Tori: (is humming a Britney Spears song)

SA: EVIL! (pulls out 50 pound mallet and prepares to strike Tori before Tori pulls out an equally heavy mallet and hits her first)

Zas: NOOOO! Why? (begins to sob, a millisecond later) Ok, I'm done!

Saria: You guys are just WRONG! Mallets were my idea first! (grabs mallet from Tori and accidentally whacks herself across the face)

Zas: Saria? (waves hand in front of authoress's face) She's out of it.

Tori: Guess we'll have to write the fic…. And just to answer any questions, no, none of own Naruto or Britney Spears.

Zas: (Goes wide eyed before getting a thoughtful, perverted look on his face) Oh yeah…. Naruto as a girl…

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Naruto smiled as she landed just outside Konoha's gates, just in time for the Chuunin Exams! If her sources were right, then Orochimaru would be trying something sinister this time.

Nodding to the guards as she entered the village, she felt the men straighten up when he caught sight of her hunters' mask, signifying her as a hunter nin. The look of respect that flashed across their faces was enough to make Naruto smile warmly behind her mask.

After entering Konoha, she quickly made her way to the Hokage tower to report on how her mission to hunt down the now late Mizuki, who had stolen a scroll from the village, had gone.

Sandaime nodded as he heard of yet another successful hunt from the child who was quickly becoming the village's most successful hunter. He smiled as he watched Naruto remove her mask after calmly stating, "The mission has been completed," and handed him the scroll. Yes, even as a twelve year old, appointing Naruto as a hunter nin had been an excellent idea, especially considering that they had started training her when she was seven. Then he felt his breath catch in his throat as he caught sight of the girl's face as the mask finely fell away.

"Naruto, when did this happen?" he asked when he saw the girl's face and hair. The whisker marks she had had throughout her early life had faded and her skin had become milky white, as had her hair except her hair also had dark blue tips and reached down to her knees. Her eyes had become purple and still looked innocent.

"Kyuubi decided to change my appearance when we went through the snow country, he wanted me to be able to blend in. Unfortunately, he liked the changes and decided to make them permanent." Naruto's answer made it sound like it was a perfectly normal thing for someone's appearance to change so drastically in so short a time.

Sandaime found himself at a loss for words to answer, so instead, he dug through a pile to try to find another assignment.

"May I make a suggestion?" Naruto cut in. Sandaime looked up and nodded slightly, still slightly taken aback by the change. "Would it be too much to ask if I may participate in the Chuunin exams this year? I heard that Gaara of the Sand will be here this year, and I am still listed as a Genin."

"Any other reason?" Sandaime asked.

"Just a feeling, that's all, I think I should be here this year. Plus, other people in my age group will also be competing, right?"

Sandaime sighed as he set aside another mission sheet. He didn't see any harm in this, besides; there weren't any hunts presently available that he would consider Naruto ready for. She was highly skilled for a hunter, but she was still young. "Alright, I'll put you on Kakashi's team, they recently got back from a mission to Wave country, and apparently one of his students died while away. You won't have to worry about the missions completed part for competing, but don't let anyone know that you're a hunter nin, that could cause trouble." He smiled slightly at the girl as he reached down and grabbed a money pouch and tossed it to her. "Use that to buy some different clothes for your stay here, what you're wearing stands out a bit, and report back here tomorrow so I can officially make your temporary assignment to Kakashi's team."

Naruto nodded slightly before flashing her trademark grin. "You got it, old geezer!" she shouted as she hopped out the window and headed toward a clothes shop. She wouldn't touch Sandaime's comment about her clothes with a twenty foot cattle prod, he was right. Her dark blue long shirt and dark pants weren't all that strange for colors, but the design that made the sleeves completely cover her hands and the almost dress like legs of the pants were definitely odd, add a purple belt to the mix, and she just screamed, 'Notice me!'

Sandaime felt his eyebrow twitch out of irritation, no matter how long she was gone, Naruto never seemed to change… ,mentally at least. Remembering how she had gotten Neji and Hinata's help last time she was in Konoha (about two weeks ago), and ended up covering the top of the Hokage Tower with whipped cream and a paper mache cherry then painted said building, the police headquarters, and a good part of the Hyuuga mansion orange. To make matters worse, his grandson Konohamaru, had joined them in this escapade. The only reason they hadn't finished off the Hyuuga mansion was because Hiashi and Ebisu had both showed up and tried to stop them. Both men had walked around the next day with raw skin, but still had orange paint stuck on their skin and hair at random places.

"I have probably just doomed us all," he thought out loud.

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Naruto had on a gentle, confident smile when she entered the clothing shop, positive for once that she wouldn't be kicked out. She was right. The clerk took one look at her and instantly grabbed her arm and dragged her through the store, holding up various articles of clothing, looking at different colors, and exclaiming "Cute!" every once in a while. At the end of this, Naruto found herself standing in front of a mirror wearing a new light purple shirt that was tighter around the torso than her other shirt, but still had long, loose sleeves. It was shorter also; showing off her "cute," flat stomach, for once the Kyuubi's seal not showing. She also wore a pair of hip hugger pants that were white. The clerk was standing next to her, holding up a really cute Chinese style dress that was also white in color and had dark blue hems and light purple swirl-like designs on it. The dress itself would reach down to only mid thigh, but it also had slits on both sides.

"Much better," the clerk stated with a smile as she handed the dress to Naruto after the girl had handed over the money to pay for the new clothes, which surprisingly enough, weren't that expensive.

Naruto smiled softly and smiled gently, saying a soft "Thank you," before leaving. Running back to her old apartment, carrying the dress and her hunter outfit, she noted that along the way, she didn't get any hostile stares, instead everyone who noticed her looked curious, or in some cases, attracted. She stopped at her apartment just long enough to drop off her extra clothes, and then went off again in search of Iruka this time.

It was only mid-day, so she wasn't surprised to find Iruka at the Academy, despite today was supposed to be a day off. "Iruka!" she yelled as she ran up behind him and wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

Iruka for his part, recognized the voice and the arms. "Naruto!" he yelled, turning even as he jumped in surprise only to find himself staring at a stranger. "Who?"

The girl smiled even as she said, "I'm exactly who you thought I was. Kyuubi…"

Iruka shook his head slightly, realization hitting immediately. "So, how long are you back this time? I'm not going to have to bail you out of jail again for destruction of public property and assault like last time, right?"

Naruto laughed at the memory then shook her head. "No, this time I'll try to stay out of trouble for the most part. As for how long I'll be here, quite a while actually. The old geezer just gave me permission to take the Chuunin exam! If you don't watch out, I'll make Jounin before you do!"

"I doubt that!" Iruka laughed as he gave the girl a nuggie. "You will definitely get into some sort of trouble while you're here, and as for Jounin comment, I have no doubt you will. So, how about I treat you to a bowl of ramen?"

"Alright!" Naruto yelled as she grabbed Iruka's hand and dragged him out the door and toward Ichiraku.

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Saria: Will Naruto stay out of trouble? Will she eat only one bowl of ramen? WILL I EVER GET A LIFE?

Tori: When did you wake up?

SA: (brandishes a bigger than ever mallet) Heh heh heh, about the same time I did. (smirks evilly)

Tori: Gulp….