recorded in Konoha you have to memorize in the academy, chunin-level and above. Neither of these was in what he had seen from the scrolls.


    "Right. Sure it is." Naruto answered before Kakashi had them all file out of the room. They were allowed to take the scrolls home if they so desired so Naruto took his taijutsu scroll home. He figured he would need it. So Team Seven had gone their separate ways for the day.


    Naruto came through his door and turned on his lights. A quick shower and dinner followed soon after. Once those were finished, Naruto immediately made his way to his backpack. He took out the taijutsu scroll and got to work. "Warning, this exercise will hurt. First aid is required to complete this exercise. Have ice nearby and heating pads nearby" Naruto read from the scroll. He took out a tray of ice and his first aid pouch along with a small heat pad. Looking over what he had, Naruto gave a nod before going back to the scroll.


    "If you have prepared yourself¡­take a candle or other flame and move it over your body for one minute." Naruto frowned. Perhaps it would have been a good time to switch taijutsu scrolls. Yet, Naruto found himself lighting a candle and staring at it for a time. He then looked at his right arm. He gave a small sigh. Naruto closed his eyes and¡­.


    Moments passed as Ashe, the frost archer, found herself in her summoner''s home supplying him with a multitude of ice arrows as Naruto continued to wrap his hand, while Annie was in the background letting a small fire go over and under his left hand. "I¡­do not understand this process you are trying to make," Ashe said as she watched Naruto take one of the arrows and hold it in his hands. He gave a small groan of relief. He looked at some of the burned parts of his skin. He then registered Ashe''s response.


    "Sorry for calling you all the way out here. It''s training." Naruto said. Ashe blinked. She looked at the flame in Annie''s hand before looking back at Naruto. An odd training method, but Ashe could relate¡­somewhat. A rite of passage for all warriors of the Freljord was to be able to survive in the harshness of the frozen wasteland with suboptimal gear and food. Ashe remembered when she had done it. When she returned she had a cold spanning weeks. Not her best time that she could remember.


    "I see. Well we all do things to strengthen our bodies I suppose. Though I don''t know a lot of training that requires the user to burn and then hold ice to the burns till it cracks open." Ashe remarked. Naruto gave a snort at her remark which earned a smile from the archer and a giggle from Annie. Naruto took another pained sigh as he applied some burn ointment to his hand.


    "So this training is a part of your¡­''taijutsu'' arts. Am I correct on that assumption?" Ashe asked. Naruto gave a nod to her question. "That''s right. It''s a training exercise. The scroll said that the exercise would hurt. I was supposed to feel a warmth in the chakra points on my burned hand then a coolness when I help the ice to it." Naruto answered her. Ashe placed a finger to her chin.


    "Would you consider this¡­chakra to be like mana?" Ashe asked. Naruto looked up at her in relative surprise. "I suppose it''s something similar in the term that you''re thinking about, but we have vastly different aspects I imagine." Naruto replied to her. Ashe nodded as Naruto took another arrow and held it in his hands.


    "How long will you be doing this?" Ashe asked. Naruto glanced at Ashe, then the flame in Annie''s hand, and then back to his hand. "Until I get it right." Naruto said to her. Ashe just stared at her summoner, still much confused by the person whose home she was in. Such an unusual young man she had decided to help. Though given that he was only perhaps 4 years younger than her, but she had to admit he had spirit if not much else. She was certain he had a lot of other things too. He was smart, though her extension of smart men were labeled to a very¡­very select group of men in her life.


    "So will I be summoned again to take care of more burns?" Ashe asked, rather good-naturedly. Naruto turned his eyes toward her and she watched him give a light grin of his own. "Well, I would imagine this to be the only thing those ice arrows are good for," Naruto said jokingly. Ashe twitched at the jab before she folded her arms.


    "Very funny." Ashe drawled out. The smile on Naruto''s face didn''t leave as he closed his eyes and wrapped his hands. "I''ll try not to be so cold next time." Naruto responded with another. Ashe looked at him, her eyes unmoving from his form for the very poor joke. Still Ashe couldn''t hold her stern look as she offered a light smile and giggle. Not that she would ever tell her tribe about this, but despite paperwork, a war, and being a champion in one life, Ashe was looking forward to the coming days.


    And look forward to the days she did as Ashe had been summoned each days for four days in a row along with Annie who was surprisingly quiet, by Naruto to provide him with ice arrows. Ashe was happy to oblige him. It actually benefited her as well. Contrary to popular belief, it wasn''t easy for Ashe to create ice arrows. They actually took a good portion of her Mana, which she explained to Naruto was like Chakra, to create. Naruto''s continued injuries had been great practice for her in making arrows for dire situations. However, there was always one thing Ashe couldn''t understand and that was Naruto''s ability to heal. Just by his burns, his hands should have had at least second-degree burns by this time which how much he had placed his hands in that candle, but each and every day his hands had healed like nothing had happened. Ashe couldn''t understand it. She had asked Naruto about it on the fourth day. The way he stared at her had told her that he had a nine-tailed demon fox that killed his father and mother sealed inside of him that helped heal him along with the fact his mother side of his family had crazy Vitality. Well, Ashe was gobsmacked nonetheless and decided to just forget what she heard, lest she go crazy thinking about how crazy this 12 year olds life is. This was, however, an interesting time. No war meetings, no politics, just a bit of story time between her and her summoner.


    The fourth day passed as Ashe gave Naruto another arrow. Naruto squeezed it tightly, it''s cooling aura surrounding his burn. "Any progress?" Ashe decided to make small conversation. Naruto sighed. "I have made a bit. Shiho-san said that I should be careful because my temperature was getting high on my left side and cold on my right side. I don''t feel sick so I believe it to be the results slowing coming." Naruto said to her. Ashe merely gave a nod. "I will admit, from this distance you do feel¡­warmer though I can''t tell if you are cooler or not since I''m used to the cold. However, I have noticed that while you¡­heal your burn wounds you always ask me to bring you a book to read. You seem to be looking for something rather than just reading." Ashe said to him. Naruto nodded before he looked back at the scroll.


    "I have a feeling there is more to this mission than my sensei is saying. He tells us that it''s a D-rank mission and yet what we''re doing¡­doesn''t feel like a D-rank mission. D-rank missions generally start and finish in a day or two. There can''t have been any records of D-rank missions that have taken over 4 to finish. Add that this is the Cryptanalysis Team, they encode and decode messages¡­, classified messages. They work directly with the Hokage. I have trouble believing that they would need a group of genin for help." Naruto said. Ashe watched as Naruto used his right hand to grab the scroll.


    "And then there are these scrolls. I''ve read on every taijutsu style in this village. Why don''t I know these? Then they have us learning these styles, showing the data to not only us, but claiming to make¡­it¡­a training manual!" Naruto said as he widened his eyes. Ashe raised an eyebrow. Obviously her summoner had just had some type of epiphany. She watched Naruto jump to his feet. Ashe watched him run from the main room and into a dark room which left the Frost Archer alone.


    It was only about two minutes later that Naruto returned with a book in his good hand. "Ashe-san, turn these pages for me please. Go to page 65." Naruto said. Ashe took the book from him and looked at the title. "Shinobi Taijutsu: A True Guide?" Ashe thought to herself. She placed the book on a table and flipped through to page 65. Ashe couldn''t help, but shiver as Naruto had a hand on her shoulder as he looked at the page. She was sure he wasn''t aware of it, but she was actually lost in how his blue eyes seemed to get even darker.


    "Page 32!" Naruto called which made Ashe jump for a second. She turned back and landed on the page that Naruto wanted. Naruto skimmed over the words that were written on the pages. "Page 107, 120, and 130 please Ashe-san!" Naruto said. Ashe turned to each page for Naruto and the blond read down each list. Naruto''s hair shadowed his eyes for a second. Ashe''s ears picked up on chuckling. She turned back and noticed Naruto''s body twitching. She blinked her blue eyes as Naruto''s chucking turned to a light laughter. Naruto then proceeded to clap his hands.


    "Not bad. Not bad at all Cryptanalysis team! So that''s how it works, dattebayo!" Naruto said before he covered his mouth. Ashe gave a small smile and giggled at his tick. "I will take my leave now!" Ashe said as she vanished in smoke. Naruto watched her go before he cursed underneath his lips. That was definitely going to come back and haunt him somehow. However, Naruto was willing to let that go for now as he couldn''t stop the grin on his face. As he clutched an ice arrow, he moved over and picked up the scroll.


    "Just a little special Kakashi-sensei? Very well, I''ll play your tactic for now. Yours and Mitoku-san''s." Naruto thought to himself. He gave one last chuckle as he turned out the lights to his apartment room and closed the door to his bedroom. As Naruto climbed into his bed, he looked at the moon. It''s natural beauty made him smile before he drifted off to sleep.


    [{(Getting close to the point where it gets good in my opinion.)}]

 13 Valentines Day Date

    It had been two days since Naruto had discovered the problem in the mission Team 7 was doing, but, today he let his mind wander from it. Today was a special day after all, and he knew he had to do this perfectly, because today, was Valentines Day. He woke up early, around 5 am and went to work with a kunai in giving himself a quick haircut, as he no barber in Konoha would agree to cut his hair and would just throw him out. The result of his cuts got rid of the spikes on the side of his head but left the front, top and back as is, he also used some gel to keep it down and in the end, it appeared as if he had normal hair for once. Once done with his ''grooming'' he donned a pair of black pants and a green shirt that he had borrowed from Lee as they were of similar size, and his pair of open-toed sandals and his forehead protector tied around his left bicep.


    Once all this was done he grabbed his wallet and began his treck over to Yamanaka flower shop. He walked past a blushing Asuma-sensei, he wished him good luck in his heart as he put his hand on the door handle. The bell over the door jingled as he walked inside and he heard Ino''s voice sound out "Welcome to Yamanaka flower shop, take your time. Oh, good morning Naruto, you''re up early."


    "Yeah, I wanted to get a head start on the day, say do you guys do flower deliveries?" Naruto asked with a slight blush, after all even in his past life when he was in his twenties he had never dated anyone, so this actually took a good bit of courage on his part.


    A glint of mischief seemed to flash over Ino''s jade eyes as she asked "Oh, it depends, who are they being delivered to?" Naruto hesitated for a second before looking her in the eyes as he said "Hinata-chan." Ino''s eyes widened at this, it was easy to tell that Hinata had had a crush on Naruto for a long time, since the first day of the academy no less. "I''ll do it, but let me warn you Naruto, if you ever do anything to hurt Hinata-chan, I will beat you black and blue myself... Now what kind of flowers do you want sent?" The switch between deathly serious and bubbly threw him for a loop for a second but he quickly rebounded and began picking out different bouquets of roses and violets. "Alright, your total comes out to... Six thousand Ryo." Ino said simply, but Naruto cringed inside, that''s half of his current savings... but it''s worth it. He was brought out of his money crisis when Ino asked him a question. "Do you want to have a letter to go with it? I think I have one around here." Naruto quickly nodded and Ino went into the back of the store and came back with a letter that was covered in pictures of hearts, he wasn''t going to be picky though. He took a pen that Ino offered him and began writing in neat handwriting that surprised the blond kunoichi, and she couldn''t help but read it as he wrote.


    ''Hinata-chan, I thought a long time about how to say this when I told you but now that I''m writing it down I can''t really find any eloquent words to say, so instead, I''ll just say the words that come naturally. I love you. I love the way you blush when I''m around you. I love the way you always cheered for me when no one else did. I love the way you treated me normally when no one else did. I''ll be waiting at the spot where we first met, I hope I can see you, I want to tell you this in person as well.''


    Ino was absolutely stunned by the contents of the letter and started to think in her own mind if someone would ever show that much love to her if Sasuke would ever say those kinds of words to her. Why couldn''t he say something like Naruto just wrote. Why couldn''t he act more like Naruto? She came back from her thoughts in a start as she was thinking to herself ''Did I really just compare Naruto to Sasuke... I mean from what Sakura told me, he isn''t all that we thought and he is actually pretty mature and smart and even has a unique jutsu. What am I thinking? I''m dedicated to Sasuke-kun'' she told herself but inside, the seed of doubt had already begun taking root.


    With Ino asking her mother to watch the shop for a minute she took the money from Naruto and began her walk to the Hyuuga compound but on the way there she realized something, the Hyuuga are a renowned clan and are very proud and would take well to having their heiress courted by an orphan. She left the roses and letter a little bit from the compound before walking up to the sealed gate and knocking. A guard opened a slit in the door and she asked to see Hinata, a few minutes later the short haired girl appeared and Ino motioned for her to follow as they walked to where she had the flowers stashed.


    When they arrived at the spot, Ino motioned to the flowers before saying to Hinata "A little bit ago Naruto came into my shop and asked for me to deliver these to you, there is a letter in the bouquet as well. My job here is done, so I will take my leave." she said before walking off, but she stayed close enough to watch her reaction, she didn''t know why she did it though.


    Hinata was rooted in her place for a little bit before she reached out and picked up the flowers and fished inside the stems until she found the letter. She opened the seal carefully as to not tear the let letter or card inside at all. Once she had got it out and opened it while holding her breath she slowly began reading the short message, at first she was shocked then came a fierce blush then, she started crying. She carefully put the card back in the letter and placed it in her pocket and began running towards the academy, flowers in hand.


    Ino was surprised but followed after her, all the while asking herself why she was doing this.


    A short minute run later a huffing red-eyed Hinata stood in line of sakura trees, she saw Naruto leaning against a tree with his back turned to her, she stood there rooted in her spot, she tried to call out to him but it seemed like her voice was gone and her mouth dry, she stared at his back as she fought every shy cell in her body as she took the first step forward that seemed to way 10 tons, then the second and then the third. Eventually, she was just a few steps from his position and she managed to squeeze out a barely audible "Naruto-kun.."


    Naruto turned around with a start as he looked into the blushing face of Hinata, he noticed her red, puffy eyes and her clammy face, it seems she was scared and shy, it probably took every ounce of courage in her body to come here. Her mouth seemed to open and close like a fish out of the water as she tried to voice the feeling that she had held in her heart since the day they met here but she couldn''t make anything other than ''Nar- I uh- Me a I mean''.


    Naruto smiled at her fumbling over her words and he started blushing since he was happy that someone loved him like this, he wasn''t sure if this was the original Naruto''s thoughts or his, but he didn''t care right now, he started walking toward her and pulled the talking statue into a hug.


    She nearly passed out when he did it but she managed to hold on as he whispered into her ear "Take your time, I can wait, calm down." She took some deep breaths before she started talking with her face smushed into his shoulder, she started out barely audible "I also.. since that day you stood up for me against those three bullies. I''ve been watching you since then, at first it was curiosity then I kept liking you more and more, every day I watched everyone else bully and ignore you for no reason when your such a sweet and nice person, I watch the adults hit and shove you out of stores and you had to rummage for clothes from the trash outside of stores. I wanted to help you, I asked my father to help you, but he just told me to avoid you, that you were dangerous." Her voice got stronger as she lifted her head off his shoulder and stared into his blue eyes and she sounded as if she was calling out the cries of her soul. "But I know your not dangerous! I know your not a bad person! I know you deserve better than you are treated! I know this because I love you! At her last words they were basically yelled in his face, but he didn''t mind. He wasn''t sure if it was his own feelings or the original Naruto, but right now, he was so happy, so..happy he was crying, just like the girl in front of him, they weren''t sad though, they were just so happy. Two people that were never treated like real people, one treated as a demon the other forced into competing against her sibling and never being loved by her parents. Naruto couldn''t control himself as he pulled the crying girl into a kiss and she just wrapped her arms around his neck as they cried together for a few minutes until Naruto pulled away. She started talking to him in a soft voice as tears kept coming down her face "I love you, Naruto-kun, I love you so much that I want to spend the rest of my life with you if I could, but my clan would never let us.."


    He said to her, "I love you. I love you more than you can imagine, I want to be with you as well, and I won''t let them keep you away from me, all you have to do is say one word to me, and I will prove to them, prove that I''m worthy of you. Hinata, will you marry me? If you say yes I WILL convince them, I WILL prove to them, I WILL make them agree. All you have to do is say yes.


    Hinata''s eyes seemed to shine as she pulled herself into his chest, and he heard a small voice come from her "Yes... Yes, I will." With these, he hugged her even tighter than before as the two held each other in their own little world. But unknown to them there was another person in the background slowly walking away.


    Ino was confused, was that really a valentines day confession between two 12-year-old Genin? That seemed more like something from a movie, but even still, she could tell they were serious and she silently prayed for their success in her heart as she returned to her shop.

 14 Novel name change

changed the name since the previous title lacked attention-grabbing.

 15 The wave*part 1*

    *short time skip*


    [{(The Yin and Yang in this chapter is different from Yin release and Yang release, in that it is Ice and Fire, not to be confused with the Fire nature or Ice nature(wind and water)}]


    It had been around two months since the rendezvous between Naruto and Hinata, during these months the two of them have made time whenever possible to get together and go on short dates, train. All while hiding their relationship from the Hyuuga clan, since Naruto knew they would probably try to kill him if they found out. The Special D rank mission they had been working on had ended today on June 4th, The result being, that the manuals they were training with were, in fact, stolen from other villages and the manuals that had good synergy were merged together, creating some rightfully powerful techniques. The True Ying-Yang that Naruto was practicing was shared with Hinata and Sasuke, but their training speed was much longer than Naruto''s as they did not have the healing factor that Naruto possessed. This, however, did not stop them from training in it, and like Naruto, they eventually reached the same mastery as him.


    The second of the four sections indicated that true mastery of the first half was to be able to control their core body temperature at will, causing the user to develop Yin(ice) and Yang(fire) release and to be able to take a blow of 200 pounds to the chest, which is about the same strength as an average Chunin, without ribs breaking and to stab themselves with a knife and not pierce the skin, If you were able to do these three techniques, you were able to continue to the second portion. The second portion of the technique was much harder than the first in that it wasn''t physically taxing, but mentally. It involved trying to force the nature release of Yang, outside the body, through the chakra points(like acupuncture points) into an a shell-like armor sticking to the skin, similar to the nine tails mode with Kurama''s chakra and the doing the same with the Yin chakra to form Ice weapons or pure Ice attacks. This first part came easily to Naruto due to the yang chakra of the Kyuubi sealed inside him, it seems he will have to wait for Minato to give him his Yin portion.


    Hinata was able to use the Yin portion easily due to being female and also having more achievements in the Yin part of the manual than the Yang. Sasuke, however, was the exact opposite, with being able to use the Yang but not the Yin. Sasuke''s reaction to the training had been enthusiastic, but Naruto made him swear on his Uchiha name that he would only use it in self-defense unless Naruto told him otherwise, Sasuke was not exactly pleased by the condition but after watching naruto coat himself in an orange armor of Yang chakra and stab himself without piercing the skin, he was power hungry.


    And like this their training lasted until June 4th. When they were going to the Hokage''s mansion to get a new mission after the last one ended, Naruto tried his best to beg for a C rank mission, since he didn''t want to miss the wave mission with Old Man Tazuna, since his calendar counting proved his arrival to be today. And his pleases were answered.


    Hiruzen took a deep breath at the pestering of Naruto and finally agreed to give them a C rank mission. After looking through a few scrolls he finally found one that suited his criteria and handed to Kakashi, who quickly looked through it and nodded to the Hokage, who then began speaking "Your mission is to bring a bridge builder, Tazuna back to his home in the Land of Waves and protect him as he builds a bridge. It''s a simple escort mission to protect from bandits, with no chance of running into an enemy ninja, do you want to take it?" he asked more to Naruto than Kakashi, but Kakashi nonetheless stepped forward and agreed to take the mission. Hiruzen nodded to an ANBU which was conveniently attached to the ceiling. The ANBU agent disappeared and reappeared a short while later with an old man with grey spikey hair and a grey goatee. The old man looked around before settling on the kids before him as he spat out "These brats are going to be protecting me? I might as well hire that old lady from the shop outside to guard me!" he grumbled as Naruto said simply. "If you don''t want us then we will leave, but I will have you know that we are ninja the same as any other, and are perfectly taking care of bandits." The old man looked at the twelve-year-old genin before huffing and walking out throwing a "Follow me." to the group, which the obliged to follow.


    The walk was passed mainly in silence until Sakura, in all her amazing uselessness, asked if the land of waves had shinobi, and Kakashi had to inform a full-fledged ninja that no, the nation that had to come and hire ninja from their village, did not have ninja of their own. However, Naruto was not paying attention to that debacle and instead was looking at the road, searching for the puddle that the two ninjas of Gato''s would be hiding in, and soon he found one that looked similar, and after noticing Kakashi glance long at the puddle before looking back to his book, he knew it was the one.


    During the two months of training with Hinata, Sasuke, and the occasional Fiora, he had improved drastically at throwing weapons as well as taijutsu. He slowly took hold of three kunai with his right hand and positioned another two in a position to grab right after. He suddenly threw both at the puddle as the two nin inside it released the illusion and popped out of the puddle and tried to launch into an attack. However, they were instantly hit in the chest by the second two that Naruto had thrown, not giving them time to overcome the shock of being hit, he took off in a burst of speed that was surprising to the rest of the group and quickly reached the two nin and ripped kunai out of their chest before stabbing one into the nin of the rights knee and twisting it, breaking the knee, and put the other through his temple. He didn''t have time to think about his first kill, as the adrenaline kept pumping, he turned to face the other nin just to see he had his neck slashed by Kakashi.


    Naruto fell onto his back and breathed heavily for a minute or so as he calmed his nerves as the adrenaline left his system, Kakashi gave him until he had caught his breath to ask how he knew those nin were there. Naruto responded simply. "I felt them watching us, and so I attacked. If they were friendly, they wouldn''t be waiting in an ambush spot." Kakashi nodded and made sure to praise him on his quick thinking and wit. Sakura was stunned at his display of prowess. Sasuke on the other hand, after training with Naruto for the past two months, knew that he was strong, but he didn''t expect him to be that attentive and decisive to actually kill someone.


    The rest of the trip to where the boat was waiting passed in silence.


    [{(The few of you that have read the source may be wondering why I''m avoiding expanding on the Special D rank missions and that is because that is where I feel the novel took a downhill turn and I just didn''t enjoy reading them, and I definitely wouldn''t enjoy writing it.)}]

 16 The Wave *part two*

    In the middle of a large forested area, there was a large fortified structure being held between two trees. Inside that structure, two individuals were having an important meeting.


    In the room, a tall man with bandages covering half his face lounged in a large throne-like chair. In front of him short and fat man in a business suit. With frazzled gray hair and sunglasses on his face, despite how dark it was inside, he seemed to be trying to look cool but was failing. "What?!" The short suited man shouted. "You''re telling me you failed?! I paid a lot of money to hire your group! I thought you were supposed to former ninja assassins! If this is all you''re capable of-"


    "Quit your bitchin¡­" the tall man growled as he hefted a large zanbato style sword up with one hand, even though it was nearly as tall as he was and probably heavier. Bringing it around he pointed it at the now pale businessman, "Next time, I''ll be going to finish them myself. And this sword, Kubikiri Houcho, will be the last thing their pathetic, peace-loving eyes see."


    "A-are you sure about that....?" asked the man with trepidation. "It seems that the target has a Jounin level ninja guarding him, and now that the Akuma brothers have failed, they will be on guard for another attack. It will take some extreme skill to-" "Just who do you think you''re dealing with?" The tall man growled, not lowering his sword as he glared at the small, disgusting, fat man. "I am Momochi Zabuza, the Kirigakure No Kijin." The missing-nin disregarded the fat man''s presence as he stood from his throne and headed out the door and towards his prey.


    It was later in the day, and Team Seven along with Tazuna had reached the shore around 9 pm but couldn''t find a boat that late so they decided to take up camp and wait till the fishermen awoke in the early morning so they could hire one to ferry them to the Wave Nation across the river. It only took about 30 minutes to set up the tents. The four tents were set up in a triangle shape with Tazuna''s tent in the middle, as to protect him, Kakashi also set up a three-layered ring of ninja wire so that nothing could get close without alerting them. With the preparations done, Kakashi told his genin and Tazuna to wait as he went hunting something to eat, however, Naruto shot up and said he would go to, Kakashi raised his eyebrow in curiosity but allowed him to come.


    Once out of earshot of the camp Naruto suddenly said to Kakashi "Kakashi-sensei, I need to tell you something, but I want what we talk about to remain between us, not even the Hokage can know about what I am about to tell you." Naruto was slightly nervous as he knew Kakashi was a very loyal person and would definitely take offense to him telling him to keep secrets from the Hokage. And he certainly did "Naruto.." he breathed deeply. "I don''t know what it is you want to tell me, but you have to realize that you CAN NOT keep secrets from the Hokage, he is our leader and we are his soldiers if we hide things from him that is treason! Do you understand that, Naruto?" He asked sternly in a matter of a fact tone. "Of course I know that, but what I want to share with you can help the village, but if anyone, even the Hokage knows about it, then it could spread and be disastrous. If the Hokage learns what I tell you, he will have to tell the council, and then people like Danzo or the other councilors will spread that information. And It will be a security compromise of Konoha that is deathly dangerous."


    Kakashi listened to the boy talk in a way that seemed impossible for a twelve-year-old, but He knew Naruto was not normal. He also knew that this was the son of his Sensei and a person that was loyal, and also extremely smart from what he had seen so far, and that he definitely did have potential.


    Kakashi''s inner battle of loyalty versus debt to Minato finally ended and he agreed to Naruto''s terms.


    "Alright, Naruto, I''ll agree. But only on the condition that if it is truly something that MUST be told to the Hokage, then I will tell him. If it isn''t, not even torture will bring it out of me." He said to Naruto, who gave a smile as he began the Lie he had thought up to ensure his success. "I think I have a Kekkei Genkai," he said. This stunned the Copy-nin as he stood rooted for a second before saying quickly and also happiness could be heard, after all, this was his Sensei''s son. "Are you sure? do you know for sure that you possess something special? If so what? If you do then you will have to be tested to see if it can be passed on, you could even become a clan head one day." The Copy-nin stopped in his explosion of words abruptly before clearing his throat and saying "Gomen, I got a bit carried away, its just a big deal and was excited for you, as you Sensei." Naruto gave him a ''yeah sure buddy'' look as he began to talk his prepared list of ''abilities'' his kekkei genkai possessed.


    "Going back to your question on what it does, I sometimes see visions or just subconscious feelings. For example, when I was walking towards that puddle from earlier today, It seemed like time had stopped as I seemed to look down on my body from affair as the two nin jumped out and threw kunai into mine and sakura''s chest. I also have been able to tell when something was wrong, and how to fix it in the same way, for example when I said Sakura would need lighter weights during the last D rank we did. Or sometimes just a feeling that something was either bad or good, I''ve even seen what I think was the past and future of someone, Sasuke''s, that is. If I had to coin a term to my kekkei genkai, it would be one of these three. scrying, premonition, or foresight. Since I am seeing possible futures and can tell when something is amiss."


    Kakashi''s eye widened and his mouth hung agape under his mask. This is too amazing, this is stronger than the Sharingan and Byakugan, forget seeing the attacks if you could just see the future and choose a different plan that didn''t involve fighting. You could all but eliminate casualties on missions since you would know when a fight would happen. He couldn''t help but look at Naruto. This was his student, his Sensei''s son, He had the privilege to be the teacher that would no doubt change the future of Konoha, but the heavens know how he would be upset if he knew it was all a lie.


    "Naruto, I will do my utmost best to train you, you are destined to be a great entity in the future, but that''s only if you live long enough to do it. I will also not tell the Hokage about your kekkei genkai, but if you ever have one of those visions or premonitions, tell me what it''s about and then I can tell the Hokage and make it seem like it came from me. But anyway, I doubt you told me just because you want to confide in someone, right? Did you see something that I need to know about?" He said seriously.


    Leave it Kakashi to see through to my intentions. Naruto gave a grateful look at the white-haired shinobi as he began to tell him about tomorrow. "I saw in a vision that tomorrow when we reach the Wave country, we were attacked by a ninja with a sword as big as his body, and this man is at least 6 ft tall mind you. And he fought from inside a huge mist he created and eventually you and him nearly killed each other but another ninja showed up and carried the man off and you were bedridden for a few days... and that''s all I saw." Naruto told the Jounin in a grim voice and Kakashi, just pulled out his book as he responded to the grim prediction with an eye smile "Maa, Maa, no need to worry, I think I know who it was in your vision, and it is, I can definitely tie with him, it will all work out in the end." He said as he started walking again, looking for something to catch for the group to eat.


    Naruto called out to Kakashi one more time "Kakashi-sensei, when you fight him.. Don''t kill him, I can tell he isn''t actually a bad person, we might even be able to recruit him to Konoha." he said as he turned to walk back towards the camp. Kakashi was thinking about Naruto''s words ''Don''t kill them? Not actually a bad person? If that guy isn''t a bad person, then who is?'' He thought to himself. ''But it seems there is more to this than there seems. If that guy is here but isn''t the enemy...who is?''


    After 10 minutes of Naruto returning, the Copy-nin came back carrying two rabbits and some type of pheasant, and the five people quickly cooked and ate before heading to sleep.

 17 The Wave *part three*

    The night past in relative silence, except when a hare set off a trap, but we fell back asleep quickly. The morning sun was bearing down harshly, but we ignored it in favor of finding a fisherman to ferry us. It was pretty difficult to convince someone to take us over the river, I knew what they were scared of, as well as Kakashi now, but the other two genin were suspicious, we managed to calm them down though. A few hundred Ryo later, we were on a boat, cutting through the thick fog that Zabuza created.


    "Are we even heading in the right direction?" Sakura asked pensively "I can''t even see three feet in front of us..." Tazuna was the first to speak up "Course'' we are Gaki, I''d know if we were, I''m sure Choji here knows it to." He said motioning to the fisherman we had hired. He took the chance to say his part "We''ll be able to see the bridge any second now." he said simply. Naruto took in a view of the bridge, now he was no architect, but it was a pretty damn good looking bridge. Tazuna did definitely have a lot of skill. "I have to say Tazuna-san, you''ve got skill in building, even if you don''t have skill in self control." he said motioning with his chin to the four empty sake bottles.


    Tazuna looked defeated as he mumbles "That wasn''t nice...." A voice hissed from behind the group from the fisherman Choji "You all need to be quiet, If you don''t keep it down they will hear us and that defeats the purpose of going through the fog." Sasuke harrumphed as he asked sharply "And who are ''They'' and why do we need to avoid them?" Sakura wasn''t far behind hopping into follow Sasuke''s lead. "Yeah, and what was up with those ninjas from earlier, I think you have some explaining to do." Tazuna glanced at Kakashi and the copy-nin nodded. Tazuna let out a deep sigh as he slumped deep into his seat and began explaining "The man who is after me is a short man with a huge shadow, his name is Gato." Kakashi''s eyebrows raised as he asked "Gato as in Gato transports and shipping?"


    "In the flesh." Tazuna spat out as he took a swig of his drink. "On the surface he portrays himself as a good man of character, but beneath the surface, he is a leader of the criminal underworld. And his trade is death. He uses Ninja and gangs to ruin and take over nations and suck them dry as the people starve. He also uses his army of thugs to enforce his subjugation. Sakura put a hand over her mouth in shock and Sasuke just clicked his tongue in annoyance. "He just showed up around a year ago, he used his wealth and violence to enter our land, and before we could fight back, he owned all our shipping and transport." Tazuna continued. "On an Island nation, the guy that controls the sea is the controller of our very lives. But he fears us, because we are building the bridge to connect us to the mainland.


    While the group was discussing all this, Kakashi was thinking about the best strategy, but he couldn''t really work around the ''Don''t Kill'' request. If he fought Zabuza, who he assumed it was, he would be most likely incapacitated, and he doubted his genin could hold off against an army of thugs, minus Naruto, but even he can get overwhelmed.


    Kakashi brought himself back to the conversation as he asked Tazuna, "If you knew this was going to happen, why did you lie about the mission. "Before Kakashi could respond, Naruto said from the side "Its kinda obvious. If the country is being starved and without any money circulating, its probably he just couldn''t afford it." He said matter of factly, and Tazuna just nodded regretfully. "Your right, gaki. everyone is so poor that even the nobles are going hungry. So me and the other poor villagers were scraping together money to hire some shinobi, but we just didn''t have the money for a B rank. It''s just too expensive. And no doubt, if you leave once we reach shore, I''ll be dead before I reach my home." Tazuna added.


    Naruto took a look at Kakashi before saying "You don''t have to worry though, were going to keep you safe till you finish this bridge." He said. All the people on the boat looked at him in different emotions as he continued "We understand why you didn''t say anything. You had no way of know if we agree to help if you had no money. And since we''ve already accepted the mission, my shinobi pride won''t let me abandon this mission, even if I have to stay alone.


    "I guess we could continue." Kakashi started "We could use this extra experience and the land of waves hiring shinobi is important to us." Tazuna was ecstatic at this news. While the group was discussing the make up of Gato''s forces they snapped to attention as they made their way under a large archway, passing through it and coming out on the other side to a small inlet lake with a dock on a peninsula. There were several buildings around the bank, and a few sparse trees located around and in the water.


    As they got closer to the shore they saw that the buildings were mostly rundown, with rot and green and black mold spreading on the sides of the building. Some of them even looked burnt down, no doubt from the thugs using violence to subjugate the village. The boat made it to the dock and the Konoha ninja plus one master bridge builder got off. After Tazuna and the boatman exchanged farewells the group set off again. For the most part it was silent, Naruto was taking point this time, while Sakura and Sasuke were located on either side of Tazuna. Kakashi was taking up the rear, his book safely stashed away in his pocket due to the seriousness of the situation.


    As they continued moving Naruto stopped and looked into a bush that rustled a bit.


    "Naruto?" Kakashi asked, looking at his student. "Something wrong?" "¡­ No." Naruto shook his head and continued moving. They stated moving again, with Naruto paying extra attention to their surroundings. As they continued walking Naruto paused and threw a kunai into a bush, startling the other genin and Tazuna.


    "What the hell Naruto!" Sakura hissed. "Why do you have to try and scare us like- huh?"


    Naruto walked right past Sakura and moved the bush branches aside, only to see a small white rabbit shaking like a leaf with a kunai stuck right above its head. "Naru-baka! Look what you did to this poor rabbit!" Sakura finally yelled, grabbing the rabbit and attempting to sooth its rattled nerves. "Hn. Stop trying to act cool dobe." Sasuke commented, "It only makes you look even more like an idiot." "Shut up teme," Naruto said, not giving Sasuke the chance to respond, the blond turned to look at Kakashi. "Sensei, I could be wrong about this but, isn''t a rabbit''s fur supposed to be brown this time of year? "Yes, it should," Kakashi said his mind a whirlwind of activity. A white rabbit at this time year means it was raised indoors. That could only mean that someone used it for a¡­Kawarimi.


    Kakashi, who was using chakra to enhance his senses heard a whoosh.


    "Get down!" He shouted at the same time. Kakashi grabbed Sasuke and Tazuna, pulling them to the ground, while Naruto did the same with a shocked Sakura.


    THUNK!


    The group looked up to see a large zanbato stuck in a tree with a man standing on top of it. Said man was shirtless, with two cameo style armbands and pants. His face was half covered in bandages up to his nose and his headband was tilted slightly like Kakashi''s, except not covering his eyes, holding up spiky black hair. The symbol of Kiri displayed on the head band with a slash mark running across the center. "Well, well if it isn''t Hatake Kakashi." The man said, in his deep gruff voice.


    Kakashi stood up and glared at the man. "Momochi Zabuza, The Kiri No Oni. I never would have expected someone like you to be working for scum."


    Zabuza shrugged, "It pays, besides it''s worth it if I get to fight an opponent like you. You know back when I was in Kiri, you were listed as an A-rank ninja with a kill-on-sight order in our bingo book. Hatake Kakashi, the man who copied over a thousand jutsu." ''Sensei''s famous? I never would have guessed'' Sakura thought.


    "Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, why don''t you hand over the old man and I''ll let you and your genin squad go." Zabuza suggested. "I''m sorry but you know we can''t do that." Kakashi glared at the missing-nin. "It wouldn''t look very good for Konoha if we just let you have him without even putting up a fight." Zabuza shrugged and raised his nose as he glared down at the two, "Then perish." crouching down to grab onto the hilt of his blade, Zabuza kicked off the tree. He landed on the lake a little ways away, and made a hand sign. "Let''s see how well you can do Kakashi, Kirigakure No Jutsu! (Hidden Mist Jutsu)." A thick mist spread across the land, blanketing the already misted area so heavily that no one could see more than a few feet in front of them.


    "Triangle formation around Tazuna!" Kakashi ordered his genin squad, they quickly surrounded Tazuna in a frontal triangle formation with Naruto in the front, Sasuke on the left, and Sakura on the right. "Zabuza is a master of the Muon Satsujin Jutsu (Silent Killing Technique), if you''re not careful you''ll be dead before you even know it. Protect the bridge builder and leave Zabuza to me¡­" Kakashi turned back towards the lake and began to lift up his head band. "It looks like I''m going to need this."


    "Ah! The Sharingan," Zabuza voice came from within the mist, his outlined form barely even visible. "It''s an honor to be facing it so soon." How did Kakashi-sensei get that! Sasuke thought in shock. Only members of the Uchiha clan - my clan, can possibly have the Sharingan! Could he¡­ "Still we both know that the Sharingan is useless if you can''t even see," The mist began to thicken even more, making Zabuza disappear completely. Damn it, this mist cuts down the Sharingan''s effectiveness. Kakashi cursed.


    "Eight points¡­" The voice of Zabuza was like a icy wraith, causing the three genin and Tazuna to freeze as an intense killing intent filled the air. "Liver, lungs, spine, clavicle vein, jugular artery, brain, kidney and the heart. Take a pick, it''s a one time special offer..."


    This killing intent is unreal! And it makes it even worse with this mist, I can''t see and I can barely think straight! The Jinchuriki shook a bit before catching a hold of himself. Taking a deep breath Naruto pushed out his chakra to counter the killing intents effects. He instantly felt a little better, though it was still affecting him some.


    ''This¡­this killing intent.'' Sasuke thought, struggling to breathe against the killing intent the two Jounin were producing. Is this what a high level battle between two Jounin is like? This suffocating feeling¡­Sasuke began bringing a kunai to his throat. I don''t think I can take much more of it!


    "Sasuke! Calm down!" Kakashi said as he noticed the trouble his genin were having. "I won''t let any of my students die on me." Sasuke tried to calm himself down, lowering his kunai.


    "You''re all talk Kakashi." Zabuza appeared right in the midst of the genin and Tazuna. Just as he was about to cleave them all in half with Kubikiri Houcho, however, Kakashi appeared right next to Zabuza and stabbed him in the gut, only for the Zabuza that he had stabbed to turn into water.


    "Mizu Bunshin (Water Clone)!" Kakashi exclaimed right before Zabuza appeared behind him and cleaved him in half, causing Sakura to scream. However, much to Zabuza''s surprise, Kakashi turned into water as well.


    "It''s over." Kakashi said as he appeared behind Zabuza and brought a kunai to the other ninja''s throat. "I see." Zabuza chuckled as he turned his head to look at the copy ninja. "You created and switched yourself with a Mizu Bunshin when you made your speech didn''t you? That eye of yours is quite impressive."


    Zabuza swung his sword arm around nearly 180 degrees, forcing Kakashi to duck under the powerful swing. he then spun around and landed a powerful kick on Kakashi''s face. Kakashi flew through the air with Zabuza following after him. The silver-haired Jonin threw some kunais as he fell into the water, forcing Zabuza to stop. "Kunai?" Zabuza sneered beneath his mask. "Come on, are you even taking me seriously?!" Kakashi broke the surface of the water and gasped for some air, "There''s something wrong with this water¡­" "Hah! Now I''ve got you!" Zabuza appeared right next to Kakashi, going through a set of hand seals, "Suiton: Suirou No Jutsu (Water Release: Water Prison Jutsu)!"


    Kakashi cursed as he found himself trapped within a water prison. He looked over at his students and began to make orders. "Run! Take the bridge builder and go!"


    "Oh they''re not getting away Kakashi!" Zabuza cackled as he made a Mizu Bunshin to deal with the genin. "Get out of here!" Kakashi yelled at his students. "This battle was over the moment I got caught!" He can''t seriously think we can run does he? Sasuke wondered. Even if we managed to escape now, he would just kill Kakashi and come after us. Sasuke ran towards the Mizu Bunshin in an attempt to surprise it. However as soon as he got in range the Zabuza clone kicked him in the ribs, sending the young raven-haired Genin flying back.


    "Sasuke-kun!" Sakura yelled in shock and fear at seeing her crush hit so easily.


    Sasuke gasped out in pain as he landed on the ground and the air was forced from his lungs. He was about to get up when Zabuza appeared next to him and stepped on him, making the raven-haired Genin scream in pain as the Kiri nuke-nin began to grind his foot into Sasuke''s ribs.


    "You think you''re ninja?" Zabuza sneered at the pathetic sight of Sasuke under his foot and screaming in pain. "You aren''t worthy of the title of being a shinobi. When you have stained your hands with as much blood as me, then you can be considered ninja. When you-"


    "Fuck off!" Zabuza''s speech was cut off as a naruto-sized fist glowing orange smashed into the Mizu Bunshin, forcing it to disperse.


    "You gonna live? Sasuke-teme?" Naruto asked as he pulled the raven-haired Genin up. "¡­yes," Sasuke said, only slightly put off that Naruto had just saved him. "Listen I got a plan when I tell you I want you to launch the biggest fireball you can," Naruto said, looking over at Zabuza. "Alright." was all the Uchiha said, seeming more docile than usual. "Just get ready to launch your fireball." Naruto said "Edgy mc'' edge!" Naruto jeered at Zabuza "What did you call me you brat!" Zabuza seethed at the blond who dared mock him. "You heard me you eyebrow-less freak!" Naruto shouted with a grin, it seemed Zabuza was sensitive about being insulted. "You little piece of shit! I''ll kill you!" Zabuza shouted as his face turned red. He created half a dozen Mizu Bunshin''s. The Mizu Bunshin''s surged forward, running across the water. "Sasuke, fireball!" Naruto yelled.


    Sasuke nodded as he went through some hand seals and sucked in a deep breath."Katon: Goukakyuu No Jutsu!" A large fireball came out of Sasuke''s mouth. Before the Mizu Bunshin could jump out of the way, Naruto finished his own hand seals. "Summoning Jutsu!" he said as he slammed his hand into the ground. This summoned was special, he needed someone to counter Zabuza, someone with power and skill in fast combat. So he thought deeply of shadows, imagining weakness being cut away. "Answer me, Zed!"


    Sucking in his breath, Sasuke blew out a large fireball. The Mizu Bunshin didn''t stand a chance as the hailstorm of fire hit them, dispelling them and evaporating the water used. Zabuza cursed as he was forced to release the water prison and drop into the water as the massive firestorm washed over his position. However, he stopped as he watched a plume of smoke other than the one from the fireball cover the battlefield. His eyes widened as he heard next to ear "The merest shade of me... is enough to defeat you." The contempt in the voice wasn''t on his mind as he turned on his heel to block a completely black shadow with glowing red eyes. He had a strange gauntlet with what appeared to be a extending two bladed katar. The strike knocked Zabuza flying but before he hit the ground another shadow appeared and threw him to the ground. The shadow then grabbed him by the neck and spoke to him "Only the worthy will survive." he said as he punted Zabuza towards a treeline.


    Zabuza was blasted through the air and only stopped when he hit a tree with enough force to knock off the bark. Before anything else could happen several senbon needles were launched at the Kiri nin, hitting him in his neck. Zabuza fell forward with a groan, unmoving A moment later they saw a young person whose gender was hard to tell due to the blue robes that covered his/her form. On the person''s face was a mask that Kakashi recognized as a Hunter Ninja mask from Kiri.


    Kakashi grunted as limped a few feet away from Zabuza and the Kiri hunter-nin. When the Hunter didn''t attack Kakashi went forward and checked his pulse. "He''s dead¡­" He mumbled, turning to look at the hunter ninja. "You''re a hunter Ninja from Kiri?" The Hunter Ninja bowed. "I am, I would like to thank you for stalling him for me. I have been after Momochi Zabuza for a long time."


    Kakashi sighed as he brought his headband back down over his Sharingan. His genin squad came up behind him a presence could almost be pinpointed, but it seemed to be coming from Naruto''s shadow. Looking at the hunter ninja curiously, the hunter ninja disappeared in a swirl of water reappearing next to Zabuza''s fallen body. Bending down the hunter ninja picked up Zabuza, pulling the man''s arm over his/her shoulder. "Now if you''ll excuse me, this body has many secrets, so I need to go and destroy it." "Kakashi-sensei!" Turning around Naruto saw Kakashi fall face first onto the ground, his one visible eye closed. Rushing over to him Naruto placed a hand on his neck.


    "He''s alive." Naruto said to Sakura who had come up to them. "He''s just unconscious, chakra exhaustion."


    Sighing Naruto stood and brought his hands in the ram seal, "Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!"Two clones puffed into existence and lifted Kakashi by the arms and legs.


    "Tazuna-san, we need to get to your home now. Think you can lead us there?" asked Naruto.


    "Uh¡­yeah," Tazuna said as he tried to get his bearings. "It''s just this way, follow me."


    The three Konoha genin followed Tazuna as he led them to his house with the two clones carrying the unconscious Jonin following close behind.


    Both Sakura and Sasuke were thinking the same thing. ''Not only did he just summoned a fuckin'' shadow that two-shot Zabuza, but he also knows a clone jutsu they hadn''t even heard of. Sasuke was pissed and jealous.

 18 The Wave *part 4*

    About 15 minutes of walking later, they arrived at Tazuna''s house and he started banging on the door "Tsunami! Open up! It''s your dear old dad!" After everyone walked inside, they got to see that even the man trying to save his city, lived in a decrepit house. It wasn''t a bad house, a two-story house sitting on a dock just a bit over the ocean. It''s that it was barren inside, it seemed as if all had been sold except for the essentials, like the kitchen table. A beautiful lady in her mid-twenties with long dark hair and brown eyes began speaking to her father "Tou-san! I was worried since you were gone so long! What happened!?" she said with clear worry in her voice. Tazuna merely waved her off and went into the kitchen to get another bottle of sake, no doubt to calm his nerves.


    Tsunami huffed for a moment before noticing the unconscious Kakashi "Oh my! Let me get a bedroll laid out, just give me a moment." It amazed the genin at the speed this woman laid out the roll, it was ninja level.


    "Here, put him inside." She said. "Thank you." The clone in the front replied as they set Kakashi down and covered him with the blanket. The two clones then dispelled surprising Tsunami, who looked at the smoke where the clones had been in surprise. "Nani¡­?" "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu" Naruto answered as he walked over and leaned on the window frame."They''re just solid copies of myself."


    Figuring it was some kind of ninja thing she nodded her head as Sakura sat down next to their sensei. "Are you going to be alright Kakashi-sensei?" she asked. "Yeah¡­" Kakashi said in a somewhat strained voice, having woken up some time in the past few minutes. "I just won''t be able to move for a week or so." "What?" Sakura said in surprise. "It''s because of the Sharingan," Naruto said as the others looked over at him. "It''s an amazing bloodline, but because Kakashi-sensei isn''t an Uchiha it puts a great deal of stress on his body, since it''s not built to harness the Kekkei Genkai''s full potential."


    Sakura and especially Sasuke looked at him in surprise. Sakura looked from her her blond spiky haired teammate to her sensei. "The Sharingan sounds like an amazing bloodline¡­but if it puts that much stress on the body, I guess you have to think before using it." "Naruto." Sasuke said, getting the blonde''s attention. "How do you know so much about the Sharingan?" Naruto looked over at Sasuke and just shrugged, clearly displeasing the Uchiha heir who grunted in annoyance.


    The group discussed their next moves. Thinking about all that had happened. "Well, at least we defeated that strong ninja," Tazuna said with a relieved laugh. "So we should be safe."


    "By the way, who was that masked kid?" asked Sakura, she had remembered reading something about a ninja who wore those masks before. "That''s the mask worn by Kirigakure special hunter-ninja team''s," Kakashi answered. "They''re also known as body erasers. Their duty is to completely dispose of a body without a trace. A ninja''s body within it has many secrets that can be revealed with a proper examination of a medical ninja. Things like ninjutsu, different chakra types, herbs and many other secrets that will reveal things about the village. For example, if I died, the secrets of the Sharingan could be revealed. If you''re not careful there''s the danger that the enemy will steal your jutsu."


    Naruto nodded to himself, he remembered this from the show. Konoha had its own force of hunter ninjas, designed to hunt down missing ninja and kill them before they could become a problem. "That''s why hunter ninja are around." The rest of the group turned towards Naruto. "In order to protect the secrets of their village, hunter ninja have the jobs of going into the world and hunting down the missing ninja of their village. They''re specialists who guard their village''s secrets."


    "So that Zabuza has been chopped up and disposed of?" Sakura asked as she went pale. "Scary!" Naruto spoke up suddenly. "I doubt it¡­" "What do you mean?" asked Sakura as she looked over at Naruto. "What are you not sure about?" Naruto began. "When a hunter ninja disposes of a body, it''s supposed to be on the spot. That way no one has a chance to discover the secrets they might hold before they can get rid of it. They usually cut off the head and then burn the body with a Fire jutsu, however." that ninja didn''t do that, instead he left with the body. On top of that, he used senbon to kill the target."


    "And it didn''t look like he was carrying any kind of heavy equipment that would decapitate a person. It seems odd that a hunter ninja would be so ill-equipped to deal with the disposing of a body." "You''re absolutely right Naruto., Kakashi said, thinking back to Naruto''s words about his bloodline giving him foresight. ''This is bad'' he thought. "I''ve been wondering about that myself. And I have a theory¡­"


    Within the forest just a little ways from where Zabuza had fought the Konoha ninja, the hunter-ninja looked over Zabuza''s body. Reaching into a pouch, the hunter took out a tool kit and unrolled it on the ground. The ninja grabbed a pair of clippers and brought them towards Zabuza. "First I''ll cut off the mouth cloth and drain some of the blood." The ninja mumbled, carefully bringing the clippers to bear near Zabuza''s clothed face. Just before the hunter could cut the cloth, Zabuza''s hand shot up and grabbed the hunter''s arm.


    "I''ll do it myself." Zabuza barked out through gasped breath. "Oh." The hunter said, sounding both surprised and amused. "You''ve already come back to life," Zabuza grunted as he grabbed the senbon in his neck and gave them a yank. "Damn, you sure are rough." He grunted as he pulled them out. "Oh! You''re pretty rough yourself, pulling them out like that. You may really die if you pull them out so carelessly." The hunter said. Zabuza just gave a non-committal grunt. "How long are you going to wear that stupid mask?" he asked. "I like this mask." The fake hunter replied, "It reminds me of the old days." Despite that, the fake hunter reached up and pulled the mask off, "Plus it was useful for this act. If I hadn''t saved you, you would have definitely been killed."


    Zabuza glared at his partner and decided to let the fake hunter know just what he thought of the hunter''s selection of pressure points. "If you were going to put me into a temporary death, you didn''t have to aim for the neck you know. You could have used a safer acupuncture point," The Kiri missing ninja put the cloth back around his mouth. "You''re as brutal as always." His partner merely smiled, "You''re right. But we both know how you would get angry if I scarred that flawless body of yours. And the neck doesn''t have much muscle; it''s easier to hit the acupuncture point there."


    The fake hunter examined Zabuza''s vitals to see how much damage was done to him that both the fight and the temporary death state had given him. The man had a lot more wounds than usual due to who he was fighting, but the hunter determined he would live.


    "You shouldn''t be able to move much for about a week. But¡­knowing you, you''ll probably be up and about sooner." Zabuza at his partner out of the corner of his eye and smirked. "You''re so pure and clever, that''s what I like about you¡­" "Of course," His partner smiled, "I''m just a kid after all." The fake hunter ninja stood up and looked around, "The mist has cleared." Looking down the fake hunter ninja asked a question, "Will you be alright, next time?" Zabuza''s eyes narrowed and let out something akin growl. "Next time I will defeat the Sharingan."


    "WHAT DO YOU MEAN ZABUZA''S ALIVE!" Sakura screeched, causing everyone to hold their ears. "Keep your voice down Sakura," Kakashi said before clearing his throat. "Think about it, the hunter ninja used senbon to kill Zabuza. But unless it hit a vital organ, the probability of actually killing someone is low. It''s an item used by doctors in acupuncture. Hunter ninja have a thorough knowledge and understanding of the human body. So putting a person in a momentary death-like state would be easy. Let''s look at the facts. First, he carried away the body of the much heavier Zabuza. Second, he used a weapon that has a low probability of killing."


    "So basically what you''re saying is that Zabuza is alive," Sasuke stated, though it almost sounded like a question. Kakashi nodded, "Yes, that is exactly what I''m saying." The announcement that Zabuza was alive seemed to have varying levels of effect on those in the room. Sasuke was smirking, thinking he would get another chance to fight a strong opponent and prove himself as an Uchiha, as well as bringing himself one step closer to Itachi.


    Sakura looked around in worry, not feeling anywhere near as confident as her crush. She knew that she had no chance of helping in a fight like this.


    Naruto was deep in thought. He knew that he had no chance against a man who could go toe to toe with his sensei. What''s more, Kakashi had almost been defeated and whereas it not for the timely intervention of him Zed, and Sasuke and Zabuza underestimating then they would have definitely lost. "Don''t you think you''re overthinking this?" asked Tazuna, now worried that that really strong ninja might actually be coming back. "I mean, hunter ninja is supposed to kill a missing ninja."


    "One of the shinobi rules is to always prepare for the worst possible scenario." Kakashi stated. "And even if Zabuza is dead, it just means that Gato is likely to hire an even stronger ninja. Either case points to the fact that we need to prepare."


    "But¡­what can we do?" asked Sakura, frightened of even the thought of seeing Zabuza again. This whole mission had gone from bad to worse for her, and she was starting to feel completely overwhelmed. "I mean, we''re just genin, and you can barely even move!" "Hehe." Kakashi chuckled, "You guys will be doing some training." "Huh?! Training?!" Sakura said in surprise, "Sensei, what''s a little training gonna do!"


    "Sakura¡­who saved me while I was trapped in that water prison?" Kakashi asked in a slow tone, the question was rhetorical but it was obvious the point he was trying to get across. "You guys have all improved a great deal." The cyclopean Jonin looked over at Naruto and gave him an eye smile. "Naruto, you''ve improved the most." Naruto just nodded before saying. "Well, I have strong summons to help me."


    "Obviously this is just training for you guys to get better," Kakashi continued, "Even if I train you, you won''t be able to best Zabuza without me." "But sensei, if Zabuza is alive he could attack at any time!" Sakura protested. "So should we be training..." "Don''t worry," Kakashi assured her. "You have to remember Zabuza was injured too. On top of that, he was put into a death-like state. His body will take a while to recover from something like that. So we''ll train until then."


    "Finally!" Naruto said, breaking out into a grin. "I didn''t think you were ever gonna train us sensei!"


    "Ma, Naruto I have trained you guys." Kakashi defended himself.


    "Yeah, in teamwork exercises, and even then you continue reading that porn of yours. or had us train in that chamber in the cryptography room" Naruto shot back. "I''m talking about training to up our individual skills."


    "Teamwork is important, and that was a mission, it''s different," Kakashi said with a small shrug.


    "I don''t deny that teamwork is important sensei, and we did get stronger from the training manuals we were given." Naruto resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "However, we both know that individual ability is just as important. If we can''t even fight properly on our own merits, it won''t matter if our teamwork is flawless. And you know that had Zabuza not underestimated us because we were kids, Sasuke and I would have been killed before we even had time to blink."


    Kakashi conceded that point with a nod. Naruto was right, individual skills were important. However, the silver-haired jonin had wanted to pound the idea that teamwork was the most important aspect of a shinobi. "Why do you guys even bother?" Everyone turned to the source of the new voice to see a depressed looking little kid of about six to eight years of age. He had blue coveralls on over a yellow shirt and a fishing hat on his head. "Oh! Inari! Where were you!" Tazuna asked in greeting, holding out his arms as Inari ran to give him a hug. "Welcome back grandpa," Inari said, before glaring over at the Konoha ninja. "Inari, say hello to these people." Tsunami said, placing her hands on her hips. "They''re the ninja that protected grandpa."


    "But mom, they''re just going to die," Everyone looked surprised when Inari said that, except Naruto who was just annoyed that he now had to deal with this little shit, who calls their dad a liar after he gets crucified? Tazuna and Tsunami just sighed. "There''s no way they can beat Gato."


    "Man this kid''s more emo than you are, Sasuke," Naruto commented, receiving an angry grunt from his Uchiha teammate. "Listen here kid, just go to bed and leave these problems to the adults.


    Kakashi sweatdropped at his blond student''s attitude. Inari turned around and made his way to the door, "If you don''t want to die you should leave." "Inari..." Tsunami mumbled in a worried voice.


    "I''m going to look at the ocean," Inari said before leaving, slamming the door shut on his way out.


    "I''m sorry about that," Tazuna said in a depressed voice as he looked over at the Konoha ninja.


    "Whatever..." Was all that came from Naruto.


    The blond shook his head, "Anyway, I think I''ll be going to get some rest." "In that case, there are a few extra rooms for you on the right if you want to take one of them, Tsunami said helpfully. Naruto gave her a smile, "Thanks." He left his team, moving to one of the rooms Tsunami had said was open. As he passed by Inari''s room he heard crying. "¡­Tou-san." Naruto just ignored, walking to one of the open rooms again.

 19 The Demon Inside *wave part 5*

    The sun pierced through the window and shined into the eyes of the blond jinchuriki. Begrudgingly opening his eyes and throwing off his covers, he got ready for the day. It took him around ten minutes to get ready and tying his headband around his left bicep, he walked out of his room and towards the kitchen, He could hear voices which seemed to belong to Kakashi, he could make out a grunt as well, so that''s Sasuke. All heads turned to the sliding door as Naruto walked through. "Good, there is our last member, now let''s go. I''ve got something special planned for you all." Kakashi said with his eyesmile. With these words, the three Genin nodded, and after a farewell from Tsunami, they headed towards the forest nearest their house.


    "Tell me my cute little Genin, who knows what chakra is?" Kakashi said addressing his students. Sakura''s hand shot up and Kakashi pointed to her "Hai, Sakura-chan." "Chakra is the body''s energy and spiritual energy. By using hand seals we can and forming the chakra with it, we can use Jutsu''s."


    She said in a very knowing way. "Exactly." Kakashi nodded approvingly. "We can already use Jutsu, why''s it matter?" Sasuke growled. "Correct," He started "But you don''t know how to use it properly. "What do you mean, Sensei?" Sakura asked perplexed. "You all can bring out chakra to use jutsu but you are not using it effectively." He said while thinking ''Though one of you hasn''t even got chakra... "Anyway," He continued, "Even if you are releasing a large amount of chakra, if you have poor control, the jutsu will be weakened or maybe not work at all. And by wasting energy, you will run out of steam quicker, be unable to fight, and weigh your team down."


    "So what are we going to do to fix that, sensei?" Sakura asked hand raised. "We will be doing...Tree climbing. But not just any tree climbing.." He then walked up the tree behind him with his crutches and eventually was standing upside down on a branch. "Gather your chakra in the bottom of your feet and start climbing, this will improve your control of chakra since if you use too little, you slip off, and too much and the bark explodes." He said lazily "Anyway, use these kunai and mark your highest point, also, you might want to try running, it will give a little help." He said as he threw three kunai at their feet. "Have fun! he said as he shunshin''d out of sight.


    Sasuke and Sakura instantly started running up to the tree, Sasuke exploded off and Sakura reached the top on her first try. Naruto, on the other hand, had just sat down on the ground and was off in his thoughts. "My lack of chakra is really becoming a handicap he grumbled in his mind. "I could use Kurama''s chakra but that takes much more focus than what I assume it would take for your own, it''s impractical. As he was thinking this his mind trembled as he was suddenly in front of Kurama, who was, surprisingly, in what appeared to be a human form. Similar to a certain Ahri-chan but without a discernable gender or face for that matter "What''s with the new makeover?" Naruto asked. "Well, I was going through your memories and saw someone called Ahri who was a nine-tailed fox but in human form, and I thought, surely I''m capable of this too? but I can''t get the face and gender down since I have no concept of individuality and gender. Since I''m just a thinking lump of chakra." The fox said in a still proud and booming voice.


    "Well you might get it eventually, anyway, why did you bring me in here?" Naruto asked. "Well, I saw you crying about not having chakra." Kurama said while thinking ''though you have something better. "So I came up with an Idea to help you," Kurama said. "Oh, how will you do that?" Naruto asked, rightfully wary.


    "It''s simple. I will use my beast chakra to form the chakra organs and points in your body that you lack, essentially turning you into a human tailed beast." Kurma said, clearly proud of his idea. "And do you know if this will work? If its safe?" Naruto asked, unbelieving. "I can''t guarantee if it will be 100% safe, but I know it will work. After all, your body isn''t like other humans." Kurama said Naruto would have questioned the part about his body if he thought he would get an answer out of the fox


    *Sigh* "Alright, I''ll do it. Do I need to tie myself down or something?" Naruto said, sarcastically, but the Kyuubi responded: "That would be a good idea, you might be in a lot of pain." The fox said. ''Well, this is great''... Naruto exited his mindspace and began walking deeper into the treeline, ignoring the other two Genin. Once out of sight, he found some weeds and vines and began tying his hands behind his knees, where he could get out, but not hurt himself if he started thrashing. Once done with this, he re-entered the mindspace with Kurama. Naruto looked up into where the eyes should have been on the human Kurama face. "Alright, I''m ready." He spoke. "Good, then let''s begin." The Kyuubi spoke as it began sending its chakra en masse into his insides. It leaked out of his measly chakra channels and into his chest and other areas. He could feel strong bloodthirstiness from this chakra, that he hadn''t noticed before. These evil feelings and thoughts began slowly creeping into his mind as he keeled over in pain. He began to roll over and over as he slowly started losing his sanity. First came bones cracking and popping as the 4''9 genin grew to about 6 feet 3 inches. The clothes he bought that were supposed to last him years now were nearly skin tight on his tall body.


    Second, came his unconsciousness, he was in his mindscape but it was all white. He could see every once in a while, a vision of himself, muscles appearing all over his body as his yellow hair turned deep maroon red as well as two fox ears with tufts of red hair at their tips now sat upon his head. His teeth grew sharper. His blue eyes turned to a soft yellow and his pupil''s turned to feline slits. His vision, hearing, sense of smell and touch all jumped through the roof. But he couldn''t sense these things yet. Because he was still inside the mindscape as his body raved and toppled the surrounding trees while screaming bloody murder.


    This went on for twenty minutes as he was trapped in his own body. Just as he was losing hope of regaining control of his body. A man with bright, gold like yellow hair, blue eyes and a coat appeared in front of him. It didn''t say anything, but it reached out and touched his glabella. "Regain balance, Kurama." It said before fading out of existence. "That was Minato, Naruto thought." He was now in control of his body again. It seemed that, according to Kurama, Minato unsealed the Yin portion of Kurama and returned it to him. Besides Kurama growing stronger, Naruto now was able to form the Yin weapons along with his Yang armor from the Yin-Yang Tempering Manual. He had barely any time to admire his new appearance as his fox ears receded into his head and his eyes returned to normal and he passed out. His height and other changes remained unchanged, however.


    Naruto had become something other than human. Those villagers that said he was the Kyuubi and needed to be destroyed... were now not so wrong, because he had, in effect, become the nine tailed fox. and was now a humanoid tailed beast.

 20 A Forest Fairy *wave part 6*

    "Sensei, where did Naruto go?" Sakura asked when she took a moment to stop mentally rap*ing Sasuke. Kakashi sighed, he saw him walk off into the forest, no doubt due to the fact he was depressed about not being able to do the tree climbing exercise. "I''ll go check on him." He said before shunshin''d off into the forest. It only took the copy-nin twelve seconds to find a collapsed form of a red-haired teenager. He appeared next to the body and carefully flipped it over. Kakashi''s eyes widened after a moment of looking at the teens face "This- Naruto?!" He couldn''t fathom this, he didn''t even recognize him at first, but those eyes and whiskers are the only things that remained unchanged. He kneeled down and checked for wounds, seeing none he breathed a sigh of relief, shaking the boy gently a low growl escaped the mouth of Naruto as he was brought back into consciousness. His face froze as he saw Kakashi ask him "Naruto? Are you okay?" Naruto nodded as he felt his face and arms, marveling at their new look. "Better than ever," Naruto said in a deep voice, a far cry from his former high pitched one.


    As he stood up, Kakashi could hear the bones cracking and popping on Naruto''s body like sticks in a fire. Kakashi was only 5''9 and now had to tilt his head a bit to look into the eyes of the twelve-year-old Naruto. "Hinata is going to be either scared or impressed..." Naruto mumbled. Kakashi''s eyes widened a bit at this ''don''t tell me...'' "Naruto, did I hear Hinata? As in the heir to the Hyuuga clan?" He asked with trepidation. Naruto flinched a bit at being heard, ''curse my mouth''. "Yeah, we''ve been an item since last valentines day, so about... two months now?" He said simply. "Naruto, you have to be careful, the Hyuuga wouldn''t take very kindly to, you courting their daughter."


    "You don''t have to worry Sensei." Naruto said looking into his sensei''s face, "I will make them agree to it through my actions. Naruto Uzumaki doesn''t back down." with that he started walking back to the others and Kakashi followed after him. A minute later Naruto asked "By the way sensei, why didn''t you tell me you were my father''s student" At this question Kakashi tripped over himself and fell flat on his face, he quickly sat up while sputtering "How-w-w-- What how did you, I mean HOW?!" While Kakashi was panicking, Naruto was merely laughing. "I met him in my mind, he sealed a part of himself along with the yin portion of the Kyuubi. The only reason I''m alive right now is because he gave that Yin part to restore balance to Kyuubi." Kakashi looked down at the ground and sighed as he started talking "I''m so sorry Naruto, I was planning to tell you when you were graduated, I knew that your drive was becoming Hokage, and telling you who your father was may have caused you to stop trying, or even hate all of Konoha for hating you when your father had been killed by the Kyuubi to save them.


    "He didn''t die fighting the Kyuubi," Naruto said. "He died fighting the person controlling the Kyuubi. He even warned me not to try fighting him because he would kill me with a snap of his fingers. Also, If you don''t teach me anything good since I know my father took good care of you, I''ll be really pissed. He finished with a mischievous grin. "Kakashi just started laughing and promised to himself to take care of this boy. "Alright, I will. Now, let''s go back to the others, they were worried about you. And try not to surprise them with your new look too much, kay''?" Kakashi said with his eyesmile.


    The walk back was passed in relative silence, mostly only talking about what happened to his body, Naruto just passed it off as his bloodline evolving, sort of like a sharingans tomoe. Once they reached the place where the other two genin were practicing, Sasuke and Sakura were confused who had walked back with their sensei until they noticed the whiskers and same clothes. "Naruto?..." they both spoke simultaneously. Naruto had to then ''explain'' his bloodline and how it evolved causing him to look different. Once he had appeased the curiosity of the two, he walked to the kunai that was still stuck in the ground and grabbed it.


    ''Alright, circulate it to the soles of his feet. Keep it even, and don''t lose focus.'' Naruto then started walking, not running towards the tree. First foot, stuck second stuck.'' Kakashi was was clearly surprised, Sasuke was livid, and Sakura was for the first time questioning Sasuke''s godhood. Before long, Naruto was at the top of the tree. This was surprisingly easy for him, he had constantly played games, where you had to know where the keys were on his keyboard, were without looking, what they did, what they enemy could do. So keeping his concentration split while walking was easy as could be. Also, it seemed like the nature chakra in the tree was almost calling out to him and supplementing his own, and making sure it stayed at the right amount. ''so this is the difference in a humans chakra and a tailed beasts, humans are just using their own body''s chakra, but tailed beasts chakra comes from the earth itself, it gives it to them freely. Maybe I could even unlock sage mode easier..'' Like this, the training went on till dark.


    "Alright everyone lets head back, we will continue tomorrow," Kakashi stated and the other two genins stopped and went over to Kakashi, but Naruto just continued walking up and down the trees. "Naruto? are you coming?" Kakashi asked him. "No, I''m going to keep training," Naruto replied. "Do you know you will be okay?" Kakashi asked, clearly hinting to his supposed visions of the future. "Yes, I will be completely fine." Kakashi just nodded at Naruto''s words and walked off, the other two genin running to catch up.


    "Kurama?" Naruto said in his mind a few minutes after the others left. "What?" He heard the response. "If I have the chakra organs of a tailed beast now, that means instead of normal chakra im using Senjutsu chakra, right?" He asked, hopeful. "No, you are now essentially a chakra beast in human form. While nature energy is in tune with you, you still can''t use it as you don''t know how to absorb it. However, there is a way to make it accept you since nature energy is semi-sentient and only gives it to those worthy." Kurama told him "Alright, how do I make it accept me? Naruto asked expectantly, it was times like these that his biological age really overcame his mental one, even if it was only of a 14-year-old compared to a twelve-year-old. "Well, the easiest one is to simply send out your chakra to the plants around you, nourishing them, showing that you care for it. If you do this enough it will begin to accept you and let you use some. The more you do this the more it will let you have." Kurama stated.


    Then I guess I have to begin. Naruto plopped down in the area surrounded by trees. He began to send out his new chakra the same way he sent out the yang energy to form his armor, except it went into the ground around him instead of his skin. The chakra that existed in him after his change into a tailed beast was huge, and with the chakra that Kurama still was able to send him, he basically had an infinite amount of chakra. Before long the red mist of his chakra had spread around thirty feet around him, covering the ground and closest trees to him. He watched in wonder as flowers bloomed around him and the trees grew bigger. He could feel the earth itself talking to him, he could feel its thanks. He could feel its love, and he could even feel a slight fulfilling feeling as if he was food to the hungry, it made him feel happy, and he couldn''t help but say to the earth. "Your welcome."


    This continued for six hours till he abruptly fell asleep. The flowers and grass around him still growing, came around him and formed a soft bed for him and the trees leaves covered the area above him, to block out the evening sun and then, the life of the forest returned to normal as they protected the child that they loved.


    *****-Inside Zabuza''s base.-*****


    Within the base Haku watched over the bedridden Zabuza, mixing some of the herbs they had.


    "So even you have come back defeated."The hunter-nin turned to see Gato standing in between two thugs. One of them was shirtless with a black hakama, and an eye patch on his right eye. His left shoulder was adorned with a vine tattoo pattern while he had barbed wire tattoos running down his arms. The other was wearing a baggy gray jacket festooned with many pockets, a pair of black shorts and a black beanie on his head. Both of them had a hand holding the sheaths of their swords, trying to make themselves look menacing. Haku thought the pair looked pathetic with their posturing.


    "It looks like the Kiri Ninja are pretty pathetic." Gato continued as he moved into the room, feeling confident now that Zabuza was bedridden. "You can''t even avenge your men, how pathetic. And you call yourself a devil?" "¡­" Zabuza said nothing, causing both of Gato''s Ronin to start unsheathing their blades. "Hold on for a moment," Gato held up a hand as he continued walking up to Zabuza. He stopped at the bed and looked down at the Kiri missing ninja, "Hey. There''s no need to stay silent."


    Gato began to reach out his hand towards Zabuza''s throat, but before it could get there the hunter-nin grabbed onto the business man''s wrist. "Don''t touch Zabuza-sama with your dirty hands!" The hunter ninja snarled, giving him a glare that looked like it would burn straight through the fat businessman. "Hey let go! Let go you fucking- ARGH!" Gato shouted, only to scream as the hunter ninja tossed him back.


    The two ronin moved their hands towards their swords. However, their eyes widened when they found the hunter ninja between them, holding their own swords against their throats.


    "You shouldn''t do that," The hunter ninja said. "I''m really angry right now."


    Gato and both his cronies began to sweat.


    "One more time! if you fail one more time! You are dead!" Gato shouted as he stood up and shook his hand in a fist. "I''m giving you one more chance to complete this! If you fail, I''ll make sure that every ninja in Kiri knows where you are!" Gato and his two thugs left, slamming the door on their way out.


    "Haku," Zabuza said, getting his partner''s attention. "You didn''t have to do that."


    "I know," Haku said with a smile, spotting the protrusion in the sheets that showed Zabuza was holding a kunai. "But it''s still too early to kill Gato. If we cause a commotion right now, the hunters will be after us again. We must be patient."Zabuza sighed. "Damn¡­I hate it when you''re right." Haku just smiled as she asked, "Right about what?"


    *****-The next morning-****


    "It seems we''re out of medical herbs," Haku mumbled with a sigh. Closing the pantry the hunter ninja walked back into Zabuza''s room. Walking over to the bed, Haku looked down at him. "You were far more injured than I thought. We''re all out of herbs." "What''s your point?" grunted Zabuza.


    "My point is I need to go out and get some more for you," Haku gave the man a blank stare, slightly irritated by Zabuza''s attitude. "I''ll be back sometime around noon, I should be able to get enough for you to finish healing." "Whatever," Zabuza grunted, trying to shift his position in the bed despite the sharp pains he felt as he moved. Not waiting for a reply Haku left the room.


    Haku hummed a small tune while walking through the forest, looking for the herbs that the fake hunter ninja had found a few days ago. After passing by a particularly large tree Haku found the herbs. Bending over to pick one up before pausing and marveling at the beauty that had sprung up in the area since the last time she had been here. She then noticed a figure lying on the ground a little ways away. Acting cautious Haku approached the figure to see who it was, not recognizing the redhead, but she still got a blush at his near perfect body and face, that was when she noticed the Konoha shinobi headband tied around his arm, ''Reinforcements?'' She thought. The hunter''s breath hitched, wondering what should be done.


    Kneeling down Haku looked the figure over. The boy had messy maroon red hair along with three whisker-like scars on each cheek on his well shaped and handsome face. She could see how tightly his cloths hun to his body, showing off his surprisingly muscular figure underneath.


    Haku reached a hand out to the teen''s throat. This boy was a hindrance to Zabuza''s plan; the best option would be to remove him before he could cause a problem. However, Haku paused and gently began to shake the teen''s shoulder.


    "Hey, wake up. You''ll catch a cold if you sleep out here," Haku said. Naruto stirred, stifling a groan he opened his eyes. And the first thing he saw was¡­ "An Angel... Am I in Heaven?" he asked as he saw a beautiful girl with a heart-shaped face and a set of chocolate brown eyes. Him being slightly groggy and his sleep-addled mind coming to what he obviously thought was the correct conclusion.


    Haku blushed at being called an angel, "I''m afraid not. If I was, you would have to be dead in order for us to meet." Naruto blinked a bit as the blurriness to his vision began to clear up. Sitting up he stretched his arms above his head as he let out a loud yawn. Bringing his hands back down and leaning against them, Naruto turned to look at the person who had woken him, Haku.


    It was a young woman who looked to be maybe a year or two older than him. She had long dark brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. She was wearing a pink yukata with blue floral designs on it. A small black choker was around her neck. She was currently smiling at him with a kind smile.


    Naruto blushed a bit, "sorry. I was just um¡­ taking an um nap." he said.


    Haku giggled a bit, "That''s perfectly alright. Though, you should be more careful, if you stay out here all night long you may catch a cold and die. Then you really would be seeing angels." Naruto just scratched the back of his head. He paused as he looked over at Haku and tilted his head and asked. though knowing the answer, "So what about you? What are you doing this early in the morning?"


    Haku smiled and lifted the basket she was holding, "I''m picking some herbs for my friend who got injured a while ago. I''m gathering these to help in his recovery."


    "That''s pretty cool," Naruto said, gaining an interested look in his eye. "I know a bit about herbs since a friend of mine owns a florist shop. Do you need any help picking them?" ''I really should stop pulling this shit out of my ass.'' He thought to himself.


    "That would be nice," Haku said as she bent down, setting the basket back on the ground and grabbed a few of the herbs. Nodding his head Naruto formed a quick hand seal, "Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!" A clone appeared next to Naruto before it hopped off towards the house. Bending down Naruto looked over to see Haku looking at him curiously.


    "It''s a clone." He explained, figuring that was why she was looking at him. "I have to tell my sensei where I''m at; if I don''t show up he''ll probably come looking for me." Haku nodded at the explanation and, feeling this would be an opportunity to gain some insight into Zabuza''s enemies the fake hunter decided to start a conversation. "So you''re a ninja?" she asked.

 21 Turning allegiances *Wave part 7*

    "So you''re a ninja?" she asked. "Yeah, I am. Was it the headband that gave it away?" he asked "Maybe a little. That and the clone you made," Haku said with a smile. "So why did you decide to be a shinobi?" Naruto took a moment to think as he grabbed a herb, he shook his head and pulled it out. "I became a shinobi so I could avenge my parents and show Konoha that I am to be respected!" he said enthusiastically, "I plan on becoming the strongest ninja to ever grace the elemental nations!"


    Haku raised an eyebrow as Naruto put his hand over his stomach. "I see¡­that''s quite a grand dream," Haku paused for a second before plunging on. "So what''s a ninja doing out this early in the morning?" "Erm¡­" Naruto blushed a bit as he remembered his Disney princess session with flowers blooming around him, "Training!" He answered. Can that really be counted as training though?


    Haku noticed the lie but let it slide, "So why are you training?"


    "To become stronger," Naruto said with a grin that stretched across his face and closed his eyes, making him look like a fox. Haku looked the redhead up and down, noticing the tightly packed muscles underneath Naruto''s clothes, "You seem plenty strong now." Naruto shook his head, "Maybe, but I''m not strong enough. I have to become stronger."


    "To fulfill your dream?" asked Haku. Naruto nodded, "Exactly." "Are you doing this for someone else? Or yourself?" asked Haku.


    Sitting back down Naruto looked at her curiously. "Er¡­huh I don''t know. I know who killed my parents and I will avenge them so I guess myself?" was his rather unintelligent reply as he scratched the back of his head. Haku noticed the look and covered a hand to her mouth as she released a giggle. "Oi..." Naruto growled, a blush adorning his face at the sound of Haku''s giggle, "What''s so funny!"


    "Nothing," Haku replied with a smile, "So do you¡­have someone who is important to you?"


    "Someone¡­important," Naruto repeated as a smile graced his face "Yes, I do, and they mean the world to me. He spoke with a smile.


    Haku nodded, remembering the day Zabuza had come and given her a purpose. "When a person has something important to protect, that''s when they become truly strong."


    Naruto paused in his herb picking as he looked up at Haku. Listening to those words, Naruto remembered Iruka-sensei protecting him from Mizuki and allowing him to graduate afterward.


    His mind flashed to Hokage-Ojisan who had been with him ever since he had been kicked out of the orphanage. And he remembered the Ichiraku family, who owned the only restaurant (AKA food stand) that did not kick him out, though not his memories, they, in a way were a part of him. Now that he was here, in this body, in this world. All these memories were so much more impactful than through a screen.


    More images played through his head. They were all people who he had grown close to. He would easily fight to protect them. "I know exactly what you mean," Naruto said solemnly, his cool demeanor diminished.


    "You''ll get strong," Haku said, seeing the understanding light enter Naruto''s eyes. Standing up Haku looked at Naruto. "By the way¡­I''m a boy."


    Naruto froze as he remembered his words waking up, hell, he had even forgotten Haku was a guy!


    Oh no! Oh No oh no oh no! If I called a boy angel I''m gonna- he paused mid-rant as Haku began to walk away and his nose caught a scent, ''this is... Unexpected'' he thought as he called out. "You''re lying," Causing Haku to freeze and look back at him. Grinning Naruto stood up and walked over to her, "I almost believed you, but there is no way you can be a guy."


    Haku kept calm and merely raised an eyebrow, "Oh? What makes you say that?" "Well, the first thing is you have no Adam''s apple" Naruto knew basic human anatomy after all. The other differences are¡­ he shook his head, Mind out of the gutter Naruto. Looking back at Haku he continued. "Second, you''re far too pretty to be a man," He grinned as Haku blushed.


    He shook his head again, shaking off the blush. "And finally, no self-respecting male would ever wear perfume." "I¡­see," was all Haku said, too surprised that someone had called her out to actually say anything, though a part of her mind was trying to come up with an excuse for posing as a boy. "I''m guessing you''re posing as a male because of Gato''s reign of tyranny over the island?" Naruto presented an olive branch to her.


    Haku felt herself relax as the teen unwittingly provided a cover story. "Yes, Gato''s men have been known to do things that were¡­less than savory to women that they catch alone." Naruto nodded playing along, "Yeah, I wouldn''t want to imagine what these scum do to people." He suddenly got a good idea from his bullshiting, If I can follow her to where Zabuza is, I can convert their allegiance before they fight us! "I know! Why don''t I escort you home? That way if any of Gato''s goons even try to touch, I''ll beat the shit out of them."


    Haku giggled but grew worried as she tried to find a way out of this situation, "That''s ok, I don''t want to interrupt your training. I have already taken too much of your time."


    Naruto simply said "No, no, I insist," "Please do not concern yourself with me, I have been evading Gato''s men in the morning ever since he came here."


    "At least allow me to take you half of the way," Naruto said in a somewhat dejected voice. Something inside of Haku snapped looking at his face, "Alright, but only half way..." She said with a blush of her own this time. Naruto smiled triumphantly as the two began walking through the forest. However, Naruto could tell Haku was leading him in the wrong direction since she seemed to be looking around more than someone that knew the way. About 10 minutes of walking and chatting, Haku stopped and said to Naruto "This is far enough, I can make the rest of the way on my own." Naruto just smiled and said his farewell as he began walking back. He silently spoke to himself "Follow her and find out where they are hiding, no fighting." A grunt was heard from his shadow as Zed emerged and began jumping from shadow to shadow after Haku.


    Walking back to his ''flower bed''. Naruto continued his exercises for about 30 minutes before Zed suddenly appeared in front of him. "I found it, and its heavily trapped, but I''ve already found a way in. I''m assuming you want to go?" He said. Naruto wasn''t sure why Zed hadn''t de-summoned himself, but he assumed it had to do with learning new techniques. "Yes, lead me to it," Naruto said. Zed just chuckled and said "No need." as he wrapped shadows around Naruto and they then reappeared in front of a giant treehouse. "Naruto turned to Zed inside of the shadow and asked, "Can you restrain them without hurting them?" Zed merely chuckled and disappeared, kicking Naruto out of the shadow, a few seconds later he heard two screams and Zabuza yelling "ITS YOU! YOU BASTARD ILL KILL YOU!" Naruto just shook his head as he walked up to the door, before walking in. The two missing-nin looked at him and Haku looked on in shock "You- why? how?" she mumbled in shock. "Now, now, Haku-chan I come in peace." The two nin just drilled holes in him with their stares.


    "Let me explain." Said Naruto. "I would not call myself an important person, but I do have a lot of sway. I want to turn the two of your allegiances and recruit you," he said simply. "I''d rather die than become a dog to the peace lovers in Konoha," Zabuza growled out like a feral dog. "I''m not trying to recruit you into Konoha," Naruto said earning a raised eyebrow. "I''m trying to recruit you into my own faction. I have the nine tailed fox inside of me, I''m the son of the Yondaime Hokage, and I have the ability to summon people from different worlds." He finished off pointing at zed who sarcastically waved at the two. "I can guarantee your safety as well as money, but in return, I require your loyalty. I know you have a hate for being controlled, Zabuza. But I don''t want to control you, I wish for your loyalty and will treat you with equality. Same for you Haku. I wish to be prepared for the war to come, the next great shinobi war, and you two are impossible to ignore in terms of skill and pure ability and strength."


    He finished his speech and surprisingly it looked as if Zabuza was actually considering it, the Kiri missing-nin looked up at Naruto and asked. "How do I know you are telling the truth and we won''t just be arrested by the ANBU in Konoha and interrogated for Kiri secrets?" Naruto chuckled and said simply. "I am not loyal to Konoha, and they fear me, they fear the Kyuubi sealed inside me. As well as the fact the Hokage sees himself as a grandfather figure and if I can convince them that you are 100% loyal, though you really aren''t, then he will most likely agree. If that fails, all I have to do is threaten to leave or threaten to commit suicide, since that would release the twin tails." Zabuza thought about his options, either agree to join the kid in front of him with a ton of backing, an ability to summon people that are leagues stronger than him, and is even a jinchuriki, or die. Obviously, it''s the former, he is just a mercenary after all. Permanent work is better.


    "Alright, I agree. So can you have the fuckin shadow bastard stop with the shadow tentacle things?" Zabuza said annoyed. Naruto nodded and Zed removed the tendrils as he retreated into Naruto''s shadow. "Alright, Now what," Zabuza said. "Now, we go meet my sensei, which is just as hurt as you. Good fight, by the way, I was impressed." Naruto said. "Flattered...." Was all Zabuza said as he stood up and grabbed a pair of crutches and hobbled over to the redhead. Haku started running around the building and grabbed all the important things and shoving them into a storage scroll before meeting up with Naruto and Zabuza who were talking at the door. "All done?" Naruto asked the girl. "Done." was all she said. "Then let''s go."


    ----Inside tazuna''s house, around the kitchen table----


    The atmosphere at the current moment was tense, to say the least, and murderous to say it truthfully. Tazuna, Sakura, Tsunami and the kid, whose name I have forgotten, all had looks of fear. While Sasuke and Kakashi started daggers at the group of two. Naruto was sitting in between the two groups as he said "Maa, maa, let''s calm down, they are on our side now. here let me explain what happened." Naruto told how he and Zed, who they now knew the name of the shadow man who was following him around, broke into Zabuza''s base, incapacitated them and then managed to convince them to join Konoha. Kakashi was about to cry, Naruto, the twelve-year-old genin had gone alone, into an enemy base, and manage to convince them to join his side! This goes against all logic! Kakashi just put his head on the table "Forget it, I''m done, do whatever you want. Just don''t bring me down with you." He then shunshin''d to his bedroll and laid down in it and went to sleep.


    Naruto coughed to regain the attention of the others from Kakashi''s antics, who was no doubt overwhelmed from all the shit Naruto had pulled the last couple of days. "Haku and Zabuza will now be helping us train and once Sensei and Zabuza are healed, we will go wipe Gato and his cronies of the face of the planet. Then we will all return to Konoha." He said simply. The rest of his team just looked at him as if he was crazy. "Naruto. Do you honestly expect the Hokage to agree to let two missing-nin from Kiri join Konoha?" Sasuke asked. Naruto just shrugged and said "I''ll handle it, and even if it backfires it''s my head, not yours. So just let me handle it." Sakura and Sasuke just grunted and went back to doing what they were doing. "Alright, I''m going to go to sleep. Haku, Zabuza, I''ll get you two bedrolls and you can sleep somewhere in the room I''m staying in. and we can all talk tomorrow once we have all calmed down." With this, he got up and walked off towards his room with Zabuza and Haku following behind him.

 23 Taking out the Trash *The Wave Finale*

    I never was the best at talking, or even thinking, but what I was good at was having thick skin, and being shameless. "Sensei, usually I would accept your explanation on why its a bad idea to bring two wanted missing ninja from a different village that have killed other ninjas from our village and also nearly killed you, but I practice a religion that forbids me from doing something that goes against my own interests." Kakashi was truly at a loss for words, he had been trying to convince Naruto for the last 30 minutes to give this up, but he had never imagined that he would take after his father that much, being a shameless bastard that is. ''Ah, it seems like just yesterday when Minato-sensei baffled us with bullshit and his amazingness day in and day out.'' Bringing himself out of his reminiscing, Kakashi stood up and just walked out while throwing words behind him. "I''ll try to convince Hokage-sama when we return to the village, for now, let''s all go back to training."


    The group that had grown by two soon reached the forest, while Sakura helped Sasuke with his tree climbing, Naruto took council with Kakashi, Zabuza, and Haku. "I need help refining my own personal combat potential. I''ve got the body and even chakra for stronger abilities and techniques, but I only have 1 jutsu, 1 technique, and a bit of self-taught Taijutsu that is below even academy level. I don''t even know what kind of weapon I want to use." Zabuza was one of the first to comment. "You have a similar height and body build to me, I would recommend long and or heavy weapons, maybe a long sword or a staff or spear." Kakashi spoke up next "I have a few jutsu''s that might work for you, but I would need to test your chakra affinity." Kakashi said holding out a brown piece of paper he pulled from thin air. Haku spoke up a bit after Kakashi "I could also share some knowledge on medical knowledge and pressure points." She said a bit dispirited, she was still depressed that Naruto had used her, knowing who she was and still acting like that too me... so shameless!


    Naruto thanked them all as he asked Kakashi to test his affinity, he assumed it would be wind since it was the same in the show, but things had a bit different from Canon already and he didn''t know just how it would turn out. Kakashi held out the paper "Make sure to only send a small amount into it."


    Naruto nodded and held it in his fingers as he gently sent a bit of his red chakra into it, which surprised the three nin ''Red chakra....?'' they all thought it was strange, but what happened next made their jaws drop. When Naruto sent in his chakra, the paper split in four parts ''Wind'' they all thought, but they could never has anticipated it when one part caught on fire the other wrinkled up the third turned to dust and the final became soggy. Naruto and all the other three were silent for a few moments before Naruto jumped up and down silently holding in a squeal of delight. ''I AM A GOD'' his resolve finally broke as he began laughing happily as he fell to the ground.


    Over there shock Kakashi and Haku raised a smile. Despite acting so mature, he really is just a child. Zabuza was more stunned than anything, had he just jumped onto a boat with the next god of shinobi? He wasn''t sure, but what he did know, was that he wasn''t going to jump back into the cold water since there was such a warm fire to sit next to. Kakashi was thinking to himself ''I can finally reached the Chidori to someone.'' Zabuza was thinking of teaching ''Hiding in the Mist'' and some other of his water jutsu. And Haku...would teach him Chakra points...


    Once Naruto was done with his outburst, he quickly came back to reality and told the three present, "I want to learn these jutsu. Shunshin, and Hiding in the mist, can you guys do that for me?" Kakashi sighed in relief ''at least they are easy'' "Alright, Shunshin is easy, just use the tiger seal and you should get it on your first try" he said and Natuo, as expected, he did and Naruto appeared next to Kakashi and sent a kick towards the copy nin who used his own Shunshin to appear behind Naruto and chop the back of his head. "Gotta be quicker than that." He said with an eyesmile. Zabuza was the next to demonstrate as he began ''Ox, snake, ram'' and then blew mist out of his mouth until the area was covered with a thick fog. After waiting for the fog to clear, Naruto then attempted it, also getting it on the first try, and using the already present water and also blowing it, he made a fog thicker than Zabuza, he then combined the fog with shunshin and managed to touch Kakashi this time. Kakashi found it something worthy to praise "Being able to send chakra to the Hidden mist and use shunshin at the same time is impressive." He commented with an eyesmile. "Now, I shouldn''t neglect the other two, why don''t you practice with Zabuza and Haku in Taijutsu?" He looking at Zabuza who just grunted, Kakashi took this as a yes and walked off to the other two to give tips on tree climbing and chakra control.


    The practice with Zabuza was backbreaking, even when Naruto used his Yang armor and Yin sword, which surprised Zabuza, he only managed to land one scratch on his arm. This training in Taijutsu and then genjutsu, which Naruto had no talent in but could break even better genjutsu easily, continued for another four days. Which had proved notable improvement in Naruto''s Taijutsu and Sasuke''s chakra control, Sakura, was still useless.


    Today was the day that would have been, the showdown between the two ninja teams, but instead, they were both standing on the bridge, minues Haku, who was guarding Tsunami and Inari, I remembered his name now. The group was sitting around while talking, Sasuke asking for extra training, Sakura getting shot down by Sasuke, and Naruto having a light spar with Zabuza, who had seemed to have mellowed out after being around the group for a few days. While they were waiting Kakashi and Zabuza both stood up straight after feeling unrestrained bloodlust from the fog near the bridge. The rest of the group stood to see an army of about 70 thugs with Gato in the front. Naruto had a flash in his mind of the fat man when he kicked Haku''s dead body in the show, He had grown to have a good friendship with her these past few days and he felt obligated to take out these scum. "Sensei, Zabuza, I want to fight them, alone." Zabuza''s reaction was to nod approvingly and Kakashi''s was agree, but on the term they would interfere if it got bad, he could use some practical training after all. Sending thanks to the two, Naruto threw a "Hide the two kids, they don''t want to see this" behind him he walked out in front of the army. Kakashi had to take a minute to deduce Naruto''s words, when he realised that Naruto was most likely going to use the Kyuubi''s power since he had seen that Red chakra, realising this he asked the two genin to guard the builders and covertly asked Zabuza to form a mist obscuring their sight.


    Once in front of the army, Naruto''s blood started pumping faster. He could of sworn he heard in his mind ''Kill them! Rend them limb from limb! They dare to stand before you, show them your majesty!'' He didnt think the voices were out of place at the moment, he was too excited. He wanted blood, He wanted death that was all he could think of as his pupils shrun into slits and the pupils turned yellow, two red fox ears sprouted on his head, a tail even pushed its way from out under his shirt. His teeth became longer and his nails on his hands sharpened to a tip. This was his true form after he was changed, he had gone to calling this form his ''Vastayan'' form taking inspiration from the Runeterran races.


    He bent his body forward a bit as he suddenly shunshin''d in front of Gato, he didn''t waste time or exchange greetings before yanking him forward and used his claws to sever the tendons in his arms in legs, immobilizing him and leaving him for later. One done with the pudgy bastard, he made a leap that for a normal human would be impossible onto a nearby thug and plunged his claws into the man''s neck, ripping it open and spraying himself with blood. He slowly stood and turned to the rest of the army, his eyes seemed to glow brighter as his face was covered with blood, making him seem like a yellowed eyed demon, which he was. He spoke to them in a voice not his as he fell deeper into the blood lust. "I will not be caught killing you puny mortals unfairly, as such, I will only kill one of you at a time. TRY NOT TO DIE TOO QUICKLY!" He said in a deep commanding voice that brought a few thugs to their knees in primal fear, even Kakashi and Zabuza were affected and had a cold sweat going. Zabuza turned to Kakashi and slowly asked "Is that...Really Naruto?" Kakashi looked to Zabuza and back to Naruto "I don''t know, but I hope it is..."


    The battle, if it could be called that, took around thirty minutes. Naruto, as the fight went on, sunk more and more into his battle lust as he seemed to enter into an instinctual frenzy as he ripped out throats with his teeth or ripped off their faces with his claws and once all of them were dead, he slowly sauntered over to the crying form of Gato who had longed since pissed his pants. As he stood over him, Gato started screaming off in a terrified voice "M-m-m-m-money! I''ll give you money! dont kill me, please! I can make you RIch- AGHAH!" Naruto didn''t wait for him to finish wailing as he stabs him right under his rib cage with his claws, and then pulled them out and a few centimeters down stabbed again, until his fat stomach was opened up with his entrails hanging out at his eyes opened with terror on his dead face. Naruto then walked past his body towards Kakashi and Zabuza before his body quickly reverted to his human form as he fell flat on his face, unconscious.