Chapter 28

"So how is she doing Nee-chan?" Naruto asked as he leaned over the chair Shizune was sitting on as said woman was going over a few pieces of paperwork Tsunade had once again claimed she forgot to do. Naruto's hand was resting beneath his head while he stared over at Sakura who had her hands held over a fish that rested on a small table. Her face was furrowed in concentration as the familiar green aura of the Healing Palm Technique washed over the fish. "Mina don't touch that. We dont want it smashing on the ground."

Mina Namikaze stared into one of the many jars that rested on the enormous bookcase which inside contained what looked like a pale pinkie finger. It grossed her out at first yet her eyes kept going back to it. "Okay Onii-chan." She called out before she skipped over and as usual jumped into the embrace of her big brother, wrapping her arms around his neck while his arms came from underneath her to keep her steady. She giggled as her feet swayed around in the air.

Shizune smiled at the interaction while trying her best to keep working on the paperwork. "Sakura's doing well. She was a bit rocky during the first week but she began adapting very well. Thankfully her chakra reserves have grown in the last 3 months and I'm proud to say is now firmly at a genin level. Her control grew as well and has one of the best chakra control I've seen for someone her age."

"So it was a good idea to bring her to you?"

"A very good idea."

Naruto sighed happily. "I'm glad. We could all see she wanted to contribute in someway but her bad habits and mind set was really getting in the way. Though I hear she hasn't spoken much to Sasuke as of late." Naruto admitted. "In fact I think Mito has said Sakura has been spending more time with her, Ino and Hinata. It's a good sign."

"It is. The idea someone could act that way over a boy at such a young age was quite unsettling. Though from the improvements she has made I thin she will go very far in this field. She's memorized everything I have told her and taught her and the patients she assists me with seem to like her. The nurses too have taken a shining too her though her temper can sometimes get the better of her."

Naruto chuckled. "Well it's a good first step and I'm sure her parents are happy that she's taking her career as a shinobi more seriously."

"Onii-chan what's she doing?" Mina asked as she stared over at Sakura who was still focusing on the fish on the table. Mina's face scrunched up since she recognized the green aura around her hands and knew her brother had done something similar in the past with his hands.

"Well Mina Sakura is currently learning the healing palm technique. You remember that Shizune and Tsunade are medical shinobi right?" Naruto asked and saw Mina's face scrunch up while nodding.

"Yeah I remember Onii-chan." She responded back as she looked too and from Naruto and Sakura.

"Well Sakura is currently learning to be a medical shinobi like them. Instead of fighting enemies her primary goal when she is out on missions will be to heal her friends and comrades when they get hurt. Plus when she's not on mission she will help out at the hospital and help Tsunade and Shizune nee-chan with patients."

Mina understood. "You can do it to can't you Onii-chan?" She asked with Naruto smiling and holding up his free hand to show the healing palm technique.

"I can though I'm not a medical shinobi like nee-chan is. It's just something they taught me just in case I got hurt and there was no one with the skills to heal me. It's very handy to have." He admitted. "Why do you ask Mina-chan?"

Mina kept looking back and forth between Naruto and Sakura before he saw a timid look appear on her face. Shizune saw it too and put down her papers. "What is it Mina? What's wrong?" Naruto asked as took a seat beside Shizune, a frown on his face at the face Mina was pulling.

"Can I tell you a secret? She asked and saw both nod their heads.

"Of course Mina-chan. You can tell me anything. What's on your mind?" Naruto asked as Mina shuffled around a bit on his lap.

"Oni-chan I don't like fighting. I don't think I want to be a shinobi like you, Eiji, Mito, Kaa-san and Tou-san." she told them. Mina expected both Naruto and Shizune to looked surprised or stunned but instead they both looked at her in gentle understanding and both gave her a comforting smile. She felt Naruto's arms wrapped tighter around her and felt him kiss the side of her head.

"Is that all? That's nothing to be ashamed off Mina" Naruto told her. "I know alot of people who are like that."

"Believe it or not Mina I'm like that in a way. Though I may fight from time to time deep down I hate it. It's why I chose to be a medical shinobi an trained under Lady Tsunade. The idea of primarily looking after other shinobi and healing them helped me find my place in the shinobi system." Shizune explained. "In fact you don't have too fight at all as a medical shinobi if you don't want to. You can choose to be stationed in the hospital and sometimes in the chunin exams."

"So I could be a nurse and still use chakra?" Shizune nodded.

"Is that something you could be interested in?" Naruto asked her. "I think you would make a wonderful medical ninja Mina. You're very smart and you have very steady hands." Naruto told her. "Does Kaa-san and Tou-san know about these feelings?"

Mina shook her head which made Naruto chuckle. "Do you want me to be with you to tell them later?" Again she nodded her head. "Never be ashamed about something of this nature Mina. You could never make me mad or upset okay?"

"Okay Onii-chan." Mina whispered before the two hugged and Naruto gently rocked them side to side. "Do you think they'll be mad?"

"No Mina not at all. In fact I bet they will be proud of you for wanting to be a medical shinobi. It's nice to have someone in the family break the mold." Naruto said. "In fact if you learn to be a medical shinobi then Mito and Eiji can finally have someone to nurse them back to health when they've gone and got themselves hurt." Naruto chucked while Mina giggled. Eiji and Mito were always getting in scraps.

"AHH WHY IS THIS SO FRUSTRATING!" Sakura yelled out as she began waving her fist at the fish before punching it. Bits of fish scales and guts went all over the table and onto the floor, prompting Shizune to sigh and shake her head.

"That's the third one this week." She muttered before everyone heard the door open and Itachi walk inside. He immediately looked straight towards Naruto and beckoned him over.

"Naruto can I speak with you for a moment?" Itachi asked surprising Naruto but he nodded that it was fine. He got up while putting Mina on the seat next to Shizune.

"I'm going to go talk with Itachi for a minute Mina. Shizune nee-chan can tell you more about being a medical-shinobi. I'll be back soon." He told her and got a nod from Mina before Mina and Shizune began to converse. He left the room following Itachi out before both stopped in the hallway. Itachi looked pretty serious and crossed his arms as his black eyes met with his violet ones. "What's this about Itachi?"

"I've decided Sasuke's attitude has gone on long enough. It's time for some tough love in order to stop him from going down this path he's decided to take."

Naruto snorted. "About time don't you think? I've always said you and sensei were too soft on him." He saw his friend sigh and Naruto could tell Itachi had finally realized what needed to be done. Naruto didn't want to see their family get torn apart because Sasuke's hatred was beginning to take control of his life. The boy was too prideful and arrogant for his won good.

"I know and that's why I need your help with this. He and Mother just had another argument which left my Mother close to tears. I'm done with this attitude." Itachi explained to which Naruto was all ears.

He was all for a good ass whooping. Especially if it was for Itachi's brat of a brother.

Later that Day- Uchiha Compound

The sound of fists hitting against a wooden post rang though the Uchiha Compound training ground as Sasuke Uchiha slammed his clenched fist against the hard wood, a look of determination etched onto his face. He has a bead of sweat running down his forehead and wore his usual blue top and white shorts. The skin on his knuckles were red raw from how hard he was punching his target yet he forced himself through the pain he was feeling in order to help reach his goal.

Since then night his father and many of his clansmen had been killed all he felt was this swirl of rage building up in his stomach. The need need to prove his worth to everyone had only gotten stronger over the last few years and it showed in his performance both at the Academy and when he was with his team. It annoyed him that he was forced to stay at he Academy until the age of 13 as he felt he was more then ready to be put on active duty a year earlier. It was only because of the Hokage and his family that it was never allowed.

It didn't help that he knew his brother and his brother's best friend were the two mostly responsible for slaughtering his father and his clan. He didn't understand how people could just accept it and go on with their life. Why was there no justice for their family? Why were they never punished for their actions? He didn't understand and it made his blood boil.

He wasn't like Itachi or his friend Naruto. He had heard what people would whisper around the village and how they compared him to them. It burned him to the core when they did that. He wasn't Itachi and he certainly wasn't Naruto. He was Sasuke Uchiha, youngest son of Fugaku Uchiha and the man that would one day defeat his brother to take the title of Leader of the Uchiha Clan. He would make their family prosperous again.

"You know there's not much point in punching a target that doesn't move or tries to fight back." Sasuke heard. He turned around and narrowed his eyes when he saw Naruto standing ten meters away from him with his usual calm expression on his face and hands in his pockets. He wasn't in his shinobi clothes and instead in his everyday clothing.

'He's fast. I didn't even sense him.' Sasuke thought before he spoke to the blonde Jonin. "What do you want? Itachi's not here."

"I know." Naruto responded. "I'm not here to see Itachi. I'm here to see you."

Sasuke held his head high before going to turn around. "I'm busy. Go bug someone else."

"Well that's a shame. Here I thought you would like to have a spar with me." Naruto asked and grinned when he saw Sasuke body stop mid turn. "I was quite impressed with what I saw from you on the bridge back in wave. You've got your sharingan now and I have been hearing from the civilians that your making quite a little name for yourself recently. It's impressive for someone who has only been a genin for six months." Naruto answer got the reaction he had wanted. He saw a small smirk appear on the Uchiha's face. He looked incredibly smug.

"I'm an Uchiha. Do you expect anything less?"

"True. Uchiha's are quite frightening. Itachi is proof of that and I know what kind of a monster he is when he's fighting. So how about it?" Slowly he saw the gears winding in Sasukes head.

In Sasuke mind he saw this as the perfect chance to test just how far he had come. Whether he wanted to admit it or not the man in front of him was very powerful and therefore a great way to see just how far he had come in the last six months. He had seen the match against the Sandaime and it had caused a rush of excitement to run through his veins. He wanted that kind of battle with someone one day. In his mind at least Itachi was the only one that could do it for him.

"Fine but I won't take it easy on you. An Uchiha doesn't back down from a fight. Everyone know's only an Uchiha can beat another Uchiha."

"Really? Well that's funny since I have beaten Itachi a number of times. How do you explain that?" Naruto asked and saw an angry look make it's way onto Sasuke's face. Obviously he didn't like that little comment.

"It was nothing but luck." Sasuke growled out as he took a fighting stance. The classic Uchiha interceptor style that Naruto recognized all too well. Sasuke waited for Naruto to get into his own stance but instead saw him remain in his current posture with his hands still in his pocket. "Get in your stance so we can begin."

Naruto in return gave him a grin. "No need. I'm confident I can hold my own as I am." The words boiled Sasuke's blood at how lightly he was being taken and felt his nails begin to dig into his own palms. He would not be looked down on like this.

"Fine suit yourself!" Sasuke exclaimed before throwing a barrage on kunai towards his opponent. When all of the kunai were released he rushed forward.

He didn't understand what had happened but he watched as Naruto very subtly shifted his legs, shoulder and neck around just enough and watched in surprise all of his kunai's go right past him. None of them even scratched him nor caught a piece of his clothing. It was similar to first time he thought Kakashi and how nonchalant the Copy Ninja had acted with him the first time they fought.

Sasuke jumped into the air and tried to land a blow onto Naruto face but promptly blocked by one of Naruto' hands. Sasuke thought didn't stop and then swung his right leg down as he twisted his body in the air. Again though Naruto blocked it this time by bringing his elbow up and stopping his leg from going any further. Before Sasuke could twist himself around again and try with his other fist he felt his body begin to swing in the air and get launched towards the ground.

Sasuke recovered as he skidded on the ground and saw that Naruto had barely moved a muscle. Narrowing his eyes Sasuke raced through some hand signs before say out "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu." The fire flew straight towards Naruto and he watched as the fire engulfed Naruto completely as well as the are a of earth that lay around him.

Sasuke would have smirked if not for the voice behind him. "Not bad." Sasuke turned around only to meet a strong foot connect with his stomach. The boy skidded across the ground and clasped his stomach as he felt the wind knock right out of him. He struggled to stand up right and shakily managed to stand up after a minute of trying to catch his breath.

"You ready to keep going? I thought we were just getting started?" Naruto asked and grinned once more when he saw Sasuke activate his sharingan, a glare on his face as he tried to burn Naruto alive with it. He rushed forward again but quickly stopped and fell to the ground when Naruto suddenly appeared in front of him. 'His speed is off the charts.'

Naruto slammed his fist into Sasuke's stomach only for the Uchiha to use the substitute jutsu. Sasuke appeared a few meters away on his left and saw him rushing hand signs again.

"Fire Stlye Phoeniex Flower Jutsu!" Multiple flower shapes fireballs flew towards Naruto only for Sasuke to watch as Naruto did the impossible in his eyes and extinguish them with simple punches. His hands smoked slightly but he saw no pain register on the blondes face."

"Itachi's version of that jutsu is at least five times more powerful and fare more wide spread." He watched rage contort on Sasuke's face as he mentioned Itachi again. "You should really learn to master your jutsu before beginning too learn more."

"STOP COMPARING ME TO ITACHI!" Sasuke roared out as ninja wire appeared in his hand and Naruto watched as Sasuke ran at his top speed, which Naruto had to admit wasn't bad and was probably low chunin level at best, and wrapped Naruto's body in firm ninja wire. Sasuke's feet pressed against Naruto shoulder's before he pushed off into the air. A kunai with an explosive tag appeared in his hand before throwing it right in front of Naruto.

Sasuke's shairngan looked down at the captured Naruto and yet before the explosion could even happen he watched in disbelief as chakra wrapped around Naruto's hands and promptly swiped and cut straight through the ninja wire like a hot knife went through butter. And then as if he was trying to mock Sasuke, he planted his foot on the exploding tag on the kunai and deactivated it with a quick surge of chakra.

"Your speed isn't bad." Naruto admitted as Sasuke landed on the ground. "But you should be mindful of your surroundings and not focus so heavily on one person in such a big field." Sasuke looked confused but before he could ask a hissing sound came from underneath him. Looking down he panicked when he spotted a live exploding tag beneath and jumped out of the way as quick as he could. The tag exploded and the force of the shock wave pushed Sasuke further through the air and slammed him hard into the ground.

Sasuke didn't get a chance to act as Naruto appeared right above him and brought his right foot down on top of him. Sasuke narrowly avoided and rolled out of the way as Naruto create a small crater in the ground as his foot hit the ground. "Why are you running? Itachi never runs away from a fight."

Sasuke's anger began to spike again as his sharingan span wildly in his eyes and his whole body shook with anger. 'Why isn't he taking me seriously? Does he think he's better then me?'

"YOUR NOT BETTER THEN ME! I WILL NOT BE LOOKED DOWN ON BY THE LIKES OF YOU!" He rushed Naruto and without thinking got a kunai out from his pouch and began swiping madly at his opponent. To Sasuke's extreme annoyance Naruto simply side stepped every single swipe. That lasted for a good minute as Sasuke let his anger and frustration vent form his body. He couldn't believe how powerful this guy was that none of his attacks were working. Even his sharingan was completely useless against him.

Eventually Naruto was fed up off the lazy fighting from Sasuke and decided to end the fight. He grabbed Sasuke's wrist mid swipe before with one movement of his hand he broke Sasuke's wrist, a loud snap being heard across the field that dropped Sasuke to the ground. He fell to his knee's in pain but before he could shout at Naruto, the blonde delivered a powerful knee to the face, breaking a nose and dropping Sasuke completely to the ground onto his back.

Sasuke held his nose with his good arm before he felt a firm foot get placed on his foot. Naruto stood above him with a look of disgust and annoyance on his face as he shook his head in disappointment. "I honestly expected better from you. Even Eiji on his own could give me a better effort then what you gave me."

"Don't put me in the same class as him. I'm stronger then that idiot."

"Do you know why I'm hearing beating you into the ground?" Naruto asked. Sasuke would have snorted but feared it would cause his nose to hurt even more then it already did. It was already bent at a funny angle from the knee to the face.

"Because you think you better then me?" Sasuke sneered yet Naruto shook his head. The foot on his chest got heavier as more weight was pressed against his chest.

"No you little fool. I'm doing this because Itachi asked me." Naruto watched as Sasuke face turned from hateful to one of complete confusion. He saw Naruto turn his head and look to the left of them and too Sasuke surprise there was Itachi standing a few meters from them with an impassive look on his face. Itachi's eye stared down at Sasuke not showing any emotion as he began walking towards them.

"You can take your foot of him now Naruto. I think you have roughed him up enough." Sasuke heard Itachi say and watched as Naruto nodded his head and lift his foot off the ground. Sasuke didn't move as the two older boys stood above him both looking down at him with impassive looks.

"Why...why did you have him do this to me?" Sasuke asked as he looked directly at Itachi with a hateful look.

Itachi wasn't effected by the gaze. "It's simple. This attitude you have carried with you for the last few years stops today and it's time you started to grow up." Itachi told him.

"I have this attitude because of what you did to our family. Why you killed our father." Sasuke said back trying to stand up but saw Itachi shake his head at him.

"Do you know why I'm as strong as I am today Sasuke? Do you know why I have got the level I am currently at?" This time Sasuke did snort though he regretted it as pain filled his nose.

"Because your a prodigy and your Mother's precious eldest."

"Hey!" Naruto barked at him. "Show your Mother the respect she rightfully deserves. You should feel lucky Mikoto-sensei is you Mother. Many would kill to have a woman like her as their parent."

"You are wrong about that. It's true being a prodigy does help in becoming a strong shinobi but it will only get you so far. I am strong today because I chose to surround myself with friends who care for me and would have my back whenever I asked it off them."

"Friends? Friends make you weak. We are Uchiha. We are the strongest." Sasuke barked out as Itachi shook his head.

"That's where you are wrong again Sasuke. Being along doesn't make you strong. in fact being alone will only limit and hinder your progress as a shinobi. If you continue the way you are I can guarantee you will not reach past a certain level of strength and you will be left behind while everyone else in your generation only further expands their abilities and remain far ahead of you."

"Lies." Sasuke barked back but Itachi wasn't finished.

"Do you think Eiji and Mito are as strong as they are because they did it all alone?" Naruto asked and saw Sasuke have no comment for a response. "They had our parents. They had their friends. They had their teachers. True as of now their only genin just like you but in a few years? Who knows. A lot can happen in a couple of years. Do you really want to see my siblings and the friends you chose to abandon for a life of solitude to surpass you every way imaginable?"

Very slowly they saw Sasuke shake his head.

Itachi went down on one knee as he stared towards his younger brother. "I understand why your angry Sasuke. You feel betrayed with what happened that night. The way our father died." Sasuke tried to look away but Itachi's hand grabbed his chin and forced him to look at him. "He was so focused on my training and you felt like he didn't pay enough attention to you. That I took him away from you at a time where he was finally beginning to show interest in your development. He was the one who taught you the Fireball jutsu right?"

Sasuke nodded.

"A lot happened that night Sasuke. I see now that perhaps it wasn't a good idea to keep you the truth of why it happened away from you." He saw Sasukes eyebrows suddenly lift up in surprise, not fully understanding what he meant. I asked Naruto to beat you like this because you needed to see that even though we are Uchiha that does not make us invincible. Madara uchiha thought he was invincible and look where it got him."

"I ...guess." Sasuke admitted. "But what do you mean by the truth?"

"I will tell you all about it and I won't spare any details Sasuke. However I want you to promise me here and now that this attitude you have carried around for so long will finally end and you open up more. You will start reconnecting with your friends, you will cease trying to frighten our sister who just want's to spend time with her big brother and you will stop ignoring our Mother who cares and loves you too much to see you shut her out." Sasuke tried to look annoyed but the look Itachi gave him stopped that from happening. He didn't look to pleased about it but after a moments silence he nodded his head.

"I'll try."

"Thank you." Itachi said before turning his head to Naruto. "Could you do something about his nose?"

"Sure." Naruto got down on one knee next to Itachi before grabbing Sasuke's head in his hands and putting his thumbs in front of his nose. "This is going to hurt. You ready?" Sasuke nodded his head before Naruto pushed his thumbs down on Sasuke's nose and pushed it back back into place. The sound was sickening and Sasuke grunted in pain though managed to tough it out. "I'll you guys to talk though I will say one thing before I leave."

Naruto drew Shusui out of the seal in his wrist and stuck the tip of the blade directly underneath Sasuke's chin, frightening the boy at how close it was to his skin and how quick it appeared. "I hear you have had a bit of a obsession with my sister Mito and have been giving looks that have been making her feel uncomfortable." Naruto eyes grew colder by the second that made Sasuke gulp, forgetting about his previous attitude. "If I find out you tried anything and I mean anything without her consent I will personally gut you like a fish and feed you to my Tigers. Is that understood?"

"Understood." Sasuke muttered out before Naruto disappeared in a swirl of leaves. Once he was gone Sasuke tried to glare but stopped when he saw Itachi looking at him. "What?"

"I'd take the threat seriously. I've seen him gut people and feed them to his Tigers. Be very careful." Sasuke's face paled before he reluctantly nodded. "Come with me. I believe I owe you a conversation." Itachi helped Sasuke up before they both disappeared in a swirl of leaves, leaving the training ground empty.

Next Day

Naruto sat in the packed Jonin hall right beside Hana and Hayate as they all sat on the cushioned ground with every other Jonin of the Leaf village. Across the room sitting on the ground he could see Kakashi with his usual gravity defying silver hair and as usual was sat with Asuma, Kurenai and Gai. They all knew they were all gathered together to discuss the up and coming Chunin exams that were only two weeks away. Itachi wasn't with them due to being on an Anbu mission and Mikoto was at home since she was still classed as a retired Jonin. Kushina was sat off with Tsume Inuzuka at the front of the gathering.

They sat patiently before the side door at the front of the room opened up with Minato, Hiruzen, Koharu, Homura and the Jonin Commander Shikaku Nara walking into the room and taking the seats at the front of the room. Minato wore his Hokage hat while Hiruzen took the spot next to him. Unsurprisingly Danzo was no where to be seen which was no surprise since the man rarely left his own personal quarters though he and Itachi booth knew the man was likely in the hidden Root Bunker somewhere in the village.

The Jonin in the room were quiet as they entered the room and waited for the meeting to begin. After a few moments everyone watched Minato stand up while placing his Hokage hat on the desk in front of him. "Good morning everyone. I'm sure your all aware what this meeting is about and are all aware that the Chunin Exams will be taking place in the next two weeks."

Naruto watched everyone nod their head and heard some whispered and murmurs among some of his fellow Jonin. "Since it's so close its time to let everyone know what will be happening this year. First off the first exam will of course be the written exam which will take place at the Academy. I plan on having two of our chunin set up a genjutsu on the lower level to try trick the genin. If they can't see through it then we will be weeding out those not ready very early on. The Proctor for the 1st exam will be Ibiki Morino, Head of the Interrogation Corps."

Many shivered at that as Ibiki stood up from his seat and bowed too the Hokage and the elders whilst giving some of the other jonin a glare. It had its desired effect as some looked away as he sat back down. Some of the Jonin were already starting to pay their respects to the genin that would have to face him.

"The Second Exam will be a Survival exercise that will take place in the Forest of Death. The genin will have 5 days to collect a two scrolls, one of which will be given to them after passing the first exam and the second which they will need to retrieve. Once they have both they will need to go directly to the tower located in the heart of the Forest. The Proctor for the Second Exam will be Anko Mitarashi of the Interrogation Corps."

Like Ibiki Anko stood up and bowed to the Hokage and elders though wore a very pleased look on her face while waving at everyone else in the room. Her friends had to chuckle at her antics and was happy to show her excitement. Some whispered some harsh words about the purple haired kunoichi but were quickly silence by Hana and Naruto who had heard them.

"Finally the third exam will of course be the annual one on one tournament. As always it will be held in the Konoha Stadium that was fixed up after the field was partially destroyed by the Sandaime and my son." Naruto heard chuckles ring out from through the room making him get embarrassed. It didn't help that he heard his Mother chuckle the loudest and Anko got him in a headlock and ruffled his hair. "The Proctor for the third Exam will be Genma."

As before Genma stood up and did his part before sitting back down. "Now would the Jonin Sensei's all stand up and give us the names of the genin in your team that you are putting forward." Minato sat back down and got a pen and paper as he began preparing to list down the teams and the nae of those from the leaf that would be competing. Naruto watched as five of the Jonin sensei's stood up, one of which was his mother who had a proud grin on her face.

"I, Kakashi Hatake nominate Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno and Eiji Namikaze of Team 7."

"I, Kurenai Yuhi nominate Hinata Hyuga, Yakumu Kurama and Shino Aburame of Team Team 8."

"I, Might Gai nominate Rock Lee, TenTen and Neji Hyuga of Team 9."

"I, Asuma Sarutobi of Team 10 nominate Choji Akimichi, Ino Yamanaka and Kiba Inuzuka of Team 10."

"I, Kushina Namikaze of Team 11 nominate Mito Namikaze, Shikamaru Nara and Sai of Team 11."

The room broke out into whispers at the nominations. Everyone seemed surprised that the rookies of the village were already being placed into the chunin exams so soon. After only six months they had to wonder how far they could have come in that space of time. But Naruto knew how far they had come. He had seen first hand Eiji manage to defeat Haku with Sasuke and Sakura was progressing nicely in her medical ninja training. Plus Mito and her team were gelling nicely even if they bickered alot. He had a feeling they would be surprising everyone for this chunin exams.

"Hokage-sama." Naruto heard as everyone looked towards the jonin that had spoken up. "What other villages will be sending teams this year?" That got everyone curious since everyone knew they had to be on their guard when other villages sent teams to Konoha.

"Well we have quite a number this year. We have multiple teams from Kusagakure, Takigakure, Otogakure, Amegakure and even some from Sunagakure. From what the Kazekage has informed me his children will be participating this year no doubt to help spice up the chunin exams this year." Some accepting murmurs were heard in the hall. Suna had been a relatively positive ally in the last two decades though there was always going to be some distrust. No one seemed to bothered with the teams from the smaller villages.

Naruto felt a little downtrodden at not hearing one of the the other great Shinobi but before he could dwell on it his father continued. "However that's not all." Naruto head snapped up and looked towards his father. I received two message over the past three days before this meeting. It seems that Kirigakure will also be taking part and will be sending 2 teams to compete. Not only that but Iwagakure will also be sending multiple teams this year. Along with the teams Iwagakure has decided to finally reach out to us and put together some kind of alliance between are two village. The Tsuchikage will be present during the the final exam but will be sending his granddaughter to begin talks."

When he finished speaking many of the Konoha shinobi looked angry and were muttering obscene words, especially towards Iwa. Many had lost family and loved ones in the Third Shinobi War and everyone knew there was still some kind of bad blood between their two villages. Even Kushina was frowning. She didn't like the thought of so many potentially threats in Konoha, especially near her babies. It was a thought that was going through many of the Konoha mothers in the room.

Naruto though ignored everyone else in the room and wore a megawatt smile on his face. He tried to hide it but he just couldn't do so. He was too happy. Kurotsuchi was coming to Konoha at last and was doing so to begin peace talks and an alliance between their two villages.

The time for their reveal might have been closer then he realized.

No one seemed to notice the smile since most were to busy talking about the exams. Everyone except the always observant Sandaime Hokage.

'Well what's got him so happy?'