Prologue: Death of a Hero

Minato Namikaze threw a kunai at the teleporting bastard. The space time jutsu the man was using pissed him off. The fact that the man had released the Kyuubi no Kitsune upon his village and used the mangekyo sharingan to make it attack pissed him off more. That in order to release the Kyuubi, the man had killed his pregnant wife, Kushina Uzumaki, made him see red. His only consolation was that he had driven the man away while the medics did everything in their power to save his newborn son, Naruto. He gathered a swirling ball of chakra into his hand and disappeared in a yellow flash of light that disoriented his opponent for a moment as he instantly traversed the distance between them and shoved the rasengan into the Uchiha's side. This time, Minato, the fourth hokage of Konoha, the yellow flash, had been fast enough. The Uchiha had phased his body too slowly and the rasengan had torn away a large section of the black cloak with red clouds that he wore. “I think I've kept you long enough,” the Uchiha chuckled as a massive explosion came from the direction of the city. His side was covered in bloody bruises and a rib jutted out through his skin. “Don't keep the Kyuubi waiting too long, Hokage-sama!” The title was pronounced with a distinct lack of reverence and a good helping of sarcasm as the Uchiha disappeared in a swirling vortex. Only when he was sure the man was gone did Minato turn to see what was happening to his beloved ninja village hidden in the leaves. The nine-tailed demon fox had breached the gates and was slowly making its way into the town. A giant toad appeared and a massive barrier temporarily halted the demon's progress. His sensei was holding the monster back, for now, but it had already unleashed a devastating level of damage upon the village. He had always known this was a possibility. Childbirth would disrupt the flow of chakra to the seal and weaken it. This was the reason that Minato had taken his wife outside the city when she had gone into labor. In a flash of light, he was at his wife's side. He knew what he had to do, and he was ready to do it to save the people of the village, but he had to know. She lay on the cold stone ground, unmoving. Kneeling down, he traced a hand along her cheek and found it to be cold and lifeless. He stomach was split vertically, revealing an empty uterus and severed umbilical cord. Turning, he saw the two medics, both dead. His heart sank, he wondered if perhaps the man had beaten him here, just to take his child away before he even got a chance to see it. No, there was a faint mewling cry for attention. Next to one of the medics was a cloth wrapped bundle. He picked it up gingerly and say the baby's scrunched up face. It – Minato flicked the blanket back to check the gender – he was obviously unhappy about not having any attention. He turned to the bodies of the medics. Their wounds had stopped bleeding a long time ago, but Minato knew that with their skill, they could have easily saved each other, but instead chose to save his son. “Thank you,” he bowed to the remains of the two medics, “No one else will get the chance to hear what you have done for me, but I will remember it for the rest of my life... Even if that is not a long time,” he looked sadly down upon his son and said, “I will be leaving you soon, and I am sorry for what will happen because of what I am about to do, but I cannot ask anyone else to do this. I cannot ask one of the villages to make a sacrifice that I would not make myself. You have your mothers blood running through your veins, and with any luck, her blood line as well, so you are the only one I can trust with this mission, my son, Naruto Uzumaki.” Minato stroked the child's face where scars like whiskers stood out like great red gashes. “Perhaps, you will one day pay that fox back for these. You lived with him for nine months before you were born, and now, he will be yours, your parents' legacy.” He gave a bark of laughter before tears began to trickle down his face and he used the hiraishin to teleport to Jiraiya. “Minato, you're back. What happened?” Jiraiya of the Sannin asked before launching a fireball into the stream of oil that the toad boss Gamabunta had spat at the Kyuubi. “An Uchiha. He had the mangekyo,” Minato said, “Gamabunta, can you hold the fox for thirty seconds?” “You're pushing it kid,” Gamabunta grunted and launched himself into the Kyuubi as Minato began to perform a series of hand seals. “You can't be serious, Minato, this jutsu will kill you,” Jiraiya said as he recognized the jutsu. “Jiraiya, your godson's name is Naruto Uzumaki. Make sure the village treats him like a hero.” Minato's hand signs stopped and a ghostly figure appeared behind him, even if only he and the Kyuubi could see it. “Fuuin Jutsu: Shiki Fuujin!” Minato laid a hand upon Naruto's stomach and a sealing array spread out across the boy's stomach and spread across his body until there was little skin not covered in the marks. Then, as quickly as it appeared, the sealing array shrank and compressed until only a circle covering almost his entire stomach retained them as the Kyuubi was sucked into his stomach. The marks glowed an angry red for a moment before Minato collapsed as his soul was torn from his body. Half a second after the collapse, Jiraiya slammed his own hand into Minato's body, applying a preservation seal. Moments later, the third hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, arrived on the scene. Jiraiya picked up the child who was crying. “I bet that fox is making quite a ruckus in there right now.” “Is that...” Sarutobi trailed off. There was no mistaking the vibrant blue eyes and the wisps of golden hair. “This is Minato's son, Naruto Uzumaki.” The third hokage sighed, “I suppose my retirement is finished.”

Chapter 1: Many Unhappy Returns

The seals on Minato's body began to fade. His eyes cracked open and he glanced around. Even that small amount of effort wearied him. It was like his body was consuming every ounce of chakra it could generate. He felt weak and his eyes were blinded by the darkness of the room. He was cold and his back ached from the smooth hard surface he was lying on. His eyes adjusted and he slowly became aware of where he was. He had only been here once on the day he had taken office. It was an SS ranked secret that the bodies of famous ninja were preserved in a marble vault deep below the hokage's office. He could see a blank slab to his left before two others which contained two other dead hokages. He groaned in pain as he sat up, but he knew he wasn't dead. There was no way that being dead could hurt this much. It took a minute for his knees to stop shaking when he stood up, but then he stumbled to the spiral staircase which he began to climb. Minato reached the top of the staircase after only three short breaks to rest. Pressing a secret latch caused the blank marble wall ahead of him to spring open and he tumbled into his office. Staggering forward, he collapsed into his chair and that was when he noticed something was wrong. It was not the massive piles of paperwork – no, those he had yet to discover a method of properly dealing with – it was the picture of Hiruzen Sarutobi and his son Asuma in the spot that he distinctly remembered putting a picture of Kushina. Glancing at the calendar, his heart almost stopped. It had been five years since he had sealed the Kyuubi, expecting to die. He wondered briefly how he had survived, but supposed that the last fraction of his soul had been sealed within his body when Jiraiya had placed the preservation seal which had kept him from starving or decomposing as he had lay in a death-like state. He chuckled to think that his sensei's teammate would kill to have luck like that. He glanced around some more and saw another picture of a young boy with a bright smile and bright blond hair. He could tell at once that this was his son, he would recognize those whisker marks anywhere. It made him happy to think that Hiruzen had taken care of his boy while he was indisposed. There was a half-empty mug on the desk and Minato grabbed it, downing the bitter and cold coffee in a single gulp. The preservation seal had never been meant to be used on a living body and had required more energy than the ambient chakra in the air to keep him going and he supposed that it had used its own energy until it had crumbled, awakening him. He checked the drawers of the desk. He found a copy of his sensei's perverted book, and it was a new volume – he had only seen the first and the one he had found was already on volume four of a new series. After some more rummaging, he came across some ration bars and gulped them down hungrily. Minato could feel some of his strength returning already. He wished that he could have some of Kushina's home cooking right now, however, he knew he mustn't dwell on it. He could grieve later, after he had seen his son. Minato headed out, but only went a few blocks before sneaking into ANBU headquarters. He knew that everyone must think him dead right now and it wouldn't be right to cause a panic. He activated the touton jutsu that Jiraiya had taught him and his body shimmered out of existence. He was surprised at how much chakra the below D ranked jutsu seemed to use. The one jutsu had completely exhausted him. He crept quietly into the weapons vault, avoiding patrols. It was a little known fact that the animals on the masks could not be chosen at random. Whenever an ANBU retired or died, if they had a particularly distinguished service record, their mask would be locked in the sealed vault. For less impressive members of the group, their masks were returned to circulation. Minato drew blood by biting his thumb and swiped it across the entrance to the sealed vault. It opened for him. The masks in this vault were only returned to circulation in three cases: if the user returned to service, if the user's apprentice joined, or if the child of the user joined. Minato found his mask right where he had left it. It hung on a hook with a standard set of ANBU equipment as well as a single three pronged kunai to use with his hiraishin technique. Minato slipped into the standard issue ANBU bodysuit and strapped the armor to his body. He slung the katana sheath over his shoulder and attached the tool pouch to his thigh. When he thought he had everything secure, he drew the sword and examined himself in the reflection. He was shocked by his discovery. His once bright locks of hair had paled almost to a white, and his brilliant blue eyes to an icy gray. His skin had lost its healthy tan and had become sickly pale. He looked like he had one foot in the grave, well frankly it looked more like both feet were in the grave and he was only clinging to life by the tips of his fingers. At least his mask still looked the same. He remembered when he had reinforced it with seals so he could use the beak when delivering a headbutt. The hummingbird had been a particularly fearsome ANBU before he had retired to become a jounin sensei to Kakashi, Obito and Rin. He wondered if his students had survived the Kyuubi attack, or any of the people he knew other than Jiraiya and Hiruzen. Fortunately, ANBU service was usually a short career. Most of the ANBU had been academy students the last time the hummingbird mask had graced his face, but since he was dressed in the standard attire and carried himself like he belonged in here, no one paid any attention to him as he headed into the ANBU cafeteria to eat before heading out the front door. He knew he would have to have a stern talk with Sarutobi for allowing this laxness in security to occur in their most secure institutions. Minato made it outside and began to wander the city, hoping to catch a glimpse of his son and introduce himself. It wasn't quite time to tell him everything, the boy would probably need a few days to get used to him before he invited him to live at the Namikaze estate, assuming it was also in one piece. He was quite surprised to see the city gearing up for a festival. There were games and food stands being set up along the main street of the village. The number of different games that included trying to hit a fox as the target gave him a good idea of what the festival was about. Perhaps, he thought, he could use this as an opportunity to show his son how to throw a kunai. He smiled happily behind his mask at the thought. In an instant, his smile had turned into a murderous scowl. He had seen a flash of bright blond hair dash out of an alley, only to be struck by a kunai from a leaf chunin and sent sprawling into the opposite alley which Minato knew to be a dead end. He chucked his three-pronged kunai into the air and used every ounce of his chakra to form a weak rasengan before he disappeared in a flash. -Return of the Hummingbird-

Naruto huddled in his bed when he woke up. He knew what today was; It was his birthday. What was for most children a joyous occasion was for him a day marked with fear. “Wake up, Narutard! It is time for your birthday present,” came the sneering voice of one of the older boys. He did not want to get up. Whatever present they had for him was sure to be something he would not enjoy. He knew because he had four years of experience. On his first birthday, he had been dumped in a trash can that was too tall for him to climb out of. He had been forced to eat the garbage that had been dumped on him, or nothing at all. At the end of that day, he had been taken out and beaten for getting himself so dirty. On his second birthday, the orphanage staff had provided a pinata for the children, in the form of Naruto hogtied and hung from the ceiling. They had given the other children candy; the harder they hit him, the more they got. On his third birthday, they had started a new tradition. Instead of setting up something themselves, they simply offered rewards to the child who made him cry the most. This year would be no different than the past two. His thin, ratty sheet was yanked off of his head and he was left shivering in his one and only set of third-time hand-me-down clothes which had more holes than fabric. He tried to run, but was grabbed by the other children and his hands and feet were tied to the bed posts. “It's time for breakfast birthday boy.” This was the one child that Naruto feared above all the others. He was one of the oldest ones left at the orphanage, and Naruto understood why: no one would want this boy as their son. While most of the orphans were skinny from lack of food, this boy was as big as any other two children put together. He had started a system where the other children had to bring him a part of their meal every night or they would be beaten up. Once Naruto had come around, he had made it his mission to sit beside him every day and take whatever small portion of meat or dessert might have been afforded to him. Naruto had always been too small and weak to do anything about it. “Now open wide,” the boy said as he pulled a large jar out of a box and held it in front of Naruto's face. It was full of beetles and bugs and grubs, things that no one but the most desperate would eat of their own free will. “I do hope that none of them are too poisonous.” The boy laughed cruelly. Naruto tried to resist. He clamped his mouth closed, but then they just started shoving the insects up his nostrils so that he was forced to open his mouth to breathe, then handfuls of them were shoved down his throat. Everyone else laughed while Naruto choked on the disgusting creatures. When the jar was empty, his tormentors were not finished. “I guess all that food made him thirsty,” one said. Then, they took turns peeing on him while he cried for them to stop. “Let's go before the Narutard's stink rubs off on us.” The boys left him, lying in the puddle of piss on his bed. It was hours before he could wriggle free, and by that time, the puddle had become cold and clammy, making him shiver. Naruto snuck out of the orphanage before anything else could happen to him and made his way into the forest at the edge of the populated area of Konoha. Luckily, being an orphanage, they could not afford prime real estate and were only a few blocks away. He did not want to even try to pass through the town today. He had learned that lesson on his third birthday when the Hokage himself had to take him to the hospital and force them to treat his wounds. He made his way to a stream he knew and jumped in, rolling around and allowing the cold water to wash away his defilement the best he could. He could never understand why the adults treated him so much different than the other kids. It wasn't fair. When he felt so numb from the cold that he could no longer move his fingers, Naruto climbed out of the stream and lay on the bank, allowing the sun to dry him off. He still smelled kind of like stale piss, but he knew that he could do no better without some soap. As he lay there, he was startled by a curse as a kunai slammed into the ground inches from his head. Then, Naruto ran for his life; he ran right into the village in the midst of preparing for the Kyuubi Festival. Then, things got worse as drunkards, and even normal civilians joined the chase. Just as he was beginning to hope that he could outlast them, a kunai lodged itself into his back and he was sent sprawling into another alley. To make things worse, this alley had no way out. “Stupid demon, should never have shown your face, now I am going to cut it off,” the chunin said, much the the glee of the crowd that had gathered, blocking all hope of escape. Naruto closed his eyes and waited for the pain to come. And, the pain did come. There was a thunk, and then some screams, but they did not come from him. When he cracked his eyes open, he saw a bloodbath. Not only the chunin, but every person who had cheered for his death had been torn apart. Most were dead of kunai slashing and piercing their bodies, but the chunin was the worst, it was as if his head had been disintegrated and splattered across the alley. There was blood everywhere. The only person left standing was a lone ANBU who was wearing a mask he had never seen before. His hands and mask showed splatters of blood radiating across them. When the ANBU turned towards him, Naruto cringed, thinking that he would be next. He stared in terror as the man reached for him. He closed his eyes in fear once again wondering whether the man was going to strangle him or break his neck. Then he felt arms wrap around him. Perhaps the man intended to squeeze him like a bear until he snapped in half. No, he wasn't doing anything like that. The man was merely holding Naruto tight to his chest. Naruto had seen this happen to other children before, but it was the first time he had experienced it himself. “Naruto, this is going to hurt a bit.” Naruto tensed. He knew it had been too good to be true. The man had just been lulling him into a false sense of security. Once again, it was not what he had expected. The man merely plucked the kunai from the back of his shoulder and dropped it onto the ground, then took some bandages out of his leg pouch to wrap the wound. “There, that's better. Now, let's get you home.” “No... Please, don't take me back there today,” Naruto whimpered. “Naruto, where have you been living until now?” Naruto heard an edge of anger in the man's voice and this tone usually meant that he was going to get hurt if he didn't obey. “The orphanage,” he replied. “Naruto, when I say I am taking you home, I mean our home. You are never going to an orphanage again if I have anything to say about it. I will not let another person do these cruel things to you.” Naruto was scared. Usually when people were nice to him, it was a trick.

Chapter 2: Living Arrangements

There was a flash of light in the street, but no one really paid attention. The civilians knew that this sort of thing was a ninja matter, and hadn't a ninja just been where the flash had come from? For some of them, they viewed the flash with nostalgia, surely it was only a flash grenade or a specialized shunshin but it vaguely reminded them of the fourth hokage's hiraishin technique. For Minato, the effect was much more immediately concerning. He had felt the pull of the seal as it moved, and with a fancy application of chakra, the world split for a fraction of a second as he was in two places at once before the sub-dimensional rift stabilized, creating a burst of photons as it collapsed behind him. His eyes fell immediately upon the chunin whose kunai was raised above the cowering Naruto's head. Minato did not even pause to think about his actions as he slammed his partially formed rasengan into the man's face, slamming him down into the ground where his face was shredded by the grinding chakra, collapsing the man's skull and liquifying his brain. He was suddenly feeling very drained, but he could not let that slow him down when his son was in danger. Since his chakra reserves were running on less than fumes, he grabbed a kunai from his pouch, he decapitated two men and sliced the neck of the third, sending fountains of blood across the alley. He moved with speeds that the remaining civilians could not even hope to see, since that was the strength of his taijutsu. The hummingbird style was of Minato's own creation. It had incredible power and speed, but lacked precision, which meant that the aftermath of his matches were sprays of blood as he literally dis-armed his opponents the hard way. In seconds it was over and only two living beings were left in the alley. He turned to face his son, his steps shuffling from exhaustion and his vision blurring. He could not believe that such a light exertion could take so much out of him. He took a tentative step towards Naruto, reaching for him, longing to hold his son for the second time. It seemed like yesterday to him that Naruto had been a fresh babe, still wet from the birthing. Now, he was an abused young boy who had grown without the love that should rightfully be due to him. Minato stumbled, falling to a knee, but that was okay. He wrapped his arms around Naruto, carefully avoiding the protruding Kunai as he pulled the boy into his chest. He knew he had to do something about that, and he feared for what would happen if he took Naruto to the hospital. “This is going to hurt a bit,” Minato said, cringing as he felt Naruto cringe away from him in fear. With a quick, deft movement, Minato pulled the kunai out without causing any additional damage. His ANBU field kit included a roll of bandages which he wrapped around Naruto's chest under his shirt. “There, that's better,” he told his son reassuringly, “Now, let's get you home.” Minato's anger returned, burning cold in the pit of his belly as he saw Naruto's fear of the words. “No...” the boy begged, “Please, don't take me back there today.” Minato could only imagine the terrors the boy had suffered because of what had been sealed inside him, but to be afraid of returning home on his birthday was too wrong. If at no other time in the year, this was the one day that Naruto should celebrate, but instead the day seemed to be his idea of a nightmare. “Naruto,” Minato Namikaze ground out, trying to sound happy but failing, “where have you been living until now?” “The orphanage,” he replied meekly, and by this reply, Minato knew that Naruto thought he was mad at him. “Naruto, when I say I am taking you home, I mean our home. You are never going to an orphanage again if I have anything to say about it. I will not let another person do these cruel things to you.” Minato was unsurprised when Naruto seemed to take no comfort at the words. People had probably tried to lead him into any number of traps with promises of freedom from his suffering. “Before that though, I think you should go talk to the Hokage. You know he is a good man, right?” Naruto nodded. “He doesn't hate you or hurt you, does he?” Naruto shook his head. “Good. Then take this,” Minato said, handing his three-pronged hiraishin kunai to Naruto, “If anyone tries to hurt you, then throw this at them. If it is at all possible, then I will help you, but I am not feeling too well right now and don't know how useful I would be, so don't use it unless you really need it.” Naruto took the Kunai without saying anything, looking puzzled and still wary. “When you see the Hokage, tell him this, 'The humming bird has awoken after the long night. It has left its nest to see the great tree in bloom, but the nectar of its flowers is bitter.' Can you remember that?” It took several tries before Naruto could remember the message and Minato had almost begun to wonder about head injuries Naruto may have received as a baby. In the end, Naruto could parrot back the phrase “There is no need to hide anything that happened here. You won't get into trouble. But, if the third hokage doesn't believe you at first, just show him the kunai I gave you. That will definitely convince him.” With that last piece of advice, Naruto ran off towards the Hokage tower.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Hiruzen Sarutobi could only sigh wearily as the dog-masked ANBU reported that he had been only three hours late for duty, but Naruto had been nowhere to be found. If the man were not one of the few he could trust to protect Naruto, he would have had him sent back to the academy for the tardiness, especially on this day. Then, his worries were calmed as he heard Naruto's voice. “Let me past, ugly bitch, I need to see the old man!” The tenaciousness of the boy never ceased to amuse him and he chuckled at the nickname his secretary had acquired. She definitely deserved it, but she was very good at her job. “Hokage-dono is in a meeting and is not to be disturbed,” the woman's voice was cold and professional. “Kakashi,” the third hokage said, “Please let your charge in and try not to lose him again.” “As you wish, Hokage-sama,” the silver-haired, one-eyed man opened the door just as Naruto was rushing headlong towards it in hopes of bypassing the secretary. Having expected to hit the door and barrel through it, Naruto was not expecting to meet no resistance at all. With nothing to stop his forward charge, his balance shifted much too far forward and he stumbled. He windmilled his arms in an attempt to right himself, but it was too little and too late. He went flying forward and slammed face-first into the heavy wooden desk. “Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!” Naruto rolled around on the floor, clutching his head in pain as the adults smirked at his clumsiness. Then, realizing that he was in fact inside the office of the hokage, he stopped and turned to the office's owner and began to babble at an almost incoherent rate. “The other boys tied me to my bed and made me eat bugs and peed on me and when I got out and cleaned up in the stream in the forest I took a nap but a chunin found me and threw kunai at me while he chased me and then a whole bunch of people were chasing me and then the chunin hit me with a kunai and I fell and he was about to kill me when an ANBU appeared and killed all the people chasing me and he said he wouldn't let anyone hurt me and he said to tell you that the hummingbird woke up after a long night and left his nest to see the great three blooming but that the nectar was sour and to show you this.” Naruto pulled out the kunai that the man had had given him and held it up, gasping for breath. “Minato-sensei!” The dog-masked ANBU gasped when he saw the three-pronged kunai. Hiruzen Sarutobi remained silent, his blood chilled at the thought of what his dead successor would think if he knew how the village had treated his son. “Naruto,” the Hokage said, “wait here for me, Kakashi, follow me.” With that, he opened the hidden door to the spiral marble staircase. Naruto sat on a couch that resided at the side of the office and lay down, examining the the kunai he held with great interest.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Minato had been sitting in the filth of the alley for several minutes, but his stamina had not returned at all. Even if he had achieved minor chakra exhaustion, he should have had enough energy to move on his own. Still, not an ounce of chakra had returned, and if that was truly the case he would never be strong enough to succeed in any drawn out battle let alone return to his position as the fourth hokage. The best he could hope for would be to protect Naruto in his times of greatest need until his son was strong enough to protect himself with his own strength. But, even for that meager goal, he would need chakra. Minato guiltily thought of one way to accomplish this. While he always intended to train Naruto and help him become a powerful ninja, now he was thinking that the first technique he would need to teach the boy was the chakra battery which could be used to transfer chakra from one person to another, though half was wasted as the donor's chakra had to convert itself to be compatible with the receiver's. Maybe the legendary healer Tsunade of the Sannin might be able to restore his ability to create chakra, if she could be found. Until then, he had only one option. He reached into his ninja tool pouch and pulled out a small brown pill which he popped into his mouth. The results were less than impressive. Considering the extreme stamina and chakra reserves that he had held within him before fighting the Kyuubi, he should have had the equivalent of a high jounin's level of chakra added to his reserves. However, he had only received, at most, as much as a mid-level genin. If he was lucky, he might be able to perform a single rasengan before he collapsed from exhaustion. But, at least it was enough to get him mobile again. He traveled across town towards the location of the Namikaze compound. Well, compound was a bit of a stretch. It had been a nice house with plenty of room for him, Kushina, and a child with a decent yard for him to play and train in. But, when he arrived, there was no trace of his house. Instead, what had once been a nice neighborhood was now a slum with towering apartment buildings for the lower class peoples in Konoha. As Minato stared at the location that was once his house, he wondered for a moment what had happened to the rest of his possessions. His next stop was the ninja bank. It was still, thankfully, in one piece and just as prosperous as when he had left. He got in line behind a bear masked ANBU and, after ten minutes of tedious waiting, was greeted by the smiling face of a young female bank teller. “How may we help you today?” she asked with a smile. “I have been in a long term coma and have recently woken. Could you please get me a list of account activities for the past five years?” “Sir, your account will have entered an inactive status if it has been that long since you accessed it.” “Please reactivate it then. I believe I left a blood sample for identification of myself, or should I die, any biological heir. But, considering that my son has been living in an orphanage, I doubt that he even knew that there was money here that he could have had access to.” Silently, he added to himself, 'Not that the bank would have allowed him access if what I have seen of his treatment is as widespread as I fear.' “Very well, it might take an hour or two to complete the tests and gather the records.” The woman reached below the counter and retrieved a think piece of chakra laced paper. “If you would please write down your account number and add a drop of blood to this sheet, I will get to your request immediately.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

“It's true,” Sarutobi said worriedly. “How can this be possible. He was dead. You checked him yourself,” Kakashi Hatake said ominously. “Something must have happened during the sealing. Minato was the only one to ever use this jutsu, so we can't be too sure of the effects or if something did not go as expected. For all we know, he could have annoyed the shinigami to the point that he sent the man back just to be rid of him.” Despite his pondering, Sarutobi could think of no truly reasonable explanations. Even the forbidden edo tensei jutsu would not affect the original body and there was no indication of anyone breaking into this chamber which was known only by the hokage, and now the ANBU captain Kakashi Hatake. “Then, why didn't he come to us first? I was his student, and you are the hokage.” Kakashi asked, feeling slightly betrayed. “Maybe, something is wrong, or maybe he just doesn't want people to know he's back until he is ready. How many people would know the meaning of that riddle Naruto repeated? How many people knew that Hummingbird was the fourth hokage?” “My team knew, but only his commander and you were ever told his true identity and that man died during the Kyuubi attack.” “Kakashi, do you know who Naruto's parents are? Surely you've seen the resemblance.” “I thought he was just an orphan whose parents died during the Kyuubi attack.” Kakashi's stomach felt like a lead weight in his gut. “You can't see it, can you? Or, is it that you won't see it?” “See what?” Kakashi asked nervously. “Naruto's parent's identities are an S-class secret. His mother was Kushina Uzumaki, the survivor of Whirlpool, and the previous host to the Kyuubi.” Kakashi's breath paused in suspense. It was so obvious that he couldn't believe he had not seen it before. The brat was just like his mother. He had her fire and spirit. He had her love for ramen. He had her burden as well. But, if Kushina was his mother, then he could only come to one conclusion. “Minato-sensei was his father...” He said under his breath, but the old man still heard him. It all made sense when he thought of it. The endless stamina and fierce resolve and, most of all, his shining golden locks and piercing blue eyes were a mirror of his father's. He suddenly felt extremely guilty for not doing anything before to relieve the young boy's hellhole of a life. At the very least, he could have given the kid some food when he was hungry, or given him a safe place to stay. He wondered what his teacher would think of him now. He was fairly sure that he would soon find out. “Kakashi, as of now, you're retired from ANBU and will be returning to jounin status,” Sarutobi said. “But...” Kakashi wondered if this was his punishment for being late again. “Until he is ready to reveal himself, I want you to follow Naruto and pass messages between Minato and me. You are not to reveal who he is, not even to Naruto unless his father tells him first. I have already arranged a new home for Naruto. It is not big or fancy, but it should not draw too much attention.”

-Return of the Hummingbird-

The teller returned in flushed embarrassment not long after going on the search for records. “I am terribly sorry sir, but there seems to be a mistake and I cannot access your account.” “My blood matched the blood on file, didn't it?” Minato asked. “It did,” the woman confirmed. “Then, what reason could there possibly be to withhold my money from me?” He unleashed a small sliver of killing intent and everyone turned to listen. The girl trembled as she spoke, “We were informed that you died in the Kyuubi attack and that you had no relatives to inherit the money, so your funds were appropriated by the bank in order to cover reconstruction costs.” The shinobi, hearing this proclamation immediately began clamoring to close their accounts and have their money removed to their own safe keeping. Many of the higher level ninja had no family and the ANBU were often temporarily declared dead or rogue when on the most secret of assignments which could even last for years. To make it worse, to hear that upon proof of identity they would not be able to retrieve their money after such a mission made them question the validity and standing of the bank. Their funds management would be safer hidden in their mattress than in this den of thieves. It would not be long before every shinobi heard about this outrageous treatment. Eventually, the bank manager entered the chaos and immediately demanded to know the reason behind the commotion. “Please calm down, everyone. I assure you that your money is safe and is not going to be appropriated unjustly. We have procedures to follow in this situation. We will, of course, examine the financial records of the account in question and restore the appropriated money with interest for any delay, treating it like any loan that we would give out. We just need to work out a payment plan with out dear friend Hummingbird here, then we will of course return his money at the earliest possible convenience.” While the manager's words calmed the crowd somewhat, many had already decided that it would be best to diversify, after all, the civilian banks provided better interest rates, though at the cost of lower security. “Thank you for your assistance, I assume you will be taking care of this personally.” Minato grinned triumphantly behind his mask. “Of course, I could do no less for a valued customer such as yourself.” “And, miss, I would also like to have my son added to the account as soon as it is restored. You are able to handle that?” Minato offered up the kunai which had been lodged in Naruto's back. The blood was still fresh. “Of course. We are more than happy to serve all your needs.” The woman took the Kunai and headed off to start the procedure before her boss realized how much of he bad publicity was her fault. “Please follow me to my office and I will make sure that this little misunderstanding is taken care of.”

Chapter 3: Strong Fiscal Policy

“Naruto, did you make plans to meet with Hummingbird after coming here?” The question stumped Naruto. He was sure the man said that he had wanted Naruto to come home with him, which Naruto now thought meant that the man wanted to adopt him. The problem was that the masked man had never mentioned where he lived, what his name was, or anything else personally identifiable beyond the riddle he'd repeated to the Hokage. “Hmm... No, he didn't tell me where he lived or anything. He said he would take me home so I wouldn't have to go back to the orphanage, but he didn't say where.” “Naruto, Hummingbird has not been around the village for five years and probably didn't know that his home doesn't exist anymore.” Sarutobi informed Naruto, causing the boy to be suddenly stricken with fear to such a degree that Sarutobi considered having Kakashi investigate the orphanage for child abuse, even if the council would never let him close it down if the only offenses were against Naruto. “I am not going back to the orphanage!” Naruto insisted, “I'll sleep in the forest if I have to. Or, maybe I can find a nice cave.” “That won't be necessary, I have arranged for an apartment for the two of you to stay in. It is not very big, but with a little cleaning it should be a comfortable place for you both to stay. I'm going to send a good friend of Hummingbird with you and a squad of ANBU to clear up the dead bodies. If he doesn't show up, he will show you where the apartment is and you can get settled in until you find Hummingbird again.” Naruto nodded in acknowledgment, “Sure, old man. It's about time I got a new place. The orphanage was totally cramping my style.” He smiled brightly, ecstatic about moving out of the hellish place he had called home that morning. “I suppose... that it is my turn to introduce myself.” Kakashi announced lazily as he entered the room. He passed his dog mask to the hokage and crouched down in front on the blond boy. “My name is Kakashi Hatake. I'll be hanging out with you and Hummingbird a lot, so I hope we can be good friends.” He smiled in a friendly manner to reduce the nervousness the boy might have at meeting a new person, though the gesture was mostly hidden by his face mask and his hitai-ate which covered one of his eyes. The only indication of the smile was the genial arc of his one visible eye. Naruto looked at Kakashi for a minute, then brazenly asked, “Yo, cyclops, what's up with your eye?” Kakashi resisted the urge to smack the kid for being rude and instead ruffled his hair roughly, causing Naruto to squirm in discomfort. “A small altercation with some Iwa shinobi got a little out of hand. Would you like a personal demonstration?” The smile never left Kakashi's face as he pulled out a kunai, so fast that Naruto did not even see it, and began tapping the flat of the blade against Naruto's nose. Naruto was seriously considering throwing the kunai he had received. “No, I'll take your word on it.” Naruto squirmed out from Kakashi's hand and hid behind the leg of the hokage. It would have been funny to the adults had they not known that this instinct had saved the boy's life on more than one occasion. “Well, here are the keys to your new apartment. Hummingbird will have to get a copy made or share with you. The address is written on the tag so that you can ask for directions if you get lost.” “Thanks, Jii-san.” Naruto took the keys and held on to them since his pockets were filled more with holes than anything else. “Well, it's time to go then.” Before Naruto could say anything else, he was flying up into the air with a surprised squeal before landing lightly straddled behind Kakashi's head. “Hold on tight.” Kakashi then leapt out the window, much to Naruto's fear and delight.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

“Well, sir, as you can see, our records indicate that you had a good deal of money saved up. Not a fortune, but enough that it will take a week or two to find the money.” “I know how much money I had,” Minato sighed. After waiting for twenty minutes, the bank manager had felt obligated to bore him with a ryo by ryo accounting of every coin that had left his possession. “We already established that my account will be refunded. Why don't we discuss the payment plan?” “Of course, but until the payments begin, you will probably be a little short on cash. A short term loan could be beneficial to you.” Minato sighed. This was draining him worse than the fighting. All he wanted to do was find Naruto and learn about the last five years of his life. “Let me make this simple. You 'borrowed' two- hundred and ninety thousand ryo from me. At five percent interest compounded monthly, as are your own rates, you currently owe me three hundred and seventy two thousand ryo give or take a few hundred. So, if you pay out fifteen hundred bi-weekly, we should be even in about thirteen years. I'll be back for my first payment tomorrow. I am sure you'll have it all set up by then.” Minato stood up, preparing to leave. “Wait!” The bank manager was busy typing numbers into a mechanical adding machine to verify the numbers Minato had given and found them to be more or less accurate. “There is no way that you could calculate that in your head.” The bank manager was now glaring at him suspiciously. “You can't be any good at seals without decent math skills,” Minato explained irritably. “And, if you were Jiraiya of the Sannin, I might believe that excuse, but you are just some no- name ANBU who thinks he can bully the Shinobi Bank. We will not stand for-” He was silenced by a kunai resting against his throat. “Under the Economic Charter signed into law by the second hokage, I will hereby execute you for treason against Konoha, grand theft, and extortion. Do you have anything to say before you pay for your crimes?” “What I meant to say was that we will happily agree to these arrangements and look forward to your continued patronage.” With that, Minato thanked the man and stepped out, glad that the Bank Manager was so incompetent. After all, the law he had threatened the man with did not exist. While there were legal remedies, fear and public perception could be much more powerful when dealing with someone who cared only for money. Even if they had chosen the legal resolution, there were more lawyers than ninja in Konoha, and the bank manager could afford the best. Now, he only wanted to find Naruto and take him... camping until he got a new place.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Naruto examined the alleyway carefully. It was amazing how fast and how thoroughly it had been cleaned up. There was no trace of the massacre that had occurred just an hour before. It was like it had never even happened. The man in the dog mask was watching him as he scuttled around looking for the evidence of what he knew had been here. “You won't find anything,” Kakashi told him, “My ANBU are very good at their jobs.” “It's impossible!” Naruto complained, “There's no way this could be cleaned up so fast!” “I never said it was all cleaned up.” Kakashi said enigmatically, looking at things that Naruto could not see. Naruto sighed. Waiting was boring. There was nothing to do but wait, and they'd been doing that for at least five minutes now. He glanced over at Kakashi who seemed to be busy reading some orange book. He began moving slowly towards the mouth of the alley. Perhaps he could find one of the people who usually insulted him and pull some sort of revenge prank while waiting. If nothing else, the ensuing chase would keep him occupied for a few minutes. “Don't even think about it,” Kakashi said without looking up from his book. “Think about what?” Naruto asked, looking away and scuffing the ground with his foot. “I've watched over you plenty of times. I know how you think. If you're that bored, then try and hit me. I'm warning you, though, you're not going to even have a chance if you don't come at me with the intent to kill.” “You're not so great. Just you watch and I'll show you why I am going to be hokage one day!” With that, Naruto charged forward. Half way to Kakashi, he slipped on something and fell to the ground, crying out as he hit the pavement. “Hey! No fair, you tripped me!” Kakashi sighed, “I haven't even moved. But I will admit that I was wrong.” Naruto raised his fist angrily and was about to shout at Kakashi when he noticed that his arm was covered in blood. Then he noticed that it wasn't just his arm, but half his body was dripping with thick red blood. Then he screamed, just as Hummingbird arrived. Before Kakashi could blink, he had a kunai at his throat. “Give me one good reason that I shouldn't kill you where you stand.” “Because it's not his blood,” Kakashi replied, calmly putting his book back in the pocket of his vest. “It's not?” Naruto asked, instantly quieting his scream. “No, you slipped in a pool of blood. After everyone goes home for the night, a squad will remove the genjutsu on the area and clear the alley with some low power suiton jutsus.” Naruto wiped the blood from his hands onto his pants. “Eww...” Rubbing it just spread the blood around. “So, Kakashi-kun, I suppose Sarutobi sent you to be my messenger pigeon?” Hummingbird asked. “I prefer the term bodyguard, or at least assistant. Until this afternoon, I was the ANBU captain,” Kakashi sighed. “I don't suppose we could crash with you tonight. It seems my old house no longer exists, and I won't have access to any money until tomorrow.” “No need!” Naruto grinned triumphantly, “I got us covered. “After the incidents at the orphanage, Hokage-sama decided it might be safer for Naruto to live on his own than at the orphanage.” “Which orphanage exactly?” Minato asked, twirling his kunai nonchalantly in his hand. “One that you're never going to learn the name of for the sake of the kids still living there,” Kakashi said, knowing that giving away the location would likely end up with several orphanage workers dead. “Well I guess we should go see this apartment then. Besides someone needs a bath.”

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Finding the apartment had been easy; It was right where his old house had been. It wasn't very classy, and there wasn't much room, but it was furnished and the appliances worked fairly well with a few adjustments - like fixing the knife shaped hole in the gas line. Minato expected that the owner of the building was hoping to get rid of the 'demon brat' and get some nice insurance money out of the bargain as well. He was definitely going to have a brief chat with the owner the instant he met the man. For now, he was alone with Kakashi and had a very sensitive issue to discuss. “Kakashi, you wouldn't happen to know the chakra battery jutsu, would you?” “I do, though I am not very good at it. I didn't copy it from the best medic nin in the world.” “Then I have to ask you to practice... a lot. I may be needing the jutsu every day.” “Why not just use soldier pills?” “When I woke up, I was running on fumes. After a hiraishin, and a half-formed rasengan, I was just about to collapse, so I used an extra-strength ANBU soldier pill. It only restored a weak genin-level amount of chakra and that has quickly been disappearing. My body doesn't seem to be able to generate chakra anymore, and I doubt that anyone short of Tsunade would have a chance of fixing me.” “That's probably not going to happen anytime soon. She hasn't been back to the village since the night you died,” Kakashi explained. “Well, let's see if the technique will actually work better than the solder pill.” He knew that the chakra battery had just as much chance of causing harmful side-effects as relying on soldier pills did, though he hoped that alternating them until he could find out what was really wrong with him would at least let him remain capable of helping Naruto. Kakashi performed some hand signs and his hands began to radiate blue chakra. He placed his hands on Minato's chest and allowed the waves of chakra to enter the other man's system, but it was not working very well. It was as if his chakra circulatory system just wasn't flowing at all. After a few minutes of forcing chakra into his teacher's system, Kakashi had to stop. “If I do any more, I'll be the one needing a chakra boost,” Kakashi said, collapsing onto the uncomfortably lumpy couch. “Well, you beat the soldier pill. If I am careful, and don't get into any fights, I should be able to last a couple weeks with this.” “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause so much trouble,” Naruto said, surprising Kakashi and Minato who hadn't even noticed him return from the shower. “You're still all wet, and naked,” Minato pointed out awkwardly as Kakashi turned his head away. “I can't find any towels and my clothes are still covered in blood,” Naruto stated as if the adults were stupid for not knowing. “Well, this is awkward,” Kakashi said after a minute. “Do you think you can get him something to wear? Even a shirt of yours would be plenty big enough. I'll wash it and give it back tomorrow after I get some money and go shopping,” Minato requested. “It will take me a minute. I don't have the chakra to shunshin at the moment.” “Thank you. I'll just talk to Naruto while we wait. I still have my requests to the Third to detail after this.” Kakashi nodded and left. “So, Naruto, do you have any questions for me?” Naruto sat pondering silently for only a moment before answering, “You've done a lot for me already. I don't want to bother you.” His eyes squeezed shut tightly for a moment before looking up at the hummingbird mask. “Naruto, did people hurt you because you asked questions?” Minato's finger stroked his kunai pouch, causing Naruto to drop to the floor and cover his head. “Naruto!” Minato leapt across the room towards his son to comfort him, but Naruto shied away. “I didn't get anything I didn't deserve. I'm just an orphan. I was stupid enough not to have parents so I'm stupid enough not to have answers,” Naruto began to mumble over and over. This mantra usually kept the beatings short. “You are not an orphan, Naruto, not anymore. You have me now, you have a father.” Minato gently gathered the poor kid to himself and held him. He just looked too pitiful, naked, shivering and crying in fear. Minato swore to himself that he would find the people responsible for causing this and beat some morals into them. “I told you already, I am not going to let anyone hurt you if I can stop it, and I can stop it.” Naruto soon calmed down, but didn't make a move to leave his fathers arms. Kakashi returned with a towel, some blankets, and a large blue shirt which was more than big enough to act as a nightgown for Naruto. “Is this a permanent assignment, or just for tonight?” Minato asked Kakashi. “Until you're ready to reveal your identity to the village. Take as long as you need though, I bet you wouldn't mind some help training the little guy,” Kakashi offered. “About that... Is Tsunade still... around?” “She's still alive, if that's what you mean. She hasn't been back to the village since that night, she refuses to come back for anything.” “Tell the old man to recall her. In my condition I am not even fit to help with his paperwork. I can't reveal myself until I get better or Naruto becomes strong enough to take on the Iwa assassins that would surely be sent if they knew who we really were.”

-Return of the Hummingbird-

The next day, Minato left Kakashi in charge of Naruto and returned to the bank, asking to meet with the manager. The man's elegant suit did not make his disgruntled glare any more inviting when Minato entered the office. “Do you have my first payment ready?” Minato asked, ignoring the steely gaze of the man. “Which law was it exactly, the one you intended to execute me for breaking?” The man pressed his fingers together and leveled his gaze at the hummingbird mask sitting at the opposite side of his desk. “Grand theft? Failing to execute the will of the deceased ninja?” Minato suggested, knowing that the man had tried to look up the law overnight. “The first of which results in a prison term, and the second of which results in a fine if convicted, which my lawyers assure I would not be.” “And, avoiding lawyers is precisely the reason that I avoided real laws in the first place. As a Nara would say, they are just too troublesome,” Minato sighed, “But what you fail to understand is that you did not steal from an individual. You stole funds that rightfully belong to a clan. That means, that you are not eligible for public justice under the Clan Rights act passed by the first Hokage. You would be judged and sentenced by the clan's justice. Since there are now only two surviving members of the clan and one is a minor, that means that I am your judge, jury and executioner if need be. I was hoping I did not have to bring this up, because I don't want people to know I am back yet and it gives away too much information about me.” “Two members. Does that mean you will be invoking the clan restoration clause?” The man asked with a greedy glint in his eyes. “I loved my wife. If I find love again I may consider remarriage, but I am not the kind of man who would consider something as political or perverted as what you are considering. If my son chooses to invoke the clause when he comes of age, that is his own choice.” The bank manager sighed this time. Clans received many benefits under the law, and getting a family member married into a clan was a very good connection to have. The clan restoration clause allowed a clan with less than eight members to allow one of their members to take additional wives in order to raise more children and create political alliances. These marriages occasionally occurred without the consent of the woman to be wed, which often caused some tension between the clan and the normal civilians of the village. To his knowledge, none of the resident clans had ever taken advantage of the clause, using it instead as an enticement to acquire new bloodlines from other villages. “So, do you have the first payment? I will take that one in cash. Further payments can be made into my account until the debt has been paid and I shall access it as a normal customer.” “How can I be sure you're from a clan if you don't reveal your identity.” “Ask the Hokage. I am sure he will back up my claims when you tell him it was Hummingbird. Or, you can ask the son of the White Fang. He also knows of my identity.” “Or I could ask a Hyuuga to look past your mask for me,” the bank manager countered stubbornly. “And what Hyuuga could you convince to commit treason against the village. They may be stuck up assholes, but they are loyal.” “How could revealing an identity be treason? You could be a spy, or an assassin or just using a jutsu to claim you are owed money.” “If I am a spy, what if I am spying for the Hokage and my identity is an important part of my duties? Perhaps I was on a mission which the village cannot be associated without causing a war. Perhaps my identity relates to some village secret so classified that speaking of it to the wrong person could result in your execution. Perhaps it is another reason. I am not going to tell you, but I will say that the Hokage will back me, and standing in my way is not smart.” “Here's your money,” the bank manager grumbled, taking a stack of bills from his drawer, “But know this, if the hokage does not back your story, you will be killed.” Minato took the money, “Thank you. I hope we do not have any more problems.”

Chapter 4: Play Dates

Minato grumbled to himself as he walked the streets. The bank manager had been way too troublesome. If only his chakra was working properly, then Minato would have hopped right back into the Hokage seat and things would have run smoothly. He stopped at a shinobi supply store that he used to frequent. This would completely blow his cover, but he had trusted the owner of the shop. He walked in and saw a familiar face working the cash while a little girl who seemed to be about Naruto's age sat on the counter swinging around a bamboo sword. He sighed in relief knowing that his old friend was still in charge. “Hello, I'd like to make a special order,” Minato said with a nod to the man behind the counter. “Of course, though you know that any custom equipment will come at an additional fee.” The man had burly arms, as expected of a weapon smith. He had dark brown hair that was tied back with a bandana, and a full, but smartly trimmed beard. He lay a beefy palm on his daughter's head. “We'd be happy to help you with anything you need.” “What I need most is secrecy,” Minato said seriously, “Hokage's or Kakashi's ears only.” “Sounds like a big order.” “Nothing you haven't done before. I need thirty custom kunai, type thirty-seven with inscribed handles. I am sure you know what I am talking about.” The smith's eyes widened, then he said, “Just let me-” The next moment, he was over the counter with a sword in hand. “Get you to explain why I shouldn't kill you where you stand.” “Because I'd give you a matching scar on your right knee,” Minato replied. “You sneaky bastard, you're supposed to be dead!” The smith exclaimed. “Yeah, about that, I got a bit better.” Minato laughed and scratched the back of his head. “They're not for me though. After being dead for five years, I'm not exactly in fighting condition. I'm going to start training my boy, and with any luck he'll have the move down before he gets chunin. Speaking of which, I'll need some training kunai and shuriken, some paper, sealing ink, brushes, and the kid will need some new clothes as well.” “ I guess he wasn't doing too well for himself with you out of the picture,” the smith said, wiping his hands on his greasy leather apron. “No, but growing up as an orphan, you can't expect much, even if he is my kid. Speaking of kids I'm responsible for, you have any idea what happened to the kid I sealed the Kyuubi into?” Minato asked slyly. “No, but I've heard he has it pretty rough. An ANBU came in the other day complaining that it was the third time this week he had to save the kid from a drunken villager. Heard some nasty stories from other shop keepers as well. They say he's a thief and causes trouble. I don't know myself, I've never met the kid. Store is shinobi only, so he would never have gotten past the door, regardless of who he was.” “Think your girl would object to hanging out with him at my place, or having him over here. I bet she already knows how to throw a kunai or two.” “Why don't you show him sweetie?” The smith asked. The girl smirked as she dropped the bamboo sword and hopped off the counter. She dug through the barrels of standard ninja supplies and came back with some kunai, shuriken and senbon. She stood in the middle of the floor and threw them each, one at a time, at the target marks on the back wall. Only one of the senbon missed. Every other projectile hit the target, with more than half hitting the red bulls- eye. “What's your name?” Minato asked the girl. The girl ran to hide behind her father. “This, here, is Tenten Hagane. I suspect shell live up to her name in a few months, she's more of a nine out of ten girl right now.” The elder Hagane chuckled at his own joke. “So the so-called demon child is your offspring huh?” “There's nothing demonic about him, except the way he's treated. Frankly, it makes me ashamed to have saved this village. You know what happened to him yesterday? He was attacked by a chunin of the leaf for sleeping out in the forest, chased through town by a mob and stabbed with a Kunai before I could save him. What kind of monsters can do that to a five year old boy?” “The kind that can't tell the difference between a kunai and the scroll it is sealed in.” “You know, I wish there were more people as open-minded as you, Kurogane-san,” Minato sighed, “Maybe my boy would have had an easier time of it.” “I know he will now with you looking out for him.” “One more thing...” Minato put the last of his purchases on the counter. “Anything for an old friend.” “I might need to pay in installments. Coming back from the dead caused a few issues at the bank.” “Perhaps we can work something out, if you would be willing to take Tenten on Wednesday and Friday evenings. On Saturday mornings, he can come over here, and I'll help him along with weapons training. Tenten could use a sparring partner her own size.” “Well, if you're doing the kenjutsu, I'll do taijutsu on Wednesdays and fuuinjutsu on Fridays. And, maybe I can con Kakashi into doing ninjutsu staining once they learn to control chakra. And now that we have that worked out, I'd also like some chakra weights.” “You know how expensive those are. I am not sure I could part with a set of those even for you without cash up front.” Kurogane Hagane said, “But I do have a set of standard weights that should do the trick if you're willing to do the seal work yourself. Padded leather straps, reinforced with steel wire for strength. Comes with arms legs and vest. Arms come with five five pound bars, and legs come with seven. Vest is not adjustable at forty-five pounds. I wouldn't give him the vest until he can wear the arms at full weight.” “I'll keep that in mind, though if he's anything like his mother...” “If he's anything like his mother, you'd better start begging Ichiraku to give you a discount now, before Naruto gets old enough to really eat.” Minato shuddered at the horror. If Kurogane was right, then he needed to negotiate a faster settlement with the bank or learn to make the stuff himself.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

“No, you need your legs at shoulder width in that stance to give you a proper balance and stability for when you punch.” Kakashi had no idea how to deal with kids, so he stuck to what he knew. Good fundamentals, after all, would help the kid a great deal. Naruto was surprisingly obedient. He listened and learned quickly. He was already able to perform the first of the katas for the basic academy taijutsu, and they had only been working on it for an hour. Kakashi had never even raised his voice once, which was troubling him. The kid hadn't even complained about him reading while he watched over the training. “Good. Now keep doing that until you can take the stances perfectly without thinking about them.” Kakashi was surprised at how much he one word of praise brightened the boy's face. It was as if it was the first time he'd been praised for anything. Then, the door opened and a massive killer intent flooded the room. “Kakashi-kun. What are you reading in front of my son?” Kakashi stowed the book in his pocket. “Was that one of Jiraiya-sensei's perverted books?” Minato asked. “Did you manage to find some decent clothes for Naruto?” Kakashi asked, changing the subject abruptly for his own safety. “Yeah, the Hagane's are still running the best ninja supply store in town. He even agreed to help Naruto with his kenjutsu if we help his daughter in the other aspects of her training.” “We?” Kakashi asked, not liking where this was headed. “Yes, we. Or is there something you'd rather be reading?” “Of course not. I am more than happy to help with training. I even taught Naruto the first set for the academy taijutsu. I assume you'll be teaching him your own style once he masters the basics.” “Of course, my son is going to be the best ninja in the world!” Minato boasted, “He's really focused isn't he.” “And very obedient. You should have seen how happy he looked when I said he did the stance good,” Kakashi remarked.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Naruto was nervous. His new father had brought him to a weapons shop and headed around back where a burly man was helping a young girl to throw kunai correctly. While he felt comfortable enough around Hummingbird now, and Kakashi, this was a new and scary looking man. He had tried playing with other children before and the adults with them had always yelled and hit him and told him to stay away from their children. “Kurogane-san!” Hummingbird greeted, getting the man's attention. “Good morning, Hummingbird!” the man replied jovially, “Why don't you come over and say hello, young man.” Naruto twisted his little hands into the bottom edge of his new back shirt which had an orange- red swirl on the chest and back. After a moment of nervous fiddling, and a gentle shove from Hummingbird, Naruto stumbled forward until he stood in front of the young girl, or at least the half of her that wasn't hiding behind her father. “Hi,” he said. There was a few moments of awkward silence as the two children just looked at each other. “My names Naruto. What's yours?” “Tenten,” the girl replied simply, but made no move to approach him. The adults watched, smirking as the two children stood nervously. Eventually, the shuffling and fidgeting ended as Naruto got bored and picked up one of the discarded training kunai, examining the dull blade. He had had plenty of experiences with kunai, none of them pleasant. But, he wanted to be a strong ninja like Hummingbird, which meant that he needed to learn to do more than just catch them with his body. He threw the weapon and it flew through the air – for about five feet before it landed point-first in the grass. “You're doing it wrong,” the young girl pointed out, “You are supposed to hold it like this.” She demonstrated the proper method of holding and throwing, hitting the wooden target dummy in the chest.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

“Any word on Tsunade?” Minato asked. It had been close to six months since the Hokage sent a team in search of the medic. “No, the team returned with no leads, and I doubt anyone short of Jiraiya will be able to track her down, and he only shows his face once or twice a year at most,” Kakashi replied as they sat watching the children. After Tenten had begun training with them, word had gotten around that Kakashi had been doing pre-academy training for children. Many parents had come to see, and most of them left after seeing the primary student, but some had stayed. Shibi Aburame had naturally seen it as logical to both get the children used to his son's colony and to increase his abilities at the same time. With that, two children had become three. The elder Aburame hadn't even bothered asking Kakashi to babysit, he had just showed up one day and dropped Shino off. That had been rather awkward for Kakashi. The week after that, Shikaku Nara had shown up with Shikamaru and thanked Kakashi for volunteering. The next week, Chouza Akimichi had arrived with Chouji and were followed soon after by Inoichi and Ino Yamanaka. This began the trouble. While Shikaku was too lazy to care, and Chouza really had no problem with the boy, Inoichi was very protective of his daughter. “What is the demon boy doing here?” Inoichi had asked, “I don't want Ino getting involved with troublemakers.” “What demon boy?” Kakashi had asked, feigning ignorance, “I only ever volunteered to train the Uzumaki boy and the Hagane girl. If other people want to take advantage of my kindness they should be happy to tolerate my real pupils.” “You know whats inside him,” Inoichi continued to argue, not noticing the masked man who had appeared behind him. “The genes of his mother and I and nothing else worth mentioning.” Minato pressed a kunai to Inoichi's throat. “You aren't the type to attack and spread rumors about innocent children are you?” “I've heard stories about him. I just wanted to make sure my little girl is safe,” Inoichi replied defensively. “Then be at ease, she is as safe with my son as she would be with any other six year old boy. If I were you, I'd be more worried about the Aburame boy. I have seen what happens if their hives get too agitated.” The parents of other children had taken one look at Naruto and then taken their children straight home. One man was stupid enough to try and throw a rock at Naruto to chase him away. Minato had caught it and thrown it back, breaking the man's arm. News about that incident had gotten around quickly and the next week, only Tsume Inuzuka had shown up unexpectedly with her son Kiba. She had praised Hummingbird for protecting the pups from the asshole, and entrusted Kiba to his care. The children quickly spilled the beans about their other training and all seven children were showing up at all of the thrice weekly training sessions. Today, Kakashi had devised a game for them to play. All the children were to find a leaf and attach it to their forehead with chakra. Then, they were to try and steal the leaves attached to the other children's foreheads. They were to continue this until they were too tired to keep a leaf attached to their head or until it was time for lunch, which Chouji's mother had taken to providing for the group. Kakashi had quickly learned that games like this kept the children focused on training, since not all of them enjoyed it as much as Naruto. The children's results were fairly similar, except for Naruto. Most of them could get one to attach now, but they would often fall off and they would have to stop and reattach them. Naruto, however, could not seem to get the exercise right since he had so much chakra. If he was distracted, even for a moment, the leaf would either shred itself under the pressure, fall off, or shoot off like a shuriken, leading to several close calls and the creation of his first original jutsu. Naruto was also wearing the weights all the time. He put them on in the morning and took them off at night. Neither Kakashi nor Minato actually knew how much he was wearing anymore. Since the boy had learned to manipulate chakra, he had been setting the weights himself. In the morning, he would set them to be heavy enough that he had a little trouble moving, but after running around all day, he would be moving as if he was not wearing any weights at all. He never ran out of stamina either. One day, Kakashi had joked that they should invite Maito Gai to train the kid. Minato had shot down the idea immediately.

Chapter 5: For the Love of Ramen

“Dad?” The seven year old Naruto snuggled up to his father on the couch. He was a lot more self confident now that he had been now that he was protected from attacks. But, even with his new found confidence, he was very affectionate with those he was close to. He liked hugs and snuggling and receiving a lot of attention. This new attitude was much thanks to Kakashi's constant use of the chakra battery on Minato, he now had almost full chakra reserves and Kakashi now had a much larger pool of chakra to use and Minato did not have to worry about using a shunshin or two every once in a while and was easily capable of handling anything the villagers would try. “What is it, Naruto?” The masked man replied. “Do you know who my real parents are?” “I've told you before, I am your real father,” Minato replied. “Then why won't you tell me your name, or about mom?” “You know how I am sick, and I need Kakashi to help me with my chakra every day right?” Minato asked, receiving a nod from from his boy, “I have many enemies who think I am dead. If they knew I was alive and that I was your father, they would come to kill both of us and I wouldn't be strong enough to stop them,” Minato explained. “But, why can't you tell me?” Naruto asked, “I wouldn't tell anyone.” “Wouldn't you? Even if people were teasing you about how you were an orphan and you knew I was a super-famous and unbelievably awesome ninja and that they would all think you were the greatest person in the world because you were my son?” “Maybe...” Naruto mumbled, knowing that if this was true he would probably just run through the streets shouting it to everyone and rubbing it in their faces, or maybe even paint it across the Hokage monument. “Will you ever tell me who you are?” “If Tsunade returns some day and fixes me, and you become a chunin, then I'll tell you. Or, if you become a jounin who is strong enough to take on a squad of ANBU without getting a single scratch. Until then, I am just Dad or Hummingbird.” “You promise that you'll tell me then?” Naruto asked. “I promise, for now, why don't I tell you a little about your mother?” Minato pulled a small, faded picture out of his wallet. It showed a red-haired woman standing next to a younger version of Kakashi, another boy, and an Inuzuka. “This woman here is your mother. Her name is Kushina Uzumaki. She was born in the village hidden in the swirling tides, Uzushiogakure, which used to be in the the Land of Whirlpools.” “What do you mean by 'used to be'?” Naruto asked, “How did they move a whole village?” “They didn't,” Minato explained solemnly, “Uzushiogakure was known for its people's long lives and their skills in fuuinjutsu. In the second great ninja war, their skills were so feared that Iwagakure and Kumogakure combined forces to destroy the village. Of the few survivors of the massacre, only one survived the war and that was your mother, and that was because she had already been brought to Konoha to help us with something.” “Why would Konoha need help from another village? I thought we were the strongest village.” “We are, but that doesn't mean that we are the best at everything. For this task, your mother's bloodline made her better suited to the task than anyone in Konoha. And, because the first hokage's wife was also an Uzumaki and the Senju clan was always close to the Uzumaki clan, we've always had good relations with Uzushio. So, if anyone tells you that you are unimportant because you were an orphan for a while, you can tell them that you're related to the first hokage.” Naruto smiled happily. It would be nice to shove that in the face of the stuck up Hyuuga clan or Uchiha clan. “Now, where was I. Yes, so I knew Kushina since we were in the Academy. We used to call her Tomato because her face would turn all red hen she got mad and with her hairstyle back then, she looked just like one. She was also called the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero because she had such a hot temper. “When we were young, she never really paid attention to me, but I always loved looking at her red hair. I tried to ask her out, but she always thought I was too much of a wimp.” “There's no way she could think that! You're so strong, even while you're sick, that no one's been able to attack me in like forever!” Naruto exclaimed a little too loudly, making Minato cover his ears. “Well, girls are weird, and they don't always see things he same way guys do,” Minato explained. He still didn't understand half the things women did, even with a sensei like the legendary pervert Jiraiya. Naruto agreed wholeheartedly, especially when it came to cool things like bugs. Tenten wasn't so bad, but Ino would always scream when one of Shino's bugs got in her hair. One time, Naruto had got Shino to cover him in bugs and he had chased after Ino until she started crying. It was funny until he learned what a spanking was. Shino had also gotten a lecture on how dangerous it was to use his chakra-eating kikaichu in such numbers on a person who was not in tune with the hive. “I eventually showed her how great I was. One day, she was captured by Kumo nin. I was sent out as part of the team who was supposed to rescue her. While we searched, I find a trail of red hair and I knew it belonged to her, but my squad leader was an idiot and didn't believe me. I took off on my own, following the trail until I found them. I beat the Kumo nin and saved your mother. When I told her that I found her because of how much I loved her hair, she became my girlfriend.” “What happened to the two of you?” Naruto asked, “Why weren't you here before?” “You were born the night the Kyuubi attacked,” Minato explained, “Some things happened that night that I won't explain until you become a genin, but your mother died that night and people thought I was dead as well, but I was really just very sick and needed a long time to get better.” “Okay, dad, I forgive you already. I know you would have been there for me if you could.” Naruto gave his dad a reassuring hug. “I'm just glad you're here now.” A heavy knock and some muttering came from the door. Minato got up and used the peephole and saw a face with red lines painted below the eyes, a wild mane of white hair, and a hitai-ate with the kanji for oil. He opened the door and beckoned the older man to enter, closing the door behind. “So why did you need me exactly. The Hokage said that it was urgent.” The older man turned to Hummingbird again just in time to be stuck on the nose by a fast flying fist. “Hey, dad, who's the old guy?” Naruto asked, looking down on the man. “Naruto, meet Jiraiya of the Sannin, my sensei, and your godfather, the man who was supposed to take care of you if anything happened to me,” Minato said icily, “If we didn't need him to find Tsunade, I'd kill him for abandoning you like that.” “Min-mmph?” Jiraiya's utterance was cut off by Minato's hand. “The name is hummingbird, at least until Naruto can take care of himself, understood?” Minato asked. Jiraiya nodded and the hand was removed. “How are you alive?” “I don't know, but I think I have your quick seal work to thank for that. You know the preservation seal was never meant to be used on a living person, but I think it is what prevented me from dying. The real question is, where have you been for the last seven years, and why wasn't Naruto there with you?” “I was tracking down some dangerous criminals, which included Orochimaru and a certain masked man. I couldn't take a kid with me, and the orphanage was taking care of him.” “And, the ninja of the village were just so concerned about his poor upbringing that they decided to donate their kunai pointy end first?” Minato asked sarcastically, “You were his godfather, you should have found someone, anyone, to look after him even if you had to take him to another village to make him safe. At the very least, you could have checked in on his birthday. You can't tell me that Konoha's greatest spymaster doesn't even know what goes on in his own village.” “So I messed up. It's not like I did nothing. I sent extremely generous donations to the orphanage to make sure that he got everything he needed.” “The same orphanage that let the bigger children steal his food, beat him for asking questions, and encouraged the other children to be cruel to him on his birthday?” “But the ANBU reports I read said that he was treated well at the orphanage, was safe, and had everything he needed!” Jiraiya protested. “Not according to Kakashi, who was the ANBU captain.” “Hey, isn't that one of the books Kakashi-sensei is always reading?” Naruto asked, taking an orange book from Jiraiya's pocket. “Oh, no you don't.” Minato snatched the book away from Naruto. “What have I told you about these books?” “They're disgusting pieces of perverted filth that should be burned because throwing them out would defile the trash,” Naruto said in a pretentious sounding imitation of his father. “They are not!” Jiraiya hopped to his feet. “My books are works of literary genius.” “You write these books?” Naruto asked. “Of course! Men bow before my works, the knees of women tremble in ecstasy at the sound of my name, one of the mighty sannin of Konohagakure, I am Jiraiya the great toad sage of Mount Myouboku!” Jiraiya posed dramatically. “Okay, I'll call you pervy sage.” Naruto said, causing Jiraiya to collapse out of his pose and land in a dejected heap on the floor. “I never get any respect,” Jiraiya sighed. “And, what exactly have you done to earn it?” Minato asked. “I get it, I'm a useless old ninja, so I guess you really don't need me, so I'll just go off and do some more research.” “I don't think so. I need you to go find Tsunade and bring her back. The whole coming back from the dead thing has caused a few complications that only she has a chance of fixing. I've been back for two years waiting for you or Tsunade to show up. I want to be able to properly protect my son.” “I can look for her, but I can't promise she'll come back,” Jiraiya said. “If she doesn't come back on her own, knock her out and drag her back here. She's a ninja of this village and she has a duty to it.”

-Return of the Hummingbird-

“Why won't this jutsu work?” Naruto asked. He had been trying to get the clone jutsu to work for weeks. The substitution and henge jutsus were easy enough. In fact, his henge was better than most. For some reason his transformations were actually solid, a fact that neither Kakashi nor Minato had been able to explain, though they suspected that it was a case of having so much chakra used that it was actually malleable. “You're putting in way too much chakra,” his father explained, “Genjutsu like the basic clone require precise amounts of chakra and you are using more than a hundred times the amount of chakra needed.” “But I can't use any less,” Naruto whined. “Sensei, it is possible that he may never be able to use a jutsu that requires you to use so little chakra,” Kakashi pointed out, “Maybe we should teach him a different type of clone. I know a few of the elemental clone techniques.” “Or, we could teach him the shadow clone technique. If we used it for his training, imagine how fast he could improve. With his chakra reserves, I bet he could safely make dozens and still have plenty of chakra left over.” “You can't be serious. He starts at the Academy next week and that's a jounin level forbidden technique.” “What's a shadow clone?” Naruto asked. “It's like a normal clone, but it has a few advantages. For one, it is solid, so you can use it to do taijutsu and throw things, but one good hit will dispel it. Secondly, it has a full chakra system, so your clones will be able to do jutsu. Finally, everything the shadow clone learns, you will learn when it dispels, making it the perfect jutsu for getting rid of paperwork, or learning new things if you have the chakra for it,” Minato explained. “That jutsu sounds so cool! I want to learn it!” Naruto exclaimed. “But you have to promise not to teach any of your friends. This is a forbidden jutsu for a reason. If someone with small chakra reserves tries it, they will die from the chakra exhaustion. None of the other children are even close to having enough chakra for it.” “Even with the amount of chakra I have, this is my limit,” Kakashi demonstrated, making four clones, “I've seen the third hokage make five before, nut I have also seen jounin who've collapsed from making just one.” “I want to learn it!” Naruto exclaimed excitedly, hopping from foot to foot in anticipation. “Okay, but when you start going to the academy, I am going to have you leave a clone here and I'll begin to really teach you sealing. With any luck, by the time you reach genin, you're going to have have the basics down enough that you'll be able to make your own paper bombs and sealing scrolls.” “If we're teaching him the shadow clone jutsu, we might as well teach him the rest of the family, the shadow kunai, shadow shuriken, and –” Kakashi was interrupted. “We are not teaching him the exploding shadow clone until he graduates.” “That's probably a good idea,” Kakashi agreed. Even the shadow clones were pushing it since Naruto had become quite bold in the pranks he had begun to pull on people. Just earlier this week, Naruto had covered all of Chouji's snacks with hot sauce because the larger boy had taken the last potato chip. Naruto took to the new jutsu amazingly well. Within an hour, there were hundreds of Naruto clones running around. Some were sparring, others were playing games, and still others were practicing the shadow clone technique themselves, making dozens more clones at a time as they tried to make precise amounts. “We've created a monster,” Kakashi said, watching the chaos. “At least they'll disappear when he goes to sleep,” Minato replied. “We could have every jounin and chunin in the village train him at the same time and there would still be plenty of him left. Are you sure we don't want to get Gai to wear him out a bit?” “No. Knowing my son, he would probably think the green spandex was cool and want an orange version for himself.” Kakashi shuddered at the thought.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

The first day of the academy was both good and bad for Naruto. It was good in that he got to see his friends more often. He hadn't seen Tenten as much for the past year since she had been in the academy while the rest of the group had not been old enough. He was looking forward to seeing her during the breaks. What he didn't like was how half the class treated him badly without even getting to know him. The teachers had also completely ignored his questions when he didn't understand the lessons and he had taken to creating shadow clones which would immediately dispel to send his questions to the clone who stayed with his father and that clone would then do the same thin when he got the answer. This wouldn't be so bad if he hadn't gotten kicked out of class for filling the room with smoke. After lunch, the teachers were suddenly and mysteriously more polite to him. When his clone dispelled, he learned that his father had paid a visit to the academy to have a talk with them. After lunch, things went better since it was physical training in the afternoons. First up had been taijutsu. He had been paired against the Uchiha. Sasuke Uchiha was a smug bastard because he came from a famous clan. In the beginning of the fight, Sasuke was winning because he was much faster than Naruto. “Is that the best a dead last clanless loser can do?” Sasuke had mocked. “I am not clanless. My mother was from the Uzumaki clan, which you should know is related to the first hokage!” Naruto had replied, “And for your information, that is the best I can do, while I am wearing my weights.” “As if you'd be able to touch me my dropping a few pounds,” Sasuke had mocked. Naruto removed his weights. First from his arms, then from his legs. When he dropped them, a pair of craters was made in the hardened dirt of the sparring field. This had gotten the attention of the teacher who had insisted on being the one to spar against an unrestricted Naruto for the Uchiha's safety. “I'm not done yet,” Naruto had said when the teacher had immediately taken a ready stance. He had then proceeded to take off his jacket, revealing the weighted vest. This had also made a large crater on the ground. Then, Naruto took a ready stance opposite the chunin instructor. “Let's go!” “I'll let you make the first attack when you're ready,” the instructor had allowed, not realizing how fast or strong the boy was without the weights. It was over in the blink of an eye. Naruto had raced across the field and thrown one punch into the instructor's gut and the man had flown right over the heads of the surrounding students and landed unconscious when he slammed into a tree. The entire class had been shocked at this display and a substitute had needed to be called in. The instructor had been the laughingstock of the village for weeks after that, after all, who could take a chunin seriously if he got beat up by an academy student on the boy's first day. After the taijutsu lesson was target practice. Naruto, Ino, Chouji, Shino, Kiba, and, when it wasn't too troublesome to throw a kunai, Shikamaru all did well, hitting the targets more than not. Unfortunately, this was one area where the Uchiha had showed them up, bragging that he had been taught by his brother Itachi who was the best ANBU in the village. After the lesson, Naruto had sent a clone into the woods to practice. That clone subsequently created another hundred clones, each of which used his entire supply of kunai before dispelling. He didn't care that he was not the best, but he hoped the Uchiha would not be bragging the next time.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Naruto's second year at the academy went much like the first, including the fact that he had been forbidden to remove his weights during taijutsu training for the safety of the other students. Unfortunately taijutsu was the first thing in the morning and Naruto's ranking dropped from first to dead last because he could barely move. His father had suggested that he just not increase the weights so much every morning, but Naruto refused, insisting that he needed to get stronger in order to be the greatest ninja in the world. After a year of study, Naruto was now beginning to understand seals, and Minato had moved on from teaching him calligraphy to teaching him about the basic sealing scroll and paper bomb, though he was only allowed to experiment creating the first. It was good that he had finally acquired enough information to warrant practical instruction, since the theory and calligraphy were awfully difficult for him to remember. Having mastered the academy taijutsu, Minato had also begun teaching him his own style of taijutsu as well as advanced chakra control like tree walking. On one particular day after classes, Naruto took the scenic route home from the academy, passing through the woods and hoping to catch a glimpse of someone training. What he found was much worse. A girl no older than he was being picked on by a pair of genin boys. The two were tall for heir age and nothing more than bullies picking on her for no reason. After a moment, he realized that the girl was from his class. She usually sat in the back of the classroom and was quiet and dark, not drawing attention to herself, so naturally, Naruto had barely known she had existed. “Hey you bastards, leave her alone!” Naruto, ignoring the two to one odds, jumped between the two genin and the girl. “And, what are you going to do about it pipsqueak?” One of the genin asked, pushing Naruto over with a sudden hard shove. The two laughed. Naruto stared at them incredulously, then started laughing himself. “And what do you think is so funny?” The shorter of the two asked. “You actually think you can beat me,” Naruto laughed. “Well, what's a runt like you going to do? You're just a weak little academy student.” “Remember this,” Naruto said seriously, “My name is Naruto Uzumaki and I am going to be hokage one day. I will protect my precious people and two weaklings like you won't even slow me down!” Naruto pumped his fist in determination, not even noticing the tomato-red blush of the girl behind him who had mistaken his speech as a confession. “If that's what you think, then it is time to put you into your proper place: beneath my feet!” The bully kicked out towards Naruto's face. To his surprise, Naruto tilted his head to avoid the strike then punched the thigh of the standing leg, hitting a nerve cluster. “Even with my weights, you are too slow.” Naruto complained as the boy cried out in pain and toppled backwards, letting the second boy swing a fist at Naruto. Having never faced multiple enemies before, he was unprepared for the attack because he had focused all of his attention on the larger boy. He took the full force of the blow and was knocked to the ground, feeling dizzy and having trouble focusing his eyes. “You'll pay for that, you little bastard!” The larger boy was back up, not having been hit with Naruto's full strength. He was limping as he approached. “Hold him down,” he ordered the smaller boy. As Naruto's head began to clear, the second boy twisted his arms up behind his back so that he couldn't move them without dislocating his shoulders. “Let me go!” Naruto struggled but the genin left him no chance of escape. “Feisty, aren't you. Maybe this will calm you down.” He slammed the heel of his good leg into Naruto's gut, driving the air from his lungs. “Think you're so big? Only takes two of you big strong genning to take an academy student,” Naruto coughed, “But, you're not the only one who can play dirty.” With one foot on Naruto's stomach, the genin's legs were spread apart just enough to leave him wide open and close enough to the ground that when Naruto lifted his leg with all his strength, his foot struck the genin's privates hard enough to lift the boy a foot into the air. The shocked boy blanched and let out a whispering gasp as he flew and was unconscious from the pain before he crumpled to the ground. “Oushi!” The one holding Naruto released him to check on his friend. “Did you forget about something?” Naruto asked, lifting himself into a crouch. The remaining bully drew a kunai. “You'll pay for that!” “Sorry, did I knock out your boyfriend?” Naruto asked, smirking mischievously. This put the genin into a rage and he attacked. Naruto ducked under the kunai, but felt it jam down into his shoulder and slash down his back. It hurt, but he'd felt worse. He brought up his elbow and dashed forward a step, jamming it up into the genin's diaphragm. Naruto followed up with an uppercut that laid the older boy out cold. “Are you okay?” Naruto asked holding out his hand. “Y-yes...” the girl stammered, “I-I'm f-f-fine, Th-thank you.” She took his hand, looking a little shaky and he helped her to her feet. Naruto, feeling the strain on his back, winced in pain. “The kunai!” she exclaimed, realizing that he had been wounded. “T-take off yo-your shirt. I kn-know a li-little about med-medicine.” Naruto did as he was told and Hinata let out a startled squeal when she saw how bad the wound was. “It's not that bad,” Naruto assured her, “I've had much worse.” “Just sit down and let me take care of it. You only got hurt because I was too weak. Byakugan!” The girl's eyes went from having no pupils to having no color at all as veins bulged around them. She frantically spun her head around for a moment, then ran off into the woods. The girl returned a minute later carrying a handful of plants and, using two stones, ground them into a white and green paste which she rubbed into his wound. Naruto flinched when it stung at first, but then it began to feel cool and soothing. By the time she finished, it felt like he wasn't wounded at all. “Wow, this stuff works great. That's amazing,” he grinned before giving the shy girl a surprise hug. The girl blushed even more furiously before all the blood rushing to her head caused her to faint.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Minato returned home from shopping expecting to find Naruto doing homework, training, or raiding the ramen supply. The one thing he certainly did not expect was to find him asleep and cuddled on the couch with a girl he had never met. He gently roused Naruto. “Who's your friend?” Minato asked. “I don't know.” This was not the answer Naruto's father had been expecting. His heart pounded in his chest as he thought that Naruto had accidentally kidnapped some poor girl. He almost had a heart attack when the girl's eyes fluttered open and he realized that she was a main branch Hyuuga and therefore the heir to the clan. “Umm... Where a-am I?” The girl asked, looking at the ANBU mask. Then, noticing the arms wrapped around her, she looked at Naruto, turned bright red, then fainted again. “She did it again, Dad, do you think she's sick?” Naruto asked. Minato laughed, realizing what had happened. The girl, obviously taken with Naruto, had fainted and, rather than leave her outside, Naruto had brought her home. It would probably cause a huge mess with her family when Naruto took her home, but at least he wasn't knocking out random strangers. “So, how did you meet her?” “I was walking home through the woods and I heard some noises. I was hoping to spy on some ninjas training, but I saw two ninjas bullying her. I beat them up, but one of them stabbed me with a kunai, but she made it all better again with a bunch of plants. Then she fell asleep and I took her home. I'm pretty sure she's in my academy class, though I've never really talked to her before,” Naruto explained. “Well, I suppose her family should know what happened to her, they are probably worried about her.” “You know who she is?” Naruto asked. “You should know as well, Naruto, I did teach you about the major clans after all.” “Well, she has the byakugan, so I know she's a Hyuuga,” Naruto reasoned, “But, that's a huge clan; there are hundreds of Hyuuga clan members. How am I supposed to know who her family is?” “Because she doesn't have the caged bird seal. That means she is from the head family, and therefore the daughter of the clan head Hiashi Hyuuga. If you tell any one of the members of the clan that you are taking care of his daughter, I am sure the message will get to him.”

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Hiashi Hyuuga stepped out of the Hokage Tower. The village council meeting had run late because the civilian council could not keep their noses out of ninja business. All their pointless arguments made his head hurt. He was so consumed with his thoughts that he did not notice the young boy running towards him until it was too late. The boy slammed into his chest, knocking him down into the dirt, then seemed to stare at his eyes for several seconds before asking, “You're a Hyuuga, right.” Hiashi nodded, dumbfounded at the audacity of the young man. “Can you tell Hiashi Hyuuga that his daughter will be home late. I found her being picked on by some bullies. I kicked their asses, but she fainted. I'll bring her home when she wakes up, okay?” “Wait!” Hiashi tried to stop the blond and find out what had happened to his daughter, but the boy disappeared in a puff of smoke. “That was the jinchuuriki boy. He already knows the shadow clone jutsu.” He knew the boy was in the same class as his daughter and, considering the strength of the boy when they had collided and his knowledge of the shadow clone jutsu, he wondered just how strong the boy would become. A minute later, he realized that his daughter was in the hands of the demon boy because her escort must not have picked her up from school. He was going to have to teach that chunin what the caged bird seal could do.

-Return of the Hummingbird- Naruto used a kunai to slice the meat and vegetables for dinner. His father had taught him what little he knew of cooking a long time ago to help with his blade work, and he had been helping ever since. There was more to do tonight because the girl would need to be fed as well since she had not woken up yet. Hummingbird was heating up some instant miso broth on the stove. “Umm... C-can I-I help?” The young heiress had awoken while they had been cooking. “Only if you tell me your name,” Minato said, “For now, I am called Hummingbird.” “M-My name is Hi-Hinata Hi-Hyu-Hyuuga.” “It's nice to meet you, Hinata-chan. Why don't you help Naruto with the vegetables. Getting them all cut correctly is excellent training.” It turned out that Hinata was a very good cook. Soon, she was giving Naruto and Minato tips on how to improve the meal and they ended up with a meal tastier than either of the men had ever prepared. “This is awesome, Hinata-chan!” Naruto exclaimed as he wolfed down the meal, “I wish I could eat your food every day.” Hinata blushed furiously. “Umm... I-if you wa-want, I c-can m-make you lu-lunches f-for school.” “Thanks, Hinata, that would be great. Dad's idea of lunch is a ration bar.” Naruto gave his father a deadpan look. Minato just grinned behind his mask. Not only did his son get himself a girlfriend – even if he didn't know it yet – but he had also save him the trouble of making a lunch in the morning. The only downside was that he would have to make a visit to Hiashi Hyuuga to make sure things went smoothly.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Naruto walked Hinata home, with Minato shadowing the pair at a distance. Naruto was holding her hand the entire way because he usually dragged his friends around this way. He was oblivious to how the girl was reacting to the contact. Minato was pretty sure that she was on the verge of fainting several times. When they reached the gates of the Hyuuga compound, Hinata was informed that her father wanted to see her immediately. Naruto could only stand there in shock when Hinata gave him a peck on the cheek before rushing inside. “So, when were you planning on telling me she was your girlfriend?” Minato whispered into Naruto's ear after sneaking upon him. “B-b-but...” Naruto sputtered, “I didn't do anything.” “You saved her, took her home and cared for her, had dinner with her, walked her home hand in hand and starting tomorrow she's making your lunches for you. If you were any further along, you'd be married by now,” Minato teased. “But, it was an accident!” “Are you saying you don't like her?” Minato asked. “No, I never really thought about it.” Now Naruto was the one who was blushing. “You know, when she brings you a lunch tomorrow, everyone in the class is going to know she's your girlfriend, whether you acknowledge it or not. Is there any reason you wouldn't want her as your girlfriend? She's cute, and kind, and is good with herbs – both for medicine and cooking – and not to mention rich, from a good family, and all that stuff too.” “But, I barely know her,” Naruto replied. “Well, since she's your girlfriend, you'll be spending plenty of time getting to know her, won't you. Besides, you did say you wanted to eat her cooking every day, you know that could be considered a marriage proposal.” “But I am only,” Naruto counted on his fingers, “eleven years old!” “That's okay, even as a ninja you wouldn't get married until you're sixteen, for safety reasons. Or is there some reason you don't like her? She does seem to like you an awful lot. If she didn't, she wouldn't blush so hard that she faints when you get too close.” “So, it is my fault she kept fainting?” Naruto asked. “If you consider being too loveable your fault, than yes.” “I guess it wouldn't be too bad having a girlfriend. I could rub it in Sasuke and Kiba's faces.” Naruto grinned. “Then, I'll go talk to her father and set up the engagement.” This time it was Naruto who fainted. Minato grinned, then sighed. No one would accept Naruto Uzumaki the orphan as a consideration for a betrothal contract, which meant that one more person would have to be let in on the secret. He wondered where the hell Jiraiya was with Tsunade. Minato walked up to the Hyuuga gate keepers and requested a meeting with Hiashi. He didn't bother to inform the man that he was not really an ANBU nor here on village business.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Hiashi was not in a good mood. First the civilian council had wasted his time. Then, the blond boy had knocked him down in an undignified fashion. Afterward, he found out the reason Hinata had been alone was because the clan elders had forced her bodyguard to look after Hanabi instead without assigning a new guard. Then, Hinata had returned and had completely ignored his demand for a meeting. He wasn't sure whether to be angry at her for that or be proud that she hadn't started crying at the demand. She had always been too emotional for a Hyuuga. Now, an ANBU was here with the jinchuuriki in his arms and demanding an audience. The Hokage was going to get an earful in the morning if this wasn't important. “Send him in,” Hiashi growled. The gate guard was hasty enough in retreating from his presence not to raise any more of his ire. A few minutes later, Hummingbird entered his private office and sat down without even a bow of the head as the least one would expect towards the head of a prestigious clan. The ANBU sat Naruto on the floor and let the boy's head rest on his lap. Hiashi's eyebrow twitched in irritation at the unprofessional attitude. “Welcome to my home,” Hiashi ground out, trying not to snap at his guest. Hummingbird remained silent and glanced around the office. Just when Hiashi was about to throw the man out, he spoke, “What I have to discuss will include information that is an S-class secret known only to myself, the Hiruzen Sarutobi and Kakashi Hatake. Please activate the sound dampening, vision disrupting and privacy seals, as well as any I have failed to notice to ensure that this conversation remains between us.” “Would you like the boy to remain outside? I can send for a branch member to take care of him while we talk,” Hiashi offered. With a request like this, it really had to be serious. “No. The matter concerns him, and I don't think he will wake up for a few minutes yet. He just had a rather large emotional shock.” Hiashi closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Could there be something wrong with the seal that they needed a Hyuuga to examine? Had the boy gotten himself into some sort of trouble? “I see,” Hiashi said, steeling his nerves. This was going to be big. He pricked his thumb with a silver letter opener and swiped it across a seal on his desk. Symbols glowed across the walls ceiling and floor in a dazzling array before fading and leaving a slight hum of chakra in the air. “Not even a Hyuuga, Uchiha, Inuzuka, Nara, and Yamanaka working together can eavesdrop while these seals are in place.” “Good. Then let's get down to business,” Hummingbird said, “I am here to arrange a betrothal between the boy known as Naruto Uzumaki and the the first daughter of the main family of the Hyuuga clan, Hinata Hyuuga.” Hiashi was stunned. Of all the things he had expected to hear, this was not one of them. He gripped the desk, fighting the urge to juuken the man in the face for this farce. “Get out before I throw you out. I will not hear any of this nonsense.” “No,” the masked man replied with more authority than Hiashi thought he had any right to. “I'm going to file a complaint at the Hokage's office tomorrow. I'll have your ninja license suspended for this disrespectful behavior.” “If you feel the need to complain to the reigning hokage, then speak. I may be on a medical sabbatical, but,” Minato removed his mask, “I still have the authority.” “Byakugan!” Hiashi activated his doujutsu, but the man was not concealing his identity in any way. “I am Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, head of the Namikaze clan and father of Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze,” Minato stated plainly. “You're telling the truth, but, it is impossible. I saw you dead with my own eyes.” He had already forgotten his anger in the midst of his surprise. Minato withdrew one of his hiraishin kunai and slid it across the floor. In the blink of an eye he was across the room, but was back in place supporting Naruto' head before it could hit the floor. “I trust that you will need no more proof to verify my identity.” “No, how is this possible?” Hiashi asked. “When I sealed the Kyuubi into my son,” Minato restored the mask to his face, “I sacrificed my soul with the Shiki Fuuin but, before the payment was completed, Jiraiya placed a preservation seal on me. It was never meant to be used on a living body and I was put into a preserved state for five years. When I woke up, my chakra system was depleted and not regenerating and I found that my son was being treated like trash despite my wishes. I have sent Jiraiya to find Tsunade, but I do not know when he will return.” Hiashi focused his eyes on Minato's body. “I see. I a amazed you are even alive right now. Half your body is not generating or circulating chakra. It is only because the other half is generating so much that it is being forced through the dead coils by the pressure. Anyone else would be dead.” “Well, I don't give up that easily,” Minato laughed, “It takes more that certain death to stop me.” “Let us hope Tsunade returns soon so that you will be able to resume your duties. Even with our advanced knowledge of the chakra system, this is beyond anything we can deal with.” “Thank you for giving me more information about my ailment. I will just have to rely on chakra infusions from Kakashi's chakra battery until then. And, as for the betrothal?” “This is a difficult decision. I know that the Namikaze family was never well off and lost everything in the attack. There is also the negative reputation that the boy has and the possibility that he could be corrupted or release the demon,” Hiashi argued without malice. “But he is the top of his class, and that is despite attempts by the teachers to sabotage him. He is strong, and fast, and I am teaching him my techniques. I am sure that you have hear of his ability to use shadow clones. Any day when he is seen at school, I am teaching one of his shadow clones sealing. He has some practice their marksmanship, jutsu, and chakra control. He will be the strongest ninja the world has ever seen. With hiraishin, shadow clones, and rasengan, who could stand against him, and if he learns to control the fox's chakra on top of that... Can you really say that you won't want that power associated with your clan? He is related to three of the four hokages and the other treats him like a grandson. When he takes over as clan head and receives a seat on the council and when he becomes the next hokage, don't you want your daughter to be the one beside him, whispering advice into his ear, making him forever loyal to the Hyuuga clan?” “You were always good at inspirational speeches, but there is no guarantee of any of those things happening. He could run across Iwa shinobi on his first C-rank mission and get slaughtered,” Hiashi responded. Minato pushed onwards, knowing that Hiashi was close to breaking, “As a bride price, I will design a new caged bird seal. Rather than activating by a seal, it would activate automatically based on the bearer's intentions. Purposefully breaking clan rules would result in pain. Disobeying a direct order from a member of superior rank without a countermanding order from a member superior to the one giving the order, or purposefully disregarding orders would result in debilitating pain. Betraying the clan would result in instant death. It would also seal the Byakugan upon death as the current seal does. It could even be used on main branch members without fearing that it could be used against them.” “You know that I've never approved of the punishment aspect of the seal, and it is a liability if an outsider ever learns of it.” “But, this is not about politics, it is about love and your daughter's happiness. Why don't you let her make the decision?” Minato asked, knowing that his plan had worked. There was no way Hiashi could say no to this request after the arguments he had made, and he knew Hinata would agree. “I'll send for her,” Hiashi sighed, defeated. “Remember, no one is to know my little secret, not even Naruto until I am well or I reveal it to them.” “I understand,” Hiashi said, disabling the privacy seals before sending a branch member to fetch his daughter. Hinata arrived a few minutes later, with a smile still on her face. “You called for me, father?” She glanced over at the sleeping Naruto, a light blush tinting her cheeks. “Yes. I have a very important decision for you to make.” Hiashi reactivated the seals. “This decision will have consequences. If you agree with this choice, your sister will be clan head in your stead.” Hiashi paused dramatically and Hinata was trembling with excitement, “If you choose this choice, we will also stop using the current version of the caged bird seal and apply a new seal to all members of the clan. Hinata, Naruto Uzumaki has asked for your betrothal, will you accept?” “YES!” Hinata quickly covered her mouth, then nodded meekly. Hiashi was astounded at his daughter's enthusiasm. She had not shown such determination since the incident with the Cloud ambassador. Naruto began to stir, the loud exclamation having roused him. “Well, it is only fair that we ask him the same question,” Hiashi said. “Naruto, do you want to be betrothed to Hinata?” Minato asked his son. “Does she know how to make ramen?” Naruto asked. “I-I don't, b-but I wi-will learn,” Hinata said. “Okay,” Naruto agreed, causing both the adults to sigh. “Well, I suppose the proves it, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach,” Minato chuckled. “Personally, I prefer going through the sternum,” Hiashi said as he began to draw up the betrothal contract.

Chapter 6: A Fox and his Vixen

The next day at the academy, Hinata made it a point to sit with Naruto. She held his hand during the lectures, occasionally resting her head on his shoulder, though a few of those times it was because she had fainted. She was determined to get over that problem. Naruto certainly wasn't complaining about the attention. It was nice to have a girl who was fawning over him instead of Sasuke. When Hinata gave him a lunch, it was too much for one of the chunin instructors. He marched over, grabbed the lunch, and flung it across the room where it hit the wall and fell, spilling its contents on the floor. “What do you think you're doing making lunch for this demon child?” Hinata grabbed onto Naruto's arm, trembling. Naruto, seeing her fear, made a hand sign and released the chakra in his weights. “Apologize to Hinata,” Naruto ordered, glaring at the man. “Why should I? Anyone who would be nice to something like you is no more than trash.” For the first time in his life, Naruto felt truly angry. Fear and sorrow were regular feelings for him, but he had never been angry at the villagers. He had just wanted them to accept him. Naruto closed his eyes and took a deep breath to try and calm himself. It didn't work. “You can insult me. You can attack me. You can be a total fucking bastard to me in whatever way you want, but you will leave Hinata alone.” When he opened his eyes, they had turned blood red with slit pupils. He glared at the chunin, releasing killing intent like that which hadn't been felt in over a decade. He wrapped his arms around Hinata protectively, secretly crossing his fingers and forming a shadow clone behind the teacher. “I don't know how you corrupted her, demon, but you will both die today!” He drew a kunai from his weapons pouch and launched himself at the two students. “You first,” Naruto said impassively. His clone attacked the man from behind, punching him in the back of the head. The chunin instructor flew past Naruto and Hinata and through the wall behind them. The clone leapt through the hole that was created and dragged the unconscious chunin away. “It's over now, Hinata-chan,” Naruto said, but Hinata just snuggled into him more. “Do you want to go home?” he asked. She nodded. He made another clone to pick up his lunch, then carried Hinata back towards the Hyuuga compound. She suddenly seemed amazingly light and delicate to him. Half of the way back, the clone caught up to him and dispelled. Naruto sat against a convenient tree and ate with Hinata sitting on his lap. “Y-Y-Y-You sh-sh-sh-shouldn't e-e-eat tha-tha-tha-that, it's be-be-been o-on the f-floor!” Hinata squeaked. “I don't care. You made it for me, so I am going to eat it. Even with the dirt, it is still the best tasting lunch I've had outside of Ichiraku's Ramen.” Hinata smiled at the compliment, and held even tighter to him. In a flash of light, Naruto's father appeared. “Are you two alright?” “Yeah, I released my weights first so he didn't even touch me,” Naruto said. “We need to get Hinata home before Hiashi finds out what happened. He'll be worried if he can't find her,” Minato said. “Yeah, we were already going. How did you know so fast?” Naruto asked. “Rather than working on your seals, your clone jumped out of the window, swearing vengeance on your instructor.” “He deserves whatever he gets for trying to hurt Hinata,” Naruto said, his eyes flashed red for a moment which did not go unnoticed by his father. “Naruto, what did you just do?” “What do you mean?” Naruto asked. “Your eyes changed color. They became red for a second.” “But, my eyes are blue!” Naruto said. “Naruto I want you to imagine someone trying to hurt Hinata again, like they used to hurt you.” The response was almost immediate, Naruto's eyes turned red again. “Now, keep thinking about them hurting her and focus some chakra into your eyes.” Minato instructed, wondering if emotions other than rage could be used to transform Naruto's eyes. A mixture of blue and red chakra coalesced on Naruto's eyes and the pupils became slit and as he added more chakra, the sclera turned black and the irises further transformed to a glowing gold. “Yokogan...” Minato murmured, he had been up close and personal with similar eyes once before. “Do things look any different?” Minato asked. Hinata looked up and into his eyes, watching what was transpiring, her curiosity overwhelming her fear induced trembling. “You and Hinata are glowing red, and so are the bugs, and that rabbit,” Naruto pointed, but Minato couldn't see anything. “Byakugan!” Hinata activated her own doujutsu. “I can barely see it, but there are trees in the way.” “There are three baby rabbits a few feet below it.” Naruto continued. “Look at me, Naruto, and focus on the glow. What does it look like?” “It's flashing, now, now, now, now, now...” Naruto said, “But some parts aren't flashing.” Naruto proceeded to point to every guaranteed kill point on Minato's body. Minato stood up straight and maced back and forth for a moment. “Interesting.” “Those spots are leaving a trail of glow when you move.” “This is interesting. It could be very useful.” “And Hinata has glowing spots that you don't.” “R-really? Where?” Hinata asked. “Well, there's one here...” Naruto felt a strange urge, and instead of pointing to the spot on her neck, he bent his head and ran his tongue over the glow. Hinata gave a low moan, then fainted. “What happened?” Naruto asked. “Well, for one, if you want to live, I recommend not telling Hiashi about the extra spots until after you are married.” Minato wiped a small trickle of blood from his nose. “And, we will have to find out if they only show up for Hinata or whether all girls have the extra spots. I think we are going to also have to have Hinata help with your training. If your learn how to make juuken-style attacks, with your yokogan, a single punch from you would be deadly with or without any strength behind it.” “Well, we don't have time for more experiments,” Minato said, “We have to get to the Hyuuga compound.”

-Return of the Hummingbird-

When the three arrived at the Hyuuga compound, Hiashi was already there and the man almost fainted himself when he saw Naruto carrying Hinata. It wasn't the fact that he was carrying her, it was the gold and black eyes, the elongated fangs and the pointed claws. Those features, combined with his usual smile came together to create a truly frightening visage, especially for someone who had seen the fox attack. “ANBU, three o'clock!” Naruto turned and pointed with a laugh. A man in a bull mask appeared from behind a tree and teleported away with a shunshin, not looking happy about having his camouflage skills defeated by a mere academy student. What really irked Hiashi is that he had been standing there for five minutes and not noticed the ANBU himself. He glanced at the gate guards and they looked as surprised as he was, though being of the Hyuuga clan, only another Hyuuga could tell the subtle difference in their expressions. “What happened?” Hiashi asked. “He tried to attack Hinata, so I kicked his ass and now I have a doujutsu.” Hiashi sighed. The explanation gave him the basic story, but none of the relevant facts that he needed to act. Well, the doujutsu part was interesting, but it could wait. “Who tried to attack my daughter?” “One of the instructors. He was in charge of us during lunch and got all mad when Hinata gave me the lunch she made. He yelled at us, and I told him to leave Hinata alone, but he just got angrier and puled out a kunai. I summoned a clone behind him and smacked him through the wall.” “And, where is he now?” Hiashi asked. Naruto thought for a moment. “I don't know. My clone dragged him off, but he should be gone by now.” Upon hearing this, Minato chopped Naruto on the back of the neck, knocking him unconscious, catching the children in his arms. “If the clone was still out there, that should dispel it.” “Was that really necessary?” Hiashi asked. “When thinking about what the man tried to do to Hinata, Naruto got angry and began releasing red chakra. If he used that chakra to make a clone...” “You don't think...” Even Hiashi's usually stoic features flashed panic at the thought of a Kyuubi clone on the loose. “We should get them inside and lie them down,” Hiashi said with forced calm, “Hopefully the memories of the clone will have returned.” “In the mean time, I was wondering if the Hyuuga had anything like the juuken but focused on destroying organs and muscles instead of attacking chakra points.” “Yes, but it takes a lot more chakra, or a lot more control, to be as effective as a juuken strike. We developed it in case there was ever a member from the main house who never developed the byakugan and yet still wanted to be a ninja. Thankfully, the byakugan is a dominant trait so such a thing has yet to occur.” “Naruto's doujutsu allows him to see and track the vital points, even through solid objects or at distances that exceed the range of Hinata's byakugan.” “I see. But, these are Hyuuga clan jutsu. I can not just give away clan jutsu,” Hiashi said, “Even to my future son in law.” “Then a trade. You teach the kaiten and and other advanced juuken only to the main branch. I was known for two of my personal techniques, one of which would fit well with the Hyuuga style.” “The brutal fist juukouken for the rasengan. There are certain heavy armor techniques that render the juuken less effective, and a technique like the rasengan would be perfect for penetrating such defenses,” Hiashi admitted, hating the fact that the juuken still had weaknesses that could be improved upon despite the clan dogma. “And, don't forget about when people expel chakra as you are sealing the tenketsu,” Minato said, pointing out one of the other big weaknesses of the juuken. If the person could match or exceed the amount of chakra the Hyuuga was injecting into the chakra coil, the juuken strike would be negated.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

“I can't believe you mastered the rasengan in an hour. It took Jiraiya three months to get it down, and Kakashi still has trouble with it,” Minato grumbled childishly. “This technique is almost entirely chakra control. As you said before, it is well matched with the abilities of a Hyuuga,” Hiashi responded smugly. “Hey! I can see with my eyes closed!” Naruto suddenly interrupted, standing up from the chair in which he had been placed. He saw Hinata a few feet away and ran towards her, only to trip over a low table. He grabbed his shin, cursing in pain, “Ow! Damn it, what was that?” “Try opening your eyes,” Minato suggested, smirking with amusement at Naruto's antics. Naruto did as he was told and found that he was on the porch next to the training grounds. “Why couldn't I see the table?” He asked. “What else do you see other than people?” Minato asked. “Well, I can see the ground out in the sun, but it is kind of fuzzy. There are piped running along here inside the wall,” Naruto pointed out, “There is a candle lit in the room on the other side of this wall.” “Can you see anything in that building?” Hiashi pointed to a small building on the other side of the courtyard. “No, it's like it doesn't even exist. What's in there?” Naruto asked. “Cold storage,” Hiashi replied, “You can see heat.” “In that case, we need to test how well his vision works against fire jutsu. They could impair his vision. But, more importantly, Naruto, do you remember anything from the clone that dragged off the teacher?” “Yeah, my first punch paralyzed him, I think his neck broke when I punched his head, or he broke through the wall. I dragged him into the woods behind the academy, and then... my memories are kind of fuzzy, like I can only see pieces.” Naruto shuddered as he thought about what he remembered. “He was all beat up, then he had cuts all over his body and was crying, then pieces of his body were missing, then his head was hanging from a tree and I didn't know where I was...” Naruto shivered. “Naruto, did you feel a different chakra when you got angry?” Minato asked. “Yeah,” Naruto realized, “It felt all red and burning.” “Do not make clones with that chakra. It can be dangerous if you do not control it,” Minato said seriously, “Do you understand?” “I killed him...” Naruto suddenly realized. “First kill,” Hiashi muttered. Minato nodded. “It's okay, Naruto,” Minato said, gathering Naruto into a tight embrace, “You were protecting Hinata. Killing someone to protect someone you love from harm is not necessarily a bad thing. It wasn't all your fault either. You didn't know about the red chakra. It will be okay.” “Hiashi-sama!” One of the Hyuuga guards came rushing over, “Mikoto Uchiha and her son are here. Her shoes are covered in blood.” “Bring her to me, but take her shoes and have them cleaned.” A few minutes later, a woman with black hair and eyes and a face bloodless from fear stumbled into their presence carrying Sasuke Uchiha. “Please give us sanctuary. Itachi, he's killing everyone, the whole clan. The civilians, the women, the children...” The woman trembled, holding back sobs. “He was so fast. If Sasuke has not come home early, I would never have noticed and...” “I need to go tell Sarutobi,” Minato said, “Take care of the children.” Minato disappeared in a flash of light. Hiashi began shouting orders to the Hyuugas and things went so fast that Naruto did not know what was happening. He was rushed up to Hinata's room by a branch clan member, then a genjutsu put him to sleep.

Chapter 7: Blindness

Minato appeared in the hokage's office, right in front of Danzo, Koharu and Homura, much to their shock as they instantly recognized the technique. He didn't have time to deal with them though. “Sarutobi-sama, Itachi Uchiha is slaughtering the Uchiha clan!” Minato announced gravely. The third Hokage's eyes jumped to Danzo with a look of betrayal. Half a second later, Danzo was held to the wall by his neck and had a kunai to his good eye. Minato was well aware of Danzo's clandestine activities. It had caused him no end of trouble when he had been the active hokage. Danzo must have been more careful since then if he was still performing his black operations. “You have five seconds to explain yourself before I execute you for treason against the village,” Minato said gravely. “The Uchiha clan was planning a coup,” Danzo replied calmly. Minato turned to Hiruzen Sarutobi for confirmation, which he gave with a nod. “And how does that give you the right to issue an execution order for the entire clan, including the women, children and civilians?” “We were planning to have negotiations tomorrow morning. I already discussed this with Fugaku,” Hiruzen said angrily. “And you lost the element of surprise. The leaders of the clan met this afternoon, along with our spy Itachi. Since you knew about the coup, they moved the time line forward and were going to attack tonight.” “You should have brought this intelligence to the Hokage.” The man's smugness after admitting to treason really pissed Minato off. Everyone gasped in shock as Minato jammed the Kunai into the man's brain. “The punishment for a ninja of Konoha attacking a civilian of Konoha with intent to kill is execution.” “I suppose that is one way to solve the Root problem,” Sarutobi sighed, “But he had connections to the Daimyo. This is going to hurt us.” “I ordered root disbanded years ago...” Minato said, “Operating a private shinobi force within Konoha is treason. Why was this man allowed to live so long?” “We never could get any proof of his crimes and he had too much political support,” he replied with a resigned sigh. “His Root agents could never give him up because they had a seal that would kill them if they were about to reveal information. I lost two Yamanakas to the seal when their minds were trapped within the dying agents body.” “Then, you should have sent Danzo to T and I and had them check him instead,” Minato said, “Sarutobi, I want peace as much as the next man, but we can't have peace without order.” “We can save this argument for another time,” the third hokage said, “But, for now we have a massacre to deal with.” “Bear, find Itachi. Tell him to report to the Hokage's office immediately. If he refuses, tell him that Danzo has been executed for treason and that he will not be held responsible for what was done under Danzo's orders if he cooperates.” The mentioned ANBU revealed himself and looked at Sarutobi who nodded in assent. “Eagle, go to ANBU headquarters. Operation is search, rescue, and detain any and all Uchiha. There are two in the Hyuuga compound, but they can be left until the injured are taken care of.” Another ANBU revealed herself, then disappeared. “Sarutobi, convene the ninja council. I'm taking back my hat, half-dead or not.” “You know, I've been waiting for this day,” Sarutobi said, “Ever since you returned, I've been preparing.” He smirked and rubbed some blood on a seal on his desk and several piles of paperwork appeared. “Welcome back.” He tossed the hokage hat to its rightful owner. “As nice as this little get together is, perhaps you might explain why the Yellow flash is still alive,” Homura said. “Oh, I almost forgot about you two,” Minato said, “Tiger, escort them to Ibiki, I want to know what they know about Danzo's former activities. I also want all ANBU off duty until Ibiki or Inoichi give them full psychological evaluations. The ANBU are the hand of the Hokage, no one else.” “As you command, Hokage-dono, welcome back.” The man gave a nod, then beckoned for the two to follow. “One more thing,” Minato said, “The identity of the Hokage is an S-class secret.”

-Return of the Hummingbird-

When Naruto woke from the sleep genjutsu, he could feel Hinata trembling against his chest. Her eyes were wide open with her byakugan activated and her hands were clutching tightly to the front of his shirt. “Are you okay?” Naruto asked. Hinata responded by both nodding her head and shaking it at the same time as if she could not decide which answer to give. Naruto stroked her hair and said, “Tell me what's wrong.” Over the next couple hours, Hinata told him a story of when she was five. An ambassador from Kumogakure had been lodging in the Hyuuga mansion for the duration of his stay. After the treaty had been signed, he had snuck into Hinata's room and kidnapped her. He had been planning to take her eyes, cripple her, then use her as breeding stock to create more Hyuugas for Kumogakure. In the end, her father had caught up to and killed the man, but it had been a frightening experience for her and the events of the past day reminded her so much of what had happened. “I'll never let anyone hurt you!” Naruto promised, “Even if the Raikage himself came for you, I'd kill him with my own hands.” This seemed to calm Hinata somewhat and he told her of what had happened on his own fifth birthday. When Hinata had trouble believing it, he told her about his fourth birthday, and his third. Hinata had been completely appalled at the way the citizens of their own village acted. “I-I want to b-be stronger,” Hinata said, “I wa-want to b-be able to prot-te-tect y-you t-too.” “A bunch of the academy students meet up on Saturdays to train behind the Hagane weapon shop. You should join us. Hagane-sensei teaches us kenjutsu. Kakashi-sensei teaches us ninjutsu, and my dad teaches us taijutsu and fuuinjutsu, though, I am a lot more advanced than them because I leave shadow clones at home so dad can train them. I can already make my own sealing scrolls and can even modify them to store different things. And I am starting to learn how to make explosive notes.” “S-Sealing is ve-very comp-li-li-licated. Y-You mu-must be ve-very smart.” “No, I've blown up enough clones practicing that eventually the lesson sticks.” Naruto laughed. His learning method was not the most efficient, but it was very effective. “But, my dad is pretty great. He doesn't even make his seals based on the patterns. He can actually make new ones off the top of his head as he needs them. I doubt I'll ever be that good.” “No, you'll b-be better!” Hinata replied confidently, “If y-you d-don't give up, I-I kn-know y- you can do a-anything.” Hinata looked into his eyes and screamed. “Your ey-eyes are bl-bl-bleeding!” Naruto did notice that the world was looking a little darker. A Hyuuga chunin burst through the door as if expecting a fight. “What's wrong?” she asked. Naruto looked at her, but she saw before he could say anything. “Turn off your doujutsu, or else you'll go blind.” She was a medic-nin and had seen this before in Hyuugas who overused their byakugan. However, the response was new. “How?” Naruto asked nervously. He had only learned to turn it on that afternoon. He had never even considered how to disable it. “Just stop focusing chakra to your eyes.” “But I haven't been focusing chakra into my eyes since I activated it,” Naruto said worriedly as the darkness began to deepen. “P-p-please, h-help him!” Hinata pleaded. “Just give me a second to think,” the woman replied, “Byakugan!” She could see chakra pooled in his eyes, but he was not adding more to it. The byakugan required the user to continually feed it chakra to remain activated and would disable itself if the user became unconscious. This doujutsu, on the other hand, seemed to remain active until purposefully shut off. “Try drawing the chakra out of your eyes. Naruto shut his eyes and focused on pushing the chakra out of his eyes and they began to hurt. “Stop, you're just adding more. I'll try something.” She tapped the tenketsu controlling the flow of chakra to his eyes, forcing the ones leading away from his eyes to open while forcing the ones leading to his eyes to close. With that, the extra chakra drained away from his eyes and they returned to their regular blue hue. “Now, I can't see at all...” Naruto whimpered, “Is that supposed to happen?” “I don't know, I've never done this before,” the medic responded. Hinata took his hand. “I-It will b-be alright,” she tried her best to comfort him, “W-we c-can alwa-always get you s-some re-pla-pla-placement eyes i-if yo-your optic n-nerve was no-not d- damaged.” It was common for Hyuugas to get eye replacement surgery if they had an eye damaged in combat. “With any luck it will get better on its own,” the woman said, patting him on the head which caused him to flinch in fear. He did not like not being able to see, “But just to be sure, I'll take a closer look.” She activated a diagnostic jutsu and ran it over his face. “That is odd. It is almost like your eyes have been burned from the inside. I've never even heard of anything like this.” This, of course did not reassure Naruto and his hand began to squeeze Hinata's until her hand began to hurt. “Na-Naruto, yo-your h-hand,” Hinata whimpered. “S-sorry...” Naruto stammered back, dropping her hand like it was a hot coal. “Don't worry. You'll be fine. We just need someone with more experience to look at this.” For some reason, the medic's words did nothing to comfort him. Hinata, in an extraordinary fit of bravery, wrapped her arm around his head and hugged him to her chest and stroking his head. This caused Naruto to make a startling discovery which, in his shock, he shouted to the world, “Hinata-chan has boobies!” Naruto's issues were instantly forgotten. Hinata collapsed in a dead faint. The Medic began to laugh hysterically. A few seconds later, Hiashi burst into the room yelling, “What are you doing to my daughter!” “I didn't do anything!” Naruto protested, answering Hiashi's question to a quite uninterested potted plant. Except for the medic's giggling, there was silence for a moment, then Hiashi let loose a string a curse words such as had rarely ever been heard from a Hyuuga, leaving both Naruto and the medic shocked. “Well, what are you still doing here? Run to the Hokage's office and get his father,” Hiashi ordered. “At once, Hiashi-sama!” The medic tried to exit the room, only to collide with one of the gate guards. “Hiashi-sama, there is an urgent summons from the Third Hokage, an emergency council meeting,” the Hyuuga announced. “Fine! You two make sure nothing else happens to these two while I am gone. I will inform his father of what happened personally.”

-Return of the Hummingbird-

The council members gathered, but there was a great stir among them. First was the fact that only the Ninja council had been called. The councils had been held jointly for years. Second was the fact that Hiruzen Sarutobi did not wear the mantle of the hokage and sat in the Sarutobi clan's seat. When Hiashi arrived, the entire council had been convened. He waited and a few minutes later, the hokage entered wearing both the hokage robed and the hummingbird mask and took the seat at the head of the table. Before he could get started, Hiashi said, “Hokage-sama, there was an incident with your son and he's gone blind.” “What happened?” Minato demanded. “He never learned to disable his doujutsu and it did not disable itself automatically when he slept. His eyes were overloaded with the chakra.” Minato was stricken. He had assumed that the doujutsu was perfectly safe, after all, the others he knew of needed a continuous supply of chakra to remain active. “The meeting agenda has changed,” he said gravely, and used more chakra than he was comfortable with in his condition to summon a small blue and red toad. “What's up... Wait, you're not Jiraiya!” the toad exclaimed. “I have a message that I want you to deliver. Jiraiya has had over three years to bring Tsunade back. By order of the Hokage, he has three days to bring her back, if she continues to refuse, she will be considered a missing ninja and he is still to bring her back, alive if possible. Do you have all that?” The little toad repeated the message word for word in Minato's own voice. “Good, deliver the message and, afterward, tell Gamabunta that Minato Namikaze has returned.” Several of the council members gasped in recognition of the name while Hiashi and Sarutobi seemed unfazed by the revelation. “To everyone here, you may have noticed Fugaku, Danzo, Koharu, and Homura missing,” Minato said, “To put things simply, Fugaku was planning a coup and Danzo committed multiple cases treason.” “I hope that the rest of you are more loyal to the village than them. And, for everyone's benefit, I will inform you now, that anything mentioned in this room today, including the identity of the Hokage, is an S-class secret until such time as I or my eventual replacement chooses to reveal it. Any questions?” “Several,” Shikaku Nara said, “First, your son, I assume, is Naruto Uzumaki?” The hokage nodded, validating the assumption, which made several clan heads look nervous, including Inoichi Yamanaka who had already made the mistake of confronting Minato about his son. “Second, who ordered Fugaku's death?” “Without consulting the Hokage, Danzo ordered the massacre of the entire Uchiha clan, including the civilians by the ANBU captain Itachi Uchiha. It was also discovered that he was running a secret and privately owned army of ninjas conducting black operations both inside Konoha and in the lands of other nations.” This caused more murmurs. “Where is Itachi now?” Tsume Inuzuka spat out as if the man's name was a dirty word. The Inuzukas considered family as a sacred thing. To kill one of your own pack was worse than any other murder. “He managed to kill all but two of the Uchihas, to the best of our knowledge, and has fled. A squad of ANBU has gone to offer him amnesty under the conditions that he cooperates with the investigation into Danzo's crimes.” “My third question is, why are you alive, and why have you been neglecting your duties as hokage for these past years?” Shikaku asked. “For the first five years, I was dead, or at least in a death-like state because Jiraiya managed to put the preservation seal on me as the death god was extracting my soul in payment for sealing away the Kyuubi. Due to this, when I awoke, I had medical complications which could not be handled by anyone currently in Konoha. But, recent developments have shown me that my predecessor just isn't up to handling the duties of the hokage, and due to my condition, neither am I. Until such time as Tsunade returns and heals my condition, I will remain in charge of the shinobi forces while Hiruzen will be in charge of the civilian matters and we shall jointly advise one another.” This statement caused the third Hokage to curse. He had hoped to be free of the position. “Is there any other business anyone wants to put forth before the hokage ends the meeting?” Sarutobi asked. “What is the cover story for the Fourth's return?” asked Shibi Aburame. “Why, the truth of course,” Minato said, “Because the Third is getting too old to handle all the responsibilities of being Hokage, he has chosen a successor with whom he is sharing his duties until it is determined that he is fit to take on the full duties of the Hokage. Of course, this successor is only known as the former ANBU captain Hummingbird.” Minato got up, then proceeded to leave the room, stopping at the door. “One more thing, from this day forth, attacking a civilian child of this village with the intent to cause harm will now carry a sentence of death, without a trial if necessary. And, unlike Sarutobi, I will enforce the law I made.” Minato flashed from the room to the kunai carried by his son.

Chapter 8: Diplomacy

Minato looked at his son who was sleeping peacefully in Hinata's lap. The were tears of blood leaking from the boy's eyes, but the medic who had been looking over him had said it was just his body purging the dead cells and nothing to worry about. Hinata was awake, softly stroking his hair and sporting a light blush. Hinata had not been able to speak at all coherently, and when the medic explained why, things just got worse. Had his son not been in a serious medical dilemma, Minato probably would have found it funny. Naruto stirred, opening his eyes. “Morning, dad,” he yawned, “Hinata-chan.” “Naruto, how are your eyes?” “They're fine. Why wouldn't they be?” Naruto wiped the encrusted detritus from the corners of his eyes. “Naruto, remember, last night you were blind,” Minato said. “But, I slept didn't I? Why would anything be wrong?” “Can you check his eyes again?” Minato asked. “I'll take a look...” the Hyuuga medic said after a few seconds of stunned silence. “Everything is healthy,” she reported with a gasp, “No, that's not right,” she added, still scanning incredulously as if it were some sort of mistake, “His eyes are stronger now.” “Naruto, why did you think you would be better after sleeping?” “I always get better after sleeping, doesn't everybody?” He had been beaten to the verge of death on several occasions. Every time, as long as nothing was too out of place, it would easily heal overnight. Smaller injuries would heal immediately “No, this is something only you can do. It has something to do with the secret you and Hinata will be told when you two graduate,” Minato told him. “If it's such a big secret, then why are you telling her too?” Naruto asked, pouting jealously. “Naruto, she's your fiancée. You shouldn't hide things from her about yourself. Doesn't she deserve to know the man she will be marrying?” “I guess so,” Naruto said guiltily. He liked the way Hinata always treated him nicely, and the food she made him. He didn't have many friends and he didn't want her to stop. “Now, you're feeling fine?” Minato asked. “Yeah, I like sleeping in Hinata's bed,” Naruto said, once again causing the embarrassed girl to faint. “Naruto, if I didn't know better, I would think you say things to make her faint on purpose,” Minato sighed. Naruto grinned and replied, “Not my fault if I am too loveable,” parroting the explanation of Hinata's fainting to its source. “That's not the problem here. The things you say can be interpreted differently than what you thought when you said them.” “But, I say exactly what I mean,” Naruto said indignantly. “It's not about what you say, it's how you say it. For example, what you just said about Hinata's bed.” “But, I do like sleeping in Hinata's bed. It's huge, and soft, and warm, and smells nice.” “And has Hinata in it,” Minato added, “Which could be taken as meaning you like sleeping with Hinata.” “What's wrong with that? I like sleeping with Hinata,” Naruto replied indignantly. The door to the room slammed open and a glowering Hiashi walked in, “What have you been doing to my daughter?” “This is what's wrong with that,” Minato said, “Would you like to explain why he should have phrased that differently, Hiashi?” “What's going on here?” Hiashi asked, not liking the way that the boy was brazenly laying on his daughter's bed while she was unconscious with his head in her lap. “A little lesson in tact and diplomacy.” “A sorely needed one,” Hiashi said gruffly, after doing a quick scan of his daughter with his byakugan to be sure she was still pure. “Naruto, remember the discussion about where babies come from?” Minato asked. Naruto nodded. “Well, when you mention sleeping with someone, it will almost always be interpreted as having sexual intercourse with them.” Naruto's eyes widened in understanding. “So I shouldn't say I like sleeping with Hinata-chan until after I've done that!” Naruto exclaimed. Minato sighed, “I give up.” This day just wasn't going well for him. “How many shadow clones can he make?” Hiashi asked with a devious smirk twitching at the corners of his mouth. “I don't know, the training ground never had enough room for more than a few hundred and that to him was like one of us doing a few normal clones.” “I want him to send a dozen clones to the Hyuuga compound every day. We have etiquette and diplomacy lessons for the children. He will take all of them at the same time until he understands, and then we will move on to the adult lessons.” “So you want to teach me to act like I have a giant scroll shoved up my butt all the time?” Naruto asked. “For you, I am sure we can find room for more than one scroll,” Hiashi said with a glare that could freeze fire. “And, you will not be sleeping with my daughter until after you're married.” “But I like sleeping with Hinata. She's a lot softer than dad, and she has boopmphs–” Naruto's words were cut off by Minato's hand. “I feel sorry for the Hyuugas who have to teach him,” Minato said, “It isn't like physical training.” “I don't,” Hiashi smiled, “The lessons are taught by the elder council, so maybe this will keep them from interfering with clan business.” “This is a punishment for assigning Hinata's guard to Hanabi, isn't is?” Minato asked. “Do you think it is a coincidence that she just happens to get attacked by a pair of genin who hold a grudge against the Hyuuga on the one day her guard just happens to be reassigned.” “You think it might be deliberate?” Minato asked. “When you make that seal, make sure that it will take these situations into account.” “They tried to hurt Hinata?” Naruto growled, his eyes activating with his sudden burning anger. Hinata belonged to him. He would kill anyone who tried to hurt her. “They might have, though we do not know who,” Hiashi said, not wanting all the old men dead, “But, if you happen to make life difficult for them while you learn, I will not hold it against you.” “Naruto, can you henge to look like a Hyuuga? Give yourself long black hair and pale eyes.” “Easy,” Naruto said, performing the hand seals. A moment later, a young Hyuuga boy stood in his place. “Hiashi, can you see through his henge?” Minato asked. “Of course I can, the byakugan can see through any transformation,” Hiashi was insulted by the very notion that he would not be able to see through a simple henge. “Hiashi, Naruto's henge is not normal.” To demonstrate, Minato grabbed the end of Naruto's hair and lifted it up. Hiashi activated his byakugan and began to concentrate, the veins in his face bulging larger and larger before finally fading. “I can't see through it,but I can see that he is under a henge. The chakra is too dense. “Now, Naruto, henge into a kunai,” Minato said. “This is impossible,” Hiashi said as he watched the transformation. He moved his hands through the space where Naruto's body should have been before picking up the kunai that was there. “It feels as light as a normal kunai.” Hiashi threw the kunai and it embedded itself into the door. After a few seconds, the kunai reverted to the original Naruto and fell to the floor where he rubbed his head. “Oww!” Next time, he was definitely going to be henging his feet into the pointy end. “This is great!” Minato laughed, “I never even noticed that he changed weight. Do you know what this means?” Hiashi looked confused. “Imagine if he mastered henge, substitution and shadow clones.” Hiashi's jaw dropped in astonishment, “You can't be serious. That's insane.” “But, I've already mastered henge, substitution and shadow clones,” Naruto said. He could perform all three jutsu without failing every time. “Naruto, you may be able to use those jutsu easily, but you are far from mastering them. When someone has mastered a jutsu, it means that they can perform it perfectly without using the hand seals,” Minato added before turning back to Hiashi and adding, “Now, imagine him mastering the shadow shuriken clone and learning hiraishin.” Minato was practically drooling under his mask at the possibilities. Hiashi looked shaken as he thought of the potential, glad that he had agreed to the betrothal. He did not want to on the wrong side of Naruto's kunai if he ever realized that potential. He could be anywhere and everywhere in a hail of objects that only required a comparatively small, to Naruto's reserves at least, amount of chakra. “Now, remember how many shadow clones he can make and that he learns everything that the shadow clones do.” “He could destroy an entire ninja village with a single kunai and not receive a scratch. Before he was twenty.” “I wonder if he can henge into an exploding tag,” Minato said. “Hokage-sama, you really want to destroy the world, don't you. Besides, he doesn't need to if he learns the exploding shadow clone.” “Now, aren't you glad you accepted the betrothal? Now, Naruto, we need to help you figure out how to turn off those eyes of yours.”

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Minato had returned to the office after an hour with his son. Waiting for him was Itachi Uchiha, or at least a shadow clone of him. “You requested my presence, Yondaime?” Itachi asked. “Yes. From where I sit, we have only a few options. This massacre was not sanctioned by the office of the Hokage, and if it were, all civilians and children would have been spared, along with anyone we believed to be trustworthy and those that could be captured, pending a review for torture and interrogation.” “That is probable,” Itachi agreed. “Now, we can claim responsibility for the destruction of the clan, you can be a hero, and be removed from ANBU to make a name for yourself as a hero of Konoha and an elite jounin, assuming you pass a psychological test for your mental stability,” Minato paused before continuing, “This would cause the clans to become less open and might result in repeats of this type of incident from fear.” “That is one option,” Itachi agreed. “The second option is that we could claim that you were away on a secret ANBU mission and had nothing to do with the massacre and another such as Orochimaru was actually the executor of the attack, though this would make us look weak in the eyes of other nations and Kumo or Iwa may take this as an opportunity to test our defenses.” “I would expect Iwa, a medium sized force acting as a group of missing ninja. They would probe our borders before trying to sneak in under the guise of merchants or some similar plan. It would damage trade and external relations due to the increased security measures required and stress the Hyuuga forces.” “You are very good at the what if game, Uchiha-san” Minato smiled and removed his mask. “There is a third option with two variations – assuming you are still loyal to Konoha as I believe you to be – and that is to mark you as a missing ninja the moment your shadow clone disperses and use you as a black agent. You would be given a flee on sight order in the Bingo book and all knowledge of your activities would be for the Hokage's eyes only.” “I would never be able to act openly within the village and if they were deemed a security risk, my family would continue to believe me to be a traitor,” Itachi said, “The first option would be the best for me personally, and the third the best for the village, while the second would be a compromise... Unless you choose to have me executed as a traitor.” “I assure you that will not happen, unless you are actually a traitor or decide to not return to us,” Minato said. “And, if I chose option three, what mission would you assign to me?” “I will of course give you a choice. Both will be dangerous, though one will allow you to see your family, even if they never know it is you. Whether I offer you this depends on one question. How did you know who I am?” “It is simple. You claim to be Naruto Uzumaki's biological father. Blue eyes and blond hair are not common traits. Since he was not claimed by the Yamanaka clan, and Tsunade was too old to bear children, that left civilians and visitors, and the fourth hokage as the only viable candidates for him to receive those traits. Combined with the fact that you would never place this burden on anyone in Konoha, and his mother being the former jinchuuriki due to her bloodline, it took very little to deduce your identity,” Itachi said. “I see, so I won't need you to perform any more assassinations tonight.” “There is also the fact that I was standing right over there under a genjutsu when you stumbled out of the door to the resting place of the hokages,” Itachi added dryly. Minato laughed at this, “I was sure there was no one here. You are as good as they say.” “No, I am better,” Itachi said without a hint of boasting. “Very well. I want you to return to Konoha and report to Inoichi for a psych evaluation. No one is to see your face except myself and the clan heads, and Ibiki. You will tell Inoichi and Ibiki everything you know about Danzo's operations.” “That may be less necessary than you would think,” Itachi said, his sharingan coming to life. For a moment, Minato thought that Itachi was about to attack him, but instead, he turned and there was a flash of steel as a young boy in an ANBU mask was knocked off of his feet. A second later, four ANBU appeared and had the boy restrained. “Anyone else in the room that I should be aware of?” Minato asked with a sigh. “No, that is everyone,” Itachi assured. “And why are there any ANBU here in the first place. I ordered a psych evaluation to check for loyalties done on every member of ANBU before they are allowed to perform their duties.” “Ibiki and Inoichi are postponing the evaluations of anyone who they have personally evaluated within the past month in order to maintain village security. We will be rotated back into the pool of those to be evaluated once the other evaluations are complete.” “That's actually a pretty good idea,” Minato said, “Pass on my thanks when you go off duty, though from now on, make me aware of your presence as you or I come on duty or leave and pass it along to the rest of the ANBU. You already know that anything you hear in this office can be discussed only privately with myself or Sarutobi or my successor.” “Yes, Hokage-sama,” they replied as one. Two of them then returned to their hiding places while the other two maintained a hold on the intruder. “Now, who are you?” Minato asked. “I have no name.” The boy had dark hair and clothes and a tanto strapped to his back and a neutral expression on his face. “Do you have an assigned title or mission?” “I am a root operative designated to infiltrate the standard ninja corps, and the successor to Danzo should he become incapacitated or killed, though my training is far from complete. I am unable to operate independently and would like to request an interim commander be assigned to train me.” “You know, I have the perfect person for the job. Someone with black ops experience and can be trusted to do what is right regardless of personal sacrifice.” Minato looked up at Itachi with a grin. “You want me to be the new leader of root?” Itachi asked, with a look of surprise. “No, that would be a complete wast of your talents. I want Kakashi-kun to do it. You are going to do the one thing that could have prevented the coup attempt in the first place.” Itachi quirked an eyebrow at Minato's statement. “You're going to be the hokage.” “You can't be serious,” Itachi said. “Of course, you wouldn't be Hokage in name, but you're be my body double for the standard ninja operations. You would assign missions and receive mission reports and generally act like a hokage. If an emergency situation occurs, you will of course immediately contact me to assist or take over. Any changes to village security plans and the like will have to be approved by me. I will execute any public relations events myself to prevent too many people being around to blow your cover and I will attend all council meetings, in which you will act, under disguise, as the Uchiha representative. And, you will provide a summary of the days events for me to peruse, highlighting any important items you believe I might take an interest in. And, should anything happen to me before I have Naruto ready to take over, you will have my recommendation as my replacement since you will have already been trained. If not, then you can just as easily take over the civilian matters which are currently under the third hokage's jurisdiction.” “Why do you wish to punish me so badly?” Itachi asked. “At least you can use shadow clones to do the paperwork. I wonder if Sarutobi ever figured that out.” “And, you can't?” Itachi was surprised. “Coming back from the dead had some repercussions. That is why I have issued Tsunade an ultimatum. One week to return so she can get me back in working order, or she goes into the Bingo book with a kill on sight order for being an accessory to every attack upon the hokage. I gave Jiraiya the order to bring her back three years ago, so it is about time I got treated.” “You put a lot of trust in a man who murdered almost his entire family,” Itachi said. “And I'll give you even more before I am done. Do you know the chakra battery technique?” “I do. I know all field medic jutsu.” “I used too many techniques today, so give me as much chakra as you can before dispelling. I'll expect you to be in this office first thing tomorrow waiting for me with an assessment by both Inoichi and Ibiki.”

-Return of the Hummingbird-

For Naruto and Hinata, the class was outside for the day. Because of the attack, a genin team had taken over their usual classroom to do repairs to the wall with an experienced craftsman to guide them. Because of their venue, the class focused on physical training for most of the day, including running laps around the schoolyard first thing in the morning as a test of endurance. Everyone, except Shikamaru, made it through at least one lap around the school. A few of the girls dropped out of the second lap to gossip. Some of the civilian children dropped out next, followed by Chouji. After this, there were several laps before the students began dropping out one by one. Soon, there were only three contenders left, Sasuke was in the lead, with Kiba in second place, and Naruto in third due to the fact that he was still adjusting to the new level of weight he had set for himself that morning. Due to the competitive nature of the three, none of them would give up, though Sasuke was somehow brooding as he ran, rather than bouncing around and shouting taunts like Kiba and Naruto did to each other. Eventually, Naruto caught up with Kiba as his body began to adjust. Just as he was passing Kiba, a whistle blew and they were called in to eat lunch. Naruto raced towards Hinata, while the other two collapsed in exhaustion. To Naruto's surprise, he was a popular person at lunch. Everyone was asking about how his eyes had transformed and he had beaten the instructor. “No big deal,” Naruto grinned, enjoying the attention, “I just have a new doujutsu. It's really awesome and can do a lot like see through walls and where I should hit people. I can even see hidden ANBU. Just watch this.” Naruto activated his eyes and scanned around. “ANBU one!” He shouted, pointing to a corner of the school yard.” There was a swirl of leaves, indicating a shunshin, but Naruto could see the trail he left and spun towards a tree, pointing up in the branches. The branch shook and Naruto spun and pointed at the roof of the academy. This time, in a swirl of leaves, the bull-masked ANBU appeared next to him and grabbed his finger. “Stop doing that.” “Why should I? You're just pissed because I caught you spying on the Hyuuga yesterday,” Naruto said confidently. “I wasn't spying!” the man said angrily. “Oh, so you're just a stalker.” The ANBU released Naruto and stepped back a few paces, taking deep calming breaths. “You're lucky that the Hokage made attacking children an automatic death sentence.” The ANBU executed another shunshin. “I can still see you behind the wall!” Naruto yelled, laughing as loud curses echoed across the yard. The other children joined him in his mirth until Naruto collapsed, clutching his head. “A-Are you okay, Na-Naruto-kun?” Hinata asked. “Yeah, I'm fine,” Naruto said, “Just one of the elders juukened one of my shadow clones in the head. That really stings. Dad is going to be pissed when one of my other clones tells him.” “Naruto, shadow clones are a jounin level technique. How many can you have and still have enough energy for training?” “I don't know,” Naruto said, “I only actually made one this morning, and he split in two, one stayed with dad and the other with to learn whatever the Hyuuga's wanted to teach me. I can't believe they are forcing me to take lessons on manners just because I said I like sleeping with Hinata and that she has bmmbfss.” His face was buried in the body parts he had been about to mention in order to stop him from from finishing his sentence. “So she's your girlfriend?” Kiba asked jealously. “No, that would be too troublesome,” Shikamaru stated, “He's her betrothed.” “I can't believe you've already slept together. My mom said I am not even allowed to think about it for another five years or she'll neuter me herself,” Kiba said. “Of course. We've done it twice,” Naruto said, completely forgetting the lesson that he had been taught the day before. Ino and Sakura were looking at a very embarrassed Hinata in shock. “I can't believe you did that!” Sakura said, “Mom always said that Naruto was nothing but trouble.” “What's wrong with that? I sleep with my dad all the time.” “Hinata, what was it like having sex?” Ino asked, desperate to hear this juicy gossip. “What? I didn't know she had sex,” Naruto said. “So she hasn't had sex with you?” Ino asked, “But you said you slept with her twice.” “Yeah, the first time, she fainted after being attacked by bullies and then I fell asleep after I took her home. Then, we were at the Hyuuga estate yesterday when the Uchiha clan was all killed and we were sent to her room while the adults dealt with everything.” Ino sighed unhappily, her gossip had turned out just to be proof that Naruto really needed the etiquette lessons desperately. “Wait, Sasuke's family was killed?” she shrieked before she and almost every other girl ran to comfort him, or molest him depending on your point of view.

Chapter 9: Replacement Minato was surprised that things were progressing so well. It had taken only a few hours for Kakashi to take complete control of Danzo's ROOT forces and was working on integrating them as an additional branch of the torture and interrogation to apprehend threats within Konoha as well as general intelligence gathering, both of which they were very good at. The young man who had come to him the day before had been tasked with joining Naruto's class at the academy and ensuring that all graduating members maintained a positive outlook towards the village, or in other words, make friends. For this task he had been given the code name of Sai and would begin his mission as soon as he had taught Kakashi everything he knew about the way Danzo operated. There had been a bit of a hiccup at the beginning of the day when Itachi didn't show up, but it turned out that, with all the extra screening, it had been Inoichi's inability to process him in a timely fashion that had delayed him. After that, things had run smoothly, until around lunch time when he had found that one of the Hyuuga elders had tried to kill or at least incapacitate his son. Luckily, it had only been a clone, but that did not stop Minato from racing over to the Hyuuga compound with another clone made by the one who had been studying seals. When he discovered that the elder had actually been using the caged bird seal to motivate the children to understand and prevent complaints, he had given Hiashi the choice of who would execute the elder. In order to save face for the clan, Hiashi opted to carry out the execution quietly within the clan. A new teacher was selected, from the branch house, and the class was resumed with the clone Minato had brought with him taking the place of the one the elder had destroyed. He returned to his office and started Itachi on paperwork. Itachi had good instincts. Most items were frivolous and could be decided whimsically, but he knew when to consult Minato and when to just deal with issues. Thankfully, with Sarutobi taking the civilian matters which were usually both repetitive and inconsequential, the paperwork was soon finished, a problem Minato had never encountered before. Fortunately, there was a ready made activity reading a sealing scroll right in front of them. “Naruto, make two shadow clones. Give one to Weasel,” Minato gestured towards Itachi, “and give the other to me. Weasel will teach you the exploding shadow clone and I will start teaching you how to master jutsus.” Naruto made twenty clones. “Learning jutsus takes more chakra than reading,” Naruto explained, “This way, you already have ten of me to work with.” “That's some good thinking, Naruto,” Minato said, surprised at his son's foresight considering he usually just rushed headlong into things. He lead the clone to the roof of the building and began explaining what they were going to do. “Now, we are going to start with the substitution jutsu. I want each of you to pick a partner from the others and do a kawarimi with them.” In unison, the clones performed the hand seals: ram, boar, ox, dog, snake. There were poofs of smoke in the places of most of the clones, though little apparently changed except for the direction some clones seemed to be facing. “Good. Now, do it with your eyes closed and feel the flow of the chakra as you perform the jutsu. Keep it up until you can recognize it perfectly. Then, stop using the first hand sign and try to perform the jutsu without it by trying to form the chakra as you remember it. Once you have it down so it always works like that, remove the next hand sign until you are doing the jutsu easily with no hand signs. Remember to use yourself wisely. If you make any progress, make a replacement, then dispel so the others can learn from it.” “Got it dad!” Several Naruto clones said as they closed their eyes and puffs of smoke began popping up all over the roof. Minato grinned. Usually, jutsu were only mastered if they were had no seals or it was a ninja's specialty. Even if the jutsu was a ninja's specialty, they still usually had to use at least one seal. It is not like mastering jutsu was without benefits either. Many ninja would give their right arm to master their signature jutsu since they could then use it if their hands were damaged or they were tied up. And, without the requirement of hand seals to slow the nin down, they could perform them much faster. Unfortunately for those ninja, it was a long a difficult process of jounin level chakra control. To do a jutsu with just one less sign usually took weeks of training, and removing each successive sign was exponentially more difficult. That the second hokage managed to get the forty-four seals of the water dragon bullet down to a single seal was simply astonishing. But, Minato intended for his son to far surpass the younger Senju brother and master dozens of techniques, though probably none even nearly as complex.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Two days, twenty-three hours, and fifty-eight minutes after Minato's threat to force Tsunade to return, a messenger toad landed on his desk. “Jiraiya says that Tsunade refuses to come within five miles of Konoha. But, as a compromise, there is a town five miles northwest of Konoha, and if you go there, she will take a look at you,” the blue and black amphibian reported. Minato sighed, “Tell him I'll be there in a few hours. I'll bring Naruto with me when his classes at the academy finish.” It was inconvenient, but it was better than declaring her a missing-nin. Hopefully she would be able to do something about his condition, and maybe give Naruto a physical as well so that they could better understand the abnormalities that having the Kyuubi in him created. The toad replied, “I'll pass along the message, boss.” The toad sat on his desk, not moving until Minato reached into a drawer and tossed the talking animal a candy. “Thanks boss.” The toad's eyes squinted happily and then he disappeared in a puff of smoke. Minato turned to Itachi. “I need a b-rank escort mission. Two persons to be escorted to the town and back. The team is to meet me at the north gate in an hour. I leave the details to your discretion.” “Very well. I shall take care of things while you are away,” Itachi promised.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Minato and Naruto dropped Hinata off at the Hyuuga compound before heading to the north gate where special jounin Anko Mitarashi was waiting with two chunin. The woman was leaning against a wall juggling kunai with one hand. Despite her attractive figure and revealing clothing, the two chunin were very careful to keep their distance from her and especially not even glancing at the exposed cleavage. “Are you my escort?” Minato asked. “Damn right,” Anko replied, “A B-rank escort that won't even take half a day, I lucked out today. The runt yours?” “Yes, Anko, meet Naruto, Naruto, don't piss Anko off.” “Why not? She doesn't look that dangerous,” Naruto said. Faster than he could see, a kunai whizzed by his face, just barely scratching him, drawing a few beads of blood. Naruto froze as he felt the woman standing behind him. She licked the blood from his cheek and said seductively, “because you have some sweet tasting blood.” Her whisper-soft tone sent chills down Naruto's spine. “You do know that attacking a child is punishable by death?” Minato asked chillingly. “Good thing I didn't attack him then,” Anko chirped happily as she retrieved her kunai, “Or else you'd be burying two people.” “This is why you don't make a woman angry. They are completely unreasonable.” “Damn straight.” Anko grinned which caused Naruto to duck behind his father. “Let's go, we're burning daylight. Can the kid move like a ninja?” “You'd collapse long before him, but at best I can keep up a light ground pace. You're taking me to see a medic after all. Maybe we can take the trees on the way back. You have been practicing the tree climbing exercise, right Naruto?” In response, Naruto ran up the wall a dozen meters before back flipping and landing beside his father again. “Pretty impressive for an academy runt, but you still have a long way to go,” Anko said, before heading out the gate at a light run.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

“What a gathering we have here,” Minato said jokingly as he sat down on a stool next to Tsunade at the village's bar, “If only Orochimaru was here, we'd have the full set of sannin and their apprentices.” This remark caused one of Anko's Kunai to lodge into the wooden counter next to his elbow. Tsunade glared at him. “So, is it possible to heal me?” Minato asked. “I don't appreciate being threatened,” Tsunade said coldly, “Why should I bother helping you?” “Because, you were ordered to by your Hokage, and refusing is treason,” Minato replied simply. “Who do you think you are? Calling yourself Hokage. Hokage's are nothing but fools, dying for useless things.” “My son is not worthless. My village is not worthless. Everyone dies sometime, but I came to you because you're the only one who can make sure that I can protect those precious to me. I will not lose them because you can't stop wallowing in self pity.” “Why are we wasting time with this old woman?” Naruto asked with a frown, “She's just a drunk who can't save anyone.” Tsunade looked as if she had received one of her own legendary punches to the gut. “Shut up kid, this is none of your business.” “You insulted my dad, and the hokages. That makes it my business!” “What insult? Every Hokage and every wannabe hokage, each of them has died a stupid death for the people. The first died from meaningless fighting one of our own ninja. The second died in a meaningless battle with a waterfall nin. The third will find a way to die soon enough, and the fourth died fighting the Kyuubi. All of them die.” “No, they don't!” Naruto replied, kicking the older woman in the shin, “Oji-san is still alive, and my dad is the new hokage, and the Fourth was the greatest hokage ever! You're just a bitter, drunk, old woman!” Minato smiled behind his mask at the praise his son had given him unknowingly. “Stop kicking me you little runt, or I'll start hitting back!” Tsunade growled. “Like you could, you old drunk. You can probably not even stand without breaking a hip.” “That's it, you little punk. Let's take this outside,” Tsunade said, her bottle of sake splintering into shards of glass in her hand. “Naruto, she might be a little much for you. She is one of the sannin.” “Who cares. I'll kick her ass!” Naruto said boldly, following Tsunade outside. “To make this fair,” Tsunade said, “I'll only use one finger to beat you.” She held up the index finger of her right hand. “Now, show me what makes you so special that you think you can beat a ninja like me.” “You asked for it, weight seals release!” Naruto dashed towards Tsunade at surprising speeds, but Tsunade dodged the attack effortlessly. “You're fast for an academy student, but nowhere near as fast as someone of my caliber,” Tsunade taunted. “Then, I guess I just need more of me! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!” Naruto created twenty shadow clones, surrounding Tsunade and attempted to attack from all sides at once. Tsunade jammed her finger into the ground and all the clones fell as the ground split, dispelling them. This also caused Naruto to lose his balance and fall into the dirt at the slug sannin's feet. “Pathetic,” she said as he rolled dazedly onto his back. “Say good night brat.” She prepared to flick him in the forehead. Boar, Ox, Dog, Snake, Naruto signed as fast as he could. Instead of knocking Naruto out, her finger smashed a clump of earth. A few feet away, Naruto scrambled to his feet, then entered an odd sideways crouch of a taijutsu stance before performing another substitution with a chunk of displaced earth from Tsunade's first attack. “Hidden Leaf Secret Taijutsu:” “This can't be good,” Minato groaned. “One Thousand Years of Death!” Naruto had appeared behind Tsunade and, clasping his hands, rammed his fingers towards Tsunade's butt. “This can't be good,” Minato groaned. “Little prick!” Tsunade barely dodged, then slammed her fist down on Naruto's head. “I won!” Naruto announced before passing out. “How could you even think of claiming victory after getting knocked out?” Tsunade grumbled. “You said you could beat him with one finger,” Jiraiya announced with a chuckle, “You definitely used your whole fist in that last attack. You got beat by an academy student.” Meanwhile Minato and Tsunade's black haired apprentice Shizune checked Naruto for injuries, finding that he had only a minor concussion. “That was not an academy student!” Tsunade said, “No academy student could create that many shadow clones and begin mastering the kawarimi! That speed was low chunin level at least!”

-Return of the Hummingbird-

“How is this even possible?” Tsunade asked after performing a physical on Minato, “You're dead.” “Yeah, I get that a lot,” Minato replied, “How did you know?” He removed his mask. “Half your body is filled with dead flesh. You should not be able to move, let alone use chakra.” She looked at his face then gasped, “This is impossible, you're dead!” “You already said that part,” Minato sighed, “No, I saw you die. You're supposed to be dead.” “Yet, here I am. My best guess is that Jiraiya applied the preservation seal before I was actually dead, then something happened and I didn't actually die properly.” “You barely have any life energy left in you. This cannot just be healed. You would need a transplant of life energy, which would kill the donor for sure. Then, all the dead flesh would have to be removed and regrown.” “You know, I feel fine, except for the chakra not replenishing. Just fixing that will be fine.” “It can't just be fixed. Without life energy, or your soul, your body can't sustain itself. Even if I fixed your chakra pathways, the necrosis would just spread faster and you would die within weeks. As it is, you have perhaps another five years before you begin to fall apart.” “If you had a donor, could you heal me?” “I know of a few techniques that could do it, though I would not do any of them. I will not sacrifice one life for another.” “What if it is a traitor, or a spy, or a bandit that we have been hired to kill? Isn't it better that their life ending is put to good use?” “I am not Orochimaru. I can't.” “There are people executed all the time. I am not asking you to kill an innocent person. I just want to live long enough to see my son reach his dream of becoming hokage.” “To be hokage is his dream...” Tsunade muttered, remembering how both her brother and her lover had said those words about themselves. “How about a bet. Prove to me your son is worth it. I'll come back in two weeks. If he has mastered the substitution jutsu by then, I'll come back and perform the operation.” “I believe in my son,” Minato said, “We'll see you in two weeks.” “Have a suitable person prepared. If I don't believe the person really deserves to die, I won't do it.” “I am sure we can find someone.” Minato said, remembering a mission request to find and kill a rapist who had taken a liking to children in a nearby town. A messenger toad could easily change the orders from kill to capture. If not, there were plenty of despicable people in the world.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

With his father's health on the line, Naruto trained with all he had to finish mastering the replacement. He now trained with over a hundred clones every day and did not stop until he collapsed from exhaustion. In the first two days, he managed to reduce the replacement technique to three seals. Five days later, he was down to two. Six days later, it took only the snake seal to activate his jutsu. Including the time experienced by his shadow clones, in thirteen days he had trained the equivalent of two and a half years without breaks. He was completely exhausted and he had no time left. It had taken so long to get it down to a single seal that he needed another week at least, but they would be leaving to meet Tsunade immediately and he had no more time to practice. “Don't worry about it,” Minato said, “I am sure she'll be impressed with what you have accomplished. Besides, even if she won't perform the operation herself, I can just order her to give up the jutsu to someone who would, or find another way.” His father's reassurances did not make him feel any better. In a fit of desperation, he snuck off and made clones until he was on the verge of suffering from chakra exhaustion, just so he could get as much practice in as possible. There were over a thousand, but, while practicing jutsu, they would last no more than an hour. He hoped it would be enough. Soon, he found himself traveling along the road, taking small steps in order to increase the time his clones would have to practice. Then, he noticed something odd. At first he thought he was sick when he turned his head and saw that he was walking beside himself, then darkness claimed him. The escort team didn't even notice anything was wrong because they were not being vigilant so close to Konoha. It would be a long time before Kotetsu and Izumo would be trusted with anything other than gate duty after this mistake.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Naruto woke up in a cave. He was laying on his belly and his body was tied up. His knees and elbows were locked into a fully bent position and wrapped several times with ninja wire. His elbows had several loops of ninja wire locking them behind his back and keeping his hands sticking out from opposite side of his body. His hands had been wrapped in bandages tightly so that he could not move them at all. Considering the thoroughness of his incapacitation, Naruto was sure that he had been tied up by a ninja. “So, the runt is awake,” a voice chuckled, “I wonder what he is worth. For a chunin escort within Konoha's patrol routes, he must be pretty important.” The man spoke with an irritatingly high squeal of a voice, which was a fair contrast to the gravelly baritone that answered. “Or, he is the son of someone important. Either way, I am sure he'll get a kick out of this vacation.” The heel of a sandal slammed against the back of his neck, then ground his face into the stoney floor. “That hurt, you bastard! Let me go!” Naruto complained. He didn't cry. Frankly, he'd received much worse from the villagers when he was younger so this was nothing. A future Hokage wouldn't cry just because of a few kidnappers. “Tough guy, are you?” Naruto was rolled onto his back so he could see his captors. One was tall, with long limbs, a long pierced tongue that dangled out of his mouth, and greasy long blond hair. Around his neck was an Iwa hitai-ate. The other was short, stocky and barrel-chested, with a round bald head covered in a bandana-styled Iwa hitai-ate. “You guys are gonna die for this,” Naruto said, thinking fast, “The Tsuchikage is not going to be happy that you messed with the peace offering.” If he was lucky, he could trick these two into releasing him. “What are you talking about you useless brat?” “The Hokage just negotiated a peace treaty. As part of the treaty, the hokage offered Iwa one of our blood lines. Me and my dad were being sent to Iwa,” Naruto lied, then with a foxy grin and a sing- song voice he said, “You're in trouble.” The two Iwa ninja glanced at each other. “Do you think he's lying?” the shorter, broader man asked in his whiny voice. “Konoha would never give up a bloodline, just look at what the Hyuuga clan does, sealing their own bloodline away to keep it out of our hands.” “I guess, that we should just get rid of the boy to be sure,” the tall lanky one said, pulling out a kunai, “Don't worry kid, this is for our own good, and it will only hurt a lot.” Naruto gulped fearfully. His plan had not gone as he had expected. He had hoped that they would just return him to his dad. He wriggled his body as much as he was able, trying to back away from the scary looking ninja. The kunai plunged down, barely missing his heart. Naruto cried out in pain and began to cough as blood began to seep into his lung. “Oops, I missed!” the ninja said, how clumsy of me, “Perhaps you will have more luck,” he said to his partner who took out his own kunai. “Well, I've never been very graceful, at least this will be good practice.” His kunai slammed into Naruto's shoulder. “It looks like I missed too,” he said, why don't you have another go. Naruto coughed up some blood and spit it into the face of the tall ninja who was preparing to jam another kunai into him. “You stupid rock heads! You're going to die when my dad gets here.” Naruto blinked back tears before they could form. “No, you're going to die, then your dad, then all your little friends from your pathetic village.” Naruto glared at them, his eyes flashing red, then the cave shook violently. “Naruto!” His dad's voice called from outside the cave. “Damn, how did they track us?” the tall one asked. Naruto saw a rock break loose at the entrance to the cave and in a fit of desperation performed a kawarimi and was caught by Tsunade before he could hit the ground. He had done it, a sealess replacement. He had won the bet. Now, if only everything wasn't all hurty, he'd be happy. “Blood!” Tsunade's eyes widened in fear as she saw Naruto's condition. She froze, overwhelmed by hemophobia. “Naruto!” his father sliced through his bindings with a kunai, Laying him on the ground outside the cave. “Tsunade, heal him!” He ordered desperately. Tsunade's apprentice Shizune knelt down beside Naruto's body and began checking him with her medical jutsu. “This isn't good. He's bleeding into his lung.” Naruto was having a hard time breathing now. Shizune began a jutsu that made him cough up a lot of blood, making it easier for him to breath. “Look out!” Their escort's warning was too slow and too late. Naruto saw the tall rock nin with his hands in a seal before he felt a tremendous pressure on his back. Then, he found himself hanging limply above the heads of the adults, a blood-covered spire of rock protruding from his gut. Everyone stared at him in shock, then, as if a dam broke, there was a flood of killer intent and the two shinobi from Iwagakure were dead, one splattered by a rasengan, the other with his head punched cleanly off of his shoulders. Tsunade was back in a moment, crushing the pillar with her unbelievable strength and removing the kunai and shards of rock from Naruto's body. Naruto looked at Tsunade and said with a smile, “I did it. Now you have to save my dad.” Then, he passed out from the pain.

Chapter 10: Red Devil

Naruto woke up in the hospital. Everything was way too bright to wake up to. Sun shone through the window, reflecting off the white of the walls, ceiling and floor. His dad was sitting in a chair next to the window sleeping, but woke up when Naruto began to move. “Uggh!” Naruto moaned as he tried to sit up. His whole torso was tightly wrapped in bandages. His chest felt completely healed, but his stomach felt like it was on fire. “Naruto!” Minato was up and at the bedside in a blur of movement. “How are you feeling?” “Something's wrong. I just woke up, but my stomach still hurts.” “Naruto, even you can't heal from an injury like that with just a little sleep. A couple times, we almost lost you. Your liver and kidneys were damaged, and your intestines pretty much disintegrated, half your spinal column was shattered into tiny pieces, not to mention the bleeding lung. Tsunade had to restart your heart five times, and you needed at least a gallon of blood. If Tsunade hadn't been there... Naruto, never let that happen again!” “I'm sorry, dad, next time I'll try harder,” Naruto gave his father an encouraging smile. “This isn't your fault. Kotetsu and Izumo, on the other hand, are going to be stuck on gate duty for a long, long time.” “How about you? Did that old lady fix you up?” Naruto asked. “Naruto, we were too worried about you to even think of that,” Minato said, rubbing his son's hair affectionately, “Once you get out of here, Tsunade will perform the first part of the operation. Then, I'll need another operation every week for a couple years. It will be long and painful, but I am willing to go through two years of hell so I can have another twenty with you.” “Why can't she fix you all at once? She's supposed to be the best!” “Half my body's cells are dead, Naruto, which means I am slower and weaker that I was before I died. My spirit can't maintain this body so more little bits are slowly dieing. After a certain point, I won't be able to continue and my entire body will fail. But, these dead cells are not just all bunched together, they are mixed into the living cells, so in reality, she has to pretty much replace every piece of my body by cutting out the sections that contain dead cells, then fill in the holes by forcing my body to create new cells. This is not very difficult to do for my muscles and bones but will be draining a lot more chakra than a team of medics can generate. When doing organs like the heart and brain, she will have to be especially careful or else I could die from the operation; so not only will it be extremely draining but she will have to take her time and do things slowly.” Naruto zoned out half way through the explanation. It was too complicated for him to understand. “So, there's nothing I can do to help?” He asked. “Just stay out of trouble once the operations start, because I'll be stuck in here most of the time.” Naruto's father replied. Tsunade will be starting the first process as soon as you're all healthy.”

-Return of the Hummingbird- Minato lay in Ibiki's play room, known more widely as the torture chamber. It was dark and humid and filled with the smell of blood, piss and bleach, but it was sterile. He was on a stainless steel table with an identical table three feet away. A group of ANBU brought in a man who had been a spy for Iwagakure before he had been captured. It almost seemed to be some sort of poetic justice that the dreaded yellow flash would be revived by one of their shinobi, though he couldn't deny the fact that using this man was also, in a way, a punishment for what the two Iwa nins had done to his son. Thankfully, Kyuubi had fixed the damages that Tsunade could not. The man he originally had planned to take the life force from had been killed. The jounin assigned to the mission, Kurenai Yuuhi, had caught the man in the act and had been unable to restrain herself. The Iwa nin was placed on the opposite table and strapped down with leather cuffs engraved with chakra suppression seals. The straps wrapped around his wrists, ankles, elbows, knees, waist, chest, neck and forehead. When he had been captured, a suicide pill had been discovered in one of his teeth, so they had all beep pulled. During interrogation, the man had threatened to swallow his own tongue and kill himself. The medics had surgically removed his tongue to prevent him from carrying out his threat. After that, a Yamanaka had taken over the interrogation and it was discovered that a genin team that had gone missing were killed so that he and his partners could have authentic Konoha hitai-ates to help them infiltrate the village. Tsunade entered the room and looked at the wretched man. “So, why does this man deserve to die?” “He is an enemy spy and killed three genin and one jounin of Konohagakure,” Minato said, “In addition to despicable acts committed on previous missions. His sentence was to be slow death by torture, but he got lucky, now he merely has to die knowing that his life brought back the Yellow Flash of Konoha.” Minato removed his mask and looked over at the man who started to scream what Minato could only assume were supposed to be some sort of insults, but without teeth nor tongue, he was completely unintelligible. “Well, a bet is a bet,” Tsunade said, stretching before placing a hand on each man's chest. Her hands glowed a bright blue. “Kinjutsu: Ikenie Ikikaeru!” Wisps of bluish energy began to leap out from the Iwa nin and into Minato like little curling kunai. Minato's body felt like fire was licking away at him, filling his body with pockets of white-hot pain.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Naruto continued going to the academy and doing the training he could on his own, but he was feeling lonely. His father had been taken to the hospital and had not left for months. Whenever Naruto went to see him, his father was always in extreme pain. Tsunade was doing operations on him daily and he was kept sedated most of the time, but the pain was still evident in the tightness of his muscles. With his father no longer protecting him, things had become bad for Naruto. Half the times he went to visit his father, the nurses would throw him out of the hospital. His apartment had been fire bombed, so he had taken a room with the Hyuugas. Thankfully the Hyuugas fed him because he had no money and old man Ichiraku was the only one who would let him into his restaurant. Naruto sighed and leaned his head on Hinata's shoulder. It was the last day of the school year. Hinata had been very supportive, as had his other friends to a lesser extent, but it just did not make up for not having his father around. “Naruto, Hinata, want to come to my house when this is over?” Kiba asked, “I'm getting my ninken today.” “W-we would b-be hap-p-py too,” Hinata answered. “M-maybe it will m-make you feel b-b- better t-to p-play with the d-dogs,” she added to Naruto quietly. Naruto grunted and nodded his assent, even though he didn't really feel like going. After school, the regular group of Naruto, Hinata, Kiba, Shikamaru, Chouji, Ino, Shino, and Tenten headed towards the Inuzuka compound. Tenten was wearing a brand new leaf hitai-ate. “It's too bad that we won't be able to hang out as much anymore since I'm going to be on a genin team now,” Tenten said, “I wish I could have been a year younger so I could have graduated with you guys. “So, are there any cute boys on your team?” Ino asked. “Hinata's cousin Neji is on my team. He's the rookie of the year and is prettier than most girls, but he has the emotional depth of a blunt shuriken.” Tenten replied, making Kiba snicker. “You're no better. You don't even have the pretty part, dog boy.” Ino said, sticking her tongue out at the Inuzuka. “My other team mate is just weird. He can't use chakra at all, but our sensei got special permission to have him graduate on taijutsu alone. He has huge eyebrows too, and is always shouting. If he got a bowl cut and wore green spandex, he would be just like our sensei.” Tenten shuddered at the horrible thought. “Umm... What's yo-your sensei l-like?” Hinata asked. “He's insane. He looks like a strong ninja and is said to be one of the best Taijutsu experts in Konoha, but he is just too disturbing. He wears a green spandex jumpsuit, has a bowl cut, and eyebrows so bushy that you'd think they were fake. He wants us to show up at four tomorrow to warm up for training.” “It's a little early, but it can't be that bad,” Kiba snorted. “The warmup is two hundred laps around Konoha, on our hands, with rocks strapped to our backs. And he'll be screaming about youth the whole way.” “That's just the warm up?” Naruto asked. “And he gave us these as a welcome-to-the-team gift.” Tenten pulled out a green spandex suit. “I intend to see if it works as kindling for the forge.” “We're here!” Kiba shouted, hopping excitedly from foot to foot. Kiba led them into the house, not bothering to wipe his feet, as was apparently the norm for the clan since the white of the floor tiles could barely be seen on the edges of the hall. “Just sit and stay!” Kiba's mother shouted back, “I'll take you to get your partner once dinner is in the oven!” To everyone's surprise, Kiba flopped down onto the dirt floor and waited. “Why can't you be that well trained all the time?” Ino asked. Everyone laughed. “You don't know my mom. You don't want to make her angry. A couple years ago, dad made her angry and she chased him out. I haven't seen him since.” “Mothers are troublesome,” Shikamaru agreed. “I heard that Nara! Don't make me tell your mother you said that!” Tsume Inuzuka growled as she came out of the kitchen and joined them. Shikamaru shivered at the threat. “Come on, out back to the kennels and we'll see who wants to be your partner, though I am not sure whether any of them would want to after you forgot to clean the kennels last night.” “Oops!” Kiba said, his smile saying that it was anything but forgotten. The moment they approached the large structure, the sounds of dogs barking filled the air. “They know we're coming,” Tsume said, “But, Naruto, be careful because your scent makes them nervous. Don't make any sudden movements or you might get bitten.” Naruto nodded in acquiescence. Inside was a long hallway with waist high walls on either side. The walls created a path between the individual cells which segregated the dogs, or families of dogs from one another. Each cell had a door that could open into the hallway and a doggy door that led out into the yard. “You'll find all the ninken on this side of the kennel. At the end we have some cells that contain other animals that were found injured and dropped off at the clinic. Fell free to visit with them, but be careful not to scare them.” Naruto leaned over the nearest wall. There were five dogs in the cell in colors of gray and brown with medium length fur that stuck out in wild tufts. He held out his and for the smallest dog to sniff, but it snapped at him with a growl. After another couple tries with different dogs, Naruto gave up. It made him feel worse when every one of those dogs was more than happy to walk up and lick Hinata's hand. He just stood by and watched her fondle the animals, trying to be happy with just seeing her smile at them, but with little success. There was a shout from an adjoining hall and a little tan puppy with slightly darker ears scurried around the corner. It ran up to Kiba who was leaning into a kennel and didn't notice the little dog, and lifted his leg to pee on Kiba's foot. Kiba dropped the puppy he had been looking at and looked to the little puppy who had just defiled his foot, then to his mother. “Did you see what he just did?” Kiba asked, “He marked me, he wants to be my partner!” Kiba grinned, grabbed the little puppy and set the dog on top of his head. The dog covered its eyes pitifully and shook its head, clearly indication that Kiba had misconstrued his intentions. “Kiba, I don't think that –” Tsume began. “I'm going to call him Akamaru!” Kiba announced. His mother sighed and patted the little dog on the head apologetically. While everyone was getting to know Kiba's new, if unwilling, partner, Naruto decided to see if any of the other animals would be more willing to bear his presence than the dogs. There was a brown cat with a red ribbon on its ear. Naruto could not even get close to it before it starting hissing and scratching at him. The chickens all huddled at the far side of their cells and squawked alarmingly while flapping their wings. An ostrich pecked at his head. A ferret bit him. Naruto was just about to give up and head home when a mewling sound called out to him. He followed the cry to the very farthest corner of the kennel. Inside was a little fox kit with fluffy red fur. Naruto held out his hand and the kit nuzzled him. Suddenly, Tsume was leaning over him and scooping up the fox kit in her hand and dumping it into his arms. “This village isn't kind to foxes. His mother was killed,” Tsume said and Naruto noticed that one of the back legs was wrapped in a tight bandage. “He hasn't taken to anyone else. If you can keep him safe, you can take him home.” “Thank you,” Naruto held the fox, “Do you think he could learn to fight like one of your dogs?” “That's up to you to figure out. Our training methods are a clan secret,” she replied, messing his hair roughly, “try to perk up. All your friends miss your smile, especially Hinata.” Naruto gave her the best smile he could, though it was a fairly poor result. “I just wish my dad was out of the hospital, I miss him.” “If your dad has been in the hospital, who's been acting as Hokage?” “That's Weasel. Dad was training him to take over for fights and while he's sick or away. Dad said he was very strong and smart and he sometimes helped me with my training.” Naruto paused for a second. “Don't tell anyone though, no one is supposed to know that my dad has been getting weasel to do all his work. He says it would make people think the village is weak.” “I'll keep that in mind,” Tsume said, “Have you decided what you're going to name the kit?” “He'll be called Akama,” Naruto decided. “Not a name that will make him popular.” “He has me, but I'd rather everyone else be afraid of him than hurt him,” Naruto said, getting a mewl of agreement from Akama and surprising Tsume. “Why don't you go show the others then. I'm sure they want to meet Akama too.” “Thanks.” Naruto put the kit on his head, copying Kiba. He ran towards the other kids and shouted, “Hinata, look what Inu-kaasan gave me!” Soon, it turned out that neither Kiba nor Naruto were their animal's favorite person. Both animals ended up in a rivalry for Hinata's affection, snapping at each other while trying to acquire the prime belly-rub real estate on her lap.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Naruto sat in his room holding the fox kit. He loved his new pet. While neither of them were given any respect on their own, together, people just seemed to be more considerate. On the way home, the crowd, instead of bumping into him, trying to trip him, and cursing at him, had all gone silent and made way for him. “Put your hand on the kit's injury and push chakra into it.” Naruto was startled and looked around, but did not see anyone. “Who's there?” “Just do as I told you if you want to heal the kit,” the voice ordered. Naruto placed his hand on the injured leg of Akama and pushed out his chakra. Instead of his normal chakra, a strange red chakra burst from his hand and seemed to have a mind of its own as it seeped into the injured leg. The chakra burned him, but did not seem to harm Akama so he kept going until his normal chakra flowed out. “What was that?” Naruto asked. Akama yipped, and somehow Naruto could understand it as a thank you. “You're welcome,” Naruto said, “No one deserves to be attacked like that for no reason.” Akama agreed and began chewing at his bandages, trying to remove them. Naruto took a kunai and helped by cutting them off. The injured leg was as good as new. “How did I do that?” Naruto wondered aloud, but received no answer.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

The Hyuugas, with the exception of Hinata, had pretty much done everything in their power to convince Naruto to get rid of the fox without actually attacking either Naruto or Akama. It was not such a terrible thing, but Naruto was getting very hungry since he had been feeding the fox off of his own plate and the fox seemed to be carnivorous. Naruto ate his rice and miso broth hungrily for breakfast while Akama helped himself to Naruto's fish. When Naruto was finished, his stomach growled for more. “Here,” Hinata said, giving half of her fish to Naruto. “Thanks, but you need to eat too,” Naruto replied, “I can't let you go hungry for me.” “It's okay for one day,” Hinata said, “Even before you never got as much as you wanted.” The Hyuuga meals were strictly planned to be balanced and healthy, however, Naruto seemed to need more than the average Hyuuga and was rapidly losing weight now that he ate only half of his food. “Y-you could hunt... I-if y-you wanted t-too,” she suggested. “That's a good idea, I could find rabbits or something with my eyes, and Akama could help me catch them. It would be like training and we could eat what we caught.” Hinata blushed at the compliment.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Naruto soon found that hunting was a lot more difficult than he had expected. It was easy to find animals to catch, but actually catching them was much more difficult. He had been stalking one rabbit for close to three hours now, but it always found a way to escape. Sometimes, it would scurry through brush too dense for Naruto to fit through. Other times, it would pop into a hole and come out at a different location. He could have easily killed it with a brace of shuriken or kunai, but he hadn't wanted to hurt the creature and had not thought as far ahead as how he was going to eat it. Eventually, Akama got bored of the hunt and decided to intervene on Naruto's behalf. He leapt off of Naruto's head and bounded after the rabbit, cutting off its escape. His jaws clamped down on the rabbit's neck and he whipped it around with an audible snap as the rabbit's neck broke. Naruto didn't feel hungry anymore. He could only watch in in horrified fascination as the kit tore open the rabbit's brown fur and began pulling out chunks of meat and swallowing them. Soon, the edible part of the rabbit was finished and Akama ran back over to Naruto, satisfied with his meal. On the way back to the Hyuuga compound to take a bath and remove the blood, the villagers looked at him with more terror than he had ever seen and he heard whispers about bloody murderous foxes. Despite his horror at the violence, it did not stop him from going hunting again that night. This time, he used a kunai to end it quickly and cooked the animal by impaling it on a stick and holding it over a small fire. Though it sated his hunger, it didn't sit well with him and he snuck into Hinata's room that night and cried himself to sleep in her lap while she stroked his hair. Despite this, the next day after breakfast, he went out to do it again.

Chapter 11: Graduation

A week before the start of his last year at the academy, Tsunade brought Naruto to the hospital. “All of his organs have been checked out. Luckily, the amount of dead tissue in his brain was minimal, so there shouldn't be too many neurological complications. His liver, on the other hand, was completely shot and had to be replaced. His other major organs were somewhere in between and we were able to heal them with medical ninjutsu.” “So, he's going to be okay?” Naruto asked. “Yes, he'll be in perfect shape in a little over a year. We still have to do all of his other tissues like bones and muscles. He'll probably need another extended stay in the hospital when we work on his spine and skull, but we will be working on his extremities first then working our way to his core unless something else comes up.” “Too bad, I was going to give him a copy of the Icha Icha Golden Series as a get well gift,” Kakashi said, appearing next to them in a swirl of leaves, “Well since I bought them, it would be a shame to put them to waste.” He pulled out a yellow book and began to giggle in a perverted manner as he read. Tsunade punched the man for his perversity, sending him flying, before she continued, “He'll be in a lot of pain, but he'll be on powerful pain medication. I'll be trusting you to make sure that he doesn't overexert himself. That means no fighting, no training, and no moving in any way that a civilian might find strenuous.” “I'll keep a clone with him at all times to make sure!” Naruto said. “That's good, and I have no doubt that Hiashi will feel the need to assign one of the Hyuuga medics to his full time care, and probably a young and pretty one.” “Why would he do that?” Naruto asked. “Naughty nurse...” Kakashi giggled as he returned through the hole he had made in the wall when Tsunade had punched him, his cheek beginning to swell. “Strong genes are important, as are strong family jutsu, especially to a powerful clan like the Hyuuga. If your father can be seduced and brought into the clan, those genes and jutsu like the hiraishin would become Hyuuga property and make them even more feared. Just think about the hiraishin for a minute. It allows you to teleport with very little chakra use. The Hyuuga fighting style is possible the most deadly taijutsu there is at close range. If they have a way of getting in close in an instant, then they would immediately be in range to destroy their opponent.” “The hiraishin is that good?” Naruto asked. “Your father killed over a thousand ninja in a single battle with that jutsu.” “Tsunade-sama,” Kakashi intervened, “Perhaps it would be best not to mention any more. It was his fathers wish that Naruto's true heritage not be revealed until he is strong enough to survive a full attack from his father's enemies.” “So, how are you doing with our kawarimi?” Tsunade asked, changing the subject. “It's easier to do it without hand seals than with them,” Naruto replied happily. “What about normal clones, has your chakra control gotten good enough to create them?” “No, no matter how much I try, I can't even create one decent clone,” Naruto sighed despondently. “Have you been trying to make just one?” Tsunade asked. “Yeah, it should be easier to do just one, right?” Naruto said. “That's true, if you have the chakra reserves of a normal academy student, but your chakra reserves exceed that of many kage level ninja. Have you ever tried using as little chakra as you can to make a lot of clones instead?” “But, that should be even harder, right?” “Just try to make about a hundred clones with the minimal amount of chakra you can use.” Ram, snake, tiger; Naruto performed the clone jutsu and tried to make one hundred clones. Each of them looked sickly or off color. “Now try one hundred and twenty, and keep increasing until you get some healthy looking clones.” There were many startled villagers as the two walked to the hospital thanks to the masses of sickly clones that were created. When he reached three hundred clones, they looked almost normal, but, when he went up to three hundred and twenty, they began too look worse, so Naruto started working backwards from there, and by the time he reached the hospital, he had figures out that he could make no less than three hundred and eight clones. “That's a lot of clones, and it doesn't take nearly as much chakra as even one shadow clone.” “That's because a shadow clone evenly splits your chakra. If you made enough shadow clones, they would take the same amount of chakra each, but wouldn't last long because they would quickly run out of chakra. As you get better at chakra control, you'll be able to make smaller and smaller numbers of clones,” Tsunade explained, “Now, that's enough practice for now. Let's get your dad out of here.”

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Minato lay in his bed in a rather excessive amount of pain, despite the high dosages of pain killers. Every bone and muscle in his body hurt. He had been given the option of disabling his sense of pain entirely, but that had several risks of its own, including the risk of bleeding to death before he would even realized he had been injured. Despite this, he was rather surprised when he saw Naruto come in wearing a living fox kit as a hat. “Tsunade,” he addressed the busty blond when she followed his son into the room, “Do the drugs you have me on cause hallucinogenic effects?” “No, are you having hallucinations?” “I think I see Naruto wearing a fox as a hat,” Minato said. “That's Akama, my ninken. Inu-kaasan gave him to me,” Naruto announced proudly, “He keeps all the bad people away somehow.” Minato almost laughed at that. The villagers probably thought the kit was a manifestation of Naruto's burden, not just an innocent animal. “Dad, do I have another bloodline ability?” Naruto asked. “Did you do something other people can't?” “When I got Akama, he was hurt. A voice told me to put my chakra into him. When I did, red chakra came out and healed him, and now I can kind of understand a little of what he says.” “That's interesting,” Minato said, “I know what it is, and I'll tell you when you graduate. It is because of that secret.” “Oh...” “Have you tried putting more chakra into Akama and drawing some of his chakra into your body. You will probably bond like an Inuzuka with one of their ninken and be able to completely understand him.” “Inu-kaasan wouldn't tell me how to do that since it was a clan secret. Kiba will be surprised.” Naruto grinned as he sat on a chair and began pushing some of his chakra into the fox kit. “Not too much, Naruto,” Tsunade warned, “The chakra capacity of that kit cannot be too high and you don't want to blow him up.” “Give me more, I can take it!” the fox yipped, sending a stream of red chakra back into Naruto. “That chakra is hot!” Naruto yelped in surprise. “Of course it is. All kitsune are fire natured.” Akama replied, “Your chakra is sharp, but you don't hear me complaining.” “Sharp chakra... Dad, if hot chakra is fire natured, what would sharp chakra be?” “Wind natured chakra, I suppose you are getting more than just a vague sense of what he's saying now,” Minato said. “Yeah, and he's fire natured like all kitsune.” “Well, that can be very useful if you learn a wind jutsu and he learns a fire jutsu. Wind can combine with fire to increase the fire's power.” “How does he think I am supposed to learn fire jutsu without another fox to teach me?” Akama asked. “Akama wants to know where he could learn to do fox jutsu since there aren't many foxes around he could learn from,” Naruto relayed. Tsunade looked a little nervous and Minato coughed loudly. “I am sure that you'll manage,” Minato said with a nervous chuckle, “Why don't we head home for now.” “About that, our apartment was blown up after you stopped coming home,” Naruto said. “Where have you been staying? Have you been getting enough to eat?” Minato asked. “It's fine. I've been staying with the Hyuugas, but their meals are so small that I have to go out and hunt every day. I don't know how they don't starve when they eat so little.” “The Hyuuga have tremendous chakra control, which comes at the cost of quantity. You generate more chakra in an hour than Hiashi does in a month. It's no surprise that a Hyuuga meal doesn't do enough to restore that.” “I like when we hunt better. Fresher kills are more satisfying,” Akama added, “And, chasing the rabbits is fun.”

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Naruto and Hinata arrived for the first day of class and sat in the back row. They were soon joined by Shino, and eventually Shikamaru and Chouji. Over the years this had become a sort of arrangement. Naruto sat in the back because the teachers always hated him and he was less likely to receive the wrong sort of attention. Hinata sat in the back because that is where Naruto was. Shino sat in the back so that none of the other students would freak out at his bugs. Shikamaru was just too lazy to move any closer to the front of the class, and Chouji followed him because they had been friends since times before they could remember. One thing was different this year. Their normal chunin instructor had been killed on a mission during the break, so a new sensei was sitting at the front of the class and writing in a notebook. He had a scar across the bridge of his nose that went all the way from one side of his face to the other and his hair was pulled up into a tuft at the top of his head like Shikamaru's, giving him a profile like a pineapple. Over at the side of the classroom stood their secondary instructor, a man that Naruto already knew well because he had been the assistant to their last instructor as well, a man named Mizuki. He had shoulder length silver hair which was parted down the middle and little else of note except for the occasional fuuma shuriken. The teacher stood up, and cleared his throat when the clock indicated it was time for class to start. He was completely ignored by the children until he did a genjutsu that made his head seem unnaturally large and amplified his voice. “Everyone sit down!” The imperative reached the children and they all sat and gave their full attention to their new sensei. He released the jutsu and continued to talk in a normal voice. “My name is Iruka Umino, and I will be your instructor for your final year at the academy. I hope we can...” His eyes rested glaringly on Naruto and his fox for a minute before softening. “I hope we can get along well and you'll feel comfortable coming to me if you have any problems.” It was strange for Naruto. Iruka kept talking and talking about boring things, and the next thing he knew, Hinata was waking him for lunch. He didn't even remember going to sleep. Of course, this wouldn't have been so bad, if his clones had not dispelled when he had fallen asleep. They had barely made any progress in his training. He quickly made a new shadow clone and sent it out to replace the ones he had lost. “Naruto, before you go to lunch, I'd like to have a private chat with you,” Iruka called. Naruto sighed and followed Iruka into the attached office at the front of the class. This year did not seem to be off to a good start since he wasn't even through half the day and already getting into trouble. “Tell me, Uzumaki-san, what was my lecture about this morning?” Iruka asked. “How to be a ninja,” Naruto guessed. “That's what every lecture in this academy is about, but I'd like you to be more specific.” “I would, but the lecture was so boring that I couldn't stay awake. It's not like I'll ever use it in a battle. In a battle, it's all about what you can do, not what you know.” “And if you can do a lot of things, but don't know when to use them, then you will just be wasting time and energy doing them,” Iruka countered. “We're talking about training and fighting, and battles, some of the most interesting things in the world, but you still managed to bore me to sleep. It's not my fault.” “I'll make you a deal, I'll try and make my lecture more exciting, and you try harder to stay awake.” “Fine,” Naruto said, agreeing reluctantly. “Now, why don't you tell me why you brought a pet to class when animals are forbidden.” “Why aren't you complaining about Kiba bringing Akamaru?” Naruto said. “Akamaru is a ninken, he is used as a ninja tool,” Iruka explained. “So is Akama. I learned to speak to him and everything,” Naruto boasted. “Does he know any jutsu?” Iruka looked skeptical. “Well, not yet,” Naruto admitted, “but I know his chakra is fire natured, which I can use with my wind chakra once he has learned how to make fire. There aren't many foxes around Konoha for some reason, so it's hard to find him a teacher.” “As long as he doesn't disturb he class, he can stay, but I want to see you working with him and finish a jutsu by the end of the year.” “Even if it is just a taijutsu combination, I'll get him into ninja shape,” Naruto promised. Iruka nodded and dismissed him. “Go on and eat lunch then.” -Return of the Hummingbird-

It was finally time for the academy graduation test. Naruto was excited. He knew he was ready. He wasn't too confident in the paper section, but he knew he had the practical part down. With many shadow clones working all day, his body now found the forms of the academy taijutsu to be natural. He had also learned the forms for most of his father's style and how to emit juukouken strikes from his hands. He still needed to learn how to emit them from his elbows, knees, feet and head before he could really use it effectively with his fighting style, but he was making a lot of progress. He had mastered the henge as well as the clone jutsu, which he could now do creating a mere two hundred and ninety six clones, thanks to his work on chakra control. His kunai throwing was second only to the Uchiha. The first exam was the written portion. Mizuki handed out the papers and Naruto looked at it blankly. He couldn't understand any of the questions. After several minutes of not writing, Hinata looked over at his test then, in a show of boldness uncharacteristic of her, she announced, “I-Iruka- sensei, s-someone p-put a genjutsu on N-Naruto's test.” Iruka came to Naruto's seat and confirmed the genjutsu, giving him a new test. “You can have an extra ten minutes when Mizuki starts the taijutsu exams,” Iruka told him. “Thanks, Iruka-sensei,” Naruto said. Iruka had, in Naruto's opinion, been the best teacher he had ever had in the academy. He actually paid attention to him and answered his questions and treated him fairly. With the new test. Naruto felt fairly confident in a few of his answers at least, and could make decent guesses at the rest. It turned out that he did not need the extra ten minutes and he went with the other students when it was time for the taijutsu exam. “Okay, in this exam, you'll be sparring with Mizuki. He will only be using the basic forms of academy taijutsu. The fight will last for five minutes or until one of you gets knocked out of the ring, or is disabled. You will get points for how long you last as well as any hits you manage to land.” Most of the students managed to last two to three minutes. Kiba only lasted two but managed to land three glancing blows. Hinata managed almost four minutes before being forced out of the ring. Sasuke Uchiha lasted the full five minutes and even got two hits in. When it was Naruto's turn, he turned off his weights to give himself every chance he could get. Seconds into his match, the Haruno girl and Ino got into a fight over Sasuke, distracting both Iruka and the other students for a moment. Mizuki had taken this chance to try a non-standard hold to try and take Naruto down. Naruto used his superior strength to reverse the hold and throw Mizuki from the ring. “One and a half minutes to defeat the instructor. Good job, Naruto.” “No, he cheated,” Mizuki said, “He used some jutsu to enhance his strength. He was never that strong before.” “I don't cheat!” Naruto protested, “I just turned off my weights. I was forbidden to fight the other students with my weights off the first year, so you've just never seen how strong I actually am.” “You never removed any weights!” “My dad is a fuuinjutsu master, of course I use chakra weights,” Naruto explained as if it was obvious. “Naruto, how much weight do you usually wear?” Iruka asked. “I set it to whatever seems to be hard every morning.” “Can you set them and give one to me so I can check?” Naruto nodded and restored his weights to a good level, then removed the one from his right wrist and handed it to Iruka who immediately dropped it. “I have to agree with Naruto. I could not even lift that weight without enhancing my body with chakra, and he can lift it with one hand easily.” “If you think that is heavy, you should try the vest, it contains ten times as much weight.” “Too bad Maito Gai took a team last year. I think you would have gotten along well with him.” “He's Tenten's sensei! His eyebrows are huge. I thought they were a genjutsu at first.” Naruto laughed. “Well next up is target practice,” Iruka announced, leading the group towards the practice area where six targets were set up. In the kunai test, Naruto came in second by hitting every target, but only one was a bulls eye. The Uchiha hit all six bulls eyes. The final test was a jutsu test. One by one, the students were called into Iruka's office to demonstrate their jutsu, then returned with a leaf hitai-ate. Naruto was the last to go. “Okay, Naruto. First, henge into the third hokage,” Iruka told him. Naruto immediately disappeared and was replaced by a perfect replica of the Hiruzen Sarutobi. “Good job, you've even mastered the jutsu.” Iruka was quite impressed. “Now perform a replacement.” Naruto switched himself with a chair, once again without hand signs. “You already have two jutsu mastered, that is impressive. Usually, a ninja never masters more than one jutsu in their entire career, let alone before they graduate the academy. Next, I need you to create three clones.” “I can't create three clones. My chakra reserves are too high and I can't release that small of an amount. I have to make at least two hundred and ninety six regular clones, but if you want I can make three shadow clones instead.” “Naruto, the shadow clone technique is dangerous. If you make too many, it can kill you,” Iruka warned. “I know, but I have a lot of chakra. I already have a few hundred shadow clones training my taijutsu and ninjutsu in the forest.” “Okay, well show me your normal clones first,” Iruka said, shocked and dumbfounded by the sheer number of clones which he could never even dream of creating. Naruto grinned and performed the technique without any seals, filling the room completely with clones, though many quickly dispelled as they bumped into furniture or walls. “Okay. I am impressed,” Iruka said. “And here's the shadow clones,” Naruto said as he formed the special hand seal and created exactly three clones. “Congratulations, Naruto, you pass and I think you have a good chance at rookie of the year as well.” “Thanks, Iruka-sensei!” Naruto grinned and picked up his head band and tying it around his head before being led back out into the classroom. “Congratulations to those who passed. To those who didn't, better luck next year. Everyone who passed should show up tomorrow at the regular time to learn your team placements and meet your jounin sensei.”

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Itachi sat in the hokage's office working late. It seemed that the paperwork had no end, even when he was using a couple shadow clones to speed things along. The team assignments were the most difficult part. There were many traditions such as putting the rookie of the year with the dead last. Of course, that meant having to figure out who the rookie of the year was. Usually it was a clear cut distinction of one person rising above all the others, but there were no such things. While Sakura Haruno scored perfect on the ninjutsu and written portions of the exam, her taijutsu was almost as bad as the Nara boy who easily took the dead last position due to incomplete work. Sasuke had excellent marks in all three areas, but was not first place in any of them. Naruto had exceeded all expectations in taijutsu and ninjutsu but had a failing grade on the written portion. Then there was the problem of Shikamaru Nara. He should have been paired up with one of the three contenders for rookie of the year, but Inoichi, Shikaku and Chouza were leaning on him to create a second coming of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio. Itachi was about to try to form decent teams again when he heard scratching noises through the window, like someone was trying to climb the wall. He motioned for the ANBU to hide, then stood beside the window and cloaked himself with the standard ANBU invisibility jutsu. He was slightly surprised when Mizuki entered the office and spun around while brandishing a fuuma shuriken. Itachi watched calmly as Mizuki relaxed and chuckled. “Someone forgot to turn off the lights,” Mizuki muttered to himself, “I was worried there for a second. Orochimaru does not accept failures.” He abandoned all pretense of stealth and boldly walked over to the forbidden scroll of seals. He picked it up, then tried to jump out the window, but Itachi held out his arm and clotheslined the man, sending him gagging to the floor. “And, what does Orochimaru want with the forbidden scroll of seals?” he asked, appearing over Mizuki. “I don't know what you're talking about!” Mizuki lied, glancing about for an exit. “You know, if there is one thing I truly hate, it is traitors,” Itachi said, “Tsukuyomi!” Mizuki screamed in horror for about three seconds before passing out. “One of you take him to Ibiki,” Itachi suddenly had a devious idea and grinned wickedly as he said, “And send a message to Anko Mitarashi while you're there. Tell her that she is to meet her genin team at the academy at ten.” It was a brilliant idea. He discarded everything he had listed so far and instead began listing the types of teams that Konoha would be needing. At the top of the list, Itachi wrote:

Tracking, Infiltration, and Assassination Team Sensei: Anko Mitarashi Genin: Hinata Hyuuga, Shino Aburame, Naruto Uzumaki (Note: Assign Tora capture mission when available.)

Chapter 12: Team Revelations

Naruto couldn't be more excited. He was now officially a genin, and in a few minutes, he would find out who his team mates and sensei would be. He was bouncing up and down in his seat as he waited for Iruka to make his way to the front of the class. “This year is special,” Iruka began, “You all worked so hard and earned those headbands. You did so well that we are breaking with tradition in many ways. First, there is no single rookie of the year, instead we have three. For outstanding academic achievement, our number one ninja is Sakura Haruno. For outstanding practical skills, our number one ninja is Naruto Uzumaki.” “Yes! I am the best!” Naruto cheered and Hinata gave him a congratulatory hug. “Finally, out number one ninja in overall grades is Sasuke Uchiha who ranked highly in both academic and practical marks.” Sasuke scowled, upset to have not received marks that would set him above everyone else, but a good portion of the girls cheered for him. “Now, normally, we try to create teams that are balanced and meet the requests of the various clans. This year, things were done differently. Rather than balancing the teams and calling them by number, specialties that are in short supply or will soon have many ninja retiring have had teams created that will fill the void.” Naruto listened intently to hear the teams that would contain his friends. “The first team will specialize in tracking, infiltration, and assassination. They are Naruto Uzumaki, Hinata Hyuuga and Shino Aburame.” “Awesome! Our team rocks!” Naruto cheered and danced. Hinata blushed. Shino remained stoically seated. “And you sensei will be Anko Mitarashi.” “Dammit! Not the crazy snake lady!” Naruto collapsed into his seat. “She c-can't be that b-bad,” Hinata said. “Her idea of not hurting someone is to hit them everywhere except the vital spots, and her kunai are poisoned,” Naruto grumbled. Hinata shivered a bit at the thought. Shino merely arched an eyebrow. “The next team is a hunting, interrogation and intelligence squad. This team will consist of Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, and Kiba Inuzuka. Their sensei will be Asuma Sarutobi,” Iruka continued listing teams until he reached the final team, “The final team will specialize in assault, combat and demolition. Their team will be Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, and Chouji Akimichi.” “No! I wanted to be on Sasuke's team! Why is forehead on their team?” Ino screeched angrily. “That is because the Yamanaka clan jutsus are best suited for interrogation. Since Sakura is from a civilian family, her family jutsu did not need to be taken into account. With her ability to think and her excellent chakra control, she is the perfect support fighter for an assault squad since she has the skills required to either become a genjutsu support fighter or a combat medic,” Iruka explained. Ino pouted, unable to refute the logical choice, but that didn't stop her from glaring icily at Sakura. “Now, if there are no more interruptions, the sensei for the assault team will be Kakashi Hatake.” “I wish Kakashi was our sensei,” Naruto sighed. “Now, you have about fifteen minutes before the jounin sensei if your teams will begin arriving. I recommend you use this time to get to know your team and figure out how you would best work together. And, remember, even if you're the first in the class, it doesn't mean you can't be the first in a grave. Be careful out there, work together, and stay safe.” Iruka stepped into his office, leaving the new genin alone. “Well, what should we do while we wait?” Naruto asked. “Umm, perhaps w-we sh-should get to know e-e-each other better,” Hinata suggested. “That is logical,” Shino agreed, “Even though we are well acquainted due to our periodic group training sessions and time spent together in this educational facility, it would be useful to know the full extent of each other's capabilities in order to enhance our effectiveness.” “Uhh...” Naruto stared blankly, trying to process the words that he had just heard. “He said we should list our skills so we can work together better,” Hinata simplified. “Oh... Well we already know most of what the others can do. We've been training together every week.” “It is possible that there have been significant developments of which one or more of the others are not aware,” Shino reasoned. “He said we might have learned something that we haven't shown off yet.” “I guess I'll go first,” Naruto volunteered, “I know the academy taijutsu, most of the hummingbird style that my dad uses, and I am beginning to learn juukouken. I know the shadow clone jutsu, and I can do the three academy jutsus without hand seals, however my transformations are solid and I need to make a minimum of almost three hundred clones. My marksmanship is second only to Tenten, and I know how to create and modify sealing scrolls and paper bombs.” Naruto relaxed and waited for someone to go next. “You have a varied skill set, and each is trained well, though I would feel more confident in my assessment if you would disclose the fundamental tenets of the juukouken style,” Shino queried. “Juu-juukouken is l-like the gentle f-fist, b-b-but attempts to deal damage to the b-b-body rather th-th-than the chakra coils. Be-because it does n-not need the to strike the ten-ten-tenketsu, it does require the byakugan to be performed, though it will be even more effective when combined with Naruto's doujutsu.” “Oh, yeah, I forgot about that,” Naruto grinned, “My eyes can see heat, even through other things and can follow and predict where to hit.” “And, what about Akama's abilities,” Shino asked. “Well, he can follow things by smell, and he can bite them. If I push chakra into him, he can grow a little bigger and stronger and it will heal his injuries.” “Your abilities are varied and useful. I would recommend bringing sealing supplies on missions in case we are required to transfer an object or run out of explosive notes.” “Thanks, Shino,” Naruto grinned widely at the praise. “My abilities include the three academy basics and taijutsu. If I require a solid clone, I can create a bug clone. My kikaichuu can be used for scouting or as a defensive perimeter to detect intruders. If I place a female kikai on a person, I will be able to follow the trail of pheromones. I have already placed one on each of you in case of an emergency, please do not kill them. I can pass messages by having the kikai form letters. They can devour chakra and weaken opponents and, if necessary, I have a small colony that will consume flesh as well. However, because I have the kikaichu, I must give them half my chakra so I will never be able to use large chakra intensive jutsu that do not use my allies.” “I have the b-byakugan, gentle f-fist, and t-the academy b-basics,” Hinata said, looking ashamed at having such an inferior skill set. “In that case, you have two minutes to get to training ground eight,” Anko appeared behind them, “For every minute you are late, you'll get fifteen minutes with my friends.” Anko disappeared in a swirl of leaves. “Run!” Naruto yelled in a panic, grabbing Hinata and lifting her right out of her chair and raced out of the classroom.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

It took Naruto, Hinata and Shino ten minutes to get to the training field, which Shino thankfully knew the location of. “My name is Anko Mitarashi, and from now on I own you,” she greeted them when they arrived, “I did not want and did not ask to be given a genin team. I don't like you and I don't want to be wasting my time on D-ranked missions. Now, when I give you an order, you will follow it. You will not question it. You will not hesitate. You will do as you are told. If I tell you to slit you own throat, you will not disobey me, because I am a jounin and I know a hell of a lot more than you and you will do what I say because that is what is best for Konoha. Now, I told you to get here in two minutes. You took ten. For the next two hours, you will run laps around this training field.” Anko summoned a snake large enough to swallow any of the genin. “And you had better not go too slow, because my friend here will be on your asses! Now, RUN!” The three ran for their lives as the snake chased after them. “I told you she was crazy!” Naruto yelled. “Damn straight!” Anko agreed, barely missing him with a kunai. Naruto and Akama were used to long periods of running thanks to their daily hunts; Hinata and Shino were not. After twenty minutes, the snake was beginning to close the gap. At forty, Hinata stumbled and fell, too tired to get back up again. “Hinata-chan!” Naruto reversed direction in an instant and punched the snake in the jaw before its mouth could close over his fiancée. The snake disappeared in a puff of smoke. “Pitiful. You could only last forty minutes. How do you expect to be a ninja with stamina like that? I once had to run three days and four nights to accomplish a mission. There were no rests, and no breaks. If your muscles can't handle it on their own, reinforce them with chakra. Now, get up and continue running!” Anko yelled, summoning a snake twice as large as the first and much faster. Five minutes later, all three genin had learned how to enhance their muscles with chakra. When the exercise was over, all three genin collapsed in exhaustion. “Good, at least you're not totally worthless. As you can see, my methods are harsh, but effective. In the past two hours, you've learned a skill that you will be using for the rest of your ninja career. From now on, this is your warm up. You will arrive two hours before I show up every day. You will run circles around the field for an hour. You will then punch and kick a log five hundred times with each arm and leg. If you have time left over, you will do push ups, sit ups, squats, and practice every chakra control exercise you know while doing target practice. By the end of the month you are to be able to finish all these with time to spare. For two hours before you return home, you will do the same as a cool down exercise. In between, you will be doing missions or whatever training I assign to you. If I am not here for whatever reason, you will still show up, do your warm up, practice what I've taught you all day, then return home after your cooldown. There will be no slacking. Am I understood?” “Yes, Anko-sensei!” the three genin replied immediately. “Well, that's all for today. Training begins every morning at seven, so be here at five.” The three genin sighed in relief, stood up and started walking towards the village. “Where do you think you're going?” Anko asked, doing a shunshin to appear in front of them. “Home,” Naruto replied. “No! Training is over, that means you do your cool down!” Anko summoned another snake, “Now, start running!” Two hours later, the three genin collapsed, unable to move. “Okay. Now, the three of you are going to eat at the Hyuuga compound. Naruto's old man has some S-ranked secrets to tell you that could impact the way the team functions. You will assimilate the information. If you do not like what you hear, tough luck because you are not changing teams and telling anyone who doesn't know is punishable by death. You've been practicing running all day, so why are you still here? Go, and when I see you from now on, you'd better damn well be wearing only greens, browns, and blacks!”

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Though the kids had arrived later than the usual supper hour, Minato had them take a bath before their dinner and discussion. They had been dirty, and sweaty, and tired, and the bath would not only remove the stench, but also help them to relax after a hard day of training. Fortunately, the Hyuuga had rather large baths separated for the sexes so that they could bathe at the same time. The kids returned, refreshed from their baths, to a large congratulatory dinner. “Well, I am glad that you guys survived your first day with Anko. You'll find that she is very good at what she does, and she can be a good friend once you get to know her. But, we're not here to talk about Anko's troubled personal life. We're here to talk about Naruto and a big secret that has been kept from him and everyone else his age and younger,” Minato said, “It will be long, and complicated, and you might find some parts of what I am going to tell you frightening and disturbing, but please remain calm and I will answer any questions you might have when I am done talking. In the meantime, feel free to fill you bellies while I talk.” All three genin began eating ravenously. They had worked hard that day and burned a lot of energy that needed to be replaced. Once the feeding frenzy had calmed a bit, Minato began his story. “The story begins in a place that was once known as Uzushiogakure, a village that was destroyed in a surprise attack by the combined forces of Iwa and Kumo. In this village was a clan that was a branch from the ancient Senju tribe, which separated long before Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha created the Konohagakure. The Uzumaki clan was known for two things, first was their ability in fuuinjutsu. Even Jiraiya of the Sannin and the Fourth Hokage were novices in comparison to the masters of the Uzumaki clan. The second thing they were known for was their incredible vitality. This allowed them to heal much faster and it was not abnormal for them to live twice as long as other people. This vitality was a bloodline ability which Naruto has, and due to a certain factor which I will come to later, his healing is accelerated even further by his excess chakra, and I suspect that given training, he would be able to focus the chakra to concentrate healing in areas to make otherwise fatal wounds heal. “Now, getting back to my story,” Minato continued, noticing that the eating had almost stopped as the three listened intently, “Now, despite separating, the Senju and Uzumaki clans remained close and, because of this, the first Hokage married an Uzumaki named Mito Uzumaki. She was a powerful and respected kunoichi and exceptionally skilled in fuuinjutsu. Her husband, as you probably know, was the first and only man to naturally have the Mokuton bloodline which allowed him to not only manipulate wood but also to subdue the bijuu. “One day, Madara Uchiha decided to betray the village and fought with Hashirama Senju at a place we call the Valley of the End. He used a kinjutsu to summon the most terrifying bijuu of them all, the Kyuubi no Kitsune. Using an advanced form of the sharingan, which I hope will never be seen again, Madara was able to control the Kyuubi and force it to fight for him. The two founders of Konoha fought on equal grounds until Hashirama managed to subdue the Kyuubi with his mokuton abilities. While it was subdued, Mito used her sealing abilities to seal Kyuubi within herself, becoming the first jinchuuriki of the nine tailed demon. Now, she was not the demon itself, but merely a prison that held it so that it could not harm the village.” Shino's eyebrows raised in sudden understanding, but he said nothing and listened to the continuation of the story. “Mito Senju, no longer an Uzumaki due to her marriage, helped her husband to capture the other eight bijuu and sealed them, distributing the nine demons to the great villages and Konoha's allies as part of a treaty that lasted until the second great ninja war. “During Mito's lifetime, the fox never managed to escape, though it came close on a few occasions when she gave birth to her children and the seal was weakened by the strain on her body. When Mito's life came near to it's end, she sent to Uzushiogakure to have another Uzumaki come to be the next host of the demon. There was one Uzumaki who had a secondary bloodline that was rightly believed to be able to help her control the fox. This ability was a special chakra that could form binding chains and belonged to Kushina Uzumaki, Naruto's mother. Mito extracted the Kyuubi from herself and resealed it into Kushina, though the strain of performing this combined with the loss of the demon chakra was enough to overcome her vitality and ended her life. “Time passed and I fell in love with Kushina, and eventually my feelings were returned and we conceived Naruto. The pregnancy was difficult and longer than usual because of the demon, but that only made us love Naruto more. When the time came for him to be born, we remembered that Mito's seal weakened while giving birth and, to be safe, we left the village to deliver the baby. When Naruto was born, a man whom I believe was Madara Uchiha, or at least that is what he claimed as impossible as that sounds, used a space-time ninjutsu to attack and kidnap Naruto. When I chased after him, he doubled back and attacked Kushina, releasing Kyuubi and using his sharingan he forced it to attack the village on October tenth twelve years ago. “Now, you've probably heard the story during your classes at the academy about how the great fourth hokage killed the fox and saved the village. That is a lie. A bijuu is an entity composed entirely of chakra. It can be slowed down, a large enough explosion could disperse the chakra temporarily, it can be controlled with certain blood lines, but since it does not have any physical body, it can not be killed. The fourth hokage took Naruto, since he was the best chance the village had of survival, and sacrificed his own soul to the shinigami to not only seal the Kyuubi into Naruto but to bind it to his body.” Hinata gasped in shock. Shino sat motionless but calm. Naruto cried out, “Does that mean I am the Kyuubi?” “Despite what many of the older generation think, you are not the Kyuubi. The Kyuubi is sealed inside of you, just not with a normal seal. The fourth hokage used the shiki fuuin, or reaper death seal. However, the seal is known by another name, the dead demon consuming seal. You all may have noticed that Naruto have chakra reserves that rival most kages. Part of this is from the Uzumaki vitality bloodline. Part of this is because the seal is slowly taking the demonic chakra and transforming it into normal chakra which is taken away from the demon and added to Naruto's reserves. If I am correct and the Uzumaki vitality is directly proportional to chakra reserves, Naruto should live long enough that Kyuubi should be consumed completely, killing the demon. If he does not live long enough, at the very least, the fox will be weaker and easier to seal.” “So, Naruto has the potential to become as powerful and as long lived as the demon itself.” “No, he will never be as as powerful as the demon because he has a mortal body. I suspect he might be able to survive the loss of his heart or lungs temporarily, but if he gets his head blown off, it's over just like anyone else. And, please don't go testing that theory, as much as I've had to consider the possibility that my son could die, I'd much rather he outlive me by a few hundred years or so.” “Does this mean I should call you grandpa?” Akama asked. “What did your ally say?” Shino asked. “He wants to know whether he should start referring to me as his grandfather...” “Does that mean he is actually related to Kyuubi?” Minato asked. “Of course. All foxes are descendants of Kyuubi, though the ones more closely related to him are bigger and stronger.” “He says that all foxes came from Kyuubi... Is it possible for me to talk to Kyuubi? He could help me train Akama and teach him fox jutsu!” Akama grinned happily at the idea. “It is possible, though you would need to enter a meditative state or he would have to want to talk to you.” “So it wasn't me who healed Akama then, the voice that told me what to do must have been the voice of Kyuubi.” “Even if it was Kyu-kyuubi w-who told you how, i-it was you who d-did it,” Hinata encouraged him. “Hey, Jii-san, wake up and teach me some jutsu!” Akama head-butted Naruto in the stomach, knocking him over. “He'll teach you when I learn to talk to him, and he probably won't even notice you doing that, though my supper will likely tell you how it feels if you do that again. Akama made a strange purring noise that sounded almost like laughter. “I'm glad to see you're all taking this so well,” Minato said. “N-Naruto is Naruto. Even if h-he was the fox it-itself, I-I have always l-loved him,” Hinata said with a blush, earning a grateful hug from Naruto who was afraid that his friends might abandon him because of this news. “Many people dislike my clan because they are afraid of the kikaichuu,” Shino said, “It would be illogical for me to dislike someone because they have another organism living inside them when I, myself, am living under similar conditions. However, I also know that there are certain circumstances where my allies will not be under my control. Are there any circumstances where Naruto could lose control of or be taken over by the fox?” “If he never contacts it, then no, it should never be able to do anything worse than talk to him when he is sufficiently relaxed, but I don't expect that to be the case. It is too valuable as a ninja tool not to have available. Demonic chakra is less stable than human chakra, and will damage anyone who comes in contact with it who has not grown up with demonic chakra in their body. So, he should avoid touching allies with the demonic chakra unless it is absolutely necessary. Wounds caused by the demonic chakra will not heal and the residual demonic chakra will act like a poison until it is extracted or destroyed by that person's own chakra. This is one of the reasons that I wanted Naruto to learn the juukouken. If he performed it with demonic chakra, any hit even near a vital organ would be fatal. From what I learned from Kushina, the fox will try to convince Naruto to remove the seal. If he does, the Kyuubi will escape and Naruto would likely die. If Naruto draws Kyuubi's chakra out of the seal, it will be able to influence his actions if his mind isn't strong enough to resist. The more he draws out, the more influence Kyuubi will have. If he tries to draw out all of Kyuubi's power, it is possible that the seal could break and the Kyuubi could be released. Of course, as Naruto absorbs the fox's power the fox will have less influence, but because of the dangers he should only use it as a last resort.” Minato withdrew a small stack of papers with seals drawn on them. “If he accidentally loses control, place one of these on him. It will suppress the demonic chakra and knock him unconscious. And, if he does use the chakra on a mission, I want to know so that I can make sure that the seal doesn't weaken.” Shino took half the stack of papers and put it in a pocket and Hinata took the rest. “Give some of those to Anko as well,” Minato told them. “We will. Thank you for informing us. If there is nothing else, we have an early start in the morning,” Shino said. “There is one more thing,” Minato said, “Than man who I believe to be Madara Uchiha escaped. He was wearing a black cloak with red clouds, which is worn by a group known as Akatsuki. It is the prime focus for Jiraiya's information gathering network, but we've not been able to learn much except that every member of that organization is an S-class nuke nin, and they want all the bijuu. If you see anyone wearing a uniform even remotely similar to that, run and hopefully one day you will be strong enough to fight them.”

Chapter 13: Hard Training

Anko arrived at the training ground at half past four in the morning carrying a large plate of dango. She situated herself in a tree and cloaked herself in a genjutsu, waiting to see what her students would do. The three ninja arrived on time, though neither Naruto nor Hinata were wearing what she thought of as appropriate clothing. Hinata was wearing a large jacket which was glaringly white. While that was perfect attire for a mission in the Land of Snow, it would provide no camouflage at all in the Land of Fire. Naruto's outfit, however, would not be considered camouflage anywhere. It was a horrible mishmash of orange, red, and yellow with the occasional patch of black. It would not have been so bad if the oranges, red and yellows were like autumn leaves, but instead they were bright and flashy like a 'kill me now' sign. The first thing Naruto did was create a shadow clone which then split into about a hundred shadow clones. A third of the clones went to practice tree climbing, another third went to practice water walking, the rest began practicing various jutsu. One pair was practicing substituting with each other without seals. Another pair was practicing rapid henging without seals. Two more were creating an absurd amount of clones, once again without seals. The rest were apparently trying to create shadow clones without the seals. The original Naruto was doing his morning warmup routine with the other two and the fox alongside. Anko was actually impressed by Naruto's training methods. Admittedly, there were likely only seven or eight other people in the world who could use similar methods, but they appeared to be effective. His only flaws seemed to be his stupidity, loudness and lack of fashion... She was pretty sure she could beat those out of him eventually though. She made a note to show him the leaf sticking and kunai balancing chakra control exercises and explain how they could be combined to further enhance his chakra control. Shino seemed competent enough, though he seemed to lack motivation. He was an introvert who only spoke when necessary or when addressed directly. She knew she would need to get him to open up a bit. Good communication was required for a stable team dynamic and personal relationships. She suspected that, while Naruto would be the powerhouse and perhaps the tactician for the team, it would probably be Shino whose cool head and logical mind would make him a good candidate for strategist and team leader. Hinata was the weak link on the team. She had the potential to be a great ninja: good breeding, clan jutsu, personal trainers; but, she lacked aggression and was prohibitively shy. Despite her skill set being perfect for a front line fighter, her personality would never allow her to excel, and she certainly could not perform assassinations and torture... Though if she was pushed into learning medical skills, that could easily be turned into interrogation skills as well as increasing the team's chances of survival. When the warm up was done, the three genin stood around for a minute before deciding to work on their taijutsu. Naruto provided each of his two team mates with a clone. One was using juukouken without the chakra to battle Hinata who was doing the same thing with the juuken strikes. His other clone was using the basic academy taijutsu to battle with Shino, though both seemed to only be doing soft hits. Meanwhile, Naruto had a few dozen more clones practicing katas for four different styles. One group was doing academy taijutsu, another group was doing hummingbird style, a third group was doing juukouken, and the last group was trying to figure out how to mix the three together while Naruto sat in the middle with Akama and seemed to be trying to meditate. His work was quite impressive. Every once in a while, a clone would disperse and one of the clones would replace it and all the clones doing the same exercise seemed to get better all at once. When it was lunch time, she finally revealed herself to them. “You're late!” Naruto accused. “I've been here since four-thirty. Not my fault if you didn't notice me, but I noticed you long before I should have. What was the last thing I told you before you left yesterday?” “That my dad had an S-rank secret to share with us?” “No! You are to wear greens, browns, and black. You are to dress like ninja, in a way that will allow you to blend into the surroundings. We are going to eat lunch, then we are going to get you outfitted with proper gear. Since you imbeciles apparently cannot even dress yourselves, I will be choosing your wardrobe. What you wear on your own time is your own business, but when you are training with me or on a mission you will wear the clothes I've chosen or exact copies thereof. Now, follow me, I ran out of dango while I was watching you train. I expect that kind of initiative every day.” Anko lead them into town to her favorite bar. And sat down at a booth in the back corner. “Pop quiz: Why are we sitting here?” Anko pointed at Naruto. “Because we're hungry?” Naruto answered. “Wrong!” A kunai appeared in her hand and zipped past Naruto's face, leaving a bloody gash before embedding itself in the back of the booth. “Strike one. Your turn!” She pointed at Hinata. “Umm... Be-be-ca-cause...” “Too slow! Strike two!” A kunai sliced open Naruto's other cheek. “From now on, whenever you don't answer immediately and without stuttering, your boyfriend will be the one paying for it. Bug- boy, your turn!” “It is the most defensible position. No one is able to sneak up on us and you can observe the surroundings and any eavesdroppers from this location,” Shino answered. “That's right. You are ninjas now. Drop your guard for a second, and it could be the last thing you do. Keep all entrances in line of sight and always have at least two escape routes. There are three ways to get out of here, name one sunshine!” she pointed to Naruto. “The door!” Naruto answered immediately. “White eyes, number two!” She pointed to Hinata. “Umm.. T-the w-window.” A kunai cut a line along the flesh of Naruto's arm, spraying Hinata with a few drops of blood and she squealed in fright. “What did I tell you about hesitating and stuttering?” “Not to do it!” Hinata blurted out. “See, you can do it if you try. Glasses, give me the third exit!” Anko ordered. Shino glanced around, “There is likely another door out through the kitchen which is used by the staff.” “Right. Keep your eyes open, and your brain working. See everything, and use your brains to figure out what you can't see and draw conclusions. Sometimes, what you can't see is as important as what you can. There is a saying in the shinobi world: 'look underneath the underneath'. What is a ninja's greatest weapon? Blondie!” “Ninjutsu!” He answered enthusiastically, only to receive another slice from a kunai. “Girlie!” “De-deception.” Hinata answered immediately, as Naruto received another cut. “That's right. Someone was listening in the academy. You can't stop what you don't expect, so you must deceive everyone. When alert, look relaxed, and when relaxed, look alert. Draw your opponents attention to the right, then attack from the left. Come from above, below, and behind where they cannot see you and make sure the first hit you get is the last one you need.” A rather nervous waiter approached, “Can I take your order,” he asked. “I'll have the shrimp with rice, a triple order of dango, and a large sake. These three will each have the beef strips with greens and rice, miso and tofu soup, a regular serving of dango and two large glasses of water.” “Right away ma'am.” “Hey, I wanted ramen!” Naruto complained. “Eat ramen on your own time. I am going to be working you to the bone, so you need some good food in you. You need proteins to build up your muscles, vegetables for vitamins, starches for energy, water to keep yourselves hydrated, and dango because it is the best food in the world!” Anko said as she threw another kunai at Naruto. “Remember, I am the jounin, and I know best. You will eat what I tell you and every damn bite of it.” “Just a crazy sadistic snake lady,” Naruto grumbled, earning himself another cut, “Where do you keep getting those things?” Anko grinned. Her open trench coat, mesh shirt and short skirt really did not leave many places to hide large numbers of weapons. “That's for me to know and you to figure out for yourself.” She cut him again, once again seemingly getting a kunai from thin air. “Stop attacking Naruto-kun!” Hinata said angrily. “About time you showed a little spirit,” Anko said, throwing one more kunai. This one left a real deep cut in Naruto's arm, severing a vein which began squirting an uncomfortable amount of blood. “Naruto-kun!” Hinata began to panic. “I am the jounin and I know best,” Anko said, “Get that through your skull. Naruto is the only one on this team other than me who is capable of being a close range fighter. In any fight, he and his clones will be in the front and taking the hits, which means that he has to be able to take a kunai or two and brush it off as if it was nothing. Shino is mostly a mid to long range fighter, so he will rarely get hit. So, where does that leave you?” “With Naruto!” Hinata replied, trying to put pressure on his wound. “That's right, you'll be next to Naruto, fixing him up so he can get back in the fight. You're too damn timid to be put in front of a fight, so at least you'll be helpful to those who can. Now, pull some bandages from your emergency medical kit and wrap those wounds.” “I d-dont have a m-med-med-ical k-kit w-with m-me!” Hinata replied. “Well next time, have one if you don't want your boyfriend to bleed out!” Anko threw another kunai at Naruto and a roll of bandages at Hinata. “Now, fix him before the food arrives. I don't want his blood in my dango!” -Return of the Hummingbird-

“This is the Hagane weapons shop. It is your be all and end all of all things shinobi. If you want weapons or armor, you come here and you'll only get the good stuff,” Anko announced, suddenly annoyed by the giggles emitted by Naruto as she introduced the store to them, “Is something funny brat?” “I bet we've been here more than you,” Naruto said, “This is where Tenten lives, we trained with her all the time before she became a genin. Her old man is a good guy.” “Damn right he is. Only decent weapons shop in the village that would take customers like you and me. Sells everything I need but dango.” “And ramen,” Naruto added, “They should stock ramen first.” “Dango is better!” Anko argued, grabbing a leftover dango skewer that she had been chewing on and threw it at the boy, almost hitting a civilian, “They come with built in weapons.” “When you can eat more dango than I can ramen, maybe I might consider believing you about that.” “Is that a challenge? Winner pays?” Anko grinned like a predator. “I wouldn't do that if I were you. I have seen Naruto eat twenty seven extra-large bowls before and he only stopped because he ran out of money,” Shino said. “Hey! Don't interfere with my free ramen!” Naruto complained. “Whatever, get in the shop so I can find you something decent to wear. Shino can keep what he's got. He knows how to dress appropriately.” Naruto frowned unhappily. “Fine.” The team entered the shop and Naruto greeted the girl behind the counter, “Hey, Tenten-chan!” “Hi you guys, is this your new team?” She asked. “Yeah, they are my team, and I am gonna teach them how to dress like ninja little girl. First we'll do Naruto. I want black reinforced cargo pants with mesh weave that can take a real beating. Brown boots with steel toes and lots of ankle support, I want him to be able to kick through a boulder without breaking his toes or ankle. He needs a mesh shirt and a a coat like mine, and if he doesn't already have one, a carrying strap for scrolls.” “He already has a scroll carrier. His dad bought it the day we met.” “Good, Naruto I don't want to see you without sealing supplies. If you need some at home to train with your dad, get another set. Girl, get him five copies of that outfit. It's all he will be wearing for the foreseeable future.” “Okay, I'll need to get some of that done custom, but I should have them by the end of the week.” “As for the girl, five copies of the Anko special, I guess one of you will learn where I keep my kunai. And for the Aburame, just five coats. He can be trusted to do the rest, though I would recommend matching Naruto.” “Open mesh on my clan is something many people find disturbing,” Shino pointed out. “Even better. It will distract your enemies and your team mates will get used to it so it won't be a problem.” “Umm... Anko, m-my f-father will n-never allow m-me to be in such a-a state of undress. I-it is unbecoming o-of a Hyuuga.” Anko slashed across Naruto's jaw with a kunai, “You stuttered, so patch up your boyfriend, and when the clothes are ready, you will wear them and nothing else. Am I understood? Your body is a weapon that will distract your opponent while you kill them. We are ninja, we don't fight fair, we just get the job done by whatever means we have available.” Anko glanced at Shino, “And three pairs of sunglasses like his. We don't want our opponents to know whether we are using doujutsu or not, and it will give us slight protection from flash grenades. The girl also needs a full medical kit and an assortment of kunai, five of each of my usual.” “But aren't those for –“ Tenten began but was cut off by Anko. “She'll be our long-range support and our medic,” Anko said, making air quotes when she said 'medic'. “Okay, I should have all that done in a week,” Tenten said. “And, Shino needs something for short range. What type of weapons does your family specialize in?” “Those of us who use weapons usually use kusari-gama, or on rare occasions we use a jian.” “Not good. Your jutsu rely on your bugs, so you need something more defensive that will still pack a punch... If I design a weapon, can you make it?” “If I can't, my dad surely can,” Tenten replied. “Grab some paper and I will show you what I want.” Anko started by drawing an ordinary tonfa, then extended the stubby front end with a dao-like blade. “You get this? A bladed set of tonfa. I want them to look menacing too.” She added a few spikes to the curve of the blade and a large round spike to the back end of the guard. She then added dotted lines going from the handle to each of the spikes and the tip of the blade. “I want hollow, insulated, channels that will allow the bugs to go from the handles to the points so that if anyone has some sort of protective jutsu his bugs can't get by on their own, he can stab them in and drain the guy from the inside.” “Does it have to be exactly like this, having the channels like that will weaken the blade, which would be especially bad if you intend for it to be a primarily defensive weapon.” “You know what I want it to do, so fix the design so it will work. If he can kill with it and live through the battle, that's good enough for me.” “I'll have to see what my dad has to say, but we'll figure something out.” “Okay, you have a week. We'll come back at the end of the week to pick up their stuff. By then, hopefully they'll have done enough D-ranks to pay for it. If not, you can go to their parents for the rest.” “Now, next stop foxy, where's your dad?” Naruto made a single clone, then immediately dispelled it. A few seconds later he said, “He's at the hospital. Tsunade finished today's operation already. He'll be resting there for another how before he goes to the Hokage's office to make sure weasel is doing the paperwork properly.” “What a guy. He takes over half of the old man's work because the old man can't handle it, then forces one of the ANBU to do all of it.” Anko laughed. “Poor weasel.” “I wonder if jii-san figured out that you can use shadow clones to do that yet,” Naruto said. “If he hasn't, are you going to tell him?” “Of course not, but I will rub the fact that I can make a ton of them in his face so that he'll feel really stupid when he finally figures it out.” Naruto grinned mischievously. “You know, ninja skills are a lot like your pranks. You'd probably end up with less kunai holes if you thought like that when you answered one of my questions.”

-Return of the Hummingbird-

At the hospital, Naruto avoided the receptionist and led his team straight to his father's room. “Hey dad, Anko-sensei said we need to see you now,” Naruto announced their arrival. “I just took them to the weapon shop and ordered their supplies. Hopefully, by the time their ready their skills will be able to handle at least C-ranks.” “Knowing them, Naruto could probably handle a low B-Ranked mission on his own already,” Minato said. “I don't think so, B-ranks usually require at least some subtlety,” Anko replied, “So, you know a lot about sealing, right?” “Some people say I'm better than Jiraiya, but personally, I prefer to be a bit more humble,” Hummingbird replied. “You did the kid's weights yourself, right?” “Yes I did. Good work too, I'd say. They've had to handle a larger load than most nin can carry.” “I want his weights off. They're too bulky. Can you stick the seals on his body instead?” Minato thought for a moment, “Gravity seals are usually hard on the body, but I suppose I could use gravity seals overlaid on resistance seals as a multiplier. He would need to get at least five tattoos to make sure he stayed balanced though, maybe ten just to be sure.” “And they will be able to be toggled in an instant using nothing but his chakra?” Anko asked. “Yes, but I would have to put a delay on activation to keep them from overloading him if they get set wrong. Actually, I could just add an absorption seal that would automatically set the weights based on chakra capacity which would provide a continual small drain on his chakra which would increase his chakra capacity at the same time... not that he needs it that badly,” Minato replied. “Good, we'll take four sets then, one for each of us. And, if you can handle it, I've heard that there are seals that act like soldier pills, they drain off your extra chakra when your reserves are full and give you a boost when you need it.” “I suppose I could add a storage seal and link it to the absorption seal. It will be a few days before I can have it ready. I'll need to draw the seals on your backs, chests, thighs, ankles, biceps, and the back of your wrists, so be prepared to sit around for a couple hours in nothing but your panties.” “I could just wear nothing if your preferred,” Anko said. “Ewww! Old people flirting!” Naruto yelled. “You little brat, I am not old!” Anko chased Naruto from the room brandishing a kunai.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

It was late afternoon after the genin team left the hospital and headed to the Hokage Tower to get their first mission assignment. “I wonder what type of mission we're going to get. Will we be rescuing a princess, fighting some bandits, or guarding an ancient treasure?” Naruto asked excitedly. “Good luck with that kid. D-ranks are nothing but chores. Civilians could do them if they got off their lazy asses and did something for themselves for a change. We need twenty of em under our belts before we can move on to higher ranked missions. We're damn well finishing those twenty by the end of the week or you're all taking a two day snake run around the village.” The genin shuddered at the threat. A two hour run had been plenty for them. To their surprise, Iruka was the one sitting behind the missions desk. “Ahh, Team T.I.A, we were wondering where you were. We have had a mission flagged for you by the Hokage. He says that as long as you're doing D-ranks, this mission belongs to you.” “We'll take it, and three more.” “Anko, there's not much time left. I don't think you'll be able to complete four missions before we shut down for the night.” “They're my genin. If I say they can do four missions, they can do four missions!” Anko said. “Trying to break records?” Iruka asked. “No, I just want all the damn D-ranks over with so we can move on to real missions. These kids have been working together for years, they don't need anymore damn teamwork training. Hell, they got their introduction speeches done before I even arrived.” “Okay, but if you don't get them all done in two hours, this will be the last time you get simultaneous missions,” Iruka said, “First, we have your teams personal mission, Find Tora the cat.” “Hinata, take five clones, brown cat with stripes on its back and a red ribbon on its ear. Use your Byakugan to find it and bring it back here pronto. Next mission,” “An old woman needs her groceries delivered.” Anko took the scroll and read it. “Shino, take six clones, and make sure they have enough chakra to make more if there are more groceries than anticipated. And the last two missions?” “A farmer needs a field of potatoes dug up, and a man needs a leaky roof fixed.” Anko grabbed the scrolls and tossed the farm mission to Naruto. “Give me three clones and you dig some potatoes with as many clones as you need to get the job done on time. Understood?” The genin nodded. “You have your missions. Naruto make your clones. Anyone not back in an hour gets an hour snake run while dodging kunai before their cool down exercises. Let's go team!” None of the genin dared to be late to return.

Chapter 14: Seals

For the next four days, the Torture, Interrogation, and Assassination team followed a basic schedule. They arrived at the training ground at five. Naruto would make a bunch of clones, then the three would do their warm up. When the warm up was done, Naruto would make more clones and the three would work on taijutsu while Naruto tried to meditate. At noon, Anko would take them to a restaurant and order their meals for them before they returned to the training field and Anko taught them the proper methods and forms for using a kunai and then let them do target practice until three, at which point Anko would distribute the missions to each member of the team and assigned a number of Naruto clones to help. Hinata almost always got the mission to find Tora because, for some reason, the cat actually seemed to like her and let her catch it. On the fourth day, Anko made a big deal about how they were never doing a D-rank again until they had genin teams of their own. The fifth day was different. Anko was waiting for the team in the field. “Good news, no warm up and cool down today. Naruto's dad has finished designing the weight seals, and you'll all be getting them today. The girl at the weapon shop also told me that your equipment is ready. First, Naruto's dad will give Naruto the seals while we watch the process, then he will go to the hospital for his daily operation. While Hummingbird is at the hospital Naruto will be drawing the seals on the other two of you. After that's done, we'll pause for lunch. By that time, Naruto's dad will be back and he will check the seals and activate them before drawing my seals. Once we're done there, we'll head over to the weapon shop and pick up our new equipment. Make sure you have your mission pay on hand because it's going to be expensive. When we get back, from there, you'll do your warm ups, then we'll discuss your next steps in training, and then you'll do your cool downs and go home.”

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Minato met them at the Hyuuga compound and brought them to a special room that was usually used when applying the caged bird seal to branch members. There was currently a large sealing array on the wall that was obviously a work in progress since many parts had been removed and modified and a few sections were missing. “What does that seal do?” Naruto asked. “That's the bride price for Hinata. In return for the Hyuuga clan giving up their heir, I am designing a loyalty and bloodline protection seal that cannot be abused like the caged bird seal is. I'm having a bit of trouble with it though, and you can't technically marry Hinata, regardless of the contract, until the bride price is paid. In a year or two, you should know enough that you can help me look at this. Now, let's get started. Clothes off!” Naruto stripped off everything except for his ramen print boxers and lay on a padded white table. Hinata blushed and came dangerously close to fainting. Minato drew a large and complex seal that covered most of Naruto's chest as well as eight intricate rings, two on each arm and leg. Then, he had Naruto stand up and drew another large seal on his back before he linked all the seals together with squiggly lines of symbols. Next, Minato placed his hand on the symbol and activated the seal. The squiggly lines seemed to spiral into the larger seals which morphed and twisted until they formed new shapes that looked almost like tribal patterns, except for a wavy star in the center of his chest and a pair of concentric circles with a circle with a squiggly tail in the center. “The bands on the limbs and around the large seals are the weight and resistance seals. They are powered by the star on the chest which draws out and stores a portion of your chakra whenever you have full reserves. If you focus some chakra at the center of the star, it will release the stored chakra in a steady stream until your reserves are full, the seal is empty, or you stop focusing your chakra on it. The symbol on the back is the activator toggle. When you channel chakra to it, the weight and resistance seals will slowly increase until they reach the limit set by the absorption seal on the chest, which can be increased if you decide that you can handle more, though I doubt anyone other than Naruto will take advantage of that since it will also put a greater stain on your chakra reserves which Hinata already has little of and Shino requires for his kikai. There is a limiter on the activation, so it will take about twenty minutes for the seal to fully activate for safety reasons but will deactivate in about two seconds. Any questions?” “Sounds good to me,” Anko said, “Naruto, you'll do Hinata first, I am pretty sure she won't mind if you have to give her a rub down to clean off any mistakes.” Hinata made a high pitched squeak and flushed brightly. “Don't worry if you faint. It will probably make it easier for Naruto to draw the designs,” Minato added. Hinata nodded. “Okay, Shino, you run off and go bug hunting in the garden. I'll stay here and make sure these two don't get up to this or that when they are supposed to be working.” The two preteens flushed with even greater embarrassment. Minato showed Shino out and Anko locked the door. “Now, whiskers, take off her clothes.” Anko grinned lecherously as Naruto fumbled at the zipper of Hinata's jacket. “Come on, be a man. You know she wants this!” Anko jeered. Hinata was flushed completely red and was unable to make any sound other than the occasional squeal as Naruto finally got her jacket off. Underneath her jacket, she had been wearing a hooded lavender sweater which Naruto removed, causing her to whimper. “You know, my doujutsu doesn't just allow me to see killing points,” Naruto said, activating his eyes. While Hinata's arms were still tangled in her sweater, Naruto ran a finger over a small point below her ribs, causing her to moan erotically before fainting with a slight nose bleed. “I'll have to remember that if we ever get a seduction mission,” Anko said. “I only see those points on Hinata, and a few other girls. Dad says it's something about mating instincts and pheromones that I didn't really understand.” “Yeah, too bad you knocked her out. Now you have to figure out how to remove her bra on your own.” Naruto laid Hinata on the padded table and reached around her to fumble with the clasp on the back. This position made him all too aware of the large mounds of flesh, one of which was now squeezed up against his cheek, and he could feel a hardened nipple pushing against his chest. “Lucky brat, your girl is really stacked. I bet you have lots of fun playing with those.” “No, she faints every time I tell someone that she has them. I don't see why, she should be proud of her body, not embarrassed,” Naruto said. “Do you really want every guy ogling your girl's breasts?” “Good point. She can keep them covered except around me.” Naruto said, finally figuring out the clasp and pulling the bra off and revealing Hinata's large, round breasts, taking note of the darker, almost purple shade of brown that her nipples were, thinking that the color really suited her. Since it was his first time seeing her without her jacket and sweater, he could help but ogle the exposed flesh. “Enough ogling, get those pants off!” Anko ordered. Naruto suddenly became very aware that he had forgotten to put his clothes back on as his own hardened flesh threatened to make an appearance from the leg of his boxers. In an effort to calm himself down, he thought of the least appealing thing he could. 'Lee and Gai's sunset genjutsu' he repeatedly chanted silently to himself. He unbuttoned her pants and pulled them down in a single swift motion, however, in his rush, he accidentally pulled down her panties as well and learned first hand that Hyuugas do not grow hair anywhere except on their heads. “Kid, even if you're engaged, it's still rape if you do it while she is asleep,” Anko said, her taunting tone making Naruto think that she was enjoying the show a little too much. Then, Naruto realized why she had said it, the leg of his boxers had given way and was now pushed up against his waist as he had full-mast erection. He quickly returned Hinata's panties to the correct location, then tried to adjust his boxers to little success. “Just start drawing. You'll calm down if you focus on something else.” Anko instructed the thoroughly uncomfortable boy. Naruto was now almost as red as Hinata had been when she had fainted and was too flustered to think that he could help his little problem simply by putting on his pants. Even with his father's diagrams, it took him more than twice as long to finish drawing the seals. It didn't help that Hinata would emit a moan every time he hit a sensitive part of her body, which at that time seemed to be all of it. Each moan caused him to lose his focus and he made several mistakes that he had to wash off and fix. At one point, he had been trying to wash a mistaken mark from one of her breasts when he accidentally found himself groping it instead, which pushed the girl's already aroused body over the edge, much to Anko's amusement. Naruto had never really noticed his enhanced senses before, but he did now. Every moan and whimper rung in his ears and every drop of arousal invaded his nose. After three hours of this torture, Hinata was finally finished. Thankfully, by that time she had awoken and was able to dress herself before going to get a change of clothes. Naruto was less grateful when she noticed his arousal and giggled. A giggle was not the reaction he wanted when his girl first saw his private parts. “That was fun,” Anko said, “But, you might want to put your clothes on before you do Shino.” The thoroughly emasculated Naruto growled, then smacked himself for his stupidity. A minute after Naruto dressed, Shino returned and stripped off his clothes without a second thought. Naruto was not at all surprised to see the bugs crawling across the genin's body and the ripples of bugs moving under his skin. He had known Shino long enough that he was used to the kikaichu, though being able to see the tunnels that riddled the body of the human hive was a new experience. “Can you make sure your allies stay away from the area I am painting, I don't want to accidentally harm them or end up with holes in the seal,” Naruto said, “If you don't have enough room inside your hive for that, you can stick some of them on me. I have plenty of chakra.” “That will not be necessary. They will not interfere with your seal drawing,” Shino replied, and true to his word, whenever Naruto was painting an area of Shino's body, the kikai would clear away from the patch of skin and burrow deeper below the surface so that there were fewer irregularities in the surface. The fact that he felt no sexual attraction to Shino's body also helped him to concentrate and he managed to finish in less than half the time it took to draw Hinata's seals. “Well, that should do it,” Naruto said, placing the last stroke on Shino's back, “Now we just have to wait for my dad to return so he can double check and activate the seals.” “Thank you for your efforts,” Shino said, “Hinata requested that we go to the dining hall once we were finished. She will have prepared a meal for us.” Minato returned while the genin and their instructor were eating and joined them for a quick lunch. When they were finished, he took Naruto with the genin one at a time to inspect Naruto's seal work. There were a few mistakes and lines that had to be redone due to the differing body shapes, though none of the mistakes were quite as embarrassing as the ones around Hinata's breast which were obviously smudged by Naruto's fingerprints. An hour later, all three had their seals at their full strengths and were practicing moving with the extra resistance while Minato did the seals for Anko. When he came out, he was looking as red as Naruto had after finishing Hinata. Only Naruto's seal had to be adjusted afterward, but that was because he was used to having a much higher weight on his body. He had the strength of the absorption regulator seal tripled at which point it felt like his weights usually did first thing in the morning, but unlike the regular weights, these ones did not get easier to carry as the day progressed and pulled in all directions, not just down. “Now, here are the rules for your seals. You keep them on all the time. There is only one time you turn your weights off, and that is when an enemy ninja is in front of you. When you are training, sparring, doing manual labor, and even on missions, you keep those weights on because they will make you stronger. The only exception is when I tell you otherwise, and that will only be a few times a year so that you know what you are capable of. But, if you are fighting a ninja, I don't want any hesitation. Weights do no good when you're dead so you will drop them the moment you think you are going to be in a fight where someone could lose their life. For the chakra stored in your seals, you will not use it unless necessary. It is there to save your life, and it will take time to fully charge. Life or death situations only. If I hear of you using that chakra so you can beat a rival in a spar, I'll skin you alive then feed you to my snakes because when you do that, you're saying I don't care if my comrades live or die as long as I win. The strength of this village is not that we have the strongest ninja in the world, though we do have some very strong ninja, our strength is that when you take a group of us, then no matter how strong our opponent is, we can take them down together.” “Those who break the rules are trash. Those who abandon their friends are worse than trash!” Naruto added, quoting Kakashi. “That's right. Now, you know I summon snakes. You've seen a few of them, but the largest one was still pretty small compared to the snake boss. Do you know why I don't summon them?” Anko asked. No one knew the answer. “The high level snakes demand human sacrifices, the deaths of your own comrades and friends. I do not and will not summon them because we are ninja of the leaf, and that kind of strategy will make me strong for a moment, but in the end, the village would fall. A village without people is just a bunch of buildings. A hidden village without shinobi is a graveyard. Is that where you want to live?” “No!” Naruto shouted, “I will become the strongest ninja in the world and become a hokage that surpasses all the hokages so that I can protect my precious people.” “Sometimes, sacrifices are necessary,” Shino pointed out. “Yes. If your team, your friends, or even the village itself is in danger and you can save them by sacrificing your own life, then you have done your duty to Konoha and be remembered as a hero. If your own life is in danger and you recklessly sacrifice your teammates to save yourself, then you are nothing but scum. That is why being a commander is the hardest job there is. You will send your subordinates out on missions, sometimes on missions you know they will not return from. How can you do this without betraying your village?” Anko's challenging question ended the lecture and they continued on the way to the weapons shop without further discussion, deep in thought. They entered the shop and found that Tenten's father was minding the shop today. Tenten was training with her team. “Anko, and three of my little training buddies. I've got what you asked for, though I had to make a lot of modifications to the weapon you wanted for the Aburame, but I am pretty proud of myself. Creating a weapon that would be able to block lightning jutsu and not fry bugs inside was a bit tricky. I had to get some help from one of my friends.” Kurogane Hagane said, taking a wooden box from behind the counter. It was a very large box for a weapon. It was almost five feet long and three feet wide and one foot deep with an even spit between the sides. The shopkeeper opened the box. Inside one half were an identical pair of tonfa made of a strange stone-like material. The tonfa were much longer than usual, having a long protrusion where normal tonfa usually had a short butt. On either end, the last two inches of the shafts tapered into needle-like spikes with a hollow channel in the center. The long front shaft of the tonfa had three pairs of rib-like spikes which were reinforced with a thick metal casing. The pairs of spikes were all set on the edge of a deep groove that ran down to the opposite side of the handle. The handle itself was wide with grooves that fed into the shaft. The front had four metal rings and the back had one to act as finger grips and protectors. In the other side of the box were three pairs of blades, each a different shape. One thing all three had in common was that they had three grooves that ran the entire breadth of the blade that corresponded to the locations of the spines on the tonfa. “The tonfa are made of a special composite ceramic so that they wont be conductive. But, unlike metal, they are much more brittle. A a heavy direct strike could crack, or destroy these where in a metal blade there would only be a scar or a nick that could easily be sharpened and polished. Once these break, they have to be entirely recast, so I have kept the molds on hand. When blocking with this part of the weapon, I would recommend blocking at as close to a forty five degree angle to the attack as you can. Though it is more brittle, it is also much harder, which means glancing blows will not even leave a scratch. If you need to block directly, I suggest you use one of these.” Kurogane took one of the blades and slotted it into the groove between the spines where it snapped in place firmly. “There are three blades that come with this weapon and can be easily interchanged. This first one I call the cleaving blade. As you can see, it is a straight blade and very thick and heavy. Given a strong enough swing, this could cut through stone or armor, and because it is such a wide and heavy blade, it is excellent for downward, crushing chops and I would recommend using it when training to build up your arm strength to help you swing these around.” The shopkeeper then demonstrated how to remove the blade and replaced it with the next blade. This one was a very nasty looking blade, It was formed mostly of three spikes that followed the ribs of the tonfa. “This one is the piercer. Slashing will likely only get this blade stuck, but it will make it easy for you to get your bugs deep into your enemy. But, once it is in, you'll need to take the time to pull it out again which will lose you some precious time if there are multiple enemies and you may be forced to abandon it while you continue fighting. This if for quick and precise fighting and would be used aggressively in single combat.” Kurogane switched to the last blade. This one had three waves in the blade that almost completely covered the tonfa ribs. “This is the slasher. It is probably the best defensive blade of the three. Even a straight block will usually be turned aside by the curve of the blade, and since it is smooth and sharp, you can make slashing attacks. No matter which blade you choose, these are not tonfa and these are not swords. This is a new thing which, I hope you don't mind, I have named the mantis blades. I felt the insect theme would be appropriate.” “That is perfect,” Anko said, grinning with blood lust, “I can't wait to see them in action.” “I will do my best to discover their potential,” the Aburame agreed. The weapons were far from conventional, but they looked intimidating and effective as well as filling a void in his abilities. “And here is your team uniform. I threw in a new pair of glasses, so you guys would all match,” Kurogane said, placing a large paper-wrapped bundle on top of the weapon case. “And, here's some for our orange moving-target.” He placed another bundle in front of Naruto. “And finally, some Anko specials for our shy little friend. Your bills are on the tags. Remember, this is high quality gear so it doesn't come cheap.” Naruto gaped at the price. His share of the D-ranked mission pay for the week didn't even cover a third of the cost. “I don't have anywhere near that much money!” Naruto said. “Just pay what you have. You parents already agreed to cover the difference since this is your sensei's orders.” Naruto sadly emptied Gama-chan, making the frog wallet look woefully thin. Hinata was able to pay for her own items. Shino, however, was not able to pay more than an insignificant fraction of the price because of the cost of the custom weapon, its exotic materials, and the supplies needed to maintain it. “Go home. Change – Shino, wear the big ones to training for now, and meet me at the training field. We'll have no missions for the next two days while you get to know your new equipment and the new skills you will be working on. After that, we begin C-ranks.”

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Naruto managed to wear most of his clothes fine until he came to the coat. He discovered one disturbing thing, the front was not as wide as the back, so it couldn't close. He had originally thought that it had been an accident in manufacturing, but then realized that Anko never closed hers, but it never slipped off either. With that in mind, he began inspecting the coat and found a series of small clips on the inside which could hook onto the mesh shirt, keeping the top in place while letting the bottom flow and give his legs mobility. The coat itself was kind of stiff, but Naruto soon figured out why. Almost the entire inside was covered in hidden pockets and kunai holsters and the stiffness of the fabric not only gave him extra protection, but his the hints of these weapons from view. Along with the open front to reveal just enough to distract ninja of the opposite gender it was a very well designed accessory for any ninja. Naruto went to Hinata's room and knocked, “You ready yet, Hinata-chan?” “No!” The vehement reply was startling. Naruto used his yokogan to look through the door and saw that Hinata was curled up in a ball on her bed. He opened the door and Hinata was indeed curled up on her bed, holding a pillow over her chest. “Don't look at me!” She cried into the pillow. “Why not? I like looking at you,” Naruto asked, closing the door behind him before kneeling in front of her on the bed, “What's wrong?” “I-I'm n-not going ou-out l-like this!” Hinata mumbled into her pillow. “No. You're not. My Hinata-chan will not be seen curled up and whimpering like a cute little lost puppy. My Hinata-chan is going to go out there with her head held high and a smile on her face that says 'I'm a bad-ass kunoichi and no one messes with me or my man!', alright?” This got a small giggle out of Hinata and she lifted her face from the pillow. “I'm st-still n-not going ou-out w-wearing th-th-this. It d-doesn't cover a-anything.” Hinata pouted. “Well, I think you look better without anything covered,” Naruto said playfully, causing Hinata to flush in embarrassment. Then, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers, causing her to squeal in surprise and fall backwards onto the bed and Naruto to tumble down on top of her. “You know, this would be very embarrassing if your father walked in on us right now.” Naruto was currently laying on top of Hinata with her legs on either side of his waist and his head laying on her breasts with only a thin wire mesh separating them. This image caused Hinata to squeal and hug his face into her chest like she'd been doing to the pillow earlier. Naruto began giggling. “Wh-what's s-s-s-so funny?” Hinata asked. “We've been doing everything in the wrong order. We got engaged, then I got to see you naked and grope you, and now we've finally gotten around to kissing.” “Y-you should have d-d-done that when y-you s-saved me!” “You were unconscious at the time and we'd never even spoken to each other. Other girls might say that would be taking advantage,” Naruto teased. “M-maybe this g-g-girl wa-wants y-you t-t-t-to take ad-advant-t-tage o-of h-h-her!” Hinata said loudly. “That can be arranged,” Naruto said, noticing a spot on the side of her breast with his doujutsu that was just in reach of his lips. He began to kiss and suckle the spot, causing Hinata to moan and wrap her legs around him so she could hold her tighter. “But,” he said, as he stopped, “it will have to wait for later because we're supposed to go meet Anko-sensei.” Hinata groaned in disappointment and released him. “I'm proud of you though,” Naruto said, “You managed to stay awake this time.” He sat up and began attaching the clips of Hinata's coat, noticing hers was different, having padded cups to support the chest built into it. “There, now I will be the only guy who gets a good look at Hinata-chan's boobies. But at least now people will know you have them without me having to tell them.” This caused Hinata to blush. She was still embarrassed every time someone mentioned boobies since that string of incidents, and while Naruto now knew everything from the Hyuuga etiquette and diplomacy courses, he still refused to use it in his daily life saying he didn't want to act like he was walking around with a stick up his ass.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

The walk to the training ground was embarrassing for Hinata. She had spent the entire time with her arms crossed over her chest. She had received nasty looks from every Hyuuga they had come across and many of the guys had been subjected to some heavy killing intent from Naruto when their eyes lingered just a little too long on her. Both Anko and Shino were waiting when the two of them arrived. “Sorry for taking so long. Hinata needed a little help figuring out how to make the coat work. This thing really should have come with instructions,” Naruto said. Anko looked at Hinata as she sat down on the grass, easily noticing the love mark that would have mortified Hinata if the curve of her breast did not hide it from her view. “Well, from now on, save that kind of help until after training,” Anko said with a conspiratorial wink. Shino merely sat silently and Akama took the opportunity to curl up on Hinata's lap, even though he now barely fit there any more. Akama had been growing at an incredible rate since Naruto had begun his bonding exercise and chakra exchange. From his nose to the tip of his tail, he was about five feet long, and standing his shoulders were already past Naruto's knees. In comparison, Akamaru had barely grown at all. He could still ride on Kiba's head. If Akama wanted to be carried, he had to be draped over Naruto's shoulders. With his growth in size, Akama's chakra reserves had grown as well, even if he did not know how to use them. Naruto had taught him as much as he could from human chakra control, which pretty much only included tree climbing, water walking and how to enhance his muscles with chakra. “Now that we're all here. I am going to figure out what you can do to improve. I want you all to listen to this because you may want to try some of the things I've suggested for the others when you have spare time. We'll start with Naruto. I've noticed you have been trying to meditate. What have you been trying to accomplish with that?” “I need to talk to the Kyuubi so I can learn how to teach Akama. Even if I learned how to teach ninken jutsu, it probably wouldn't help since those are designed for dogs, not foxes. My dad said that if I reached a deep state of meditation, I should be able to enter my own mind and talk to the furry bastard.” “Well, I know nothing about meditation, but you obviously suck at it since it hasn't worked yet. I'll see if I can find someone who can show you how to do it right. But, until then, your biggest weakness is your chakra control. Usually tree climbing and water walking is enough for ninjutsu experts, but your reserves started so high that even those were not enough. Now, you might have been shown this exercise in the academy when learning to mold chakra.” Anko grabbed a stray leaf and stuck it to her forehead. “This is the most basic chakra control exercise, but what you weren't told is that this is only the first step.” She grabbed another leaf and stuck it to her elbow. “The more leaves you stick, the more advanced this chakra control exercise becomes. It is even more effective if you do this while water walking or tree climbing.” Anko let the leaves fall. “But that is the basic exercise. While you do that, I also want you to learn the advanced version of leaf sticking which is known as kunai balancing. This exercise is usually only taught to those who learn genjutsu or medical jutsu and need extreme amounts of chakra control. Since one of my specialties is interrogation, I need to know at least some medical jutsu to keep my victims alive which is why I know this exercise.” Anko withdrew a kunai, Naruto now able to see that a quick flick of the wrist had brought it out of the sleeve of her coat. Anko placed the kunai point first over her hand and it sat there without piercing her skin. “Like the leaf sticking exercise, you can make this more advanced by using more, or by doing it while tree climbing or water walking, but you can also do it at different angles,” she rotated her hand and the kunai remained perpendicular to it, then when she stopped moving her hand, the kunai began to move, seemingly on its own. It tilted back and forth in different direction, then began spinning in place. “This exercise is very versatile and it took me years to get to the point where I can freely manipulate the kunai like this.” Another kunai shot out of her sleeve, seemingly on its own, and she caught it on the opposite side of her hand. “As you can see, this exercise is very useful and can be a big surprise. “This one time, I was fighting a taijutsu expert and he thought I was defenseless because he had captured my hands with his. He didn't expect me to be able to do this. I shot a kunai out of my sleeve, and because he was busy holding my hands, even though launching it with the kunai balancing exercise was much slower than a throw, it was more than fast enough to slice through his jugular. That's why you should never let down your guard until your opponent is dead. Even a civilian can kill an S-class ninja if they surprise them. “Finally, I have one more exercise I want you to work on, in addition to what you've already been doing. It's probably too dangerous for everyone else since they don't heal like you do, but it will give you a good surprise tactic. I want you to throw a kunai towards a target. This will improve your aim. Then I want you to perform a replacement with the kunai just before it hits the target. Because the kunai is so small and moving, performing a replacement will take a lot of chakra and chakra control. Then, I want you to use your ears and listen for the sound of the kunai and dodge it just at the last minute and have the kunai still hit the target. Don't try this without using a shadow clone until you can reliably dodge it though. Your dad will probably be upset if I bring you home crippled.” “Is that all?” Naruto asked. His dad had never given him so many things to work on at once. “If you have enough shadow clones to do more, you're taijutsu and kunai skills still need plenty of work. You can always use clones as moving targets, and deflect your own kunai to hit things behind obstacles,” Anko suggested, “Now on to Hinata. First I want you to learn to walk around town wearing your team uniform without covering yourself up. You don't have anything to be ashamed of. I also want you to get one of those famed Hyuuga medics to start teaching you medical jutsu. Doing the same chakra control exercises as Naruto will help you with that. Finally, I want you to work on your kunai throwing, your byakugan should help with targeting even hidden enemies. As the team medic, you will be staying back while the others fight, but that doesn't mean you should be doing nothing until someone gets hurt. Of course, you should also practice you juuken. But, when you're here, I want you to change it. juuken is a very aggressive style and depends on moving in and taking the enemy down by quickly sealing their chakra. I want you to continue being able to seal chakra points and quickly disable anyone who gets too close, but as the medic, your job is to stay alive so I want you working on a more defensive use of juuken, even if you have to completely remake the style to suit you.” “I-I'll t-try...” Hinata said. Anko responded by lodging a kunai into Naruto's hand, pinning it to the ground. “And stop that stuttering or I may have to start aiming for more vital spots. You're a skilled and beautiful kunoichi. You have no reason to be so afraid of what other people think. Now, Shino. You continue working on your clan techniques and begin to develop a style to use those mantis blades of yours.” Shino nodded. “Well that's all. Cool down, and go home. Naruto, make sure Hinata takes the long way. I want her confident enough to face down bandits and not worry about how she looks or about what they think about what she says. In fact, I want you to take her on a date before you go home. She's going to take you shopping, and if any of the shopkeepers have a problem with what you carry, you're not allowed to leave or defend yourself, Hinata has to do it for you.” She paused for a moment. “Well... We're done. Why aren't you running?” She summoned a large snake and the three genin began to run.

Chapter 15: Hiashi's Hyuuga Honor

“Come on Hinata-chan, stop trying to hide. Stand up straight and give these people the famous Hyuuga glare,” Naruto encouraged. They had decided to try something easy first, they were going to Ichiraku's to get a snack. Naruto had decided that since the old man had always been kind to him, it would be a good place to start and ease Hinata into the whole confidence thing. “You know, when you hunch over like that, you just give people a better view,” Naruto whispered seductively into her ear, which caused her to immediately straighten her back with a squeal and press herself against Naruto's arm and clinging to it like a lifeline. “I could make you forget about everyone around us,” Naruto said, leaning over and nibbling on her ear. “Naruto-kun, p-please, not here...” Hinata moaned. “Is here better?” Naruto moved down to her neck and Hinata had to bite her lip to stop herself from releasing a loud and erotic moan, reducing it to a mere embarrassed squeal. “I'm so lucky that you like leaning on me so much, it means I can reach places like this...” This time she failed to hold back and everyone turned to stare. When Hinata regained her senses, she quickly pulled away and stood up straight, her face as red as a tomato as she dragged Naruto towards their destination. “See, that wasn't so hard, was it?” Naruto laughed as they sat down at the counter. “Umm, I spent all my money on these clothes, how much do you have?” Naruto asked. “E-enough for o-one bowl. W-we c-can share i-if you w-want...” Hinata suggested. “You're the best!” Naruto praised, pulling her into a hug before asking, “What are we having?” “Yes, what can I get for you two?” Ayame, the owners daughter, asked. “A r-regular mi-miso chicken r-ramen p-p-please,” Hinata ordered. “Dad! One regular miso chicken bowl for Naruto and his girlfriend!” Ayame yelled towards the back of the kitchen. Hinata blushed at the loud announcement. “Coming right up!” Teuchi responded, coming to the front of the store, “Are you two on a date? You look so cute wearing matching outfits.” “Date slash confidence training. Anko-sensei wants Hinata-chan to start acting like she's as awesome as we know she is!” Naruto responded. “Oh, really?” Ayame said, “How awesome is she?” “Well, she's the nicest girl in the village. She's really cute, and the old man better pray she never opens a ramen stand because she'd put you out of business with her cooking. She has some awesome ninja skills. I bet she'd be the number one kunoichi if that Haruno banshee had not been such a bookworm. If she didn't wear a dress, I'd swear that girl was a civilian boy because she doesn't have awesome boobies like Hinata-chan. And, let's not forget that Hinata-chan has an awesome boyfriend.” Ayame laughed at Naruto's description while Hinata bit her lip and glanced around nervously. Teuchi placed an extra large bowl of miso chicken ramen with extra toppings on the counter. “There you go.” “We only ordered a regular. We don't have enough money for an extra large,” Naruto pointed out. “This one is on the house, as long as your girlfriend promises not to open a competing stand,” Teuchi laughed, “Can't let my best customer go hungry can I?” Naruto grinned and Hinata said, “T-thank y-you.” Both of them grabbed a pair of chopsticks and began to eat, occasionally getting opposite ends of the noodles and eating down until they finished in a kiss, drawing cooing sounds from Ayame at their cuteness.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

The two ended their date on the head of the hokage monument, sitting on the head of the fourth Hokage watching the sunset. That is to say that their date was ended for them when Hiashi came storming over to them with a vicious scowl on his face. “What do you think you are doing? Traipsing around the village dressed like a harlot!” Hiashi demanded, grabbing Hinata roughly by the arm and dragging her off of Naruto's lap. She whimpered in pain at his grip. “Let her go!” Naruto demanded as he leapt to his feet, “I won't let you hurt her!” He grabbed Hiashi by the wrist, squeezing a little harder than he meant to and causing the Hyuuga patriarch's normally stoic face to be disfigured by a repressed reaction to the pain. Hiashi released his grip and Naruto followed suit, placing himself between Hiashi and Hinata. “Her dress is unbecoming of a Hyuuga. She is never to wear that atrocity again.” “Hyuuga dress is unbecoming of a ninja. I won't have my fiancée get herself killed because you insist she wear white instead of our team uniform! These clothes are functional and cover everything necessary, and they look damn good on her!” “It reveals too much! Your teacher may not mind exposing herself to the world, but a Hyuuga must keep their propriety to maintain our honor, and even if Hyuuga clothes are unsuited to stealth, she is not on a mission so there is no valid argument as to why she should not wear appropriate clothing.” Naruto reached over and yanked on the coat, moving Hinata's entire body but revealing nothing. “The Hyuuga honor is safe. Her eyes are hidden by the glasses and even those who speak with her would have a hard time recognizing her if they were not close friends or family. But, you are wrong about her being on a mission. A genin must observe the orders of their jounin sensei. Anko-sensei has ordered us to wear the uniform whenever we are doing her training so that we will be comfortable using it in the field, and tonight she gave us a specific training mission which I think has been quite effective. If she did not wear the uniform, not only would it have made the training ineffective, but would have also been insubordination which is grounds for dishonorable dismissal from the ninja corps which would have been more of a blemish on the Hyuuga honor than if she had walked through the town naked as the day she was born!” “I will see to it that your instructor is replaced by a more appropriate ninja,” Hiashi said. “No.” Hinata whispered. “What was that daughter?” Hiashi asked coldly. “I said no!” Hinata practically shouted, stepping forward aggressively, “Anko-sensei is tough, but I have become stronger in the past week than I have from the past year of training with the Hyuuga. She can be demanding, and unfair, and her training can be painful, but it is effective and I believe that she is the best jounin instructor for my team, and if you try to have her removed we will all protest your decision to the hokage!” “If that is your decision, then starting tomorrow, you will no longer be a ninja.” Hiashi said coldly. “Are you trying to threaten a Konoha ninja into abandoning their duties, Hiashi?” Naruto asked. “No, as a clan head, I have the right to decide whether members of my clan are allowed to be ninja of the village. I have just decided that she is to serve the clan instead,” Hiashi countered. “That option has not been available to you since she received that hitai-ate, since your bloodline is strong and numerous.” “We'll see,” Hiashi said before storming off. He would have liked to kill the boy at the moment, but even in his rage, he would not be so careless as to attack the son of the hokage, especially a jinchuuriki with unknown capabilities. When Hiashi was out of sight, Naruto sighed. “He's a real mood killer isn't he?” Hinata nodded nervously. “But, I'm really proud of you. You really stood up to him there and you didn't stutter or anything. In fact, angry Hinata is very sexy.” Hinata giggled. “I'm p-proud of you t-too. All y-your arguments w-were well thought o-out. M- my d-dad c-can usually argue anyone i-into a c-c-corner.” “Well, my dad hasn't just had me working on seals. Since I am basically the last of my clan, there are a lot of clan laws that I have to know about. And, once he found out that I wanted to be Hokage, he started making me study everything else. You have no idea how many shadow clones committed suicide to avoid having to read any more of those books.” “Y-you kn-kn-know about the c-clan rest-t-toration a-act then...” Hinata said nervously. “I love Hinata-chan. I won't even consider using that law, unless you find another woman you want me to marry.” Naruto insisted. “J-just rem-mem-mber. You're m-my N-n-naruto-kun!” Hinata said. “Let's head home and get some rest. We have lots of training to do tomorrow.” Hinata and Naruto headed home, hand in hand, only stopping at the forest to call Akama who had gone hunting while they had been on their date. When they got to the gate, they were stopped by the guards. “Hiashi-sama has instated a new rule. No one other than those given special permission may pass these gates without wearing official Hyuuga garments. “Who has been given permission?” Naruto asked. “At this time, only Hokage-sama may pass these gates if not appropriately attired,” the guard stated. “Would your clothes be official Hyuuga garments?” Naruto asked. “Yes, I am attired in a manner befitting of the Hyuuga.” “Henge?” Naruto said, looking at Hinata. The two transformed. “I am required to check all persons entering using the byakugan to enforce this rule as well as to prevent intruders.” The guard activated his eyes. “Neither of you have authentic Hyuuga approved clothes. I cannot allow you entry.” “Come on, feel the threads, they're real!” Naruto said. “Real chakra constructs. Real Hyuuga clothing is made of silk, linen, or high quality cotton.” “Come on, Hinata, if we're no wanted here, we'll sleep on the couch in dad's office,” Naruto said stubbornly.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Naruto had the uncomfortable feeling that he was being watched, and a much more comfortable feeling of someone sleeping on top of him. He opened his eyes and found himself surrounded by four ANBU and Weasel who was dressed up to look like his dad. “Morning Weasel,” Naruto said. “Why are you not at the Hyuuga compound?” Weasel asked. “Hiashi is all pissed off about our team uniform so he won't let us enter the compound if we're not wearing official Hyuuga clothes. All our official Hyuuga clothes are in the compound. Dad's the only one allowed to come and go regardless of what he is wearing. Oh, and when he comes in, don't let him change our sensei, he's really upset about the uniforms.” “I will be sure to antagonize him. I will also ask your father to bring you an extra set of Hyuuga approved clothing so you can change after training and return home tonight. Will that be all?” “Yeah. Thanks Weasel.” “Naruto-kun,” Hinata mumbled, drooling on his chest, “Stop, people will see.” Naruto looked at the surrounding people, one of the ANBU was shaking like he was holding back laughter. “But, Hinata-chan, isn't it more fun when people watch. You're too cute to keep all to myself.” Hinata squirmed and whimpered and two of the ANBU began to laugh and Hinata's eyes fluttered open. “Now, Hinata-chan, what exactly was I doing to you in front of our audience?” Naruto asked. Hinata blushed and hid her face against his drool-coated chest. “We need to get cleaned up and head to the training field. We're pretty late. Anko's going to make us run for a week.” Naruto dragged Hinata to the public washrooms where the two separated to clean themselves up before heading to the training field.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

“You're late,” Anko said when they arrived. “Hiashi kicked us out because he disapproves of the team uniform,” Naruto explained, “No money. No alarm clock.” “I don't care if you have to sleep here. You're not to be late again.” Anko summoned a rather large snake. “Keep them running until lunch!”

Chapter 16: Mission to Bird Country

Minato had managed to help Naruto and Hinata evade Hiashi's rule easily. Since the two could not enter through the gates, he placed a hiraishin kunai in each of their rooms and avoided the gates entirely while he tried to convince Hiashi to remove his unreasonable restrictions. The next day, Naruto progressed far in his chakra control. He could stick three leaves to himself, or one while water walking or tree climbing. He was even beginning to get the kunai balancing exercise, though he could only hold one kunai straight up. The kunai kawarimi exercise was still making no progress. Hinata's confidence was getting a big boost. She no longer tried to hide herself when wearing the team uniform, and occasionally spoke without a stutter. Since he was not in good standing with the Hyuuga clan at the moment, Naruto had done some gambling with Tsunade and forced the woman to take Hinata on as a second apprentice and, though she had only had one lesson, she knew her medical skills would increase greatly thanks to the woman's teachings. Finally, she had gone to the shinobi library and found a scroll on a fighting style that she thought she would feel more comfortable with. It was a style originally from the mist village and was known as suiken or water fist, not to be confused with the identical sounding drunken fist. Suiken was a very defensive style which focused on using flexibility to avoid the enemy and deflect the blows and its katas were known as dances and looked very grateful. The scroll had also noted that, by channeling water chakra, the style would be enhanced with shields of water. Hinata, having seen the scroll for the kaiten, knew that she could apply the same principles and the style would act like a miniature kaiten when dodging, and she could use juuken strikes when deflecting to shut down tenketsu. Shino had begin to experiment with his mantis blades. He had found they were suited to long sweeping motions and short stabbing motions and had begun to experiment in creating a style for them, including methods of blocking, methods of attacking, and using the dual blades to do both at once. Now, Anko felt that they were ready to try a C-rank mission and took them to the mission assignment room in the hokage tower. “Anko, you're just in time. The fire daimyo's wife just resubmitted the Tora capture mission!” Iruka greeted the team. “Nuh-uh. We've got the prerequisite twenty D-ranks. Give us a C-rank,” Anko said. “They've only been out of the academy for a week. They can't be ready for a C-rank mission yet. There could be fighting, and maybe even killing. I can't in good conscience give you a mission like that,” Iruka said. “I agree.” The elder Homura was overseeing the mission assignments given out by the chunin, having been cleared of having any knowledge of Danzo's illegal activities, though he had been stripped of his shinobi council position since he was no longer one of the hokage's trusted advisers. He was still free to sit in on the civilian council with Sarutobi. “Letting Anko out of the village is bad enough, but with her team...” “And, what is wrong with my team leaving the village?” Anko asked. “You know as well as I do that it is too dangerous to allow it out of this village.” “It? I have two boys and a girl on my team. Did either of you have an accidental sex change during training?” Anko asked. Both boys shook their heads. “Well, Hinata's gotten more confident, but I am pretty sure she didn't grow a pair. So which it are you talking about?” Homura just glared at her and bit his lip. “Anko-sensei, leave this to me,” Naruto said, patting her arm condescendingly, “I know how to handle Iruka sensei.” “If you fail. I cut that hand off,” Anko responded in a scarily sweet tone. “You should know by now that Naruto Uzumaki doesn't give up,” Naruto said, leaning against the scroll covered table. “Iruka-sensei?” Naruto said, giving his best shot at the large-puppy-dog-eyes technique. “Naruto, I am a teacher. That won't wok on –” “Yoink!” Naruto yelled, grabbing a scroll from the C-ranked pile. “–me...” Iruka sighed. “Got one! Transport a box from a guy in Bird Country to his grandfather in Konoha! Bye!” “Grab him!” Homura shouted. Iruka leapt over the desk and caught Naruto by the back of his collar before he could escape. “You're not ready for a C-rank yet,” Iruka scolded, “Maybe in a month or two you'll be ready, and then I'll make sure you get a good one.” “I guess I am in over my head then,” Naruto said sadly, “If only I was really here.” He disappeared in a puff of smoke. “Where did the rest of the team go?” one of the other chunin asked. “Probably half way to the village gate by now,” Homura said with an irritated sigh.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

“Let me get a good look at that scroll, brat,” Anko ordered, snatching the scroll from Naruto and unfurling it. “Hmm... Go to town in Land of Birds. Meet with client's grandson. Retrieve package. Bring package to client.” Anko began to laugh. “What's so funny?” Naruto asked. “Designated for Kakashi Hatake and his genin team, that means Kakashi gets Tora retrieval.” “Maybe that will teach him to be on time,” Naruto said with a grin. “Well, this seems like a fairly simple mission, unless of course you count the fact that the direct route would take us right by Amegakure. Circling north would take us through Iwa territory, and believe me you do not want to go there.” “Why not?” Naruto asked. “Besides the fact that we've never been on good terms with Iwa and they really don't like your dad?” Anko asked sarcastically. “You know who he is?” Naruto asked, “How did you find out?” “When he did my weights, I told him that if I was going to get naked for him, he had to do the same for me.” She grinned. “Apparently he found it a bit distracting when I started using his ink to paint my own pictures on him.” “Eww! Old people flirting!” Naruto said, then began to run with Anko hot on his heels. “I am not old!” Anko yelled as the other two genin raced to catch up. “So you don't deny you were flirting! Does this mean you're going o be my new mom?” “I'll kill you snake bait! Summoning jutsu!”

-Return of the Hummingbird-

“I'm bored,” Naruto sighed. They had been walking for two days. They had seen forest, and more forest, not even passing through towns or along roads where they could meet people. “Then let's play a game. Every time we jump between trees, grab a leaf and stick it somewhere with chakra. First person to drop their leaves loses. Now this is number one go!” The four leapt to their next branch, grabbing leaves and sticking them to different places. For the first few rounds of the game, Naruto came in last, losing leaves after five to ten jumps, but slowly, the others began to tire until Naruto was up to second place, tied with Shino behind Anko. Hinata had stopped to conserve chakra. “Hey, that's cheating! You're not allowed to hold the leaves with bugs!” Naruto shouted. They stopped that night by a stream near the border of the Land of Wind.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Naruto and Akama had the last watch of the night. Due to their hurried departure from Konoha, their supplies were non-existent. Each night, they had to make a shelter to sleep in and make a fire without a flint, which was quite difficult despite their academy training. Luckily, the weather had been decent, so a simple lean-to made of branches and ninja wire protected them from the elements while they huddled together for warmth. During Naruto's shift on watch, he would direct Akama towards the dens of nearby wildlife and the captured animals would be cooked in the morning and the remnants would be sealed in a scroll to be eaten throughout the day. While Naruto was responsible for catching and killing the animals with his ninken, Shino and his bugs were responsible for cleaning the animal and reducing it to edible parts using his small colony of flesh devouring bugs to remove the skin and organs. Hinata would then cook the meat using whatever herbs they happened to come across while Naruto used his clones to clean up the camp site. It was a very efficient system which used each of their talents to the fullest while Anko supervised. This morning, they were but a few dozen meters from the border Konoha and Suna share with each other. They had all finished their tasks and were preparing to continue their journey. “Okay, we're moving into Suna territory. Our mission is no secret and Suna are our allies. If we run into any legitimate Suna nin, you do not attack unless I tell you to. You can defend if they attack, but only defend while I talk with them. Since there are no more trees for the next day or so as we go around Ame territory we will not be tree hopping, instead we will practice sand walking. It is pretty much exactly like water walking except you have to get your chakra deep enough so that the sand does not slip out from under you as well as wide enough that you don't sink into it. Once you have it down, you can start adding kunai balancing to it, but don't exhaust yourselves, we are not in our own territory anymore so the chances of a fight increase dramatically.” Despite Anko's warning, there were no incidents.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

The Land of Birds was a lot like the Land of Fire. There was plenty of vegetation and water sources. The town they had come to was a small one, little more than a collection of huts next to a lake. It had a single store and a bar for entertainment, but everyone else seemed to be fishermen or farmers. “Let's start at the bar,” Anko said, “It's a good place to gather information and should make finding our contact quick in a small town like this.” To their surprise, the inside of the bar was wrecked. Chunks of wood from tables and chairs and shards of glass from broken mugs littered the floor. A single man with thick glasses and a white bandana tied over his balding head was kneeling on the floor putting the broken pieces into a bag. “What happened here?” Naruto asked. “Some bandits came through town last night,” the man said, “They took everything of value and smashed everything else.” “Sorry to hear that,” Anko said, “You wouldn't happen to know a man by the name of Abuku would you?” “You must be the ninja my grandfather sent. I'm sorry, but you have wasted your time coming here. Even the present for my grandfather was taken.” “I don't think so,” Anko said, “We're not having our first out-of-village mission end as a failure. We will find those bandits and get your things back. Hinata and Shino, search the village for signs of people leaving. Naruto, get some clones and have this place cleaned up in ten minutes!” “Thank you,” Abuku said. “It's better this way. I was afraid this mission would be boring,” Anko grinned. Ten minutes later, the bar was a little empty, but all the broken objects had been tossed into a pile behind the building where it could be burned later. That was plenty of time for Hinata and to report back. “What did you find?” Anko asked. “There were t-tracks leading out of the v-village to the n-north. The amount of c-cargo they were c-carrying m-made the prints deep and they d-did not seem to be hiding their t-trail,” Hinata reported. “I concur with the information Hinata has provided, however I would also assume that some or all of the bandits have some level of ninja training. My allies detected residual traces of chakra,” Shino added. “That means this mission just jumped to a B-rank,” Anko said, “That means weights off. If they have a sensor and detect us following them, they could set up an ambush.” “We're going to kick ninja butt!” Naruto announced, pumping his fist in the air excitedly. “No, we're going to kill them. We are not equipped to take prisoners right now, so there will be no knocking them out when you can go for the kill. Don't freeze up or your teammates will end up dead, and if you panic just remember these words of wisdom: stick them with the pointy end!” To illustrate her point, Anko jammed a kunai into the wall, burying it to the handle. “Well, what are you waiting for? You're trackers, get to that trail and follow it!” The trail was easy to follow and, without their weights, they were traveling twice as fast as when they had arrived in the Land of Birds. An hour out, the trail moved to the main north-south road where it changed. “Look here,” Hinata pointed out. There were wheel tracks that came from the north, circled around, then headed back the way they came. Akama sniffed at some animal tracks that followed under the wheel tracks. “Ox,” he barked. “They had an ox,” Naruto passed on. “Two, side by side, pulling the cart,” Shino deduced. “This is good news. It means they are moving at civilian speed now. We can't be more than a couple hours away. Hinata, Naruto, look ahead to see if they are in sight,” Anko said. “I can see the tracks, but my byakugan doesn't have as much range as someone like Neji...” “I can see something, but I can't distinguish it because it is too far,” Naruto said. “Hinata, save your chakra,” Anko ordered, “Naruto, keep your eyes open and make sure no one leaves the group ahead and that there is no one laying in ambush. Now, let's move. If we're lucky, we'll catch up before they reach the Land of Earth.” An hour of running later and Naruto could see them clearly. “I see them now. There are eight of them walking and another driving the cart,” he reported. “Good, Hinata, can you see them yet?” “Yes, we'll c-catch up to them in about t-twenty minutes. The d-driver is a civilian, b-but the rest are nin-ninja. T-two look to b-be jounin level, b-but the others have low chakra, m-maybe a pair of genin t-teams.” “That's a smart tactic. The driver is probably the only bandit, but hired some Iwa nin to pretend to be an entire bandit troupe. Since genin teams are so cheap, he probably keeps eighty percent of the spoils and Iwa get an excuse to weaken their neighbors,” Anko said, “When we attack, keep one of the weaklings or the driver alive. We need to find out more about this.” Ten minutes later, there was a change. “The cart has stopped!” Naruto announced, “The smaller ones have surrounded the cart and the adults are heading towards us!” “Naruto, make four shadow clones and transform them into us, have them move ahead of us and test the jounin and find out their skills. Send another thirty through the trees and transform them into some bandits. Get behind the genin and drive them this way. We're close to the border and if they pass it, things could get difficult for us. Shino, place your bugs on our copies. Try to weaken the jounin before they reach us. Once we have information on their abilities, you three will take the less experienced one.” Naruto created four and thirty shadow clones, all taking on different appearances. The thirty leapt to the sides into the trees while the four went forward to fight the jounin.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

The four clones and the two jounin stopped in front of each other. “If you return what you stole, we might consider not killing you,” the Anko clone said, twirling a kunai. “They're just clones, and of the same person,” one of the jounin said. He was fairly old for a ninja, his black ponytail already marred with streaks of silver. He had a long face that was accentuated by his hooked nose, long drooping eyebrows, and a beard that looked like a pair of horns jutting out the side of his jaw. “Konoha nin... They always think they are too good to do the dirty jobs. They are too soft to be ninja.” The other nin was a woman. She had short, wavy brown hair and a garish pink butterfly wing pattern painted around her eyes. Both ninja had Iwa hitai-ates. “Not our fault Iwa is so weak that they have to accept that kind of mission,” the Naruto clone jeered, trying to provoke the enemy nin. “Is it just me, or does that one seem familiar?” the woman asked. “Hmm... Bright, blond, spiky hair... Brilliant blue eyes... I swear, if he didn't have those whisker marks, he looks just like the yellow flash, doesn't he Nabiku-chan?” the man responded. “And if he is related, imagine the reward for bringing him back,” Nabiku replied. “Too bad you're not going back then, after all, I am just a distraction,” the Naruto clone said, “Eat shadow clones!” All four clones made a dozen doppelgangers and began an uncoordinated assault. “Damn, you're fast!” Nabiku barely avoided the attack, dispelling several clones with a roundhouse kick. “Watch your back, Sasu!” “He's good for a clone, imagine the strength of the original,” the Iwa nin responded, rapidly striking at the onslaught. Nabiku cried out in pain, “Careful, he attacks like a Hyuuga. He barely tapped me and I think he shredded my arm!” “That sounds painful, so why don't I show him why they call me the Stinger of the Kamizuru clan! Hachi Senbon No Jutsu!” Sasu did a series of hand seals and a swarm of bees appeared, firing a hail of stingers and dispelling most of the clones. “You should be able to handle what's left, even with one arm!” “Don't count on it!” Naruto replied, the remaining half dozen clones quickly turned into an even sixty. “Though you should probably try to be less damaging. I can only do that a few dozen more times...” “Screw that!” Nabiku leapt over to Sasu, “Destructive Rising Rock Pillars!” She slammed her hands into the ground and large rocks, like shards of a mountain, burst out of the ground. “Oh, crap...” the clones were blasted back and all dispersed.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

“That was painful,” Naruto reported, “the woman uses rock techniques. The others glanced at the exposed stones that reached higher than the trees. “I never would have guessed,” Anko said sarcastically. “That thing took out all my clones at once, but I damaged her arm before she did that with my juukouken strikes, but I don't think I did a lot of real damage.” “Well, her hand signs should be slowed by the pain. Did you learn anything about the other one?” “He's to bees what Shino is to kikaichu,” “Kamizuru clan,” Shino stated. “Yeah, that's right, said he was known as the Sting of the Kazi-whatevers.” “Damn, this mission is now A-rank, Sasu Kamizuru has made quite a name for himself. He rarely fights head on, instead he uses his bees to attack with poison. He's an A-rank nin in Konoha's Bingo Book,” Anko explained, “Did you get the name of the other one?” “He called her Nabiku.” “I haven't heard of her, but if she can throw a jutsu like that at your clones, I'd bet that she has some decent chakra reserves. You three will take her while I take the Kamizuru. Try to stay long range and use plenty of clones and paper bombs since none of you know any lightning jutsu. The four ninja moved towards the scene of the battle which was now little more than a crater surrounded by debris and large rocks jutting out of the ground. “You know it is forbidden to use that attack among allies,” Sasu cursed as he stumbled out from between the rocks. “Look at my arm!” Nabiku shouted. Her arm was indeed looking to be in bad shape. Under the skin, lines of bloody red were spreading like a slow motion explosion of blood. “Half my arm is mincemeat, and I think he sliced an artery.” “And you crushed my ankle. If he was only one of a genin team, what do you think his team can do. I am sure one of those clones was acting as an Aburame, so my jutsu will be at a disadvantage. The girl looked like a Hyuuga, even with those glasses. Even if you didn't recognize them, you should have noticed their jounin, Anko Mitarashi, the Snake Mistress of Konoha. She has a worse reputation with poisons than I do, and half as much common sense. Now, you're made us both crippled against those kinds of odds.” “I can take them out, even like this. No one other that the yellow flash had what it took to stand up to Iwa's forces,” she defended stubbornly. “Then why don't you show us your magnificent skills, Nabiku, since the real ones are here.” Sasu glared at his ally before beginning his own preparation by releasing a wave of bees which immediately swarmed the two. A cloud of kikaichu were forced to reveal and defend themselves against the larger insects. “Now!” Anko ordered, “Sen'ei Tajashu!” Anko leapt into the open, snakes leaping from her sleeves and trying to latch on to the two enemy nin. Nabiku rolled out of the way, but with his impaired movement, Sasu was forced to take a different approach. “Hachi Bakudan no Jutsu!” A bee attached to an explosive note flew towards Anko and detonated, sending the two jounin flying in opposite directions, though when Anko's body landed it was revealed to have been a log.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Meanwhile, the three genin attacked Nabiku while she was off guard, throwing a barrage of Kunai, while Naruto threw one with a paper bomb attached to it. Nabiku slammed her hand into the ground and was lifted into the air, avoiding the hail of metal. The paper bomb detonated, damaging the base of the rock spire. Nabiku flipped off, spinning towards Shino who retreated. The woman stopped before reaching the spot where the Aburame had been before switching direction and heading for Hinata, doing an acrobatic maneuver to avoid another projectile that Naruto had thrown at her. Upon landing, she performed a leg sweep filled with earth chakra that sent a small wave of dirt flying into Hinata's face and knocking her down. “Don't touch Hinata!” Naruto yelled, charging madly towards the earth manipulator. This was a mistake. Nabiku stomped on the ground which raised a spike of earth from the ground, slamming into Naruto's gut. Naruto collapsed to his knees, clutching his stomach and gasping for breath. His gut and earth spikes had an entirely too familiar relationship. Nabiku moved to finish him off, but leapt to the side at the last second as two large blades shook the earth where she had been but a moment before. A cloud of kikai lifted into the air and followed her. “Doton: Doryuuheki!” Nabiku began to spit out a wall of earth, spinning around to make the wall encompass her from all sides and protect her from the bugs. Naruto threw a kunai with an exploding tag at the mound of earth, then went to check on Hinata. Her head was bleeding badly and she was unconscious. “Hinata-chan, wake up!” he yelled. Naruto's explosive tag activated, destroying the earthen structure, but no one was inside. “Naruto, be on guard, she has escaped underground.” Shino warned too late as a two boulders rose from the ground on either side of the two genin. Shino dove and threw his teammates out of the way before the two rocks slammed together with him crushed in the middle.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Anko had taken a good deal of the force from the explosion, but rose back to her feet anyway. She summoned a couple snakes to burrow under the ground and then rose to her feet, looking for her target. She saw him lying on the ground a dozen meters away, not moving. She threw a kunai into the head of the body she saw before her, but it began to fall apart into a golden mass of wax. Without looking, Anko threw a kunai behind her blindly than spun around just in time to see Sasu dodge it. “Not bad for an old man,” Anko taunted. “No? I think I did pretty well myself,” he replied. Anko felt a prick in her back and her muscles started to seize up as her snakes burst from the ground and sank their fangs into Sasu's ankles. “Looks like this one is a tie,” Anko gasped before the two collapsed.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

“Shino!” Naruto cried out in horror as he saw his friend crushed to death. He looked around to see Anko and her opponent simultaneously collapse. “Anko... Hinata...” His Hyuuga fiancée was still on the ground unconscious. “Looks like you're the last one left,” Nabiku said from behind him, a kunai resting against the back of his spinal column, “If you surrender, I will take both of you to Iwa where you'll be allowed to breed a new clan together,” she offered, “You'll be given a nice home and plenty of money and you won't have to do anything but stay at home with your little girlfriend.” Naruto began to tremble, causing Nabiku to think he was about to surrender when instead he let out a bestial roar and she was blown back by an aura of red chakra that encompassed the boy. He slowly stumbled to his feet and turned towards Nabiku, radiating killing intent so powerful that the jounin was frozen in fear, almost forgetting to breathe. “You hurt Hinata...” Naruto growled, “For that you will die.” Naruto took a step towards the trembling jounin. “You killed my team mate... For that, your death will not be quick.” Naruto hunched over, almost like an animal, the red chakra taking an almost fox-like form as his whisker marks, teeth and claws grew. “You've caused pain and suffering to innocent people which let your partner kill my sensei... For that, I will make it so you will beg for death, but I will not grant you such quick mercies.” The jounin snapped out of her fear induced stupor and leapt back, trying to put some distance between herself and this... “Demon!” she hissed. That one word was the final straw that triggered Naruto to begin. He dashed forward and grabbed the woman by the neck, slamming her through several trees before a particularly large one merely shuddered in protest to the rough treatment. “Yokoton: Juukouken!” Naruto released the woman's neck and she remained embedded in the bark of the tree as Naruto began to strike, pouring demonic chakra into her body as she screamed. Shoulders and hips were first, disabling movement of her limbs. Elbows, then knees, then wrists, then ankles all followed the initial strikes, then Naruto smashed her through the rocks that had crushed Shino before throwing her away. He was about to pounce on his prey again when he noticed that there was no body inside the rocks, only a large number of insects. “Shino?” Naruto asked, “Are you alive?” His sudden rage seemed to melt away as he lost his focus on his opponent. “I am unharmed,” Shino replied, digging himself out of the ground, “I substituted with a bug clone that I created underground,” he explained. “Shino!” Naruto tackled Shino in a hug, the red chakra vanishing. “I thought you were dead,” Naruto said with a sob. “There is no need to get emotional. Instead, we should attend to our fallen comrades before their genin arrive,” Shino suggested and Naruto agreed. Naruto attended to Hinata while Shino attended Anko. Naruto wrapped Hinata's head with bandages he found in her medical kit while Shino used his bugs to suck out most of the poison in Anko. Anko was the first to awaken. “That's some nasty stuff,” she moaned, “If that bastard isn't dead, I am sure as hell going to kill him for this.” “My allies have confirmed that your snakes killed Sasu Kamizuru, and they have also removed most of his poison from your system. I would recommend that we get you to a hospital as soon as possible,” Shino stated. “No need. I am pretty resilient to poisons. Wouldn't be much of a snake mistress if I weren't. How are the other kiddies doing?” “Naruto used the power of the Kyuubi to kill our opponent when Hinata was injured and he believed both you and I to be dead. Hinata is currently unconscious with a head wound.” Anko inspected the body of the enemy kunoichi. The woman's arms and legs had split apart as if something had tried to force its way out. One arm was more mangles than the other. Veins of red traced across her body from these wounds and the decay seemed to follow them like fuses of death. It was not a pretty corpse. “And we still have six brats to deal with,” Anko said as she moved to where Naruto was holding Hinata. She did a basic medical scan. “No internal bleeding. She should wake up soon. Naruto, make a clone to hide her for now. We need to take care of the genin quickly. We're too close to the Iwa border for my liking.” “No need,” Naruto said sullenly, “My clones have all seven and are bringing them here.” Anko looked at him worriedly, but did not say anything. It was best to have this conversation all at once. “They're here,” Naruto announced. Thirty clones that appeared to be bandits deposited the six Iwa genin and the true bandit in front of Anko. “Good. Is Hinata awake yet?” “No,” Naruto said. “Bring her back then,” Anko said, “I'll wake her up. There is something we need to do as a team.” A Naruto clone leapt from the bushes carrying Hinata. He laid her in front of Anko who performed a medical jutsu that caused her to immediately regain consciousness, though with a nasty headache. “Okay, you three. Our squad's specialty is tracking, infiltration, and assassination. This means that you need to learn how to kill. Unfortunately, if Iwa learns that the leaf is responsible for the deaths of their ninja, it could cause political ramifications, or even war. That means that none of these can return home alive. Hinata, you will kill the two girls. Shino, you will kill the two leftmost boys. Naruto, you already killed in this mission, but that wasn't under your own power. You are to kill the two on the right. When you're done, I'll give you a lesson on field interrogation techniques.” When Anko was done, Shino did not hesitate to release his kikaichu upon his targets. “Use the flesh eaters as well. Make sure they are dead,” Anko instructed, making Shino release another small swarm of insects which burrowed into the eyes and ears of the two genin he had been assigned to kill. Hinata threw up. Naruto trembled at their muffled screams and the rest of the prisoners showed various levels of fear. “Naruto, your turn. Just pretend they are rabbits and skin them,” Anko suggested. Naruto stepped to the first of the two remaining boys. He pulled out a kunai with a trembling hand. “Just a rabbit. Can't eat a living rabbit. It's already in the trap, so it will die anyway,” Naruto chanted to himself. He could not bring himself to use the kunai he held. “Just think about what they represent. They are not friends. You don't like them and they don't like you. Given half a chance, they would kill you. Just look at what happened to Hinata. Remember what they tried to do to Shino. They want to kill everyone you care about. If you don't kill them, you might as well put the blade to Hinata's throat yourself,” Anko goaded Naruto. “They're just rabbits. Evil monster rabbits who want to hurt Hinata-chan!” With a single motion, he decapitated the first one. It was strangely easy once the kunai started moving. It was hard to bring himself to actually do the deed, but he had done the same thing hundreds of times when hunting. He moved on to his second target, but this time his hands were trembling. He wondered why, after all, he was just killing a few rabbits. The rabbit had tears in its eyes. No, not a rabbit, but he had already killed. This wasn't self-defense, he was just killing. It was just a little murder, just doing the job of a ninja. Damn him and his tears. He didn't want to see the boy cry, a boy just like him. Naruto jammed the kunai through the boy's eye and into his brain. “Good. Now, Hinata. It's your turn. Look at Naruto. See how much he is suffering. You want to understand him don't you? You'll never understand if you don't do the same. Don't think he'll be able to stand touching you now that his hands are bloodied, after all he couldn't stand to defile someone as innocent as you,” Anko's goading stopped in surprise as she saw Hinata kill the two girls with a single tap to the head. “Well, I expected that to be harder for you,” Anko said, “Pile up the bodies, then I'll burn them to destroy any evidence of who did this.” The three genin did as they were told, working in quiet efficiency while Anko took the man who hired them off into the woods, after all, she wanted her kids blooded, not broken and the kills seemed to have affected them worse than she had anticipated. There were agonized screams and sobs, then silence. Anko returned and, using a fire jutsu, incinerated the corpses. “Let's get the loot back to the village and pick up our package.”

Chapter 17: The Prank

The package, as it turned out, was two barrels of home brewed ale, the specialty of the bar. Anko had 'encouraged' the man to provide a small keg for their return trip and the three genin were now sitting with a container of drink in their hands. “Drink up, it will make you feel better,” Anko said. She actually was beginning to find the silence quite creepy. Today, Shino had been the loudest of the three, and that was only because he had requested they stop for food and to relieve themselves at midday. “I don't feel like it,” Naruto sighed. “Besides, we're not old enough to drink,” Hinata added softly. “Well, first off, let me make something clear to you. The moment you put on a hitai-ate, you were considered a full fledged adult: old enough for sex, old enough to kill, and sure as hell old enough to drink. Second, it wasn't a request. I want you each to have two cups of that in your bellies before you even consider eating anything.” Anko poured herself a mug and chugged it. “Damn, that's some crappy stuff, but no sense wasting the good stuff on your first time. Now, drink up before I force it down your throats.” The four of them drank in silence. When their mugs emptied, Anko refilled them. They were close to their fourth when Anko decided to start up the conversation. “You know, killing in cold blood is hard. In the heat of battle, it's easy because it is them or you. When they are defenseless, you can look into their eyes and see the person there, knowing that you're taking away someone's parent or child. Killing a person could leave innocents homeless and starving. Hell, they might not have done anything wrong, but you kill them anyway. “My sensei made sure my first time was a cold kill because that makes it easier. He had close to two hundred people strapped to beds. He made me torture them before I killed them. Every time I drew their blood, he praised me. I respected him, even loved him, and the gentle caress of a shoulder or a pat on the back was enough to make me continue. I didn't care who they were because my sensei told me that they had to die. He fucked me up so bad that, even now, I can't see blood without getting a little horny. My sensei is an asshole. He's a traitor. Every one of those people I tortured and killed was a citizen of Konoha, an innocent civilian. I killed men women and children, and my sensei experimented on them, and on me. Sometimes the experiments felt good, but most of the time it was just painful. “One day, he took me somewhere I'd never been, an island. He said he had a special gift for me. He took me to a hut and had me take off my clothes. He told me that I was strong and beautiful. I thought he had finally noticed me as more than just an apprentice. He gathered me in his arms and held me close. Then, he told me that it wasn't enough and bit me. Then, there was pain and the next thing I knew I was bound and dragged into ANBU headquarters to be interrogated for three months. “They told me about my sensei's experiments, about how he had been using and killing the citizens of Konoha, and about how he had become a missing nin. Then, they told me that out of all the subjects found on that island, I was the only one to survive, about how my sensei, Orochimaru of the Sannin, intended for me to die in his little experiment. Then, I told them everything I knew. I knew almost nothing, and I lost many of my memories because of Orochimaru's little experiment. They tortured me, and had the Yamanakas mind fuck me until they had every detail of what I'd done for him. “They said I was crazy, and dangerous, and had killed the people I was supposed to protect. I hadn't known. I had been told that they needed to die, so I had killed them. I begged them to let me prove myself. I was in the ANBU cells for over a year, begging for the opportunity to kill Orochimaru. Eventually, one man, Ibiki, believed in me enough to talk to the hokage. Hokage-sama came to me, and he talked with me. Finally, he ordered the ANBU to release me and reinstated me as a chunin of Konoha, but no one else every believed in me.” There was silence. After what seemed like an eternity, Shino spoke. “My clans compound has almost a mile of unclaimed forest for a mile around it. The land is cheap and good, but people refuse to live there because they see us as freaks and monsters. Even though we cover ourselves in thick clothing to hide our allies from general view, the civilians still avoid us. There are even some shops and restaurants that refuse to serve an Aburame for sanitation reasons... for some reason, roaches really enjoy living in those establishments and not the ones that welcome us.” This caused Naruto to begin laughing. Shino calmly waited for him to finish. “Contrary to popular belief, the Aburame have no bloodline. We have family jutsu and have selectively bred our allies to create a symbiotic relationship. In return for creating a hive out of our bodies and giving them a portion of our chakra, they will protect us, heal us and fight for us no differently than Akama or one of the Inuzuka ninken. “The secret to making a human hive is that it must be done within days of birth or else the person will die before the insects can integrate with their physiology. During this time, the hive requires much more chakra than a child can provide. Clan members can provide some chakra, but not enough so prisoners are brought in and our allies drain them dry of chakra to fuel the transformation. There are several points in an Aburame's development when this occurs. Since I was an infant, my hive has killed four people, not including the two today. The last was the day of my graduation.” “How did you feel when you killed in cold blood?” Anko asked, “What do you think about?” “Death is a part of life,” Shino said, “It happens to everyone. The most important thing is to make sure the hive survives. It is illogical to consider your enemy's well being if his death will keep the hive safe. Letting our prisoners live would have let Iwa know that leaf ninja attacked Iwa ninja who were on a mission. That could lead to political consequences, even to the point of sacrificing members of the hive to safeguard the hive as a whole.” “Like when I was five,” Hinata mumbled, “Kumo came to make peace talks, but in the night, the ambassador kidnapped me. My father killed him to save me, but Kumo claimed it was an unprovoked attack and demanded his head. His twin brother took his place and died to prevent a war.” “Yeah, even when you do everything right, it still goes down the crapper sometimes,” Anko sympathized. “All my life, people saw me as the demon inside of me and not as my own person. With my mom and dad dead, Jiraiya away, and dad's students too young, there was no one to look after me. The hokage did his best, even having ANBU check on me – though most of them were as bad as the villagers. I was beaten and starved from the day I was born, and no one would every tell me why, just claiming that I had killed someone or another that I had never even met. “It was always worse on my birthday. My first birthday, the caretaker at the orphanage dropped me into the dumpster with the dirty diapers. I had nothing to eat but what was thrown in the trash. “On my second birthday, they decided that they needed a pinata for the Kyuubi Festival. They dunked me in red paint and stapled streamers to my back, then they tied me up and hung me from the ceiling and had the other kids beat me with sticks. “They got inspired and started a new tradition. Whoever made me cry the most would get a present on my birthday. That was what my life was like before my dad came back. “I don't want to kill anyone. I don't want people to hate me, but they just won't leave me alone. The day after I was engaged to Hinata, one of our chunin instructors tried to attack her for being nice to me. I used the demon chakra to create a clone. It knocked him out and dragged him away into the forest. I don't think they ever recovered his body. I don't even really remember what happened, but I see it in my dreams sometimes. I beat him, and cut him with my claws, I broke his bones, I think I might have even eaten him, or we did... I don't really know anymore.” Now, Naruto was sobbing hysterically and Hinata had to hold him. He was panicked, trembling and hyperventilating as he hugged his knees. Hinata stroked his hair and his back. “I love you. I could never hate you. You protected me.” Hinata whispered her soothing words into his ear. “So, that's something else we have in common. We all got fucked up at an early age. Damn,” Anko cursed, “You know, you've all just killed someone, and that someone has people back at their homes who love them, friends, family, comrades in arms. It's supposed to hurt. It's alright to cry and seek comfort in booze, in love, in training, hell even in stupid perverted books. It will get easier, if you can handle the pressure, but it should never be fun. Don't you dare become like me. Don't love the feel of holding someone's life in your hands as you release their blood. You need to remember that you have blood on your hands that you'll never be able to wipe clean, and each kill is an anchor on your heart, dragging you down. But also remember, don't hold back. If you have to kill, then kill. Kill them hard. Kill them fast. Hot or cold doesn't matter, because, if you don't kill, someone you care about is going to die because of it.” Anko refilled their cups. “To the dead, because of them, our loved ones are safe.” Anko chugged hers and slammed her mug onto the ground. The genin followed suit and were soon fast asleep underneath the stars. Anko took the full watch that night, letting the kids sleep and process the events of the day.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

The genin were feeling better the next morning, but were not as lively. Shino seemed stoic as ever, but the other two had been changed by the experience. Both Naruto and Hinata were quieter. Naruto's eyes had lost some of their sparkle and his smile didn't seem to be as wide as it used to be. He still talked a lot, but it seemed more strained and he would not let go of Hinata. Hinata seemed depressed. Her stutter had completely vanished, but she rarely spoke above a whisper anymore. The day after that, there was more improvement. Naruto got a determined look on his face after he had been whispering together with Hinata. He had thrown himself into training, and Hinata had done her best to keep up. Neither had given a true smile Later that day, Hinata collapsed from chakra exhaustion, having tried to run all day while performing the kunai balancing exercise. Naruto had taken her on his back and had continued his own exercises. As much as she liked seeing her genin working hard to improve, Anko knew this new push was over compensating. She had hoped that their little heart to heart over drinks would have brought them to semi-normalcy, but now things were just getting stranger. “Okay, that's it. We stop now!” Anko said, coming to a full stop. “We're only a few hours from Konoha,” Shino pointed out, “It is not logical to stop now.” “My orders are absolute. Find a camp site and set up.” They had plenty of time to hunt for fresh game and cook it over a fire before it was time to eat. Anko broke out the half-empty keg and distributed the drink among the three genin. “Drink until there's nothing left!” she ordered. She kept herself sober this evening, drinking water from her canteen. She was going to get it right this time. Naruto, Hinata, and Shino dutifully drank the provided ale, chugging it down as fast as they could so the bitter taste would not linger. “Now, tell me what the hell is up with you today?” Anko demanded, “You're training to the point of hurting yourselves. This isn't just good work ethic or working off excess energy.” “Shut up...” Naruto grumbled, “Leave us alone.” “What crawled up your ass and died?” Anko demanded. “We didn't have to kill them. You made us kill them for nothing!” Naruto shouted, “I am not a monster, but you're making me kill like one, just like your own sensei! They were freaking genin! All they saw were a group of bandits until you had me bring them.” “That's right. I planned it so that you would have to kill them,” Anko replied coldly, “That was my intention from the start. You needed to get your hands dirty. At least these ones were guilty. Do you think every one a shinobi kills is a bad person in the heat of battle? Let me tell you a little story. A couple years ago, the Third Hokage, Mr. Will of Fire himself, gave me a mission. We had been hired by a local lord to kill a woman who would be a nuisance to him. This woman was only fifteen years old, an orphan living alone on her deceased parent's farm. She was days away from giving birth to her first child whom she conceived when the lord who hired us broke into her house and personally raped her.” “You should have killed that bastard instead! What kind of monster are you?” Naruto glared angrily at her. “I killed her, that innocent woman and her child. I didn't even hesitate as I shoved that kunai into her belly and twisted it, making sure the kid was dead.” Hinata looked like she was going to be sick. Shino was emitting a loud buzzing. Naruto's teeth were gritted in a fierce scowl while his brows knitted together to create an intimidating visage, especially with the pulses of red chakra that began to wisp off him. “Would you have refused the mission?” Anko asked. “Of course I would!” Naruto snapped. “Even if it meant hundreds, and maybe even thousands of lives would be lost because you did not take the mission?” “Not killing a baby will not cost thousands of lives!” Naruto insisted angrily. “Hinata, if you were the one given the mission, what would you have done?” Anko asked. “I would not take any mission like that,” she muttered quietly, looking away from the group. “What about you Shino?” “Did the lord have any other children?” Shino asked, contemplating the problem. “Not yet,” Anko responded. “Then, there is no choice. I would kill the child.” “Shino! How could you do something like that?” Naruto demanded. “Naruto, the local lord is the Fire Daimyo. He provide more than two thirds of the village's funding. To refuse his mission could cripple Konoha. This would give Kumo and Iwa the excuse to begin a war. In addition, must be considered that the Daimyo did not yet have a legitimate heir, which would imply that his wife was pregnant at the time. If this woman gave birth before his legitimate wife, many would believe the child to be his rightful heir and would eventually cause a civil war. If the child was left alive, it might be kidnapped and used as a figurehead for groups who oppose the Daimyo's rule or to take control after an assassination. It would not be a pleasant task, but killing one to save thousands is only logical.” Shino's explanation shocked Naruto, stunning him to silence, “Would you let Konoha, and the entire nation be destroyed in war, from both within and without, to save a woman and her child?” “Yes, I would, and then I'd find a way to stop the war from happening. I wouldn't give up!” “And, now that you disobeyed the Daimyo, our funding gets cut and the people of Konoha starve. Congratulations.” Anko gave a mocking round of applause. “Then we should have killed that bastard instead!” Naruto shouted. “We're trying to prevent a war, not start one. The Daimyo is protected by thousands of samurai. Samurai, once trained, are at least equivalent to a chunin level shinobi and they are much better at large scale battles than we are. Then there are the twelve guardians, elite jounin ninja whose only mission is to protect the Daimyo.” “There has to be a way!” Naruto insisted, though sounding much less certain. “Yes, there is a way. We could have wiped her memories and killed some other pregnant woman to take her place. Would that have been better, after all, the woman and child would survive?” Anko suggested. “NO!” Naruto grabbed his head in frustration, then fell backwards onto the ground. “This was the best way,” Anko said, “The hokage tried to find another way for two weeks, but he couldn't find any other option that would not multiply the innocent bloodshed a hundred times or more. We are ninja. Sometimes we have to do crap we don't like for the sake of everyone else. Sometimes that means killing, and others it means dying. Yes, I knew that we could have left and the genin would not have known we were from Konoha, so we could have left safely. But, what do you think would have happened after they got home? Iwa would have sent expert trackers and information gathering specialists. They would have gone to that town, tortured Abuku-san for information, and then reported that it was Konoha ninja that killed their ninja. Not only could that cause a war but, in addition to the war, Abuku-san would now be dead. Killing those genin saved not only his life, but possibly the lives of everyone in that village and maybe in Konoha. “I'll admit, though, that it could have been handled better. I wanted you to get your first kills out of the way and learn to deal with killing before we took more dangerous missions. I didn't expect you all to take it this badly. Hell, I probably am not even qualified to be a jounin sensei. I am surprised that, knowing me, they even let you be near me.” Anko began muttering curses under her breath. “Being under your tutelage has been most beneficial for all of us,” Shino stated, “You've helped me to begin to create a kenjutsu style which will be beneficial to my clan. You have helped Hinata deal with her confidence issues. Naruto's chakra control has improved remarkably. You have helped us overcome our greatest weaknesses to the point that we can fight and win against a jounin-level ninja. I doubt any other sensei has made such improvements with their teams in so short of a time.” “And then there's the weights and the taijutsu and stamina training,” Hinata added added. “We're upset by having to kill, but you will always be our sensei and we wouldn't want it any other way!” Naruto called out, hopping to his feet, before promptly falling over onto Hinata's lap and falling asleep. He had drunk more than three times as much as the others. “You need to find a way to deal with this Hinata. I know Shino will repress his emotions like the rest of his family, but you and Naruto aren't capable of it. I learned to enjoy killing. Kakashi reads porn. Gai exercises himself into the ground. Kurenai drowns herself in other people's grief. Some people scar themselves to keep count. Others sleep around. When we get back to Konoha tomorrow morning, you will have the day off. I want you and Naruto to talk to your families and try to find a way to deal with the grief. Once you two have done that, then we can start your real training.” Hinata nodded, then fell asleep herself.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Naruto did not get much chance to see his father at all once they returned. Half the time he was in the hospital for his operations. The other half was spent working on some big event which he refused to talk about. All Naruto knew was that it was going to be big, very big, with many important people attending. It sounded almost as bad as one of the Hyuuga formal dinners by all the preparations that had to be made. Meanwhile, Naruto trained, ate, and slept. The days seemed to crawl by at a snails pace. “Naruto,” Hinata had come into his room uninvited, not that Naruto usually minded. “Unn...” Naruto grunted, blinking slowly as he turned his head towards his fiancée, “You want something?” “Umm... Can you t-teach me how to p-pull a prank?” she asked, nervously tapping her fingers together. Naruto chuckled. She had been trying to help his mood improve since they had returned, but all that she had accomplished so far was to turn his sadness into bland apathy. This, however sounded interesting. “There is one prank I have been wanting to pull,” Naruto said, “I was going to do it the day before graduating the academy, but I was too busy.” “Umm... Okay,” Hinata agreed and Naruto began to prepare, grabbing a few scrolls and several spools of almost invisible ninja wire. She smiled brightly when she noticed the enthusiastic smile growing on his face. “This is going to be great,” he assured her before leading her out of the compound and to the hokage monument. “Here we go!” Naruto tried unsuccessfully to make some shadow clones without using seals before resorting to doing it the old fashioned way and creating a few dozen shadow clones which began to unravel the wire and crisscross it over the faces in the monument. When he was done, there was a grid across the entire face of the monument, leaving no more than a four foot square uncrossed. He then unfurled the scroll he had brought and unsealed from one a pile of tarps which matched the color of the stone almost perfectly. From the other, he unsealed a few dozen cans of paint. “Naruto-kun, are you sure about this?” Hinata asked. Naruto tossed a tarp and a can of paint to her. “Just hang that in front of wherever you're painting and go wild. It'll be a blast!” Hinata smiled, glad to see the old Naruto showing through once again.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Naruto and Hinata sat outside the Hokage's office. After their prank had been discovered, they had been chased by ANBU for almost an hour before Hinata had gotten herself caught. Naruto gave himself up after that so she wouldn't have to face the punishment alone. Naruto was actually quite proud of her. While he had been content to do swirls and other simple graffiti, she had painted up the third hokage's face like a geisha. It had been amazingly fun while it had lasted. “You may enter,” the secretary finally informed them with an irritated sigh. Naruto sighed and prepared to face the music. Hinata seemed to be frozen in fear, so Naruto took her hand and pulled her along. “Naruto...” Hummingbird was sitting at one of the two desks that now occupied the office while Weasel sat at the other doing a large stack of paperwork. They had given up on trying to pretend they were the same person long ago. It was much easier this way, and most of the higher ranked ninja had figured it out anyway. “I know I've been busy recently, but that doesn't mean you need to act out to get my attention.” “Huh? What are you talking about?” Naruto asked. “Painting the hokage monument... While that was bad enough, did you have to drag Hinata into it as well?” “She was the one who asked me to show her how to pull a prank. I didn't force her to do anything!” Naruto grumbled. “She did, did she?” Hummingbird asked. Hinata blushed. “I thought it would make Naruto feel better. He's been moping around since Anko-sensei made us kill in our last mission.” “Bandit problems?” He asked. “If by bandits you mean two teams from Iwa pretending to be bandits,” Naruto scoffed, crossing his arms and glaring at the wall. “I thought you sent them on a C-rank,” Naruto's father said accusingly to his assistant. “It was a simple C-rank when they left,” Weasel replied, “Anko discovered that a neighboring village hired Iwa to harass them to increase the fish harvest for their own village.” Minato sighed. “Why did no one tell me about this? It could cause an international incident and Iwa is just looking for a reason to attack us.” “You were busy. I have barely seen you since your big secret event planning started,” Naruto said. “All witnesses were killed. Naruto killed one of jounin sensei and two genin. Anko killed the other jounin sensei and the man who hired them. Hinata and Shino also killed two genin each. All the genin were killed after capture.” “You're all fine?” Minato asked. “We are now,” Hinata replied, squeezing Naruto's hand. “Good, I need you out of my hair for a month, so here's another C-Rank. It's a simple escort mission looking for protection from any bandits that might be lurking on the roads. If you're lucky, it will be just like a seaside vacation. Tell the rest of your team and meet your client at the east gate at eight tomorrow morning... And, I expect the monument to be clean by then.”

Chapter 18: A Real Demon

The team found their client by the gates, drinking a bottle of cheap sake. His head was shaded by a sugegasa and a rough gray beard coated his chin. “Tazuna, I presume?” Anko asked, obviously irritated by the way the old man was leering at her. “Yeah? And who're you?” the old man asked gruffly. “We're the ninja that will escort you home and guard you while you build your bridge,” Anko replied. “Ninja? These kids look like they're barely out of diapers, and you and your little girl look like women I'd pick up off a street corner.” In the blink of an eye, Tazuna was laying stunned on the ground, a dark bruise forming on his jaw. “Care to say anything else about my betrothed?” Naruto asked. “Naruto, we were paid to protect him, not kill him.” Hinata wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly so he wouldn't make any more aggressive moves. “At least the runt can fight,” Tazuna spit out a tooth and rubbed his jaw with a nervous frown on his face. “Just be glad that a missing tooth is all you have. The last person to insult his girl was a high chunin and it only took him seconds to make the guy disappear and we still can't find the body,” Anko said with a disconcertingly bloodthirsty grin. “Well, just make sure it doesn't happen again,” Tazuna replied with a shiver. He grabbed his bottle and looked forlornly at the spilled sake pooled on the ground. He stood up, a little wobbly on his feet. “Looks like the brat gave me a concussion. He can make it up to me by carrying me.” “That's a good idea,” Anko said, “We won't have to move at civilian speed and should only take two days to get there.” “Got to wait for Akama then. He went hunting,” Naruto said. “Fine. I guess that gives us time to make proper introductions then. First, I am Anko, known as the snake mistress.” A snake slithered out of her sleeve and Tazuna paled as it coiled around his neck. “My specialties are assassination and torture. I am the leader and jounin sensei to this squad. Sunshine, here is Naruto Uzumaki, the son of the current hokage. He is stronger and faster than most chunin. He has more chakra than all the hokages combined, and if he is pissed off, a single punch will liquify your insides into a bloody slurry. Aren't you glad he knows how to hold back?” Tazuna nodded dumbly. “His little girlfriend is Hinata Hyuuga, heir to the Hyuuga clan, the richest, most influential, and most feared clan of Konoha. A single touch of her hands can kill and her eyes can see right through you. And, then there's this guy. He'll cut you in half, then feed you to his bugs. He's the heir to the Aburame clan, Shino Aburame. Together, we make up the deadliest genin team in Konoha.” Tazuna gulped. “Now why don't you tell us about yourself?” Anko suggested. “My name is Tazuna. I am a master bridge builder from Wave country. I am building a bridge from Wave to the mainland to increase trade and improve the collapsing economy.” Tazuna flinched under Anko's gaze. “And why is wave's economy collapsing?” Anko asked eagerly, making Tazuna more nervous. “High taxes and restricted ports,” Tazuna answered, sweating and glancing around as Anko leaned closer. “And the person who caused these high taxes wouldn't happen to want the bridge complete now would he?” “Please don't abandon me. I'll never finish it alive if you don't protect me. My daughter and grandson would cry for me then starve to death loathing Konoha for letting this happen,” Tazuna pleaded. “I must be the luckiest jounin sensei in Konoha. Two upgraded missions in a row. Right kids?” Anko asked, “Of course, once the bridge is built we'll recalculate the mission ranking and fees and you'll have to pay appropriately. Good thing you got the one genin team capable of handling a mission like this.” “Of course,” Tazuna agreed, visibly relaxing in relief. “So, who are we up against?” “Gatou of Gatou Shipping, the billionaire shipping magnate,” Tazuna answered. “Hmm... He's one of the top ten wealthiest people in the elemental nations,” Anko said. “Very little of it acquired legally I'll bet. His shipping company is just a cover for his smuggling operations: weapons, drugs, slaves. He has an army of mercenaries and some missing nin under his command. He took over all the ports and, since we are an island nation, there is no other way for us to get food and other necessities. Anyone who stands up to him is killed, usually publicly.” “Do you want him dead? My team specializes in assassinations, but that costs a lot more than protection.” “If you kill him, I'm sure we can pay you from what he leaves behind,” Tazuna suggested. “Kids, new mission. We'll be doing two missions while on our little vacation. First, A-rank protection. Ninjas and mercenaries are after his life and could attack at any time, so weights off until Gatou is dead.” The three genin disabled their weight seals. “Second, an S-rank assassination mission. Anyone have any reason they would not want to kill that bastard Gatou?” She asked. None of the genin had any complaints. “Okay then, Naruto and I will take the lead. Behind us will be Shino and and three clones in a diamond formation around a fourth clone which will carry Tazuna. Hinata will take up the rear. “Naruto, you will have your yokogan on for fifty minutes of every hour, scanning ahead and to the sides for anyone. For the other ten minutes, you will let your eyes rest while Hinata does a full sweep with her byakugan. Meanwhile, Shino will maintain a perimeter around the group with his insects to ensure nothing gets past if they manage to trick your eyes and Akama will scout around and use his nose. “In the event of an attack, from the front, Hinata and the clones will protect Tazuna while Shino provides me and Naruto with ranged support. If they attack from behind, Shino will protect Tazuna until Naruto and I can relieve Hinata and she will provide mid range support. If we are attacked from the sides, Hinata and Shino will take opposite sides of Tazuna to protect against a pincer attack while the clones delay and distract while Naruto and I take them out. Understood?” “Yes, Anko-sensei,” the three genin responded with varying levels of enthusiasm. Akama arrived soon after and the group set off.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

The group had been leaping through the trees for less than an hour when Naruto spotted two people waiting in the middle of the nearby road. “Two people standing in the road he reported.” “Hinata, check them out,” Anko ordered. “Can't see them yet,” Hinata replied. A minute later, they entered her range. “Two males, mid chunin chakra reserves. Slashed mist headbands. They are using some sort of spiked gauntlets attached with a chain. They are hidden under a genjutsu.” “Shino, drain them, but don't be obvious about it. Naruto, make copies of us. Have one group shadow us from the opposite trees. Have the other moving at civilian speed on the road and when shino has weakened them, see if Tazuna is their target. If they attack, so do we. Both us and the clones at the same time to confuse them. Kill one and, Shino, when the fighting starts, swarm the one that fights the clones. Now, make it happen!” Anko ordered. Naruto flinched at the order to kill, but nodded with the others as he made eight clones and transformed them into copies of the four of them. “Remember, Tazuna is a civilian. Have his copies act like it.” The three groups separated. The two in the trees on opposite sides of the road stopped next to where a puddle was laying in the middle of the road. Considering the recent hot and dry weather, it was a pretty unusual sight. The disguise probably worked a lot better in the Land of Water. Soon, the group of clones walking along the road appeared. The Shino clone was in front, keeping a watchful eye on the surroundings. The Naruto and Hinata clones were behind him, holding hands. Occasionally, the Naruto clone would whisper something to the Hinata clone and she would look away in embarrassment. The Tazuna clone followed behind them with Anko, arguing about how he had paid for ninja got a bunch of children. Before the group could reach the puddle, the henge disappeared and one of the two ninja collapsed. “Meizu?” The one remaining standing looked shocked just long enough for a kunai to bury itself into the base of his skull, courtesy of Anko. “That was too easy,” Anko sighed in disappointment, “I hope the next one is better. Naruto, seal the body. Since he's a missing nin, he probably has a bounty on his head. No doubt it is a small one though... Be careful of the gauntlets, they are probably poisoned.” Naruto used his clones to strip the demon brothers of equipment, pocketing what he thought was useful: kunai, explosive notes, ryo. Hinata took a jar of poison and some senbon. No one wanted the gauntlets, so Naruto sealed those in another scroll. He bet that the two eternal gate guards would like a new toy to play with. If not, then Tenten would be glad to have them since she always enjoyed unusual weapons. Shino did not feel that there was anything left worth taking before Naruto sealed the body. Anko took the other nin, Meizu, and strung him up between four trees. Each limb was tightly attached to a different tree with ninja wire, keeping his body splayed in the air. “Okay, children, time for another lesson. Tazuna,you might want to close your eyes and cover your ears.” Anko took out an extremely sharp and thin blade that was extremely pliable, like a short fish knife. When the three genin were ready, Anko forced a soldier pill down the man's throat. “He's out from chakra exhaustion, and we need him awake to interrogate him. The soldier pill will replenish his chakra enough for him to be able to wake up,” Anko said, taking out a needle and sliding it into the man's arm, “And this is pure adrenaline mixed with a solution that will make him hypersensitive to all stimulus, including pain and will make sure he can't faint on us.” Anko sent the solution into the man's body. Meizu woke up, his eyes suddenly snapping open to full alertness as he began to hyperventilate. “As you can see, this method of waking a person is hard on their cardiovascular system, which is why we usually let people recover from chakra exhaustion naturally,” Anko explained, “Now, when interrogating someone, you don't just start asking questions. They have no reason to answer you, so at best you'll have to treat their information as unreliable. You have to first make them understand that not talking is worse than any punishment they will receive for betraying their home or employers.” “I'll never tell you anything,” the man spat. “Case and point,” Anko grinned, “Now comes the fun part. This knife is used for an activity we call flaying. It is thin and flexible to help it slip between the skin an muscle. We remove the skin, allowing the internal tissues to be exposed, including the raw nerve endings. As the flesh dries, every little touch and movement will become more painful until the subject would rather have that piece of their anatomy removed, or die. We'll avoid the face for now. We want taking to be easy because he's going to tell us everything he knows before we finally give in when he begs us to kill him.” Anko's knife flashed out, removing a strip of skin about an inch wide and half a foot long from the man's chest. Meizu screamed. “Usually the act of flaying is not so bad, it's the aftereffects that are torture. But, with that solution I gave him, he will soon find even this small amount of pain unbearable. So, who wants to try first?”

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Anko had made sure that all three of her genin were proficient with the flaying knife before she had even begun asking questions. Now, she had three very sick looking genin on her hands. Even Shino had been greatly disturbed by the activity. With their condition, Anko had decided that there was no point in moving forward while they were so distracted, especially after learning that the demon brothers were the subordinates of Zabuza, the demon of the mist, an A-rank missing nin. While she was sure that her genin could hold their own while they were in top form, they were much too distracted now to put their all into a battle. “Okay,” Anko said as they sat around the fire eating their dinner, “It's time to go over what we learned. We're going to see if you were paying attention. I'll name a subject, and you will take turns telling me one thing we know about it, Starting with Gatou.” “He owns a shipping company that holds a monopoly in wave,” Shino started. “His company is a front for illegal businesses like drugs and slaves,” Hinata added. “He has a small army to protect him,” Naruto said. “The bridge Tazuna is building will end Gatou's hold on the wave economy.” “He has two bases of operations: his mansion and a fort where his mercenaries stay.” “He hired Zabuza and his subordinates to kill Tazuna.” “He has less than a month to live.” “Now, Zabuza,” Anko said. “He is an A-rank missing nin.” “He was a member of the Seven Swordsmen.” “He had three subordinates, but is now down to one.” “He uses a zanbatou name Kubikiribouchou as his primary weapon.” “He is a kenjutsu master.” “He is proficient in water jutsu.” “He has an apprentice names Haku.” “Uhh...” Naruto was stuck. “He's planning to ambush us in wave,” Anko said, helping Naruto, “But that doesn't mean we can let down our guard. Now, Haku.” “He or she a cross-dresser and keeps his or her gender a secret!” Naruto stated confidently, trying to make up for his failure. “We'll call this Haku a he for now. We can check after we capture him,” Anko said. “He often disguises himself as a hunter nin as a ruse to help Zabuza escape.” “He has the hyouton kekkei genkai.” “His primary weapon is senbon.” “He uses ice jutsu.” “He can use mirrors of ice in some sort of teleportation technique.” “He's Zabuza's apprentice and extremely loyal.” “He is not a missing nin.” “Good,” Anko said, “What are our objectives for this mission?” “Keep Tazuna safe until the bridge is completed.” “Kill Gatou.” “Kill Zabuza.” “Kill Gatou's mercenaries and any criminals working for him.” “Capture Haku and bring him back to Konoha, alive if possible.” “Good. Now rest. Shino has first watch, then Naruto, then me, then Hinata. Two hour shifts. We move out tomorrow after breakfast.” This was the third time they had done this conversation. It was a good way for Anko to drill the information into their heads. It was rare to get such good and fresh intelligence before a battle, and against a foe like Zabuza Momochi, it could make a big difference.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

The four ninja and Tazuna were taken across the water by a shabby looking fisherman in a shabby looking boat. Silence was heavy, almost suffocating in the late morning mist. The owner of the boat even refused to run his motor, opting instead to use a pole to silently drift, for fear that Gatou's men might notice them. It wasn't too long before a massive structure became visible, stretching out across the water towards the island of wave. Hinata gasped in amazement, covering her mouth with her hand to muffle the sound. Naruto, however, was much less delicate. “Damn! That one freaking huge bridge!” His voice was almost at the level of a yell, causing everyone else in the boat to cringe. “Stealth, big-mouth,” Anko chided, “I am sure half of wave heard you announce our presence.” “Oops, sorry,” Naruto replied, shrinking down on his seat in embarrassment. “Well, it i-is big,” Hinata whispered quietly to him. Shino just sighed and continued watching for any signs of trouble.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

They landed at a wooded area of the coast, out of sight of the main road, but still close enough to easily reach. Their ferryman had refused to land any closer, fearing for his family's safety. They were traveling at civilian speed again when Naruto reached a hand behind himself and held up too fingers. Hinata turned as if she were scanning the area for threats, making sure only the back of her head was visible to make sure that no sign of her byakugan was visible around her glasses. Suddenly, as they entered a clearing by a lake, Naruto threw a kunai towards the bushes. Hinata threw two in separate directions. A stifled cry of pain alerted her to the fact that her guess had been right. She had seen a rabbit and had assumed it would be used for a substitution jutsu. Now, there was a nin wearing a hunter mask with a kunai in their leg. A rapid movement alerted her to duck, but the others were not fast enough. A large blade spun over her head, slicing through her companions and turning them into nothing more than wisps of smoke. It embedded itself into a tree and the man they had been anticipating appeared on the handle of the blade. “Hrmph, clones,” Zabuza said, looking irritated, “I am going to kill the demon brothers for betraying me.” He wore no shirt and blue camouflage print pants and had bandages wrapped around his neck and the lower part of his face. He glared at Hinata, his lack of eyebrows making the glare much more effective. “Th-that will n-no longer be necessary, Z-Zabuza-san...” Hinata said nervously, “Please do not resist, we do not want to damage your head too badly.” “You are a Hyuuga, aren't you? And, unbranded. I bet Kumo would pay a good deal to get their hands on you.” Zabuza said. “You should not have said that,” Hinata said, “Only two people have dared to threatened me in his presence, and the one that was found was unrecognizable.” “We'll see who walks away from here. I am Zabuza Momochi. They call me the demon of the mist. Do you know why that is, genin?” Zabuza chuckled menacingly. “We have heard,” Hinata confirmed. The demon brother had been most informative about Zabuza's slaughter of an entire graduating academy class before he was even a ninja. “Then let me show you how I did it,” Zabuza performed some hand signs and the area became covered in a thick mist. “Liver, lungs, spine, clavicle vein, jugular, brain, kidneys, and heart. Which one should I go after? How shall I kill you?” “Only eight ways? Is that the best you can do?” Naruto's voice sounded through the mist. Hinata could hear the madness from the demon in his grating voice. The killing intent was building slowly, flooding the area. “You even missed the femoral artery which is so easy to cut. But, there are two things that you have forgotten in this little charade of yours. First, you may be called a demon, but you have no idea what a real demon is like – and, believe me, I know. Second... I... can... see... you...” Naruto laughed and the area was flooded with more killing intent than Hinata had ever felt before. She fell to the ground, unable to move, barely able to breathe under the pressure. She could hear Anko cursing. This had not been a part of the plan. They had expected Zabuza to be more careful with an unknown number of opponents with unknown abilities hidden around him. Instead, Zabuza had opted to rely on his mist and go straight for Hinata. Tactically, against anyone else, the surprise might have taken out an enemy and evened the odds. Unfortunately, Naruto was the worst type of match for Zabuza. He could afford to take a hit from that sword to land his own deadly strike with juukouken, and his yokogan meant that the mist gave him an advantage. Hinata felt the ground shake, then heard the creak of a tree falling before the mist dissipated. Standing in front of her was Naruto, cloaked in demonic chakra that fluttered behind him, forming three distinct tails. Zabuza's sword was embedded in the ground in front of her. She could see a large gash that cut through several inches of Naruto's abdomen, but was rapidly closing of its own accord. Half of Zabuza's arm still gripped the sword. Zabuza was against a tilted tree, screaming in pain and clutching the remains of his arm which was still bathed in burning red chakra. A mirror of ice appeared next to him and he was pulled through, his screams fading as the mirror splashed to the ground. “Naruto!” Hinata stumbled to her feet and ran forward, ignoring the burning of the chakra as she wrapped her arms around him. He didn't seem to hear her at all, instead seeming fascinated with the blood on his hands and chuckling to himself. Akama raced out of the trees. The young fox pressed himself against his master and began to absorb the demonic chakra, growing until he was as large as a house. The sudden drain on Naruto's chakra reserves caused him to drop unconscious. “Well, that was entertaining,” Anko said, “plan was all shot to hell, but the old man is safe and Zabuza has been,” Anko chuckled, “disarmed.” Shino shook his head and sighed at the bad, and much overused, pun. “It is unknown whether Tazuna had other ninja under his employ that were not known to the demon brothers. We should head to Tazuna's house and prepare a fortified position since stealth is not an option,” he glanced at the giant fox warily, “and one member of the team is temporarily incapacitated, and, if he were anyone else, should be dead.” “Probably the best idea. Foxy, carry the runt. I'll carry Tazuna. We should be there within the hour.” Hinata yelped as the collar of her trench coat was caught in Akama's snout and she, with Naruto in her arms, was dropped onto Akama's back. The fox licked her face, setting her hair standing on end, then trotted off along the road towards the village. Anko, Shino and Tazuna followed behind as to not be trod upon by the gigantic paws.

Chapter 19: Ice Mirrors and Fox Fire

The arrival of the shinobi was met with awed stares, though a lot less screaming and panicking than one would expect when a thirty foot fox waltzes into town. This subdued reaction, however, was probably because the people did not have the will or energy to fight back against whatever fate had in store for them. The men and women were skin and bones, their sunken eyes watching soullessly as the world passed by. The Market was bare of all but the lowest grades of food, rotten, shriveled and old produce. Only the fish was fresh, but the prices were so outrageous that few could afford a bite and there was little enough of it that few would have any even if they could afford it. Children wandered the streets in rags, begging for food or picking pockets. All in all, the place was depressing, they could easily see why even a C-rank mission had been a stretch for this village to afford. Tazuna's house was actually one of the better houses in the village. It was quite large and on the waterfront. Only a small portion of the house was actually on the land, the rest was supported over the water by wooden stilts and surrounded by a wooden boardwalk. The two-story structure looked very good in comparison to the rest of the village and spoke well of Tazuna's construction skills. “Tsunami, I'm back!” Tazuna announced, strutting through the door. He was followed by Shino and Anko. When Akama tried to follow, he could only get half of his head in before he got stuck and began to whine. “You're safe!” his daughter exclaimed, coming in from the kitchen, “I ahh!” She screamed as she was startled by the giant fox head laying where the door should have been and froze in fear. “You're staying outside until you return to your normal size,” Anko said, “Now, back off so the other kids can get inside.” Akama tried to pull out, but his head was stuck in the opening and he started to whine again. “This does not reflect well on our competence,” Shino said. Anko went to the nearest front window and called out to Hinata, “The mutt is stuck, bring sleeping beauty in through the window!” “We're coming,” Hinata replied, “Shino, catch him!” Naruto's body was tossed head first through the window and Shino moved to cushion the landing as Hinata made a somewhat more graceful entry, only winching slightly as the burns on her hands from Naruto's chakra were braced against the window sill to help her jump in. “You must be Tsunami-san,” Hinata said, bowing her head respectfully, “I am Hinata Hyuuga, and that is my future husband Naruto Uzumaki. Thank you for the hospitality. I hope our companions did not startle you too badly.” “Not at all. I have to thank you all for protecting my father,” Tsunami replied, lapsing into the role of a hostess as her surprise wore off, glancing warily at the fox that was threatening to rip the front wall of her house off. “Is he alright?” “He will be fine in a day or two, I hope. His wound has almost completely healed,” Anko said, “In the meantime, just because Zabuza is a little short-handed at the moment,” Anko snickered at her own pun while Hinata merely sighed, having heard at least a dozen of them since the battle, “doesn't mean he won't be back. Naruto surprised him this time. I am betting we have no more than a week before he shows up again, and this time we won't know his plan before hand.” Akama whined at the door, his paws scrabbling in the dirt outside, unable to escape his predicament while Hinata laid Naruto on the living room couch.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

The next morning, Naruto woke up feeling famished. His side felt a little tender, but not enough to stop him from moving. He looked around confused before he realized that he must be in Tazuna's house. It was still early in the morning, through the window, he could see the sky was the murky gray that occurred just before it would burst into a glorious array of oranges and reds as the sun rose. There was a bit of a draft, the door was left open with a rather large fox laying in the entrance. It took Naruto a moment to realize that the fox was Akama. Akama had really grown, from the last time Naruto had seen him. He was now the size of a small horse, and instead of one tail he now had two. Naruto got up and went over to his furry friend, stroking the fur of the foxes head, feeling the heat and power that seemed to radiate off of him. This was definitely the feeling of demonic chakra. “Good morning,” Naruto flinched, startled by the woman who had come quietly down the stairs, “Are you feeling okay. You had quite a hole in you when you arrived. I was surprised that your team didn't treat your body a little more delicately.” “They're used to it. Anko knows I heal fast, so her training can get a little rougher than is recommended for your average genin. But then, we aren't average genin.” “No, you certainly are not. My father told me how you were able to drive off that enemy on your own before your team could step in.” “Well, it was a bad match for him, after all, no one stands a chance against the future hokage,” Naruto smiled widely, then grimaced in pain as Akama woke up and jammed his big nose into Naruto's side before squeezing through the door, glad to be small enough to enter the house, if only just barely. “Watch it, I'm an injured man here,” Naruto chided, flicking the fox playfully on the snout. Akama made a strange broken growling sound that Naruto realized was a laugh when Akama grabbed him by the collar and began carrying him around like a kit. “Yeah, very funny. You didn't think it was so funny when I did it to you,” Naruto grumbled, earning a small growl. “You think you could be any louder brat? This is probably the only night where we are sure we aren't going to be attacked, you could at least let us sleep in,” Anko complained before snickering at Naruto's predicament. “It's not funny!” Naruto yelled. “Yes, it is,” Anko replied, “Now, go do your sealing crap and turn this house into a fortress.” “I'm still a beginner. It's not like I can make blood seals for triggers or anything. At best I could strengthen the walls a bit. Anything else, and our client is going to be in as much danger as anyone breaking in.” “Well, something is better than nothing, and you need the practice. If you get the strengthening seals done right, maybe you could have some clones help out with the building. Given the chances that we are going to have to fight on the bridge, I don't want to have to worry about breaking it. While you do that, I am going to have Shino and Hinata scout out the locations the demon brothers gave us.” “There's no point. You're all just going to die anyway,” a small boy came down next with a pathetically defeated look on his face, then yelped in pain and surprise as a kunai lodged into the wall after grazing his cheek. A moment later, Anko was behind him, licking the blood from his face. “As I thought, tastes like coward,” she hissed, “I don't know what kind of pathetic people you've seen fight, but, by the end of the week, Gatou and all of his men will be dead, so don't make me add you to that group.” “Anko, isn't that a little harsh, he's just a kid,” Naruto said, finally struggling out of Akama's grasp. “Please, don't hurt Inari,” Tsunami said, her voice not able to restrain the fear that was building inside of her. “If she wanted him hurt, he'd be dead,” Naruto said, “She did the same to me.” “It's not my fault, your blood tastes so sweet, and your dad is a total hottie,” Anko replied. “Eww! Old people romance!” Naruto covered his ears and made a disgusted face before dashing outside with Anko chasing him and screaming about not being old. No one noticed Inari leaving as well.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Thanks to his clones, the work went very fast. It had taken Naruto most of the morning to come up with a design he liked, but once he was sure he had something that would work, the seals were done in less than an hour. He has long ago determined that a clone transformed into an explosive tag would just dispel when activated, but a clone had more than enough durability to be a brush or ink pot, and they easily performed the same sealing tasks that he could. He tested the work by giving the house a few solid punches, and the wood barely moved under the force of his fists. He had even gone so far as to add the seals to the hinges and lock on the door, ensuring that no one who was not a ninja or had the key could enter the building. Now that the house was complete, Naruto headed to the bridge where Tazuna and a dozen other ragged looking men were working. Next to the bridge, Akama was in the water splashing about, trying to catch some fish. While Tsunami had gladly let the fox eat the scant leftovers of breakfast, it had not been nearly enough for the pony-sized, twin-tailed fox. The top of the bridge was simple enough to seal. Naruto and his clones formed a line right across the bridge and worked their way along at a steady pace. The sides and the bottom of the bridge prove much more difficult. This place was not called the land of waves for no reason, and those waves caused splashes and sprays that would cause his ink to run before the seal could set, leaving the pilings vulnerable to attack. At the very least, though, any battle on top of the bridge would cause minimal damage. As he was working, Naruto came to a realization. Zabuza's sword had been left where they had fought. There was a good chance that Zabuza, or his nameless partner, would return for the sword, and it was not something he wanted jammed into his gut again. Naruto left his clones to continue the sealing and ran along the coast, hoping he would get there before the other nin realized the same thing he had. Luck was not on his side. He found the sword easily enough, but when he reached for it, a mirror of ice appeared and the fake hunter nin grabbed the sword at the same time. Both looked surprised to see the other. “Well, this is inconvenient,” Naruto deadpanned, setting himself into a defensive posture, not letting go of the sword. “Yes, it is. I don't suppose you would just allow me to return Zabuza-sama's sword to him? He is rather upset that I did not think to retrieve it yesterday.” “If I let you have the sword, will you and Zabuza leave us and Tazuna alone?” Naruto asked. “As you have, we have also been hired to do a job. We do not fail our missions,” The hunter nin replied seriously. “And why would you work for a man like Gatou? Have you seen what he's done to the people of this country?” Naruto asked, “We were hired for a C-rank mission to protect him from bandits, we are protecting him from Gatou's ninja just because it is the right thing to do, not because he hired us to do it.” “You are fortunate then that you have the luxury to choose which missions you accept. As a missing ninja, Zabuza-sama has no such luxury.” “Zabuza is not as much of a demon as he claims. He will not be fighting anytime soon,” Naruto pointed out, sighing rather than boasting about his victory. Having to rely on the Kyuubi's power was definitely not a good thing. “I may not be as famous as Zabuza-sama, nor have I had formal ninja training, but in some ways I am stronger than him. Our mission will be completed and we will be paid and Gatou will continue to keep the real hunters off our backs.” “How strong are you?” Naruto asked, genuinely interested in his opponent's abilities. “I fight for the one who is precious to me, so I am as strong as I need to be.” “If he means that much to you, get him away from any of Gatou's bases. Our team specializes in assassination. Our target is Gatou and everyone working for him. Can you protect Gatou and Zabuza? The way I see it, if you continue to fight for Gatou, you will not get paid, or you will lose your reason for fighting.” There was a long awkward silence where the two nin just stared into each other's eyes before the ice manipulator said, “Zabuza-sama will not quit.” “Neither will we.” Naruto's response was confident and resolute. The two sighed. At this point, neither felt like fighting the other. “Then, it seems we are at an impasse. I was hoping we could resolve this peacefully.” “Why don't you join Konoha?” Naruto offered, “Zabuza would never be trusted, but we aren't exactly known for our kenjutsu, and with our bloodline, you'd practically be treated like royalty,” Naruto suggested. “We have our own reasons for fighting. We cannot let ourselves be tied down to a village,” Haku explained, “In the Land of Water, there is a terrible civil war occurring. The fourth mizukage began to purge our country of bloodline users because he believed that bloodlines made us weaker. My mother had a bloodline, the ability to manipulate ice, but she hid it and survived the purges until I was born. “When I was six, I discovered that I had the ability to manipulate ice. My mother warned me not to do it, but my father saw. He came that night with the men of the village and killed my mother. When he was about to kill me as well, I panicked and my kekkei genkai activated. My father and the other men died. “Zabuza is a missing nin because he tried to kill the mizukage and end the bloodline purges. I am going to help him achieve his dream. But, for that he needs money, which means we need to complete any mission we can get.” “How can you say that stopping the purges is your dream when you're helping Gatou do the same thing, just to different people?” Naruto asked coldly, “If you really knew what suffering was, you would never help him.” His eyes flashed red for a moment. “And, if you truly knew suffering, you'd know that there are no lengths you could not go to to achieve your dreams, even if it seems like what you're doing is wrong.” His grip on the handle of the blade tightened as he began to pull at the sword. “No, you're just taking the easy way out.” “No, I am following my dream, and you are at a disadvantage.” “You're not stronger than me,” Naruto replied as he pulled the sword from Haku's grip and brandished it easily with one hand, “This is lighter than it looks!” His surprise was cut short as he had to duck backwards to avoid a slash of the hunter's senbon needles which she was now wielding like claws. Naruto jumped to the side, barely avoiding more slashes from the senbon. His opponent was fast, maybe even faster than him. He activated his doujutsu, only to find it ineffective against the ice user who, rather than having a red tinge from the heat, looked like a dark void in his vision. “Suiton: Kirigakure no Jutsu!” The masked ninja drew forth a blinding mist, but unlike Zabuza's mist, this mist was chilled to the point where Naruto could see no more with his doujutsu than without it. “I see,” the nin said as Naruto turned his head frantically, hoping to hear something to give the enemy position away, “Your doujutsu gives you thermal vision, so you can not see me.” “I guess that makes us even. We both need to rely on our other five senses,” Naruto tried focusing chakra to his ears and nose to enhance them. Naruto attached exploding tags to four kunai, sending one in each direction. All four hit the ground, but he hadn't though he would hit his enemy anyway. The tags all exploded at the same time, causing the mist to disperse a bit. Not seeing his enemy in front of him, Naruto spun around. He couldn't see anyone. Naruto stood tensely for a minute before a whistling sound that he was far too familiar with rode on the wind. He twisted, taking the projectiles in his arm instead of his spine. He threw a kunai, but too late he realized that it had been a trap as an elbow rammed into the base of his skull. The blow sent him sprawling towards the ground. At the last moment, he replaced himself with a log which soon resembled a porcupine as it became littered with senbon. Naruto swung Zabuza's sword as if it were a simple club, hoping to strike his opponent, but the large blade passed through only the thick, but unresisting, mist. He briefly wondered whether he should get a kenjutsu tutor when he returned to the village, but his musings upon his skills with the blade were soon cut off. “Naruto!” He saw Hinata's form as a silhouette in the mist as he voice called to him. “Hinata! Watch out!” He dashed towards her, but her form dissolved into the mist as if it was never there as three needles lodged themselves into his neck.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Drip. Drip. Drip. Naruto flinched as each droplet of water splashed off of his forehead protector and sprinkled his face. He sat up, opening his eyes to find himself in a dark tunnel. The there was no distinction between the walls and ceiling as the dark bluish-gray, slime-coated stones arched all the way from one side of the tunnel to the other. Pipes of varying size, material and upkeep snaked in and out along the interlocked stone corridor, some like shining polished chrome, and others like dull, dripping lead. Rivulets from the dripping fluids traveled down along the mortared channels between the stones, puddling on the concrete walk before they splashed into a small but rapid canal that bisected the tunnel. Naruto could hear many sounds in this strange place. There was the whistling of the wind which gently whipped around bends, singing against the grime-covered corners. There was the sounds of water, dripping, trickling, and rapidly rushing as it flowed along its predefined course. There was a heavy repetitive thumping that filled his ears like thunder. And, finally, a deep rumbling breath that mixed with a bestial growl that seemed strangely familiar despite the crushing presence it seemed to carry with it. Naruto scrambled to his feet, placing himself on guard, not knowing what had happened to him. He began to stalk towards the source of the breathing. The sewer seemed fairly empty as he crept along, not even a cockroach or rat was in evidence until he reached a large open chamber. The room was circular with ceilings that stretched higher than any tree or building that Naruto had ever laid eyes upon. He marched across the room which was at least the size of a village block, its only remarkable features the door he entered through, and the true focal point of the room, a large iron gate which stood more than a dozen times his height, held closed by a large paper which had the kanji for seal emblazoned on it in giant brush strokes. He did not have to peer into the dark depths beyond to know what was waiting there. “Come closer, human,” the voice was deep, full of malice, and powerful enough to cause his legs to tremble under the force of it. Naruto shuffled forward, trembling under the pressure of the youki until he was standing close enough to see the bijuu's jaws. He almost wet himself when the beasts claws, any one of which was large enough to crush him on its own, darted out between the bars and splashed down inched from him. His flinch caused his nine-tailed prisoner to chuckle. “You're pathetic,” the demon lord insulted, lowering its head until his gigantic yellow eye could leer at him, “Losing to that ice user... It's insulting to be trapped in such a useless container. I made you stronger, faster, smarter, and even gave you enhanced senses and a doujutsu that can rival the sharingan, and it still wasn't enough for you to kill one measly human, even with a near infinite supply of chakra at your disposal.” Naruto's face flushed with shame. He was about to yell profanities at the beast, but stopped himself at the last second as he remembered that he needed the fox. So, instead, he took the approach that usually worked with Anko, he begged. He prostrated himself in front of the fox and said, “I am sorry Kyuubi-sama, I promise I will not let him defeat me again. Please help me become a worthy vessel for you and help me to teach your grandson to be a worthy representative of you while you are stuck in me.” Kyuubi arched his brow in confusion for a moment before he began to laugh, his flailing tails shaking the entire chamber to the point where Naruto was sure that it was going to collapse on top of them. “Human, you are my third vessel. Not once has one of you asked for my help. The other two Uzumaki women merely demanded that I allow them use of my chakra.” “Does that mean you'll train me?” Naruto asked hopefully. “Of course not. I'd rather strip the flesh from your bones and watch them bleach under the sun, but I will do my duty as Akama's grand sire. If you happen to pick up a few tricks along the way, then so be it.” “Thanks, Kurama-sensei!” Naruto grinned. “Hnn...” Once again, the fox looked surprised. “I suppose Akama revealed my name,” he sighed irritably. “So, what do we need to do?” Naruto asked, hoping back to his feet excitedly. “See that paper up there, if you pull it off. You'll become extremely powerful,” the nine- tailed fox explained with a foxy grin. “I may not be the sharpest kunai in the pouch, but do you really think I am that stupid?” Naruto asked. “It was true,” Kurama grumbled menacingly. “Yes, I'll become extremely powerful because you will have taken over my body. I've been studying seals since I was five, I know enough about mine that I'd be an idiot to mess with it.” The fox snarled and snapped his jaws in front of Naruto's face, causing the ninja to take a few steps back in alarm. “Don't get too comfortable. I will escape, with or without your help.” The two stood staring at each other silently for a minute before the kyuubi finally spoke, “Do you know how humans make fire?” Naruto shook his head, knowing that saying matches would probably just piss off the demon more. “They waste a lot of chakra by compressing it until it become explosive. The compressed chakra wants to escape and will explode outward and ignite the oxygen in the air. It is a waste that I would not even call elemental manipulation, more like shape manipulation because you are forcing the chakra to rapidly expand, not using its nature in the attack. The real nature of fire is heat. Red flames, which is what you humans usually produce, are cold, might as well be an ice bath because it won't burn anything with any sort of resistance. As it gets hotter, you will get orange, yellow, blue, and finally white that fades to clear flames that cannot be seen with a human eye. The flames of a fox when it attacks are blue at the minimum, red is only used by the kits when they are playing. Once you have the heat, only then is making the chakra explosive of any use. “To make hotter flames, you need friction. Even the smallest amount of chakra is enough to create flames that will even burn water when you make it right. Take the chakra and push it against itself as if you are trying to grind the surface off of it. You don't need to do it hard, speed is what is important, the faster you rub, the hotter it gets. When you release the chakra, you will get fire. Once you get to blue, then you can start doing the stupid human things. “Now get out,” Kyuubi growled.

Chapter 20: Assassination

Naruto opened his eyes with a groan. He was laying on the couch in Tazuna's home. Hinata was kneeling on the floor, clasping his hand in hers as she slept with her head nestled on his elbow. It was dark outside and Naruto wondered how long he had been out. It had been his first successful meditation, though he had needed to nearly die to pull it off. Without his chakra weights activated, it was pitifully easy to lift Hinata's light frame. He couldn't imagine kneeling at his side could be very comfortable over a long period of time. She moaned and convulsed suddenly, causing Naruto's gentle attempts to lift her on top of him to turn into a bear hug to his chest. “Hinata, are you alright?” He asked worriedly. Hinata flipped over so they were chest to chest and and moaned, “Naruto-kun, my legs fell asleep...” Naruto grinned mischievously and then grabbed her by the waist and pulled her forward until she was straddling him with her knees in his armpits. He reached out with both hands and began to massage her legs, starting with her feet and working his way up. “So, how long was I out?” “About two days. Akama found you soon after your clones disappeared and dragged you back here. What happened?” “I thought it would be a good idea to go back for the sword, and Zabuza's little friend had the same idea at the same time.” “He beat you?” “SHE used a dirty trick...” Naruto grumbled. “A dirty trick from a ninja, who could have ever predicted that?” Anko's sarcastic comment startled Naruto as he had not detected her approach. “Get your ass off the couch and let Hinata sleep. It's time for some hands-on reconnaissance and you're looking frisky enough.”

-Return of the Hummingbird-

A large dilapidated warehouse by the docks had a single man standing outside the entrance sucking on a burning tobacco cylinder before expelling the smoke from his nostrils. Luxuries such as cigarettes were not common in Wave, especially among honorable, hard-working citizens who could not afford it. The criminal element, however, was bathed in that which catered to base desires and addictions. The man spit out the stub, sending it careening into a puddle where it sputtered and steamed for only a moment before being doused. A second later, his face followed, a kunai buried to the hilt at the base of his skull. Anko dropped out of the shadows, silently followed by Naruto. At a signal from his sensei, Naruto created half a dozen shadow clones which proceeded to surround the building, positioning themselves at doors and windows to bar any escape. The two ninja kept to the shadows as they slipped into the building, taking cover behind stacks of crates. Another eight men sat around a low table in the middle of the warehouse, gambling their ill- gotten gains away in some game of cards. Their weapons, for those that possessed them, were laid out on the floor, or leaning against crates that were just out of reach. They didn't stand a chance. Anko drew six kunai while Naruto took two. There was a brief flurry of hand signals designating targets, then the projectiles flew. The men never saw what hit them, and only one had survived as Anko had somehow managed to throw her weapon so the the ring had impacted his head rather than the blade, knocking the man out. “Make as many clones as you need. I want all of these crates opened. Drugs on the left, weapons on the right, and everything else in the back,” Anko ordered, “Hinata said there was a trap door here somewhere, so make sure you don't cover it up.” The crate were soon moved with the liberal application of shadow clones. There was a good deal of food, plenty to feed the starving population of the village. There was also a good quantity of clothing and textiles. There were a few crates of drugs and many cigarettes, but there were no weapons to be found. “All the crates are sorted, but I didn't find the trap door,” Naruto sighed in defeat. “Did you look everywhere?” “I moved all the crates, and I even checked the walls.” Anko shook her head in exasperation. “You're an idiot.” “Like you could just walk up and reveal the trapdoor.” “Want to bet?” Anko asked with her trademark sadistic grin. “Something tells me I don't,” Naruto replied cautiously. Anko pouted. “But I wanted a bonus for this mission.” She walked to the center of the warehouse and kicked the card table out of the way, sending it to splinter against the nearest crate. Naruto groaned. The trapdoor had not even been hidden, merely shadowed by the table. “What are you waiting for?” Anko asked, “A written invitation? Yank that sucker open and see what the fat little bastard keeps down here.” Naruto crouched over the door and lifted it by a small metal ring. As he opened it, a blast of warm, humid air greeted him, sending him to the ground as he tried to cover his face and block out the rank odors that were released. “That smells like crap!” Naruto coughed. “It is, and human too,” Anko said with a grimace, “Get them out of there... Use clones, you don't want to be stinking up our hosts home later. I'll start working on our surviving friend here.” Naruto nodded and began the tiresome work, grimacing as he received memories of the dead bodies soaking in their own filth; men in cages with infected lash wounds littering their backs; women with sunken, dead, eyes with little clothing short of the iron collars that chained them to the walls; children, both living and dead, sharing cages and huddling in corners, unable to hide their lack of nutrition due to their visible ribs and distended bellies. “Any more reservations about assassinating Gatou?” Anko asked sarcastically when she had finished with the thug who had not known anything new. “Yeah, you're probably going to be the one to do it, but I want a shot at him,” Naruto replied. “We can't even have fun with him... Not if we really want to help the people. Public executions are usually clean, less offensive to the common villager's sensibilities.”

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Naruto slept in the next day. He had spent the night distributing the food and slaves amongst the village people. Everyone got the same amount of food, but those that accepted the freed people into their homes got a share of the luxury items retrieved from the warehouse. It had been a pain trying to make sure that all the women and children were cared for and that all the villagers were satisfied with the additional items they received. By the time he had finished, the sun was already peeking over the horizon, joining its orange hues to those of the burning remnants of the warehouse and all the illegal substances that had been found within. Anko had taken Hinata and Shino to guard Tazuna while he worked. She had told Naruto to get plenty of rest because they would be taking down two mercenary barracks that night, more him than her since she was conserving energy due to supervising both day and night activities and dozing when she had the opportunity. It was the smell of lunch that finally got Naruto out of bed, and Tsunami had been more than happy to feed him, and he couldn't complain about the food. She had been able to prepare meals that were surprisingly delicious with spoiled ingredients. With the good ingredients retrieved from the warehouse, she could cook like a professional. Naruto made sure to compliment her before he went out to the water with Akama and began fire element training. “So, the old man said that you need to rub the chakra together to make it heat up, like spinning two discs in opposite directions.” Though Naruto could explain it, he could not so easily create it. Even with the help of a few hundred clones, Akama had advanced much further than Naruto, able to create red sparks when all Naruto could create was a warm wind. “This is harder than it sounds. It's like trying to do two things at once,” Naruto said as he finished for the day, after all, he needed to conserve chakra for the evening operation and the others would be returning for dinner soon.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Once again, the operation went off without a hitch. They made sure to hit the barracks furthest from where Zabuza was housed, just in case Gatou had hired more ninjas. Once again, Naruto was left in bed while the others followed Tazuna to the bridge. This time, however, it was not the scent of cooking that woke Naruto, but a scream. “Leave my mom alone!” Inari, Tazuna's grandson screamed. The boy had been nothing but a petulant child since they had arrived, only showing his face at mealtimes. He would only tell them that Gatou had too many men, that he was too strong, and that they were all going to die. Naruto scrambled out of bed, not planning on letting the boy be right. He created a pair of shadow clones and sent them out the window to guard the entrances while he activated his yokogan and examined the scene. He saw two men, apparently carrying some sort of weapons, standing at the entrance to the kitchens where Tsunami was facing them down with Inari behind her. The men weren't even ninja, so defeating the two of them was ridiculously easy. First, he walked the walls, peering down through the doorway to reveal the full situation. The two brutish men were wearing old and dented samurai armor and carrying swords no better than the uncared for and rusted blades that one might find lying in a ditch a few months after a battle. Tsunami was brandishing a razor sharp kitchen knife in front of her. “We only need one hostage, right?” one of the thugs asked with a vicious chuckle. “Lets keep the girl, we can always sell her when we're finished. We can have fun with the boy though, if you didn't wet your blade enough on that stupid pig.” “You won't lay a hand on my son or I'll bite my tongue so I choke and die!” Tsunami threatened. Naruto created two shadow clones and transformed them into kunai. With a flick of the wrist, he lobbed the weapons through the door they landed between Tsunami and the thugs. “What! Who's the wannabe ninja with bad aim?” One of the thugs asked as he turned, looking for their assailant. They never even saw Naruto's face as the two clones returned to their normal forms and tapped the men on the back of their necks, sending a wave of chakra to shatter the bones, but not enough to spray blood across the room. “Are you two okay?” Naruto asked, flipping into the room in such a way as to block Inari's vision of the clones dragging the bodies out of the house. “You beat them!” Inari exclaimed, his eyes wide with awe. “Of course I did. I am an awesome ninja after all, you don't have to worry about me,” Naruto replied as Tsunami confirmed their safety with a nod. “You're grandpa probably has some company as well, know somewhere safe you can hang out until then?” “Masa-san quit the bridge last week, so he should be home. His wife is a good friend of mine,” Tsunami answered. “That's good. My two buddies out there will stay with you two once they've gotten those two bad guys out of the way, okay?” Inari nodded, giving Naruto a big grin. “Okay, I'll see you two later then.” Naruto waved, then headed towards the bridge, flaring his chakra to call Akama who quickly came splashing along the coastline from the direction of the forest.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Tazuna had just finished making a crude comment towards Anko when she suddenly grabbed him by the collar. For a minute, he thought she had taken offense until she said, “It's too quiet.” Hinata reflexively activated he byakugan and scanned the area. “Chakra imbued mist over the bridge,” she reported, “too dense to see what's inside.” “They're here. Tazuna stay well back, but within sight. Shino cover him and provide ranged assistance if necessary. Hinata, the iceman is your target. He seems to be a ranged specialist, so if you can get in close, you should be able to get him. If Zabuza is there, I'll take him.” “Yes, Anko-sensei!” The two genin responded with their ingrained response to her orders before they moved forward into the mist, Tazuna slowly falling behind with Shino. “Why don't you come in? Haku chilled the mist just for you all,” Zabuza's voice almost seemed to echo out of the mist, not giving away his location within it. “My team may be genin, but they aren't stupid. I don't remember it exactly, but I am pretty sure one of the shinobi rules talks about not allowing the enemy to pick the battlefield. So, why don't you come out and face us?” Anko challenged, slowly shifting sideways in order to get a different angle to triangulate the sound of the demon's voice. “I see you don't have the blond haired brat, so I suppose we can meet you half way,” Zabuza replied and let the mist fall until it was only at knee height. Anko was about to throw a kunai at him when he reached into the mist and pulled out a man who was as still as a corpse. “As you can see, Haku was kind enough to let most of these men live since our only target is the old man. It would be unfortunate if one of your attacks resulted in the death of an innocent man, wouldn't it?” he chuckled, finding the image of the Konoha nin injuring a hostage to be amusing. “I suppose I'll have to get up close and personal when I gut you then, it is always so much more satisfying that way anyway.” Zabuza grinned, though he was obviously still in pain. The bandages covering the remains of his right arm were already soaked with blood. His left was slightly trembling, not used to being used as the primary support for his heavy blade. Zabuza cracked his neck with a groan. “I guess it's time for the training wheels to come off.” His sword flashed out and launched towards the bridge builder, at least the large cleaver-style blade did. Shino grabbed Tazuna and pulled him to the ground, barely avoiding the flying blade. Zabuza's sword now looked quite different. The once seven foot cleaver-style zanbatou had been replaced with a seven foot chokuto-style zanbatou, the much thinner blade looking almost light in Zabuza's offhand grip. “It's been a while since anyone has forced me to remove the training weight from my sword. Unfortunately, I have to keep my little trump card a secret, so none of you will be leaving alive.” As if on cue, Anko, Hinata, Zabuza and Haku shot forward to meet their opponents. Anko and Zabuza brought their weapons together. Anko had to duck quickly as Zabuza's sword easily sliced through her kunai, making her curse as she rolled out of his range and then leapt to her feet.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Hinata engaged Haku in a fierce Taijutsu battle. Haku was much faster, although unable to land any real knockout punches, Hinata's arms and sides were getting battered. After a minute of trying to avoid Haku's strikes, Hinata got a lucky break as she managed to close a major tenketsu in Haku's arm as she deflected a punch and Haku's arm fell limply to her side. Haku leapt back from Hinata and probed her arm with the fingers of her good arm. “What did you do?” she asked, seeming more surprised than upset. “I will explain after I defeat you,” Hinata replied, gaining a bit of confidence, knowing that Haku would be unable to use jutsu and her taijutsu had just received a major blow. However, she was shocked when Haku began making one-handed seals. “Hijutsu: Sensatsu Suishou,” Haku said calmly as water rose from he ground and surrounded Hinata with hundreds of needles made of water which immediately flew towards her.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Anko dodged with all the speed she could muster. She had known that the Demon of the Mist was fast when he had used his cleaver, now, with only a fraction of the weight, she could barely see the sword strikes and the length of the blade kept her from being able to get in close. Before he had shucked the weighted blade, Anko would have wondered at how he had achieved his A ranking in the Bingo Book. Now, Anko knew; even without being able to perform jutsu and only using his off hand, Zabuza's swordsmanship alone put him at A rank. She suspected that his rank would have been bordering on S before had more people seen him using his true potential. Boar, dog, bird, monkey, ram, Anko sealed before swiping some blood from a nasty cut Zabuza had landed on her arm before slamming her hand into the ground. “Kuchiyose no Jutsu!” There was a small puff of smoke, but nothing appeared. “Looks like a dud,” Zabuza said before driving the tip of his sword into the ground, “Or maybe not.” When he withdrew the sword, there was dark snake blood on the tip. “Bastard,” Anko spat. The snake she had summoned had been a small one, meant for a concealed strike to deposit venom. The wound Zabuza had inflicted was most likely fatal to the small critter.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Hinata dropped the the ground, rolling towards Haku. Several of the needles pierced her back, but none caused anything more than a minor flesh wound. She returned to her feet, ready to strike at her opponent only to come face to face with a mirror of ice. “What is-” Hinata's question was cut off when a senbon needle struck the back of her knee, paralyzing her leg. Haku appeared inside the mirror directly ahead of Hinata, her good arm flashing out to launch senbon into the Hyuuga's shoulders. Using her byakugan, Hinata could see that Haku was not just in the mirror in front of her, but also in the other mirrors that surrounded her in an inescapable dome of death. She struck out at the mirror in front of her in hopes of escaping, but her strike dealt no damage to the ice mirror. “Do not bother, just surrender now. No one has ever escaped my demonic ice mirrors,” Haku warned, “If you surrender now, we will let you live when we kill the bridge builder.” “I will not give up,” Hinata replied. She struck the mirror again and again and was rewarded with a flurry of senbon until she could barely move from the pain. “I just need to hit you once,” Hinata said, struggling to move. Straining her doujutsu to the limit, she could see the flashes of chakra as Haku moved at speeds too fast for the human eye to perceive. The mirrors themselves were leaking a large amount of chakra as well. She knew that there was no way that Haku, keep this up for long, but then, neither could she. She stumbled back into the center of the mirrors and did her best to avoid all the needles that showered out of them, hoping that she outlast Haku. Just when Hinata though she could take no more, there was the hum of insects as a group of needles penetrated her neck and she collapsed unconscious.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Anko was cut up badly. She was fairly certain that she was going to lose this battle. She hadn't yet managed to land a single hit on Zabuza. This, frankly, made her even more impressed with the blond brat for taking off the guy's arm. The tension of battle was suddenly rent by an ear-piercing shriek. She knew it wasn't Hinata's voice. The two jounin turned to check on their charges, just in time to see Haku tumble out of a crumbling bug-covered mirror, only to be swarmed herself. Anko didn't readily see Hinata, but noticed Zabuza's distraction and leapt forwards, using her hidden shadow snake hands to bind his arm and inject enough paralytic venom to knock down an elephant. A second later, his throat was slit. Anko smiled at her accomplishment as the blood fountain drenched her face becofe succumbing to the unconsciousness brought about by her own blood loss.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Shino surveyed the field. His allies informed him that Hinata was not dead, but merely in a death-like state. Anko was bleeding and required medical attention. If two incapacitated comrades were not enough to deal with, he detected a large force of mercenaries approaching the bridge. He knew that his hive was not numerous enough to deal with all of them, especially while a good portion of them were dedicated to keeping the ice user incapacitated and several had entered a hibernation state due to the cold when attacking the mirrors. “There is a mercenary force approaching. I am incapable of protecting you as I engage them. It would be prudent of you to feign death and cover your face so that you will not easily be recognized and targeted.” Tazuna did as he was told as Shino withdrew his mantis blades from their sheathes, hoping they would give him the tactical advantage to hold off the mercenaries until Naruto arrived. He relocated himself to the entrance of the bridge and watched as the group approached, lead by a short man wearing a dark suit and carrying a wooden cane. “You are Gatou?” Shino asked with his flat emotionless voice. “And it seems like you're the only one of these fools left. I was expecting to find a weakened Zabuza for my mercenaries to kill, not a baby ninja.” “You would betray your own hive?” “That's the best part about missing ninja. When they've done their job, rather than paying them, I can just have them killed and collect their bounty. In the end I win. Which means that you will have to lose.” Gatou turned to his mercenaries. “Whoever brings me that boy's head gets a bonus,” he announced before turning and walking through the crowd, satisfied that the bridge builder was surely dead and his men would be successful in the end. He did not notice the singe female kikaichu that landed on his back and crawled under the collar of his shirt.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Naruto arrived in time to find Shino surrounded. Several mercenaries were dead, another dozen or so were incapacitated. Shino had taken several hits, but nothing life threatening. Though, by the look of things, he was only moments away from a fatal blow and had no time to perform any escape jutsu. “Akama, roar!” Naruto called, forming a multitude of clones. The fox let out a loud growl that cut through the noise of the fighters enough that some turned to see the source of the noise, allowing Shino a few seconds where he had fewer weapons to defend against. Naruto hoped it would be enough as he formed a hundred clones which all stopped and began forming clone kunai which were launched at the enemy. Some killed, some dispelled, but some also reverted into Naruto clones and began to push the mercenaries away from his teammate. A few minutes later, not a single mercenary remained alive and the clones began to immediately tend to the injuries. He almost entered a Kyuubi fueled rage when he saw the conditions of Anko and Hinata. Fortunately, Shino had been astute enough to suggest that she was in a death-like state and not actually due to the senbon as were a large proportion of the workers. While Naruto used his clones to collect senbon and awaken all those in a death-like state, Shino used his kikaichu to excrete a type of wax that helped to seal Anko's cuts before he bandaged them. Shino managed to also find a blood pill in Anko's supplies and fed it to her to restore the blood lost to Zabuza's attacks. None of the injured civilians were able to move on their own due to being in a death-like state for an extended period of time. Naruto created clones to return them all to their houses as well as clones to seal away all the dead mercenaries and Zabuza, this time remembering both pieces of Zabuza's sword. After all this was done, they returned to Tazuna's house both physically and emotionally drained, wanting nothing more than a good meal and a nap.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Tsunami had returned with Inari when they noticed the clones returning the workers. Inari's improved attitude took a severe nosedive when he saw the condition of the genin team. Only two of them could even walk, and the only one in fighting condition was exhausted. “I knew it! You may have one this time, but Gatou is going to come and kill you now.” “It is unlikely that Gatou still retains enough forces to have a significant chance of killing this team, even in our current incapacitated state. We most likely have eliminated the threat of all but a skeleton crew of his mercenaries as well as his four hired ninja. He is no longer a major threat and he will not survive the night.” “He came to the bridge?” Naruto asked. “He left before his men attacked, but not before I was able to plant a female kikaichu on him. Tonight I shall release my kikaichu and they will eat all of his chakra as he sleeps, making it appear as if he died of natural causes. In the confusion, we should be able to eliminate the remaining mercenaries and liberate any remaining illegal merchandise and slaves with little trouble. “Good planning Shino.” “So Gatou will really be gone by tomorrow?” Inari asked. “Of course, what else would you expect from the super awesome ninjas your grandpa hired. It's not like he would just grab the cheapest ones he could find right?” Naruto laughed and was soon joined by Inari as Tazuna tugged nervously at his collar. “Well, Akama is out patrolling the village, and I need some food and rest before I go out and finish them all off.” “I'll look after your team while you rest,” Tsunami offered, bringing out some fresh bandages so that Anko's wounds could receive proper treatment. “I will inform you if my allies complete their assignment before you return,” Shino added.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

The extermination went smoothly. Too smoothly for Naruto's taste. Killing seemed almost too easy now, not like the first time. Even the cold kills where he snuck up behind the enemy and killed them before they even knew he was there seemed to come easily to him. Perhaps, he thought, that it was because he had seen the harm these men had done to Wave country. Using his clones, he had hit all the outlying bases that remained. He and Anko had already taken out the worst of the hideouts short of the one Zabuza had resided in. Apparently Gatou had never taken to keeping a permanent set of ninja on staff because he found no more and easily herded all the remaining mercenaries towards Gatou's mansion where there was a large uproar. The mercenaries had come together to defend the building, hoping that the army of blondes would not be able to take out such a well fortified structure only to find that Gatou had taken a nap when he had returned home, never to awaken again. Considering how much chakra he had used up to this point, Naruto decided it was a good time to rest and let his chakra replenish while Akama prowled the forest around the mansion and killed any mercenaries that left the building. Focusing chakra to his ears, Naruto was able to hear the faint sounds of fighting coming from inside the mansion and suspected that it was a fight to determine who would be the new leader now that Gatou and his money were not there to keep them together. While he rested, Naruto took the opportunity to begin making explosive tags from paper and ink he had sealed in scrolls. He tweaked them all just a little bit, hoping to achieve various effects such as larger and smaller blasts, directional blasts, smoke and flash bombs, and other tweaks which he had no idea what the alteration of the seal would cause, but hoped for something entertaining. After a couple of hours, he had created several tags and had regenerated enough chakra that he believed he could accomplish the mission with enough to spare to return to Tazuna's place. His tags did not disappoint. He had sent one in with each clone with orders to use it upon the first sizable group of enemies they found. Admittedly, several ended up being duds, but one really caught his attention. It had been smaller than the explosion of the standard tags, but its flame was bright yellow with flashes of blue. It reminded him of what the Kyuubi had taught him about the heat of flames and resolved that he would try and adjust that design until he could make clear flames at least as large as a normal exploding note.

Chapter 21: And Then There Were Three

Haku groaned and tried to sit up, finding that she was securely bound with ninja wire. Her head hurt, throbbing like a hammer pounding inside her skull. She felt terribly weak, and slightly nauseous. “Chakra exhaustion,” she mumbled to herself. She thought she had hit the girl with that last attack, but perhaps her aim had been slightly off. “H-how are you feeling?” Haku opened her eyes and looked up into the pale eyes of her captor. “I am suffering the effects of chakra exhaustion, but I will be fine in a few days.” She could see that she was in a tent. That meant that the ninja had finished their mission and Gato was gone. “Is Zabuza-sama...” “He was d-distracted when you w-were defeated. Anko-sensei took advantage of his di- distraction.” The pale eyed girl looked away, closing her eyes sadly. “He died in battle,” Haku said, “It is how he would have wanted to die.” She bit her lip, trying to hold back the tears. Her captor helped her up, allowing Haku to cry into her shoulder as her hair was stroked gently. “Are you feeling b-better?” the girl asked when Haku had stopped crying and had rubbed the remaining tears off on Hinata's coat. Haku responded by nodding against her chest. “You've been out for a few days, would you like something to eat?” Haku head the crinkling of a wrapper before a ration bar was held next to her face. She choked down the sticky, foul-tasting food, suddenly realizing how hungry she was. Half way through, she stopped and asked, “What's the point of feeding a broken tool? Why not just execute me?” She felt pathetic. She had not only failed Zabuza, but her failure had cost him his life. He had been her entire life. “What do I do now?” “What do you want to do?” “I don't know, Zabuza-sama... He can't tell me what to do anymore.” Haku remained quiet for a few minutes, slowly becoming more and more aware of how uncomfortable her bindings were while she contemplated what to do with her life. She was afraid. She had been alone before and she didn't want that to happen again. She would rather die than be alone. “Please...” she said nervously, “Let me be your tool, don't make me be alone again.” “Don't you already have a dream of your own?” “My dream was to serve Zabuza-sama, to help him achieve his dreams.” Haku replied. “I don't need any help for my dreams. I never wanted to be 'Hinata Hyuuga' clan head. I just wanted to make my family whole and be loved. Naruto-kun has already given me that, he is everything I wish I was – strong, outgoing, and he never gives up. We've been betrothed since the day I met him. He saved me from some bullies who held a grudge against the Hyuuga clan and boldly declared that I was precious to him and that he would protect me. “My family is split because we use a seal to protect our bloodline and control the family through fear of death and pain. As part of the bride-price, his father is making a new seal that will protect the bloodline without the enslavement. This will allow our family to be whole again. Now my only dream is to live happily with Naruto-kun. “He has much bigger dreams. He wants to become a strong ninja so that he can protect the people he cares about and gain the respect of the village. I wish I could do more to help him so that one day he will become Hokage like his father.” “Hinata-sama, if that is what you desire, I will give my life to help him achieve his dream,” Haku replied. His dream was a noble one, and she was sure he would achieve it. After all, it was her own nindo that one only achieves true strength when they fight for those who are precious to them. She had seen his strength and he had very nearly beaten her, even when she had countered every advantage he had. She was surprised when there was a sudden snap and her bindings were suddenly released. She brought herself upright then bowed to Hinata. “Thank you, Hinata-sama.” “You're probably still hungry. Naruto should be back with some meat soon.” “I will prepare the fire for cooking,” Haku replied happily. It felt good to have purpose again. Hinata had been right. Naruto returned with a wild boar shortly, it had already been skinned and gutted cleanly, showing he had a good deal of experience preparing animals. He didn't seem all that surprised to see her walking free. “Are you feeling okay? Shouldn't you still be lying down?” he asked. “I am fine Naruto-sama, it is only my chakra that is depleted. Please allow me to prepare the boar.” “You don't have to. I can do it,” Naruto replied. “No, please rest and enjoy yourself, it is my honor to serve you, Naruto-sama,” Haku replied, taking one end of the boar and helping to suspend the creature above the glowing coals. “Okay,” Naruto replied, a little confused, “If you're sure, I'll just practice trying to create fire. It's really hard since my chakra is wind natured.” Haku marveled as he created dozens of clones that all began focusing on their hands. Soon, though she saw no flames, the temperature quickly rose, beating off the chill of the humid evening. The boar soon charred and Haku had to ask for the tools she needed. “Naruto-sama, could I trouble you for a pot and a knife so that I may begin removing the cooked meat?” Haku was not sure that she was actually talking to the real Naruto, but he happily fulfilled her request by creating two clones which transformed themselves into the implements she had requested. She was about to complain that henges would not be sufficient when he explained his unique abilities. “Unlike most people, my transformation jutsu is solid. With that and sealing, I really don't have to carry much around with me. I learned not to do that for clothes though. One day I tried that at the academy and I fell asleep in class which caused my clothes to all disappear.” He laughed at his own misfortune. “At least I don't do it without wearing anything underneath anymore.” Haku laughed along lightly. His story had been quite amusing. Considering what she knew of him, she suspected that he had many more stories to tell. He seemed like a good person, she knew that she would enjoy being his tool. Haku cut away the blackened fat of the boar, dropping it into the fire where its rich scent would permeate into the meat through the smoke. Naruto's henged kunai was amazingly sharp. She found it easy to cut strips of meat from the boar and lay them in the pot that Naruto had created. These could be dried and used as rations for missions. “Akama! Anko-sensei! Dinner's almost ready!” One of the Narutos shouted. Haku was surprised when the two arrived. Anko was riding on top of the fox which was the size of a small horse. She remembered seeing the fox during their first encounter. It had only been the size of a dog at the time. She quickly altered her carving plans and carved off an entire leg, including the fatty rump for the vulpine animal. “Anko-sama, Akama-sama, it is an honor to meet you,” Haku bowed, offering the prime cut of meat to the fox. She giggled when the fox's wet tongue licked at her face before the weight of the large slab of pork was lifted from her arms. “Umm... Nice to meet you too, but I am pretty sure I tied you up,” the older woman pointed out. “Your team is different from any other I've encountered. No one seems surprised to find me out of my bonds.” “You could have easily killed both me and Hinata,” a Naruto replied, “We really only kept you tied up in case you went all psycho on us when you found out about Zabuza.” A small tongue of flame suddenly erupted from his hand and he let out a startled yelp before disappearing into a cloud of smoke. “I did it!” another shouted, there were now tongues of flame jumping up from the hands of all the Naruto clones. Akama snorted, then produced a larger and brighter flame hovering between his tails. “Of course you're learning faster than me! This is kitsune-jutsu, not nin-jutsu and I am a wind element, fire is my weakness. Laugh at me all you want when you start doing water manipulation!” “Naruto-sama, do you have a preference for which cut of meat I should prepare for us to eat?” Haku asked, trying to distract him from his irritation. “Whatever is easiest for you. I can always seal the meat and carve it up later.” Haku nodded and proceeded to carve the rest of the animal, setting aside the liver and heart for Akama who would likely appreciate them more than the humans. She prepared the ribs for eating, using some herbs gathered from the edge of the clearing to add a bit of flavor. The ribs would have been the most difficult cut to prepare for storage. Once she distributed the food, she returned to her work. “Aren't you going to eat, Haku?” Naruto asked. “My work is not yet finished,” Haku replied, “I do not mind if my food gets cold while I am working.” “Join us Haku-san, we wish for you to join in our meal with us so we can get to know you better.” “As you command, Hinata-sama,” Haku responded, a blush on her cheeks. “You don't need to be left out, we all can take on our share of work. You don't need to do everything,” Naruto said, causing Haku to flush even more. She was used to being treated as nothing more than a favored servant. They wanted to treat her like family. Haku sat and began eating, taking note of the mannerisms of the group. The jounin-sensei was crude and suggestive, but protective and emotional like she saw herself as a big sister rather than a person of authority most of the time. But, when she told someone to do something, they made sure do it quickly or else had to face the consequences. In many ways she reminded Haku of Zabuza: tough on the outside, liked sharp things and blood, but had a soft spot when you got to know her. Hinata was kind, timid, and shy, but she had an inner strength to her. While she was uncomfortable socially, she would not hesitate to leap to the defense of someone she cared about. Shino was quiet. He spoke only when necessary, not partaking in frivolous conversation. His actions were all efficient, performing his duties for the good of his hive, his team. Though, the holes that riddled his body and the bugs that crawled in and out of them unnerved her. Naruto was loud and boisterous. He spoke his mind and accepted reprimand humbly, when he understood it. He was not the smartest ninja Haku had ever met, but he had a strong desire to protect people more than anyone else Haku had ever seen. The whole team seemed to mesh well together. Despite the utter differences in personalities and abilities, they seemed to work together, understanding each other and covering for their weaknesses. Each of them was strong, but together, she could tell that they would be great. Haku smiled, “You are a very good team. I wish I had been in a team like yours. You seem happy.” “The present group all present a mutual trait that allows for understanding which promotes teamwork. Others in our village might be less welcoming of those such as us.” “We are the losers of the village,” Anko simplified Shino's statement, “but when you put all the losers together, we become winners.” “Hey! I am not a loser! I'm going to be hokage!” Naruto protested, eliciting a chorus of laughter. Haku enjoyed the frivolity of dinner and, afterward, Naruto insisted on having his clones help her finish preparing the rest of the boar before he sealed the meat in a scroll. Anko put Shino on the first watch once their after dinner clean up was completed, then sent everyone to bed, promising that they would be marching home at dawn. Haku followed Naruto to the tent. “Would you like any assistance preparing for bed?” she asked. Naruto let out a startled squeal before whipping around to face her. “Umm, Haku, you're a girl, aren't you?” “I am,” she replied, “Though I often pretend to be a boy since missing nin are not known for treating a female honorably.” “You know this is the boy's tent, right?” Naruto asked nervously. “Yes, it is,” Haku replied. “If you are a girl, then why are you in the boy's tent?” “I am Naruto-sama's tool. If anything comes up during the night, I must be available to take care of you.” Naruto blushed a bright red, verging on a nosebleed at Haku's unfortunate wording. “I'll take care of anything of Naruto's that comes up!” Hinata shouted, bursting into the tent. All three teens turned beet red. “Umm, no offense Haku, you are one of the prettiest girls I've ever seen, and you are really nice, and I am sure I would enjoy having you take care of me, but I am betrothed to Hinata. I would never betray her by letting someone else...” Naruto trailed off in embarrassment. “Naruto-sama...” Haku replied, wondering if her cheeks could flush any more. This had never been an issue with Zabuza-sama. He had picked her up when she was just a child and never considered that type of thing. Now that she thought of it, Naruto was quite handsome, and charming, and loyal, and strong. “So if you had not been betrothed to Hinata-sama, you would have considered being betrothed me instead.” To even consider such service was more of an honor than she could bear. Naruto blushed, but made an accepting grunt. The two of them got along well, and Haku was certainly attractive enough. Even when pretending to be a boy, she was prettier than most girls. “Naruto, are you forgetting about the clan restoration act?” Hinata asked nervously. “What act?” Naruto asked confused. He had completely “Your father didn't tell you?” Hinata gasped, “Any clan with only one male may take up to three wives in order to repopulate their clan. If it is a bloodline clan, they must take at least three wives to ensure that their bloodline is not lost. With your Uzumaki bloodline and your yokogan, you have two bloodlines. You would be forced to marry multiple women regardless of your feelings towards me.” Hinata looked saddened at the thought. “Hinata-sama, I will not let you down. I will serve Naruto-sama as his second wife as you and Naruto-sama have agreed.” Haku decided with finality before pulling Naruto into a kiss, much to his and Hinata's surprise. She had never dreamed that she would have been allowed such an opportunity. She gasped as she came to a realization and pulled away from the dazed Naruto, “My apologies Hinata- sama, I did not think to ask whether you had already kissed our betrothed. It is not my place to take anything from him before you.” She quickly grabbed Hinata and kissed her instead. “All I can to to make up for my actions, I hope receiving it second hand does not diminish its value to you!” She paused to consider for a second, “I apologize again for being so forward! I did not ask permission to...” She took a couple deep breaths to calm herself before both Naruto and Hinata had collapsed into unconsciousness with blood trickling from their noses. Haku sighed, and hoped her masters were not upset with her rashness. It had been a rather short, but very wearying day. She had lost her most precious person, and gained a betrothal and a mistress. Her husband to be had an amazing gift of lifting the spirits of those around him, and she barely noticed her loss when she was with him. Her mistress was so kind and compassionate that should couldn't help wanting to love the girl. She couldn't imagine anything that would make her happier than what she had gained. She grabbed the equipment of the Aburame and dumped it outside the tent, next to the fire before grabbing Hinata's things from the females tent. Once she had zipped the two sleeping bags together, she stripped her master and mistress of their clothes, cleaned them up, then joined them inside the large sleeping bag, enjoying the closeness before she fell asleep.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Minato stumbled into his office, leaning on the crutches the hospital had provided for him. The operations were becoming quite a pain now, cutting out large swathes of dead muscle tissue and healing the holes left behind as much as possible before leaving it to heal on its own. Tsunade had spent the last week working on his thighs which made it almost impossible to walk or train, but gave him no excuse to avoid the dreaded paperwork, even if Sarutobi and Itachi were taking care of most of it. On the bright side, his chakra reserves had begun replenishing. It was slow, but he no longer needed chakra infusions to keep his body going. Tsunade predicted that it would only be another two months before he was back to full physical health, just in time for the chunin exam finals, though he would need several months of training before he reached the prime condition he had achieved before he had died. Of course, it was the chunin exams which were causing such a big headache. The paper work just kept coming considering that they would be playing host to another kage as well as several daimyos and other important figures. All the defense plans had to be reworked to strengthen security and protect these important people or no one would trust them to perform missions. If that wasn't enough, a new village based in rice country was petitioning to have a genin team enter the exams as well, and there was almost no information on the village which made Minato more nervous than the teams from Kumo and Iwa for some reason. It also didn't help his concentration that Naruto's team was more than a week late from returning. He had given them a simple enough mission, protect a bridge builder from bandits while escorting him to a village in wave country. It should not have taken them more than two weeks, but it was now almost a month since they had left. He knew Itachi was having worries of his own. Sasuke was turning out to be quite unstable. He was reckless, perhaps bordering on sociopathic, if the complaints from the Akamichi clan were to be believed. Twice, the Akamichi heir had been admitted to hospital with serious burns due to Sasuke attacking with fire jutsu while Chouji had been engaged in close combat. Sasuke's other team mate seemed no better. Apparently she had become increasingly abusive towards the Akamichi but showed no signs of improvement herself. Chouji had already submitted several requests for transfer, but there were no genin teams that needed new members, so he had to tough it out until someone died or the next batch of genin graduated. All three members of that team had been forced to undergo counseling, but short of having Itachi reveal his identity and beating some sense into his brother, Minato could see no options for saving that team. Minato did have to hand it to Itachi for the design of Asuma's team though. Having two competitive loudmouths on his team really helped to keep Shikamaru motivated and his skills were progressing much faster than Shikaku's had. Anko's team was another work of genius. All four were in some ways outcasts. A timid Hyuuga, an Aburame, a jinchuuriki, and the apprentice of one of leafs most prominent traitors. They had meshed very well and showed the true strength of the will of fire, creating a bond that rivaled that of the old Ino-Shika-Cho team and in many ways surpassed it. Minato sighed and glanced at the paperwork, wondering when they would return. “Yo, Dad! We're back!” The door almost flew off the hinges as Naruto strode into the office. Minato almost laughed as he saw the expression on his secretary's face at the brazenness of the boy. He has followed by the rest of his team and an attractive young woman whom he'd never seen before. He let out a sigh of relief as he saw that the team was still all alive, though Anko looked like hell. She actually looked almost modest with all the bandages covering her. He blushed as he remembered how forward she had been when he had been painting her seals before his face dropped into an irritated frown. “Where the hell have you been? You should have been back weeks ago!” “Yeah, there was a slight change in the mission,” Naruto grinned. Anko dropped a pair of scrolls on his desk. “Here is the difference to make up the payment for an A-rank escort mission and an S-rank assassination. You're damn good at giving us the good missions.” She grinned happily. “And, why did you not contact us when your plans changed?” Minato asked sternly. “Dad, would you really have let us go on an A-rank and an S-rank mission if we had told you?” Naruto asked skeptically. “Of course not, it was supposed to be an easy mission. Are you trying to get yourselves killed?” “We handled it fine,” Anko replied, “Don't be such a spoilsport. Naruto, the bounties.” “This is Zabuza Momochi,” Naruto dropped a scroll on his father's desk, “These are the demon brothers,” he added two more, “And this one contains a whole bunch of mercenaries I killed, and this one the ones Shino killed. Don't know if any of them had a bounty or not.” He pulled out another scroll, “And, this is my new weapon!” He pulled out Zabuza's Kubikiribouchou from another scroll. “Damn, this was so easy to lift before, why is it so heavy now?” He was straining to lift the massive blade with one hand. “Your weight seals!” Anko knocked him over the head for being an idiot. “I bet Tenten is going to get super jealous when she sees this!” Minato sighed in exasperation. Either he had severely underestimated Itachi's genius in creating this team, or severely overestimated it. He was now absolutely sure they were insane. “Oh! And Akama grew a bit and has two tails now and Kyuubi showed me how to teach him fire jutsu even though I suck at it cause I am a wind type.” Minato glared at Itachi who was stoically pretending to ignore this fiasco of a mission report. “And, who might this young woman be?” he asked, trying to suppress the twitch. “Oh, that's Haku,” Naruto replied, “Do you have another mission for us?” Minato swore he heard snickers coming from behind the Uchiha's mask, but considering that Anko was covering her own mouth to keep from laughing, he may have been mistaken. He did know, however, that there was more to Haku and that Naruto was trying to hide it. “My apologies for the intrusion,” Haku said, prostrating herself right to the floor, “I am your son's humble tool. Please take care of me.” Minato's jaw dropped, even if no one could see it through the mask. Anko and Itachi were both laughing openly now as he sat in stunned silence. “Umm... She was Zabuza's apprentice. She carries the ice manipulation bloodline. She is very loyal and fought for Zabuza until she saw he was dead. Haku decided that she needed a new master and chose to serve me since I was the one she was fighting when she lost consciousness,” Hinata blushed, “I gave her to Naruto since I can ask the branch family to do whatever I need physically and have no dreams that I require help to achieve,” she glanced at Naruto and blushed, “but she insisted on sleeping with him so that she could deal with any issues that came up during he night. B-but h-he said he already had m-me and d-didn't need anyone else s-sleeping w-with him.” Her blush flared until Naruto had to grab her and prevent her from fainting. “Then I explained that because he was the only bearer of his bloodline that he would be required to take multiple wives when he came of age because of the clan restoration act.” This was too much for Hinata and she fainted. “It was an accident,” Naruto laughed nervously as he rubbed the back of his head. “I look forward to bearing you many grandchildren and hope you will one day hope you will come to see me as your own daughter.” “Naruto... You accidentally proposed to Hinata as well. That worked out fine, but Haku is a missing-nin from Kiri. This won't end well.” “Actually, I was never a Kiri nin. Zabuza acquired me after he became a missing nin.” “Whatever, we'll talk about that later. Do you intend to become a Konoha nin?” “Naruto-sama has suggested that I might prefer to work at the hospital. I know some basic medical jutsu and acupuncture. I have no desire to cause harm to anyone, but if Naruto-sama wishes it, I shall become such a tool.” Minato sighed and rubbed his temples, wondering why nothing involving his son could ever be easy. “Just get me your reports by tomorrow.” He was glad that they would probably be entering the chunin exams, he did not think he could take the stress that allowing Naruto on out of village missions caused.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

“Come on, lets get you your own set of our team uniform!” Naruto said, excitedly dragging Haku and Hinata towards the Hagane weapons shop. Though he did not notice, both girls were blushing at the fact that he was holding their hands. “Welcome Naruto, run out of Kunai already?” Kurogane Hagane asked. “No, I want you to meet Haku, she's my second betrothed,” Naruto announced, pushing the girl forward. “It is good to meet any friend of my masters, please take care of me,” Haku said with a polite bow. “It's good to meet you too. Naruto and his family are good friends of mine. I am always happy to make new friends, especially when they are as lovely as yourself. I hope you get along with my daughter as well. I am sure you'll meet her soon enough since you're close to Naruto.” “You want to see something really amazing?” Naruto asked, “I bet you'll be totally psyched. You won't even believe your eyes,” “Don't hype it up too much, or you'll have me thinking that you have one of the legendary seven blades of the hidden mist.” Kurogane laughed loud and hard at the thought of Naruto beating one of the seven swordsmen and taking their blade, though his laughter died as he saw the shocked look on his face. “How did you know?” Naruto asked, upset that his surprise had been ruined. “You can't be serious. Tenten will totally freak out when she hears about this. Can you let me see it?” “Of course,” Naruto's sadness at the surprise being ruined was replaced by a manic grin as he brought out the giant sword. “This is amazing workmanship,” Kurogane exclaimed, “I can't believe I have Kubikiribouchou in my shop.” “And that's only the training weight!” Naruto said, activating the latch that allowed the chokuto to slide out. “I didn't know it could do that. It wasn't listed in Zabuza's entry in the Bingo Book.” “He never needed to take it off until I ripped off his sword arm,” Naruto replied, “But that's what happens when you threaten one of my precious people! Believe it!” Naruto shouted. “I'm sorry for your loss, Haku-san,” Kurogane said, noticing the painful recollections she was having as she followed the conversation. “Oh, crap. I'm sorry, I forgot and I was totally ignoring that he was one of your precious people. I'm sorry, really, really sorry!” Naruto exclaimed, begging forgiveness for his insensitivity. “It is of no consequence. I am just glad to see that you are happy.” Haku smiled graciously as she buried the sad feelings. “As much as I'd love to sit here talking about this magnificent piece of metal you brought in, I am sure that you had other business here.” “Yeah, Haku-chan needs her own set of the team uniform, and a few boxes of medical grade senbon, and a nice weapon, big, non-lethal, and will work with her ice manipulation bloodline.” He paused for a moment, thinking, “And a full medical kit, and did you want anything else?” “No, Naruto-sama, you have already ordered more than I could have ever desired.” “Now, for this weapon, you wanted it big and non-lethal, and you have trained to use a zanbatou since I assume that Naruto picked you up from Zabuza Momochi as well.” “That is correct,” Haku confirmed. “I think I have an idea. Give me a week and I'll have everything ready for you. You giving your new girlfriend a tattoo as well?” “Resistance seals! I forgot about that! Come on Haku, Hinata, lets go home. If I start now, I can get the seal fished before dad comes back so he can check them before supper. Hinata-chan, can you please let me use yours as a reference, I can't really see mine.” Hinata nodded and blushed. “Any idea who your third wife is going to be?” Kurogane asked before they could speed out the door. “No idea, but I bet Tenten would offer if she saw my sword.” The weapon smith shook his head and sighed. He knew the boy was probably right. He was a much better choice than the Hyuuga boy she was currently going googly eyed over. That one had less personality than a rock. He chuckled to himself. He approved of the boy, and he would do his best to make Tenten approve as well. He quickly wrote out a note, 'Naruto has offered to trade Kubikiribouchou in return for you becoming his third wife under the laws of the clan restoration act.' If nothing else, that would make her consider him at least. Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office, Minato felt a sudden chill go down his spine and knew that his son had probably just done something to create more paperwork and no end of trouble.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

“Umm...” Naruto flushed nervously as he stood with the girls in the room used for sealing. “The seal needs to go pretty much everywhere, so... Your clothes... All of them...” Hinata and Haku were both wearing matching blushes. Even though Hinata had been through this before, she had fainted the last time, and this time she knew he was going to be examining her body very, very closely. “Y-you s-should, as w-well,” Hinata stammered. “I guess that's only fair.” Naruto, slowly fumbled his way through removing his jacket and mesh, flushing more as he noticed the girls watching. He paused as he reached his pants, his nervousness overcoming his motor skills. “Naruto-sama!” Haku suddenly exclaimed, “Please forgive me, I did not think to offer!” She bowed low in apology before her arms snapped out and yanked his garments down around his ankles. The two girls giggled and Naruto gained a vulpine smile. “Well, I guess, since I am your betrothed, it is only fair that I return the favor. Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.” Two clones appeared and efficiently unclothed his two women while he smirked and watched. He was surprised as he watched Haku's form revealed. The only woman he had ever seen unclothed was Hinata, and Haku looked amazingly different. Her skin was a pearly white, paler even than Hinata's own creamy skin. Her body was slim, not having the voluptuous curves that Hinata's did, which he reasoned was why she could so easily confuse people into believing that she was just a very pretty boy. He took a minute to admire the pale, almost white, shade of pink of her small hard nipples. Without thinking, he reached out and ran his thumb over it, causing Haku to gasp in surprise. He jerked his hand back and blushed in embarrassment. He had never intended to act all perverted like Jiraiya. He was surprised at how soft the breast was, despite being so small, and rubbed his fingers together as if he could regenerate the sensation. Another difference he noticed was that, unlike a Hyuuga, she had hair in all the normal places, including a few dark, silky strands above her crotch. “Yokogan!” he whispered. Her body was visibly cooler than his or Hinata's, but there were still several spots where he noticed the bright red. He picked one that ran just below her ribs and knelt down to run his tongue over it. Haku stiffened nervously as he approached, then gasped loudly and grabbed his hair. He could smell the arousal on her. “Naruto-kun!” Hinata's voice snapped him out of his stupor and he remembered why they were there. “Gai and Lee's sunset genjutsu!” He began repeating to himself as he prepared the ink and tried to ignore the pleading whine that had emitted from Haku's throat. He carefully forced himself to prepare the ink, continuing his focusing mantra and then said, “P-please lay down so we can get started.”

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Dinner that night was an all around embarrassing affair. After begging his father to examine his betrothed's naked body to ensure he had correctly done the seal, his father had asked Haku if Naruto had told her about the fox. Haku had initially thought that Naruto's father had been talking about Akama which had brought about surprise when Haku described the fox as cute and friendly, albeit a little large. Once the misunderstanding had been taken care of, Haku had taken the news rather well, though was slightly upset that Naruto had not told her himself. The real trouble occurred when Haku's sleeping arrangements were discussed. Haku insisted that she must sleep with Naruto so that she could be nearby to help him with any problems that occurred overnight. Hinata refused to allow this, if she was not there as well which her father adamantly refused to allow. The argument was eventually settled, late into the night when Minato had the bright idea to allow them to sleep in the same room, but in separate beds, and with a chaperone to ensure nothing dishonorable would occur overnight. This then brought up the issue of where they would sleep. The argument was settled for the night when all four of the children, Naruto, Hinata, Haku, and Hanabi all fell asleep at the table as they waited for the adults to sort things out.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

The team showed Haku their training routines the next morning. “First, we run laps around the training field for an hour. If you stop, you're probably going to end up with a poisonous snake or kunai in you because our sensei is crazy. Let's go!” Naruto explained before he took the lead, running around the field as fast as he could with his weights. He was followed closely by his teammates, but Haku who was not used to wearing weights was overtaken several times. Akama, however, happily kept pace with her, doing a light jog with his long legs. “Don't worry about not being as fast as us yet. You'll get used to the weights soon enough and won't even realize they are there.” Naruto encouraged when he saw her stamina flagging. When they were finished, Haku was gasping for breath while Naruto explained their next exercise. “Now, we choose a training log. You do five hundred standard academy-style punches with each arm and five hundred kicks with each leg.” Naruto finished his punched and kicks in less than twenty minutes. Haku did her best to keep up, but she was already tired, and she couldn't help but watch as the fox performed his own version of the exercises. Rather than punching or kicking, he snapped at the post with his jaws, then batted at them with his forepaws and tails, then turned his back to the training post and performed mule kicks with his hind paws. “If you get your punches and kicks done in under an hour, then you fill the rest of the time doing pushups, situps and squats while you are doing chakra control exercises and target practice. So far, we have been using leaf sticking, tree walking, water walking, and kunai balancing as our chakra control exercises.” Naruto demonstrated some of the various combinations he had come up with such as doing situps while hanging upside down from a tree limb and balancing a kunai on his forehead while he threw shuriken at various targets; he stuck a dozen leaves to various parts of his body while doing one-handed pushups on the water, using the other hand to throw kunai; he used kunai balancing on his feet so that the kunai acted like stilts while he did squats and threw various weapons. Haku watched all three exercises in amazement, as did his team mates until he lost control on one of his squats and the kunai stabbed right through his foot and out the top of his boot. “His training methods are not usually so complicated. I believe he was attempting to elicit a feeling of admiration from you in order to elevate his self esteem,” Shino explained to Haku as Hinata pulled the kunai out of Naruto's foot. “How can you remain so calm?” Haku asked nervously as she watched Hinata tear the Kunai out. “This is only a flesh wound. His tenant will restore it to its original state with a few minutes of rest. His boot, however, will likely need to be replaced,” Shino said, bowing his head solemnly. His joke was not noticed by the rest of the team. Haku watched in fascination as a red glow of chakra surrounded Naruto's injury. It was slow, but she could see the flesh knitting together. It was fascinating to watch as the theories of her medical knowledge played out before her eyes. “So, you really have to do this training every day?” Haku asked. “This isn't training,” Naruto responded, “This is just our warmup and cool down exercises. We do this before and after training.” Haku's jaw dropped in shock. “It's okay, we all had the same reaction when Anko told us, but you'll get used to it soon enough. Besides, this really helps. So, you ready to start the real training?” Haku nodded fearfully, wondering what Naruto would come up with. “Well, I don't really know how to do any of your medical or ice stuff. So, you'll just have to work on that yourself, and work on chakra control, and your taijutsu forms. If you need a sparring partner or a few dozen, just grab one of my clones.” With his explanation finished, Naruto formed a few hundred clones and they separated into groups practicing his fire manipulation, replacing himself with moving kunai, His juukouken and hummingbird forms, expelling chakra strikes from all of his striking points, as well as chakra control and his doujutsu. “So many clones, and you can use them to train!” “Actually, I left some clones at the Hyuuga compound so that they can continue to try and teach me manners, and another went with my dad to continue seal training.” Naruto grinned mischievously. “The Hyuuga elders don't seem to be very effective teachers since they can't use the caged bird seal to punish me.” Anko did not arrive until after lunch at which point she gathered the genin and their 'guest' to talk with them. “Okay, there are three things I need to talk to you all about since I've been locked up in the Hokage's office for a while,” Anko said, her face taking on a very un-Anko-like red tinge, “Umm, first, thing is about Haku and her status in the village. She had been inducted as a reserve ninja attached to the Uzumaki Clan. This means that, much like many Hyuuga, she will be technically considered a ninja, but will be on permanent assignment working on 'clan business' except in the case of an emergency. That does mean, however, that she does not get any pay and that means that she is completely dependent on her lover unless she is allowed to serve in another capacity. Congratulations, reserve-genin Haku.” Anko tossed a leaf hitai-ate to Haku that had a small swirl in the corner. “Now that you are a genin, directly under the command of the only Uzumaki, he will be responsible for your training. I have already arranged for you to join Hinata while she trains with Tsunade. But, I also recommend that you work on chakra control and learning jutsu theory so that you can master your control over the ice and have some clan jutsu for any kids you have that share your bloodline. I've also asked Kakashi to write some jutsu scrolls for you with the techniques he has copied from Yuki nin. They merely manipulate ice and snow that is already present, so I am sure you will be able to adjust them so that you can use them even with unfrozen water as you do with your other skills. If you want to work at the hospital when we are in Konoha, you will have to talk to them about scheduling and payment, but I am sure Tsunade will help you set that up. “Finally, I have nominated this team for the chunin exams. Haku, as a reserve genin, is not eligible and will have to arrange for a separate evaluation when she feels she is ready to advance in rank.” Anko gave each of her students an application form, “You are each to fill that out and bring it to the indicated room at the academy in three weeks. The details are all listed there. I damn well expect you all to kick ass, even if you will be rookies and the some of the youngest there.” Anko stood silently for a moment. “Well, what the hell are you idiots waiting for? An engraved invitation? You only have three damn weeks to get ready, so start training your asses off!”

-Return of the Hummingbird- Naruto went to the Hagane Weapons Shop to pick up what he had ordered for Haku. The moment he opened the door, he was blasted out of it when a Tenten shaped missile slammed into his chest. “Where is it?” Tenten asked excitedly, her forehead pressed against his and a manic gleam in her eye, “I want, give, now!” Naruto fumbled in his scroll belt and pulled out the one holding Kubikirihouchou. He had known she would be excited to see it. A moment later, it was unsealed and Tenten was hugging and kissing the blade. “You're such a pretty sword aren't you?” she giggled, rubbing her face against the flat of the blade. In the next moment, Naruto found himself in a lip lock with the weapons-obsessed girl. “Best engagement present ever!” She shrieked. “What?” Naruto asked, still dazed and confused. “Engagement?” A kunai somehow found itself pointed-end-first between his legs and Tenten smiled in a way that made Naruto very nervous. “You did tell my dad that you'd give me this sword if I agreed to marry you, right?” Her overly sweet voice made Naruto sweat in fear. “I may have mentioned something like that...” he admitted. “You know, if you get me the other six, I am sure I could be very appreciative...” Tenten whispered huskily into his ear. Naruto shuddered, and he wasn't sure whether it was in anticipation or fear. “Don't think you're getting off easy just because I agreed. You're going to take me on dates and be romantic, and do all that other crap. Now, I'm going to go play!” Tenten dashed off towards the training grounds behind the house, leaving Naruto sprawled in the dirt and still trying to comprehend what just happened. “Aw, crap, I need a new sword,” he realized, “Well, at least I'm in the right place.” Naruto pulled himself up and entered the shop again to find Kurogane waiting for him with a smirk on his face. “I hope you like strong women,” the smith laughed, “because my daughter will never give that sword up for anything.” Naruto sighed, “I'm here to pick up my second fiancée's equipment... And apparently commission a new sword.” “Well, most of this stuff is pretty straight forward, but I think I should show you what Haku's weapon can do.” He brought out a long wooden case, seven feet long by a foot square. Inside the case was a massive kanabou. The hilt was a foot and a half long, plated in dark wood and wrapped in a white and blue silk weave. The pommel was a ball of solid black metal. The clubbing end was octagonal with a diameter of nine inches. It was five feet long, ending in an eight-sided pyramid at the tip. Each face of the club was made of a solid black metal with a series of hemisphere studs which were insulated from the face plate by a shiny blue-tinged metal. The lines and points of the kanabou were also made in a similar fashion, the pale metal bordering the black. “That looks pretty impressive,” Naruto admitted. “It's made of a combination of chakra conducting metal, and chakra insulating metal. Why don't you pick it up, I am not quite up to demonstrating large weapons at my age.” Naruto was barely able to lift the kanabou and was forced to release his weight before he could move the club easily. “Now if you know any elemental manipulation, focus the chakra into your lower hand.” Naruto formed some fox-style fire chakra and pushed it into the weapon. The faces of the weapon began to glow bright red with the heat. “The lower hand controls the non-lethal faces. A good hit from that probably will not kill a good ninja, but it will definitely put them out of commission for a while. Civilians would still be crushed by it, so best to watch how hard it is swung and where you hit. On the chance that you definitely want your opponent dead, focus some chakra into the upper hand.” Naruto focused some fire chakra into his upper hand and the edges turned into sharp blades of fire and the studs became large spikes of flame. “If you take that to your dad, I am sure that he could put some seals on it to make it more resilient.” “Thanks. I am sure she'll love it.” Naruto grinned happily, “But doesn't it come with some sort of sheath?” “I recommend a partial storage seal on the shoulder. Your dad should be able to help you with that. Now, you wanted a sword to replace the one you just lost to my daughter?” Naruto looked at the kanabou for a moment before he smiled, “No, I want something better than that.” “Boy, I may be the best in Konoha, but I am still not on the level of the master smiths of the Mist village.” “I was just thinking, if my dad helped with seals, could you make just a hilt and guard, and when chakra was added in the right way, it would unseal a blade of chakra conducting metal?” “That's... Impossible... a solid version of Hiramekarei's ability. It might actually be better than one of the seven blades.” “It could have a blade twice as long as Kubikirihouchou, or a blade as short as a kunai. Maybe even a blade that launches chakra like a cannon or bow. It could have a saw blade, a katana, a chokutou, a war hammer, a spear, a fan, a staff, a kanabou.” “Kid, that's a lot of metal, and chakra conducting metal is not cheap. At a genin's pay, it will take over a year's pay just for that kanabou. “What if you made it with one blade for now, but make it so more can be added later.” “You just like big swords, don't you?” Kurogane asked. “Heh, they're pretty cool,” Naruto admitted with a laugh. “Well, I'll talk to your dad about it, but I won't promise anything.” “Thanks,” Naruto said, forming a group of clones to carry the equipment home, “I should probably get Tenten a set of weight seals like my team has. It will help her to wield that sword. When she ran off, she was dragging it on the ground.” “She's probably still out back admiring it,” Kurogane said, “You can head out through the forge, son.” Naruto was startled by the new name, but, after a moment, grinned anyway as he headed out through the back. As suspected, Tenten was in the back, trying to heft the large blade. “Need some help?” Naruto asked. “Just a little more training,” Tenten grunted, managing to pick the sword up before tumbling over and being pinned by the weapon. Naruto grabbed the hilt with one hand and lifted it easily. “Well, if you really don't want weight seals like mine that will help make you strong enough to to this...” Naruto tossed the sword upwards, allowing it to spin end over end before catching it again. “I'm not going to force you.” Tenten made a cute, irritated face, then sighed in resignation. “Fine, stick it on me.” She held out her sword arm. “We might want to go somewhere a little more private,” Naruto said with a blush, “I need to paint pretty much your whole body. I already did Haku and Hinata.” “You've already seen them naked?” Tenten asked. Naruto nodded affirmatively. “They made me get naked too because they wanted it to be fair, even if I was just painting a seal on them.” “Okay, lets go then,” Tenten agreed, pulling him inside while he carried the sword for her. “Dad, I'm going to my room with Naruto, don't come in cause we won't be wearing anything!” she shouted as she led him up the stairs. There was a loud crash as hundreds of kunai spilled across the showroom. “You think that was a customer?” Naruto asked. “I hope it wasn't Gai,” Tenten shuddered, “I'd never hear the end of it.” Naruto laughed, “It is most unyouthful to be doing such things,” Naruto responded sagely. In Tenten's room the walls were covered in weapons. It looked much like the showroom for the shop except for the large poster of Tsunade. There were even targets on the walls with various weapons sticking out of them. “Is that a rusty spoon?” Naruto asked. Tenten giggled, “Yeah, Neji came over one day when I was sick and didn't show up for training. He was being a real ass, and my temper was kind of short. Luckily for him, my aim was off because I was so sick. I was aiming to take off his balls.” Naruto grabbed himself nervously, making a mental note note to tick off his third wife when she wasn't feeling well. Meanwhile, Tenten grabbed a spear with a flexible bamboo shaft from the wall and wedged it into the door frame to that it wedged the handle and prevented people from entering. Naruto was surprised by Tenten's lack of modesty. She never even blushed once as she skillfully discarded both of their sets of garments in a corner of the room. Unlike Hinata and Haku, Tenten had tanner skin and rich chocolatey brown nipples on a figure that was both feminine and athletic, though nowhere near as developed as Hinata's. “Yokogan!” Naruto activated his doujutsu and studied her body. “What are you doing?” Tenten asked. “Wondering if you'll act more like Hinata or Haku,” he darted forward and ran his tongue over a spot on her hip, receiving a hard elbow to the head for his trouble, sending him down o the floorboards. “Ow... Not like Hinata or Haku.” “While I admit that felt really, really good, you haven't even taken me out on one date, so you haven't earned tasting privileges, got it?” Naruto moaned and nodded. “Good, now start painting.”

Chapter 22: Sandy Seduction

Naruto was walking along when he noticed something strange. There was a person hiding behind a camouflage sheet next to a wooden fence, it wasn't lifted high enough and the hair was still visible. He shrugged and continued walking. A small boy raced past him, and once again he saw the camouflage sheet next to a fence, but this time, the boy was holding it sideways. Naruto sighed, walked over to the boy and conked him on the head. The boy dropped the camouflage sheet and looked at Naruto in shock. “You hit me!” he exclaimed. “Yes I did,” Naruto said with a nod. “You're not allowed to hit me! I'm the grandson of the third hokage!” the boy yelled. Naruto smirked and smacked him over the head again. “Do you think an enemy is going to care who your grandpa is when you're using such crappy stealth?” he asked, “Don't be stupid.” “Just you wait! One day I'll be Hokage, then I'll show you!” The little boy yelled. “Gonna have to beat me first. My bloodline will let me live over a thousand years. Think you can wait that long for the position?” Naruto asked, he turned and continued on his way. A scream of frustration alerted him and he turned in time to see the kid charge at him and trip over his own impractically long blue scarf. “You beat me this time! Bu, one day, I'll be stronger than you!” “Good luck with that. To be stronger than me, you need to train harder than me. No one trains harder than me,” Naruto replied with a smirk. “One day you won't be laughing! One day, you talk about how Konohamaru Sarutobi kicked your ass.” “I look forward to it,” Naruto said with a wave as he continued on his way. -Return of the Hummingbird-

Naruto spent the next two weeks training, and had taken Tenten's warnings to heart, taking each of the three girls on a date. He had learned a lot from them, not the least of which was that Ramen was not appropriate for a date. He learned their favorite foods: Hinata liked cinnamon buns, Haku liked curry, and Tenten liked sesame dumplings. He learned their favorite colors: Hinata liked lavender and blue, Haku liked white and blue, and Tenten liked red and blue. All three liked his eyes for that reason. He learned of their dreams: Hinata wanted to combine her family and abolish the caged bird seal and to be loved by him, Haku wanted to be useful to the people she loved and to look after unwanted children, and Tenten wanted to be a famous and powerful kunoichi like Tsunade. He had also run into Konohamaru on several occasions. The boy's stealth still sucked, but he was getting better. Naruto would always give him a tip or leave a clone for the boy and his two friends, Udon and Moegi, to spar against. They had even taken to calling him boss, which he felt rather smug about. Today, Naruto had decided to spend the day with all of the girls. They had decided to go swimming in a pond that was popular with the kids. It was meant to show that he was treating them all as important to him and to ensure that they could spend time together and get along. The girls, however, thought that there was more to swimming than just going and jumping in the water. They had already visited at least half the clothing shops in town over the course of several hours as the three of them looked for swimwear. Naruto was beginning to suspect that they were not actually planning on going swimming at all. They were walking to the next store when they came across an oddly square rock with eye holes. Naruto sighed and turned to the box. “Hello, Konohamaru.” There was an explosion of smoke and three coughing children exited the painted box. “As I suspected,” Konohamaru accused with a cough, “You are good.” “Not many square rocks around, and even less have eye holes,” Naruto responded dryly. “So, boss, is one of these ladies your,” Konohamaru raised his pinky and winked suggestively. “Nope,” Naruto said, “All three are.” He grinned happily. Konohamaru's jaw dropped. He sputtered for a moment before yelling, “You win this time!” He ran away into an alley and then Naruto heard the boy cry out in pain. Naruto rounded the corner to find a sand nin holding Konohamaru up by the front of his shirt. “You should watch where you're going you little punk!” The boy who was holding Konohamaru was large and wore a black bodysuit with cat ears on the hood. His face was striped with purple makeup. His arm was cocked back and ready to punch the young boy. Standing slightly behind him was a girl with a blond hair tied into four pigtails. Slung across her back was the largest battle fan Naruto had ever seen. “If you want your balls to remain attached to you body for the chunin exams, I suggest you lay off the third hokage's grandson,” Naruto said pleasantly. “As if a weak little leaf genin could lay a finger on me,” the cat suit boy said. “Well then I suppose, you have four choices,” Naruto said softly, “This lovely lady,” Naruto gestured to Haku, “can give them such nasty frostbite that they'll fall off on their own. This powerful kunoichi can carve them off with a rusty spoon... You really don't want to piss her off,” Naruto shuddered, sometimes Tenten still scared him, “This cute little princess here can make sure you lose all control of your body below your waist permanently... Or you can take my personal favorite,” Naruto began channeling demonic chakra and focused every ounce of killing intent he could pull from the fox onto the Suna nin, “I can reach down your gullet and rip them out the long way!” The two Suna shinobi paled. Naruto was pretty sure that the boy had wet himself. “Uhh... Sorry, we really didn't mean anything by it. I wasn't going to hurt the kid.” “Kankuro, you're an embarrassment to our village.” Another one arrived in a swirl of sand and Kankuro looked like he was about to faint. The boy did not look like much. He had bright red hair and a gourd on his back as well as a red tattoo on his forward with the kanji for love. Naruto could feel something very off about this boy. Sniffing carefully, Naruto said, “Tanuki... Hinata, can you see anything interesting about him?” “Byakugan!” Hinata activated her doujutsu. “He is like you, but the chakra is yellow instead of red, and there is not much of it. I think there is something wrong with his seal, the yellow chakra isn't being filtered at all. That's odd...” Naruto formed a shadow clone and immediately dispelled it so that his seal learning clone could pass the information to his father. He did not like the feel of this boy at all. “Let me see your seal,” Naruto ordered. The redhead responded with a glare. “I will kill you.” “You can try, but don't think that I am defenseless just because I am not completely controlled by the fuzzball in my gut.” Naruto cocked his head to the side for a second. “Seems my dad wants me to give you a present.” Naruto took an oddly shaped kunai and lobbed it handle first towards the Suna jinchuuriki. There was a flash of light, then Naruto's father appeared and the jinchuuriki collapsed unconscious with a seal attached to his forehead. “Gaara's asleep! Run for your lives!” Kankuro yelled. He tried to run but was knocked unconscious by an ANBU who appeared next to him. “Take those two and their sensei to Ibiki. I want to know why they did not declare their Jinchuuriki when they entered the village. I will fix the boy so that he's no longer a danger,” the hokage ordered. “Good job, Naruto, you were right to inform me of this. Bringing a demon container into another hidden village without their knowledge is considered an act of war according the the treaties because of the amount of damage they are capable of inflicting on their own.” “Don't hurt him!” the female sand nin said, “It's not his fault...” Minato pulled up Gaara's shirt and looked at the seal. “A three point seal with a four point overlay. Whoever did this had no idea what they were doing. Get Tenzo here now. I don't want to move him until the seal is fixed.” He turned to his son. “Do you know what is wrong with a sealing like this?” “The three point seal can only create a directional barrier, not a complete seal. The four point seal could have contained it, but odd and even seals are mostly incompatible and that caused the seals to leak.” “That's right,” Minato said, “And how would you fix it?” “The easiest way would be to release the seals and reseal the Shukaku in a new container, but that would kill Gaara. If the demons chakra could remain suppressed somehow, you could replace the seal entirely in place. A four point iron seal with a four point overlay should keep the Shukaku completely suppressed.” “True, and that would be my second choice, or I might use an eight point elemental seal instead of using two seals,” Minato explained, “But, there is a chance that we can fix his seal without resorting to removing any of his seals if we add three three point overlays between the three point overlay and the four point overlay and then use a compression seal to merge them into a single seal with the same effect.” Naruto furrowed his eyebrows in concentration, then took out a kunai and began scratching several lines into the paving stones. After several minutes, he asked, “Wouldn't you end up with a four point seal with a four point overlay?” “And with less risk. Once that is stable, I'll add a curse seal linked to a demonic chakra suppressor seal like I used on him earlier, just in case his mind has been permanently damaged by the abuse and he goes psychotic on us.” “Please let me stay with him while you do this. I'll tell you everything. I don't want my brother to be alone when he wakes up.” “Okay,” Minato agreed, “Give her a chakra suppression cuff. Then, take her to my office and remove everything she has. And replace it with fresh clothing so she doesn't sneak anything in.” At that moment, the ANBU known as Tenzo appeared. “Restrain this jinchuuriki and bring him to my office.” Minato said, “Keep his demonic chakra suppressed at all times.” Tenzo grew wooden restraints for Gaara's arms and legs, then picked up the jinchuuriki. A large pile of sand sloughed off of him... or her as Naruto suddenly realized. “Dad, I couldn't tell because the sand was all the same temperature... but... Gaara is a girl.” “That's impossible. Gaara is my brother!” Gaara's sister shouted. “My eyes don't lie. Under the sand, Gaara is a girl...” Naruto blushed brightly, “A very, very sensitive girl.” Minato shuddered. He knew something bad was going to happen. There was just no way that Gaara being a girl would not end up with him having another daughter-in-law, and he was sure that his son probably wouldn't mean to do it either. He prayed to kami that he was wrong.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Minato, Tenzo, the sand kunoichi Temari, Naruto gathered around the naked form of Gaara in the Hokage's office, ignoring the glares of Itachi who was busy working and did not want this distraction. Naruto gazed at the body of the girl. She was thin and frail-looking. She had almost no muscle tone and her ribs and joints bulged disturbingly. The dark circles around her eyes from lack of sleep were so defined that they looked almost like makeup. It looked quite unhealthy, though her flat stomach indication that she had been receiving a correctly balanced diet. Except for the yellowish-brown sand color of her nipples, her skin was the palest white Naruto had ever seen, but her siblings, in comparison, both had a significant tan. He though that it was probably because the sand armor had never let a single ray of light touch the skin. “What happened to her?” Naruto asked Temari. He felt sorry for her now. He knew how badly their kind could be treated, but as she was now, she looked defenseless and broken. He could still remember when he felt like she looked. “Our 'father',” Temari spat the word father as if it were a curse, “found the spirit of Shukaku sealed inside an old teapot while our mother was pregnant. He forced Lady Chiyo to seal Shukaku into the unborn baby so that he... she could be raised as a weapon for Sunagakure. The strain was too much for our mother and she died giving birth. When Gaara fell asleep for the first time, the power of the creature was fully released. He... she... destroyed the hospital and several surrounding buildings before our father used his gold sand techniques to subdue it and wake Gaara. While he was awake, he had very little control of his sand. Whenever he was hurt, or afraid... her sand would lash out at everyone around her. My brother and I were not allowed to see Gaara, and our mother's brother Yashamaru was the only one willing to look after Gaara, the only person Gaara could trust not to try and hurt him. When he was five, our father began to fear Gaara's power. While Gaara was never allowed to sleep, it still happened occasionally and it was becoming harder and harder to subdue her. Our father started sending assassins to kill Gaara. None were even able to injure Gaara because the sand protected... her... even when she didn't want it to. On her sixth birthday, father forced Yashamaru to try and assassinate Gaara. Ever since then, Gaara has never trusted anyone, never even considers letting anyone who was a threat live. He began listening to that thing inside of... her and started calling it mother.” “So Gaara really had no one to be there for her?” Naruto asked. “By the time we were allowed to meet, it was too late. I tried... but...” “Temari, Gaara is not going to be returning to Suna,” Naruto said, “We'll help her.” “Naruto, as much as I agree that Suna is not the best place for Gaara, if we keep her here, it would probably cause a war.” “We have to do something!” Naruto insisted. “If you're worried about a war with Suna, Keeping Gaara will not be the cause of it. Suna and Oto will be attacking Konoha during the finals of the Chunin exams,” Temari declared, “Orochimaru arranged everything months ago.” “If you agree to work with us. Your team will be offered the chance to become Konoha shinobi, or at least to live here as civilians if you help us.” “If Gaara stays, I stay,” Temari agreed. “Okay, the seal is ready. Tenzo, remain on guard in case something goes wrong.” Minato activated the seal. Gaara's body stiffened and, even though she was unconscious, she cried out in pain as the markings burned red and drifted over her skin until they cooled to a dull black. “It's finished.” Minato removed the chakra suppression seal, but no yellow chakra leaked out. “It's holding,” he said, “Now, Naruto, remember what I showed you about cursed seals?” Naruto nodded. “I want you to use this chakra suppression seal, but keep it inert until you activate it with your chakra. Try to make it a multi-level seal like the caged bird so that you can suppress the chakra a little if she is just having trouble controlling it, or suppress it completely if she loses control.”

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Gaara felt strange. In fact, she felt better than she could ever remember feeling. She felt quiet and peaceful with her eyes closed. Mother was being quiet too. Something felt off though. She knew that there was something wrong, something that should be different. Her eyes snapped open in shock. She had been asleep, and had woken up naturally. She gazed around in all directions, looking for the promised blood and destruction. It wasn't there. She was just laying in an ordinary bed in an ordinary room, and there was nothing amiss about it. She wondered if perhaps she was dreaming, but the sensation of cloth sliding across her skin as she moved was not something she could have imagined. Then, she felt fear. She reached out for her sand, but found no more than a few small particles, not enough to do anything with. She tumbled out of bed, having trouble lifting her own body. She had never realized how much she had relied on the sand for everything. Now, she was naked and alone. “I heard something, dad, I'm going to check on her.” Gaara stiffened in fear. She knew that voice. She remembered the bright haired boy. He had the menacing red chakra. Mother wanted him dead. She didn't know what to do. Was he planning on killing her? She couldn't even run, there was no way out of the room except for the one door. It opened. Gaara flinched, raising a hand to protect her face. “Leave me alone! I'll kill you!” she yelled, but knew her voice trembled too much. “No.” The answer was simple. There was neither anger or fear in the word. Gaara peeked around her arms and looked at him. She saw pity. He thought she was weak, that he could take advantage of her, and kill her just like everyone else. Gaara threw an arm forward, but there was no sand to follow her command and the boy was not crushed. Instead, the boy, his name was... She didn't know his name... his hand grabbed hers and she was pulled up to her feet. He wrapped his arms around her. She recognized this. She had felt this once before, right before Yashamaru tried to stab her in the back. Gaara struggled, but the boy was stronger than her without even trying. Then, she did what she had not done since the last time she had been hugged. She screamed and cried, but his arms held her firm. She hadn't noticed before because of her panic, but he was talking to her. “...to be alright. I won't let anyone hurt you. I understand. I am the same, I am like you. You're safe.” Gaara's cries calmed and she descended into quiet sobs and hiccups. Despite her best attempts to resist, his calming touches and soothing words were calming her, lulling her into a sense of security. She clutched the front of his jacket and held on tight. Without her sand, this boy was the only thing to protect her. “Don't kill me, please. I don't want to die,” Gaara begged. “I'm not going to hurt you. As long as you're not trying to hurt my precious people, I promise I will protect you.” His hands stroked her back. She couldn't remember anyone ever touching her. She looked at her captor. He looked sad, but his eyes were scary. They were a bright golden-yellow on a backdrop of black, the two colors separated only by the smallest halo of glowing red. The pupils stood tall and thin, like those of a cat and gazed back into her own. “You know, you're eyes are really pretty when you're not trying to kill me,” the boy grinned and she watched as his eyes transformed. First, the red ring faded to yellow. Yellow faded to an angry red which melted off of his eyes like an illusory mist, leaving behind a bright, sparkling blue with normal pupils. Gaara grunted noncommittally, then whispered, “Pervert.” “To be fair, my Godfather is the writer of the Icha Icha books, and I spent years being trained by a guy who reads those books in public without shame, and this uniform is the same thing that my female sensei wears. I think I do well not to be more perverted than I am!” “Where are my clothes?” Gaara asked, gaining a little courage by the fact that she was not yet dead. “There's some clothes in the drawer over there, though they will probably be a little big for you. But first, you need to be aware of a few changes we've made.” “I slept,” Gaara said, “And you aren't dead.” Naruto grinned, “Yep. Your seal was crap, so we fixed it. Now, Shukaku shouldn't be able to control you if you don't let him. Also, you have another seal.” Naruto traced some circles and lines on her back. “This is a cursed seal of demonic suppression. If Shukaku goes out of control, focus some chakra onto this spot.” Naruto traced a circle behind her heart. “It shouldn't hurt, but you'll feel tired when you use it because it will force all of Shukaku's chakra back into his seal. If you're using a lot of it, it might knock you unconscious as well... I can make it activate as well, but I won't unless you lose control or start attacking innocent people. I won't stop you from defending yourself or anything.” It was a muzzle, like you would use on a dog. Gaara shivered. This boy was not afraid of her because he held her life in his hands. He could hand her over to her father and keep her subdued while her father killed her. “I told you, I'm not going to use it unless you lose control. I'll protect you. You don't need to be afraid of me. I am not you father, and I am not like him. I won't hurt you. I will kill him before I let him hurt you. He can't make me hurt you.” “How can I know that you'll keep your promise?” Gaara asked, “No one else does.” “Because, I am Naruto Uzumaki, and I never go back on my word.” “I'm hungry...” Gaara said when her stomach growled after a few moments of silence. “Temari, bring in some food!” Naruto yelled at the door. Gaara was surprised that her sister was here, then scared. “Don't let her in, father will make her kill me!” Naruto just shook his head and held her tightly. Gaara wondered if that was the plan, get her calm, then have her family kill her. She tried to think back on all the horrible things her sister had done to her. She failed, her sister had often been afraid of her, and had occasionally disagreed with her or begged her to spare someone's life, but she had never directed anything that could be considered an attack towards her, not even in practice. But, then again, doing so would have been suicide because mother would have killed her. Temari came in, she had a plate of sandwiches that she placed on the bed. Gaara looked at her and she looked back. Her expression was complicated and Gaara couldn't read it. It looked like she was about to say something, then reached out a hand towards her. Gaara flinched away, huddling closer to her new protector. Temari's hand fell and she looked sad. “I'll talk to you later, sister.” That was new. Temari had always called her Gaara or brother. She knew that her gender was not common knowledge, but she had thought that at least her family had known, but then, she had never bothered to correct them. “That's a Konoha hitai-ate...” Gaara said as Temari was exiting the room. Temari paused, then said, “I told them everything because they promised to help you.” Gaara's heart froze in her chest for a moment. Temari had betrayed father to help her. That was wrong, it didn't make sense. People always betrayed her to help father. “You'll get used to it. It took me some time before I really believed that my friends wanted to help me. Now, eat. You've slept for three days.” Gaara looked at the plate of sandwiches warily. She poked one of the sandwiches with a finger, then sniffed her finger. It smelled strange. She wasn't sure if it was the sandwiches or the fact that her finger did not smell like sand. She picked one up, examining it from all angles, but she knew that the best poisons were pretty much undetectable unless you knew what to look for. Her hand was covered with Naruto's. She thought that he was going to force-feed the so called food to her. She prepared to try struggling again, but instead of shoving the sandwich down her throat, he brought it up to his own mouth and took a bite. “Kind of salty,” Naruto said, “but it tastes okay.” Gaara warily took a bite and began to chew. “My favorite. Salted tongue,” Gaara said quietly. “I like ramen,” Naruto said, “You'll have to come to Ichiraku's sometime and try a bowl.” Gaara finished the first sandwich, or quarter sandwich she supposed. They had been cut into wedges and had their crusts removed. She wondered if Temari had made them for her. She picked up another and held it up to Naruto. He obediently took a bite, his lips gently brushing against her fingers, causing her to blush. It had felt nicer than when he rubbed her back. Naruto reached for the next sandwich. “No,” Gaara ordered, weakly grabbing his arm. Naruto complied, resting his hand on the bed. Gaara bit into her sandwich, then leaned her head against Naruto's chest as she chewed. The mesh irritated her sensitive skin, but she liked the warmth and feeling the soft beating of his heart. “Take this off, it hurts,” she said. He looked confused for a moment, then ran a finger over her forehead. “Okay.” Gaara wondered if there were red marks crisscrossing her brow now where she had rested against the mesh shirt. She watched as Naruto stood and unhooked some clasps that connected his trench coat onto the mesh, then removed both garments. He sat back down next to her on the bed. “No. There.” Gaara pointed to the corner of the bed stuck into the corner of the room. “If that's what you want,” Naruto said with a shrug. He pulled his boots off, then slid backwards on the bed until his back was nestled into the corner of the wall. Gaara crawled on the bed, pushing his legs apart until she could curl up between them and rest her head on his chest. She placed the plate of sandwiches on the other side of his leg. She took his arms and wrapped them around herself, to ward off chills, then grabbed the next sandwich, holding it up so he could take a bite before finishing it herself. She yawned. She supposed that being allowed to sleep had spoiled her. She took one of his hands and placed it on the plate. He took a sandwich and she led his hand to her mouth and took a bite. When she was finished chewing, she opened her mouth again. She had to tap her head against his chest a couple times before he realized what she wanted and he brought the sandwich to her mouth again for another bite. On the last bite, her mouth closed over his fingers, leaving a sticky strand of drool that he wiped off on the leg of his pants. “Thirsty,” Gaara said. To her surprise, Another Naruto popped into existence and he had not performed any hand signs. It came back a few moments later with a glass of clear, cold water. She gulped down the water eagerly. When she had quenched her thirst, she held the half full glass back to the clone who placed it bedside table, then disappeared. Gaara scowled. “No. Make another.” She was fully aware that she sounded terribly childish, but she was enjoying having this boy wait on her hand and foot. This time, Naruto used a hand sign she didn't recognize when he created the clone. She beckoned for the clone to join them on the bed, then arranged him so that he covered her front half, warming and protecting her with his body. When she thought about it, he was like her sand, warm, soft, and anything that wanted to harm her would have to make it all the way through him first. Now comfortable, she let herself fall asleep voluntarily for the first time since she was a baby.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Naruto could do very little. He had heard how psychotic Gaara had been in Suna, but this girl was nothing like that. She just seemed scared of everything. He had had nothing to do but think about her for the past twelve hours as she snuggled him in her sleep. Without her sand and with a proper seal on her demon, she seemed downright sweet and innocent, though a little needy. He wondered for a while if her blood lust had actually been some sort of coping mechanism for living in fear of assassinations every day of her life, because it is better to kill them before they kill you after all. There was a good chance that he would have ended up the same way if his dad had not returned from the dead and set up a relatively safe environment for him to grow up in. The only other thing he could do was contemplate the changes to his doujutsu. He had practiced with it while she slept, though he had discovered most of the functions of this second level of his eyes during the time she had been awake. His eyes now had a much wider range of thermal recognition. Rather than just seeing warm things in red, cold things now appeared in blue. Things that were neither hotter or colder than the ambient air temperature were still invisible to him while it was active though. Gaara herself was a veritable patchwork of colors. He could still see the red flares of points that evoked lust and passion, but he also saw blue that seemed to calm her, and black points that seemed to draw out aggression, and yellow that brought out fear. What confused him was that the colors seemed to bleed into each other and overlap. He had no idea what would happen if he touched those areas, and didn't want to test it on someone as unstable as Gaara. He had mainly focused on the blue once he had found out the calming effect it had on her. He was, however, finding it difficult to look at her. With all the colors and layers, his mind was having trouble distinguishing one thing from another. He had practiced this ability for a while before he had discovered the correct method of adding chakra to his eyes that would activate and deactivate the second level separate from the first, though it seemed to him like only a partial step and that he should be able to continue the activation sequence further by at least two more steps, though trying to force it only caused his eyes to burn. Naruto felt the redhead stir against his chest. She yawned, leaving a sticky trail of drool over his chest. Her eyes opened, blinking slowly. As she gained her bearings, she tensed up, digging her stubby nails into his sides. Naruto quickly activated his second stage doujutsu and began tracing calming patterns on her back. “It's okay. I won't let anyone hurt you. You're safe. Your father can't get you. I'll protect you. I'm like you, so I know how it feels.” Naruto gently calmed the girl who clung even more tightly to him. “You saw me unclothed,” Gaara suddenly accused, looking up into Naruto's eyes. “Well, It was necessary for the seal, and to make sure you wouldn't start randomly killing people when you woke up,” Naruto said. “You took me from my father,” She said. “Of course I did. What kind of bastard would try to assassinate his own daughter! I had it bad enough when my dad was dead. If he had tried to kill me after he came back... I don't know what would have happened.” “You took me to bed while I was unclothed and I remained in your arms all night.” “Well, you asked me to, I didn't want to upset you.” “You are now my wife,” Gaara stated. “What?” Naruto's mind locked up, “But I am a guy!” Gaara cocked her head to the side as if thinking. “You are correct. I have always been treated as a boy. I get confused. I am now your wife.” “But, we didn't have a wedding!” “You performed all the rights as they are required in my clan. You are now responsible for me. If you refuse your obligations, I will be required to kill you.” “I'm already betrothed to three girls,” Naruto said weakly. “You have clones,” Gaara stated. “What does that have to do with this?” “You have no reason to neglect your wives.” “Why can't I ever just propose to a girl and have her accept. I just wake up and find out I've somehow become engaged.” “Most men would not complain. Do you now wish to be married to me? I can still kill you if you prefer,” Gaara stated flatly. “You up for breakfast?” Naruto asked, changing the subject. Gaara nodded. “Let's go to Ichiraku's.” Gaara stood and held out her arms waiting. Naruto looked at her confused. “Clothe me.” Gaara stated. Naruto had the strange feeling that husband and servant were synonymous in Gaara's dictionary. He retrieved the clothes that had been left for Gaara from the drawer, clothing her in the black tee-shirt, red capris, and brown ninja sandals. No undergarments were provided, but Gaara didn't seem to care. When Naruto was turning to leave, Gaara held out her hands like a child. “Carry me,” she said. Naruto place an arm behind her back then used his other to scoop up her legs. Gaara wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her chin on his shoulder. “We're going to have to do some serious training. You relied on your sand too much and it has made you weaker than a civilian.” “You will carry me.” “Not all the time. You will need time on your own, or to spend time with other friends.” “I have no other friends.” “You will,” Naruto said with a bright smile, “You're not a bad person when you're not afraid. You just need to get comfortable with some trustworthy people.” “I can always use sand,” Gaara replied. “You won't always be able to use your sand. What if you're fighting someone with a strong lightning affinity, they would slice through your armor like it wasn't even there.” Gaara raised an eyebrow in surprise. “I have never encountered anyone like that.” “You need to be ready in case you do run into someone like that. Or, what if you run into someone like me. I have a ton more chakra than you. If we fought, I could just dodge your attacks, and you would collapse from chakra exhaustion before I even got tired. If you fought a high level taijutsu master, they could attack faster than your sand could protect you, you might win, but you'd still get hurt.” “You promised to protect me,” Gaara said. “And the first part of protecting you is making sure you can protect yourself.” Gaara contemplated this in silence as Naruto walked down a flight of stairs then turned down the hall before startling a secretary when he kicked open the doors to the Hokage's office. “I'm taking Gaara-chan out for breakfast and training!” Naruto said, loud enough to make Gaara flinch. “Gaara-chan?” Minato asked scrutinizing his son's face, “No, you didn't, not again! Do you have any idea of how much paperwork it takes to add a fourth betrothal? I knew this would happen!” “Dad, do you really think I am stupid enough to accidentally get betrothed a fourth time?” Naruto asked. “Weasel?” Minato asked, “Would you like to field this one?” “I am not stupid enough to bet against your son,” Itachi replied. “So you two are really not betrothed,” Minato sighed in relief. “We're married,” Gaara stated blandly. Minato had just been taking a sip of coffee and spit it across his desk. “Excuse me, did you just say married?” “It was an accident, I swear!” “Naruto! You're not even thirteen yet. You can't legally be married until you're sixteen.” “Sabaku clan laws are different,” Gaara said, “He is either my husband or must die.” “Whatever, go eat, but if you come back from breakfast with another girlfriend, fiancée, or wife, I swear I will lock you in your room until you're sixteen and can deal with the ones you already have. Damn! It's probably only going to get worse after the exams then the village finally finds out the true identity of their Hokage. As if a war against multiple villages was not enough to worry about.” “Has Kankuro decided which side he's taking?” Naruto asked. “Kankuro is still undecided. Baki has outright refused to help us.” “Kankuro will listen to me,” Gaara said. “We may not need him,” Minato said, “Naruto will be testing your skills. If you can't reach a point where you can adequately defend yourself and remain in control, your team will not be participating in the chunin exams, or we will have one of you forfeit in the first exam. But, if we do something like that, Orochimaru will know we are on to his plan, and they may change tactics. If that happens we could lose many lives that otherwise could have been saved. I am hoping that revealing myself in the third exam will cause enough of a disturbance that the enemy's plans will be confused and we can wrap up the war quickly and with minimal casualties, even though I will still be far from my full strength.” “That is acceptable,” Gaara said. “Umm... Gaara, I am the Hokage, I don't really need your permission...” Gaara glared at him, then after a few moments said, “I'm hungry.” “I guess we're going then. I'll see you later dad.” Naruto leapt out the window and headed to Ichiraku Ramen. The ramen stand was empty when Naruto arrived. There weren't many people in Konoha who considered the noodle soup to be breakfast material, however Ayame was there, happily setting up shop for the few who did frequent the stand this early, either for breakfast or a snack before bed as they came of night shifts. “Morning Ayame!” Naruto greeted, “I'll have the usual. What do you want Gaara-chan?” “Another one?” Ayame asked, “Are there going to be any single girls left in Konoha when you're done?” “It's not like I do it on purpose!” Naruto protested, “She never told me I was performing some clan marriage tradition.” Naruto placed Gaara on a stool then sat down beside her. Ayame smirked knowingly, “Of course not, a cute guy like you is just a girl magnet. Your triple serving of extra-large miso will be ready in a minute. Have you decided what you want yet, Gaara- chaaaan?” She leaned over the counter and grinned teasingly at the redhead. A moment later, Gaara had disappeared and a large sphere of dirt replaced her. “Calm down, Gaara-chan, Ayame is harmless. Sorry, Gaara is a little shy. She was treated as bad as I used to be.” “Don't worry about it Naruto, I am sure we'll be able to get her out of her shell.” “Gyuuniku,” Gaara's voice came slightly muffled from the sphere. “Okay, it will just be a moment,” Ayame dropped some strips of beef on the grill and began preparing an extra-large bowl for Gaara. If she couldn't finish it all, Naruto certainly would. Naruto placed a hand against the side of the shell that Gaara had constructed. “Remember, I am here to protect you. No one will hurt you. If they try, I'll deal with them. Just relax. Ayame isn't that scary.” His hand slowly slid through the shell which was barely thicker than a ramen noodle. Using his yokogan, he navigated his arm through the hole and held on to Gaara's hand, stroking a calming blue strip on the back of her hand while she clung to his arm, resting her head against his shoulder. After a minute, the barrier slowly dropped to the ground. Gaara held out her arms, indicating that she wanted to be held. Naruto reached over, picked her up, and then plopped her down on his lap, wrapping his arms around her waist to ensure she didn't slide off. It was surprising how easy it was to lift her. Haku, the lightest of his three fiancees, felt like she weighed at least twice as much as Gaara, He wondered if Gaara had trouble eating. Perhaps she was poisoned too often and she didn't trust food she had not prepared herself; Perhaps the threat of assassinations put so much stress on her that she lost her appetite; or perhaps staying awake all night every night was just burning more calories than usual and didn't give her body a chance to grow. Ayame turned around, placing two bowls on the counter, looked at Naruto, then took one back. “I'll keep yours warm, since it looks like you'll be taking turns eating.” “But, my ramen...” Naruto whined. “Can wait until your girlfriend is done,” Ayame insisted, “You'd better get used to it. Once you get married, this will the least of what you will be expected to sacrifice to make your women happy.” “I'm his wife,” Gaara correct in a monotone voice that had Ayame snickering. “How long have you been married?” “Forty-two minutes,” Gaara answered. “And you've already gotten him so well trained. I'm sure the others will appreciate that.” Naruto scowled. “Feed me,” Gaara said and Naruto reached for his chopsticks. Gaara did not feel the need to remind him that he could eat as well if he used a clone to feed her since she had already once pointed out how he should use his clones. “So, how do you like it?” Ayame asked. “It is different than I am used to, but it is acceptable.”

-Return of the Hummingbird-

“Okay, Gaara, it's time to train. We'll find out what you can do, or if you can do anything since Shukaku may have been mostly responsible for your sand manipulation ability. We'll start with my team's normal warm up routine. You're not allowed to use sand until we get to the real training, but you are allowed to use your chakra to strengthen your muscles. The first step is an hour of running around the training field. If you are not strong enough to run, you can start with walking. It won't be in time for the exams, but in a couple months, we'll have you in proper ninja shape!” Naruto gave Gaara a thumbs up, then started running. Gaara walked rather slowly, eventually speeding up to an almost-normal walking speed. By the end of the hour, she was physically exhausted, though she still had chakra to spare. “The next exercise is punches and kicks on the training logs. Since your skin is still pretty sensitive, I'll let you wear sand on your hands and feet to soften the blows, but you should eventually build some calluses or, at the very least, get some armored gloves to make up for it.” It quickly became apparent that Gaara had received no taijutsu training at all and Naruto had to spend quite some time teaching her the basic academy punching and kicking stances. Rather than have her do five hundred of each, he just had her cycle through one of each over and over until he had finished his two-thousand strikes. “Next, we'll work on marksmanship and chakra control. I usually combine them, but since we messed with your chakra, your control is probably completely shot. So we'll start with marksmanship with kunai and shuriken.” Once again, most academy students would have exceeded Gaara's scores. For every kunai that hit the target, at least fifteen missed, and only one came anywhere near the center, though it was a bit of a fluke. Naruto spent over an hour correcting her throwing. Next was chakra control. Gaara managed to stick two leaves to her body and she also managed to walk up a tree, but water walking and Kunai balancing were beyond her. She also couldn't seem to consciously access the tanuki's chakra. “This is... irritating,” Gaara complained. “You'll be back and stronger than ever with a bit of training since the stupid raccoon won't be messing with you all the time, so you'll really be able to control it,” Naruto assured her, “So, now, lets see what techniques you can perform.” Gaara thought for a moment, then performed hand signs: Ram, boar, ox, dog, snake. Nothing happened. She growled in irritation, performing the jutsu again and replacing herself with a log. “Replacement good! It should be a little more stable as your chakra control improves. What else can you do?” Gaara concentrated and performed some more hand sings. Sand was pulled from the ground and formed itself into an almost perfect replica of her, if you ignored the cracks and the fact that one of the arms fell off. “Suna Bunshin.” She declared before releasing the technique and letting the clone completely collapse into a pile of sand. She then waved her hand around and some of the sand followed the movement sluggishly. Next, the sand leapt from the ground and plastered itself all across Gaara's body. “Sand armor, is it strong?” Naruto asked. “Yes, but brittle,” Gaara said. “That could be a problem. I'm going to punch you at the level most genin would punch at and see if the armor holds up, okay?” Gaara looked a little nervous. “We'll start with a glancing hit, just to make sure,” Naruto said, though Gaara looked no less nervous. Naruto performed a quick punch that grazed Gaara's shoulder. The sand was ripped right off and Gaara staggered a bit, but Naruto had aimed well enough that he had only hit the sand. “Not good. That might cushion an attack, but it won't stop it.” “It is not dense enough.” She eyed Naruto warily. “My sand did not try to stop you...” She was confused and uncertain. “Did you try to make it stop me?” Naruto asked. “It usually acts on its own,” Gaara replied, getting more and more nervous. Naruto quickly took her into his arms and began touching calming points until she stopped trembling in fear. “What are you doing to me?” Gaara asked. “I'm not really sure. I only unlocked this level of my eyes last night with you, but I know that if I touch you in these spots you calm down. Before, I could only see these ones.” Naruto brushed his fingers over a red strip and Gaara moaned and pressed herself against his body. “There are two other types of area I can see, but one makes you afraid and the other makes you angry, so I am avoiding them.” “You've been manipulating me!” Gaara accused. “Would you rather be scared all the time like you were before? I can stop if you don't want me to do it anymore.” The black and yellow marks had expanded, making it hard for Naruto to avoid them. “That's new...” Naruto said, “When you got angry the calming points shrunk and the anger points grew.” “You can only enhance what I already feel, not make me feel new things?” Gaara asked, the black and yellow receding. “Yes, I think I can use this to read peoples emotions!” Naruto said, “Do you mind if I try something else? I didn't want to experiment with you while you were upset... But, I couldn't help but figure out what the colors meant last night, but I didn't try the spots where they overlap, I can do it with Haku or Hinata later if it makes you uncomfortable.” “You can do the calming and passion combination. I do not want to experience the others,” Gaara allowed. He ran a finger over a point where two strong lines, one red and one blue, crossed on the back of her left hip, just above her buttock. “Naru-kyuun,” Gaara mewled, and Naruto had to catch her as she seemed to lose all strength in her legs. “How did that one make you feel?” Naruto asked, though her cute little squeal had given him some idea. “That was, interesting... I felt somewhat... submissive,” Gaara explained, but looked like she did not completely agree with the wording. “So, I could use it to steal all of the Uchiha's fan girls,” Naruto grinned. “It would be possible, but you will not do it,” Gaara said sternly. “Jealous?” “No, my concern is purely financial. Have you ever taken one of your women shopping?” Naruto shook his head. “Wait until you do before you decide pursue additional women.” “It's not like I want to marry them, I just want my own fan club, beside, I am so much stronger than that emo jerk.” “He is probably quieter.” Gaara said. Naruto could not disagree with that. “Try punching at me again, but do not hit me. I will attempt to use my sand shield.” Naruto swung his fist at genin speed and the sand rose, just barely in time to deflect his blow by pushing against his elbow. “I will need more practice.” Gaara stated with a frown. “Suna Shuriken!” Gaara swung her arm. A small glob of sand leapt off the pile and plopped down next to Naruto's feet. Gaara frowned, rather upset that her attack had been so ineffective. She moved on to the next one. Snake, monkey rat, monkey, bird, monkey, dragon, monkey, rat, monkey, the seals were followed by Gaara covering one of her eyes with her hand. “Ninpou: Daisan no Me,” Gaara said as an eye formed out of a glob of sand and began floating around. “Can you see though that thing?” Naruto asked. Gaara nodded and let the jutsu end. “Do you think that jutsu would work for ninja who have lost their eyes?” “There is a moderate chakra drain, but most is used to direct the sand. If a more permanent form was made, the jutsu might be modified to perform as an ocular implant.” “We should talk to Tsunade-baa-chan about that later,” Naruto said, “I'm sure she'd be interested in that.” “I will consider it,” Gaara said, turning towards one of the training logs, “Desert Coffin!” Sand piled onto the log, covering it. “Desert Funeral!” Gaara clenched her fist. The sand shifted a bit, but when she opened her hand, the log was completely undamaged. “Looks like a chakra control problem,” Naruto said. “That was mother's favorite jutsu,” Gaara sighed. “Well, now you don't have to listen to it anymore and can come up with even better jutsu!” Naruto exclaimed. “My only remaining jutsu is no longer useful. I am capable of putting myself to sleep, but with my new seal, it is nothing more than a cure for insomnia.” “I bet Tsunade would love that one as well. Are you sure you're not a med-nin type?” Naruto joked. Gaara scowled. “Well, we have a lot of work to do, and only a couple days to do it, so I'm going to show you how I get months of training done every day. My chakra reserves are pretty big, so you won't be able to make as many as me and still be useful, but you should be able to make a couple dozen.” Naruto made a dozen shadow clones. “It only has the one sign, and it splits your chakra evenly among the clones. When they die, you learn everything thy learned, like any books they read, how to perform jutsu, or chakra control.” Naruto grinned and Gaara's face lightened a bit, losing some of the gloom it had gained when so many of her skills had been unsuccessful. “Just don't dispel them all at once. And if you want to preserve your own chakra, have your clones make more clones, so then you're not splitting you own chakra and even clones without much chakra can easily read and perform simple chores. Just don't dispel them all at once or you'll get a nasty headache, and if it is bad enough you can cause swelling which could end up being fatal, so I have them disperse in a pattern.” Naruto demonstrated the jutsu again and Gaara attempted to copy him. It took close to an hour before Gaara could make a decent shadow clone, then both of them began practicing the jutsu. By lunch time she pretty much had the jutsu down. “Now, make a bunch of clones and have them practice different chakra control exercises while we eat. I'll leave my clones here to help.” Naruto made another few hundred clones.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Naruto led Gaara to the ANBU holding cells where her brother and sensei were being held. Gaara had made remarkable progress for a single day of training. Her chakra control had improved to the point where her sand was once again a threat and her defenses blocked any and all attacks a chunin candidate, at least one who was not a jinchuuriki, could be expected to make. They had agreed that she would enter the chunin exams if her brother agreed to join Konoha. In that case, in any exam where combat was involved, their teams would work together for any open combat and they would have the examiners rig the order of any tournament-style combat. If Gaara happened to get hurt or come upon a situation where she was to frightened to continue, they would not stop her from withdrawing and keep a protective detail on her at all times. “Hello, you're Kankuro, right?” Naruto asked, looking at the painted boy in the cell. His outfit was beginning to look rather dirty after spending a few days in the grimy prison cell and his warpaint had become quite smudged. “Yeah, what's it to... You're touching Gaara!” Naruto looked down to where Gaara's hand rested in his own. “Yeah, I am,” Naruto agreed, suppressing a grin. He knew this was going to be a fun conversation. Kankuro looked between Gaara and Naruto. Gaara was just standing there calmly holding the boy's hand like a child. “Why isn't he killing you?” “Truthfully? I'm his gay lover. We've been secretly seeing each other for a while,” Naruto stated, having to look away to hide the smirk, “He's very demanding in bed you know.” Kankuro narrowed his eyes. “I don't believe you.” “You don't believe I am capable of having a lover?” Gaara asked, looking rather annoyed. Some of the sand she had brought with her dropped to the floor and began waving around in agitation. Kankuro looked at the sand, then wisely kept silent. “Actually, I feel it is only fair of me to tell you, but I am also married to your sister, some rule about taking her naked to bed with me or something,” Naruto said. “You're cheating on my sister with Gaara!” Kankuro yelled angrily, “How dare you-” “How many sisters do you have?” Naruto asked. “Just one, Temari,” Kankuro answered warily once he regained his composure. “So... You've known Gaara for how long without figuring out that she's a girl?” Naruto asked, Quirking an eyebrow as Kankuro gaped at him, “I swear, your dad must have had a defective Y chromosome. Two girls and a guy who plays dress up and wears makeup.” “And plays with dolls,” Gaara added helpfully. “They're puppets, not dolls!” Kankuro yelled, slamming a fist into the bars of his cell and receiving a nasty shock. When he had recovered enough to talk, he asked, “I thought you said you're 'gay' lovers....” Naruto used a single hand sign to form a henge of a beautiful, busty, teenage girl form of himself with a pair of long blond pigtails. “Well, you see, I am actually a girl,” Naruto said, and with a crafty grin he gathered Gaara into his arms, activated his second level yokogan, and began to suckle on a blue and red combination on Gaara's jawline. Gaara whimpered and leaned into him, clutching desperately at him. Her hands found the massive hills of Naruto's breasts and grunted in surprise. Naruto paused and whispered into her ear, “My henge is special,” before letting out a moan as Gaara squeezed. That wasn't meant to happen, but it had felt good. Naruto's breaths became slower and deeper and she gazed into the pale green of Gaara's wide, innocent eyes before leaning in and capturing her lips in a kiss. The two jinchuuriki were distracted by a sudden thump from the cell. Naruto broke the kiss and positioned himself between Gaara and Kankuro, drawing a kunai. He saw Kankuro was sitting on his ass with a slight trickle of blood running down out of his nostril. “Gaara, your brother is a pervert,” Naruto said, releasing his henge. “That was not entirely unpleasant,” Gaara replied, ignoring her brother for a moment. “I suppose you read those perverted orange books religiously like Kakashi-sensei,” Naruto accused. “They are not perverted books. They are works of art!” Kankuro objected. “Yes, so many people claim, but you know they are written by a Konoha Shinobi, right? And if your invasion succeeds, you won't have any new volumes.” “It is a shame, but I am not going to betray Suna for a reason like that.” “Even if I could get you special editions, signed and handed to you personally by the author?” Naruto teased. Kankuro's eyebrow twitched, but he still shook his head. “My turn,” Gaara said coldly, sending her sand into the cell and having it begin to crawl up her brother's legs, “Join Konoha or I'll kill you.” She said it without any emotion in her voice or killing intent. Kankuro looked a little nervous, but held firm. “Let me try,” Naruto said, “You were a little lacking in your execution.” Naruto took a deep breath as if to calm down and began to allow his demonic chakra to leak out, focusing all of the killing intent he could generate on the Suna nin. “You will join Konoha, or I will personally hold you down while Gaara shoves your sex organs back inside you where they belong you cross-dressing pervert!” Kankuro's eyes rolled back in his head and a wet stain appeared between his legs as he lost consciousness. “Oops, I think I overdid it...” Naruto laughed. “He will join,” Gaara said, “He is now more afraid of us than of our father.”

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Naruto returned to the Hyuuga compound that evening with Gaara on his back. He knew she could walk on her own, but if he had learned nothing else about her it was that she was as lazy as a Nara whenever she could be and he was a perfect excuse to exercise that tendency. She certainly didn't make things easy for him. They had stayed up late working on the paperwork to register her as a Konoha Shinobi with Temari. Kankuro had agreed to join Konoha as well once he had revived as Gaara had predicted, though the process for him would not be complete for another week or two due to the amount of work needed for the first two phases of the exam. When Naruto arrived at the room he shared with two of his fiancees and their chaperone, They greeted him with confusion. He had not seen any of them for a couple days, ever since their swimming date had been interrupted by their encounter with the Suna nin. “Naruto-sama, why are you bringing some foreign guy home with you? And where have you been the past few days?” “I'm his wife,” Gaara said bluntly, shocking the other two girls. “Naruto-kun, you already had the th-three women you needed to fulfill the Clan Re-restoration Act's requirements. Are we n-not g-good enough f-for you?” Hinata asked. “No, I am lucky that any of you even care about me at all!” Naruto protested, “I didn't marry her on purpose, but due to certain conditions, I had to be her guard and I accidentally fulfilled one of her clan's marriage traditions,” Naruto explained, before hastily adding to Gaara, “Not that I am planning on breaking up with you.” “I am your tool, if this makes you happy I will do all I can to help,” Haku said. “I don't want any of you to get mad at me,” Naruto said, “I'd never do anything to harm those who are mine.” “Did you and Gaara... Umm...” Hinata tapped her fingers together nervously. “No, she agreed to wait until I'm sixteen and we have a proper wedding ceremony.” Naruto put her down on the edge of his bed and began stripping off his outer clothes. He noted that his sense of modesty had really begun to disintegrate since he had begun to regularly paint seals on people while in the nude. He pulled on a pair of pajama pants and an animal shaped sleeping cap as Gaara shucked her clothing and climbed into his bed wearing nothing at all. “This is entirely inappropriate behavior!” their chaperone, currently a middle-aged woman, said. “I agree, If she is allowed to sleep with Naruto-sama, then we should be allowed to sleep with him!” Haku insisted. “I'm not doing this just because it feels nice. Tsunade ordered me to. It is for medical reasons.” The other occupants of the room looked at Naruto and glared. “I'm serious,” Naruto insisted. “You may tell them,” Gaara said, then lay her head on his chest. “Gaara is like me, but she has the one-tailed demon in her,” Naruto told everyone, “Before my dad fixed her seal, Gaara-chan wasn't allowed to sleep because the demon would take over her body. Her father, the Kazekage kept trying to have his assassins kill her, but the demon would automatically protect her and kill the assassins. Now that the demon is properly sealed, it can't act without her will.” Naruto did not feel the need to reveal that she hadn't learned how to will it yet. “So, her body almost never receives sleep, and when she did sleep, she needed to be woken up immediately to protect her village. She has also had to worry about assassination attempts since she was a baby. Without the demon protecting her, she is too scared to sleep, but her mind is already so unbalanced by lack of sleep and living in constant fear what she can't afford not to if she can help it. I make her feel safe and can calm her when she has nightmares, without me, she can not sleep and would probably become a psychotic killer only out for blood.” “Perhaps she would feel safer if we all held on to each other,” Haku suggested slyly. “Maybe after she learns to trust you,” Naruto replied, feeling Gaara tense at the suggestion. “I can't sleep knowing th-that another woman is in b-bed with Naruto-kun and I'm not!” Hinata complained. Naruto sighed, but didn't know what to do, there was only one of him after all... He looked to Gaara who actually needed him, and he couldn't take that from her. “I'm sorry, I will make it up to you somehow.” Naruto promised. Gaara nudged him then made a motion that he had come to associate with her wanting one of his clones. After he made one so she could be sandwiched between him and his clone, he remembered the advice Gaara had given him and cursed his own stupidity as he made four more clones, sending them to do the same with his fiancees. This broke up the argument, except for the objections from their chaperone whom they all ignored. Naruto waited until all the girls were asleep, practicing his doujutsu until the blue strips began to grow indicating that they had relaxed enough to begin falling asleep before he closed his eyes and let himself drift off and his clones to pop out of existence.

Chapter 23: The First Exam

Naruto and Gaara's teams met before the exam and walked to the academy together. The forms told them that they had to make their way to room 3-A. “Let's just skip the crowd and head in through he window,” Naruto suggested. There were too many foreign chunin candidates for Naruto to feel comfortable taking two of his girls through the crowded halls where an assassin could easily blend in. “It would be the most efficient route,” Shino agreed. The six genin made their way up the curving wall to the room that Naruto knew was where they were supposed to meet. It may have been unfair, but Naruto had been given the chance to study all the exam locations so that he would know all exit routes in case someone realized that the attack plan had been compromised. “Well, well, a couple of cheaters trying to bypass the preliminary tests,” Anko said, appearing in front of them, “I'm so proud of my self for teaching you so well.” “What preliminary tests?” Naruto asked, “We just wanted to avoid the crowd.” Anko laughed, “That's a good one... Good luck, all of you. If you fail, I'll kill you.” The happy tone in which she threatened them send a chill down Naruto's spine. He led the group through the window and found that about a dozen teams had already arrived. Naruto and his friends stood talking for a minute before he found himself suddenly tackled by someone who was surprisingly heavy for having such a small frame and hands slid over his eyes. “Guess who!” Naruto easily recognized the voice, but decided to play dumb. “Damn, with that weight, it must be an Akamichi, is this Chouji?” Naruto asked. The question earned him a rather strong blow to the back of the skull. “Okay, I'm sorry Tenten!” Naruto said after the second hit, “I guess the extra weight must be Kubikirihouchou. I'm surprised you've adjusted to the weight so quickly. You don't have the advantage of an accelerated healing to help you build muscle.” “Well, I'm not like Sakura, I actually train,” Tenten replied, helping him up, “Who are your Suna friends?” “They are the children of the Kazekage. My dad has been having me look after them. This is Temari, this is Kankuro, and this, is Gaara.” He nudged Tenten to focus her attention on him then made some standard leaf hand signs to communicate silently. 'Secret', 'Her', 'Four', 'Talk', 'Later'. Tenten raised an eyebrow and gave him a slight glare before pretending nothing happened. “Nice to meet you,” Tenten said with a fake smile, “I am sure we will become good friends one day. Naruto, did you hear that there are a lot of rookie teams for this exam?” “No, so it's not just our group?” “No, our old training group is going to be taking the exams together... If Chouji is not too afraid of his own team mate killing him without Kakashi around to keep the teamwork going. We met them on the way up here and the Uchiha challenged Lee to a fight. He didn't land a single hit and the banshee just kept screaming about how Lee was being mean to him and about how Lee must have cheated to beat the 'great' Sasuke. Ino and Kiba should be along soon too if they can drag Shikamaru out of bed this early in the morning. I hear that he hasn't had much time to be lazy with those two on his team.” “He'll probably still think it's too troublesome and drop out at the first chance.” “Maybe you guys should keep it down a bit,” a gray haired leaf genin suggested, “You're drawing a lot of attention to yourselves.” The room had filled considerably while they had been chatting, and many of the genin were obviously listening in on their conversation. “I guess they are,” Naruto thought for a moment, “Well if they are going to think like we are targets, I might as well make sure that they think we're the targets they want to avoid.” “Naruto, that may not be such a good idea...” Naruto shrugged, “It's worth a shot. Worst case scenario, I have to kill a few extra people.” This caused several of the glares he was receiving to change to ones of fear or dismissiveness. Naruto climbed up upon the desks nearby and released his demonic chakra and killing intent over the whole group. “Two jounin, one chunin, two genin, and, in one mission, over four-hundred mercenaries. I do hope that my genin count will be much closer to my mercenary count when this exam is over.” He said all this with an air of restrained anticipation and glee that had the majority of the genin turning away from him. A couple had lost their lunches, and he was sure that some teams had outright left the building. “Intense,” the gray haired genin said, wiping the sweat from his brow, “My name is Kabuto Yakushi by the way, I hope you aren't planning to add me to that list.” “No, that was mostly for show. I only kill bad guys, or people who threaten those I care about.” Naruto looked embarrassed at this admission, but Kabuto didn't seem to reassured by the admission himself. “I lost count,” Gaara stated in an attempt to join in the conversation. “I guess we won't have too many people making it to the finals then,” Kabuto said. Gaara tilted her head and thought for a moment but said nothing. “Since you guys are all new at this, why don't I help you out a bit. These exams are pretty hard; This is my seventh time taking them, so I know quite a bit.” “So, can you tell us what the exams will be?” Tenten asked. “Well, I can't say for sure because the examiners determine what the tests will be. However, the first two tests are always done as a team. One is usually a test of your information gathering skills, and the other is usually some sort of survival test. If you pass both, then there is a tournament where you get to show off your skills in front of an audience of important people,” Kabuto explained, “I can't really tell you much more than that since it's at the discretion of the examiners. I can give you information on some of your competitors though.” Kabuto took a deck of cards out of a pouch and focused chakra into one which showed a graph of the number of competitors from each village. “Konoha has a lot of genin participating,” Temari pointed out. “Yes, putting on a good show with the home team is important and the more entries you have, the more chances your village will have to show off to potential clients in the finals. Now, considering that we will probably have to fight these guys at some point, my team makes a point to find out about our competition, like for example,” Kabuto shuffled through the cards and drew one out and applied chakra to it, “Naruto Uzumaki - Unknown, son of Kushina Uzumaki of the Uzumaki clan and the current Hokage known only as Hummingbird. He has completed twenty D-Ranks, two A-Ranks and one S-Rank mission. He has at least two kekkei genkai, one is the Uzumaki Vitality, and his first- generation doujutsu known as the Yokogan which provides thermal vision. His ninjutsu is high and taijutsu off the charts, but his genjutsu ability is negligible. He has another special ability who is an S- Rank secret that I don't want to get executed for revealing.” “You really do your homework,” Tenten said. “Well, this is our seventh try after all, we want to make sure we nail this one. Was there anyone in particular you wanted to no about?” “Sasuke Uchiha,” Naruto said. “It's really too easy when you give me their names,” Kabuto grinned, “Last loyal member of the Uchiha Clan. Son of Mikoto Uchiha and the former clan head Fugaku Uchiha. He has completed forty- two D-Rank missions, on two of which his team mate returned with severe injuries and had to be hospitalized as a direct result of his actions and is currently required to attend counseling. He has the sharingan doujutsu, but he has not yet activated it. He has high ninjutsu and taijutsu, though not quite as high as Naruto, but he also has above average genjutsu.” “The team with the musical notes on their hitai-ates,” Shino requested. “It's a lot harder to get information on foreign ninja,” Kabuto explained as he withdrew three cards. “Dosu Kinuta, Zaku Abumi, and Kin Tsuchi, all hailing from the newly established Otogakure. Dosu uses taijutsu and his gauntlet which causes an unknown effect. Zaku has a device implanted in his arms which allows him to perform some sort of wind jutsu. And, Kin is a genjutsu user. I don't really have more information than that. They are such a small village that I doubt that they'll even make it past the first phase.” Apparently, the village hidden in the sound was more than just a name, because even in the crowd of people who had filled the room, they reacted to this statement. “Listen up, you leaf bitch, Otogakure may be new, but we are not a weak village. You can write this on your cards, The team from Oto will become chunin!” Dosu dashed forward and raised his arm with the gauntlet to punch Kabuto, but Naruto and his team knew that they could be facing ninja, even enemy ninja, in these exams and were following Anko's rules about having their weights off. Naruto dashed forward, ducking under Dosu's arm and unleashing a powerful uppercut with a combination of his Hummingbird style and Juukouken. Dosu screamed as a fountain of red and white erupted from where Naruto had struck. Only a small wedge of flesh remained to connect the two halves of Dosu's arm and that was quickly and painfully ripped away as his gauntlet swung down and fell to the floor. “My arm! What the hell did you do to my arm?!” Dosu screamed. Gore splattered down on his face, some of his elbow's remains having become plastered to the ceiling. Blood continued to gush from his stump, and his face was quickly paling. At that moment, Shizune and about a dozen chunin appeared in the room. She took one look at Dosu then ordered one of the chunin, “Take him to the hospital. He and his team are disqualified for fighting without authorization.” The chunin grabbed Dosu and used a shunshin to disappear. Two other chunin did the same for the other two team members, and another grabbed the arm and gauntlet, disappearing as well. “Now, any of you stupid enough to attack a ninja of this or any other village during your stay will think him lucky for only losing an arm. There will be no fighting except when authorized by the examiners, which for this section of the exam will be me!” Naruto was quite impressed with the authority Shizune exuded. She was usually very gentle and accommodating in order to make her patients feel comfortable, though Naruto had seen that she was not so lax with the doctors, even if only because it spared them Tsunade's wrath. “All the remaining teams will send a representative to the front with their forms and will retrieve a number from this box. After that, you will find a place to sit with your team mates and wait for your number to be called. Once your number is called, you will be taken to a separate room where your task for this exam will be assigned. This exam will not be testing your combat ability, so any attacks of any kind will result in immediate disqualification for your team. Now, send forth your representatives!” Naruto and Temari headed down towards Shizune after collecting their teams forms. Naruto handed his forms to Shizune, and once she had checked them for completeness, she motioned him towards the chunin with the box of numbers. Receiving a nod from the chunin, Naruto reached into the box to find the bottom was at a forty-five degree angle and that the box only contained two plastic discs. Naruto nodded to the chunin as he grabbed his number, having no doubt that Temari would take the other. This task was obviously some sort of competition or team exercise where teams would be paired up somehow and Konoha was cheating to make sure that no outsiders noticed the sudden decline in Gaara's skills or had reason to suspect them for spending time with the other team who was supposedly from an allied nation. Naruto hopped over the desks, annoying more than a few of the other teams, until he found where their teams had acquired a spot near the back by the window they had entered from. Naruto showed his team the disc and did some sign language that they would definitely be with Gaara's team for their exam. Someone had obviously thought it was funny to set it up that they would receive the number ten, a count of the total number of demon tails in the group. Once everyone was seated, Shizune addressed the group, “When we call your number, stand up and head to the back of the class with your team and present your number to the examiner who will be waiting for you by the door. If your team does not have your number, you will be disqualified.” Naruto quickly passed their team's disc to Shino and watched as a multitude of kikai drew the disc inside his coat. Temari passed their disc to Gaara where it seemingly melted into Gaara's skin, but in reality had just slipped under Gaara's sand armor. “I will repeat for those of you who may be stupid, fighting will result in immediate disqualification. Now, will teams with the number one please exit the room.” The team in front of their group stood up and Naruto almost laughed as he saw their number seem to jump out of one of the ninja's pockets and land conveniently in Kankuro's hand. “I know I put it in my pocket!” the unfortunate genin exclaimed as they stood by the door and frantically searched his pockets. “Disqualified!” the examiner by the door shouted. “No, just give me a second, I have it here somewhere!” The team was then grabbed by three chunin and disappeared. Naruto grinned and formed a group of clones in the back of the room and had them transform into copies of the three chunin that had just left. One of the clones stood by the door and called out, “Number two!” Three teams stood up, though one team was halted from heading to the back when Shikamaru complained to Kiba and Ino that it would be too troublesome to get up now, and tried to go to sleep. Before they could get up, the other teams had reached the back of the class and presented Naruto's clone with their numbers. The clone led them out of the classroom. The same occurred for teams with numbers three and four. Kankuro used his puppetry to get another number, and Gaara used his sand for three more. Shino's kikai were responsible for the failure of at least one team as well. Now, it was an hour into the exam and team number five had just been called, one of the three genin teams that answered to that number was disqualified. Another five teams had gotten disqualified for fighting when a team caught another attempting to steal their number. Surprisingly, the Uchiha's team had not yet been disqualified, though it was close when Chouji almost ate the disc that they had been hiding in his bag of chips.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Two hours into the exam, the number ten was called. Naruto and Gaara's teams moved to the back, presenting their numbers, though making sure not to release them, just in case someone else tried what Naruto had. They were taken to a room on the first floor where Iruka was waiting. Another chunin followed them in and stood by the door. “Iruka-sensei!” Naruto greeted. Shino and Hinata gave polite, but more formal greetings. “Good job getting this far,” Iruka said, “How many numbers do you have?” “Do we get extra points if we do?” Naruto asked. “Yes, the more you have the easier your task in this assignment will be,” Iruka answered. “In that case...” Naruto said. The chunin by the door revealed himself to be one of Naruto's clones and strutted over to drop seven numbered discs onto the desk in front of Iruka. “That was you?” The chunin who had led them to this room chuckled. “That was a good one.” Shino added three to the pile. Gaara added another five. Kankuro added nine. “You guys are good,” the chunin said in awe. “Twenty-four teams eliminated by two. That must be at least one sixth of the applicants.” “Before we start, I need to use the washroom,” Gaara said. “Okay, but don't take too long, would you show him the way, Shino?” Iruka asked. “I would prefer if Naruto escorted me,” Gaara said, giving Naruto a serious look. “It's okay, Iruka-sensei, I'll have Gaara back in a few minutes,” Naruto said. They exited the classroom and Naruto began leading Gaara towards the closest washroom. Along the way, Gaara pulled Naruto into an empty classroom. “Do you have a clone with your father?” Gaara asked. “Yes, did something happen?” Naruto asked. “That other leaf genin, Kabuto. He accompanied Orochimaru when the attack was being planned. “He did seem to know a lot for a genin,” Naruto said. “He is a spy.” Naruto formed a clone and dispelled it, relaying the information tot he clone who was studying seals in his father's office. After a few minutes, Naruto said, “Dad says that if he approaches any of you about the invasion, pretend to still be loyal to Suna, but pass along whatever he says to me and I'll pass it to him. He also say, thanks, you did a good job. Let's head back now. Don't want to keep everyone waiting.” “I still require a toilet,” Gaara replied.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

“Everyone ready for me to explain your test?” Iruka asked. Everyone gave their assent and Iruka removed a genjutsu from the chalkboard, revealing a rough map of Konoha divided into numbered sectors. “You are being assigned a mission. A pair of dignitaries from your countries was meeting in Himitsugakure to discuss a cessation of hostilities. On their way back, they were captured by Himitsu nin and accused of being spies. Now, Himitsugakure is a powerful village and you cannot afford to begin hostilities, but you cannot allow the secrets the dignitaries know to fall into the hands of Himitsugakure. Intelligence reports that they were probably captured somewhere in the area labeled sector ten. You must locate and rescue the dignitaries without being noticed by the Himitsu nin. Any questions?” “You seriously could not think of a better name than Himitsugakure?” Naruto asked, “The village hidden in secrets?” “You can blame your father for that one,” Iruka said, “Any relevant questions?” “How will our teams identify the dignitaries and the Himitsu nin from the citizens of Konoha?” Shino asked. “Himitsu nin wear a hitai-ate with a question mark on it. As for the dignitaries, that is for you to figure out. But, I am pretty sure that you'll recognize them when you find them.” “Okay, let's go rescue some dignitaries.” “It would be beneficial for our teams to elect a leader in order to prevent conflict since this is our first mission together and we have not had a chance to discover an efficient team dynamic.” “Naruto will lead,” Gaara said. No one disagreed. “Hinata, are there any enemies in the building?” Naruto asked. Hinata scanned the area with her byakugan. “No, not inside. Two on the east side, one on the north.” “Okay, meet on the roof for recon.” Since the classroom was on the west side of the building, they headed out the window and up the wall. The mission proceeded surprisingly quickly. While there were plenty of ninja wearing question marks, none of them seemed to be in sector ten, nor along the direct path to sector ten. It turned out that their dignitaries had been captured were Pakkun, one of Kakashi's summons, and Tora, the fire daimyo's demon of a cat that plagued the genin of Konoha with retrieval missions. They took the two animals, still inside the pet carriers to prevent Tora from mauling anyone, back to the academy. They met no resistance. “Umm, we have a problem,” Hinata said, stopping them as they entered the building, “Iruka- sensei is wearing a himitsu hitai-ate under his leaf hitai-ate.” “That means we can't return the dignitaries to him.” Naruto activated his doujutsu. “The room across the hall is free. Gaara, your team will take the dignitaries there and protect them while our team confronts Iruka-sensei. I'll leave a clone with you so you can alert us if something happens.” Naruto created a clone and Gaara led his half of the group into the empty classroom and Naruto took his own group to meet with Iruka. “You're back already,” Iruka greeted, “That was quick. Where are the dignitaries?” “Somewhere safe,” Naruto said. “Well, bring them in so you can complete your mission.” “But, we just rescued them, why would we turn them back over to a Himitsu nin?” Naruto asked. Iruka removed his leaf headband and revealed his Himitsu headband. “You pass,” Iruka said, “Congratulations.” He took off the Himitsu headband and tossed it to Naruto. “That hitai-ate contains the time and location of the second phase of the exams. All six of you must arrive on time or you will all be disqualified.” Naruto used a clone to pass the message along and Gaara's team arrived a few moments later and handed the two animals to Iruka. “I would be surprised if any teams received a score that even came close to yours,” Iruka said, “You were given points based on completing your objective and how well you worked in a team of people you might not have worked with before, an important trait for chunin. In addition, you received extra points for every number you were able to steal and in addition, each number you turned in to us moved a Himitsu ninja out of your way which made your task faster and easier, and since you are also awarded points based on time, you received a bonus there as well. Congratulations, and I hope you do just as well on the second phase of the chunin exams.”

Chapter 24: The Forest of Death

It took almost an hour of passing the headband around before Hinata noticed that a section had stitching that seemed to be randomly double stitched. Even that would not have been noticed if there had not been some stitches going perpendicular to the weave”

“.- --.. -- --.- --. .- .... -. / --- -.. .-- -. ..-. -..- / -- .-- -.. -... .-. -....- -..- .. -... --.. .-.-...... -- .-- / -.-- ... -- .... -- --. .-.-.. .-.. -... -.------.- / .. ..-.”

Once it was found, Shino managed to quickly deduce that it was in fact Morse code, what they received when they decoded it was: “Azmqgahn Odwnfx Mwdbr-Xibz Simw Ysmhmg Lbymq IF”

This, of course, was not the decoded message, but Temari and Shino agreed that it appeared to have the correct formatting to be information that had simply been run through a simple cipher. At first, they had tried a simple caesarian cipher shifting through all twenty-six possibilities. None yielded results, so they began working on other cryptograms in which the letters were switched randomly. Several hours later, they had still not figured it out and were beginning to think that the stitching was not a code at all. “There has to be a way to solve this,” Temari vented, “They wouldn't give us this puzzle if we didn't have the key needed to solve it.” “Perhaps that is the solution, a keyed cipher based on a piece of information that we are known to have.” “They gave us the key,” Temari suddenly realized. She flipped the hitai-ate over to reveal the question mark on the other side.” “Himitsu...” Shino said, following her logic as he began the process of decrypting the message.

“Training Ground Forty-Four Gate Eleven Three AM”

“It is past midnight,” Shino pointed out, “Training ground forty-four is an hour away. I do not know which side of the training ground includes gate eleven, but it could take another hour to find it.” “I'll wake everyone, you grab some field rations and anything else we might need,” Temari advised.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

The six shinobi, and one fox, raced through the darkness of the streets. It was already past two in the morning and they were just now approaching training ground forty-four. Naruto was now thinking how inconvenient Akama's size was. He was simply too large to enter most buildings now, at least not without a lot of squirming and knocking things off walls with the flicking of his powerful tails. He resolved to ask the Kyuubi about a method of size manipulation, if it was possible. It would also do wonders for the amount of food Akama had to consume daily, which is one of the primary reasons that they had retrieved him. Akama now ate so much that normal game was simply too small, so he had searched out other hunting grounds and had come across training ground forty- four. While he was certainly not the strongest animal to prowl the so called 'Forest of Death' there were plenty of sufficiently large creatures that were not too much of a challenge for him to defeat, especially with his fire manipulation that was verging on blue flames and could easily burn through the hides of the weaker denizens of that area. The group arrived with twenty minutes to spare. A red eyed woman with a platoon of masked men was awaiting them at the gate along with eighty-one genin, some of which did not look too happy with the company they were forced to keep. In particular, Hinata's cousin Neji seemed to be boring holes in the team from Kumo with his eyes that he, Tenten, and Lee had been paired up with. Both of teams were ignoring their other partner, a team from Takigakure. Sakura was there with Sasuke and Chouji, and she was looking pretty smug. Naruto suspected that she had been the one to single-handedly solve the coded message from her team, that is assuming that someone kissing up to the Uchiha had not let the secret slip. Now that he thought about it, considering the difficulty of the challenges they had already faced, there were far too many genin teams here. He studied them, looking around and noticing that some of the genin teams were ones that had been eliminated in the previous portion of the exams. None of these were clustered into groups. “Can I have everyone's attention?” the red eyed woman called out. A large number of teams ignored her. A few hand seals later, each of the people who had ignored her were grabbing their heads and screaming in anguish while the woman stood there silently with a pleasant smile on her face. After a moment, the screams of pain stopped and the woman repeated herself, “Cain I have everyone's attention?” This time everyone turned to face her and kept their mouths shut. “I am Kurenai Yuuhi, a jounin of Konoha and the proctor of the second phase of the exam. Now, I will explain these exams to you. There will be time for questions at the end, but you will lose points if you ask a question that you would have known the answer to had you been paying attention. “Now, those who passed the first phase of the exam will be given a scroll. This scroll will contain a mission description and will be sealed with colored wax. Your objective is to complete the mission listed on the scroll and, in five days, you will enter the tower in the center of the training ground and present both the scroll and the proof of mission completion. Each mission completed will get you points which will determine who will pass this round. “You will automatically be disqualified under three conditions. First, you will be disqualified if any member of your group does not show up alive at the tower by the deadline. Second, you will be disqualified if you kill one of the examiners – you will be watched and not just by the ANBU patrolling the forest and the hidden cameras. Third, you will be disqualified if you fail to complete any missions. Any questions?” “How are we supposed to get more missions?” one of the genin asked. “That's a five point penalty. The examiners and ANBU are off limits except where your mission parameters say otherwise, but you are free to capture, kill, torture, maim, or whatever else you feel is necessary to complete your missions and acquire new ones. Some of the harder missions will also have other mission scrolls become available during the course of mission completion,” Kurenai explained. “Is there any significance to the color of the seals?” Shikamaru asked. “Smart question, two points. The seals come in several colors. Blue seals are worth one point and will be a simple D-rank missions such as gathering herbs. Green seals will be a low C-Rank, such as dealing with local fauna and are worth two points. Yellow seals will begin dealing with the other ninja, but not engaging them. These missions are worth three points. Orange seals will likely involve confrontation with the examiners or other teams and are worth five points. Red seals will be difficult missions such as stealing a mission scroll from an ANBU. No missions below red level will result in new missions entering the field. Red missions are worth ten points. Finally, black missions will be assassination missions. They may target another team or one of the twelve chunin level criminals that have been released into the forest. They are worth fifteen points each.” Kurenai looked around awaiting more questions. “Why are people who were disqualified here?” Naruto asked. “Another good question,” Kurenai said, “three points. First, they did not re-enter the exams for free. They have significant disadvantages. First, since you will be entering the forest with head starts based on your points, they will be the last to enter, losing several hours and with them time to work on completing missions. Second, they have also forfeited their right to start with a mission. Third, they have volunteered to be targets of black missions. Fourth, since they have no number, they have a smaller team to work with, which puts them at a disadvantage with the larger teams. However, the main reason that they are here is because almost a third of the participants were eliminated by a single team, and we wanted there to be enough competition.” “Crap, when we're called first, all of those re-entered teams are going to be gunning for us, aren't they?” Kankuro whispered nervously. “I'm more worried about Tenten. I don't think her group is very friendly with each other.” “Neji's f-father was killed because K-kumo tried to k-kidnap me...” Hinata explained. “Taki is known for being vicious and self-serving and overly aggressive. They are only allies with us because they are not big enough to defend themselves. Group ten suddenly felt a high level of killing intent and noticed that the proctor was glaring at them. “Since we have time to chat, there are obviously no more questions. My assistant examiners will hand out some forms. You will sign them before you will head into that tent to hand them in and retrieve your groups first mission. The masked examiners began handing out sheets of paper. Two minutes later, Kurenai called for group ten to head into the missions tent. “Akama, give the people a reason to watch out for us,” Naruto said. The fox snickered before turning to face the assembled genin teams and blew a great red fireball over their heads. Several staggered back in surprise. The fire was not as hot as Akama could make it, but that was only so he could make it bigger and more impressive to the humans. Naruto was pretty sure he saw some of the examiners shiver. The six genin entered the tent and handed in their sheets while Akama stood watch by the flap. “You are free to choose any color of scroll for your first mission.” A masked examiner was sitting behind a table with a rack of scrolls behind him. “I would recommend a black scroll, considering your talents.” For a moment, Naruto felt sick, he didn't want to be known as a killer, but he shoved the feeling aside, convincing himself that he was going to kill a convicted criminal or someone who was planning on getting revenge on him and may harm one of his precious people to do it. “We'll take it,” Gaara said before Naruto could conquer his inner struggles and do it himself. The examiner grabbed a black scroll that had been hidden under the table and Naruto accepted the scroll. He almost felt bad having the entire exam stacked in his favor, until he opened the scroll. The scroll was actually a sealing scroll containing several other black scrolls. The seals were arrayed neatly in double lines of twelve. The left half contained missions to kill the twelve released convicts, while the right half contained hits on twelve teams, the team from Oto, three from Iwa, three from Suna, two from Kumo, and three from Ame. The mission listed in the sealing scroll was to complete all the missions contained within it. “Weasel says this is an S-Rank and to keep a low profile, if possible. You'll have almost an hour head start. Use it wisely.” “Not even pretending it's a C-Rank this time?” Naruto asked. “If Gaara wasn't here, I'd think the S stood for suicide,” Kankuro said. “The examiner stated that the criminals were chunin level. The failed teams should not exceed genin level. This is well within our capabilities,” Shino said. “I'd love to give you some advice, but that would be cheating. You'd better get going before Kurenai decides you're taking too long and you'd be better served in this exam thinking you're a teapot.” “Thank you examiner-san,” Hinata gave a polite bow and the six shinobi headed out to take Akama into the forest.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

“So, what are we going to do with our hour?” “Well, we really have three objectives. First is survival. Second is killing the targets. Third is preventing the targets from reaching the tower,” Temari said, “Of those, the most important is survival. We need to set up a base camp where we can stage our actions for the rest of this exam.” “I recommend setting up camp near a water source. That should allow for food and water to be easily foraged. As well as setting up shelter from the elements,” Shino suggested, “Naruto, are you capable of creating a barrier seal with a single entrance and having all anchors for the seal inside the barrier?” “I think so, but there would have to be a single anchor at the entrance that would cause a cascading failure if it was destroyed.” “I propose that Naruto set up a perimeter barrier around the central tower with the entrance at our base of operations. As Kankuro is a puppeteer and Naruto has sealing skills and is experienced in trap making, they should be able to set up an adequate defense.” “Naruto could leave a clone at the camp site at all times for communication. If Kankuro and I also stayed at the base camp, Kankuro's puppets could ambush those that attempt to pass and are not our friends, or lead enemies into traps while I provide cover with my wind jutsu,” Temari added. “That is an appropriate distribution of forces. With the advantage of preparation, the two of you should be able to handle anyone attempting to pass. If an opponent beyond your capabilities appears, the clone would signal the other groups.” “Naruto-kun should pose as the missing members in all the groups if we split up,” Hinata said. “As Hinata, Gaara, and I provide jutsu that might be required to counter certain difficult opponents and we will already be dispersing our forces, I recommend that we split into no more than two groups at once: a hunter group and a defender group. Naruto can provide fodder for both as well as a powerful melee fighter.” “Well, what are we waiting for?” Naruto asked, “We only have an hour to set up!”

-Return of the Hummingbird-

The group had been traveling through the forest for over an hour when Shino tackled Kankuro out of the way. A sixty-foot long centipede crashed through the underbrush moments later, the venomous barbs of its maxillae piercing through the spot where Kankuro had been a moment before. “What the hell is that thing?” Temari shrieked as she dodged the undulations of its massive segmented body and flailing legs which gouged large furrows into the trunks of the equally gigantic trees. “Calm down, it's just a centipede,” Naruto assured her, “You can hardly consider something like that dangerous. Now, the Tigers in the western valley of the forest, those you have to be careful of.” Temari looked at him like he was crazy, her jaw hanging open as she tried to express how stupid he was for being so calm about a sixty-foot centipede. “Shino, can you send it away before Temari starts screaming like a civilian girl?” Shino looked at the centipede for a moment, then said, “That won't be necessary, we should be more concerned about squirrel nest this centipede just raided.” “Oh, crap, not the squirrels,” Naruto groaned as the centipede slithered out of sight. “I think we can handle a few little furry rodents,” Kankuro said as he brushed dead leaves off of himself. “I would agree, were they few or were they little. However, at this time, I would recommend a tactical relocation in anticipation of incoming enemy activity.” “What are you talking about?” Naruto pointed in the direction the centipede had come from as the entire forest began to shake. “He means, run for your life!” Hundreds of rodents were bouncing from tree to tree. Each was the size of a large wolf and had large menacing fangs in a wide mouth that could easily bite a man's head off. All of them ran. -Return of the Hummingbird-

It was mid-morning before the group finally arrived at the clearing where the tower was located. It had been a more difficult journey than they anticipated considering that the Forest of Death was a regular training ground for the team and hunting ground for Akama. The sand siblings had come to be of the opinion that leaf ninja were insane, though it could be said that they had just become attached to a particular group that did not represent Konoha shinobi as a whole. Duties were immediately designated to ensure that they had the site prepared before anyone showed up. In order to make the barrier as difficult to penetrate as possible, Gaara was using her abilities to dig a trench that reached bedrock. Following her, Naruto was drawing seals along the revealed bedrock. This would take them a couple hours to finish. Meanwhile, a tiger-trap had been built where they intended the entrance to be. Gaara had started the circle there, making that part wide enough that no genin without shunshin or some equivalent transportation jutsu would be able to cross. Kankuro was setting the spikes in the tiger-trap while Temari was creating the wooden spikes using her wind chakra. Shino was following Naruto and laying down a scented spray that would cause most animals to avoid the area for a few days. Neither Naruto nor Akama was happy with this, but both understood the necessity of the substance if they didn't want to have to worry about the wildlife attacking them. Anko had shown them its uses on some occasions when they had entered the forest of death, so they were somewhat used to the scent. Hinata was keeping watch with her byakugan while marking out useful locations near their base camp such as a stream where they could fish and get fresh water, patches of edible plants, and other such things they would need for survival. Akama was taking a nap; Someone would have to take first watch in the night. They were surprisingly efficient. By noon, they had all these tasks complete and sat down for a unsatisfying meal of field rations and water. It was nutritious, but could barely be considered edible based on flavor. The clones left at base camp during the days would definitely be doing some fishing and hunting in their spare time. “Okay, I think we have set up enough for now. We need to get working on our mission. All the teams are probably in the forest already,” Naruto announced, “Temari, you and Kankuro were going to stay at camp with a few clones, right?” “Yes, we'll create shelter and more traps. While you're out.” “Good, everyone else, follow me. I see two people in the forest, so it's definitely not a team.” Kankuro moved a log to hover over the center of the tiger-trap and those who were leaving used it to springboard over the deadly spike pit.

Chapter 25: Rock Heads

“Hinata, tell me when you can see them. We should be getting close to your range pretty soon.” “I see them. This isn't good. It's Fuujin and Raijin,” Hinata said. While Fuujin and Raijin were technically only chunin level. Their abilities made them incredibly difficult to deal with. They were distant relatives of the Akamichi clan known as the Legendary Stupid Brothers. They were about as intelligent as a rock, a very stupid rock, if you multiplied their IQs together. People that stupid should be easily dealt with, but unfortunately they had somehow developed a new bloodline. It allowed their fat to act as both muscle and armor, making them almost impervious to harm and giving them strength on par with the legendary strength of Tsunade. Their ability would have been nearly useless on any well conditioned ninja, but these two were about as conditioned a a deep-fried tub of lard and were always eating more. Only the steady low-calorie prison diet they had been fed had kept them from growing out of control. Fortunately, there were two people in their group that did not rely on physical force to win. Shino could hopefully use his bugs to siphon off chakra. If that didn't work, Naruto and Hinata would need to get in close and use the internal damage inflicted by their taijutsu styles to take the brothers down. If that failed, Naruto was hoping Gaara could force sand into their lungs and cause them to asphyxiate, or they could grab some of the poisonous plants and convince the two they were food. Naruto signaled for Shino to begin. One by one, insects began to land in the hard to reach places on the Stupid Brothers. After ten minutes, Shino recalled his insects. “It's no use. They are not emitting enough chakra for a kikai to drain, it is as if the chakra becomes trapped below the surface where my allies cannot ingest it.” “Okay. Considering these guys are pretty much invulnerable, I think we should skip straight to poison. I bet if they discovered a couple animals roasting over a fire, they wouldn't hesitate to eat them.” “I saw a few poisonous plants back there, but it would be better if we could find a centipede or a snake,” Hinata said. Naruto looked around. “I've got one. A snake, only a small one, which in this forest means deadly enough to survive being small. Shino, can your kikai kill it, I don't want to get too close to it.” “That is an achievable goal.” “There's a tree in that direction,” Naruto pointed as he talked, “There's a large fork about thirty meters up above a knot hole. The snakes in the hole.” Shino headed in the direction Naruto had indicated. “Hinata, can you get the poisonous herbs? More poisons is better, right?” “Okay, Naruto-kun,” Hinata headed off on her own mission. Naruto swung his eyes around and located a decently sized animal. “Gaara-chan, can you keep an eye on those two while I grab them a snack?” Gaara responded with a silent nod, “Okay, I'll be back in a few minutes, I'll leave you a clone.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Hinata and Shino mixed their poisons to create a thick, but deadly paste. Hinata had even gathered some of the sickly-sweet stomach juices of a carnivorous plant to cover the bitter taste of the poisonous herbs and venom. Naruto had captured a large boar-like creature that had four eyes and thick scales that covered its hindquarters. Naruto skinned the hindquarters and sliced deep gouges into the tenderloin of the beast, then stuffed the holes with their mixture of poisons and used some fire chakra to cook the creature upwind of the Legendary Stupid Brothers. Like moths to the flame, the scent of cooking meat drew the two brothers. “We're hungry,” Raijin, the younger of the two brothers announced. “That smells good. Give it to us,” Fuujin said. “Well, there is no way we could finish this on our own. We really don't eat that much, but what would we get out of it?” Naruto asked. “We can give you this scroll if you give us food,” Raijin declared, displaying a red-sealed scroll. “That is acceptable. We will give you a back leg and flank for your scroll,” Shino acknowledged, “The best part with the most meat.” “You will give me that as well!” Fuujin insisted. “Your brother is paying for his with that nice little scroll,” Naruto drawled lazily, “What are you going to do for your share?” Fuujin frowned, then his face brightened as he brought out a black-sealed scroll. “Looks like we have a deal,” Naruto said, flaring his fire chakra enough to cause a slight charring, “and the food is almost ready. Just give your scrolls to one of the two pretty young ladies and then I'll give you your portions.” It was too easy. The brothers handed over their scrolls and Naruto cut them the poisoned hindquarters. They had originally planned on making a show of taking bites of the ribs and shoulders, but the brothers didn't even think to consider that their meal was anything more than Naruto and Shino had made it out to be. Luck was really on their side because one of the poisons they had used also acted like an anesthetic. The brothers did not even notice the nerve toxin from the snake as they became drowsy and fell asleep. A few minutes later, their breathing slowed and halted. Their heartbeats following soon after. Their luck ran out soon enough. Killing them had been easy enough, but gathering proof of it seemed almost impossible. They had tried hacking the heads off, but their kunai just sunk into the blubber, never even piercing the skin. Gaara tried crushing the bodies, but it was of no use. Naruto tried sealing them in their entirety into scrolls, but didn't have any paper big enough to hold one of them. They were also so heavy that it took several Naruto clones to move them, and even then it was at a snails pace. It made lifting Kubikiribouchou feel like lifting a small-sized senbon needle. “Well, this sucks. At this rate, the time will run out before we can get them to the tower,” Naruto complained. “I will attempt to alleviate this inconvenience,” Shino offered. He stuck a hand into both of the deceased brothers' mouths and let his swarm loose. “They do not have such a thick protective layering of fat on the inside of their bodies. I believe that my allies can drain the chakra from the flesh and eat their way out from the inside.” It was a sickening process to watch. The flesh quickly lost color, becoming pale and gray before rippling with bulges and dimples. The flesh almost seemed to melt away as their necks were swarmed by kikaichu eating away at the sagging flesh until only the column of spinal bones connected their heads to their shoulders. “That has got to be one of the most disgusting things I have ever seen,” Naruto complained. “It is a natural process, no matter how unappealing you find it to be.” Shino drew one of his blades and severed the bones, completing the decapitation of the Stupid Brothers so that Naruto could seal their heads. “We should s-see what the other scrolls s-say,” Hinata suggested. Naruto opened the red scroll first. “Steal the hitai-ates from a team of chunin located in the north-eastern quadrant of the forest.” He opened the black one. “Kill Naruto Uzumaki. Well, we sure as hell aren't doing that one. Why the hell is that even here? We passed the first phase. Probably some old man with a stick up his ass trying to dispose of the fox boy.” “I think you should save it and turn it over to Anko-sensei,” Hinata suggested. “You have no mercy, do you Hinata,” Naruto gasped in mock horror. “No, she could have suggested tracking down the criminal and turning them over to me,” Gaara suggested. “Are all women this bloodthirsty?” Naruto whispered to Shino. “It is not uncommon for the females of many species to consume the males after impregnation,” Shino pointed out. Naruto shuddered.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

The group returned to base camp with their prize. Surprisingly, one of the other teams had stumbled upon Kankuro and has walked right into the tiger trap. Unfortunately, it was not one of the ones they had a mission to capture. Naruto sealed the heads, just in case they ran across a scroll that went with them, then regaled Temari and Kankuro with the tale of how the idiot brothers had been defeated and their scrolls captured. “So, now we have twenty-three missions left. Twelve genin teams and ten criminals to kill, and a group of chunin to steal from, since we're obviously not completing the kill-me mission,” Naruto summarized. “Naruto, is t-there anyone else nearby?” Naruto did a quick scan, but found only animals. “No, It's not that easy this time. I guess we'll have to actually look around.” “While this mission was not strenuous, I recommend that we use this opportunity to take a short respite while a group of clones performs reconnaissance to locate our targets. “You can also help to cover the pit again,” Kankuro suggested. “I'm going to take a nap,” Temari said, “If you get knocked unconscious while you're out, your clones will disappear, so we can't rely on them as lookouts. Wake me if you're going to leave again.”

-Return of the Hummingbird-

“I've located one of our targets!” Naruto announced. “Where are they?” Kankuro asked, “You gonna go after them soon?” “Don't have to. They're coming to us,” Naruto grinned, “Seems like the Iwa teams like to work together too. They are planning to come here and ambush any teams heading to the tower.” “Too bad that only works for the first group to set up an ambush,” Kankuro said, “ How long do we have?” “They should be here in about ten minutes at the speed they are moving,” Naruto said, “Anyone who wants to be prepared better start preparing.” “Okay,” Gaara agreed before grains of sand began converging into a fortification on their side of the tiger trap. It was high enough to provide them cover if they crouched, but low enough that they could easily fire jutsu and projectiles over it. Kankuro attached chakra strings to various trap triggers and positioned his puppets in hiding places. Naruto set a few transformed clones on both sides of the pit, as well as setting up several behind the fortifications Gaara built, each with several kunai and a few explosive tags. Hinata and Temari merely crouched behind the wall and waited. Shino spread his kikai over the area and also created a group of illusionary clones that looked like a team standing right over the middle of the pit. Akama was sent to hide out of sight and to help the clones make sure that none of the Iwa nin were able to retreat. They were all ready. With their amount of planning and preparation, things should have gone smoothly.... But, no plan ever survives an encounter with the enemy. “Above!” Hinata alerted them. Naruto barely moved out of the way in time as a boulder slammed into the spot he'd occupied moments before, only to feel the earth shift below him. He rolled out of the way as a cone of earth shot up. It caught his coat and left him suspended several feet in the air. “Where are they?” Hinata asked, “I can't see them.” Naruto scanned around. “About half a kilometer dead ahead!” He could see a couple of them were performing hand signs while one was laying on the ground. “They're firing from long range. I think one of them is some sort of sensor!” “Anyone have a jutsu that can hit them?” Temari asked. “Even with an eye on them, my range is half that at best,” Kankuro said. Gaara deflected a large boulder, sending it careening into the pit trap where it snapped several of the deadly wooden spikes. “Our team has nothing at that range!” Naruto growled, “But maybe I can get a clone to fly there!” There was a massive burst of smoke, but when it cleared, Naruto held only a single kunai in his hand. “Here it goes!” He whipped the kunai straight up, far above the tops of the tallest trees. As it reached the peak of its ascent, the kunai transformed into a clone of Naruto who tossed another Kunai straight over the forest. That kunai in turn became another Naruto who let loose a barrage of Kunai before being vaporized by the massive explosion that ensued. Naruto rubbed his head. He had lost a few dozen clones in a moment thanks to the explosive tags on the kunai-clones. He glanced back to the enemy. Several trees were on fire. He couldn't make out anything. “I hope that got some of them. I can't tell through the fires! I think I got the sensor though, no way she could avoid all of those.” Naruto announced. “They're c-coming!” Hinata warned. “You leaf bastards!” A boy came charging towards them, holding a short staff, which suddenly elongated so that he could vault over the pit. “You killed Yuri and Byakurou!” His staff whipped over his head, drawing in a hard coating of earth as he tried to slam the staff down in the middle of the group. He was abruptly cut off as a monstrous looking human seemed to appear out of nowhere, limbs clattering behind it as a blade extended from an arm that lashed out, slicing the rock nin across the chest. He paled and tumbled down into the pit. “Good one, Kankuro!” Temari congratulated. “You may have gotten Ankojou and his team, but we're not so weak! You'll pay for killing out team mate!” Another Iwa nin kept his distance and she performed some hand seals. “This is for Dojou!” “Just kill them already, Doronko!” her remaining team mate said. “Shut up, Daichi! Doton: Doro Houshi!” The ground beneath Naruto's feet shifted as it turned into mud, sticking to their feet as it flowed towards their own trap. Temari took to the air, gliding over the trap with her fan. The others were grabbed by the hidden clones and forcefully thrown over towards the incoming enemies. Damn! Watch out!” “Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!” One of the Iwa nins called out, expelling a large ball of flame where Naruto was falling. “Need a lift?” Kankuro's Crow puppet grabbed Naruto and tossed him over the flames, sending him crashing into the boy who had been creating them. “Sekitan!” Naruto was grabbed by an Iwa nin and thrown towards another, “Yogosu, catch!” Yogosu slammed his hands into the ground and it turned into a sickly, black, bubbling, puddle. “I got him!” Naruto was pretty sure he did not want to touch whatever it was. He formed a shadow clone and let it take the fall, leaping off its back and slamming his hand into the enemy's chest. Chakra flared and the Iwa nin's heart turned into soup. Naruto shuddered as he felt his clone disperse. The puddle had been some sort of acid, and fast acting. The clone had half melted before it could disperse. “Doton: Doryuuheki!” Naruto felt something heavy and wet slam into his back and send him tumbling to the ground where his head and torso were buried under a pile of chakra enforced mud that built up until it was too heavy for him to move or even breathe. “Way to go, Kabetsuchi! Katon: Ryuuka!” Sekitan's voice sounded muffled and almost inaudibly quiet through the thick layers of earth. Naruto screamed as he felt his legs bathed in scalding flames. As his limited air disappeared, he passed out.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

“You're an embarrassment,” the Kyuubi growled, glaring down at Naruto. “They outnumbered us, and I took out like half of them!” Naruto complained. “If you used my chakra, you could have killed them all easily,” Kyuubi purred. “You just want to take over my body.” “True,” Kyuubi agreed, “Would that really be so bad?” Naruto looked at the tailed beast with a cocked eyebrow, silently waiting. “I could promise not to destroy your home,” Kurama offered. “And, what guarantee would I have that you'd keep that promise. It's not like I want you stuck in my gut. It I could let you out and not have anyone die because of it, I would do it in a heartbeat.” “How about a window at least, maybe a nice forest. I do not relish the idea of spending my last millennium of life in this sewer.” “And, what do you expect me to do about it? I'm not messing with the seal.” “You're an imbecilic flesh bag! Use your head for once in your pathetic life!” the fox growled. “I'm not that stupid!” Naruto retorted. “Then use that damn brain of yours and fix this place.” “I don't know how!” “Use your imagination!” “Why did you even bring me in here if all you're going to do is complain about my stupidity?” “I'm telling you how to change it. We're in your mind. Dream and it is so. It's not complicated, it just takes the smallest iota of self control and awareness. Even infants can do it, so what in the seven hells is stopping you!” “Oh...” Naruto's face lit up, “I just have to use my imagination.” “Every day, I wish more and more for the chance to kill you.” Naruto frowned as he concentrated, then he began to giggle as he got a rather interesting idea and pictured it. “What do you think you're doing?” Kurama yipped. Naruto opened his eyes and looked around. The sewers had been replaced by a forest, not unlike the forest of death. Vines dangled, strung between trees, pulsing with various fluids and chakra like the pipes from the sewer. Kyuubi was no longer trapped in a cage, but instead had a den under one of the large trees, though Kyuubi himself was as small as Akama when Naruto had first met him. Around his neck was a black leather collar which had a tag dangling from it with the seal on it. “Is that better?” Naruto asked, having to stifle a giggle at Kyuubi's new kit form. “Yes. I finally have room to stretch my legs,” Kyuubi agreed. “So, will you tell me what you brought me here for then?” “The next stage of Akama's training. You've noticed that his size is becoming impractical, and not just because of the amount of food he consumes. You already know the fox transformation technique because you stumbled across it when trying to use the human imitation. Learn to do it without hand seals and teach him how. Once he can transform, he can transform into something with hands so he can perform human-style jutsu,” Kurama explained, “And, as a bonus for sprucing thing up a bit, I'll teach you something.” The Kyuubi chuckled at his own pun, which Naruto found to be rather weak considering that the forest didn't have any spruce trees. “The reason you have so much trouble learning fire manipulation is because fire is the weakness of wind which is you natural element. Of all the basic elements, fire is the one your chakra is weak against and therefore the most difficult for you to use. You would have easily gotten earth or water by now which are neutral to wind. The only reason that you have done so well with fire so quickly is that you regularly mingle your chakra with two beings with strong fire natures. “I have already explained to you that fire's nature is primarily heat and secondarily explosive. Wind's nature is primarily sharp and secondarily pressure. Water is flowing and grinding. Lightning is fast and conductive. Earth is hard and strong. “You should learn wind manipulation. It is similar to the fire training, but instead of focusing on speed over the whole surface equally to create heat, instead focus on pressure on the edges to grind them to sharpness. Sharper wind is stronger wind. “Now, you can wake up, your friends have unburied you, and I want to explore.”

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Naruto felt gooey, like he was covered in slime. He supposed that the mud was responsible until he felt a rather large and rough tongue coat half of his head with slobber. “You're awake!” Akama yipped happily. Naruto groaned and sat up. His mouth tasted like dirt. “Are y-you okay?” Hinata asked. Naruto tested his extremities. “I seem to be fine,” Naruto said. He looked around. He was on the safe side of the pit again, lying in the grass with a blanket over him. He got to his feet, stumbling at Hinata's startled squeal as he felt an unexpected breeze around parts that usually did not receive one. Hinata turned red and fainted. Naruto retrieved a spare set of pants and dressed himself, cursing the dragon fire that had destroyed the ones he had been wearing. Kankuro and Gaara were busy restoring the traps while Shino and Temari were keeping watch. “Was anyone else hurt?” Naruto asked his furry companion. “No, just you,” Akama answered, “What did the old man have to say?” “How did you know that I was talking to the fuzzball?” Naruto asked. “You were glowing red,” Akama answered. “He wanted an upgrade to his apartment and to tell me to learn how to transform without hand signs so I can teach you how to do it. It will be a lot more convenient when you're back to being small enough to ride around on my head.” Naruto adjusted his pants. Against the freshly regrown skin of his legs, the fabric chafed horribly.

Chapter 26: Not According To Plan

“We have a problem,” Boar announced, “We have reason to believe that Orochimaru has entered the Forest of Death under the guise of the team from Kusa.” “As if he hadn't caused enough trouble already,” Minato grumbled, “Weasel, take the Anbu, search the forest. Does Anko know about this?” “No,” the boar-masked ANBU replied. “Keep it that way until we have him dead or in custody. I don't want her doing something stupid.”

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Itachi knew exactly where Orochimaru would be heading, to Sasuke. He had familiarized himself with every piece of information that Konoha had on Orochimaru, including the old information recovered from the lab when Orochimaru had originally been chased out of Konoha. Orochimaru was obsessed with learning every jutsu in the world. The first thing he needed for that endeavor was immortality, because there were no end to the jutsus and it would take an eternity to learn them all. One of his largest projects had been research into an immortality jutsu that would allow the user to take over another person's body. There had still been debilitating side effects when Orochimaru had left, but he had been gone for years, plenty of time to complete it. Another of Orochimaru's pet projects had been researching the mechanics of the sharingan. Its ability to copy jutsu with a mere look made it the perfect tool for learning jutsu, but due to the slaughter of the Uchiha clan that he had committed in defense of the village, there were now at most four living Uchiha, and Kakashi who had the capability of using the sharingan. Orochimaru would not want a transplanted sharingan, the chakra consumption of implanted sharingan eyes was prohibitive. Even someone as experienced as Kakashi was unable to use it for more than a few minutes a day. No, Orochimaru would want a natural sharingan, which left four possibilities: Madara Uchiha who was suspected to be alive, but there was no proof; Itachi himself, but only a handful of people knew he was alive, and those handful were implicitly trustworthy; his mother, Mikoto Uchiha, but she was no longer a shinobi and her body was much too frail to handle something like Orochimaru's jutsu and, even if it could, he would want the body of someone strong so that he wouldn't need a large amount of training. That left Sasuke. He had not unlocked his sharingan yet, but that didn't mean he never would. From what he had read from mission and training reports, Sasuke was close. It was only his unbalanced mind that was holding him back from unlocking his full potential, and Orochimaru would surely have ways around that. “Any word on the location of the Uchiha and his team?” Itachi asked. “No. They entered the forest more than eight hours ago. They were one of the last passing teams to enter.” Itachi almost groaned aloud at this. His brother, as much as he loved the boy, was a complete failure as a ninja. When it came to learning jutsu, he was far beyond most of his classmates, but anything that involved thinking was a complete waste on him. Sure, he could memorize information and spit it out again, that had enabled him to pass his academy tests with flying colors, but ask him to think about a problem, and his answer was to kill whatever was in his way. Itachi was really regretting using the tsukuyomi on his brother now. He had been setting himself up to take the fall, he had never intended to cause so much residual mental damage. “Fan out. If you find him or Orochimaru, radio your location and we'll converge. Do not try to take Orochimaru alone.”

-Return of the Hummingbird-

It had been almost too easy to steal the headbands of the chunin. They hadn't noticed the kikaichu, even when they went to sleep. Naruto and his team were now in possession of three himitsu hitai-ates. At least it seemed easy until a Hyuuga attacked Hinata out of nowhere. “Eight Trigrams: Sixty-four Palms!” In an instant, Hinata was down. “Hinata!” Naruto sprang towards the woman as she aimed to send a juuken strike into the unconscious girl's brain. A wave of sand beat him to her, sending the attacking kunoichi flying. “If you're going to protect Hiashi's spoiled little bitch, I'll kill you too!” The woman flipped and landed lightly on her feet. Her eyes widened for a fraction of a second before a red claw of chakra slammed her torso into a tree, the claws piercing right through her before her body was crushed. “That was efficient,” Gaara commented, completely unperturbed by Naruto's viciousness, nor the two tails of brilliant red chakra waving back and forth behind him. “Are you still capable of rational thought?” Shino asked. Naruto growled angrily for a moment before the red chakra began to recede. “I... am... fine.” He bit out as his second tail was absorbed back into him, though he seemed to be struggling to tame his power. Once one tail was gone, it seemed to get much easier. “Is Hinata okay?” He asked, fearing that checking himself might cause his demonic aura to harm her. Shino looked at Naruto for a second to ensure he was in complete control, then knelt down to check on her. “She is unconscious, and she will be unable to manipulate her chakra for a few hours. I do not detect anything to indicate that there would be lasting damage.” “Who was that woman?” Naruto asked. He grabbed her hair and used a kunai to separate her head from what remained of her body. “She matches the description provided for one of our assassination targets, Hakino Hyuuga. She was taken into custody eight years ago when she attempted a coup again the Hyuuga clan, attempting to assassinate Hiashi. Hiashi easily overpowered her, but was taken by surprise and one of the branch members was killed.” Naruto sealed the head. “How did she sneak up on us? Between you me and Hinata, one of us should have seen her coming.” “I cannot provide a suitable explanation beyond a simple lack of vigilance on our parts and above average skill in stealth on her part,” Shino answered. “She is dead. It doesn't matter,” Gaara replied. She levitated Hinata on a bed of sand. “We should return her to base camp until she recovers. “I agree. Let's head back and get some food before we head out again. Hopefully Hinata will be recovered by then, otherwise we'll need to head out without her and I don't want to be without a strong counter to genjutsu users. If we ran into any, we would need to depend on you Shino. Our chakra reserves are too high and our seals interfere with our chakra control, making it almost impossible to get out on our own.” “I will ensure that my senses remain attuned to our surroundings by maintaining a dialogue with my allies. They are not affected by perception altering jutsu, but they can sense the chakra the jutsu emit.”

-Return of the Hummingbird-

“Good news!” Kankuro greeted, “A Suna and and Ame target team tried to pass... What happened to Hinata?” “The target, Hakino Hyuuga, eluded detection until she was within striking distance,” Shino answered. “She'll be up again soon, but she's staying here until tomorrow,” Naruto added. He paused, cocking his head to the side. “A Kumo team and an Ame team working together. One guard only and he fell asleep. Both were targets. My clone should have their heads here soon.” “You seem to have gotten past your emotional turbulence that interfered with your ability to terminate the lives of other humans,” Shino pointed out. Naruto stumbled, coming dangerously close to falling into the spike-filled pit. “I...” Naruto suddenly felt sick. He hadn't even been thinking about it. He had known they were targets, but they had not done anything to deserve death, but he had killed them. It had just kept getting easier and easier in wave until it had become no more than a mechanical process. Worse, he had enjoyed it. The thrill of stalking his prey and making a successful kill. He felt proud of how he had pulled it off, quickly and silently. Anko had been right, the cold kills had made it easier to accept, and he had accepted more than he had ever intended to. “They were right all along... I am a demon...” The faces of every person he killed flashed through his head, his mind overloading with the guilt. He grabbed his head, digging his nails into his scalp hard enough to draw blood, gritting his teeth at the horror of what he had done. “I should not have mentioned it,” Shino stated before driving the edge of his hand into the base of Naruto's skull, knocking him unconscious.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Rendajo, a woman from the Akamichi clan had immediately used her meat tank to try and attack the group of genin, not seeing the trap. Her body impaled itself on the spikes. The Kumo missing nin Awasuma met a similar fate, activating some sort of rock gauntlet jutsu before blindly attacking. The spy from Kusagakure, Ajinako, fared much better. She leapt over the pit, using Kankuro's Karasu puppet as leverage when it tried to intercept her. She did not fare so well against the wave of sand that rebuffed her, followed by a powerful downdraft that sent her hurtling towards the wooden spikes, courtesy of Temari... Or at least that is what they thought. Hinata had awoken in the middle of the fight and had activated her byakugan just in time to throw a kunai into the woman as she sneaked towards Temari with a kunai in hand. All of Hinata's extra weapons practice had paid off. Her kunai lodged itself into the base of Ajinako's skull, killing her instantly. Once Hinata was awake, it wasn't long before Naruto's mental state reverted to normal as well. “Yo, Naruto, let us through,” Kiba shouted. “Staying out here is too troublesome,” Shikamaru added his two cents with a depressing sigh. “Sure, you guys are cool.” “Wait!” Temari said, “How many points do you have?” “We have five points, beat that!” Kiba bragged. “Idiot, don't tell them that!” Ino smacked Kiba. “Seriously? Five points?” Naruto and Kankuro snickered. “Temari what's our total right now?” “Dead on two-hundred points... with extra dead,” Temari grinned and sent a wave of killing intent towards the other leaf nin. “You should have started with a black scroll like us. That's where the real points are.” “That would have been too troublesome,” Shikamaru grumbled, “Are you going to let us pass or not?” “Sure! Gaara, want to make them a safe path?” Naruto said. “No!” Temari said, “If they want to pass, they have to earn it. We want either a complete mission or intel on some of out opponents. We still have a bunch of losers and criminals to kill.” “There's been three guys with sword stalking us all day. If you want some of the criminals, then just let us through since they're following!” Ino yelled, making Naruto cringe at the volume. “Don't get your panties all in a twist,” Temari said with a dismissive wave as a thick layer of sand created a bridge over the traps, “Don't even think of trying anything though.” “That would also be too troublesome.”

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Considering their opponents, The next excursion opted to leave Hinata behind an bring Kankuro instead. Against kenjutsu, puppets were much more effective. It was not hard to locate them using Naruto's eyes. The three criminals had banded together as if they were another genin team. They had now stopped to eat and rest. “Have you identified them?” Naruto asked. “Mukei, a priest from the land of water. He was arrested after he used ninja techniques to torture and kill those who refused to convert. Known for using water attacks and a short whip-sword,” Shino said, identifying a bald, middle-aged man with a beatific smile. “Aotsuba, a missing-nin from Kumogakure. He is known for having an almost impenetrable kenjutsu style that he augments with defensive water jutsu.” This was a heavy-set man with short, dark hair. He was wearing blue samurai- style armor. “The final one is Shiden. He was a Kumogakure nin who uses raiton techniques with his sword.” “He sounds like the most difficult one to deal with. I'm going to send in three clones with attached paper bombs who will attack head on and explode when they are in the middle of the group. Kankuro, you're the most well suited to take a sword user so be ready to ambush the raiton user as soon as the explosion goes off. Gaara can take the priest and Shino can take the big guy. Since he fights defensively, your Kikai should be able to wear him down while you distract him. While you three fight, I'll try and ambush them from behind.” “Your strategy is acceptable,” Shino said. Gaara grunted and began to move towards her designated position. Naruto made three clones and transformed them to look like his team mates, placing an exploding tag under their clothes. The three clones raced into the middle of the three criminals, launching themselves at their designated targets. It seemed that they were not as stealthy as they had assumed. Before the clones could engage, all three had swords through them, turning them into nothing more than wisps of smoke, leaving sizzling tags in their wake. The three enemies leapt away from the explosive tags, avoiding most of the damage. They were quickly engaged by the three who had lain in wait for them and slowly drawn away from the clearing. Naruto went to Gaara first. Though she was technically the most powerful next to himself, she was much weaker than she had become accustomed to and her skills were far behind what they had been a week before. It seemed he had made the right choice. Each time the mad priest swung his sword at the girl, a deluge of water turned her sand into sluggish mud. Naruto made three shadow clones. One went after Shino and another towards Kankuro while the final one charged at Mukei. The hairless priest whipped his flexible blade towards Gaara. The sword hit the sand shield Gaara threw up with the broad side of its blade, bending almost doubled over as its tip headed for Gaara's body. A shard of compressed sand was carved from Gaara's arm before the sword bounced off and reversed direction, severing the muscles of its own wielder's arm just below the elbow and caused him to drop the sword. The clone slammed a hand into the priest's back, scrambling his heart. “He was not trained as a ninja,” Gaara pointed out, sounding almost disappointed at the ease of the battle. “Maybe the other two will provide more of a challenge,” Naruto consoled as he decapitated the dead monk and sealed the head. “Lets help Kankuro first.”

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Shiden was ready for the ambush, charging lightning chakra into his katana as soon as the three nin had invaded their camp. He drew his katana in a feat of battoujutsu prowess, slicing through his opponent with ease. When he heard the sizzle, he did not even wait to see if his opponent was dead before leaping for the trees, his movements were accelerated by the explosion that followed a moment later. When he saw the figure dash out of the trees, he let lose a crescent of crackling energy that exploded against the hooded figure's chest. His opponent was knocked aside, but seemed to gain an unearthly balance as he righted himself from a position almost parallel to the ground before attacking again, a sword appearing in his hand. Shiden blocked the sword and dodged away as his opponent spit a senbon at him. He ran around his opponent and watched in horrified fascination as the man's head spun around to follow him. He fired another arc of electricity. The man's head was severed from his body and he crumpled lifelessly to the ground. “Now to see what kind of freak you are,” Shiden walked over to the corpse and looked down at the severed head. Something didn't quite seem right about the man's face. The head turned on its own to look at him, the eyes spinning impossibly in their sockets. Shiden leapt back in shock and a blade erupted from his chest. He looked at the blood covered implement for a moment, not comprehending how his opponent could stab him in the back while he was decapitated. Then he slid off the blade and fell to the ground, dead.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Naruto and Gaara arrived at Kankuro's location just as Naruto's clone finished sealing the head into a scroll. “Let's go get Shino's opponent now. Three on one should be easy.” Naruto said just before a scream of pain echoed through the forest from nearby. “Shino!” It took only a moment to find Shino. He was laying on the ground, holding himself up with his elbow. His side was impaled with a chokuto and his mantis blades lay beside him on the ground. Aotsuba was standing over their fallen comrade, a shimmering blue bubble surrounding him. “Shino!” Naruto launched himself at the bubble, but his attack slid off of the slick surface without doing any damage. It did not, however, impede Aotsuba from throwing a Kunai through it, grazing Naruto's hip. Kankuro's puppet had no greater effect with the poisoned senbon needles it sent glancing off the shield. “Desert Coffin!” The sand could not get a grip and sent the bubble spinning into the air. This caused no damage, but disoriented Aotsuba as he tried to maintain his position. “Gaara, roll him this way!” Naruto focused on creating the largest flame he could. Tongues of blue fire swirled in his hands before he shoved them straight through the bubble shield, the water evaporating before his hands came in contact with it. He pulled Aotsuba out of the jutsu and threw him onto the blades of Kankuro's waiting puppet.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

“Did you find him?” Minato asked when Itachi returned from the forest. “Yes, but I was too late. I managed to kill a mud clone, but by that time he had already marked Sasuke and escaped.” “That's unfortunate. We probably could have prevented the entire invasion if he had been killed here,” Minato sighed, “It looks like we need to go through with that plan after all.” “Shikaku doesn't like it, there's a good chance that Sarutobi will end up falling to Orochimaru if we don't time things right. If we're lucky, he might fall for the first trap, but I don't think even he is that arrogant.” “And, that's why you'll be with him while I proctor the third exam. Hopefully, the two of you together will be enough to stop whatever Orochimaru has planned, but even if one group dies, there will be someone ready to take up the Hokage's seat, one way or another.” “Unless both you and Sarutobi die. Even if I am fully trained in the Hokage's duties,” Itachi said, “I am an S-ranked nuke-nin in the Bingo Book.” “A lot of S-ranked secrets will be revealed whether things go according to plan or not.” “I am not sure that the village is ready for it.”

Chapter 27: Solo Mission

Hinata had managed to stop the bleeding and bandage him up, but Shino was out of commission and would likely remain that way for the remainder of the exam until he could get help from a more experienced medic. While they had been fighting the swordsmen, Temari and Hinata had allowed another group of leaf genin to pass after taking out one of their target Kumogakure teams. All that remained now were two Suna teams, an Ame team, an Oto team and three criminals. “We're running out of time,” Temari pointed out. “And Gaara and I are the only ones even close to full strength, but that's mostly because of our demons and the fact that Gaara is used to not sleeping.” “And we've agreed that we want to complete all the missions in that scroll,” Gaara added. “We've got some extras from those that fell to the traps, and another two low level missions from those swordsmen. I didn't bother going through Aotsuba's things, Shino's life was more important.” “There is no choice. With the number of wounded, we can't afford to send out more than one person,” Temari said, “Gaara still isn't in fill control of his abilities, which means that it's up to you.” “Okay,” Naruto agreed, “If I need backup, I'll give you a signal and you can use you fan to fly to my location.” Naruto held out a rather large explosive tag for a moment. “You shouldn't be able to miss it.”

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Naruto found Sakura Haruno facing off against a group of Oto nin. Naruto recognized the targets, one of which was missing his right forearm and had somehow acquired some sort of prosthetic that he had attached his weapon to. “You should just give up pinkie,” the Oto nin laughed, “You stand no chance against a real ninja. If you stand aside, I might just let you live after the Uchiha is dead.” Sakura Haruno glared angrily at her attacker, “I won't let you lay a finger on a single hair of Sasuke-kun's head.” Naruto made a clone and sent it out to back up the pink-haired banshee. “Yeah!” the clone shouted, “Considering the amount of time he takes sculpting his hair into a perfect replica of a ducks butt, it would just be too cruel to mess with it.” “Baka!” Sakura punched the clone, making it disappear in a puff of smoke. “No, the idiot is the one who ruined my distraction!” Naruto threw out three kunai and left a clone hidden in the bushes as he stepped out. “Zankuuha!” One of the Oto nin moved and raised his arms, sending out a blast of air that sent the Kunai off course. “You leaf weaklings are no match–” He was cut off by a palm slamming into his throat at speeds he couldn't even follow. “I admit, there are certain leaf ninja who don't take being a shinobi seriously,” Naruto said, leveling a glare at Sakura, “However, none of them are on my team.” Naruto dashed forward and slammed into the Oto nin, knocking him to the floor as he avoided an attack from the one-armed ninja. “Are you okay Zaku?” The only response was a slight gurgling as Zaku began drowning in his own blood. “Damn!” Naruto cocked his fist and ran straight towards his attacker. “Dosu! Watch out!” “Shut up Kin, I know what I'm doing!” Dosu swung his false arm forward, but Naruto was no longer there. Instead, Naruto had leapt over him, slamming a kunai right through Kin's heart. “And then there was one,” Naruto chuckled as he moved towards his remaining opponent, a shadow clone sneaking out behind Dosu from out of the trees. “Wait! I have a five point mission, already complete. If you let me go you can have it!” Dosu said. “Well, that's too bad,” Naruto said, “Because, when I kill you, that will make it an even twenty.” Naruto took a step forward with a bloodthirsty smile. Dosu took a step back and felt a hand on the back of his neck a moment before his spinal cord was severed by the clone's juukouken before the clone dispersed. “Is Chouji alright?” Naruto asked. “I don't know,” Sakura admitted as she fearfully backed away from Naruto, “Weasel showed up and saved us from a creepy Kusa nin. “Has your team completed any missions?” “Yes, but the Kusa nin destroyed out mission scroll.” “Search the bodies for their mission, then I'll take you to the tower. If you want to live, you will listen to me until then. No one gets to the tower without my teams approval.” Sakura nodded hesitantly. “Well, what are you waiting for, search the bodies.” Naruto punctuated the command by decapitating one of the corpses. Sakura jumped in fright then moved to do as he had commanded. “Too bad you're a leaf nin,” Naruto sighed quietly, “I should be allowed to kill anything that annoying.” Sakura shivered, then picked up her pace, not wanting to further irritate Naruto after seeing him callously slaughter an entire genin team easily on his own.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Mizuki glared at the blond boy who was carrying the Uchiha and the Akamichi boy. The demon had been meant to fail his exam so he could trick the boy into stealing the forbidden scroll for him, but no, he had passed. Despite his best efforts, the demon spawn had passed with honors. It made him sick to think that the monster was now a Shinobi. At least the pink haired one was human, not that he would mind killing her too. Mizuki stealthily followed. It was quite amazing that he could make a solid clone strong enough to carry someone at his age, but then demons were always strong. It would be best to kill this one before he became too powerful. Then, he would show Orochimaru how much of an asset he was. He took careful aim, then let fly his fuuma shuriken. The large-bladed projectile ripped right through the demon and his clone, then the entire group before him disappeared in a puff of smoke. “You know, I always thought you were a crappy teacher,” a voice spoke behind him as a metal blade pressed against his throat. “But, I was wrong. You're just a crappy ninja.”

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Naruto dispelled his clone after being handed a scroll and a supply pack. “Fifteen more points. I wish I was better at math. We must be close to three hundred points by now.” “That's not possible!” Sakura shrieked, but a glare from Naruto silenced her. “It's simple enough when you actually train instead of fawning over a stuck up prick.” Naruto looked down at the Uchiha. There was some sort of containment seal around another fresh seal on his neck. Whatever it was, he didn't like it and wanted to dump him in the tower as soon as possible. “Naruto-kun!” Tenten and her team showed up. Naruto tossed the black haired piece of dead weight to Sakura then ran over and kissed his fiancée. “I'm glad you're alright,” Naruto said, “A bunch of stuff has been going down and the forest was dangerous enough without it.” “Sakura! My beautiful flower of youthfulness!” Rock Lee shouted, approaching the horrified genin. “She's really shallow, isn't she,” Tenten said, watching as Sakura cringed away from the green- clad taijutsu expert. A group of Taki nin followed, stopping along with Neji who gave Naruto a piercing glare. “Tenten, rather than kissing him, you should knock him out and take his scrolls. Even if he is from the same village, he is an enemy for this exam.” “If I didn't love Tenten, I'd invite you to try and get to the tower without my help. You wouldn't stand a chance,” Naruto said. “And what would stop us?” One of the other Taki nin asked. “Aside of a fox the size of a house that breathes fire, an unbreakable barrier with a single well guarded entrance, and more traps than you could ever hope to detect and evade, absolutely nothing.” “I say we listen to him. We already have enough points to pass,” the third member of the team said. “Good, follow me and you'll find yourselves arriving safely at our destination.”

-Return of the Hummingbird- The the two Suna teams were found incapacitated on the way to the tower. Naruto wasted no time in taking their heads and looting their corpses. Apparently, they had set a trap for a far superior opponent and lost. However, it didn't matter to Naruto who had defeated them as long as he got what he needed. The others in the group, however, were far less enthusiastic about his merciless methods. “Naruto! You didn't need to kill them! They were already beaten,” Sakura yelled at him. “What part of ninja don't you understand? We get paid to do jobs that involve killing.” “But you already have the Oto nins, I thought they were your target.” “Sakura, my groups point total is over two-hundred. Except for one red mission, the rest were black. My team is specialized as an assassination team. We specialize in killing people and we are very, very good at it. Your team is supposed to be a combat and demolition team, yet I have so far been unimpressed with your combat and demolition skills.” “Well, that's just because Sasuke-kun–” “Is unconscious like your other team mate. If I hadn't been there, your precious Sasuke-kun would have died right after you. You need to start taking responsibility,” Naruto said, disappearing and reappearing behind her, pressing a kunai against her throat, “Or, next time this will be an enemy and your whole squad could die because you were too weak to defend yourself.” Sakura shivered at the killing intent he was radiating. “Naruto-kun,” Tenten latched onto Naruto's back, “You know it gets me all hot when you start playing with the sharps.” Naruto released Sakura and the Taki shinobi chuckled at the interaction. “I think you and my sensei get along a little too well.”

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Naruto reported his progress to the group after they had let the other Konoha groups pass. There were now only a team from Ame, an Iwa spy named Tsunomaru, and a nuke nin from Yugakure called Maitai. Meanwhile, on their side, Shino was still in bad condition and needed proper medical attention and Hinata was still weak from their encounter with Hakino. Temari had been on guard duty far too long and was getting tired. Only Gaara, Kankuro and Naruto were in good enough condition to fight near their full capacities, but Naruto's energy was slowly running out due to his constant use of shadow clones. “Gaara, can you and Kankuro keep the area secure on your own?” Naruto asked, “I can't afford to keep so many shadow clones running anymore and everyone else needs rest.” “Don't worry about us,” Kankuro said, “Are you going to be okay?” “One more solo run,” Naruto said, “After that, I'll need to rest and I don't want to do it in the forest.” “Our time is running short,” Gaara pointed out, “This will have to be the last one.” “Hinata, do you have any soldier pills?” Naruto asked. “Yes, I have some,” Hinata looked at him with concern in her eyes, “Are you feeling alright?” “Nothing a good week of sleep won't cure,” Naruto grinned and took the pair of soldier pills Hinata had offered him, swallowing one immediately and putting the other into a pocket for later in case he needed it. He hadn't had a chance to sleep since the Iwa group had knocked him out.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Naruto hadn't been out long when he heard the sound of crying. He followed the noise, finding a kunoichi he had never seen before curled up in the roots of a tree. “Hey,” Naruto called out. The kunoichi looked up, her shaggy brown ponytail jerking violently from the motion. There was dry blood smeared across her cheek and her brilliant green eyes looked around in an attempt to be intimidating despite their redness from crying. “Who's there?” “Hi, I'm Naruto!” Naruto revealed himself and casually walked towards the girl. “Are you okay?” “I'm fine. You'd better leave!” She pointed a kunai at him. “If your team mates are dead, I can help you get out of here,” Naruto offered, “I can't stand to see such a pretty girl cry.” “What about your own team?” the girl asked, “Don't they need you?” “No, we already lost, two of out allies died when a giant centipede got the drop on us. My team is used to this place, but they were from Suna and just weren't suited for jungle survival. I managed to save the girl though. Frankly, I think it was a good riddance, one of the two guys wore makeup and played with dolls. The other guy kept hitting on me, and that was kind of awkward.” The girl gave a faint smile. “Thanks, I'd really like your help.” The kunai she held dropped a bit and Naruto smiled, walking forward until he was right in front of her. “You know,” Naruto ran a thumb across her cheek, making the girl blush before he suddenly grabbed her hand and forced it to jab her own kunai into her heart. “I didn't see you in the first exam, and when you cry, there are usually tears and your cheeks are dry.” The image of a girl faded and Naruto fond himself with a much less attractive rock ninja pinned against the tree. Because he was taller than the image he had projected, the kunai had only impaled his stomach and not his heart. “Doton: Doryuusou!” Naruto's opponent said, grabbing Naruto's hand between his as he formed a bird seal. Naruto twisted as a rock spike shot out of the ground, trying to impale him. He jumped as another formed under his foot, forcing him to flip over the man and attach is feet to the tree. He couldn't move though because the man was still tightly clasping his hand. “Tsunomaru, I presume?” Naruto asked as he stood head to head with the Iwa nin. “It won't make a difference to you, but yes, you're about to be killed by Tsunomaru, the greatest master of the earth flow spears since my sensei.” Another cone of earth lanced out from the first one, aiming to impale Naruto through the chest.” “Been there, done that,” Naruto said, remembering when he had gone with his father to visit Tsunade, “Why don't you see how it feels?” Naruto did a vertical situp, pulling Tsunomaru right into the path of his own jutsu. “And they say weight training is an outdated method,” Naruto grinned. After a few minutes of searching, he found his Ame targets impaled on earth spears. One of them even had his pants half off. “Pervert,” Naruto growled as he cut off the nin's head to seal in the scroll. He did, however find a completed red mission in their possession.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Maitai proved to be much more elusive, until she fell on top of him. “Hello!” She yelled, sitting on his shoulders, grabbing a fist-full of hair to keep herself balanced as Naruto fell, missing the tree he had been aiming for. Naruto hit the ground hard and the girl jumped off, then with a grin, spun towards him and raised her hands into a giant victory V. Her smile was as impressive as Gai or Lee's smile when doing the nice-guy pose, but far less disturbing. She wore skin- tight, black tube top and spats with lines of tiny claw-like knives on belts around her thighs. Her hair was a shade of pink on par with Sakura's and was pulled back into two puffy pigtails like an elementary-school girl and had the height to match. “Wanna play?” “Exactly how old are you?” Naruto asked. This caused the girl to go red with embarrassment. “I'm Maitai. chunin Yu-nin, slice and dice and woo nin, years are twenty-two-nin, so whatcha gonna do, nin?!” She introduced herself with a singsong voice and performed a dance that well suited her child-like stature, looking rather proud of herself. “Don'tcha know that it's impolite to ask a woman her age?” She gave him a pouty stare. “Uhh, that is weird, but a lot cooler than Ero-sennin's intro. It's a shame that I have to kill you now.” “Why?” She asked innocently. “Because it's my mission,” he responded. “Why?” “Because you're a missing-nin.” “Why?” “You're really starting to annoy me.” “Why?” “You know, I no longer feel conflicted about killing you.” Naruto dashed forward and threw a punch at Maitai's face. She dodged by arching her back, forming a bridge before her legs snapped out, slamming into his stomach with a deceptively large amount of force. Naruto flew straight up, but was suddenly stopped by a solid kick to the back of the neck that ploughed him into the dirt. She landed on his back, driving the air from his lungs. “Missed me!” She taunted, pulling at his hair. Naruto was quite irritated. From this position, there was a dozen ways she could have inflicted what would be a mortal wound on most people. He tried rolling over to trap her, but she just laughed and cartwheeled away. Naruto chased the woman for close to an hour. No matter what he tried, at the last minute, she would twist her body away, avoiding his attack. She was not even trying to fight him, just dodging and performing unbelievable acrobatics. “Getting tired?” Maitai asked as he began to slow down. “Of course I am. I've been fighting you forever.” It didn't help that he had been tired before he had even begun. “Then let's play a game while you rest.” “What game?” Naruto asked. “The copycat game!” She announced, “First I do something, and you have to copy me, no techniques or anything. Then you do something, and I copy you. If you can't do what the other person did, you have to do something they ask you to do no matter what it is.” “I agree.” Naruto grinned. The healing of the Kyuubi gave him some big advantages. “Okay, here I go!” Maitai took her right arm and bent the elbow back until the palm of her hand was pressed against the back of her shoulder. “Did you know, I am completely double-jointed?” she asked with a victorious smile. Naruto growled, but then dislocated his elbow and performed the same feat much more painfully. “There. I won that one.” “Wow! Most people give up when I do that one!” Maitai exclaimed, impressed with his determination. “My turn!” Naruto announced. He reset his elbow and looked around. He noticed one of the same type of plants that they had used to poison the stupid brothers. He grabbed several leaves and made a stack which he swallowed hole. “Let's see you do that!” Naruto challenged. Maitai grabbed her own stack of leaves and swallowed them easily. “I won't give up on something that easy!” She looked at him confidently, then bent her back over, grabbing her ankles and bringing her head up between her legs and looked at him. “Try to do this!” Naruto tried, but wasn't nearly flexible enough and didn't want to risk breaking his back. “I can't do it,” he admitted. He could feel himself beginning to sweat. The poison of the leaves was beginning to take effect. “What do you want me to do?” “It's getting kind of hot. Carry me to the nearest river and go swimming with me.” Maitai ordered. She jumped onto his back and yelled, “Go, horsey!” Naruto headed towards the river that ran past the tower. He could feel that she was getting hot, developing a fever while his own was quickly disappearing. “Did you know, that I can heal from pretty much anything? Even most poisons?” Naruto asked. “Poisons?” She moaned. “Yes, like those poisonous leaves we swallowed.” He altered directions as he approached his base camp. “Nrrgh,” she moaned. Naruto approached the camp. “I caught the last one!” He called out. “Good, now we can finally get p-proper medical t-treatment for Shino,” Hinata said. “We let another group pass us. It was Kabuto's team.” Temari said. “Akama!” Naruto called. The fox came bounding out of the woods and leapt over the traps. “Kankuro, activate the other traps.” Naruto and Gaara extended the pit trap so that even with the help of jutsu, it would be difficult to pass.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Akama, unfortunately, could not fit within the low narrow door that was the entrance to the tower and had to stay outside. Naruto swore to himself that once the exam was over, he would focus his efforts on learning the fox transformation technique properly so that he could teach it to Akama. Perhaps then the fox would even be able to learn hand seals and perform human jutsu as well, eliminating the need to rely on the older, more irritating fox in his gut. The group came upon A room where Kurenai, the Exam proctor, was waiting with their sensei. “Times almost up brats. It would have been an embarrassment if you had not made it at least this far,” their sensei ribbed, clearly smirking at the fact that her 'rookie' team had made it this far, “What's with the package?” “Maitai, one of our targets. If left untreated, she'll die, but she really didn't seem all that bad. If she hasn't done anything but run away from home, I thought I'd give her a chance to earn her keep in a month in return for her help, assuming the lack of crimes on her profile was accurate.” “You didn't accidentally marry another one did you?” Anko chuckled. “No. This one is unattached,” Naruto grumbled, the joke was getting old, no matter how true it usually was recently. “You can chat later. Time is running out, so let's see if you have any scrolls to back up your entrance to this tower.” “Twenty-five black, 1 red, a handful of lower ones that really don't make much difference, and one clue to find a traitor.” Naruto and his team dropped their mission scrolls and proof scrolls onto the provided table. “Some idiot put out a mission for the head of the son of the Hokage. Definitely treason.” Anko growled irritably, “And worse, for my team leader. As if we didn't have enough trouble with an invasion to prepare for.” “Naruto is the jinchuuriki for Konoha. I am expected to unleash Shukaku,” Gaara pointed out. “That would leave only Tsunade and Jiraiya with the capability of dealing with the attack, taking some of our most powerful ninja out of the main battle. This means that there are highly placed conspirators within Konoha working with Orochimaru,” Kurenai expounded. Anko sighed and triggered a hidden passage that led to an arena. “It will be starting soon. Wait in there while we report all this to the Hokage.” “W-what about Shino. He ne-needs a medic,” Hinata asked. “We'll arrange something,” Kurenai assured her, “You did well with his field treatment, he'll survive another few minutes.” Hinata blushed at the complement.

Chapter 28: First Preliminary Round

Naruto surveyed the room. It was a large arena with a viewing balcony. There were doors at both the end of the room they had entered and on the opposite side. Next to the far door was a statue of a pair of hands in the ram seal that reached all the way up to the ceiling, splitting the balcony into two sections, the slightly larger one containing a more ornate seating area where his father currently resided. Noticing his team, Naruto's father gave them a nod and a wave. At the ceiling on the other side of the hokage was a large scoreboard with a timer that was counting down the last few minutes until the examination was finished. Stationed at various points around the room were the various teams that had passed. Tenten's team and their Taki associates were in one group. Sasuke and Shikamaru's teams were each on their own. Kabuto's team was with a Kumo team and a Kiri team. Another leaf team that Naruto did not recognize was with an Ame team. When the countdown finished, Kurenai entered and handed a scroll to Hummingbird, whispering something in his ear. He nodded, then stood to address the crowd. Of genin and their instructors. Congratulations to all of you who have made it this far. I am known as Hummingbird, and I am the Hokage of Konoha and will be the proctor for the third exam, but, first, it will be my duty to tell you the truth about this exam. “Some of you probably think that the purpose of the exams is to determine who deserves to be chunin. That is false. For every genin promoted to chunin due to the exam, there are five who were given field promotions. This is not just a test of who can toss a kunai, THIS IS WAR!” Half the genin recoiled in shock at this loud and sudden declaration. “It is a battlefield that tests the strength and will of each village. The final exam will be individual battles in front of an audience of some of the most influential men and women in the elemental nations. It will show them which village is worthy to gain their patronage, and which are too weak to deserve it. A strong showing at the chunin exams means many clients and a lot of funds for that village. A weak showing will result is fewer missions and lower funds, resulting in weakness that invites destruction. You are not fighting for your own sakes, you are fighting for the right of your village to exist. “That being said, you may choose to forfeit your matches if you feel you can not win at any time. Your sensei or myself may also call the matches at any time if you are incapacitated or there is no chance of winning. Unfortunately, due to the format of the exams there are a larger number of participants left at this time, though we feel that you have received a much fairer judgment of your skills because of the format we used which will reflect on your chances of becoming chunin in the final round. Before then, however, we must reduce the numbers. Team twenty-one only acquired one point, that is not sufficient for a team that wants to become chunin and we don't want to waste the time of the dignitaries who will be coming to watch the final tournament.” The team of Konoha nin that Naruto didn't recognize looked dejected while the Ame team began loudly complaining. “SILENCE!” the hokage shouted, ending the complaints with powerful burst of killing intent, “My judgments are final. You will accept them willingly, or by deadly force. The team with the most points was team ten with three-hundred-and-ninety-three points, almost one-hundred times the next leading team.” This created an eruption of gasps and unbelieving comments which took a few moments to settle. “As a reward for this, each team that makes up team ten may choose one member to automatically pass on to the finals.” “We choose Shino Aburame and Sabaku no Gaara!” Naruto replied immediately. A group of medic-nin immediately led Shino away to treat his wounds. “Why did you choose me?” Gaara asked curiously, with an edge of danger that told Naruto that his answer had better be a good one. “First, because you still need to train to get your control back to where it was before we fixed your seal. Second, because I promised to protect you. And, finally, because you are the one who is important to Orochimaru's invasion plan, this makes it seem like you are assuring success.” Gaara grunted in acquiescence, but did not look very happy about her loss of a chance to battle. “Now, We will need to cut the remaining participants by about three quarters, so you will each have to participate in at least two preliminary matches. Does anyone want to forfeit now? The remainder of the exam will be testing individual skills, so your choice will not affect the rest of your group in any way.” “I'll forfeit now. As a medical specialist, my skills aren't suited to individual fights and I am almost out of chakra.” “Very well, Kabuto Yakushi is hereby withdrawn from the exams. Does anyone else want to forfeit?” Naruto's father asked. He waited for a while before he continued. “The scoreboard will choose random pairings of the remaining participants, though you will be paired against someone from other groups if there are any remaining. The two fighters will move to the arena, and will begin fighting when I say start. You are allowed to use any means necessary to defeat your opponent as long as it does not endanger the audience. If I or either combatants sensei stops the match, both combatants will immediately cease hostilities or be disqualified. If a participant is killed before the match starts or after it concludes or during a match they were not a participant in, the killer will be charged with murder, and if necessary executed. Any interference with the matches will result in both the interferer and the one being interfered on behalf of to be immediately disqualified. Any questions?” No one had any questions. “Then let's begin the first match.” Names began to flash on the scoreboard until they settled on Lee and Raiun. “YOSH!” Li shouted, “MY FLAMES OF YOUTH HAVE TRIUMPHED IN ALLOWING ME TO BE THE FIRST TO FIGHT! LET US HAVE A YOUTHFUL BATTLE!” He leapt acrobatically into the arena, landing with a thumbs up and bright smile for the crowd. Many shuddered at his fashion sense. His opponent was not much better. Like many from Kumo, he was dark skinned and fair haired. He was of average height and well muscled. He wore and open blue vest and a pair of baggy harem pants. On his hands were a pair of leather gloves with large, studded, dark metal knuckle-guards. He smirked confidently, then slammed his fists together to create an electrifying flash. “This match will end in a single punch.” He stated, taking a defensive stance. “I accept your challenge!” Lee said, “Let our flames of youth dazzle out fellow competitors!” He took his own stance. “You may begin!” The hokage announced. Raiun dashed forward and swung a fist glowing with raiton energy at Rock Lee's head. Then, his target disappeared. “Gouken!” In the blink of an eye, Raiun slammed into the opposite wall and remained stuck, but unconscious, in the impact crater. “Winner, Rock Lee!” “Did you see his speed?” Naruto asked excitedly, “Even with those weights, he's almost as fast as I am! I hope I get to fight him.” “He was wearing weights?” Kiba asked, coming over to talk with them, “There's no way someone can move that fast while wearing weights.” “Lee's flames of youth do burn brightly!” Maito Gai responded proudly, “He wears two hundred pounds on each arm and leg.” “Gai-sensei!” Lee yelled, tears streaming from his eyes as he caught his teacher in a flying hug. “Lee!” Gai responded. “Gai-sensei!” “Lee! As if two men hugging in green spandex was not bad enough, a sunset genjutsu appeared behind them. “My eyes!” Kiba cried out, then started whimpering. Several of the present shinobi tried to dispel the genjutsu, but were unable to. Those who knew Gai well had turned away before the danger had occurred. Some of the foreign teams looked faintly sick. “Now, moving right along,” the hokage said as the medics dragged Raiun from the room, “Let's begin the next battle.” The scoreboard once again began randomizing names. “Will Ino Yamanaka and Misumi Tsurugi please enter the arena,” Hummingbird waited for the two competitors to descend, “You may begin whenever you're ready.” “You should just forfeit right now. A weak girl like you wouldn't stand a chance against a shinobi like me.” “I don't give up that easily. I'm not as weak as forehead-girl!” Ino scoffed, taking a relaxed stance. You can't say I didn't warn you,” Misumi began to laugh. A moment later, Ino was sent flying from a punch that seemed to stretch Misumi's arm half way across the arena. She hit the ground and rolled with a pained grunt. “What was that?” Ino moaned rising up to a crouched position. She dodged Misumi's next punch only for it to curve around and grab her arm. She was pulled towards her opponent, hastily trying to perform hand seals as Misumi coiled around her like a snake. “Surrender, or I'll squeeze until your bones are crushed.” As if to demonstrate the point, his arm snaked down and he grabbed her ass. “PERVERT!” Ino slammed her forehead into his nose, stunning him for a moment. “Shintenshin no Jutsu!” Ino slumped as if unconscious, then Misumi released her, tied his own arms and legs in knots, then announced smugly, “I, the perverted loser Misumi Tsurugi, forfeit this match to the beautiful and talented kunoichi Ino Yamanaka!” “Ino Yamanaka is the winner by forfeit!” Naruto's father announced. “Yes!” Ino jumped up and performed a victory dance. “No! I didn't forfeit! It was her!” Misumi objected, rolling around, frantically trying to undo the knots. “Even if it didn't count, you have been sufficiently incapacitated that you can not win. My decision is final.” “Way to go Ino! Ha! He looks like a pretzel!” Kiba laughed. “Isn't that the knot we're supposed to use on prisoners to keep them from making hand seals?” Naruto asked. Ino proudly climbed the stairs back up to the balcony. “Good job. Very creative restraint technique,” Asuma praised his student. “Tch. Troublesome,” was her other teammate's remark. “Now, the next match will be...” The scoreboard began flipping through random names once again. “Hiun from Kumogakure versus Hisen from Takigakure!” Two ninjas leapt into the arena. Hisen looked fairly normal as far as ninjas go. His opponent, however, seemed quite eccentric, even by ninja standards. He wore hakama and suikan with geta on his feet like some sort of priest. The sleeves of his suikan extended down well past his hands. A hood rose out of his suikan, draping over his face so that only his thin, tight, creepy smile was exposed. “Ready?” Both competitors nodded, Hiun licking his lips in anticipation. “Begin!” Hisen opened with a flurry of shuriken. Hiun spun in place like a ballerina, his flapping sleeves seeing to knock the projectiles off course. When Hisen stopped launching his shuriken, Hiun stopped spinning with his back to his opponent before suddenly leaning backwards and sticking one leg up into the air. Hisen, angered by the irritating upside down grin, rushed at his opponent. Though Hiun's guard seemed to be down, it was merely unconventional. Just as Hisen was about to stab Hiun with a kunai, Hiun flexed the leg that was supporting him, allowing Hisen to pass right under him. Very few of the genin saw what happened next. As Hiun majestically glided over Hisen's head, his sleeve glanced against the base of Hisen's skull. By the time Hiun's feet hit the floor, Hisen had fallen, dead, to the ground. “Hiun is the winner.” There was silence for a few seconds before people began to mutter. “Well, he died quick,” Anko sighed, “That was barely entertaining at all.” “He's dead!” Sakura looked rather sick at the thought. “Did anyone see what he did?” Kiba asked. “I did,” Naruto confirmed. “I as well,” Neji added confidently. “I'm an Uchiha, of course I saw something as slow as that!” Sasuke bragged. “Yeah, right...” Naruto mocked, “I suppose you saw both stabs of the hidden kunai.” “Of course. My eye wouldn't miss something–” “Like the fact that he wasn't using a kunai at all, oh great and all-seeing Uchiha,” Naruto snickered. Sasuke growled angrily. “We'll see how funny you find it when I beat you.” “The next match is Naruto of Konoha versus Hibaki of Taki!” Naruto's father announced. “Keep your eyes open Sasuke, wouldn't want you to miss this,” Naruto taunted as he leapt into the arena. Sasuke glared at him angrily, but said nothing. He didn't have to, Sakura had begun ranting about how he shouldn't badmouth Sasuke. “Just because you had a lot of points doesn't mean I'll lose to you!” Hibaki challenged, though he sounded unsure of himself. “No, you'll do that because I'm better than you,” Naruto replied, taking a relaxed position with his hands in his pockets, much like he'd see Shikamaru do on several occasions. He wanted to make the fight look easy to shake the confidence of his future opponents. “Are you both ready?” The two competitors nodded. “Begin!” Hibaki immediately leapt away from Naruto as if expecting an attack, but Naruto merely watched him lazily. “Do you want a handicap?” Naruto asked, “I won't use my hands at all if that will make you feel better.” “Don't get too cocky!” Hibaki took another step back and withdrew some shuriken which he threw at Naruto. Naruto dodged them all without moving from the spot he had started in. “You could give up now and save yourself some embarrassment,” Naruto idly taunted, “Or are you going to start trying now?” Naruto didn't really feel like killing this kid. He obviously wasn't chunin material yet and Taki was allied with Konoha. Hibaki leapt high into the air, then shot downwards with his leg extended for a piercing kick. “I'll won't give up!” Naruto leaned forward, causing Hibaki's kick to fly over him. As his torso went down, his leg went up in a powerful heel kick that caused every male, including Naruto, to cringe in sympathy. “Sorry,” Naruto said. “Hibaki is unable to continue! The winner is Naruto!” The hokage finally announced. No one wanted to be his next opponent after that victory. “The next match is Temari of the Sand against Oyu of the Mist!” It was another short battle. Oyu tried to use a super-heated version of the hidden mist technique, but Temari just blew the mist, and Oyu, away with her fan. The next battle was a Konoha nin, Yoroi, against a Kumo nin, Kanden. Yoroi used some sort of jutsu that allowed him to steal his opponent's chakra using his hands. At first Kanden tried to keep his distance, but Yoroi's glancing blows were wearing him down. At the last minute, Kanden desperately activated a defensive lightning jutsu that disrupted Yoroi's technique. It seemed that Yoroi had few other skills, and with his chakra draining ability disabled, he was quickly defeated in a 'shocking' taijutsu display. “The next battle is Sayu of Kiri against Tenten of Konoha!” “Go Tenten! Kick her ass!” Naruto cheered his fiancée. She answered him with a happy grin as eight kunai seemed to magically appear in her hande. The mist nin remained silent until the match began. “Suiton: Kirigakure no Jutsu!” Sayu breathed out a thick cloud of mist that obscured the field. Tenten took to the air to get a better view of the battlefield, landing on the statue of the hands. She remained there for several minutes, hoping that her opponent would reveal herself or run out of chakra from maintaining the mist. During this period of waiting, she came to the conclusion that she needed to learn some wide area ninjutsu in order to draw out hidden opponents. Eventually, She noticed a flash of color through a briefly thinned portion of the rolling mists and began launching projectiles all around the area. “Suiton: Teppoudama!” Tenten realized too late that what she had seen in the mist was a mere bunshin as a water bullet knocked her from her perch and back into the mist. She rolled as she landed and brought out Naruto's gift. She flung the monstrous sword in the direction the water bullet had come from. The force of the sword temporarily cleared a path through the mist and she was able to see Sayu try to dive away from the blade. She almost made it, but the blade carved a deep gash from the front of her hip all the way to the middle of her shoulder blade. While not immediately life threatening, the would would surely slow her down and leave a nasty scar. “Where did you get that blade?” Sayu demanded. “Engagement present from Naruto-kun,” Tenten replied, “Didn't you listen to Kabuto when he blabbed all about Naruto before the first exam? One of those A-ranks was when he kicked Zabuza's ass!” This was not technically accurate. While he had surprised Zabuza with the Kyuubi's power the first time, he was not yet in the league of any member of the seven swordsmen. “Well I will just have to take it off your corpse when I win then!” Tenten threw some shuriken towards where she thought her opponent's voice originated from, but heard no signs of any of them hitting. Then, there was a drip, probably from the wound. Tenten leapt towards her injured opponent. It was another trap. She found herself enmeshed in ninja wire that stopper her movements as a series of traps went off, peppering Tenten with kunai. Then, in a moment of terrible realization, the mist thinned enough for her see her opponent standing in front of her and driving a katana up through her stomach and out her back. She coughed up blood. “The winner is Sayu! MEDICS!” “Tenten!” Naruto cried out. Neji merely watched expressionless while Tenten's other teammate and sensei cried youthful tears. Sayu limped over to the sword that was embedded in the wall and grabbed the hilt. She couldn't budge the blade at all. A presence was suddenly behind her, she could feel the power of the chakra hot against her back and killing intent that froze her in place. “If she dies, you join her, slowly.” Naruto growled. He grabbed the sword with a hand that was glowing faintly red and pulled the sword from the wall. He hefted the sword in one hand as if it was no larger than a butter knife, then leapt back up to the observation deck. Sayu fainted and the medics collected her. “That was an exciting match, though I wish it had ended differently. Next match is Sakura versus Kiba, both of Konohagakure!” The match was over in a single punch. Sakura stood no chance against the Inuzuka. “The next match is Shikamaru of Konoha against Tarumi of Taki! Begin!” “What a drag. Why do I have to fight a girl?” Shikamaru complained. “Just get down there and beat her!” Ino yelled at him before throwing him over the ledge. Shikamaru laid sprawled on the ground in the corner of the arena. “Are both competitors ready?” “Yes!” Tarumi answered. She looked much like Ino, except that her hair was a pale blue and her ponytail fanned out and became wavy at the bottom. “No,” Shikamaru said. “Okay, begin!” “Hey! I said I wasn't ready!” Shikamaru complained, “This is too troublesome.” Tarumi ran straight at him, hoping to take advantage of his lack of horizontal positioning. She fell right into his trap, stepping on his shadow and freezing. “Hey! I can't move!” Shikamaru sighed and mimed walking from his position on the ground. “Hmm, yellow. I was expecting blue.” He muttered as her mimicking of his movements had her pas over him and giving him a clear view of her panties. “You pervert! The minute I can move again I am going to kick your perverted ass!” “You're too loud. Why must women be so troublesome?” Shikamaru sat up. The same motion mimicked by Tarumi had her bending suddenly at the waist and ramming her head violently into the wall, leaving her bowed, unconscious to the ground, and revealing the yellow panties to everyone on the other side of the stadium, specifically right towards Kiba who had traversed over there in order to hang out with Naruto. “Shika! You're the best teammate ever!” Kiba cheered, not even pretending to not leer at the downed girl. “Boring!” Naruto sighed. “Come on! You can see her panties,” Kiba protested. “I'm engaged, or married, to four girls,” Naruto replied, “Panties are nothing. Hell, I see more than that every day with my sensei.” Kiba turned to look at Anko. “Lucky bastard,” he muttered. “Lucky? Just wait until you have to try pleasing four girls at the same time,” Naruto grumbled. He glanced towards the door that led to the medical bay and wished that he could find out how Tenten was doing. Kiba was barely suppressing a nosebleed at the thought of four girls. “The next match is Kankuro of the Sand against Isarai of the mist.” Kankuro and a twin tailed girl headed into the arena. “Begin!” “I'm a medic nin, so I am not really good at fighting. Please be gentle,” Isarai said with a bow to her opponent. “Umm... I'll try not to hurt you too badly,” Kankuro replied. “Thank you! I was sure you were going to be a meanie like that Kiba guy!” She tackle-hugged Kankuro. “Doesn't he know he's supposed to go easy on a girl!” She pouted cutely, then jammed a senbon into his spine. “Sucker!” Kankuro's arms and legs wrapped around her suddenly and a genjutsu dropped, revealing him to be one of his puppets. “You know, you really hurt Karasu's feelings, stabbing him in the back like that,” Kankuro said, “If you don't surrender now, I will kill you.” The girl struggled for a few moments. “I give up. I can't move.” “Winner, Kankuro. I am frankly disappointed at the quality of the matches so far. We've only had one good match, which means most of you probably shouldn't have entered this exam to begin with.” Some of the competitors looked suitably embarrassed, others looked indignant, while most seemed to agree with the Hokage's assessment. “Next is Neji versus Hinata, a battle between two Hyuugas.” “You have improved greatly since you have become a genin, but my juuken is still the best,” Neji said coldly, “Surrender now, unless you wish to be humiliated.” “We shall see cousin. My juuken m-may be inferior to yours, but unlike you, j-juuken is not my only skill.” Naruto was impressed with Hinata's courage. A year ago, Hinata would have meekly submitted before her cousin. “Go Hinata-chan! I know you can beat him!” Hinata smiled at Naruto, then took a defensive juuken stance while Neji took a more aggressive stance. “Begin!” Neji raced forward and aimed a juuken strike at Hinata's shoulder, hoping to disable her arm early. He was visibly surprised when she not only dodged his strike, but also managed to strike three tenketsu before spinning around and throwing him to the floor. He didn't have any time to ponder her speed and strength as she began to launch shuriken at him. He rolled away quickly before flipping to his feet, cringing as he was forced to operate some of his muscles without chakra enhancement. “You're improvement exceeds expectations,” Neji grudgingly admitted, “You were not so capable a week ago.” “A week ago, we were merely training, so I felt no need to remove my weights,” Hinata said, “This fight will test my limits!” She shocked Neji again by switching to a stance that he had never seen before. It was certainly not juuken. She dashed forward and began to assault him with various arcing strikes. Sometimes, she attacked with fists, and sometimes with knife-hand chops, and every once in a while, she would throw in a traditional juuken strike. He could not take any of them lightly though. He quickly discovered that the punches were powerful enough to knock him back a few paces, the knife-hand chops left shallow gashes in his skin, and the deceptively gently juuken taps were as dangerous as ever. “I didn't want to reveal this yet,” Neji said, “But, you've left me no choice. You are within the range of my divination. Hakke Sanjuuni Sho!” Neji leaned back in his stance then struck at blinding speed. “Two palms!” He missed. Hinata had taken advantage of the juuken's reliance on hands and had dropped flat on the ground as soon as he had revealed which technique he was going to use. As he was off balance from missing his attack, she swept his foot as she returned to her feet to destroy his stance and give her an opening to counter attack. “Now, you are the one in range of my divination!” Hinata quipped as she leaned back. She formed an illusionary clone that mimicked the movements of the eight trigrams technique, knowing that it would only be a momentary distraction due to his byakugan. She launched two handfuls of shuriken at her cousin and raced forward, allowing her clone to dissipate. She had underestimated him though. He used his own eight-trigrams thirty-two palms technique to deflect the shuriken, landing four blows on her at the end. Hinata backed up rapidly. He had managed to completely seal her left arm. She threw a flash tag between them, making Neji back away, thinking it was an explosive tag. It blinded him for a moment as Hinata put her medical skills to use and used her juuken to unblock the tenketsu Neji had blocked, biting her lip to prevent herself from screaming out in pain. Juuken was much like frostbite in terms of pain: you didn't even feel the effects until you tried to undo them, then it felt like your insides were on fire. She vaguely heard Naruto cheering for her and realized that the pain had distracted her from the battle. She dodged to the side without thinking, avoiding Neji's approaching attack. He was breathing heavily now. Though she had not struck any major tenketsu, the effect was still gradually wearing him down. She was never more thankful for Anko's warm up exercises than she was now. She wasn't even winded. Heartened by the realization, she launched an assault against Neji, putting him on the defensive. His moves had begun to lose their practiced precision as fatigue built up. “ Hakke Sanjuuni Sho!” Hinata suddenly called out, launching a devastating attack on Neji who was at this point having difficulty defending, let alone attacking. “Two palms!” The major tenketsu in the shoulders were the first to go and Neji looked at her in wide-eyed realization. “Four palms!” The hips were next, preventing escape. “Eight palms!” The secondary pathways to the arms and legs were blocked. “Sixteen palms!” The major branches from his chakra reservoir were cut off. “Thirty-two palms!” The pathways to his major organs were the next to go. Had she performed the sixty-four palms, she would have struck the remaining junctions of chakra flow. If she had been capable of one-hundred- twenty-eight, there would have been no chakra flow to protect from a direct assault on the internal organs, guaranteeing a long hospital stay, and likely death. Usually, the tight masses of chakra coils around organs gave them some minor protection against low-power juuken strikes. “Winner, Hinata Hyuuga!” Hummingbird announced as Neji slumped to the floor. “It is a shame that the clan will lose you to Naruto,” Neji said as he lay on the ground, “You would have been a worthy heir.” “Thank you, cousin, but remember, even if I am no longer a Hyuuga, we will always be family.” The conversation was cut short by Naruto who got tired of waiting for Hinata to return to the balcony. “You won!” He grabbed her around the waist and twirled her around happily. “I knew you could do it!” He rewarded her victory with a kiss that drew catcalls from Kiba and Kankuro, and a variety, of other reactions. “Just take me to the infirmary before these to make me sick!” Neji called out. The medics complied and Naruto leapt back up to the balcony with Hinata still in his arms. A tendril of sand wrapped dangerously around Naruto's ankle and Gaara hissed into his ear, “I have already won both of my matches, I expect to be rewarded accordingly as soon as it will not compromise the mission. “Anything you want, Gaara-chan,” Naruto squeaked nervously at the threat. “And by the process of elimination, that leaves Sasuke Uchiha to fight Chouji Akamichi, both of Konoha!” Naruto's father announced. For a moment, it looked as if Chouji would refuse to fight, but a few whispered words from Kakashi convinced him to enter the arena. “Begin!” It was a short match. Sasuke had slammed a kunai into Chouji's gut before he could make a single hand-sign. Another was immediately buried in the side of the large boy's neck before Hummingbird interfered and the medics rushed in. Sasuke's eyes were blazing red as dark markings were crawling up the side of his neck. He was dragged out of the arena, followed by the hokage. “There will be a one hour break for lunch and rest, then the second round will begin,” An ANBU announced.

Chapter 29: Second Preliminary Round

Naruto took advantage of the break to visit Tenten. His joy at Hinata's victory had been quashed by Sasuke's brutal attack. To see Tenten lying unconscious with blood pooling through her bandages drained what little happiness he had left. The worst part of it was that there was nothing he could do for her. For a moment, he felt blazing anger against Chouji for stealing the attention of the medics that she so desperately needed, but that was quickly turned to a cold fury directed at Sasuke. Chouji was his team mate, and Sasuke had nearly killed him and seemed to enjoy the attempt. He sat at the bedside of Tenten until the five minute warning announcing the commencement of the next set of battles when an ANBU gave him a slip of paper with mission orders. “You will fight Sasuke Uchiha. You are to make sure that he is incapable of continuing his ninja career without killing him.” Naruto smiled at the orders and red chakra swirled around him. He would enjoy making Sasuke pay. The red chakra caused the paper to blacken and shrivel until it crumbled into carbon dust.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

The first match of the second round of the preliminaries was Hinata against Kiba. It should have been an easy victory for Hinata, but she was distracted. Naruto was upset, and she was upset because Naruto was upset. She kept glancing at him as Naruto's father repeated the rules and began the match. She didn't even see the first punch that hit her, but she did see how angry it made Naruto that Kiba had taken such a cheap shot at her. Hinata climbed unsteadily to her feat. She felt dizzy, which meant that she probably had a concussion and activating her doujutsu gave her a nasty headache. For a moment, she thought she was seeing double as two swirling masses headed towards her. She quickly performed a replacement and quickly realized that the other swirl must be Akamaru. Hinata contemplated her options. She thought of using a clone to trick him into running into a wall, but realized that they must be using their noses at the speed they were spinning. She leapt around the arena, avoiding the whirlwinds of fangs and claws. If nothing else, she could try to let them tire themselves out. She hadn't counted on their impeccable teamwork. She was soon driven into a corner with no room to escape as one flew towards her. At a time like this, she wished that she was able to perform the kaiten. That sparked a memory of her training. She had read about how to create water shields with suiken, even if she had not had a chance to perfect the technique. It was her only chance. With a loud kiai, she swiped her palm upwards, releasing a wall of chakra as she did so, colliding it with the incoming attack. While her shield did not stop the attack outright, it did deflect it straight up and allow her to dodge the other incoming vortex. The attack she had dodged slammed into the corner of the room and, being unable to deflect in a new direction, took the full brunt of its own attack, leaving the whimpering body of Akamaru behind. “Akamaru!” Kiba shouted in alarm. His momentum had stopped in midair, stopping his spinning. Hinata stumbled as she prepared to attack Kiba as he began his descent. The concussion had taken its toll on her. She would not be able to pull off a decisive attack in this condition. She dove for the injured puppy, grabbing it by the scruff of the neck as Kiba landed. She whipped out a kunai and pressed it against the dog's throat. “Please surrender, Kiba-kun, I do not wish for Akamaru to receive any more injuries.” “You wouldn't!” Kiba growled accusingly. “If you attack me, Akamaru will be injured as well. He already needs medical treatment. Please end this.” Kiba looked stricken. He did not want to submit, especially to a woman, but Akamaru was his best friend, and an Inuzuka did not abandon his pack. “I give up...” He finally said. “The winner is Hinata Hyuuga!” Hinata stumbled over to Kiba and handed Akamaru to him, then, in an undignified fashion, grabbed the front of his jacket for support and puked on his shoes. “That first hit really...” Hinata blacked out.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Naruto leapt to the arena floor and pulled Hinata into his arms. “Hinata! Wake up!” She was not reacting at all. Being knocked unconscious from a hit was not all that uncommon, but to do so long after the hit occurred meant that something much worse had occurred. “Where are the medics! She needs help!” The medics were slow to arrive, they did have two other critically wounded patients to tend to. Naruto could only watch in stunned silence as the medics examination resulted in the words 'brain hemorrhage'. He knew that bleeding into your brain could not be a good thing. He was angry at Kiba for taking such a cheap shot at her, and even more angry at himself for being such a distraction that she had been vulnerable to such an attack. However, the next thing he heard gave him the perfect way to work out his frustrations. “Naruto Uzumaki versus Sasuke Uchiha!” Naruto waited impatiently as the Uchiha strutted into the arena. His eyes were shining gold with a black sclera and a red ring around the iris, the second level of the Yokogan. Sasuke looked back contemptuously with a fully matured sharingan blazing in his eyes. Black markings began to envelop him and his chakra turned to a menacing black haze around him. The two fighters launched themselves at each other, their fists meeting in powerful impacts that should have been impossible for two that were so small. There was one difference though; While Sasuke's punches caused minor discomfort to Naruto, Naruto's punches obliterated Sasuke's hands to his elbows. Sasuke screamed. In rage and pain, but it did not even slow Naruto's destruction of his body. Naruto grabbed the sides of Sasuke's head and jammed the claws of his thumbs through Sasuke's eyes, releasing a small amount of youki into the swollen tenketsu that gave them their superior abilities. Sasuke fell to the floor, convulsing as the demonic chakra tore his chakra coils painfully apart, sending eruptions of chakra through his body as each well of chakra was destroyed. With his task complete, Naruto finally took a moment to notice his surroundings. The room was silent, except for Ino who was retching after seeing what he had done. “Are you going to call the match?” Naruto asked. His father looked at him strangely, a promise that they would be having words later. “Winner, Naruto!” Anko began wildly cheering. Of course, she would approve of the methods he had used. She had always been a little odd. What he hadn't expected was the hungry look that Gaara was giving him that promised his reward for winning both of his matches would be memorable. Rather than head to the balcony to watch the remaining fights, he headed back to the infirmary to check on his injured girls.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Temari was shocked at how brutal Naruto had been. The flaming red chakra had been a dead giveaway that he had been allowing his demon to influence him. It had felt even darker and more menacing than anything Gaara had ever unleashed, even if it had not been nearly as destructive. As her name was called, she focused her mind and prepared to face her opponent, Hiun. She had recognized what he had done in his last match, after all, how could one wind user not recognize another. His technique was different from hers though. She used large area blasts of wind chakra at range while he created precision blades at short range. That meant that she did not want to allow him to get close. Normally, she would play with her opponents a bit before finishing them, but she knew that this one would require her to end the match quickly. She took her place and awaited the beginning of the match. Her opponent stood across from her, watching her, unblinking, with an expression that made her think of a snake. His smile gave her the sense of being cornered by a deadly predator, but she did not allow herself to lose her composure. “Begin!” Temari immediately unfurled her fan all the way. “Kamaitachi!” She swung the fan, sending a massive gust of wind towards Hiun. Hiun did not seem phased by the attack at all. He merely raised his arm and the blast was severed in two, creating two craters in the wall behind him. “Impressive,” he said, “I have never met another genin who was an accomplished wind user. Shall we see whether your scythe weasel compares to my divine wind?” Temari growled to herself. She did not want to reveal her other moves before the finals, but she knew that her kamaitaichi stood no chance against the technique he had used. “Daikamaitachi no jutsu!” As the greater winds flew towards Hiun, he lowered his still raised arm in a violent slash. Once again, her winds were split, this time, instead of craters, a series of wind blades slashed into the wall. Then Hiun's attack hit her without warning, leaving a slash from her collar bone to her hip. “That's strike two. Three strikes and you're dead.” Hiun taunted. Temari gasped in pain. His attacks were so precise that they didn't even disturb the air around them. She hadn't even seen the attack before it hit her, assuming it had dissipated against her own like the last one. She couldn't risk being hit by another of his attacks. She was already bleedin heavily and could barely move. She swiped some of the blood across her fan. “Kuchiyose: Kirikiri Mai!” She swung her fan a final time as a white one-eyed weasel with a scythe appeared, then disappeared into the wind. Hiun moved to execute his counted, but was interrupted by his head separating from his body and landing neatly on Temari's fan before the weasel disappeared in a puff of smoke. “Winner Temari of the Sand!”

-Return of the Hummingbird-

“I will not be the last to show my flames of YOUTH!” Rock Lee exclaimed, “If I am, I will kick a large tree until it falls!” “That is the spirit, my youthful student!” Maito Gai responded to his genin that bore a striking resemblance to him, from the green spandex, right up to the disturbingly large eyebrows. “If you cannot do that, then I shall climb the hokage mountain using only two toes!” “And if you cannot do that, than I shall run around Konoha on two fingers!” Lee said, upping the challenge. “Your youthfulness is overflowing, Lee!” “Only because you have stoked my flames of youth with your youthful training!” Lee's eyes sparkled in admiration of his mighty mentor. “Gai-sensei!” “Lee!” “GAI-SENSEI!” “LEE!” The two green-spandex clad shinobi leapt into each other's arms to create the ultimate uncomfortable man-hug of youth. This, of course, was accompanied by Gai's unbreakable sunset- background genjutsu which her had trained to manifest automatically in these situations to win one of his challenges with his eternal-rival Hatake Kakashi. “GAI-SENSEI!” Lee could feel his flames of youth exploding with youthful energy as he clung to Gai, screaming his name until the hokage interrupted. “Due to extenuating circumstances, we will be forcing the board to choose Rock Lee as one of the contestants for the next match,” the hokage announced, momentarily breaking the hold that the infamous sunset genjutsu had over the viewers. Many of the contestants were rubbing their eyes as the board quickly cycled the first slot to Lee's name. “I can't unsee it! MY EYES! MY POOR YOUTHFUL EYES!” Kankuro cried out, scratching at his face and smearing his makeup. “It's contagious!” Gaara exclaimed in subdued, monotone horror. Sand wrapped around Kankuro and launched him into the hugging men with excessive force, breaking the two apart and canceling the genjutsu. “And he was only exposed twice...” a horrified voice added. “And now that we no longer have to cover our eyes, I can see that Lee's opponent will be Kanden of Kumo. Will the contender please enter the arena!” “Yosh! I will show you all my flames of youth as I defeat my youthful rival.” Lee somersaulted into the arena, landing with one hand behind his back and the other out towards where his opponent now stood, as if beckoning his to attack. “You are also a taijutsu fighter. This will indeed be a most youthful battle.” Lee's opponent took his own stance and prepared for battle. “Let the fight between Lee and Kanden begin!” Kanden leapt forward with surprising speed, slamming a fist, crackling with electricity, into Lee's chest. Lee felt the jolt go through him, much more worrisome than the punch itself. He tried to counter, but his muscles reacted spasmodically. “You feel that, don't you?” Kanden chuckled, “My punches send feedback through your nervous system. Raiun wasn't the only member of my team to know this jutsu.” Lee focused his mind to control his body. He feared he would not be able to perform his youthful attacks if he received many of those punched. In a way, it was as bad as fighting his teammate Neji, but rather than having the struck point disabled, his entire body was impeded. It was a very effective strategy for a taijutsu battle, but he would not allow himself to be defeated. He knew Gai- sensei was counting on him to win this fight and he needed to win this fight for himself, to reach his dream of becoming an excellent ninja with only taijutsu. “I will need to defeat you quickly. Your technique is very impressive,” Lee said, “But I will not let it slow me down!” Lee ran towards Kanden and tried to knock him out in a single blow as he had done to Raiun. An armor of lightning leapt off of Kanden's body and intercepted the attack, causing even more lightning chakra to blast Lee away. It wasn't enough to knock him down, but Lee's bandage- wrapped hands were burned and the wraps blackened. Lee stood, leaning forward with his arms dangling in front of him as he tried to recover from his electrocution. Just when he thought he had overcome it, a surge of electricity sent his body into convulsions. “Oops, did I forget to mention that my lightning armor stimulates the lightning chakra that my punches put into you?” Kanden asked, taking advantage of his momentary paralysis to strike him three more times, once in the kidneys to cause pain, once in the solar plexus to knock the wind out of him, and finally once over the heart. Lee gasped for breath as he backed away from his opponent, more on instinct than any conscious thought. As soon as he regained his breath, he began to cough, leaving a blood red stain on the arm he had used to prevent the spread of any unyouthful germs. Then, he screamed in agony as his whole body convulsed, sending him twitching to the hard stone of the floor. “You can use number two!” Lee heard Gai call out. Lee struggled to his feet, the twitching of his limbs making his ascent almost impossible. “But, you said that I am not to use them unless it is to protect someone precious!” Lee argued. “This is a special occasion. I'll allow it!” Gai responded exuberantly. “Yosh!” Lee said, gathering his courage. This would be a taxing process. Fortunately, he would probably not need to fight again today. “You can barely stand!” Kanden taunted, “How can you defeat me if you can't even throw a punch?” He laughed. “Just give up already before I kill you.” “I am not like you. My chakra coils are deformed, making it impossible to me to use ninjutsu, or genjutsu. I have trained until my fists bled and then trained some more, using hard work to prove that I can be an excellent ninja, even if I can only use taijutsu! I did not come this far by giving up, AND I WILL NOT GIVE UP NOW!” Lee screamed out his declaration. “KAIMON: KAI!” Lee opened the first of the eight chakra gates, the gate of opening, removing the limits the brain places on the body and increasing his speed and power five-fold. “KYUUMON: KAI!” He opened the second gate, gaining a blue aura that flushed the foreign chakra from his body. “NOW, PREPARE TO BE DEFEATED!” If anyone blinked, they would have missed what happened next. Lee dashed forward at inhuman speeds and slammed a fist into Kanden. Both were sent in opposite directions. Lee was only sent back a few feet, covered in the backlash from Kanden's lightning armor. Kanden, however, disappeared in an instant, reappearing in a crater that formed in the wall of the opposite side of the arena, the right side of his ribs caved in. “The winner is Rock Lee! Medics!”

-Return of the Hummingbird-

“The next match is Shikamaru versus Sayu!” “What a drag,” Shikamaru sighed, “Why do I always have to fight a troublesome woman...?” “I'll show you troublesome if you don't get your but out there right now!” His annoying, troublesome, blonde, woman of a teammate replied. “Troublesome.” Shikamaru began to walk slowly towards the stairwell that led down to the arena floor. He discretely made the hand seal required for his shadow possession jutsu. The woman was a strategist like him, so it would be too troublesome to give her a chance to set up a trap for him. He had already thought through their battle and came up with about two-hundred ways the battle could go, and every one of them ended in his favor. This method was the least troublesome of them all. By the time Shikamaru had reached the floor, his opponent had done the same and was now standing opposite him, careful to remain an equal distance from the wall as he had, not wanting to lose by the same trick he had used on his last opponent. Of course, Shikamaru had planned for this. It was really kind of insulting that she would think he would try the same strategy twice in a row since he knew that she knew of his abilities. Instead, he was using a lesser known attribute of his jutsu, the fact that he could lengthen his shadow using any other shadow it could reach, like the one he had conveniently merged it with that ran half way around the arena under the observation deck. “Are both competitors ready?” Shikamaru looked at the blond man, wondering why he even bothered to hide his face. Anyone who had half a brain would know that a new hokage would not be inaugurated without a big event during peace-time. The blond hair and a cursory examination of his son's features was enough to reveal his identity as the fourth hokage. Of course, his assistant Itachi Uchiha had a much better excuse considering that he was listed as an S-ranked criminal with a flee-on-sight order. Obviously there was much more of a story behind the Uchiha massacre than was commonly known, even to the family of the deceased. He was quite frankly disappointed with the so called genius Sasuke who was obviously mentally unstable, especially if he couldn't recognize his own brother when standing right In front of him. But, then, considering that the Hokage had not made any public appearances since the third had half-retired, there was likely a reason that he had not returned to the spotlight yet, probably medical from the jutsu he had used to seal Kyuubi into Naruto. If he was proctoring the third exam, that meant that whatever it was had been dealt with to the point that it was no longer physically debilitating, or something was expected to happen during the exams. If was going to be in the arena with the competitors, it meant that he was expecting an assassination attempt in the Kage booth. He began thinking about the actions of the other teams and the political climate, then glanced at the sensei for the Oto team and the sensei for the Suna team after noticing where the majority of the ANBU were glancing much too frequently. He sighed. This would end up being much too troublesome. The troublesome girl had already given a verbal response that Shikamaru didn't bother to listen to as he had been lost in thought. When prompted for an answer again, he merely let out a halfhearted grunt. “Begin,” the hokage announced. “Don't think that I'll fall for your tricks as easily as your last opponent,” Sayu challenged as she began to make the hand seals for the hidden mist jutsu, only to stop halfway as Shikamaru's shadow leapt from the shadow of the balcony, making a quick trip around a piece of rubble left over from Lee's battle, then connected to Sayu's shadow. “Shadow imitation technique success,” Shikamaru sighed. “So, I have to imitate anything you do. I paid attention to my surroundings, so there is nothing you can do to me that won't cause just as much damage to you.” She smirked smugly. “You might as well just let me go and allow me to win.” “Not going to happen,” Shikamaru said, “My mom and Ino would kill me if I gave up now after I've already won.” “What are you going to do? Talk me to death?” “There is one major difference between us that you overlooked,” Shikamaru explained with a bored sigh. He had hoped that she would have provided at least some challenge. “I'm not left handed.” He mimed grabbing a kunai from a nonexistent pouch on his left leg, causing Sayu to draw a very real kunai. He lazily lifted his arm, pressing his imaginary kunai against his own throat. “The winner is Shikamaru Nara!” the hokage declared, ending the match.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Kankuro had spent the last match preparing. He knew the Yamanaka girl would at some point try to take control of his mind like she had with her first opponent. She had seen his trick before of pretending to be the puppet, and being a puppeteer and master of traps, he decided to switch things up, wrapping up his puppet and sticking it to his back. With a little bit of acting, she should fall for his scheme and try to attack his puppet. He could tell by looking at her that she was a fan girl. She had almost no muscle tone and was as skinny as a twig. Because he was a puppeteer, he did not focus much on taijutsu, preferring to keep his distance and let his puppets get in close, but, even so, he was sure that he could take this girl easily if he got inside her guard. Of course, a scratch or two from a few poisoned senbon needles wouldn't hurt either. The proctor called him and his opponent to the arena floor. Kankuro smirked as he confidently strutted into position and leered at the attractive, though not ninja-worthy, girl. “You got lucky with your last opponent,” Kankuro said, “A fan girl like you couldn't stand up to a real ninja who takes his training seriously.” “As if I should take advice from a guy who wears more makeup than I do,” Ino replied haughtily, “You can just go crawling back to bed with your little doll and cat pajamas.” She put her hands on her hips and gave him a condescending glare. Kankuro returned her glare, crossing his arms defensively. “First off, it's war paint, not make up. Second, it's a puppet, not a doll. Finally, this is the traditional costume of a Suna puppeteer. It's intimidating and provides good camouflage.” His defense was obviously not convincing as the genin who were not in the infirmary were suppressing laughter... At least some of them had the tact to suppress it, Naruto was pointing and laughing. This set the dog boy off as well. “Hah! Makeup and dolls!” His opponent's teammate laughed. Obviously, a more practical demonstration was required, and luckily it was already set up for him. “Begin!” The proctor ordered. Kankuro grabbed some senbon he had hidden in his sleeves and threw them in a wedge that forced Ino to drop to the floor and roll out of the way. She leapt to her feet and returned his fire with some kunai and shuriken. Now it was time for the next phase of his plan. He dodged most of the projectiles by a wide margin, throwing his burden far out of the way as if he was more concerned about a kunai hitting it than him. When she was down to only two shuriken, she threw them both at the same time and Kankuro dodged in such a way as to make the projectile graze Karasu's arm. He pretended to stumble, allowing the half of his body, on the same side as the shuriken had grazed his puppet , to go limp for a fraction of a second. Now the girl wore a victorious smirk as if she had figured him out and Kankuro knew he had tricked her. “It's time to finish this!” Ino declared. “Giving up already? Too tired to even last five minutes in a fight?” Kankuro taunted, encouraging her to get angry and act impulsively. “No, but this fight is ending now!” She charged him, forming the same shape with her hands as she had when she had taken over the rubber man earlier. Kankuro made no move to dodge, instead opting to spread his arms out as if to try and catch her. With a shoulder roll, she evaded his arm and regained her feet right behind him, just as he had planned. “Shintenshin no Ju–” Blades from his puppet's arms sliced through its wrappings, allowing it to wrap itself around Ino as it interrupted her jutsu. Had he known how its failure would leave her vulnerable for several seconds, he would have let her finish. It would not have made a difference either way. With the puppet wrapped around her, she couldn't move, the the blades from its arms at her throat encouraged her not to try. “The winner of the final match is Kankuro!”

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Naruto watched the final matches, having left a clone with each of his friends in the infirmary. He had too many friends in the infirmary. He was especially worried about Tenten. She was not the closest of his girls, but she was still a precious person to him and he didn't want to lose her. He shuddered as he remembered the days before he had met his father and he had not had anyone close to him since the adults had hated him and the children had been encouraged to stay away from him or be mean to him. The fear of losing anyone was all that much greater because he new the pain of true loneliness, even if it had been a few years since he had felt it. “Congratulations to everyone who has made it this far. In the coming month, we will be inviting important, rich, and influential people to come and watch our prospective chunin fight. While we prepare for this, out finalists will have the month to rest, recuperate, and learn new skills to defeat their assigned opponents,” his father explained, “Now will our finalists: Sabaku no Gaara, Aburame Shino, Hyuuga Hinata, Uzumaki Naruto, Sabaku no Temari, Rock Lee, Nara Shikamaru, and Sabaku no Kankuro; please step into the arena. Congratulations to each and every one of you, especially to team ten who have proved beyond a doubt that their overwhelming performance in the previous exams was no fluke as every member of that team has made the finals.” The finalists made their way back into the arena, Hinata being brought in from the infirmary, barely healthy enough to make the short walk over to Naruto who put an arm around her to support her. “With exactly eight contenders, the final tournament will have a simple tournament style bracket with your opponents and order drawn by lot. You will then be judged by an impartial group of elite jounin and the attending kages as well as a select group of officials. As with the previous rounds, being first will not necessarily mean that you will become chunin, however, the more battles you participate in, the more chances you will have to prove your worth to the judges. There is a fairly good chance that each and every one of you will become chunin if you work hard and put on a good show for the judges and show them that you have the skills and smarts to be both a capable fighter and leader of men.” “Now, when you select a number from the box the ANBU will bring around, call it out so that we can record it. A bug masked ANBU, probably an Aburame based on the chosen design, brought out a box ant presented it to Gaara. “Six,” Gaara reported. “Four,” intoned Shino. “Eight,” Hinata said, looking a little unsteady on her feet. The bleed into her brain had been stopped and partially drained, but she would need surgery before she could fully recover. “Two!” shouted Naruto, causing Hinata to wince. Because he had been supporting her, he had shouted right beside her ear, making her already painful headache worse. “Three,” Temari said. “YOSH! I HAVE RECEIVED NUMBER FIVE!” Lee exclaimed. “Seven, so troublesome,” Shikamaru complained. “I'm number one!” Kankuro boasted. “Then the pairings are decided. Kankuro will face Naruto. Temari will face Shino. Lee will face Gaara. And, Shikamaru will face Hinata. In thirty-one days, you are to meet at the Konoha stadium by ten in the morning. If you are not there on time, you will be disqualified immediately. Luckily, none of you have Kakashi as a sensei, so you can't use that as an excuse. Your jounin sensei and the ANBU will now escort you out of the training ground. Naruto, please stay behind, I need to talk with you.”

Chapter 30: Unvasion Revelations

Naruto sat with his father in a sealed off room of the tower. “Can you explain to me why you were so brutal with Sasuke?” “I had orders to make sure he could not continue as a ninja, and considering what he did to Chouji, I don't think he could really be considered a leaf ninja. As Kakashi says, 'anyone who tries to kill their comrades is worse than trash'. When he used that dark chakra, I knew I couldn't go easy on him, so I met his punches with my own full-power punches. At first I thought this would be enough, but then I realized that the markings and dark chakra probably came from Orochimaru which meant that he was probably after Sasuke's eyes, and he could still get puppet hands which meant that my mission wasn't complete. So, I took out his eyes, and to be sure he wouldn't be able to be a ninja again, I put a little bit of youki into his chakra system, destroying it, but not enough o kill him.” “I never gave any orders to remove Sasuke's ability to become a ninja,” Minato mused. “The way I see it, he was a traitor and deserved what he got anyway. I left his family jewels alone, so maybe he can make himself useful eventually by making some more Uchihas without his attitude problem. “The council won't like this at all. Were the orders given verbally?” “No an ANBU gave me this,” Naruto said, giving the written orders to his father. “I wonder who could do this. If Danzo wasn't already dead, I would think this was a scheme of his ROOT operatives.” Minato sighed. “It might be another ploy by whoever put the black scroll against you into the exam, so hopefully they don't try to use this to pull anything. This is definitely not a good time with an invasion to plan for. “I'm going to be training you during the following month when I have time. I'll mostly work on seals, and since Jiraiya's back in town, I want him to teach you summoning. With your reserves, it should be a useful skill to have, especially considering the plans for using a large summoned snake to break down our walls. If you master that, then I will start you on the rasengan. “Once Tsunade fixes up Hinata, she and Hiashi will be training her. Tsunade will be focusing on dodging, chakra control, and being stupidly strong, while Hiashi will help her to learn advanced juuken techniques, specifically the kaiten, and helping her to refine the new style she had been creating. “Shino will be working with Hayate Gekko on developing his kenjutsu and working with his father and Anko on trying to develop a strain of poisonous Kikai, which will be useful against those with large chakra reserves or techniques to destroy the kikai after they've started their attack, not that you have anything to fear from any Aburame thanks to your tenant.” “Speaking of the fur ball, I need to learn how to do my transformation without seals so that I can teach Akama. He's too big to fit inside buildings now, and I don't want him to cause too much panic. Once he leans to transform, he will be able to change size, and maybe even learn jutsu with hand seals.” “Sounds like we have a busy month ahead,” Minato said, “It's a good thing you can use your clones to learn this stuff. With a solid month of training, I think you can manage it.”

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Naruto grinned as he looked at the puppy-sized Akama sitting on his shoulder. It had been a long hard month of training and learning to use clones to satisfy four females concurrently. His training with Jiraiya had been especially fast. It had only taken three days to summon Gamabunta and earn his respect, putting him in the hospital beside Tenten for a few days. While he was there, he learned that she would fully recover, but it would take several weeks to regenerate what remained of her liver and she would be left with an obvious scar. Chouji was in much worse condition. Sasuke's first strike had punctured his stomach, meaning that he was not allowed to eat until he completely recovered and he had almost bled out from the wound to his neck because he was unable to take blood replenishment pills. He had seemed most relieved when he learned that Sasuke would never be on his team again. It turned out that one of the dead genin mysteriously gained a organ donation slip that gave permission to transplant his eyes and arms. His arms were expected to heal enough to perform civilian tasks and he was able to see well enough to read, but his body reacted like an old man thanks to the chakra backlash he had received and he could not manipulate chakra at all. The civilian council was, of course, outraged by Sasuke's injuries and had tried to have Naruto executed for his so-called crimes, but everything he had done was well within the rules of the fight and he had left the Uchiha alive and viable for breeding. Four missing nin had been caught trying to enter the village after being anonymously hired to kill him. ANBU tracked the funds used to hire the ninjas back to the Haruno member of the civilian council who was responsible for the village library. She had been publicly executed the next day for treason. Sakura had been crushed by the revelation, but had vowed to restore the honor of the Haruno name by transferring to the research division of the shinobi forces and taking over her mothers responsibilities. She had thrown herself into the work and the library had not ever been run so efficiently. This left Kakashi with only a single student, so his team was disbanded and he returned to ANBU to help prepare for the invasion. Chouji would be working on recovering, then training with his family until after the exams when promotions would allow for team reassignments. While Naruto had used his time in the hospital to become closer to Tenten, those days were not spent idly. Either his father or Jiraiya had been there almost constantly to tutor him on seals which had led to him discovering another of Tenten's talents. She was quite a prodigy of seals. She had self taught for a few years and had learned to make her own sealing scrolls for her weapons and even developed special release mechanisms to create scroll-based kenjutsu techniques such as launching a barrage of weapons from a scroll at lethal velocities. Her knowledge of the basics was nowhere near as well founded as Naruto's because he had received years of formal tutoring from his father, but she had a knack for using what little she knew in creative ways. In the evenings, after his father had gone and Jiraiya had left to peep at the bath house, they spent many hours discussing his custom exploding tags and had developed a new new tag together that they called a shrapnel tag. It combined Naruto's shaped explosions with Tenten's weapon launching seal. Tenten already had plans of inscribing this seal on Kunai and had asked him to help her develop a nested version after the exams that could be used to destroy an entire camp by having shrapnel bombs launched from the kunai that exited other shrapnel bombs. Once he escaped the hospital, he had focused on learning how to do his solid henge without seals. He learned many things during his training, such as the fact that using the Kyuubi's chakra expanded the limits of how far his transformation could alter his size. Using only his own chakra, he was limited to transforming from the size of a shuriken to about double his size. The youki did not help him reduce his size any more, but it did allow him to get up to quadruple his regular size, though it was very draining to do it. Soon, he had the technique mastered and only needed to leave a few clones with Akama to help him learn the technique and work on their fire element development. Two weeks before the exam, his father had decided that it was time to tell Naruto of his true identity. Naruto was shocked to discover that his father was the fourth hokage and his idol. He learned that, if things went as planned, a lot of village secrets would be revealed during the invasion and Orochimaru would die before he had a chance to cause any real problems. He learned about his fathers two signature techniques, the rasengan and the hiraishin. The hiraishin required sealing knowledge that was far beyond him right now, but his father began teaching him the rasengan while Jiraiya began introducing him to all the toads and their abilities. Both were also using clones to expand his seal knowledge. Both had very different teaching styles and Naruto found that learning from Jiraiya's more laid-back practical method combined with his fathers book-heavy theoretical method resulted in a very thorough understanding of what he was taught. Now, it was the day of the exams and he had learned enough of the rasengan that he could form it in one hand if his opponent gave him half a minute to concentrate, but with the help of a clone, he could form the destructive ball of chakra in about two seconds. He would have to work on that more using his clones. His father could make the rasengans as fast as he could throw his punches, in both hands at the same time. It would probably take him months of clone training before he reached that point, but the technique had the advantage of being able to grind through pretty much anything and even the weakest ones made his juukouken punches look like love taps. With all of his training, he knew he was ready for anything the exams could throw at him. He was not so sure, however, that he was ready for everything an invasion would throw at him, especially when they were outnumbered two to one. But then, he could easily make enough clones to take each invader one on one, even if they would not have a terribly large amount of chakra. Naruto walked confidently into the stadium's contender's entrance. He thought that he would just be walking into the arena itself, but instead was directed into a newly constructed and reinforced waiting area and directed into a chamber marked with the number two. There was a second door that Naruto assumed was a passage into the arena itself, but it was a heavy metal door with a large red light that practically screamed 'locked'. There was a simple bench built into one wall of the chamber and a video feed of the arena itself on a monitor opposite the bench. This was not in any of the plans he knew about, so he waited to see what would happen. After ten minutes of waiting, Naruto heard a burst of static, then saw the monitor change to a view of the kage box where the third hokage who was preparing to make a speech. Also in the box was the kazekage and the two guards each of the two leaders had. “Welcome to everyone who has come to watch this event with us. I especially welcome the lords, merchants, and other wealthy prospective clients who have come to see what our villages have to offer.” The old man removed his hat. “I am Hiruzen Sarutobi, head of civilian affairs in the new government structure that has greatly increased our villages efficiency by eliminating civilian interference with military affairs and military interference with civilian affairs. You may have noticed some changes in the village and to this very stadium which were the direct result of that separation which includes both increased security for our esteemed guests as well as increased comfort as well as other features. The most prominent of note would be the mirrors surrounding our stadium to allow you to see the action if it moves out of your visual range due to the features of the arena. They have, of course, been sealed in such a way that the mirrors appear blank to anyone standing in the arena to prevent cheating.” The old man paused and took a breath. “Now, I will turn the festivities over to our esteemed Hokage who is proctoring this exam and will explain the festivities and entertainment we have for you all. Please note that every seat in the private booths has access to our new betting system. It will allow our most esteemed guests to place wagers up until the point the next match starts. For those of you who have decided not to purchase such accommodations, I direct you to visit the betting stations positioned near the stadium entrances in the intermissions between the tournament tiers. Now, If you would take things from here, Hummingbird.” The view on the screen switched to the arena again where Naruto's father was standing. “Thank you for the introduction old man,” he said, getting a chuckle from the crowd, “This is the chunin exams. It is an event where the most promising genin from every hidden village compete for a chance to display their talents and fight for the right to have your business. Before we begin, however, I would like to offer some slight inspiration to our contenders, prior to the event. Many shinobi have noticed my good friend weasel working in my office and doing a good deal of my work. I have been asked on countless occasions why he is there and what makes him worthy of practically being the acting hokage.” Weasel appeared next to the hokage in a swirl of leaves and gave a bow towards the daimyo's booth and then the kage's booth. “The reason he has been doing my job is because he is the man I have chosen to replace me once I decide to retire from the position. I am sure that every shinobi in our forces can attest to his ability to do paperwork, the bane of every ranking official.” He received sympathetic nods from many of the higher priced seats. “But no one knows if he can hold his own in a fight. Due to this being the chunin exams, we will restrict the moves to ones that every genin will know, those taught in the academy. It will show the chunin what true skill will accomplish and that it is not all about big flashy jutsu. Sarutobi, since I am the proctor I cannot participate in this fight, perhaps you would consent to being his opponent.” The crowd cheered wildly as the screen switched back to the kage booth. “Unfortunately, I will have to decline. This event is about cooperation between villages and displaying our skills. I cannot in good conscience allow only Konoha shinobi to participate in this battle. Kazekage-sama would you consent to this little exhibition match to show that young man why you are a kage?” “This is a surprise Hokage-sama. I was not expecting to fight today. I am ill prepared.” There was silence for a few moments, then the view switched to the daimyo's booth. “Do not be intimidated by a coddled leaf shinobi. You have always said that I should hire more sand nin. If you win, I'll increase your budget by five percent and exclusively hire sand shinobi. Show them the strength of the Land of Wind!” The obese man with tiny points of upturned mustache and a little point of beard on the end of his chin said. He had a decorative swirling pattern on a fan that radiated from behind his head. The view switched back. “It seems I have no choice. Do not blame me if you lose your successor.” The crowd roared as the kazekage's shunshin moved him into the center of the arena in a swirl of sand. “The match will start when I say begin!” Hummingbird moved towards the wall, then looked out into the crowd. At some sort of signal he placed his hand on the wall and a dome of chakra covered the arena. “This match will be to the death, no rules. Orochimaru, you are sentenced to death for the murder of the kazekage and conducting human experiments on the citizens of Konoha and high treason. So you have any last words, false kazekage?” “Kukuku!” Orochimaru laughed as he threw off his disguise. “What makes you think I killed the kazekage? I am here with his full support.” “Was that support given before or after you poisoned him with your snakes and left his body out in the desert twenty-five miles outside of Suna along with his bodyguards?” The view switched back to the kage booth where the third hokage had killed the Suna shinobi, revealing them to be four Oto shinobi. “I trust that Suna will honor our alliance instead of following the plans of the man who killed your kage.” Sarutobi said. The view switched back to the arena as explosions began outside the city wall. “Don't think you have one with this. Konoha will fall! Begin the invasion!” He looked toward the west as if expecting something. There were more explosions, then almost a third of the crowd began screaming out in pain before slumping over, dead. “Sorry, did we not mention that anyone in the stands in a henge will be killed by the seals built into the seats? Didn't Sarutobi mention that the security had been improved?” A wave of ANBU removed the dead bodies, however one tossed a dead body into the arena instead. It was the body of Kabuto Yakushi. “We got all the details out of your little spy before the second phase of the exams, then had the Yamanaka mind-wipe him so he could continue acting as your little pawn. And, you apparently did not have any seal masters on your summoning squads, otherwise they would have notices when their summoning seal pattern was replaced with a reverse summoning. I am sure Manda is enjoying the sacrifices.” “Even if I can't destroy Konoha, I will at least kill the two of you!” Orochimaru raged. He looked Weasel in the eye as he began performing seals, then suddenly stopped. “Tsukuyomi,” Weasel said. He calmly walked forward and decapitated Orochimaru. “Amaterasu.” He set the body aflame with black fire that burned until nothing remained. “Thank you Weasel for dealing with that traitor. Now, I feel it is high time that the truth of certain events came out, starting with our identities.” The two removed their masks and a dead silence fell over the crowd. “I am Minato Namikaze, the fourth hokage of Konohagakure. This is Itachi Uchiha, head of the Uchiha Clan.” The crowd roared deafeningly for several minutes. Some cheered the return of their hero. Others cursed Itachi. “There are many things that have been hidden from the people of Konoha, and it is time they knew what has happened and who we are fighting against, and it all started at the founding of Konoha when Hashirama Senju fought with Madara Uchiha over the title of the first hokage. “During the battle, Madara summoned the Kyuubi and used it as a weapon to fight Hashirama, but was unsuccessful. To prevent the bijuu from running wild, Hashirama's wife Mito Uzumaki sealed the Kyuubi inside of herself, keeping the village safe. “Despite the long-lived reputation of the Uzumaki clan of the former Uzushiogakure, Mito eventually became old and called upon her grand-niece Kushina Uzumaki, to take upon herself the burden of protecting the village from the immortal creature. “Kushina grew up and I fell in love and married her in secret to protect her from my enemies. She became pregnant and as the baby came closer to term, we discovered that the seal was weakening. We went into isolation to birth the baby for the village's protection and she gave birth to Naruto Uzumaki... Namikaze. While the seal weakened, I was able to prevent the escape of the Kyuubi and we thought the village was safe from harm until a man with a one-eyed orange spiral mask attacked us, a man with the sharingan, a man who was there when I sealed away the Kyuubi into my son, using his sharingan to control it, a man claiming to be Madara Uchiha. The sealing of the Kyuubi left me in a death-like state for five years.” Minato waited for the crowd to calm before continuing. “We have confirmed that this man currently operated under the alias of Tobi and works for an organization known as Akatsuki that desire to capture all of the tailed beasts, an organization that, at the time, Orochimaru was a member of.” This caused another great stir in the crowd. “We heard nothing more of this man until he began showing up at council meetings of the Uchiha clan, inciting them to revolt against Konoha. A revolt that they agreed to and began planning and training for. A revolt that the new ANBU Itachi Uchiha brought to the attention of the acting hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi. Sarutobi immediately began negotiations in an attempt to delay the insurrection, managing to delay it by a few years. The head of ANBU at the time, Danzo Shimura, thought that the Uchiha were a threat and issued orders to Itachi to slaughter every last man woman and child of the clan. Itachi did not follow those orders, instead he killed only those who were conspiring to betray Konoha. But, he didn't know that this one-eyed Uchiha and Orochimaru had long been conspiring with Danzo who was willing to become a traitor to take the position of Hokage. He informed this so-called Madara Uchiha who followed Itachi, killing those that Itachi spared until they reached Itachi's own family. Itachi killed his father, the head of his clan and leader of the rebellion as Sasuke arrived on the scene. Madara used his advanced sharingan to show Sasuke a genjutsu of Itachi killing the members of the clan that he had killed, driving Sasuke to insanity. “I discovered Danzo's treachery when I confronted Danzo in the office of the Hokage and executed him before I returned to my post as Hokage.” Minato let the barrier fall, then threw a three-pronged kunai into the kage booth, traversing the distance in a blinding yellow flash and the view switched back to the kage box. “Now, Itachi Uchiha, please continue the exams as the new proctor for the third and final stage of the chunin exams.” Naruto watched the screen in shock. The invasion was already over. The plan had gone off without a hitch. It was almost disappointing. But, of course, having a month notice and continuous intelligence from the secret weapon of the invasion probably did not hurt their planning. The screen showed the arena again. “I am Itachi Uchiha, proctor of the final stage of the chunin exams. Eight contestants will fight in a tournament to display their skills. The rules for the fights are as follows. No contestant shall attempt to harm the audience. Any attempt to attack the audience will be met with immediate execution. The contestants will immediately stop fighting if their opponent is knocked unconscious, surrenders, or I call the match to a halt. If the fighting continues, the aggressor will be immediately disqualified. If harm comes to their opponent because of their actions after the match has been stopped, they will be arrested. If anyone attempts to interfere with the matches before they are finished, the contestant being aided will be disqualified. If anyone attempts to harm the contestants outside of their matches, or attempt to prevent the contestant from participating in the match, they will be arrested, and executed if necessary. There is no limit to what techniques may be used in the matches, but killing of opponents in frowned upon.” The screen changed to a view of the tournament match ups. “There will be a fifteen minute intermission for body disposal and to allow our ANBU agents and Suna Shinobi outside the walls to return from killing the Oto invaders. Feel free to use this time to place bets on the matches.”

Chapter 31: First Tier Finals

Naruto, bored by the wait, had taken to executing a rather odd chakra control exercise. He started by sitting on the ceiling. Then, he stuck a kunai onto his forehead. Once he was sure that the kunai was securely attached, he added a second kunai, then a third and a fourth, creating a chain. Akama was curled up on the bench, watching him in boredom. He heard a few more explosions, but none of them were anywhere near the stadium, and probably not even inside the village walls. There was a small burst of static before Itachi's voice echoed through the room. It was so sudden that Naruto lost control of his Kunai chain, almost impaling his vulpine partner. “Sorry about that, Akama,” Naruto said, receiving only an irritable yip in return. “Thank you for your patience. The first match will begin momentarily, but first allow me to introduce the contestants for the match. Contestant number one is Kankuro Sabaku. He is the second child of the fourth kazekage. His teammates are his sisters: the eldest Temari and the youngest Gaara.” This brought as much commotion from the Suna group as Minato's revelation had for the Konoha group. “The three children of the Kazekage served and trained under Suna's Baki who is well known for his mastery of the wind blade technique. Kankuro follows the ways of the traditional Suna art of the puppeteer. In the preliminaries he showed great promise in the areas of trapping and deception. Please give your applause for our first contestant Kankuro!” The Suna contingent cheered as Kankuro entered the field. Naruto noticed that he had no puppet on his back, but he carried a large scroll. “Our second contestant is Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze! He is the only child of our heroic fourth hokage. As a child, he was routinely beaten, starved, and poisoned by the people assigned to take care of him. Parents would tell their children to hate him. Stores would refuse him service and the Academy teachers tried to kill him. Despite his past, he has remained staunchly loyal to Konoha, and with the return of his father has gained the necessities and rights that were denied him because of his status as the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi. With his teammates, Shino, the heir of the Aburame clan, and his fiancée Hinata, the former heir of the Hyuuga clan, he is taught by the infamous Snake Mistress of Konoha, Anko Mitarashi. He has shown great skill in some obscure, but extremely destructive, forms of taijutsu. He is a master of the shadow clone forbidden jutsu. He has incredible sealing abilities for someone his age. And, he has an incredible ninken, the blazing red demon fox Akama! Please give your applause for Naruto!” The light above the door turned green and Naruto stepped through. On the other side, he found that the floor was a lowered section of the arena wall, a six foot thick slab of steel reinforced concrete. He walked out and stood opposite Kankuro. His applause was scattered. Some people were clapping politely. A select few were clapping and cheering raucously. A great many more were glaring at him. He looked up to the clan sections. He could see that many of the clans supported him nominally. He suspected more of the Hyuuga clan would be more amenable if it wouldn't ruin their image. The Nara males were simply looking bored. The Yamanakas were a mixed group. The Akamichi clan was wholeheartedly supporting him. That was one clan where Sasuke had no fans. The nice part about having so few people cheering was that he could easily locate Tenten and Haku and the two were cheering for him. “Seems like you have more fans than I do,” Naruto said, “But, mine are much better quality.” “Go easy on me, okay. I know I have no chance against someone like you, but at least let me show my skill before you blow up the entire arena,” Kankuro said. “Have you seen the match ups? I'm probably going to be fighting Gaara in the finals, and I bet her chakra control is far past what it was during the forest of death. I need to save blowing up the arena for that fight. Want to set up some restrictions anyway? I'd like no lethal or long lasting poisons so I won't be weakened for my next match.” “That's two, so I get two as well,” Kankuro replied, “No Kyuubi, and you keep your weights on.” “Deal,” Naruto shook Kankuro's hand, “And as an added bonus, I won't blow any of your limbs off either.” “You're talking to a puppeteer. It is not unusual for us to have a puppet limb or two.” “Betting is now locked. Let the fight begin!” Itachi announces. “A puppet limb like this one!” Kankuro gloated as Naruto felt a needle inject something into the palm of his hand. “You know, I am pretty much immune to most poisons. Nothing lethal or long-lasting will really have a noticeable effect on me. But this will piss you off. RASENGAN!” The puppet hand exploded into sawdust as the swirling blue ball grew into their clasped hands. “Do you have any idea how long it takes to make a good hand?” Kankuro complained, or at least his puppet did. Naruto activated his eyes and located Kankuro hidden by the wall of the arena. Naruto gave a signal to Akama, telling him where Kankuro was and the fox raced towards the wall. Meanwhile, Naruto formed a group of clones that dog-piled the the puppet to prevent it from attacking him. While Kankuro was distracted by Akama, Naruto burrowed underground and waited as Akama and his clones fought with Kankuro and his puppets. The poison was quickly flushed from his system as he waited. Eventually, Akama and the clones herded Kankuro over to where Naruto was hiding. Kankuro destroyed the last of the clones and Akama was looking a little tipsy, but their job was complete anyway. “Hidden Leaf Secret Fire Taijutsu:” Naruto said, projecting his voice so Kankuro would not know where it was coming from. He clasped his hands together and began generating flames at the tips of his extended index fingers. “ONE THOUSAND YEARS OF HELL!” Naruto burst from the ground and slammed his blazing fingers into Kankuro's ass, sending him flying. The entire arena was silent for a minute, except for Kankuro's cries of pain. Then, the entire stadium burst out laughing. “Kankuro is unable to battle. The winner is Naruto.” There was more laughter, but no one was clapping over this victory. In fact, most of those who had cheered for him now looked embarrassed. The door to Naruto's alcove opened and he returned to his chamber to watch the rest of the first tier of battles.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Naruto watched as Itachi announced the next fighters. “Our third contestant is the eldest daughter of the fourth kazekage. She has been shown to have a strategic mind that she uses to analyze her opponents before crushing them with the sheer power of her wind manipulation and battle fan. Please welcome Temari Sabaku!” There was much cheering. Temari had been very popular back in Suna, despite the fear her sister elicited. “Her first opponent will be Shino Aburame! He is the heir to Konoha's Aburame Clan. Cool hard logic dictates their actions and their insect based jutsu are as effective as they are disturbing. His mantis blades have become popular among his clan, but we have yet to see whether he has created a useable style to go with the deadly weapons.” The fight was long, but not particularly interesting. Temari would try to keep Shino at a distance and deal with his insects by blowing them away when they were dispersed or using exploding tags when they were clumped together. Eventually, she began to run out of energy, but surprised everyone when she used a pellet to create a cloud of poison. The bugs draining her chakra died and then she used her fan to send the cloud rolling across the arena, not allowing Shino any route to escape. Shino was forced to surrender before receiving the antidote to the poison. “Our fifth contestant is Rock Lee. He is the apprentice to Maito Gai, and teammate to Tenten Hagane and Neji Hyuuga. Don't let his fashion sense or inability to use genjutsu or ninjutsu fool you. He is an extremely powerful taijutsu fighter, capable of blinding speed, bone crushing strikes, and in a pinch he can use the eight gates to dominate his opponents.” Lee entered the arena, sprinting determinedly before giving the audience a thumbs up and a tooth flashing smile. There was modest applause. “His opponent is Gaara Sabaku Namikaze!” This received several seconds of stunned silence before the entire crowd began to complain. “Silence!” Itachi ordered, flashing his sharingan. “Due to the lack of seal masters in Suna, Gaara has lived most of her life unable to control her bijuu, the one- tailed tanuki of the sand. Our own resident jinchuuriki noticed her troubles and brought her to his father who easily fixed her seal. While caring for her after the delicate operation, Naruto accidentally performed the Sabaku clan's betrothal ritual. Fortunately, he was already under the Clan Restoration Act due to his Uzumaki longevity and his emergent doujutsu, the yokogan, so this did not cause too much friction with his other relationships. Now, Gaara did not have to fight in the preliminaries because of her group's domination of the previous challenges, but I have it on good authority that she is a master of manipulating sand. Please welcome Gaara to the arena!” Gaara was about as popular as Naruto. She didn't seem to mind though. “Let the fight begin!” The fight was rather impressive visually. Gaara sent waves of sand after Lee, but lee was fast enough to dodge them, but not fast enough to get by Gaara's sand defense. At this point, Lee revealed that he had been wearing weights the whole time, and they were stupidly heavy. His speed increased to the point where he could get past her sand shield but not penetrate her sand armor. Then, he opened the first gate. He evaded her guard and knocked her right out of the majority of her sand. He kicked her into the air and performed the frontal lotus, sending her slamming into the ground, but her sand cushioned her fall. She ensconced herself in a sphere of sand, which it seemed Lee would not be able to penetrate, despite his best efforts. Then, Lee picked up his weights, revealing that they were, in fact, a pair of disturbingly heavy nun-chucks. Lee opened up to the fourth gate and was able to use his weapon to blast through the dome of sand as if it were not even there. Gaara didn't seem to be in the dome though. A wave of sand rose up, starting at the arena walls, converging on Lee who, despite his impressive speed and power, had nowhere to escape. Lee was buried to his neck in sand. He opened the fifth gate, blasting the sand away with the force of his chakra, but the sand just formed an antlion trap, dragging him back down. Lee was forced to admit defeat. Gaara rose up out of the ground where she had spent most of the match grinding rocks and soil into more sand to use. “The winner of the third match is Gaara!” Gaara returned to her waiting area while Lee went to the medics to get the damage caused to his muscles by opening the gates to be healed. “Our next fighter is Shikamaru Nara. The men of this esteemed clan are notoriously lazy, but their intelligence cannot be denied. Their control of the shadows is deceptively dangerous, appearing to be a mere annoyance until the Nara's plan unfolds, revealing the true danger. This heir of the Nara clan is a step above the rest in laziness and intelligence, managing to win both of his preliminary fights without having to fight at all. Along with Ino Yamanaka and Kiba Inuzuka, he trains under the third hokage's son who was once a member of the fire daimyo's esteemed twelve guardian ninja.” Shikamaru came out, sighing. “This is so troublesome. I'd give up right now if mom had not threatened to be even more troublesome if I didn't fight at least one match.” He received applause, but many of the audience seemed as halfhearted about it as he was. “And, his opponent is Hinata Hyuuga. Once the heiress to the Hyuuga clan, she has given up that honor in favor of being wed to her true love and team mate, Naruto Namikaze. This girl is trained in both the Hyuuga's juuken and another style, which she is combining into a more versatile form that completely dominated her cousin, the juuken prodigy Neji, in the preliminaries. It is an even greater achievement since her area of focus is not taijutsu, but medical jutsu.” Hinata received the most warm welcome of all the contestants, even if her clan baulked at the team's uniform. This fight was quite one-sided. Hinata ran right into Shikamaru's shadow, easily getting caught. Unfortunately for Shikamaru, Hinata had learned the kaiten over the month long break and he was close enough to get sent flying by the vortex of energy. Before he could regain his senses, he had been on the receiving end of sixty-four palms and was forced to admit defeat. “Hinata Hyuuga is the winner. There will now be a thirty minute intermission during which the remaining competitors can get a snack or use the facilities while you can place your bets on the semi- final rounds of this tournament. The first match will be Naruto versus Temari, followed by Gaara verses Hinata.”

Chapter 32: Chunin Exam Victor

By the time of his next match, Naruto had worked out a plan with Akama. He was all prepared before he was called out by Itachi. Instead of coming out with Akama on his shoulder like he did the first time, he was transformed as a kunai inside the kunai pouch of a clone that was riding Akama. He was hoping that she would ignore one badly aimed kunai as his clone and Akama distracted her, allowing him to sneak up on her. “Daikamaitachi!” Temari opened as soon as Itachi started the match. Akama leapt back, not wanting to take the powerful wind jutsu to the face while breathing out a cone of flame to negate the winds. He ran in a circle, trying to flank Temari enough to move in close as Naruto's clone began throwing kunai in her general direction. He allowed several to go off target before throwing the one that held his original body too high so that it would land behind her. This was when the plan failed. “Kamaitaichi!” Temari shouted as she swung her fan in a powerful arc. Naruto was quite surprised. He hadn't known that the shape of the technique could be manipulated. Instead of a gust moving forward in a wave, a large tornado whipped up from the ground. Blades of wind slashed at him and he was unable to hold his transformation as he was shot out the top of the swirling funnel. Before he could regain himself, he slammed into the ground. He was fairly certain that several of his ribs were cracked from the impact. He pushed chakra into his ribs, willing them to heal as he scrambled to his feet and dove out of the way of another gust of wind. “Ha, you were the real one. I was sure that you were just spreading clones around,” Temari taunted, “I hope I didn't hurt you too badly.” “I should have known better than to try and outsmart you. I leave that kind of thing to people like Shino or Shikamaru. I'll just have to crush you with overwhelming force!” Naruto began to throw more kunai, though these ones he was retrieving from storage seals in his coat. Every kunai he threw had a tag already attached to it which he activated as he released. He closed his eyes as the first exploded right in front of him. A series of bright flashes and loud bangs temporarily blinded Temari and deafened them both. His next two kunai landed next to Temari and unleashed a netting of ninja wire that covered her. He knew it wouldn't hold her long, but it was plenty of time for him to finish hiding clones around the field. He made sure that several burrowed into the dirt so they would not be affected by errand gusts. The rest transformed into rocks and clumps of dirt, none of which Temari would likely notice, especially after she escaped her bonds with a ripping whirlwind that shredded everything around her. “You're pretty good. I expected it to take a few more seconds to get out of that,” Naruto said. It took only a few moments to realize that he couldn't hear what he had said and he had to evade another gust of wind, knowing that standing there talking had not distracted Temari at all since she was deafened as well and had only served to give her time to restore her sight and make him an easy target. He took an immediate blast of wind, sending him tumbling towards the opposite end of the arena. Naruto regained his feet quickly. He ran to the side, skirting the arena as Temari send blast after blast of wind at him until he dove into the provided copse of trees and took cover. This gave Temari pause for a moment before she decided to rush towards him, probably to get close enough to blow his cover away while keeping an eye on Akama who was keeping his distance from the wind mistress, but only enough that she wouldn't immediately attack. Naruto looked at the layout of the field and came up with a quick plan. He threw several kunai to drive her towards Akama. Akama sent a cone of flame towards Temari, forcing her back almost to where she started. Naruto replaced himself with a clone that was transformed into a kunai that had remained there since his opening volley and ripped Temari's fan from her hands and throwing it into the wall where it embedded itself like a girder for an unfinished structure meant to attach to the wall. A few moments later, Temari was pinned on the ground with a kunai at her throat. “You're pretty good. If you didn't rely so much on your fan, this fight probably would have lasted quite a while.” Naruto helped her to her feet, then helped her retrieve her fan.

-Return of the Hummingbird-

“The second semi-final match will be Gaara of the Sand against Hinata Hyuuga! We will see whether the ultimate taijutsu can break through Gaara's ultimate defense.” Itachi's intonation made the exciting line seem almost dull. “Competitors, please enter the arena.” Hinata and Gaara faced off across from each other. “How about we make this more interesting?” Hinata propositioned. “How so?” Gaara asked, unaware of how anything could make a fight more engaging. “If I win, I get get the real Naruto-kun at night for a week.” Gaara looked at the pale eyed girl for a few moments. “That is an irrelevant wager. If you truly wished to join us, you would have done so any time this past month since I've become accustomed to your presence. Or, does he just mean so little to you that you are willing to risk losing him?” Hinata gaped, then furrowed her brow in anger. “I guess we have to do this the hard way. If you're in the hospital, then Naruto-kun will be all mine!” “And Haku's, and Tenten's,” Gaara corrected. “But Haku is not aggressive enough to take him and recognizes that I get him first because he was with me first and longest, and Tenten is not staying with us at night. You cheated! He was never supposed to be with you in the first place! You never even talked to the rest of use before you tricked him!” “Killing him is still an acceptable alternative,” Gaara replied calmly, further irritating the usually kind and gentle kunoichi. “I will start the match before someone gets disqualified. Begin!” Itachi interrupted. Hinata needed no further encouragement. She dashed forward, swinging her arm up in a juuken strike aimed for Gaara's chest. The strike was blocked by a wall of sand, but half the wall dissolved into individual particles as her strike disrupted the chakra in the sand. Gaara sent a few waves of sand, forcing Hinata back. Soon, she was trapped and was forced to use one of the new moves she had learned. “Kaiten!” Hinata called as she spun in place, repulsing the waves of sand with a sphere of chakra. Unfortunately, with all the sand she had created before, Gaara was at an advantage. “Arijigokurou” This was a new technique Gaara had developed for battles where she wanted her opponents to survive. The antlion prison resembled the double suicide decapitation technique, wherein the objective was to bury the opponent so that they could not move, but that is where the similarities ceased. The antlion prison created a swirling whirlpool of sand that pulled the opponent towards its core where they would be pulled down into the sand. The whirling sand was looser at the outsides, dragging the opponent down and preventing them from gaining footing to jump nor traction to walk out of the technique. As they got pulled further down into the core, the sand would compact into a pillar of sandstone encasing the target. Gaara could control the size and depth of the technique as well, enabling her to sink an entire army, or bury someone in a stoney tomb deep underground. Once an enemy was captured, he could easily use his desert burial to end their life, or remove their bodies if only the head was required. It was a very versatile technique that she was especially proud of, and was very effective against the kaiten. Hinata's spinning over the core of the technique only served to bury her faster, the piles of sand she had deflected only served to help form her tomb. Hinata struggled, but resistance was futile. Her spinning stopped as her legs were encased in compressed sandstone. She tried to smash it with powerful blows, but it kept reforming. Juuken strikes were useless since the lower levels of sand would continue pulling the disrupted sand, adding it to her stone prison. She grabbed at the walls of the deepening cone, but her fingers slid through the loose sand like water, offering her no purchase. A few seconds later, she was buried to her neck and all the sand compacted so that she couldn't move a muscle. After a minute of struggling, Hinata announced resignedly, “I forfeit.”

-Return of the Hummingbird-

Naruto gaped at the defeated look on Hinata's face. He had not known that she was feeling so neglected. He resolved to do what was necessary to right this wrong, and to spend more time with Tenten as well. Since Tenten was on a different team, she had received even less of his attention when he really should have been spending more of his off hours with her. He couldn't keep buying her affections with weapons or else she may begin thinking that he thought she was a whore, which was, of course, completely untrue. Having four women may have been a dream that would make Jiraiya drool, but in reality, there were loads of complications that he would probably never be able to completely comprehend. Gaara had been right when she had warned him of difficulties arising. He continued pondering how he would solve his five person love affair when Itachi announced the final battle. He stepped out onto the battlefield and faced Gaara who hadn't bothered to move after her last match. “Good luck Gaara-chan!” Naruto said, holding out his hand for a friendly handshake. Akama was taking the time to move to a position far enough back that he could avoid the initial onslaught of sand that was sure to come. “You will need it more,” Gaara replied, taking his hand. Naruto grinned and activated his doujutsu to its second level and began stroking the back of her hand with his thumb, seeing her visibly relax. “You may begin!” Itachi announced. Naruto's grin widened as he suddenly yanked on Gaara's arm, sending her careening into his chest. He quickly set to work suckling on a point on the rim of her ear where red and blue crossed, making her knees weak so that he had to hold her up with his arms. He moved on to her jawline and down her neck. Her sand lost all form and flopped lifelessly to the ground, much to the surprise of everyone in the stands, especially the ones from Suna. “Do you surrender?” Naruto whispered into her ear. Her black strips had all but disappeared. The yellow of fear, however, remained quite prominent. He nipped at a bar of yellow, then returned to the reds and reds crossing blues. Gaara gasped. Her body was wrapped in Naruto's arms and her hands pinned to his chest. Her fingers clutched at his mesh shirt as she tried to regain her senses, but Naruto's assault would not stop. She tried to speak, but it turned into a gasp followed b a whimper. “I can keep going all day,” Naruto promised with a gentle growl. He pulled her collar down far enough to nibble along the top of her clavicle. He located a large swathe of yellow and bit down on it, suckling at the flesh. “I! I-I...” Gaara was unable to finish speaking. Her breathing was rapid and her body was snuggling up against her husband against her will. “Do you wish to forfeit?” Itachi asked as Naruto went to work on a particularly bright patch of red. “Oh! YES!” Gaara screamed. “Winner by seduction, Naruto Namikaze!” Itachi announced to almost utter silence, except for the sound of a pencil taking notes somewhere in the audience. Naruto stopped his ministrations and laid Gaara gently down on her sand. “Thank you Itachi. I must say, that was a most unexpected method for obtaining victory. I think that this may very well be a first in the history of the chunin exams,” Minato paused his announcement to stifle some laughter, “Will all the contestants please return to the arena while the judges debate the merits of the contenders. Those who do not want to wait to see who had received chunin rank may collect their winnings and take some time to visit the sights and shops that our beautiful city has to offer. Uninvited ninja have one hour to vacate the city before ANBU begin assassinations. Invited ninja are free to stay the night, or until their wounds have healed, whichever is more convenient. Also, would Baki of the sand please report to the nearest ANBU. You will be escorted to the conference room to discuss the results of your team. Have a good afternoon everyone.” Most of the ninja remained seated, but the majority of the civilians began to shuffle out of the arena. Itachi, the Daimyos, and several other high-ranking ninja and influential people disappeared to discuss the results of the match.

Epilogue:

The next few days passed rather uneventfully, except for the occasional celebration party that went out of control one way or another. Several sound nin were caught sneaking around and a few ANBU were lost, but, overall, there were negligible losses from the attempted war. With Orochimaru dead, It was discovered that the cursed seals mind-altering component was reduced, only increasing aggression and not giving the user a compulsion to serve its creator. Naruto, however, was not having the best time. His fiancées were quite adamant, and he agreed with them, that he should not acquire any more girlfriends. Unfortunately, his display of his 'magic fingers' had given him a fan club on par with Sasuke's former fan club. Tenten, being the only one of Naruto's girls who was not living with him, was pestering Naruto to get her another legendary weapon so that she could take their relationship to the next level with a clear conscience. Hinata, Gaara, and Haku, after a few days of arguing, pushed the beds together so that they could all hold Naruto through the night. However, tension still rose over other issues concerning him. Fortunately, Gaara usually managed to come up with a logical solution and Haku was usually able to convince Hinata to follow it. None of the three would let Naruto have a say in the matter. Itachi moved back into the Uchiha district with his brother, making sure the younger Uchiha went to his twice-weekly therapy and anger-management sessions. He no longer wore a mask, and no one bothered him about his past – the civilians being too afraid, and the ninja being too used to him. Minato purchased a plot of land on the outskirts of the Uchiha estate with the plans of building a new clan compound. With as many wives as he would have, Minato was sure that Naruto would eventually need it. Kurogane was still working on Naruto's new sword. It's completion was expected to take several more months, if not longer. He was now thinking of adding another blade for free and presenting it as a wedding gift, if he could complete it by then. Baki returned to Suna and was elected as the interim Kazekage. He worked hard to rebuild trust between Suna and Konoha and was forced into many concessions, the greatest of which was the permanent transfer of the Sabaku clan to Konoha. The majority of Suna was just glad they no longer had to deal with an out of control jinchuuriki anymore. Oto seemed to just disappear. It was assumed that with their army massacred and their leaders gone, the village had ceased to exist.

The End

APPENDIX A: Teams Tracking, Infiltration, Assassination: Anko Mitarashi: Naruto, Hinata, Shino Hunting, Interrogation, Intelligence: Asuma Sarutobi: Shikamaru, Ino, Kiba Assault, Combat, Demolition: Kakashi Hatake: Sasuke, Sakura, Chouji

APPENDIX B: Abilities: NARUTO: (Wind) Shadow Clone (Mastered) Clones (Min 135 Mastered) Solid Henge (Mastered) Replacement (Mastered with immobile objects [shuriken to quadruple mass], moving objects 25%) Juukouken (Katas Mastered, chakra attacks from: hands Mastered, head Mastered, feet 80, elbows 75, knees 45, shoulders 15, hips 10) Hummingbird style (Mastered) Hybrid Hummingbird/juukouken (Katas 45) Tree climbing (Mastered) Water walking (Mastered) Leaf Sticking (42) Leaf Shuriken (100) Launches a leaf like a shuriken with chakra. Negligible damage. Kunai balancing (12 unmoving, 4 moving) Yokogan stage 1 (Slit pupil, black sclera, gold iris. heat thermal vision, vital tracking 80%, passion point location on those that consider him a potential mate) Yokogan stage 2 (Red Ring around iris. cold thermal vision, passion points [red], calming points [blue], aggression points [black], fear points [yellow]) Yokogan stage 3 Not Acquired Yokogan stage 4 Not Acquired Sealing (Mastered basic sealing scrolls and explosive notes. Strengthening seals, resistance seals, gravity seals adequate, others novice) Summoning (100%, Toad ability knowledge 40%) Rasengan (Mastered One at a time) Wind Manipulation (4%) Fire Manipulation (45%)

AKAMA: (Fire) Two tails Teeth and claws Scent tracking (Mastered) Healed by youki Demonic chakra absorption (40%) Human Speech (5%) Fire Manipulation (80%) Transformation (30% - Currently can only change size and colour) HINATA: (Water) Juuken (95% form, 32 mastered, 64 mastered, 128 50%, kaiten mastered, twin lion 0%) Suiken (45% form) Juuken/Suiken hybrid (20% form: Knife hand slice, punch power, palm juuken) Clone (100%) Replacement (100%) Henge (100%) Marksmanship (85% accuracy) Field Medic (75%) Tsunade Strength (65%)

SHINO: (Earth) Clone (100%) Replacement (100%) Henge (100%) Bug Clone (Mastered) Chakra Draining Kikai (90% colony) Flesh Eating Kikai (10% colony) Poison Kikai (In development) Academy Style (Mastered) Mantis Style Kenjutsu (35%)

HAKU: (Water + Wind + Ice) Taijutsu (80%) Ice Spears (20%) Senbon Marksmanship (95%) Flying Water Needles (80%) Demonic Ice Mirrors (100%) Kanabou Kenjutsu (10%) Field Medic (80%) Herblore (60%) Hidden Mist (100%) Silent Killing (60%) Tsunade Strength (.5%)

TENTEN: (Fire) Marksmanship (Mastered) Kenjutsu – Standard Weapons (95%) Kenjutsu – Zanbatou (10%) Academy Style (100%) Clone (100%) Replacement (100%) Henge (100%) Sealing Scrolls (100%) Twin Rising Dragons (80%) Wire Manipulation (Single Mastered, Multiple 80%)

GAARA: (Wind + Earth + Sand) Replacement (100%) Sand Clone (80%) Sand Manipulation (70%) Wind Manipulation (15%) Sand Armor (100%) Sand Shield (100%) Sand Shuriken (100%) Desert Coffin (100%) Desert Funeral (100%) Third Eye (70%) Feigning Sleep (50%) Marksmanship (20%) Taijutsu (10%) Arijigokurou (40%)

APPENDIX C: Translations JAPANESE(EXTRA SYLLABLES) – (Literal Translation) Actual Meaning – Use in the story. ABUKU – Bubbles/Head of Beer – Family name for the clients of Naruto's first C-rank mission. AJINAKO – Smart Child – Female Kusa spy released as a target during the exams. Favors genjutsu. AKAMA – Red Devil – Name for Naruto's fox kit. ANKOJOU – Solid Staff – Joujutsu user of Iwa exam team. AOTSUBA – Blue Sword-Guard – Missing nin from Kiri who specializes in defensive mizuton augmenting kenjutsu. Released during the exams as a target. ARIJIGOKUROU – Antlion Prison – A technique created by Gaara that creates an antlion trap with sand manipulation to bury foes. AWASUMA – Pure Fighting – Name of a male Kumo missing nin released during the exams as a target. Favors taijutsu. BYAKUROU – Pewter – Ranged marksman from Iwa exam team. DAICHI – Solid Earth – Taijutsu specialist of Iwa exam team. DOJOU – Soil – Member of the Iwa exam team who uses Doton jutsu. DORONKO – Morass of Mud – Kunoichi from an Iwa exam team who uses mud jutsu. GETA – Wooden Sandals – Wooden sandals worn by monks, like Jiraiya uses. GYUUNIKU – (Cow Meat) Beef – Used as ramen flavor. HAGANE – (Fire Metal) Steel – Used as a family name for Tenten's family. HAKAMA – Men's formal divided skirt – Traditional pants as worn by Shinto priests or Inuyasha. HAKINO – Having Ambition – Hyuuga main-branch kunoichi who attempted to assassinate Hiashi in order to take his position as clan head, killing a cadet-branch member in the process. Released during the exams as a target. HIBAKI – Waterfall from a high place Waterfall – Taki ninja who was Naruto's first preliminary opponent. HISEN – Waterfall – Taki nin killed in the preliminaries of the chunin exam. HIUN – Cloud Flying Through The Sky – Kumo nin, killed by Temari in the second round of the preliminaries. IKENIE IKIKAERU – Scapegoat Revival – Forbidden jutsu that sacrifices the life of one person to restore live to the body of another. ISARAI – Small Water Spring – Kiri nin, Kankuro's first opponent in the preliminary exams. JUUKOUKEN(PO) – (Brutal Act Self Defense) Brutal Fist – An alternate form of taijutsu developed but not regularly practiced by the Hyuuga clan that uses juuken-like strikes to cause physical destruction rather than attacking tenketsu. KABETSUCHI – Mud Wall – Iwa exam team member who uses defensive doton jutsu. KANDEN – Receive an electric shock – Kumo exam team member, loses to Lee in the second round of the preliminaries. KUROGANE – (Black Metal) Iron – Used as a given name for Tenten's father. MAITAI Dancing Body – Playful kunoichi from Yugakure who wandered off during a mission due to her lack of focus and became a missing-nin. Released during the exams as a target. Has an extremely flexible and double jointed body and prefers using short knives and agility to fight. MUKEI – Spiritual – Male civilian from the land of water who became a religious zealot and used a sword and some Mizuton jutsu to kill heretics. Released during the exams as a target. NABIKU – (To Flutter) Flutter – Used as a name for an Iwa nin met on Naruto's first C-rank. OUSHI – Bull – Used as the given name of a genin Naruto saves Hinata from. OYU – Hot Water – A Kiri nin, Temari's first opponent in the preliminary exams. RAIUN – Thunder Cloud – Kumo nin, Lee's first opponent in preliminary exams. RENDAJO – Lazy Daughter – Former Konoha kunoichi, a missing-nin from the Akamichi clan who was released during the exams as a target. SASU – (To Sting, or Stab) Sting – Used as a name for an Iwa nin met on Naruto's first C-rank. SAYU – Boiled Water – Kiri nin who lost to Shikamaru in the second round of the preliminaries. SEKITAN – Coal – Iwa exam team member who uses katon jutsu. SHIDEN – Sword Flash/Purple-Lightning – Missing nin from Kumo who specializes in raiton augmented kenjutsu. Released during the exams as a target. SUIKAN – Noble style jacket – A formal jacket with separated sleeves worn by nobility, priests and Inuyasha. TARUMI – Waterfall – Taki nin, Shikamaru's first opponent in the preliminary exams. TSUNOMARU – Perfect Horn – Name of a male Iwa spy released during the exams as a target. Favors the Earth Flow Spears technique. YOGOSU – Defile – Iwa exam team member with a bloodline that transforms earth into an acidic and poisonous substance. YOKOGAN – (Demon Fox Eye) Fox Eye – Naruto's doujutsu from using the fox chakra. YOKOTON – Fox Demon Style – A classification of abilities that require fox demon chakra. YURI – Vibration – Support type kunoichi from an Iwa exam team with sensor and medic abilities.