Chapter 13 : The Third Stage!

It was the day of the third and final stage of the Chunin Exams, and it seemed as if the entirety of Konoha had managed to get tickets. The stadium was filled to the brim with people from all over the elemental nations, many of who had come to see this generation's lineup of ninja. People from all stations in life, from Daimyo's to paupers had come for what many were sure would be an exciting set of matches. Of course, it also helped that everyone finally got to see the newest and possibly one of the famous or infamous, depending on whom you asked, ninja.

Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze was standing with the genin who had made it to the finals, in the center of the stadium where everyone could see them. He looked out at the crowd and noticed that many of the people there were pointing to him as they spoke. The blond shinobi was really beginning to rethink his position on whether or not being so well known was a good thing, when he had been younger he would have killed for this kind of attention. Now though…now I just want some peace and quiet…

He shook himself out of his thoughts and looked up at the kage booth, to see the four kage's who were in attendance this year being seated with their bodyguards.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Tsunade looked out over the crowd that this year had turned up, it was exactly what she had expected the turn out to be this year. The blond Hokage had sent several personal letters to Daimyos and anybody who she deemed as important to let them know that she had a special attraction for them at the Chunin Exams this year.

"Hokage-Dono."

Tsunade turned around to see Mei Terumi greeting her with a smile, walking up to her with her two bodyguards on either side.

"Mizukage-Dono," Tsunade greeted as the woman took a seat on the blond's left.

"You know this is the first Chunin Exam I've actually been to as a Kage," Mei said as she looked down at the stadium, smiling as she saw Naruto. "It's rather exciting."

"It is a rather interesting thing to see from this perspective."

The two women and their bodyguards turned to see Gaara and his two siblings walking up to them, "I myself had the same feeling the first time I watched the Chunin Exams as a Kage."

"Kazekage-Dono, it's a pleasure to see you again," Tsunade greeted. "How was the trip here?"

Gaara took off his Kage hat as he sat down on the left-hand side of Mei, "it was fine, there was nothing very eventful that happened." Gaara turned to Mei, "you are the new Mizukage correct?" he asked.

"I am," Mei said as she held out a hand, which Gaara accepted after a bit. "I have heard many things about you from Naru-koi."

Gaara cocked an eyebrow at the suffix, he absently wondered if the Mizukage and Naruto had a relationship outside of just what he did for her during the civil war. When Naruto had visited Suna he had not mentioned being close to Kiri's new leader, then again Gaara had gotten the feeling that there were a lot of things his blond friend had not mentioned back then. "He has spoken of me?" Gaara enquired.

Mei smiled, "quite often, he told me about the similarities you two have with your past."

While Gaara's siblings were slightly shocked, the red-haired Kazekage merely nodded in understanding.

"Looks like everyone else is already here."

The three Kage's turned their head to the voice, to find A, Bee, and Yugito walking up to them. "It looks like this year has gained quite the crowd; I don't think I've seen so many people at one exam."

"We have gotten a pretty big turn out this year," Tsunade agreed as the Raikage took the seat on her right. "Though it may be that some of the people here are really just coming to see one of Konoha's more infamous shinobi."

The Raikage laughed, "yes that would not surprise me, people always seem to have something of a fandom for certain powerful figures in the shinobi world. And I must admit few seem to fill that requirement as well as Naruto-san does!"

Kankuro leaned into Temari's ear as he whispered, "it seems that Naruto has really gotten around." He could not believe that the little pipsqueak who had only worn orange and screamed 'Dattebeyo!' at the top of his lungs was so famous. Not only famous but apparently had some kind of intimate relationship with the Mizukage, who in his humble opinion was a complete babe.

"I know what you mean," Temari whispered back, "he seems to know just about every Kage in the elementals. In fact, the only one he does not seem to be friends with is the Tsuchikage, and that's just because Iwa hates his father."

"Yugito-chan," Mei greeted the younger woman with a smile, "are you looking forward to seeing the kids Naru-koi trained in action?"

Yugito looked at the red-haired woman and offered her own smile, despite their rocky start the two had ended up becoming friends. "I am, knowing Naru-kun they should be able to put up quite the fight."

As the two women talked the other ninja in the booth looked at them, most wondering how the two knew each other. None of the other Kage's or their bodyguards besides Tsunade knew that Mei and Yugito had both been staying at the Namikaze estate. Tsunade had made Naruto tell her his relationship with all of the girls he planned on marrying; the only female she did not know he was dating was Konan. Even then Naruto had forced her to come to his estate before he told her anything, making sure that he told her in the most secure location he could think of so that the information was away from prying eyes. Most people would assume that the young man was being paranoid, but Tsunade knew that with all of the enemies he had in and outside of the village, paranoia was a good thing.

Tsunade looked out at the crowd, specifically the Daimyo's booth in an effort to make sure that all the dignitaries who had come for the Exams were present. Nodding to herself the blond Hokage stood up from her seat and walked to the ledge, she raised her hands in a grandiose gesture as she began her speech. "Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to welcome all of you to the Chunin Exams!" A roar of approval came up from the crowd, Tsunade waited for it to die down before she continued. "This year we have nine contestants who have proven their worth, showing skills beyond their status. Today you will get to see these talented young ninjas in action, let the Chunin Exams begin!"

"You seem quite good at riling up the crowd Hokage-Dono," Mei complimented as Tsunade returned to her seat, Mei herself had never been all that good at speeches, even short ones; at least not to the masses. She could do it, of course, no Kage worth their weight would be unable to give a good rallying speech, but it had never been her forte.

"Thanks, I guess, I honestly hate speeches," Tsunade said, getting a trickle of laughter to run through the Kage booth.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Before we begin this exam there are a few new additions to this Exam that I have added," Naruto said as the tournament started. "First we have the same rule as the one in the Prelims, you listen to what I say when I say it. Failure to do this will result in your immediate termination from the Exams. Next to make this Exam a little more challenging and… entertaining, I have placed several traps all throughout this arena." Many of the genins felt a sheen of sweat on their skin at seeing the sadistic leer on Naruto's face. "There may be other surprises in store as well, problems that will arise and force you to think on your feet. I hope all of you have prepared well this past month…"

"Now," Naruto began, "let's get to the first battle, Juka Carotake vs. Hanabi Hyuuga. Everyone else please leave the arena floor and go up to the fighter's booth!"

As the other seven genins left the arena floor, Hanabi and Juka stayed, moving to opposite sides of the arena. Hanabi got into a classic Juken stance and flared her Byakugan, making the veins around her temples bulge. Juka got into the Standard Suna academy stance. Neither spoke yet as they waited for the signal to start.

"Are both fighters ready?" Naruto asked and received a nod from both of them. Bringing up his hand Naruto made a downwards slashing motion, "then Hajime!" The blond shinobi jumped back as the battle started.

"You should give up," Hanabi stated in her emotionless voice, using her Hyuuga face to maximize the effect. "You cannot win against me."

Juka snorted, "less talk, more action little girl."

Hanabi glared at her opponent and rushed towards Juka, hoping to get in close so she could use her Juken taijutsu style. As the Hyuuga Heiress ran, Juka began going through hand seals, stopping on the Tori (Bird) seal as he called out his jutsu.

"Fuuton: Daitoppa! (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)"

A large gust of wind hit Hanabi, attempting to lift her into the air. The young pale-eyed genin channeled chakra into the bottom of her feet, sticking to the ground as she let the gust pass her. When it did she kicked off again, closing the distance she aimed a strike at one of the tenketsu on Juka's abdomen. However, the Suna genin jumped back, pulling out several kunai and wrapping exploding tags around them. He channeled some chakra into them and threw them at Hanabi. The Hyuuga genin saw the kunai coming and began to spin.

"Hakkesho Kaiten! (Heavenly Divination Rotation)"

A blue shield of chakra surrounded the Hyuuga Heiress, deflecting the kunai and making them bounce off her shield. However that did not stop the notes from exploding, the blue energy sphere was blown back ways, dissipating to reveal a slightly burnt Hanabi. The said girl shook the cobwebs out of her head and began another charge. Juka began going through more hand seals as he continuously backpedaled, only to trip a wire and force both Hanabi and him to dodge as several kunai and shuriken came flying at them. Before Hanabi could recover, Juka re-did his hand seals and called out his jutsu.

"Fuuton: Reppusho!"

Juka thrust out his hand with his palm facing out, a blast of wind shot from his hand and towards Hanabi. Being able to see the chakra, Hanabi dodged the wind attack and managed to close the distance. In that instant it was over as the Hyuuga kunoichi closed off Juka's tenketsu points, knocking the Suna genin unconscious.

"Winner by knockout, Hanabi Hyuuga!" Naruto announced.

The crowd cheered for Hanabi as she left the arena floor. Several medics came out with a stretcher, placing Juka on it before heading to the medical wing.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Your genin is quite talented Hokage-Sama," Gaara said as the fight ended.

"Though she was quite reckless," Mei spoke up before Tsunade could say anything, "had it been a real battle and she charged a wind user with more powerful techniques, she would have died."

Tsunade nodded, "I have to agree with you Mizukage-Dono, and she has good techniques but needs to work on her strategy."

"Still at least she's got spirit!" the Raikage said, "that's always a plus in my books!"

The other Kage's looked at him oddly for a moment but nodded in agreement.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Next match, Konohamaru Sarutobi, and Renji Abari, could you two please come down to the arena floor!" Naruto called out over the noise of the crowd.

While Renji walked down the stairs, Konahamaru in his typical fashion jumped out of the fighter's box, using chakra to lessen the impact of his fall. Konahamaru moved to one side of the stadium while Renji took the other.

Knowing he would need to use something other than a kunai for this battle, the young Sarutobi heir unsealed his bo staff. Twirling it around before getting into his stance. In response to the younger genin bringing out his weapon, Renji unsheathed his sword and got into a standard kenjutsu stance.

"I hope you're ready for me to kick your ass!" Konohamaru shouted in an enthusiastic and cocky voice.

Renji sweatdropped, this kid is like a miniature version of Ichigo with that attitude, out loud he said, "I think you're a little too cocky for your own good kid, I'll enjoy taking you down a few pegs!"

Naruto looked at both fighters, "are you two ready?" receiving a nod he shouted, "then… Hajime!"

The two shinobi rushed each other, clashing their respective weapons together in an attempt to hit the other. Renji came it with a diagonal slash that was blocked by Konohamaru, who used his staff's double-sidedness to counterattack. The Konoha genin's staff managed to clip Renji's side, spinning with the blow the Kiri shinobi spun around and aimed a slash at Konohamaru's midsection. Konohamaru parried the blow and began to spin his staff in increasingly complex maneuvers, Renji jumped back so as not to get hit. Timing his attack, Renji thrust his blade in the complex weaving of the bo staff, stopping it in its tracks. Renji pushed against the staff and tried to skewer Konohamaru who leaned back and twisted his body out of the way, spinning his staff at the same time to knock Renji's sword off course and give the young Sarutobi an opening. Planting his staff in the ground, Konohamaru used it to increase the force of his kick as he smashed a foot into Renji's face. Renji went flying back but managed to flip in mid-air and land on his feet.

"Katon: Gokyakou No Jutsu!"

The redhead looked up and cursed as a giant fireball came barreling towards him, Renji put on a burst of speed as he jumped out of the way. Seeing Renji dodge, Konohamaru went through more hand seals and slammed them into the ground.

"Doton: Doryuudan! (Earth Release: Earth Dragon Missile)"

A dragon head rose out of the ground and began to fire powerful mud balls at Renji, forcing the Kiri genin to dodge. Konohamaru pulled out several kunai and shuriken from his pouch, throwing them at Renji. Seeing the kunai coming Renji used his sword to deflect the ones that came near him. The barrage stopped and the pineapple head tried to rush Konohamaru with said genin doing the same. Neither saw the seals on the ground until it was almost too late, when they did their eyes went wide and they were forced to Kariwimi as the ground under them exploded, sending fire and eath into the sky as well as tearing huge gouts in the field. They both appeared on opposite ends of the field, looking at each other they kicked off the ground and tried to move in close range, albeit much more cautiously than last time.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Well, this is turning out to be quite the fight!" A said as he watched the two genins enter a close combat battle again, "I have to admit to being impressed!"

"They are getting pretty good," Mei said as she studied the battle, "though they could think more tactically."

"Still I think they might both be Chunin material, but we'll have to see more before deciding that," Tsunade said.

"Their combat level is definitely Chunin though," Yugito tilted her head, "They have both been trained very well. Most Chunin don't actually learn all it means to be a Chunin until they after they earn the rank anyway."

"The kitten is right yo, that means they gotta gain experience to know," Bee agreed as a tic mark formed on Yugito's head.

"Damn it Bee, shut up with your rapping!"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto watched as the two genins went at it; their battle was impressive for genin. While it would not compare with saying his battles with Akatsuki or Yagura, they were displaying quite a bit of skill. Naruto was glad he had taken to training Konohamaru for the month hiatus, had he not received the blond's harsh training, there would be no way the younger genin would be able to keep up with Renji. As it was the two were evenly matched, Renji was faster but Konohamaru could use both sides of his weapon, negating Renji's advantage.

Renji came at Konohamaru with a slash; leaning back Konohamaru let the blow pass over him and attached an exploding tag to the flat side of the Kiri genin's blade. He jumped away just as the tag exploded, Konohamaru was breathing heavily as he waited for the smoke to clear. When it did he saw that Renji was on the ground, his sword several feet away. Konohamaru gave Renji no time to recover as he made a single Kage Bushin and held out his hand, the clone came up and began to help Konohamaru with the manipulation for his jutsu. Soon enough a familiar spinning ball of chakra formed in the palm of the young genin's hand.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Naruto taught him the Rasengan!" Tsunade shouted as she stood up from her seat. As she stared at the infamous ball of chakra she could feel several different emotions running through her. The first was pride at the fact that Naruto could teach someone an A-rank technique within a month, as well as the fact that Konohamaru was able to learn such a powerful jutsu. And anger at the fact that Naruto taught such a powerful technique to a genin, she would be having a word with the blond when this was over.

"I suspected Naru-koi would do something like this," Mei said as Tsunade sat back down. "I have to admit I am impressed that a genin was able to learn such a powerful technique within a month."

"It does speak well of the boy's skills," the Raikage said, "as well as that of the teacher."

"However the fact that he is using such a technique when he doesn't need it also shows he needs more restraint," Yugito interrupted. "Right now the boy is just showing off."

The others in the booth nodded in agreement.

XXXXXXXXXX

Konohamaru ran right at the red-haired Kiri shinobi, smashing the Rasengan right into Renji's stomach. The redhead was thrown back from the power of the technique and hit the ground.

When Renji did not get back up Naruto nodded to himself as he announced the winner, "winner by knock out is Konohamaru Sarutobi!"

"ALRIGHT! YES!" Konohamaru jumped up and down in the air as the crowd cheered for him. Meanwhile, Renji was placed on a stretcher and taken to the medical wing.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"These matches are quite entertaining," the Raikage said as the others turned to him, "Watching all of these battles makes me wish I was down there fighting right now!"

"It was quite impressive, though Konohamaru needs to learn when to use such powerful techniques," Tsunade said. "Still they both showed a decent amount of skill. Your ninja is quite impressive with a sword," the busty blond turned to Mei.

"Thank you Hokage-Dono," Mei said in gratitude, "he is one of the people I am hoping will revive the Kiri no Shinobigatana Nananin Shū."

"Well he is pretty talented," Yugito said, "with some more time, training, and experience that goal is quite possible. Who is his trainer?"

"Raiga Korasuki," Mei answered, surprising the other three kage's and their bodyguards.

"I thought Raiga became a missing ninja several years ago?" Tsunade questioned the busty redhead.

"He did," Mei answered, "Naru-koi fought him about a year ago, rather than kill him he brought Raiga to me. I had offered the man a position in the village again, he accepted on a few conditions and had a hand in training the people I am trying to make into the new swordsmen." Mei shivered a bit when she had mentioned his conditions, aside from keeping Ranmaru with him at all times, the man had demanded that he be allowed to give his enemies funerals. She had been tempted to just kill him after that, but with her village in desperate need of powerful shinobi, she had not been able to afford to do that.

The others noticed her shiver but ignored it as they went back to the battles, though a few of the people there continued to wonder how close she was to Naruto to use a nickname like that.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Will Raiden and Ichigo Kurosaki come down!" Naruto called out the next names to battle.

Ichigo appeared a little ways away, his sword out at the ready. Raiden walked out of the entrance, moving to the opposite side of the orange-haired genin. Ichigo grinned as he got into a wide two-handed stance, his sword in front of him running parallel to the ground. Raiden in turn got into a taijutsu stance, presenting his profile view with his left foot in front and his right behind him, ready to push the balls of his feet.

"I hope you're ready to lose," Ichigo replied in his typical cocksure tone, a smirk on his face.

"I believe you should wait until after the battle is finished to gloat," Raiden replied, "lest you end up eating your words."

"Are both fighters ready?" Naruto asked.

He received a nod from Raiden.

"You bet I am!" Ichigo said as he grinned, "let's do this!"

Naruto nodded, "then Hajime!"

Ichigo disappeared in a burst of speed, reappearing right next to Raiden swinging his sword. Raiden ducked under the sword and came up after it passed over his head, aiming a punch at Ichigo who jumped back. Raiden went through several hand seals, slamming his hands on the ground he called out his jutsu.

"Raiton: Ikazuchi Hakai!"

A large bolt of lightning tore through the landscape, heading towards Ichigo who jumped into the air to avoid it. Raiden jumped in the air to meet him, taking out a kunai and piercing him through the stomach. Only for Ichigo to burst into water. A large blue and ethereal-looking wave came barreling up from the ground; Raiden used a Kariwimi to escape the attack. Appearing near a tree on the other side of the arena, he tried to think up a plan but had no time as a sizzling noise reached his ear. Turing his head he cursed to find several exploding tags, he jumped out of the tree just as it exploded. As he landed on the ground Ichigo appeared right in front of him, Raiden ducked under the swing sent his way, getting down on his hands and pushing out with a kick. Ichigo used the flat end of his blade to block, skidding back from the force he looked up to see Raiden going through more hand signs.

"Raiton: Raikyuu!"

A ball of lightning the size of a cannon ball shot out of Raiden's mouth, in return Ichigo channeled some chakra into his sword. As soon as the lightning ball came close enough to him the orange-haired shinobi sliced it in half, a blade of blue chakra was launched from the end of Ichigo's sword and flew towards Raiden. The Kumo shinobi was forced to jump out of the way, however, Ichigo appeared right next to him and the young man was not fast enough to dodge the kick to his face. Raiden flew back and into the air from the kick, flipping around so he landed on his feet. He grabbed his bleeding nose and set it back in place with a crunch, looking up to see that Ichigo was gone. He looked around only for instincts to kick in and make him roll to the left. A good thing he had too, as soon as he did a large blue blade on chakra slashed into the spot he had been standing on, destroying the area and leaving a crater. The young man stared at the spot he had previously been, giving Ichigo the distraction needed to come in behind Raiden and smash the butt end of his sword into the back of the Kumo genin's neck.

As Raiden crumbled to the ground, Naruto announced the winner. "Winner by knockout is Ichigo Kurosaki!"

Ichigo raised his hand as the crowd cheered, walking back into the entrance to the fighter's booth. Meanwhile, a medic team had placed Raiden on a stretcher, standing up to take him to the medical ward.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"I have to admit that boy is impressive to defeat Raiden," A said as the fight ended, "he is one of my better genins."

"Well Ichigo has a lot of raw power to throw around," Mei replied, "to be honest were it not for that I doubt he would have won. The boy lacks finesse."

"That reminds me of how Naruto used to be," Tsunade said, remembering how the blond had been before his training trip.

Mei looked over at the busty blond woman with a smirk, "oh? Do tell."

Tsunade gave her own smirk as she began to tell stories of how the young blond used to be before his training, much to the amusement of the others in the box.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto felt a shiver run down his spine, I get the feeling someone's talking about me and it's not in a good way. He shook his head of the thought before focusing on the task at hand. "Will Udon and Otame Shinji please come to the arena floor!" Naruto called out, resisting the urge to sigh. At first, being a proctor actually sounded kind of fun, but now it was just boring. All I'm doing is saying the same thing over again, the blond teen thought as he watched Udon and Otame come down and stand on opposite sides of the arena. "Are both fighters ready?" Naruto asked as he looked at the two. He received a nod from each and decided to get this started, "Then Hajime!"

The two genins instantly jumped away from each other, Udon going through hand signs while Otame threw several shurikens enhanced with his wind chakra. As the kunai came in Udon spread his hands in front of him in what looked like a defensive gesture.

"Raiton: magunechikku gyakuten! (Lightning Release: Magnetic Reversal)"

The air around Udon became saturated with static electricity; it was unnoticeable to all except those with doujutsu and those who could sense Lightning chakra. When the kunai came into the field they stopped instantaneously, turned around, and headed right back to a surprised Otame. Said Suna genin was able to only just get out of the way, though it was not without injury as the two slashes that now ran across his left arm indicated.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"It looks like you've got a Raiton user," A said as he looked at the boy with the bull cut and glasses. "And that technique, simple but extremely effective. I take it that Naruto-san has been teaching him as well?"

"Yes," Tsunade said as she looked over at the Raikage, "how did you know?"

The Raikage laughed, "it's quite simple really, he used that same jutsu on me during our first spar!"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Udon did not give Otame any time to react to the unexpected attack from his own weapons, charging straight at the Suna genin, Udon pulled several Kunai from his pouch and tossed them at Otame. The older genin made to dodge, jumping up and to the left. In response, Udon manipulated his fingers, which had chakra strings attaching them to the kunai, and changed their direction back towards Otame. The Suna genin was impaled through the arms and legs, seconds later he burst into smoke before a log appeared in the man's place.

"Fuuton: Kazedirite! (Wind Release: Wind Cutter)"

A fierce wind with several large wind blades smashed into Udon, at least it smashed into where Udon was as the genin soon disappeared in a puff of smoke, a log replacing where he had been. Otame jumped out from the tree he had been hiding in, looking around to see if he could spot Udon. His eyes widened a bit as he rolled to the left when Udon appeared right next to him, aiming a slash for the Suna genin's neck. Otame pushed himself up onto his feet as he turned to face Udon, going through several hand seals.

"Fuuton: Reppusho!"

A gust of wind hit Udon before he could react, sending him flying towards a tree. He was able to flip himself around and land on the trunk, however, he froze as a seal appeared under him, paralyzing him for several precious seconds. Seconds which Otame used to chuck several shurikens at the now frozen Konoha genin, thankfully the seal disrupted in time for Udon to do a quick Kariwimi. Appearing on a tree several meters away. Reaching into his kunai pouch, Udon pulled out several shurikens and flung them at Otame. Said Suna genin turned around just in time to see them and began going through several hand seals.

"Fuuton: Daitoppa!"

A gust of wind knocked the shuriken off course, but the distraction was all Udon needed to get close. Sending punch to Otame's chest, it was swatted away by the genin's other hand but had served its purpose. When Udon jumped away Otame looked down and felt his eyes widen as he saw the exploding tag on his shirt, the slight sizzle showing the tag was active. The sizzle ended and the tag exploded, however, Otame was able to rip his shirt off in time, revealing his white undershirt. Frowning Udon threw several kunai at him, Otame saw this and used a Kawirimi, appearing behind a tree. He sighed as he tried to come up with a plan, looking out from behind the tree he frowned when he saw Udon was no longer there. That was when everything went black as he felt the butt end of a kunai smash into the back of his neck.

Naruto saw Udon come out from behind a tree, dragging an unconscious Otame. "Otame is unable to continue the battle, therefore the Winner is Udon!" Naruto announced. As Udon cleared made his way to the stand and Otame was taken out by a medical team, Naruto called the next match, "will Rukia Kuchiki and Onoui Teteno please come down to the arena floor!"

The two genins walked down to the floor and stood on opposite sides of each other. Rukia had a hand on the hilt of her blade but had not unsheathed it as she took a batoujutsu stance. Onoui meanwhile had taken out two serrated kunai, with small traces of lightning coming out of the blades.

"Are both fighters ready?" asked Naruto, receiving a sharp nod from both of them, "then… Hajime!"

Once the word Hajime left Naruto's mouth, Rukia disappeared in a burst of speed. Reappearing right in front of Onoui, Rukia's sword came out and attempted to bisect the genin. However Onoui had been able to see her movement and blocked the attack with his kunai, Rukia was forced to jump back as a bolt of lightning coursed from Onoui's blades and through hers. Rukia shook her head to clear it after receiving the shock, however, Onoui was not going to let her get any rest as he came after her. Rukia was forced to duck dodge and weave her way around the two kunai, knowing that she would be in serious trouble if she got hit by those. Knowing that she could not use her sword in this instance, Rukia jumped back and went through a series of one-handed seals.

"Suiton: Tepodamma!"

Several canon-sized globs of water shot from the Kiri Kunoichi's mouth, forcing Onoui to jump back and dodge as the water balls smashed into the ground. Doing so left the young man open to attack, appearing in front of the boy Rukia managed to kick the kunai out of the Kumo genin's hands. Unfortunately for her, Onoui did not need kunai to channel lightning chakra. He grabbed on to Rukia's extended leg, channeling lightning through his hands and into the leg. Rukia let out a muffled scream of pain as she bit her lip.

Onoui began to spin around; using his and Rukia's combined weight to fling her into the air. He began to go through several hand seals.

"Raiton: Bakufuu! (Lightning Release: Blast)"

A bolt of lightning shot out of Onoui's extended hand; the lightning hit the still air-born Rukia, sending electricity coursing through the Kiri genin's body. Only for the said body to turn into water.

Ninpou: Kirigakure No Jutsu! (Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu)"

A thick mist began to spread out around the arena, since there was not a very large water source nearby it was only enough to hamper visibility rather than render everything invisible. Onoui went on guard as he peered through the mist, it was not enough that he could not see through it, however, it would certainly affect his vision and skew it enough that it could prove costly. That was when his instincts started screaming at him to move, he followed them just as Rukia dropped from the sky, slashing at where he had been. Thus began the game of cat and mouse as Rukia would appear and try to take Onoui out, and then disappear one second later. Worse because the genin's vision was skewered by the mist he could not accurately predict how close Rukia actually was, it often looked like she was farther away than she really was.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"This is turning out to be quite the exciting battle," the Raikage said as he tried to peer into the mist, "your genin is good. To be able to fight so well despite being handicapped by facing against, someone with an opposing affinity."

"Thank you Raikage-Dono," Mei replied, "to be honest she is one of my better strategists among the genin, it was why I placed her on this team." She paused in thought for a moment, "that and she's the only one her other two teammates are actually afraid of among the genin."

"So she keeps them in line," Yugito said with a smirk.

Mei grinned, "of course, you know how men are."

The women in the booth smirked at that comment, all of them knowing of the trouble men cause and how much of a handful they can be.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Onoui dodged another attack from Rukia as he tried to come up with a plan, he knew of a jutsu he could use but it required more chakra than he had. As he dodged a slash that came at him from the right, he reached his hand into his pouch and pulled out two soldier pills. This would leave him exhausted afterward but he felt it would be his best chance to win, swallowing them he felt a burst of chakra and began going through several hand seals.

"Raiton: Raikou Nami! (Lightning Release: Lightning Wave)"

Lightning burst from Otame's body as he spread his arms wide, sending what looked like a wave of lightning in all directions. There was a shout of pain from somewhere within the mist as it began to clear, Otame dropped onto his knees with his breathing heavy. When the mist cleared it showed Rukia on her knees with electricity sparking off of her, though she was still conscious. Omate grunted as he stood up and made his way over to the black-haired girl, when he got next to her he put a kunai to her neck. Only for his eyes to widen in shock as Rukia turned into a puddle of water, he had no time to react as a blade touched his throat.

"Surrender," Rukia commanded.

Onoui sighed as he realized he had no chakra left to get out of this, "I surrender."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"That girl is quite impressive," Tsunade said, "she has excellent strategies."

"thank you, I taught her about tactical combat myself," Mei replied with pride in her voice.

"I have to admit your genin has amazing talent," A said, while Onoui was not his most powerful shinobi he was decent and the Kiri genin had a disadvantage in element.

"Thank you Raikage-dono," Mei replied.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Winner by forfeit is Rukia Kuchiki!" Naruto shouted out to the crowd. As the crowd cheered the two genins left. Naruto sighed as the first half of the Chunin Exam finals was over; he looked up at the stadium as he began to speak again. "The first half of the Chunin Exams are now over! We will be having a short fifteen-minute break for all guests to grab a bite and stretch their legs before moving onto the second round!"

As the spectators began to rise from their seats, Naruto turned his attention to the kage booth. Grinning he disappeared in a gentle breeze.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Tsunade along with the other Kage's stood up in their chairs to stretch their legs a bit, letting themselves get some of the feeling back. Despite being forced to sit at a chair all day due to their jobs, none of them actually got used to it and the chairs they were in now were less comfortable than their Kage chairs.

"Those were some exciting matches," the Raikage said with a grin, "I can't wait to see the rest!"

Tsunade chuckled, "yes they were pretty good, we'll have to discuss who among them deserves to be Chunin since there are many potential candidates."

"There are a few who can make it to Chunin," Mei agreed, "but I think it would be wise for us to wait until we see what else they are capable of, especially since the battles will get harder the more they fight, forcing them to think with a level head."

"Your pretty smart yo, a pretty little thing like you knows how things go!" Kirabi said in his rap.

This time he was not just smacked by Yugito, but also by Mei who was looking at Bee with a creepy smile that spoke of immense him feeling immense pain if he said the wrong thing.

"Bee stop rapping!" Yugito growled.

"Especially about me… in that context… do so again and I'll melt you," Mei replied in that sweet and creepy voice. The men around her shivered at the tone, though Ao was glad that for once it was not directed at him.

Bee actually paled at the threat, having Yugito kick him was fine, he would usually be upright after since they only hurt when she was really pissed. But having a Kage say she was going to melt you, and knowing that she actually had the capability to do it with her Yoton jutsu was an entirely different kettle of fish. Thankfully before he say could say anything that would likely get him melted, a voice spoke up behind them.

"Now that isn't nice Mei-chan," everyone turned to see Naruto looking at them with a grin, "I don't even think he can help his rapping. Though…" Naruto looked at Bee and the man felt a small shiver run through him, "I would suggest that you not make any crude comments about her."

"Naru-koi/kun!" Yugito and Mei greeted the blond as they walked up to him. Naruto gave the two a smile as he pulled the two into an embrace, letting one of them each rest their head on his shoulder as they returned his hug.

As this happened everyone who did not know about his relationship with two women, meaning everyone except Tsunade was looking at Naruto in shock. Well, the men were looking on in a mixture of shock and envy, Kankuro was even muttering about lucky blond bastards and Gaara's face actually looked to be the same color as his hair. Temari however was glaring at the two girls, sure she did not know Naruto that well and when they first met she thought he was a brat, but even she could not help but feel jealous seeing those two girls with him now.

Naruto chuckled as he wrapped his own arms around Mei and Yugito, "how are you two doing up here? Not too boring I hope."

"Not at all," Mei grinned as she lifted her head up and gave him a rather heated kiss, one that causes Kankuro to get a slight nose bleed from just watching. Breaking the kiss she leaned her head back on his shoulder.

The blond shinobi barely had any time to react after Mei's rather passionate lip lock as Yugito claimed his lips next, moaning a bit as she sucked on his bottom lip. Pulling back she gave Naruto her own smile, "but it's much better now that you're here," the blond woman finished for Mei as she too put her head back on Naruto's shoulder.

That was something the two had started doing recently, whenever one of them would speak the other would finish it. Every time they did that it sent pleasurable shivers down the blond shinobi's spine, Naruto was sure that the two were doing it on purpose. He suspected that it was Mei's idea, Yugito while she had her moments, she was never one to be as outgoing or… experimental as the red-haired Kage. That and they have been hanging out together after that restaurant incident when I've been training Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon.

Naruto gave a soft chuckled that the girls felt as a slight rumble in his chest, "you know you two are becoming insatiable, you know that?"

"Only cuz you spoiled us this week," Mei replied as she looked at him with a grin.

"I suppose so," Naruto said with a small smirk, "I'm going to have to be careful around you girls."

As the three continued their banter the others looked at the pair in shock, Kankuro leaned over into his brother's ear and whispered, "did you know Naruto was getting play like this from TWO hot women?"

Gaara shook his head, "no… I wonder how he does it?"

Kankuro blinked for a moment as the words registered in his ear, when they did he turned around and looked at his little brother in shock. Is Gaara actually thinking about girls? Kankuro wondered to himself. Gaara had become quite popular with the ladies of Suna, though Kankuro knew it was unintentional since his little brother knew nothing about women. To hear his little brother ask something like that was shocking.

"Yo big bro, what's going on with those three, do you know?" Killer Bee asked as he tried to turn away from the sight of the three, yet somehow found himself staring.

A just shook his head, unable to come up with an answer as he too stared at the trio. It is too bad Jiraiya-Sama is not here, I'm sure this would be great material to help him write his books.

It was several minutes later when Naruto was forced to go back down to the arena floor, much to the girl's protest. However, he promised to make it up to them later, giving them a knowing look before leaving for the arena again.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"You know I don't think I'll ever get tired of your cooking Naru-koi," Mei said as she took another bite of the food Naruto had prepared, moaning in delight as the food melted on her taste buds. On the other side of him, Yugito was nodding her head in agreement as she ate her food.

It had only been a few hours since the Chunin Exams ended; each stage had gotten harder from the next, with Naruto occasionally making Kage Bushin, forcing the genin to team up with each other, to creating storms with his unparalleled control of the elements. The final contestants had actually fought in a three-way battle. Akira, Ichigo, and Konohamaru had been the three to make it into the final round, with the big surprise winner being Akira. Though maybe Naruto should have not been so surprised by the outcome, the Kumo kunoichi had played it smart, merely let Ichigo and Konohamaru beat the crap out of each other, and when they had been sufficiently weakened she had knocked the two out. Out of the nine genins who had participated in the exams, only Rukia, Akira, and Udon had made it to Chunin. Some of the others had the skills of a Chunin but did not know when to make a tactical withdrawal, the best two examples of this being Ichigo and Konohamaru. Still, that only seemed to get the two even more determined to do better next time, of course, the two also vowed to defeat the other, having formed a rivalry during their three-way battle royal.

"I'm glad to hear that," Naruto replied as he took a bite of the food he had made for himself. Swallowing his bite before speaking again, "I would be awfully disappointed if my food was no longer satisfactory to you."

Currently, he, Yugito, and Mei were in the small paradisiacal lake Naruto and Mei had gone swimming in two weeks prior, having a picnic. The three were sitting under one of the many trees, a blanket was laid out under them and there was an assortment of food on top of it. It was their last night together, the two women would be leaving now that the exams were over and so Naruto had made them all a large dinner.

Yugito grinned as she swallowed another piece of sushi, she had to admit, while Naruto's food was not as good as the sushi she got at Kenshi's, it was still quite delicious. "Then it's a good thing you don't have to worry about that, though even if your food wasn't good, I'm sure we'd still love you."

"You know that sentence doesn't inspire that much confidence," Naruto said with a mock pout on his face. "You make it sound like you might not feel the same way if my cooking was not as good as it was."

Mei gave the blond shinobi a teasing grin, "Well I didn't want to say anything but…"

For the rest of their time there the three talked and teased each other. Naruto gave an internal smile as the two women spoke like they had been good friends for years, he was glad they were no longer fighting. When everyone had had their fill of the food, Naruto resealed the picnic basket and blanket in a scroll.

Standing up he grinned at the two before taking off his shirt and throwing it at the two women, "so do you girls want to go for a swim?"

His answer came in the form of Mei and Yugito throwing their own close at his head, right before they tackled him into the lake.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sitting at her desk in the Hokage Tower, Tsunade was finishing up her report on the Chunin Exams and the paperwork for Udon's promotion. she looked up at the clock and sighed as she realized how late it was, and I still have to do the regular paperwork after this, Tsunade groaned. What she wouldn't give for a cup or bottle of sake, or ten. Unfortunately, Shizune had come in once again and gotten rid of her secret stash… again. Sighing in annoyance she worked harder to finish the paperwork so she could go home and get a drink. As she continued working a knock sounded at her door.

"Come in!" she called without looking up.

The door opened and three people walked in and stood in front of her desk.

"Tsunade-Sama," a voice she recognized instantly sounded.

Tsunade's eye twitched as she looked up to see Danzo Shimura, Homura, and Koharu, three people she did not want to see. "What do you three want?" Tsunade asked without bothering to do any of the customary greetings, "in case you haven't noticed I have a lot of work to do."

The three elders frowned at her disrespectful voice but knowing what they came here for decided to let it go. Danzo stepped forward to speak, "we are merely here as concerned citizens Tsunade-Sama."

"Oh?" Tsunade asked, stopping her work as she looked at the three with a raised eyebrow. "And what is there that could concern you three?"

Homura coughed into his hand as he spoke, "we have been hearing many rumors about this Akatsuki that Jiraiya-Sama has been spying on. We are concerned about the effects this could have on Konoha, especially when they come after Namikaze-san…"

Tsunade narrowed her eyes as she figured where this was going; she knew that the three would not leave their issue with Naruto alone. The only question was what were they planning? "And why would you be concerned about Namikaze-san? You do know that he is an S rank ninja, yes? One whom I am sure may even be more powerful than me."

"We know very well how powerful Namikaze-san is," Koharu retorted, "however we feel it would be beneficial to give him some added protection… after all with all the enemies he has now, leaving him without adequate protection would be foolhardy."

So that's what they want, Tsunade thought as she now understood what they were after. They wanted to have one of Danzo's men keep an eye on Naruto, someone who could find some kind of weakness they could exploit to bend him to their will. To be honest she was surprised they were being so transparent; normally she would have to look under what they were saying to find out what they really wanted. Though perhaps that could be accredited to the fact that they were getting desperate, Naruto had outplayed them in every game they had so far, they knew they were running out of options.

"And you think you have someone who is strong enough to protect Naruto?" Tsunade asked incredulously, stalling for time. "I don't know of any shinobi besides myself and Jiraiya who are able to fight S rank ninja in combat unless there is something you three are not telling me…"

To their credit the three did not show any outward reaction to her threat, "I can have one of my best security personnel accompany him on missions," Danzo said. They knew he had to be careful with this, Tsunade knew that Danzo's ROOT operation was not disbanded as it was supposed to be.

Tsunade's lips became a thin line as she listened to the man. She knew what his 'security personnel' really was; the blond knew he was actually referring to his supposed 'disbanded' ROOT Anbu division. However, she also knew she could not prove it. Danzo was easily the most paranoid man she had ever met; he had covered his tracks so well that not even Jiraiya's spy network had been able to get more than a small glimmer of information. It was part of the reason neither she nor Sarutobi before her was ever able to try Danzo for treason. As she was thinking of what to do with their request, another thought came to her.

Danzo wanted one of his ROOT members to keep an eye on Naruto; however, it could easily be used to get the reversed effect. If she could have Naruto get close to one of his men they would be able to spy and possibly locate Danzo's base of operations, at the very least they could gain some useful information. From what Jiraiya had told her, Naruto was an expert in information gathering, stealth, and espionage. Aside from that the young man also had the uncanny ability to make friends out of people, even enemies something that could and had proven useful on many occasions.

That decided Tsunade put on her poker face as she spoke, "I… suppose what you say has some merit, very well, I will allow one of Danzo's personal security guards onto a team with Naruto. Though he may not always be teamed up with him, he will go on any missions of importance."

While Homura and Koharu were nodding their heads in a pleased fashion, Danzo narrowed his eyes at the woman. She had relented far easier than he had expected, the old war hawk was not naïve enough to believe that Tsunade would just let one of his men on Naruto's squad just like that. While Tsunade could not prove it, Danzo knew that she knew of his ROOT Anbu. This led him to wonder what she was planning. He shook the thought off, even if she had some kind of plan it won't matter in the end. He would still get what he wants.

"I'm glad to see we came to an agreement Hokage-Sama," Danzo said, "I will have my chosen man here tomorrow morning."

Tsunade nodded, "very well."

As the three elders left her room, Tsunade turned her chair to look out at the village. She was taking a risk by allowing one of Danzo's men to get close to Naruto, someone who could potentially harm or even assassinate the Uzumaki-Namikaze heir. However she had faith in the blond's abilities to get through most situations, and she knew that Danzo would not be bold enough to try that... Not yet at least. She could only hope that this would work out in the end.

Turning back to her desk, Tsunade picked up the first sheet on the stack of paperwork.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto let out a soft grunt as he rolled himself over Yugito, now lying down in the center of the bed. Mei rolled over as she wrapped one arm around his chest, throwing her leg over him and pulling herself close enough that Naruto could feel her still hardened nipples as they rubbed against him. On his other side, a tired and sweaty Yugito did the same thing, lightly purring as she nuzzled into his neck. Naruto smiled as he wrapped an arm around their waists, pulling them flushed up against him so that there was no room in between their bodies. Both girls let out a low moan and then a sigh of content as Naruto began to rub his hands up and down their backs.

"I'm gonna miss this feeling," Yugito murmured as Naruto's natural warmth began to lull her to sleep.

Mei did not say anything, merely hummed in agreement, already falling prey to the natural warmth the blond shinobi emitted, her stamina nowhere near Yugito's due to her not being a Jinchurikki.

Naruto kissed both Yugito and Mei on the forehead, "so will I, but it's not like we won't see each other."

"I know…" Yugito sighed as she kissed Naruto's shoulder, "doesn't mean I'm not gonna miss getting spoiled."

Naruto let out a soft chuckle, "don't worry, eventually I'll be able to spoil you girls like this every day." Naruto kissed her head again, "now let's follow Mei's example and get some rest."

Yugito smiled as she did as asked, letting sleep take her.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"You called Danzo-Sama?"

Danzo looked at the figure kneeling before him, a young man who was wearing a bird mask that could not be any older than seventeen. Yet he was also one of Danzo's most valuable assets, having been trained at an early age when the war hawk was unable to get Naruto into his ROOT program.

"I have a new mission for you," Danzo said without preamble, "you are to watch Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze. Find out everything you can about him, his strengths, weaknesses, and any people he is close to. Do you understand your mission?"

"Hai Danzo-Sama," the young boy spoke in an emotionless tone.

"Good take off your mask, you will not need it for this mission," Danzo ordered.

The young man took off his mask revealing coal-black eyes, black hair, and pale skin. Still kneeling the youth set the mask on the floor, keeping his head bowed down for his leader. Danzo gave a small smile to himself, this boy would complete his mission, the bandaged man had made sure of that.

"For this mission, your name will be Sai."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto looked into his bowl of steaming ramen with a sigh, twirling the noodles on his chopsticks he brought it to his mouth and began eating. It had only been a day since Mei and Yugito left and he was already missing the two women, he had gotten used to waking up with the two next to him and spending the time he was not using to train himself or others with them. Shaking his head he finished eating his ramen, drinking the broth straight from the bowl before unsealing his frog wallet and taking out the necessary money where he put it on the table.

"Thanks for the food Teuchi-san!" Naruto called out to the ramen chef who was in the back. "Give my regards to Ayame-nee-chan when she gets here!"

"Alright! See you later Naruto!" Teuchi called as his head popped out from the back.

Naruto tossed a wave over his shoulder as he lifted the flaps on the restaurant and left. The blond shinobi waved to several people as he walked by, recognizing them as the ones who respected him for his burden. As he made his way home Naruto spotted Chouji, Shikamaru, and Ino walking out of a shinobi store, changing direction the blond made his way over to them.

"Hey guys," Naruto greeted as he stopped next to them.

"What's up Naruto?" Chouji asked as he hefted his new halberd on his shoulder.

"Not much," Naruto replied, "now that the Chunin Exams are over things have gotten pretty quiet."

"Yeah it's also been a lot less troublesome now," Shikamaru said, personally he was glad those troublesome exams were over with. Now he could get back to his cloud watching.

"Everything is always troublesome for you Shikamaru," Ino scolded him.

"Nah, just anything that actually requires me to work," the lazy Jonin replied.

Ino scowled before turning her attention to Naruto, "so what's this I've been hearing about you spending time with two foreign women?" Being a gossip queen, Ino was quite curious to learn more about this. It had been the talk of nearly every girl in Konoha, first claiming that Naruto had been seen with a red-haired woman with rumors of it being the new Mizukage. Then there was the rumor of him spending time with a blond woman, a Kumo kunoichi at that, which then turned into him spending time with the two of them. Ino had been able to confirm those rumors when she had seen Naruto with the two women in question on his arm during the breaks in the Chunin Exams but wanted more information.

She also would not deny being jealous, Ino had tried multiple times to flirt with Naruto. After the young blonds, first council meeting as a clan head, her father Inoichi had let slip that Naruto had been placed under the C.R.A. and would have to take multiple wives. As clan heir it was necessary that Ino knows about Clan Laws, so she knew about this almost as soon as Naruto's heritage had been revealed, but having her dad confirm it made her that much more determined to make the blond shinobi hers. It hadn't worked out the way she had wanted, Naruto while not being rude had either turned down or redirected any attempts at her asking him for a date or any time she had tried to flirt with him. It had been a vexing experience for the blond kunoichi who was used to using her beauty on men in the village to get what she wanted. She had eventually stopped trying to get him and instead just focused on being his friend, though that did not mean that she did not feel jealousy towards those who had.

Naruto blinked at the question before shrugging, he had known the moment those two appeared on his doorstep that word would get out, and with Ino being such a gossip her need to know would be insatiable. "The red-haired woman was Mei Terumi, the Godaime Mizukage. And the blond was Yugito Nii, a Kumo kunoichi and the Jinchurikki for the Nibi No Nekomata." The three with him gaped at him when they heard of the blond's status, they knew that Naruto was a Jinchurikki… and in all honesty, didn't care, but hearing about another one was always a surprise. "They also happen to be two of the four women I plan on marrying," Naruto said, there was no way to hide that now that the three had been seen together. Not that there was much of a point anyway, Yugito was already a target for Akatsuki so the information about her being his fiance would not really mean much. And since she lived in Kumo, Danzo and his Cohorts would be unable to make a move on her. And Mei was a Kage, meaning not only was she an S rank ninja, but she also commanded several thousand other ninjas; Akatsuki and Danzo would have to stupid to attempt trying to get her as a hostage.

"So you mean that you're marrying them!" Ino asked in surprise, hunches were all well and good, but hearing the rumors straight from the horse's mouth so to speak was another thing entirely.

"Didn't I just say that?" Naruto asked rhetorically, seriously why do some women like to repeat what he already said. Maybe Shikamaru had a point, some women were troublesome.

"Well… it's just surprising is all…" Ino said in her defense.

"I suppose that's true," Naruto said, he had refused to give any information about who he planned on marrying, feeling that it was not only nobodies business but his and the women he was marrying. "However I've known them for several years now."

"One of them is a Kage and the other 's Jinchurikki like yourself," Shikamaru muttered, "sounds like some kind of troublesome political arrangement."

Naruto laughed at him, "I suppose it would, to be honest, I never thought about it like that. I met both of them during my days traveling the elemental nations," he smiled a bit as his eyes glazed over in remembrance, "both of them had something that I not only love but was unique and distinctive to just them, aside from the fact that they have unrivaled beauty even among other kunoichi. I'm not one to believe in destiny or fate or any of that bull shit, but I really do have to thank kami for bringing me to them…"

The three ninjas looked at the blond who looked like one of those love-struck kids in some kind of drama show that Shikamaru's mom loved to watch.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Yoshino Nara sneezed as she watched her favorite Soap Opera, "someone's talking about me," she mumbled as she grabbed a tissue. "If it's anything bad they are going to get a beating from my frying pan."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Ino once again felt jealousy well up inside of her, it was clear as day that Naruto was utterly devoted to those two. When she had been chasing after Sasuke, and to a lesser extent and much more recently, Naruto, she had hoped to see that look aimed at her. She sighed in disappointment.

Naruto shrugged as he snapped himself out of his trance-like state, "though it will definitely help village relations with both Kumo and Kiri, still, it's really only convenient and not something that matters."

"It still sounds troublesome," Shikamaru said.

Naruto just rolled his eyes at the lazy Nara. The four continued talking for a while, switching the subject to a topic that did not involve the blond's personal life when Naruto sensed movement behind him. Spinning around he unsealed Susanoo and sent a wind blade into to black tigers, both of them fell apart as the blade passed through them and Naruto frowned when a smell hit his nose, those things are made of ink. looking around Naruto spotted a figure on one of the roofs several meters away.

Channeling chakra into his eyes Naruto was able to get a good look at the figure. It was a boy around his age with short ink-black hair, black eyes, and very pale skin. He had a small backpack on him that Naruto assumed held the equipment he used to make those two ink beasts. He wore a short black jacket and also carried a tonto on his back under the pack. The rest of his outfit consisted of a high collared shirt that exposed his midriff, black pants, shinobi sandals, and gloves with his index finger and thumb exposed. In many ways the teen bore a strong physical resemblance to Sasuke Uchiha; however, there was one major difference.

Sasuke Uchiha always held a look of absolute hatred and utter loathing for his brother and people he believed were weak, as well as a desire for power and revenge. This boy's eyes held nothing; they had no emotion whatsoever. Naruto instantly knew that this boy worked for Danzo, who had a habit of turning his men into emotionless puppets.

He was most likely sent here to test me, but why would he do it so openly? More importantly, what does Danzo gain from this? It's well known that I'm considered an S rank ninja on par with a Kage, so he knows that anyone less than another S class ninja could never really challenge me. Naruto shook his head; I don't have enough information on the man to make an accurate estimation of anything. I'll deal with this first and see what I can find out later.

Naruto watched as the pale-skinned youth took a brush and began to write on the scroll that was in his lap, a few seconds later more of those ink tigers hot out.

"Shikamaru!" Naruto shouted at the lazy jonin, who just sighed and muttered a quick troublesome before going through several hand seals.

"Ninpou: Kage Nui No Jutsu! (Ninja Art: Shadow Sewing Jutsu)"

The Nara heirs shadow shot up from the ground, impaling the ink tigers and allowing Naruto to continue moving. More ink beasts leaped at Naruto who was about to skewer them with a wind blade, only for Chouji to enlarge his arm and slice them apart with his halberd. Nodding in thanks Naruto continued, putting on a burst of speed that made him all but invisible. Six more ink beasts came towards the blur that represented Naruto, with Susanoo still in hand Naruto made several slashing motions as he passed them. He did not stop as the ink beasts burst nack to their original state, reappearing in front of the pale-skinned youth, Naruto aimed a slash for his head. The young teen acted fast, whipping out his tonto and blocking Naruto's slash, however, he had not expected the strength behind the blond's attack, and the ground under him cracked as he was pushed onto a knee.

What strength! thought Sai as he struggled to keep from being skewered.

"You know it's not very nice to attack a fellow leaf shinobi," Naruto said in his emotionless voice, "do so again and I will make sure you regret such a choice."

"My apologies," the black-haired teen said as he gave Naruto a smile that was so fake the blond wanted to throw up. "I was merely testing your skills as a shinobi, and I have to say with how terrible you are you must not have any balls."

Naruto blinked, then blinked again at what the pale-skinned youth said. When it did Naruto looked at the young man with a hard look, and for the first time in his life, Sai felt a small chill run down his spine. Before the black-haired teen could do anything Naruto exploded, sending him flying back and smashing into a wall where a large human-shaped crater formed under him. Sai pulled himself out of the way crater and shook his head to clear it of the ringing, looking up he saw Naruto staring at him from the roof where he had been previously. Blinking he looked again and saw Naruto had disappeared, Sai frowned before shunshining to go report to Danzo.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto appeared in his home a few minutes after the confrontation, walking down the stairs Naruto entered his study. He began to open several drawers, searching for something his dad had been working on before the Kyuubi attack. Naruto frowned as he continued his search, wondering why he could not find it. Expanding his search Naruto made several clones go look through the library, sitting down in his chair Naruto took out some parchment, high-quality ink, and a brush. While he waited for his clones Naruto began to write out some of the ideas he had on new seals or modifications of previously existing seals.

"Hey, boss."

Naruto turned around in his seat just in time to catch a scroll that one of his Kage Bushin's tossed to him. Turning the scroll over the blond saw that it was what he was looking for, "thanks; dispel yourself to alert the others." The clone nodded and disappeared in a puff of smoke, turning back around Naruto nipped his thumb and spread some blood across the seal. There was a slight hiss as his skin healed up and the seal disappeared in a puff of smoke, unrolling the scroll Naruto smiled as he saw the almost completed work.

Setting it down Naruto began to work.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Omake: Dickless

"My apologies," the black-haired teen said as he gave Naruto a smile that was so fake the blond wanted to throw up. "I was merely testing your skills as a shinobi, and I have to say with how terrible you are you must not have any balls, Dickless."

Naruto blinked, "and how would you know if I have no balls or not? For that matter why are you so interested in my dick? Cuz you know, it's totally cool if you are into that kind of thing, but if that's the case you may want to go to Oto. I hear Orochimaru has a fetish for pale-skinned boys."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Within one of his many bases, Orochimaru sneezed, "someone must be talking about me," the pale-skinned man mused as he rubbed his nose, "I hope I can use them for my experiments."

"Who cares if someone was talking about you," Sasuke scoffed, "now get back to training me!"

"Of course Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru said as he licked his lips as he restarted… training Sasuke.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Because of how pathetic you are," the pale teen replied with a smile.

"Ah I see," Naruto said, nodding his head as if what the pale-skinned youth had told him explained it all. "And how exactly am I pathetic?" Naruto put more of his strength against Susanoo, making the tonto the pale teen was using begin to crack. "Does it have something to do with strength, because if so we both know I'm stronger than you?" Naruto used even more strength to shatter the other boy's blade, spinning around he kicked the pale teen in the head, sending the boy flying. "Or maybe it's that you don't think I have skill?" Sai looked up to see Naruto in front of him, "I assure you I have far more skill than you."

Sai tried to create several ink beasts but the Naruto in front of him exploded, making the boy once again crash into a wall. Sai managed to get up just in time to see a sword heading for him to take his head off. He rolled to the left, only to get kicked in the face.

"Come on!" Naruto said as he smashed another foot in the pale boy's face, "what was this you were saying about me lacking balls! You can't even take a beating like a man," Naruto smashed a fist in Sai's face, making the boy stumble back. "Don't insult people if you know things are not true," Naruto did a heel drop on Sai's shoulder, sending the teen into the ground and knocking him out. Naruto stood over the unconscious boy with a grin, "you know I don't think you've had enough punishment yet…"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The next morning Sai could be found still unconscious with people staring up at him, taking pictures as he hung from the flag pole. He was completely naked, save his underwear, which was being used to hang him on a said flag pole. On the boy's face, in red bold print were the words 'I like dicks' written for everyone to see.