Hey what's up everyone! I have to say that I am getting some pretty amazing reviews right now and hope you all continue to enjoy my fiction.
This is just a minor crossover and will have a history of the crossover universe and why Naruto has gained his powers and perhaps one that I just thought of…it might be awesome, but I will let you all decide in a POLL!
So for all of you who have added me on PSN I am making an ANBU squad out of OC's created by you. This very moment I have two characters from Adngo714 and Shini Namikaze. I just need two more OC's now for my ANBU squad. They will all make an appearance during the Oto/Suna Invasion for sure and later on in the story.
This is a continuation of the Forest of Death and the preliminaries. Also I don't know the order of matches for the preliminaries besides Naruto's match and Hinata's so I will go in my own order. I don't know when I will stop, but it will probably be around 10,000 words like all of the chapters in this story. So let's get this chapter started!
Chapter 4- Preliminaries
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Drip…Drip…Drip…Drip…why was it so dark? All he could see was darkness, vast amounts of darkness. From what he could tell he was stuck in ankle high puddle of water, some sort of sewer or shed as he could hear the dripping.
'Where the hell am I? I was fighting that Burittsu guys and then I'm here in this dark abyss!' shouted Naruto in his mind as he took a step further looking for some sort of object.
He walked along for a few minutes just reaching out in the darkness trying to find something to grab ahold of. His thoughts drifted to the fight and what transpired during the contest of strength.
However, those thoughts focused on blue haired girl that was possibly his best friend. Seeing that man about to do something so evil to someone that was as nice and caring as Hinata drove him over the edge.
Not even when Mizuki had nearly killed Iruka-Sensei, or when Haku had turned Sasuke into a human pincushion had he been so angry.
Three times now he had lost people that were close to him. Sure Iruka-sensei was just a teacher and Sasuke was…well a bastard, but that didn't matter to him. The two of them were connected by the pain that they shared.
However, Hinata was…pure. He could see a deep pain in her eyes and loneliness that rivaled Sasuke's and his own eyes. Yet, unlike the two of them her thoughts weren't evil and bent on revenge and trying to suppress the thoughts of death.
Naruto wasn't blind he could tell that Hinata hurt just as much if not just a little less than him. That is what hit him the hardest. How the kindest, most pretty, and modest girl could harbor such loneliness.
His heart ached whenever he saw her with those eyes that showed so much loneliness in them. If it hadn't been for the Wave mission and Haku he would have never noticed it before.
But what could be the cause of such eyes on such a pure person? It couldn't be that she was an orphan, as he knew the Hyuga were a very large clan in Konoha. She had friends in the academy as Kiba and Shino were always acting like brothers to her.
So why did she have those eyes that did not belong to such a beautiful face?
Every memory that he could remember from before the bandit camp and fighting that jounin about her came to his mind. She had always been shy around him and getting red in the face as if she were angry or sick.
However, her body language never once suggested that as the case. It wasn't till after the bandit camp that he could have a conversation with her and not worry about her fainting.
So why did Hinata's safety and well being weight so heavily on his mind, while people like Sakura, Iruka, and Jiji not affect him so much if they were in such trouble?
Just then Naruto heard a deep chuckling come from the dark. Naruto turned in circles as his eyes struggled to adjust to unyielding darkness. It seemed as if the chuckling came from everywhere at once.
Even Zabuza and his mist didn't instill this much fear into Naruto. However, he wouldn't bow down just because he couldn't see this person who was mocking him in the dark.
"YOU ARE A FOOLISH BOY! YOUR DREAMS MEAN NOTHING AND YOU LACK THE WILL TO DO WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE!" Boomed a voice from the darkness that came from everywhere at once.
"Who the hell are you? Come on out and I will show you how much will I have!" yelled Naruto as he gripped as much inner strength as he could.
"AS IF YOU COULD! YOU LACK THE UNDERSTANDING TO SEE WHAT IS IN FRONT OF YOU! DESPITE ALL THAT YOU HAVE DONE YOU WILL NEVER BE A REAL NINJA!" Yelled the voice as Naruto spun around in terror.
"Damn you! You have no idea who I am! I will become a great ninja and become Hokage!" yelled Naruto.
"YOU ARE WEAK AND MEANINGLESS! IF YOU WERE SO STRONG THAN EXPLAIN TO ME WHY YOU WERE UNABLE TO SAVE HAKU, ZABUZU, OR THAT HYUGA GIRL THAT YOU CARE FOR SO MUCH! Yelled the voice.
Naruto was visibly shaken by this piece of information. Tears sprung to his eyes as he looked down, but saw nothing but darkness. Darkness…it was the only thing he should be allowed to see.
Out of all the things the voice had said the one about Hinata had been the worst. It was true as he was unable to defeat Burittsu without using the Kyubi's chakra.
However, there was something that was bothering him. Somehow he had regained control of himself after the start…it was weird. It seemed that there was something helping him control the Kyubi's chakra.
"Shut up…SHUT UP!" yelled Naruto as he went from whispering to shouting at the voice.
"IS THAT ALL THAT YOU HAVE TO SAY! YOUR FATHER WAS TWICE THE NINJA THAT YOU WERE! WHAT IS KEEPING YOU GOING…WHY HAVE YOU NOT GIVEN UP!" yelled the voice.
"What does it matter to you if I keep going or not! I will not give up as long as there are people who depend on me for safety. I have the power to become someone who can save the lives of those he loves. I will protect them till the day I die and nothing is ever going to stand in my way! Yelled Naruto.
"YOU ARE BEING SERIOUS AREN'T YOU? WELL THEN FACE YOUR INNER DARKNESS AND THEN YOU WILL FINALLY LEARN WHO I AM! THEN WILL WE HAVE OUR TALK…FACE TO FACE!" The voice shouted.
"What are you talking about?" asked Naruto.
"THIS DARKNESS IS THE REPRESENTATION OF YOUR SOUL. HOWEVER IT ALSO THE PART OF YOUR SOUL THAT YOUR POWERS DEPEND ON. BEFORE YOU RECEIVED YOU KNIVES THIS USED TO BE NOTHING MORE THAN A SEWER, BUT NOW IT HAS CHANGED." Explained the voice.
"How did it change just by receiving my knives?" asked Naruto.
"THOSE KNIVES OF YOURS CONTAINED THE SPIRIT OF A GREAT WARRIOR. IONS OLD AND THE SAVIOR OF HIS PEOPLE THAT HAS FOUGHT FAR MORE BATTLES THAN ANYONE ELSE ON THIS PLANET. IT IS FROM HIM THAT YOUR SHADOW CAPABILITIES COME FROM. YOU WILL MEET WITH HIM AND HE WILL DECIDE WETHER OR NOT YOU ARE INDEED WORTH OF HIS POWERS." Said the voice.
"Okay, when do I meet this Great Warrior." Said Naruto with sarcasm. To his surprise two great red eyes appeared in the darkness just in front of him.
"YOU WILL MEET HIM NOW!" Yelled the voice as Naruto suddenly found himself floating in a dark area of space with dots of light floating through the sky.
"Now where am I? Damn voice acting like it is an all powerful being!" yelled Naruto as he looked around. What he saw behind him was a massive green, white, and blue orb. The colors intermixed with each other and he could honestly say it was beautiful.
Just then a bright light appeared on the planet that forced Naruto to cover his eyes. When he looked again he saw the masses of white circling a massive obtrusion on the orb that was a red color.
Soon, spreading from the obtrusion it seemed death and destruction. The masses of whited disappeared to become blackened and the green masses slowly turned brown and a disgusting purple all originating at from the red obtrusion.
Like a virus it spread until over half the orb was covered by what Naruto could only describe as death and sorrow. What was once beauty was nothing but an diamond struggling to maintain its beauty.
"Is this my soul?" asked Naruto.
"No young one this is not your soul." Came a voice the resonated as if it came from everywhere once again. It was different then the other voice though. The other was filled with hate and malice, while this one was filled with wisdom and sadness.
"Great another voice…any chance you will actually show yourself." Said Naruto as his surroundings changed once more.
Now he was on what seemed like a stone road with massive statues and temples on the sides. Vegetation seemed to have reeked havoc on some of the statues and temples.
The statues themselves were of armored…things, he said people because he was not sure if they were men or something else. They had only three fingers and elongated heads with no mouths.
"Where am I now? Why is this happening to me! Do I really deserve something like this?" asked Naruto as he walked to the end of the road and looked down to see a massive valley filled with vegetation.
"This used to be the home planet of my people eons ago before any even lived on your world. My people thrived on this planet living in harmony until a discovery was made that shook it to its core." Stated the voice.
"One of the greatest warriors of our race discovered a way to link our minds together in harmony. Many of my people rallied to his cause and the way of the Khalai was born. However, there were some that did not wish to let go of our individuality. So we were banished by a corrupt council against the wishes of the our greatest leader." Stated the voice with much sadness.
"That makes no sense! Why would they just banish you for wanting to remain individuals." Yelled Naruto.
"It never made sense…my forefathers were part of those that were banished. We went to the world of Shakuras, which is the home of my people. We became known as the banished ones, while our cousins worked the power of the Khalai. While we used the power of the Void, in which the powers of darkness and shadows manifests itself." Explained the voice.
"So what you mean is that my shadows are coming from this "Void"?" asked Naruto.
"That is exactly what I mean. The Void can allow someone to see the future, become like a shadow, and manipulate them through years of training." Came the voice.
"So what your saying is that my possibilities are limitless? Also, what is your name?" asked Naruto.
"Yes the possibilities of your powers are limitless when they are mixed with your chakra. My species, the Protoss, could use the void, but we never had enough energy to use all of its power. If you must know my name it is Zeratul." Explained Zeratul.
"So are you going to teach me to use my powers Zeratul?" asked Naruto as he struggled to understand what this Zeratul was saying.
"No one can teach you to harness the powers of the void. The void calls upon all beings and you must continue to harness it so that you can become stronger. I have seen your past and the void allows me to see your future. You will become a great ninja, but it will be through hard work and the courage to stand for what you believe is right."
"If you can see the future then why don't you tell me what I need to know then?" asked Naruto.
"It is not my place to tell you what you need to know young one. The sands of fate are always shifting, as it is our decisions that can change everything. This planet is my peoples home world of Auir. My race was destined to assimilate into a being known as the Overmind!" explained the voice as Naruto's surroundings shifted again.
The sky was blood red, the clouds dark, and the ground devoid of all vegetation. Massive organisms and what looked like living buildings covered the valley below. The center of the valley held the most massive thing he had ever seen before.
It looked like a giant organ with four appendages rising above it with a central dome that moved around as if it were an eye. Thousands of other much smaller winged creatures circled it in a massive pillar.
That's when he heard a loud bang and looked behind him to see thousands of horrifying looking creatures charging at a large group of men in bulky blue armor. The men in the armor raised up big steel looking rods and suddenly thousands of explosions followed as the hundreds of the creatures fell to the ground bleeding and screeching.
Massive metal beasts stood behind the men and started making the banging noise. Naruto could barely follow the projectiles as they left the tubes on the beasts.
'They must be some sort of advanced projectile weapon or something and those must be metal suits that might run on chakra?' thought Naruto.
He watched in fascination as thousands of the creatures fell at the hands of the projectiles, but their numbers never wavered. Soon the creatures were upon the men and screams tore through his body.
He felt sick as he watched men get mutilated, melted, or crushed by the horde. It was at that moment balls of blue light flew into the creatures and exploded in a mass of blue energy.
The battle had shifted as a new faction joined on the side of the men. Naruto could immediately tell that these were not men as they were larger and had a different color skin.
Their warriors wore yellow armor that had two glowing blades sticking out of the wrists. These warriors cut into the ranks of the creatures and began to push them back as they were protected by projectile weaponry from the men, machines, and these four legged walkers that were firing the energy balls.
"The Terran and the Protoss both fighting alongside each other to rid Auir of the infestation known as the Overmind. It was driven by single purpose to assimilate the Protoss into the Zerg to become complete. In one last gamble, the greatest Protoss ever Executor Tassadar sent his flag ship into a direct collision with the Overmind." Explained Zeratul as Naruto now looked at the sky and saw hundreds of massive metal monsters descend from the sky with weapons blazing.
They wreaked havoc on the Zerg ground forces before the column of Zerg fliers over the Overmind charged at the fleet. The battle turned worse as the metal monsters turned to flame and exploded.
Only one made it through the thick blanket of Zerg and slowly moved towards the Overmind. Naruto watched in awe as blue energy came from the ship and covered it in a field of energy so bright he had to shield his eyes.
It collided with the massive Overmind and soon the great creature began to break apart as the blue energy tore into the creature. As it broke apart piece descended on the battlefield as all three races stopped fighting.
Suddenly all went dark again and Naruto was standing in a long corridor that was dimly lit. "Why don't you show yourself and tell me what I need to know then Zeratul?" asked Naruto.
"Very well." Stated Zeratul as a figure walked out the darkness. He stood around 5' 9" and had blue skin with glowing green eyes. He had armor only on his wrist where Naruto assumed his energy blade came from. The rest of his body was covered in a dark purple cloak that seemed to give him a deadly sort of appearance.
"Naruto Uzumaki, I have chosen you to be the successor of my peoples power, the Void! You will not discover everything about your powers, but if you understand the Void it will help you." Said Zeratul before he continued.
"That battle was one of my species greatest ever only after our leader Tassadar harnessed the powers of the Void could he kill the great beast. The battle also taught our species that we were not alone in the universe against such a threat. We worked alongside the human race and we won the day."
"My greatest friend, after the war was done, was James Raynor. The ancestor of your race." Said Zeratul before he was interrupted.
"This is all good and all, but what does this have to do about choosing me to have your powers?" asked Naruto.
"Because you are the ancestor of James Raynor and only someone who has both a lightside and darkside can properly harness them. We will talk again, but I have judged your soul and you are indeed worthy." Finished Zeratul as he backed away and disappeared into the dark.
"Great…how the hell do I get out of here?" asked Naruto as everything went black again and he was in the first room again, but two giant red eyes were looking at him.
"SO YOU ARE BACK HUMAN…DO YOU STILL WISH TO KNOW WHO I AM." came the voice again.
"You're the Kyubi…I don't why didn't know before but after realizing that Zeratul was in my mind then I only had to use process of elimination to know that those eyes belong to you furry." Said Naruto boredly as he just wanted the hell out of here.
"YOU HAVE A LOT OF GUTS FOR A HUMAN, BUT THEN AGAIN YOU HAVE GOTTEN BLESSINGS FROM ZERATUL. WE WILL TALK AGAIN SOON, YOUR NEEDED OUTSIDE." Said the Kyubi as everything began to dissolve.
Naruto slowly opened his eyes and realized that he was in a dark moist area, not as dark as his mind, but still pretty dark. He slowly got up and registered the fact that he no longer felt any pain in his body.
He looked to the side saw that he seemed to be in a tree, well at least under the tree as he could see the roots. Just then he heard a cry of pain from outside and looked to see an opening in the roots.
He walked outside to see Sasuke fighting against one of the nin from Sound, protecting an injured Sakura. Then he watched Kiba and Shino fighting the leader of the Sound team. Then he saw Hinata trying to fight the girl on their team.
Quickly he summoned two shadow clones and the three took off to fight the three opponents. The original went after the girl, while the clones went after the two boys.
The one Sasuke was fighting was launching high pressure air attacks at Sasuke with ease. This prevented him from getting close, or using a fire ball as his chakra would then run low.
'Damn this guy! If it wasn't for the fight with those Kumo nin this guy would already be down.' Thought Sasuke as he took cover behind a tree.
"Haha is this all the power that the great Uchiha has? This is pathetic! Great Decapitating Air Waves!" Zaku yelled as he shot his strongest attack at Sasuke.
'I can't dodge this!' Thought Sasuke as the attack approached him.
"Futon: Great Breakthrough!" Yelled Naruto as he jumped in front of Sasuke and launched one of his few wind jutsu.
The attacks collided and both fought for dominance. It was a stalemate until Naruto's clone pushed every bit of chakra that it had into the attack. Nothing happened for a second, but then Zaku's attack changed directions and the power of both attacks combined smashed into him.
"Kill him then help get Sakura on her feet." Said the clone before it poofed out of existence.
The one that was going to assist Kiba and Shino had it easier as he just had to get behind Dosu and wait for the opening. During this he had noticed that Shino's eyes weren't covered by sunglasses. Shino, sensing Naruto quickly gave him that opening by throwing a kunai at Dosu.
He moved to block the kunai, but didn't notice Naruto drop down from above and slam a kunai into the base of his skull.
"Well that was easy." Said Naruto as he smiled at the battered forms of Kiba and Shino.
"That's because you've been asleep for the past day!" yelled Kiba as he hit the clone on the head causing it to dispel.
"What the hell was that?" asked Kiba in shock as he never saw a clone like that.
"That was just a clone." Stated Shino as he took out another pair of sunglasses to replace the ones Dosu had broke.
"How many of those do you have?" asked Kiba.
"How many fleas do you have?" answered Shino with another question.
Kiba answered back with a rude remark, starting off another one sided argument.
Hinata was fairing surprisingly well against Kin. The girl was genjutsu specialist and could throw senbon with accuracy. Her genjutsu didn't work as Hinata's Byakugan could see through all illusions.
The only drawback in the fight was that she was still a little injured from her fight with the Kumo nin. Her teammates said something happened to Naruto, that allowed him to heal her.
That was what had her confused the most. They said Naruto had become something else that was completely focused on protecting her and killing the nin that had done those attacks to her.
This girl wasn't nearly as strong as the Kumo nin, but she was fast enough just to stay away from Hinata. She had finally gotten close when she heard the sound of a kunai approaching and ducked.
The Kunai sailed over her head, directly into the Kin's throat. Hinata got back up and watched with a little pity as her opponent slowly collapsed to the floor.
Just then she felt a pair of arms wrap around her body from behind, instinctively she broke the hold and spun around while sending a juken strike into the gut of the one who grabbed her.
Only after she hit her attacker did she realize her mistake as Naruto was on the ground holding his gun, with a small grin on his lips.
"I should've realized you would be too on edge to try and hug you Hinata." He said as he got to his feet slowly.
"Naruto!" she screamed as she grabbed a hold of him and hugged him tightly to her body, all the while apologizing about hitting him.
Shino and Kiba were smiling at their sister as she kept trying to apologize to Naruto about hitting him. Sasuke was reluctantly holding Sakura, as he didn't seem to care about Naruto and Hinata.
"Hinata, I'm okay it only stung a bit and I'm a quick healer." Said Naruto as he held Hinata as she hung on to him.
"I'm sorry, you just got up from being hurt badly and I didn't want you to be hurt anymore." She mumbled into his chest, but he heard it all.
"Don't worry you didn't hurt me Hinata." Said Naruto as he pulled her a bit closer.
"If you don't mind, we need to move to the tower. Most of us are out of chakra and we have our scrolls. It would be most wise if we headed to the tower and got some rest before the next part of the exam." Said Sasuke as everyone looked at him for talking this much, even Shino.
"Look, who cares what I do, but I am right!" yelled Sasuke as he quickly got tired of the stares.
"He is right. We should be able to make it in less than one hour." Said Shino as the rest nodded. Naruto created a clone to carry Sakura and they were off to finish the second part of the exams.
They were unaware of the silver haired gennin following them the whole time wondering why there was a change in plans. 'Where are you Orochimaru-sama?' wondered the gennin as he decided to get moving.
It didn't take them long before they were all at the tower wondering what they wondering what they were supposed to do with their scrolls.
"Maybe we should open it?" asked Naruto as he looked at both his heaven and earth scroll.
"Yeah right Baka, and risk being disqualified!" yelled Sakura.
"Naruto is right!" said Sasuke as Sakura immediately shut herself up and put herself on Sasuke's side.
"Indeed, there were no rules stating that we couldn't open the scrolls after we made it back." Said Shino.
"Okay lets do this!" said Naruto as he opened both of the scrolls and promptly threw them on the ground.
A second later there was a poof of smoke and Iruka was there smiling at the six gennin. "It seems that you guys decided to get together to make it through the exams."
"Not really sensei. We have to talk to Jiji about what happened in the exams." Said Naruto.
"Well you have three days to rest before the next part starts, but I'm not sure if the Hokage will be around in the next three days. There was a lapse in security in the exams." Said Iruka.
"What exactly happened?" asked Shino.
"Well Orochimaru was spotted entering the village by one of our top ANBU sqauds. Thankfully he didn't make it into the forest." Explained Iruka as he allowed Team 8 to follow since they showed him their scrolls.
"This is different we need to talk to Jiji about it." Said Naruto.
"Okay I will send him a message, but don't get your hopes up." Said Iruka when he sensed how serious Naruto was.
"For now all of you just take a break and engage in some light exercising. When the Hokage gets here I will summon you all." Said Iruka as everyone nodded and he walked away.
"Well I'm going to get something to eat, anyone want to come? Hinata?" asked Naruto as she smiled and nodded. The others quickly found excuses and walked away.
"I guess that just leaves you and me Hinata!" Smiled Naruto as he grabbed her hand and dragged her around in an attempt to find the lunchroom.
Entering the lunchroom they noticed immediately the Sand Team there in the corner. The older two looked like they were pretty banged up and tired and even Gaara looked like he had come out of a blender.
They immediately looked up when Naruto barged through the door and were surprised to see Hiinata there with them.
To this they were surprise as they had thought that the Leaf team that was in forest with them was destroyed.
"How the heck did that leaf team survive against four Kumo teams?" asked Kankuro.
"I know, I thought they were dead meat when that crazy bitch separated us with that massive Katon attack!" answered Temari.
"That blonde arrived…I sensed his killing intent from a few miles away. Mother wants his blood badly!" said Gaara as a bloodthirsty smile covered his face.
Temari and Kankuro looked at each other for a second before going back to their meals.
'That girl may have escaped due to you…but you will not escape mother's wrath!' thought Gaara.
Naruto and Hinata quickly ate and left to find somewhere quiet to rest and talk for a little bit.
"So how do you think Shikamaru's team is going to do?" asked Naruto as they sat on a balcony overlooking the forest.
"I don't know…as long as Shikamaru doesn't fail on purpose I'm sure they can make it." Responded Hinata.
"Yeah that is true. The only way for him to work hard is if it is for a break." Laughed Naruto as Hinata did too. Soon a comfortable silence settled on the two for a few minutes.
"Thank you." Hinata spoke softly after a few minutes.
"What was that?" asked Naruto as he barely heard her.
"I said thank you…" said Hinata as she looked down a bit.
"Why are you saying 'thank you' Hinata?" asked Naruto.
"Because if it wasn't for you I would be on my way to Kumo now! They would've done horrible things to me Naruto!" yelled Hinata as tears formed at her eyes.
Immediately she felt two pairs of arms wrap around her again and pull her into their body. This time however she didn't hit the person, but allowed herself to be pulled into their chest as tears ran down her eyes.
"It's okay Hinata…I will do everything in my power to protect you. You mean too much to me for me to let you get hurt." Whispered Naruto as Hinata softly cried into his chest and hugged him back.
It didn't take long for her to stop crying and to Naruto's amazement he found that she was sleeping.
'What am I supposed to do now?' thought Naruto as he decided to make one of his shadows go look for where Team 8 was sleeping for the night.
(This is the shadows perspective. Remember they are linked to Naruto's mind so it is like it is Naruto.)
The shadow was running through the entire tower trying to find either Kiba or Shino. Along the way he spotted a Kusa team enter the tower, and he even spotted another Leaf team that had Lee in it.
Finally he found Kiba and Shino arguing about whether or not dogs or insects were better partners.
"What do you mean insects are smarter?" yelled Kiba as Akamaru barked in agreement.
"Guys! Sorry to break this up, but I was wondering where the room they assigned you was? You see Hinata fell asleep in my lap and I was going to put her to bed." Said Naruto.
As Shino and Kiba nodded. "We will show you where we are staying then Naruto." Said Kiba.
They soon made it back to Naruto and Hinata as the shadow was directly linked to Naruto. As soon as they made it the shadow sunk into the floor and joined up with Naruto's actual shadow.
"Check it out you guys! Ever since the fight with Kumo nin my shadow chakra has been much easier to control." Said Naruto as he smiled at them.
Ever since talking with Zeratul his shadow chakra was much stronger as he was beginning to access the void. The only problem was that the seals on his wrists that held his knives were starting to fade.
"If you want we can take Hinata for you?" offered Kiba as Naruto shook his head.
"Well I would, but…she won't let go." Stated Naruto as he tried to pry her arms from him, but only managed to make her squeeze harder.
"That is a problem." Stated Shino as he turned around and motioned for Naruto to follow him.
The ironic thing about going to Team 8's room was that it was only two doors down from the balcony.
"If I had known that I would've been good by myself." Said Naruto as he put Hinata down in her bed.
He tried to pull away, but was quickly brought down harder than before as Hinata squeezed the life out of him while mumbling about her 'Naru-Kun' to his embarrassment as Kiba and even Shino started laughing.
"Well we will be back later Naruto! Now don't do anything a gentlemen wouldn't do, and you are welcome to stay here for tonight." Laughed Kiba as he and Shino left the room.
"Don't leave me!" said Naruto as he was once again pulled into Hinata's chest.
'Damn…well might as well get comfortable.' Thought Naruto as he laid his head on the pillow and just watched Hinata.
'I will never let anyone hurt you Hinata. I don't know what I have been feeling lately, but I know that you are more than a friend to me.' Thought Naruto as he slowly drifted to sleep.
Kiba and Shino were still laughing a hour later as they were in the rec room sitting around.
"Did you see how Hinata was suffocating him?" laughed Kiba as Shino chuckled a bit.
"Yes, do you think we did the right thing by leaving him in there?" asked Shino. As he was well aware of Hinata's feelings for Naruto.
"Of course we did! Heck we're better matchmakers than even Ino!" exclaimed Kiba. Shino however just got a sweat drop on his face as he saw someone approach Kiba from behind.
"What was that MUTT!" yelled Ino, scaring the crap out of Kiba.
"What did you call me?" yelled Kiba as he glared at Ino.
"I called you a M-U-T-T, MUTT! Now what did you say about being a better matchmaker.
"Like that is any of your business." Said Kiba as he turned around. A pity as he didn't see Ino lift her leg and plant it between his legs.
"Now, Mutt, if you don't want me to work more of my feminem magic. I suggest you tell me what you meant by that statement earlier." Said Ino in sickly sweet voice making Kiba gulp.
"You win…Hinata fell asleep holding Naruto so we helped him put her to bed. When we were leaving Hinata grabbed Naruto in her sleep and wouldn't let him go so we left them there." Said Kiba as Ino looked surprised at that.
"So Naruto is here? That means Sasuke also passed the test! Anyway, what room are they in? I want to see this for myself." Said Ino.
"I will lead the way…again." Said Shino as Ino happily followed him. Kiba slowly picked himself up and followed after the two while Shikamaru and Chouji saw their teammate leave and decided to follow.
"So how did you guys get your scroll?" asked Kiba as Shikamaru and Chouji caught up with him.
"Well Shikamaru was trying to find a weak team to fight, so earlier today we found a large group of slaughtered Kumo ninja. Luckily one of the teams still had a scroll, so we took it and made it here." Said Chouji as he ate some chips.
"I'm still wondering what could've killed all of those Shinobi." Said Ino as they caught up to her and Shino.
"It was Naruto." Said Shino out of the blue.
"What did you say?" asked Shikamaru.
"Those Kumo nin were after Hinata so they attacked us. We were only able to kill one of the nine before Naruto showed up to save Hinata from a fate worse than death. Sasuke killed one and Naruto killed the rest." Said Shino.
"How? Those ninja would've been between low jounin and low chuunin rank if they were here to steal Hinata." Stated Shikamaru.
"I don't know what it was, but Naruto did something that pushed him beyond the levels of all of those ninja. The amount of killing intent was the greatest I have felt in my life." Stated Shino.
"Yeah, it was like I could just see my life ending. He was covered in a red and black chakra cloak that seemed to burn everything it touched." Said Naruto as Shikamaru had a look of comtemplation.
'It sounds like a jinchuriki, but the leaf couldn't have one as all of them are accounted for, but the…' "Kyubi." Breathed out Shikamaru as he had just figured out one of the villages greatest secrets.
'That explains why we were always told to avoid Naruto by other parents. Why the teachers always glared at him and he always acted like he was happy. It was to hide the pain that he was feeling the whole time.' He thought as they made it to his room.
"Everyone be quiet I don't want to wake them up." Whispered Ino as she went for the handle.
"What was that?" asked Kiba loudly.
"I said SHUT UP!" Ino yelled as she punched Kiba in the head. Everyone had sweat drops as she turned around started to slowly open the door.
They all walked in a saw Hinata snuggled up to Naruto's chest with his arms wrapped around her protectively. A little drool was coming from Hinata's mouth and was pooling up on his shirt. Both of them were smiling faintly, but Hinata seemed to have cried earlier.
The group slowly walked out and only when the door was closed did Ino only start to talk. "They are such a cute couple!" said Ino.
"They are pretty nice looking." Agreed Chouji.
"Yeah, but why do you think Hinata seemed to have been crying earlier?" asked Shikamaru.
"Mostly because of what almost happened to her in the forest. The one Kumo nin almost raped Hinata before Naruto showed up and killed him." Said Kiba.
"Troublesome…" said Shikamaru. "Come on you guys we need to get some rest for when the exams start up again."
Team 10 walked away down the corridor when Shino and Kiba looked at eachother.
"Should we sleep in the same room as Hinata and Naruto?" asked Kiba.
"Why not?" responded Shino as Kiba just gaped at him.
"Dick…" whispered Kiba.
"I heard that." Responded Shino as he walked into the room with Kiba following slowly.
Naruto was lined up with his fellow gennin with their sensei's in an indoor arena with walkways surrounding it for people to observe the fights. There were five Leaf Teams, One Sand Team, and One Kusa Team.
Most observers were surprised to see that every single one of the rookie teams made it past the Forest Death. The first match was between a member of Kabuto's team and Sasuke.
Now a week ago Naruto would've been hoping for Sasuke to di…lose his match, but Sasuke was improving so fast in his attitude that Naruto just thought he was just faking everything.
But when Sasuke came up looking for help Naruto couldn't say no as it reminded him of when he begged Kakashi-sensei for help.
Now Naruto was watching Sasuke pick apart his opponent's defense and lay brutal, but effective strikes everywhere on his body. His opponent couldn't even land a hit on Sasuke to drain his chakra.
The match ended as Sasuke's opponent exposed his back to Sasuke and a kunai landed lightly on his neck to show that if Sasuke wanted to he could've killed him there.
The next match was between Shino and one of the Kusa nin. The Kusa nin was wearing full body plate armor, which ruled out the possibility that this gennin relied on speed.
Immediately this gennin charged at Shino, who didn't dodge till the last second by rolling out of the way. The Kusa gennin charged head first, unable to stop his momentum, into the wall.
The blow didn't seem to hurt him at all as he charged once again at Shino. What followed was a high risk match as if Shino made one mistake he would lose for sure.
After a few minutes the Kusa gennin was visibly sweating and slowing down to the point at which he seemed to be nothing more than a brisk walk.
Naruto paid little attention as Shino was explaining to the gennin how his bugs had been draining his chakra since he first tried to attack Shino. He had already heard all of this when he was talking to Hinata the day before.
He was closer than ever with Hinata ever since the day they awoke to find each other in their arms. It was awkward at first as both didn't know what to say to each other.
It was Hinata who surprised Naruto as she just muttered a few words before just snuggling up to him even more. Those words that she had muttered were "Screw it, you're warm."
It was kinda funny as he was thinking the same thing, and he was relieved when she didn't immediately regret doing that. That was what made him decide to ask her on a date after this part of the chuunin exams.
The next match made him want to laugh at the irony. It was between Ino and Sakura. This match was mostly a joke, but Sakura was able to distract Ino for one second and that was all it took for the two to knock each other out.
Since Sasuke had started to change in behavior, maybe Sakura might start to take her training seriously for once.
"I just can't wait for my match! I just finished an awesome technique last night and can't wait to test it out!" exclaimed Naruto as Kakashi smiled at him.
"Was it a wind or shadow jutsu?" asked Kakashi.
"It is a shadow jutsu that is similar to the Shunshin, but it is a full out teleportation technique. The time to reappear only makes it effective to escape a death situation and not to attack quickly." Said Naruto.
"That is interesting. Can you use it without your knives?" asked Kakashi.
"Surprisingly I am now able to use most of my shadow jutsu with out the knives now. I guess I'm just gaining more of an understanding of where my shadow chakra is coming from." Said Naruto as he heard Kyubi in the back of his mind berating him on downplaying Lord Zeratul's information.
That was also a funny thing as Naruto had visited Zeratul and Kyubi last night and had discovered that Zeratul was like a god to the Bijuu for some reason. That was also where Naruto had learned the ability to 'Blink' as Zeratul called it.
"Well that is a surprise, I suggest you ask Shikamaru for help after this part of the chuunin exams." Suggested Kakashi.
"I was definitely considering it." Said Naruto as he watched the match between Kiba and Kankuro.
'I've been wondering what that thing on his back does exactly. I guess I will find out now.' Thought Naruto.
Kiba quickly had Akamaru change into a clone of him as they too had now idea what type of jutsu Kankuro used. Using their Gatsuga Kiba and Akamaru were able to corner Kankuro into a corner.
They both attacked at the same time seemingly to have the effect they wanted. Kankuro was on the floor thoroughly beaten up.
Kiba turned away from the downed Kankuro and that was when he struck. Senbon flew out of his mouth into Kiba and Akamaru's body. His body slowly stood up, slowly pieces of cloth fell off to reveal a puppet underneath.
The pack that Kankuro stashed away at the start of the match exploded and the real Kankuro was now standing behind his puppet.
Some words were exchanged the seemed to shock Kiba, but it didn't matter as the battle progressed with Kiba dodging the blades of the puppet. It soon became apparent that neither Akamaru and Kiba could keep up.
Apparently the senbon in them were designed to slow down Kiba's responses. The battle after that was one sided as Akamaru was out of the fight and Kiba had multiple lacerations across his body.
The only choice was to withdraw and that is exactly what Kiba did. The match ended with the proctor signaling for the next to start.
The next match brought a smile to Naruto's face for it was the other gennin from Kabuto's team and himself up. He jumped down to the center of the arena and awaited for his opponent to step down.
All of Kabuto's team mates creeped him out, but this one seemed pretty…twisted for some reason.
"Hajime!" shouted the proctor as Naruto jumped back and launched three kunai at the ninja.
The ninja weaved through the kunai and approached Naruto. It was then where it seemed the ninja turned into a mass of flesh the wrapped around Naruto.
"I turn all of my bones into cartilage and control them. If you don't surrender I will break your neck." Whispered the ninja into Naruto's ear.
Naruto just smirked in response. "I have a better idea." He said as suddenly he disappeared in a mass of shadows, only to reappear in a mass of shadows on the other side of the arena.
"There is no way you will be able to do that again." Stated Naruto as three of his shadows grew out of the ground around him. They all took out kunai and charged at the ninja.
Despite being extremely flexible the ninja couldn't dodge all of the attacks and was bleeding pretty badly from the kunai wounds on his body. Finally one of his kunai found it's way into one of Naruto's clones, but it didn't stay there long as the clone just repaired itself.
"Kage no Seifuku!" yelled Naruto as his three shadows broke apart and flew at the ninja from the floor. The ninja was trapped as the shadows had wrapped around his body.
"What the hell is this?" asked the ninja as he tried to wiggle his way out of the shadows, but they kept readjusting.
"This is my Shadow Subjugation. Surrender, there is no way you are winning this match." Said Naruto.
"To hell with that!" yelled the ninja as he tried even harder to escape.
"Kage Richi!" said Naruto as the shadows started to glow a slight blue as the ninja's chakra was sucked from him and put into Naruto.
Soon the ninja was on the ground completely out of chakra. There was little cheering on his win, but Naruto was relieved to see Hinata smiling at him. He also saw Shikamaru possibly trying to figure out how Naruto could control shadows.
Naruto joined the rest of the others at the top of the stands. He was congratulated by both Hinata and Kakashi while others just gave him a small nod of acknowledgement.
Naruto made his way over to Shikamaru to discuss something's for after the second exam, when the next match started. It was between Lee's teammate, Tenten and Temari. Naruto knew right away that Temari was at the advantage as her wind jutsu kept Tenten's attacks from getting close.
"So are you going to tell me how you got Shadow manipulation?" asked Shikamaru.
"Well I'm sure you find out soon, but not here. I was wondering what your clan's position was on teaching techniques to an outsider?" asked Naruto.
"It usually depends on who the outsider is and what he has to offer to the clan. I'm sure you have things to offer, but I will have to check with my father." Said Shikamaru.
"I have very much to offer to your clan. I don't expect a miracle, all I ask is for you to try." Said Naruto as he shook hands with Shikamaru.
After their exchange was over Naruto went over to where Hinata was standing. She smiled at him as he approached. "That was a good match Naruto."
"Thanks Hinata! I hope you do just as well in your match against whoever you fight." Said Naruto.
"I just hope it isn't against Neji." Said Hinata sadly.
"Who is that and why not?" asked Naruto in concern.
"He is the other Hyuga here, he is also my cousin. For as long as I've known him he has hated me for something that happened when I was very young. He is also much better than me in the Gentle Fist." Explained Hinata.
"Well if you fight him, be careful. I'm sure you can win against him if you give it your all Hinata." Said Naruto encouragingly.
"Thank you Naruto." Said Hinata as she managed to smile at him. They both decided to focus on the matches after they were done talking.
During their talk Chouji and Shikamaru had both fought against Kusa ninja, but only Shikamaru was able to pull off a win. During the fight Naruto saw the true tactical mind of a Nara.
Chouji's match was close, but Chouji wasn't able to stand at then end and collapsed right before his opponent did.
The next match up on the screen had Hinata fidgeting as it had Neji vs. Hinata up on the screen. Naruto saw her nervousness and whispered into her ear.
"Do your best Hinata. If you do that then you can leave the ring with your head held up high no matter the outcome…but personally I believe you can kick his ass." Said Naruto.
Hinata slowly walked down the steps and faced off against her cousin. He was glaring at her in a face she had long ago grown accustomed to. Two months ago it would've made her possibly give up, but now it made her determination grow.
"Give up Hinata. Fate has decreed that you face me today and fate will have you fail today." Said Neji.
"I will not give up cousin. I have…come to far to quit by your words alone." Replied Hinata with as much confidence as she could muster.
"Words…nothing but words. If that is all that you have to show then this match will be no different than all of the others." Said Neji.
"No cousin, they are not words. If they were words then explain to me why my team made it back from the Forest before yours did?" asked Hinata. Many people gasped as they had never seen the shy timid girl back talk someone before.
Naruto was openly laughing at what his crush had just said. Who would've known that just a few choice words would give her such a backbone? It was awesome if he had to describe it. Win or lose he was going to do something to make her the happiest person in the world, no matter what.
Neji didn't respond for once and got into his stance. Naruto could quickly tell that it was a very rigid stance and it was made for a head on sort of attack. To his surprise Hinata took the very same stance.
He had never studied her stance before, but now that he was he noticed that it was way too rigid for someone like her to use. The way the foot were placed suggested that she would block.
Naruto knew from experience that she was to nimble to block so she would dance around her opponent. He noticed this when they fought together for the first time against that Inferuno.
"Hajime!" shouted the proctor snapping Naruto out of his thoughts.
Both Hinata and Neji charged at each other trying to beat each other. Neji would strike and Hinata would block and counter attack and Neji would block. Soon both fighters jumped apart to gain a little breathing room.
"You have improved Hinata, but not enough. A failure will always be a failure." Said Neji scornfully.
"Come on Hinata! Stop going easy on the guy! I know for a fact that you have another fighting style that is much better than the one you are using! You used it against Inferuno and kicked his butt!" yelled Naruto.
"What nonsense it this? Hyuga can only learn the Gentle Fist. I hope for your sake that you have not betrayed tradition to learn a new style." Said Neji.
Hinata glanced at a smiling Naruto before building up enough courage to change her stance.
"No cousin. This is still a clan stance, but very few have ever used it. One of them was my mother, it was made for people who have an affinity for water, unlike most of our clan who have an affinity for earth." Said Hinata.
"It doesn't matter what style you have as you will still fail!" declared Neji as he charged at Hinata again.
The two engaged in vicious taijutsu again, but it was different this time as Hinata dodged attack after attack. Neji landed maybe one or two blows the entire five minutes that they fought, while Hinata landed around ten.
It was at the height of the skirmish that they both aimed at the chest of the other hoping to bring them down and out. Both stopped as their hands stopped at each others chest.
For a few seconds nothing happened, but then suddenly Neji coughed out blood and took a few steps back. "How?" asked Neji.
"Your strike never hit cousin. I pulled my chest back at the last second and your blow missed by less than a centimeter. It seems a loser can fight fate." Said Hinata as she smiled at Neji.
"NEVER!" yelled Neji shocking just about everyone as he began to spin in a dome of chakra. The attack launched Hinata across the room into the wall. Her head hit the wall hard causing her to be knocked out.
"Hinata!" yelled Naruto in worry as he saw her not moving.
"Calm down Naruto, she is just unconscious." Said Kurenai as she appeared behind the boy.
"It seems you were wrong Hinata." Said Neji as he slowly walked to the exit after the proctor called the match. He didn't make it far as he collapsed due to the pain in his chest.
Medics rushed the room and quickly grabbed both Neji and Hinata.
"That Neji is lucky that Hinata hit her head, or she would've won." Said Naruto.
"True, but if it wasn't for you coming along. I don't believe she would've done that good." Said Kurenai.
"What do you mean sensei?" asked Naruto.
"She has always admired you Naruto. Just the fact that you are acknowledging her, means more than the world to her." Said Kurenai.
"Really? Her safety and well being mean more than the world to me." Said Naruto as he glared at the passing Neji.
"It seems you failures like to stick together." Said Neji in the most condescending voice he could muster.
"Funny, if I wasn't mistaken Hinata would've won that match if you didn't pull off that move at the end." Replied Naruto. Neji glared back, but decided not to say anything as the Gai made him sit down and let the medics look at him further.
'I will make him pay…I swear it.' Vowed Naruto as he watched the match between Gaara and Lee.
This match was probably one of the most exciting of the day and also the most informative. Gaara's manipulation of the sand game him a perfect offense and defense, but there were weaknesses that were there.
Lee was pushing those weaknesses to the breaking point, but in the end it was Lee's body that gave way before Gaara's sand. The end result was a severely injured Lee and a slightly angry Naruto at the way Lee's dreams had been crushed.
The people who won their matches all lined up in front of the Hokage ready for the next part of the exam.
"I would like to congratulate all of you on making it this far in the exam. Now the third part of the chuunin exams shall be held in one month in a arena for the whole world to see. It will be a tournament style competition, where you will fight for the honor of your village." Said the Hokage.
"So if we win, we will be promoted?" asked the last Kusa gennin.
"No, only if the proctors believe that your mind and body are ready to become chuunin will you be allowed to become one. You could win the whole tournament and not be promoted, or you can lose your first match and be promoted. Now you will all be drawing numbers from this box to determine who will fight who in the first match." Said the Hokage, as Hayate walked up with a box and a large board with numbers on it.
"When I call your name come up and pick a number." Said Hayate
The order of the matches would follow along the lines of this.
vs. Naruto
2. Sasuke vs. Gaara
3. Shikamaru vs. Temari
4. Shino vs. Kankuro
The Kusa nin got a bye the first round and would have to fight the winner of Shino and Kankuro in the semi-finals.
"Well I'm off to see Hinata-chan!" yelled Naruto as he got ready to dash away.
"Wait! Meet me at the entrance of the my clan compound at 10:00 tomorrow Naruto!" yelled Shikamaru.
"Gotcha Shika!" laughed Naruto as he had just rhymed Shikamaru's name.
"All blondes are troublesome…" said Shikamaru, but he felt a great amount of killing intent from behind him.
"What was that Nara?" asked Temari as she glared at him.
"Troublesome…" trailed off Shikamaru as he got destroyed by his opponent a month before he even was supposed to fight her.
So that is the end of chapter 4, aren't you all happy that I got this out this early? I know I am as this is probably the quickest chapter I have ever done before!
I still need two more people for my ANBU squad so if no one else adds me on PSN then I will just ask my two favorite reviewers to make up two characters to put into the squad.
Thanks for all the reviews and favorite stories! Hoped you liked reading this one too!
So I hear that the U.S. Government wishes to stop online piracy...well we cannot let this happen. First it is the internet, next it is our schools, then our television, and before we know it we will be in some sort of 1984 situation that will piss a lot of people off. Let's stop this now by not allowing our government to pass these acts!