Naruto was calm as he lurked in the trees, one with the shadows. He was happy to learn that there was a month till the third round of the exams. It gave him time to grow his army to an adequate strength, so he could stage a revolution. Even better was the fact that both Oto and Suna were preparing to invade Konohagakure during the exams. In the ensuing chaos, he would be able to take control of the village, and begin to rebuild his empire. Currently, he was back in Wave, near Tazuna's house. His shadow clones were surrounding the area, and they were creating a magical barrier. He was planning to use the One Ring to transform the entire village into orcs. As the invisible barrier completed, he touched the One Ring to it, and began his work. First, the black flames of Mordor raced through the streets. People panicked, and ran around in confusion. They had no hope of escaping the omnidirectional flames. As the flames ran through them, they began to transform. Within a few minutes, the whole of the village was loyal to Naruto. Even the trees and animals became wicked. By the end, the Dark Army had gained two thousand additions. The only issue was how to transport them without arousing anyone's suspicion. Naruto decided to call in his own summons. He placed his hand to the ground, and whispered "Kuchiyose no Jutsu". The largest of the Earth Eaters appeared out of the ground, and the blonde gestured to his soldiers to enter the gaping maw of the creature. Anyone else would have questioned the blonde's sanity, but the loyal servants walked in without a sense of trepidation. The Earth Eater burrowed through the ground to return to the base. However, Naruto was still not confident in the size of his army. He doubted that despite all the confusion he would be able to take control. He only had a few ninja amongst his orcs, and while the orcs were being trained, it would not be sufficient to match the powerful Konoha ninja. He then decided to head onto his next piece of business: creating a third Nazgul. And at the same time, he would be able to create a Balrog, something he was keen to make. That was how he found himself in a cavern, across from Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame. The raven-haired criminal had not expected their prey to walk right up to them, but he was ecstatic that they would not be forced to hunt for the jinchuriki. Of course, this emotion was not expressed in his stoic face. His partner was just itching to pull out his blade, after their tedious reconnaissance mission. Neither of them realised that it would be their last fight as independent agents, and the beginning of their role as instruments of darkness. Naruto had heard of Itachi's skills with genjutsu, so he activists his Eyes of Sauron to prevent himself from being captured. Meanwhile, Kisame charged at his prey while unsheathing hid sword. He wondered why their opponent was just standing there. To his great shock, Samehada bounced off his opponent's tough armour, and he was spun around by the momentum. Before Naruto could take advantage of the opportunity, Itachi substituted himself with his partner. He then promptly blew up. That move would have killed most ninja, but Naruto was simply pushed back slightly. He then charged forth at both his opponents. Itachi attempted to cast a genjutsu to confuse the blonde, but to his shock, it was broken almost immediately. Kisame saw his partner's shock, and leapt forward with his sword to protect him. The jinchuriki's punch threw back the swordsman, and the following kick launched him into the wall. He was prevented from pursuing him further, as Itachi began duelling him. No movement was wasted, and every move had a purpose. The genin realised almost immediately that his opponent was on a higher level than any previous foe. He lightly danced around punches, and rolled under kicks. He leapt over palm strikes, and dodged the hammer. He even managed to scratch the nigh unbreakable armour worn by Naruto. The situation was made more difficult for the jinchuriki, when Kisame returned to the battle. He called out, "Suiton: Teppodama". The area was filled with water, and the blonde found it more difficult to move, as the water began to reach his chest. Itachi, however, was able to run around in the water, as well as he could on land. Kisame, meanwhile, had merged himself with his sword, and his punches were beginning to dent Naruto's armour. The former mist ninja then trapped the blonde in a water prison, while Itachi went down blades of wind at him. Naruto decided to take it up another notch. He burned in black flames, and the water evaporated instantaneously. Itachi fell down in the change, and the blonde shattered his ankle by stepping on it. He managed to avoid the following punch by substituting himself with a boulder. The boulder turned to fine dust. From behind, Kisame charged once again. Naruto turned towards him, and punched. The shark man sidestepped, but the blonde had expected that. A shadow clone grabbed the Akatsuki from behind, and the original slammed his hand into his opponent's heart. Kisame was then sealed into a scroll for future use. Instincts then allowed the blonde to leap to the side, as a Susanoo fist crashed through where he had been just a few minutes ago. Itachi prepare another punch , but he was clearly tired, and it showed. The jinchuriki pulled out his hammer, and roared out "Might of Mordor". He dashed forward, while swinging his weapon. It cracked through the Susanoo, like a tsunami through wood. Itachi collapsed to the ground, unconscious, and Naruto left with his two prizes. At his base, he brought Kisame back to life using a pearl ring. At the same time, he enveloped Itachi in black flames, to create a Black Balrog. His military was now much more powerful. The day before the exams, the head of the Hyuga branch family was in great excitement. He had just been visited by the thought to be dead Momochi Zabuza. The swordsman had explained to him, "I know about your monstrous seal, which you are enslaved with. The Hokage says he will help. He will not. The only way you can be freed from bondage is if you pledge loyalty to my master. Only then will you be free. But the process will be painful, and you will have to pretend you have the seal, so the main family will not be suspicious. However, once you have pledged your loyalty, you will be killed if you betray us." The old ninja had asked for the identity of this master, and he was revealed to be Uzumaki Naruto. Unlike the main Hyuga, the cadet branch Hyuga did not despise the jinchuriki. They sympathised with the blonde, who had no chance to prove himself, and was as much a caged bird as them. He readily agreed, and by midnight, the entire branch family was free from the main branch. The next day, Neji, in a rare show of gratitude, surrendered almost immediately to Naruto. The next few matches continued, but Sasuke's match was interrupted by an invasion. With everyone focused on the attack from outside, no one realised as Naruto's forces came out, until it was too late.

AN: guys please review, it really encourages me.