I'm back again and bringing all my fans chapter three of Iron Shinobi. For the fans of my story Dokushu, The Poison Master, it will be updated after this chapter of Iron Shinobi and then Forest of Flames should have its' first chapter written shortly afterwards. So anyone who is looking forward to a badass, fire wielding, Naruto, you'll soon have your wish. With that said let's start the chapter!
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Chapter 3 - Teams and Tests
The morning following the forbidden scroll incident arrived just like any other. With Naruto stumbling towards his bathroom in a half asleep daze. After waking himself up with a shower and some breakfast, which consisted of eggs, bacon, an apple, and some orange juice, Naruto locked the door to his apartment and started making his way to the Academy for the final time. Halfway to his destination he met up with Ino and the two walked the rest of the way together while holding a light conversation about last nights' incident.
"So, Ino-chan, have you figured out how long it'll take you to learn that technique you picked out last night?" Naruto questioned as the two walked along the street towards the Academy.
"It'll take a while until I'm able to use it. It's forbidden for a reason you know. But if I had to make an educated guess based on what I copied from the scroll about the technique? I'd say at least five months, maybe six if it proves more difficult than I think. That's only to use it though, I plan on mastering it and that'll probably take a couple years at the earliest." Ino responded with determination in her eyes as she held up her right fist.
"I guess that means in a few months I can expect you to be able to use it in our spars then, right?" Naruto questioned with his battle happy smile stretched across his face.
"Count on it, Naruto-kun." Ino told him with a similar smile on her face. "So what about that technique you were so interested in? How long will it take you to be able to use it?" she asked curiously as the Academy came in sight.
"Since it's one of the few techniques I've come across that compliments my bloodline, I don't think it will take long before I can use it. Maybe a day or two at most." Naruto answered with a small smirk that had Ino rolling her eyes.
"You know, one day your going to really hurt yourself doing something stupid; like trying to learn and use a high level technique in only a few days." Ino said to which Naruto simply nodded his head.
"Yeah, that sounds like something I'd do." Naruto replied with another grin while Ino simply sighed before shoving him past the Academy gate and into the schoolyard. As the two were heading towards the door, they were stopped by a certain Uchiha and his pink haired fan girl.
"Dobe, fight me." Sasuke demanded with his arms at his sides while Sakura looked on at Sasuke in awe.
"Normally I wouldn't say 'No' to a fight; but in your case, Sasuke, I make the same exception I make for all weaklings." Naruto stated with a bored sigh as he and Ino walked around Sasuke and Sakura.
"What the hell do you mean by that, dobe?" Sasuke questioned as he turned around to watch Naruto walk towards the Academy.
"I mean what I said, Uchiha. I don't fight weaklings; there isn't any fun in fighting someone that doesn't stand a chance to begin with." Naruto stated with a bored tone while Ino simply stood beside him waiting for Sasuke to leave them alone so they could get to class.
"You can't say that to Sasuke-kun!" Sakura screeched from beside the object of her affection. "He's the Rookie of the Year! That proves he's better than you, Naruto!" she finished with another screech.
"Better at what? Bookwork? Ninjutsu? Genjutsu? Maybe, but I know for a fact that I'm better than him in combat. In my family the one who walks away from the fight is the one that's better, Haruno. So shut up and let me and Ino-chan get to class." Naruto said with a growl while glaring at Sasuke and Sakura. With that Ino and Naruto made their way inside the Academy to find out their team placements.
After Ino and Naruto sat down in class, followed by Sasuke and Sakura entering the room a few moments later and doing the same, Iruka strolled into the room with a clipboard in hand and stood in front of the class to announce the new teams.
"Alright students, first let me say how proud I am that all of you have passed your graduation exam. I'm sure you'll go on to lead successful careers as shinobi and kunoichi of Konohagakure no Sato. With that said, please wait and listen for your name to be called along with your teammates and sensei." Iruka stated as he started calling out the name of various students and Jounin. It wasn't until he got to team seven that Naruto started to pay attention. "Team seven will consist of, Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, and Uzumaki Naruto. Your Jounin-sensei is Hatake Kakashi." Iruka announced over both Sakura's screams of 'Love conquers all.' and Naruto's groan of 'Are you serious?' Sasuke didn't voice his opinion; but if the scowl on his face and the tightening of his hands in front of his face were any indication, he wasn't pleased with the arrangement either.
"I'm sorry for your misfortune." Ino whispered to Naruto who nodded before grunting in annoyance at his predicament.
"Team eight will consist of, Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba, and Hyuuga Hinata. Your Jounin-sensei will be Yuuhi Kurenai." Iruka called out much to Hinata's disappointment as she wasn't placed on the same team as her crush.
"Tracking team, right? Makes sense I guess." Naruto mumbled out while Ino nodded at his assessment.
"Team ten will consist of, Akimichi Chouji, Nara Shikamaru, and Yamanaka Ino. Your Jounin-sensei will be Sarutobi Asuma." Iruka announced which made both Ino and Naruto smirk.
"The Ino-Shika-Cho trio is reformed again." Naruto stated with a grin.
"Yep, seems the precedent still holds firm." Ino replied while nodding to Chouji who was looking in her direction. Shikamaru, however, was still sleeping without a care.
"Now, you all should wait for your sensei to arrive. Once they do follow their instructions and go forth on your path as shinobi." Iruka finished as he sat behind his desk and waited for the Jounin to start arriving. Within a few minutes various Jounin had arrived and collected their teams, Kurenai and Asuma arrived and took their teams at roughly the same time. Ino told Naruto she would see him later before leaving while Naruto wished her luck with her team. After every other team had been picked up, team seven was starting to get annoyed with their apparently late sensei. After another hour had passed Iruka had to leave to check the roster for the next class of ninja hopefuls he'd be put in charge of next school year. It was yet another hour of Sakura asking Sasuke for dates, while Sasuke ignored her, before the door to the classroom finally opened revealing a man dressed in the standard Jounin uniform, with grayish hair and his headband tilted over his left eye.
"Team seven?" the Jounin asked.
"Yeah?" Naruto asked while trying to assess the man's combat potential.
"My first impression of you all, I don't like you." the Jounin stated causing Sasuke and Sakura to face-fault while Naruto simply shrugged at the comment. "Meet me on the roof." the Jounin stated before disappearing in a cloud of ninja smoke. Naruto simply stood up and walked out of the room and towards the stairs leading to the roof. Sasuke and Sakura followed a few seconds later. Once all three Genin had arrived and sat down on the roof, the Jounin began speaking. "Alright, now that we're all here, how about we start with some introductions?" he asked with an eye smile.
"What kind of introductions, sensei?" Sakura questioned while Kakashi looked at her.
"How about your name? Things you like. Things you hate. Hobbies. Dreams for the future. That kind of stuff." He answered before Sakura spoke up again.
"Shouldn't you go first, sensei?" Sakura asked to which the Jounin simply nodded.
"Ok then, my name is Hatake Kakashi. I like several things and I hate several things. I have a lot of hobbies. Dreams for the future, haven't really thought that far." Kakashi said with another eye smile. "Your turn pinkie." he stated while pointing at Sakura.
"My name is Haruno Sakura. My likes are…, I hate Naruto and Ino-pig! My hobbies…, dream for the future is…um." Sakura said while constantly staring at Sasuke and blushing.
"Okay, that was…interesting." Kakashi stated with a sweat drop at the girls complete lack of motivation. "You next, sunshine." he said while pointing at Sasuke.
"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I have no likes and I dislike most things. I have no hobbies. My dream isn't a dream but an ambition. There's a man I have to kill and I will revive my clan." Sasuke said with his permanent scowl in place.
"I see, next is you blonde boy." Kakashi remarked while pointing towards Naruto.
"My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like Ino-chan, Tenten-chan, training, and battle. I hate weaklings that have egos without the strength to back them up. Annoying fan girls. People that run away and give up without putting up a fight, and people that disappoint me in battle. My hobbies are training and sparring with Ino-chan and Tenten-chan, fighting, and getting stronger. My dream is to fight as many strong opponents as I can and maybe start a family." Naruto explained while Kakashi nodded in a some what approving manner.
"Alright then, we will meet up at training ground three tomorrow at six am for our first mission." Kakashi announced prompting Sakura to speak up again.
"What kind of mission, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura questioned while looking at the Jounin.
"Survival training." Kakashi stated with another eye smile.
"But sensei, we did that kind of stuff in the Academy." Sakura said with confusion written all over her face.
"Yes, but this type of survival training is different. You'll be going up against me. This test actually has a sixty six percent chance of failure. Meaning that only nine Genin out of this years' graduates continue on to be shinobi, the others are sent back to the Academy for another year." Kakashi explained causing Sakura's eyes to widen while Sasuke's hands clenched into fists.
"So what was the point of the Academy graduation exam?" Naruto asked as he leaned back on the steps he was sitting on.
"That's only to determine the ones that have the potential to become Genin. Whether you continue on to become official shinobi this year depends on if you pass tomorrows test or not." Kakashi answered before offering the three a piece of advice. "By the way, I'd skip breakfast tomorrow morning, you would probably throw up." Kakashi said before he disappeared in another cloud of ninja smoke.
"Tomorrow sounds like a fun day. I can't wait." Naruto said with a grin as he stood up and started towards the stairwell. "I wonder if Ino-chan and Tenten-chan can hang out for a while?" Naruto mused as he descended the staircase and headed for the exit.
After ten minutes of walking down the street leading away from the Academy, Naruto ran into Ino and both started to discuss their thoughts on the tests that they would undertake tomorrow. The two headed for Tenten's house to see if their weapon loving friend was available to hang out. Once they had arrived Naruto pulled the door to the weapon store open causing the bell above to ring.
"Welcome to Suchiirubusou (Literally; Steel Armament), how may I help you today?" Tenten's mother asked from behind the counter.
"Hello, Hanamiko-san, is Tenten around?" Ino asked the woman who smiled upon seeing her daughter's friends.
"You're in luck. She has a day off today, I'm sure she'd love to spend it with her friends. I'll call her for you." Hanamiko answered with a smile as she went through a door behind the counter that led to the forge where Tenten often helped her father work. A few minutes later and Hanamiko returned with both Tenten and her father, Bukiji. Tenten quickly walked around the counter and put an arm around both Ino and Naruto and pulled them into a hug.
"It's nice to see you guys. With all the training and missions Gai-sensei has us doing I don't get to see you guys as much as I want to anymore." Tenten stated after letting go of both of her friends.
"I missed you too, Tenten-chan." Naruto replied with a grin.
"Me too, Tenten. I need to be able to talk to you more. Naruto doesn't understand anything about girl talk." Ino said dramatically causing Naruto to roll his eyes and Tenten to giggle.
"Hey, Naruto boy, would you be willing to sell me some more iron? The stuff you produce makes the best weapons." Bukiji asked with a grin as he wiped his hands clean from working in the forge.
"I could use a little extra money." Naruto admitted to the weapon smith who smiled happily.
"Alright then, whenever you're ready." Bukiji said while he pulled out a small hammer and sat behind the counter. Naruto quickly placed his hand, palm up, on top of the counter before concentrating. Within a few seconds a piece of pure iron began to form in the blonde haired boy's palm. After several seconds a large two foot long, three inch wide, plate of solid iron was sitting on the counter top. Bukiji was quick to pick the iron bar up and start tapping it with his small hammer to check the irons' density and quality.
"Beautiful work as always, Naruto boy. This is high-grade iron and if I'm not mistaken you made sure it was chakra conductive, correct?" Bukiji spoke as he quickly applied chakra to his hand and touched the bar of iron.
"Of course, Bukiji-san, it's more valuable to both of us that way." Naruto stated as the iron bar began to glow a light blue color when Bukiji applied his chakra to it.
"Alright, let me just weigh this bar here." Bukiji said as he brought the bar over to a scale at the end of the counter. "Let's see, hmmm, about eleven pounds even. For chakra conductive iron of this quality I'll give you two hundred thousand yen for the bar." Bukiji offered.
"That's good, I accept." Naruto stated while Hanamiko went into the back for a few minutes before returning with Naruto's payment.
"Here you are, Naruto-san." Hanamiko said as she handed him the money.
"Thank you very much, Hanamiko-san." Naruto replied before pulling out his wallet and putting the bills inside before returning it to the same pocket.
"Bukiji-san, I was wondering how exactly do you make katana from the iron bars Naruto sells to you?" Ino asked curiously as she had never delved into weapon forging like Tenten and Naruto.
"Ah, that's an excellent question Ino-san. The process of turning this iron bar into a katana or any other bladed weapon starts with me grinding it into a fine sand-like powder. From there I put it into my tatara furnace and add precise amounts of other metals; usually carbon, copper, tungsten, manganese, and titanium. Once they've all melted together I allow them to cool and form a steel bloom called a kera, I then carefully break the kera apart and separate the various carbon steels. The lowest carbon steel is called hocho-tetsu, which is used for the shingane (Literally; Core-steel), of the blade. The high carbon tamahagane and higher carbon steel, called nabe-gane, will then be forged in alternating layers, using very intricate methods to form the kawagane (Literally; Skin steel). The most useful process, however; is the folding, where the metals are forge welded, folded, and welded again, as many as sixteen times. The folding removes impurities and helps even out the carbon content, while the alternating layers combine hardness with ductility to create toughness. Once that's done, I then have a blade that I can set into a hilt and create a sheath for. That is how I turn these iron bars into katana. As an added bonus, because they're made from chakra conductive iron the steel retains the ability to conduct chakra making the blade stronger and more versatile as a weapon. This makes them more valuable and allows me to sell them at a higher price. Naruto here is the reason I'm able to purchase so much ordinary steel to make into kunai and shuriken and still keep my family at a comfortable level of wealth." Bukiji said with a laugh at the end that had Tenten rolling her eyes at her father's antics.
"So that's how katana are made. Thank you for explaining it to me, Bukiji-san." Ino said with a bow as Bukiji smiled.
"Don't mention it, Ino-san. I love talking about my work. Now you three go out and have some fun. I'll be busy for the next few days making a new chakra conductive sword." Bukiji stated before heading back to his forge.
"Ah yes, what did you two want to do today?" Tenten asked her two friends that had come to get her.
"Do you really need to ask, Tenten-chan?" Naruto asked with a crazy grin on his face.
"If it's with Naruto you know what he wants to do, Tenten-chan." Ino stated as Tenten nodded her head in understanding.
"So sparring until we all drop it is then?" Tenten asked to which Naruto enthusiastically nodded causing both Tenten and Ino to giggle at his exuberance. So, with a quick goodbye to Hanamiko, the three raced off to one of the training grounds and proceeded to spar until the sun had set. Afterwards Naruto walked both girls home before heading to his own apartment and simply shrugging off most of his clothing and crawling into bed.
The next morning, after a shower and breakfast, Naruto made his way to training ground three. He arrived a little after six am and noticed he was the last of the Genin to arrive.
"You're late Naruto!" Sakura yelled out with a tired look on her face. Sasuke simply ignored both of his teammates and sat against a tree with a tired scowl on his face.
"Sensei isn't here yet so I'm not late, Haruno." Naruto replied with a yawn as he headed over to the opposite side of the clearing. Once he'd found a strong tree, with a thick trunk, he began punching it repeatedly. After several punches Sakura finally shouted from across the clearing.
"Naruto, what are you doing? Sensei is going to be here any minute." Sakura asked while staring at her teammate.
"Just because I'm waiting for someone, that doesn't mean I'm not going to train and work hard to further my strength. You should try it sometime, Haruno, maybe you'd actually be worth fighting if you did." Naruto responded without looking at his pink haired teammate.
"Hey, you can't say that to me! I'm better than you think I am." Sakura shouted at Naruto with an angry scowl on her face.
"Really, Haruno, would you like to prove it?" Naruto asked as he stopped punching the tree and turned to face Sakura with his battle crazed grin.
"No! I, um, I mean not right now. We're about to be tested and all. I don't want to wear myself out." Sakura stuttered out as she turned to face Sasuke again.
"Heh, you're still disappointing. At least back up what you say, Haruno." Naruto said with a grunt as he started kicking the tree he had been punching. Over two hours later Kakashi appeared at the training grounds in a cloud of ninja smoke. What he saw when the smoke cleared was Naruto practicing Taijutsu against a heavily beaten tree trunk, Sasuke was glaring off into space, and Sakura jumping up when she saw him before screaming.
"You're late!" Sakura screamed so loud that the birds in the trees scattered from the sound.
"Sorry about that. A black cat crossed my path and I had to take the long way around to avoid it." Kakashi stated with an eye smile while Sakura and Sasuke stared at him angrily. Naruto still hadn't stopped striking the tree he was practicing on.
"Liar!" Sakura screamed again while pointing at Kakashi.
"Anyway, now that we're all here, we can start the test." Kakashi stated while pulling two bells out of his ninja pouch attached to the back of his left hip. "Your task is to retrieve these bells from me. Anyone that doesn't get a bell fails and is sent back to the Academy. Also you will be tied to one of those posts over there." Kakashi finished while pointing towards the training posts in the next clearing.
"But sensei, there are only two bells." Sakura exclaimed in confusion.
"That's true, Sakura, that means one of you will definitely fail." Kakashi stated with a blank look on his face before he attached the bells to his belt. "Make sure you come at me with the intent to kill otherwise you won't have any chance of getting a bell." Kakashi told them before he jumped back into the center of the clearing. "Begin!" he called out watching as Sasuke and Sakura disappeared into the forest. 'Those two have hidden themselves rather well. Naruto, however; not so much.' Kakashi thought to himself as he noticed Naruto, with a battle hungry look on his face, walking towards him. "You're a little off, are you sure you don't want to try hiding in the forest before attacking me?" Kakashi asked Naruto.
"What would be the point of trying to surprise attack you? You wouldn't let your guard down enough for any Genin to get the jump on you. So why waste my time? I'll just fight you and see how much fun I can have before one of us can't fight anymore." Naruto said before charging towards Kakashi with his Koutetsu at maximum density. Kakashi dodged the first punch only to jump back to avoid the sharp cutting edge that had just appeared on the outside of Naruto's arm.
"I see you can make any part of your body a blade. That will make blocking almost impossible." Kakashi noted before pulling out two kunai, once he had one in each hand he blocked Naruto's bladed fingers from impaling his face. With his free kunai he slashed at Naruto's arm only to watch as his kunai blade stopped when it hit the boy's skin.
"You're going to have to do better than that Kakashi-sensei." Naruto stated with a manic grin before he broke their stalemate and launched a bladed kick at Kakashi's torso. In response, Kakashi jumped back and sent both kunai at Naruto, who simply let them bounce off his armored body. Naruto quickly rushed Kakashi again sending multitudes of kicks, punches, and bladed attacks at the Jounin. Kakashi dodged everything before kicking Naruto in the chest and launching himself twenty feet away.
"It seems the best way to deal with you is to stay at long range." Kakashi stated as he brought his hands together to start making hand seals. Naruto's grin widened slightly before, in a burst of incredible speed, he closed the distance between Kakashi and himself and launched a bladed spear hand at the Jounin. Kakashi, able to react to the boy's sudden increase in speed due to his experience, managed to twist his body slightly before Naruto's hand plunged into his stomach. The result was Naruto's bladed hand slashing into Kakashi's side about two inches deep in the flesh, causing Kakashi's blood to stain the grass below them. Kakashi quickly jumped back before sending a barrage of kunai at Naruto. After the kunai all bounced off of him, Naruto spoke.
"This is a blast Kakashi-sensei. But if you aren't careful you'll lose this fight. Underestimating an opponent is the worse thing you can do in battle." Naruto said with a grin.
"It would seem that I've underestimated you a bit. But tell me, how did you suddenly increase your speed like that?" Kakashi questioned before seeing Naruto grin again.
"You mean like this?" Naruto asked as he suddenly appeared in front of Kakashi again; this time with his bladed arm coming down in a chopping motion. Kakashi took two steps back before using Kawarimi no jutsu to escape Naruto's follow up bladed roundhouse kick. Kakashi, while hiding amongst the trees after his escape, quickly pulled up his Jounin flak vest and the black shirt underneath to expose the wound Naruto had inflicted. With a quick application of some medical salve and a cloth bandage covering the wound, Kakashi quickly wrapped a strip of bandages around his stomach area to hold the bandage in place. With first aid completed Kakashi quickly started hand seals for a jutsu before moving to engage Naruto once more.
"Has Naruto always been this strong?" Sakura asked herself in a whisper as she watched Naruto and Kakashi exchange blows before the Jounin disappeared after using Kawarimi no jutsu. 'He's still not as good as Sasuke-kun, Cha!' Sakura's second personality screeched inside her head. Sakura nodded at that declaration before resuming the watch for her sensei. 'Damn it! When did the dobe get this strong? Where did he get his strength? I'm an Uchiha; I deserve that kind of power. I need that kind of power!' Sasuke ranted in his head after watching Naruto and Kakashi's match.
"Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no jutsu! (Literally; Double Suicide Decapitation Technique)" was heard throughout the training ground before Kakashi's hand reached up out of the ground and grabbed Naruto's ankle. Naruto was quickly pulled into the ground until only his head was above the earth. Kakashi appeared in front of the boy holding his, now bleeding, hand. "It seems as long as I can stop your movement you aren't much of a threat, Naruto." Kakashi stated as he watched Naruto start moving around trying to get out of the ground.
"Well I admit you took me by surprise with that one, Kakashi-sensei, but how is your hand feeling?" Naruto questioned with his manic grin still in place. Kakashi simply clenched his hand tighter causing blood to fall onto the ground beside him. "I can sprout blades from my body if my opponent grabs me; grappling techniques will only result in my opponent getting injured." Naruto explained as he began to move a bit more in his continued attempt to escape. Before Kakashi could reply several kunai and shuriken impaled his body in multiple places; only for Kakashi to disappear in a cloud of ninja smoke and be replaced by a log. 'Shit! Now he knows my location; I've got to get out of here and find a new vantage point.' Sasuke thought as he quickly tree hopped away from his sensei and trapped teammate.
"Are you ready to stop running away yet, Sasuke?" Kakashi questioned as Sasuke landed in a clearing a few hundred feet from the one Naruto was trapped in. Sasuke quickly turned around to find Kakashi wrapping a roll of bandages around his right hand.
"I'm not running; I'm different than those other two." Sasuke stated as he reached for his weapons pouch.
"You can only say that when you've got a bell, Sasuke." Kakashi stated before tying the bandage on his hand and waiting for Sasuke's next move. He didn't have to wait long as Sasuke launched several shuriken at him. Kakashi ducked the shuriken before hearing the telltale sound of a rope being cut behind him. With a quick leap Kakashi dodged the trap that launched several kunai at the tree he had been standing beside. 'So he'd already set a trap; that's very clever of you Sasuke.' Kakashi thought as he engaged the Uchiha in Taijutsu. Sasuke, meanwhile, was becoming frustrated as no matter how many punches or kicks he used or what combos he tried Kakashi blocked or dodged them all. "Surely you can do better than this, right Sasuke? I'm already injured and you're still not capable of taking a bell, that's somewhat disappointing." Kakashi taunted the young Uchiha before throwing him backwards across the clearing
"I'll show you how I plan on taking those bells!" Sasuke yelled before going through a few hand seals and ending on the tiger seal. "Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu! (Literally; Grand Fireball Technique)" Sasuke roared out as he spewed a large fireball at Kakashi. 'Most Genin don't have enough chakra for a technique of this caliber, seems he has a few surprises after all.' Kakashi mused before using Kawarimi no jutsu to escape the fireball. After the fire had dispersed Sasuke looked at the burnt ground where Kakashi was standing; only to find a burnt log instead of his Jounin-sensei. "Damn! Where is he? Left? Right? Behind? Above?" Sasuke questioned out loud as he scanned his surroundings for Kakashi.
"Below actually, Sasuke." Kakashi stated before Sasuke felt his ankle grabbed as he was drug into the ground until only his head was above the surface. Sasuke struggled wildly as he tried, and failed, to escape his sensei's technique. "To think that you'd fall for the same jutsu that you saw trap Naruto. It seems to me that you're not living up to your Rookie of the Year status, Sasuke." Kakashi stated as he appeared in front of the boy's field of vision. "Well, this just leaves Sakura. So long, Sasuke." Kakashi said with a wave as he leapt into the forest leaving the Uchiha stuck in the dirt. It didn't take long for Kakashi to find Sakura; once he had a simple D-Rank Genjutsu had made her pass out in fright. Kakashi had to sigh at Sakura's performance, the girls file said she was decent when it came to Genjutsu, apparently she wasn't as good as her file stated. With nothing left to do Kakashi went to check on Naruto who'd been trapped in the ground the longest. When he arrived in the clearing he left the blonde Genin in, to his shock he saw Naruto rising out of the ground on what appeared to be stilts made of iron. Once Naruto's feet where at ground level, he picked one up slightly and started retracting the iron stilt back into his foot. After the stilt was gone Naruto placed his foot back on solid ground before repeating the process with his other foot.
"So, Kakashi-sensei, are you ready to continue our fight?" Naruto questioned as he locked eyes with Kakashi. "I've found you worthy of fighting at full strength, so how about it?" Naruto asked with an even larger more feral grin than last time.
"Why not? We still have a few minutes before the test ends." Kakashi replied with an eye smile. Naruto chuckled lightly before reaching up and gripping his neckband; with a quick pull the neckband came off and Naruto put it into his pocket before his dark blue chakra exploded from his body creating an aura around the blonde Genin.
"So what do you think, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto questioned with his feral grin as his chakra aura flared around him.
"I was surprised Sasuke had enough chakra to utilize the Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu; but this, this is just insane. You're producing chakra in amounts some Jounin don't have." Kakashi replied while watching the feral grinning boy in front of him. Kakashi was much quicker to react this time when Naruto suddenly disappeared from his line of sight in a burst of high speed. With a leap backwards he put several feet between himself and where Naruto had aimed a bladed sidekick that would have pierced his chest if the Jounin hadn't moved. With several hand seals that were to fast to make out, Kakashi suddenly spewed out several small fireballs towards Naruto who simply flared his chakra aura and blew the flames out. 'So that aura can be used as another line of defense. Let's see how much it can take.' Kakashi thought before dodging another high speed attack from Naruto.
"Don't run away the whole fight now, Kakashi-sensei. That would be boring." Naruto called out before Kakashi completed another set of hand seals and slammed his hand on the ground. Within seconds, a dragon head made of earth rose up from the ground and started rapidly firing out spheres of mud at Naruto. The blonde Genin grinned before rushing into the incoming barrage. Several of the mud projectiles hit Naruto causing him to stumble slightly before he resumed his charge towards Kakashi. The Jounin quickly abandoned his position behind the dragon head when Naruto's bladed roundhouse kick cut the earthen creation in half. Kakashi quickly went through three hand seals before his hand was covered in lightning that made a sound like chirping birds. Naruto, while laughing loudly in excitement, quickly sprouted an already sharpened blade from his right palm and focused the majority of his chakra aura into it causing the blade to glow a dark blue. When Naruto brought the iron blade down on Kakashi, the Jounin brought up his lightning covered hand and struck the chakra infused blade. The two forces struggled to over power each other for several seconds; before, finally, the iron blade broke in two and the remainder of the blade completed its' arc and hit the ground with enough force to leave a small crater. A second after and the alarm Kakashi had placed on the middle training post went off, loud enough for everyone in the training ground to hear.
"Well, it looks like time is up Naruto, shall we gather up your teammates?" Kakashi asked with an eye smile as the lightning around his hand dissipated.
"Sure, why not?" Naruto responded as he examined where his iron blade had been broken before retracting it back into his palm and bending down to pick up the other part of his blade before doing the same to it. Naruto quickly placed his neckband seal back on; once again sealing his massive chakra away and causing his aura to disappear. It didn't take long to collect the other two Genin as Sasuke was still trapped and Sakura was still unconscious. After tying Sakura to the middle training post and then waking her up, Kakashi went on to explain his analysis of the test.
"Let's start off with you, Sakura. You did nothing during this test except hide and then fall under a Genjutsu. For that, you are the one tied to the post. Next, we move on to Sasuke. You did everything by yourself, you didn't even think about seeking help from Naruto or Sakura. Which lead to you being trapped. Finally, we get to Naruto. While you displayed impressive skills in combat, you also did everything yourself. If you had gotten assistance from Sasuke or Sakura you may have gotten the bells. Though I will commend you for catching me off guard and wounding me. Did any of you understand the point of this test?" Kakashi asked at the end while looking pointedly at all three Genin.
"From how you just summarized everything, my guess is teamwork." Naruto stated as he looked Kakashi directly in the eye.
"Correct, Naruto, the answer to this test is team work. Which none of you showed. For that reason I'd recommend that you all be dropped from the shinobi program. But, I'll give you one more chance to work together. If you do so and are able to get the bells, then I'll allow you to pass." Kakashi said while all three Genin stared at him with a mixture of anger, shame, and in Naruto's case, a grin? "Do you find something amusing about possibly failing this test Naruto?" Kakashi questioned the blonde Genin.
"Oh, no, not really. But I think I know of a way for us to pass right now." Naruto stated with a grin before he tossed the two bells at Sasuke and Sakura. Kakashi quickly looked down at his belt to find only two small pieces of string tied to his waist.
"I see; when did you take them, Naruto?" Kakashi asked as he hadn't noticed the boy getting within arms reach of the bells at all during the test.
"When your lightning attack broke my blade actually; my blade continued its' swing arc and my chakra lashed out and severed the bells from your waist. After that you didn't notice me pick them up after the alarm rang. You probably assumed I was just retrieving the other part of my blade." Naruto explained causing Kakashi to nod in understanding.
"Alright then, since Naruto just demonstrated exactly the kind of teamwork I was looking for; you all pass. I'd thank Naruto if I were you two." Kakashi stated while staring at Sasuke and Sakura. Naruto quickly cut the ropes holding Sakura before standing up and stretching until his back popped.
"Well, I don't know about anyone else but I think I'm gonna head for the hot springs and take a nice relaxing soak. After the fun I've had today I could use a relaxing bath." Naruto announced before heading towards the hot springs.
"I believe I'll be going to the hospital to get my injuries healed up, that way I won't have to deal with them anymore." Kakashi said out loud before disappearing in a cloud of ninja smoke.
"Sasuke-kun, would you like to go on a date?" Sakura asked the Uchiha.
"No, now leave me alone." Sasuke grumbled out as he stalked off towards his compound.
-End Chapter-
So what did everyone think? Good? Bad? Tell me with your reviews. On another note I've had several people ask me if I've based Naruto's bloodline off certain characters from other manga/anime. The answer is yes, the three characters that inspired the Tetsuheikihada are; Mr. 1 (Daz Bonez) from One Piece, Gazille Redfox from Fairy Tail, and Kenpachi Zaraki from Bleach. Their abilities and personalities were mixed together to form a bloodline and clan philosophy for this story. Though some restrictions/limitations were placed on some of their abilities to make them a better fit for the Narutoverse, the Tetsuheikihada does have the majority of their abilities within its' capabilities. Anyway, until next chapter, later.