Naruto had built a little fort around him. He fortified his position and waited for the rage that was Ino Yamanaka to return. After dodging and flinging things in her way to avoid death, the toweled Ino decided to get dress and return. Naruto used this time to get ready for her again. When Ino entered his view, he got a good look at her. She was wearing a pair of black boots that had heels. She was also wearing a pair of short black biker shorts, a lavender colored heavy sweater which was cover by a purple jacket. She had on a black wrist band as well. She was carrying a small bag and her tanto. She glared at Naruto who looked ready to defend himself. She put her weapons and clothes in the kitchen before coming back to the living room with her arms folded.

"Well?" Ino demanded.

"Well what? Why are you in my apartment, using my shower, getting dressed in my room?" Naruto demanded himself.

"First of all, it's no longer your room. It's my room. Your room is down the hall." Ino answered. She then got a look at Naruto who was now standing up. "You've grown up. You're much taller than before. You were a real shorty back then." Ino said with a jab.

"Ha, ha, can I relax now?" Naruto asked. Ino nodded and Naruto fixed the place up. After he was done, he kept himself at a distance knowing just how Ino really was. She just smirked at him and stood there. There was a small silence until Ino spoke.

"So, how was your trip?" Ino asked.

"It wasn't a trip. It was a training mission. As for that mission, it went well. Orochimaru kept coming after me but I kept sending them packing." Naruto boasted. Ino didn't take that well.

"That's not something to be proud of. You really think that Orochimaru having a bounty on your head is something that is cool?" Ino berated him.

"Well no, it's not cool but it did get me some experience. Either way, I don't think that he'll be bothering me anymore. From what I heard, he pissed off some really bad guys and he's on the run. Besides, I would assume that I wasn't the only one he attacked. He had to be pissed that the bastard is dead." Naruto said.

"I know Sakura was pissed. She's no longer a part of the village." Ino said.

"Sakura's gone? Where? When?" Naruto asked.

"She left a week after Sasuke was execution. She had her skills removed and emancipated herself from the village. There's been no word of her since." Ino said.

"Wow, I didn't think she would do that. I figured she would have stayed in the village and plot her revenge." Naruto said while scratching his head. "What about the others and yourself? What have you guys been up to?"

"Well, I'm a chūnin now. Not only that, I'm under the command of Ibiki Morino. I'm usually in charge of checking over the mental health of shinobi but sometimes I do interrogations. Um, let's see, Shikamaru is still a chūnin, Chōji is a chūnin, Kiba, Lee, Tenten & Hinata are chūnin as well. Shino and Neji are jōnin with Shino being a member of the ANBU." Ino reported.

"Shino? In the ANBU? He's like fifteen!" Naruto exclaimed.

"I know but it suits him well. Um, your little friends are genin and I think Hinata's sister is a genin as well. Oh, Shikamaru and Temari might be dating. I'm not sure but I'm close to figuring it out. Shikamaru is our ambassador when dealing with Suna, so the two are always together. Other than that, I don't know what to tell you." Ino said.

"Well, that was informative. Look, I'm pretty tired and I could use some sleep. How about I make it up to you by buying you something?" Naruto asked. Ino thought about the offer and smiled.

"Well, there is this dress I was looking to get." Ino said with a smirk. Naruto groaned and gave her a look. "Don't give me that! You got yourself a show pervert!"

"Alright, alright, I'll get you anything." Naruto said. Ino nodded happily and grabbed her stuff. She made her way to a door but stopped to give Naruto a glare.

"Oh and stay out of my room. I catch you in there and I will cause you pain." Ino warned. Naruto was confused until he remembered what she told him earlier. It made him realize that Ino was his roommate. That just couldn't be right.

"That's not a funny joke Ino. This is one room penthouse, my house." Naruto stated.

"Was your house. Now, it is ours. Since I was staying here since two years ago and watching the place, I made some changes. Your room is down the hall, to the right. When I get back, we're going to have to discuss bathroom usage." And with that Ino left the apartment. Naruto couldn't believe this. Why the hell was she even living here? With a tired sigh, Naruto made his way to check out his new room and get some sleep.

XXX

The next morning, Naruto was called to the stadium by the Hokage. He wanted to talk to the Hokage about his new roommate but he was told to go there or be thrown there. He entered the stadium and looked around. He couldn't help but remember his victory in this place against Neji. The crowd was cheering for him and giving him congratulations. He couldn't help but be smug about that day. He was so focused on patting himself on the back that he did not feel someone behind him.

"I hope that you don't think that I be as easy as Neji." The voice said. Naruto flinched and saw that he was facing Kakashi. He glared at his sensei.

"Damn it, don't do that!" Naruto exclaimed. Kakashi just grinned at him and smiled with his eye. Naruto relaxed and turned to face Tsunade who was looking down at him. "We are going to have a serious talk about boundaries Granny Tsunade!"

"What was that? I couldn't hear you." Tsunade said with a smirk. She then got serious. "Chūnin Uzumaki, you will be tested today to see just how much you have improved. Since your moron of a sensei didn't find it important to keep me updated, I'll be testing you against one of our strongest jōnin."

"Is it Kurenai?" Naruto asked with a smirk.

"No." Tsunade answered.

"Super Bushy-Brow sensei?"

"No."

"Oh, I know. It's Iruka, right?"

"He's still a chūnin and you know damn well who I'm talking about." Tsunade spat. Naruto just chuckled and faced Kakashi.

"Still a wise ass Naruto? That hurt my feelings, you know." Kakashi said with a deadpan voice. He then raised his forehead protector to reveal his Sharingan. Naruto looked surprised by this.

"Taking me seriously huh?" Naruto asked.

"I would be a fool not to." Kakashi said. Naruto got into his fighting stance and readied himself. Kakashi readied himself as well. Tsunade saw that they were ready and raised her hand. When she dropped it down, the two were already doing hand seals.

"Fire Style: Flame Bombs!" Naruto shouted and fired oil-fueled fireball at Kakashi.

"Water Style: Water Wall!" Kakashi shouted and spat out a huge amount of water. The two jutsu clashed and steam was covering the field. The Water Wall would win but Kakashi gained some distance just in case Naruto ignited the oil that may have mixed with the water. From out of the steam came several clones. Kakashi threw several shuriken but they missed when Naruto's clones used the Illusion Dance. Kakashi used his Sharingan to find the real Naruto when he was attacked from below. He jumped in the air to avoid Naruto's hands. That's when he was swarmed by Naruto's clones.

Kakashi had a hard time dodging Naruto's clones. His taijutsu had improved greatly and Kakashi was hard pressed not to get hit. He also noticed tears in his clothing. Using the Sharingan, he could see that Naruto had coated his arms and legs with wind. He realized that Naruto had combined his Air Blade attack with his taijutsu, making hand-to-hand very dangerous. Kakashi then did a hand seal and exploded, taking the clones with him. Everyone who was watching the match waited for the smoke to clear. When it did, you could see that the two were standing away from one another.

"Not bad Kakashi-sensei. You had me fooled with that clone of yours." Naruto said.

"You have impressed me Naruto. You've created a taijutsu that many would be crazy to face. I guess that means that I will have to take this up a level." Kakashi said and quickly did some hand seals. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" he shouted and spat out a huge fireball. Naruto slammed his hands on the ground.

"Earth Style: Terra Shield!" Naruto shouted. A slab of earth appeared to protect him. He quickly went underground as the fireball blew away the earth slab. Naruto did another series of hand seals. "Earth Style: Earthen Corridor!" Kakashi was trapped as the earth rose up and surrounded him. He saw an exit that was above him and jumped into the air. That's when he was swarmed by clones. He looked at the exit to see two Naruto.

"Wind Style: Air Bullets!"

"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" The two attacks combined to make some large balls of fire that crashed into the hole that was made. Kakashi was bombarded and sent into the ground. Naruto and the clone landed on either side of the earthen Corridor and waited. That's when the both of them were dragged into the ground. Two Kakashi popped out of the ground and looked down at the two.

"That was a nice combination Naruto." Kakashi said.

"Thanks but you shouldn't be standing so close to me." The clone said before he exploded, consuming Kakashi's clone. The real Naruto flared his chakra and loosen the ground around him. He then began to spin.

"Air Blade Twister!" Naruto shouted. Kakashi had to use a Body Flicker to escape the Air Blades that were thrown in all directions. Naruto stopped his spinning and held out his hand. He began to gather chakra into his hand and it formed into the Rasengan. Kakashi did some hand seals and the Lightning Blade appeared. Kakashi rushed Naruto and vice versa. When the two met on the ground, Kakashi could see that there was a clone with Naruto. However, it did not stop either one of them from launching their attacks.

"Lightning Cutter!" Kakashi shouted.

"Giant Rasengan!" Naruto shouted. The two attacks collided and a huge explosion rocked the stadium and part of the village. Everyone on the outside looked toward the stadium to see a large cloud of smoke. Tsunade and others had to cover their eyes as stone and debris came flying at them. She removed her hand to survey the damage that the two had just done. She was very surprised and very annoyed at the crater that was in the middle of her stadium. One either side of the crater, Kakashi and Naruto were sitting on their asses. They also surveyed the damage done by their attacks.

"Whoops." Naruto stated.

"Yeah, I think we might have gone a little too far." Kakashi said.

"WHAT HAVE YOU TWO DONE TO MY STADIUM?!" Tsunade roared. Naruto quickly used the Body Flicker to escape and Kakashi followed. Tsunade chased after them with a squad of ANBU at her side. Watching from the shadows was a man with one eyed covered. He had black hair and wore a white shirt, with a black or dark grey robe over the top of it covering from his feet, to just over his right shoulder. He was also missing his right arm. He watched with interest and was impressed with young Naruto. He made his way out of the stadium and made his way to the Hokage tower where the meeting would be held.

XXX

The sound of a body hitting the ground was ignored by the three robed figures. They quickly made their way toward a man who was in the corner. He looked at the four in front of him. He couldn't see either of them but one of them held a kusarigama. He snarled at the four.

"Why are you doing this to me?! What have I've done?!" the man shouted.

"Your crime is being partners with that snake Orochimaru. It makes you a target?" the shorter of the four asked.

"I have not been in contact with him in years! He didn't care about my projects anymore! Look at what you have done! You have destroyed all my research!" the man shouted.

"Like we care. All we want is information. Tell me where we can find these places and you can leave here alive." The short person asked.

"Screw you, I will not be threatened by a child!" and he was about to do something when and arrow was shot into his forehead. He gasped and felt backwards on the ground. The four looked over him as his blood pooled around him. One of the robed figures turned toward the shorter one.

"Well this was a waste of time." The female voice said with annoyance.

"Heh, you didn't get enough blood?" the tallest of them said. She cursed and sucked her teeth. The shorter one did not comment and turned to leave. The other three followed them out as the fire around burned everything to ash.

XXXXX